Chapter 154: The Long-Awaited Trailblazing Crew
However—
Silence.
Dead silence.
The next second, Paimon's eyes snapped open. Her small body trembled violently, her finger shaking as she pointed at the empty air before her, as if she had just witnessed the most terrifying sight in the world.
Her face, usually rosy, bleached to a stark white. She opened her mouth several times, but no sound came out. Then, a piercing, soul-shattering scream erupted from her, powerful enough to penetrate the soundproofing of the cultivation room.
"—Aaaahhhh!!!"
Deep within her spiritual world, the image she had just finished visualizing—the one meant to represent her "True Self" and her "Future"—was not what she expected.
It wasn't a cute, charming, incredibly wise, and beautiful Paimon.
It was, astonishingly, a miniature version of herself, yet one that was just as muscular, with rigid, chiseled lines and a solemn face like an enraged Vajra warrior. It was… a Muscle Paimon.
This "Muscle Paimon" had piercing eyes that radiated an overwhelming sense of strength. What drove Paimon deeper into despair was that behind this visualized self stood the exaggerated, Stand-like avatar she was usually too shy to summon—the muscular guardian spirit she privately called the "Paimon Star."
The two figures, one the main body and the other its guardian, formed a bizarre tableau, a picture filled with an extreme sense of power and… devastating visual impact.
This… this was the "Image of the Original Heart" that her subconscious had conjured? This was her future self?
Paimon felt her vision go dark, as if all the colors in the world had bled away into nothingness.
"How could this happen?! No—! This isn't me! This is absolutely not the future I want!!"
Boundless regret instantly overwhelmed her.
"If I had known… if I had known I would visualize such a terrifying thing… I would have… I would have just kept being lazy!!!"
Poor Paimon. Her cultivation journey had barely begun, and she had already suffered a devastating spiritual blow.
Time passed quickly, and morning arrived.
In the Cross-Dimensional Chat Group, everyone who had finished their cultivation was enjoying breakfast from their respective worlds, eagerly discussing the gains from the previous night.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "The martial arts essentials and notes gifted by Mr. Zhongli are indeed exquisite. I have a preliminary understanding of some force-exertion techniques and several close-quarters grappling footwork styles. I can feel a higher compatibility between myself and Fire-Woven."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "I gained a lot, too! Although I still have no clue about Hyōrinmaru's Shikai—its true name—I can already unleash some seriously powerful ice-infused sword qi with it! It's way stronger than just using my Devil Fruit ability!"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "And I feel the connection with Hyōrinmaru getting clearer and clearer; it feels like it's responding to me! I think with just a few real battles, I'll definitely have a breakthrough!"
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "Not bad. My spiritual domain has also finished taking shape. I believe it will play a significant role in combat."
Paimon, meanwhile, floated beside Lumine, munching on a Fisherman's Toast while fully engaging her "praise" mode.
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Wow! Everyone is so amazing! Wise already learned kung fu! Belle's sword qi is so powerful! Lumine's new ability is getting stronger and stronger! That's truly fantastic!"
Her small mouth seemed to be smeared with honey as she praised everyone in the group, but she completely avoided mentioning the "results" of her own cultivation of the "Enlighten My Original True Self Technique," acting as if that one hour in the cultivation room had never happened.
'As long as I don't say anything, no one will know what terrifying thing I visualized,' Paimon silently cried in her heart, her apprehension toward the image of the Paimon Star reaching its absolute peak.
Just as the atmosphere in the group was harmonious and the discussion was in full swing…
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Good morning, everyone! Did you miss me?"
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "We're back! Sorry to make everyone worry!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Dan Heng]: "Good morning, everyone. It's been a while."
The three members of the Astral Express crew, who had been missing for over an entire day, finally came online again.
Their appearance immediately sparked even greater cheers and a wave of concern.
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "It's Stelle and March 7th! And Dan Heng! You finally appeared! Paimon was so worried!"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "That's great! Are you okay? We were worried you ran into big trouble in Amphoreus after being out of contact for so long!"
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "Did everything go smoothly?"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "You all seem to be in good spirits. Does that mean you successfully solved the problem?"
Facing everyone's clamoring concern and questions, Stelle and March 7th immediately began to describe their eventful experiences during their "lost contact" period, one enthusiastically talking over the other.
It turned out that ever since they boarded the Great Land-Beast merchant caravan and entered the Saint City of Oherma, they had barely stopped fighting.
Minions of the Titan of Strife continuously emerged throughout the city, and they fought alongside Phainon, Tribbie, and the others, clearing out wave after wave of enemies.
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "The important thing is we also found the mastermind who attacked our landing pod earlier, that Titan of Strife—Nicadori!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "But only a clone of it came to Oherma, and we easily took it down together! How about that, pretty awesome, right?"
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "That's right, that's right! Although it was just a clone, it was still quite a struggle to fight. It actually resurrected several times before being completely annihilated. Luckily, in the end, everything was fine!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Oh, right, right! You wouldn't believe it! We also ran into this little golden-haired guy named Wandu! The moment he saw us, he just stared and said something like, 'Outsiders. Worth a fight'! Goodness, his fighting spirit was so thick it was practically overflowing! Phainon couldn't even stop him!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "Yeah, yeah, that Wandu looked really strong, just full of fighting spirit!"
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Since he challenged us so clearly, how could I, Stelle, not accept? I had to satisfy him! But I also knew my limits, so I didn't use the Lance; I just sparred with him bare-handed."
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "Heh, you know, that kid really had some skills. We fought back and forth for quite a long time, and in the end, it was Phainon who had to step in and separate us."
[Honkai: Star Rail · Stelle]: "But after the fight, Wandu acknowledged our strength and even praised us, saying we were worthy of being people who could cross the stars. I guess you could say it was a friendship forged in battle!"
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: gasps in astonishment "Wow! Your experiences during this time were so rich and colorful! Fighting bosses and making new friends!"
[Zenless Zone Zero · Belle]: "Is this Amphoreus place… particularly martial? Why do you have to fight first before you can sit down and talk peacefully?"
Belle couldn't help but complain, remembering that Stelle and Phainon seemed to have had a similar first encounter.
[Honkai: Star Rail · March 7th]: "It's not like that! Tribbie is very nice! And everyone in the Great Land-Beast merchant caravan is super friendly! Maybe… it's just a few battle maniacs like that?"
March 7th tried her best to defend the overall image of Amphoreus.
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "By the way, @Honkai: Star Rail · Dan Heng, while you were busy with your trailblazing mission, everyone in the chat group held another round of draws to improve their strength in preparation for potential support missions."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "The most important gain was the [Shushan Disciple Enlightenment Box] that Paimon drew, which contains a complete set of cultivation techniques from the Qi Refinement to the Golden Core stage."
[Zenless Zone Zero · Wise]: "Weren't you always looking for a way to solve the Mara-Struck problem on the Xianzhou? Perhaps you could refer to the concepts of this system. It should be very helpful to you."
Dan Heng, who had been quietly listening to everyone's discussion, perked up when he saw this message.
[Honkai: Star Rail · Dan Heng]: "Thank you both. I'll go check it out now."
Dan Heng had originally wondered if he could obtain a similar cultivation system through his own draws, but he never expected that after all the twists and turns, it would be Paimon who ultimately solved this critical need.
As soon as Paimon saw the credit falling to her, she immediately cast aside her visualization worries and puffed up with pride.
[Genshin Impact · Paimon]: "Hehe! You're welcome! In critical moments, you still have to rely on Paimon! Dan Heng, take your time reading. If you don't understand anything… um… you can ask Zhongli!"
She very self-awarely tossed the burden of answering any difficult questions to someone far more qualified.
The group was once again filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
The return of the Astral Express crew brought new information and drew their bonds even closer. Everyone understood that the path to Amphoreus had been opened, and the next world mission might truly not be far away.
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