Yasenia moved to refine all the treasures. After all, treasures of this rank needed to be branded to her so that she could bring out the most potential out of them. The cooking tools and the transmutation cauldron were relatively straightforward. She poured her energy into them, and once she was finished, the treasures were linked to her.
To do such a thing, Yasenia took a room in the Lan Family Clan for two weeks. "Only the Ancient Flag is left."
Yasenia glanced at the large flag with curious eyes. The dimensions were not fixed, as Lan Shuyao told her that this treasure could grow and shrink in size to a certain degree. "Well, come here. Time to refine you."
Reaching out with her hand, the flag stirred and flew toward her as if she had a magnet that attracted it. It took a moment for the flagpole to fly and land onto Yasenia's hand.
Firmly grasping the pole, Yasenia poured her energy into it, wanting the treasure to surrender to her. Any treasure of the Ancient Rank and above, once a certain amount of time had passed, would awaken spiritual consciousness. The levels of awakening varied greatly, with awakening at Dramel's or Draheart's level being near the best they could awaken.
Anything beyond what Draheart or Dramel awakened could be considered a new living being, and they would even gain a certain degree of autonomy. "[Everlasting War Calamity Battle Flag], surrender to me."
BOOM!
Yasenia's aura engulfed the room, making the air condense and tremble around her. However, things didn't go as fluidly as always. When Yasenia attempted to subjugate the flag, the treasure reacted adversely and violently.
"KILL!"
A single word full of murderous intent seemed to materialize in front of Yasenia, striking her spiritual consciousness like a steel hammer.
BANG!
Yasenia's gaze flashed white for a second, her face twisting as the flag's murderous intent invaded her body and flooded it with bloodthirstiness. However, before the flag took control, Yasenia's unbending willpower struck back, taking back control. "Refine!"
With a low bellow, the killing intent engulfing the room was swallowed by Yasenia's [Tyrant Warlord Intent Domain]. However, the flag was not an ordinary treasure.
"SLAUGHTER!"
Another aura burst surged from the flag, making Yasenia's face change from murderous to determined constantly. It was extremely odd, as if someone was flipping a switch on and off.
"I said… Refine!"
Her Progenitor Queen's Immortal-Level Dragon Blood exploded outward, the sheer pressure emanating from her body being enough to explode mortal cultivators like balloons touching a needle. Together with her Intent Domain, the flag's resistance was diminished.
But the flag was an item that had been bathed in the resentment of millions of beings for millions of years. Conquering such a thing was far from being easy or swift.
"CARNAGE!"
The voice was hoarse and demonic, as if a person was choking on blood, yet the madness of the battlefield had consumed it and pushed it to scream wrathfully.
No one had expected that the room where Yasenia was would become the center of a commotion of this degree. Cai Xue, standing right outside the room, was frowning deeply, nausea enveloping her as the scent of blood, death, and decay drilled into her brain.
Tatyana appeared by her side, her hand waving lightly to encase the entire location and block any energy from leaking out.
"That flag is truly exceptional."
Lan Shuyao's voice came from behind Tatyana. Over the last two weeks, she had been receiving medical attention from the clan, and her health was improving by the day. By now, she had recovered about 1% of her original strength.
While it didn't sound like much, a single percent of her original strength was enough to stomp a low-level Transcendence Cultivator to death.
Tatyana hummed at her comment. "This is perhaps the first time Yasenia has come around a treasure as antagonistic as this one. Still, it is a good thing."
Cai Xue frowned, her face carrying a trace of worry. "Lady Tatyana, remember that Young Miss is pregnant. Won't this affect the child?"
"Not at all." Tatyana smiled. "You underestimate how protected the little darlings are inside our bellies when pregnant."
Cai Xue nodded, more relaxed, even when that trace of worry didn't disappear.
Lan Shuyao commented with a sigh. "No wonder the Ancestor never gave out this treasure to our talented disciples. I knew that no one without a War-related Intent Domain could touch it, but I didn't know why. Now, seeing this, it's easy to know. Anyone who doesn't have an extremely powerful mind and an intent related to War will be consumed by the flag."
Tatyana nodded, agreeing with her. "I think that, usually, only Ninth or Half-Step Transcendent Cultivators should have a chance at making this flag submit. Its murderous intent is something you don't often see. That ancient war must've been quite brutal."
Lan Shuyao was surprised at her analysis. A frown appeared on her forehead. "If that's your estimate, aren't we leaving Yasenia to die by not intervening? The child is just at the Second Level."
Tatyana's lips arched. "While her combat capabilities are far from those levels, her foundation and mental strength are unparalleled."
Everyone was doubtful, but the result came around three weeks later. From the center of the room, a brutal dragon roar exploded.
"ROAR!"
Yasenia's aura ballooned, increasing in density, quantity, and quality. In just a single second, it felt as if the cosmos itself suddenly engulfed the entire area.
Two draconic golden eyes looked down from the skies, their gaze indifferent to all life. With a growl accompanying her words, Yasenia's ethereal voice echoed inside this patch of land.
"Your war is over! Now, submit to me and help me with mine! Become part of MY war, and flutter in the wind for those I lead! [Tyrant Warlord Intent Domain… Level 3]!SUBMIT!"
BOOM!
The echoes of war sang around them, millions of weapons clashing with each other, while the screams of the battlefield drowned out any desperate plea of mercy.
Yet, in this imaginary war, one being reigned supreme, overlooking the battlefield from above.
Her dress fluttered, and in her hand, a gargantuan flag moved with the wind. In the flag, the ancient characters spelling "Endless War" shone with radiance comparable to that of the Sun.
Together with that scene, all auras were devoured and disappeared, returning the cultivation room and its surroundings to their previous calm.
Lan Shuyao's mouth opened lightly, her eyes showing disbelief. "Did she say… Level 3?"
Tatyana grinned widely. "That she did. Let's not disturb her for now; she needs to assimilate her gains."
Inside the room, Yasenia sat cross-legged, her hand on the base of the black flagpole. Above her head, the large blue flag with the ancient characters fluttered even without wind, emitting a terrifying, murderous intent.
Both their auras were merging, the flag becoming part of Yasenia's Dantian while Yasenia absorbed the experiences of the war two million years ago.
'I can only absorb a small trace of it. However, with this, I will only need time to digest the gains and perhaps push my [Tyrant Warlord Intent Domain] to the peak of the third level. As I become stronger and link deeper with the flag, understanding more of the war and pushing my Intent Domain will be quite easy.'
Still, Yasenia needed to be careful. The War Intent she was developing needed to be hers, not something that she learned from others. If she relied too much on the aura of the flag, she might get stuck in the near future and have her pure Intent be mixed with some impure concepts.
When that happened, one would need to take a few steps back, to the point that they might need to lower their Intent Domain Level.
'To avoid that, I need not to be greedy. The boost I got already is good enough. Only with self-realizations will I be able to push through into the Fourth Intent Domain Level without making my understanding unsuitable.'
It was really tempting to use the flag, though. After all, she could guess that just using the war concepts etched on it, her Intent Domain Level might reach Level 5 or 6. Yet, she knew better than to take shortcuts.
Yasenia opened her eyes, revealing her red irises, stained by the murderous intent and war she experienced. However, as she took calm breaths, that color faded slowly, her usual warm golden eyes revealing beneath.
One week later, Yasenia stepped out of the room with a satisfied smile on her lips. Cai Xue and the others were waiting there, all of them giving her different looks. "I am done. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Tatyana chuckled. "How was it? Is the flag useful?"
Yasenia nodded happily. "Very useful. I thought I would not be able to use it unless I was fighting a war. However, that's not the case at all. The flag can be used as a weapon."
"Oh?" Tatyana raised her eyebrow. "That's… interesting. Still, I've never really taught you to fight with flags. They are not as effective as other weapons, after all."
Yasenia nodded. "Do not worry, it's not for melee combat. Draheart suits me much better, even if the flag is stronger now." Her eyes were full of interest. "I will need to try its effects during that tournament."
Tatyana squinted and sighed. "Are you going to keep its effects a secret until the tournament to get back at me for not revealing my race to you?"
Yasenia blinked twice and smiled brightly. "Yes. Bear with it~."
"Petty."
"Pot calling kettle black is quite interesting to see."
Yasenia and Tatyana glared at each other for a second before snorting. Cai Xue looked back and forth for a moment, not worrying in the slightest. 'Can they even bear to be at odds with each other?'
And as she expected, Yasenia and Tatyana approached each other and exchanged a kiss. Cai Xue deadpanned. 'Wow, it lasted three and a half seconds. Impressive.'
After the kiss, Tatyana smiled and said. "There are a few people at the entrance of the Lan Family waiting for you. You might get to use that flag sooner than expected."
Yasenia shook her head. "I won't even if it devolves into a fight."
Tatyana tapped her chin and nodded. "You want to keep it as an ace, in case some powerful cultivator appears to face you?"
"Yeah. Having hidden means is always a plus. That flag's attack power is tremendous, after all."
Tatyana smiled. "As an offensive Ancient Ranked treasure, its power is naturally tremendous. You can probably only bring out a tiny speck of what it can do, though. Like trying to use the water of a lake with a ladle."
"I guess you are right. Anyway, let's go visit whoever is looking for me. I am quite curious."
Lan Shuyao and Cai Xue shook their heads and followed behind the pair of mother and daughter.