In the training room, Fu Hua was sweating as she faced a wooden dummy. As her footwork changed, Fu Hua's fists, palms, and elbows struck the wooden dummy one after another. The rhythmic banging sounds connected into a wonderful rhythm.
Suddenly, a communication ringtone rang out abruptly, and the striking sounds came to a halt.
Fu Hua frowned. Although she didn't want to have too much contact with the owner of this communication, she currently had no right to refuse. Moreover, since accepting this mission, this communication had not rung for a long time.
The plan must have progressed again, Fu Hua thought.
Answering the communication, Fu Hua said concisely, "What is it?"
"Still so cold, old friend." A magnetic male voice came from the other end. As if afraid of angering Fu Hua, the voice didn't continue to tease, "By the way, at a time like this, shouldn't you be worried about your new disciple?"
"Otto, what do you mean by that!" Fu Hua said flatly, a trace of impatience in her voice.
New disciple? Fu Hua was puzzled. The image of Ming Yu flashed in her mind, but she didn't understand why Otto would think that.
"He hasn't told you yet? I thought he would immediately ask his master for help if he got into trouble. He's a bit more stubborn than I thought," Otto said in a surprised tone, while briefly explaining what Ming Yu had done in the data space.
"Although he only used the Black Abyss in the data space, it was created by me using Void Archives. Therefore, it's the same as using the real Black Abyss, and the price is also equivalent," Otto said with a light chuckle. Even without a screen, you could hear the smile in his voice.
"Old friend, as a survivor of the Previous Era, you should also know that the wounds from the Black Abyss can only be healed by the White Flower. So, what do you want me to do?" Otto said slowly, his tone very calm, as if he were just asking whether black tea or green tea was better.
"What do you want?" Fu Hua said, still cold. Based on her understanding of Otto, he had already made his decision. Everything was under his control.
"Don't be angry. I'll have someone send the Abyss Flower over. But I do admire him quite a bit. Perhaps he'll become an S-rank in the future as well," Otto said casually, as if talking about a trivial matter. To Otto, an ordinary S-rank was indeed a small matter. Although quite powerful, they were only at that level.
Hanging up the communication, Fu Hua couldn't help but think of Ming Yu. Otto had expressed his admiration for him, seemingly with the intention of recruiting him. Was this solely due to Ming Yu's control over the Black Abyss?
Fu Hua couldn't figure it out. Even after knowing Otto for so long, she still couldn't see through this person.
She still had a question in her heart: how did Ming Yu know about Mount Taixu?
Looking at the slightly naive young man before her, Fu Hua's doubts surfaced again, but she didn't voice them. Although Ming Yu's current performance was not bad, it hadn't reached a point that surprised her. Moreover, she felt that even if she asked, Ming Yu might not answer honestly.
"Hah..." Ming Yu panted, asking doubtfully, "Why hasn't St. Freya gone on vacation even though the exams are over?"
This was something Ming Yu had always wanted to complain about. Theresa always wanted to dress up St. Freya as a normal school, so why hadn't summer vacation started yet?
Hearing Ming Yu's question, Fu Hua was also slightly surprised. She didn't expect that the ever-diligent Ming Yu would be thinking about vacation during training.
After a moment of silence, Fu Hua said faintly, "Insufficient funds, the Principal hasn't made up her mind... there are many reasons. It's been like this in previous years."
Ming Yu's heart tightened. The reality show "HOMU Rush" flashed in his mind. No wonder there were more and more small advertisements in the school recently. Thinking of this, his steps couldn't help but become a little unsteady, and his vision began to darken.
......
In the deep dark night, the moon hid behind the clouds, unwilling to shed even a sliver of light. The stars that usually dotted the sky were also gone, leaving the entire night sky frighteningly black.
Although blackness shrouded the sky, the ground was a sea of light.
The magnificent and solemn shrine had collapsed. The tall red torii gate had been cut down by a sharp blade, turning into several sections of broken wood, lying in the ruins, covered in dust.
Further away, it was a complete sea of fire. That was where the village once stood, now it was just a living hell. No screams could be heard, because there was no longer a single living thing in the village.
In the bright firelight, the bodies of the villagers could still be vaguely seen lying randomly in the ruins, quietly waiting for the flames to devour them. The slowly flowing blood and the red light of the flames reflected each other. It was impossible to tell whether the red blood had stained the flames red, or the red flames had reflected the blood red.
On the steps of the shrine lay a white-haired nun. Her black habit was covered with long gashes, revealing large patches of snow-white skin. But this scene held no charm; gurgling blood continuously flowed from the wounds, dyeing the white lining of her habit red and making the black of the habit even deeper.
The white-haired nun frowned tightly, her left hand covering the severed part of her right arm, trying to stop the incessant flow of blood.
A pink-haired shrine maiden wore a clean red and white shrine maiden's uniform that was completely out of place with the surroundings. Her right hand held a blood-stained tachi, and her eyes were devoid of any emotion, like a string puppet.
A demon-like whisper echoed in the space,
"Hate..."
"Hate and take your revenge..."
"With your own hands, push this ugly world towards destruction!"
The white-haired nun struggled to open her eyes. Looking at the incredibly cold shrine maiden before her, her heart was filled with pain. She said weakly, "No..., don't..."
Her voice was so faint it seemed as if it would be blown away by the wind as soon as it left her lips.
Hearing the white-haired nun's plea, a ripple seemed to appear in the shrine maiden's eyes. An emotion filled with pain and reluctance rose from the bottom of her eyes, and even the motion of swinging her blade couldn't help but pause.
The demon-like voice sounded again, with a hint of urgency, "This is a fate you cannot escape. This is your true belonging. Yae Sakura!!"
In the end, the shrine maiden's eyes were once again covered by despair and hatred. The blue eyes no longer had any ripples, returning to a pool of stagnant water.
The shrine maiden slowly and firmly raised the tachi above her head, just as she had swung it thousands of times before.
The black blade was dyed red by the firelight, and the sharp edge was covered in crimson blood. The blood trickled down the tachi and dripped onto the shrine maiden's face, adding a touch of evil charm.
Feeling the residual warmth of the blood on her face, the shrine maiden showed no emotion, nor did she hesitate in her swing. The tachi was slowly raised, and then with a "swish" of parting air, it swung down heavily towards the defenseless nun on the ground!
The white-haired nun used her last bit of strength to shout, "Wake up, Sakura!!"
But the tachi did not stop. The white-haired nun's eyes widened, the sharp glint of the blade reflected in her blue pupils.