The Adorable Razor

Smack!

A crisp sound rang out.

Lumine and Paimon, standing behind Qui Xue, widened their eyes—so did Razor.

In one sharp motion, Qui Xue's hand struck the Abyss Herald across the face, sending him flying in a straight line before crashing into a distant wall.

Boom!

With a dull thud, the Herald slammed through the wall, debris falling atop him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"I... I've never seen Qui Xue fight before."

"Who would've thought such a beautiful big sister hits that hard!"

Paimon stared in disbelief at where the Herald landed, then turned to Qui Xue, clearly stunned.

Lumine stood there, mouth agape, quickly nodding in agreement.

They'd only ever seen Qiu Bai in action—never Qui Xue.

"So... fierce, big sister..."

Razor muttered, eyes wide, gazing at Qui Xue's back.

Cough, cough...

The Herald slowly staggered out of the dust cloud, clutching his chest.

It was clear that Qui Xue's slap had landed hard.

"Damn it... such a powerful woman..."

"Hmph... You're lucky. That brief ritual was interrupted."

He glanced at Qui Xue, then at Boreas, the King of the North Wind, snorted coldly, and retreated into the portal, disappearing.

"He actually got slapped by Qui Xue and still managed to talk?"

"Are all Abyss Heralds that durable?"

Paimon blinked in confusion, waving her hand as she commented.

"Little Paimon, did you miss your big sister?"

Qui Xue smiled faintly as she looked in the Herald's direction. If she'd used her full strength, the terrain in Wolvendom might've shifted slightly.

Turning around, she looked up at the floating Paimon with a soft smile.

"Hehe, of course I did!"

Paimon quickly nodded, beaming at the elegant Qui Xue.

"It'd be best if you stayed like this forever..."

Paimon mumbled under her breath, turning her head slightly.

Qui Xue walked over, gracefully rubbing Paimon's tiny head.

Then she turned to Lumine, who was clearly looking forward to the same.

"Hehehe."

Qui Xue covered her mouth and chuckled, then reached over to pat Lumine's head too.

Next, she turned to Razor.

"Gentle... big sister... not like before, fierce."

"You... friend, not enemy."

Razor looked up at Qui Xue, speaking in his usual fragmented rhythm.

"So cute."

Qui Xue smiled and patted his head.

"Don't mind... head pats."

"Razor... likes."

Razor placed a hand over his chest and smiled up at her.

"Looks like Razor really likes Qui Xue too."

"But man, that guy ran off fast."

Paimon glanced at the fleeing Herald's direction and pouted as she crossed her arms.

"Among humans... Lupical..."

"Forgive me for showing this side of myself."

"But the Abyss Herald clearly underestimated me."

Boreas, in his massive wolf form, looked at the group and spoke in human language.

"The Wolf King doesn't refuse trials—but those shadowy outsiders..."

"They broke the trial's rules. I couldn't even detect the trap they set."

Razor lowered his head, frustrated, after explaining.

Qui Xue gently patted his head again in comfort.

"So that's it... the Abyss Order prepared their corruption ahead of time..."

"Then used the trial as an excuse to awaken the Wolf King."

Paimon suddenly realized, glancing toward Boreas.

"This isn't your fault, Razor."

"Don't be discouraged."

Lumine offered her own comforting words.

"Thank you, Lumine. From now on... my claws... need to be sharper."

Despite the broken phrasing, Razor's voice was full of determination.

"Little Razor, hold still."

Qui Xue crouched down, gazing at Razor with warm eyes and smiling.

Then she slowly closed her eyes. A white-ink-like divine power shimmered in her hand as she touched Razor's body.

The inky-white energy flowed through him and into his Vision.

His Electro Vision flickered—within it, a faintly spinning Taiji symbol appeared.

"My strength... got much stronger."

"I can feel it... thank you, big sister."

Razor smiled, placing a hand on his chest as he looked at her.

"The gods have heard your voice."

"They've also heard your determination to protect this land. This is something little Razor has earned."

Qui Xue looked up at him gently before slowly rising to her feet.

"You smelled danger and came here?"

Razor tilted his head toward Lumine and Paimon, puzzled.

"No, we heard about it. Our noses aren't that good!"

"We came to help, but we also have something to ask."

Paimon quickly clarified, clearly sensing Razor had mistaken them for having a wolf's sharp senses.

"Excuse me... Lord Archon..."

"Do you know about the world's first cultivator?"

Paimon looked up at the massive King of the North Wind and asked slowly.

"I don't care much for human inventions, so I don't know what a 'cultivator' is."

"But... I do remember one machine that stood out."

"It wandered into my trial grounds, and I treated it like a warrior participating in the trial."

Boreas looked toward a mural on the distant cliffside.

"But it had no mind—only a will to fight. From top to bottom, it was built solely to kill."

"In the end, I damaged it. But before it fell, it left the trial grounds."

The King of the North Wind, Boreas, turned to look at Lumine and Paimon as he spoke slowly.

Qui Xue furrowed her brows slightly upon hearing this.

"So... the Wolf King mistook a Ruin Guard for a warrior come to challenge the trial."

She chuckled softly, covering her mouth. Who knew the mighty Wolf King could be this cute?

"Hmm... from that description..."

"Could it actually be the world's first cultivator?"

Paimon looked at Lumine, puzzled by the story.

"Did it spin?"

"Did it shoot missiles?"

Lumine glanced at Paimon, then turned her gaze toward Boreas and asked curiously.

"Missiles? No... I already said, I don't care about human creations and don't know these strange terms."

"But it could spin, leap high, and launch fireballs.

Its power wasn't equal to an Archon, but it was stronger than many Vision holders."

The King of the North Wind looked at Lumine blankly as he spoke.