"Huh?" Bianka's immediate reaction to Shu's words was pure confusion.
I don't need to learn it?
If I don't learn the Edge of Taixuan, how am I supposed to chop open this block of alloy?
"Have you ever imagined what it would look like if you actually did learn the Edge of Taixuan?"
Bianka froze.
Imagine what it would look like if I learned the Edge of Taixuan? The question felt incredibly sudden.
But in reality, ever since she witnessed the sheer power of the technique with her own eyes, she had imagined it. In fact, it would be weird if she hadn't.
She had fantasized about becoming a peerless swordmaster, wielding a divine blade against the world. She fantasized about being the inheritor of the Edge of Taixuan...
Bianka had even mentally pictured herself dressed in ancient martial arts robes, wearing a bamboo hat, leaning lonely against a wall in the drizzling rain with a sharp sword cradled in her arms.
Yeah, exactly like that... Senior Shu wants me to imagine it just like that.
Bianka closed her eyes and thought about it. She thought hard, visualized it clearly, and suddenly understood.
"But wait, don't we collect [Wish] from other people?" Bianka opened her large eyes, staring at Shu with absolute innocence.
"Correct," Shu nodded.
"Then why do I need to imagine it?" Bianka pressed. "Can my own thoughts... become a [Wish]?"
Shu shook his head. "No... most likely not. At the very least, I can't."
Ultimately, Shu still had no idea whether his death-loop "save states" were a manifestation of his own [Wish] or an entirely separate ability.
Besides, that particular ability hadn't triggered in a very long time; its presence in his mind was currently quite low.
"So, did you feel your imagination generate a [Wish]?" Shu asked.
Bianka focused her perception, then shook her head. "I didn't feel any changes or new additions..."
"Then the answer is no." Having verified it with a second sample size, Shu made the final ruling. "Our own imaginations cannot directly generate a [Wish]."
"Oh..." Bianka nodded, somewhat disappointed.
Then, suddenly, she felt a distinct fluctuation in the vast, dormant reservoir of [Wish] within her.
"Wait..." Startled by the anomaly, Bianka opened her mouth, but Shu raised a hand to stop her.
"That's my [Wish]... More accurately, I just forcefully sculpted one for you," Shu explained the source of the new addition. "Unless you'd prefer I find a teaching assistant to genuinely wish for it?"
[From... : Use... the Edge of Taixuan... to cleave... the metal block in front of you.]
"No, this is perfectly fine." Bianka couldn't tell much of a difference anyway, and if Shu said it worked, then it worked.
The only weird part was that the wording of the [Wish] felt oddly fragmented and hesitant.
Wait. What did he mean he "sculpted" one for me?
Bianka looked up at Shu, her face once again the picture of absolute confusion.
You can manually sculpt these things?!
"Ahem. That's an advanced technique. You don't need to learn it right now," Shu waved his hand dismissively. "The priority is getting you to proficiently use basic [Wish].
"For you right now, [Wish] is nothing more than a mold. You don't need to try and alter it, just use it directly.
"In the past, you used [Wish] purely through raw instinct and intuition. Now, I'm going to train you to consciously trigger and apply the ability.
"Okay," Bianka nodded seriously, taking a deep breath and bracing herself for Shu's instruction.
"First of all, while [Wish] is practically omnipotent in a certain sense, I only truly understood its operational logic after facing the Herrscher of Desire's absolute barrier.
"Fundamentally, it is still a Herrscher Authority that relies on Honkai Energy to function. The process goes like this: First, use Honkai Energy to activate the Authority. Second, the Authority processes and mobilizes more Honkai Energy. Third, the Authority binds the processed Honkai Energy to a specific [Wish]. Finally, the possibility contained within the [Wish] is manifested into reality.
"Therefore, if an enemy possesses the means to detect Honkai Energy or Authority fluctuations and reacts instantly, your [Wish] will fail to manifest because its final realization is technically the absolute last step in the chain."
That's so complicated... but I think he means... the Honkai Energy activation has a higher priority than the final effect, meaning the process of using [Wish] can actually be interrupted?
Just as Bianka surmised, the activation of [Wish] could indeed be intercepted. While Shu had never personally had a [Wish] interrupted before, that was mostly a testament to his own overwhelming stats.
If combat was a video game running at a framerate measured in Planck time... the activation of [Wish] was incredibly fast. So fast that almost nothing could react to it.
But it ultimately wasn't a zero-frame start-up. Therefore, theoretically—
Why do you think Gu Chu was able to accurately pinpoint the flaws in every single one of Shu's attacks and forcefully drag the fight out for so long?
He was reacting to those exact startup frames, executing frame-perfect counters.
"This is just a warning. Do not blindly trust that your ability will always successfully trigger."
As Shu spoke, he raised his hand, intentionally slowing down his movements to give Bianka a clear demonstration.
Using an almost negligible wisp of Honkai Energy, he stimulated the Authority within his core, putting the entire mechanical process of the Authority on full display for her.
Aside from the initial nudge of Honkai Energy, Shu completely let go of the reins, allowing the Authority to run its course automatically.
Bianka clearly witnessed the Authority automatically draw in and process a massive surge of Honkai Energy. Once the processed energy was primed, Shu executed the second manual input.
He selected a [Wish].
The Honkai Energy and the [Wish] reacted. Driven by Shu's subjective choice, they rapidly anchored onto objective reality.
Before Bianka's shocked eyes, the raw Honkai Energy transformed into a chilling, razor-sharp aura of sword intent, coating Shu's hand. The intent then guided Shu's arm—lifting it, bringing it down, and cleanly bisecting the cubic meter of solid alloy.
The moment the metal block split into two perfect halves, the sword light enveloping Shu's hand vanished instantly, having fulfilled its purpose.
"And that's it."
Shu withdrew his hand, then waved it again, causing the two halves of the metal block to seamlessly fuse back together into a pristine whole.
This was exactly how he used [Wish] when he first awakened. Because of this rigid limitation, the specific types of [Wish] he had access to were incredibly important, which was why he needed someone by his side to constantly provide him with tailored desires.
As for when he became capable of using [Wish] so freely and formlessly...
It was probably during his first battle with Evolution.
The massive influx and sheer diversity of accumulated [Wish], combined with the exponential surge in his Honkai Energy manipulation driven by pure rage, had finally unlocked the advanced applications of his Authority.
But that was far beyond what Bianka could learn right now.
Bianka stared blankly at Shu's hand—the hand that had just effortlessly cleaved solid alloy in half. She slowly raised her head, looking at him in utter disbelief.
"...Is... is that really it?"
Shu: "...?"