Cultivating in Honkai!

The bright light outside indicated it was morning. It is hard to get a ray of sunshine within Siberia. The heavy snow and shitty climate change brought by the honkai eruption existed for a decade.

The next thing I felt was the cool sensation sweeping through my entire body. I closed my other eye and used my x-ray vision to take a look at my dantian.

It can be considered as automatic cultivation. The medicinal efficacy of the spiritual plant is blending with my automatic spiritual qi circulation. Its absorption becomes faster if I actively meditate.

I looked at the clock.

7:45 AM.

I looked at Kiana. She is deep into her dreamland.

The breakthrough occurred with zero detrimental effects. I had to burn her clothes, though. The impurities staining it is hard to remove even with bleach. 

We slept around 12:25 AM by then.

To Kiana, who is used to sleeping for nine to ten hours, it is very short.

Should I…

Well. 

In Rome, do as the Romans do.

It might seem disrespectful for the orphanage if Kiana skips breakfast on her second day.

"Mn…"

I gently tapped her shoulders.

"Wake up. We're going to have breakfast."

"Mn… Five more minutes."

"That won't do. You'll sleep for two more hours."

"Wait…"

Seeing Kiana stretch her entire body on the bed, waking her up is a success.

"Do you need some help with your braids? We can get over it faster."

"Hum..?"

She gave me a questioning look.

"I learned how you do it."

That is a half-lie.

Ever since I saw her use spells to make her daily life more convenient, I dove into this direction.

Dressing up? [Zither Fairy Get-up Manual].

Cooling your pillows the entire night? [Jade Cold Touch].

Learning new languages? [All Worlds Language Art].

Out of the two hundred fifty techniques, a fraction of them are made up of these auxiliary techniques. Some auxiliary techniques did not have any 'mastery' of sorts, hence I can use it on the get-go.

Since then, my life has become easier.

Maybe it's her curiosity. Kiana allowed me to do it. She pointed me to her small kit consisting of a hair brush and some other items. She sat cross-legged on the bed, with her back facing me.

Zither Fairy…

There's no mastery here. 

The set of techniques…

"Fu…"

First, send spiritual qi in each bristle of the fine brush. It won't be deflected by the split ends.

Next, brush the entire section down. Make sure to get them all.

The hairstyle depends on your idea. This technique considers both male and female. 

…

Five minutes later, I am done. I looked at my masterpiece. It is an exact replica of what Kiana does.

A sense of pride welled up inside me. 

Kiana rushed to see it with a mirror.

"How..?"

"Cultivation."

"...It's even better than what I do!" 

While sitting on her knees, Kiana spun and faced me upfront.

"Can you do it for me?"

"Daily? No problem."

"Yes!"

Somehow, it sent her into high spirits. I watched as she rushed outside the room to dress up for breakfast. Taking a bath comes later.

As for me…

"...untainted by the world's dust."

I tried the [Body Cleansing] I got last night. Kiana's case with those impurities made me realize the importance of cleaning up through immortal spells. 

I realized it too late and had to burn her clothes.

Poof-!

A gale of wind drenched me like water. It went through every nook and cranny of my body, obliterating all forms of dust and dirty stuff from my body.

…

That's it.

I feel clean, but that's it. It does not replicate the sensation of taking a shower. Something just feels wrong with it. 

It might be my preference. 

I will go and ask Kiana later. She's lazier than me, but I know she's quite picky with hygiene. Even when she lived on the streets, she found ways to clean herself.

That's just how street smart she is.

While waiting for her, I locked the door and swiftly dressed up too. It did not take much time. It's either the long sleeves, hoodie, or sweaters.

I chose a dark blue sweater this time.

It took quite some time for Kiana to arrive.

"Let's help prepare the dishes!"

I looked at her with surprise.

"The other kids do it. Bronya told me. They prepared ours yesterday."

"Oh."

I have to keep this in mind: wake up earlier.

Though looking at Kiana, I have doubts if we can do it.

*****

Bronya had to look at Kiana twice.

The seemingly normal girl who can eat ten persons' worth of food grew taller. It wasn't only that. Her overall body grew in several aspects.

'Is it… No. I am sure of it.'

Kiana's changes are not as noticeable as Shi Tian's. He went from twelve to fourteen years old; she went from fourteen to sixteen years old.

To those unfamiliar with Kiana, it can be passed off as 'small changes'. To those who aren't, they will be surprised by how she looked now.

Bronya does not have much to do every day. It is either HOMU, hanging out with Seele, or learning the computer. She has leisure time to dig into others' matters.

'Honkai..?'

She thought of the concept she learned outside. Her uncle told her about those flesh-eating zombies and alien-looking monsters the size of a house.

Honkai is an energy that creates monsters. Similarly, it can also create weapons powerful enough to defeat them.

It won't be surprising if it could induce growth.

Unknowingly, Bronya looked at her own figure. Kiana noticed her occasional gazes as she sat right next to her.

"..."

"Hm? Oh, it's my last serving. I won't ask for more."

"...It is not that."

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

A huge question mark could be seen on Kiana's face.

'Since when did I make her angry?'

The duck and the tuna continued their imaginary face-off until breakfast ended. After giving their plates to the ones assigned in dishwashing duty, Kiana dragged Shi Tian to the town.

'It can't be helped. No spiritual food means we can only eat more.' He thought. 'The plant's doing some wonders, though.'

A cultivator's body needs far more nutrients than ordinary humans. It is for such a reason he and Kiana eat an entire menu of a restaurant. It will be different for spiritual rice and other spiritual materials, however. Normal consumption suffices as it contains enough to sustain a cultivator's needs.

Unfortunately, they do not have any. Shi Tian is broke.

He did notice that he ate less now.

'It's the plant.'

The spiritual plant gave off enough nutrients to help recover the body. It won't matter if they ate normal or spiritual food since the middle stage realm protects them from any other impurities. 

Still, the convenience is there.

'Nope. I think she will still eat as usual.'

For their second day, the duo spooked another family restaurant.

*****

A/N: Here's the legit bonus chapter. I uploaded it to my Achievement Hunter fic by mistake. There'll be two chapters for later.