Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 133 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.
Indeed, the outside world was far from peaceful.
With both Demian's Acupoints being unlocked one after the other and his Consciousness being in the midst of transformation, his demand for Water Elemental Energy had suddenly skyrocketed, something that the Peak Tier 3 Energy concentration available in the Red Tide District struggled to provide without dragging more Energy from distant places, which resulted in a considerable commotion.
Of course, considerable was relative, and, though the Energy Whirlpool went from several kilometers to a few tens of kilometers in diameter, it still only covered a tiny part of the Red Tide District.
That being said, as long as one was at the Core Formation Rank or above and was currently somewhere inside the District—each District being separated not only physically but also by a sub-Array connected to the City's Formation, it was impossible to perceive anything from other Districts unless one reached a very high level of cultivation—, the phenomenon was impossible to miss, which meant that any plan to conceal what was happening here had to be completely scrapped.
To be fair, whether it was the Sergeis or those Federation cultivators sent to protect the young man, none of them expected that Demian's situation could be hidden for long, but they also did not expect the commotion to reach that sort of scale.
Their logic was: 'one day without the enemy Powers knowing about the truth was one more day granted to the young man for increasing his cultivation.'
But now?
Unless those spies from the Frost Beast Palace and other enemy Powers were completely blind, there was no way they could have missed the phenomenon corresponding to a High Tier 3 Grade breakthrough.
From that point, a simple investigation would be enough to discover Demian's monstrous potential, thrusting the young man in front of those Forces' eyes.
'If only he had broken through at the Serene River's Mansion' was the thought shared by the Anrepov couple.
With a High Tier 4 Energy concentration, the commotion would have been much milder and thus much easier to hide, granting the young man weeks, months, or even years before his talent would inevitably be revealed to the world.
'Then again, maybe it was destined to unfold in this manner.'
Sergei contemplated, while foreseeing what would happen next.
Indeed, from that day onward, it would be a race against time for the young man, with only two choices:
Grow stronger than those wanting to smother him or die along the way.
As the saying goes: 'Unrealized potential is the same as a sand castle. It's impressive to look at, until it's washed out by a mere rising tide.'
Though Sergei felt that description a bit harsh, it was a fact that killing Demian before he grew strong enough to threaten those antagonistic Forces was the most efficient way for them to deal with the situation, much better than waiting for him to grow strong enough to pose a real threat.
However, it was not all doom and gloom for the young man as, if harnessed correctly, the pressure may actually result in his cultivation speed growing even faster, with fewer bottlenecks.
In the end, it was all a matter of who would reach their goal first, Demian or those people eyeing his life.
That thought was shared by almost all present in the shop, from the Mansion's guards to the Sergei couple and even Lydia Silvenir.
Only Bryn, Liya, and Sera were not completely clear about the threat's true extent.
Not that they were not warned by Sergei and Ling, who explained the situation to them during those last three days, or that they had never been targeted by others, like with Danilov and his goons.
However, the scales, this time, were completely different, with at least one entire Tier 5 Force specially targeting them instead of those few Foundation Building cultivators back then.
And the origin of those people's, or Demon Beasts' in this case, pursuit was their talents.
And yes, talents plural, since, for the three women, it was not his, but their lives that were threatened, and so for one simple reason: having chosen to become the young man's partners in love and war, would those enemies spare the three even if they stood aside doing nothing?
Especially with their monstrous talents—improved through the use of his Perk—bound to be revealed at some point.
Because of the scrutiny that would surely fall on Demian and themselves after the young man's breakthrough, the reveal might even happen much faster than it should have, putting them in the same position as he found himself in.
So, whether they were calculative—and they were not when it came to him—or purely selfless, they would have to face the danger together.
Thus, the three women did begin to feel the pressure mounting, though they swiftly converted it into motivation for cultivation, their goal now being to reach a level of strength high enough to be finally safe again.
If that was even possible.
After all, there were always mountains beyond mountains, though that would not deter them from trying.
Others were also feeling a similar surge of motivation for cultivation, in particular Sergei and Ling, who, despite having already reached Peak Core Formation, still felt too weak, completely incapable of protecting their protégés from the coming dangers, surely involving cultivators at the Void Seed or even higher Rank.
'I think it's best if I face my tribulation earlier instead of waiting for Ling'er to finish her Heart breakthrough. At least, with a Void Seed cultivation, the margin for error would be much larger than right now.'
Sergei decided inwardly, his firm Will pushing forward instead of letting him drown in self-blame.
Ling, however, probably due to being in the midst of her Heart cultivation breakthrough, had her Will experience some fluctuations, giving rise to a feeling of frustration.
'If only I could reach the Refining Seed Rank earlier, then it wouldn't take me long to go through my Tribulation. But instead I'm stuck, forced to wait for who knows how long. It feels so... Fucking annoying!'
Knowing that the average cultivator at Low Void Seed Rank spent hundreds, if not thousands, of years to reach the Void Seed Rank, anyone else listening to the woman's dissatisfaction would probably feel extremely infuriated.
To be fair, however, being merely in her sixties and at the Peak Core Formation, her impatience was understandable, especially knowing that the time she had spent stuck at the Peak Red Dust bottleneck was the longest since she had started cultivating.
The other criteria to attain the Void Seed Rank, with her Mid Heaven Grade talent and Heaven-Defying luck, were much easier to meet.
However, it was that damn Heart Cultivation Breakthrough that had held her back until now.
Fortunately, with her life's story being what it was, her Will was strong.
Add her amazing and supportive husband in the mix, along with manageable threats—nothing like what Demian and co. were facing—, and it was obvious why she had never lost confidence in her cultivation path.
And rightly so, since she had finally found the breakthrough point a few months ago.
Now, if it were before, she would not mind waiting the few more years needed for her to finish her breakthrough.
After all, what was several years for her when she still had more than six thousand years of lifespan left? Especially, since she would double it upon reaching the Void Seed Rank, which would obviously more than make up for the time she 'wasted'.
At most, she would practice Alchemy, striving to increase her proficiency for Low Tier 4 Pills, using her time efficiently.
However, with the danger they, or more specifically those four Mikhailovs, now faced going from 'slightly threatening' to 'incredibly perilous', and that even with her and her husband's current cultivation, her previous 'calm and collected' mood switched instantly to 'irritating restlessness'.
While Demian's circumstances had, unbeknownst to him, stirred up a myriad of different feelings from the people around him, his Soul Space was once again experiencing another round of extraordinary changes.
The mysterious Bell, floating motionless above his Consciousness Fog, released three consecutive chimes while the Voice declared dispassionately.
"From today onwards..."
Another three Essence-Cleansing chimes resounded.
"...I shall condense my Dao Seed..."
Three more chimes followed.
"...And step onto the true Path of cultivation."
At that moment, in Demian's perception, time seemed to stand still, as if the entire World was holding its breath, respectfully waiting for the mysterious Entity's following words.
Although his own body was also a victim of that phenomenon, the young man's consciousness remained able to perceive the external world.
However, when he actually released his Soul Sense outside his body, everything felt odd.
Indeed, not only were the people around him standing like lifeless statues, but the Elements he had been able to so easily perceive right before his breakthrough had completely disappeared from his senses.
Well, not exactly disappeared, as he quickly found out after a brief instant, but they seemed almost...
Petrified?
In normal times, and probably because of his limited understanding and cultivation, he had never noticed that the Elements had always been moving in a certain way, as if they were following a silent melody that no one else could hear.
Comprehending an Elemental Intent and later a Law Intent was actually the process of slowly comprehending that Universal Melody, allowing a Cultivator to wield that Melody for his/her own purpose.
Of course, the Melody was extremely complex, and the Nine Elements were merely 'one' aspect of it.
Still, by mastering just one Aspect, one could reach astonishing levels of power and length of lifespan.
Even Demian, with his shallow comprehension, could accomplish feats impossible for other cultivators who have not comprehended any Intent, which was one reason behind his extraordinary combat power.
That aside, though his First-Grade Intent was merely akin to brushing the surface, it still allowed him to perceive how lacking the Elements around were, with his perception of the Water Element being the most precise.
And indeed, the Element seemed to lack a certain quality, a certain 'Vitality', though the word may not be entirely accurate.
It was almost as if, with Time standing still, Life seemed to have vanished from the World around him.
'Could it be that without Time, Life itself can't exist...?'
Demian thought briefly, feeling as if he had touched on a Truth he was not supposed to encounter.
At least, not at his current cultivation level.
Of course, that so-called Truth was merely speculation on his part, as his current cultivation was truly too insignificant to glean deeper insights on the Time Law.
Doing so would be the same as asking a unicell organism to explain human biology: Ridiculously foolish!
In any case, would that 'understanding' serve any purpose for his cultivation path?
No one but Time could tell.
Unfortunately for him, the mysterious phenomenon of Time Stop ended quickly as the Mystic Bell floating in his Soul Space rang for the tenth and last time, blending with the Voice's last declaration.
"Let it be as I say!"
As soon as those words resounded in his Soul Space, Time instantly resumed, and with it myriad phenomena.
His white-gold Consciousness Fog started condensing into a progressively smaller sphere at a speed so quick that, if it was not for the people outside behaving normally, Demian would have almost believed that, instead of resuming its normal pace, the Time Flow had suddenly accelerated by multiple folds.
Interestingly, as his Consciousness Fog grew more similar to a seed, he sensed his mind become clearer, with many previous difficulties and incomprehension about cultivation being suddenly resolved.
It was as if a layer of fog obstructing his mind was suddenly lifted, allowing him to experience an unprecedented clarity, especially when it came to comprehending Elemental Laws.
He even had the illusion that he could bypass Intent—which was the starting point of any Law comprehension—and directly comprehend the entire Water Law.
Although Demian was not foolish enough to believe that, and instead believed that it was most likely his mind deceiving itself because of the sudden influx of 'information'.
Though the form differed, it was the same feeling he always had when he worked out at the penthouse, right after finishing a set of exercises.
If he truly believed that kind of false feeling, he would not be far from dying a stupid death.
After all, knowing your own strength was essential when confronting any opponent, and in the Cultivation World, any mistake could cost one's life.
Despite the false 'invincible' feeling, it was a fact that his mind was furiously comprehending the Water Law, inspirations appearing endlessly and pushing his Water Cycle First-Grade previously at the Entry-Level toward the Minor Achievement-level at lightning speed.
In merely a few minutes, his understanding crossed that threshold, a feat that would have taken an average Core Formation cultivator years to accomplish.
And that was for a 'normal' Intent, let alone such an all-encompassing Intent like his, one that was so close to a complete Law.
However, the insight flood was not over for the young man, though the speed of progress from the Minor Achievement level was much slower, not because those insights dropped in quality, or even in quantity, but simply because, similarly to every aspect of cultivation, the higher one went, the more difficult it was to progress, demanding much more effort and time.
Even with Time and effort, many were incapable of advancing even a centimeter forward when it came to Intent.
And that was for First Grade intent.