Mount Wutai, atop Yedou Peak.
After the two "old foxes" Chin Gentsai and Tang Fulu tacitly withdrew at light-speed under the pretexts of "finishing our chess game" and "teaching new techniques"—taking all extraneous personnel with them and creating the perfect "world for two" for Cloud and Athena—the atmosphere grew somewhat... delicate.
Athena's current mood was like a singer about to take the stage only to discover the backing track was completely wrong—nervous and awkward in equal measure.
Her pleading glances kept darting toward the two master-level figures who had already begun their "Chu-Han Contention, fight to the death" game. All she received in return were encouraging nods that seemed to say "You can do it, we believe in you."
They're totally throwing their disciple under the bus here... Athena wailed internally.
"Ahem." Cloud looked at the psychic idol before him—cheeks flushed pink, so nervous even her ahoge seemed about to stand on end—and cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. "Well then, Student Athena, let's begin today's private tutoring session."
"Um... this 'simulated date' thing... can it really help me break through my bottleneck?" Athena still couldn't quite believe in this seemingly unreliable "training method."
"Of course." Cloud's expression was perfectly matter-of-fact as he launched into his patented "completely serious bullshitting" routine.
"What does martial cultivation emphasize? Unity of body and mind! Your physical technique is already quite solid, but your heart is constrained. And dating is the optimal method for facilitating spiritual exchange between men and women."
"Through simulated dating, I can deeply understand your inner world, locate the crux of your power issues, and prescribe the proper remedy. This is called 'Psychological Counseling Martial Therapy'—I don't tell just anyone about this."
Athena listened in bewilderment. Something felt off, yet what he said sounded so reasonable.
"Then... okay." She ultimately chose to trust this man who had created countless miracles.
However, Cloud didn't actually take her shopping or to the movies. He knew that solving Athena's problem required something more "hardcore."
After she agreed to his "tutoring," Cloud didn't rush to begin.
Using the Kusanagi clan's CIA-tier intelligence network, he conducted a comprehensive background investigation on Athena Asamiya—his "future wife"—going back eighteen generations.
After all, know yourself, know your enemy, and you shall never be defeated.
The results surprised even Cloud.
[Target: Athena Asamiya]
[Bloodline Origin: Ancient Divine War—Goddess of Wisdom Athena]
[Bloodline Concentration: 0.01% (Extremely diluted, but potential for atavistic awakening exists)]
[Hidden Power: Divine Judgment (World-Ending Class). Current Status: Deep Seal, cannot be actively invoked.]
[Power Characteristics: This power is essentially the manifestation of divine authority, possessing attributes of judgment, purification, destruction, and more. Due to diluted bloodline, Host cannot perfectly control it, causing the power to manifest in violent, uncontrollable states. If it runs wild, it can destroy the world.]
"Holy crap!" Cloud sucked in a cold breath when he read the report.
"So my future wife is secretly a walking nuclear warhead?! The kind with planetary destruction capabilities!"
Now he understood why Athena's power had hit a bottleneck.
Her problem wasn't technical—it was a "permissions" issue!
She was like a three-year-old holding a nuclear launch controller.
Her body and soul simply couldn't withstand that world-ending power originating from an actual deity.
So her subconscious, to protect both herself and the world, had automatically installed a "safety lock" on that power.
This meant she could only access "civilian" functions like purification and healing. The moment she tried to invoke "military-grade" attack capabilities, she'd be forcibly "banned" by the system for "insufficient permissions."
"This is going to be tricky..." Cloud stroked his chin. "To help her break through, I need to get her admin access. But with her current configuration, forcing the permissions open would probably cause an immediate blue screen of death—taking her and the whole world down together."
"Regular physical training won't cut it." Wisdom gleamed in Cloud's eyes. "I need to use some metaphysical methods—go directly into her system backend and rewrite the code!"
He turned to the expectant young woman with an inscrutable smile.
"Athena, conventional training methods won't work for you anymore." Cloud's opening words were pure "mystical guru" material.
"Your power originates from the depths of your bloodline—a realm mortals cannot touch. To break through, we must engage in... deep spiritual communion."
"Spiritual... communion?" Athena looked confused.
"Exactly—similar to how you helped me train before, but different." Cloud nodded, then spoke words that made her heart rate spike. "I need to... enter your inner world."
"Huh?!" Athena's face instantly turned crimson. "E-Enter my inner world? How... how do you even do that?"
"Simple." Cloud extended a finger, gently touching the smooth space between Athena's brows. "Relax. Don't resist. Open your spirit completely to me."
His fingertip transmitted a warm, gentle sensation. Meanwhile, the spiritual force within him—nearly equivalent to "divine consciousness"—formed an invisible, gentle bridge that instantly connected with Athena's spiritual world.
[System Notice: Initiating spiritual link with target Athena Asamiya... Link successful!]
[Warning: Target's spiritual world contains powerful seals. Forced entry may cause spiritual damage to both parties.]
[Solution: Activate Dual Cultivation of Primordial Spirits mode. Using Host's spiritual force as primary guide to lead target's spirit body in together will minimize risk.]
"Astral Projection!"
Cloud called out in a low voice. A mysterious, ineffable force began slowly separating both their spiritual bodies from their physical forms.
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