Finally, after dealing with Yori, Kei and all the other Enlightened that she told about the war with Yuna, Hana had some time to prepare herself for the war instead of running errands for others.
Her charming and elegant expression remained plastered on her face despite feeling tired and frustrated as she exited the hospital.
Hana was one of if not the most popular Enlightened in the first stronghold. It was as easy as sleeping for her to look charming and gain trust from anyone she met.
Especially mortals, who are used to being viewed as lesser than and as insects by Enlightened, were extremely fond of her kind attitude towards them. Naturally, they trusted her without any valid reason but their emotions.
Hoping not to accidentally run into anyone else, she immediately headed for the stairs to her apartment.
Due to her high status, it was a massive apartment, located on one of the top floors of the central building.
Her steps were fast and pressing as she ascended the stairs. She reached her apartment within a few minutes.
Unlike Yori and most other strong Enlightened, she refused to own servants or slaves. Taking care of herself and her apartment was a chore she didn't want to give to anyone but herself.
It would also damage her reputation, and mortals would no longer be so fond of her. She shouldn't care about mere mortals, and she doesn't, but at the same time, all Enlightened were once mortals.
Being popular amongst them also meant that freshly ascended Enlightened would be fond of her. Unlike the mortals, they could be of great use during combat or in the form of allies.
She shut the door quietly and locked it from the inside as she entered her apartment.
Her day was exhausting, which is why she felt a sense of relief as she was finally all alone.
She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples before opening them again and walking over to her bed, lying down.
Hana's strides and expression were no longer graceful. Being alone allowed her to finally put this facade away and relax.
"There's nothing better to do now, is there?"
She mumbled to herself in a slightly grumpy tone as she closed her eyes once more, focusing on her cultivation.
The essence in her body and soul was flowing freely and with ease. A flow this tranquil and constant was the perfect condition for cultivation.
As she envisioned her soul, which was located in her heart, she noticed that its condition had remained the same compared to the last time she cultivated it.
Thousands of small cracks and some larger ones were covering her soul.
It was about to break, meaning that she could soon reach rank 4.
Currently, the second strongest Enlightened in the first stronghold is the only rank 4. If she were to reach this rank too, her position would immediately rise from the fifth to the third strongest Enlightened.
Not only that, but she would also become far more useful in the war. Healing and therefore protecting her allies would be much easier and her chances of dying far lower.
Despite that, this plan of reaching rank 4 as soon as possible could backfire greatly. If the first stronghold was attacked before she could repair her soul, she would be completely useless and unable to heal.
It would not only risk her own, but also the lives of her allies and loved ones.
It was a risk she was willing to take.
A simple command in the form of a thought was enough to get her essence to move at her will. It stopped flowing freely and slowly concentrated around her soul.
All of her focus was put into forcing her essence to penetrate and eventually overload her soul's exterior barrier. The cracks continued to widen and deepen. New ones appeared all over her soul as well.
She was certain of it, her soul was about to break.
Merely a few seconds had passed in her mind since she started cultivating, and yet in reality more than one hour had passed.
Her mind and body have become even more exhausted than they already were due to her expenditure in essence just now.
For now, there was nothing for her to do anymore but rest. She had no more essence to use for cultivation purposes.
Hana was very aware of this. Getting some sleep was the best decision in her opinion.
Her eyes fluttered closed, and she was about to drift into a deep slumber within a few seconds. She was too exhausted and lazy to even cover herself with a blanket.
Just before she lost consciousness and could finally fall into a deep slumber, a few knocks on the door could be heard.
Hana's eyes shot open again, and she sat up immediately while letting out a grumpy and frustrated grunt.
As she stood up, she inhaled and exhaled slowly and deeply to calm down and put on her graceful and elegant facade once again.
She opened the door gently and gazed outside curiously.
In front of her stood two young girls, the same size, wearing the same clothes, with the same long and open sky-blue hair. They were 15 years old, their eyes dark brown. Their expressions betrayed their feelings and showed boredom.
These two were Rina and Ayumi Hatae, often referred to as 'yin and yang'. Both were rank 3 Enlightened with the primary element water. The third and fourth strongest Enlightened in the first stronghold respectively.
Their individual talent was easily on par with Yuna's. Fortunately for them, thanks to their blood relationship, they were able to cultivate with each other and circulate their essence through the other's body, increasing its potency.
It was this reason precisely which gave them the edge over Yuna. They were the only Enlightened in the first stronghold believed to have the talent to potentially surpass her.
Their relationship with Hana was a special one. She was the person who saw their talent. Originally, Rina and Ayumi were both nothing but poor mortals. Hana gave each of them an ascender stone and was their master for a short while.
Rina and Ayumi were fond of her for that reason and Hana was fond of them because they increased her reputation greatly and had always been her biggest allies.
"Ah, it's you two."
Hana smiled pleasantly. Internally, she felt relief, seeing that the people that knocked at least weren't a hassle to deal with.
"Hi."
Rina and Ayumi spoke simultaneously and in the exact same bored tone, gazing up at Hana quietly.