Chapter 29: Refining the Heart

(Name Change from Gu Che to Gu Chase)

[Schicksal] Floating Sky Island, Training Room Number 4.

Chase checked the nameplate on the door, nodded to himself, and pushed the door open.

In the center of Training Room Number 4, a gray-haired woman wearing a light brown windbreaker, brown leather boots, and a scarf around her neck was wiping a sword. Upon seeing Chase, she turned to look at him and smiled slightly.

"Chase Apocalypse, right?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are?" Chase inquired.

"I am the master in charge of training your martial skills. You can call me Fu Hua," the woman named Fu Hua smiled and threw a sword toward him.

Chase, not confident in his swordsmanship, didn't catch the sword in a flashy manner. He sidestepped and waited until the sword was inserted into the ground before walking over to pick up the still humming sharp sword.

"Master Fu Hua, what's the training focus for today?" Chase asked, wielding the sword and getting familiar with its feel in the air.

"Ask the sword," Fu Hua replied.

"Are there any other weapons?" Chase suddenly asked.

Fu Hua fell silent for a moment. "What kind of weapon do you want to use?"

"Do you have the Sky Breaker?" Chase asked.

The Sky Breaker, specialized in piercing through enemies. If he used this weapon, wouldn't he become unparalleled in the world while his adoptive father, Otto Apocalypse, was still alive?

[Pic Here]

Chase believed that with the Sky Breaker in hand, he could pierce through each and every adversary like stabbing a surrogate father.

Wait, something was wrong. Why did he have such thoughts?! This was dangerous and abnormal! Otto Apocalypse was his adoptive father, the person he was closest to and trusted the most. How could he entertain such thoughts about his adoptive father?

He needed to reflect on this. Why could his adoptive father make him think such thoughts?

"The Sky Breaker?" Fu Hua was a bit puzzled. "We don't have it here."

"If you want spears, polearms, or swords, we have them, but the Sky Breaker, we don't."

"What about the Signal Axe?" Chase asked with disappointment, then continued questioning, baffling himself.

What is a Signal Axe?!

Wait, something was off. He was off! But he didn't know where he was off...

"Signal Axe, what's that?" Fu Hua wondered. Why did this person always mention strange weapons? Did Otto's Mengpo soup affect his mind?

[TL note: Sometimes, I wonder if he has memories of the game, but the simulation didn't bring him to honkai with it.]

"But if you want an axe, we do have one here."

"Forget it," Chase sighed in disappointment. Even though he didn't know what a Signal Axe was, the absence of that weapon made him feel disappointed. It was strange.

It couldn't be another Noble Phantasm for the adoptive father like the Sky Breaker, right?

Without dwelling on it, Chase took up the sword and began sparring with Fu Hua.

The two stood in the spacious training ground, sunlight streaming through high windows, casting shadows of their swords on the floor. Chase removed his inconvenient clothing, held the sword, and focused on the training.

Fu Hua, with her sword, had a calm and transparent gaze.

The two faced each other. Fu Hua took the first step, and the tip of her sword produced a sharp sword energy. Chase saw the flash of the sword in front of him, subconsciously defended, and his sword was lifted off the ground. Fu Hua's sword tip was already at his neck.

"You lose," Fu Hua said calmly, seemingly indifferent to victory.

"I lost," Chase nodded, admitting it generously.

"A restless heart makes it difficult to hold the sword steady."

Chase fell silent, displaying his sword stance once again.

He did have doubts in his heart. Too many strange things had happened to him, making him uneasy.

"What's the next training?" Chase asked while holding the sword, swinging it randomly in the air to familiarize himself with the sword's feel.

"Heart refinement," Fu Hua said as she sat down on the ground. "You, too, sit down."

Chase quickly imitated Fu Hua's posture and sat properly.

"The things I'm about to teach you next must not be disclosed without my permission," Fu Hua warned.

"Okay," Chase nodded quickly, understanding that something significant was about to happen.

Then, Fu Hua extended her finger and lightly touched Chase's forehead.

"...Moo...Ta La Li...Moo...Ruo Ku Luo..." Strange syllables suddenly appeared in Chase's mind. In the moment he looked at them, he automatically grasped their pronunciation.

"This is the Sword Heart Technique," Fu Hua said slowly. "Recite, internalize, and listen. That is heart refinement."

Chase nodded skeptically, closed his eyes, and silently recited these strange syllables in his mind.

"...Moo...Ta La Li...Moo...Ruo Ku Luo..."

Words had power.

Chase didn't understand the rationale behind it, but he genuinely felt the transformation of his 'heart.'

As the words echoed, the rhythm fluctuated, and the Sword Heart Formula seemed to merge with his blood and Qi, circulating through the eight extraordinary meridians.

Chase felt strange in his heart, but he stabilized his mind and continued the silent recitation.

"Moo, Ma Li."

His body became lighter, and his mind no longer roiled. The five senses converged into one, melting into a pond called the Heart Lake.

"Moo, Wu Liu Te."

The water in the lake was clear and transparent, a few strands of melancholy floated like fallen leaves on the surface, but they failed to stir a ripple.

"Moo, Ka Ba Yi Si Liu."

Calm waves, the water rested. Tranquility filled the existence named 'Chase.'

Chase stood on the surface of the lake, seeing himself...

(Note: The translation provided is a creative rendering and might not capture all nuances of the original text.)