"Is there anything else you need to know?" Fu Hua asked finally.
"Can Himeko and I practice it too?" Theresa asked, a little sheepishly.
According to Little Xuan, this martial art could only be mastered by children. She was now... ahem. It would be quite embarrassing if everyone else learned it and she was the only one who couldn't.
"You can, but I cannot guarantee your success. After all, the Sword of Taixuan can only be learned by geniuses with exceptional comprehension. Whether you can master it or not will depend entirely on the effect of this potion," Fu Hua said honestly.
"Alright..."
"By the way, Class Monitor, the name of your martial art is the Sword of Taixuan, and it has sword techniques. But why have I never seen you use a sword?" Kiana asked curiously.
"The Soul Principle is the essence of swordsmanship. The way of the sword is ever-changing. When you have mastered the Soul Principle, all things in the world can become your sword. Your attacks are no longer bound by the shape of a blade. Even if I use my fists or a spear, I can still use sword techniques," Fu Hua explained.
"I see! Class Monitor, you really are amazing," Kiana said with an admiring expression.
"If there are no more questions, then you may take the potions," Fu Hua said.
Hearing this, everyone took out their potions and drank them down.
As the cool liquid entered their mouths, its effects were immediate. A cool clarity washed over their minds, as if they were floating in the clouds. Problems they couldn't figure out before were now understood in an instant.
The feeling was impossible to describe with words. In short, it was incredible.
Following Fu Hua's instructions, they sat cross-legged in a circle around her and closed their eyes.
Fu Hua's lips moved slightly, and a series of mysterious syllables flowed from her mouth. It did not seem to be any known language, but as the others listened, they felt their very spirits being tempered.
Gradually, as Fu Hua continued to chant the Sword-Heart Mantra, the consciousness of each person was drawn back to scenes from their past.
Raiden Mei remembered her time in Nagazora, when her father was wrongly imprisoned and her life at Chiba Academy was turned upside down.
Bronya remembered the experiment where Seele took her place and was lost as a result.
Kiana remembered the forest fire when she was twelve, the corpses lying around her, and Siegfried's severed arm.
Himeko...
They all recalled memories of sorrow and pain, past events they never wanted to revisit.
However, now, under the influence of the Sword-Heart Mantra and the Clarity buff, they felt as if they had returned to those painful times once more.
The Heart Principle of the Sword of Taixuan was, at its core, a method of tempering the heart. To forge a "sword-heart," one's mind could not have a single flaw or vulnerability, otherwise, it would inevitably become a source of disaster in the future.
---o---
Three hours later, Fu Hua stopped chanting the Sword-Heart Mantra. The Clarity buff from the mental potion had worn off, and continuing would be pointless. Now, it was up to them to see how far they could go on their own.
Soon, the first person to open her eyes was Kiana. The moment she did, her pair of azure eyes became pure and translucent, like the reflection of a tranquil lake.
"A heart as tranquil as a lake of still water... Kiana, you are a genius."
Fu Hua nodded, looking at Kiana with a sense of gratification.
She hadn't expected Kiana to directly enter the first stage of the Heart Principle, the state of Still Water, in a single step.
"Thank you, Class Monitor." Kiana let out a breath of turbid air. She felt better than ever before, her mind clearer than it had ever been.
"You don't need to thank me. This is your own talent," Fu Hua said, shaking her head.
"Wow, Kiana, with your aptitude, you would have been considered a peerless genius even centuries ago," Little Xuan said, looking at Kiana with some surprise. Even with the aid of the Mental Enhancement Potion, reaching the state of Still Water in just three hours was still incredibly impressive.
"Really? Hehe, I told you! I'm a one-in-a-million peerless genius! And Bronya always makes fun of me," Kiana said, scratching her head with a proud, goofy grin.
After that, the others opened their eyes one by one.
Although none of them had directly entered the state of Still Water like Kiana, they had all taken the first step. As long as they continued to temper their hearts every day, they would eventually reach it.
This tempering of the heart had brought them all great benefits. Each person's spirit and energy had changed to some degree. While the change wasn't obvious now, that wouldn't necessarily be the case in the future.
"Have you all memorized the Sword-Heart Mantra I just recited?" Fu Hua asked.
"Yes, we've memorized it, Class Monitor," Kiana nodded.
"From now on, you must silently recite it every day without fail. You cannot afford to be lax. The slightest wavering will cause your sword-heart to shatter."
"Understood," everyone replied in unison.
"Mei, when you have time, you can come find me to learn the Form Principle. Although we don't have the Xuanyuan Sword, with your aptitude, you should be able to learn a technique or two," Fu Hua said.
"Okay, Class Monitor. I'll remember."
Raiden Mei nodded. In truth, she desperately wanted to become stronger. Seeing Kiana grow more and more powerful, she felt she was already struggling to keep up. When they went on missions together, she could do little to help Kiana besides packing her a bento box.
So even she was now desperate to become stronger. As long as it would help Kiana, she would do anything.
---o---
Time flew by, and two days passed in a flash. The group found themselves once again in the Q&A Space.
This time, the space was a bit crowded. There were six from St. Freya, plus their little ancestor, making it six and a half. With the two from Anti-Entropy, it was a total of eight and a half people.
Fortunately, the Q&A Space was quite large, so it didn't feel cramped even with so many people.
"Lady Theresa, and everyone from St. Freya, it's a pleasure to see you again," Einstein said, greeting them first.
"Einstein, what happened to Tesla?" Theresa asked, pointing with surprise at the disheveled Dr. Tesla, whose hair was a complete mess.
"She was in the lab working on one of her useless inventions. One mistake led to the lab exploding, and now she looks like this," Einstein stated without any reservation. "Don't worry, this is a daily occurrence for Dr. Tesla."
"Hey! Nest-head, what do you mean, useless inventions? This genius's inventions have always been very useful, alright!" Tesla shouted, mortified. Her inventions were clearly very useful!
"Is that so? Then, Dr. Tesla, do you happen to recall the automatic hair-washing machine you invented previously?"
"Of course! That was one of my proudest creations! Look at us, we spend all day in the lab with no time to wash our hair. But with the automatic hair-washing machine, your hair can be clean and tidy in just two minutes! What's not to like?"
"It certainly was clean. After all, when even the hair has been washed away, how could it not be clean?"
"Ahem... That was just a mistake last time! I accidentally set the machine's power to the maximum. Didn't I fix it later?"
Tesla tried her best to defend her inventions. Many of them were born from sudden inspiration, and when inspiration struck, she would immediately start building, which is why she often created so many strange gadgets.