Flying over the plain toward a major city—guaranteed to have a High-level wind mage—I spotted four Warlord-level Wind Dragon Horses galloping full tilt to the battle site. With one being a Mid Warlord, they had decent odds of thrashing the Deadly Wind Blade, even with its great resistance to their attack element.
Still, it'd probably flee and drag the first Warlord along—the one already on its last breath when I left. Scary creature, that spider. If I didn't have my summon slots fully occupied by elementals, I'd consider raising one of its kind. But no such luck.
The trip to the city under "Sevenfold Time Acceleration" wasn't short, but I made it in half an hour. This was Puhoy City, now wiped off the map—not too big, not too small. It was run by a council of clans, and the strongest mage at the time was Za Vali—a third-step High-level wind mage already with a Spiritual Seed, though one of the weakest at x5 boost.
I know this only because the city gets razed under him in five years. But I won't use him for Seed absorption. Extracting a fused Seed is a hassle.
I'll use his nephew Za Tonu, who should be at the early High level now and thus Seed-less. Though my gut says it'll still be tricky. Good intuition? Or did my time element grant prophetic sight?
Hiding with Shadow Weaver armor and further muffling my presence with space and spirit elements, I found my target in a couple hours. He was a short brunette with brown eyes, about 30-35 years old. Given his recent breakthrough, that's talented, but nothing special prospectively.
Knocking him out with a soul attack was effortless; no spirit-protecting artifact. Sigh, my recent foes spoiled me; now I'm griping about provincial mages lacking artifacts.
As expected, it was tricky. Why? No Spiritual Seed, but he had a Spiritual Core that could taint the one in my hands with impurities during fusion. Without noticing, I couldn't raise this Seed to Heavenly level later. I'd have to extract it from Jiao Jiao then for a clean one.
No biggie—a few minutes of meticulous work prepped it, I woke and terrorized my subject with spirit element spells, and he began absorbing the peak Spiritual Seed. His eyes and emotions said no revenge planned post-absorption. They must think I'm some freak handing out gifts. Heh-heh, pity to disappoint him.
Once Za Tonu barely finished absorbing it, I knocked him out again and extracted the Spiritual Seed. As compensation, I left a Thought Stone. Maybe after absorbing it, he'll get a bit smarter and not trust random "uncles" offering free tasty candy.
Shifting back to the Three-Step Tower, I spotted Jiao Jiao, who'd broken through to High level in plant element. She opened her eyes and beamed happily at my arrival.
"Mu Bai, you're back!"
Standing, she approached and melted tenderly into my arms.
"I brought you a peak Spiritual Seed to absorb. Happy?"
Nuzzling into my girl's hair and inhaling her scent, I asked.
"Really?! That's great! Thank you-thank you! But... TuTu will pout again about lagging in combat power. Can't we get her elementals sooner?"
Peering touchingly into my eyes, Jiao Jiao traced fingers over my chest.
"Ha-ha, trust me, once she gets her summons, she'll catch up fast—maybe even surpass you. In AoE damage, definitely. For now, focus on plant element. In the next week, I'll gather intel and collect rare combos for you both. She'll have plenty to do."
Stroking Jiao Jiao's back, I eased her worry for her friend's morale, sat her in lotus position, and guided absorption of the Seed I'd fetched optimally.
Ten minutes later, my girl opened her eyes, flashing a bright joyful smile.
"This is amazing! Nearly sevenfold wind magic boost, domain, and enemy-slowing effect! Mu Bai, you're a sweetheart! My sweetheart!"
Jiao Jiao pounced, pulling me into a deep kiss that quickly escalated into more. Way too quickly...
"Ahem-ahem!"
A couple minutes later, TuTu coughed to get our attention.
Peeling our lips apart, Jiao Jiao and I saw TuTu looming menacingly, her eyes gleaming with lust. Looks like our indecent behavior riled someone up.
"Playing without me? How cruel! I'm offended—mortally offended! And to make amends, you'll have to try really hard!"
Biting her lip, TuTu started shimmying out of her pants, showing she was fully ready for fun...
Exchanging glances with Jiao Jiao, we smiled and turned all our attention to our dear little sun bunny.
Sigh, everyone strives to get here to cultivate and break through, but we're indulging in debauchery in such a holy spot for all Mingzhu University students... And it's thrilling. Always nice to defile something so sacred...
_____
Several hours later at the Three-Step Tower exit.
The guards' gazes felt especially judgmental this time—though how much more could they judge? As one opened his mouth to say something, my blushing girls hid behind me. Heh, silly girls; no cameras or surveillance in the Three-Step Tower. A mage's right to private cultivation is inviolable.
"Director Xiao summons you."
Still eyeing us judgmentally, the guard said, then turned back to his post.
Feeling my girls' hands clutch my shirt tighter in nerves, I chuckled inwardly. Wonder if we're summoned for the reason I think?