After Long Ai took away her master, Ning Bi was left alone inside the hidden realm.
With each blink of her eyes, she saw the rough shape of the newly formed consciousness.
She didn’t need to rely on her Breach skill to know that the hidden realm was awake. Roaring fires all around her was evidence enough.
Just like in her dreams, the newborn consciousness was lashing out due to fear. The presence of her master was too heavy for it to bear alone. And now that he left, it was detecting the sickly-sweet scent of death.
How did Ning Bi know this? She had no idea. Most of the time her dreams were difficult to interpret, if not impossible.
Thankfully, after her master’s arrival, they became much clearer. It was as if her master untied her eyes, ears, and even her hands and feet! It was a difficult to describe sensation. Even breathing became easier!
**Rumble**
Ning Bi frowned. The newborn elemental wasn’t even trying to attack her. The rumbling sound wasn’t a cry of war, but a cry of desperation.
It was trying to run away!
“You won’t be dying in vain. I will use the power of the bloodline that master gave me, to protect master! He will never have to worry about Fate, ever again. Because I will destroy it. Then, I will always be on master’s side!”
The sea of fire surrounding the island roared. One would think the newborn elemental was angry, but right now, those roars were more akin to sobbing.
Ning Bi tapped into her bloodline as if she had done it countless times before, and unleashed her full power. The distorted cry of a phoenix filled the void.
* * *
Yao Qing found herself in total darkness. Flashes of light came from places unknown.
She couldn’t hear anything, not even her own breathing. Yet there were thundering sounds in the distance.
Through her Celestial Realm experience, she realized she was inside a high-dimensional realm, and her pitiful senses could not make sense of anything that was happening.
Against her expectations, there was no tribulation lightning, no heavenly pressure, no guidance, no punishment.
“I see. This heavenly tribulation… Is only so-so…”
No response came. After the initial silence, Yao Qing was half-expecting something like this. She remembered a phrase from one of the taboo books inside the Grand Path Library.
“I shouldn’t have expected otherwise from a false ruler-”
*CRACK*
Yao Qing couldn’t perceive what hit her. An overwhelming amount of power coursed through her body. It was as if she was burning from inside out.
*CRACK*
She felt it wasn’t just her bloodline that was awakening, but her body was responding to the Heavenly Qi as well.
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
The more she was struck, the more she got better at absorbing the impossible amounts of Qi. Each time she thought she was going to explode, her body started absorbing everything even faster.
************
** C R A C K **
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** C R A C K **
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** C R A C K **
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It was quite unfortunate that Yao Qing’s perception was limited. Or perhaps, it was quite fortunate, at least for her conscience.
At this point, she was starting to doubt her senses. Her body was absorbing the tribulation lightning, but where was it going? Was her bloodline truly swallowing everything?
**********************
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******* C R A C K *******
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While Yao Qing was thinking everything was going far smoother than she had anticipated, her bloodline, finally started signs of being stirred. And with it, Yao Qing entered a deep meditative state.
Above the clouds, Tian Guo was staring at her with a frown.
How much was she going to absorb?!
No, it wasn’t even her that was absorbing, but that perverted bloodline instead! For the first time in eons, Tian Guo started to have a headache.
{If I don’t use my reserves, that bloodline will end up latching itself onto the heavens…}
Would the shapeless entity standstill when that happened? Tian Guo couldn’t use divinations to predict that entity’s future, but in this case, he didn’t need to.
Another form of energy started condensing around the girl called Yao Qing.
{This… isn’t my energy. Black Chrysanthemums? What?}
Countless flowers bloomed around Yao Qing! The sight even managed to stun Tian Guo!
{… What the F#$%?}
The scent of heavenly punishment filled the air! Even by Tian Guo’s standards, this level of punishment and the intent to destroy was excessive!
Immediately, he started working on isolating that region of reality. Otherwise, the collateral damage would’ve been catastrophic!
He could’ve forcefully dispersed the latent intent, of course. But this event had caught his attention. Tian Guo performed a divination to figure out the source.
A blurry image came to Tian Guo’s mind. If the image was blurry, even to him, then this unfortunate person had suffered an abysmal fate.
{Not my predecessor, not his predecessor, not her predecessor…}
After going back to more than a thousand rulers of heavens, Tian Guo gave up.
{It’s been 69749 cycles since I’ve taken the mantle. The owner of that energy should be dead for at least… 80 thousand cycles. Possibly more… I never heard of anyone lasting a few hundred cycles before me. But considering he knew how to hide this residual intent, he must’ve lasted at least a few thousand cycles…}
Tian Guo whistled at the persistence of this person. To think that a Ruler of Heavens would assume that their enemy would outlive them!
{No wonder I didn’t want to get involved with that shapeless entity...}
* * *
After her master and the unknown woman left, Jin Shu slowly opened the box.
The gushing wave of spiritual energy, mixed with ever-changing patterns of life, caught her completely off guard.
Instinctually, she understood she was to swallow that tiny seed. That speck of dust, was going to unlock her bloodline!
However, Jin Shu… felt conflicted!
‘What if…’
Through her experimentations, she had figured out that her bloodline power worked on seeds as well. She had created entirely new species of spiritual seeds!
Instead of hesitating, Jin Shu immediately used her bloodline to induce mutations on the seed!
*Rumble*
The walls of the cultivation chamber started to violently vibrate. Both within, and outside the chambers, heavenly pressure started to weigh down everything.
‘No… This isn’t right. Why is it resisting?’
Jin Shu circulated her Boundless Renewal scripture as she poured power into her bloodline. She hadn’t even noticed the heavenly punishment clouds that were rapidly forming above her chambers.
*RUMBLE*
It was as if the seed itself had awakened! The tiny speck of dust was trying to resist Jin Shu’s bloodline, but already, infinitesimally small cracks were appearing on its surface.
Outside, Han Shan furrowed his brows. With a harrumph, he whisked away the heavenly punishment by relying on his innate authority.
|Impudent!|
A soulless tool was trying to extinguish his grandson’s disciple? Han Shan naturally wouldn’t allow it! Even if there was an intent, or an edict behind, he wouldn’t care.
If he couldn’t protect his family, then why did he elevate his existence?
Within the cultivation chambers, Jin Shu finally managed to seep her bloodline power into the seed. The tiny speck of dust immediately started to deform. Tendrils started to appear through the cracks of its shell. Some started to bulge, some separated into thousands of strands.
‘So that’s how it is…’
Jin Shu was still curious, but externally, this was all she could do. But, if she could place the seed next to dantian though…
Finally, Jin Shu swallowed the seed without hesitation! At that moment, it was no longer a speck of dust, but a constantly pulsating mass of unrecognizable substances.
She closed her eyes and entered a deep meditative state. The resonance from her bloodline immediately suppressed the violently mutating seed. The mark of Tao, completely disappeared.
* * *
“…ng ma…”
Han De thought he heard yet another melodious voice, coming from far away.
“…ung master…”
“…Hmmm?”
“Today is the 15th of the Month of Beginning, young master.”
‘15th? Wasn’t it the 13th?’
Han De realized he was on a random extravagant bed, inside an even more extravagant random room. A moment later he recognized his surroundings. This, was the bed chambers inside the celestial ship. One of them, at least.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
‘When did I go to sleep?’
Before he could respond to the cute female servant, that familiar demonic voice reverberated inside his head.
[Quest Complete!]
[Congratulations!]
[Quest Reward: Tier 5 Exchange Token]
[Notes: You have completed your quest in the allocated time. Your extremely talented disciples have awakened their bloodlines before reaching the Core Formation realm. Their growth will soon surpass the will of the heavens, and they will soar to unimaginable heights! Bonus reward is being issued.]
[Bonus Reward: Unlocked Profound Point conversion feature]
Han De breathed a massive sigh of relief.
‘Thank g-’
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Ning Bi successfully reached Core Formation Realm!]
[Issuing 10000 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Jin Shu successfully reached Core Formation Realm!]
[Issuing 10000 Profound Points as a reward.]
[Congratulations]
[Host's disciple Yao Qing successfully reached Core Formation Realm!]
[Issuing 10000 Profound Points as a reward.]
Notifications caught him off guard, and an uncontrollable smile, full of pride, appeared on his face. A few seconds later, he froze as he read the points section.
[Profound Points: 499874 -> 529874 (+30000)]
‘Hold up…’
Even more free Profound Points?
How could there be such a good thing?
‘I have a really bad feeling about this…’
“Young master, the great elder is waiting.”
Han De waved his hand to dismiss the servant. He had just woken up, and the aftereffects of the Endless Slumber were still present. First, he needed to shake off the feeling of dreaming.
‘What’s Profound Point conversion feature anyway?’
[Point Conversion Shop]
------------------------------------------
[Profound Points (1) -> Standard Points (899,000,000,000,000)]
‘… That’s it?’
Han De tried to ‘click’ on the Standard Points, but the System didn’t display any new information.
‘1 Profound Point is worth… 899… trillion standard points? What kind of conversion is that? Inflation much?’
The System had mentioned Standard Points when he met Li Ling. At the time he was too panicky to dwell on such minor details.
‘Is there a Standard Points shop?... System, open up the Standard Points Shop.’
Naturally, there was no response.
‘Alright, if that’s how you want to play it, let’s put it on hold for now.
Anyway, since they succeeded, I don’t have to worry about anything for the time bein-’
[Issuing the first Questline]
[Quest 1: The Time Has Come]
[Difficulty Level: B]
[Questline Difficulty: SSS+++++]
[Status: Issued]
[Summary: Your beloved disciples have worked hard and reached the Core Formation realm!
They are ready!
As their master, you need to temper their characters by letting them take responsibilities.]
[Requirements: Establish an independent sect inside the weakest region, of the weakest kingdom, of the weakest continent, of the weakest world, of the weakest cluster, of the weakest galaxy, of the weakest super-cluster, of the weakest universe, of the weakest reality, of the weakest plane. Assign at least (3) disciples as core elders.]
[Time Remaining: 4.99999 years]
[Success: Sect Management System]
[Failure: Questline will be abandoned. Double Privilege level strike will be issued. (Current: 0/3)]
[Notes: Requirement checker has been added to the status screen.]
‘F#$%, SSS+++++? Five whole plusses?’
Contrary to his expectations, Han De didn’t become anxious after reading the quest. In all fairness, he was expecting something like after seeing the previous quest.
Both Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms had special social standings. The former was the stereotypical elder realm, while the latter was the quintessential sect formation stage.
Where did the Nascent Soul experts’ uncanny tendency to create their sects came from? Han De had no idea. As a Nascent Soul expert himself, he didn’t feel any different, nor did he have sudden urges to establish a new sect. Barring the quest from the System, of course.
‘That Beginner Sect Panel will end up useful now, I suppose.’
The most shocking development was the requirements of the quest. They were… right up Han De’s alley!
‘Doesn’t that mean I can literally setup up shop in Yu Xian’s home planet? A planet full of wuxia warriors that can barely reach the 5th stage of the Qi Condensation realm… That’s not even easy mode, that’s tutorial mode…!’
Suddenly, Han De became full of vigor. The stupor from the Endless Slumber scripture was gone in an instant.
[Tier 5 Exchange Token] [x1]
-------------------------------------------------
[Can be exchanged with a Tier 5 token.]
[Notes: Limited to tokens available in Privilege Level 3]
[High-Tier Random Bloodline Token]
[High-Tier Random Body Constitution Token]
[High-Tier Random Soul Constitution Token]
[Method Creation Token]
‘If only I could use that High-Tier Random Body Constitution Token, then everything would’ve been perfect…
Well, this is fine too.’
Han De rechecked his Otherworldly Light Body constitution just to make sure that pesky little line was still there.
[Overrides all other body constitutions.]
If only he could trade that line with the one that he saw on his disciples! If his body constitution could handle high-tier bloodlines, he could’ve had dozens of higher being guards by now.
‘Wait, the body constitution advanced? And even added a new effect?’
[Constitutions]
-------------------------------------------
[Otherworldly Light Body (Unawakened)]
[Progress: 11.42%]
[Power: Extremely High]
[Effects:]
[…]
[Passively absorbs and stores all types of Chaos energies.]
[Further effects are locked.]
‘It was 8.05% before, so it advanced by 3.37%?’
The advancement of this body constitution was a good thing, potentially. That’s why Han De decided not to dig too deep and accept this 3.37% with grace.
Meanwhile, he ignored the new Chaos energy absorbing effect. That, was a problem for the future Han De. Current Han De’s plate was already chock full of panic-inducing events.
‘Alright, let’s think about this calmly. The body constitution is advancing, and even producing new effects. One of those new effects should be about high-grade bloodlines. It must be. I doubt the System would miss something so basic. I don’t believe it.’
After mulling over the odds, Han De was thoroughly convinced. However, to be sure, he still made a few backup plans.
‘First I’ll use the token I got to create a new body cultivation method, hopefully in the [Very Weak] realm, then I’ll focus on awakening and improving the Otherworldly Light Body constitution. Once the Primordial Chaos Dragon bloodline can be contained safely, and there’s no more danger to my soul…’
Han De narrowed his eyes as his thoughts went to the enemies he made so far.
It was quite unfortunate that he couldn’t abuse his bloodline advantage over the higher beings at the moment! Leaving things as is was simply anxiety-inducing!
In fact, he was quite surprised that he was able to hold himself back.
‘Did I really “instinctively” knew, and that’s why I didn’t push Long Ai to do something? Even passively suggesting taking care of loose ends is enough to push me over the limit? And I “somehow” knew that?’
If Han De hadn’t heard it from Long Ai, he wouldn’t have even entertained such an absurd thought! How was he supposed to account for untrustworthy concepts like instinct or intuition while taking precautions? How could he say ‘eh, good enough’ when his life was on the line?
The sooner he could use/abuse the irresistible order ability of his bloodline, the better.
*knock* *knock*
The voice of the same cute servant came behind the door, though a bit hesitant this time.
“Y-Young master…”
‘So not only she is back so soon after being dismissed, but she is also afraid?’
Only under the orders of someone far exceeding the status of Han De himself, could a servant even think of going against his direct order. Even if Han De’s cultivation was low, the hierarchy of power was absolute.
‘… Maybe it won’t be so bad to make my own sect.’
Han De referred to his Emergency Sect Establishment Guidelines, and decided on a Hidden Sect template on the spot.
Creating a new/branch sect was well within his expectations!
‘I knew I wasn’t wasting my time creating all those contingency plans. That was time well spent.’
“Y… Young… master… T-The Grand Elder…”
Han De didn’t mind the interruption, though the servant’s voice seemed like she was about to collapse any second due to sheer fear.
‘Right, the Grand Elder. Who was that anyway? Must be Long Something.’
The Long family’s way of handling affairs was completely unpalatable to someone like Han De. Overreliance on fear and intimidation was bound to backfire on his maternal family in the future. But that was also a matter for the future Han De to deal with.
The present Han De adopted a stoic expression and told the servant to lead the way.
‘Hmm. I might be able to get some points from a potential future MC if I treat everyone humanely. That’s a win-win-win scenario right there.’
* * *
Instead of using the power of space, the servant led Han De through walking. Which was a welcome development, of course. He had already lost count of how many times he teleported around in the last few days!
Then again, if the Grand Elder was waiting, why was he walking around? The servant was on the verge of begging before Han De told her to lead the way. Why didn’t she offer to use the power of space if the situation was that urgent?
Han De understood the reason once he saw the sky. They weren’t orbiting the Long family planet anymore. Long Ai’s power signature was still present though, and it was still overshadowing everything.
‘Oh… She does feel a bit farther away now. I think?’
After a brief moment of hesitation, Han De ‘looked’ around for other energy signs. Spiritual senses, waves from other higher beings, and other energy fluctuations that he could detect with his Reality Sense.
He couldn’t feel anything.
‘Wait, they sent me away that quickly? No good-byes? No nothing?’
This development looked somewhere in between an MC-level development, and an arrogant young master of the family being hastily exiled.
He was being sent away to a lower realm, but he wasn’t a small child. A classic Xianxia development that didn’t fit any of his usual templates.
‘Almost there… but not quite…’
As they slowly made their way to an unfamiliar, lone-looking temple, Han De re-evaluated the recent events. He couldn’t spot critical mistakes, and most of his mistakes only revealed themselves in hindsight.
A faint voice carried by the wind interrupted his thoughts.
“Come inside.”
The servant left after a reverent bow and left Han De alone. Unlike the Han De’s, or his disciples’ palaces, the temple was unremarkable in every single way. A moment later he shook his head by reflex.
‘I thought Long family’s motto was Go Big or Go Home. Where did the sudden Return to Simplicity come from? What’s next? Am I going to find Long Ai casually sweeping the library floor?’
Inside the temple, the face of Long Ruolan’s clone darkened for reasons unknown to herself. As a less powerful and wholly independent clone, she was more susceptible to displaying emotions. As she watched her great-grandson casually enter the temple, she had to actively suppress her face from twitching.
“Long De greets the Grand Elder.”
“…”
Just as she expected, Long De’s greeting was genuine. He wasn’t using the name “Long” because he wanted to remind her of his status. Neither did he call her the “Grand Elder” because he was being sarcastic.
They were of one family, and she was from an elder generation. There wasn’t a single muscle movement on his body that indicated otherwise. He really meant what he said.
Long Ruolan’s first assumption about Long De was that he inherited the troublesome traits of Long Ai, just like his mother. Once she took a closer look, it became obvious that he also inherited some of her own traits. They were related by blood after all, if he could inherit Long Ai’s traits, he could inherit hers too.
“This body’s time is limited, I will only speak of matters of importance. I’ve already instructed your people, refer to them for details.”
Han De nodded. He could faintly see a string connecting to Long Ruolan’s body. Obviously, this was a clone, and an unusually weak one at that, since it was only generating Foundation Establishment vibrations.
“The realm you are heading for is ruled by a Transcendent Realm newcomer. Dispose of him as you wish, since he is of no importance.”
‘… Wait, what?’
“Though doing so may catch the attention of undesirables, as a Long, your dignity cannot be trampled. Never forget that.”
Han De had quite a few questions. Unfortunately, Long Ruolan didn’t pause.
“This tier 12 sub realm can only contain cultivation levels up to Transcendent Realm. Your servants will be more than enough to ensure your safety, so long as you stay inside.
In case of an emergency, either speak, or think of my name. By doing so you will summon my true body. Don’t try it unless there is no other choice, because even stable souls may not survive being in close proximity.
I have placed invisible sentries across the void, but for your own safety, I have chosen them from lower beings. Even in failure, they will serve to alarm us.
If a higher void being appears, regardless of their intent, call for the matriarch’s name immediately. Don’t think about it, don’t try to attempt something with your feeble mind. I trust this won’t be a problem for you.”
‘… Uhh…
Actually, yeah. No problem. This is exactly what I wanted in the first place.’
The more Han De thought about it the more he liked it.
His ever-so-slightly enthusiastic nod was just as Long Ruolan expected. Unlike Long Ai, Long Juan, and Long Xiu, he was quite thorough and relentless when it came to preparations. The clone of Long Ruolan started to feel a kinship towards her great-grandson, though her thoughts were too busy, and her cultivation was too low to notice.
As she continued, her voice gradually became more severe.
“Don’t call for her unless the situation involves higher void beings. Don’t call for Long Juan either.”
Han De swallowed his question, but Long Ruolan’s clone saw the momentary change in his expression. Long De’s reactions were quite similar to her own, as she noticed to her surprise. Even in this Foundation Establishment clone, she could read him easily!
“Why? Because they have no mind for such matters. They would rather use overwhelming power first, then forget about everything a second later. Especially in her true body, Long Juan is dangerous for your current state. Never call for her. Ever!”
“… When you say my current state, what do you mean exactly?”
For a moment the clone’s eyes went blank. She sighed, then spoke with a weary voice.
“… Of course she didn’t explain anything. The state of your soul is stable. As you cultivate you will make a complete recovery. Even if you didn’t, you wouldn’t need to worry about such trifles.
The problem with your current state is your cultivation level. You are too weak for your… ‘abilities’. Even when you were near our clones, your ‘abilities’ continued to disrupt your senses. This will continue until you finish the first step.
Your body, and soul, are too weak to increase your cultivation through usual methods. Finishing the first step by reaching the Immortal Realm will elevate your existence, and improve your compatibility with your abilities.
You should be familiar with the process, completing pseudo-first-step also elevated your existence to a lesser degree, and gave you some time.”
‘… That’s true. I didn’t have any visible symptoms after the System’s evolution.’
“It is always about cultivation. Work on your cultivation as you always have.”
The clone’s eyes became dull as she finished the sentence. Before Han De realized what was happening, the thin string disappeared, and the clone’s body immediately started to disintegrate. As pure spiritual waves harmlessly crashed into the surroundings, Han De couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
‘What if I call for your names in my sleep? Does that count?’
Could they tell the difference?
His most important trump card in face of danger… seemed rather unreliable.