Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
As the Chi Gathering technique placed in the book ‘Bartender’ Sergei gifted him was pretty generic, the optimization was terrible. In the end, it was a question of logic as every cultivator’s body was different with different characteristics, and creating a one-size-fits-all technique implied having to cut corners. Cultivators thus had a great incentive to find one that suited their respective unique physique. From the brown book, the easiest path was finding an existing cultivation technique, in the hope of both boosting their cultivation speed and easing any breakthrough to higher Levels or Ranks. Another path was to have a high-level cultivator on hand who could create said technique. ‘None of those options suits us. That only leaves me with the last one: Creating my own from the book’s generic one...’ He thought as he operated the technique to absorb the thin spiritual energy around him.
That reflection surfaced in his mind after noticing two huge problems with the ‘normal’ technique. The first was the difficulty of energy absorption. Despite easily perceiving the energy around him with his strong mind power, it felt like the energy went through a sieve every time he started a round of absorption, leaving most of it untouched. The second problem followed right after the previous step. During the journey through his spiritual channels, most of the spiritual energy was lost from the collision with the inner wall, or other wasteful reasons. That energy loss only left a tiny amount which finally reached his Dantian. It was so unreal that he felt like his senses were mistaken the first time it happened until he checked the situation a few times and ultimately accepted the reality. Fortunately, his cultivation base was still increasing, although, at a far slower pace than the last month and a half, creating a feeling of frustration in his heart.
To change that, the four had a lengthy conversation and, after a few experiments, they found a solution to fix it: Use his Physiology Perk to create a technique that fitted his body perfectly! For normal cultivators, it may be a very dangerous endeavor, however, for Demian, it was simply a matter of time and practice. At least as long as he was not too reckless about it. If he went that path, not only would his perk optimize his body, but it would also help him do the same with the technique. It happened before when he trained with Bryn to master her fighting skills. He felt bursts of inspiration again and again which pointed him toward the right direction. Even after his proficiency reached a terrifying level, he could still feel himself improving, while noting the fact that Bryn’s skills transformed somewhat to fit his physical characteristics.
Those were some observations he made after receiving his perks. Would it work for everything? He could not tell. However, what he COULD tell was that it did work for his recent experiments, and, despite his spiritual channels bearing a few light injuries that recovered relatively quickly due to his perk, his absorption speed increased visibly. Not only that, but his channels’ inner walls grew stronger in the process. Objectively, at his current stage of experimentation, his cultivation pace was still on the slow side, however, if he kept this momentum, it should only take a few weeks for him to have a Chi Gathering technique perfectly suited for his particular physique. In the meantime, his best bet to grow his cultivation base quickly was to often spar with Bryn, as his perk seemed to still have an effect even after his breakthrough, whether it was to increase his body’s overall power or his energy accumulation. ‘The improvements don’t seem as great as before I broke through. Maybe if I can get the Body Technique mentioned in the brown book, my cultivation speed might increase...’
Shoving that thought aside, he focused on his experiments until he felt his cousin halting her own cultivation and standing up. Jumping on his feet, he naturally stretched his body while asking. “Everyone’s ready?” His question made Adeliya and Seraphine stop their own practice before the two sat down on the ground, panting for breath. The two were drenched with sweat, and their faces were red from exhaustion. Completely rested, Bryn calmly replied. “I’m ready, but we should wait a bit for Mom and Sis to recover.” To which Adeliya retorted, out of breath. “Let... Let’s d... Do that!” An amused grin found itself appearing on Demian’s face as he stated. “Sure. We can afford to wait a few minutes.” Fortunately, with their cultivation Level, it did not take too long for the two to regain their strength and the group was thus ready to commence the operation.
The family of four, fully clothed, then walked toward the car as Demian reminded everyone of the plan. “Aunty and Sera, you girls stay on the move. Keep your phone in hand in case something unexpected happens. Do the same with the gun. It’ll be more useful to you two than Big Sis and I.” The two nodded and entered their vehicle before driving away. Once they left with the muscle car, Demian turned back to Bryn and commented playfully. “I guess it’s only you and I, partner!” His teasing comment brought an amused smile to her face, while the atmosphere somewhat eased slightly. As she started walking toward the passenger front seat, she threw the car keys over her shoulder toward him while declaring. “You drive. The car is a pain for me to drive.”
Catching the keys, he grinned as he could easily imagine how little legroom the woman had now that she had become so tall. “I guess planes are a no-go from now on.” He mumbled, snickering for a brief moment before he froze as he realized something. “It’s the same for me, isn’t he? Or maybe it’d be better in business class?” He mumbled under his breath as his feet brought him to the driver’s seat. Once seated, he turned on the ignition and started driving calmly toward their target, while chatting with his oldest cousin about his recent gains from his previous experiments. They also shared a few findings about each other’s weaknesses they respectively noticed during the previous spar and a few ideas on how to resolve them.
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It went on until, a short while later, they parked their car at a parking lot close to Petrovich’s house. Once the ignition was off, the two took a few deep breaths, while keeping silent. A few moments later, Demian turned his blue eyes in her direction and said. “We’ll first check if he’s home, break the door down, and neutralize everyone as quickly as possible. We can’t let them contact anybody else.” The powerful woman met his gaze before nodding her head calmly, the gesture belying her inner thoughts. At least, his superhuman senses picked up on a few clues pointing to the fact that she was more nervous than she let on. Not that he was overly surprised about it, as killing people was never an easy thing, especially when the difference in physical strength between their target and theirs was so big.
If one thought about it in a certain way, it was akin to killing in cold blood, and even if they were ‘justified’ in their actions, that particular fact would not change. Since he, who already ended three men’s lives, was also nervous, Bryn’s state of mind should be even worse. Keeping silent for a brief moment, he gently put his hand on hers and declared seriously. “Whatever happened in there, I’ve got your back. I want you to know that.” His gesture and reassurance made her body tense for an instant before loosening as a small smile appeared on her beautiful face. After a small nod, she replied. “Mmmhh. I’m just... a bit nervous, I guess...” Lightly shaking her head, she added. “You don’t need to be worried about me. I’ll be fine.” With a playful smile, he retorted. “As Aunty always says: I’ll always worry about you, so deal with it!’’
The two chuckled at his teasing remark before Demian exclaimed seriously. “Alright. It won’t get easier if we wait longer, so we might as well go now.” Hesitating for a second, he declared. “I’ll go first so...” His words were suddenly cut off by the redhead’s hand placing her left hand in front of his face and saying. “No. I will go first.” As he was about to protest, she added. “Don’t be dumb, Dem. We both know I’m a lot more resistant than you, especially if I activate my physical buff.” Despite knowing her ‘tattooed’ state indeed boosted her power by an unknown amount, he still felt a bit reluctant. However, he knew that it was his ego and over-protectiveness doing the talking. He thus was mature enough to concede to her demand, not without letting out a helpless breath. “Fine, you win! You need to be careful, though. I’m pretty sure they’d have guns with them.”
His concerned words elicited a warm smile from the muscular woman before gently setting her left hand on his right and saying in an uncharacteristic tender tone. “Thanks for caring so much, Dem.” Her actions froze him for a second before his gaze moved away from hers, and a flustered reply escaped his lips. “Sure. We’re family after all.” His ears then caught a few giggles coming from her, prompting him to roll his eyes and comment. “Alright, let’s stop the jokes and start the operation if you don’t mind.” His words instantly restored the serious atmosphere. Immediately after, the two wore their respective black-colored face mask, the latter purchased by Adeliya when she went to buy some lunch with Bryn in the morning. They also donned their hood and some dark surgical gloves to complete their ‘criminal’ look.
Closing the door, the young man cracked his neck in preparation before he exclaimed, without his previous cheerful attitude. “Let’s go.” Walking side by side, the two noted several curious gazes falling on their bodies, however, none of them paid the least attention and instead walked purposefully toward the house at the end of the street. As the two came closer, the upscale house in front of them became clearer. Noticing the light coming from the windows downstairs, Demian could tell that their target was most likely inside, removing one of his worries about this operation. Narrowing his eyes a the sight, Demian started using his Divine Sense to check the house to prove his conjecture and find out as much as he could about the people inside.
Done with his ‘scan’, he pondered on the result for a brief moment while his steps brought him closer and closer. Fortunately, with the increased brain processes brought by his cultivation base, he could think much faster than an untrained human. He thus quickly came to a preliminary conclusion. Nonetheless, he would rather have Bryn’s input before making a decision, in case he missed something. Below his raised hood, his blue eyes turned toward his tall female companion and asked. “What did you get from your scan?” Meeting his eyes, she stated. “13 people total in my range. 3 High Level Body Strengthening, 5 Peak Mid Level and 5 Low Level or below.” Cocking his eyebrow, he swiftly corrected her. “You forgot the 2 Peak Body Strengthening training in the garden behind the house.” Her eyes displayed some surprise at his words before she commented. “It seems like your Divine Sense is more powerful than mine...”
Nodding his head, he claimed. “My perk makes me good in everything, so I’m not that surprised. Actually, the fact that you’re physically stronger and more resistant than me is the one thing surprising me.” Shaking his head, he led the woman toward a dark alley close by while continuing in a similarly low tone. “In any case, they’ve got 10 automatic rifles, 13 handguns, and a few grenades. Those are the things we need to be careful about. I’m not too worried about getting severely injured, to be honest. I’m mostly concerned about cops showing up too soon. Not like they could catch us, but I’d rather be gone by the time they get there.” As more and more words left his lips, the previous vague plan became clearer while a strange feeling of confidence started welling up in his heart. It was almost as if he had done something similar many times in the past, despite knowing well enough that it was not the case. Shoving that thought aside, he continued. “From both the information we got from the broker and what we just found out, I’d say we’ve got two options. The first is the dumbest but the fastest and simplest one. We use your great strength to break the door’s lock without destroying the latter.” Pausing for a second, he added. “It’s fast, but since it’d happen on the street, there’s a 99% chance of the cops arriving too quickly for my taste. Especially with the fact that Petrovich is a 'VIP’ in Damovotsk.”
Nodding her head, she remarked. “You’re right. It’s not the best plan. It’s better to be more discreet. What about the second option?” With a cold smile appearing on his face, hidden behind his mask, he explained. “We go through the house’s left side, climb on the metal gate, and break the barbed wire enough so we can pass through the other side. Once there, we walk stealthily along the house until we reach the yard behind, quickly neutralize the two Peak Body Strengthening training over there, and then run inside the house. We’ll then take care of the rest of the residents.” With a thoughtful look on her face, she added. “Petrovich and those two untrained women are all upstairs. Do you want to start with them or the people downstairs?” Shaking his head, Demian replied. “Although those Body Strengthening cultivators aren’t a real danger to us, they’re more likely to alert someone, maybe even Danilov. And we can’t let him know that we reached Chi Gathering or we’ll have cultivators on our ass.”
Pausing for a second, he continued. “The best would be to deal with everyone downstairs silently and then take care of those upstairs. We’ll have to adapt on the go if something goes wrong, though.” To which Bryn asked rhetorically. “Lethal downstairs and non-lethal upstairs?” Nodding, he retorted. “If everything’s go well. If not, we don’t have to be too particular about it. After all, our safety is all that truly matters.” Turning his gaze back toward the house a few dozen meters away, he questioned. “Ready?” “Ready!” She replied firmly. “Let’s go, then!” He declared before dashing at maximum speed toward the metal gate they spoke about earlier.