For hours, E'livia pushed her qi into the golden blood runes she had drawn. The runes glew up shiner and shiner until, five hours after she began, they were brighter than the setting sun. Another hour later, the pillar going to the heavens blinked out of existence, and the Void orb started shrinking. It stopped when it became a tiny spot and remained like that for a few extra hours. Then, at last, the three-dimensional formation around it quickly went for the Void dot, like a swiftly clenching hand.

Blood and Void Energy touched each other and vanished with a loud pop.

The sound traveled for miles, disrupting all qi in the area. The very Laws of Reality trembled. A moment later, everything returned to normal.

E'livia allowed her body to relax, took a deep breath, and muttered something in the local language. Shen only recognized the word "kileng," an obvious swear word. Then, she seemed to remember Shen, so she put her guard back up and turned to look at him.

She said, "This Void Phenomenom was at least C+ tier. Closest to B-tier I ever closed. Took me longer than I expected."

Shen noticed she had been upset about him calling the Gardener S-rank but had no issue with tiers.

"Is it cultural?" he asked, then explained his questions. "Things or Void-related stuff can be classified with tiers, but you get upset when I call a cultivator by his rank?"

She looked puzzled at his question. "Huh? Oh. Maybe? I guess. I never really thought about it. It's just how we do."

So, definitely cultural. "I see. Good job with the Void orb. Is this Cleansing of yours some sort of secret? Or can you tell me how it works?"

"You couldn't do it even if I told you," she said proudly. "You'd need freely given, fresh Origin Avon Life Fluid from half the wings of a holin of the same tier as the Void Phenomenon or higher."

So, her race was called "holin."

Shen replied, "I noticed your eyes were bleeding golden when I found you and your wings were bleeding silver. But your wings bled golden when you ripped them apart to draw the formation."

"Fresh Life Fluid versus old one. I meant it when I said knowledge about the Ritual of Cleansing would be useless to you. You can't store Origin Avon Life Fluid, either; even time-stopping formations can't prevent it from decaying and turning silver. Only free holins can deal with Void Phenomena of a similar tier as their power as easily as I did. Or stronger, even."

Shen didn't know about those Void orbs, but her words sparked the memory of how to deal with Void Spawn. You could only kill them if you were of the same rank or higher. If these Phenomena were similar, her closing of a B-tier Void Phenomenon was impressive indeed.

She was still ignorant of the thing being B-tier, but Shen had been conscious when the Prophet released its B-rank power, which should mean...

He sighed. He was assuming things instead of asking and instinctively withholding information from E'livia on the off chance it gave him an edge in the future—which he was confident would be considered politics by her sect.

So, he changed that. Shen revealed, "The Prophet displayed B-rank power in the end. I guess the Void orb was B-tier instead?"

"Oh? Really?" She smiled brightly. "My first B-tier Insertion Point!" She hooked the air with a closed fist. "Dad will be so proud!"

"Insertion Point?"

"This kind of Void Phenomenon; the most common one in the Myriad Worlds. It's not as specialized as a Breach, so it can't quickly spit countless Void Spawn, but it can do a bit of everything, including being used as an inferior Breach to throw some few dozen Void Spawn in Reality every day or so. The Void Sympathizes use it mostly to quickly move key personnel, communicate, and attack; it's also a weapon, sort of."

So, the Myriad Worlds were engaged in some kind of guerilla warfare slash special operations combat against the Void. That felt... Irregular to Shen, though the Heavenly Lightning prevented him from assessing any memory he might have of fighting the Void before.

Whatever the case, he had been right. A C-rank had dealt with a B-tier Void Phenomenon. He knew B-tier Void Spawn could be killed with mastered Laws even if you were C-rank, but E'livia hadn't used her Laws. Instead, she used pure qi and that ritual, which implied this was different from Void Spawn. This wasn't just about Laws.

In other words, these holins were indeed impressive for their ability to jump tiers to deal with the Void.

"Back to the topic," Shen said, "the injury you had when I found you is still bleeding, but not the one you caused when you removed your wings right before the ritual. Your back has scabbed." His Law Vision and other meta-senses couldn't pierce her armor, but the openings for her wings didn't try to hide her body from sight.

Her smile became strained. "Was this your first time facing a Prophet?"

"Yes. As far as I recall, at least."

"Prophets can infect you with a unique form of Void Energy. We call it Doomsday Energy." She looked at him expectantly. He didn't react. She continued, "You know, because Void Prophets are always blabbing about how all things will cease to exist in the end?" He still only stared at her. "Nevermind. Holin humor. Anyhow, the bastard was C+ tier, so I can't heal any infected injury until Dad cleanses me. Or any other Path Outlining Ethereal Harmonization cultivator, I guess."

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Shen would rather call people B-ranks rather than Path Outlining Ethereal Harmonization cultivators. His way was much more convenient. But culture wasn't always reasonable.

"Well, congratulations are in order!" he said with a wide smile.

Shen controlled exactly how excited he looked. He revealed precisely as much excitement as he was feeling, which, to be honest, was quite a bit. He had just witnessed something impressive that expanded his horizons. He would not have anyone accuse him of manipulating a member of the Gardener Sect.

"Thanks!" she said happily.

He continued, "I want to spend more time with you for some personal reasons. I'd rather not share what they are, but as far as I know, they are not bad for you." She widened her eyes, and he swiftly added, "They are not of an intimate nature! Not that you don't look stunning—" She frowned, and he stopped himself. "Never mind that. What I mean to say is, would you be willing to accompany me to the nearest city so I can order you a drink to celebrate?" He pulled his high-purity spirit stone from his sleeves. "I have too much money and nothing to spend it on. And I also want to talk to you about something."

Shen had carefully considered what he would tell E'livia—sans the part about her looks—and decided to go with the complete truth, with one exception. He would only hide from her that he wanted to keep her away from the people she knew so she wouldn't tell anyone about his tribulation. That ulterior motive would undoubtedly be considered politics by the Gardener Sect, but the very Heavens were holding his mouth shut. There was nothing he could do. If the sect was half as upright as E'lemer had tried to make it look, they would understand his circumstances.

If not... Well, he'd curse the Heavens, the Gardener, and his bad luck as he died.

"I'd have to ask Dad," she said hesitantly.

"Of course," Shen agreed. "I need to get to a Garden City anyway if I want to exchange this for money to spend on a drink."

He had also considered he had to do that. It was risky, but it would make her trust him a little more. Also, he doubted she could just go on vacations before reporting the success of her mission.

Last but not least, she might get jailed as soon as she completed her mission unless he spoke on her behalf. She had attacked him, and her father said she'd be punished for it. Shen would rather keep her in his sight than trust that her punishment would stop her from talking to anyone.

She thought for a few moments and nodded. "Okay, I guess. Follow me."

E'livia started flying right away. Shen followed. A moment later, he used his secret weapon. "I promise to get in a Truth and Axiom Debate with you over our drink."

If that didn't make her deal with all the bureaucracy as fast as possible and avoid chit-chatting with anyone, Shen didn't know what would. And if anyone called that politics, screw them. This was just basic give and take between potential friends—and he was being very clear about his intentions.

The holin slowed for a moment when she heard his words.

Then, she sped up so much that he had to ask her to wait for him.

Shen smiled all the way. His Path wasn't big on soft skills, he was sure. But he had done good. And perhaps, maybe, just maybe, he might even enjoy being E'livia's colleague in a setting where people were expected to be honest with each other.

Despite his remaining misgivings about how the Gardener Sect defined politics, Shen found he rather enjoyed these Myriad Worlds.

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The Gardener had banished idolatry towards him as soon as the first living being prayed to him, but it quickly turned out to be a mistake. It caused some A-ranks to try to convert people's hopes into some sort of twisted cultivation energy that prayed on the devotees. So he stopped those A-ranks and allowed the nonsense as long as it was directed to him or someone without a Realization—as a Realization was required to prey on the faithful.

Despite his consent, there were no gods in Reality. Such a concept was anathema to any good cultivator. Often, only ill-intended ones called themselves gods.

But acting god was entertaining and could be useful. Occasionally, he acceded to a request from someone he thought deserved it or if he believed it would work for the greater good. Not always, as he didn't want cultivators to depend on him—it would cripple their Paths—but sometimes he was in the mood.

He also secretly helped most of the commoners in his World Tree as long as their requests were generally well-intended and good for all. He didn't give them things, only knowledge or opportunities—also known as "random encounters." Even then, he was careful not to let anyone discover it, or it might make everyone less willing to cultivate.

The Gardener was still fishing that day when yet another voice reached him.

"Oh, Lord Gardener, I beseech you: impute my daughter's errors to me."

That voice would usually be drowned among the countless voices praying for the Gardener. But E'lemer was in luck today. His daughter had been at the right time and place, even by sheer luck. The Gardener felt slightly thankful for her being one of the triggers that brought the Void's plans to light. Not enough to act by himself, but enough that E'lemer's request was mostly agreeable.

Still, the Gardener hesitated for a moment before saying yes. First, he divined how the Heavens would feel about it.

Helping the girl would indirectly assist Shen. The kid's plan was obvious enough—partly because it was the only thing he could attempt within the constraints that bound him. The Gardener couldn't help the boy again unless he paid a price he was not willing to pay.

He sent his intent to Reality and listened attentively for the answer. A star died, a moon was born, the cosmos whispered to him. Thus, he found he could reply with yes or no to his people's requests, and the Heavens wouldn't punish him.

He was, of course, barred from using such answers to lead anyone to help Shen. If the Gardener's people directly helped Shen in a way they shouldn't, the Heavens would punish them, not the Gardener—even if he had been the one to say yes to something. The initiative had been theirs, not his.

"So be it," he replied to E'lemer while sending orders to his sect's Grand Elder.

Personally, the Gardener was against how excessively E'lemer coddled his daughter, but that was E'lemer's mistake to make. That said, calling it a mistake this time wasn't easy. Things weren't as black and white.

E'livia's sin had been momentous. The Gardener Sect did not attempt murder just because someone didn't show the respect a sect member thought they deserved. They definitely did not do it twice in a row. That would be a capital offense if not for happening during a supervised test.

Still, even during a test, the offense was big enough that the sect's Elders decided to send her to the Abyssal Borders for a year. E'livia had only a twenty percent chance of surviving that. Her sins were big, and so was the punishment. In fact, without her father's contribution to the sect, she would've been condemned to head to an even worse section of the Borders, and her already slim survival odds would've decreased by half.

Today was not the day she died, though. She had been born the daughter of a very doting and powerful father.

E'lemer had a fifty-fifty chance of surviving because he wouldn't be sent to the Borders. Replacing his daughter also meant being sent to the Abyssal Gates instead, and for five years, not one. After all, if any random strong person could replace their loved ones in punishments too easy for them, punishments would mean nothing.

Strategically, the Gardener was against E'lemer's decision. E'lemer should reach A-rank within a hundred years, and losing such a kind and loyal soul would hurt. But a Gardener wasn't a puppeteer, and the creatures in his garden were free to make their own choices.

So, he put the matter out of his mind and returned to his fishing.