The Emperor-class Honkai Beast roared, its voice shaking the entire cavern.
Frost spread rapidly beneath its feet, creeping along the ground like living veins of ice.
Hua didn't respond.
Instead, she moved.
In a single motion, she stepped onto the altar and lifted the unconscious girl into her arms. The moment she did—
SHRIEEK—!
A spear of condensed ice shot from the beast's mouth, tearing through the air toward her.
Hua raised her free hand.
Clang.
The projectile shattered on contact, fragments scattering like broken glass.
Without wasting a second, she vanished.
"Zhaoyu."
She reappeared beside her disciple.
Lin Zhaoyu was still frozen in place, her eyes wide, breath uneven—the sheer presence of the Honkai beast pressing down on her instincts.
"Zhaoyu."
Hua's voice sharpened.
That was enough.
Zhaoyu flinched, snapping back to reality. "Y-Yes, Master!"
Hua placed the unconscious girl into her arms.
"Take her. Leave. Now."
Another roar thundered behind them.
Zhaoyu hesitated for a moment her eyes flickering between the child in her arms and her master.
Then she nodded firmly.
"…Understood."
Without another word, she turned and ran toward the tunnel they had entered from, her steps quick but steady despite the chaos behind her.
Hua watched her go and only when Zhaoyu disappeared into the darkness did she turn back.
Now…
There were no more distractions.
THUD.
A massive claw came crashing down toward her.
But instead of flesh tearing—
CLANG.
The sound echoed like steel striking steel.
Hua stood unmoved, her bare hand gripping the creature's claw mid-swing. Her expression remained calm as her crimson eyes locked onto the beast.
"I don't know how you managed to cross into this world…"
Her grip tightened.
"…but your existence is not welcome here."
With a sharp twist, she kicked forward.
CRACK.
The force sent the massive body flying backward, but not before the limb she held tore clean off from its body.
Blackened crystal and corrupted flesh split apart.
Hua tossed the severed limb aside like it was nothing.
The beast roared—this time not in dominance, but in pain.
It learned quickly.
Charging recklessly would only lead to death.
So it changed tactics.
Honkai energy gathered within its jaws, condensing into a violent, unstable mass. Instead of aiming at Hua—
It tilted its head upward.
The ceiling.
It intended to bury her alive.
Hua's eyes flickered.
Predictable.
Before the beast could release it—
She was already in front of it.
Her leg rose and struck.
BOOM.
The kick snapped the beast's jaw shut.
The unstable energy detonated inside its own mouth.
A muffled explosion tore through its skull, sending it staggering backward as a distorted wail escaped its throat.
Hua didn't pause.
Golden light gathered in her hand—rippling, flowing, taking form.
A blade.
Forged of pure, condensed Qi.
Its glow illuminated the cavern, cutting through the cold, suffocating darkness.
In a single step, she closed the distance.
The honkai beast tried to recover.
The golden blade traced a flawless arc.
SHHHK.
A clean strike.
The beast screamed, its body convulsing as cracks of golden light spread across its form.
Hua's voice followed, quiet… absolute.
"Die."
She swung again.
This time.
For its head.
Just as Hua's blade descended—
The world… stopped.
Sound vanished. Motion ceased.
And in its place—
A white, endless space.
Hua stood still, her sword frozen mid-swing. The air felt… empty. Not calm, not peaceful but hollow. As if existence itself had been stripped away, leaving only silence behind.
Then she saw it.
Far ahead, suspended in that void.
A single, enormous purple eye.
Watching her.
Hua's gaze hardened, instinctively sharpening.
It's watching… me?
Before she could react.
The world snapped back.
SHHHK.
Her blade completed its arc.
The Emperor-class Honkai Beast's head split cleanly apart.
Its body trembled for a brief moment before collapsing, its form dissolving into drifting particles of corrupted energy that faded into nothingness.
Silence returned to the cavern.
Hua stood still, her sword dispersing into golden light.
"…Hmph."
She glanced at where the beast had been.
Weaker than expected.
Then again… it made sense.
Honkai strength was often proportional to the advancement of civilization. This world though rich in elemental energy but lacked the technological height that typically nurtured stronger manifestations.
So even an Emperor-class beast…
Was still incomplete.
But that wasn't what troubled her.
Hua's expression darkened.
"The Honkai has noticed this world…"
That was the real problem.
Her fingers curled slightly.
This was no longer coincidence.
Her gaze shifted.
The corpses.
Dozens of them—scattered across the ritual chamber.
And now…
They moved.
Faint twitches at first. Fingers curling. Limbs jerking unnaturally as corrupted energy seeped into their remains.
Puppets.
Hollow vessels stirred by lingering Honkai influence.
Hua exhaled slowly.
Golden Qi gathered around her once more.
The corpses staggered toward her, slow and broken.
She didn't step back.
Instead, she raised her hand.
"…May your next life be kinder."
Above ground—
Lin Zhaoyu stood at the entrance, her grip tightening around the unconscious girl in her arms.
Her eyes remained fixed on the dark tunnel.
She trusted her master.
She knew her master was strong.
And yet…
Her chest felt heavy.
"…Master…"
She glanced down at the girl. Breathing stable. No visible corruption.
Good.
Zhaoyu took a step forward.
I should go back and help—
Then—
The sky split.
A beam of light tore through the clouds, descending like divine judgment.
Zhaoyu froze.
From that opening—
A massive sword emerged.
It descended slowly at first, radiating overwhelming pressure. Its form was elegant, ancient… and unmistakable.
Taixuan.
Zhaoyu's eyes widened.
"…Master's technique?"
The sword fell.
BOOM.
The impact swallowed everything.
Wind roared outward, forcing Zhaoyu to shield her face as the world trembled under the force of the strike.
Then—
Silence.
When she lowered her arm—
The village was gone.
No buildings. No ruins.
Only ash.
A barren expanse where life had once existed.
Yet somehow—
She remained unharmed.
Zhaoyu blinked.
A translucent barrier shimmered around her and the girl, fading slowly like morning mist.
Footsteps.
Soft. Measured.
She turned.
Hua walked toward her from the distance, her expression calm but her eyes… was Cold.
"Let's go home," Hua said.
No explanation of what had just occurred.
Zhaoyu hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded.
"…Yes, Master."
She followed behind, carrying the unconscious child in her arms.
---------------divide------------------
Four days.
Fu Hua had not moved from her seat.
She sat in her usual place within the courtyard, where the wind brushed gently through the open space and the faint scent of tea leaves lingered in the air. The cup before her had long gone cold, untouched.
Her eyes remained half-lidded, yet her mind was anything but at rest.
The destruction of the village… replayed itself again and again.
Not the act itself.
But what came after.
The Honkai.
Too soon.
Far too soon.
"…Tsk."
Her fingers tightened slightly against her sleeve.
She had anticipated it after all the gradual increase of Honkai energy over the years was impossible to ignore. Ever since her arrival in this world, the balance had been shifting.
But this…
This level of manifestation?
It meant only one thing.
Honkai had begun to notice this world.
Her thoughts drifted back
To that moment.
Fu Hua's gaze darkened.
"Ignore it," she muttered under her breath.
Speculation without information was meaningless.
Slowly, she exhaled, letting the tension bleed out of her posture.
If she continued like this, her disciples would notice.
And that… would complicate things.
She rose.
The movement was subtle, almost silent—but after four days of stillness, even that felt like a shift in the world itself.
Her steps carried her toward the training grounds.
The rhythmic sound of movement reached her first.
Footsteps.
Breathing.
Wood striking wood.
Fu Hua paused at the edge of the field.
Lin Zhaoyu stood at the center, posture straight, movements precise. In front of her, the two younger disciples Jiang Wanxi and Jiang Wanru mirrored her actions with varying degrees of success.
"Lower your stance," Zhaoyu instructed, tapping Wanru's leg lightly with a wooden staff. "If your foundation is unstable, everything else will collapse."
Wanru corrected herself immediately.
Wanxi, on the other hand, gritted her teeth, clearly pushing her limits.
Fu Hua watched in silence.
Zhaoyu has improved.
Not just in strength but in presence.
A teacher now, not merely a student.
Her gaze lingered on her first disciple for a moment longer.
It had been some time since she advanced Zhaoyu's training.
Form Type 2—Energy Techniques.
She had already taught her how to sense and guide energy… even to the point of controlling a flying sword.
But beyond that—
Nothing.
"…A blade formed from Qi."
Fu Hua murmured softly.
Zhaoyu was approaching that threshold.
Soon.
Her attention shifted.
The two younger disciples—
Still too early.
Their bodies had yet to reach the standard required for Form Type 1: Body Techniques. For now, discipline and foundation were enough.
Zhaoyu could handle them.
Fu Hua turned away.
One absence caught her attention.
"…Su Mei."
Not at the training ground.
Unusual.
That girl was rarely absent unless she had a reason.
Fu Hua said nothing, but her steps subtly changed direction.
Toward the main building.
-----------divide-----------
(A/n: guess who the unconscious girl)