Fu Hua experienced a lot of things ever since Shi Tian came back. She realized the [Sword Nurturing Pagoda] without becoming a real immortal cultivator. It was brought purely by her mental state and mental power.
Since her [Blade Mantra] was fully healed by her [Sword Heart], the [Sword Nurturing Pagoda] began pushing her towards the next level, [True Form].
Her new mental state also came with it. Her "frustration" and "regrets" over a few thousand years gave birth to "Senti" during the breakthrough.
In a similar manner as Shi Tian, the Will of Honkai supported Senti's birth, henceforth giving her a new Herrscher Core.
Unfortunately, its effort went for naught. It got scammed twice by immortal cultivators. Senti got sealed inside the Herrscher Stigma Space.
After a month, Fu Hua managed to wrestle half of the control over the Herrscher Core. What came next are her plans regarding the future.
She resolved herself to not follow her previous path. Blindly following Doctor MEI and Otto Apocalypse result in regrets. She wanted to try once more—to make change on her initiative.
Assisting Shi Tian in carrying out his plans are but a part of it. If she blindly followed him only, it would make no difference in what she's aiming for. She wanted to enact Senti's long-desired freedom to do something on her own.
Shi Tian understood it and gave out some useful suggestions.
The one that impacted her the most is the notion of becoming a teacher again.
"Su mentioned that your Project Ember did not end well. Have you tried to utilize the honkai's loophole?"
"Loophole..?"
"It becomes stronger with the progress of civilization. It does not pay attention to individual progress. Teaching a dozen people to become as strong as Herrschers is more useful than disseminating future tech en masse."
There are a lot of problems with that suggestion. Just the problem of determining people's talent in honkai is a huge problem. There is also the issue of whether they can find enough people to master the [Blade Mantra] to fight against Herrschers.
Things change with immortal cultivation, however.
It is easy to screen talented people by looking at their original honkai adaptability. Everyone with Spirit Roots has sufficient talent in honkai. Foundation Establishment grants a combat power similar to an S Rank Valkyrie, which fulfills the conditions stated above.
Thus, it is easy to select a dozen people with high talents and avoid the honkai's civilization proportionality law. The Will of Honkai is merely a spokesperson of the Cocoon; it cannot arbitrarily go beyond its pre-determined rules.
If it could, Shi Tian's huge "disturbance" would have triggered it.
"You can also join us in teaching other students." He said. "Apply to become an instructor at the Far East branch."
"Otto's granddaughter?"
"Yes. She's sincere when it comes to teaching the valkyries."
Just like that, the prospects of becoming a teacher again no longer felt as bad as before.
Fu Hua soon came with Shi Tian to complete her breakthrough. That was when she saw Sin Mal and Raiden Mei for the first time.
Their extremely high talents surprised her. Fu Hua looked at Shi Tian with a renewed look.
'He's teaching others too…'
She understood why he could empathize with her when it comes to being a teacher. Moreover, Shi Tian is pulling off what she could not do. Sin Mal and Mei have a good relationship with him, unlike Fu Hua who was estranged with her disciples due to her 'Discipline'.
Fu Hua watched silently as they progressed with their own things. It did not take long before the spar between the two girls ended.
She saw Shi Tian take out his blade.
"Miss Hua. Care for a spar?"
"Hm."
She did not hesitate to agree.
One of the things she came to like is immortal cultivation's progressiveness. Her practice is rewarded with proportional rewards. It was completely unlike her time as the Empyrean when her strength 'stagnated'.
Fighting with Shi Tian is a way to verify her current strength.
From the peak second grade storage ring he gave, she took out a familiar blue sword. It was the weapon wielded by her last disciple, Chen Lixue. She died under Sirin's hands while trying to protect Fu Hua.
The most painful thing was how Fu Hua forgot about her when she used [Blade Eminence].
In the end, she reclaimed her Key of Domination stored within Schicksal's HQ and made it her own.
When she heard about the opportunity to make this sword stronger by turning it into a spiritual sword, Fu Hua agreed.
Swoosh-!
The two of them formed a distance of one kilometer. Shi Tian's outward pressure stabilized at the middle Foundation Establishment Realm—his body, qi, and mind being on that level.
The spectators, Sin Mal and Mei, watched everything from ten kilometers away. They instinctively felt the "spar" would not be simple.
Cling-!
The bells' chime resounded. Fu Hua's [Sword Nurturing Pagoda] has been fully unleashed.
Crack-!
Lines of cracks immediately appeared on the ice's surface. It is followed by a loud sonic boom.
Fu Hua's figure flew extremely fast. The distance of a kilometer is useless in the face of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
'How will he move?'
Upward strike?
Downward strike?
Diagonal strike?
Feint?
…
By the time she arrived in front of him, she was stunned to see Shi Tian's move. It was the same as hers: a direct vertical strike.
Clang-!
Bam-!
Shi Tian's blade staved off some force by sliding it off of hers. By doing so, she was forced to be wary of his blade. It caused her to lose the momentum she built up.
Screech-!
Shi Tian was forced to slide back a dozen meters or so.
Fu Hua met his eyes.
Shiing-!
She skillfully moved her grasp and escaped the deadlock. She attempted to stab his throat with zero hesitation.
Shockingly, Shi Tian pulled off the very same actions she did.
Clang-!
Fu Hua was forced to retreat to a defensive posture. She parried the tip of his blade and stepped back a few steps.
The same events continued. Shi Tian kept mimicking Fu Hua's moves. Only, he always utilizes a flaw she did not notice.
By the time she adapts to these flaws, he shows her a new one. This never ending cycle forced her to defend passively.
Although they possessed the same capabilities, Fu Hua lost. She went against her every move and lost. The destruction they ensued is enough to destroy an entire city. It was fortunate they fought in the Antarctic.
Fu Hua felt lighter, but at the same time, more serious.
"How did you do it?" She asked.
The man who wore a simple gray overcoat in the Antarctic received her gaze.
"It's both from a technique and my knowledge."
Aside from the [Daluo Sword Art] that breaks down an opponent's sword techniques, there are also a bunch of practical sword experiences passed down by the golden orb. These are pure technical sword fights that involve the use of swords, nothing else. It is akin to diaries to which sword cultivators write down their combat logs.
There are no supernatural powers in use, not even one's sword cultivation.
The higher one's realm, the better their physical and mental capabilities become. As such, the simple ways of stabbing, striking, and parrying are expounded into more complex patterns like semi-strike that faints, a stab parry, and so on.
Shi Tian ended up reading a lot of those. He is eager to put it into practice but has no one to use it with. He didn't expect for Fu Hua to turn out to be an excellent partner.
"One more time." She spoke.
"As you wish."
The two sword cultivators' fight started once more.