"It's going to rain…"
A green-haired valkyrie set aside her curtains and saw the gloomy skies. It is currently seven-o-clock in the morning. The cold gusts of wind seeping through the window tempted her to sleep once more.
Unfortunately, a single barrier stopped her from doing so:
A job.
"The first period starts at nine. I'm saved…"
The Valkyrie tinkered with the special alarm clock and snoozed the rest of her alarms for the day. She got ready rather hastily. Fortunately, not many saw her rushed look at the teacher's dormitory. Most of the teachers present had morning or afternoon classes.
After taking a shower and dressing up, she found there was still another thirty minutes left before her class.
Before she knew it, she found herself in the familiar garden inside Saint Freya. She sat down on one of the empty benches. Her shoulders relaxed.
"Everything still feels like a dream."
More than two years ago, Wendy was supposed to undergo the test of the Gem of Desire, though it was halted due to unknown circumstances. The next year, she witnessed one major event happen after another.
First was the abrupt resignation of Schicksal's Overseer, Otto Apocalypse. Then came the Project STIGMA that drew her inside a special space. Like those who awakened their stigma, they experience unique scenarios before being forcibly sent back to Earth.
Anti-Entropy and Schicksal was then 'forced' to reveal the knowledge regarding the Honkai to the general public.
Things almost went back to normal until another bombshell was dropped six months ago—the announcement of Project Immortal.
It is a series of diverse strategies that will empower humanity. It is centered around the so-called 'Immortal Cultivation'.
Several batches of Anti-Entropy fighters and Schicksal Valkyries were tested first. They were asked to touch an embedded silver cube with their palm. It was supposed to scan their bodies for "Spirit Roots", but something different occurred to Wendy.
The moment she touched it, she saw a man. He was so breathtakingly handsome that time halted itself when she met his eyes.
To her surprise, he took the initiative to hold her hand.
Then…
He disappeared.
She couldn't recall what happened after that, staying in a daze for the rest of that day. She awakened a high-grade Wind Spirit Root and was sent to a training center along with the others with Spirit Roots. They learned the basics of Immortal Cultivation and chose their main cultivation techniques. They also chose a specialization within the dozens of immortal cultivation professions.
Things became simpler with the guidance of the camp's instructors. Not to mention the Foundation Establishment kids, there are also the Purple Mansion Realm and even Golden Core Realm cultivators.
Their instructions, abundant resources, and cultivation cheats (i.e., Honkai) allowed them to have a concrete understanding of Immortal Cultivation within a year. They were then sent to instruct the next batches of immortal cultivation seedlings. Another year has passed since then.
Out of them all, two people showed exaggerated progress; Wendy is one of them.
She learned who that man was after her anomalous progress reached Theresa's ears.
"He… He came up with immortal cultivation. He introduced it to us. Even the Project Immortal is his idea."
Wendy was surprised to see her short Principal being this motivated to go to work. She could still recall the times when she caught her slacking off by reading HOMU comics and watching their animations.
To that, Theresa said something:
"This is the best we can do."
Wendy got to know that the sudden and spontaneous bursts of 'improvements' turned out to be from Shi Tian himself. Everyone connected to him is being fed back with Tao Gifts. That was what pushed them straight to the Golden Core Realm after merely a year.
Nobody took it for granted, however. They became more motivated to fulfill their roles on Earth's drastic changes.
'Despite not appearing once, everyone regards him as a pillar…'
A savior.
Wendy felt nothing wrong about looking at Shi Tian like that. He was also one of the mainstays who defeated the Honkai. The present wouldn't be here had it not been for him.
Inevitably, she developed a feeling of longing.
'What should I say once I meet him?'
Wendy was in a daze when her vision changed. She found herself in a cosmic landscape. Darkness blanketed the sea of milky-white stars.
In front of her was the very man she thought of.
"You are…"
"A fragment of him. A trace of his spiritual consciousness, to speak."
Shi Tian faced her and actively answered her questions.
"It is not the real me. I left it amongst all of the Spirit Root awakening devices used all around the world."
Turns out, it was only Shi Tian who can awaken everyone else's Spirit Roots. He was weaker back then, hence it needed most of his efforts just to awaken a hundred.
Being a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator meant that his mind is at a high level. A trace of his spiritual consciousness sufficed when it comes to awakening Spirit Roots.
He made thousands of those inside the Bubble World. The rest of the supplies needed to kickstart Earth's journey as an immortal cultivation civilization was given to Kiana, which she then passed onto Bronya.
"This spiritual will is in a state of slumber most of the time. Unless…"
He was about to utter the next word when his eyes widened. The sight of an extraordinarily handsome immortal being dumbfounded still looked majestic in Wendy's eyes.
"I am in danger."
"..?!"
She didn't know any of it, yet she could feel how ominous that statement was.
The cosmic landscape started collapsing. Shi Tian's figure became blurry.
"Tell everyone to take care. I will be…"
Shatter-!
Before she knew it, Wendy was back to Saint Freya's garden.
"Something bad happened."
She decided to head straight to Theresa's place. Her supernatural powers coupled with her Wind Spirit Root made her speed reach the absolute limit of the Golden Core Realm.
It just so happened that she intersected with someone else. The surrounding temperature decreased rapidly as a blue light caught up to Wendy.
She looked back and recognized who it was.
"You too..?"
"...Yes."
It was none other than Anna Schariac. She, along with Wendy, triggered Shi Tian's trace of spiritual consciousness as they became eligible to become partners under the [Xiutian Art].
Like most of the others, they reached the pinnacle of the Golden Core Realm within a year of joining. They caught up on honing their Tao Hearts to the fifth level in order to successfully pass the Nascent Soul Realm tribulations.
The two did not talk much. They arrived on the Floating Isles. They found Theresa who was pacing back and forth with her small legs.
"Oh no… How will I explain it to Kiana..?"