Chapter 134 - Imperfections

Nova stood in the center of the chamber, surrounded by the protective formations he had carefully laid down. Over three hundred kilosouls floated before him, ready to be absorbed, each one pulsing with energy.

Anny sat nearby on a bedroll, watching with less engagement than he expected. Her grey eyes seemed distant, as if she was staring through him rather than at him. Her fingers drummed against her knee in an absent rhythm.

‘Still dissatisfied with the plan? Or considering the heart again?’

"Ready?" Nova asked, trying to wake her from her reverie. His voice echoed slightly in the chamber, bouncing off the curved walls.

"Mmh?" Her eyes snapped back into focus, blinking as if surfacing from deep water. She straightened slightly, rolling her shoulders. "Yeah, go ahead."

Deciding to leave it for now, Nova reached out and grasped the first cluster of kilosouls. The familiar warmth spread through his palms as the concentrated power began to travel toward his core. Unlike his previous absorptions, this time he could feel his body straining to contain the influx of energy.

‘Ooh, now even the troll enhancement is struggling. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to stay in the Unification form constantly…’

Fifty thousand. One hundred thousand. The numbers climbed steadily as sphere after sphere dissolved into his core. His muscles began to ache from the sheer pressure of containing so much raw power.

One hundred and fifty thousand. Two hundred thousand. The air around him began to shimmer with heat as his essence reserves expanded further, reminding him of the time he had used Cardinal Darius’s soul. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cool dungeon air.

The formations around him flared to life, responding to the massive energy signature he was generating. He had created them to protect the room in case the breakthrough had unexpected effects, as an extra safety measure.

Three hundred thousand. The pressure became too much for his child's body to bear. He was forced to activate the Unification skill, feeling his bones stretch and his muscles expand as he grew to the form of a young adult. His clothes strained at the seams but held, designed to accommodate the transformation.

Then, finally, the barrier shattered.

One million Soul Power.

The sensation was indescribable. It felt like every cell in his body had suddenly awakened from a deep sleep, like he had been living in a shadow of himself and only now stepped into brilliant sunlight.

This was the barrier separating the masses from the kings and leaders of the world. The threshold that marked true power.

‘Now I am starting to approach the power I was once used to. But my previous life is still far off.’

"Aah, this barrier felt much more significant than the previous ones. I feel great," he exhaled, rolling his shoulders as the last of the energy settled into place.

"The fragment is as it should be?" Anny asked nervously, leaning forward on her makeshift seat. They had been worried that the floor would prevent his fragment from manifesting somehow, but it was a risk they had to take.

Nova nodded, looking at the system interface in front of him. “Yeah, it’s right here. And wow.”

"You lived for a long time then, right?”

"Yeah, it was my longest in number of years," he answered simply, still processing the information on the stat sheet. “But most of it wasn’t used for anything but cultivating.”

'That first trait… will be extremely useful. But this means the system knows about qi and its uses… I was hoping I had found a method to surprise the higher-ups.' 

Nova's expression darkened slightly as he processed the implications. The system's knowledge ran deeper than he had anticipated, which meant his advantages might be fewer than he'd hoped. 

'The second trait is pretty much useless, though I'm sure I could sell it for incredible sums if I wanted to.'

The qi, which he had been hoping to gain access to since his soul first completed, was finally in his grasp. But it was in danger of disappearing once he absorbed the fragment.

‘Better use it as much as possible before that, then.’

[Fragment of Nova Baolin equipped.]

Power coursed through him like liquid starlight, and he could feel the essence in his body responding to ancient pathways that didn’t yet exist. The meridians weren't physically there, but the essence seemed to prepare for them to form, traveling in determined tracks that followed the blueprint of his immortal past.

It was like watching water flow through invisible channels, carving temporary riverbeds in the landscape of his soul. Each pulse of energy that moved through these phantom meridians left them slightly more defined.

“Anny, let me feel your body.”

“W-What?” Anny's voice pitched higher with surprise, her eyes widening as she stared at him.

Nova blinked, realizing how his request had sounded. A faint flush crept up his neck as he clarified. "I've gained access to qi, so I can use it to check what's going on inside of you. If anything is strange with your beast powers, I should be able to resolve it."

Anny's posture relaxed slightly, though she still seemed wary. "...But… Right now?"

"I can also try to figure out what's going on with your Thousand Beast Sovereign technique, what's triggering your sudden outbursts." 

Her golden-eyed episodes were becoming more frequent, and the last thing they needed was for her to lose control at a critical moment. "The qi will let me see things that essence-based examination couldn't detect."

“...How will you do it?”

“I just need to put my hand on your back.”

"Ah, you…" Anny trailed off, mumbling something too quiet for him to catch. After a moment of internal struggle, she turned around on the ground, leaning forward to allow him easy access. Her movements were stiff with embarrassment, but determined.

Nova could see the tension in her shoulders, the way she held herself rigidly upright. "...Sorry, but it needs to be bare. Please remove your shirt."

More grumbling followed, though he couldn't make out the specific words. Despite her obvious discomfort, she pulled the fabric over her head without further protest. The shirt fell down to her elbows as she leaned forward again, her dark hair spilling over one shoulder to partially shield her from view.

Nova sat down behind her, noting the pale expanse of skin marked by faint striping patterns where her beast powers had left their mark.

He placed his palm against her back, feeling the warmth of her skin and the steady rhythm of her breathing. Her muscles tensed at the contact, a reflexive response she couldn't quite suppress.

Slowly, he changed the essence held in his arm into qi, feeling the old but familiar sensation course through his muscles. The qi felt much heavier than the essence, somehow adding weight to his arm.

"Are you ready?" His voice was softer now, recognizing the vulnerability of what she was allowing him to do.

She gave a short nod in response. “Mhm.”

Nova sent the qi flowing through her back, spreading throughout her body in branching networks that mapped every detail with perfect clarity. 

Over a thousand different beast powers thrummed within her flesh, each one leaving its unique signature. He could sense the changes they had made to her body—strengthening bones here, enhancing muscle density there, and overall purifying and condensing the powers in harmony.

But beneath it all, he could feel the powerful heart, which had been further enhanced by the vampire blood. Her pulse grew faster and more erratic with each passing second.

Then, something familiar reacted in her core. Something stretching after his hand, almost like a hand reaching out to grab his—a presence that was unmistakably, intimately hers, yet somehow more than just her physical self.

‘Hmm, I’ve never seen something like that before… Her soul?’

The increased heartbeat, the warm skin, and the irregular breathing were all signs that he knew the cause of. And if this was truly how her soul reacted to his touch, it was no wonder she had been struggling with her feelings.

"...Anything?" she asked quietly, the question barely audible. Nova could sense through the qi that she had tried to speak three times before managing to get the word out—her throat had closed each time, overwhelmed by the intensity of the connection flowing between them.

"Yes," Nova said carefully, pulling his focus back to the medical aspects of what he was sensing. "Your beasts are very integrated into your body, but not perfectly. I assume the technique wasn't ideal the first time you attempted it, which left structural imperfections for later cultivation stages. I can correct those misalignments for you, if you want."

"Why would I not want to?" Her voice carried a slight tremor that matched the irregular rhythm of her pulse.

"Because fixing them could make it easier for that perfect form to manifest more often, potentially causing you to lose control. On the other hand, it could also make the transformations easier to consciously direct." Nova kept his clinical tone steady, though the way her soul continued to pull at his qi was becoming increasingly distracting. "Another gamble, essentially."

"Another gamble…" Anny's voice held a note of weary acceptance. She had been taking risks with her cultivation since the beginning, taking risks to be his equal. "Do it."

Nova wanted to tell her to be more cautious, but this was not the right time, or the right place. Plus, she would probably yell at him if he did.

"Fine, I'll correct the alignment issues for you. But I should warn you—it will probably get quite hot. The qi will need to restructure the connections at a cellular level." He gathered more energy, preparing for the delicate work ahead.

"That's fine," Anny replied with characteristic determination. "Even if you accidentally scorch my body, all I need is blood to heal from it."

"Right…" Nova took a steadying breath, centering himself for the precise work ahead. "Here I go."

He gathered significantly more qi this time. It pooled in his palm before flowing into her back in controlled streams. Unlike the gentle exploration he had performed before, this required surgical precision. The qi moved like molten metal through her system, seeking out the points where beast powers had twisted and misaligned during their initial integration.

Each correction sent waves of heat radiating through her flesh. Nova guided the energy with patient techniques, slowly and methodically turning imperfections into seamless integrations.

Anny's breathing grew deeper and more controlled as the qi worked through her system. Nova could sense the moment each misalignment was corrected—her muscles would relax slightly, tension she hadn't even realized she was carrying melting away as the beast powers found their proper places within her body.

"Oh," she gasped softly as a particularly significant correction took place near her spine. The sensation rippled through her entire nervous system. "That... that feels much better."

Minutes passed in focused silence as Nova completed the delicate work. When he finally withdrew his hand, both of them were breathing heavily—him from the concentration required, her from the intensity of the experience.

"It's done," Nova said, wiping sweat from his brow. The qi work had been more draining than he'd expected, even with his enhanced reserves. "Your beast powers should have integrated more smoothly now.”

Anny sat up slowly, rolling her shoulders as she tested her body's response. "I can feel the difference," she said wonderingly. "It's like... like everything fits together properly now." She reached for her shirt, slipping it back on with movements that seemed more fluid than before.

"Good." Nova moved back to give her space. "That should help with whatever we face ahead."

He gestured to the remaining kilosouls floating behind them. There were still over six hundred spheres remaining, enough to boost Anny's power significantly. "Your turn."

Ch.133 --I-- Index --I-- Ch.135