Armad settled in, absorbing his cultivation at an astonishing rate, a testament to his Wilberforce lineage. He dedicated hours to this process until it melded seamlessly into his core, aided by his robust bloodline.
With the energy coursing through his body, he prepared to resume his journey. Retrieving a skin enhancer and stowing away the cultivation booster, he planned to alternate between them, allowing each to integrate fully.
Recalling how long it took to consume just five hundred pills, he anticipated weeks to absorb the thousands he now possessed, especially with shared consumption with Nusi.
Recognizing the importance of honing his skills alongside his cultivation, Armad understood that true mastery required both strength and technique.
Unlike many cultivators, Armad’s prowess intertwined with his skills, a result of his potent Negrinki World, which flourished with his ascending cultivation.
The Negrinki World currently bolstered his attacks by approximately 4%, a figure set to rise with the world’s expansion. This enhancement would amplify all his skills, refining them as his cultivation advanced.
Despite focusing primarily on enhancing his cultivation, Armad remained committed to honing existing skills and acquiring new ones.
Afterward, he consumed another five pills, while Nusi opted for just two. As their skin heated and throbbed, they endured the discomfort, knowing it was a necessary step in toughening their bodies.
Though familiar with the pain, Armad still felt its intensity, especially with the escalating dosage required to elevate his resilience. Each advancement demanded more pills, accompanied by escalating discomfort, necessitating gritted teeth to endure.
Continuing the regimen alongside Nusi, they persevered until sunset, foregoing rest to absorb pills throughout the day.
Upon pausing, Armad’s first action was to inquire with the System about his progress.
Armad nodded in approval, acknowledging the progress in toughening his skin from 37% to 41%.
He observed the subtle change in his complexion, slightly darker due to the whitening pill’s effects. Continual use of skin enhancers would restore his original appearance while maintaining toughness.
Explaining the pills’ effects, skin enhancers darkened and toughened the skin, while whitening pills lightened it and removed resulting keloids, yet retained toughness.
Nusi’s skin also strengthened by 9% presently.
Enduring the discomfort, they persisted in consuming pill after pill.
Before dawn, they depleted around 120 pills. Armad advanced to 46%, while Nusi reached 19%.
As his progress slowed with higher cultivation, Nusi’s pace outpaced his due to her lower stage, ensuring she gained more.
Engrossed in their meditation, eyes shut as they absorbed pills, their skins hardened notably.
Later, Armad observed Nusi’s transformation. Her complexion darkened, adorned with keloids from head to toe.
Armad shook his head and retrieved some whitening pills from his bag, despite having already given her some earlier with a warning to use them sparingly.
Without hesitation, she accepted the pills, quickly ingesting them and draping an additional dress over her body, clearly uncomfortable in the presence of her male master. Armad, however, remained indifferent, continuing their meditation without acknowledging her actions.
By the following evening, Armad’s skin had reached the 51st stage of thickness, darkened with keloids. Rather than waiting to repeat the process, he promptly consumed ten whitening pills.
Three hours later, his skin returned to its normal state, and he resumed absorbing the cultivation booster.
Three days passed in meditation until a loud, persistent knock on the door snapped them back to reality.
Despite their goal to make a dent in their stockpile of over 4000 pills, they had only consumed about 500 before the interruption. Nonetheless, Armad’s progress was substantial, now at the 54th stage of thickness, over half of the total percentage. Upon reaching 100%, his skin would be unparalleled in toughness. The system would then elevate him to the next level, enhancing his flesh.
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The sudden knock on the door grabbed their attention. Armad, using his spiritual sense, discerned Judge’s presence, appearing visibly agitated. Frowning at the breach of his meditation time, Armad reluctantly rose to answer the door.
Upon opening it, he found Judge already breathless. “What’s happening?” Armad inquired.
“We’re about to be attacked by all our neighboring cities, Your Highness,” Judge exclaimed, his worry palpable. “Our spies spotted them, all ten cities, marching towards us. They’ll arrive within a day and a half. We must prepare. What are your orders?”
Judge’s anxiety was evident, as he understood the stark contrast between his expendability and the prince’s invulnerability.
The approaching warriors were not mere wild people; they were disciplined, and trained in cultivator academies, akin to the Three-bar Legion. Some of these cities boasted millennia of existence and numerous academies, their battle prowess and discipline unparalleled. Despite the prince’s newfound strength and their recent victory over wild people, Judge knew facing these adversaries would be an entirely different challenge.
“So they’ve arrived?” Armad remarked, his tone betraying little concern as he turned back into the room.
Judge was taken aback by Armad’s response, expecting more urgency. Before he could speak, Armad issued orders. “Gather all the men, including A’i and her fellow volunteers who’ve been training, along with the other soldiers,” he commanded, summoning a gust of wind to close the door behind him.
Standing bewildered, Judge grappled with his next move. Should he stress the imminent danger to his master or adhere to Armad’s directives?
Initially considering suggesting a clandestine departure with the prince under cover of night if the situation worsened, Judge pondered the greater importance of preserving the prince’s life for the kingdom’s future.
Observing Armad’s apparent indifference, Judge wrestled with whether his master comprehended the severity of the impending threat or if a reminder was necessary.
Despite his doubts, Judge harbored a flicker of hope in Armad’s capabilities, having witnessed the prince’s newfound skills firsthand. Yet, uncertainty lingered regarding whether these skills would suffice against the formidable approaching legion.
Armad harbored none of Judge’s reservations. He viewed the impending battle as the defining moment of his quest to establish a kingdom, recognizing it as a pivotal opportunity. Victory would elevate him to unparalleled heights, granting control over ten additional cities and their resources. With their armies, natural wealth, and farmlands under his dominion, he envisioned swift subjugation.
However, failure would leave him homeless and vulnerable, with no refuge or domain to call his own. Despite the grim prospect of defeat, Armad remained resolute and devoid of fear.
He had anticipated this confrontation, hence his preemptive communication with these neighboring kingdoms. Aware that many were loyal to his brother, he understood the inevitability of their opposition. Even before departing the capital, he had encountered warnings against selecting this city for his kingdom’s foundation. The challenge of overcoming multiple well-trained legions, each supported by Deva, loomed dauntingly. Yet, Armad accepted this daunting task as an inevitable step in his quest for empire-building.
The councilmen who proffered this advice doubted Armad’s strength, believing him too feeble to confront the cities directly, potentially falling victim to clandestine schemes before even making a move.
Despite these daunting assessments, Armad remained undeterred and resolute. Unfazed by the vast numerical superiority of his adversaries, he braced himself for the impending battle, confident in his ability to emerge victorious. This confidence spurred him to initiate communication with the neighboring cities, laying the groundwork for the conflict to come.
Upon his return, Armad noticed Nusi’s agitation, likely having overheard the discussion. Yet, he paid it little heed, calmly swapping out his skin enhancers for cultivation booster pills.
While his Miyura offered a means to enhance his cultivation, the efficacy still depended on the strength of his existing cultivation. With the enemy’s imminent arrival predicted within a day and a half by Judge, Armad seized the brief respite to absorb more pills and meditate before rallying his forces for battle.
With a newfound urgency, both Armad and Nusi consumed pill after pill, foregoing the customary interval between doses as they grasped the gravity of the situation. Each intake fueled their determination to prepare swiftly for the impending conflict.
Before long, their cultivation began to soar, particularly Nusi's, given her lower stage.
Armad had already discerned the exceptional potency of the pills derived from the medicinal plants, surpassing any he had previously encountered. Pure and devoid of impurities, these pills simultaneously enhanced the skin and bolstered the body's strength. As Armad's cultivation surged to 7500, then 8000, and eventually 8500, Nusi experienced a rapid ascent from just over 1000 to 2000 before even consuming a hundred pills, reaching the second stage of core formation level.
Undeterred by the discomfort and heat permeating their bodies, they persisted, their increasing cultivation failing to lull them into complacency or halt their consumption of pills. Throughout the night, they tirelessly absorbed pills, accumulating roughly 2000 years of cultivation between sunset and midnight.
As dawn broke, Armad’s cultivation had surpassed 9,500 cultivation years, inching ever closer to the threshold where he would ascend to the rank of a Deva. Even a mere hair’s breadth beyond this milestone would trigger his transition from core formation to Deva.
Meanwhile, Nusi had already reached the 7th stage of core formation, matching Armad’s cultivation of 7,000 cultivation years from days prior.
A realization struck Armad at that moment. He couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but it seemed that Nusi’s cultivation was advancing at a swifter pace than his own, albeit slowing as she climbed higher in stages.