Chapter 43: Blooming Swan Orchid
Bang, bang……
Inside the training ground, Mike and Lei clashed as usual, with the crisp sound of weapons occasionally ringing out.
Xilutiya stood behind the guardrail not far away, her gaze following the two as they constantly shifted positions, watching them employ various tactics and how they used their own advantages to seize opportunities in battle.
（‘Basic Sword Technique’ proficiency +2）
（‘Basic Sword Technique’ proficiency +1）
……
Currently, she was gaining less and less experience from watching the battles.
After watching for a long time, she had a rough model of the two’s sword techniques in her mind. She slightly closed her eyes, and Xilutiya relied only on sound and memory to recreate their approximate actions at that moment. Finally, when she opened her eyes again, she found that their actions and reactions matched her predictions exactly.
In this case, she lightly pressed her fingers to her chin, thinking about how to guide the two.
Her sword technique was not far superior to theirs, but with her keen observation, she could easily spot their shortcomings.
Generally speaking, a person’s observation or appreciation ability must exceed their current capabilities to keep progressing. If one’s abilities reach the level of their own discernment, where they can’t see any flaws but their strength is still inferior, that is the most frustrating and dangerous state.
Currently, after two months of training, the two had reached what they considered their ideal state, but after that, they found it hard to progress further and had hit a bottleneck.
Xilutiya recalled her experiences over the months since waking up, feeling that the greatest influence on this life so far was not the still unknown ‘Cornflower Attachment’ and ‘Star’ talent, but this observational and comprehension ability that was unattainable in her previous life.
Being able to simultaneously hear ten people’s words clearly, understand and remember them all at once, and detect subtle changes through observation that ordinary people couldn’t notice—these two abilities made her progress extremely fast in learning skills.
Several minutes later, the sparring pair stopped. They returned to the rest area to drink water and wipe sweat, then asked the black-haired maiden.
“How about it, Tiya? Did you understand?” Mike still didn’t think this quiet maiden could comprehend his and Lei’s combat situation.
“I mostly got it.” The maiden nodded, but after thinking, she continued.
“I can give you some suggestions, but don’t tell others that I taught you.”
“Why is that? Alright, Lei and I won’t say anything.” Mike didn’t understand, but after thinking, he agreed.
“But your suggestions have to be useful, or I won’t listen.”
After spending this time together, his previous irritable temper had unknowingly been influenced by this maiden, becoming more even-tempered.
Occasionally, he would recall that hot and drowsy afternoon when Xilutiya touched his forehead to sense his temperature. Perhaps from that day on, he was reluctant to lose his temper with this girl.
Was he in love? No, it wasn’t the hot-blooded, head-over-heels longing that Brother Jieluo described. It was more like the faint scent of plants and flowers wafting in during an afternoon nap—always subtle, and he would think of it when he quieted down.
While Mike was lost in thought, Xilutiya sketched with paper and pen, calculating and thinking in her mind, finally settling on a general plan after more than ten minutes.
“Here.” She came to the blackboard and began sketching their battle movements and weapon usage with a lime pen.
“This is my private lesson now, so don’t leak it outside, and don’t get distracted.” This maiden had already skillfully mastered using her soft, pleasant voice to make the two focus.
……
……（Mike ‘Basic Sword Technique’ proficiency +12）
……（Lei ‘Basic Sword Technique’ proficiency +9）
……（Mike ‘Basic Sword Technique’ proficiency +11）
……（Lei ‘Basic Sword Technique’ proficiency +8）
……
Time passed unnoticed during the lesson. When Xilutiya finished lecturing, Mike and Lei felt as if some key had been unlocked, gaining new perspectives and insights into many things.
“So it can be like this?” Mike rubbed his chin.
“Lei understands.” Lei also showed a silly grin.
Phew, that taught these two dummies. Xilutiya breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head slightly.
This was still after she had taught them for some time and knew their comprehension and thinking abilities, allowing targeted explanations. Otherwise, she really wouldn’t know how to impart certain things.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before their Basic Sword Technique broke through to Lv.4. As for Lv.5, that would be difficult, since Xilutiya herself hadn’t reached that level yet.
“Next is Karen.” She mentioned the girl listening to the lesson not far away.
“Your spear technique skills can actually be improved too.” She blinked her eyes, calling her good friend over for individual guidance.
……
The daytime classes and training ended, and in the evening, Xilutiya returned home again.
As soon as she stepped inside, she sensed something different. Following this subtle feeling, she hurried to the backyard and found that a ‘Swan Orchid’ in the glass cover had fully bloomed.
The slender stamen extended from the unfurled flower petals, forming an S-shaped curve—drooping first then arching up, like a swan’s graceful neck. The surrounding five green-white petals were like the swan’s wings, naturally flat with a slight arc, symmetrically arranged around the swan stamen, so natural yet so strangely beautiful.
【Swan Orchid】（Perfect-91）: In bloom. Due to your careful nurturing, this Swan Orchid has bloomed nearly perfectly. As a reward for your meticulous cultivation, nature bestows upon you the condensation of ‘Emerald Honey’ nature.
【Swan Orchid Flower】（First Order·Emerald Honey）: Manifestation from a gardener’s careful care and patient nurturing. Can be used to purify other nature power, creating an undisturbed serene environment.
Carefully bending down to kneel on the stone slab, Xilutiya closely observed the blooming Swan Orchid. On the stamen, graceful like a swan’s neck, there seemed to be a faint, invisible golden halo emerging, then sprinkling lightly into the surrounding air.
When she gently placed her hand on the Swan Orchid’s scale stem again, a strange ripple transmitted through her fingers to her body and mind. That was the condensed ‘Emerald Honey’ nature, like scattered fragments perfectly forming a picture. The Swan Orchid’s own drifting and fragile nature power no longer dissipated easily, becoming cohesive and resilient, even able to guide and manipulate the latent ‘Emerald Honey’ nature power in the surrounding flowers and grass like a magnet.
When Xilutiya immersed her consciousness in the Swan Orchid, she suddenly gained an insight: if she performed the guidance, she could introduce this initially condensed ‘First Order-Emerald Honey’ from the Swan Orchid into her own fate plate, advancing the fate card 【Sleeping Girl】（Nature Tier: None）, gaining ‘First Order·Emerald Honey’ nature.
Should she advance now? She thought about it and decided to hold off first, ask Teacher Heide before deciding.
Besides, the other two Swan Orchids were about to bloom too. She shifted her gaze to the other two Swan Orchids, their flower buds also partially unfurled, beginning to condense ‘First Order-Emerald Honey’ nature.
The first Swan Orchid to condense nature was the hardest. With the first one, the other two would be guided and assisted, making it much easier and smoother.
At this point, she definitely couldn’t touch the first one. She would decide after all three bloomed. The maiden stood up.
As usual, she watered these Swan Orchids again, supplemented nutrients, then carefully loosened the soil.
After finishing these tasks, she washed her hands, then sat in the backyard with a book again, reading by lamplight and occasionally looking up at the blooming ‘Swan Orchid’ emitting a faint golden halo in the night.
This patient cultivation and the harvest after long busyness brought her a faint sense of joy and stability. Even if she napped in the backyard now, she would feel much more at ease.
