Half-Step Dustless

[Name: Su Qing'an]
[Gender: Male]
[STR: 18.3]
[DEX: 19.4]
[VIT: 20.6]
[Soul Essence: 39.11]
[Honkai Energy Resistance: 30 (Low/Limit)]
[Technique: Taixuan Style]
[Evaluation: Your combat ability far surpasses that of an ordinary normal human. Your Honkai Energy Resistance has reached the limit for a normal human male. Aside from the special nature of your Soul Essence, you already possess the Honkai Energy Resistance to survive normally in areas with high Honkai Energy concentration.]
[Message: Your soul possesses something special. After experiencing death twice, it has automatically sublimated to four times that of an ordinary person. Live on in the apocalyptic world of the Honkai with this sole bargaining chip.]

After six weeks of continuous tempering his Sword Heart, Su Qing'an realized that everything about him had reached its limit.

The growth trend of his body's three-dimensional strength was slowing down. He had reason to suspect that after his stats reached 25, the Modified Version of Void Sword Qi's effect of increasing physical abilities would almost completely disappear.

His Honkai Energy Resistance was stuck at 30, and no amount of Sword Heart tempering had any effect. Even the limit that the Modified Version of Void Sword Qi, bestowed by a God, could reach was merely the limit of his own physical shell.

Essentially, the ability of Void Sword Qi was like allowing a caterpillar to break free from its cocoon. To go further was a matter of life's evolutionary tier.

The current Su Qing'an saw no possibility of breaking through this limit. This meant that because his higher-than-normal Soul Essence caused his Honkai Energy cycle to be too vast, he would not dare to break through to the Dustless realm.

The limit of Honkai Energy Resistance determined the upper limit of his Sword Heart.

He could vaguely sense that if he broke through to Dustless, his body would run the risk of transforming into a Mortal.

Therefore, after understanding this boundary, he could only reduce the time spent cultivating the Sword Heart Technique, stopping himself at the limit of the State of Still Water.

Even if he forcibly broke through to Dustless, he guessed he could only defeat Honkai Beasts up to the Temple-class, or one to three lower-tier Honkai Beasts below that.

Honkai Beasts were roughly divided into seven types from lowest to highest: Charge-class, Knight-class, Ballista-class, Chariot-class, Temple-type, Emperor-class, and Judgment-class.

Among these, Charge-class, Chariot-class, Knight-class, Ballista-class, and Temple-type were all considered lower-tier Honkai Beasts, while Emperor-class and Judgment-class were upper-tier.

Besides the combat ceiling of lower-tier Honkai Beasts like the Honkai Emperor, even the colossal Temple-class Honkai Beasts were terrifying opponents he couldn't defeat.

So, he did not intend to risk becoming a Mortal for a combat power increase that could not guarantee his life safety by breaking through to Dustless.

As long as he could make his way into St. Freya Academy, he would be temporarily safe.

Instead of being like he was now, feeling like death was chasing him every day, living in constant fear, with his life hanging by a thread.

He feared combat; he was afraid of the potential injuries and pain that might come.

But at the same time, his terrifying self-control allowed him to maintain his ordinary facade. The closer the Honkai outbreak approached, the more unstable his emotions became.

Anxiety and unease, fear and anger, hatred and loneliness were all thrown into the flames of his Mind Lake, turning into fiercely burning firewood.

This allowed Su Qing'an to calm down and return to a state of mental tranquility.

Three more months. He could still prepare more. Don't panic, don't be afraid. No matter what he faced, even life and death, a martial artist should face it calmly.

Recalling the old man's teachings, the young man's restless heart would slowly be soothed.

He would find a way to tie up Satou Yunona's family and move them to another city a month before the Honkai outbreak.

Satou Yunona was, apart from Kiana, the person he was most familiar with in this world.

In his memory, she was the only friend of that Su Qing'an, as she was one of the few who could appreciate Su Qing'an's coffee-making skills.

And the current him also genuinely regarded Satou Yunona as a friend.

There was no need for a reason, was there? When one found themselves in such an out-of-place world, having someone who knew you, understood a part of you, and could casually talk, joke, and mess around with you was naturally someone you would consider an important friend.

He had recently been investigating gangs with good reputations, a sense of justice, and powerful influence. He planned to pay a deposit to have their entire family kidnapped and moved to a sufficiently distant city.

After confirming their safety, he would pay the full amount.

If conditions allowed, he thought Shenzhou would be quite safe.

Although the idea was crude, it was the most convenient and quickest solution for now.

He didn't believe he could persuade them to leave Changkong City with mere words. Putting himself in Su Qing'an's shoes, he wouldn't agree to such an absurd request either.

If he couldn't find any trustworthy gangs or other organizations.

He would try to forcefully throw money at them to make them leave Changkong City. He could just make up a reason; as long as the money was right, it shouldn't be difficult to achieve this.

As long as she left Changkong City, even if this city turned into a purgatory, Su Qing'an could bear the psychological burden caused by the deaths of over two million three hundred thousand people on his own.

In a world like this, just wanting to survive required giving it one's all. Being able to have the luxury of protecting one's friends was an even greater blessing.

A few days ago, he specifically found an excuse to have Mei and Kiana interact early. In the game's plot, Kiana practically fell in love at first sight with Mei, reaching maximum affection before relentlessly trying to save Raiden Mei, which then established their subsequent bond.

This also led to the controllability of Mei's Herrscher persona.

Although it was quite ridiculous when playing the game, the game's plot was set up that way, and players enjoyed it. Despite the complaints, they still played.

However, when reflected in reality, the logic wasn't as fun or simple.

Kiana's sexual orientation might be towards women, and Raiden Mei might also be the type she liked.

However, having gained a preliminary understanding of Kiana's personality, Su Qing'an still believed that a single meeting was insufficient to provoke such behavior from her.

Therefore, to avoid deviating from the original script and to safely integrate into the team that would eventually defeat Raiden Mei, who had been influenced by the Herrscher persona, and end up at the safe haven of St. Freya Academy, he chose to challenge Raiden Mei and propose the so-called tutoring arrangement.

In reality, the Beichen Ichi-ryu style had poor compatibility with Honkai Beasts, so even if Su Qing'an mastered it, it wouldn't have much significance for future battles.

It was just that he was terrible at speaking, so he could only find an excuse to fight. With this slightly more memorable impression, for the two who would have a very good relationship in the future, their first impressions of each other should have been quite positive, making such a request likely to be accepted.

In fact, Raiden Mei and Kiana did have very good impressions of each other. When Raiden Mei stated that Kiana was a junior from the same school and refused payment, their relationship rapidly improved.

The "cooking lady" really was Kiana's special weakness. Satou Yunona had known Kiana for longer, but their treatment was like night and day.

The former was constantly blamed, leading Kiana to always give her death threats with a look of disdain and coldness, while the latter affectionately called her "Mei, Mei" with a beaming smile.

The ways they showed affection were completely different.

Raiden Mei, accustomed to polite and distant behavior, had recently begun to show a gentle and close side to Kiana.

Perhaps this was fate. Whether it was Kiana, who had wandered for years, or Raiden Mei, the young lady from ME Corp, neither found it easy to make friends casually, yet they could easily open each other's hearts, as if they had known each other forever.

This way, the plot wouldn't change too much.

Inside the dojo, Su Qing'an sheathed the [Calming the Tempest] and ended his sword practice for the day, thinking this.

Afterward, as long as he settled Yunona properly, he could face the Honkai with complete peace of mind.

The boy, accustomed to being alone and expressionless, showed a rare, genuinely happy smile.

Then, the next moment.

Su Qing'an's smile froze abruptly. It was a familiar sensation, one he could recall clearly from yesterday.

An incomprehensible wavelength, a terrifying energy fluctuation that destroyed life, erupted and exploded throughout Changkong City at that instant.

The Honkai Energy cycle established by the Void Sword Qi was more active than ever before. In this environment, he could easily manipulate external Honkai Energy if he wished.

Furthermore, his body felt no discomfort.

He had survived.

He had survived his first encounter with the Honkai.

Yet, the boy's hands trembled, devoid of any joy or excitement at surviving.

Had the Honkai outbreak happened early? Three whole months early?

This shouldn't have happened. He told himself.

This shouldn't have happened. He thought in his heart.

What a joke, what a joke, what a joke.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

"Shi... Fo... Luo... Ye... Zhe... Luo... Mo... Mo..." The boy closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he recited the Sword Heart Technique. Having grown accustomed to practicing it silently, this was the first time he had spoken it aloud again.

He enunciated each word with such force, as if he were tearing and chewing the flesh of his enemies.

After a full two minutes, the Mind Lake was forcibly stilled, and Su Qing'an's ferocious expression vanished.

The boy's face was calm and indifferent, only the hand gripping the sword had its knuckles turning white from the force.

Rage against the dying of the light was an unacceptable negative emotion. Calmly assessing the situation when the deed was done was the correct approach.

That's right, Su Qing'an should be like this. He should be completely calm, perfectly controlling all his emotions.

Endure, endure, endure.

The Mind Lake churned violently, and shards of ice blue frost condensed on its surface.

The State of Still Water, under Su Qing'an's uncontrollable, surging emotions, was even just a step away from Dustless. The progress he had painstakingly made was brutally shattered by this accident.

Go to hell!

If Satou Yunona dies, I'll kill your entire family, Cocolia.

And I'll collect the debt for these over two million souls as well.

At 8:45 AM on December 26, 2013, the Third Honkai Outbreak erupted in Changkong City.

The woman sat upright, gazing at the photo frame in her hands. She had waist-length golden curly hair and purple eyes that were as detached as they were mechanical. Her face, as beautiful as a doll's, bore a habitually stern and fierce expression.

She wore a Russian military uniform, with a white shawl trimmed with fur over a red base on her shoulders. The woman gave the impression of a stern soldier, but the purple gem earrings she wore broke this perception while simultaneously conveying an imposing aura.

The woman put down the photo frame and gazed toward the eastern horizon.

She knew her actions were like a demon from the abyss, perhaps even more wicked and malicious, but her heart remained utterly unmoved.

From what moment did it begin? A part of her seemed to have broken.

She spoke into her communicator, "The plan begins."

The demon named Cocolia gave the order, like a butcher expertly dissecting an ox, about to harvest the intact heart from within the animal's carcass.