Theresa’s chest was heavy… figuratively. She saw how others moved forward while she was here, all left behind. One of the most cruel aspects of immortal cultivation does not stem from their race against time, but seeing others progress while one remains stagnant. The worst that could happen was for them to grow old, while their acquaintances remain youthful.
Fortunately for her, Theresa did not face such a problem. Her high-grade spirit root gave her a starting line above most people. Even Himeko did not enjoy such a good treatment. Her spirit root was upgraded to the high-grade later than Theresa’s.
The Sea of Suffering was the trigger. It pushed everyone to a rare moment of introspection. Pass and they shall attain the eighth-level Tao Heart. Fail and they would be left behind. Theresa was the former case. Through the purpose realized by herself, she was able to clear all obstacles, remove the Sea of Suffering’s aftereffects, and attain the eighth-level Tao Heart.
Yet, it was because of her current level that she was aware of it.
Her Tao Heart is flawed.
It wasn’t as ‘solid’ as Kiana’s, nor was it as unshakeable as Himeko’s. Theresa must resolve the ‘minor’ knots to her heart, lest she would welcome a qi deviation. Her cultivation would stagnate, or even fall. That was something she could not accept, more so when everyone was improving.
‘I won’t be watching from behind anymore.’
In the end, Theresa felt the same powerlessness Himeko did. She wanted to fight alongside them, to be able to share their burdens.
Most importantly…
She does not want to become her future self.
Theresa will never forget the mark she had left. That pair of scarlet-red pupils showed not a single trace of humanity. She had completely thrown everything behind, becoming a self-loathing monster who vented her frustrations on countless innocent lives!
‘I will never become like her… never.’
Perfecting her Tao Heart was Theresa’s strongest means to deny her future self. She treated this task seriously. She knew herself that doubts would sprout uncontrollably the moment Theresa fails to settle this matter.
‘Did something happen while I was gone?’
Himeko was bewildered to see the determination within the Principal’s eyes. She was out-of-touch from reality, which was why she hadn't heard of the Mars incident.
“How should I deal with Tian?” Theresa paused for a while, realizing how vague her statement was. “I mean, how can I be with him? Kiana… She seems a lot easier to talk to. But her father, Ziggy…”
“You have no other choice but to talk with him, don’t you?”
Himeko swiftly pointed out the crux of the matter.
“Considering his personality, there’s nothing much we can do to lessen its impact.”
Currently, Siegfried was leading the expedition to the Sea of Quanta, serving as its special staff officer. More than six hundred years of exploration revealed a lot of its secrets. Coupled with the prowess of Mobius and Vill-V, it could be said that they stripped most of the Sea clean.
The only reason they hadn’t focused their efforts to the Imaginary Tree was the existence of Aeons. It is, after all, the place where Aeons’ true body is located. The Sea of Quanta is a ‘blank’ space without any of that, at least according to their current findings. With Siegfried’s Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, it was enough to safeguard the ‘expedition’ team filled with Golden Core Realm cultivators.
Himeko suddenly thought of a plan.
“What about… passing through him first?” Before Theresa could express her shock, Himeko explained further, “You said it yourself. The girl, Kiana, does not mind others. Your feelings are sincere, too. It’s better to talk with her first… and seal the deal.”
Theresa saw through her reasoning. Back when Siegfried heard of Kiana’s willingness to ‘share’ Shi Tian with others, he did not do anything too drastic. Part of it came from his guilt of not being able to take care of Kiana. Another was out of helplessness. He knew he could not do anything once Kiana set her mind on it. The best he could give was his support, and of course, the traditional ‘warning’.
Ultimately, it was all a matter of Theresa’s choice. She was too concerned with what the others close to them would think of it. If it was a done deed, would Siegfried still be able to say anything to it?
If he did react as adversely as she had expected would Theresa give up Shi Tian?
‘No!’
Theresa would be with Shi Tian. She would rub it off to her future self—that her choices were nothing but mistakes!
“I’m sorry for troubling you. I should have decided on it a long time ago…”
She was someone well-versed with social science. Had she not been so, she wouldn’t have been an effective leader. Despite that, she found herself thinking of a problem that wasn’t really a problem. She felt so stupid she felt ashamed for even asking Himeko’s help.
But then, she cannot be completely blamed. It was Theresa’s first time to fall for someone. She lacked experience, which led to her making questionable decisions.
Just as Theresa was about to stand up, a series of knocks put her in place. Though she wasn’t able to see, she ‘felt’ who it was—
Shi Tian.
“You two really are using my place as a meeting spot.”
“I am sorry to trouble you, Himeko. I won’t ever call you a redhead bimbo again.”
Himeko’s right eye twitched as she nodded to accept Theresa’s apology. She thought that was enough, but the latter doubled-down:
“If you end up liking him… I will support you.”
“...”
For a moment, she could not respond. She looked at Theresa with eyes full of speechlessness. Recalling the small Principal from years ago, and then the mature older lady now…
‘Nobody would have expected her to be this… lovesick.'
Her thoughts then drifted towards Shi Tian. Himeko’s curiosity towards him reached an all-time high.
‘What if I gave it a try?’
In the end, she decided to be against it. For now, at least. Theresa’s ‘confession’ takes precedence.
In such a manner, the conversation between the two ended. Theresa was the one who opened the door for Shi Tian, and as soon as he met her gaze, he knew something might happen today.
‘It is time, after all…’
*****
A/N: I am still contemplating whether to have lemons for Theresa quickly or not. I guess we’ll see to it tomorrow on how smoothly I’d be able to write it. If it did end up with lemons, though, it might be shorter than the usual (2k words).