ACC Chapter 20 Rumination and Seduction

I sat there, within my cabin, on a seat directly beside the window, through which I was absentmindedly gazing out into the void of space.

The index finger of my right hand was tapping two times, before tracing along the desk in a circle as I contemplated deeply about something, Livia's success in creating an armor capable of emulating the prowess of a deity art. Deity arts were the result of accumulating an understanding about your very core, your values, and most of all your power. What was power?

Power was the strength you gained upon galvanising your nuclear core. My core was almost purely wood. It didn't just produce wood attuned spiritual energy for my usage but contained an instinctive understanding of the spells I had mastered to the point that it even aided me when I was about to cast them by molding the spiritual energy circulating within my meridians.

A deity art was the result of understanding one or the mergence of more than one art to create something extraordinary. It allowed you to temporarily alter the laws of reality itself!

What Livia had achieved wasn't exactly a deity art or the blood arts of the Demons. She had used arrays to emulate a true deity art. That was a feat beyond anything I could come up with! Maybe if I spent a few decades analysing it, could I come up with something on par. But I was more focused on biotechnology. My armor had even been crafted out of a few dozen cells that had had intense editing done upon their DNA, thereby allowing me to own this masterpiece.

What I was mostly pondering, was the fact that if she had managed to do it on her non-living armor, could I replicate those results within mine?

That brought me to blood arts. The equivalent of deity arts, but not imprinted upon the nascent soul.

In the Demon civilisation, the Core Formation stage was called the Acknowledgement Stage. In their equivalent of the Foundation Establishment stage, they strived to improve upon and craft a bloodline entirely suited to them.

When they felt that they had done everything... That bloodline had to be acknowledged by the heavens, which brought down a lightning tribulation. If they managed to pull through, a DNA strand, one countless times larger than normal DNA, would be born within their hearts, acting like the core of a Core Formation stage cultivator.

For those Demons that have managed to create exceptional bloodlines, there is a chance of awakening a bloodline art. Of course, even at the early stage of the Acknowledgment stage it can't be activated. They have to wait until the later stage before having the qualifications to activate it without outright dying.

What I was wondering about was whether I could induce my symbiote into being acknowledged by the heavens and giving birth to a bloodline chain.

Would it require me to increase its intelligence?

A vibrational wave emitted by my cabin door alerted me to a visitor, stirring me from my musings.

With a thought, the door was deconstructed into nail-thick cubes that were absorbed by the frame, allowing Lily to enter, after which they were released back into their previous positions, thereby sealing the room from the outside.

"What brings you here?"

"I was simply bored."

"You could hang out with the other passengers. If I am not mistaken, some of your clan members are aboard, right?"

"I already met them. Their questions were too hard to answer, so I ran away. I wonder whether it was a great idea to allow the general public into the Deity Maker."

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"Concessions had to be made to placate the masses. If all of them were weak, then their thoughts wouldn't have mattered. But in our current world, the public can cause immense losses if they riot." I sighed at that.

Now that even a mere toddler was in the Spirit Gathering stage, it wasn't good to ignore the general population. That was why we had been secretive when building the Deity Maker up to the point that it had gathered energy.

It had already collected and stored enough energy to allow one cultivator to attempt the Deity Transformation tribulation.

"So, with all that debacle, I decided to visit my favourite boss..." Lily playfully said, before sitting herself in front of me on a chair that had materialised out of stored molecules.

She crossed one leg over the other, and with the fact that she was in a short black skirt, their was plenty of temptation when my gaze fell upon those beautiful creamy thighs of hers.

"I was in the middle of contemplating something important."

"Can't you relax? Just a few days after your seclusion... Yet you are still focused on research and work."

"This is how I can settle down my mind and recharge. Am not like you social butterflies, capable of fluttering through a myriad of situations by virtue of your extroverted personalities."

"Have you ever tried to change yourself?"

"Why would I?" I narrowed my eyes at her. I loved myself. Why would I wanna change in order to conform to the general public?

"I don't mean changing your personality. Just some trivial things."

"I don't want to." I shook my head at her.

She crossed her arms over her chest, squeezing her melons to the point that the valley became more tantalising by the second.

"I already told you. Your attempts to seduce me won't work. Lust won't capture my heart. Besides, you aren't cut out for this."

Her eyes sharpened as they beheld me. My words had sparked something within her. The fluctuations within her soul aura indicated that she had just taken my words as a challenge.

She leaned forward, bringing the deep valley within her white blouse, unbuttoned at the collar, into my eyes.

"Do you really think that I can't seduce you?" Her voice had changed, with the tone gaining a sultry quality.

She placed her palms on my thighs, with her face mere inches from mine. Those steely grey pupils gazed deeply at me. With every micro-second, her face inched closer to mine, as if she was going for the kiss.

It took all my willpower to just sit there and look at her calmly. I even temporarily curbed my body's arousal.

"We should compete fairly, Reed. I want to see whether your body really wants mine. Drop your control and let it all out."

"Why should I give in to you?"

Even our breath was entering each other's nostrils. I could even pick out her unique scent, one exuded by her core, the smell of cold steel.

"Because your body wants me right now. Are you going to deny it the unpackaged meal?"

"Are you still thinking of benefits right now? Because I can feel and smell your arousal, Lily. Is your mind still working properly?"

"We can test that with your agreement, can't we?"

Her lips brushed upon mine, conjuring a jolt of electricity within my body such that a shiver passed through me.

"I felt that. Your body doesn't lie." She pulled back a little, gloating with a triumphant smile.

"But what you want is the mind, my soul. Which you haven't managed to win over."

A ripple churned the air as another guest announced their presence, causing our little game to come to an end, with Lily pulling herself back and regaining her professional demeanor. But I could catch the immense dissatisfaction within her soul aura.

"Heh! Did something scandalous happen? Or was it about to happen?"

The moment Livia was let in, those words leaped from her mouth. The teasing grin didn't help things either. And I could even feel rage overtaking the embarrassment within Lily's soul aura.

"What? Don't blame me. You should have thought of the time and place in more detail. Anyway, I came here to invite you out, Reed. The Behemoth has many things we can explore to pass the time."

"You know me. The others would have been the best choices." I answered while calming down by body. Lily's seduction had been a bit too stimulating.

"Why would I need the others? You are the one that needs my attention the most. I can't have you holed up in here. I am pretty sure that this your first time on the Behemoth. So I intend to show you around."

"Can't you leave me in peace?"

"To do what? Could it be that you were about to give in to this little girl's parley tricks?"

"Let's go." I stood up hastily, leading the way out the door. I was sure that if I didn't, Lily would attack the woman with no regard for consequences. Her idea of teasing had gone a bit overboard.

"Good. That saved me more saliva. I had thought that it was going to take me a lot of words."

I sighed exasperatedly. Her words had already dispelled the previous atmosphere created by Lily.