Chapter 226: I Leave It to You
Arash was in his Soul Hall Domain.
This time, they would practice assuming opposite roles: Hana would find a method to channel her Soul energy into Arash rather than the bridge, and Arash would utilize it first before building the bricks.
Will it work? No matter, let's just try. Arash encouraged himself.
He could hear his beloved's optimistic cheer and smiled internally.
"Ayang, your turn! You can definitely do this! I can't wait to see the effect of the bridge once it is done!" Hana whispered cheerily to encourage her beloved husband.
"Look, look! I haven't had the opportunity to show you the fields we cultivated together thanks to the agriculture-based information you gathered for us. Love you, Ayang. Before long, we could harvest our very own rice, yay!"
She walked out to the entrance of her sojourn, now overlooking a beautifully manicured agricultural land bordered by thick rainforest trees, and tried to keep her eyes open. She wanted Arash to see her life here. The animals scurrying about, the fields, the birds flying around in synchronization; it was so magical and pleasing to the eyes for someone who loved fantasy-genres books. Hana couldn't hear Arash, but she was very sure she made him gasp in fascination.
She took a deep breath and started speaking with her voice and telepathically simultaneously, "Everyone, I am currently making a new skill. I need absolute concentration. Please don't disturb me and carry on as usual with your tasks. Anyone approaching will be shot down by Lord Brother Shiro. You've been warned."
A distraction could prove fatal. Especially when she wasn't good at controlling her output of Soul power through the gap at her Soul Hall Domain.
"I leave it to you, Ayang."
She sent her Soul power in the form of a controlled trickle, drip by drip.
Arash gasped internally, careful not to move lest his nose cover or the mouthpiece shift from their position, endangering him underground. Although his eyes were closed, his sight was blessed with fantasy-esque beauty; it was truly invigorating.
The orderly farm looked like any ordinary farm, but the workers made all the difference.
Freshwater creatures in their giant water bubbles levitated and moved in synch with each other while watering the vegetation.
Multicolored giant termites in tight formations marched along the edges of the farm border. They're so many of them in every corner.
An abnormal number of birds loitering at the edges of the farm. Something similar to thousands of pigeons in NYC parks, except that in this group of birds, there was not a single pigeon in sight! They were of varying exotic species with differing sizes, colors, and plume arrangements. Some of the birds were as big as a small car!
Arash was deeply gratified by what Hana accomplished on her own, in a hostile foreign environment. He really did think of his wife's accomplishment as his own and felt happy for her.
He was also relieved about his wife's general well-being and safety; looking at the number of animals crowding around Hana's sojourn like there was nobody's business gave him a sense of comfort. If there was anything dangerous, surely the animals would protect her, right? It's like owning a pack of ferocious dogs who were gentle to your family alone and would protect you from outsiders fiercely.
Arash pushed away his stray thoughts and forcefully focused on trying to absorb the incoming Soul Energy from the crack. He couldn't see anything from Hana's side, but once Hana's SPE came into his Soul Core, it appeared in the form of a gentle-flowing stream; tranquil, and yet, consistent to a fault. The tiny stream was positively glowing in a rainbow-colored hue; a characteristic that signified that it truly belonged to his dear wife.
Arash concentrated and tried to manipulate his accumulated Origin SPE to redirect Hana's incoming Soul Energy to flow toward his Soul Core instead. It was hard, but he knew it would work since he finally had a reference to rely on from his long discussion with his wife earlier that day.
...
..
.
Time trickled by.
Arash had lost track of time due to his immense concentration on manipulating his SPE.
After tens of rounds of failed attempts, the willful little particles finally showed signs of forming a scooping motion, or a small, crudely woven butterfly net to usher the rainbow SPE towards Arash's Soul Core. However, the net was so misshapen that it had 'holes' everywhere.
Some of Hana's SPE finally entered Arash's Soul Core.
Yesss! Finally! Arash cheered internally.
At the same time, the remaining SPE Arash failed to manipulate continued to clump together to form brick after brick for the bridge, albeit at a slower pace than before.
The building of the ethereal bridge noticeably slowed down as more than half of the Soul Energy went to Arash's Soul Core. In no time, his core swelled so much it nearly burst.
The Soul Core quickly absorbed and processed the energy. It then churned out Origin SPEs in large numbers as they flocked like birds toward the bridge, attempting to build a brick of their own by melding together. Although many Origin SPEs were working hard to make each brick, Hana's SPEs were noticeably faster than Arash's SPEs by a large margin.
Just like this, Arash and Hana incessantly worked hard day and night six-hourly with a three-hour gap in between for rest.
The crazy hardcore cycle continued way passed the 30-hour mark theorized by Arash previously.
There was no other way but to slow down the bridge-building process to increase Arash's portion of the bridge. Neither Arash nor Hana wished to risk it; they promised to give their all to build the bridge together as perfect as it could be. Arash calculated that at most he would have about one week to complete what he must.
Prior to starting their seventh cycle on the third day, Arash collapsed with a 40-degree fever.
...
In an unassuming underwater cave deep within the many labyrinthian tunnels.
"Waterlords! As I said before, the Grand Elder isn't fit to govern the Clan. I suggest that he should just leave his post to Elder Waterfall!"
"True! He has been showing deep favoritism to the landbeast and has expended quite a sum of our resources! My attendants didn't get enough Spirit Pearls anymore!"
"The question is, did he even discuss this with the Lord?! Such impudence!"
"The awful Princess did as she liked again, and the Grand Elder kept on accommodating her! What is this?! I don't plan to serve such a person in the future!"
A dignified electric eel with pure white scales released a faint electrical pulse to pull the attention of everyone present.
"!"
"Exulted Waterlords, do calm down. We have been placing our trust in the Grand Elder for years now. Surely we could petition for the Lord to appear soon due to the graveness of the issue. The Lord will then have the final say."
Elder Waterfall explained calmly but with conviction.
However, everyone knew that the Lord was a cultivation freak who only enjoyed staying in closed door for extended periods. He had spent years inside his cultivation chamber for the last session. The Guardians of the five-forked River showed varied expressions; the muscleheads showed deep dissatisfaction, while others appeared blank as they desperately controlled their inner thoughts from showing.
There. Isn't this fun?
A small smile played over his lips before it disappeared unnoticed.
He had covertly sown discord day after day within the clan.
Now, more clansmen understood him.
The current administration won't do it. He could see that they were progressively moving towards doom. It was now or never.
The Grand Elder and the willful princess wouldn't cut it.
Newer reforms must be made for the Marine Waterwave Clan to prosper.
...