"Fu Hua, you seem to really want me to seriously cultivate Edge of Taixuan?"
From the beginning of their conversation, Takatsuki had noticed that Fu Hua seemed to be guiding him towards learning Edge of Taixuan.
Recalling his conversation with Fu Hua that night, it seemed that was when Fu Hua began to supervise their daily practice of Edge of Taixuan.
Yet, at St. Freya Academy, she only taught it and then left them to it.
"Yes."
Fu Hua didn't hide anything and admitted it openly.
"Why?"
Takatsuki didn't understand why Fu Hua suddenly started paying attention to his cultivation progress.
"The Authority of Finality is related to time."
It really is time, no, related?
"Related?"
Facing Takatsuki's question, Fu Hua nodded slightly: "Even after directly facing Finality, we couldn't fully comprehend its Authority. Plus, I was just a soldier and didn't delve into its full essence."
"Dr. MEI is more skilled in this area. What I know is only this much. But for fifty thousand years, I have only been fighting, fulfilling my duty as a soldier."
"But whether it was fifty thousand years ago or the current civilization, I haven't seen hope for defeating Honkai."
"The Flame-Chasers could defeat Herrschers, the Previous Era could create weapons and soldiers comparable to Herrschers, but even then, they couldn't defeat Finality. The current civilization is far worse than fifty thousand years ago. I truly haven't seen any hope of defeating Honkai; I'm just blindly following a past promise."
"But your arrival has shown me change, especially you, Takatsuki."
"Because of Throne of Heroes?"
If Takatsuki still didn't understand what Fu Hua meant at this point, he would be too dull.
"Not just that. A world unaffected by Honkai, actual existing deities, power that influences time. Takatsuki, your potential is higher than anyone I've ever known. Not to mention, you also brought a Herrscher who can become an ally. I originally thought Welt would be the only exception."
Uh, this isn't my credit. If anything, it's Elysia and their own efforts.
Takatsuki wanted to explain this way but didn't speak out, because part of what Fu Hua said was correct: different worlds and systems were indeed his biggest reliance. There was always one world with the power to defeat Honkai.
"I understand. I will prioritize cultivating Edge of Taixuan from now on."
Part of the reason Fu Hua wanted Takatsuki to cultivate Edge of Taixuan was that Edge of Taixuan was a mantra created by the Previous Era and Fu Hua combining their martial arts. Its power was boundless, and it could be said to be the strongest mantra in the Honkai Impact 3rd world that could be improved purely through cultivation. Moreover, its greater effect was on cultivating the mind rather than just increasing strength.
Fu Hua had also noticed Takatsuki's situation, which was why she started urging him to practice Edge of Taixuan.
As the two talked, the battle in the arena had entered a heated stage.
After Fu Hua's assistance, the head that had been injured twice by its own flames was now in a critical state.
Kiana took advantage of its dazed state to try and use the Herrscher of the Void's Authority combined with the Stand's power to directly cut it down, ignoring its defense, using spatial cutting.
Then another dragon head rushed over to assist.
This was the advantage of having two heads; if one head was dazed, there was another to provide support.
But on the other side, the enemies it faced… were more numerous.
"Project Bunny 19C, Lance Mode!"
The destructive power of the Project Bunny, enhanced by her magic, was much stronger than its original power. Bronya continuously generated ice paths beneath her feet, rapidly circling Amphisbaena's body on ice skates, while constantly trying to attack Amphisbaena's scales with the fire-attribute attacks of the Cinnabar Katana in her hand.
After the high temperature, White Album's ultra-low temperature quickly followed, freezing it and creating noticeable cracks in its sturdy defense.
Then, the Project Bunny's lance pierced through the scales with immense impact.
Meanwhile, Mei, on the other side, was continuously disrupting the poisonous gas dragon head by stepping on Moonwalk and enveloping herself in lightning. When the poisonous gas dragon head went to support the fire dragon head, Lightning appeared by her side.
Unlike Mei, who had to step on air to move forward, Lightning, which was essentially a Stand transformed into a physical form, could float near Mei without being affected by gravity.
"Go, Coward! I will lend you my strength. Use your blade to pierce that guy's neck."
As Lightning's words fell, the lightning on Mei's blade became even more intense, but because Mei herself could control lightning, these electric currents did not affect her at all.
Mei couldn't fully control the power from her Herrscher Core, but Lightning, the Herrscher consciousness catalyzed by Honkai itself, could unleash the power of the Herrscher Core.
After manifesting as a Stand, the ability to unleash the power of the Herrscher Core itself became a type of Stand power. Combined with the lingering power of Crazy Diamond, the power that originally could only crudely decompose objects into molecules gained the ability to crudely reorganize and generate molecules.
"Ah! Let's go together, Lightning!"
Taking a deep breath, the power of Hamon also appeared on Mei's body.
"Another weak power. You only need to use my power."
Without responding to Lightning's words, Mei's sword was simultaneously enveloped in black, and she thrust it towards Amphisbaena's neck.
The dark blade easily pierced into the neck covered in scales.
"Roar!"
Amphisbaena, who had exposed its weakness by aiding its other head, let out a miserable shriek, because Mei's sword didn't just make a small wound and withdraw.
Instead, from the point of the stab wound, Mei ran up its neck, and the blade continued to expand the wound along its neck towards its head.
Crimson blood spurted from the wound. If Mei's blade had been longer, it would have completely severed that dragon head.
With two painful injuries, especially a severe wound on its neck, Amphisbaena inevitably fell into a frenzy.
Just as Kiana was swinging her greatsword, preparing to seize the opportunity to sever one of its heads, she saw the two heads of the crystal twin-headed dragon simultaneously let out furious roars.
"Ah! So noisy!"
If this were a game, you would see such a prompt:
Amphisbaena used Roar.
Kiana is dazed.
Mei is dazed.
Two girls who were about to launch a killing blow fell from the sky like kites with broken strings due to this roar.
"Sister Mei! Kiana!"
Bronya was about to step forward to assist when Amphisbaena, which had roared, plunged into the water. The ice blocks that had frozen on its body instantly shattered, causing Bronya to lose her footing. She could only quickly generate ice beneath her feet to stabilize herself.
As she anxiously watched her two companions falling from the sky, two dark figures quickly swept through the air.
Takatsuki held Mei and lightly landed on a larger iceberg, looking at Mei in his arms: "Mei, are you alright?"
"Ugh… Takatsuki-kun, I'm fine…"
It seemed Amphisbaena's roar was very powerful. Even though the roar had stopped and its body had submerged, Mei still hadn't recovered.
"Well done, Takatsuki."
Lightning floated behind Takatsuki, leaning forward with her hands on his shoulders.
Although she wasn't affected by Amphisbaena, just as a person cannot lift themselves by stepping on their own feet, she couldn't pull Mei up from the air.
On the other side, Kiana, rescued by Fu Hua, quickly recovered. Her powerful Kaslana Family bloodline allowed her to regain her state quickly.
"Where is that guy!"
Kiana was clearly furious about that move but couldn't find anyone to vent her anger on.
Ultimately, Fu Hua pointed Kiana and Bronya in the right direction.
At a nearby waterfall, a massive body had just broken through the water's surface, swimming upstream against the waterfall.
"It's running away!?"
This was Kiana's first reaction, but unlike her, Bronya instantly guessed the other party's objective.
"White Album: Reverse Waterfall!"
A band of ice instantly extended from Bronya's feet towards the waterfall, and then she rushed towards the waterfall amidst Kiana's shouts.
"You won't succeed!"
The moment she reached the bottom of the waterfall, ice instantly began to freeze from the bottom of the waterfall upwards.
Water continuously fell, but it was quickly frozen into ice blocks suspended in mid-air.
If Amphisbaena swimming upstream against the waterfall was absurd, then Bronya freezing the waterfall from bottom to top was even more exaggerated.
Amphisbaena's swimming speed wasn't fast; it had only swum up a dozen meters before being frozen by the cold air spreading upstream against the waterfall.
Without the water flow, it had no way to continue swimming upwards.
And the ice formed by the waterfall could not bear the enormous weight of its massive body. This ice sculpture formed by the waterfall instantly shattered, and Amphisbaena fell towards the huge lake below.
Then it heavily crashed into the water.
"Takatsuki-kun, I'm fine now."
Although there was a slight reluctance, Mei still stood up from Takatsuki's embrace.
"Mei, don't push yourself."
"Don't worry, Takatsuki-kun."
Holding a silver-white katana, Mei smiled sweetly at Takatsuki, then walked across the lake, which had frozen again due to Bronya's massive cold air, towards where Amphisbaena had fallen, softly muttering, "I won't hold you back anymore."
"Have you made up your mind, Coward?"
Lightning clung to her back, the two of them attached closely like conjoined twins.
Mei didn't answer, but the lightning on her body intensified.
Although she didn't get an answer, a slight smile appeared on Lightning's face.
On the other side, Kiana also raised her greatsword high and closed her eyes.
The floating ice beneath her feet continuously swayed with the Ripples on the lake, but her body remained perfectly steady.
The big three stood in three directions, looking at the lake in the middle of them.
"Here it comes!"
Bronya suddenly exclaimed.
The moment Bronya spoke, Amphisbaena burst out of the lake with an unstoppable momentum.
"One strike! Two halves!"
The instant Amphisbaena burst out of the lake, something that shouldn't have appeared suddenly manifested in the empty Dungeon.
A massive purple lightning bolt descended from the sky, striking Amphisbaena right at the intersection between its two heads.
Mei's blade and the lightning bolt, not far away, struck down simultaneously.
Although she only performed a single aerial slash from a great distance, everyone seemed to see a massive katana descend with thunder, carving a huge wound into Amphisbaena's body.
However, Mei's power was still insufficient; although this slash tore open Amphisbaena's scales, it failed to completely sever her.
At this moment, Kiana, who had been holding her greatsword high, suddenly opened her eyes.
The cross-star eyes, symbolizing the power of the Herrscher of the Void, appeared in her pupils.
"Now, it's my turn!"
As Kiana's words fell, the greatsword in her hand was swung down on the spot.
Amphisbaena's scream, which had just been gravely wounded by a single slash, suddenly ceased.
A slash mark appeared on its body, and its massive form slowly began to split into two.
It was only then that the lake seemed to react belatedly, instantly exploding, with Kiana's point of impact as the starting point, dividing the lake's water into two.
The monsters that had been in the water along this line were also instantly completely slain.
After Amphisbaena's body completely split open, it exploded into black particles and completely vanished.
Mei's body also slowly tilted, and before she could fall, Takatsuki had already arrived by her side.
"Takatsuki-kun... I did it."
The person in his arms gave Takatsuki a tired smile.
"Yes, I saw it, you did great, Mei."
The figure of the lightning had already disappeared when Mei struck that sword, perhaps due to extreme fatigue.
On the other hand, Kiana was much more unlucky.
A sword strike with no control over power not only split the lake but also split the ice beneath her feet.
Then, when the water re-converged as the power dissipated, she instantly fell into the water.
"Help—"
Kiana, whose stamina was overdrawn by the previous sword strike, could only let out a faint cry for help before Fu Hua fished her out of the water.
"That was reckless, but well done."
Among the big three, the only one who still had stamina was Bronya.
Although unleashing the power of White Album to instantly freeze the waterfall also left her mentally fatigued, it wasn't as exaggerated as the other two.
"Let's go back first."
After collecting all the materials dropped by Amphisbaena with the Kings Treasure, Takatsuki took out an ordinary weapon drawn from the system, imbued it with his thought, and then thrust it firmly into the ground by the shore.
"This way, next time we can come directly here."