Honkai Star Rail: My Death Feeds Their Madness — Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Traditional Competition, Jingliu Signs Up

Early the next morning, a sharp whistle pierced the lingering silence of the camp.

The students scrambled to gather in formation amidst the harsh urging of their instructors, officially beginning their ten-day reserve army experience. Morning runs, strict formation drills, and heavy equipment practice followed in brutal succession. In just half a day, the grueling routine completely drained the children, most of whom had been raised to favor literature and quiet study over the martial arts.

Jingliu could barely keep her footing as the hours dragged on. Even as her breathing grew ragged and her vision swam with dark spots, she gritted her teeth, refusing to fall behind the others.

But the afternoon brought the weighted march. The students were forced to carry heavy marching packs back and forth across a stretch of simulated rugged terrain, the uneven ground threatening to twist their ankles with every step.

Before she had even covered a single kilometer, her knees finally buckled. The immense weight on her shoulders pressed her down like a physical hand against her spine. Dust swirled through her fading line of sight, the shifting figures of her peers becoming increasingly blurred.

Just as the ground rushed up to meet her, she collapsed into a pair of strong, steady arms.

“Do not push yourself beyond your limits.”

Kagashi supported her weight effortlessly. Seeing that Jingliu had entirely depleted her strength, he turned his head to address the faltering column of students.

“Continue the march. No stopping. If you cannot hold on, shout your report.”

Jingliu wanted to speak, to insist she could keep going, but her throat was completely dry. She lacked the strength to even part her lips.

A short time later in the quiet confines of the medical room, the army physician finished his examination. He confirmed she was merely suffering from severe physical exhaustion and a mild case of heatstroke.

Just as Kagashi opened his mouth to give further instructions, an emergency communication cut through the sterile air.

A holographic projection flickered to life, revealing an intelligence officer with a deeply tense expression.

“Guard Kagashi, urgent report. Signs of a large-scale Borisin gathering have been detected eight light-years west of the established route. The General orders all Cloud Knight Vanguards and Strategists to convene immediately.”

“All units, look after the students according to Contingency Plan Number Two.” Kagashi switched his communication frequency without missing a beat, his voice perfectly calm. He turned toward the door but paused halfway, looking back at the army physician. “Send her back to the camp once she recovers. If she still feels unwell, she may extend her rest for another half day.”

“Understood, sir.”

Silence returned to the medical room as the heavy door slid shut.

Jingliu lay still, staring blankly at the plain white ceiling while the fragmented phrases echoed in her exhausted mind. Borisin gathering. The hideous, bloodthirsty shadows of the Denizens of Abundance she had only ever seen in textbook illustrations flashed behind her eyes.

Is this the true burden of the Cloud Knights? The realization settled heavily in her chest. Enemy intelligence always came first, overriding all other concerns. Lying in the safety of the medical bed, she could only pray silently, wishing for the safe return of every soldier who marched out to meet the dark.

From the distant training grounds, the faint, rhythmic shouts of the youths still drifted on the wind.

Inside the central council chamber, the atmosphere was suffocatingly solemn. The highest-ranking Cloud Knight Vanguards and Strategists stood gathered around the central holotable.

The intelligence summary painted a grim picture. Once the Borisin finished massing their forces, the sheer scale of their fleet would pose a catastrophic threat to the Star Skiff.

Before the General could issue his first command, another urgent transmission flooded the console. This time, the alert did not originate from the Sky-Faring Commission, but directly from the Divination Commission.

“According to the latest calculations from the Divination Commission’s Matrix of Prescience, traces suspected to belong to the Emanator of Abundance, Shuhu, have been discovered in the sector.”

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence. Teng Xiao’s expression hardened into something terrifying.

Every single Xianzhou native understood the crushing weight of the name Shuhu. Almost all the most tragic, blood-soaked wars in the history of the Alliance bore the shadow of that immortal monster.

“Haunting us still.” A cold, murderous intent flashed in Teng Xiao’s eyes.

In just over twenty years, Shuhu had died at his hands three separate times. Yet the Emanator always managed to stage a miraculous comeback, returning from the ashes each time more twisted and difficult to kill than the last.

A rare, dark gloom settled over Kagashi’s usually placid features. Shuhu was the architect of the second Abundance Plague War that had devastated the Xianzhou Yuque all those years ago.

“Shangang, Haiyi, Luqu.”

“Present.”

“The three of you will split into three routes and set out for Purta-II. Exterminate the abominations and prevent the Denizens of Abundance from completing their gathering.” Teng Xiao issued the military orders with methodical, chilling precision.

“Orders received.”

The Denizens of Abundance had to be slaughtered, and Shuhu’s traces had to be hunted down without hesitation.

Soon, the heavy doors sealed, leaving only Teng Xiao and Kagashi alone in the vast hall.

“If I had known the desk would be this heavy, I would never have taken up the mantle. I just want to go out there and hack at those beasts myself.” Teng Xiao dropped his imposing majesty, letting out a long, weary sigh.

“Even if you were not the General, you could not simply charge into the enemy lines and kill as you pleased,” Kagashi replied softly.

“But you want to kill those monsters and Shuhu more than anyone else in this room, do you not?”

“Which Xianzhou native does not?”

“But that perverted thing has a deeply personal grudge with you. My history with Shuhu is merely a life-and-death antagonistic stance born of duty.”

Kagashi fell silent. It was true. He was indeed the person who wanted the Emanator dead more than anything else in the universe. But on the Xianzhou ships, there were far too many broken souls who shared that exact sentiment.

“It has died at my hands several times, yet it keeps coming back,” Teng Xiao continued, pacing slowly. “The power it possesses is certainly not a simple regenerative trait. There must be a core mechanism we are missing.”

Kagashi frowned, his mind turning over the ancient texts and his own bloody memories. “Perhaps… it operates on a nature similar to the Ambrosial Arbor.”

The Ambrosial Arbor. The ultimate abundance scourge that had cursed the Xianzhou people with their endless, stagnant longevity.

“Are you suggesting that an abundance scourge exists within Shuhu, or that the Emanator is the blessed scourge itself?” Teng Xiao stopped pacing, looking genuinely surprised.

“It is merely a theory. You mentioned before that Shuhu manifested as a massive tree in this world. Perhaps only by uprooting and destroying the source can its cycle of rebirth be permanently suppressed.”

“Even if your theory holds true, executing it would be nearly impossible.” Teng Xiao shook his head bitterly. “The Ambrosial Arbor is located in a fixed explore. It has no self-awareness. If Shuhu is a living scourge with thoughts and malice… it would be the equivalent of a mobile Ambrosial Arbor. Who knows where its true roots are buried?”

Kagashi remained quiet, his gaze fixed on the glowing star map. If he were Shuhu, and he truly possessed a detached root system… where would be the absolute safest place to hide it?

Perhaps, right under their very noses.

“Let the Divination Commission worry about the exact coordinates first.” Kagashi cut off his own dark train of thought, bringing the conversation back to the present.

Teng Xiao nodded slowly. “I will send a formal request to the Divination Commission and have the seers perform a dedicated deduction.”

With the grim war talk concluded, the two men shifted their focus to the current state of the elite training camp. Kagashi admitted that the physical toll was too much for many to persist, but noted that the sisters Mianxue and Qinghan still had energy to spare despite the brutal regimen.

Teng Xiao revealed a proud, knowing smile, silently boasting that his judgment in selecting them had been incredibly sharp.

Kagashi, however, was in no mood for idle chatter. He finished his report and turned to leave the chamber. The students who had come to the camp for the pilgrimage must not be neglected. Perhaps the very person who would one day shatter the eternal stalemate between The Hunt and Abundance was currently bleeding and sweating among those youths.

The ten-day pilgrimage eventually neared its end.

The morning sun hung high in the clear artificial sky, casting a warm glow over the massive square. A gentle breeze swept across the training grounds, cooling the sweat on the faces of the assembled youth.

Kagashi stepped onto the high platform, his calm gaze sweeping over the hundreds of students filling the spectator seats. His resonant voice carried easily across the open space.

“Today and tomorrow, we will hold the final traditional challenge competition. You are to use the sword techniques you have learned these past few days, or rely on your own inherent skills, to challenge the Cloud Knight Vanguards.”

He paced slowly along the edge of the platform. “The Vanguards will not use their full strength. As long as you manage to break through their offense or defense and strike their helmet within the three-minute time limit, you will be declared the victor.”

“The challenge competition is not mandatory for everyone to participate in. After all…” Kagashi paused, letting the silence stretch for a brief moment. “Even if a Vanguard only uses a fraction of their true strength, they can defeat most of you with a single hand without ever needing to dodge. Most of the hundreds of Cloud Knight Vanguards sitting before you went through this exact same trial when they were your age.”

He stopped pacing and faced the crowd head-on. “There is no limit to the number of challenges a single person can issue, but the prerequisite remains absolute. You must defeat your current opponent within the three-minute window. The competition will begin in exactly thirty minutes. Those who wish to participate, register your names via your Jade Abacus now.”

A nervous stir rippled through the massive crowd.

Most of these imposing Cloud Knight Vanguards had challenged their own seniors when they were children? It made sense. Those who possessed the sheer will to become the absolute elite of the Xianzhou military lacked no courage when facing impossible mountains in their youth.

But challenging a Cloud Knight Vanguard was no small matter.

In the daily news reports broadcasted across the Xianzhou, the Vanguards were depicted as peerless powerhouses capable of acting as a one-man army. They were the warriors who charged headlong into the endless ranks of the Denizens of Abundance and emerged entirely unscathed. Aside from the General and the Sword Champion, the Vanguards held the highest martial prestige in the Alliance.

The suffocating, murderous aura cultivated by these soldiers through decades of bloody, relentless warfare was terrifying. Even when they actively suppressed it, the lingering pressure was enough to make a grown adult hesitate. For sheltered teenagers, simply overcoming that mental hurdle to draw a blade against them was a monumental task.

Half an hour later, the final tally showed that fewer than a thousand students had dared to submit their names.

For the Cloud Knights overseeing the event, this number was actually considered an improvement over the previous year.

“The overall number of applicants is roughly the same as our historical average.” Kagashi scrolled through the glowing registration information on his datapad. “Most of the challengers possess a strong martial arts background or have direct relatives currently serving in the Cloud Knights.”

As he read down the list, a certain name caused a faint flicker of surprise to cross his calm features. He lifted his head, his gaze drifting toward the seating section designated for Zhenshan Academy. He quickly locked onto the quiet young girl with the high ponytail.

Jingliu.

Her physical performance over the past ten days had barely scraped the average line, and she possessed absolutely no foundational martial training.

Across the vast distance of the square, their eyes happened to meet.

Jingliu had not expected the stoic instructor to look directly at her. Her gaze instinctively darted away, her fingers gripping the fabric of her trousers.

Even more unexpected was the reaction that followed. Guard Kagashi, who had been nothing but a stern, unyielding mountain of authority these past few days, actually offered her a slight, deliberate nod.

She recognized that specific expression immediately. It was the exact same look a strict Academy teacher gave when silently approving of a student’s hidden potential.

Jingliu felt a sudden flush of embarrassment heat her cheeks. She had only forced herself to sign up because she absolutely refused to lose face for her proud family lineage.

After all, Guard Kagashi was an old acquaintance of her father. She could not bear the thought of him seeing her back down from a challenge.