Fourteen spiritual freshwater creatures in various forms lined up in front of the Mistress. There were four on the first three rows and two on the last row. The rest of the spectators were pushed to the sides by the Elemental Fiends, who diligently acted like bodyguards. Nonetheless, since the spectators' view was not affected and they weren't hurt, no one complained. Everyone was eager to see the effects of Getuk Ubis on their comrades.
A tiny light brown Nipah crab (1) with flower-like prints upon its shell held the round, aromatic kuih in its right pincer ever so gently. If it unintentionally squeezed too hard, the precious item would be snapped to pieces. It was the first time it encountered food with spirituality besides clams and was eager to try. As a low-leveled ex-servant for the Waterwave Clan, it has never been eligible to obtain a low-tiered spiritual crystal. Spiritual crystals were only for the core members of the Waterwave Clan; the Guardians, and talented direct descendants. As such, the item which it paid through Gramps Alpy with one Spirit Crystal to obtain was very precious to it.
The crab took a whiff at the spirit food in happiness. It never knew its turn would come so soon. It was really worth it to practice hard previously. It actually didn't know that buying Getuk Ubi had such prerequisites. As someone who never had the chance to learn properly due to its low standing, it viewed the learning session as something priceless and was genuinely grateful to the Mistress. The smell of the 'kuih' was something he never encountered before, but it was not disgusting. Texture-wise, the surface was a little hard and light yellowish, with traces of transparent slippery substance coating it. It knew that the substance must be 'coconut oil' the Mistress worked so hard to make all morning.
It opened its tiny mouth and bit eagerly. Surprisingly, the texture within was not hard at all. It was soft yet grainy and creamy at the same time. The flavor note was something foreign; it heard that it was known as 'sweet'.
Such an exquisite amalgamation of taste and texture! All packed in the tiny little ball.
Accompanying the pleasant taste and texture, a warm flowing stream rushed into its body, warming it up, filling every nook and cranny. The Nipah crab paused its actions and quickly started cultivating while savoring the feeling in ecstasy. It felt extremely comfortable…
…
A commotion ensued when suddenly, nearly half of the freshwater creatures' aura burst out! Most of the initial to early-stage spirit freshwater creatures jumped a small realm! Meanwhile, a tiny, unassuming mud-colored crab managed to jump two small realms! Although the advancement wasn't truly notable, the fact that they simultaneously occurred showed that the Mistress truly could improve a beast's cultivation! A true blue Breakthrough Specialist!
Their eyes were wide with astonishment while their mouth was agape for a moment longer. If a group of flies flew in, they wouldn't have noticed at all.
Before a spiritual beast advance to a Noble, they had to progressively go through several stages to strengthen their body and spirit in preparation for the incoming tribulation. Different species followed different routes based on their own affinity and bloodline, but will finally reach the same end goal. All beasts which could utilize the spiritual energy from their surroundings will start off with an initial stage. After enough accumulation, they will then proceed into early stage, followed by mid stage. When one reached the late stage, one will already reach the pinnacle of strength one's species could afford below a Noble. Although the Young Miss and her attendant looked weak and useless, both of them were late-stage experts of the clan!
Each stage has a huge gulf between them, and one needed to cultivate diligently for tens of years within a stage before breaking through to the next one. Some even needed hundreds of years! At the same time, the amount of resources needed for each stage was huge! The clan couldn't possibly accommodate everyone. Hence, it became the survival of the fittest where one's personal connection and talent mattered. Naturally, the Servant's faction didn't stand a chance at all in the war for resources.
Why were the Young Masters and Misses of the clan despised Ara so much?
Part of it was jealousy towards her absolute cultivation talent and topnotch connections within the clan. Another part was due to her lack of ambition towards reaching the pinnacle of cultivation. She even had the gall to waste resources on unnecessary matters! Still, she could swagger in front of everyone else with her over-the-top melodramatic acts and reached the late-stage first without breaking a sweat! How infuriating!
Hence, if one could easily traverse over their bottleneck in between each realm, becoming an expert valued by the clan wouldn't just be a dream. They now knew they desperately needed to please the Mistress and fulfill all conditions present without question to be eligible for the next meal. The Spirit Avian Nobles stared at the Mistress for a moment longer before looking at their very own less-than-ideal Lord with a face full of longing mixed with a tinge of helplessness. Why didn't they at least have a Lord who could help them advance through their cultivation swiftly, just like the Mistress? Should they sell their bodies to her instead?
…
Hana took note of the little crab's body reaction and jot it down inside a note-taking apps excitedly. Within the whole group of fourteen, five showed similar reactions just like the little crab; all five had initial stage cultivation and were of the Servants' faction. Another two had some reaction, while the rest didn't show any. She also observed the flow of spiritual energy rush within their bodies via Shiro's explanation within the public telepathic channel. If only Kuro was here! She could borrow his eyes to scan through properly to see how the energy flows!
Hana tapped her thumbs repeatedly as she pondered about her findings. Due to the high number of sample size in the field trials of this round, she felt that she almost grasped a pattern here, but not quite. At the end of the day, she still needed more viable data.
She dearly wanted to verify her findings with Che Mek Molek soon!
…
Suria's eyes nearly bulged out after seeing the reactions of the weak water creatures! These lowly ones had immediately jumped through a small realm without breaking a sweat! Life felt so unfair.
She had been stuck for so long as a late-stage Noble, waiting for the right moment, or a fruitatious encounter.
[Wait, wait! I do have this opportunity too!] Fire of anticipation was burning within Suria's heart once she remembered her deal with the Breakthrough Specialist. That was what brought her here in the first place! She vowed that she will do her absolute best to earn extra brownie points from the Mistress!
THIS was the fruitatious encounter she had been waiting for!
Now, how to make the Mistress fulfilled her end of the deal without offending her and the whole Serpent's Lair, was the question. After thinking hard in various ways, the four-winged hornbill shook her head in exasperation! Too hard! She couldn't be bothered to think too much. She decided to be shameless until the end! With enough sincerity from their side, one day, the Mistress will look her way seriously! She was sure of it!
She thumped her chest and decided to return to the edge of the clearing to practice making the spiritual energy threads.
…
[Congratulation, guys! Its our first sales! Fourteen low-tiered Spirit Crystals! We have enough for another month!] Hana announced within the telepathic channel.
Merry cheers resounded within the public telepathic channel. The group members were congratulating each other excitedly. Even Kuro sent a happy snort over through the group channel.
The four new additions to the family were confused with the sudden burst of merriment. Since they were very new, they didn't know that the Serpent's Lair was akin to a paradise for cultivation due to the formation placed within the Mistress' abode and the small herb garden. They have to be maintained with ten low-tiered Spirit Crystals per month at the lowest. It was, admittedly, a high maintenance, since they really only have ten previously. If the plan failed, they would lose out significantly. Once informed, they gasped in shock and wonderment with the arrangement.
The Mistress really took a big risk, while the other two original core members of the Serpent's Lair put one hundred percent of their faith on her shoulders and on Lord Brother Shiro's Spirit Gathering Formation. In other situations, especially in a newly formed group, such trust was nonexistent. And now, they were part of such a group, feeling deeply gratified. Will all of them be as close as the core members in the future? They felt positive about the incoming days ahead just by looking at how the Mistress care for her people. Secretly, they too, begin to treat the Mistress like the Water Goddess of Benevolence in their hearts.
Especially Gramps Alpy, he could foresee the Mistress' shrewdness and excellent long-term plans for the future of the Serpent's Lair; it will be bountiful with numerous loyal-to-a-fault strong experts appearing like mushrooms after a heavy rain. It was a good start for a new flourishing clan. And he could be part of it as one of the earliest founding members. That felt great!
However, Saras and Mata had a bigger question in their hearts, and it showed on their bewildered faces.
[Gramps Alpy, do you know why the big difference outside?] Saras inquired carefully. Once they gave away half their soul through the Soulpact and entered the Soul Brethren of the Serpent's Lair, they too can communicate with each other telepathically. She mustn't let their telepathic conversation spilled to the main channel lest the others might get offended with her thoughtless inquiry. But she sincerely wanted to know whyyyyyy!
Outwardly, nobody who was connected to the telepathic channel was showing any kind of reaction. In fact, as the Mistress had retired into her abode to rest, the only one present at the moment, Lord Brother Shiro, was making a bored face while monitoring the practice outside. No trace of happiness fleeted over his facial expression whatsoever.
When their gaze met, Lord Brother Shiro gave them a deep stare filled with meaning (though Saras didn't understand what was the meaning!). They looked at each other inquisitively while suppressing the desire to chuckle. Knowing to be tactful, they refrained from asking any questions to the handsome white Glacier Mirage fox.
Gramps Alpy reminded his three comrades telepathically while practicing Micro Control with a stoic expression. [The Mistress and the two Lords need to maintain a certain level of superiority towards the others. Never question why they did something like so. I believe that the Mistress is a highly intelligent individual, and she knew what she is doing. We, as the subordinates, must follow closely and support her endeavors without question.] Seeing the rest nodded, Gramps Alpy felt relieved.
…
[Can you see what this entails, guys?] Hana asked while smiling happily inside her cave-dwelling. She was coddling the fluffy brown 'bolster' who was already snoring after a good bath. Hana had been washing it by the stream and blow-drying it with hot air with the help of F1. It played with mud too much today.
Nobody replied and waited patiently though they could guess the answer already. They shouldn't cut off the Mistress' excitement. Lord Brother Kuro will certainly smack them when he came home.
[We spent five low-tiered Spirit Crystals for the herb garden, right? A kuih provides a low-level increment for beasts of low stages. Remember that we only use one spiritual energy-infused Tapioca tree. There's a lot more uncooked herbs untouched! How many Spiritual Crystals could we obtain from using all the herbs there? Another thing is, as long as Mommy could find the right combination to spur higher leveled beasts, we could increase the price significantly! It's a win-win-win situation for everyone! WAHAHAHA!]
Hana was laughing in the most ungainly manner while tapping her own temples smugly. She was going to squeeze these little creatures dry. It was for the greater good! Anything that benefited her own people was the greater good!
…
Authors' Note:
1) Nipah crab = it looks like mudcrab, but it is not. The pincers are larger than the other one, with swimming fin at the back, and a crabcatcher get these crabs in mangrove area (nipah = mangrove palm tree)