IdleYoungMaster

Chapter 194: A Confirmed Yandere

The long days of cautiousness ended. I decided to keep the formation’s coverage throughout the Earth, though.

Formations consume spiritual qi. They would have required spiritual stones to operate, but due to the exceedingly high spirit veins on Earth, it operated solely on ambient spiritual qi.

The spiritual qi concentration was thus redistributed. The unclaimed lands (i.e., lands previously occupied by honkai beasts) have lower concentration. Meanwhile, the ones in major cities increased by several notches. The strongest one of them all existed within Mu Continent’s central city. It reached a staggering middle fourth grade.

The combination of ambient honkai energy that seeped into Earth’s atmosphere created an exaggerated result. This scenario is akin to turning Earth into a Blessed Land for cultivation.

Most importantly, I sneaked in benefits to our base at Mt. Fuji. The spiritual qi concentration over there reached the peak of sixth grade. It reached the standards of a peak Divine Transformation Realm’s dwelling.

Such abundant spiritual qi concentration sped up the birth of spiritual plants. Second and third grade plants already exist, though part of the credit comes from me.

The [Great Accomplishment] mastery of the [Xiutian Art] allows for the contracting of non-living beings such as artifacts and plants. It is different from contracting “partners” of opposite sex—they are the primary connections. The plants and artifacts can only be contracted through the secondary connections.

I formed some connections with plants and artifacts, allowing them to increase in grade with Tao Gifts. There are quite a few downsides, but I disregarded most of them.

Cultivation is cultivation. I wouldn’t reject any sources of Tao Gifts.

I retracted my spiritual consciousness over the entire mountain. I managed to shake off Kiana’s enthusiasm by asking for some private time. I need to set things straight with two people.

One of them is Seele.

“Why call me alone? Wouldn’t Sister Kiana feel jealous?”

“I want to talk with you, Seele.”

“...”

I did not look at “Veliona’s” expression. We are currently in the middle of the clearing where all the tea and other leisure sessions occur.

The rustling of the thick leaves caused sunlight to penetrate. It coincided with the change in “Veliona’s” eyes.

I turned around and faced her.

The extremely deep-seated obsession felt like it could materialize. I dare not imagine how Seele “lived” through these three hundred years.

“As expected. I cannot hide anything in the face of the true Brother Tian.”

Her voice did not change much. Her tone, however, held an unconcealable hint of eagerness. It also lacked the lack of confidence Seele once had.

Seele, in Veliona’s body, closed the distance between us. Our height difference is 18 centimeters. I grew up to 185 centimeters. She grew up to 168 centimeters. Nonetheless, her crimson-red pupils looked up at me.

The chains carried by her Stygian Nymph battlesuit rattled.

Through her eyes…

…

“Sorry. For everything.”

“Hum? It wasn’t your fault. It is mine.” Seele’s voice trembled. “Brother Tian should not blame himself.”

Her face looked conflicted as she prevented her body from coming closer.

I could only nod at her words. It is not right to force my guilt on her. Seele understands it all too well given her current mental age. The fact that I wanted to accept her confession at first merely to placate her is not the right thing at all.

I came to realize that Seele is not just Seele. She already moved my heart long ago. It was me who made those shitty decisions.

“I will get you out of that loop. The problems with me… You don’t need to worry about it either. I will make sure it never happens. I will reciprocate your confession... genuinely, this time."

Seele fell silent for a second.

“Ah…”

Her mouth opened in a circle. All kinds of conflicting emotions emerged in her eyes. I could no longer leave her be.

I stepped towards her and gave her a hug. What followed next is the habitual head pat I gave to her.

Instantly, Seele’s obsessions and emotions manifested tangibly.

Hum-!

Buzz-!

Bam-!

It was far worse than my reunion with Kiana around two years ago. Seele’s spiritual consciousness turned erratic as it swept through our surroundings. The tiles we stood on shattered. The ground cracked as it extended downwards.

Along with this rampage came her “transparent” emotions.

To put it into words…

‘I love you.’

‘I want you.’

‘I need you by my side.’

‘I love you.’

I love you.’

I love you.’

I love you.’

…

Looking at her manic, yandere-like outbreak…

I bravely faced it.

*****

For ten minutes, Mount Fuji’s self-contained space experienced a huge turmoil.

“...It’s that crazy girl.”

Sirin does not know what to feel.

She managed to regain her strength and surpassed it. Kiana’s promise and Shi Tian’s welcoming attitude confused her greatly. One thing was for sure, however. She could no longer bring herself to fight against them again.

For two months… no.

For more than a year, she saw their earliest days together. Sirin developed a complex longing for it. Seeing she also had a chance to have it, her hatred towards Otto and humanity took the backseat.

Sirin practiced diligently for two months and reached the early stage of the Golden Core Realm. It is also the day her resolve grew stronger. She did not use up a treasure to resist the Heart Tribulation. Sirin relied on her own willpower to “wake up” and overcome it.

She still has a lot on her mind, but that served as a positive turn. She can live somewhat ‘normally’ amidst her “burdens” (i.e., massacre) and “confusions” (i.e., Kiana).

Naturally, she also came across Veliona. The latter’s situation mirrored her own. Only, Veliona protected her counterpart, Seele. It is the exact opposite of what she did with Kiana. It further added to her “guilt” while highlighting Kiana’s innately kind nature.

‘But…’

The biggest issue Sirin faced, however, is her mental link with Kiana. She simply went crazy during each dual cultivation. Although not all thoughts are transmitted, Sirin got a huge glimpse on what really happens on the sheets.

“..!”

Her ears turned bright red at the thought of it. Her hips tensed as she brought them together. Heat traveled downwards, urging her fingers to touch her abdomen. She barely prevented herself from doing some questionable deeds.

Sirin could not calm down for a long time.

“Gluttonous. Lustful. Greedy. Is she really my other self..?”

Just then, she saw someone appear by her side. It is none other than the Herrscher of the End. Her bright golden eyes paired with her long-sleeved blue dress made her 80% identical to Kiana. Her biggest difference lay in her aura. It was otherworldly, cold, and scornful of everything else.

‘Just like me… We end up like this around him.’

She watched as the former servant of the honkai disappeared.

‘Being with him…’

Countless complex thoughts erupted in Sirin’s mind yet again.

Chapter 193: Deja Vu...

A/N: So I was reviewing the chapters that I will publish on webnovel/scribblehub/fanfictionnet until I came across a problem. Turns out, I haven’t published the revised version of chapters 153 and 156 here. It is mainly Schrodinger. Originally, she came to the Bubble World with Kiana. But, I rewrote it a day after it was published, making it so that Schrodinger is blocked by the quantum entanglement barrier instead. She didn’t enter this Bubble World. It serves as a foreshadowing that the Sea itself is behind everything they experienced within this Bubble World. 

The problem is, I forgot to publish the revised version of those chapters here. So yeah, there are no Schrodinger in this Bubble World. She is with the original Anti-Entropy group. 

Apologies for this mistake. I noticed it too late. I hope this answers some of the confusion of the readers here.

*****

The Cocoon of Finality only had one expectations towards Earth… or rather, humanity:

To be able to successfully embrace it.

Its existence went beyond millions of years, far exceeding the age of most Aeons. Unfortunately, there was no room for its advancement, causing its progress to remain stuck at a certain level.

This long-standing solitude turned into a wish. A longing. It wanted to have someone who could understand it.

Due to a stroke of luck, it ended up in the solar system. It first visited the civilization on Venus, only for its embrace to completely fail. Nobody fitted its criteria. The civilization was destroyed thoroughly, with no way to recover.

Learning from its prior mistakes, the Cocoon of Finality set its sights on Earth. Its embrace came in the form of a rapidly evolving nemesis for humanity, namely the honkai.

This time, the Cocoon was not disappointed. Humanity managed to reach the Herrscher of the End in their first try. Only, humanity’s remaining strength at that time could not do anything to the Herrscher of the End. It is the avatar chosen by the Cocoon to descend as humanity’s final challenge. She embodied the embrace sought by the Cocoon, as shown when she gradually increased her power until humanity’s finest warriors could no longer hold out.

Upon their failure, the Herrscher of the End used her overwhelming honkai energy reserves to wipe out every single life on Earth’s surface, thus sparking the beginning of the next era.

The Herrscher of the End inside the Bubble World knew these details. From the fact it was replicated by the Sea itself down to her new challengers, she was aware of it. She tested them by using her sole loophole as someone replicated by the Sea of Quanta. She managed to bring out a full-powered blow—absolute time stop. They managed to repel it. Since then, she was left “powerless” to take care of the rest.

Being able to disable 40% of her reserves and force her to slumber for five days is an unprecedented feat. She looked forward to what they could do to her once she regained consciousness.

‘...It is too early.’

The Herrscher of the End woke up ahead of time. She placed a lot of thought over it and came to one possibility.

The instant she opened her eyes, three terrifying auras surrounded her. She did not have any time to react. In her eyes, the world changed into a river with endless length. Its skies emitted nothing but dreariness. She crashed onto the river’s raging tides, causing her mind to black out.

The legendary River of Oblivion struck her first. 

It is said to be a mythical place capable of erasing one’s memories. It allows one to enter reincarnation and have another life.

The Herrscher of the End was left with no chance to react. 

The scenery changed. What came next was the vast expanse of nothingness. Reflected in the Herrscher’s golden pupils are a single point of light. It split apart into countless other rays of light, turning into pillars that hold up the world. Each pillar contained a principle revolving around the world’s governing laws.

All of it was seen by the vast expanse of void. From nothingness came everything else. The Grand Inception witnessed the laws holding the framework of the world itself.

Facing two such overwhelming forces, the Herrscher of the End was on the verge of true death.

That was when she witnessed the third and most influential phenomena.

Unlike the previous phenomena, she clearly saw the visage of a man. The world turned into a chessboard in his lap. His eyes, sporting the dual black and white, stared down. His eyes emitted an unparalleled sharpness. His finger picked up a white Go piece.

Tap-!

The carefully placed piece sat on the intersecting line.

To her eyes, the world was swept upside-down; with no directions, distinctions, and meaning.

There, she saw the same blank void. The pillars of light that supported the creation of the world became the main focus. The Grand Inception is the canvas as much as the pillars of light symbolized The Way (lit. Tao), Formlessness (lit. Without Limit), and Unitary (lit. Ultimate Limit).

These three aspects gave rise to the saying:

One gave birth to two;

Two gave birth to three;

Three gave birth to all things.

Tap-!

Each of the man’s moves showed the secrets of creation itself!

The three-fold impact dealt with the Herrscher of the End completely. A mystical mark appeared on the depths of her soul. It was reflected back to her mind, and then her body.

She woke up and found four pale-faced individuals surrounding her.

“It’s done.”

Shi Tian’s declaration made Kiana, Sirin, and Veliona feel at ease. Kiana, however, looked at him with grievance.

“She looks a lot like me… and her mark is there out of all places!”

Her complaint prompted the other two to check out using their spiritual consciousness. They peered through her blue dress and found what Kiana meant.

The mystical mark, which took the form of a runic tao pattern, existed right below the Herrscher's abdomen.

“It’s a coincidence. I promise.” He said in surrender. “The enslavement technique revolved around dual cultivation. This is the most suitable when it comes to my spirit roots.”

The four of them carried out their plans of burning their lifespans.

The first two attacks came from Veliona and Sirin. The third one came from the combined efforts of Kiana and Shi Tian. Void complements Yin-Yang. Coupled with their intensive dual cultivation efforts, their cooperative abilities proved to be the best out of the four.

Due to the [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art], all of their attacks reached the Divine Transformation level. Their burnt lifespan varied from ten to fifteen thousand years. They did not show visible signs of aging, though they looked weaker than before. It is a drawback that needs months to a year to recover given the right resources.

“Do it to me.”

“Huh..? But that’s for slaves…”

“You can cancel it out, right?”

“Yes…”

Kiana’s blatant words shook the other two, especially Sirin.

Seeing everything take a weird turn, Shi Tian turned their attention back to the Herrscher.

“You must understand everything.”

The mark itself does not rewrite perception and the likes. It merely forces anyone under it to obey the caster. They cannot disobey or their very being gets obliterated by the mark.

The [Moon Picking Yin Manual] is the sole enslavement technique that works even if the caster regresses in cultivation.

“Yes, master.”

To his surprise, the Herrscher of the End did not look apprehensive. Her flat expression and cold tone remained as usual. A strange feeling swiftly came to him. 

‘Just what is she planning..?’

Chapter 192: Demonic Cultivators???

Despite the Herrscher’s immobilization for five days, there is not much we can do. I had a small talk with Elysia and had Fire MOTH reorganize whatever mess happened during the fight with the Herrscher. The others rested for a while. I was left behind in outer space, guarding the sleeping Herrscher of the End.

I rubbed my eyebrows.

There are three things I am sure of.

One, her honkai energy reserves, or rather, output, dropped by forty percent. This makes her half as strong as before.

Two, she is utterly immobilized with little chances to use her [Divine Realm]. No matter how broken she is, she wouldn’t be able to fight without an active mind.

Three, her physical body down to her very soul exists as a form of special energy. I don’t even need to think as to whom she is based on.

This battle also revealed a lot of important things. For once, Grandpa Su did mention about the Herrscher of the End standing on equal footing with them at the start. She grew stronger until Kevin was forced to use the Judgement of Shamash along with his Diabolic Form’s Active Honkai Reaction. That level of attack seems to have surpassed her “current strength”, hence her immobilization. That and Selene’s attack helped pull that off.

This makes it clear that the Herrscher of the End does not merely seek to destroy. She embodies the Cocoon of Finality’s intent of choosing a perfect embrace. Only, humanity’s defeat proved that no one is suitable.

What she didn’t do was the full-on [Divine Realm] attack from the start. Had I not broken it with a strong mental attack, that would have spelled the end of us. After that, she returned to her prior arrangements. For this, it might have something to do with this Bubble World’s nature. Nothing else could explain it otherwise.

Since this is the case, a plan to turn her into another cultivation hack popped up in my mind. The authority she holds, Finality, is akin to the Dao of Time. She is also a huge energy source in and of itself. 

…

Why am I sounding more and more like an evil cultivator?

It was dual cultivation at first. Then, it’s turning others into sustenance. What will I do next, enslave others?

Wait a minute.

Enslavement…

The Herrscher of the End…

I think I found the answer to all of our predicaments.

*****

The entire night was hectic for everyone living on Earth. The large-scale phenomenon where bright white light emerged out of the humans’ bodies caused a large-scale panic. Some thought it was judgement day, while some thought there is an evil outer god in outer space.

Fire MOTH did not come out to clarify things, instead opting to reduce panics by stricter enforcement of the law. 

Right at this moment, the main perpetrator of the trouble came to the Fire MOTH headquarters at the Mu Continent.

“Good evening.”

“Ah..?!”

Elysia almost threw the apple pie on her plate to the air. She barely managed to calm down as she closed the refrigerator door. 

There, she saw Shi Tian standing in the corner of the room.

“It is bad to startle a cute girl like me, isn’t it~?”

Elysia flashed her usual smile.

“A cute girl who's taking out an entire apple pie for a midnight snack. Won’t you get fat?”

“Cute girls never gain weight!”

To this, he could only give out a “you do you” look.

“I have something to ask, Herrscher of Origin.”

“Hum~?”

Elysia wasn’t surprised to hear Shi Tian know about her true identity. He is, after all, the unfathomable immortal swordsman who solo’d the Herrscher of the End.

“Are you aware of the real world’s situation?”

“Slightly. Why?”

“Will you mind passing on the authority of Origin to me?”

Her eyes widened at his request before it turned into a somewhat relieved look.

“You know, I was planning on giving it to a cute girl. What should I do now~?”

“A lifetime supply of spiritual dishes…” He paused before emphasizing, “Including desserts.”

“..!”

Miss Pink Elf’s pink and blue eyes shot up.

“Deal~!”

He did not know whether to cry or laugh. Though, he has a feeling that Elysia would have given it to him whether he gave her the desserts or not.

“I suppose you have that kind of will.”

“Yes.”

Shi Tian did not bother hiding his extraordinary mental state.

“Then there are no problems. Do not forget about the deal, okay?”

“Um. Catch.”

Elysia caught onto the silver ring he threw mid-air. A look of teasing came from her eyes.

“Are? Are you, perhaps, proposing to me? It is quite unromantic~”

“...Those are the first batch of desserts. Just click on the gemstone to access the space inside. Farewell and take care.”

After cupping his fist and bowing, he disappeared like the wind.

“An immortal… it truly befits him.”

Elysia’s murmurs were lost as she took a look at the warehouse-sized internal storage filled with countless desserts.

*****

A few hours passed. The Herrscher of the End did not break out of her slumber. Her lost energy reserves could not recover for the time being. She could not muster the strength to counterattack.

“I want to enslave the Herrscher of the End.”

“““...”””

None of the three girls said a word. Sirin’s gaze, in particular, felt sharp.

“I thought hard. If we can raise our realms instantaneously with all the treasures we have, it would have been fine. We can do the same with the Herrscher of the End. But, that is not the case.”

Nonetheless, the three girls nodded. Even Sirin, who is a newbie when it comes to immortal cultivation, knows our helplessness. Immortal cultivation takes time, and that is what we lack the most.

“I thought it'd be better to have a high-level fighting force instead.”

“What should I do?”

Kiana did not back down from it.

“Me too. How can I help?”

Veliona expressed her typical flat-yet-sharp look. Sirin did not speak, but from her eyes alone, I can tell she shares the same sentiment as Kiana.

“We’ll use the forbidden technique together. You three will be responsible for damaging her mind, while I perform the enslavement technique.”

For once, Earth’s strongest defense talked like genuine demonic cultivators…

Chapter 191: Heart's Intention

Sword Heart. The sharpening of one’s mind.

Sword Nurturing Pagoda. The nurturing of a “sword” (lit. Dao) with one’s mind.

Thunder-Like Sword. Putting all of one’s heart into a single sword.

Sword Light Refraction. Everything can be a sword.

Four realms. Each one of them is the culmination of the past. Similarly, the fifth realm of sword cultivation is as such.

Innate Sword Soul. The man and sword unites as one. One is a sword, as much as a sword is one.

Simply put, the cultivator’s state of mind reached a point where every sword strike embodies his very self. Every blow is akin to a blow that gives their all. The biggest hurdle in this sword realm is to reach a very pure and high-level sense of self.

Fortunately…

This opportunity is enough.

My changes did not end there. 

{Blade Mantra: True Form > ???}

The next stage to the Blade Mantra took form. I thought for a moment as the question marks were replaced with something else.

{Blade Mantra: True Form > Heart Intention}

The biggest changes came from its capabilities.. 

The fourth level, Taixuan, can unleash [Blade Eminence]. The fifth level, True Form, can unleash an ultimate attack stronger than that. It doesn’t have a name yet. 

Nevermind, I will call it the [Sword of Emptiness]. 

The sixth level, [Heart Intention], is a level above [True Form] when it comes to controlling imaginary energy. I can even do things beyond the comprehension of this world’s natives… such as surviving in the Imaginary Tree.

Scratch-!

Zoom-!

It felt like a long time had passed, but only five seconds did in reality. The breakthrough to [Innate Sword Soul] and [Heart Intention] occurred instantly.

The Herrscher of the End demonstrated a brand new power. The ink-black void was stained with white light. My physical body started to slow down. It became evident that she is using her authority over time.

Moreover…

Dharma Laws.

She used Dao Laws-level Herrscher Authorities when I used my Golden Core power. Now that I showed her the Nascent Soul power, she also began using it..!

My physical body could not resist it. 

Sou-!

A loud, whistling sound rang across the vacuum space. I only had a moment to react.

The [Beginningless Sword] in my grasp glowed with bright white light. The power I called out from before—the willpower of every single person on Earth—assimilated into a sword strike.

The vastness of this power astounded even me. I only had a notion of trying, yet it succeeded. I did not hesitate to add [Heart Intention]’s unnamed ultimate attack.

Buzz-!

The void around us shook… literally. The field of white light shattered, and so did its time stagnation. The invisible attack headed my way broke down with ease. Honkai energy surged in all directions as they slowly turned into their rawest form, imaginary energy.

Calling forth ten thousand swords to merge as one…

I will show it today.

Hum-!

One sword instantly turned into tens of thousands. They took up more than fifty thousand kilometers worth of space.

Their bodies are made of translucent white light as they rained down towards the Herrscher.

Zoom-!

She tried to avoid them, but to no avail. The [Innate Sword Soul] incorporates everything one could offer. This includes my understanding of the numerous Daos—Causality, Yin-Yang, Extremity, Five Elements, Sword, Ice, Clouds, and Enlightenment.

Their unique combination made it an attack on the causal level, unable to be avoided. Their destructiveness went off the charts with Yin-Yang, Extremity, Five Elements, Swords, and Ice. Their speed surpassed the speed of light with Clouds. They targeted the mind with Enlightenment.

It is the strongest attack I could muster as an immortal cultivator.

“Huff…”

Crunch-!

I bit several pills at once. My pale countenance turned for the better. The medicinal power they held turned into spiritual qi nourishing my entire body. The spiritual qi emanating from Earth surged towards my Golden Core, desperately making up for everything I consumed.

I stared at the Herrscher. Thousands of swords attacked her all at once. The sword projections did not just sever her physical body and mind. It also dispersed a portion of her honkai energy reserves, much like what the Throne of Selene did during the Previous Era. 

[Heart Intention] had this effect, huh.

I anticipated her regaining consciousness, but it did not come to pass.

…

I underestimated the power of this strike.

It…

It immobilized the Herrscher in one blow.

*****

The fifth grade formation’s protection was not lifted up. Shi Tian and Veliona returned from outer space. 

“I could not do much.”

“That’s fine. That Herrscher is an anomaly.”

Veliona’s surge of emotions stabilized after being comforted. Only she knew that the Herrscher of the End wasn’t the one that bothered her.

Unfortunately for her, Shi Tian’s sharp senses noticed it immediately.

‘Such a deep obsession… and it’s targeted to me.’

He did not feel this sense of urgency from the Herrscher of the End. His assumptions were confirmed the moment he saw Veliona’s soul age.

{Age: 316}

‘...’

It was the same as Seele’s current age.

An absurd realization struck him.

‘So this is her opportunity..?’

Shi Tian gave them the technique that linked their souls. He is aware of the special functions it has. One of them is lifespan sharing. They can combine their lifespans together. This can be done by having an in-depth synchronization with each other. Memories, emotions, and even cultivation perceptions can be transferred over.

It is the true synchronization of this technique. The previous cultivation realm synchronization exists at a level below it.

Simply put, Veliona had already done the true synchronization with Seele. Everything she exhibited belongs to Seele as well. That was her ‘opportunity’.

‘...I’ll save this for later.’

It took them five seconds to descend onto Mount Fuji. Another two seconds later, Kiana and Sirin returned.

‘The two are still out. Well.’

Shi Tian knew about the two Xuanyuans’ will to explore this world. He did not disagree, mainly because most of this world’s dangers were taken care of.

Irredeemable people? They either surrendered or killed themselves.

Honkai beasts? The Beginningless Sword took care of them all.

Herrschers? What Herrschers are there besides the ones with Shi Tian?

“The Herrscher of the End is immobilized for five days. I will continue watching over her just in case.”

His gaze went over Kiana. He understood what the latter wanted to do.

A year ago, she asked for the [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art]. He wanted to keep it to himself at first but ended up giving it to her in the end.

Ultimately, the combination of high grade spirit roots and forbidden techniques is terrifying enough to resolve the Herrscher of the End’s crisis.

Golden Core cultivators live between 10,000 to 50,000 years. 

For talented people, consuming a thousand years is enough to temporarily reach the Nascent Soul Realm in one aspect. If they use up ten thousand years, they can even reach the Divine Transformation Realm.

It is the final trump card they currently possess. So long as they can break through the next major realm with their remaining lifespan, they can slowly recover their lost lifespans.

Perhaps due to their continued use of cultivation hacks, Shi Tian thought of something else:

‘Can I use it to do something else..?’

Chapter 190: Surging Emotions

304 years.

Two hundred thirty-three loops.

All the time, Seele followed a set routine. After returning to the starting point, she followed Shi Tian’s advice to find himself. She will explain everything like a well-read script. She could even anticipate what he would say.

Prior to the tenth time loop, Seele desperately sought to find a solution to prevent IX’s outbreak. From the eleventh onwards, Shi Tian only asked her to do one thing: to cultivate.

She will spend all the time in seclusion until the loop ends. She would only try to find a solution every fifth loop. It is the most reasonable arrangement to balance her psyche and to perfectly utilize her time.

Ultimately, Shi Tian’s decisions could not keep up with Seele's changes. Aside from their plans, she has something else in mind.

“Hee…”

Her Golden Core Realm cultivation can perfectly conceal themselves against weaker targets. Her quantum entanglement is also proficient enough to add another layer to it.

As such…

“So he likes blueberries.”

…she uses it to stalk Shi Tian.

The simulation is lagging far behind their real counterparts. Seele’s Golden Core Realm can crush 99% of their enemies on Earth. Stalking can be done as easily as stealing a kid’s lollipop.

“Blueberries… blue… so he might like me too?!”

Being delusional is Seele’s second worst affliction. Three hundred years of never-ending loops caused some problems with her mind. These are but one of the payoffs to be able to retain her sanity.

“If I can have him…”

For three days and nights, Seele did nothing but to be stuck in that daze. All that could be seen in her eyes are raw, unfiltered affection towards the one man she does not have. 

When she snapped out of it, she went to Shi Tian’s current location. She just so happened to see him flirt with Kiana.

“Sister Kiana… I can’t do it.”

She still possessed her kindness throughout these years. It is a different thing when it comes to her enemies, however.

Seele knew it was meaningless to do anything inside this loop. She held back from doing anything other than stalking for three hundred years. Part of her went almost crazy to meet the real him again. The thought of being trapped here forever made her breathless, with her heart sinking to the depths of a black hole itself.

Stalking Shi Tian and being more blatant with her affection became her main anchor amidst her challenges. The thought of being able to meet him again became her motivation to learn, practice, and escape from her predicament.

The imaginary confrontation between her and Kiana, in particular, was treated by her like a nigh-impossible to solve puzzle.

All these thoughts fueled Seele to improve herself until that promised day comes. Naturally, she had shed her cowardice long ago.

It is not wrong to say that Seele experienced a full rebirth inside this time loop.

“The first dish I will cook for him…”

Just then, Seele felt a change inside her. A tangible connection appeared within her soul. When she put her spiritual consciousness to it, she was surprised to gain another perspective.

“...Seele?”

“Other me? So it’s you!"

Seele recalled the vague feeling she had roughly a hundred and fifty years ago. It turned out to be the connection Veliona created with an auxiliary technique.

The moment they acknowledged each other, they felt that they could actively share each other’s memories… and so they did.

Seele received Veliona’s two years’ worth of memories.

Veliona received Seele’s complete three hundred years of memories.

Despite the overwhelming difference between the two memories, both held a significant impact on the other.

“You went crazy?”

“They already made babies?!”

Both of them fell silent. It was Seele who spoke up first—Veliona felt a bigger impact on the memories than her.

“He would have accepted my confession if I was there.”

Her mutterings seemed more absent-minded. A part of her deeply regrets it, though she knew better. Shi Tian is a million-years-old. He does not look at Seele in that way. Her supposed “acceptance” was more of placating Seele than a genuine acceptance.

Now that she is three-hundred-years old, Seele is way more confident in her fighting chances for a genuine response to her confession. Through Veliona's eyes, she saw how much it weighed in Shi Tian's mind. The way he acted around Veliona has a mix of guilt and concern.

“Huh..? Oh. I forgot about this…”

Seele watched as the silent Veliona underwent some crucial changes. Her Scythe Heart reached the fourth realm. The three hundred years of experience allowed Seele to be way ahead when it comes to this. Their deeper two-way connection and synchronization of memories pushed Veliona to the fourth realm.

“There is more to this connection…”

*****

“It’s done.”

Kiana oversaw Earth’s current situation. She became the sole controller of the high fifth grade formation. Her attainment on the Dao of Void was not bad. She stopped the surge of tangible honkai energy coming from outer space.

She remained at the edge of the formation, intent on watching the fight she could not attend to.

The back-and-forth between the duo and the Herrscher of the End lasted a mere two minutes before a huge event happened.

“...Huh. I was wondering why you weren’t serious…”

Kiana has discerning eyes and saw the two sides held back during the two-minute mark. The Herrscher of the End seems to be following some sort of protocol, with her power growing stronger the longer the fight becomes. She did not unleash a devastating attack like her first one, instead opting to gradually unleash her full power as Shi Tian exhibited more strength.

Shi Tian, too, was holding back. He would have relied on the Judgement of Shamash had he wanted to end the battle in one go. Kevin’s strike immobilized the said Herrscher for seven hours. He is far stronger than the Kevin of the Previous Era. Immobilizing her for days with the Judgement of Shamash was possible.

“Your sword… The fifth realm…”

Kiana stared at his impending breakthrough closely. Beneath her, specks of white light began to fly up to the skies. These are none other than swords. 

Some of them are real, forged by human hands.

Some of them are ethereal, projections formed out of human minds.

The majestic sight of these swords covered the entire sky. No matter how oblivious the humans below remained, all of them fell silent upon seeing its sight.

These swords turned into one sword that flew towards Shi Tian’s direction.

Moments later, Sirin appeared behind Kiana.

“What was that..?”

“Breakthrough. It’s not harmful.”

“...”

Sirin nodded before she fell silent. Many things would have been resolved had they synchronized their memories. Only, the two opted not to. It is an uncontrollable synchronization—all of Kiana’s memories will be included in the transfer.

That includes her most intimate times with Shi Tian.

It is a full-blown, two years’ worth of nothing but sex.

Sirin did not want to touch that matter for now. Her complicated feelings aside, she formed a faint longing in her heart.

She did not want Kiana’s memories with him, but rather…

She would make them herself.

Of course, she was prideful and denied it from time to time. The intent was there nonetheless, akin to an unstoppable tide.

Looking at Kiana and the man who loved her other self…

‘...Is this what I want..?’

Chapter 189: A Brilliant Will

From Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment Realm, it is all about the evolution of the physical body and the sublimation of the mind to touch the tangible. These realms are the low-level of immortal cultivation. 

It lies in the evolution of the soul. They begin to possess traces of the “Dao”.

Purple Mansion Realm practices Dao Rhymes (Supernatural Seeds);

Golden Core Realm practices Dao Laws (Supernatural Powers);

Nascent Soul Realm practices Dharma Laws (Dharma Avatars).

These three realms are considered the middle-level of immortal cultivation.

What comes next is the transformation of Dharma Laws, the rules governing nature, into Divine Laws. It is also a part of the high-level of immortal cultivation…

And Shi Tian is facing one of them.

‘Herrscher Authorities… One awakened Herrscher wouldn’t suffice against her.’

He finally understood why it took so much to defeat Kevin who is far stronger than the Herrscher of the End in the Previous Era.

Mei’s Authority of Origin linked every single Herrscher Authority onto Kiana, turning her into the Herrscher of Finality.

With the help of Finality’s authority, she was able to call forth the power of the parallel universes. The energy converging from all of them broke Kevin’s ‘shield’ down, thus spelling the trio’s victory.

‘Without Origin, we will definitely have a hard time.’

His thoughts raced to the extreme. In reality, not even a second has passed. Shi Tian brought Veliona down as he stared right into her eyes.

“You will have an opportunity in this fight. Do as you seem fit. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“...Alright.” 

She replied as her body disappeared under the dark blue light.

Divination has a lot of perks, though peering into the future can cause backlash. The more impact it has, the greater the backlash becomes. For Shi Tian, however, matters related to romantic affairs have weaker backlashes.

‘I don’t know whether to call it useless or not…’

He shook these thoughts off as he looked at the Herrscher.

‘My opportunity in this fight…’

Like the battles with the dangerous demon beasts, the Herrscher’s overwhelming danger stirred waves of excitement throughout his very being.

‘I can’t be too rash now, but…’

Sou-!

Shi Tian’s body blurred as he reappeared a meter in front of the Herrscher.

“A strong body, but that is all.”

Screech-!

A mix of sounds—scratching, tape being rewound, shattering—greeted his ears. His sight saw nothing unusual. The Herrscher’s attack happened invisibly.

‘Mental attack? No. Physical attack? Yes. But there’s something else…’’

Shi Tian did not have time to react. Scorch marks began to appear on his skin. His muscles burned. His tendons froze. His bones cracked under the surge of a ‘fluid’. His blood spilled onto the ground as it got tainted with a black spot. He did not do anything and tanked the invisible attack head-on.

Hum-!

He remained unfazed as he launched the strike using his [Sword Light Refraction] and [True Form]’s ultimate attack. It turned intangible as it attempted to strike upon the Herrscher’s mind.

For the third time, the Herrscher’s attack faltered. It disappeared the moment the mental attack struck her. 

Shi Tian’s physical body swiftly regenerated itself. The Dao of Five Elements enhanced the Dao of Water’s regenerative effects.

The traces of the attack remained at the level of Dao Laws. The inconsistency dumbfounded Shi Tian, but his mind was put onto something else.

‘No wonder two died within five minutes.’

The Herrscher’s unfathomable attack would’ve killed him instantly had they remained at the level of Divine Laws. The time stop from earlier is as such. Changing into a weaker version of her power felt confusing. 

But then, the Flamechasers from back then wouldn’t have lasted for five minutes if the Herrscher really did go all-out from the start.

‘Her thirteen authorities stem from unawakened Herrschers. No. It feels like her attacks are gradually becoming stronger…’’

The Herrscher did not give him time to think. Shi Tian swung his blade towards the Herrscher.

Shatter-!

A huge force separated the Herrscher’s body into two halves. Her body let out specks of white light before it was covered with a blurry light. This reminded him of the power that froze time itself.

‘Finality. That's the answer. She used power that matches my own. Is she embodying the honkai’s proportionality law? If this is how she fought, the Flamechasers’ fight becomes more reasonable.’

Crunch-!

He bit onto a fourth grade restorative pill as his blade got covered with a purple hue once again.

Sou-!

Cling-!

The moment the blurry light dissipated, Shi Tian’s mental attack came once again.

Things did not go to plan. A hexagonal field appeared before the Herrscher. It lasted for a split second before it was broken.

Psshk-!

Shi Tian suffered from the inexplicable attack for the second time. He watched as the Herrscher got disabled for another three seconds.

‘She’s speeding up her attacks to the point it happens instantly..!’

A chill went down to his spine.

Although it could not cause considerable injuries to him, it still exhausts his spiritual qi reserves. His stockpile of pills happened to be there, lest he would have been fought to death by the Herrscher.

‘The Previous Era… they did well.’

Five minutes with two casualties is nothing short of an excellent battle record. Su’s team who bombarded the Herrscher with mental attacks and the rest who tanked the Herrscher’s attacks did very well.

Shi Tian’s heart was moved.

Heroism.

Tenacity.

Courage.

Bravery.

All to fight for the humankind behind them.

‘To step onto the same stage as these amazing heroes…’

Shi Tian was never a hero. He is benevolent, but never a hero. He left that title to Kiana.

‘Four years ago, would I have thought of this?’

He knew the answer.

‘Never.’

Shi Tian never had his ‘own’ agenda. He was very clueless the moment he arrived in this world. Forcefully attaching himself to Kiana came from his urge to find a ‘purpose’ and his personal liking to her character. Even then, his search for his ‘purpose’ failed.

What he inherited was Kiana’s ideals. Her will to fight for all that is beautiful was so captivating Shi Tian found himself drawn to it. 

In a sense, he acted upon this world based on a borrowed ideal. He created his ‘purpose’ based on it. His tendency to be sincere towards others is but an addition from his original character. He never truly had a ‘purpose’ from the bottom of his heart.

It is different now.

‘The word “I” does not merely stand for oneself, but for the world a person carries. It does not stem from selfishness, but from the sublimated will to change everything around them. Their wills and ideals blaze, causing untold changes to the worlds they reside on. We, cultivators, tangibly affect reality with our minds…’

Immortal cultivators must strive to surpass their prior state of mind, keeping what is the most essential while their perception of the world grows stronger. 

An immortal cultivator with a strong heart can change the world around them as they will!

Shiing-!

The light from his sword became exceptionally brighter. The Herrscher’s barriers did not last for a moment before it was shattered.

‘To be a part of this world’s brilliant story…’

The sword within him soon emitted a blinding light. Changes happened onto his very soul that was slumbering deep inside the Golden Core. His state of mind reached a new level, thereby pushing his cultivation heart to the next level.

{Qi: Late > Peak Golden Core}

{Sword Realm: Sword Light Refraction > Innate Sword Soul}

Seeing the brilliance of this world…

“I want to truly fight for its ideal ending.”

…Shi Tian’s own resolve wanted to fight for all its beauty.

*****

Veliona hid herself within the Sea of Quanta of this Bubble World. The Sea rejects the Tree, turning it into the most perfect hiding spot. If it wasn’t for most humans’ inability to enter, it would have been humanity’s safest shelter.

“My opportunity…”

She does not know what that “opportunity” was. Her mind was fixated on it, all to not waste Shi Tian’s decision of bringing her over.

Just then, she heard a “sigh” that transcended dimensions. Veliona swiftly used her quantum entanglement to peek at the Bubble World.

That was when she saw it. 

There lies a man so brilliant he literally blinded her momentarily. Veliona inadvertently recalled a vague sword. It can be lethal, but also gentle. It burns brightly and arouses one’s will to cling onto what is worth fighting for.

For Veliona, there are two such people. She does not even need to think twice to know that Seele’s answer would be the same.

Click.

She immediately felt a wave of changes.

In her connection lies someone else.

“...Seele?”

Chapter 188: Herrscher of the End

“The Final Herrscher…”

I stepped into the mountain’s summit. We did nothing but rest during the past three days. We aren’t caught off guard by its appearance.

Having the supernatural power, the Dao of Causality, I am more than qualified to divine the future.

The results of the special divination, done with the use of Hexagram Spirit, fourth grade spirit-calming incense, and a low fifth grade turtle shell bearing the Dao of Causality gave a detailed vision. 

At the dawn of next yesteryear, the world’s final challenge draws near.

‘Yesteryear’ sounds confusing at first, but this Bubble World is ultimately a thing from the past. The final challenge pertains to the entity they lost to, the Herrscher of the End.

With the date close at hand, I did not hesitate to do everything I could.

The seventy-three or so demon beasts I killed over the past two years gave enormous resources and combat experience. There are even five early Nascent Soul Realm demons amongst them. Fortunately, I can use my Herrscher Authority inside the Demon Arena.

The fusion of all my powers, especially the honkai-related ones, defeated these Nascent Soul Realm demons overwhelmingly.

Being a Golden Core True Lord gave a huge access towards the honkai cheats one could use. Even if you are merely built on realm, with zero attainments on techniques and specializations alike, you can defeat a Nascent Soul so long as there are honkai cheats.

Four such beings are present in this world.

This will be our first and last test run for the impending danger of the outside world.

Sou-!

The sound of a zipper rang out. Three girls, each with different bearings, appeared beside me.

Kiana and Veliona reached the late stage in all three realms. Sirin remains at the early stage.

Somehow, I could feel Sirin’s unusual look towards me. When I met her gaze, she hastily tilted her head away.

“We’ll be acting as planned. The formation’s control will be left on Kiana. Sirin acts as standby. Veliona will come with me.”

Kiana looked reluctant when she heard it. It can’t be helped. Her ‘hacks’ rely solely on [Blade Mantra]’s [True Form] and the formation. Veliona has access to her Natural Stigma powers. The strength she can normally exert are Dharma Laws, a step above the Golden Core’s Dao Laws.

Kiana did not do anything too drastic aside from pulling me for a kiss. A slight tinge of embarrassment popped up in my mind, but whenever I thought of what we did in the kitchen while the two Xuanyuans and Sirin were waiting in the dining room, it died down.

A frantic gaze landed on my being. It turned out to be Sirin.

As for Veliona…

She’s pursing her lips..?

With tacit understanding, Kiana separated from me.

“Take care.” She said softly.

“You too.”

A minute of goodbyes came. I did not hold back and unleashed the full might of the [Cloud Seeking Step]’s [Great Accomplishment] mastery. Add to that the supernatural power of the Dao of Clouds, my speed reached above five hundred thousand mach. 

From the mountain, I am now surrounded by nothing but endless expanse of space.

Spiritual qi seeped out of Earth’s atmosphere, providing the necessary fuel for this upcoming fight. The middle sixth grade came from Seele alone. With the formation integrated throughout Earth, it has temporarily reached high sixth grade.

Within the confines of the Bubble World’s barrier stood a huge white-haired girl. She overlooked the entire Earth beneath her cold and unfeeling eyes. They contained a hint of intelligence as a pang of realization came to her.

“I am a phantom of the past.”

Her voice reached out everywhere. It is illogical with vacuum spaces, yet it happened.

Her golden eyes met mine.

“And you are the present’s hero.”

I paid it no heed. Three seconds are enough to form a detailed appraisal of her power.

{Herrscher of the End}

{Body: Peak Golden Core}

{Soul: Peak Divine Transformation (Indestructible Soul, Severely Incomplete Aspects)}

{Mind: Peak Golden Core}

{Traits: Possession of [Divine Realm] integrated with thirteen authorities; immense control over honkai; body imbued with undying characteristics…}

My mind acted extremely fast.

Her strengths and weaknesses became apparent. We can contend against her in terms of body and mind, but not her soul. She hasn’t reached the level of a true Divine Transformation Realm soul, only that her soul is indestructible. She could not exert power using it, either.

In short, we are fighting against a “glass cannon” capable of unleashing Divine Law attacks!

“Illusion or not, I will fulfill my mission.”

The inevitable battle thus began.

*****

Elysia knew everything about this world.

She is an anomaly born out of a paradox. Her existence is what tilted the balance towards humanity. Her sacrifice gave humanity a huge fighting chance.

It is wrong to say that she did not feel complicated about humanity’s end. She deeply regrets it. However, they did not have a choice.

“It really is different.”

Her pink pupils saw a thin membrane of light envelop Earth’s airspace. The proximity of the mountain formation expanded all throughout Earth. Its existence blocked out the suffocating aura from beyond the sky.

As such, people collectively returned to their usual lives.

Elysia oversaw this scene high above in the skies and fell silent.

“This is what we fought for.”

A bright smile illuminated the starry night.

Her sentimental feelings lasted for a while until her gaze moved at the chaotic scene painted in the ink-like void.

Sou-!

The void was stained with milky-white cracks. Like glass, it shattered as soon as Shi Tian’s body shot forward. Thousands of kilometers are traversed in a blink of an eye. His speed was only slower than light itself.

Click-!

A wave of white light swept over him. The flow of time grew increasingly slower until it ‘halted’.

Under its influence, the invisible Veliona came into plain sight. The tip of her scythe was three meters away from the Herrscher's neck.

The Herrscher of the End walked with unhurried steps. A flash of rippling white light emerged underneath her feet as she moved towards Veliona.

Just as her eyes met Veliona’s crimson-red pupils, the Herrscher was brought into a mental landscape.

She did not have any time to react as a multi-colored light came crashing down like a flood.

Her mind was stunned by the attack momentarily.

Shatter-!

Her control over time was forcibly halted. The blade in Shi Tian’s hand is already brimming with multi-colored light stained with a noticeable purple hue.

His blade turned into white light as it shot straight to the Herrscher’s head.

Sou-!

Crack-!

Shatter-!

The sword tip was inches away from her forehead when it could no longer proceed further. A membrane of gray light stopped it on its tracks. Only the multi-colored light remained unaffected as it shot through the Herrscher’s mind once again.

The three second-long stun broke her control over the [Divine Realm] once more.

Psshk-!

The white light formed by the sword pierced straight through her head. Not a trace of blood could be seen; merely particles of white light. Veliona moved as fast as her scythe passed through her body.

Psshk-!

The scythe penetrated her body. Veliona attempted to drag out her “soul”, but it felt unmovable to Veliona. She gave up her attempts and kicked the Herrscher away.

Zoom-!

Click.

Shi Tian looked at the headless Herrscher of the End. He did not lower his guard.

Zoom-!

The Herrscher’s body became blurry. As if time was reversed, she returned to her pristine state. Veliona’s attack seemingly did nothing.

The first thing she did was exact revenge over Veliona.

Crack-!

Bam-!

Her scythe shattered as she was flown across the expanse of the void. Shi Tian’s body flashed and caught on her back.

“Indestructible soul… no wonder they can’t defeat her.”

*****

A/N: Bonus chapter.

Chapter 187: Bubble World's Last Boss

Ever since becoming an immortal cultivator, Kiana was forced to confront her inner conflicts. It became particularly impactful during the Golden Core tribulation.

The fourth and most difficult tribulation, the Heart Demon Tribulation, creates an illusion of one lifetime. It is the most ideal life based on her heart. If she could not see through it until her mortal demise, she will fail the breakthrough and cause untold damage to her newly formed Golden Core and mind.

Kiana has a fourth grade treasure for this particular tribulation. Although, she did not use it up as she resolved the tribulation on her own. It also pushed her spear cultivation to the fourth realm.

Since then, Kiana wanted to settle things between her and Sirin.

“Just as Sirin longed for revenge, she also longed for peace and happiness. It is her biggest regret. Whatever nefarious plans Otto had when it came to resurrecting her, it also gave her another chance.”

Sirin, who is already pushed on the edge, broke down.

“Huh?! So you’re telling me I am that evil side while you are the good side? Is that why—”

“That’s not it.”

Kiana’s calm tone caused Sirin to abruptly stop.

“Good or evil… It is the result of our choices. There is no such thing as that.” She took a deep breath as she continued, “The weight of the lives she took… I carry that burden too. We are Sirin. There’s no doubt about it.”

Sirin fell silent. Her helplessness and powerlessness made it clear she could no longer block Kiana from her path. She is free from doing everything she wants to do. 

Be it to carry on to her beliefs, to repent for Sirin’s countless sins, to make up for Sirin’s regrets…

Never did Sirin expect she could have another chance of life… until now.

“You… also deserve a piece of happiness.”

Kiana’s words shattered her defenses completely.

“...”

She did not speak; rather, she could not speak. Tears flowed out uncontrollably from her eyes. Her hands tightly grasped the hem of her shirt. Her shoulders trembled as her emotions leaked out of her mind.

“Y…ou… are cruel… hick.”

Kiana did not say anything. She let Sirin vent out her feelings. She only stopped crying until ten minutes later. An obvious red mark could be seen on the edges of her eyes. Her eyes turned red. All kinds of mucus, saliva, and snot blocked her nose.

With one cleansing spell from Kiana, her pristine state was recovered. Her red eyes are rapidly recovering under the influence of the late sixth grade spirit vein.

“You won. I can’t do anything but follow your will. Whatever that happens in the future, it will become your responsibility.”

Her implications are clear. It is partially a threat—that Sirin could do something after she was set free.

“I will never let another Sirin appear in this world. We… our experiences are enough.”

“...”

Today, the sunrise painted a beautiful picture.

*****

A week has passed since then.

Sirin and Kiana have the same case as Seele and Veliona. Kiana chose to trust Sirin, which led to them utilizing the auxiliary technique for two similar souls. Her cultivation rose like a rocket.

Foundation Establishment is achieved within one day. After that, she reached the Purple Mansion Realm in one week. Her cultivation showed a growing tendency to rise to the Golden Core Realm in three months.

With the mind-stabilizing pills I refined, her breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm is basically a sure thing.

If there was a problem…

“I can’t stand it anymore!”

Kiana complained as she bit my right ear. She sat atop my chest as she suffocated me with her breasts.

“Is there really no way to block it?”

“No.”

I am helpless in this regard.

The main reason why I am confident with Sirin lies in the soul synchronization. It gives a two-way connection to their body, mind, and soul. Whatever thought arises in Sirin will be detected by Kiana. The same happens vice versa. 

Kiana, who is embarrassed by having our dual cultivation sessions exposed, held back for an entire week. She redirected her thoughts away from dual cultivation… but she gave up after a week.

“Physical connection can be interrupted.” I said.

She paused her nibbling as her breathing halted momentarily. Her breasts followed her breathing rhythm… and they are right in front of my face.

Her deep sigh swept over my ear.

“Let’s do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I could feel she has a hidden agenda or something. Her upper body froze as she moved her butt to my hips. Her eyes met mine.

…

I get it.

“You want to bring us together?”

“Um. Why not?”

“...”

I almost choked at that prospect.

Sirin…

Back when I was weak, I only sought to remove her from Kiana. That way, she will no longer endanger her life. I can go as far as to kill Sirin just so Kiana can live.

Ultimately, my limited capabilities led to me sparing her. I only trapped her with my sword intent. I cannot kill her in one go.

This led to Kiana’s acceptance to her. In the end, Sirin is also a part of Kiana. That alone… made me change my mind towards Sirin.

Now that she’s virtually “harmless”, as well as that future I saw, my feelings turned complex.

“Let’s talk about it later.”

As if waiting for that signal, Kiana’s hands turned dishonest. The perverted paramecium pulled off my shorts in one go.

Another dual cultivating session began.

*****

“Three more…”

Veliona emerged from her long seclusion. She first visited Seele who continued to remain dormant. New memories arose during these six months, all of which showed Seele’s recent struggles.

Just then, she found out there were three newcomers to this mountain—all of them are girls. They arrived more than two months ago. The three of them cultivated in a separate palace.

She shook it off. She knew Shi Tian’s mind very well. He is not casual when it comes to romantic affairs, lest he wouldn’t have kept Seele hanging on for so long.

Veliona was about to leave the mountain formation when a huge disturbance appeared in the sky. The vast reserves of honkai energy could not be converted by the [Two Phase Art] spread all over Earth.

That only meant one thing.

“The Final Herrscher.”

This Bubble World’s Fourteenth Herrscher has come.

Chapter 186: Previously Unseen Talks

Things turned out to be easier than I thought. Hei Xuanyuan focused on eating just as much as Kiana. It was Ji Xuanyuan who asked many things.

“I am an immortal cultivator, yes, but not a True Immortal.”

“True Immortal?”

Her irises trembled upon the mention of that name.

“The highest level of immortal cultivation. The pursuit of all beings.”

“True Immortal…”

I did not mind her daze and explained more about immortal cultivation. I could see it caught her interest—not just her, but also Hei Xuanyuan.

“There are eight realms before True Immortal. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation, Void Refinement, Dao Integration, and Tribulation Transcendence. Each realm takes up more time to accomplish depending on your talent…”

As I spoke about talent, I could not help but recall the kids at the orphanage. Their spirit roots ranged from low to middle. A low grade spirit root can achieve the Purple Mansion Realm at the end of their lifetime, while a middle grade spirit root can achieve Nascent Soul at the same timespan.

The honkai world changes a lot of things. Aptitude, cultivation speed, opportunities…

Though its highest limits seem lower than that of the cultivation world, the level of support it gives to lower-leveled cultivators is insane enough.

“I can awaken your spirit roots now.”

““..!””

The two Xuanyuans looked at me in-sync. I did not keep them hanging. I did the procedure for awakening spirit roots to the three of them—Sirin included.

Small bursts of spiritual qi fluctuations occurred inside the dining room. 

Unsurprisingly, they all awakened high grade spirit roots. Ji Xuanyuan and Hei Xuanyuan both awakened the metal attribute. Sirin awakened the void attribute, the same as Kiana’s.

This brings Earth’s high grade spirit roots to twelve.

I am not surprised anymore. Anyone capable of housing the Cocoon’s fragment (i.e., Herrscher Cores) warrants a strong cultivation talent.

“Can I touch your hand for a second?”

“Yes? Yes…”

I stood up from my seat and tested my conjecture one-by-one. I tried binding the two Xuanyuans as my partners.

It worked.

…

I won’t even think about it anymore. This seemingly innocent ten element art hides its nature of being a dual cultivator’s technique.

I walked beside Sirin. Her head continues to hang low. She did not touch the food around her, either. Her depressing aura could be felt tangibly.

I patted her shoulder with my finger. Her entire body jolted. Her wavy purple hair swayed as she hastily looked at me.

“Your hand.”

“Ah. Uh…”

Our palms touched each other. Another connection was formed. It brought my partner count to eleven. I wasn’t surprised by this, either.

After all, the future I saw is not baseless. I am reminded by it to consider my actions well if I wanted to lead Sirin out to the “good end”.

Our contact did not last for long. Sirin is apprehensive of direct eye contact. She remained silent as she continued her silence.

Kiana looked at me. I knew what she wanted to do. She placed back her utensils on the table and stood up. She stopped right beside Sirin as I returned to my seat. Ji Xuanyuan looked somewhat restless upon seeing the chaotic atmosphere. Only Hei Xuanyuan ate without a care.

“Let’s have a talk outside, shall we?”

“...”

Sirin did not respond to her words, but she followed Kiana outside.

Without the two, the oppressive atmosphere disappeared.

“How far have you learned of the Blade Mantra?” I asked.

“Eminence.”

“That’s good.”

The inheritance of immortal cultivation thus began.

*****

Sirin was confused and conflicted.

She saw how Kiana pleaded for her another chance at life.

Her thinking grew more narrow. She became trapped in her preconceptions—that Kiana sought to remove Sirin’s presence. That she disdained the danger she brought during Kiana’s entire life.

The number of people she killed with Kiana’s body alone are a dozen. The ones she killed during the Second Eruption’s moon fragment drop numbered to forty million.

Sirin is an irredeemable sinner, one who committed crimes beyond the worst of what humanity ever did. 

Thus her confusion came:

‘Why would she do this?’

A part of her wanted to know the answer. Another part of her is reluctant to speak up, however. Sirin feels she does not deserve everything. Her disappearance bode well for everyone else.

But…

Sirin saw that warmth.

It all began with Cecilia. She showed Sirin what she needed the most. Unfortunately, she was far too gone at that time. Her hatred towards humanity and Otto Apocalypse blinded her sight.

Only when everything ended and she was ‘revived’ inside K-423 did her longing grow once more. What followed next was Siegfried’s familial love. Then, the friendship Kiana forged along the way.

It went on and on until she met a special person: Shi Tian.

Sirin witnessed how they grew from friends to lovers. The two shared an inexplicable bond that couldn’t be explained by mere logic. The one-way sense sharing came to bite Sirin back.

She discovered how Kiana’s first kiss felt and tasted. It was figuratively and literally sweet, the kind she couldn’t extricate herself from it. Her surging affection amplified it further, turning into a euphoric sensation that shook the depths of her soul.

For the first time, Sirin felt envious. It was fine with Cecilia. It was fine with Siegfried. It was fine with her friends. But for Shi Tian?

It isn’t.

That incident became Sirin’s breaking point. It was the one that pushed her willingness to disappear. It reminded her that she couldn’t live that life no matter what she does. Her uselessness exacerbated when she could no longer exert power over her Herrscher Authority.

She can’t do anything or get anything.

That sense of frustration overwhelmed everything else.

Now that she was pulled back from the pits of hell, only confusion remained in her somewhat sober mind.

The silence between Kiana and Sirin lasted for ten minutes. The latter did not notice they had already arrived at a mountain’s summit.

Sirin gained enough courage to lift her head and meet Kiana’s gaze. The very question she wanted to ask escaped from her lips.

“Why?”

“I saw your longing. To Mama, that old man, and to him.”

“...”

“I could not look away from it. The truth.” 

She paused before continuing:

“You and me… we are two sides of the same coin.”

Chapter 185: Complex Thoughts of an Ex-Herrscher

The divination state dissipated like bubbles. My mind returned to reality. The three divination coins, a late fourth grade artifact, is returned to my storage ring. I began absorbing the spiritual qi in the surroundings, filling up my emptied-out reserves inside my golden core.

Divination is a handy tool that dictates danger and fortune before it happens. It is one of the few fourth level professions that I have. I wanted to use it to see Sirin’s future—to see whether she would actually change for the better or remain as bad as she was.

I did not expect to see her being affectionate with me.

“Fu…”

“What’s wrong?” 

Kiana stood up from her squat and asked.

“It’s nothing. I looked at Sirin’s future. It’s all good news.”

“Is that all?”

“...”

I chose not to hide the future I saw. Kiana’s ears perked up as I revealed my findings.

“...”

“...”

She could no longer hold back her surprise.

“I knew she would be like that!”

Her wronged expression did not end there.

“When she stole your first tongue kiss, I had a hunch things would end in that way…”

Kiana ended up locking me in a tight hug. Her wronged look did not elicit pity, but desires.

The last time we roleplayed like this, her cuteness caused me to go at it harder.

“This won’t work. Let’s continue practicing!”

The dual cultivation addict began to pull me deeper into the abyss once again…

*****

The feeling of drowning assaulted Sirin’s senses. She herself does not know how it felt to “drown”, only that it would feel like this had she ever swam once.

Her thoughts remained sluggish. She could not form proper thoughts. Her mind was frozen in this state.

That was until she saw a blinding light. Her fingertips touched it.

“Ah..?”

She woke up in an unfamiliar ceiling. The bright light emitted by a pair of lanterns illuminated the entire room.

“I…”

The memories prior to her slumber returned.

Sirin resolved herself for death. She no longer wanted to live. Her life had lost meaning, all the more so when her “other self” is now living the life she ever dreamed of.

Resolution, envy, relief…

Her mind paused to that split second she acted based on her impulse. The softness of his lips, the taste of his mouth…

“...”

It took her a long while to snap out of her daze. She breathed out her increasing complex feelings as she scanned her surroundings.

She is inside a somewhat empty room. There is only a bed, a cabinet, and a small bedside table.

“These clothes…”

Sirin wore nothing underneath the oversized black t-shirt. Her pants, a black pajama, are longer than her. It was as if it came from someone bigger than her.

She looked around and found a pair of cotton slippers available. She placed them on her feet and left the room.

The complex layout of the palace stunned her.

‘I can’t feel it.’

Sirin accepted the loss of her Herrscher Authority. The only thing that mattered now is finding where she was—and what happened to her.

After walking through a series of corridors, she came across the twins. One of them has long black hair, seemingly left unkempt after the lack of hair accessories. The other one retained her shoulder-length black hair, sporting a neat look that contrasted the other.

“And I thought I would be a sword…”

“...The Immortal Master’s power exceeds anything else.”

The one with long hair looked solemn while the one with short hair looked more carefree.

They were talking when they came across Sirin.

Two pairs of eyes looked at her.

“There’s another one?” The ‘dark’ Xuanyuan spoke. “Where did he fish you out?”

“...It’s none of your business.”

“Tsk.”

Sirin’s reply left her speechless. Ji Xuanyuan came between them and smoothed things over.

“I apologize for her behavior.” She bowed while cupping her fist. “Are you also looking for the Immortal? You can come with us.”

Despite the lack of context, Sirin had a hunch as to who the Immortal was.

‘It’s him. But why..?’

She stood still, caught in her increasingly complex emotions. She understood that Shi Tian saved her in some way.

That was exactly the reason why she grew more confused. She felt his murderous intent when she faced him. He loved Kiana so much he wanted to remove Sirin inside her. 

That was what she thought.

Sirin could not bring herself to hate him to the death. He loves her other self, and by extension, a part of Sirin. 

It is why she wanted to disappear in the first place. She wanted her other self to attain happiness, even if it cost her the excruciating revenge she wanted to exact on Otto. She could trust Shi Tian with Kiana’s life. That is enough.

Sirin absent-mindedly followed the lead of the two Xuanyuans. Though bewildered, the two did not ask anything further.

Soon, they came across the dining area. It is the room with the most sign of life. The other rooms felt unnaturally clean—a result of the continued use of the cleansing spell.

As for why…

It is self-explanatory.

“You’ll end up eating them all.”

“Why? It tastes so good. I never expected a bear’s meat to taste good!”

Voices came from another room connected to the dining area. Kiana swung the door open, allowing Shi Tian and his dozens of floating plates to pass through. Her clothes looked rustled and unkempt, but her strange cleanliness and otherworldly aura made others ignore it.

The three newcomers watched in bewilderment as assortments of meat dishes were placed on the table.

Shi Tian looked at them and met their gaze.

“I am sure you have a lot of questions. I will answer them as we eat.”

The first one to sit down was the dark Xuanyuan. Following her is the slightly embarrassed Ji Xuanyuan.

One has manners, the other does not. It did not matter to Shi Tian. Kiana’s lack of manners and her tomboy-ish attitude is the norm. It won’t matter if there is another dark Xuanyuan with her.

The only one left standing was Sirin. She stared blankly towards Kiana, to which the latter reciprocated.

One look was all it took to see Kiana’s attitude.

‘She…’

For a while, Sirin’s head hung low.

Chapter 184: An Unsurprising Outcome

A month of unimpeded dual cultivation passed. Our cultivation progress increased by 7%. The huge cultivation boost provided by the essences inside my Chaos Furnace provided a lot of help. 

The nature of ten elements yin-yang in this regard is unparalleled.

Hum-!

Crackle-!

The flames inside the cubic furnace calmed down. Once the pill chambers were opened, twelve bright green pills presented themselves in my eyes.

I immediately looked at its degree of completeness.

{Completion: 96%}

90% and above ensures there are zero "erysipelas" (i.e., pill poison). These are the ‘useless’ part of medicinal pills and have to be discharged regularly. High grade spirit roots reject them from the get-go.

Kiana appeared beside me.

“It’s done.”

She nodded before taking out the soul tablet. It is kept in the sole palace room that we did not “use”. Being a pervert has its own time and place.

Sou-!

The tablet reached my hand. The moment I touched it, I felt the presence of three dormant souls.

Seeing the two Xuanyuans’ injuries on the verge of being healed, I chose to let them out first.

A pair of green and red pills floated out of my palm. Their souls flew out of the tablet according to my control. Using the supernatural power, the Dao of Yin-Yang, my hands managed to touch their ‘souls’. It is the same power I used to interact with Veliona’s soul during her body reconstruction.

On one end, I dissolved the power of the spiritual pills. On the other, I transmitted them towards the two sleeping souls.

Hum-!

A burst of white light swept through the surroundings. Moments later, two naked physical bodies, made with flesh and blood, floated mid-air.

“No peeking!”

“Yeah…”

I left the two Xuanyuans to be clothed by Kiana. When I looked at them again, they were clothed in an oversized black and white shirt. Their flat figures did not require the necessary underwear.

“I figured you won’t peek anyways. The girls from Shenzhou are all like that.” Kiana said proudly.

I don’t know whether to laugh or feel sad about the Shenzhou trio. They became the object of Kiana's stray bullets.

“That’s sexual harassment, you know? The law does not discriminate between sexes.”

“What law?” She asked teasingly.

“My law.”

“...”

Kiana will be punished tonight.

As if sensing my thoughts, her teasing look faltered. She tilted her head away from my sight.

“Sirin’s situation is more serious than these two. I froze her with my Herrscher Authority back then.” I said. “I will take care of the formation then pass it to you. Make sure to act when something bad happens.”

“Got it.”

Kiana is familiar with this operation. This was her role during the essence conversion eight months ago. I have a lot of fourth grade job specializations which include formations. But, my spiritual qi is in limited supply. 

Using [Blade Mantra], [Daluo Sword Art]’s Dao of Sword, and [Sword Light Refraction] is a huge consumption.

Fortunately, I did not have to do these steps now.

Thirty-six blue dots emerged out of my palm. It formed the shape of a constellation before emerging as thirty-six small flags. 

Similar to the Innate Talisman, these Thirty-six Heavenly Phase Flags are the special weapon of formation masters. They carry on this special formation, enabling them to set up formations in an instant. It can be done so with or without resources, though their strengths vary. It can also be superimposed on existing formations, allowing them to be exerted far beyond their limits.

Thirty-six flags shot up in the sky before they took on the nodes of the entire mountain formation. The combination of one low fifth grade and a dozen fourth grade formations raised its upper limits to middle fifth grade. 

With the Thirty-Six Heavenly Phase Flags, it can be temporarily raised to the late fifth grade.

Buzz-!

Click-!

The phenomena within the formation began to be distorted according to my will. The entire formation’s power served to raise one of my supernatural powers, the Dao of Yin-Yang, to the level of [Dharma Laws].

Endless power surged upon my body, only to be stripped away the next second. The ice [Dharma Laws] preserving Sirin’s soul broke down. Instantly, the pair of spiritual pills had their medicinal power dissolved by the Dao of Yin-Yang. Then, it is passed onto Sirin’s collapsing soul.

Seeing the soul repairing the pill's insufficient output, I poured out two more. It worked this time.

The [Dharma Laws] belonging to my Dao of Yin-Yang guaranteed her soul’s complete recovery.

Three seconds later, the surge of power ended. My entire body felt hollowed out.

“Ugh…”

I glanced at the golden blood spilled out of my mouth and disregarded it. 

Kiana acted faster than I thought. Her spiritual consciousness is already connected to the mountain formation. 

The two of us watched until Sirin’s physical body reconstruction was complete. It is as if she never got her body destroyed in the first place.

That is the issue we got from testing out Veliona’s body reconstruction ability. It would be fine for normal humans, but for those aspiring to become cultivators, there are “flaws” within the body reconstructed through quantum entanglement and Natural Stigma ability. Their ability to cultivate will be greatly hindered.

These flaws are not present with the fourth grade body reconstruction pills. After all, the pills induce the soul to recreate its most perfect physical body match. Quantum entanglement, on the other hand, forms a body without the soul’s involvement, resulting in those flaws from appearing.

Just then, a sudden urge appeared in my mind. 

I want to divine Sirin’s future.

While Kiana was busy dressing Sirin up, three ancient coins with a square-shaped hole in the middle appeared in my palm.

My Hexagram Spirit became active, and so did my supernatural power on the Dao of Causality.

The world turned into nothing but pure darkness. Stars dotted up the sky, revealing a faint hint of mysticism from within.

I threw the three ching coins into the air. As I caught them, my surroundings rippled. The stars above intensified their glows.

The moment I saw the three coins, their appearance shifted continuously. It was two heads and a tail, then two tails and a head. These changes continued until a complete hexagram was made, a full six sets of coins. Their sum total ended up as thirty-seven.

Its reading showed that one should be prudent in their actions, for it could push the recipient towards the good or bad path.

A corresponding image appeared in my sight.

Sirin is wearing her magical girl battlesuit as she sits on top of a familiar bed. Our distance is too close to each other.

I stared blankly as she initiated a deep kiss.

I…

This is our future?

Chapter 183: Absolutely Crushing Domination

“Golden Core Realm…”

Bronya looked dazed as she recalled the details of the tribulation. It was something far beyond the grasp of one human, yet it exists. 

The emergence of a powerhouse like Fu Hua is enough to act as a guarantee against the Honkai. 

In less than a minute, she traversed the distance of thousands of kilometers and arrived at Schicksal’s Floating Isles with ease.

Along with her is Bronya. Her twin drills looked slightly disheveled even with a spell to protect against wind drag.

“I will deal with the hidden Herrscher first.”

Fu Hua did not hesitate for long. She decisively went straight to the Herrscher of Dominance. 

They knew of the Herrscher’s capabilities. Fighting her without any sure-fire way of killing her will only result in her escape. Fortunately, the Herrscher did not force them to take action. She gave Fu Hua enough time to reach the Golden Core Realm.

Sou-!

Ten seconds later, Fu Hua returned to the skies while holding the neck of a female valkyrie.

A foreign force appeared right as Fu Hua was about to strike. The surrounding space began pulling her inside the Theater of Domination.

Unfortunately…

Crack-!

Shiing-!

Shatter-!

Three sword strikes, each imbued with [Eminence], shattered the suction force. The pathway to the Theater was broken off.

Crackle-!

Flames arose around them. Fu Hua had comprehended a series of supernatural powers. The strongest ones are the Dao of Nirvana. Derived from the Dao of Flames and Dao of Life, it is a terrifying force capable of dictating death and rebirth to all life.

Things did not stop there. 

Fu Hua’s Hersscher Authority began acting up. It is the second biggest change for her.

Due to the elevation of one's life as a True Lord, her Herrscher Core automatically underwent its awakening.

The Herrscher of Sentience is capable of exerting power over “minds”. It is important to know that “minds” has another connotation to the honkai world. It is not simply “intelligence”.

It is the soul.

Fu Hua is no longer the Herrscher of Sentience, but the Herrscher of Souls!

Bam-!

The combination of the Herrscher Authority and the Dao of Nirvana caused the Herrscher of Domination’s very soul to take damage. The flames of nirvana burned their very souls, spreading to all of her avatars like a plague.

“N…o…”

HoDom’s eyes dulled. She still has a lot to accomplish—missions to fulfill. Her slowly receding consciousness betrayed her will to act upon them.

{Local Backups>>>0; Off-site Backups>>>0}

The avatar’s death fed back to the other avatars of the Herrscher of Domination.

Shockingly, bright red flames emerged out of nowhere. It burned all machines and humans alike.

No matter what they did, the fire remained blazing.

It happened so fast they were left with no time to react.

‘Death. So it feels…’

The enemy that made everyone wary was settled by the Golden Core True Lord instantly.

Fu Hua looked at the drifting particles of white light.

“The power to cause great upheaval…”

She sighed under her breath. Her very being is rejoicing over her accomplishment. Her dreams that were so out of reach could be touched by her fingertips now.

Fu Hua suppressed her complex feelings. She thought of the two remaining ‘obstacles’ over their fight against the honkai.

Thinking of Shi Tian’s words, she finally held back on eliminating Otto Apocalypse.

“Against the Herrscher of the End, this power…”

*****

“Hum. It tastes very good!”

Sitting between my legs is Kiana. 

A few months ago, we finally decided to utilize the palace’s divided spaces for other things. One room was turned into a kitchen. Another turned into a dining room.

Kiana’s gluttonous stomach ate whatever I cooked up.

Today’s menu came from the demon beast meat of a late fourth grade Moongrass Rabbit.

She ate the poor rabbit in less than thirty bites—all of which were fed to her by me.

“What did you use there?! The sauce tasted like…”

“Ranch dressing.”

“Yes. It’s that one!”

The Tuna feeding session ensued.

Of course, it is not a Tuna feeding session without it turning… freaky.

Her butt inched closer to my waist. She wore dolphin shorts today. One tug is all it takes to break my self-control.

“I want to drink some water…”

Kiana’s mischievous voice entered my ears. 

“...Finish the food first.”

“Hum.”

I deflected her flirting skills for now. I focused on the matter at hand.

The feedback of Tao Gifts kept coming. I deciphered the morse code contained within them. 

The highlight has to be Fu Hua eliminating the Herrscher of Domination. From the looks of it, the said Herrscher attempted to induce Mei’s Herrscher Advancement. Her failure stemmed from Mei’s Purple Mansion Realm cultivation. It is more than enough to crush all schemes.

The Herrscher of Domination was left to steal the Herrscher of Corruption’s authority instead. Since Mei did not enter the Elysian Realm, it had no way of growing by corrupting that place. The entire Fur Elysia arc never happened in reality.

I could only sigh.

With enough power, the future can be changed. It presents choices we dare not imagine in the past. Fu Hua’s Golden Core Realm cultivation ensured her absolute dominance over Earth. 

I heard about the crucial news of her Herrscher Core “awakening”. Turns out, the Golden Core Realm can forcefully elevate it to the awakened state permanently. 

It is the equivalent of having the power of a Nascent Soul Realm in advance.

Once we leave this Bubble World, I can facilitate others’ breakthrough in the heart tribulation using the ten pills I refined. Kiana consumed one. There are still nine of them in my planet-sized late fourth grade storage ring.

If I can produce nine more Golden Core cultivators, that will raise our winning chances to 10,000%. Having Bronya and Mei become awakened Herrschers is already the baseline that led to the original future’s victory. There is still Fu Hua and me.

Also…

“I have another treasure that can restore the physical body. Do you want to…”

“Um.”

Kiana’s flirtatious vibe turned serious.

She luckily brought over the late third grade soul tablet where the two Xuanyuans and the frozen Sirin resided.

I still have the remaining soul restoring pills. The only problem was their physical body. I decided to wait until I got the body restoring treasures.

After two long years of waiting—and three fifth grade treasures—I received the full set of spiritual plants needed to refine body restoring pills.

“I want her to live this life… and to atone for her mistakes.”

I nodded at her. 

Kiana’s feelings towards Sirin are very complex. The two are the opposite sides of the same coin.

Loving Kiana, how could I neglect her wish, more so her other side?

“How should you thank me, then?”

I asked as I took out a slender glass bottle and placed it atop the table.

My words acted like a magic spell. Kiana’s seriousness melted away, replaced by her previous mischievousness. She wordlessly took one of the two cups, poured the blood red wine out, and placed it inside her mouth.

Instead of swallowing it, she locked my lips with hers. The precious fourth grade wine flowed to my mouth.

The situation slowly became heated. 

My self-control fought my right hand, but to no avail. 

The simple tug of her dolphin shorts revealed everything…

Chapter 182: The Jingwei's Ascent

Imaginary Space.

Kiana’s subspace did not go unused. She placed entrances and exits anyone could use. The spirit vein inside reached the threshold of peak fifth grade.

Inside this blessed fairyland, two people stood mid-air.

One of them is a silver-haired girl. Her hair is carefully styled into two drills. The other one is a girl with gray hair. She sported a two-layered eastern garb. 

Today, Shenzhou’s Immortal Phoenix is destined to truly become an Immortal.

“The isolation of the vacuum space is sufficient to control collateral damages. The concentration of honkai energy remains at zero. No external wills can be detected within the ten thousand kilometer radius.”

Numerous projected screens surrounded Bronya. The phantoms of the stars glittered around her. Using their influence, she set up a miniature array capable of detecting changes up to a major realm above hers. It was something brought by her mind technique’s [Great Accomplishment].

“Got it. Thank you.”

“Hm.”

The two stoic girls did not speak much. They already knew what to do next. Their communication with Shi Tian by using Tao Gifts as morse codes did not go to vain.

Fu Hua soon entered a meditative state. Five minutes later, a surge of spiritual qi came from her. Her Golden Core breakthrough began.

First was the evolution of her physical body. All of her ‘mortal bones’ are shed, turning them into pure-jade. The deepest bone marrow is flushed out and obliterated by the torrent of strong spiritual qi. It is replaced by a golden marrow. Each drop is filled with countless Tao Patterns.

Bone barrow, bone, flesh, internal organs…

All of them are swept by the raging tide of spiritual qi as they transform into a higher-level.

Once it was done, Fu Hua’s entire being glowed with bright white light. She achieved the physical breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm just like that.

Just then, an urge for her soul to break through the Golden Core Realm emerged. She was forced to begin the first step, the integration of soul, crystal dantian, and spirit roots.

‘It is this.’

Shi Tian warned them about it. He left a lot of jade slips within the orphanage.

One’s mind and body can be broken through the Golden Core Realm first, but this ‘imbalance’ can inflict injuries to the cultivation—disharmony, per se. One’s entire being will begin to force a breakthrough to “fix” this imbalance.

The best way to breakthrough is to start the soul and body/mind breakthrough simultaneously. The soul breakthrough can be delayed slightly, allowing the body and mind to break through first. These two breakthroughs can then help in the soul breakthrough.

Fortunately, Fu Hua is more than skilled at pulling it off.

Her mind’s breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm was completed. It helped her complete the second and final steps of the soul’s Golden Core breakthrough.

One hundred revolutions formed a flawless Golden Core. 

Hum-!

Buzz-!

It was no longer the fluctuations of wind, but of space. The trembling of her eyelashes, her soft exhales, the slight twitching of her finger… They are all accompanied by dao rhymes.

Rumble-!

Fu Hua opened her eyes and swiftly left the imaginary space. She paid her tribulation no heed as she began her upward ascent to the skies.

Fifty thousand kilometers were traversed in a blink of an eye. She found herself in outer space. Underneath her, the large oblate spheroid could be seen.

“Immortals.”

She swept away all the complex thoughts in her mind. Immortal cultivation gave her too many surprises. It is the most ideal power in Fu Hua’s mind. Not even the Honkai’s complexity could match its potential.

Her gratitude towards the man who presented it to her is immense. So much so that she does not know how to repay him.

Thinking of his words…

“Think of it once we resolve Honkai's threat. We’ll have all-day long to think, won’t we?”

Fu Hua heaved a sigh.

“To resolve the Honkai…”

The thunderous roars of the lightning tribulation soon filled her ears.

*****

Despite being separated by fifty thousand years, the reactions of humanity towards the terrifying Golden Core tribulation remains the same.

Schicksal’s Headquarters ushered in an unprecedented silence. More than half of the satellites they sent for scouting were scrapped by the thunder field. 

For Schicksal, the world’s “leading” anti-honkai organization, it is a crisis like nothing before.

Tests have fed back information. The sheer power of the Golden Core tribulation can pierce straight into the Earth’s core. Its consequences are unimaginable.

Amongst the silent valkyries, one of them could not stop trembling.

‘NO!’

The Herrscher of Domination felt nothing but the purest fear. 

No matter how much she schemes… 

No matter how many Herrscher Authorities she has…

She won’t stand a chance.

Her head hung low as she looked at the Herrscher Authority belonging to the Herrscher of Corruption. Through schemes, she managed to single-out the ‘life’ born out of the void. 

Possessing both Dominance and Corruption, she was supposed to be the most terrifying Herrscher. She already has hundreds of ‘back-ups’ throughout the world. More than 90% of the world’s information systems are in her grasp. Only the ones at the forbidden zones—places of Anti-Entropy—are spared.

At this moment, her control over Schicksal’s Headquarters made her more confident about winning.

Only…

‘How can I win..?!’

No matter how hard she thought, she could never imagine a force that can kill the one who can instantly form a five thousand kilometer lightning field. 

‘Maybe it will work? I can still do this…’

She started busying herself with reviewing the cards she held.

Unbeknownst to her, she has been plotted.

Within the vast expanse of the African desert, a Schicksal branch continued with the experiments about the Sea of Quanta. They operated directly under the Overseer’s command. Only his most trusted personnel knew about this operation, though they remained in the dark regarding the Herrscher’s intrusion.

“To infect all technological creations… It is a deep hole you dug, old friend.”

“...”

Otto looked at the orange cube in his grasp before it disappeared.

The greatest disaster within these past five months came from the sudden intrusion of the “Herrscher of Corruption”. He noticed it firsthand and decided to abandon the majority of Schicksal, leaving behind a few branches with isolated networks. This action saved these branches.

The said Herrscher only knew the “Otto” who spent his time on the Floating Isles. 

With a perfect cover, he relentlessly studied the Second Divine Key’s effects. Whatever noise they made can be thrown to Anti-Entropy. Though his situation is far from the ideal, he is willing to work with it.

Months of research passed. 

It bore fruit and made him realize some things in advance:

“...Second Herrscher. Her power is what I need.”

Chapter 181: Working Hard, Mass Producing Golden Cores?

Dual Cultivation.

Rest.

Go out.

Have tea with Pardofelis and Elysia.

Talk to Veliona.

Repeat.

Ironically, our dual cultivation addiction grew stronger. It took up 80% of my time. The remaining 20% are spread out to other activities, including the periodical rotation around Earth to make sure everything's alright.

Nothing much happened. It has been two years since we came to this world—eight months since Elysia’s first visit.

Immortal cultivation is inherently slow, but not with sufficient hacks and opportunities.

“...tired…”

Her murmurs reached my ears.

I stood right beside the bed. Kiana’s feet stepped onto mine, with her upper body laying on the corner of the bed. The full majesty of her back and her perky butt laid bare in my eyes.

After I retracted my rod from her insides, her body visibly calmed down. My finger swiped on her pink slit, preventing my cum from spilling.

Seeing Kiana having no strength to move, I carried her to the bed. Its cleaning function worked automatically. All kinds of sweat and bodily fluids dissipated. I cast a cleaning spell on both of us. 

I couldn’t help but notice the flurry of red hickeys all over her body. Traces of my saliva are also there. Then, I looked at my shoulder and chest. The same marks are present all over me. 

The evidence is clear.

We really are a pair of perverts.

I brushed her bangs and saw her sleeping well. Her long white hair remained unstyled throughout this ordeal. It is a different taste compared to her double braids that… well, fueled my desires further.

Two years is more than enough to explore all of her battlesuits. Neko Charm, Knight Moonbeam, Flamescion, Finality, New Year’s Celebration…

There are also the casual attire, especially the long-sleeved backless sweater. 

Thinking about these things made my dick stand up.

I can’t even retain my serious attitude as a sword cultivator. Inside this palace, all that ever happened are the unserious stuff.

Worse, I can’t help but continue doing it. It is a legitimate way to build up cultivation. 

Ever since my main cultivation techniques reached the [Great Accomplishment] mastery, it can be run automatically. That was the reason why I didn’t hesitate much to use up the Demon Core of that dragon. It served no use than to grant me a broken dual cultivation aptitude.

I gently brushed Kiana’s hair with spiritual qi. It turned into fine brushes at my manipulation. These brushes extended from my fingertips. Connected with the Dao Endowment Hands from sewing, I fixed up her hair with ease. Each strand of her hair emitted a gentle white light. These hands could imbue a certain ‘Dao Law’ to its targets. It can also transfer the Dao Laws possessed by spiritual objects as well as enhance them.

I took care of Kiana’s entire body without any shame. I changed her sleeping posture with her face within the pillow. Finally, I initiated the auxiliary technique that involved recovery through massage. The Dao Endowment Hands went into work—from her head down to her feet. I had zero shame touching her body. Nine out of ten, I already placed it in my mouth once.

I made sure not to disturb her rest. When everything was done, I covered our bodies with a fourth grade blanket. Kiana moved and hugged me sideways like an octopus.

I habitually inspected our daily progress.

{Kiana}

{Body: Late Golden Core (17%)}

{Qi: Middle Golden Core (92%)}

{Mind: Middle Golden Core (87%)}

The exaggerated progress is all thanks to the essences from the four Herrschers’ polluted mental power. I consumed them bit-by-bit and then passed it onto Kiana through Tao Gifts.

There is still more than half of it left. There are also the four untouched Herrscher Cores (Bubble World Edition). The mental power of all the honkai beasts in the world is counted separately, amounting to the mental power of four Herrschers. Finally, there are the four untouched Herrscher Cores in my possession plus the five in Fire MOTH’s possessions.

I estimated it will take three years to absorb the essences of one Herrscher Core. The ongoing essences of the four Herrschers’ polluted mental power takes two years. These are enough to step onto the Nascent Soul Realm.

The remaining eight Herrscher Cores (Bubble World Edition) plus the mental power of all the Earth’s honkai beasts will boost our progress further.

Truly, what an unprecedented opportunity this is.

To this end, Kiana and I worked tirelessly. I absorbed the essence, turned it into yang qi, and converted it into creation qi for faster absorption. A small portion of it turned into the nutrients my three automatic techniques require. Another portion went to my continued practice of [Toushen Manual], steadily raising my Five Elements Yin spirit roots towards the high grade.

{Body: Late Golden Core (54%)}

{Qi: Late Golden Core (47%)}

{Mind: Late Golden Core (45%)}

Seele’s own progress cut down 30% of the needed progress in the late stage. The efficiency of cultivating without the most optimal conditions showed itself. That was with a hundred and fifty years of cultivation with honkai tempering.

The biggest change does not come from us, but in the real world. The amount of energy ingested by True Lords are dozens of times stronger for the lower realms. It is not a problem to raise all of my “partners” into the Golden Core Realm.

The only problem is their mental states. It is not honed enough. I am not there to remedy this problem of short cultivation time through resources. They can only do it on their own which is risky. Even if they halt the [Two Phase Art], it will only erase the first three tribulations. The Heart Tribulation belongs to their "heart" and occurs the moment they break through; it cannot be cancelled.

As such, I asked them to redirect their focus and a portion of the Tao Gifts to comprehend their techniques. 

I do not want to see them fail at their Heart Tribulation. It will bring serious injuries, if not death if they do not get past it. Their only choice now is to stay a few percent away from the Golden Core breakthrough.

Nevertheless, there are still a huge amount of Tao Gifts capable of pushing them into the Golden Core Realm. 

Today, I heard of Fu Hua reaching the fourth realm of sword cultivation. Her [Blade Mantra] reached the same level as mine, [True Form]. It is more than enough to deal with the Heart Tribulation.

A Golden Core True Lord…

I want to see how Kevin will react to it.

Chapter 180: The Difference of a Lecher and a Pervert

The Dao of Yin-Yang is a unique supernatural power. It is involved in the creation and destruction of all things, leading to the path of [All Creation Dao]. Yet, it is inexplicably tied to the fusion of man and woman.

Shi Tian’s changes began when he encountered dual cultivation. The full potential of his [Xiutian Art] exploded. It along with the [Sun-Moon Creation Art] strengthened his supernatural power to the greatest extent.

The dual cultivation trait he received—the fusion of dragon and phoenix—added fuel to the fire. With his Dao of Yin-Yang strengthened to such an exaggerated degree, he became a walking incubus capable of charming any woman.

Had he not restrained this aura, every woman who sees him will come running towards him. It was Kiana who goes crazy every time he lets it free.

Nonetheless, this restrained aura still poses a somewhat manageable temptation to others. 

Elysia could not escape its effect.

“Please have a seat.”

His voice snapped her out of the daze. It compelled her to take on his offer. She sat down beside Pardofelis who was busy munching on the available sponge cakes. The wooden box where it came from, reminiscent of a cabinet, has four layers. Pardofelis did not touch the second to fourth layers—there is a good reason why.

Along the way, she did not forget Elysia and got a slice of sponge cake for her.

The silence ensued until Pardofelis almost choked and drank the tea in one go.

“Fua…”

She patted her chest in relief. 

Shi Tian watched the entire ordeal with interest. The teacup remained in his lips for a while longer. 

Clink.

“So, what does the Miss Pink Elf want to talk to me about?”

His gaze shifted to Elysia. The latter regained her composure and flashed her usual smile.

When her eyes met him again, she was certain of one thing.

“This world is not the real world, is it?”

“Yes.” Shi Tian affirmed her question in one go. “Your era had ended fifty thousand years ago. You failed in your fight against the honkai. Due to a series of circumstances, this world, a Bubble World, is created based on the past.”

Elysia was confused to see Pardofelis beside her being unresponsive.

“Don’t think too much. Only you can hear my words. In her eyes, we are talking about trivial things.”

“Oh.”

A True Lord’s spiritual consciousness is overbearing enough to distort the senses of those in the lower realm. Everyone in this Bubble World, save for the Herrscher of the End and a few special beings, could only fall to Shi Tian’s mental manipulation.

The two fell silent again. 

Shi Tian did not mind and kept on eating the pastries. He unhesitantly pulled one out of the fourth drawer, a slice of blueberry cheesecake. The cabinet acted akin to a storage ring, with a continent’s volume inside.

The pastries are all baked by him, too. He occasionally received storage rings filled with all kinds of random stuff. The vast amounts of fourth grade ingredients came from it.

“Try it.”

Elysia heeded his words once again. She took the fork and placed the sponge cake inside her mouth.

Then…

The rest is history.

“Did you make it?”

“Yes.”

“This sweetness… It’s sugar, but not one I am familiar with.”

“It came from a special sugarcane. Using a unique processing method, sugar is harvested bit by bit and filtered. Being filtered makes them ‘sweeter’ since they are easier to dissolve…”

The two began to enthusiastically talk about deserts. Elysia, the expert desert connoisseur, and Shi Tian, the chef, had a lot in common in this regard.

The existence of spiritual materials and the methods of spiritual cooks—like a single dish taking a week to cook—opened her eyes. The world of immortal cultivators is inherently grounded on mortals’ life, but far more exaggerated.

By the time Elysia left, they hadn’t talked about this Bubble World’s truth again.

“Boss’ cooking is really different. I can eat his food all day long!”

Pardofelis became more enthusiastic with Elysia after this meeting. She easily got along with her on the way back.

“Don’t you worry about being fat?”

“Huh? That’s nonexistent! The Boss' cooking is strong enough to turn all food into energy. If you can’t absorb it, the energy disperses on its own.”

“..!”

The Miss Pink Elf became very intrigued.

*****

Three months have passed since then. It has been a year and seven months since we came to this world. The time flow of this world is roughly five times slower than the real world. I confirmed it by using morse code back and forth with Bronya. It is done while distributing her Tao Gift and looking at the Tao Gift she generates. This time flow remains the same up until now.

Elysia’s visit seemingly reassured the Fire MOTH. They carried on their usual operations… that was until my [Beginningless Sword]’s (lit. Wushi Dao) went back and forth killing honkai beasts.

More than 95% of this Bubble World’s honkai beasts fell to my sword. The remaining 5% are those who kept on spawning. 

I gathered the bits of their mental power, did the same cleansing as last time, and absorbed them inside the Chaos Furnace. The intensity of the pure essence I gathered is enough to leap onto the late stage of Golden Core Realm.

The Sea of Quanta turned out to be the best opportunity as of the present.

“Mn… Be careful not to bite my ear off.”

Kiana gave me a defeated look. She is underneath me. All of her attempts to “win” have been thwarted. 

I started to nibble on her right ear. My hands sunk on the heavenly bedding. It did not take long for my greedy mouth to move to her neck, and then to her lips.

A wave of skillful tongue entanglement is completed.

A thin silver string connected our parted lips. Her eyes contained every bit of affection there is. The burning desires that cooled down while Kiana rested started to grow restless.

“You really aren’t interested in that beautiful girl?”

Time passes fast while dual cultivation. Only now did she bring my meeting with Elysia up.

“There is also that other girl. You dote on her.”

“I’m not a lecher.” I retorted.

“Humph. You are one.”

“Lecher and pervert are two different things. I am only a pervert while with you.”

Her eyes widened. Her feelings became so tangible it made my heart skip a beat. Kiana is moved by my words.

“Then, show me what you can do, pervert.”

I began to teach Kiana yet another lesson…

Chapter 179: How the Turn Tables

We did not do anything excessive. Kiana became busy with solidifying her current breakthrough.

Stepping onto the peak of Mount Fuji, I brought out my sword. Its entire body vibrated as it fell onto my hands. [Spirituality] is the spiritual qi conduction on lower levels. Once an item reaches the fourth grade, this [Spirituality] grants items a sentient spirit.

The spirituality nurtured since the beginning is naturally the best match for a sword cultivator. They never throw away old swords, opting to reforge them with better materials like what I did.

I went a step further and turned this sword into my Natal Magic Artifact. It is a special feature within the Golden Core Realm. They can nurture an artifact inside their Golden Core. It becomes a perfect fit to the cultivator, allowing them to use the artifact’s fullest capabilities at a minimal cost.

Hum.

It affirmed the thoughts I passed. It shot straight into the sky, turning into an indistinguishable gale of wind.

In the fourth grade, swords are no longer “swords” alone. [Sword Light Refraction] shows that everything can be a sword. My [Beginningless Sword] can transform into any kind of phenomena and strike down with the power of a sword.

The successful experiment made me re-arrange my plans. I left the honkai beasts behind, mostly to serve as humanity’s driving force. With the [Two Phase Art] enveloping the entire Earth, it is more than enough. I can see that this world has a “future”, much like Durandal’s Bubble World. 

The best I did so far is to deal with the evil mortals. It ranged from straight up death to them voluntarily surrendering. These treatments depended on their crimes.

Its endgame is to be anchored onto one of us until I can pull all of the deceased Previous Era humans back from the dead.

Things have changed now. 

Devouring the honkai beasts’ mental power became a viable choice. As such, I ordered the [Beginningless Sword] to kill every honkai beast in sight and only return once it could no longer absorb their mental power.

Starting today, all the honkai beasts on the surface are destined for extinction.

“...Huh.”

I looked in a certain direction. Pardofelis always drops a visit whenever I am out. I attributed it to her luck.

But…

She wasn’t alone this time.

My gaze stopped on the pink-haired woman beside her. 

Elysia.

A certain sense of excitement welled up inside me. Meeting the people whom I could only interact with on the screen is something I never got tired of. I did not deliberately meet the Flamechasers, partly because I want to keep this sense of anticipation with me.

Most importantly, with a clingy Tuna at home, I chose to leave our meetings up to fate.

With a step, I appeared at the foot of the mountain. My clothes are no longer constructed by honkai energy, but hand-sewn using the late fourth grade silk from a ‘Divine Whispering Silkworm’. They are said to emit [Dao Laws] with each hum, making their silk threads suitable for cultivators’ robes.

Of course, it was done by me. Tens of thousands of knowledge made me proficient in all sorts of side arts. My alchemy, cooking, forging, sewing, talisman-making, divination, qi gazing and formations are all in the fourth grade. 

Their respective job specialties are also in the fourth grade. That includes alchemy’s Innate Spiritual Flames, cooking’s Divine Culinary Sense, forging’s Treasure Organs, sewing’s Dao Endowment Hands, talisman-making’s Innate Spiritual Talisman, divination’s Hexagram Spirit, qi gazing’s Qi Seeking Eyes, and formation’s Thirty-six Heavenly Phase Flags.

Their addition allowed me to cross a minor realm, earning my [Xiutian Art] the title of the most broken cultivation technique.

The Battlesuits, Hanfus, Dresses, and Casual Attire we wore all came from fourth grade silks, with the battlesuits reaching the late fourth grade.

Overall, even if a nuclear bomb explodes, it won’t be broken. That’s the best part.

I placed down a table, a set of teacups, a kettle, a bag of tea…

A lot of daily sundries appeared during the draw—sundries made of fourth grade materials. For Pardofelis’ consumption, I had to process them into the lower grades. One second grade cupcake and her fragmented soul will explode.

Our bed also turned into a late fourth grade bed. Being able to thoroughly release the planetary-destroying force in one’s bedroom is another level of pleasure.

It is…

Addicting.

I sighed to clear up my mind. I am addicted to dual cultivation. Without the troubles of the outside world, who knows how long we would have stayed inside that palace. Maybe decades, if not hundreds of years.

All of it dedicated to bullying Kiana…

“Fu…”

I wiped out these dangerous thoughts as I waited for the guests’ arrival.

*****

During their meeting, Elysia was surprised to see Pardofelis resistant to her charms. She did not have any narcissistic thoughts. It was pure surprise. Anyone who meets Elysia for the first time will be stunned by her—beauty and temperament alike.

Pardofelis used a token in her hands to gain entry. The scenery in front of her changed akin to rippling water.

Mount Fuji is publicly open for tourist visits. However, they are to be placed inside a ‘mirror space’ where the fake Mount Fuji exists. They wouldn’t notice its strangeness until they finish a trip.

[Dharma Laws] belong to the higher-dimension. Playing with space like this is but one of its simplest functions.

‘I didn’t notice it…’

Elysia marveled at the changes as she thought of the faint gaze she felt earlier. She became more than certain: its owner resides here.

The moment they step inside the water-like curtain, they are greeted by the potent spiritual qi. Seele’s existence and the continued injection from the Sea of Quanta turned it into a middle sixth grade spirit vein.

Elysia was caught by the breathtakingly beautiful scene. The sixth grade spirit vein caused untold changes to the plantation, thus gaining spirituality. Their appearances are enhanced. 

One could feel the vicissitudes of time on the old cypress tree; the calmness by the white dandelions; the bright energy of the blooming sakura blossoms…

She was lost in thought while Pardofelis guided her in front. The latter looked at her with a sense of superiority.

‘I was also the same back then. To think this place will change this much…’

Since the formation let them inside, Pardofelis did not think of Elysia’s danger. 

After all, her Boss is the most awesome Boss in the world!

The mountain track was surprisingly clear. The ground is flattened. Stairs filled the incline parts. It is simply the best tourist attraction in the world.

Soon, they reached the end of the path. A circular space was cleared out of vegetation. A lone jade table was placed in the center along with chairs made of high-class spiritual wood. The steaming teacup exuded a calming air. The sponge cakes made Pardofelis drool.

She resisted the urge and formally greeted:

“Boss!”

Shi Tian gestured for her to sit down. She did not spare any time as she sat on one of the two chairs. Her hand swiftly reached out for the sponge cake placed atop the plate and ate it in one go.

“Hm..!”

While she was preoccupied with the flavor explosion, Elysia was left standing awkwardly. She met his eyes. Her entire body froze.

The immortal cultivator’s face card and temperament struck her hard. This becomes even more severe with the high grade spirit roots. Their innate talents grant them a special aura that makes them stand out no matter what.

This time, it was Elysia’s turn to experience what the others did around her.

Chapter 178: Immortal Jingwei Catching Strays

Veliona…

The first step was done successfully. The authority brought by the Natural Stigma allowed Veliona to harness the sixth Herrscher’s Authority. A dark gray fog enveloped the tainted part of the soul.

I looked at Kiana before she nodded back.

Click.

The world turned light gray. The lack of Herrscher Authority did not hinder Kiana from pulling off her usual prowess. She managed to recreate [Global Time Fracture] using her supernatural power.

With the formation plate on the other hand, she briefly harnessed the power of a Nascent Soul Realm. The confinement zone she created evolved to the level of [Dharma Laws], the same as an awakened Herrscher’s!

Although her face turned pale, she did not hesitate to deal the decisive blow.

A light blue blade flashed swiftly onto the soul. The tainted soul broke off from the whole. The light of the soul became extremely weak.

Swoosh-!

Veliona brought it back to the body. A jade bottle with a narrow neck appeared on my hand. Uncorking it caused a strong lotus-like fragrance to escape. A fourth grade pill rolled out of my hand. I placed the pill atop the girl’s chest before it sank downwards. It is a middle fourth grade spiritual pill for treating soul injuries. A total of fifteen are present inside the jade bottle.

I made sure to place a trace of my spiritual consciousness to the pill, ensuring the girl won’t implode due to the extremely potent medicinal effect.

Seeing her soul being repaired at a visible speed, my focus shifted back to the separated mental power. Kiana munched on some pills as her countenance turned better.

The light purple soul fragment reminded me of my time with Nihility. This can be considered as an experiment. If this succeeds, I will really be able to do the same to IX’s influence—something on-par with Void Refinement Realm.

The [Beginningless Sword] came to my grasp. It is further strengthened by the fourth grade spiritual metals I received. After a major upgrade, it reached the high fourth grade.

A vague dark red light covered the entire blade. My thoughts are connected to it, feeding me back a chilly sensation. True to its name, it embodies the power of Netherworld—the Dao of Death.

A multi-colored light extended from my arm, staining the dark red light with vibrant colors.

Sou-!

The tip of my blade did not get past the purple light. I retracted it momentarily as honkai energy surged out of nowhere. My Herrscher Authority could not be used, but all the other honkai-related moves could be used.

My [Blade Mantra] began to work. Swathes of honkai energy are drawn out of nowhere. It continued to imbue the [Beginningless Sword] more power.

The mix of [Daluo Sword Art], [Sword Light Refraction], [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade], and [Blade Mantra] accumulated power until it reached its peak. My Golden Core level mind got worn down heavily. The concentration of honkai energy in my blade became comparable to my 100,000 HW attack.

In exchange…

Sou-!

Hum-!

…the destroyer of [Dharma Laws] emerged.

Crack-!

Shatter-!

The sword strike went past the ground, yet it did no damage. Only the floating purple light got shattered. The [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade] forcibly refines anything into the sword, and then to the person. 

However, I am not limited to this. The purple light first entered my blade. It soon got converted into pure power. Then, I placed it inside the Chaos Furnace to further refine it. 

I watched as it got broken down into pure essence.

“It worked.”

The double refining created a batch of pure essence. It is easier to absorb, taking three years to fully absorb them. The double refining contributed a lot to its ease of absorption.

My exhausted mind acted fast. My spiritual qi reserves hit rock bottom. Extreme fatigue swept into my physical body. 

Crunch-!

…

The pills solved all these problems.

I willed the shattered mental power to enter the Chaos Furnace. The [Great Accomplishment] mastery technique relies partly on my realm to refine things. As long as it does not exceed my tolerance limit, it will be refined.

Fortunately, I really could refine Nascent Soul level powers. The matter of efficiency can be ignored. Even if a fraction of its power dissipated, it is still capable of increasing one’s cultivation.

Looking at the extremely pure essence, I chose to hold back ingesting them now. Unlike creation qi, I cannot ingest them in one go. I need to take them in smaller bites.

“Fu…”

All three of us calmed down. The integrated formation remains to be in high-alert under Kiana’s grasp. After resting, we carried on with the remaining three Herrschers, removing the fragment of Honkai’s will. 

I took away their corresponding Herrscher Cores and confirmed they are not exactly the same as ours. They sported the same [Dharma Laws] level, but far stronger than the honkai’s mental power. It lacked the high-level connection I see in our Herrscher Cores.

Pretty much everything in this Bubble World are lower-leveled copies of the original Herrscher Cores, making it suitable for cultivation consumption.

Unlike the Current Era, the Previous Era’s Herrschers are “mindless”. They could not retain their humanity, merely acting as mindless executioners for the source of honkai—the Cocoon of Finality. The Will of Honkai is not present yet, either.

In a daze, I stared at one of the Herrschers. She is none other than HIMEKO. She looks a bit younger than the Himeko of the Current Era. Her choice to retain her untied hair gave her a somewhat youthful look.

“You really like big breasts.”

Kiana suddenly gave a perverted remark.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I no longer became embarrassed when I admitted to those things. We went through a lot and… I do like them.

“...Huh.”

Veliona’s soft whisper came to my ears. Her eyes widened as she met mine. She could not say a word as she looked away from me.

…

This is Kiana’s fault.

“Heh. Veliona has nice assets. I won’t worry about it unless I am as flat as Shenzhou’s Immortal.”

“..!”

“...”

Kiana’s mouth aside, for Fu Hua to be dragged into this conversation…

I am sorry, Class Rep.

“You are turning into a bigger pervert.” I commented.

“Whose fault is it?”

Her eyes narrowed down as she looked at me.

…

This is on me.

I exhaled helplessly.

I felt the need to take a break on dual cultivation.

“Should we pause our…”

“No!”

Kiana did not let me finish my sentence when she disagreed. She buried her face on my chest, no longer attempting to let out any dirty jokes.

Seeing her like this made me feel guilty.

“Sorry.”

“Hm.”

Kiana’s soft hum eased my mind.

Veliona quietly left from the sidelines. I could see the conflict in her eyes. The decades’ worth of memories she intercepted from Seele affected her greatly. I could see that undisguised attachment—love and obsession—completely different from Kiana’s love. The mental qualities of a hundred years old and twenty years old differ, more so when Seele experienced those time loops.

Only she and Veliona know the full picture. It is why Veliona chose to keep her distance during a year and four months. She never confronted me about it, choosing to wait until Seele returned.

“You are mine for now.”

She looked up and declared.

“Okay?” 

Kiana asked once more.

“Okay.”

With my affirmation, her soft and sweet lips met mine.

Chapter 177: Hacking Cultivation, Again

Pardofelis’ alien-like story opened up Elysia’s mind. It was akin to a storybook found in Shenzhou’s ancient writings. Though Pardofelis did not go deeply into the important details, the mention of Shi Tian’s capabilities surpassed her expectations.

With their brief ten minute meeting, Shi Tian’s existence behind the renowned anti-honkai factor was confirmed. When Elysia tried to ask Pardofelis about the more ‘personal’ details, she refused to budge. The two settled on maintaining contact before Pardofelis left.

“Immortals.” Elysia muttered under her breath. “If it was them…”

Her thoughts remained unknown as she looked at the cafe table in a daze.

*****

Four months.

I looked at the sleeping Kiana sprawled all over atop me. She stuck closely to me like an octopus. Her naked body touched mine. Strands of her long white hair remained messy. Her regular breathing showed she was in her deep sleep.

Back then…

She lasted for three days tops before needing to rest for one day. My Golden Core physique tired her out. I had to refrain from using some other extensive dual cultivation tricks.

It’s different now. Both our bodies are in the early Golden Core Realm. My advantage to her is my dual cultivation trait, Five Elements Yang spirit roots, and my mastery over the Dao of Yin-Yang. 

Kiana took me head on for three weeks before needing to rest. Her former cheeky outlook was shattered by my prowess. She became the Tuna who never won.

The biggest advantage to Kiana’s new realm is the improved effect of the creation qi. Our cultivation speed continued to skyrocket amidst all the hacks we are using. Seele’s Tao Gifts helped a lot. 

Coupled with the Tao Gifts from Kiana’s Golden Core breakthrough, my mind and qi realms reached the middle stage.

{Body: Middle Golden Core (6%)}

{Qi: Middle Golden Core (3%)}

{Mind: Middle Golden Core (2%)}

Several decades’ worth of progress, all compressed into the span of four months. This is all in exchange for Seele’s opportunity… for her suffering.

I did not dilly-dally during the dual cultivation sessions. The mysterious space created by my Xinhai Sutra’s [Great Accomplishment] mastery, dubbed the [Enlightenment Sea], allows me to automatically comprehend techniques and recipes alike. 

The number of ‘slots’ increased from five to ten with the Golden Core breakthrough. I used all ten slots to comprehend the [Xiutian Art]. Its [Great Accomplishment] mastery is rapidly increasing, in turn improving our dual cultivation sessions.

The last four months, however, I used the ten slots to comprehend the [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade]. 

The [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade] does not have any mastery. The slots are used to simulate the success over devouring these four high-leveled mental powers. If it proves to be successful, I can exploit the remaining two Herrschers of this Bubble World, possibly even the Herrscher of the End—granted I have the power to defeat her.

These, along with Seele’s opportunities, showed how much fortune the world of honkai has.

“Hm…”

Kiana finally woke up.

“Good timing. We have something to do today.” 

I patted her buttocks, gesturing to move away from atop me. The Tuna, however, remained stubborn.

“I still haven’t gotten my revenge…” She murmured as she opened her eyes.

“You will never get it.”

“Let me try again..!”

*****

A week later, Shi Tian and Kiana emerged from the palace. The help of dual cultivation tricks rendered Kiana powerless, forcing her to focus on the matters at hand.

Only, she could not help but be addicted to Shi Tian’s presence. The feeling of their minds and bodies intertwining is something she never got tired of.

‘I can’t remember the sensation of cultivating normally…’

This absurd thought entered Kiana’s mind before flying away. She tightly held Shi Tian’s right arm as they stepped into the foot of the mountain. 

Seele remained asleep as she floated cross-legged mid-air.

“Another fifty two years…”

Kiana heard his muttering. Her heart turned heavy. Shi Tian noticed her changes immediately.

“Don’t worry. Our task today will help her.”

“Mn.”

A few seconds later, Veliona appeared beside the two. She did not experience any significant changes. The unchanging characteristic of a Golden Core True Lord showed itself to the trio.

“There are three things we need to watch out for…”

Four months of simulation ensured a high chance of this task’s success. 

First, Veliona is responsible for dragging out the soul stained with the Honkai’s will. She will continuously use her power over death, weakening the connection between the soul and its tainted part.

She is the only one who could utilize her Herrscher Authority. The Authorities of Shi Tian and Kiana are completely blocked off by this world.

Kiana’s role this time is to use her evolved supernatural power over the Dao of Space. She is to establish a confinement zone to ensure nothing goes wrong. She is also the main controller of the fifth grade formation.

Finally, Shi Tian is responsible for using the [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade] to the tainted part, breaking it down before leading it towards the Ten Direction Body Art’s mysterious space, renamed as “Chaos Furnace”.

In-between these steps, Shi Tian has to try refining a small portion first. Whether or not to destroy or to continue absorbing is up to its reaction.

The three went into work. Shi Tian gave the other two a set of fourth-grade talismans and fourth grade restorative pills.

The mountain where they are present is enveloped by a low fifth grade formation. It was the sole fifth grade item he got from the draw. 

With it as the main formation and over fifteen varying fourth grade sub-formations, the power it can exert reached the late Nascent Soul Realm. That was the same Nascent Soul Realm whose destructiveness covers an entire star (solar) system.

Disregarding destructiveness, the [Dharma Laws] it exudes is on-par with Shamash’s full-powered attack!

This accumulation is what gave Shi Tian the confidence to fight against this Bubble World’s Herrscher of the End.

The four slumbering bodies floated up to their side. Not once during the four months did they wake up. It is naturally resulted by the suppression of a Golden Core Realm spiritual consciousness.

Veliona looked at Shi Tian. The latter nodded at her, gesturing at the beginning of this task.

The simple swing of the scythe dragged out the tainted soul once more…

Chapter 176: The Fairy Chases The Cat

Pardofelis lived a fulfilling life during the past year.

In terms of physical improvement, she managed to get by using the martial arts taught by Shi Tian. It was a simple spiritual qi inducement to swiftly recover from fatigue. Using this recovery cheat, she can practice for ten hours without experiencing physical fatigue.

This way, she reached the level of an early Qi Refining Realm. Running as fast as cars can be done with utmost ease.

With that, the rest of her attention went to her “businesses”. Shi Tian acted as her first teacher, followed by a group of influential businessmen who taught her as per Shi Tian’s inducement.

Growing up in the Sundown Alley helped her adapt to this “battlefield”. It did not take her company long to dominate the European Hemisphere, followed by the Far East and Shenzhou. Then, her main focus went to Earth’s economic center, the Mu Continent.

Pardofelis did not forget her original intention. She used most of her proceeds to fund a charity organization responsible for housing homeless kids and orphans. She even managed to reconnect with the missing Aponia and Kalpas a month ago. They are living well off as the hospital’s director and head of security, respectively. 

The emergence of spiritual qi enhanced Aponia’s Discipline multiple times, which ended up completely healing her patients’ honkai corruption. She became famous after that.

That was also the time she knew about the strongest organization she faced.

“Fire MOTH…”

Pardofelis’ legs curled up around a bar as she hung upside-down. Sweat trickled down her skin as she maintained the strenuous physical exercise for over two hours.

She habitually bit her thumb as she thought long and hard.

“They’re totally unfair.”

If Earth’s economic battleground is akin to a chess, Fire MOTH is the player. They can overturn the board at any time. Such is the influence brought by this hidden organization.

What made her feel incredulous was the invasion they did a year ago. Shi Tian brought her along and managed to invade Fire MOTH’s headquarters at the Mu Continent without anyone perceiving them. 

Thinking of her Boss, she wondered what he’s up to now. Contrary to expectations, Shi Tian lived the shut in life. He can stay in “seclusion” for months. Fortunately, she is “lucky” every single time. Pardofelis happens to meet him outside. Her monthly visits were not in vain.

Knock-!

“Hm..?”

Pardofelis  was startled by the sudden knock on the door. She lived modestly—inside a two-floor small villa. A gate was present before someone could reach in front of the door.

‘Another intruder..?’

Rustle-!

Bam-!

She quietly landed on all fours. The force dispersion technique was reminiscent of cultivators', but much more simplified. Pardofelis could no longer mind her sports bra and tight-fitting black shorts. She hurried to get her weapons—a belt filled with dozens of silver needles.

Perhaps due to his sense of humor, Shi Tian taught her the art of acupuncture. He did not expect Pardofelis to like this technique of saving and fighting. Throwing projectiles at long range is what she prefers the most. 

Those who fight head on are too courageous in her eyes!

She hid eight needles behind her hands. She strapped the belt on her left wrist as she opened the door camera. A gorgeous pink-haired woman presented herself. Her plump figure is held by her tight-fitting combat suit. The emblem on her uniform was more than enough to make Pardofelis jump.

‘Just when I thought of them..!’

“Hello? Is someone there?”

“No, no, no.”

Pardofelis immediately went to her back door. She scaled the walls of her house easily as she stood atop the pointy iron fence with each of her feet.

She happened to see Kevin’s blue eyes…

Sou-!

Sou-!

…

Pardofelis jumped down as she threw the thin silver needles. Kevin was surprised, though he was able to react. The needles aimed at his non-lethal parts. He was able to avoid all of them.

His eyes followed the petite body of the girl that went farther and farther away. Although late, he was able to barely catch up on her back… until she began to scale a five-storey tall wall. The sneakers on her feet are a pair of spiritual artifacts created by Shi Tian himself. Its functions are centered around Pardofelis’ play-safe tendencies (i.e., escaping).

She managed to shake off Kevin’s pursuit.

The pink-haired woman soon caught on. He looked at her with slight embarrassment.

“She escaped.” He said.

“Oh.”

Her pink irises followed Pardofelis’ traces. She saw her jump from one rooftop to another. This kind of physical prowess matched Kevin’s. With the magical sneakers, it was no wonder she escaped.

‘Interesting.’

Someone else interrupted their awkward silence. Kevin’s intercomms turned on.

[“The low orbital satellite is following her figure. Her next destination seems to be…”]

A long chase began.

Every time Pardofelis felt assured, she spotted the familiar duo of Kevin and the pink-haired woman. Her entire body was covered with dirt and sweat. 

‘...No! I can’t bring trouble to Boss!’

Pardofelis is currently in the Far East. She is only a few dozen kilometers away from Shi Tian’s abode at Mount Fuji. She had thoughts of asking for his help but chose not to do so.

This chase lasted for three days before she surrendered herself. The might of technology and two humans with the same physical prowess as hers made her feel very tired.

Surprisingly, she was never brought into the prison. The amicable pink-haired woman brought her to a cafe under her dumbfounded looks.

“You… never planned to throw me in prison?”

“Ah~? Why would we do that? I can see you are a good girl.”

“...”

Pardofelis’ embarrassment exploded. Her face turned red as her gaze went down to her feet.

‘All this time…’

It was she who ran off without a reason. She assumed the worst due to her overthinking tendencies, which led to the situation now.

“...I am sorry.” 

She scratched the back of her neck as she met the pink–haired woman’s gaze. The latter seemed surprised at her lack of reaction.

“What do you want with me?” Pardofelis asked.

“We want to meet with your Boss.”

“Nya..?”

The woman, Elysia, explained everything with a light tone.

“He is the one behind the recent changes, no?”

“Recent changes… You mean, spiritual qi?”

“Spiritual… qi?”

It was Elysia’s turn to be bewildered.

“Boss’ First Wife established a formation that spans the entire world. It gave rise to spiritual qi. It’s some good stuff. I slept less by inhaling it.”

The foreign immortal cultivation broke Elysia’s current worldview.

Chapter 175: Flirting Skill Level Up

Forbidden techniques.

These are the ones considered devil-like, relying on killing and depleting one’s lifespan to achieve greater power. The techniques in my possession are all top-notch, which can virtually remove any side effect it poses.

One of my prior plans is to devour the honkai beasts’ mental power. It can be ingested into oneself through the forbidden techniques’ ways. Only, there is mental pollution caused by the honkai. Previous analysis showed an influence higher than [Divine Laws].

I was unwilling to take a huge risk and discarded this plan.

Things changed with the honkai’s fragments in this Bubble World. It did not pose the dangerous above [Divine Laws] power. It is only on the level of [Dharma Laws]. 

Just like Seele’s time loop simulations that lacked many things, this Bubble World did not fully recreate the Cocoon of Finality’s power. 

This is more viable now, more so with [Ten Direction Body Art]’s [Great Accomplishment]. The mysterious space it gave is now an invincible furnace, capable of turning everything into the purest essence suitable for cultivation.

Once I use it along with the forbidden technique, [Soul Stirring Netherworld Blade], I might be able to succeed. I will absorb the strong mental will alone and revert their soul back to normal. 

For now, it is best to simulate its process in my mind.

Sou-!

A faint breeze came from behind. The familiar sweet yet mellow scent filled my nose. A soft pair pressed on my back as her arms locked me in a hug. This change startled Veliona as she looked at us with widened eyes.

I looked behind and saw the evolved Tuna. Looking at her face can send someone in a daze. Her subconscious emission of lazy yet ethereal fairy-like temperament could not be hidden at all. Her eyelashes trembled as she lazily closed her eyes, greedily inhaling my scent.

Only I know how perverted she is.

I gave Veliona a helpless look. 

She, just like Kiana, emitted a unique temperament. Veliona feels sharp and lethal. Mixed with it is her own peerless beauty, creating a contrasting aura that captivates everyone around her.

“I will go out first.”

Veliona said with slight dissatisfaction. She did not say anything else and returned to her own abode—a low fourth grade palace I won during this year.

“I will destroy you later.”

Hearing this fairy-like woman whisper such dirty phrases made my mouth twitch. She saw this and retorted:

“What? Can’t I get some revenge? It’s always me who gets bullied!”

Thinking of the past year…

Kiana is right.

My physical body alone is at Golden Core Realm. Kiana’s rest intervals increased sharply, simply because she could not handle me before going unconscious.

The Golden Core breakthrough made her more confident in exacting her revenge.

In the end, I let her act like this. My sense of satisfaction enjoyed seeing Kiana’s domination loss every time.

Kiana acted rather tame after this. She hugged my right arm as she played around my hand. She placed her chin above my shoulder. Her soft breaths carried itself to my ear.

“...I love you.”

I was startled by her sudden words. Her voice could melt anyone, including me.

“Getting cheesy now?” I asked.

“Hm. I really do love you.”

“...”

My heart could not take so much. I lowered my head and focused more on playing with Kiana’s fingers. I know I could not hide my weakness from her. I wholeheartedly accepted it. Her gaze narrowed in satisfaction, like a cat who achieved her goal.

Like this, we flirted for quite a while…

*****

The sixth Herrscher’s reappearance shook the world. She went against four Herrschers in the span of ten minutes, defeating them all. It was yet another heart-testing trial to the Fire MOTH officers.

For once, why would the sixth Herrscher attack her kind?

Second, how strong is the sixth Herrscher to defeat four Herrschers at once?

There are way more questions than answers. It prompted the highest-level of meeting amongst Fire MOTH’s councilors.

Most of them blamed the current situation on MEI. The ones who supported her, however, expressed their unreasonableness. No matter who is sitting on the Director position, they wouldn’t be able to react properly against the now infamous sixth Herrscher.

They ended up settling on a compromise: MEI will have to work for a year without any salary. Her authority over budget allocation was temporarily reduced to five hundred million, a sharp decrease compared to her previous billions’ worth of budget allocation authority.

Nonetheless, it was a light enough punishment for her. If those die-hard and radical councilors haven't suddenly turned themseves in, if not committed suicide due to unfathomable reasons, things would have been harder for her.

“Huh. What goes around comes around.”

A woman with long green hair emphasized her sarcastic tone over MEI’s dilemma. She is one of Fire MOTH’s founders, Mobius. Ironically, her authority was suppressed severely the moment these world leaders arrived. She was relegated to MOTH’s research institute, experiencing severe budget cuts annually. MEI was partly responsible to her predicament.

“That may be the case.”

Seeing MEI’s noncommittal look, Mobius soon lost interest. She moved the topic to her agenda.

“The anti-honkai factor produced good enough results. The simulated success rate is around half.”

“...Anti-honkai factor.”

That was what they called the mysterious substance they found in the atmosphere a year ago. It is invisible from the naked eyes down to the most sophisticated instruments. Only when they used the devices to read the Sea of Quanta did they “see” the effects brought by the mysterious substance.

“Reports came in. Nobody suffered from honkai corruption within those four cities.”

“See.” 

Mobius shrugged her shoulders. She is aware of the anti-honkai factor’s absurd effects. Curing honkai corruption is but one of its shallow applications.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she pondered upon her great discovery.

The factor’s greatest strengths lay in…

Immortality.

MEI looked at the self-absorbed Mobius and decided to tell her something.

“An operation will take place tomorrow. We found traces of the sixth Herrsscher and the source of the anti-honkai factor.”

Hearing the latter part, Mobius’ interest was piqued.

“About a year ago, two intruders came to the Fire MOTH headquarters. Nobody saw them, not even me.” She paused before continuing, “It was Kevin who saw them. A girl and a man.”

MEI told her the entire story. Kevin’s apprehension, the staffs’ abnormality, and the appearance of the absurdly strong sixth Herrscher could be tied to these two.

“Only you and Eli know about this. She will come over to the girl tomorrow for a talk.”

“Then why mention this to me?”

“In case something happens to us.”

“...”

Seeing MEI’s seriousness, Mobius acknowledged it with a nod.

“If you happen to die, do not worry. I will settle your posthumous matters.”

“...”

The snake’s lethal mouth worked in full swing.

Chapter 174: Veliona Solos

A year has passed since the sixth major eruption. It was a devastating loss for Fire MOTH. They let the sixth “Herrscher” escape. They hadn’t found her until now.

Instead of being relieved, it sparked fear. 

It indicated that Herrschers are not as mindless as before. They can hide, infiltrate, and strike in the most unexpected way. Fire MOTH’s full alert lasted for an entire year.

Inevitably, it tired down their manpower. They did not produce results either. Fire MOTH’s morale is at an all-time low, with some even considering lifting the full alert status.

Fortunately, it paid off today.

“Four Herrschers.”

MEI’s eyes dimmed momentarily. Traces of fatigue could be seen on her pupils. Strangely enough, she did not bear any eye bags.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Her fingertips tapped the corner of the glass screen rhythmically. Her mind worked fast as she thought of its cause.

Ten months ago, the world experienced a ‘huge’ change. It was people growing stronger at first, but it escalated to the point that honkai corruption went out on its own.

It wasn’t an isolated case; hundreds of millions experienced it.

Ordinary humans began to gain an athlete’s strength after repeated training. Top athletes broke their previous limits one after another. This forced Fire MOTH to reveal the honkai’s existence ahead of time.

The unknown energy’s effects was even more drastic for Fire MOTH. Most of their soldiers are exposed to honkai energy, thus the frequent cases of honkai corruption. Once their honkai corruption healed, their bodies received a huge increase of physical capabilities.

MEI’s eyes lit up.

‘Does it have something to do with it?’

Her finger paused. Her thumb began squeezing the corner of the glass table tightly.

‘Kevin mentioned a mysterious visitor. Are they all connected?’

Finally, she recalled Aponia’s words:

‘It is meaningless to proceed further.’ MEI thought. ‘We need to get down to this.’

Beep-!

Before she could think further, a shocking news came from the frontline:

The sixth Herrscher has returned.

*****

Veliona flew with scattered thoughts. Her skirt clung tightly to her hip. She wore the Stygian Nymph battlesuit. The tight fitting black dress has a flower-like motif near its edges, which is complemented by a pair of red stockings. A broken chain hung closely on her neck.

‘One year. One year…’

Her thoughts turned extremely complex over the span of a year. Seele’s situation weighed heavily on her mind. She felt extremely helpless. She could not do anything to support Seele. She was left to “suffer” alone for a hundred fifty years. 

Seele had far exceeded the lifespan of an ordinary human, repeatedly living the same days. Veliona saw how she re-lived the days up until the Black Sun’s descent. 

Ultimately, she is another Seele. She can empathize more than Shi Tian. She knows a lot more about Seele's changes—on her absurd hundred-year-long attachment with Shi Tian.

He practically served as her guide over and over again, becoming the one Seele trusts the most. Her previous conviction a year ago seemed very shallow compared to what Seele has now.

It is precisely due to this attachment that Veliona viewed him even more differently. The thought of wanting to go past Seele first popped up on her mind a dozen times. Things became extremely clear once she faced her Golden Core Tribulation.

‘To be loved…’

“Fu…”

Veliona heaved a deep breath. 

She already has an answer in her heart. She will wait for Seele and…

Love him together.

Sou-!

Rustle-!

She crashed onto the city’s crossroads. The extremely strong force brought by her flight dispersed, allowing her feet to land softly on the ground. The dispersed force turned into a concentrated spiritual qi that reached the third grade.

The sight of bright purple lights intertwining with the light blue mist felt very mystical. The people around her had the leisure to stare dazedly on the skies. 

Nobody turned into a zombie. At best, they fell unconscious. Their bodies began to absorb the surrounding spiritual qi.

‘Third grade. It’s in every city. The wastelands spiked in the fourth grade…’

Veliona kept these things in mind, intending to report them back to Shi Tian later. Her spiritual consciousness scanned a range of ten thousand kilometers before locking onto two other Herrschers.

Sou-!

Her figure flashed. She instantly arrived in front of this Bubble World’s eighth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Sentience. Its host, a girl in middle school, was reflected on her pupils.

‘Her soul fragment is broken down further. A strange force instilled a thought in her…’

A huge black scythe appeared on her grasp. 

Sou-!

The eighth Herrscher could not react. Veliona did not spend a second from her appearance to her attack. Ordinary humans and Herrschers alike could not react to it.

The black scythe’s blade passed through the girl’s physical body. A purple and white soul fragment was dragged out of it.

“Hngh..!”

She used both her hands to pull the said fragment away.

However…

The strength that could shatter mountains failed to drag it out. It remained stuck—connected—to the girl’s body. The soul fragment’s level far exceeded what a Golden Core Realm could handle.

“No. This won’t work.”

Her spells are similar to Seele’s. She can use it to save or kill someone. Dragging souls away is a trivial matter for her. If she faces something she could not drag away, she could only target their physical body.

Fortunately, her attack succeeded. The Herrscher of Sentience was immobilized the moment Veliona arrived. Her body and mind lagged far behind the level of her soul, or rather, the pollution contained within her soul.

In the end, she only took ten minutes to settle the four Herrschers. Nobody became a casualty of the major honkai eruption due to the existence of spirit veins. 

Once the Herrschers disappeared, the surrounding honkai energy became out of control. This, in turn, led to them being converted by the [Two Phase Art] in each city. These four cities rose to the ranks of fourth grade spirit veins, bringing intangible benefits to its citizens.

In this manner, the realm crushing battle ended swiftly.

*****

A Golden Core True Lord settled four major eruptions in minutes…

Well, it is what it is.

Immortal cultivation’s potential finally showed itself. A year ago, I wanted to test its impact on the Earth as a whole. After all, this is a Bubble World. I can implement a lot of things I could not in real life.

Unfortunately, the denizens of this world all have fragmented souls. They do not have the qualities of an immortal cultivator. If not, my final supernatural seed, the Dao of Enlightenment, would have turned into a [Dharma Law] at minimum.

“There’s something strange in their souls.”

The four Herrschers’ bodies floated in front of us. Veliona used her scythe to drag one of their souls out.

{Trait: Soul fragment with a hint of external mental will. Estimated level: [Peak Nascent Soul].}

The truth revealed itself to my eyes. Throughout the past year, my knowledge base increased to more than forty-five thousand top-level techniques, recipes, and blueprints. It greatly improved the deduction ability of my [Encompassing Eyes]. The prototype of this appraisal skill turned up extremely well with such a knowledge base. 

I can even determine cultivation progress in percentage—a testament of how unfathomably deep my previous appraisal skill had become.

“It’s a good call to bring it here. You can’t deal with it at all.”

“I guessed it. So, can you deal with it?” 

She rolled her eyes as she asked.

“Yes.”

This kind of mental will…

It’s time to upgrade our cultivation hacks.

Chapter 173: Cooking up the Final Plan

One year of “nourishment” did not go to waste. The three hacks—honkai, [Xiutian Art], and dual cultivation’s creation qi—worked so well it shortened the required time to break through the late stage of Purple Mansion Realm to the early Golden Core Realm.

Instead of taking several years, ranging from five to twenty years, it is finished in one. [Xiutian Art] is truly a broken technique in this regard. As long as there is a bound partner in a higher realm, their practice speed will boost the others with lower realms by dozens of times.

In this case, I am pulling others up with my Golden Core Realm.

“What’s with the long look?”

“...Sigh.”

Veliona, who is beside me watching Kiana’s breakthrough, heaved a sigh. Her physical body had reached the same level as Seele’s twenty-one year old. Her improvements did not stop until she matched Seele’s current realms. She naturally reached the early Golden Core Realm after one year.

It did not slow down due to Seele’s recent developments.

My newly improved [Encompassing Eyes] gazed at the girl with long blue hair.

{Seele}

{Age: 167}

{Body: Early Golden Core (95%)}

{Qi: Middle Golden Core (1%)}

{Mind: Middle Golden Core (2%)}

Seele has officially outmatched everyone else in terms of age. After 110 years of cultivation, she crossed a minor realm. 

The effects of [Xiutian Art] on the [Great Accomplishment] mastery is a 1:1 conversion. If Seele reaches the middle stage, I will also reach the middle stage. If she progresses through the early stage by half, I will also progress in it by half.

In this way, something that will take a hundred years will be shortened to decades.

However, we are in a different time flow.

The differing time flow screwed us over. I only cultivated for one year while she did so for a hundred years. No matter how broken the [Xiutian Art] is, it can only stave off a few years to her usual cultivation time (i.e., pure cultivation and honkai tempering).

That was with me utilizing honkai tempering on body and soul, absorption of [Sun-Moon Creation Art]’s creation qi, ingesting fourth grade demon beast meat, and cooking fourth grade spiritual pills. 

It was Kiana that benefitted a lot. She closed the gap from the late to the peak stage of Purple Mansion Realm in one year.

All three of her main cultivation techniques have reached the [Great Accomplishment]. Even her main spell, [Taixu World Rendering Sutra], has reached [Great Accomplishment]. Kiana received the most out of the others purely due to dual cultivation.

My progress is not bad, either.

{Body: Middle Golden Core (1%)}

{Qi: Middle Golden Core (14%)}

{Mind: Early Golden Core (63%)}

Seele singlehandedly brought up my realms. Her “opportunity” benefitted me a lot.

My biggest benefit lies in dual cultivation.

I gained a dual cultivation trait a year ago. There is also the Dao of Yin-Yang’s enhancement towards dual cultivation. [Xiutian Art] also contained a hidden trait for me alone, further enhancing the effects of dual cultivation. Creation qi’s effects on me are enhanced several more times than Kiana’s. 

Add to that the various job specialties I gained with the resources of a year’s gacha, my qi realm became the highest out of the three.

I haven’t tested my strength in reality, but I did so in the Demon Arena. 

My physical body’s damage alone can crush mountains with ease. I can dig deep into Earth’s crust and force my way to its core.

My spiritual consciousness’ range is ten thousand kilometers, enough to envelop a quarter of Earth with ease.

These are just the base attributes. My strongest cards lie in my supernatural powers. They can finally contend with Herrschers, unlike the past when they’ll simply break down and not do anything.

“Seele’s memories… I dreamt of them.”

Her words caught my attention.

“That Black Sun… again.”

“...”

I know about the dilemma Seele faced through Veliona’s periodic memories. These memories are large, spanning a decade of Seele’s “life”.

She received the typical regressor experience. She repeatedly experienced the same three years, all of which ended up with Nihility’s influence breaking out.

There is a problem in that world, however.

The Cocoon of Finality seemed unresponsive throughout that ordeal. There is also my Void Refinement mental power into the fray. These two factors weren’t considered at all.

I can conclude that they are flawed simulations formulated by the Sea of Quanta. 

If it weren’t flawed, I would be seeing a power higher than [Divine Laws] in this Bubble World’s barrier. That’s my hunch.

“It won’t happen.” I reassured her. “There are gods outside the solar system… but that won’t happen. The most important thing now is for Seele to escape that place.”

“Can she even?”

“Trust in her.”

The Seele now is no longer the same Seele as before. It is only one year for us, but a hundred years for her. Her changes are not something even I could predict.

“Your concern now is to become stronger.”

I met her crimson red pupils.

“What would you do if Seele became stronger than you?”

“..!”

Veliona’s eyes widened. Her fingers trembled. To her who protected Seele from the very beginning, the mention of that possibility is enough to make her more motivated. Veliona is prideful. She wants to protect Seele, not the other way around. She is also very sensitive when it comes to her ‘purpose’ (i.e., protecting Seele).

Just then, I felt several major honkai eruptions occur. These are spread all over the world. There are four of them in total.

This Bubble World hasn’t experienced one after Seele’s appearance. It is also my purpose this time. I wanted to see the extent of this Bubble World’s ‘simulation’ of the real Earth.

If so…

Can I speed up the fourteenth Herrscher’s descent?

I do not have any grasp of her power. Though she is weaker than Deliverance Kevin, she is helpful enough to establish a lower limit. We can fight her now. That way, I won’t get caught off guard during the decisive battle.

My main cards are my current strength and lifespan. A Golden Core True Lord has a lifespan of ten thousand years at minimum. 

My lifespan exceeds that, sitting at thirty thousand years. I can be more willful and spend a lot. Anyways, these forbidden techniques are not-so-forbidden since there are ways to recover lost lifespan.

“I will handle it.”

Veliona spoke up. Her spiritual consciousness is the same level as Seele’s. She determined the existence of four Herrschers from the major eruption’s directions.

“Go.”

Sou-!

Her figure turned into a blur as she flew to the skies.

Chapter 172: Tuna's Surging Cultivation

“Two months…”

Bronya stared at the night sky in a daze.

After the huge events from two and a half months ago, the world returned to its peace. The calendar turned to January 2014, with Siberia’s freezing cold remaining as usual.

Bronya’s cultivation had long reached the Purple Mansion Realm. She was still struggling at the Foundation Establishment Realm two months ago.

The wave of “Tao Gifts” changed everything.

Her qi and mind are sitting in the late Purple Mansion. Her body broke through the peak stage using the Herrscher Core she inherited.

A part of the Tao Gift she sent went to her techniques. Bronya invested on her three major techniques, with her qi and mind cultivation technique reaching the [Great Accomplishment] mastery. The rest are all at [Small Accomplishment].

The special characteristic of her [Tianxing Scripture] was unlocked. She gained a special space where she can bind a star’s projection.

The more ‘stars’ she binds, the faster her cultivation speed would become. This is difficult to achieve in the world of immortal cultivation. Most, if not all natural stars, are occupied by stronger cultivators already.

Carelessly binding onto an occupied star will cause death. Stronger cultivators can kill with nothing but a thought.

This worry becomes nonexistent within this world. Bronya can keep on ‘binding’ more and more stars to her special space.

Using their power, she can comprehend star-based techniques better and increase her cultivation speed.

Her body cultivation technique worked hand-in-hand with her [Tianxing Scripture], allowing her to multiply these stars’ power to temper her body.

Add to that Shi Tian’s fraudulent [Xiutian Art], her cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. It won’t be long before she reaches the late Purple Mansion Realm.

“One year. Time…”

Bronya recalled the “morse code” she received two and a half months ago. 

Shi Tian cleverly timed the arrival of her Tao Gifts, allowing him to transmit information to Bronya.

It took an entire day of communication to tell their general situation. Seele is in trouble. They are trapped inside that Bubble World until Seele manages to resolve it. 

Most importantly…

“Golden Core…”

Shi Tian had reached the Golden Core Realm. It is precisely why the “Tao Gift” became so strong.

It wasn’t just Bronya who experienced a sharp increase of strength. All his other contracted ‘partners’ felt the same.

Finally, the final piece of news made Bronya particularly happy.

Kiana miraculously agreed to share Shi Tian with Seele. Bronya’s proposed plan turned to fruition. Being able to help made her happy.

“Sister Bronya.”

A gentle voice called out. Bronya’s pale silver pupils met with the girl’s heterochromatic eyes.

“Have you heard anything from him?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Sin Mal tried her best to hide her disappointment, yet it could not escape Bronya’s eyes. The two conversed for a while before she left.

Thinking of Shi Tian’s current situation, she gave Sin Mal a strange look.

Back then, Sin Mal wanted to earn Bronya’s attention. Nobody knows when it changed, but she began to hang out more with Shi Tian.

‘Another one…’

Bronya felt troubled as she saw Sin Mal walk away.

‘What should I do..?’

*****

“Mn…”

Looking at Kiana who greedily nibbled on my ears, I heaved a sigh. 

Her body gave up hundreds of times. She had to rest for some time to digest the Creation Qi from our dual cultivation sessions. This kind of daily streak continued for an entire year.

It sounds unimaginable, having sex for an entire year, but immortal cultivators are built different.

As I thought about it, her waist that rode atop my body began to move. Her warm insides began to scrape against my flesh rod sloppily. 

Kiana’s nibbling went to my neck. As a form of retaliation, I started playing with the breasts in front of me. My fingertips circled around her nipple, earning some soft moans on my ears. 

The superimposition of teasing and actual combat below proved to be too much for Kiana.

“Hii..!”

Her hurried breath brushed my neck. She wetted the bed for the nth time. She lazily closed her eyes, keeping her arms wrapped around my neck. Some strands of her long white hair stuck closely to her sweaty body.

A sudden urge awakened inside me.

My mouth began to mark her neck once more.

Her momentary jolt did not escape my sight.

“You’re doing it more than me…”

“It tastes good.”

I did not mind her remarks. It really tastes good.

Immortal cultivators do not sweat, though they can choose to still have this bodily function. At best, it is excreting bodily fluids filled with spiritual qi and other kinds of nutrients.

That proved to be deadly during dual cultivation sessions.

“Hn… Once I…”

Kiana could not finish her words. A major eruption occurred on her insides. My white fluids filled up her womb to the brim. Her inner folds clung tightly to my rod, squeezing out the remaining cum out of it.

“Hu…”

Like usual, we silently absorbed the creation qi. 

“Warm. It’s warm…”

Hum-!

Amidst her intoxicated state, Kiana reached the threshold for the Golden Core Realm breakthrough.

I gave her fluffy butt a slap. Her eyelids trembled as she tried to wake up, but to no avail.

I was left to frantically call her out using our connected minds. Only then did she forcibly open her eyes.

“Control the state of your breakthrough. It is like the locking method in the Foundation Establishment Realm…”

After a while, these fluctuations stopped. Kiana fell asleep once again. Her scent filled my nose. The merged spiritual consciousness allowed us to sense each other’s bodies completely. It always results in an increased sense of pleasure—a bonafide secret of dual cultivation.

Outside her forbidden hole, some white fluid flowed out. This excited my dick again as it twitched inside her pussy.

I suppressed these desires and pulled it out. It landed straight between her thighs, just right below her slit. I can see its erection from my angle.

I have to let her rest properly. It’s better to let her undergo the Golden Core breakthrough first to avoid any complications.

My remaining desires tried to tempt my mind. I ended up settling with her thighs. My waist moved slightly, pushing it back and forth. Kiana’s body seems to have memorized this move and clamped my rod between her thighs.

Another eruption showered her butt and thighs with sticky white liquid. My mind became slightly clearer after that.

Dual cultivation is a cheat… but it is very dangerous.

Kiana became very addicted to it. [Xiutian Art], [Sun-Moon Reincarnation Art], several dual cultivation auxiliary techniques, my physique being compatible with dual cultivation…

All of these turned me into a dual cultivation monster.

The thought of separating with Kiana to fix this issue did come to my mind.

But…

I don’t want to be separated from her too.

I chose to deal with dual cultivation instead of these solutions. At the very least, she reached the Golden Core Realm threshold.

That opinion changed when Kiana regained consciousness. Her eyes are still muddy. A trace of consciousness emerged out of her clear blue eyes.

“One more. A good luck charm…”

…

A dual cultivation session for a good luck charm?

I see it now.

Both of us have a problem. The clingy, greedy, and perverted Tuna fed back to my perverted side. 

We truly are a match made in heaven.

In the end, I couldn’t help but give her ten more lucky charms…

Chapter 171: Seele's Time Loop

Once the “misunderstanding” was resolved, Veliona took the initiative to apologize. I retracted my words about her. She is infinitely times better than a tsundere.

“So, did you see what’s wrong with her?”

She crossed her arms as she stared at the floating Seele. Her shoulder-length hair had grown to her waist already.

“Time dilution. Her flow of time is different from ours.”

“She is growing faster..?”

“Yes.”

The Sea of Quanta is capable of doing a lot of things. The principles regarding Time lies at the Divine Transformation Realm at minimum. Comprehending the Dao of Time in the earlier realms is also doable, but it is extremely hard to utilize. 

For example, accelerating time is way easier than reversing time. However, accelerating time tenfold, twentyfold, or even a hundredfold increases its difficulty.

The age of Seele’s soul back then was thirteen. As for her physical body, she is fifteen. 

Now, her physical body is stuck at her “most optimal” age—twenty one. 

Her soul…

“Fifty five years old…”

“Huh?”

“Seele spent an additional 42 years somewhere.”

“...”

Doing simple math, Seele’s flow of time is a hundred and fifty-five times faster than ours. Three months… 97 days had passed since she came here. That means she spent 15,035 days in total. 

She spent 501 months… or 42 years… somewhere.

{Seele}

{Body: Early Golden Core}

{Qi: Peak Purple Mansion}

{Mind: Peak Purple Mansion}

Her improvements are ‘not bad’, though it definitely does not match our usual speed. It’s more of Seele utilizing pure cultivation and honkai energy together. My [Xiutian Art] nor spiritual plants are not included.

If these things are present, she wouldn’t be stuck at the Purple Mansion Realm for 42 years.

It will be different now.

“Get ready.”

“Ah?”

“Your cultivation will increase faster.”

“..?”

I might not be able to interfere with Seele’s “trouble”, but the experience potions from [Xiutian Art] is there. It has several more useful traits that serve as a self-sufficient ‘golden finger’.

{Trait 1: Karmic establishment of spiritual plants, artifacts, and animals.}

{Trait 2: Increased efficiency of “Tao Gift” creation.}

{Trait 3: Increased efficiency of dual cultivation with selected partners.}

{Trait 4: Usage of “Tao Gift” on realm cultivation and techniques.}
…

The breakthrough to the peak of Purple Mansion and the breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm…

I released them all.

A tinge of pinkish-silver light emerged out of my body before sinking onto Seele. 

Hum-!

A second later, Seele’s realm changed.

{Seele}

{Body: Early Golden Core}

{Qi: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}

{Mind: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}

The expected tribulations occurred, but it only lasted for a second before dispersing. 

“Fu…”

I looked towards Veliona. Her physical body experienced a series of changes. From her ‘twelve year old’ self, she grew visibly until she reached her fifteen year old state.

{Veliona}

{Body: Early Qi Refining > Early Foundation Establishment}

{Qi: Early Qi Refining > Early Foundation Establishment}

{Mind: Early Qi Refining > Early Foundation Establishment}

The might of fourth grade spiritual plants and a godly auxiliary technique appeared. She became the fastest to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, lasting ten minutes in total. 

Strangely enough, her improvements fed back to the [Xiutian Art] under Seele’s section.

Is this a loophole or…

Does it work like this on twins with a special connection?

Rip-!

The moment I heard a tearing sound, I closed my eyes and took back my spiritual consciousness.

“A-a-ah…”

Wordlessly, I summoned the blanket above her.

I was so preoccupied with Seele’s matter that I forgot about this. 

“I am not looking.”

“...”

Veliona did not respond. The words she was about to speak came out as a tremble.

It looks like I need to call Pardofelis again…

*****

Twenty-first loop.

“...So you are in a time loop?”

“Hum.”

Seele’s eyes looked more tired. Yet, an unbreakable glint of light could be seen from within.

She began to explain the prepared script to Shi Tian. The latter fell silent for five minutes before letting out a sigh.

“Looks like I couldn’t resolve it either…”

His calm temperament faltered. The twenty other time loops Seele went through were unspeakable. During each time loop, Shi Tian chose not to tell her the nature of the “Black Sun”, believing he could resolve it himself.

Twenty failures.

“There are two things. The problem either lies on me… or this world you reside in.”

“..!”

The twenty-first turn Shi Tian explained his assumptions. Hearing it was nothing short of looking at the answer sheet during examination. It is precisely why Seele chose to tell him the entire story every single time she looped back.

“For example, my technique. [Xiutian Art] is supposed to give you feedback. I can recall doing so. But, it did not come to you. Another thing was the spiritual plants. You cannot gain improvement after eating them, right? If…”

‘...As expected of Brother Tian.’

Seele’s mind remained unbroken despite the forty two years’ worth of time loop. It was Shi Tian who supported her in each loop. Every time a new loop began, Seele inadvertently discovered a new thing about him. This scratched the curiosity on her heart… which led to her falling even deeper.

It was her absurdly strong feelings that anchored Seele’s state of mind. She never lost hope, for every time he was there, she could do it.

No matter how long it takes.

Just then, a sudden surge of ‘power’ interrupted her thoughts. 

‘This is Brother Tian..!’

The last time she received it was 36 years ago, roughly during her third time loop. It made her aware that Shi Tian knew of her plight—and that he is helping her somewhere.

“...It’s this world that has a problem.”

The twenty-first turn Shi Tian saw Seele’s changes. He is more than familiar with the Tao Gift’s effects.

Rumble-!

Seele’s Golden Core breakthrough had begun.

*****

Kiana went out to do her tasks. She cast [Two Phase Art] all around the world without any scruples. She knew Shi Tian wanted to test something out—something beneficial for their final showdown against the Cocoon of Finality.

When she came back, she was shocked to see another girl present. Seele’s occasional fluctuations dealt another wave of shock to her.

“Look at her soul’s age.”

Shi Tian’s voice came from behind her. Kiana could not escape the sudden hug he gave.

“Fifty five..?”

No matter how stunned the Tuna was, her processing speed and educational attainments are high enough. She realized that Seele’s turmoil came from her accelerated sense of time.

“No, that won’t work! I want to catch up too!”

Looking at Kiana’s eyes, Shi Tian knew what she wanted to do. He sensed the stinging gaze coming from Veliona, but he felt helpless.

‘I can only fault Veliona now…’

It took two steps to reach the palace’s door.

Thud-!

When it closed, Shi Tian’s lips were already sealed by Kiana’s…

*****

A/N: To avoid confusion, here is an excerpt from my notes. This compares the progress of normal cultivation versus honkai + cultivation. It doesn’t factor opportunities, techniques, and pills.

Honkai Progress v Typical Progress (High Grade Spirit Root Basis, per Minor Realm)

Purple Mansion: Decades | Centuries

Golden Core: Centuries | Millenia

Nascent Soul: Millenia | Ten Millenia

Divine Transformation: Ten Millenia | A Hundred Thousand Years

Void Refinement: A Hundred Thousand Years | Millions of Years

Chapter 170: The Cat's Devious Luck

Seele woke up in a “different” world. The trip to the Sea of Quanta did not occur. After breaking down for an entire day, Bronya found her inside the treasure chest.

She did not have any courage to face Shi Tian and Kiana, and as such, ran away from home. Her turbulent emotions led to her exploring the world.

Practicing immortal cultivation did not stop. She carried on using honkai energy to temper the soul. The faint purple light protecting her soul remained stable. The clusters of Tao Patterns formed a mystical light.

Shi Tian imparted the [Clear Apertures Manual] to everyone close to him. It is an overpowered technique capable of increasing one’s comprehension.

One year later, through repeated insistence, Seele returned to the orphanage.

She thought she could brush off the stinging feeling she felt a year ago, that she could wholeheartedly confess her love without any hard feelings.

It did not happen.

Seeing Shi Tian happy with Kiana is a pang to her heart. Part of her wants to straight up claim Shi Tian for herself. Another part of her wanted to suffer silently.

For the second time, Seele escaped from home. She did not realize the lack of [Xiutian Art]’s feedback, nor did she pay much attention to the others’ limited cultivation speed.

During the next two years, Seele stayed on a desolate island. She focused on nothing but immortal cultivation.

One day, she was called into a decisive battle. The World Serpent began its agenda to enact Project STIGMA. All the human Herrschers got trapped inside a special Bubble World. Most of the humans, save for select places, merged together into a “perfect world”.

Seele’s qi and mind cultivation rose one minor realm, from the late to the peak stage of Foundation Establishment Realm. Her body broke through the Purple Mansion Realm ahead of the two.

She became an important force for the remaining two forces left on Earth. While the others are trapped inside the Bubble World, Seele takes care of the remaining matters.

Suddenly, an “implosion” occurred.

Everything was drowned by darkness. The sudden change of events caught her off guard.

“That is…”

She flew to a high vantage point to look at what happened. The horrifying sight of a “Black Sun” engulfing Earth greeted her sight. Her chaotic mind returned to tranquility… to Nihility. 

Moments later, Seele found herself back to her starting point; to the time she woke up inside the treasure chest.

“Ah..?”

The devastating scene she witnessed came back to her mind. Worries gripped her mind.

Her friends whom she hasn’t personally met for two years…

“No!”

She disregarded her inner conflict and rushed out of the treasure chest she hid herself. 

There, she came face to face with the bewildered Bronya.

“Seele..?”

“Sister Bronya!”

Bronya felt Seele’s tight hug. It was as if they hadn’t met for a long time.

“Where’s Brother Tian?”

“..?”

Puzzlement flashed on Bronya’s eyes. She was ready to comfort Seele upon hearing what happened to her—something stated by Shi Tian himself.

Seeing her panic made Bronya rethink things.

“Subject Shi Tian went out for patrol…”

An hour later, Seele met him again.

“Seele..?”

“...Brother Tian.”

She repressed her chaotic feelings and revealed what happened. Shi Tian listened to it seriously as he fell silent.

“...You traveled back in time?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Seele caught the trace of panic in his eyes. She wanted to know what that “Black Sun” was. 

“Don’t tell it to anyone else.”

In the end, Seele let him be…

That turned out to be a disastrous choice.

She did not leave the orphanage as opposed to her “past self”. She suppressed her chaotic emotions and continued to act like usual. It took a toll on her mind, but she was able to make up for a lot of regrets.

One year later, a major event happened.

Shi Tian went missing.

That was the second time it happened. Seele got to know the truth from Kiana after a series of events. 

When he became unresponsive for one week, everyone looked out for him. During that time, Schicksal’s Overseer made a bold move.

Claiming he knows where Shi Tian went, he directly taunted Anti-Entropy. It was none other than Kiana who went there headfirst.

It turned out to be a trap. Otto forced Kiana to follow him inside the imaginary space. Bearing the Herrscher Authority of Binding, he restricted all kinds of energy. Even spiritual qi was affected to a huge extent.

In the end, Kiana blasted him out of the imaginary space, fulfilling his goal of reaching the Imaginary Tree.

That was the last thing Seele heard from Kiana. The descent of the Black Sun came prematurely, leaving Earth meaningless once again.

“No, no…”

Helplessness welled up inside her heart. Veliona noticed her abnormality and checked her out, but to no avail.

“I… I won’t let everyone die..!”

Seele’s third turn began.

That was when she noticed the lack of Shi Tian’s [Xiutian Art]. It began to weigh her mind, with more questions in sight.

“Hu..?”

Just then, the familiar sensation of [Xiutian Art]’s “Tao Gift” filled her entire being.

“What is going on..?”

*****

Golden Core Realm touches upon the higher-dimension. Souls are a part of their field. Their power is sufficient to tangibly manipulate souls.

Separating Veliona from Seele is quite difficult, though it is doable. Unlike Sirin whose soul lived separately inside the Herrscher Core, Veliona’s existence is deeply rooted to Seele’s Natural Stigma.

In short, Veliona is living inside Seele.

It took some time to complete the process. The moment her physical body appeared, I threw a huge blanket made of second grade spiritual materials.

“Ah?!”

The overused cliched trope was thus avoided.

Veliona rearranged the blanket before her head emerged from it. The red highlights on the tip of her black hair matched her crimson red pupils.

“...Thanks.”

I held my urge to laugh. It is the only way to suppress the cuteness I felt.

“What?!”

Veliona noticed this gesture and asked angrily.

“Nothing. It’s just… Have you seen the Far East’s animation?”

“Yeah? So what?”

Her answer caught me off guard.

“You are acting like a tsundere.”

“Ah..?!”

Her entire face turned beet red. It was so instantaneous it caught me off guard for the second time. Smoke seemingly came out from the top of her head.

This made me feel like I am a bully.

“I had Pardo leave some clothes here. Find something you’ll like.”

I pointed towards the stack of clothes placed neatly atop a large white cloth. That included the underwear sets that I chose not to look at.

Pardo left an hour ago after receiving my “business teachings”.

Veliona pointed to a set of clothes and dressed under the blanket. The faint outline underneath it forced me to look away.

A while later, she finished putting them on. It is a black and white cargo dress that reached below her knees.

“It fits so well…” 

Veliona cut off her words as she gave me a sharp look.

In embarrassment, she shouted:

“Did you take my measurements?!”

I facepalmed.

“Remember the time I bought Seele some dresses? She told me her size at that time. I don’t know if the underwear sets will fit…”

Pardofelis’ luck came into play.

Did she just buy a size that happened to fit Veliona..?

Chapter 169: The Other Me

I could not help but recall a strange occurrence. 

When I returned from Su’s Bubble World to the real world, the mix of honkai energy and Sea of Quanta caused chaotic reactions. It is my spiritual qi that calmed down the Sea of Quanta.

I did not mind it much back then. It is but one of the strange occurrences I faced.

Now…

The Sea of Quanta is actively helping Seele cultivate.

Spiritual qi attracted the attention of the Sea of Quanta. It remains unknown whether they have an independent will of their own—perhaps it was an instinctive action. I cannot judge given my limited knowledge.

The Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Tree extended far beyond honkai impact 3rd. Its “secrets” were not yet unveiled when I died. The furthest I saw was the existence of the Scepter System that attracted the attention of three Aeons. If the Trailblazer hadn’t entered that world, it is suggested that the Aeon War will occur.

This became my concern after the Cocon of Finality. I cannot leave Earth to be like Belobog: powerless, without status, and easily trampled with.

My gaze turned to the Sea’s influence surrounding her. 

It is the purest pile of “data”. Most of its power was dispelled under the [Two Phase Art], being considered legible to be converted. The remaining ones pulled Seele’s awareness—mind—into a special simulation. It is a simulation of her life. Seele is living it day-by-day, cultivating while she does so. Its exact details remain to be unknown.

Her rapidly ascending realms are associated with it. I could also sense the overall improvements of her techniques and heart alike.

{Qi: Early Purple Mansion > Middle Purple Mansion}

{Body: Middle Purple Mansion > Late Purple Mansion}

{Mind: Early Purple Mansion > Middle Purple Mansion}

I gave away the backlogs of experience potions two months ago. She successfully crossed the breakthrough to the Purple Mansion Realm on her own.

Just as I was about to ask Veliona for the details, I felt a tight hug from my back. A pair of softness pressed onto me.

“Fu…”

I turned my head around and saw Kiana silently inhaling. Her clear eyes began to get intoxicated.

Oh shit.

Knock-!

“Ow!”

I knocked some sense into her with a finger flick to the forehead.

“Who’s the pervert now?” I asked her.

“You…”

Kiana could not reply. She knew the answer inside her.

“Aren’t you one too?!”

“Yeah? I can control mine, unlike yours.”

Two months of “fighting” gave me a complete grasp of her character. Kiana is destined to lose verbally every single time.

“...You smell good.”

Her voice went as low as a mosquito’s. She could not help but to bury her face on my back.

“It’s better than before. Tian…”

My heart skipped a beat.

Her tempting and sincere voice almost defeated my self-control.

“Wait for a while. You can go outside and do your usual patrols…”

Under my suggestion, I managed to separate Kiana from me. She went off to her usual patrols. Guilt flashed in her eyes after not being able to help for two entire months.

Before she went away, I asked her to envelop the entire Earth with [Two Phase Art]. It will effectively prevent the minor honkai eruptions without disrupting the Proportionality Law much—if it is present in this world. 

People of this world have fragmented souls. They cannot cultivate. I also wanted to test something out… 

{“Tsk. It’s even worse than I thought.”}

A disdainful voice echoed.

“Oh, Veliona.”

{“W-what’s with that name?!”}

Oops.

That slipped out of my mouth.

I forgot “Veliona” isn’t her true name. It is a flavor text from Seele’s battlesuit. The fans liked that interpretation, which led to her being called “Veliona” despite the lack of official sources doing so.

“Well, you and Seele remind me of a mythology…”

I briefly told her about the Baltic goddesses of life and death—Saule and Veliona. She seemed caught up with the story and did not respond for a while.

{“I will keep this name. Veliona.”}

I nodded to her.

“I got something useful. You might be interested in it.” I stated. “It can restructure a complete physical body.”

{“What..?!”}

I took out a nine-petaled white lotus. It has countless golden seeds in the middle. Its existence increased the sensation of life.

{Nine Purity Celestial Pond Lotus}

Grade: Middle Fourth Grade

Traits: Recreation of a soul’s physical body; imbue the physical body with the Dao of Life; slight enhancement of spirit roots…

It is one of the five spiritual plants I got. Golden Core Realm ensures that even with the destruction of the physical body, one can still live within the Golden Core. The destroyed physical body can be recreated. With enough time, it can go back to its original realm—even break through one minor realm if it is at the early Golden Core Realm.

I haven’t figured out a lot of things yet. Seele and Veliona do not share the same soul. They are like Kiana and Sirin—two extremely identical souls.

It just so happened that there is an auxiliary technique for two identical souls. They can feedback cultivation progress to the other, something reminiscent of my [Xiutian Art]. 

If one of the twins has reached the Golden Core Realm, the other twin will also reach the Golden Core Realm rapidly.

All that’s needed for this technique is a strong “connection” between the two, nothing else. This characteristic is extremely rare between “twins”, yet it happened thrice in this world. 

Truly, what a treasure this world is.

Anyways, giving this lotus would help both Seele and Veliona.

I wouldn’t mind doing so. Kiana is progressing fast with dual cultivation. Around one year later, she can ascend to the Golden Core Realm.

If Seele’s situation continues like this, we’ll have three Golden Core Realm cultivators facing Kevin. Four if I am included.

Success is 70% guaranteed once it happens. Golden Core Realm cultivators are simply built different, more so when there are honkai energy and Sea of Quanta to further serve as hacks.

{“Are you sure..?”} She asked hesitantly.

“Yes. Do you want it or do you want it?”

{“...”}

*****

The Previous Era’s machinations gave birth to the Natural Stigma. It existed within a Stigma Space as a form of “information” to be inherited by the current humans given the requirements are met. Its nature of being stored inside the Sea of Quanta as a Stigma Space seemed contradicting, yet the Sea came to accommodate its existence. It is precisely an artificial creation that resulted in a mutation.

Quantum entanglement will take place and the stigma will attach itself to the most suitable host.

Fifty thousand years passed before it “met” Seele Volerei.

When it was partially awakened, it got to meet Seele, the designated successor to the Previous Era’s pinnacle masterpiece. It developed its identity and purpose based on Seele, taking on her form.
She watched over the scaredy-cat, coward, and incompetent girl. The will to protect her gradually arose. She wants nothing but Seele’s safety. She wanted Seele to rely on her protection, yet she also wanted Seele to grow stronger herself.

This dilemma ended that day.

A blinding light cut through her kidnappers, defeating them as fast as thunderstrikes. The boy was unnaturally kind. He did not ask anything in exchange for his help. He did not mind Seele’s initial reaction of mistaking him as the real kidnapper. It was as if he acted on his own will—with genuine intent.

Things are supposed to end there. That was until the boy arrived. 

Just as Seele wanted to know more about him, the other Seele also felt curious towards him. Everything developed up to the point where Seele fell hard for him. 

Her other self wanted to deny it. But, the memories of that day flashed. The fact he wanted to guarantee Seele’s safety aligned with the other Seele’s interest. He felt like a comrade-in-arms, one whom she can deeply trust.

She fell hard too.

All of these memories flashed in Veliona’s mind.

When she opened her eyes, the physical world greeted her sight.

Chapter 168: "Small" Surprises

Fire MOTH Headquarters, Mu Continent.

“...”

Nobody spoke a word.

The catastrophic event occurred in outer space. Most of the satellites orbiting Earth have been destroyed by the ongoing tribulation. Its range alone encompassed 2,000 kilometers at minimum. The widest of them, the thunder tribulation, spanned seven thousand kilometers.

The shock of seeing lightning occur in a vacuum space, at such a wide span at that, far exceeds that of the Herrschers' first appearance.

If it wasn’t for the fact that it took place within a vacuum space, the collateral damages would have taken down several continents, if not Earth itself. The resulting aftermath is enough to cause instability to Earth’s inner core, forming a chain reaction that will kickstart a world cataclysm.

It is a world-ending event that could wipe out most, if not all of humanity.

“T-there are zero honkai energy readings.”

These words broke the silence. Everyone solemnly went back to doing their work.

Upon numerous layers of confirmation, everyone acknowledged that finding.

Being able to cause catastrophic calamities yet not being related to the honkai…

MEI thought of countless possibilities.

‘Aponia. She is strange. Her powers too.’

‘Kalpas. He came from his home village… but there is something wrong with him.’

The two prime suspects popped up on her mind.

Finally, she recalled Kevin’s abnormal reaction that day.

‘...He knows something.’

Unknowingly, things started to head into another direction…

*****

Question: How to get out of an awkward interaction?

Pardofelis wanted to slip out many times. She saw the palace door open. A fairy-like girl came out of it. Then, she watched as the palace shrank before shooting straight into the sky.

No doubt, that would be her boss.

The only thing that bothers her was the atmosphere between the two fairy-like girls. It was as if the floating blue-haired girl wasn’t sleeping, but conversing with the white-haired girl. The two formed a heavy pressure around them before it disappeared.

That was when her danger senses shot up to the heavens.

‘They are definitely not my match!’

Stuck between tension and the willingness to wait for Shi Tian, Pardofelis sat on the corner quietly. She pretended not to see the “conflict” between the two girls.

That seemed to work as they did not pay her much attention…

Until now.

“Hello.”

“Eek..!”

Pardofelis’ entire body jumped out of surprise. She wisely suppressed her urge to run away at this instant. Besides Kiana’s terrifying strength, she looked like a beautiful girl. Her ethereal aura helped in calming the startled cat down.

“Are you in trouble?”

“Ah..? No, no!” Pardofelis shook her head. “I can learn a lot of things on my own. I am visiting my boss…”

Kiana nodded.

She heard about Pardofelis during their time together. That turned out badly as she started calling him boss too…

‘...No. Why is it always popping up?!’

The struggle to contain her freakiness troubled her again. Pardofelis watched as she went into a daze, a seemingly common trait of the immortal cultivators she met.

Kiana ended her chaotic thoughts with a sigh and a light blush.

“You can wait with me. His business will take some time.”

“Um…”

Pardofelis hesitated before deciding on an address.

“I understand, Boss’ wife.”

“..!”

*****

The tribulations are over in a blink of an eye. The first two tribulations are refined by the [Ten Directions Body Art. The flame tribulation served as nutrients to my innate spiritual flames. The final one is a “heart tribulation” that contained my previous life, showing my life now is nothing but a dream. [Sword Light Refraction] helped in this regard.

I did not leave after these were over. My fingers sank onto the inconspicuous barrier once more.

Quantum Entanglement.

It is the usage of the Sea of Quanta’s influence, bringing forth irregularity into the real world. 

Kevin viewed the Kaslana Bloodline through the Stigma Space's quantum entanglement.

Seele created “Project Bunny” using quantum entanglement too.

It is a broken plot device often called out in the game’s story. 

Facing it now…

Welp.

It is qualified to become a broken plot device.

“...Fuck.”

My initial discovery caused me to curse out loud. The Sea of Quanta’s “barrier” seemed penetrable at first. However, no matter how much “space” I traverse, I could never cross the entirety of this barrier.

It is akin to using Foundation Establishment spells against a Herrscher. The latter’s authority is far above it, thus the spells do not affect them.

The same goes for this barrier. Only a bonafide Divine Law can affect it. 

After venting my frustrations, my mind cleared up. 

We are trapped in this Bubble World for a while. Though, there is Seele. She is the center of these occurrences. Never had I expected for her emotional instability to end up like this.

Seele…

If she can resolve whatever’s holding her back, we might be able to leave. She might also be able to mimic Durandal’s encounter, having an entire Bubble World inside her.

As for placing it back into the Imaginary Tree, there is no need.

Reversing time “effortlessly” requires the Void Refinement Realm. 

If efforts are to be exerted, it can be done at the Divine Transformation Realm. 

If there is a higher-level power willing to help, even the Nascent Soul Realm will suffice.

By that time, I can “save” the people of the Previous Era. I can save each one of them at the time of their deaths to prevent any “paradoxes” from causing backlash. It will not form a new branch of the Imaginary Tree, but rather it will “take back” the deceased people of this main branch.

It is true “resurrection”, far incomparable from what Otto did. Relying on this Bubble World to pull it off will do the trick.

Sou-!

My body fell from outer space. The sharp change in temperature did not faze me nor my clothing.

Three seconds later, my feet landed softly on the mountaintop. The huge force gathered by my descent dissipated, leaving for it to be converted by the [Two Phase Art] in the vicinity.

It took another step to reappear in Seele’s vicinity. The Dao of Clouds worked instantaneously. I easily teleported with it.

All of my techniques are turned into Supernatural Powers. Using them is as natural as breathing, consuming merely a tenth of its original cost. Having eleven of them at once, in the early stage atop all, is unheard of even in the tens of thousands of knowledge I gained.

“...Huh.”

Seele looks a lot different in my eyes.

The aura that closely surrounded her was always there. 

Yet…

I only noticed it now.

Chapter 167: Golden Core Tribulation

A/N: This is the chapter I mistakenly uploaded before, lol. Anyways, this arc focuses more on prep time and character development. Expect more interactions with the Tuna and Veliona later ;)

*****

Golden Core Realm.

It is a qualitative change from the three previous major realms. The cultivators’ hard power could no longer be compared with Earth’s technology. All sorts of hit weapons, including nuclear bombs and honkai fission bombs, could be tanked by their bare bodies. Large-scale destruction could easily occur with each of their movements.

Unlike Herrschers that are glass cannons, Golden Core Realm cultivators have indestructible bodies, god-like thought speed, and extremely tough souls.

Most importantly, they are eligible to affect the higher dimensions with ease. It is why only Golden Core cultivators and above are qualified to have an honorary title.

For Golden Core Realm, it is the “True Lord” (lit. Zhenren).

‘This is the Bubble World’s boundary.’

I looked at the sea of void around me. I did not go far before bumping into the Sea of Quanta’s barrier.

My fingers touched the endless layers of high-dimensional power. It is formed via quantum entanglement.

With a slight force, my fingertips pierced straight onto it. My hand formed into a claw as it sank deeper, to no avail.

{Quantum Entanglement Barrier: Divine Law}

It is self-explanatory. The short burst of power I used with Shamash reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Breaking from the Bubble World’s insides seemed more difficult, reaching the threshold for the Divine Transformation Realm’s Divine Laws.

Dao Laws, Dharma Laws, and Divine Laws. 

These correspond to the powers of Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Divine Transformation, respectively. 

These high-dimensional powers transcend the current reality. Breaking planets and exploring star systems are nothing but superficial power. Having a higher-dimensional power matters the most.

It is why Herrschers are “hackers”. They have the physique and limitations of a human, not surpassing Foundation Establishment Realm at best. Yet, they hold powers comparable to the planet shattering Golden Core Realm.

Unlike cultivators that built their powers step by step, Herrschers skipped this grueling part by borrowing power from the Cocoon of Finality. Only, this led to their lacking comprehensive improvements.

Most likely, this is the pattern throughout the worlds held by the Imaginary Tree.

Rumble-!

I looked above. The thunder tribulation followed me to outer space. It wasn’t only that—three other tribulations are brewing up atop it.

Golden Core Realm tribulations are stronger in scale. Its power varies as the Dao Laws become disordered, forming a four-layer tribulation instead of the sole thunder tribulation. 

It consists of the four:

Nine Turn Heavenly Thunder Beasts.

Soul-Cutting Gale.

Netherworld Flame Punishment.

Heart Reflecting Curtain.

The first three are physical. They can be resisted with a lot of means. It is the fourth one that is “tricky”. It is the equivalent of Inner Demon Tribulation in some other novels. All of one’s doubts, regrets, and pent-up evil will erupt.

Only those with a “clear heart” can easily go through it. Cultivation Hearts help a lot in this regard. Fourth level cultivation hearts essentially guarantee safe passage within this tribulation.

After passing them all, the “blessing” follows.

Rumble-!

Buzz-!

The first wave of thunder tribulation struck down. The vision of a roc dove down from the skies.

Sou-!

The sound akin to a zipper rang. Void cracked with the coming of my fist.

Bam-!

The Dao of Extremity emerged from my arm. It instantly obliterated the descending purple-red thunder beast. 

Countless threads emerged out of the tribulation. Unlike before, they are tangible to my fingers.

The Dao of Extremity enhances “everything” to their limits. It is the thing that allowed for intensive body tempering. 

Once it is applied to the Dao of Causality…

Bzzt-!

BANG-!

Three different thunder beasts in the form of a huge eagle, elephant, and a turtle are ejected out of the tribulation clouds. They instantly explode, reduced to nothing after their causal lines are touched upon. It is stable alone, but if the external conditions are entangled onto it…

Their “karma” headed for self-destruction.

Their power did not come to waste. All of them are drawn inside the mysterious space offered by the [Ten Directions Body Art]. Its true uses as a “refining furnace” emerged upon reaching the [Great Accomplishment] mastery. It is no longer as limited as before.

I left them alone.

I continued to play around with these two high-end Dao Laws.

The Dao of Causality has a lot of uses—from divination, fortune telling, up to tampering with one’s karma. The last part is basically rewriting their fates, arranging variables to be less favorable to them. A luck curse of sorts.

Once the variables take place in reality, the targets are bound to suffer bad outcomes.

The Nine Turns Heavenly Thunder Tribulation ended in this manner. 

What came next is the soul cutting gale. This time, it is the Dao of Five Elements that came into play.

Instead of the usual rotation enhancement, all five Dao Laws are used at the same time. They began fusing under my eyes, turning into a ball of gray cloud. 

It is none other than [Creation Qi]. Its nature is different from the dual cultivation ones. It contains the secrets of creation itself.

Meaning…

With creation comes destruction.

Swoosh-!

Crack-!

Shatter-!

The thousand mile wide gale broke down into the purest essence. It is also stashed inside the mysterious space. I also kept it as it is along with the thunder tribulations’ power.

My depleted spiritual qi is replenished by the low sixth grade spirit vein. My recovery rate outclassed my previous selves, being able to fully recover in a minute.

It is all thanks to the [Great Accomplishment] of the [Xiutian Art].

The third tribulation came forth.

Sou-!

Pale blue flames erupted from my body. It greedily shot towards the falling crimson-purple flames.

I decided to lend it a helping hand. I used the Dao of Five Elements once more, pushing the tribulation flames towards destruction. The pale blue flames took advantage of it and devoured its essence.

The final tribulation soon came forth…

*****

The distance of five thousand kilometers did not pose a problem for a cultivator.

Kiana focused her spiritual consciousness on a straight line. Two of her three cultivation realms reached the Late Purple Mansion, with her Body going from the late stage to the peak stage.

Given enough time, there is hope for her body to reach the Golden Core Realm. Naturally, it entailed doing more dual cultivation sessions.

She recalled her hundreds of “losses” and blushed. She habitually touched her flat abdomen. Memories erupted uncontrollably, causing her to breathe heavily. Her thick thighs trembled at the thought of her “abuse”. 

{“...So you two did it?”}

“Yes.”

Kiana nodded confidently. She sighed one last time before regaining her composure. Her right hand pressed upon her breasts, feeling her heartbeat gradually calm down.

“It’s no good for kids like you.”

Her implication was clear: Kiana is still greedy for Shi Tian’s company. She may have compromised with the “sharing” part, but she will never relinquish her wants to be by his side.

It is extremely unfair to Seele, almost as if Kiana is discouraging her.

But…

{“It is of no use. Seele will push through. She will be happy with a simple kiss.”}

“How did you know?”

{“...Because I am her.”}

“...”

The tinge of guilt inside Kiana increased.

‘If it is really the only way…’

She tried to convince herself to ‘accept’ this concession wholeheartedly. Its effects remain unknown for the time being.

Being with Shi Tian…

To feel his warmth and care…

That is something Kiana is willing to fight for. The contradiction between friendship and love inside her can only be resolved by a sincere talk with Seele—something impossible for now.

“He will definitely talk with you. Say what’s truly on your mind. We will… figure this out together.”

Despite the lack of response, Kiana knew the other Seele agreed with it.

“For now, you deserve to know about his disappearance a year ago…”

Chapter 166: First-Class Dual Cultivator???

The Golden Core Realm is a step above the Purple Mansion Realm. The latter can be said to be the preparatory stage before the former. The crystal dantian is the prototype of the round Golden Core; supernatural seeds are the embryonic versions of supernatural powers.

Three steps must be done for a successful breakthrough.

First, the full integration of soul, crystal dantian, and spirit roots. This special state can be entered as soon as the Golden Core breakthrough begins.

Hum-!

A huge vacuum of spiritual qi spanning one mile appeared. Instantly, it was filled up with spiritual qi again.

Inside Shi Tian’s soul, all sorts of lights flickered. His spirit roots containing all ten elements turned into milky light that swirled to his dantian. The crystal dantian glowed with bright white light, an indicator of his very soul merging onto it.

The strange experience caused his senses to feel satisfied. No hiccups occurred throughout all this time.

It went through so easily Shi Tian had enough time to focus on his physical body’s breakthrough.

Pop-!

Crackle-!

A loud thunderous sound echoed inside the palace. Streams of spiritual qi entered his physical body as it underwent a huge change. The bright red blood became spotlessly clear for a moment. The white bones started to shed its outer layers, gradually revealing a jade-like color. The ones that cannot ‘shed’ shattered instantly, replaced by pure jade-like bones.

The same happened to his muscles. The Golden Core Realm breakthrough is a complete reconstruction of the physical body. It is the step of leaping away from mortality, becoming one step closer to fabled immortality!

His outer skin started to shed once more, turning the already flawless skin into a more perfect version. The shedded skin, blood, hair, muscle and bone fragments dissipated into nothingness under the torrent of spiritual qi.

Countless dao rhymes are swiftly integrated permanently into Shi Tian’s body, elevating his physical body into another level.

Roar-!

Screech-!

The roars of several beasts originated from his body. The traces of the meat and the Demon Core eaten by him took effect.

His closed eyes suddenly opened.

‘I haven’t gotten the final spiritual material for it…’

Shi Tian’s mind acted fast. He took out the late third grade Demon Core belonging to the dragon. It was supposed to be for his automatic cultivation, but he hasn’t found the final material.

Feeling the Heavenly Phoenix’s strong influence, he felt he might gain something by taking in this Demon Core.

Although lower-leveled, it is the only third grade monster with the True Dragon bloodline.

The bright red Demon core went straight to his throat. It instantly dissipated into a crimson red light and merged straight into his physical body.

He closed his eyes once more.

The vision of the dragon and phoenix intertwining appeared. Their strength disparity did not differ. It was precisely this harmonious aura that allowed them to fuse together.

‘The harmony of Yin and Yang..!’

Buzz-!

Swoosh-!

Blazing flames surrounded him. The temperature around the palace is comparable to Shamash’s high output. The roars and cries of a dragon and phoenix filled the palace.

The body realm’s breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm did not take long. It was the added insights to the Dao of Yin and Yang that took his attention.

Shi Tian came back to his senses.

He shockingly found that the [Sun-Moon Creation Art], which had just entered the [Great Accomplishment] mastery two months ago, is already halfway through the [Perfection] mastery.

{Body: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}

{Physical Body Evolution: Dual Cultivation Enhancement}

{Overall Evolution: True Spirit Transmission (Fragmented), Harmony of Heaven and Earth}

“...Am I born for dual cultivation?”

He had no place to cry or laugh. He peered at his dantian that now housed his soul and spirit roots. An inexplicably strong connection was formed between him and it.

The desire to completely transform emerged out of the crystal dantian. The soul felt very ‘stuffed’ inside it, to boot.

Just then, the slumbering innate spiritual flame woke up. It broke down the delicate balance Shi Tian maintained for long.

Spiritual qi surged as it fed back to his qi cultivation. The Golden Core Realm breakthrough sped up further.

Hum-!

Buzz-!

The crystal dantian became spotlessly clear. It was as if it held nothing inside—yet it did.

The second step to the Golden Core breakthrough is the purification of spiritual qi. Every cultivator absorbs spiritual qi and ‘converts’ them to something most suitable for them. The conversion takes place within the cultivators themselves—something they have to “upgrade” during the Golden Core Realm. Both the ‘conversion’ and the ‘spiritual qi’ they possess must transcend their current level.

This step, once again, was done easily by Shi Tian.

In the midst of it, he triggered his mind’s breakthrough.

His physical body triggered his brain’s advancement. It brought greater ease when it came down to his mental cultivation’s sublimation. 

Unlike the body, the mind’s changes are much more subtle. It cannot be seen by naked eyes, but for those who did, they will see an extremely strong spiritual consciousness containing Dao Laws itself.

The subsequent upgrade was akin to having clear eyesight after being blind for countless years.

Shi Tian got to witness the world’s full beauty. The dao rhymes are merely the aura emitted by Dao Laws.

Dao Laws of numerous things presented themselves in his eyes. Everything within ten thousand miles of his range could not escape his sight.

Only when he sensed the completion of spiritual qi purification did Shi Tian snap out of his daze.

{Mind: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}

“Huff…”

Seeing his body and mind step into the Golden Core Realm, Shi Tian started the third and most important step: the formation of the Golden Core.

The newly converted spiritual qi in his body is at least a dozen times stronger than his previous spiritual qi. The power contained within it is so strong it could suppress all Purple Mansion Realm cultivators.

Its existence remains temporary, however. So long as one does not step into the Golden Core Realm, this special state will end and the cultivator will face a considerable backlash.

These worries did not exist in Shi Tian.

The crystal clear dantian started to change rapidly. The strong torrent of spiritual qi swirled around the spherical dantian. Every time it did so, it transformed a part of dao rhymes into the higher level Dao Laws. 

Ninety-nine revolutions later, the crystal clear dantian was replaced with a perfectly round Golden Core. Its golden color contained hints of the Dao Laws Shi Tian had comprehended. The supernatural seeds he nurtured went into full bloom, permanently engraving their existence to the perfect golden pill.

Swoosh-!

Bam-!

The final hundredth revolution completed the Golden Core formation. It is the representation of beyond the absolute limits. 

The peerless Golden Core integrated into Shi Tian’s body, mind, and soul. The final piece to the puzzle was solved. The three aspects formed a harmonious balance and pushed each other to improve further. 

His body and mind kept on improving whilst his soul acclimates to its new container.

The Golden Core itself remains nestled to the place where his soul used to reside, existing between reality and non-reality. His soul, on the other hand, is nurtured inside the Golden Core. Once the soul is nurtured to its utmost limits, cultivators become qualified to challenge the Nascent Soul Realm.

{Qi: Peak Purple Mansion > Early Golden Core}

The improvements did not stop yet. The feedback from the innate spiritual flames kept on pouring, feeding his Early Golden Core Realm until it was halfway through the minor realm.

Just then, a loud thunderous roar forced him to open his eyes.

The pressure around him is vastly different from his prior state. Every trembling of his eyelashes, movement of fingers, and quivering of lips are followed by dao rhymes. Shi Tian’s casual actions are the equivalent of a Purple Mansion’s attack.

“That tribulation knew I would succeed…”

Despite the tribulation lacking intelligence, Shi Tian knew its premature formation was due to his exceedingly high success rate. His breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm was just like the Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Realm; a sure-win. It posed zero difficulties for him.

With a swing of his hand, the void shifted. He left the palace. It grew smaller until it went inside his planet-sized late fourth grade storage ring.

Looking at the tribulations’ formation above…

“Golden Core Realm.”

…his heart wanted to try its effects wholeheartedly.

Chapter 165: The Tuna Who Never Won

One day after Shi Tian disappeared, Pardofelis left the foot of Mount Fuji. Using a notebook he left, she let out her true business spirit. These are the questionable businessmen found by Shi Tian using spiritual consciousness. He left a little “suggestion” in their minds, subtly pushing them to support Pardofelis’ career.

Seven days later, the thief turned into a legitimate CEO. Her management skills are somewhat unskillful, but when it comes to some people sabotaging her upstart company, a phantom thief manages to steal their company secrets and jewelry.

She came back to the foot of Mount Fuji with the guidance of a paper talisman. As usual, she saw the floating blue-haired girl. Shi Tian remains nowhere to be seen.

This became a regular occurrence every time she came back.

Time flew swiftly.

Three months have passed since Pardofelis’ first visit. She no longer felt estranged from the girl with dark blue hair.

She silently waited for her Boss’ return.

Little did she know, the other Seele knew what had transpired.

{“Perverts! Oh, my goodness… Are they still going at it?!”}

She wasn’t brainless. Kiana and Shi Tian did not show up for months. The last time they showed up, they were acting intimate. 

The other Seele was joyful at first. She secretly watched the entire conversation between the two. Hearing that Seele will have a chance is the best thing she ever heard.

That was until Kiana pushed Shi Tian inside the palace. 

It is a bonafide fourth-grade artifact. It is engraved with patterns and formations that prevented any external forces from invading—including but not limited to spiritual consciousness.

That time, the other Seele’s heart sank. 

Shi Tian and Kiana are already kissing. They are also handholding, feeding each other, hugging…

There is only one step left after that:

Babymaking.

{“Ugh..! It’s really your… our fault.”}

Seele was at that age. The Internet provides ease of access when it comes to adult things. Her simple curiosity turned out to be devastating.

It was also a forbidden knowledge for the other Seele. She only had knowledge of biology, physics, honkai studies, and the likes. She knows about the art of lovemaking, but to see it in person is something else.

With Seele sleeping, she was left to suffer.

A complex feeling welled up in her heart.

{“You will definitely agree to it. No matter what. If so… Argh, it’s best not to think about it!”}

The other Seele did not have a strong heart, however.

Every time she glanced at the silent luxurious palace, all sorts of thoughts rushed to her mind. This kept on happening during the last three months—turning into an inner demon of sorts.

Just then, she was startled to see the palace’s five-meter tall gate open. Kiana came out first. Her steps seemed unsteady—even her breathing was unsteady. She reluctantly looked inside the palace before walking away.

Aside from her slight blush, it was her aura that changed the most, followed by a visible increase of her plumpness. The medium Tuna started sprinting into the medium premium Tuna.

{‘Something’s changed. Is it really…’}

To her shock, the huge palace turned palm-sized before shooting straight into the skies.

Simultaneously, dark clouds began to gather above.

{“A tribulation..?!”}

It wasn’t just her who noticed the abnormal weather. Every single weather station picked it up.

Two thousand meters…

Ten thousand meters…

One hundred thousand meters…

Soon, the small palace flew straight to outer space. A flash of light came out of it, revealing a fully-clothed man. His peerless temperament and attractive face fell nothing short of an “immortal”. His black hair was cut short once more. His deep golden eyes stared at the tribulation cloud that followed him up above.

‘I haven’t even started it yet…’

Up to now, he was still within the radius of the newly upgraded low sixth grade spirit vein. The thick spiritual qi extended as far as outer space. It allowed for the existence of heavenly tribulations.

Shi Tian went back inside the golden palace. Though this artifact fell to his full control, he could not fully exert its full potential. A late fourth grade artifact is on another level, after all.

‘Creation Qi. If I hadn’t used it to comprehend techniques…’

The Creation Qi born out of the [Sun-Moon Creation Art] could be used to improve realms and comprehend techniques alike. It can also be used to recover injuries, improve supernatural seeds, and make up for missing lifespan from forbidden techniques.

Thinking of the fight that lasted up to now, Shi Tian sighed.

‘She’s really prideful…’

Kiana thoroughly lost against him. All of her attempts to regain her face failed. She experienced domination loss over and over again. The hundreds of eruptions only served to fill her up and her cultivation realms.

Shi Tian looked at his accomplishments one last time before letting go of his impending breakthrough. The vast changes came from his techniques and supernatural seeds.

{Unparalleled Heavenly Immortal Yin-Yang Art: Small Accomplishment > Great Accomplishment}

{Ten Directions Body Art: Small Accomplishment > Great Accomplishment}

{All-Encompassing Vast Sea Heart Sutra: Great Accomplishment}

{Sun-Moon Creation Art: Great Accomplishment}

His three major techniques all reached the [Great Accomplishment] mastery. His [Ten Directions Body Art] was piled up from the huge amount of [Creation Qi] and continued bringing his limits to the extreme. 

Since the [Sun-Moon Creation Art] is at [Great Accomplishment], it becomes easier to bring techniques to the [Great Accomplishment]. 

As for the [Xiutian Yin-Yang Art], it was naturally brought by the [Great Accomplishment] of his dual cultivation art. Their natures overlapped, and as such, easily helped me comprehend [Xiutian Art].

‘Dual Cultivation is another hack…’

He felt speechless when looking at his insane progress with two months of dual cultivation. A part of it came from the [Great Accomplishment] of the [Sun-Moon Creation Art]. It was supposed to be a heavenly scripture that is difficult to learn, but he managed to reach that mastery during his first time. The acceleration effect it brought was extremely exaggerated in his current realm.

The other part came from [Xiutian Art]. It is a proper cultivation method, but its nature lies in the fusion of yin and yang. The effect formed out of these two peerless techniques created another broken cheat.

‘Supernatural seeds…’

Out of twelve supernatural seeds, eleven of them can be promoted to Supernatural Powers. The Dao of Enlightenment seed are left behind as it relies on the progress of the enlightened ones to evolve. The other eleven sprang up as a result of [Creation Qi] and the techniques’ [Great Accomplishment] mastery alike.

‘Eleven Supernatural Powers…’

If it was in the world of immortal cultivation, having eleven Supernatural Powers at the Golden Core Realm is enough to make heavens jealous.

Finally, he looked at the small stash of treasures inside his new late fourth grade storage ring. Since his realm stayed at the peak Purple Mansion Realm, his draws always ended up on the Golden Core Realm.

Fifteen fourth grade items are inside Shi Tian’s storage ring. Seven of them are spiritual plants, three of them are five-storey building sized spiritual metals, two of them are talismans, and the remaining three are artifacts—including the storage ring.

“Fu…”

Ceremoniously, he sat cross-legged midair. The spiritual qi around him was absorbed by the palace’s formation, allowing him to enjoy the low sixth grade spirit vein inside. 

The flow of spiritual qi soon turned turbulent. 

Shi Tian’s Golden Core breakthrough has begun…