Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

The man's lips curled up, a faint smile softening his handsome face, but his emerald eyes still held an unyielding chill, inspiring awe in those who looked upon them.

“Oh? A turning point?” Otto found the topic interesting and said.

Rita nodded and said:

"The fact that Su Qing'an came to Nagasora City, Japan alone after his parents died was a turning point."

"If it weren't for coming to Changkong City, Su Qing'an would still be safely in Canghai City in Shenzhou, continuing to live the life that was originally planned."

"But coming to Changkong City meant that his future was destined to be anything but bright."

Otto clapped his hands, his interest was fully piqued, and his smile grew even wider.

The man said:

"If this were placed in the opening of some epic, it would be as if the hero's fate began to deviate, and from then on the hero would embark on a path of no return."

"He will encounter a princess of a fallen kingdom, a wandering knight, a magician who squanders his days in a tavern by performing acrobatics, a great sage from the elven kingdom who will come to test him, and finally, the hero will face off against the demon king."

"And all of this fate began with that very opening ceremony. Isn't that interesting, Rita?"

The maid said with a hint of helplessness:

“Your Excellency, although you’re talking about some third-rate RPG settings, in a sense it is true.”

"But perhaps it's a little different from what you said. Su Qing'an is not a hero. If I had to say, according to your analogy, he was just a lowly soldier who died at the very beginning."

Otto seemed thoughtful, and he nodded, saying:

"That's true. Even at his weakest, a hero is qualified to draw a holy sword. But in reality, the most Su Qing'an can hold is an iron sword from the village entrance."

If the qualification to draw the Holy Sword refers to the adaptability and resistance to Honkai energy, then Otto's analogy couldn't be more apt.

Rita continued:

"If we follow your story, then perhaps that girl is the one who deserves to be the hero."

Upon hearing this, Otto laughed and said:

"K423? Perhaps so. I'm also curious whether she will become a hero or a demon king in the end."

"Isn't the premise that the protagonist is the biggest boss quite popular, Rita?"

Rita smiled and said:

"As you have said, Your Excellency."

"I have no intention of questioning your taste, but please allow me to continue speaking about Su Qing'an."

Otto gave an apologetic smile and nodded, saying:

“Oh, of course, please continue, Rita.”

The maid said:

"What I mentioned earlier was the first turning point. The future of unrest is now certain. And the prerequisite for surviving in Changkong City during the third collapse outbreak, based on the medical report that Su Qing'an previously submitted to the Destiny Database, can be declared a death sentence."

Otto continued:

"But he didn't die, and he's still alive and well."

Rita nodded and said:

“这就是第二个转折点，在2013年11月9日下午的1点43分，苏青安在个人移动端内传输了名为太虚剑气的功法。”

"Just as you thought, Your Excellency."

“This ultimately comes from Lord Fu Hua, but now that we’ve confirmed her extremely demanding requirements, this cultivation technique, which has a very low cost-performance ratio, is no secret to a Destiny member of Su Jinyan’s level. It’s only natural for him, as a Chinese, to collect an ancient immortal book.”

"This should be the reason why Su Qing'an possesses the Taixu Sword Qi. Of course, out of caution, I still compared the Taixu Sword Qi in the Destiny Database with the one in Su Qing'an's hands, and the result was exactly the same as expected."

"And it was this perfectly consistent result that amazed me about what happened next."

"Although the exact time is unknown, before the collapse occurred, Su Qing'an undoubtedly mastered the Sword Heart through his own efforts."

"At the age of 17."

Rita softly read out Su Qing'an's age. Anyone who knew a little about the Taixu Sword Qi would understand the significance and incredible nature of this number.

Otto pondered:

"He mastered Kenshin at the age of 17? And with such low Honkai energy quality, he's a genius in some sense."

"This feeling is like a game character that has broken free from the NPC framework, full of unknown fun."

Rita said:

"What happened next doesn't seem so strange compared to this. According to your description, Su Qing'an maxed out the proficiency of all the skills he could learn in less than a month. He had transformed from a novice warrior who had just left the village into a weapon master."

The man picked up the report he had set aside and said:

"Just as you said in the report, is this his incredible learning ability?"

"Oh? You learned your martial arts in less than three minutes of fighting with me? Although I have never practiced martial arts myself, I can understand that this is not something that can be achieved by simply learning with the brain."

"His control over his body must be completely different from that of a normal person. This should be the true nature of the so-called learning ability, and the reason why he can achieve this level."

"It's really interesting. If this is an innate ability, then his introverted personality since childhood, besides the fact that his family was busy with matters of destiny, must also be related to this."

“Geniuses always have a vision that is different from that of ordinary people. You should have some common ground with Rita in this regard.”

Rita shook her head and said:

"It's just a trivial talent, nothing to mention compared to Lady Durandal."

Otto didn't dwell on the question. Compared to Bianca, how many people in this world could claim to have talent that wasn't insignificant?

That's like the difference between dragons and humans—a fundamental difference in the nature of life.

The man continued reading the report, muttering to himself:

"Later, during his escape from Changkong City, he encountered Ganesha. He used a motorcycle to ride this Emperor-class Honkai Beast around almost the entire city, and finally used the weight of a building to crush it and render it useless?"

Otto couldn't help but smile:

"Hahaha, what an imaginative yet logical and interesting battle! Is this something a boy who has never experienced the baptism of any battlefield could do?"

"Decisiveness, courage, calmness, and most importantly—correct judgment."

Rita added:

"And a tiny bit of luck, Your Excellency."

"In the end, Su Qing'an lost his ability to move. Just as Ganesha was about to wake up and kill him, Lady Fu Hua appeared."

Otto joked:

"What a perfect timing, a beauty saving a hero. If he's the protagonist, then my old friend must be an important NPC, and maybe he can even become the female lead."

It was a sharp and precise critique, almost surgically accurate.

The maid chuckled and said:

"In fact, Lord Fu Hua and Su Qing'an have a good relationship."

"There are rumors in St. Freya Academy that the two of them would meet at dusk to watch the tide rise and fall and the sun sink into the sea, and every morning they would practice their boxing under a huge banyan tree."

"Putting aside these rumors, on the day Su Qing'an fell into a coma, Lady Fu Hua completed the mission in less than three minutes. She simply repeated the process of going in and coming out before boarding the plane back to St. Freya Academy."

"While the entire St. Freya Academy was helpless in dealing with Su Qing'an's coma, Su Qing'an coincidentally woke up naturally shortly after Lady Fu Hua returned to the academy."

Otto fell silent; he understood Rita's implication.

Based on his understanding of that immortal, such behavior was actually contrary to common sense, so for a moment he thought Rita was bragging. But then he realized that Rita would not deceive him in this regard, and a strange feeling made him feel happy and intensely curious.

He chuckled and muttered to himself:

"My old friend, the one you're willing to use Feather Dust twice in a short period of time to save, I really can't help but be curious."

The man skipped over the trivial matters and details in the report, and even the core of the mission, the report on K423, was quickly overlooked by him.

Compared to reports that can be viewed anytime, satisfying one's own perverse tastes and curiosity is clearly more important.

When he was about halfway through, Otto opened a video file.

That was a video recording of Su Qing'an's virtual training.

The entire hour-long progress bar was filled with incredibly gory scenes of death.

The boy gritted his teeth, suppressing his pain. His body was being eroded into crystals by Honkai energy, until it was finally annihilated.

This scene was repeated almost dozens of times.

They might die from bleeding profusely, from organ failure, from their bones being eroded and crystallized by uncontrolled Honkai energy, or, like the scene just now, simply be annihilated into dust-like particles.

【Thousand Stars】.

This is part of the process of cultivating the [Thousand Stars].

Otto studied the boy's determined eyes, which were staring straight ahead, then turned off the video and said with a smile:

"Rita, perhaps we still don't understand this person."

"He has a kind of unwavering will that feels familiar to me, which is very interesting."

The man snapped his fingers lightly and said with a smile:

"It's decided. Let's have an old friend and Su Qing'an go on a mission together in a while."

"I believe that will be very interesting."

106. The cook's troubles.

"Anyway, that's the situation. Class monitor, please help me keep an eye on Kiana."

Raiden Mei twisted her slender white fingers shyly, her moist lips slightly pursed, and her eyes darting away, clearly indicating that making such a request was a great burden on her heart.

After making these remarks, she looked sincerely at the girl in front of her.

If we ignore all sorts of factors, this statement sounds like an immature parent asking a teacher for help for their child.

Of course, the actual situation is not much different.

Fu Hua sighed and rubbed her forehead. Looking at Mei, who was sitting upright before her, she said:

"Mei, although I can understand why you came to me for help because Kiana's written grades were not up to standard, I remember that your grades are good enough to tutor her."