Fu Hua truly had no way of dealing with Leo Ash's currently crazed state of mind.
Two years ago, Leo Ash's parents had died before his very eyes because of the Honkai.
And now, two years later, Leo Ash had gone to Nagazora City to fight the Honkai, only to witness the atrocities Cocolia was committing.
Worse still, Cocolia's actions had nearly gotten him killed in Nagazora City.
Whether from a sense of justice or a personal vendetta, Leo Ash's reaction at this moment was completely normal.
As for the fact that Cocolia had intensified the hatred for the Honkai in his heart, that was a story for later.
This woman... I heard her nickname back in the day was the Fox of Anti-Entropy, so how is it that every single thing she does is more idiotic than the last?
"Alright, come with me."
After having Leo Ash sit on the bed, Fu Hua once again took his wrist.
A minute or so later, Fu Hua muttered to herself in resignation.
"Ever since your battle with Chiyou two days ago, I knew it would come to this."
"No matter how much of a prodigy you are, the time you've spent cultivating the Edge of Taixu is, in the end, far too short."
"Even with Mei helping to guide you and the Key of Domination helping to convert the power, your comprehension of the Heart Skandha and Spirit Skandha is still insufficient for you to perfectly control this Honkai Energy."
*No, no, no, you've got it all wrong.*
Listening to Fu Hua's incredibly self-reproachful words, Leo Ash really wanted to tell her that this was all a complete misunderstanding.
After sleeping normally last night, Leo Ash had woken up in the early morning as usual.
The only difference was that, having mastered the Phantasmagoria Dream Training Method, Leo Ash had cast Phantasmagoria on himself again after waking up and confirming that his body was basically fine.
Fu Hua believed the turmoil in Leo Ash's energy was a result of the battle in Jiuyou two days ago.
But in reality, it was the result of the training Leo Ash had just put himself through.
In fact, if just a little more time had passed, his body would have returned to its normal state even if he hadn't regulated his breathing himself.
But right at that moment, Fu Hua had returned.
Watching Fu Hua place her hands on his body, what else could Leo Ash say?
If he spoke up now, Fu Hua would probably just think, *'How does this kid even have a resistance to Fenghuang Down?'*, and then hit him with another dose of it.
Fu Hua already sustained internal injuries every time she used Fenghuang Down. If she were to do it a second time...
*Hmm, no, wait. Fu Hua probably used the feathers when fighting the Pseudo-Herrscher yesterday.*
Using Fenghuang Down three times in twenty-four hours... Leo Ash figured if Fu Hua really did hit him with it again, she'd probably collapse on the floor and start coughing up pieces of her internal organs the moment she was done.
*Forget it. I'll just stay put.*
From Fu Hua's perspective, the disorder in Leo Ash's energy wasn't too severe.
So, relying on her familiarity with the Edge of Taixu, she precisely guided the true qi in Leo Ash's body, gradually calming the turbulent energy.
After she finished, Fu Hua nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
*Dammit, the last time I used the feathers was yesterday... Using them consecutively has placed too severe a burden on my body.*
*I can't collapse again. If I do, no matter how much I insist, Major Himeko won't let me return to the front lines.*
In the past, Fu Hua would have worried about being unable to complete her mission due to her promise to Otto.
But now, looking at the young man before her who had nearly fallen to the dark side because of her, Fu Hua only felt one thing—she had to take responsibility for him.
The Edge of Taixu was undoubtedly a powerful 'martial art,' but great power inevitably came with great danger.
Leo Ash's own martial arts talent was frighteningly high.
But precisely because of this, in Fu Hua's eyes, if the fundamentally unstable Leo Ash continued to act so recklessly, the possibility of him falling to the dark side in the future would only grow.
At that point, a young hero who sought to fight the Honkai would have degenerated into a demon on the side of the Honkai because of her...
Thinking of certain terrifying images, Fu Hua shook her head, forcing these unwanted futures from her mind.
Not only could she not withdraw from the front lines now, but she also had to stay by Leo Ash's side at all times.
Otherwise, the next time Leo Ash acted recklessly, she might not be in time to help him regulate his energy, thus allowing him to step into a dangerous state.
"Student Leo Ash."
Looking at Leo Ash, whose eyes remained vacant, Fu Hua was truly hesitant about whether she should continue to teach him the subsequent knowledge of the Edge of Taixu.
However, seeing the boy before her who had trusted her, only to have his mind manipulated by her, Fu Hua still couldn't stop herself.
*So be it. It's too late to put on the brakes now.*
*I can only guide him back from this divergent path before my body gives out completely.*
"Your progress in learning the Edge of Taixu has been remarkably swift, but I still hope you will stabilize your foundation before you attempt to cultivate the most difficult part, the Spirit Skandha."
"Dangerous actions like absorbing a Herrscher's power and simulating the Spirit Skandha to attack must never be repeated."
"I understand."
Although he was under the control of Fenghuang Down, when Fu Hua heard his reply, she couldn't help but feel that his tone was off.
His response made her feel as if he was just like before—humbly accepting her advice with no intention of changing his ways.
*Leo Ash, could he really...*
Leaning her face close to Leo Ash's handsome one, Fu Hua began to carefully examine the young man before her.
Unfortunately for her, with the Title: Cold, Handsome Man, no matter how panicked Leo Ash was on the inside as Fu Hua drew near, he showed no outward signs of alarm.
"Mm, I must be overthinking things."
"In any case, today you must finish learning the two remaining sword forms, Transform and Guard."
"Yes."
Over the next half hour, Fu Hua imparted the two remaining sword forms to Leo Ash.
Watching him effortlessly grasp the rudiments of these forms, Fu Hua could only sigh in admiration. The man was a natural-born martial arts genius.
In fact, if Fu Hua hadn't detected the disorder in his true qi, given Leo Ash's current rate of cultivating the Sword Heart to the second level of the Heart Skandha in just ten days, it was only a matter of time before his mastery of the sword qi surpassed her own.
But in Fu Hua's fragmented memories, the predecessor of the Heart Skandha, the Divine Voice, had once led to tragedy because of the actions of a friend.
Leo Ash's current state was just like the Fu Hua of the past and the perpetrators in those tragedies; his mind was gradually being controlled by obsession.
It was precisely for this reason that Fu Hua felt a sense of guilt even after imparting power to Leo Ash.
With a heart full of helplessness and remorse, Fu Hua dragged her slow steps and left the hotel with Leo Ash.
She wanted to force her body to keep moving, but after leaving the hotel, in a deserted street, Fu Hua could no longer hold on. She slid down a wall, coughed up blood, and fainted.
As Fu Hua collapsed, Leo Ash immediately rushed to her side and looked at the pale-faced woman.
Then, after a moment's hesitation, he aimed at Fu Hua's body and, with all his strength, activated Powerful Healing Spell.
[As the holy light descends, you can feel the mana in your body draining away. If this continues, you'll be sucked dry before you can heal her injuries.]
*It's fine. I still have this.*
Taking out the Divine Dragon's Ancient Water, Leo Ash drank it all as his mana was about to run out.
But even after his mana was replenished, he could still feel it rapidly depleting.
*Right. Even Siegfried, a 'MANTIS' whose bloodline has been diluted who-knows-how-many-times, required a large amount of my mana to heal. Of course Fu Hua, a 'first-generation MANTIS' from fifty thousand years ago, would require even more mana than I imagined.*
[At this moment, your heart can't help but be filled with regret.]
[This is clearly a chance to raise your favorability, yet the other party has no idea what price you are paying for her.]
*Regret my ass. I'm not doing this for something like that.*
[Oh? Then what for? Not to raise favorability, but to risk exposing your cheat and bet that Fu Hua won't snitch to Otto?]
[Even without this system reminding you, you should know this will increase your survival risk.]
*She's risking her life to help me because of a misunderstanding I caused. If I get hung up on these things at a time like this—am I even human?*
*I may be a deceiver, but that doesn't mean I've abandoned the parts of me that make me human.*
*She's been good to me, and I have the ability to heal her, but I don't use it because of something like this...*
*—I refuse to do something so ungrateful.*
*Besides, if she's really suspicious when she wakes up, I can just bluff my way through it with Ji Lin's Stigmata. Nobody knows what abilities Ji Lin's Stigmata has anyway, so I can just make something up. After all, the level of power I've displayed has already defied Otto's common sense. Is he really going to start doubting the Fenghuang Down he trusts so implicitly just because I have an extra healing spell?*
[Good point.]
*And besides—the fact that you didn't give me a warning is the most reassuring proof of all.*
[Hey! Are you using this system as a radar!]
Watching Leo Ash help Fu Hua up, the System spoke, annoyed.
[This system is getting angry! I'm really getting angry!]
*And?*
[Just kidding. There are plenty of people worse than you. A trick of this level doesn't even count as exploiting a loophole.]
[In the past, some people thought they could exploit this system's reward mechanism with certain methods to farm rewards. In the end, they courted death and died on the road... Heh. Compared to those people who constantly danced on this system's bottom line, a guy like you with an unexpected sense of integrity is truly a rare sight.]
*Well, thank you for the compliment.*
*To be honest, I'm terrified of dying. You, of all people, should know that better than anyone. But now that some things aren't as important anymore, I think I can relax a little.*
*In a way, I've already become a part of Otto's plan. Heh, perhaps even that man now genuinely doesn't want me to die out there.*
After finishing the healing spell, Leo Ash looked at Fu Hua in his arms and let out a helpless sigh.
If he were just looking at this exhausted face, Leo Ash truly couldn't connect this 'young girl' with the invincible immortal who had guarded Shenzhou for countless years.
In the end, before being a warrior, Fu Hua was also just a human.
Even if she had merged with the genes of a Honkai Beast.
Even if she had crossed two eras, she was still the same person she had always been.
A person with a heart of justice, forced onto a battlefield she should never have stepped on.
For the sake of her dear friends' wishes, she constantly pushed herself, forcing herself to do things to the best of her ability.
Perhaps only now, unconscious from her severe injuries, could she truly let down her guard and relax.
*Honkai...*
Looking at the helpless yet peaceful Fu Hua before him, Leo Ash realized that he had never, in this moment, hated the Honkai so much.
If the Honkai phenomenon didn't exist, this world would still have natural and man-made disasters, but a world without the Honkai would surely have far fewer tragedies.
Fu Hua's tragedy was just one small part of it.
In these countless cycles, people's homes were destroyed and their lives were taken by the Honkai.
In the end, humanity could only hold its nose and be forced to coexist with this massive piece of trash that had slaughtered countless innocents...
*—Are you fucking kidding me.*
At this moment, Fu Hua, who was slowly waking up under the effects of the healing spell, opened her eyes to see a pair of pupils filled with rage and loathing.
"Student Leo Ash..."
"Sorry."
Letting go of Fu Hua gently, Leo Ash avoided her gaze and said, "You collapsed on the ground just now, so I could only help you up."
"No, that's not what I wanted to talk about."
Looking at Leo Ash, who was avoiding her gaze with something on his mind, Fu Hua suddenly felt that—perhaps Leo Ash really had developed a slight resistance to Fenghuang Down.
Even though Fu Hua felt more refreshed than ever, she still felt...
*Ah, I can't. My head hurts.*
*Even after I advised him, those terrifying emotions still appeared in Leo Ash's eyes. This loathing and anger, this obsession, isn't directed at me. So his obsession has been strengthened by the Divine Voice, hasn't it?*
And at that moment, Bronya, who had not yet left her room, happened to see the scene of Leo Ash holding Fu Hua through the surveillance system.
*Class Rep and Brother Leo Ash... They're really serious about this. This is something I absolutely cannot let anyone else know! Otherwise, something terrible will definitely happen!*