"Sheng Jiu, I heard you were seriously injured on your last mission. How's your recovery going?"
Outside the classroom, Walter asked Sheng Jiu with concern.
"Thank you for asking, Mr. Walter. I've almost fully recovered." Sheng Jiu felt a swell of gratitude. While he'd been hospitalized, Walter had heard about his condition and asked a classmate to take notes for him, helping him keep up with the lessons despite being away.
"That's good." Walter breathed a sigh of relief. "Still, be careful on future missions. If you run into any difficulties, you can always come to me."
Sheng Jiu nodded, filled with gratitude. Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he asked Walter, "Sir, I remember you once told us that the birth of a Herrscher would frighten the Honkai Beasts and trigger a beast tide. Is that right?"
Walter considered the question. Pushing up his glasses, he replied, "Generally speaking, the birth of a Pseudo-Herrscher, a Herrscher, or a Judgment-class Honkai Beast can indeed trigger disasters such as beast tides or earthquakes."
"However, only one Herrscher is usually born during each Great Honkai Eruption. The most recent was the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, who emerged ten years ago during the Second Honkai Outbreak. Judgment-class Honkai Beasts are even rarer."
"Sirin's servant, the Dragon of Destruction Benares, is one of the few Judgment-class Honkai Beasts mentioned in the reference materials available to us. Pseudo-Herrscher may have the word 'Herrscher' in its name, but it has no Herrscher core, so strictly speaking, it isn't a Herrscher. Even so, Pseudo-Herrscher are also an extremely terrifying enemy."
Just then, the bell rang. Walter patted Sheng Jiu on the shoulder. "Let's get back to the classroom." The two of them went inside.
"Hey, hey, sleepyhead! What did Mr. Walter just tell you?" Kiana whispered as soon as Sheng Jiu sat down.
Sheng Jiu glanced at Walter at the lectern, then leaned closer to Kiana. "There should be a Pseudo-Herrscher in Changkong City."
"What?! A Herrscher?" Kiana's voice shot up an octave. Luckily, Sheng Jiu quickly covered her mouth, preventing Walter from noticing.
"Are you trying to get us both killed?" Sheng Jiu ruffled Kiana's unruly hair, prompting her to protest furiously.
"Bronya believes there must be some kind of conspiracy behind all this."
After class, Himeko came to the classroom and called out the bewildered Sheng Jiu once more.
"Here, take a look." Himeko pointed to a long, wrapped package lying on a table in the training room.
"What's this? A giant hot dog?" Sheng Jiu asked as he unwrapped the package.
Inside the box lay a beautifully crafted Gale Katana.
"Colonel Vina saw how bravely you fought in Changkong City and specially asked the Technology Department at headquarters to make a custom Gale Katana for you: Shadowless! It looks just like an ordinary Gale Katana, but don't underestimate it. They used the skull of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast as one of the materials when forging it, giving it even greater durability and piercing power!"
Sheng Jiu picked up Shadowless and examined it closely. "Damn, what a blade! It's perfect for me. Are you sure I don't have to pay some kind of price to get something this good?"
"Don't worry. Schicksal isn't so hard up that it can't afford a mere katana."
Sheng Jiu took Shadowless and walked toward the center of the training room. "Ms. Himeko, please bring up the projection of a Tank-type Honkai Beast."
As the phantom of a Tank-type Honkai Beast appeared in the training area, Sheng Jiu suddenly quickened his pace and charged straight at it.
The Tank-type Honkai Beast let out a thunderous roar and swung its foreleg down at Sheng Jiu. With a casual swing of Shadowless, he severed the beast's massive foreleg in an instant. While it was rolling, Sheng Jiu leaped onto its back and drove the blade down hard.
Unlike his first battle against a Tank-type Honkai Beast, Shadowless pierced through it as easily as a knife through butter, effortlessly slicing apart its core. The Honkai Beast cried out, collapsed to the ground, and gradually dissolved into motes of light.
"Haah, haah, haah..." Sheng Jiu let out a long breath and looked at Shadowless in his hand. A ray of sunlight fell across its tip, reflecting a dazzling gleam...
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