“After that, I was in a trance and wandered for a few hours. That was when I ran into the bandit group,” Anissa recounted, her voice steady, though the memory clearly weighed on her.
She took another sip of tea, reminding herself of her father’s advice, to keep a level head. Hating wouldn’t accomplish anything, and she knew that. But even still, the anger simmered beneath the surface, threatening to boil over. At any moment, she felt she could lose her composure and go berserk.
Feng Zhiming, on the other hand, continued eating his steak with deliberate calmness, finding it intriguing how a mysterious, unknown Dao Lord had emerged right when the game began. He was nearly certain that this Dao Lord Fury was one of the four involved in the grander scheme at play.
As he ate, he found a small sense of catharsis in knowing that even as he died, Liam Evermore had managed to protect his daughter. It was a small consolation in the chaotic world they inhabited.
“I understand you’re with me now because you feel indebted,” Feng Zhiming said after a pause, his eyes not leaving his plate.
Anissa flinched slightly, caught off guard by his directness.
“But before we go to the Wildlands, I will convert you to be a true Follower of the Forgotten One,” he continued, his tone leaving little room for argument.
“I—”
Feng Zhiming raised a hand, silencing her. “By the end of the day, we’ll have the support of the Zhuge clan for our church, and this will all be courtesy of the Forgotten One’s guidance.”
Anissa merely nodded. She was with him partly because of the Forgotten One and partly out of a sense of debt. But truthfully, she had few other options at the moment. Feng Zhiming, despite his mysterious aura, seemed to hold secrets that might just be the key to her survival and her revenge.
Though she hadn’t mentioned it, she was genuinely shocked when Feng Zhiming had traumatized Louba Tian to death simply by speaking to him. It was a display of power that went beyond mere cultivation or physical strength—a feat that left her both awed and unsettled.
“So, putting that aside, where did they get the idea to sell you off?” Feng Zhiming asked, his voice calm, as if discussing something far less significant.
“It was Louba Tian,” Anissa replied, a slight edge to her voice. “Despite being an Ethereal Core cultivator, he recognized at a glance that I was at the Quasi Spiritual Awakening level. He had contacts within the Dual Divine Demon Sect who would pay greatly for an... unused spiritual awakening cultivator, especially one with talent.”
Anissa felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her as she recounted her capture. The thought of being overpowered by a group she could have easily decimated if she were at full strength was a bitter pill to swallow.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Feng Zhiming, meanwhile, remembered something from his inherited memories, another of the three overlords of the Dark Side of the Etheria Continent, the Dual Divine Demon Sect.
“I’ve heard you speak of your talent quite often,” Feng Zhiming said, his tone light. “How old are you, one hundred and fifty, two hundred, maybe three hundred?”
He wanted to gauge just what kind of talent she possessed and whether he could measure up. Perhaps, he even thought, he could impress her by showing the difference between them.
Usually, an Ethereal Core cultivator had a lifespan of around five hundred years, so breaking through before the age of four hundred was considered impressive.
Anissa’s hand tightened around her teacup, small cracks appearing on its surface. Her typically neutral expression shifted to one of slight annoyance.
“I am ninety-seven years old,” she replied in an unusually monotone voice.
Feng Zhiming realized he had misstepped, but he dismissed the thought. Something else took priority at the moment.
“Ninety-seven!?” Feng Zhiming nearly choked on the steak he was chewing.
For reference, Feng Zhiming had broken through to the Ethereal Core stage at ninety-five, and while he hadn’t prioritized breaking through as quickly as others, Anissa’s achievement was stunning.
“By the grace of the Forgotten One, I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to run into you,” Feng Zhiming said, a note of genuine admiration in his voice.
In his home world, the earliest he had heard of someone breaking through to the Spiritual Awakening stage was a sect elder who was two hundred and fifty years old, a prodigy predicted to become a Dao Lord within two and a half millennia.
Without warning, Feng Zhiming grabbed Anissa’s hand and scanned her with his spiritual energy, checking her bone age.
“What—” she began, surprised by the sudden action, but she didn’t pull away. He was, after all, her benefactor.
After a moment, Feng Zhiming released her hand and sank back into his seat, a look of defeat on his face.
“Are you real?” he wanted to ask, but he held back, not wanting to tarnish his image any further.
“I reckon you’ll be a Dao Lord before you reach a thousand years, maybe even by eight hundred,” he said, trying to sound mysterious and regain the composure he had maintained up to this point.
Internally, he was overjoyed. If he could secure her loyalty, all he would have to do was nurture her into a Dao Lord, a demon slayer of unimaginable power. She already had enmity with one Dao Lord, after all.
And sword cultivators, he knew, had an easier time crossing realms to slay enemies, often considered the deadliest among cultivators.
“I see,” was all Anissa replied with, but a look of pleasant surprise crossed her face. Although the situation wasn’t ideal, she now had hope that she could someday amass enough power to avenge her clan, her father, and her sister.
“Looks like the main event is about to begin. Reel in your divine sense, it’s okay if people hear us speak now,” Feng Zhiming instructed, his tone shifting back to calm command.
From the very start of their conversation, Anissa had deployed her divine sense, creating a barrier to prevent sound waves from leaking into their surroundings. She did as instructed, retracting her divine sense just as a group of three men entered the restaurant. Each was at a different stage within the Foundation Establishment level.
The stages preceding the Ethereal Core were Foundation Establishment, Qi Condensation, and Body Refining. These men were far beneath them, but their appearance was no mere coincidence.
“This will be fun,” Feng Zhiming whispered to himself, a chuckle escaping his lips as he prepared for what was to come.