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.
Hearing those words, Mikhail and Eldoria chuckled for a few moments before the latter explained.
"Actually, the danger you're in is not as great as you think. Will you be targeted? Without a doubt! But because of the 'Fate Backlash' due to your Immortal Seed's status, the Emperor-Grade Demon Beasts will most likely do their best to avoid having any entanglement with you. At most, they will order those King-Grade Demon Beasts to attack you once you leave the Island, adding a layer between themselves and that mysterious backlash. Even among those King-Grade, there's a high chance that, as long as your cultivation is still low, they will merely assign Lord-Grade Demon Beasts to assassinate you and will not involve themselves."
Feeling a bit confused, Demian cocked his brow and retorted.
"That's...Extremely stupid. Wouldn't the smartest thing to do be to use the strongest power to eliminate me as quickly as possible? I mean, once I die, whatever backlash happening would certainly be low, right?"
With a playful grin on her face, Eldoria replied.
"Maybe, maybe not. But anyone involved would certainly suffer. Fate is extremely serious, and I can't claim to understand much, but put aside the mystical aspect of Fate and think about it this way: Is it possible that someone of your importance would be left without the protection of a high-level Elder? No matter how many King-Grade Beasts are present, in front of a Void Sapling cultivator, they'd be killed with a thought. As for asking one, or several Emperor-Grade to attack you? What if there's more than one Core Elder protecting you? Wouldn't they take the risk of being surrounded and killed? Even if they survived with severe injuries, it wouldn't be worth it in their mind."
Pausing for a second, she added, her tone disdainful.
"Keep in mind that those disgusting Beasts aren't the same as us in the Federation. Asking them to sacrifice themselves for the greater good? Utterly impossible! The word 'Demon' in Demon Beasts is there for a reason. To be honest, following the Frost Beast Palace's orders is merely because the Whale Emperor is strong enough to suppress everyone else. That and the benefits they can acquire are much greater than if they stayed alone. Even so, many of those Demon Beasts died, not by our hands, but by others from the Palace, either to gain resources or eliminate a potential rival."
Shaking his head, Mikhail interjected.
"Those Beasts are even more selfish than you can imagine. It's fortunate, though. If they were united, our Federation might have long been destroyed, instead of now, where we more than match the enemy's overall combat strength."
With a slight nod, Eldoria said, her gaze directed at Demian's face.
"Now you understand why they would never risk attacking you unless their own life-and-death were directly on the line. That's why, although the danger you'll face will still be high, it's far from being insurmountable. And, who knows? The pressure may even accelerate your cultivation further."
Hearing their explanation, the blue-eyed man had a feeling of surrealism.
How could those Beasts be so...
Dumb?
If they all united to kill Demian, no matter how many protectors he had, there's no way he would survive.
Instead, they were literally giving him enough time to grow...
Then again, when he recalled how people acted in his previous lives, falling so many times in the same traps, repeating the same mistakes, no matter how many times they experienced the same situation, those Demon Beasts' actions suddenly felt reasonable.
Going further, wasn't it linked to that so-called Immortal Fate?
Fate playing on Mortal's flaws to achieve its goal.
Then, was it Fate influencing others' actions, or was it simply others acting in a certain way, following some unknown established rules, and Fate was simply predicting the result while needing only to know the starting point?
In a way, it was similar to the unsolvable question of the chicken and the egg.
Which one came first?
Or, if one pushed it further, was there truly a first and then a second, a beginning and an end?
Fate, Mortal's minds, Free Will...
With a myriad of confusing thoughts surfacing in his mind, Demian commented.
"I guess it makes sense when you put it like that."
Halting his words for a second, he then added.
"So, as long as I'm careful, I should be fine, right?"
Mikhail and Eldoria immediately nodded, and the former said.
"There's nothing certain in this World, so you can't be too ostentatious. But, yes. You should be fine."
With his worries alleviated, the tension in Demian's body swiftly disappeared, prompting him to ask something else.
"Since I'm safe, what should I do? I mean, like I said before, I only started cultivating recently and don't know much about this World. So, do you have any advice as to what path I should take?"
With the first part of their 'mission' done, the two high-level cultivators glanced at each other before Eldoria explained.
"That's the second reason behind our visit today."
Instead of only looking toward Demian, this time she also glanced at the other three Mikhailov women while saying.
"Since the three of you are so close to Demian, you'll certainly have to bear a great amount of pressure. After all, unlike him, none of you can compare talent-wise. Especially you, young Miss."
Her eyes fell on Adeliya, whose expression immediately turned annoyed.
Before she could reply, however, Eldoria shook her head and continued.
"I'm not telling you this to demean you, but to make you realize that, by being Demian's woman, you will certainly become his weakness, no matter how great you see yourself."
With a gesture toward Brynhild, Eldoria added.
"Even you, with your Nine Main Acupoints unlocked, may become a burden for him at one point. It's just reality. Demian, with his Immortal Seed Grade talent, possesses unparalleled cultivation speed, combat strength, and luck. What it means is that every person beside him is destined to be left behind, and the lower the talent, the larger the gap."
Although her tone was matter-of-fact, the words were extremely hurtful for the three women, especially Adeliya, who had been singled out by the female Empress.
Yes, she knew that once they bonded, her talent was bound to experience a colossal surge, evidenced by Sera's circumstances those last few months.
It may even enable her to match the man's ridiculously fast cultivation speed.
Still, that was for her future self.
In the meantime, Liya did feel conflicted, even feeling somewhat inferior to her daughters.
After all, one was at the peak of the Mortal World in terms of cultivation talent—Immortal Seed not included for obvious reasons—, and the other was bonded to Demian, which meant that her talent would probably soon equal her older sister.
For others, the difference in talent might be a bit abstract, but for her, it was an everyday situation she had to face.
After all, in a single month, the growing gap between her own cultivation level and her daughters' was painfully obvious to her, with the two sisters breaking through bottlenecks as if they were nonexistent, unlike her, who had been stuck at the Seventh Level barrier for some time, incapable of reaching the High Chi Gathering Level until now.
Sure, the bottleneck would not stop her for too long, but while she wasted that time, the other two would continue to improve, turning the gap into a chasm impossible to cross, to the point that she would not even be able to see their backs anymore.
And that was merely speaking about the cultivation level.
When it came to combat power, the difference was even more obvious, with either of them effortlessly crushing her even when they restrained their cultivation to one or two levels below hers.
To be honest, it was more of a teaching session from them to her than an equal sparring session, which felt so frustrating for Adeliya, who had always considered herself a strong woman.
Well, against the average cultivator, she would be considered talented, but compared to those three freaks in her family? If putting it nicely, Liya could be called ordinary.
If putting it rudely, she would be called trash.
Knowing that, when she heard the woman whose power she could have never even hoped to brush against without using Demian's reality-breaking Perks, she did feel slightly upset.
Was that really surprising?
'Thank God, Dem has that Bond power, otherwise, I don't know how I'd have dealt with the situation...'
She exclaimed inwardly, a shiver of dread coursing her body as she imagined herself having to grow old while watching Demian and her daughters' appearance not changing at all.
Despite feeling annoyed, Liya was mature enough to keep those emotions to herself, and Eldoria's next words did help.
"So, since the three of you won't be able to keep up with his cultivation speed, my advice is for each of you to specialize in a different profession, one that can be useful for the four of you. Even if it's merely to earn some money, at least you won't feel too left out."
Pausing for a second, she then added.
"Actually, talent isn't something unalterable. There are many Heaven and Earth treasures that can be used to improve it. The only downside is that the higher your talent, the harder it becomes to improve it and the rarer the treasures you need to do so."
With a thoughtful look on her face, she added.
"Well, treasures aren't the only things that can improve talent. Life and death situations can do the same, although it's not as safe as the former, for obvious reasons."
Gesturing with her chin toward Sergei and Ling's direction, she continued.
"The young Anrepov and little Ling here are the best examples of the second method being used successfully."
Her action prompted the four Mikahilovs' gazes to fall on the couple.
While Ling's face sported an expression mixed with pride and apprehension, Sergei explained, his own expression being a picture of peaceful confidence.
"The two of us had Low Heaven-Grade talent initially. The problem is that, to unlock a Main Acupoint after the sixth one, you need to find some extremely rare resources, impossible to find in the Federation. It was even worse for us since our goal was to unlock the Eighth one. So, we had to find an alternative."
As an old memory resurfaced in his mind, his brow furrowed for a brief moment before his face regained his previous serenity as he continued.
"Our method was to consume some special Heaven and Earth treasure during our Peak Foundation Building Tribulation as conduits to attract the Tribulation in our chosen Main Acupoint system. It was a clear success, and our talent was upgraded to the Mid-Heaven-Grade."
Seeing him stop talking, Ling interjected, her tone extremely solemn as she looked toward the four younger cultivators.
"What Sergei didn't mention was how we ended up even more injured after our Tribulation than Xiao Jin was a few days ago. [A/N: Jin=Metal/Gold] If it wasn't for the General using high-level Healing Pills, we'd have most likely ended up crippled, or even dead."
Shaking her head, she added.
"That's why it's not a method you should use unless you have no other choice. After all, Tribulations are already hard to cross without trying to harness them to improve your talent."
Of course, Demian may have been able to use that method with his extraordinary Healing Factor, but since he had already unlocked all his Acupoint system, it became a moot point.
With a nod of her head, Eldoria confirmed.
"I agree with little Ling. But that's the most extreme way to use that method. Most cultivators choose to go to the battlefield with the Frost Beast Palace instead. Honestly, the death rate is still extremely high, at least for those who pushed themselves to break through during battles, but it's still much safer than using the Tribulation directly. Of course, it's also much less efficient. After all, as long as you don't die or end up crippled, you're bound to succeed, unlike if you participate in the border's battles."
Pausing for a second, she then remarked.
"But I'm digressing. What I'm truly here for is to give you an offer, a path for you that's guaranteed to increase your cultivation speed beyond what it already is."
Seeing the intrigued look on the four Mikhailovs' faces, Eldoria grinned while uttering the next few words.
"The Path in question is very simple: Join the Extinguishing Hall."