Chapter 186: Awakening

Accompanied by a rhythmic "step, step" sound as if treading on an invisible staircase, a figure slowly emerged from the thin mist and ascended step by step into the air.

Xilin crossed her arms behind her back, with nothing beneath her feet yet walking as if on solid ground, her form rising higher with each step.

Her loose white hair fluttered in a breeze of unknown source, and her golden cross‑shaped pupils looked down at the two below without any emotion, a nonhuman indifference as if regarding ants.

Star tilted their head upward, mouth slightly open, completely bewildered.

She blinked hard, glanced at Xilin in the air, and strained to recall the panicked white‑haired braided girl who had been hiding behind the ice just seconds earlier.

"Not… big sister, who are you?"

Star couldn't help a low‑key complaint, scratching their head, "Why does she look so familiar? That girl's… second form just now?"

She began to let her imagination run wild, completely missing the point.

Unlike Star's bewilderment, Kevin's expression grew genuinely solemn the moment he saw Xilin's clear face, especially those signature cross‑shaped pupils.

Although he didn't know why he could see the other clearly now, as a warrior of a former civilization who had fought to the death against many Herrschers, the experience left this kind of aura indelibly etched in his memory.

"Herrscher..."

Kevin's deep voice sounded, not a question but a cold statement.

He recognized that authority fluctuation unique to a Herrscher.

Just a Void Arbiter? Or a Rock Lawgiver that can manipulate gravity?

He quickly judged that, whichever it was, it would be a troublesome opponent.

Xilin heard Kevin's whisper and let out a clear cold laugh, her chin slightly raised: "Hum! You've got some eye for talent. Since you know who I am..."

Her gaze swept over Kevin, then glanced at the still‑unaware Star beside her; the arrogance in her tone almost turned into tangible pressure, "Then, do you know how to handle yourselves?"

Her subtext was crystal clear: knowing the terror of a Herrscher, one should wisely choose Submission or retreat.

Star, listening to the two's riddling dialogue, became even more clueless.

"Herrscher? What is that? A new destiny? Or a special profession under a Star God?"

She muttered softly, the Flame Gun planted on the ground, assuming a stance of "you talk first, I'll watch the fun".

As for why Xilin didn't immediately strike but instead adopted this preemptive conversational posture?

That indeed contradicts the habitual style she remembered—according to "the past," she preferred crushing enemies with absolute force rather than idle talk.

The reason is that the moment she fully seized and adapted to this body, her absolute spatial sensitivity as a Void Arbiter instantly detected the extreme abnormality of this Training Room.

Here… is incomplete and not free.

She could feel the boundaries of space solid beyond imagination, not physically solid but a blockade at the level of Rules.

She tried to wield her authority to sense an exit or perform a short‑range spatial jump, but the feedback was a vague denial of access.

The space resembled a meticulously crafted cage, or rather, a completely isolated box.

This discovery caused her power‑filled, slightly swollen heart to cool a few degrees instantly.

Especially the silver‑haired man before her, whose casual deflection of the Subspace Spear made his very presence feel like a bottomless icy abyss, giving Xilin a long‑missed sense of threat.

And the other gray‑haired girl, though looking a bit stunned, could grapple with that man here, far from being a clumsy hand.

"(If there's no way out and we rashly start fighting, without a swift victory we'll both be wounded, letting the hidden Behind the Scenes Black Hand reap the profit…)"

Xilin quickly analyzed the situation and arrived at what she considered a very wise conclusion.

"(As expected of me, even when faced with a dilemma, I can instantly discern the key and execute the most advantageous Intellectual Duel!)"

"Hum, as expected of me, thorough in thought."

Xilin gave herself an affirming assessment in her mind, even feeling a bit smug, believing her strategy of "showing force first, then deterrence" was exceedingly clever.

Of course, she also felt that in this strange space, commanding this body and invoking Honkai energy seemed unusually smooth, the power a few degrees stronger than expected.

This further suppressed her slight vigilance, and arrogance rose again.

She seemed to already see the two below being intimidated by her imposing aura and unfathomable stance, and that next would come a weighing of pros and cons, reluctantly yet helplessly conceding…

Only she was completely unaware that her sudden entrance, the contemptuous "human" address, and the arrogant retort "since you know who I am" each sounded to the others as extremely strong provocation.

But in Kevin's mind, another picture formed: "(This Training Space… can even simulate a Herrscher? And the simulation fidelity is so high that even the authority traits and Ruler Core fluctuations are almost real… the possibility of a Void Arbiter seems higher.)"

He logically concluded that Xilin's appearance was another component of this Training Space's training.

After all, if their entire Past World Paradise can be "moved" here, simulating a Herrscher isn't surprising.

Only the simulated Herrscher's intellect seemed… peculiar?

Star watched the magnificent queen in the air and the ice‑mountain man on the ground, their gazes clashing, the atmosphere tense as drawn swords, yet no one moved.

"Eh? What's going on?"

Star gently prodded the ground with the tip of the Flame Gun, looking at this, then that, "Not fighting? Changed to arguing? Or is this… a mental duel before the masters clash?"

Perspective shift.

The night was as black as ink.

The Tai Bu Si Area, bustling with people by day, now held only scattered lights and solemn silence.

The towering Tai Bu Si building cast a dignified and mysterious shadow under the moonlight, with a faint sandalwood scent drifting in the air.

Bai Hang pressed close to the shadow of an overhanging eave on the outer Tai Bu Si, almost merging herself into the building's outline.

The Eye Mask on her face seemed to absorb faint light in the darkness, rendering her surrounding silhouette even more indistinct.

The lively trait from Beloberg quietly circulated within her, lowering her presence and aura to an extremely low level, as if she were a lifeless stone.

She had just come from the Qingque Family, her heart still pounding from nearly being spotted by Qingque's mother.

Fortunately it was a close call; the custom thermos cup bearing an abstract "Fishing" motif was safely lying on Qingque's desk.

As for where Qingque herself went?

That's not something Bai Hang needs to concern herself with.

Now, the real test arrives—Tai Bu Si, Fu Xuan.

Unlike the modest, people‑friendly formation‑protected courtyard of Qingque, Tai Bu Si, as one of Xianzhou's core departments, has a vigilance level several grades higher.

Bai Hang can clearly sense that the air is interwoven with several layers of invisible energy networks: intrusion‑prevention alerts, energy‑fluctuation monitoring, unauthorized‑space‑movement suppression… even an interference field against malicious divination.

The more troublesome part is that the patrol frequency and routes of the Yunqi Jun Squad are clearly much denser than recorded, almost blocking every conventional infiltration path.

(Patrols have increased… Has Luofu had an incident recently?)

Bai Hang mutters in her mind, more cautious.

She crouches lower, keeping a tight eye on the Cloud Cavalry squad that just passed below.

Opportunity!

At the brief interval when the two patrol units finish crossing and walk back‑to‑back, Bai Hang moves.

She is like a leaf brushed by night wind, silently sliding down the building's outer wall.

The adaptability bestowed by Beloberg's traits lets her make almost no sound when she reaches the next eave corner.

She is like a ghost, weaving, pausing, and moving again within the shadows cast by the building, precisely avoiding the patrol soldiers' blind spots.