Clang—
Clang—
On the outer bridge of the Eternal Snowfall.
Swordlight flashed, the ringing clash of blades echoed again and again.
Setsuna wielded a weapon condensed from Honkai energy, dueling one-on-one against Fu Hua.
Fu Hua had cultivated Taixuan Eminence for thousands of years. As Setsuna's teacher, in pure swordsmanship her mastery far surpassed his.
Her swordlight wove a dense net, sealing the surrounding space.
Step by step she pressed forward, her offense like a surging tide, overwhelming and fierce.
Yet Setsuna remained calm and unhurried throughout.
Each incoming strike was easily neutralized.
With the Eternal Snowfall boosting his speed and reaction time,
Even if his grasp of the Edge of Taixuan wasn't as refined as Fu Hua's, he could still respond faster, sometimes even teasing his opponent.
"Not bad. Your talent is indeed remarkable."
After several exchanges, Fu Hua leapt back.
With a low shout, a massive surge of Honkai energy condensed in the air, transforming at her will into a heaven-splitting greatsword.
It looked ready to crash down upon him.
"Oh ho, you're even using Taixuan Eminence now. Is that because you want to agree to me, or not?"
Setsuna tilted his head up with a smile.
"Isn't it all within your choice?"
Fu Hua chuckled softly.
"If you believe you cannot withstand it, you may surrender."
"I… have very high standards for the one I'd call beloved."
"Ha, interesting."
Setsuna charged straight into the descending Taixuan strike.
Boom!!
The blow landed head-on, dazzling golden light erupting across the deck.
"Hey! You're not really going to take that hit with your body, are you?"
"Why not use Taixuan Eminence to block it?"
Fu Hua's composure faltered as she saw Setsuna engulfed in Honkai energy, worry flickering across her face.
"Because I don't need to."
Swish—
A long sword thrust forward in an instant. In two or three swift motions, Setsuna disarmed the unprepared Fu Hua.
Then, closing the distance, he pulled her tightly into his arms.
"Mm…"
Fu Hua raised her head, giving him a soft glare.
"You're relying on the Eternal Snowfall's computing power and shield. That's cheating."
With the supercomputer's support, no mental attack could affect Setsuna.
"Then should I just lose to you on purpose?"
Setsuna tapped her forehead lightly, smiling as he asked.
"You still… do this even when I can't win against you…"
Fu Hua muttered softly.
The next moment, Setsuna lowered his head, silencing her with a kiss.
"!!"
At first, Fu Hua resisted slightly.
But soon, her whole body melted into Setsuna's embrace.
After thousands of years wandering Shenzhou alone, for the first time she found someone to lean on.
From now on, whether facing Final Herrscher or any other enemy, she had someone strong enough to shield her from the storm.
She thought of that fleet of starships blotting out the sky. Unlike when they had first met, she no longer felt fear, only a profound sense of security.
After a long while, the two finally parted.
"Hua, you're actually quite cute."
Setsuna sniffed softly, catching a faint, indescribable fragrance.
"Call me Jingwei, or Hua."
Resting against his chest, Fu Hua answered softly.
"'Immortal'… is for outsiders."
"Jingwei suits you better as you are now."
Setsuna kissed her forehead gently again.
With a wave of his hand, the hatch door slid open with a click.
"By the way, weren't you curious about the other function of the Eternal Snowfall?"
"I'll show you now."
"Ah?…"
...
A Juggernaut-class starship drifted silently beside the station.
Inside the master bedroom of the bridge.
Fu Hua leaned against the bed, her long ash-blue hair spilling across the sheets, a faint blush coloring her pale face.
Her wide cloud-ink robes were set aside, the teal sash around her waist undone.
No matter how much of a blockhead she was…
No matter how aloof, no matter how untouched by worldly desires…
In this moment, she knew exactly what was about to happen.
Her expression carried a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
"Hard to imagine you're already fifty thousand years old now. Hm, even Grey doesn't look like someone who's millions of years old either."
Setsuna gently pulled her closer.
"Are you calling me an old woman?! Wait—are you thinking about someone else at a time like this?"
Fu Hua glared at him.
"No…"
Setsuna chuckled awkwardly.
The fusion warriors' ages had frozen the moment they were transformed.
Whether five years, fifty, or fifty thousand, they would not change.
Besides, most of that time, Fu Hua had spent in slumber.
Up close, though her figure was somewhat delicate, her beauty was first-rate.
Usually as cold as an immortal on a snowy peak, now she was flustered and awkward.
Setsuna discovered that Fu Hua had a cute side—but only he could see it.
"Relax a little. Don't be so tense."
"Mm…"
Fu Hua bit her lip, her brow furrowing sharply.
She realized that beyond her millennia of cultivation, Setsuna had taught her something entirely new.
...
The next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the porthole, sprinkling across the bedroom.
Setsuna slowly opened his eyes.
The first sight before him was Fu Hua's refined face.
He pinched her cheek lightly. The girl opened her emerald eyes, startled at first, but quickly regaining composure.
"Bad-hearted…"
Fu Hua tilted her head, muttering.
"I'm your teacher, after all…"
"Didn't you go along with it too?"
Setsuna poked her cheek.
Sure enough, Grey had once said he'd often defy his master.
No problem—physically speaking.
"…"
Fu Hua was speechless for a moment, then pinched Setsuna hard.
"Why are you so skilled?! How many times have you done this?!"
"Uh…"
Setsuna began seriously counting on his fingers.
"Richelieu, Taihou, Yat Sen, Belfast, Mio, Kurumi, Nagato, Tohru, Jeanne Alter, Jeanne d'Arc…"
"???"
The long list left Fu Hua stunned.
"Should I call you honest, or just call you a womanizer? Hm?"
She grabbed his face, demanding.
"I call it universal love."
"…I want to be the most important."
Fu Hua lifted her chin.
"No, everyone here is equal."
"…"
At first, Fu Hua doubted whether Setsuna had enough energy to care for everyone.
But then she remembered how he had used temporal manipulation aboard the Eternal Snowfall to master Taixuan Eminence overnight…
And after recalling what happened yesterday, she instantly understood.
"You really are beyond imagination…"
After a while of tenderness,
Fu Hua suddenly sat up.
"Right, there's something I want to try."
She sat at the bedside, gesturing for Setsuna to rest his head on her lap.
"This is called a lap pillow. Dan Zhu taught me. She said in comics, couples often do this to deepen their bond, and she urged me to try giving you one when I had the chance…"
Pfft—
Setsuna almost burst out laughing.
As expected of Fu Hua—her knowledge of romance was zero, all of it coming from Dan Zhu's comic lessons.
Given that they had already gone so far in their relationship, a lap pillow hardly seemed necessary.
And such shoujo-manga behavior didn't really fit an immortal.
Still, he obediently complied.
Resting his head on her lap, he felt the softness beneath him.
"How is it?"
"Mm… this way, I can look at you all the time… It feels warm, I think…?"
Fu Hua asked uncertainly.
"…"
Setsuna lay in her warmth, staring back into her hopeful face.
The mood was right. The feeling was right.
But something still felt… off.
After a moment's thought, he realized.
"Fu Hua, your lap pillow is different from the others."
"When Formidable or Illustrious gave me lap pillows, they often smothered me until I couldn't breathe."
"You're different—I can see you clearly, face to face."
"???"
Fu Hua paused, wondering whether Setsuna was praising her or teasing her.
Then she placed her hand gently on his head.
"Besides the Taixuan Eminence I taught you, I also created another unique technique. Do you know what it is?"
"?"
"Heaven-Splitting Ki!'"
...
"Mm, uh…"
Whenever Setsuna sat in his office lately, he always felt a slight headache.
Granted, with his body's durability, there was no way the immortal could truly harm him with her Heaven-Splitting Ki.
But when Fu Hua got upset, she really did put some force behind it.
He decided—for now—not to make any more jokes about the Shenzhou tablet.
"I mean, if you really care about it, you could always ask the Life Sciences Department? Our genetic tech is quite advanced. Maybe they could figure something out?"
"Even if the Garuda mutation factor locked your physique, I bet Grey and Muroto Sumire might have another solution."
Setsuna tilted his head and asked.
"I don't mind."
Fu Hua stood beside him, her face expressionless.
"For a swordswoman, agility is what matters most. One shouldn't sacrifice the essentials for the sake of appearance."
Then, after a pause, she added softly:
"Uh… but if you think it's not good this way, I could go ask…"
"???"
Dan Zhu and Cangxuan both stared like they'd just seen a ghost.
What was happening?!
The immortal was actually letting Setsuna decide whether she should change her figure?!
Unbelievable.
In the past, whenever Dan Zhu teased her about this, Fu Hua would knock her on the head for a so-called 'personal attack.'
Yesterday, they'd only told her to have a proper talk with the Commander.
How did the talk end up here?!
The two of them could discuss such topics without flinching?!
"Oh, never mind then."
Setsuna thought for a moment.
"Occasionally, it's nice to see a different style. After spending so long with shipgirls, a change of flavor isn't bad either."
"From now on, you can sit at the same table as Nagato."
"…?"
Fu Hua glanced at the fox-eared shrine maiden beside her, feeling like Setsuna was still teasing her.
"I have an idea!"
Senti suddenly raised her hand.
"I can alter your consciousness, make everyone in the Starsea Empire believe that both the old relic and I are E-cup!"
"Of course, you'd need to let me change your cognition voluntarily. For some powerful folks, even I can't manage it…"
"???"
"Does such self-deception even mean anything?"
Setsuna asked in disbelief.
"Even if you change people's minds, wouldn't the feeling still be different?!"
Other than looks, he cared about the touch.
"Please, I'm the Herrscher of Sentience."
Senti wagged a finger in front of Setsuna.
"If I can alter cognition, I can alter everything tied to it. So even if you touched it, you'd believe it was E-cup…"
"—Hey hey hey, old relic, why'd you hit me?!!!"
Thump—
Before she could finish her vulgar words, Fu Hua smacked her on the head.
"Degeneracy, corruption everywhere."
"Bringing in a Herrscher of Sentience, no wonder things are hopeless now."
Setsuna shook his head with a sigh.
"To discuss such things in broad daylight… you really are something."
Fu Hua blushed, pinching his arm hard.
"We're all among ourselves. What's the big deal?"
Setsuna simply pulled her into his arms without restraint, showing his affection.
"…"
After a bit of playful bickering, Fu Hua suddenly remembered something.
"Right, aren't we about to return to the Starsea Empire? I need to make a trip back to Mount Taixuan to arrange matters for my sect."
"When Jiang Wanru was corrupted by Honkai, do you have a way to resolve it?"
Since boarding the station, she had fought the Schicksal army, helped Griseo, rescued Cangxuan and Dan Zhu, cultivated the Edge of Taixuan, and spent a long time with Setsuna.
But now she finally recalled—her disciples were still waiting back at Mount Taixuan.
"You're asking me if I can cure Honkai corruption when there are two Herrschers sitting right here? No need for such trouble—just stay here."
Setsuna chuckled, shaking his head, then fell into thought.
Most matters in the Saga of the Shattered Swords had been dealt with. It was about time to settle the Mount Taixuan affairs as well.
Now that the Blade Mantra's influence was gone, Fu Hua was no longer an emotionless killing machine. The root of her conflict with her seven disciples no longer existed.
At this time, the Schicksal Eastern Expedition had just ended not long ago. It was still early—everything was in time.
"Tohru, bring them over."
Setsuna tilted his head toward the dragon maiden.
"Understood~"
Tohru immediately understood, taking a few Angeloids aboard the ship.
...
Ming Empire, Mount Taixuan.
Within a bamboo lodge shrouded in clouds and mist, the seven disciples had gathered to discuss matters.
"That day, I truly saw a ship take Master away."
"During the battle with the Schicksal army, I saw it with my own eyes—the one on board was Master, and beside her stood a man I didn't recognize."
"I was losing to that foreigner with the strange weapon, but it was Master who saved my life."
Lin Zhaoyu frowned as she recounted once more what she had seen.
Ever since Setsuna had taken the immortal away, their Master had completely vanished.
Like a dragon glimpsed but never caught, appearing once and disappearing again.
The only time they saw her since was when the Schicksal Eastern Expedition was crushed.
"Those people flying in the sky… the foreigners called them 'angels,' right?"
The youngest, Qin Suyi, spoke softly.
"Their martial skills and weapons were things we had never seen before. Who knows where they came from…"
At the mention of those Angeloids who had swooped down from the skies that day, crushing the Schicksal army, everyone shuddered in memory.
"Were they skyfolk? How could Master be involved with them?"
The disciples exchanged uneasy looks.
With the limited information they had, there was no way to deduce anything.
After Fu Hua's mysterious disappearance, they had searched all across Shenzhou.
They had even rallied help from some in the martial world.
Yet their Master remained missing.
"…Perhaps this is actually a good thing for us…"
Lin Zhaoyu thought for a moment.
"Master has always traveled widely, meeting strange and powerful people. This time may be no different—perhaps she went wandering with another high expert."
"If we can solve Fourth Junior Sister's problem before Master notices, she likely won't make things difficult for us…"
As she spoke, a girl in plain robes tugged her sleeve down to hide her arm.
Due to an accident, her body had been tainted by Honkai energy.
She was beginning to turn into a zombie.
Master Fu Hua despised deviation most of all. For any trace of Honkai corruption, she would surely eradicate it without mercy.
If Master were to find out, the disciples dared not imagine the consequences.
"The other day, I got some prescriptions from a wandering doctor. Let's try them on Fourth Sister first."
Jiang Wanxi pulled several sheets of paper from her robes, covered in strange recipes.
To save her sister, she didn't care whether they worked or not—she had to try.
"Mm, these herbs shouldn't be hard to find. I'll go—"
Lin Zhaoyu was still thinking when—
Boom—
The space around Mount Taixuan suddenly trembled.
"Someone's here! It's not Master!"
"Be careful! Whoever it is, they're hostile!!!"
Cultivators were always most sensitive to shifts in their surroundings. In an instant, they all stood up, blades drawn.
At that moment, Qin Suyi glanced out the window—and nearly screamed.
Clang—
A ship nearly covering half of Mount Taixuan was slowly descending in the distance.
It was smaller than the starship they had seen on the battlefield that day, but to the locals, it was still a giant beyond imagination.
"That's the one that took Master away!"
Lin Zhaoyu exclaimed.
She couldn't identify the exact model, only that Starsea Empire's shuttles all looked similar.
"Why has it come? Is Master returning?! Or…"
As the disciples panicked.
Bang bang bang—
The door was knocked several times.
Before anyone could respond, the dragon maiden pushed it open, crossing her arms as she surveyed the group.
"Hey hey hey—! Everyone's here? Perfect. Sophons are really handy, saves me the trouble of searching one by one."
Tohru stretched out her hand, pointing at each in turn.
"Lin Zhaoyu, Qin Suyi, and you, you, you… all of you, come with me. The Commander and Fu Hua want to see you."
"Oh, Ma Feima, you stay. The station has a loli residential zone—strictly no male non-commanders allowed."
"???"
—
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