Summoning "Sincerity"

Jialesi, Sword Flower University. “…As expected. I knew it had to be a vortex. Dammit, why didn't I have luck like yours? I condensed my Silver Wings through grueling effort day in and day out!” “Tch, no, the more I think about it, the angrier I get, and the more I look at you, the more jealous I feel. In all my life, I've loathed people like you the most—blessed with both great luck and high talent. Get out, get out!” “Go back and hone your swordsmanship thoroughly. If I ever catch you getting smug and slacking off over this petty achievement, just you wait—I'll burn you to ashes with the flames of my jealousy…” Sonia was kicked straight out of the professor's research office. Poking out her tongue, she walked back in high spirits. Harsh though Professor Trozan's words sounded, the professor had not skimped on her rewards in the slightest, gifting her two swordsmanship sorcery spirits directly from her personal collection and even sharing two swordsmanship miracles! The two one-winged sorcery spirits were 'Scabbard' and 'Sword Sharpening'. Sonia had previously seen the former in Senior Celia's hands; it triggered when a blade remained sheathed for more than fifteen seconds, enhancing the power of the next strike. The latter was a buff-type sorcery spirit dedicated specifically to sword blades. Triggering when a whetstone was applied to the blade, it made the edge sharper, more resilient, and less prone to chipping or snapping. The two swordsmanship miracles were "Scabbard Concealing Light" and "Ten Years of Sword Sharpening," both derived with Scabbard and Sword Sharpening as their primary sorcery spirits. Sonia would still need to purchase auxiliary sorcery spirits on her own to activate them. For instance, "Ten Years of Sword Sharpening" required time-element sorcery spirits: 'Second', 'Minute', 'Hour', 'Day', 'Month', and 'Year'. Although they were time-element sorcery spirits, they were not expensive—in fact, they were quite cheap and could be purchased on the sorcery spirit trading platform at any time. This was because across the Time Continent on the second layer of the Void Realm, this series of time sorcery spirits was practically everywhere. Two-Winged Sorcerers could harvest quite a few of them on every trip into the Void Realm. Though they were resources only Two-Winged Sorcerers were qualified to gather, the sheer supply naturally drove down the prices. Otherwise, Professor Trozan would never have imparted this miracle to Sonia; the Sword Saint was well aware of her genius apprentice's financial background. That said, having liquidated quite a few sorcery spirits from the Void Realm, Sonia was actually reasonably well-off. She had recently been pondering what sorcery spirits to buy to round out her tactical repertoire, and now Professor Trozan had resolved that headache in advance. These two miracles also showed that Professor Trozan had firmly established Sonia's current objectives: raise her realm, familiarize herself with her sorcery spirits, and master miracles. This was only natural. Having taken merely eight days to condense her Silver Wings from scratch, Sonia's swordsmanship realm lagged far behind the rate of her sorcery power's growth. The chasm lying before Sonia now was her sorcery realm. As long as she had not raised her swordsmanship realm to the Gold rank, she would never be able to summon a two-winged sorcery spirit, nor could she enter the second layer of the Void Realm, set foot on the Time Continent, or condense Golden Wings. A sorcerer's advancement permitted no shortcomings. Sorcery power and realm had to reach the mark simultaneously before the Void Realm would open up a vaster world to them. Thus, even though Sonia had fully unfurled her Silver Wings, if she wished to advance to Two Wings, she would need at least a year to hone and consolidate her swordsmanship realm. In a sense, condensing her sorcery power so quickly posed a tremendous risk instead. From now on, she would always descend into the core area of the Sea of Knowledge. If luck was not on her side, she might even encounter mature-stage knowledge creatures—beings a One-Wing Sorcerer could never hope to contend with. This was why Trozan was so strict with her. If Sonia slacked off and grew careless, there was a very real possibility she would suffer repeated deaths in the Void Realm. When that happened, not only would her soul be wounded, but she would also lose vital sorcery spirits, potentially even causing her sorcery realm to stagnate indefinitely. Getting reckless on a smooth sail was a sorcerer's greatest taboo. Countless sorcerers, after stumbling upon fortuitous encounters, let their confidence swell into believing they were favored by destiny, only to be brutally taught a lesson by the Void Realm soon after. In the end, they faded into mediocrity, achieving even less than diligent sorcerers who climbed step by step with their feet firmly on the ground. The Void Realm was no house of charity. However many benefits you reaped from it, the Void Realm would exert an equal amount of pressure on you. Every stroke of luck bestowed by the Void Realm carried a price tag of misfortune marked on the back. Unless Sonia's luck exploded again and, just like encountering a vortex, she ran into a Golden Fish and stowed away directly to the Time Continent. Then she could bypass the realm barrier and advance straight to Two Wings. Yet leave aside Professor Trozan, even Sonia had never considered that possibility—because not even the Watcher could find a Golden Fish. At the thought of the Watcher, the joyful look on Sonia's face gradually faded. She sighed inwardly and prepared to head back to her dormitory. Martial law remained in effect today; classes were suspended campus-wide, and all students were forbidden from approaching the colossal white tower. Yet right after exiting the research building, she spotted a familiar luxury silver sedan parked in the driveway. She turned, intending to walk around it, but the car window rolled down, revealing Felix's handsome face. “Get in. I'll drive you back.” Declarative statements warranted no reply; Sonia had no desire to speak to anyone right now. Felix drove slowly alongside her and asked, “You encountered a vortex?” “Yes.” Practically the entire school now knew that Sonia, this country girl, had run into a vortex merely days after entering the Sea of Knowledge. Had she flaunted some rare sorcery spirit, people might have gossiped about whether she was someone's kept woman, but there was only one shortcut to swelling one's silver sorcery power. Even the foulest mouths had nothing to say. It wasn't as if someone could keep Sonia as a mistress using a vortex! As for nonsense like “she just got lucky,” the moment it appeared on the Screen's “Sword Flower Discussion Board,” it would only draw collective ridicule and bans from the students. The rise of every Legendary Sorcerer was inseparable from the favor of luck; sorcerers with bad luck had long since been bullied by the Void Realm into whimpering wrecks. Attacking a sorcerer over their luck was the most pathetic behavior imaginable, just as shameless and pointless as saying, “If he couldn't breathe, I'd definitely beat him.” Thus, Sonia had no reason to deny it, nor could she deny it even if she wanted to. Felix stayed silent for a long time. Only when Sonia was about to enter the dormitory area did he suddenly ask, “After passing through the vortex, did you encounter a heavily wounded Fishcleaver Dragon and obtain the Killing Intent Sword from it?” Sonia paused slightly. Whatever she might be thinking at that moment, the ritual had already dictated what her mouth would say: “Yes.” Felix looked somewhat surprised; in truth, he had not expected such an answer. If Sonia really had encountered it, she would certainly have understood the subtext of his question. Given Sonia's personality and ability, she surely could have delivered an airtight denial, leaving Felix without the faintest trace to go on. Felix tapped his fingers lightly against the steering wheel and asked, “What price would I have to pay to buy the Killing Intent Sword back from you?” Though Sonia wanted to say firmly, “Not for sale,” her mouth obediently answered, “Obtain a noble title for me.” Felix paused, taken aback. “Didn't I mention to you before? As long as you marry me—” “I don't like you.” *It's a fake marriage of convenience, what does liking each other have to do with it?* …Felix almost blurted that out, but seeing Sonia's earnest expression, he swallowed the words back down and sighed. “If you're unwilling to take that path, then I have no other terms to tempt you with… Wait a moment.” Sonia retreated decisively into the dormitory grounds, wondering if Felix intended to rob a commoner girl of her sorcery spirit in broad daylight. Instead, Felix pulled out a piece of paper, jotted and sketched across it, then flicked it straight over to Sonia. “Burn it after reading. Is this worth a favor from you?” Sonia caught it and looked, only to discover it was a miracle sorcery procedure named 'Killing Intent Activation', with the Killing Intent Sword as its primary sorcery spirit. Unlike 'Evil Light Slash', which merely enhanced strike power, 'Killing Intent Activation' was an exceptionally well-rounded composite miracle. Its effect allowed a sorcerer to convert killing intent into buffs for themselves, comprehensively boosting strength, explosive power, reaction speed, stamina recovery, and other parameters, with the enhancements intensifying as the concentration of killing intent rose. This was an immensely practical miracle in both the Void Realm and reality, because killing intent did not refer solely to an enemy's malice—the killing intent generated by the sorcerer themselves counted as well. At the Silver realm, 'Killing Intent Activation' could grant a sorcerer up to a 150% boost. A miracle so practical was something Sonia could not afford even if she emptied her entire piggy bank. Evidently, this was the accompanying miracle Felix had obtained alongside the Killing Intent Sword. “Can this sorcery procedure earn me a favor from you?” “Yes, but only a favor roughly equivalent to one silver coin. If your request exceeds the value of one silver coin, I will feel guilty and uneasy as I refuse it.” “You certainly keep your accounts tidy,” Felix chuckled. “I'll make sure to use this one-silver-coin favor where it counts most.” “You're just giving it to me like this?” Sonia asked in astonishment. “No nondisclosure agreement? No other conditions?” “No need. Just make good use of the Killing Intent Sword and don't let it go to waste.” With that, Felix drove away. Sonia was somewhat bewildered, thinking: *Is this how rich people operate? Handing out a miracle sorcery procedure at the flick of a wrist?* Then again, it was understandable. As one of the 'Twenty-One Secret Sword Spirits', the Killing Intent Sword would be exceedingly difficult for Felix to reacquire. Thus, its accompanying miracle, Killing Intent Activation, was practically useless to him. Giving it to Sonia as an effortless favor was a much better proposition. What was more, Felix seemed to be transitioning to poison, water, and wind arts; swordsmanship had already been reduced to a facade, and Professor Trozan was merely a temporary umbrella of protection he had sought out. There was no longer any competitive relationship between him and Sonia. Even so, Sonia couldn't help marveling at the boldness of this silly young noble master. If the roles were reversed, there was no way she would ever part with a miracle for free; she would have demanded at least some money to soothe her stingy heart. Still, Killing Intent Activation required two auxiliary sorcery spirits, both expensive and potentially unavailable on the market, which added to the woes of the already financially modest Sonia. As if her bitter days were yielding to sweetness, Sonia had actually obtained two sorcery spirits and three miracles in a single day. Just mastering this "new gear" would take a considerable amount of time. Had it been the Sonia from half a month ago, she would never have dreamed in a million years that she would one day be troubled by having too many sorcery spirits and miracles. Yet what troubled Sonia most at this moment was neither the spirits nor the miracles. She had originally planned to relax in the dorm and watch Daidalos's new movie or something, but after a moment's hesitation, she chose to head to the training hall to practice with her sorcery spirits. ... At eleven in the evening, Sonia arrived at the Meditation Building on schedule. Although the school was still under martial law, the areas outside the colossal white tower had largely resumed operations, such as the dining halls and training facilities. Classes were merely canceled to allow students to self-study all day—a state of affairs many students hoped would last forever. While searching for the Gate of Truth, Sonia suddenly felt a pang of fluster, but she quickly calmed herself. *I was still forced to train swordsmanship for two hours tonight… Clearly, the Watcher's power is still working…* *Besides, for an amnesiac resurrected powerhouse like him, even if he dies, he can surely revive again…* *Wouldn't it be great if something really did happen to him? Then I'd be free. In any case, I've already condensed my Silver Wings, so I don't need him to explore the Void Realm for now. He's useless…* *Still, he most likely succeeded in breaking out of prison last night and accidentally overslept, which was why he didn't come to the Void Realm. How could disaster strike him so easily? Come to think of it, if I show off my newly acquired sorcery spirits and miracles, will he be surprised?* Amid her wandering thoughts, Sonia found the Gate of Truth, sank her consciousness into it, and entered the Void Realm. Her soul passed through layers of dark mist, and her consciousness coalesced into form within the Void Realm. Sonia slowly opened her eyes. Greeting her sight was the familiar small boat, and the familiar weirdo. His voice was as flippant and unreliable as ever: “Good evening, Sword Princess.” Sonia suddenly forgot the lines she had prepared to complain and scold him with. As if a great weight had been lifted from her heart, she let out a sigh of relief, pressed a hand gently against her chest, and gave a relieved smile. “I'm glad you're all right.” This sudden display of concern took Yaxiu aback. But before he could say anything, a gleam of golden light emerged from between the swells of Sonia's chest, transforming into a brilliant one-winged sorcery spirit. It appeared to be a near-transparent butterfly with only a single wing, yet as it fluttered, it refracted iridescent rays, as dazzling and dreamy as soap bubbles. Even without touching it, the instant they laid eyes upon it, Yaxiu and Sonia already knew the name of this sorcery spirit: "Sincerity".