Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 132 part 1! Hope you'll enjoy it!
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Lydia Silvenir.
That name was not particularly well-known among Bright Star City's commoners, let alone in the entire Federation.
However, lack of fame did not mean one should underestimate the female Moon Elf.
Though her Peak Third Level Void Seed cultivation could only grant her one of the lowest Peripheral Elder positions in the Heavenly Grove Conglomerate, in the Federation, where the peak of cultivation was merely the Low Sapling Stage, she could objectively be considered a part of the upper echelon.
That was especially the case in Bright Star Island, where, at least officially, only one Void Sapling Core Elder was posted as the highest defender.
Was it the truth, though? Well, no one but the higher-ups could answer that question.
In any case, the woman was a true powerhouse, and both Sergei and Ling had to be careful when dealing with her, no matter how harmless the woman looked.
Though harmless may not be the right term.
As a member of one of the numerous elven sub-species, the woman indeed possessed the usual transcendent beauty that most elves exhibited, which even Seraphine, as someone with a high-level bloodline, struggled to match, though her lower bloodline concentration and weak cultivation base might be the main reason behind her temporary 'inferiority'.
After all, it was a well-known fact that among high-level cultivators, unless they suffered some particular curses, special injuries, or practiced unorthodox cultivation techniques, every one of them would be considered highly attractive for lower-level cultivators.
It was simply because by refining one's body, the latter became a lot more harmonious than it used to be.
The cultivator's Essence also became purer through the elevation of one's Life level, thus creating a pull toward lower-level cultivators.
The downside, though, was that it could create mental barriers between two cultivators if the difference in life level was too large.
How could a Mortal dare to fall in love with a God? Of course, in that case, Will did matter, but could only take one so far.
Thinking a bit further, it was not necessarily a bad thing since the difference in power and lifespan grew larger and larger the higher one went.
Knowing that you would live twice, thrice, or even longer than your partner, would you want to invest yourself emotionally in that kind of relationship? Some would, but many would not.
Especially those extremely talented geniuses from powerful Forces who would not risk having their Will broken from losing someone they cared deeply about.
At least, not when they could choose otherwise.
In Demian's case, he had been extremely lucky to have the Soul Bond Perk, as the only one among the three Mikhailov women who could have barely followed his pace, at least below the Immortal level, would have been Brynhild.
As for Adeliya and Seraphine, the young man would have needed to constantly find ways to improve their Talents, procuring them extremely rare Resources, and even with his help, the odds of them reaching a high cultivation Rank would have been really low.
Having foreseen that problem when asked to choose his Perks, he would now, thankfully, never have to face that sort of heart-wrenching choice.
Back to Lydia Silvenir.
With a high Life level and some racial advantage, Lydia could be seen as a great beauty with her own type of charms, her long, soft white hair cascading freely on her back, its thickness not able to hide her elongated ears, their silver-blue color matching the rest of her skin.
As for her eyes, whether it was her irises or pupils, both were of the same white color as her silky hair, which, combined with her gentle smile, gave her an air of softness.
However, her outfit created a completely different feeling, giving more of an adventurous vibe.
Indeed, she wore a skin-tight black suit covering most of her body besides the extremities and the upper part of her respectably-sized bust.
She also donned a pair of thigh-high dark blue boots, a sleeveless leather jacket of the same color, its low end reaching a few centimeters above the top part of her boots, a silver belt with a Crescent moon as a belt buckle, and a full white moon as pendant, the latter nestled between the two sizable peaks her outfit 'shamelessly' emphasized.
'Dark elves are truly something else.'
Ling thought while giving the other woman's bust an appreciative glance, though a bit of envy was mixed with the appreciation.
It was not that her own babies were small by any means, but with the three Mikhailov women being so ridiculously well-endowed, it was hard not to feel, at least, a bit self-conscious.
And now, with another 'gifted' woman appearing in front of her, Ling felt even more insecure about her body.
Fortunately, it did not last long since she realized a crucial piece of information.
'Actually, that woman may be bigger than me, but the difference is way smaller than with those three. In that case, those three should be the abnormal ones, not me...'
She suddenly felt much better about herself, especially when she thought about how inconvenient fighting was with those kinds of bodily 'attributes'.
Truly, her own body was the best, something that should have been made clear to her when she saw the desire in her husband's gaze every time they chose to dual cultivate.
Truly a case of not realizing one's own prosperity.
As Ling was thinking some nonsense again, Sergei recalled the information about Lydia Silvenir.
Being a Moon Elf, a Dark Elf's sub-species, climbing the Conglomerate's ladder was relatively difficult.
After all, from the intel he had access to, those at the top should be mostly from Light Elves' sub-species, with Dark Elves assigned mostly to Mid-level and Low-level positions, which artificially limited people like Lady Silvenir from reaching higher cultivation Ranks, and thus, without sufficient strength, it was impossible for those Dark Elves to change the state of things in the Conglomerate.
As to why those at the top refused to let Dark Elves grow too strong? It could be cultural differences, nepotism, or even something else entirely.
However, Sergei did not have access to that information and honestly was not extremely interested in knowing more.
No, what he was interested in was knowing the reasons behind the 'gentle' woman's seemingly selfless act of providing a place for Demian's breakthrough.
No Dark Elf, or honestly, no cultivator would do something purely from the kindness of their Heart for someone they did not know.
Most cultivators would not even do that for someone they DID know. In any case, if she was simply trying to make a connection with a young cultivator with incredible potential, it was completely acceptable for him.
However, if she had ill intentions...
Shaking her head slightly, the gentle smile not leaving her lips, she replied.
"I told the two of you before, it's not as important as you put it. What IS important is helping the Young King break through his Heart Cultivation's bottleneck. Once he does, his Path to Immortality will be extremely smooth sailing. Helping him now, well, there's no real downside, is there? Receiving a favor for a slight effort on my part is something more than acceptable for me."
Listening to the woman's flagrant admission of selfishness, Ling's eyebrow lifted slightly while responding.
"Sounds a bit utilitarian, but at least you have the merit of being honest."
At those words, the white-haired woman hid her dainty mouth before a few giggles escaped her dark blue lips.
"That sounds a bit harsh, but I can't say you're wrong. Then again, why would I need to lie to you? The current situation is quite obvious, and trying to pass as a selfless woman would be looking down on your intelligence."
Pausing for a second, she then lowered her hand, the gentle expression turning a bit more serious as she added, while her gaze briefly flickered toward Seraphine's direction.
"That being said, there may have been one other reason behind my decision to help your successor."
She did not elaborate, but the two Peak Core Formation cultivators had caught that glance, triggering a myriad of thoughts in their minds.
Through everyone's interaction and with Fairy Dust's intelligence personnel, it was relatively easy to discover the romantic nature of Sera and Demian's relationship.
As for the blood relation between the two being a potential problem?
Well, with the young woman awakening an Elven Bloodline, she had lost her Elementary Human identity, and thus, the so-called blood relation had no more meaning.
It was the same situation for Brynhild. Adeliya, however, was not that lucky, though none of the concerned parties cared about that.
Back to Lydia Silvenir.
Looking at the group of young cultivators in front of her, Lydia regained her gentle smile and stated.
"That aside, there's no need for you two to doubt me. My only plan is to help protect the young Demian until the end of his breakthrough. Hopefully, I'm making the right bet, and this favor will be as valuable as I expect it to be in the future."
Seeing the two nodding but not letting down their guard, she felt amused, though a tinge of annoyance crept up in her Heart.
Did they really think she did not notice the young man's monstrous potential?
Why would she hurt the child?
She may be a Dark Elf, but that did not mean she would act irrationally!
Otherwise, how could she have taken that step and reached the Void Seed Rank?
'Forget it!'
She thought while shoving her frustration to the side of her mind before admitting to herself that their reaction was not groundless.
After all, they barely knew her, so why would they risk it?
Shaking her head inwardly, she declared.
"Since you two don't trust me, I'll wait outside this piece of Void. If there's any news, I'll send you a Voice Transmission."
As the last words left her lips, her figure vanished in the Void, leaving the husband and wife looking at each other with a similarly surprised expression.
["Seems like she didn't like us doubting her. But from her reaction, she's probably truly trying to protect Demian."]
Ling said hesitantly. Nodding his head, Sergei responded.
["Yes, most likely. But I'm glad she didn't insist on staying with us."]
Although he did not explain further, the raven-haired woman knew him well enough to understand that if they were to face Silvenir in battle, the odds would not have been in the couple's favor.
It was not that their Void Intent was lacking, but instead due to the sheer foundational gap between Peak Core Formation and Low First Level Void Seed, something that was normally impossible to bridge for the overwhelming majority of cultivators.
After all, the higher one went, the larger the difference between each Rank and even levels, making cross-level fights progressively harder, let alone cross-Rank fights.
Even without the difference in power between Levels or Ranks, it was a fact that the higher one reached, the higher one's talent needed to be, which meant that the difference in raw talent between high-level cultivators grew smaller and smaller until it became pretty much nonexistent.
Even for Sergei and Ling, who were both extremely talented Mid Heaven Grade talents, when it came to their combat strength, they were 'merely' able to match an average Low Void Seed Cultivator.
That meant, dealing with wastes like that Guardian Beardsley posted in Molvograd was easy for them, but when it came to talented cultivators like Lydia Silvenir, then the only result would most likely involve them being completely crushed.
One had barely reached the Void Seed Rank with a weak foundation, while the other was at the Peak Low Void Seed Level, with above-average Law and Void Intent comprehension.
Both were still at the same Major Level, but the difference between their fighting prowess was worlds apart.
But whatever the case, the situation did not devolve into the worst possibility, allowing the two some peace of mind.
Now feeling a bit more relaxed, the two started chatting with each other for a while before their Tokens notified them of a new message received, prompting them to check it immediately.
["Appropriate reinforcement has been dispatched to protect Demian Mikhailov during his breakthrough. Reinforcement will not make contact with you, Agent Rouge, and Crimson Flood until the breakthrough is finished or enemies beyond your capability to handle appear. Stand by for further instructions. Over."]
Seeing the comforting message brought a smile of relief on both of their faces, though this time, both chose to avoid discussing the news through Voice Transmission in case 'someone' was listening.
Though the chance was extremely low since to be capable of intercepting their Voice Transmission, one would need to be at least an above-average Mid Void Seed cultivator, or even a Late Void Seed one.
Would there be someone with such a cultivation intervening to stop Demian's breakthrough?