As Nalser sat there reminiscing about everything, time passed. An hour passed, then two, soon a day had passed since Nalser started reminiscing about his past. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled. However before he could be very happy, he was interrupted by a rumbling sound. He smiled embarrassedly, he didn’t know how long he had been reminiscing for but his stomach told him, that it had been quite long. He slowly got up and stretched, then he went to grab something to eat. After thinking everything through, he felt lighter.
His goal was now clear to him: Reach Ascension and then beat the living crap out of the person who stand behind the Prince. In his mind, the situation was like this, if that bastard hadn’t been greedy and tried to obtain this world before the right time, then all of these events that happened to Mei would not have happened. When he finished eating, he went to Medic for a check up. Since he could not use Qi, he could not check on his own body himself. From the outside, most injuries might be healed but internally, they would still be dangerous. When Medic had finished the inspection, she declared that Nalser was completely fine. There were no hidden or internal injuries and he could start cultivating again but not go on a frenzy. Nalser bitterly smiled to that. He had a feeling that they wouldn’t stop mentioning it for a long time.
When he left Medic’s office, he started thinking where exactly should he cultivate at. He destroyed two of the rooms used for cultivating. Since Artificer said that it would take a long time before they can completely repair the rooms, he currently had no idea where he could cultivate at. Unknowingly he had walked to the edge of the Island again. He quickly looked around and when he discovered that this was quite an isolated location, he thought to himself, “Maybe I should just cultivate here.” Thought so, done so.
He just sat down cross legged as he started thinking about the cultivation method of Black Flame Angel. Having reviewed it, he started trying to sense the Qi again. Since he had done so previously, it was easier this time. Although, the last time he sensed the Qi like this, it was under other circumstances.
However, he had done so before, so this time it only took him an hour to feel the Qi and refine a thread of it in accordance to the method. After refining the thread, he felt the connection to pendant being revived. He was now connected to everything again. Nalser pondered to himself a bit before he remembered that the Training Hall also had a door leading to a Qi Gathering room. He blinked and appeared inside the room.
The room was divided into 4 sections, meaning that four people could use the room at the same time without interfering with each other. He quickly entered one of the sections and was greeted by an empty room. The only thing this room was, was a praying mat used to cultivate on. Nalser also sat down on the praying mat, as he closed his eyes. The Qi Gathering formation was concentrated on this one spot, so the best potency was here. When he felt the Qi Gathered above the praying matt, he slowly started absorbing it and refining it in accordance to the Art. After absorbing the Qi for a few hours, he felt that he had reached a bottleneck.
The bloating feeling inside his dantian was a sign that he will break through soon. This made Nalser happy because he hatde this feeling of weakness, not being able to protect the things or people he cares about. As he kept gathering Qi, soon a popping sound rang out as the impurities he had accumulated again were filtered out of his body. Nalser didn’t even flinch at the layer of grime covering his body, he kept cultivating. Since he was cultivating, his need for food and water lessened.
As he kept marching this same old familiar route, he felt the connection to his Soul strengthen. He deduced that when he reached the 4 stage of Qi Gathering, he would be able to use the Soul to help him cultivate. He decided to cultivate to the 9 Stage in one go, then he would perfectly temper his body. Since his body was reformed, his tempering limit was also moved forward. This was all good but the problem came with the Hidden Meridians, Hidden Palaces. Over half of the hidden meridians he had excavated, had moved and become clogged again. This hindered his progress a lot, so he decided that when he reached the 4 Stage, he would use the help of his Soul to cultivate while he himself would be looking for the hidden meridians again.
So that he wouldn’t worry the puppets, he sent them a mental message through the pendant that he would be cultivating for now, so unless it is urgent, they should not bother him. He closed his eyes again and kept cultivating. Since the potency of Qi was very high and his body was so sturdy, he didn’t get exhausted from the cultivation.
Days passed and soon 5 days had passed and he had reached the 6 Stage of Qi Gathering. This time he wasn’t using any elixirs but that didn’t mean his progress rate had stagnated. He had also successfully excavated half of the clogged meridians. Suddenly, his eyes flashed as he got a transmission, “Mei was there and wanted to see him.” He thought for a moments and then blinked to a shower room. He thoroughly washed all the black grime off his body. He put on a clean set of clothes and then went to the Library where Mei was waiting.
On his way to the Library, he did not see anybody but it didn’t bother him much. When he reached the Library, Librarian guided him to where Mei was waiting. When he followed Librarian to turn around a bookshelf, he was greeted by all the puppets and Mei who were shouting, “Happy Birthday!” Nalser was petrified for a moment but quickly he regained his senses. He had no way of telling how time passed, so he hadn’t realized that his birthday was today. When he had accepted everyone’s well wishes, he was urged to hold a speech.
Nalser gave a short thank you speech to everyone and they started eating the cake. Nalser was born on the 16 day of the third month of Spring. This was something that he remembered because his grandpa had thrown him a party when he was 9. In their world birthdays were celebrated like this. 1 year after birth, 9 years after birth and 16 years after birth. The sixteenth birthday also signified that the person was now regard as an adult and could start his own family now. Usually families that had arranged marriages had the marriage ceremonies after the youngest of the two turned 16.
Nalser mingled with everyone and everyone looked at Nalser with a bit of fright, as the realized that Nalser had reached the 6 Stage of Qi Gathering. He had started cultivating only about a week ago, what they feared was that Nalser would go into a frenzy again and cause himself hidden injuries. They only calmed down when Nalser reassured them that he checked his body every day and that he wouldn’t overdo himself like that again. As Nalser was talking to Librarian and Sweeper about the Generals positions and so on, Medic suddenly tapped on Nalser’s shoulder. When Nalser turned to look at her, she said, “Don’t forget to thank Mei for the cake.” Nalser looked at the cake piece he was eating for a second before smiling.
When he told Medic that he will do so, he quickly wrapped up the discussion he had with Sweeper and Librarian. He then head towards Mei who was currently sitting alone sipping tea. He sat down next to her and said, “Thank you for the cake. It was delicious.” Mei smiled to him and asked, “Did you really mean that you will never abandon me?” Nalser was confused for a second before smiling and saying, “I said so and will never break my promise. Why bring it up so suddenly?” Everyone else subconsciously started listening as well and also quieted down their own talks.
That was when Mei dropped a bombshell, “Then let’s have a baby.” Everyone who were currently taking a sip of tea or were eating a piece of cake, nearly choked on them. Everything instantly became as quiet as a grave as everyone were looking towards Nalser waiting for the answer. Nalser nearly fell off the chair he was sitting on when he blanked out from the statement. Seeing the resolution in Mei’s eyes, he was crushed between a rock and a hard place. Finally he cast his head down as he said, “I can’t do that yet.” Mei immediately asked him again, “Why?” Nalser took a breath as he said, “Because I am not strong enough to protect you and the child yet.” As if waiting for this answer, Mei immediately asked again, “Then when will you be strong enough? When you transcend your Tribulation? When you Ascend? Have you forgotten that this is going to be a war that no one will know whether they will be able to survive or not.” Saying that, she gracefully stood up and started walking out.
When she was about to disappear behind the bookshelves, Nalser noticed the tear that was rolling down her cheek. Nalser sat there blankly but seeing the tear, he snapped back to reality. He immediately teleported himself to Mei and when he grabbed her, he blinked to a remote, secluded forest in the Starry World. Mei was startled but when she saw Nalser’s serious face, she was a bit scared. Before she could say anything, Nalser said, “I do not know my origins, I am weak, I have a lot of enemies. Despite me having hurt you like that before, you still stood by my side. Will you tell me why you suddenly want to have a baby out of the blue?” Mei gathered up her courage as she said, “Because you are the first person to genuinely treasure me besides my family. Before I was seen as just an incubator that had political value. You didn’t care about any of that and took me in anyway. You then did all you could to help me. I fell deeper and deeper into your debt and deeper and deeper in love with you. When the Draconian first appeared and told me to bring you to him, I had made up my resolution that I would not survive that. However, after he had me, I fell into unconsciousness. I honestly thought that that was my end and that I could pay back my debt to you. However, at that moment I woke up from my unconscious state and saw you kissing me on the lips. Then I saw you transform into a demon for my sake. Even though I lost consciousness soon after, I knew that I wouldn’t die from that.”
She took a breath before continuing, “After waking up, I expected you to throw a violated me away but instead you took me into your embrace and guarded and treasured me even more closely.” Nalser was stupidly listening to Mei’s rant. He had never thought that she felt in debt to him and so deeply in debt that she would suffer such a kind of fate just to repay him. He felt anger welling up inside him, as he thought to himself, “That kind of a thing is bullshit.”
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Then Mei continued, “I honestly had no idea on what I was supposed to do, the least I could do was carry on your lineage but you rejected me like that again.” She took a breath before yelling at him, “TELL ME WHAT AM -” *PA!* Her yell was cut short by a clear slap on the face. Nalser couldn’t contain it any more and slapped Mei’s face. He looked her straight in the eyes as he said, “I have never considered you being in my debt.”
He then let out a breath as his head fell onto Mei’s shoulder, “If anything, I am the one in debt to you.” The blanked Mei listened, she did not know how to act or what to say. All she could do was just stand there. As Nalser rested his head on her shoulder he continued, “Before I met you, I had not interacted with other people. The only person I had ever talked to was my Gramps. I had lived in my little cage, even though I had been on the island for a while, Sweeper and the rest acted like mindless puppets. I had no one to talk to, no one to spend time with, I was always alone.” He let out a sigh before continuing, “Everything changed when I met you. I wasn’t alone any more, I had someone to talk to, I had someone to spend time with together, laugh together, cry together. My life before was as monotonous as a book. Everything seemed to be following one set course and everything felt so bleak.”
Tears streamed down Mei’s head when she finally understood how Nalser really felt. She awkwardly hugged Nalser’s head as he continued, “So, you have never in my debt. Techniques, elixirs? They are all things that can be replaced but a person who you can trust everything to, replacing that person is nigh impossible. It is me who is in your debt for shattering that black and white prison I called a life before.” When Nalser finished saying everything, he gently lifted his head from Mei’s shoulder and looked at her in the eyes again.
He said every word resolutely, “You are an irreplaceable person to me, you changed my whole view of life. No matter what happens in the future, no matter who I meet, you will always be the one I want to stand beside. No one else will ever be able to take your place no matter what happens.”
Finally, Mei couldn’t stand it any more and burst out crying, as she cried everything out from within her. When she cried there in Nalser’s arms, no words were said and no words were needed. Nature took it course and soon their hands started wandering around the others body as they finally connected thoroughly. Soon, moans started sounding out in the secular woods. The moans died down, two naked bodies were lying there in the woods, in the arms of each other. The two had finally opened up their hearts to each other.
Through out the process, there were several times when Nalser considered stopping because seeing Mei flinch when his hands wandered, his heart bled. To him, she was the most important person, to see her like that was something Nalser never wanted to see. As they snuggled in each other’s arms, Nalser suddenly said, “About the baby, wait until I reach the Core Formation. Then I will give you as many of them as you want.” Mei looked at Nalser in puzzlement and asked why. Then Nalser told her everything that had happened with the old man. How he learned about the true scale of this war, the formation he traded for, the proposal of the old man. Mei just listened to him and when Nalser explained that he needed to be at least at Core Formation Stage to lay down the Formations on this Dimension to make it truly impregnable, she understood.
She also understood how much her words had actually hurt Nalser. When she thought back to it, she truly had been clouded by her feeling of debt. Now that she understood Nalser’s true feelings, she never mentioned anything like that any more. She also understood, that Nalser never wanted to feel anything like that again, so he was currently going to grow strong enough to make this place into his true safe haven. When Nalser asked for her opinion on whether he should accept the old man’s proposal, Mei just smiled and said, “There is probably a reason other than him wanting to rope you in. That reason is something that he can’t so easily explain to others but it weighs down on him heavily.” Mei could understand the feeling of the old man.
She who had also felt that she shoulders a huge debt to someone understood that it was not so easily spoken of. Nalser thought about it for a while. Soon, they reluctantly left each other’s arms as they put their clothes back on. However, the invisible distance between them had disappeared. When they were fully dressed, Nalser grabbed Mei’s arm as he looked towards the sky and said, “Hey, perverted Uncle, bring me and Mei to Gramps.”
Mei was puzzled by this but she trusted Nalser so she didn’t ask about it. After a few minutes passed, they suddenly felt their vision grow blurry as they were summoned to the Dream World. When Mei opened her eyes and she saw the grandiose conference hall, her mind blanked as her jaw dropped. She was immediately awakened from the blankness as an annoyed voice sounded out, “For the record, I did not watch. The moment your hands started wandering, I stopped watching.” As she looked towards the origin of the voice, she saw the young man and the old man. Her heart clenched when she felt their auras but she calmed down when she felt Nalser’s hand holding hers. Nalser let out a little laugh as he said, “No offence then Uncle.”
The young man nodded and Nalser walked towards the seat opposite to his. When he sat down Mei by his side, he took a seat as well. The old man was silent as he sized up Mei but Nalser’s words sounded out soon, “Gramps, I will accept your proposal on two conditions.” The old man looked at Nalser with a hint of smile. He just let out a little laugh as he said, “State your conditions then Lil’Nalsu.” He was in quite a happy mood because Nalser speaking to him like an equal was something that he had not felt in a long time. When everyone always speaks to you like a subordinate it creates certain loneliness.
Nalser said in a serious voice, “1. I want you to give an oath to take Mei under your protection if something happens to me.” The old man raised a brow as he asked, “Why do you think that you will die so easily?” Nalser just shook his head as he said, “After thinking through our conversation, I realized that we are dealing with an enemy we can’t see and can’t hear. He is like s wolf in sheep’s skin hiding in a herd. Who is to say that if I become too big of an obstacle to them that he won’t intervene personally to take care of me. Remember, to start contesting for power with the Celestial Emperor means that he has personal strength to hold his own against him.” The old man suddenly realized that he had not thought about that.
What Nalser said was correct, they do not know who they are fighting, so who is to say that the big boss himself won’t intervene to take care of Nalser if he becomes too big of a variable. The chances of winning him over are zero for him, so his only option is to eliminate him. The old man seriously nodded and said, “I understand and I am willing to swear an oath to protect her with my own life, should you fall.” The young man chipped in as well, “I am also willing to swear it.”
Nalser nodded and said, “Now my second condition is that you tell me the true reason why you suddenly decided to “adopt me as a grandson”. As Mei told me, there seems to be a more profound reason to that than you wanting to rope me in or just doing it impulsively.” The old man was startled for second but it was truly in his expectations. No one would be willing to believe such a bogus reason as “just because”. Nalser wasn’t a fool either so him asking for this was not actually surprising. What surprised him for a second was that he said “Mei told him”. That statement alongside the first condition show just how important she was to him.
He could have asked for the protection for himself or some other techniques but he didn’t. The old man had a hint of sad smile as he let out a sigh, “This story is something that only my son only recently learned of. It is something that in this whole Cosmos only me and him know. You two will be the third and fourth person.” With that being said, he started narrating the story again. Everyone else were quiet as the old man narrated the whole story in one go. When he finished, he let out a breath of relief.
Nalser just bowed his head as he said, “I did not fathom to think that there would be such a reason. I sincerely apologize for tearing up old wounds and making you remember something like that.” Nalser was truly sorry because he knew how painful bringing those kinds of memories were. He felt the same when he thought about what had happened to Mei because of him. The old man let out a bitter laugh as he said, “No need to burden yourself with it. Raise your head.” As he gestured Nalser to raise his head, he continued, “I had actually given up on trying to find the soul already because so long had passed and I had no idea whether the soul still existed or had been shattered.”
Nalser just nodded. It wouldn’t have been weird at all if the soul had shattered. Such a long time had passed and no one knew what had happened during that period of time.
A glint passed the old man’s eyes as he said, “When I met you, I immediately recognised your Soul Aura and it was at that moment that I decided on fulfilling my promise to him.” Nalser could understand the sentiment behind it but there had been one thing that was eating at him. Finally he asked, “Are you the Celestial Emperor?”
This question startled the three of them but the old man let out a hearty laugh as he said, “As sharp as expected. You truly picked up the little pieces from the story and came to the right conclusion. It is as you think, I am the Celestial Emperor and he is the Crown Prince. My first born son.” Nalser immediately stood up and bowed saying, “I am sorry for not recognizing an Exalted figure as you. I also apologize for my rudeness from before.” Nalser was no fool. Enn had passed him some information about the power of the Celestial Emperor and his history.
The old man let out a laugh as he said, “No need to be so polite. If I wanted someone to kiss my ass, then I would gather my retainers.” He gestured to Nalser to sit down as his eyes turned sharp as he said, “Any ways, I have fulfilled your two conditions. The question is: Are you going to have cold feet now because of my identity?” Nalser sat down before saying, “I do not know of the term. You have fulfilled my selfish conditions, of course I am going to fulfill my side of the bargain. I am willing to become your adopted Grandson.” The old man let out a hearty laugh as he said, “Welcome to the family. What I said before still stands, I don’t ask you to treat me like the Emperor but like your Grandpa. Now then, mind introducing my future granddaughter-in-law to me?” This statement made Mei blush but Nalser let out a laugh as he introduced Mei.
The old man swept his hand and food and drinks filled the table. The old man said in a joyous tone, “Now then, this calls for a celebration. Both for you becoming a part of our family as well as your birthday.” With that, they had their own private little banquet.