Although nothing momentous happened at the birthday party itself, the event had far reaching consequences.

A tentative alliance of a sort, centered around the new miracle Academy student. Lady Meili received new instructions from her sect, offering any and every help they could possibly provide to establish a favorable relation with the new up-coming Iron patriarch. This often consisted of gifts of Immortal Spirit Stones, rare cultivation herbs or even expensive cooking ingredients or tools. Somehow, Pef appeared more interested in strange legumes or fruits from far away places.

The Steelsmith offered an unlimited invite to his smith shop to exchange tips or Formations, while the Demonhunter offered to return in a few months for another spar. Pef did visit a few times, a gained a brand new armor set from the Steelsmith, mostly peak T11 items that costed a million times less than an Eternium artifact. Free stuff was free though, and Kalima was happy for the visits.

The Been Queen received a new pair of Tier 11 wings, which she strained every day and night to integrate, and advance her own realm at the same time. It was going slow though. Pef was inclined to brew some new wine or mead that might help, while the glove proposed they skin the bee alive and Ascend her exoskeleton separately. Pef decided it would be the last resort. He would do it to the Taotie, but the bee wasn't that guilty.

Lady Gia obtained a new set of fashionable robes from Lady Si, and was visiting Pef every weekend, for more carnal pleasures, including amazing meals and mind-blowing sex.

Often literally mind-blowing, as Gia was a powerhouse in mind powers. Lady Si was also included in the deal, and climbed another realm from the constant injections of high-quality Yang liquids.

Then the mid-terms came, with formal paper exams and then a field test, in the Chaos Sea.

As Pef returned to his courtyard, having aced the written tests, he found the Bee Queen curled into a ball, shivering.

"What's wrong, Bee Queen?" he asked a bit worried and sent a message to the glove for advice. 'Leave her be. It is happening.' the glove answered in a minute.

"I am afraid, Master... I feel my body changing." the Bee spoke in trembling tones.

"You are in the ninth tier of body cultivation. The tribulation will likely not even hurt you." Pef observed in a calm voice.

"T-Tribulation?" the Bee stammered as she forced herself to look up.

Black clouds began to gather over Pef's courtyard.

Acting on impulse, Pef jumped in front of the Heavenly Lightning, frying himself into a crisp. Painful, but worth it! Pef exulted inside, as he Blinked away from the incoming bolts falling over the Bee Queen.

The glove goddess observed from the side and sighed inward. Her user was still the same idiot as always.

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Lady Si flew beside her lover and stared incredulously as he shed the burned hair and skin and grew new ones with a wide grin on his face. "You saw that? I took a lightning bolt and was fine!"

"You were almost incinerated!" Lady Si shouted politely.

"On purpose! I will use defensive Formations when I also Ascend to Tier 11." he explained in a calm voice. Meanwhile, his inner selves were busy processing the energy and insights of the Heavenly Tribulation to increase his body cultivation to the eight tier.

"Just be safe..." she advised him in a soft voice.

"You stay safe, Lady Si. Don't open the Formation door to anyone. Those few who are allowed can enter anyways." he warned her again.

More and more lighting bolts fell over the Bee Queen, until they reached 1008 and stopped. Pef glanced at the sky, and smiled widely. The same number as the Taotie received for his Tier 10 Ascension. Basically, the easy mode for the durable Bee Queen.

Groaning in pain, the Bee Queen rose on her legs and began shedding her carbonized exoskeleton. "Next time, I prefer to be skinned alive and have my shell Ascended separately." she muttered in a pained voice.

"The Taotie got 1008 bolts at Bronze Realm, your Majesty. You got off easy, this time." Pef added in a mild voice.

The Bee Queen shuddered once more, and muttered: "Monsters, both of you..."

"Anyways, how is your body cultivation? I advanced another tier with a single Tribulation Lightning." Pef proclaimed in a proud voice.

The bee stopped to analyze herself then opened her eyes comically wide. "Another tier? I never knew there was more!"

Pef smiled and stepped closer to help the bee scrape the old skin away. "I suspect that koi guy is even more advanced. His scales can even withstand my Sword Soul. And you saw what it did to that Eternium door."

"Scrape harder! And yes, if I could continue advancing, gaining a body that can withstand something like that would be amazing. Tribulations wouldn't even scratch me anymore!" the Bee Queen exclaimed in a happy mood.

"The flower garden is toast." Pef observed in a more somber tone, as he scanned the courtyard and found all the flowers had burned or scattered away..

The Bee Queen just nodded wisely. "Flowers are the epitome of impermanence. They are designed to scatter and convey beauty."

Pef froze, as insights into his Sword Soul arose from these few words. Sword qi formed into petals and flew around him, each petal carrying the power of a full Voidcutter.

"Bankai. Senbonzakura" Pef whispered as he released his sword Qi, sword petals gathering and forming a giant claw to scrape the burned skin of the Bee Queen.

"This is both amazing pleasant and scarily dangerous..." the newly Ascended Bee Queen said in a timid voice. She was afraid to move a millimeter or be truly skinned alive by that giant claw. Then again, shedding the burned skin felt so good.

"So don't move, unless I tell you." Pef added with a grin. Truly, the cultivation world was filled with miracles.

---------

Meanwhile, the glove goddess just sobbed inward at the wasted potential of her user, and flew away to begin the next part of the plan. The user will need worthy opponents, and that Jade House scion was due to be released from detention.

Would it be stretch to guess that scion will be vengeful and draw his own House into his demise? Surely not! The glove could calculate to the tenth decimal how certain that event would be.

She just had to make sure the pieces fell into the right places, and then replace the missing Jade scion with a new one, from the Lower Heavens. Surely, Pef will be glad to have his wife brought to the Academy, right?

Another karma debt repaid, and thus closer to her Ascension.

As for that Si woman, something should be done as well...she did tangentially caused her demise at the Lacrima Perimeter. A small karma debt, but it wasn't a coincidence she appeared again in Pef's life, as Fate did have a way to repair itself. Once the woman reached Tier 7 she will even begin to remember. Better act before that happens