I looked at the slowed down spiritual artifact and made my decision.
Against Kevin, I only utilized the capabilities of my Herrscher Core. I reached the output of 20,000 HW. That wasn't my limit, still.
Today, it was released.
30,000 HW.
It is the equivalent of three six-cored Sirins.
Purple lines began to show on my physical body.
Stuffing my body with 30,000 HW is the norm. It is the only way my body gets tempered and becomes stronger.
Unleashing 30,000 HW per second is a different thing, however. It is akin to experiencing a tempering session every second.
The purple lines receded after using [Blade Mantra]. Aside from its mental power boost, its main use is to control imaginary energy. Honkai energy originated from that. It raised the limits of which I can bear.
{Single-Point Output: 50,000 HW}
My mind multitasked. Honkai energy stayed within my radius. Everything else was cut off and turned into pure spiritual qi.
I looked at Kiana. She already stepped outside my radius.
I am a walking honkai energy reactor. One wrong move and I might do ten times worse than Sirin's core cascading. It won't be one continent anymore, but multiple of them being destroyed.
Fuzz-!
The temperature around me reached absolute zero. Yet, I still can't find the 'feeling' of "awakening".
There are two cases of 'awakening' in-game: Bronya and Mei. The former turned Reason into Truth. The latter turned Thunder into Origin.
Bronya's route followed the traditional one. Truth stemmed from Reason.
On the other hand, Mei did not. It is her will that turned her into the Herrscher of Origin.
Two routes with no notable similarities…
Just then, something caught my eyes.
My Spirit Roots.
I did not mind them much. The creation of Five Elements Yin Spirit Root takes hundreds, if not thousands of years. I accepted the fact that I won't be able to finish this during the fight with honkai.
Things changed with the appearance of the Herrscher Core. It induced the birth of Five Elements Yin Spirit Root. It was low grade at first, but then it evolved to middle grade during these ten days.
The Herrscher Core is akin to a rare spiritual material that boosts the birth of Spirit Roots.
Under my incredulous eyes, the middle grade spirit roots started to grow at a fast rate.
The Dao of Ice soon followed. The light blue supernatural seed resonated with the usage of my Herrscher Core and my Spirit Roots.
This strange resonance created a clicking sound in my head. The world around me slowed down drastically. It is no longer Kiana's Global Time Fracture that did things.
It's me.
My heart skipped a beat.
I am familiar with what's happening. When I realized the Dao of Causality, things worked like this.
However, this one feels more different.
It's akin to… stagnation.
Quantum Zero-Point Energy.
…
The world came to a freezing halt. I entered the "awakening" state I longed for.
The moment I touched the gray spiritual artifact, I saw the three souls residing within. I deliberately chose Sirin's collapsing soul.
A thin layer of ice covered her entire being.
{State: Frozen by Nascent Soul-level Dharma Law…}
Nascent Soul…
I knew it.
Just then, I felt the duration of my special state ending.
Click-!
I lost control of my body and fell down to the ground. The surrounding honkai energy disappeared.
"Hey!"
Kiana rushed to my side. She did not forget to catch the falling ancestral tablet.
"It's… good. I can recover…"
My body and mind are thoroughly exhausted by entering the "awakening state".
Purple Mansion bears Supernatural Seeds.
Golden Core bears Supernatural Powers.
Nascent Soul bears Dharma Avatars.
These three correspond to Dao Rhymes, Dao Laws, and Dharma Laws, respectively.
I skipped two major realms and forcefully utilized Dharma Laws. Honkai is extremely absurd in this aspect.
It took an entire hour to recover from physical and mental fatigue.
After comforting the Tuna, I inspected the ancestral tablet and found Sirin's soul in a frozen state. It could not be affected by the outside world—not even me.
Just like that, today's crisis came to a pass.
*****
***
*
One month later.
Antarctica's honkai emissions are extremely high. The place was surrounded with thick concentrations of honkai energy. The glaciers formed over the course of fifty thousand years contained trace amounts of the honkai.
As such, Antarctica is not open for tourists' visits. It is one of the few places that is known as a deadly spot.
Four new visitors landed on this exact place.
"It's not that cold…"
Sin Mal observed their surroundings. The feeling of being teleported away in an instant is still novel to her.
Her mutterings did not earn any reaction from the two other girls. Fu Hua and Mei stayed in their personal spaces. Nobody knew each other until now.
The three shared one similarity:
Completing the entire Qi Refining Realm.
The previous record was eight months, which was done by Kiana. Shi Tian's seven months came next.
This record was rewritten by Fu Hua who managed to complete it in twenty days. Sin Mal followed next at twenty-eight days, and then Raiden Mei at the thirtieth day. [Xiutian Art] is a huge hack in this regard.
'I am their cultivation hack…' He thought. 'I can see how it works now…'
Shi Tian's current realm amplified the experience potions brought by the [Xiutian Art]. Add to that ample first grade resources, it wasn't surprising to see the trio finish the entire Qi Refining Realm in a month.
It forms a positive cycle on his end. The ones contracted by his [Xiutian Art] will have insane cultivation speeds until they reach his major realm. Once they reach the same major realm as his, it becomes their turn to contribute to Shi Tian's cultivation speed.
This ensures Shi Tian will come up first. He will then pull them up to his major realm. This cycle continues over and over again.
His Qi Realm reached the late stage of Purple Mansion Realm after consuming the others' accumulated Tao Gifts. It is a testament as to how much he underestimated this cultivation technique.
Reaching the Golden Core Realm within two years might not be impossible. Honkai's hacks, [Xiutian Art], and their base talents make it possible.
'This should be enough.'
Shi Tian watched as the surrounding honkai energy was changed into spiritual qi. Its sheer density is comparable to a low fourth grade spirit vein.
When it comes to spiritual qi, this world outclasses any other cultivation worlds by several dozen miles.
"Miss Hua. You can go first."
"Hum."
She nodded and flew to the sky. The specifics of breaking into the Foundation Establishment Realm was already explained to her a few days ago. Such is also the case for Sin Mal and Raiden Mei.
"You can watch her, especially you."
He pointed out to Mei.
"Your cultivation techniques are all about lightning. You can take advantage of your tribulation to better understand them."
"Yes."
"What about me? You won't say anything?"
Sin Mal suddenly interrupted.
"Just do your best."
"..."