High Grade Spirit Roots are not cabbages.
That was my previous belief. Each one of them is guaranteed to reach the Void Refinement Realm given proper training.
Void Refinement Realms are isolated within the worlds' cause and effect. They will survive everywhere they are placed into as they could convert anything to spiritual qi. Their powers affect dozens of galaxies, scaling as far as a huge fraction of the universe at once!
Even in higher dimensions, they are absolute units. Their "isolated" karma makes it possible for them to jump out of "time", revive the deceased, and affect the past and present without repercussions.
Simply put, their powers are unimaginable. Yet, seven of them appeared on Earth.
I have a strong feeling. This world has way more talented people than the ones on other cultivation worlds. Only, their potentials are buried due to the fact they couldn't come in contact with immortal cultivation.
These people are forced to do a warrior build when their godly talents are suited to the mage build.
"You can't do it yourself."
I did not forget to reply to Mei's alter ego.
{"What do you mean I can't?!"}
"Practicing is up to Mei. As long as she becomes stronger, you can withstand more honkai energy."
{"This is frustrating!"}
She crashed out.
"The separation of a natural stigma from its user is still in study. You have to trust Miss Mei's abilities and perseverance."
{"..."}
Mei's alter ego stopped responding. It was then that Mei looked relieved. Her eyes glanced at me.
"...To be honest, my mind is in a mess. But, I know what I should do. Please teach me."
She bowed to my direction.
"Catch this."
"Oh?!"
I threw over a specially made eastern blade to her. Its length is a typical katana.
"Use your swordsmanship on me."
"..?"
Her eyes contained hints of puzzlement.
"Unsheathe it. Strike me."
"..!"
"Don't worry about my well-being."
Knowing her concerns, I took out a similar katana.
Shiing-!
I unsheathed it and grabbed its sharp end with my bare hands.
Then…
Crack-!
Shatter-!
The entire katana—from its grip to its blade—broke into countless small particles. Mei's shocked look is a sight to behold.
"This is the first lesson. Supernatural things exist. Don't try to reason out with your previous common sense. It will cause harm to yourself."
Shi Tian's specialized teaching session began.
*****
"Shishou. May I address you as such?"
"...That's fine."
Mei could not remove her eyes from Shi Tian.
Thirty minutes of punching cotton.
That sums up her experience of hitting him. Not once did she succeed. His reaction and raw speed did not exceed that of an ordinary human's. Yet, he was able to evade all of her strikes.
His every movement seemingly predicted her sword's path like an open book. Shi Tian emanated a mystical aura that 'resonated' with Mei's katana. Every time she felt like understanding what it was, she fell short.
Hence, the thirty minutes of training felt frustrating even to her who has great patience.
"Huff…"
Mei noticed her school uniform sticking to her body due to sweat. Her eyes widened as she saw her curves being highlighted.
Hum-!
Swoosh-!
Under her surprised eyes, the sweat on her body "disappeared". The wet and sticky black school uniform became clean again. It was as if her extensive training did not happen in the first place.
Mei looked at Shi Tian once more.
"It's a spell. Convenient, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"You will have to adjust your training routine. Your focus will be on spiritual qi. Don't think of the honkai for now. Your father gave me your daily schedule and…"
He gave her a set of jade slips, porcelain bottles, written books, and a silver ring. The ring, in particular, is his late second grade storage ring.
Mei saw him store the items he showed to the ring, to which he threw over to her side.
She looked back and forth between Shi Tian and the ring. A surge of heat came to her face.
To this strange and mysterious man, Mei does not know what to feel. She instinctively felt safe with him around.
'Is this… at first sight..?'
{'You weakling. He is the one from two days ago.'}
'..!'
Two days ago.
She recalled those vague memories.
Mei lost consciousness upon inhaling those fog. Her bodyguards are no exception. She felt her entire body being dragged over by someone. She felt the "danger" at that time, but no matter how hard she called for help, she could not speak. Her eyes felt extremely heavy. Her body was not responding to her thoughts.
In this vague "dream", she encountered an aurora. Its presence made her feel very safe.
Turns out, this aurora came from Shi Tian himself!
Mei fell into a daze after that. She bid him farewell, returned to her classroom hungry, and went back home. Her thoughts are mostly related to her shishou.
Only when she sat on her bed did she receive a moment of repose.
"It is him…" Mei finally registered Shi Tian's first words a few hours ago. "He came because of father."
She opened her phone and messaged her father.
Seeing him reply positively to their dinner tonight, Mei looked forward to it.
*****
Ryoma is clueless about his daughter's current state. His thoughts went to the conversation he had with Welt Yang two days ago.
"I understand your concern. However, you could have placed your daughter in danger."
Raiden Mei's status as the carrier of a Gem was revealed to the Sovereign. Ryoma knew the one who reported him is none other than Shi Tian, Anti-Entropy's mysterious partner.
Welt Yang, Tesla, and Einstein trusted him. The rest did not matter. As such, there is sparse information about Shi Tian prior to his meeting with Kiana.
Ryoma knew the Sovereign's status as a Herrscher. He also knew about Kiana's status as another human-aligned Herrscher. Shi Tian is also a Herrscher, just like them.
When he knew that Shi Tian has got something to do with the recently developed honkai corruption cure, Ryoma knew there was something else with Shi Tian.
That was when the said person approached him today. He appeared out of nowhere and knocked on Ryoma's office.
"I can help her grasp her powers. I told Mister Yang about it and he agreed."
When it comes to honkai-related matters, a Herrscher is definitely the best. He is also trusted by the Anti-Entropy trio. Ryoma knew the three of them very well—their trust is reserved to trustworthy people.
As such, Ryoma agreed to the tutoring.
Facing this ever-changing world filled with threatening dangers…
"I hope you can protect yourself."
…all that mattered was his daughter.