Cultivating in Honkai!

Ten percent.

I can only fire that kind of [Nine Dragons Purple Qi] ten or eleven times. My spiritual qi reserves will bottom out by then. Without any spiritual qi, my automatic circulation (i.e., recovery) comes to a halt.

I can only fire nine more of that. Considering my consumption for the [Cloud Seeking Steps], six or seven is my limit.

I looked at the jian in my grasp. It's time to test it.

Swoosh-!

My body swiftly went in another direction. The shaking of the ground followed. Snow got thrown all over the place as the chariot uncontrollably charged in that direction.

Then it stopped.

A hazy silver light embraced my blade. The consumption was unnoticeable at first, but with further enhancement, my mind started to get affected. It's similar to a headache during a cold, but lighter.

A line of spiritual consciousness was formed between me and the honkai beast.

Sou-!

It is a simple downward cut. The hazy silver light left the blade's tip. It moved completely on the spiritual consciousness line I drew.

Bam-!

The sword light produced by my Sword Heart struck the chariot violently. Waves of shock appeared on the ground. Bits of snow flew upwards as the honkai beast's body got pressed downwards.

A huge crack appeared on its head. The purple light on its head flickered. A familiar glimmer appeared on its red crystal.

…

It's not a hard hit.

Swoosh-!

I repeated the same pattern. A chariot-class honkai beast can be kited as long as you avoid their attacks.

Hazy silver light flowed on my jian once more. The slight headache from before increased, but not much. Clarity remained inside my head.

This is the credit of the [Xinhai Sutra]'s small success. Its most evident effect is the permanent enhancement of my "mind". I can use spiritual consciousness more freely, utilize mind-based attacks more frequently, and have my thought speed increased.

A plan formed inside my mind. My body did not get less agile with it. I avoided the chariot's attack twice without counterattacking.

That was enough to 'charge' my jian with a thicker sword light. Since it is a basic operation of sword cultivation—without any techniques—it consumed less. 

My spiritual qi took the chance to recover.

"Damn."

I almost forgot about it.

This place… 

There's no spiritual qi.

*****

Shi Tian realized so many problems during actual combat. The absence of spiritual qi in this world meant he had to lay out the [Two Phase Art] first before anything else. Failure will result in being unable to recover spiritual qi.

Bam-!

He was forced to dodge the chariot's attack for six consecutive times. He hastily set up the [Two Phase Art]. 

Unfortunately, the honkai energy present is not considered as 'free energy'. It is used to operate the entire simulation room. The energies produced by the honkai beast (i.e., kinetic, gravitational, etc) could not be converted too. It resulted in a first-grade spirit vein.

'...Honkai energy is considered free energy during eruptions, but not now. This is a disadvantage.'

One of Shi Tian's problems came to light.

If a Herrscher was born during a major eruption, he would not be able to convert the surrounding honkai energy into spiritual qi. It was already proven with Fu Hua's Eminence—Herrschers can directly control honkai energy.

He must find other ways to consistently produce spiritual qi.

Bam-!

Shi Tian avoided the honkai beast for the ninth time. He no longer remained still. The blade in his grasp was swung downwards.

Whistle-!

A whistling sound rang. What followed next was a huge shockwave. The chariot was cut vertically. Half of its body was separated into two, with its lower torso untouched. It formed a v-shaped honkai beast as its upper torso fell in two directions. Its lower body remained intact as it got laid to the ground.

"Huff…"

Shi Tian is currently surrounded by a sharp aura. His Sword Heart was fully unleashed. His blade followed his command thoroughly.

The chariot soon disappeared into blue pixels. The recovery of his mind exceeded his spiritual qi's. His eyes lit up as he found a new fighting style.

Basic attack? Sword light.

Skills? [Wuxing Dao Sutra].

Ultimate? [Daluo Sword Art] or the complete rotation of the [Wuxing Dao Sutra].

Feeling the throbbing of his heart, Shi Tian felt his confidence soaring… until two chariot-class honkai beasts appeared.

From one to two, he finally realized the ever-changing situation on the battlefield.

'Why am I… feeling more excited?'

Between the conflicting feelings of excitement and fear, Shi Tian's feet moved swiftly.

*****

I take back my words.

Zombies are entry-level mobs in the world of honkai. Even if they can run, sprint, and jump on walls, I can handle them. 

When it comes to fighting multiple honkai beasts, it's a whole different thing.

Those white birds can come striking down on you. The chariots have to be avoided lest you want to get hit by a truck. That's just two of them.

My best record today is five chariots and twelve seraphs. All of them are the vanilla versions, to boot. There are still ice, fire, and armored variants.

Fortunately, my [Cloud Seeking Steps] saved my very being. In battle, the one with the fastest feet wins. When push comes to shove, I use [Inverted Taiji Steps], though it spends far more spiritual qi.

"Huff…"

I looked at my surroundings. I am currently sitting on one of the seats in the lounge earlier. The first thing I did was to cast the spell to get rid of sweat.

Tesla's footsteps came from the left. She is carrying a towel.

"You fought for three hours without much breaks. Did your Master train you like this?"

"Somewhat." I took the towel from her hand before staring at it. "How were the results?"

"You want to hear my personal opinion?"

"Um."

I am interested to hear Tesla's comparison. She knows more about Schicksal's Valkyries. Everything I knew is inside the game.

"You rank at the top of the B Rank Valkyries I met. Your physical prowess and methods of attacks are more sustainable than theirs. They bear the Artificial Stigmata, Battlesuits, and honkai weapons, to boot. You have nothing but a broken sword…"

I listened to her evaluation. Hearing her give one praise after another… it's quite embarrassing.

I can't fathom how Madam Herta stomachs the glazing directed at her.

But then, it does feel refreshing.

"Oh. By the way, we have one thing that needs your help."

"Hm?"

"We used the [Two Phase Art] in an isolated honkai reactor. The spiritual qi it produced… how can I phrase it…"

I have a hunch on what she is talking about.

"Does it feel confusing? Like, seeing it gives you random knowledge you can't explain?"

"That's it!"

Oh.

…

Anti-Entropy just made a spirit vein no lower than the third grade.

For a moment, I forgot the words I am about to say.