Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

“If you don’t agree, I will seek the traces of the Paradise of the Past from the Destiny.” Shen Liang said calmly, “The Serpent Lord Mebius symbolizes the existence of the infinite beyond life and death, she may have a way… I will try anyway.”

This is a threat to the system.

The system gave him such a wonderful life and never asked anything of him. He should have lived peacefully with the system or rather... honestly enjoyed the system's arrangements.

But he can't do that.

Because… the saintess was a woman who was genuinely and selflessly kind to him, allowing him to experience something akin to maternal love, something he rarely felt. This seemed to be the first time he had felt such tenderness; it was precious, and he couldn't let her die.

Those responsible for carrying out this task should consider it carefully.

Eight large characters instantly appeared in his field of vision, this time not in a semi-transparent form, but directly blocking his view.

The urgency of the system is evident.

“There’s nothing to consider. Sister Lia is a good person, and good people shouldn’t die so young. Who will protect me if she dies? I’m just an orphan with no parents.” Shen Liang remained unmoved. “Maria said that if Her Highness the Saintess dares to die, she dares to rebel against the family, strip Sirin of her position, and disown me as her son. Sirin said that if Her Highness the Saintess dies, she will definitely disown me as her cousin and expel me from the Shaniat family. Look, everyone is bullying me. How can I live without Sister Lia watching over me?”

There is a 72.49% probability that these two sentences were spoken without thinking due to excessive emotional reaction.

"Wait, is there really a 30% chance that it's the truth?" Shen Liang was speechless. "But you should understand, you have your mission, and I have my thoughts... You only have the choice of whether to help me or not. If you don't help, I will go to find Möbius and explore the Paradise of the Past. Anyway, I am going to save the person. You decide what to do."

The Stigmata system has no solution to the executor's current predicament.

“No, yes, yes, yes.” Shen Liang snapped his fingers. “For example… tell me, how do you select suitable candidates?”

The selection criteria for qualified individuals were established by Alicia, the second of the Thirteen Heroes, and the executors currently have no right to access them.

Shen Liang guessed that perhaps because his logical deductions had touched upon some of the truth, the system was now revealing more and more information in its responses.

"You don't have to tell me how to select the candidates, that's fine. Now I need you to select a batch of candidates for me." Shen Liang said decisively. "They must be able to heal the Honkai energy corruption. Don't make excuses. I know that the supernatural powers of Teyvat and Earth are either the same or can be converted into each other. You must analyze for me who can save Cecilia, and then I will go and bring her back."

Yes, that's it.

Just because it can't be saved now doesn't mean it can't be saved in the future.

He thought of the many legends of the continent of Teyvat.

If Earth can't solve the Honkai energy problem, what about the even more mysterious continent of Teyvat? He's managed to win over so many people; surely he can find someone who can solve Cecilia's problem!

That's a world where even gods exist! At worst, he'll even go and challenge the gods!

The system remained silent for a long time. Just when Shen Liang thought it might lack independent judgment, it finally revealed a line of large characters.

[The search function is now unlocked. We have connected to the Teyvat ley lines to search for eligible individuals.]

This ability should be unlocked when all five eligible executors are at full progress; unlocking it ahead of time will incur a certain cost.

[The next three eligible candidates who have reached the maximum progress threshold will no longer receive the reward of a Contracted Servant.]

The system is not the enemy of the executor; prematurely unlocking related procedures would be counterproductive to the executor's gradual exploration process.

[Given the unstable mindset of those carrying out the plan, we reiterate: Do not explore the 'Paradise of the Past'.]

Shen Liang breathed a sigh of relief, and then he noticed Cecilia looking at him strangely.

"Children shouldn't snap their fingers, it's bad." The white-haired saintess pinched his finger back.

Shen Liang chuckled, then jumped down from her embrace, turned around on the ground, and looked at her seriously. "Sister Liya, three years. I will definitely find a way to cure you within three years. You must live for at least three more years. Believe me, I have many more secrets than you can imagine."

When facing Cecilia, he wasn't so afraid of his secret being exposed... or rather, he didn't want to see Cecilia die rather than expose the secret of another world.

The feeling of being separated from loved ones by death is awful; I really hate it.

"Really? Don't lie to your big sister." Cecilia touched her wrist, feeling a little lost without the warmth of Shen Liang in her arms. Seeing the little boy's serious expression and earnest words, she couldn't help but smile, but even that mischievous smile was as pure as frost. "But it's okay, it'll be at least several years before you and Kiana get married, my darling. I'll try my best to live on!"

“It’s a deal.” Shen Liang extended his little finger. He knew Cecilia treated him like a sixteen-year-old child, but he didn’t care, because a promise to a child might be more profound.

“Okay~ It’s a deal~” Cecilia hooked her slender fingers together with his and said with a smile, “If I do it, you have to be my horse to ride.”

"As long as you live to that time, you can do whatever you want, Leah."

"Hmm~"

Shen Liang was picked up by her again, and the warmth of her little sun was transferred to Cecilia's cold body. She thought of something fun and smiled knowingly.

Many years later, the beautiful saintess, looking at the boy who was so busy he was suffering terribly, would often recall that day in the ice cellar.

Then he touched his lips and fell into deep thought.

"Would it have been easier for my baby if I had just died then?"

"Forget it, it has nothing to do with this saintess. It's all the treasure's own fault."

P.S.: Sensitive readers have already noticed that I've been writing chapters of over 4000 words lately, updating only one chapter a day. This was partly because I was busy a while ago and updated like this consistently, and now that I'm less busy, I've suddenly found that writing this way is more enjoyable.

There's no need to consider a concluding paragraph every two thousand words.

So what do you all think? Compared to updating twice a day with 2,000 words, which one generates more anticipation?

Chapter 216 Princess Pea and Pufferfish Sauce

After staying at Neuschwanstein Castle for a few days, Shen Liang did not see Cecilia again. Cecilia's previous departure from the ice cellar to help Shen Liang was already aggravating her pain. Theoretically, she should not leave the ice cellar again unless absolutely necessary.

Although Shen Liang couldn't cure her completely, Hua Haiyue could alleviate Cecilia's pain. Every day, he would still spend an hour going to the ice cellar so that Cecilia could hold him and feel warm for a while.

Although its effect was negligible, it was still good news for the Schariacs.

On this day, in a small garden near the hilltop church of the Shaniat family, Shen Liang began to try to come into contact with Honkai energy, following the Shaniat family's cultivation methods.

"You're saying you can't actually sense Honkai energy at all, and you don't know how to use it?" Maria was dressed in her smart jogging outfit, a black jacket over a tube top that only covered her chest, revealing her slender waist and simple black hot pants, looking like a young delinquent.

"If you don't understand supernatural powers, then how did you cooperate with Rita to kill the Judgment-class Honkai Beast?" Maria frowned. "Anna said that you, like Sirin, possess spatial power, and now you're saying you don't know how to use it?"

Shen Liang found it difficult to explain to her that his power was more like the "skills" in online game novels. The Valkyries of Earth, on the other hand, were like people in fantasy novels who wielded magic and used it in various ways.

In other words, the Valkyries' Honkai energy is like a mana bar; they can convert that "mana" into various forms of power at will. Shen Liang, on the other hand, doesn't have a mana bar and only has a few skills like QWER. Many of these skills are passive, such as the Sea God Bloodline and the All-Knowing Martial Arts, while his active skill, Transformation into the Sea Moon, consumes his stamina.

Human energy is consumed no matter what you do. Even if Shen Liang didn't use the Transformation of the Sea Moon, he would definitely exhaust his energy by running a hundred kilometers. This is definitely not the same as Honkai energy.

“I only know how to open teleportation portals, Mom.” Shen Liang opened the teleportation light screen, stepped in and came out from another place. “Just this is all I know how to use it. It doesn’t mean I know how to manipulate space. I’ve seen Sister Xilin’s abilities. There are many more ways to do it than this.”

Maria rested her fingers lightly on her thigh, lost in thought. "It's like the type who discovers their special abilities innately. That makes things difficult. Many people are like this. They go astray as soon as they discover they have extraordinary abilities, so they only fix their extraordinary abilities into a certain kind of 'skill' instead of sensing Honkai energy and embarking on the orthodox path of cultivation."

Shen Liang knew she might be mistaken, but his situation was indeed very similar, so he didn't remind her but simply changed the subject, "But I'm pretty good at fighting. Sister Anna said I'm probably at an A-level."

"Pure hand-to-hand combat?" Maria frowned. "The Valkyrie style like Rita and Durandal, which focuses on strengthening oneself?"

The power granted to him by the bloodline of the Sea Goddess was indeed an enhancement in pure hand-to-hand combat. Combined with the various martial arts passed down to him by all the major martial arts schools, his pure combat prowess was truly formidable. One could even say that he felt Anna might not be his match.

A superhuman's combat power depends on how they are utilized. His speed, agility, and close-quarters combat ability far surpass Anna's. Even if Anna erects an ice wall to protect herself, he can bombard it with an RPG and instantly destroy it. Of course, if external force is not allowed, then Shen Liang indeed has no way to deal with Anna's several-meter-thick layer of ice.

“But melee Valkyries also completely integrate Honkai energy into their bodies to unleash their power. Generally speaking, we call this type of Valkyrie ‘biological,’ while those like Anna who control ice or those like her sister who directly wield Honkai energy are called ‘psychic,’” Maria said after a brief moment of surprise. “Even if you’re going for the biological type, you still need to condense Honkai energy into your body to unleash your power.”

Shen Liang sighed, "I don't have that feeling of cohesion either."

Of course not. His powerful melee combat relies on the dragon bloodline of the current human-god priestess of the Coral Palace. He's practically half a lizardman, so it's definitely not because of any Honkai energy.

“Forget it, there are plenty of people who can’t even sense Honkai energy in their entire lives, but only know how to use it.” Maria said casually. “Whether you can sense it or not is not important. The ancient people of Shenzhou didn’t even use Honkai energy for their own cultivation. Instead, they would absorb Honkai energy from the outside world at will… Their cultivation method is called ‘following the natural way.’ They don’t store any Honkai energy in their bodies, so they can naturally avoid going astray.”

"Can this still happen?"

“That Cheng Ling Shuang used this kind of cultivation method, which is actually the Tai Xu Sword Qi. However, because it is too difficult and has too many requirements, this cultivation method has been lost.” Maria changed the subject. “If you really can’t sense Honkai energy, it doesn’t matter. Becoming stronger is the goal, and becoming stronger does not require comprehending the existence of Honkai energy… You only need to cultivate and fight.”

Shen Liang had been waiting for this, and asked with delight, "How exactly does the Shaniat family do it?"

"How?" Maria squinted. "The simplest way, of course."

"We've gone on a field training exercise."

--------

The sun is shining brightly.

The group of people, drenched in sweat, ran along the mountain path carrying heavy loads.

"One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four!"

"No Honkai energy allowed. If I sense it, I'll drag you out to do push-ups, at least a hundred!"

"Everyone, keep up! If anyone doesn't reach the blue flag at the top of the mountain within thirty minutes, all the girls will do one hundred squats!"

Then someone immediately grumbled in dissatisfaction, "What about the boys? Isn't it unfair that the boys don't have to do it?"

"Miss Maria is protecting her own son!"

Maria then realized she had forgotten there was a boy present, so she snorted and cracked her pointer, "Pandora, an extra hundred! My son is not a weak and incompetent good-for-nothing; as a man, he must set an example!"

Shen Liang desperately wanted to go back to an hour ago and slap himself across the face!

Why did he say he was coming to participate in the Shaniat family's training program? Who knew Maria would suddenly have such a bizarre idea—paramilitary training! And it was only allowed to use the physical strength of ordinary people!

For some reason, his attempt to use the Sea Goddess bloodline to skip class was spotted by Maria, who punished him with thirty pull-ups... If the Sea Goddess bloodline hadn't actually modified his muscles, he might have died in that round.

At this moment, on the mountain road, Maria, dressed as a delinquent girl in a black jacket and hot pants, was whistling as she supervised the group as they led the way.

Yes, this group of people.

Maria had summoned all the younger girls in the Shaniat family. After all, Cecilia was practically the head of the family in Cecilia's absence, while Sirin had a grand title but a lower generational ranking. These white-haired, blonde, or chestnut-haired German beauties were dressed in revealing crop tops and athletic shorts, their undershirts soaked with sweat. None of them wore knee-high socks, as the outdoor temperature was a full 26 degrees Celsius.

In Germany, this is scorching hot.

At this moment, the group of complaining girls were all staring at Shen Liang, casting furious glances. The Shaniat family hadn't had any training exercises in a long time; ever since Maria was promoted to S-rank and frequently away on missions, their lives had been quite comfortable… If it weren't for that bastard Pandora, Maria would never have remembered this!

The pampered young ladies of the Shaniat tribe weren't immune to military training, but they received "Valkyrie" training from a young age, not "ordinary" training. When wielding Honkai energy, they even dared to fight rhinos; without Honkai energy... who wouldn't be a delicate, refined lady?

You should know that they don't even have calluses on their bodies, all for the sake of beauty!