Once the "misunderstanding" was resolved, Veliona took the initiative to apologize. I retracted my words about her. She is infinitely times better than a tsundere.
"So, did you see what's wrong with her?"
She crossed her arms as she stared at the floating Seele. Her shoulder-length hair had grown to her waist already.
"Time dilution. Her flow of time is different from ours."
"She is growing faster..?"
"Yes."
The Sea of Quanta is capable of doing a lot of things. The principles regarding Time lies at the Divine Transformation Realm at minimum. Comprehending the Dao of Time in the earlier realms is also doable, but it is extremely hard to utilize.
For example, accelerating time is way easier than reversing time. However, accelerating time tenfold, twentyfold, or even a hundredfold increases its difficulty.
The age of Seele's soul back then was thirteen. As for her physical body, she is fifteen.
Now, her physical body is stuck at her "most optimal" age—twenty one.
Her soul…
"Fifty five years old…"
"Huh?"
"Seele spent an additional 42 years somewhere."
"..."
Doing simple math, Seele's flow of time is a hundred and fifty-five times faster than ours. Three months… 97 days had passed since she came here. That means she spent 15,035 days in total.
She spent 501 months… or 42 years… somewhere.
{Seele}
{Body: Early Golden Core}
{Qi: Peak Purple Mansion}
{Mind: Peak Purple Mansion}
Her improvements are 'not bad', though it definitely does not match our usual speed. It's more of Seele utilizing pure cultivation and honkai energy together. My [Xiutian Art] nor spiritual plants are not included.
If these things are present, she wouldn't be stuck at the Purple Mansion Realm for 42 years.
It will be different now.
"Get ready."
"Ah?"
"Your cultivation will increase faster."
"..?"
I might not be able to interfere with Seele's "trouble", but the experience potions from [Xiutian Art] is there. It has several more useful traits that serve as a self-sufficient 'golden finger'.
{Trait 1: Karmic establishment of spiritual plants, artifacts, and animals.}
{Trait 2: Increased efficiency of "Tao Gift" creation.}
{Trait 3: Increased efficiency of dual cultivation with selected partners.}
{Trait 4: Usage of "Tao Gift" on realm cultivation and techniques.}
…
The breakthrough to the peak of Purple Mansion and the breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm…
I released them all.
A tinge of pinkish-silver light emerged out of my body before sinking onto Seele.
Hum-!
A second later, Seele's realm changed.
{Seele}
{Body: Early Golden Core}
{Qi: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}
{Mind: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}
The expected tribulations occurred, but it only lasted for a second before dispersing.
"Fu…"
I looked towards Veliona. Her physical body experienced a series of changes. From her 'twelve year old' self, she grew visibly until she reached her fifteen year old state.
{Veliona}
{Body: Early Qi Refining > Early Foundation Establishment}
{Qi: Early Qi Refining > Early Foundation Establishment}
{Mind: Early Qi Refining > Early Foundation Establishment}
The might of fourth grade spiritual plants and a godly auxiliary technique appeared. She became the fastest to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, lasting ten minutes in total.
Strangely enough, her improvements fed back to the [Xiutian Art] under Seele's section.
Is this a loophole or…
Does it work like this on twins with a special connection?
Rip-!
The moment I heard a tearing sound, I closed my eyes and took back my spiritual consciousness.
"A-a-ah…"
Wordlessly, I summoned the blanket above her.
I was so preoccupied with Seele's matter that I forgot about this.
"I am not looking."
"..."
Veliona did not respond. The words she was about to speak came out as a tremble.
It looks like I need to call Pardofelis again…
*****
Twenty-first loop.
"...So you are in a time loop?"
"Hum."
Seele's eyes looked more tired. Yet, an unbreakable glint of light could be seen from within.
She began to explain the prepared script to Shi Tian. The latter fell silent for five minutes before letting out a sigh.
"Looks like I couldn't resolve it either…"
His calm temperament faltered. The twenty other time loops Seele went through were unspeakable. During each time loop, Shi Tian chose not to tell her the nature of the "Black Sun", believing he could resolve it himself.
Twenty failures.
"There are two things. The problem either lies on me… or this world you reside in."
"..!"
The twenty-first turn Shi Tian explained his assumptions. Hearing it was nothing short of looking at the answer sheet during examination. It is precisely why Seele chose to tell him the entire story every single time she looped back.
"For example, my technique. [Xiutian Art] is supposed to give you feedback. I can recall doing so. But, it did not come to you. Another thing was the spiritual plants. You cannot gain improvement after eating them, right? If…"
'...As expected of Brother Tian.'
Seele's mind remained unbroken despite the forty two years' worth of time loop. It was Shi Tian who supported her in each loop. Every time a new loop began, Seele inadvertently discovered a new thing about him. This scratched the curiosity on her heart… which led to her falling even deeper.
It was her absurdly strong feelings that anchored Seele's state of mind. She never lost hope, for every time he was there, she could do it.
No matter how long it takes.
Just then, a sudden surge of 'power' interrupted her thoughts.
'This is Brother Tian..!'
The last time she received it was 36 years ago, roughly during her third time loop. It made her aware that Shi Tian knew of her plight—and that he is helping her somewhere.
"...It's this world that has a problem."
The twenty-first turn Shi Tian saw Seele's changes. He is more than familiar with the Tao Gift's effects.
Rumble-!
Seele's Golden Core breakthrough had begun.
*****
Kiana went out to do her tasks. She cast [Two Phase Art] all around the world without any scruples. She knew Shi Tian wanted to test something out—something beneficial for their final showdown against the Cocoon of Finality.
When she came back, she was shocked to see another girl present. Seele's occasional fluctuations dealt another wave of shock to her.
"Look at her soul's age."
Shi Tian's voice came from behind her. Kiana could not escape the sudden hug he gave.
"Fifty five..?"
No matter how stunned the Tuna was, her processing speed and educational attainments are high enough. She realized that Seele's turmoil came from her accelerated sense of time.
"No, that won't work! I want to catch up too!"
Looking at Kiana's eyes, Shi Tian knew what she wanted to do. He sensed the stinging gaze coming from Veliona, but he felt helpless.
'I can only fault Veliona now…'
It took two steps to reach the palace's door.
Thud-!
When it closed, Shi Tian's lips were already sealed by Kiana's…
*****
A/N: To avoid confusion, here is an excerpt from my notes. This compares the progress of normal cultivation versus honkai + cultivation. It doesn't factor opportunities, techniques, and pills.
Honkai Progress v Typical Progress (High Grade Spirit Root Basis, per Minor Realm)
Purple Mansion: Decades | Centuries
Golden Core: Centuries | Millenia
Nascent Soul: Millenia | Ten Millenia
Divine Transformation: Ten Millenia | A Hundred Thousand Years
Void Refinement: A Hundred Thousand Years | Millions of Years
PS: Bonus chapter will come a few hours after this is uploaded.