The issues with Major Ji's body at the Infinite Tower had long drawn Theresa's close attention. With little help coming from the Tianming headquarters, she had been searching for other solutions—and the most effective method, naturally, was to obtain a complete Sacred Mark.
It was said that the legendary Jilin, the guardian of the Divine Continent over five thousand years ago, possessed a Sacred Mark that was unquestionably complete. If they could recover that Sacred Mark, it might extend Major Ji's lifespan. Although later, thanks to Daniel Davis's intervention, Major Ji no longer needed it, many of Tianming's Valkyries—corroded by Honkai energy—still required Jilin's Sacred Mark. Not to mention the Xuanyuan Sword; even if Theresa's side wasn't planning an exploration, Tianming headquarters would eventually send people to retrieve it.
The intelligence on the Nine Nether Regions wasn't gathered by Theresa's team but was instead discovered by Tianming headquarters. Saint Freya Academy, being solely a Valkyrie academy, had no agents of its own.
"Liliya, Liliya—this thing is so much fun! It's soft and bouncy!"
"Idiot Rosalia, now is not the time for that."
"Hey, now isn't the time to be sightseeing—keep your eyes open!"
Beneath the South Sea, a group that had set out from Saint Freya Academy aboard the Huberian quickly reached the southern depths where the Nine Nether Regions were rumored to lie. Then, using the bubble device that Daniel Davis had provided, they began their descent to the seabed in search of the Nine Nether Regions' location.
Tianming headquarters only had a rough idea of where the Nine Nether Regions might be, but pinpointing an approximate location underwater was no easy task. Unfortunately, aside from Major Ji's focus on the Nine Nether Regions, the others were mostly there to sightsee. The group split into several small teams.
The Rosalia sisters—Rosalia and Liliya—were fascinated by the bubbles swirling around them and even started a playful game. In contrast, two other groups treated the underwater trip like a date: Kiana and Mei huddled together, while near Bronya were Hiser and Wendy. Daniel Davis, Fu Hua, and Bronya formed another group, and Major Ji went off on her own.
This situation left Major Ji, who was both teacher and team leader, exasperated as she repeatedly called out instructions to them.
Though Fu Hua had experienced the Nine Nether Regions in the past, she wasn't clear on its exact nature—only that it was her place of heartbreak, where all her few close friends had perished. Each thought of it filled her with regret.
"If you all can't search for the Nine Nether Regions properly, I'll assign the task to another group," Major Ji finally issued an ultimatum after two consecutive days without any discoveries, prompting Kiana, Bronya, and the others to begin a serious search.
"Major Ji, Auntie, look—there's a cave!"
After the team had been searching diligently for the Nine Nether Regions, the next day Kiana made a discovery. In an area thick with seaweed, she found an entrance. One had to admit—when it came to luck, Kiana was the ultimate "lucky charm." Her luck was well known; whenever Bronya played those "gacha" games, she'd always beg Kiana for help. And Kiana never disappointed—ten pulls with double gold was routine for her. According to Bronya, on her luckiest day she'd even get ten golds in one ten-pull, making the rest weep with envy.
"Call me Major Ji," Major Ji habitually corrected Kiana before leading the way into the cave.
"It looks like this is the place," she murmured. Preliminary scans revealed enormous concentrations of Honkai energy, even signs of Honkai Beasts and Death Knights. Major Ji was convinced this had to be the Nine Nether Regions.
"It's huge…"
Inside, the cave wasn't dark at all; the walls emitted a strange glow that illuminated the interior. Even a rough look revealed the cavern's vast scale.
Daniel Davis couldn't help but feel awe at the sheer enormity of Chiyou. Based on what he knew, their group was likely inside Chiyou's body. The magnitude of Chiyou—even the former civilization had never witnessed anything like it. Judging by the amount of Honkai energy contained within, aside from the Regulators, Chiyou was the strongest among all Honkai Beasts. This also underscored just how powerful Kevin and Kaslana truly were—they used Chiyou as nourishment.
"So this is the Honkai's countermeasure mechanism… Not the Regulators, but an enhanced, Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Honkai consciousness is really something," Daniel Davis remarked.
Since entering the Honkai world, Daniel Davis had studied its history. Although disasters wrought by the Honkai were endless, prior to modern times there had never been Regulators or Judgment-class Honkai Beasts—at most, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts had appeared. But once modern society took hold, Regulators sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. It was almost as if it were all part of a preordained program. Although Daniel Davis had some guesses about the situation, he wasn't the Honkai consciousness itself, so he soon abandoned his speculations.
"Liliya, Liliya—let's have a contest! Whoever takes down the most Honkai Beasts wins your hidden strawberry cake back at base!"
"Okay!"
While the two blue-pink sisters raced forward with their weapons to tackle a Knight-class Honkai Beast—even though they'd been accommodated at Saint Freya Academy in Bronya's dormitory, their habits formed in the orphanage still persisted.
"Rosalia, Liliya, be careful!" Hiser called out, worried as she watched the pair charge into battle.
"Don't worry, Hiser—this time it's definitely going to be Rosalia's win," Rosalia replied with a smile as she turned back, then swung her "Sleeping Beauty" sword to cleave a Knight-class Honkai Beast in half.
"Actually, it's Liliya's win," Liliya countered as her "Swan Lake" blade took down another Honkai Beast.
"Who said that? Clearly, it's Kiana's win!" Kiana shouted as she rushed forward, firing a shot from the Type II Water Sprite Auto-Gun—an experimental weapon developed by Tianming's internal research institute—that froze a Honkai Beast in one blow. In response to Kiana's shout, a massive white leg materialized from above and pounded the beast, smashing it into several pieces.
"Watch me!" Wendy wasn't about to be outdone. With a swift motion, she sent out two gust blades that dispatched a Honkai Beast. At Saint Freya Academy, Wendy's skills had improved dramatically; under circumstances similar to those in the original story, Wendy would certainly no longer be overwhelmed by Titan Mecha.
The ability of the Fourth Regulator was to create an ideal fluid—not merely to summon tornadoes. Although Wendy's academic performance wasn't stellar, her in-game learning had helped her pick up several wind-based skills. Notably, she was always seen trailing behind Bronya.
"Why are there still Death Knights here?"
As the group ventured deeper into the cave, Death Knights began appearing alongside Honkai Beasts, much to Kiana's surprise.
"They're probably the lives that Chiyou once devoured—Chiyou was a devourer," Fu Hua explained with a tinge of sorrow as she regarded the emerging Death Knights.
"Mei, why did the class monitor have to tag along?" Kiana complained over the headset after Fu Hua's explanation, rather than replying directly. Even though Fu Hua had taken Kiana to Lion City to see Youlandel, their relationship hadn't improved one bit.
"What's wrong with the class monitor? At her age, she's already an A-rank Valkyrie and consistently tops the class. The class monitor is a role model—you shouldn't always oppose her," Mei tried to console Kiana.
"Oppose her? It's because she always sleeps in class and skips lessons!" Kiana grumbled. "Of all the students in the class, why does she always single me out? That's exactly why I'm upset."
"That isn't opposing the monitor—it's because you did something wrong, like playing games on the Moonlight Throne computer and eating hotpot in class."
Mei looked at Kiana in exasperation. In the past, someone with Kiana's behavior would have been shunned. Mei had always held herself to high standards, but ever since meeting Kiana, her self-discipline had taken a nosedive.
"Hey, the computer on the Moonlight Throne is super fast—nobody uses it anyway. And as for eating hotpot in class, I was hungry!" Kiana retorted, and she had a point: the computer on the Moonlight Throne was a supercomputer, so gaming on it was naturally swift.
"Alright, everyone. Our target this time is the legendary Sacred Mark of Jilin. Jilin was one of the Divine Continent's own, and the class monitor, being from the Divine Continent as well, must know things we don't," Daniel Davis declared.
"Up ahead is a massive gate. What's this inscription… 'kou kou'?" Kiana began reading aloud.
"Don't recite something you don't fully understand," Daniel Davis said with a sigh as he listened to Kiana only partially read the unfamiliar characters.
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"Class monitor, what is this?" Mei immediately grabbed Kiana, directing her gaze toward Fu Hua.
"Let me open the door," Fu Hua interjected just then, as Rosalia swung her Sleeping Beauty sword, poised to hack the gate apart.
"Wait—there are mechanisms inside. Forcing it open will trigger traps," Fu Hua cautioned, her eyes lingering on the inscription on the stone stele with a trace of wistfulness. Then she looked to Daniel Davis and said, "There's a method written here for disarming the traps. We'll split up—one person on each side."
Fu Hua recited the trap-disarming instructions aloud.
"Familiar handwriting?" Daniel Davis murmured.
"It's Dan Zhu's," Fu Hua confirmed.
The handwriting of an old friend stirred memories in Fu Hua, yet she did not forget their mission. Flanking Daniel Davis on each side, they managed to disable the mechanisms.
"This stone gate is actually a trap! And look, there's yet another mechanism here—do all the people of the Divine Continent love setting up these puzzles?" Daniel Davis commented.
After Daniel Davis and Fu Hua cracked the mechanisms, the group moved through an opening in the stone wall into a far more expansive cavern. Kiana immediately began to take action, only to find herself going in circles.
"It's a Bagua formation, Kiana—wait, let me observe first," Fu Hua said as if she hadn't heard Kiana's complaints, carefully scrutinizing the surroundings.
Earlier, while disarming the traps, Fu Hua had recalled events of the past—and simultaneously grown suspicious. The corpse of the sacrificed Jilin was nowhere to be found, and the Xuanyuan Sword had also vanished.
"What's wrong?" Daniel Davis asked as they pressed on, noticing the furrowed brow on Fu Hua's face. He stepped beside her and whispered, "Something doesn't seem right… It appears this is a seal."
"A seal? With us here, even if it is sealed, what does it matter? Worst case, Chiyou is revived—and that would allow us to finally end him," Daniel Davis replied.
"Mm."
"Then that must be the Xuanyuan Sword… How beautiful," Daniel Davis murmured. As they ventured deeper into the cavern, the group reached a vast plaza where the Xuanyuan Sword floated in midair. Three statues of red kites stood guard on the ground around it.
"Strange—the seal appears to be on the Xuanyuan Sword," Fu Hua whispered, taking in the arrangement.
"Made by Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu."
"Mm."
"Let's assess the situation first."
"Finally, it's come out." With the activation of the three red kite statues, the Xuanyuan Sword descended from midair. Then, a figure soared out from within the Xuanyuan Sword—a beautiful young maiden with short black hair clad in a golden dress. Judging by the excited expression on Fu Hua's face, it was obvious that this was Jilin.
Unlike in the original work where Fu Hua arrived here in a state of amnesia and did not recognize Jilin, Fu Hua had now recovered her memories. Yet Jilin clearly did not recognize Fu Hua—which was only natural, given that so much time had passed, and Fu Hua's current attire was vastly different from her old, elaborate Yunmo Danching robes. Now, Fu Hua wore plain casual clothes and sported a pair of flat glasses.
"Ghost," Hiser gasped at the sudden appearance of the beautiful maiden. She immediately took a few steps back, clinging tightly to Bronya's arm, clearly terrified of what she perceived as a spirit.
It wasn't just Hiser; Kiana too appeared frightened, while Wendy and Bronya, along with the others, looked on with curious expressions at the sudden arrival of the girl.
Boom!
Just as Major Ji was about to speak, the surroundings began to shake violently. Rocks started falling en masse from the ceiling, forcing everyone to dodge quickly. Amid the chaos, Major Ji managed to grab the Xuanyuan Sword as it hit the ground.
"Major Ji! Major Ji! We're in trouble—Chiyou seems to have revived and is advancing toward the Divine Continent! What on earth is happening?" Theresa's voice suddenly crackled over the communicator. Although she had also come along this time, she hadn't entered the Nine Nether Regions; instead, she remained aboard the Huberian, ready to provide support at a moment's notice.
"I'm not entirely sure," Major Ji replied, her gaze fixed on the beautiful maiden floating before them.
"It appears that Chiyou has indeed been revived. I am Jilin," the maiden announced, addressing the group as all eyes turned to her.
It turned out that back then Jilin hadn't killed the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Chiyou—her strength was insufficient. Yet, to prevent Chiyou from ravaging the Divine Continent, Jilin chose to sacrifice herself and seal herself away. Now, the seal that had been holding her in check had just been broken by this very group.
"To defeat Chiyou, you must destroy its heart. Brave humans—the fate of your world rests solely in your hands."
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