Rita Rossweise.
Schicksal's former S Rank Valkyrie. An exclusive assistant answering the Overseer's calls. When Schicksal was integrated into the Federation, she became the highest ranking officer for General Affairs. Halfway through, she also became one of the four Vice Sect Masters of the Wushi Dao Sect.
The fact she is able to manage between these two roles spoke volumes of her capabilities. One is the management of the general public. The other is the management of high-level immortal cultivators.
Rita's management capabilities even earned her a title: Immortal Secretariat.
Unbeknownst to the outside world, her thoughts often wandered somewhere else.
'Shi Tian, the First Immortal…'
Oftentimes, she acquired the classified information opened to her level. Her investigation of Shi Tian's early life up until the battle on the Moon is extremely meticulous, all for a single reason:
Bianka mentioned his name hundreds of times.
'Two meetings. Is it worth it to be remembered like that..?'
Every time she heard of the name from Bianka, she could see a strong pursuit of Shi Tian's back. Bianka trained relentlessly just to reach his level. This obsession became particularly stronger without the Honkai's crisis.
As a responsible maid who took care of Bianka for years, Rita felt obligated to study about him.
Then…
She saw who he truly is.
His presence is enough to be etched onto one's mind. Nobody will forget about someone like him. Objectively, he possessed the most perfect proportions, akin to a work of nature. Subjectively, every gesture of his held a hint of his charm.
Appearances aside, Shi Tian emanated a peaceful and quiet aura. It was a far cry from the authoritative aura she imagined. This forced Rita to reconsider her prior findings.
Fortunately, she was able to take care of their first meeting by judging his character cues. She did not force onto the role of a maid, but more of a friend.
'Decisive. Friendly. Humble. Has no inclinations over status. Authority… he prefers to leave it in the background.'
The more she learned during their conversation, the more convinced she became:
This is the man who saved the world.
'No wonder…'
With Bianka's pure mentality, Shi Tian has become a goal she wanted to be equal with, if not surpass. Her awakening came from the moment of her teacher's death. Only with power can one protect what they love—to prevent the malicious darkness from taking them away. She also learned that the world is not purely black and white. Without power, they need to compromise.
Rita is the one who witnessed all of it, hence her unprecedented care towards the strong girl.
"I want you to take up the Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough materials."
Shi Tian's words halted her thoughts.
'So it is this matter…'
Rita did not show it outwardly, but she felt somewhat apprehensive about it. Immortal cultivation alone is a miraculous art, and Shi Tian is willing to share it to everyone. Not only that, he also risked his life to fight for humanity. He even gave away resources without any restraints.
Compared to what the others did, equivalent exchange is practically nonexistent. Shi Tian is a living, benevolent saint who did everything for humanity's benefits. At the very least, that was how Rita saw him.
It wasn't just her. Many people who knew the inside story (i.e., Schicksal and Anti-Entropy) saw it like that. Nobody opposed Sin Mal's nigh-glazing behavior when she wrote Shi Tian's history, partly because of this. Though there is also the factor of her being one of the few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators at that time.
Given such circumstances, the best they could do is to govern and push Earth into a positive direction. Everyone worked hard with that as their driving force.
It is precisely because of this that they could not bring themselves to ask for more. It is a matter of principles.
"I know what you are thinking. Resources… I have too many of them. It is better, in my opinion, to turn them into tangible impacts. It's not like I would break through the Nascent Soul Realm again, would I?"
Shi Tian did not pull any stops. He addressed her internal conflicts in one go.
"It's not like I wouldn't benefit from it. Do you remember the time you awakened your spirit roots?"
"Yes. You appeared at that time."
Nihility struck him hard back then. It caused the loss of all traces of his spiritual consciousness in the outside world.
After an opportunity, he was able to momentarily reach the eighth level Tao Heart, World Rendering Sword. Shi Tian was able to call forth the power of a Dao Integration Realm expert at that time, allowing him to obliterate Nihility's traces connected to him for good. He used its remaining power to erect a temporary barrier during Kiana's Embrace.
The last remaining bits were transferred to the Spirit Root Awakening Devices, thus replacing the traces of spiritual consciousness that were destroyed.
"You asked me if I was willing to become your partner."
"Partners benefit from each other. When I become stronger, you also become stronger. The same applies when reversed. I receive a tangible benefit whenever you become stronger…"
Shi Tian is aware that Rita knows the specifics. The traces of his spiritual consciousness explained the full extent of becoming his Partners. Nevertheless, it is different with him personally explaining things.
'He is trying to make himself look more selfish, but…'
The more Shi Tian acted honest and sincere, the higher Rita's impression became. She had seen many people. Out of them all, only Shi Tian can lay himself as openly as this. Coupled with his feats and sacrifices, Rita's impression of him is unshakeably good. Even if the relationship between 'friends' is considered, it is still a feat nobody can achieve…
Nobody except Bianka.
"I will accept it, Sect Master."
Shi Tian felt lighter when he resolved one of his pending issues. A vague intuition appeared in his heart, though he was too preoccupied on other things to notice.
"That's right. I have something else to ask. Have you heard of the Tao Conference Plan from Miss Hua?"
"I have heard of it."
"Can we set a specific date around it? I am planning to hold it before breaking through." He paused before adding, "Part of my efforts to strengthen Earth is due to the situation outside."
Paths, Aeons, and huge cosmic organizations spanning the entire universe. On the face of it, Earth is nothing but a speck of dust… at least for now.
"We can set a final date in three years. The sect will announce it and have people be ready for it."
"That works. Thanks for the hard work, Vice Sect Master."