Cleaning up the scattered Eyeless would be the task of the local Legion regiment, but Pef decided to reinforce Merri with a billion local cultivators he had already captured in his inner world. After indoctrinating them into the Legion, of course.

A few drops of Godbeast blood were needed to promote Merri and his new wife, Beotia to Tier 2 but the rest will be up to them.

Leaving them two swords crafted from Godbeast's claws, and with the financial and logistical support of the Church behind them, Pef was reasonably certain the Legion would prosper here as well.

Meanwhile, the Elf King had recovered somewhat, enough to return to his throne. The old guy wouldn't have the strength to fight another Tier 4, but for lesser ranked enemies he will be sufficient.

Plus, Arazmodel was getting stronger now, and his family were raised to High Lord Demons already. Reaching the Greater Demon status wouldn't be that easy, not even with godwine.

Riding a converted voidbeast, Pef and Nellie begun their journey back, but his time laying down spatial tunnels behind them.

As expected, the new Legion mounts also grew strong and fast with mind stones and the blood wine and later even a godbeast drop of blood. Feeding the voidwine, made from the blood of their voidbeasts relatives, to the newly hatched beasts was perhaps cannibalism, but it also helped them gain stronger void abilities.

At every stop, Pef created trade stations and Legion bases, to serve as rest and refuel points for the future transports and traders travelling the wormholes.

Of course, laying down the pathways was much slower than simply travelling through them, which only took a moment.

One had to actually stop and link each tunnel with the next, much like laying railroad beams. If each beam was 1 light-year long.

Thus, the trip took decades instead of a single year, and by the time Pef reached Lacrima again, Legion ships and various traders were already using the wormholes to increase commerce between galaxies, and maintain a chain of communication and command.

Orders and other form of information could travel through the tunnels just as well as ships or flying cultivators, thus helping with rapid coordination and reinforcements between regiments or trade markets.

Resources and troops could be moved at speed to the next galaxy at need, or simply for trading.

Unknown to Pef, his Church also followed through the tunnels, the vast richness of the Church being spread out with construction projects, from temples and art, to factories or plantations.

Pef stopped at Zeus, the gas giant, to anchor this last section of the tunnel to the Zeus battlestation.

His wives and other Soldiers arrived to help, transporting a hundred moons to craft the largest trade market this universe had ever seen.

A year later, Nellie and other Tier 3 Soldiers began laying down new routes to the other Legion outposts and bases, using the hundred voidbeasts acquired by Pef.

Pef however stayed home, spending time with Yen Blossom and Mia, and the kids.

These two wives were lagging behind, barely reaching Tier 2 and One with the Sword stage in sword dao.

'Can't we help them ascend at least one more Tier?' Pef mused inward, while hugging his sleeping wives at his chest.

'We probably could, while spending 100 times too much rare resources. Combat is a necessary step for every Legion Soldier. Send them out exploring. They will get stronger and experience harshness, just like Aria is doing right now.' the glove answered with a suffering sigh.

Damn user was still too kind. It didn't matter much, right now. But once they left this cozy and safe universe...

Pef nodded inward, eyes closed in meditation. He knew what the glove was trying to do. But he also knew that exploring was dangerous. A random Tier 3 beast somewhere would simply eat his wives as a snack.

Not everyone was a prodigy in combat or cultivation.

"Why are you sad, hubby?" Blossom asked, having woken and staring at his face.

"My glove...says you need to go out into the universe and forge yourself." he replied in a mild voice.

No need to hide the obvious, after all. His wives never suspected him of being a hidden genius mastermind.

Blossom fell silent for a long time. "The glove is right. I know. Soon everyone else among my sisters will reach Tier 4. The Veil regiment needs combat as well."

Mia woke up as well and began kissing Pef's body. "I'll take the tunnel to Ardania, and explore outwards. What will you do, more soulsmithing?" she asked while climbing him for another ride.

Pef smiled kindly. "I am always crafting with my avatars. But only this body is real enough for love."

He drew Blossom into a long kiss, and enjoyed the love.

By next week, Blossom and Mia departed on their roaming, armored and armed with Tier 4 bones.

Pef stared at the sun, as inside Qin was rapidly reaching Tier 3 and completing her Fire Dao.

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With a burst of energy, his wife emerged from the sun with wings of fire a thousand kilometers wide.

He Blinked himself next to Qin, and observed the transformation with amazement.

"I did it! I am fire now!" the red-headed beauty exclaimed, bursting into flames, transforming into a ball of living fire and streaking into the Void, reforming to her normal body a million kilometers away.

'That's possible?' Pef wondered in surprise.

'Yes.' the glove answered curtly.

Pef chased after her and tried to hug, only to find his hands passing through fire and catching nothing.

"Hehe. Catch me if you can!" Qin yelled and ran away, spreading fire clones left and right.

Pef chased and tried to catch the fire swan, only to be deceived again and again.

After a few hours, his wife stopped and smiled sweetly at him. "You get one day, because I'm in a good mood. But then I'm leaving too." she explained while appearing in his arms.

Pef grinned and kissed his fiery goddess. "As you say, love. Take a voidbeast and lay a path behind you. But first...let me examine you in very, very close detail." he whispered while kissing her soft neck, hungrily.

Soon enough, Pef found himself alone again, with only his subordinates and smiths remaining on Lacrima, while a thousand new regiments were getting closer and closer to Ascension.

Rose and Lily were busy working on the gene therapy project, while Paragon had his duties as the ruling Monarch. Plus his new fairy wife.

Pef Blinked himself on the moon, arriving next to Drake and Volcanis in their special forge.

"Hey guys. Anything new?" he asked in a good mood.

"We're good, boss. Plenty of bones and adamantite for a thousand more years. Although, more Red Soul Dust would be great. Watch!" the dragon kin said holding out a new weapon.

It was strangely familiar, the shape and size of a Legion Knife, but made from adamantite and Archdemon bone, with a pinch of soul dust added to impart sentience.

Drake dropped the weapon in mid-air, but it remained floating. Then it spun around, like looking for advice and flew away, hiding in a crate full of metal bars and gems.

"Back to me!" the dragon smith commanded, and the sentient sword flew into his hand, and entered Drake's inner world without leaving a scar.

Pef rose an eyebrow and held his gloved hand out. "Here!" he demanded curious.

The new weapon emerged cautiously and entered the glove pocket.

'The handle has a Green immortal jade inside, storing instructions and performing computation. For a Tier 4 weapon, it is quite decent. Indeed, with another dose of Soul Dust this knife will be able to sever Tier 1 souls. And if Drake reaches Tier 4, even Tier 2 souls will be possible.' the glove commented while listing the weapon' stats as if it was a person.

'How about a glove, like you?' Pef asked with an inner smile.

Smithing was miraculous indeed. Perhaps...

'Not like me. But...an adjutant for lower ranks...we can try it with a strip of Godbeast skin, instead of demon bone. If the Heavens allow it, it will receive a Veritas Legion inscription, just like Gaia had.' the glove replied after a few minutes.

Pef turned towards Volcanis, while taking out a few vellum pages, obtained by skinning the Godbeast.

"New task, my friend. Make a few gloves, similar to this one. Storage space, combat assistance, cultivation advice, telekinetic field and protective inscriptions. When is ready, I'll call a tribulation and see if they work." Pef said with a challenging smile.

Volcanis examined the skins with his coresense, then held out a hand.

Closing his eyes, he began soulsmithing the beast skin, molding the velum page around his hand into a leather glove.

It took an hour til the shape and ergonomics of the glove were sufficient. Volcanis wiggled his fingers inside the glove and grimaced.

"I need to rest now. This is very hard and my soul hurts." the Legion's smith explained, sitting down to drink some godwine and recover.

Pef sighed and started the same process with a new vellum page. An hour later, he too felt drained and tired and had to stop and rest.

"Want me to try it too?" Drake asked as he just finished making another Legion knife.

Pef shook his head. "No. A thousand knives, for every regiment leader. The gloves will only go to my family anyway. Not enough godbeast skin."

Drake eyed Pef's glove with suspicion, then returned to his craft.

Meanwhile, Pef calculated the amounts of bone and metal needed to upgrade his Legion with new weapons and armor, but he still came short.

'How effective would a hundred new gloves be?' he asked inward.

'Roughly similar to a devil power armor, or maybe a lich necro-mount. Tier 3 to Tier 4 opponents will be more feasible to defeat. Legion loses will decrease by 3 percent, and more at lower tiers.' the glove said with a tiny laugh.

Pef sighed and resumed crafting the new Godbeast-skin glove. Cultivation was harsh, nothing new.