"Phew, finally back." Yawning, Chu Lian was dragged home by Li Mingxue. The moment she saw the hall full of people, she immediately lost the will to move. Right now, she only wanted to sleep—sleep until the end of time, with no one waking her.
These past days, her schedule had been thrown into complete chaos. Even if Chu Lian wanted to properly adjust it, she simply couldn't. There were more and more matters to handle, accidents happening one after another, leaving her with no way to catch up on lost sleep.
Although her strength had already reached the point where going without sleep for several days wouldn't affect her at all, a girl still in her growth phase who didn't sleep would suffer in her development—especially in terms of her chest and height. She absolutely didn't want to remain flat-chested and loli forever.
Being a thousand-year loli might sound enviable, but in reality, it must be tragic, right? After all, for so many years, you could only watch the people around you grow fuller and more mature, one by one, while you alone stayed the same. Even if you didn't say it aloud, wouldn't your heart be crying inside?
Yes, so I definitely don't want that kind of miserable life. Even if she wasn't aiming to grow into someone as scientifically impossible as Chu Chu, at the very least she couldn't let herself become the subject of jokes and sink into inferiority.
While she was lost in her own thoughts, her body was dragged along by Li Mingxue and tossed onto the sofa face-down. Throughout the entire process, the girl didn't move a single muscle, letting inertia carry her like a puddle of mud.
"Honestly, if you'd rested properly these past few days, would you be acting spoiled now? I really don't know what to say about you." Li Mingxue glanced around. Chu Chu's little head kept nodding up and down—she was clearly dozing off.
That girl was tired too. Maintaining the Thunder Empress and the summoned Lightning Spirit for so long must have consumed an enormous amount of energy. After returning, instead of going to her own bed to rest, she had waited here for her big sister to come back. That level of dependence on her sister—there was really nothing more to say.
As for Inori, she had already closed her eyes and fallen asleep in a single-seat armchair. Summoning Eve twice in such a short time had drained a great deal of her stamina and spiritual power. Her mind was slightly overdrawn as well. It was only natural that she would fall asleep from exhaustion.
Or perhaps it was because this place—home—gave her a sense of security. With Chu Lian by Li Mingxue's side, she had nothing to worry about, and so she could sleep so peacefully.
By comparison, the white-haired girl who treated battle as enjoyment—and hadn't even unleashed her full power—seemed much more energetic. She sat on another single-seat sofa in silence. However, knowing that Hiyori was standing behind her, she felt somewhat restless.
Although she had already rejected the Umbral Knight, Hiyori still acted according to her own will, truly like a follower. It left her feeling rather awkward.
"Fortunately Anna was obedient and went back to rest. Otherwise, how would we handle that?" Anna's narcolepsy had flared up again. Usually it was troublesome, but in this situation, it was unexpectedly convenient.
"Hmm, let me think. We can't just leave everyone here like this, right?" Propping her head up with both hands, Li Mingxue looked at them with slight distress, unsure how to arrange things. After thinking it over, she decided that since their relationship was already so intimate, they might as well all sleep together.
They had often slept together anyway. Since it wasn't easy to make separate arrangements now, she might as well toss them all together. Presumably, when they woke up later, they would be quite satisfied with her decision.
With that thought, she stopped hesitating. She tucked Chu Lian and Chu Chu under each arm and carried them upstairs, tossing them onto Chu Lian's bed. Then she returned and lifted Inori in a princess carry, whispering softly into her ear, "Thank you today—both you, Inori, and Eve."
The girl in her arms seemed to sense something. She stirred faintly, then went still again, her breathing even, lost in deep sleep. No one knew when she would wake.
"Honestly, don't push yourself too hard." Li Mingxue felt a pang of heartache. If she hadn't been worried that interfering would break the balance and attract far too much trouble, would she have needed to let them do this?
Who would want to watch their own daughter—and a girl as close as a daughter—walk into danger? In any case, if there was a next time, she would absolutely not allow them to take such risks again.
"Satsuki, you should rest properly too. Even if you don't attend school, being able to rest is still a good thing. The martial path emphasizes balance between tension and release. If you suppress yourself too much, you'll damage your vitality. That wouldn't be good." Before heading upstairs, she turned back to remind the white-haired girl. Only after seeing her nod in agreement did she carry Inori upstairs with peace of mind.
"She's very strong." Only after Li Mingxue's figure disappeared upstairs did Hiyori dare to speak. The pressure the woman gave her was simply too overwhelming. Even the strongest knight in her clan had never reached such heights. Was she truly human? How could a human possess such terrifying talent and strength?
"Mm. Extremely strong. Lian is my current goal to chase. She's the target I must surpass in the future. Otherwise, I won't acknowledge that my martial path has succeeded." Kurosaki Satsuki did not hide her lack of confidence. She didn't find it embarrassing to say such things. The other had surpassed far too many people, reaching a height she had never witnessed. There was nothing but sincere admiration in her heart. For her to even propose surpassing her was already a rare kind of courage.
"Don't lose heart. You'll surpass her one day." Although even she felt the words were somewhat insincere, wasn't this precisely the persistence of those who pursued the martial path? Even if the opponent were a god, one must possess the resolve to slay gods, to set one's goal beyond them. Only then would this life not be wasted.
"I know." The white-haired girl nodded. After saying that, she fell silent, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Behind her, Hiyori clenched her fists. She had a premonition that by following her—or rather, by following this group of girls—she would surely recover her lost memories. She would uncover why she only remembered being a princess of a kingdom in life, and why she loathed the undead and zombies so deeply.
This road was long. She had already walked it for a long time. Now, she truly needed a group of exceptionally gifted companions to move forward alongside her. Only then could she achieve her goals faster, and avoid wasting too much time on unnecessary matters.
If her strength were even one-tenth of that human's, she would probably be able to accomplish what she wanted.
No—even if she only possessed one-third of the pink-haired girl's strength when she transformed into that purple-haired form, it would surely suffice. Heaven-rank... that had once been her ultimate goal, hadn't it?
"Lian, Chu Chu, Inori..." A ripple stirred in the white-haired girl's thoughts. The recent battle had already shown her the other's progress and the gap between them. While it gave her confidence, it also made her want to strive even harder.
After all, it was a threshold that, though not enormous, still had to be crossed. She wanted to step over it as soon as possible, then advance toward the next level—the initial stage of Earth-rank. By then, she would have achieved the first signs of true accomplishment.
"Go rest. That person said that balance between tension and relaxation is the foundation for continuing cultivation. Suppressing yourself too much will damage your vitality." Hiyori was an Umbral Knight, one of the undead. What she lacked least was stamina and time. She did not need sleep. But the white-haired girl still had to rest.
"Alright." Kurosaki Satsuki did not force herself. Picking up the twin blades at her side, she headed upstairs, leaving Hiyori alone in the hall.
After all, she was undead. Whether she rested or not made no difference. Her strength was sufficient. Acting as a temporary bodyguard here was not a bad arrangement.
"Humans... truly are a peculiar species." The memories of her life before death were only memories. They could not become obstacles to how she judged her current race. Hiyori was very clear—she was an Umbral Knight, not a human. Thus, she viewed humans with the perspective of an outsider.
What she found remarkable was not only their speed of physical cultivation or the resilience of their souls, but also their creativity. These houses, these tools—every single item was exquisitely crafted. Such things were difficult to create purely through magic. At least, she had never seen any race capable of producing such objects through magic alone.
"If I'm going to live here in the future, should I change this appearance of mine?" She glanced at her heavy suit of armor and found herself growing somewhat longing toward human life.
Unfortunately, Umbral Knights were not like Night Demons—those special beings who lived by transforming their forms—nor were they like Tina, whose race possessed an extraordinarily high bloodline. Although Umbral Knights had reached the sixth-tier bloodline among the undead, all of that potential was invested in combat.
In other aspects, they were not even as capable as ordinary races like elves or dwarves. Asking her, at the peak of Spirit-rank, to transform into a human form was truly forcing the impossible.
"I need to find a way..." After becoming an Umbral Knight, no matter how tall and formidable she appeared, she was still female. Certain feminine traits remained—for example, the love of beauty...
"Satsuki, although this Umbral Knight has no ill intent and what she said is true, I still feel her background isn't simple. You should be careful." On her way back to her bedroom, the white-haired girl encountered Li Mingxue, who had just finished settling Inori back onto the bed and stepped out. Hearing her words, she nodded in acknowledgment.
She wasn't foolish. Of course she understood there must be connections she hadn't yet considered. But that wasn't something to worry about now. Without sufficient strength, everything remained a mystery. Once she reached a certain level and encountered more matters, everything would naturally unravel. There was no need to entangle herself in it at this stage.
"Anna, you're awake?" After offering a brief reminder to Kurosaki Satsuki and seeing that she had her own plans, Li Mingxue refrained from interfering further. Returning to her room, she was surprised to see Anna sitting at the edge of the bed.
"Mm. I woke up when Mommy came back. I just didn't go out to see her. Mommy must be very tired right now. Anna didn't want to cling to her and keep her from resting properly. If Mommy can't rest well, she'll definitely be exhausted." The little girl was very sensible. She understood how grueling that battle had been.
Although they clearly could have crushed their way through with overwhelming strength, they had stubbornly chosen single combat and similar approaches instead. The final outcome felt somewhat self-inflicted, yet there was no denying that these people had gradually earned her acknowledgment.
There were very few who could persist in such principles. Even if they were competing with her for Mommy, that kind of attitude was truly worthy of respect.
Of course, acknowledgment was acknowledgment. What the girl wanted to obtain was something she would never yield to anyone.