Anna smiled, sensing the curiosity and wariness in Tania's voice. "Ah, that's the question I've been hoping you'd ask," she said, leaning back in her chair and savoring the moment. Normally, Anna, being somewhat lazy, would never have made this much effort to help and recruit someone. However, when she saw Tania's luck, her blood inheritance deep inside her told her that she should have this person beside her. Having someone with such luck, not provided or given by any other entity, would greatly assist Anna in her mission to become the true god of the world. If not, Tania could become a significant enemy in her path.
Although Anna wanted entertainment and fun, and could have helped Tania anonymously without much effort, her mission came first. That's why Anna wanted Tania to know that she had helped her and to keep Tania beside her of her own will. So, Anna answered her question.
"You know, Tania, I have a mission I need to fulfill. Your existence will help me greatly in achieving it. There’s potential in you—potential that could be harnessed for greater things. My eyes can see through everything in this world, even the hearts of people. So, although I don’t know much about you, I know you are a person with a strong heart and mind, and you would never betray anyone's kindness. That’s why I wanted to help you; otherwise, I would have killed you to prevent future troubles."
Tania's heart sank at the thought and she continued to asked ignoring her sentence about killing. "Potential? What do you mean by that?"
"Your luck, spirit, and determination to become strong," Anna explained. "In this world, having great luck is also a great strength, and I need individuals with strong luck around me. You have a significant amount of luck because your half-soul has traveled from another world."
Tania's mind raced with thousands of thoughts. "Can you tell me about your mission and how I can help you?"
Anna paused, weighing her words carefully
"About my mission, you will know in the future if you don’t die somewhere along the way. As for your help, I don’t know anything perfectly about it, as my divination (decided to keep her blood secret) only told me to have you beside me, as you will be of great help. If not, then I would have to kill you to avoid future trouble. I can also guess why you would be a future trouble if you are not my ally, as this is related to your rebirth,"
"Why would I want to be your enemy when I don’t even know you? And how is it related to my rebirth?" Tania asked.
"To answer your question, you have to know the truth of the world." Anna paused and looked toward the ring once more with a provocative look on her face.
Suddenly, the ring started to glow blood red and flew out from Tania's finger. A shadow of an old man, dressed like an immortal from dramas, emerged from it. A heavy pressure filled the room, making Tania gasp for breath.
"Stop right there, foolish mortal. Speak another word, and you will not be able to bear the wrath of the world," he commanded, his voice echoing with authority.
Tania fell to her knees, struggling to breathe. Her already weak body was injured by the pressure, but it vanished suddenly as she saw that Anna had set up a barrier around her, and the same light energy that had healed her injuries surrounded her.
"You couldn’t take it anymore, huh? Who do you think you are to threaten this queen?" Anna's voice was icy, her demeanor shifting dramatically form when she talked to Tania. She waved her hand, and the pressure from the old man dissipated, replaced by an even greater force emanating from Anna causing the surrounding space to crack. If she were outside her house, the spatial boundary of the Apple Continent would have broken because of her pressure.
"Ants should act like ants. You are not even a proper immortal; how dare you not kneel before me?" Her voice was so cold that it could freeze anyone's soul , and Tania felt a shiver run down her spine.
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The old man's entire soul body was planted on the floor as he couldn’t bear the pressure, and his body mass rapidly decreased. His eyes burned with rage as he tried every means to escape, but he couldn't even move a finger. Soon, his eyes turned to begging as he couldn’t endure the pain of his soul being tortured by the pressure; he didn’t want his soul to disappear completely, as that would prevent him from reincarnating.
Anna lowered her pressure slightly so he could speak, but she didn’t let him stand up. She looked down on him from her throne-like chair. She had more use for this old man's soul, so she would not let him die.
"Who are you? How could someone with your power be in the mortal world? Release me, or my master will not let you go. My master is the Heavenly Dao of this world!" The old man tried to threaten Anna by stating his master in trembling voice, hoping she would release him. But his hope shattered when he heard what Anna said.
"Silence!" The old man's mouth was forcefully closed, from the power of the single word from Anna.
Anna's lips curled into a smirk. "Your so-called master can try anything he wants, as I will kill him in the near future anyway. As for him being the Heavenly Dao, you can only fool these lower beings with your lies," Anna said to the old man.
Tania watched in awe and fear, her heart pounding. Anna turned to her and asked Tania as her tone completely changed to the same soft and cool one she used with her till now, and she asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am, as the light healed me and your barrier protected me."
"Well, I'm sorry. I could have set up a barrier around you earlier if I had known he would not even care about you," Anna said, her tone softening.
"It's alright; you at least protected me. But who is he, and why is he inside my ring?" Tania asked, looking at the old man, whose soul body lay on the floor, struggling to speak.
"He is a minion of a person who self-proclaims himself as the Heavenly Dao of this world. As for why he is in your ring, it is because he was meant to guide you. As I mentioned earlier, he will become your master and teach you cultivation and alchemy. Eventually, he will accidentally reveal his life’s enemies, which are mostly the forces that control luck in the world. You see, luck is very important for a powerful force, and you will end up fighting and destroying these forces for his boss, all out of kindness for this old man, in the name of fighting his enemies. I suspect his enemies this time might be my 'Drakaras' clan, as they are so powerful that nobody can defeat them and are maintaining the world order so his boss is having problems as he cant collect luck from here. That’s why I believe you would have become my enemy if I had not interfered."
The old man's eyes widened in shock as Anna continued to speak her guesses, which were mostly correct. Anna knew this because her grandmother had told her many things about the immortal world, including an organization that uses people with great luck.
"Your opponents' luck will become your own, and you will generally collect the luck of the entire mortal world."
"Why do they want me to collect the luck of the world, and what is this Heavenly Dao you speak of?" Tania asked, her curiosity piqued.
Anna took a deep breath, her expression serious.
"Well, I was coming to that. The boss of this old man cultivated a technique for absorbing luck, which is why they want to collect it. They will arrange your life accordingly. You are not alone; there are many like you, but you are special even among them, as your soul is from another world. As for the other details, I will tell you when you are more powerful."
Anna decided to keep some information for later, not wanting to overwhelm Tania more than she already was. Instead of this question, Tania asked a different one.
"What is the cultivation level of this old man?"
"He is at the Loose Immortal realm, the peak one can reach in the mortal realm. You know there are realms up to the Nascent realm, right? After that, there are Return to Void, Tribulation, and finally, the Mahayana realm. After that, you have to ascend to the immortal world. But if you can't survive the thunder tribulation of ascension, you will become a Loose Immortal who can't progress anymore in their cultivation. And are in soul form." Anna answered her question, knowing why Tania asked it.
Tania wanted to defeat the old man who had humiliated her by making her kneel under pressure.
That’s why Anna hadn’t set up a barrier before the old man appeared when she could have easily done it; she wanted Tania to have a reality check and gain powerful motivation to become stronger beyond her desire for revenge.
And surely, Tania was thinking along those lines. She didn’t want to experience that feeling again. She wanted the same dominance and power that Anna possessed.