Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 140 part 1! Hope you enjoy!
This week: I've been so busy moving from my old apartment to my new one that I almost had no time to write. Fortunately I was able to finish chapter 151 so that's a relief. Aside from that, I've started writing chapter 152 which will be a R18 chapter with ALL the Mikhailovs. I won't spoil you more, but if you want to read it in advance, do check out my patre0n. The chapter should b done by the end of the week. Also, depending on how it goes, it is possible that chapter 153 will also be R18. We'll see.
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
As fifteen minutes went by, the eight people found themselves seated in the pavilion overlooking the Serene River's main branch, which, true to its name, was set in the middle of the Serene River's gentle stream, the wooden structure located right by the Mansion's Main Courtyard.
On the side, Chen Yue was standing alone, her graceful figure, highlighted by the silky green Qipao she wore, slightly bowed as she finished pouring the Spiritual Tea for everyone present.
Speaking of that particular tea.
Interestingly, Demian, whether it was in his previous life or his current one, had always been a coffee person, finding the taste of tea unappealing.
Well, the 'normal' one, in any case.
Too bitter for him.
However, since he arrived at the Serene River Mansion and tasted his Teacher's favorite Spiritual Tea, he had started to grow a taste for it, though he still added a touch of milk to sweeten the taste, and coffee was still his favorite.
While pouring a teaspoon of milk into his own cup, the young man pondered something he had suddenly realized.
'So, it's not that I didn't like tea at all, but just those types available in the supermarket... With the food itself being so low quality, it's not really surprising that the tea they sold was the same... To be honest, even coffee wasn't that great. It's just that the sugar content was enough to mask how bad it tasted.'
To be fair, comparing those to the piping hot Spiritual Tea in front of him was unfair, as even its scent had a light mind-clearing effect, let alone tasting the drink itself.
It would be like comparing a sick Mortal to a Foundation Building Cultivator.
The two were at completely different life levels.
While he was admiring the light fog forming lotus flowers above his cup, the rest of those present kept quiet, waiting for the enchanting woman seated by the General Protector's side to speak first.
The woman, however, kept observing Demian's face, as if she were trying to resolve an unexplainable mystery.
Although she did not introduce herself, everyone around the table was aware of her identity.
Even the four Mikhailovs had learned of her when they visited the Flowing Silk Square, or more specifically, the statue located in the middle of the latter.
Indeed, the woman was none other than the famous Eldoria Silk, the Silk Mermaid Empress and one of the Federation's Core Elders.
As to why she had suddenly visited them, it was also easy to guess.
If one were to ask Demian, even with his limited knowledge, he would find it strange, even worrying, if none from the Federation's higher-ups had come to visit him after the previous events.
However, what he did not know was their actual attitude toward someone like him.
Whether being a genius of his caliber was a good or bad thing was unknown.
After all, this was the Cultivation world where high-level cultivators could seize someone else's body.
Even without reaching that level, mere jealousy from someone much more powerful than he currently was could be a death sentence for him...
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario, and the likelihood of that happening, if he referred to what he had seen so far, was extremely low.
Instead, the chance of that woman's visit being a good thing for him was much more likely, but as long as she kept silent while staring insistently at him, he found it difficult to really relax.
Fortunately, it was only a few seconds later that she broke the silence, letting out a sigh while mumbling.
"The Supreme Elder was right, I really can't detect anything..."
Hearing her mutter, Mikhail coughed twice and explained.
"Despite how it looks, our visit here is to convey some great news for all of you, although the main target this time is the young Demian here."
'As expected!'
Demian exclaimed inwardly, with most of the tension leaving his body, although he was still waiting for the details to completely let go of his worries.
Clicking her tongue in annoyance at Mikhail's interruption and subtle jab at her actions, she then threw him a glare, prompting him to send her a Voice Transmission to explain with amusement.
["You were frightening the lad, Eldoria. It's better if you explain why we're here and keep your curiosity in check. We don't want to frighten him, do we?"]
Despite knowing he was right, the woman still felt an intense desire to pry into the secrets of the young man seated in front of her.
To be more specific, she wanted to know more about the Immortal Seed talent he had displayed earlier during his breakthrough.
That was why she had been observing his body for a few moments, trying to find what made it so special.
However, besides being a bit more handsome, she could only sense some Peak Heaven-Grade fluctuations, but nothing remotely akin to the word 'Immortal'.
Of course, that sort of talent was already at the top in a Tier 5 power like their Federation and would immediately be designated as a key target for development, just like the young woman with the Giant Bloodline on Eldoria's left.
However, compared to an Immortal Seed, it was the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary, a 'Heaven and Earth difference'.
Thus, she was expecting something more from him.
Something...
Immortal?
Letting out an inward sigh, she pondered to herself.
'Forget it! Even the Supreme Elder can't detect the Immortal Seed aura unless it's a Rank breakthrough... Well, it doesn't really matter since, with that earlier Lotus phenomenon, he can't be anything but an Immortal Seed. No need to verify again.'
Out loud, Eldoria said, the intense curiosity on her face shifting to gentleness, while her gaze was mostly focused on Demian's face.
"I apologize if my actions seemed rude. I was simply curious and didn't mean anything else by it. That aside, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Eldoria Silk, one of the Federation's several Void Sapling Core Elders."
Pausing for a second, a few giggles escaped her lips before she added.
"But there's no need to be too formal with me. Just call me Aunt Eldoria, and it'll be enough. Hearing talented juniors such as all of you call me Aunt, especially you, Demian, would make me feel honored."
Indeed, once you became powerful or rich enough, everyone around you became your friend.
In his case, his...
'Immortal Seed Grade' talent seemed to be so extraordinary that even those Void Sapling cultivators were alarmed, trying to foster closer relationships.
It had to be known that to reach Tier 5 Level, one had to have unlocked seven Main Energy Acupoints.
However, that was merely the theoretical minimum.
In reality, the overwhelming majority had unlocked eight or nine of them, and most of those with only seven unlocked were stuck at the Peak Void Seed Rank.
It was the same thing for the Transcendent Tribulation Rank, where Eight Main Acupoints should have been the lowest criterion to achieve it.
Instead, anyone with fewer than nine Acupoints unlocked could forget about advancing to Tier 6.
And that was the bare minimum, as many who possessed that level of qualification either end up stuck at the Peak Tier 5 bottleneck or perish during the Tribulation.
Thus, once one attained a certain level of cultivation, the so-called geniuses became merely ordinary.
Only if one's talent crossed a certain threshold, like Demian's Immortal Seed Grade talent, would those Tier 5 Emperors be truly interested in you, to the point of trying to foster a close relationship.
Interest drove interest.
It was how it worked, no matter how people wanted to deny it.
If one had no value, then others would not value them.
Of course, value was a subjective notion.
Wealth, power, beauty, externally, and kindness, empathy, and love internally.
The two were not exclusive, obviously, and could even switch from one to the other over time.
When it came to the powerful woman sipping her tea in front of him, Demian was aware that she was only interested in his talent.
His kindness?
Empathy?
Love?
Why would she care about that?
Seeing her attitude, Demian wondered how she would react if she knew that his talent had grown from Low Earth-Grade to that 'Immortal Seed-Grade' in merely a few months, and might even experience some further improvements as time passed by.
However, that was a question that was destined to remain unanswered for a long time, as it involved secrets he would never share with strangers.
Even his Teacher and Aunt Ling, who were much closer to the Mikhailov family of four, were not aware of his Perks' exact capabilities.
The only thing they knew was some effects of his Physiology Perk.
After all, it was not something that could really be hidden, unlike his Soul Shield and a part of his Soul Bond that he passed as a Dual Cultivation talent, which was, strictly speaking, not entirely wrong.
Well, it was not entirely right, either.