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

“Holy Maiden.” Shen Liang quickly stood up.

"Ok?"

"Sister Lia," Shen Liang had to change his address.

Cecilia Shaniat, a name Shen Liang only learned later.

The saintess who traveled a great distance to save him from dire straits was Kiana and Sirin's mother, the current head of the Shaniat family, and an existence that the entire Earth's supernatural realm revered.

Unlike Cheng Ling Shuang, who only had a reputation but no real knowledge of her abilities, Shen Liang had always known how terrifying Cecilia was. This was because Anna had told him many times about the legend of this current head of the family along the way.

Titles like "the world's strongest Valkyrie," "the strongest saintess in the history of Destiny," "the chosen one of heaven," "half of Destiny," and "Destiny's ultimate trump card" are practically labels stamped all over her.

She is the "pinnacle" of the extraordinary side of Earth.

Chapter 174 From this moment on, you truly belong to Shaniat.

What is meant by "the pinnacle"? It is something that is universally recognized as the best in the world.

Cecilia Schariac has been out of the international conflict for a long time. She can no longer be considered a Valkyrie of Destiny. Due to her excessive talent, she cannot control the overflow of Honkai energy in her body, so she spends most of her time in seclusion in the Schariac family castle.

This is why Cecilia is often excluded from ranking Valkyries by strength; Durandal is usually ranked number one. Of course, there may be some powerful unconventional Valkyries who are not on the list, such as Cheng Ling Shuang, so this list should only be used as a reference.

But this list was never controversial during the time when Cecilia was still able to step out of Neuschwanstein Castle.

Even now, Cecilia, who is like a candle flickering in the wind, is still the focus of everyone's attention whenever she appears. No one thinks that anyone would dare to challenge Cecilia even now. In fact, it can be said that the reason why the Shaniat family dares to challenge the Mandate of Heaven and even dares to protect Shen Liang, who has seized the Divine Key, is because of this invincible family head.

Shen Liang had been speculating a lot about what kind of terrifying monster this woman was. Moreover, Xilin was nineteen years old, so her mother must have been a middle-aged woman in her forties. Shen Liang had never imagined that she was so... young.

Standing next to Cecilia and Cielyn, she looked like three sisters whose ages were in an arithmetic progression. Cielyn was seventeen, Cecilia was nineteen, and if Cecilia said she was twenty-one, he would absolutely believe it. Coupled with her delicate and stunningly beautiful face, Shen Liang really found it hard to believe that "she was old enough to be my mother."

Strangely enough, he wasn't surprised when he encountered genuine ancient monsters, hundreds or even thousands of years old, transforming into young girls. But when he discovered a white-haired woman in her forties on Earth who was just as young and beautiful as his daughter, he was utterly astonished.

People always apply double standards in inexplicable ways.

"Is the real old monster who's over a thousand years old referring to me?" Tiger Chiyo, who had been inside the Stigmata, suddenly asked.

"You are a young and beautiful married woman." Shen Liang calmly avoided the risk.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Cecilia asked with a smile, resting her chin on her hand. "Am I pretty?"

Shen Liang realized that he had been staring at her for a long time while lost in thought, so he quickly lowered his head and changed the subject, "Of course Sister Lia is beautiful, but I was thinking that Sister Lia just said that I should get used to...get used to what?"

"Of course, it's just some of our Valkyrie habits," Cecilia laughed. "Little Pandora, you've already stepped into the transcendent realm, but there are many common-sense things about this world that you don't understand. Kiana, that silly girl, didn't teach you either, so I'll have to explain them to you~"

“You know my name isn’t Pandora.”

“I know, Shen Liang, hmm, it’s a very nice Chinese name.” Cecilia straightened her nun’s habit, then patted her knees and said gently, “This is the first thing I’m going to teach you. Come, sit on my lap.”

Shen Liang glanced at Kiana, who was chatting and laughing loudly with the other Valkyries in the distance.

"I'm already sixteen, Sister Leah," Shen Liang said in a low voice, refusing.

“So she’s still a child. My daughter has grown up and hasn’t let me hold her for a long time. Now that we have Little Pandora, it’s a good time to make up for it.” Cecilia chuckled. “Don’t be shy. Don’t worry, Kiana won’t be angry.”

Shen Liang was a little unsure whether she saw him as a son-in-law or a son...

In summary, I think she sees you as a daughter.

【Shut up! 】

After hesitating for a few seconds, Shen Liang still obeyed her will and obediently sat on Cecilia's lap. The white-haired wife enjoyed holding the boy in her arms, resting her chin on his head, and squinting her eyes contentedly.

For some reason, Shen Liang felt that the touch of this position was very familiar... just like many, many years ago, he was often held like this by someone, with the same softness, the same warmth, and the same ticklish feeling of hair brushing against his cheek.

But things have changed.

“The first thing I’ll teach you is that here on the extraordinary side, you are ‘Pandora Schariac’ of the Schariac family. This is your identity. No matter who asks about you or finds you, you are Pandora.” Cecilia played with the boy’s ponytail and said softly, “The name Shen Liang can be used among our family, but outside, only ‘Pandora’ can protect you.”

Shen Liang frowned. He wasn't stupid, and he quickly understood what Cecilia meant.

He has been exposed to the world, and regardless of whether his identity is real or not, it must now be real. This represents the protection of the Schariac family; as long as his name remains, taking action against him would be tantamount to disrespecting the dignity of the Schariac family.

While his value as a male superhuman was not low, it was not enough to offend Shaniat for it.

“But I remember your Shaniat family… well, it’s a genetic issue that prevents you from having boys, right?” Shen Liang asked.

“It’s ‘our Schariac family,’ so be careful in the future,” the Saintess reminded her, then added, “Yes, the Schariac family has never had a male member in its history, but the Schariac family has also never had a test-tube baby. Is it really so unreasonable for someone from our Schariac family to suddenly want a son? Right?”

If that's the reason, then it's indeed very reasonable.

"So, does that mean the Shaniat family can have a boy through IVF?" Shen Liang asked curiously.

“No, you can’t,” Cecilia said with a smile.

Good guy.

“Besides,” Cecilia reassured, “with little Pandora’s looks, everyone will believe it. After all, besides our ‘Saintess’ lineage, who else could give birth to such a handsome boy?”

The Saintess lineage truly produces beauties; Kiana and Sirin are both exceptionally beautiful young women, and Anna, though from a collateral branch, is no exception. Perhaps the reason this family is called the Saintess lineage is because each generation has been remarkably beautiful, standing out even among the many beauties of the Transcendental realm.

"Then, you have to get used to the prying eyes of many people on the extraordinary side."

"Because I'm male?" Shen Liang asked. "What's so special about men? Isn't it said that men don't have talent, and even if there's a small chance that a man becomes a superhuman, he still won't achieve much?"

“This is a bit…” Cecilia untied his ponytail, chatting as she combed his hair with her fingers, the faint Honkai energy forming an electric current that straightened his somewhat frizzy long hair. “Troublesome.”

She thought for a moment and said, "Only females have the ability to adapt to Honkai energy. It's females, not women, because we've discovered animals that have possessed Honkai energy by chance, but we've never found males among animals. Under normal circumstances, there are only three possibilities for men who can adapt to Honkai energy."

"One type is the unexpected mutation of a gene in a family that can also be adapted to by males, which can lead to the emergence of extraordinary offspring. However, such family genes are extremely rare and have almost no reference value. Currently, there is only one such family in the world. No, there is not even one such family now."

Chapter 175 A lovely, outstanding, and extraordinary boy

As if recalling something unpleasant, Cecilia leaned back on the sofa, wrapping her arms around Shen Liang's waist even tighter, and sighed softly, "You should know about this family."

"I know?"

“The Kaslana family,” Cecilia said. “The ‘Knight Family,’ one of the three pillar families of destiny, and also the family of Kiana’s father, my husband.”

Shen Liang suddenly felt something grab her heart, for a moment.

"Sister Leah has a husband?"

Cecilia chuckled. "I know you're subtly complimenting me on how young I am... but I have a daughter, how could I not have a husband?"

But her relaxed expression quickly vanished, replaced by a hint of sadness. "The members of the Kaslana family are all very strong fighters. They are born with exceptional physical abilities and have always been frontline warriors against the Honkai. However, the Kaslana family has been declining in number for a long time, with only one lineage remaining until now, and the last bloodline has been extinguished."

"Aren't Kiana and Sirin still there?"

“Their surname is Shaniat.” Cecilia smiled bitterly. “The last generation of the Kaslana family was also from the Shaniat family. The only gene capable of producing male Valkyries died out in this generation.”

"That's really... unlucky." Shen Liang felt that he had touched a nerve with this beautiful wife. Her husband's family line had basically ended in this generation, and it was all because of him.

“However, Kiana once taught you the Kaslana Gunfighting Technique. Theoretically, only members of the Kaslana family can learn this shooting technique. You learned it despite breaking all your bones, so you're practically a Kaslana child.” Cecilia scratched her hair, a sudden idea popping into her head. “Right, since the Kaslana bloodline is in dire need of attention, you two should hurry up and have children. You must show your sister the results before she dies.”

"Sister, Kiana and I are really..."

"Then Celine is fine too! Celine is nineteen this year. Don't you Chinese people say that a woman three years older than her husband is like a golden brick? Celine is no worse than Kiana!"

Unable to withstand such fervent attempts to sell his daughter, Shen Liang could only awkwardly retort, "Aren't there two other types of men who can adapt to Honkai energy?"

Cecilia pouted unhappily, but could only continue, "Besides family genes, the second type is the Qi cultivation practice of your Shenzhou."

Shen Liang's interest was piqued. "Qi cultivation? Are there really people cultivating immortality in Shenzhou?"

In Shenzhou, Honkai energy is referred to as "true qi" or "qigong," so the Valkyries in Shenzhou often refer to their progress in Honkai energy as "cultivation." And Shenzhou has a unique skill, which is the origin of all cultivation methods—"Tai Xu Sword Qi."

"That was a method passed down to his disciple by the Crimson Kite Immortal, an extremely powerful transcendent being from the Divine Continent five hundred years ago. Cultivating the Void Sword Qi allows one to draw in Collapse Energy, and if one can overcome this, one can enter the realm of the transcendent. However, the Seven Sons of the Crimson Kite considered the Void Sword Qi to be a technique of chaos and did not preserve it."

"The art of creating chaos?" Shen Liang asked, puzzled.

“In fact, most cultivation methods around the world are derived from different modifications of the Taixu Sword Qi, but the true Taixu Sword Qi cannot be passed down.” Cecilia shook her head. “Because it can really enable men to cultivate… so it is a technique of chaos.”

"Isn't this bad?"

“It’s not that simple, little Pandora. Historical records show that the Crimson Kite Immortal taught the Void Sword Qi to countless people, but the only man who successfully cultivated it was Ma Yanqing, the Crimson Kite Immortal’s disciple five hundred years ago.” Cecilia unconsciously rubbed his little face and whispered, “It has extremely high requirements for talent. It’s one thing if a woman can’t cultivate it, but if a man draws Honkai energy into his body but can’t cultivate it, he won’t be able to adapt to Honkai energy and will die.”

Shen Liang thought for a while before realizing where the Taixu Sword Qi was "chaotic".

The more extraordinary individuals there are in this world, the better. Extraordinary individuals are destabilizing factors, and the fact that women can spontaneously awaken is already a major headache for society. If men also begin to attempt the path of the extraordinary, with their ambition, desires, and drive far exceeding those of women, the instability will only increase.

The allure of the Void Sword Qi is irresistible to countless men, but it's a dead end. Men without Honkai energy adaptability will truly die if they allow it to enter their bodies; their chances of survival are practically nonexistent. Ma Yanqing survived because he was the personal disciple of the Crimson Phoenix Immortal. Can a normal person receive such protection and treatment?

This is a martial arts manual that will cause bloodshed and chaos; no wonder Cheng Ling Shuang and the others completely buried the Tai Xu Sword Qi.

"You see, this is also a dead end." Cecilia chuckled and lowered her head to kiss his cheek. "And the third one is you, little Pandora. There are always some lucky people in the world who are born with the ability to adapt to Honkai energy, by some twist of fate."

There's no particular reason; there's always a one in a billion chance that a few lucky people will emerge in the world.

Am I really a lucky one?

Shen Liang fell into self-doubt. Could it be that it wasn't actually because of the time travel, but that he really had Honkai energy adaptability in his body? Was his ability to fight so well not only because of the girl's power, but also because he could actually use Honkai energy?

At this moment, Shen Liang looked up and was surprised to see Bronya coldly watching him sitting on a married woman's lap pretending to be young in the children's activity center of the consulate in the distance.

—I'm sorry, Bronya, let your brother explain!

"But what does this have to do with the fact that so many people are watching me?" Shen Liang asked.

“As I just said, male superhumans are extremely rare, almost non-existent. So the first value of Little Pandora is obvious.” Cecilia smiled brightly. “Valkyries are beings who surpass ordinary people. Whether it’s physique, ability, appearance, or even social status, they are all very high. Many times, we are a bit arrogant.”

Shen Liang instantly understood what she meant, and her face turned pale.

"You...look down on men?"