"Haa!"
"Hiya!"
Under the meticulous guidance of her two master instructors, Kiana's sword training was in full swing.
In the blink of an eye, three days slipped by.
At first, Fuli watched from the sidelines with keen interest. But it didn't take long for the novelty to wear off. Watching two relentless overachievers find creative new ways to "torture" Kiana was amusing, sure, but it still couldn't beat the freedom of going out and finding his own fun. So, true to form, he went back to his old ways—wandering around the Luofu bubble universe and dropping in on old friends.
Like right now, for instance.
Deep within a quiet alleyway in the Exalting Sanctum sat a bar called "Seventh Heaven." Seated side-by-side on the barstools were a cyborg, a Britannian knight, and the Lord of the Hyperion.
The bar's proprietress—a woman revered by a certain subset of the internet as their absolute "Jerusalem"—approached with a graceful sway. She set down high-purity motor oil, malt whiskey, and a Starry Boba Milk Tea in front of them, respectively.
The three men wordlessly clinked their glasses together, tilted their heads back, and downed their drinks in a single gulp. THUD. Three empty glasses slammed onto the counter in near-perfect unison.
"Sigh..."
A synchronized trio of melancholic sighs drifted into the air, utterly drowned out by the noise of the bustling bar.
"Looks like we've all got something weighing on us." Seated in the middle, Fuli propped his elbows on the bar and glanced at his two companions. "Boothill, my man, what's eating you?"
"Son of a nice lady! I figured I'd join the Wardance to earn some pocket change, right? Took a bounty down in Southeast Asia, and guess what?" Boothill immediately started firing off localized profanities, his fist slamming onto the bar hard enough to leave a clear dent. "Those absolute motherfudging scumbags were using black-market babies as drug mules! They were hollowing out those poor little tykes and stuffing them full of fudge-damned narcotics just to smuggle 'em past customs!"
The fact that Boothill's rage actually managed to momentarily break through his Synesthesia Beacon's profanity filter showed just how incredibly pissed off he was.
Holy shit! We're starting off this heavy?! Fuli was so rattled by the sheer dark reality of the news that he nearly smashed his chin against the counter.
He quickly turned to the gloomy-looking Argenti on his right. "And what about you, Your Highness? It's pretty rare to see the usually radiant Knight of Beauty looking so down in the dumps."
"It is just that someone on the internet has... illustrated certain depictions of Brother Boothill and myself..." Argenti's handsome face contorted into an indescribably complex expression, as if the words physically pained him to say.
"Huh? Illustrated what?" Fuli pressed, completely lacking the tact to read the room. Politeness and social boundaries were for strangers, acquaintances, and the overly sensitive. These were his brothers-in-arms. If there was a chance to mercilessly mock them, he was absolutely taking it.
After a long silence, Argenti let out a heavy sigh, sounding as if all the strength had left his body. "It was... a doujinshi."
"Huh?"
"A picture book, if you will... depicting two male figures intimately entangled, partaking in entirely... unspeakable acts."
The "Guns N' Roses" team had been ranking consistently high on the Wardance leaderboards.
Naturally, the dynamic duo of a wild, untamed Galaxy Ranger and a noble, elegant Knight had spawned a massive army of shippers. One particular fan artist going by the handle "Changshan Summons the Purple Dragon" was especially notorious.
Not only did she churn out fanart at terrifying speeds, but her quality was absolutely top-tier—stunning visuals, gripping narratives, and heart-wrenching emotional beats. Even Argenti, after accidentally stumbling upon her work, had to secretly commend her masterful art style and dedicated storytelling.
Now, to be clear, he was absolutely not into men! Even if he did hail from Britannia, a nation stereotypically renowned on the internet for its boys-love exports.
The problem was that, as an anointed Knight, Argenti possessed an immaculate appreciation for art and aesthetics.
His innate, heartfelt reverence for beautiful things and the sheer passion the artist poured into her work violently clashed with the horrifying realization that he was the one getting railed in the drawings. The cognitive dissonance was tearing him apart, leaving him with an incredibly complicated, stomach-churning mix of emotions.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't just stare at the two of us!" Boothill tossed back another glass of motor oil and took off his Stetson, spinning it like a frisbee on his finger. "You've been sighing right alongside us. What's eating you?"
"Also Wardance-related fallout," Fuli groaned, slumping over the bar.
After Fuli had sent the smart-drone footage of the Jigui City incident over to the "Savior of Light," the latter had immediately announced a two-day closed-door session just to edit the whole experience into a vlog and upload it to the Luofu's official website. Consequently, Team Classic went viral. Again.
Throw in Fuli's habit of constantly dominating the trending searches and, most crucially, his massive scandal involving the galactic pop idol Robin. Sure, the rumor had been officially debunked by Sunday—the Number Two Senator of the Schicksal Senate, the Vatican's Apostolic Nuncio to Andorra, and the man many believed to be the next Pope. But everyone knew how the internet worked.
The more seriously a rumor was denied, the more the gossip-hounds believed it was a cover-up.
And so, just the other day, the CEO of SOD, the Far East's most notorious adult film production company, actually published an open letter to Fuli on the internet:
"Dear Contestant Fuli,
I am Yamamoto of SOD. Following your outstanding performance in the Wardance, we couldn't help but notice your exceptionally handsome features and your astronomical popularity among the Honkai factions.
Following a board meeting, we have concluded that you possess the absolute perfect potential to achieve monumental success in the Adult Video industry.
Here is our offer: If you are willing to star in just a single film, we will compensate you with 100,000 Crystals.
You will have absolute creative control. You may freely choose your co-stars and set up any scenarios you desire. You can even invite childhood goddesses like Sora A○i or Yui Hatan○ to participate. We will ensure the final product is a cinematic masterpiece.
Without a doubt, this will be an unprecedented success! The entire world will get to see a more 'diverse' and 'in-depth' side of you!
Mr. Fuli, what do you say? Let us join hands and pull off something massive!
Once again, you shall make history!"
Boothill needed a second to process that. "Hold up... you're tellin' me some suit invited you to shoot a porno?"
"Yeah," Fuli nodded, his voice thick with grief.
Argenti looked utterly scandalized. "And they did so via an open letter?"
"It's outrageous, right?!" Fuli felt his reputation had been subjected to the highest order of defamation. Yamamoto, you absolute fudge-packing son of a—! I'll curse your ancestors to the ninth generation!
The Galaxy Ranger and the Knight exchanged a look. After a brief silence—
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
A world-shaking roar of laughter erupted from them, completely washing away all their previous misery. Boothill in particular was laughing so hard he was practically doing backflips, nearly tumbling right off his barstool.
"You motherfucking bastards!" Fuli raged, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to throw hands with the two gloating hyenas.
"Please calm down, little guest. Don't make things difficult for us~" The beautiful proprietress—the aforementioned Jerusalem—walked over right on cue. Her long, straight black hair swayed gently. Her expression was as soothing as water, yet her tone carried an unquestionable, formidable strength.
"Hmph. I'll spare your lives this time!" Since she put it that way, Fuli gladly used the out to back down. They were just busting each other's balls anyway; it wasn't like he was actually going to throw down with his bros over it.
After downing a few more cups of boba, Fuli casually brought up a new topic. "Say, Boothill... I heard you're pretty tight with Vill-V over at the Helixcraft?"
"Tight? Buddy, our relationship is exactly like yours and mine: strictly the dynamic between a creditor and a deadbeat." Boothill waved his hand dismissively, flashing his trademark shark-toothed grin.
Fuli looked downright indignant. "Argenti, listen to this guy! He chronically defaults on his Hyperion equipment upgrades and ammo bills, and he's actually proud of it!"
"The Hyperion's generous support of the Galaxy Rangers is truly admirable," Argenti said earnestly, taking a refined sip of his whiskey. "Thanks to your benevolence, the peace and security across both the Proper World and the various bubble universes have improved significantly as of late."
He was referring to Fuli's standing policy of letting the Galaxy Rangers buy bullets and other consumables entirely on credit.
"I figure it's good brand awareness," the boy shrugged. "Look at our outpost right now. The line of customers stretches around the block. Our production lines are practically smoking."
"I can't speak for much else, but when it comes to being brand ambassadors, we Rangers are top-tier professionals!" Boothill let out a booming laugh, then suddenly shifted his eyes conspiratorially. "Still, I ain't the ungrateful type. Can't keep taking advantage of these sweet discounts forever without giving somethin' back." He threw a heavy arm around Fuli's shoulders and whispered mysteriously, "How 'bout I set you up with a pretty lady? She's one of us Rangers. Incredible looks, killer figure, and the kicker? She's got pink hair. Tsk tsk, right up your alley, pal!"
"Alright, you've pitched the pros. What's the catch?" Fuli remained entirely unmoved. "And for the official record, I do not have a pink-hair fetish."
"Well, she had a bit of a rough upbringing, which means her daily vocabulary and, uh, right here," Boothill tapped the side of his own head, "are just a tiny bit eccentric. But I swear, Rappa is a wonderful girl! I've always looked after her like she's my own flesh and blood!"
"You view her as a daughter and your first instinct is to push her onto me?" Fuli shot him a deeply meaningful side-eye.
Even if Boothill didn't know the exact inner workings of the Hyperion, one glance at its downright absurd male-to-female ratio should have tipped him off that it was a walking harem hazard.
"Besides, the three of us swore an oath as sworn brothers. We promised to boil the heavens above and slaughter the masses below together. How could I possibly lay a hand on a girl who is effectively my own niece?" Giving a highly righteous (and highly questionable) speech, Fuli checked the time and stood up to foot the bill. "Anyway, I'm done chatting. Got business to attend to. I need to make a trip to the Seat of Divine Foresight."
His two drinking buddies were dead broke. Boothill went without saying, and ever since Argenti left Britannia to sail the cosmos in his ship, The One and Only, his flamboyant lifestyle virtually guaranteed his bank account was perpetually sitting at zero.
---||---
Leaving the booze-soaked, feverish atmosphere of the bar behind, Fuli drove to the solemn and majestic Seat of Divine Foresight.
The instant the two Cloud Knights guarding the entrance saw him, the stern, martial auras on their faces completely evaporated, replaced by suggestive, eyebrow-wiggling smirks.
You really couldn't blame them. For the past few days, a certain someone had been clocking into the Seat of Divine Foresight every single afternoon, right on the dot, and disappearing into the General's office for a solid two hours.
During this timeframe, Fu Xuan had issued a very specific, ironclad directive: Unless the sky is literally falling, absolutely no one is to disturb this seat.
Combine all the evidence, and literally anyone with a pulse would be rolling their tongue and teasing, "They're totally knocking boots~"
Fuli didn't even blink. Pretending not to notice the Cloud Knights' intensely knowing gazes, he calmly pushed open the doors and stepped into the General's office.
Two hours later, the office doors swung open once more.
Fuli strolled out, looking the picture of absolute serenity as he nonchalantly re-buckled his slightly loosened belt.
"Remember to... shut the door..."
Left behind in the office was Fu Xuan, utterly limp against the plush cushions of her luxurious sofa after finishing today's "development" session. A faint, lingering blush dusted her cheeks, and a heavy languor hung around her eyes, yet her skin glowed with the dewy radiance of a freshly watered flower.
Now, it must be stated for the record that the activities conducted within these walls were strictly professional, highly rigorous "frontal armor enhancement" procedures!
The only reason Fuli had to readjust his belt was that he had temporarily unbuckled it to use as an improvised measuring tape. There were absolutely zero explicit connotations involved!
What's that? You're asking how the grand office of the Luofu General doesn't have a simple measuring tape?
Look, that's entirely an internal logistics failure on the General's part. Sigh. How incredibly careless of the supposedly infallible, omniscient Master Fu Xuan.
Having completed his daily quest, Fuli pulled out his phone and noted with satisfaction that his Wardance point tally had indeed jumped by another five hundred.
Better than nothing, he mused. Can't expect the massive payouts from the beginning every single time.
He tapped open the messages he had missed while actively "unlocking Fu Xuan's potential." They were from hyacine. The girl messaged that she had finished settling in and was ready to commence her mission starting tomorrow. The Wardance ceremony was slated to run all the way until the end of the Golden Week holidays in October, and it was currently late September.
Fuli thought it over for a second, then texted back, suggesting that Team Classic grab dinner together when everyone was free to discuss their next steps.
"Sounds great! I still haven't had the chance to formally meet Li-bao! Oh, wait—the 'Li' in Fuli and her 'Li' sound exactly the same when you say them out loud, don't they? Isn't that gonna be super confusing when we hang out..."
hyacine replied instantly, attaching a custom chibi sticker of herself holding her head in distress. Seeing it, a genuine smile tugged at the corners of Fuli's mouth.
He pocketed his phone. Bidding farewell to the saluting Cloud Knights, he headed straight for Stargazer Navalia. After a twelve-hour starskiff flight through the shallow layers of the Sea of Quanta, he finally crossed back over into the Imaginary Tree's Proper World, arriving in the lands of Shenzhou.
---||---
It was early morning. An unseasonal light snow had fallen over Mount Taixu the night before and was still drifting lazily from the sky.
The snow-dusted mountains exuded a primordial tranquility. A thin veil of pristine white draped over the endless ridges, adding an otherworldly, desolate beauty to the already secluded sanctuary.
And there, standing at the very heart of this silver-clad world beneath a traditional oiled-paper umbrella, was the Celestial of Mount Taixu herself.
Her cascading grayish-white hair was held up loosely by a simple wooden hairpin. She possessed an ethereal grace, looking completely untethered from the mortal realm. Her crystalline eyes, clear as the purest gemstones, gazed silently at the distant peaks. Her stare was impossibly deep, as if she were looking straight through the march of time itself.
Fuli held his breath, momentarily reluctant to disturb this timeless portrait.
That was, until the umbrella-holding Fu Hua sensed his presence and turned around.
"Cousin?" Her lips parted, her voice as pleasant as chiming jade.
"Yeah."
The boy's figure blurred, instantaneously reappearing at his older cousin's side to drape his own coat over her shoulders.
Fu Hua had previously mentioned that once the Wardance concluded, she wanted to find time to visit Cheng Lixue, and had asked if Fuli would be available to accompany her.
Being an absolutely incurable siscon when it came to his cousin, there was no way in hell he was saying no. When it came to an invitation from Hua, his life motto was simple: If there are obstacles, overcome them! If there are no obstacles, invent some, then overcome them!
For various reasons, this tomb-sweeping trip had been pushed forward a few days, but Fuli had still managed to clear his schedule and make the journey to the foot of Mount Taixu.
Fu Hua tilted her umbrella slightly, shielding his shoulders from the falling snow. "Let's go."
The two of them walked side-by-side up the rugged, snow-dusted mountain path. For once, Fuli abandoned his usual nonstop chatter, choosing instead to walk quietly beside her. Reaching out, he gently took her slightly cool hand in his, trying to ward off the chill with his own body heat.
Naturally, she made no move to pull away, simply letting him hold it. Even though, given that she had fully regained her S-Rank strength, a brisk September breeze couldn't possibly affect her in the slightest.
Wrapped in a comfortable, intimate silence, they trekked for about two hours until the quaint architecture of Fuyun Shrine gradually came into view on the mountainside.
The sweeping eaves and green roof tiles were laden with snow, the stark contrast of black and white giving the temple a solemn, elegant air. In the courtyard, several emerald bamboo stalks bowed under the weight of the frost.
Every so often, a gust of wind would rustle through the grove, shaking loose a shower of icy flakes and startling a stray winter sparrow or two.
Lifting her free hand, Fu Hua softly traced the wooden pillars at the temple's entrance.
"This... was once my home," she murmured, a fleeting trace of nostalgia and melancholy crossing her features.
Fuli leaned over and peered into the shrine. Sure enough, hanging on the walls of the main hall were the portraits of Shenzhou's legendary progenitors: Fuxi and Nuwa.
Thanks to the highly advanced preservation tech of the Previous Era, the paintings remained as vibrant and lifelike as the day they were brushed, untouched by the ravages of time.
There was, however, no incense burner placed in front of them. It made sense; it wasn't like Fu Hua actually needed to burn incense or make offerings to those two little menaces. She had simply hung their portraits there as a way to remember her oldest friends.
However, Fuli's gaze quickly locked onto Nuwa's portrait.
The longer he looked, the more he felt that the lively, spirited black-haired girl in the painting bore a staggering resemblance to Lingsha, the former Cauldron Master of the Luofu. Combine that with the ancient myths depicting Nuwa with a human head and a serpent's body, and Lingsha's identity as a Vidyadhara dragon scion...
"Atavism?"
"To the best of my current memories, neither Nuwa nor her sister Fuxi ever left behind any descendants." Noticing her cousin's confusion, Fu Hua spoke, her tone tinged with a hollow sense of loss. "Most likely, it is just a coincidental resemblance."
Fuli's gut told him it wasn't nearly that simple, but he held his tongue and didn't contradict her.
He just followed silently behind Fu Hua as they crossed through the temple and arrived at a secluded bamboo grove in the back mountain.
The celestial slowly knelt down. Extending her slender, pale fingers, she meticulously brushed the accumulated snow off a small tombstone, little by little. Her movements were incredibly gentle, as if terrified of waking the one sleeping beneath the earth.
"Lixue."
Staring at the photograph on the stone, her voice was quiet, gentle, and overflowing with endless longing.
"Master... is here to see you."