The Lantis Republic. Celestial Island. Shin's Manor. Three Years Later.
Celestial Island was unlike the Capital of the Himmel Empire. Located north of the equator, it was one of the few places on earth that possessed perfectly aligned four seasons. Its Spring was filled with the bloom of flowers and the whistles of birds. Summer was hot but never boiling. The low humidity even made it ideal for young children to play outside without the fear of heatstroke. Autumn was beautiful. The falling leaves of the withering trees and pleasurable scent of the earthen soil would put anyone into a relaxed state. And finally, the winters of Celestial Island were as mystical as the snowy heavens themselves. It was cold enough to produce snow but not so severe that it would be unbearable to play outside.
There weren't any snowstorms on Celestial Island, probably due to the blessing the isle received by the Lady of Water. Shin quite liked this weather. Seated outside in his glorious courtyard, the young man was staring into blank space. His legs were crossed, and arms rested comfortably over his lap. Shin's manor was built rapidly in the span of a month, right next to the famous Celestial River.
It had all the amenities one could imagine. A fully built gym. Twenty bedrooms. Marbled flooring with golden pillars. A safety room with a fortified vault. A dozen guard posts protecting the area. A fully working heating and cooling system to keep the temperature ideal all year long. A garage with the newest and most robust Aether Cars. The list went on… However, Shin didn't care for such luxuries.
Every day, during the one hour of free time he had, the young man would sit out in the open atop his favourite rocky boulder. Be it rain or shine. It was his favourite place in this lavish mansion. It was completely still and silent. Just what Shin needed to unwind and mentally prepare himself for the daily tasks ahead.
After signing a new contract with the Lantis Republic, Shin had been swamped with work. Training the young Luminaries with his Celestial Dragon aura was just one of the many things that Shin had to do. Building a counter organisation to the Black Masks from scratch wasn't a simple task. There were many logistical and employment problems he had to overcome. Shin also had to juggle training himself and finding time to raid Payircis with the Lantis Republic. He also had the struggle of being taken seriously. Shin was just a mere youngster with less than thirty years of experience. Yes, he may have evolved his Spirit into the Celestial Dragon, but he was still a long way off being universally accepted as a capable leader.
The first year was harsh for the youth. The world was panicking due to the actions of the Allfather and had rushed to concentrate their power. Remote villagers and clans were absorbed into their nearest city, as the military protected them from the Payircis and Beast Hordes that the Black Masks possessed. There basically no room for negotiations, particularly with those that were outside of the Lantis Republic.
Fortunately, there hadn't been any movements from the Allfather ever since his drastic display of might. Holed in at Mythpoint Reach, the Black Masks bided their time. None of the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts recklessly moved, and the number of Beast Hordes drastically decreased. It was almost as if, the Black Masks were looking down on the Alliance.
The annoying thing was… they had the capability to do just that. The force field protecting the Tree of Darkness and the nine Payircis was still going strong. Spirit Saints from all over attempted to destroy the barrier, but there wasn't even a single crack. So, instead of focusing on the thing that couldn't be destroyed, the Alliance switched their attention to Payircis that were supplying the barrier. Alas, that wasn't as easy as it sounds.
Ten. That was the number of Payirics the Alliance had conquered over the past three years. Due to the chains that connected the Payircis to the barrier, the Alliance had little issues finding those dastardly, levitating structures. Conquering them was a different story altogether. With far less White Knights, the Alliance had been rather conservative in their campaigns. Furthermore, the Paradise Hearts of the floating dungeons were harder to find than initially anticipated. It can take anywhere from a month to a year just to identify the core of the Payirci.
Thus, the Alliance had started to use the Black Masks' weapon to train their young blood. Young Spirit Spectres, mostly Luminaries, were brought in to hone their skills. A never-ending army of Umbras was excellent target practice for the younglings. They were able to throw everything that they had without fear of any repercussions. Mowing down as many Umbras as they could while verbally cursing the Black Masks and the Allfather. Oddly enough, the youngsters grew tremendously.
More and more Luminaries exploded into the scene as the median age of Spirit Spectres became lower. Talents such as Meijing Bingying, Jingyu Taiyi, Qilong Hu broke into the Rank 50 Spirit Lord Realm while monstrous geniuses such as the Kori Federation's Prince of Sand was closing in on Rank 60.
Conflict breeds growth. And it became increasingly apparent with each passing month. Likewise, Shin's cultivation had leapt tremendously over the three years. When he first came to the Lantis Republic, he had just entered the Spirit Spectre realm. A feat rarely accomplished by someone his age. Most people would think that one's cultivation rate would slow down after a person crosses the first barrier of mortality. However, Shin decided to go against all conventions.
Keeping pace at almost three ranks a year, Shin was now at the peak of Rank 49. Given a few more months, the young man was confident of forming his sixth spiritual ability to enter into the Spirit Lord realm. So why did the young man advance this quickly? Well, there are several factors.
The most apparent reason was because of the Celestial Dragon. With its aura and ability to absorb more than one element, Shin's cultivation rate had skyrocketed. A session of meditation could reap almost ten times the benefit as he did before. Shin had also developed a new cultivation method and no longer relied on the Celestial Water Mantra. It was tailor-made for his Spirit, revised multiple times by the scholars of the Lantis Republic and the Azure Dragon race.
Also, Shin played an active role in the decimation of the Payircis within the Lantis Republic. Of the thirty of them, the nation had already destroyed the Paradise Hearts of four. The rest were long contained with naval units and ready to be raided at any moment. The young man had joined hands with the Lantis Republic to develop new methods of defeating the floating dungeons, some orthodox, others not so much.
Shin had also personally participated in the raids of the Payircis. At the same time, he learnt martial arts and an array of various spiritual abilities from the Lantis Republic's top talents. Absorbing information as if he were a sponge, Shin continued to deepen his knowledge about the world. Be it the Black Masks or the nature of the world itself, Shin could see himself maturing. That's why he enjoyed sitting alone on top of his favourite boulder. It gave him some peace to digest everything that he'd learnt.
A dense aura, coloured in an emerald, celestial hue, mixed with a tinge of azure from the oceans beamed out from every single one of Shin's pores. His complexion was as bright as jade, and his mana was oozing out like a glorified toothpaste. Over the past three years, his entire inner body had morphed into a different beast. On the exterior, it seemed like he'd only aged a little, but inside, the man was now a bona fide master on any standard.
Spirit Spectres were no longer a threat to him. His sparring partners were almost exclusively Rank 50 Spirit Lords and sometimes, Rank 60 Spirit Kings. Though Shin hadn't grown in height, his body had turned more lean and chiselled over the years. He longer possessed the baby-face that made everyone underestimate him and was looking exactly like a seasoned general that had braved a thousand battles.
"Shin, is this a bad time?" While the man was busy digesting the insights he'd gained the day before, a honeyed voice entered his subconscious. Shin's eyes snapped open, and his domain was drawn back into his body. Though there were kilograms of snow accumulated on top of his head and shoulders, the young man didn't feel affected at all. Shin wasn't draped in winter clothes, simply because he liked the temperature of the freezing snow.
The young man turned around as thick white snow fell from his body. A relatively tall young woman, with a fully matured bosom and a complete streamlined body, sashayed her way down the stone corridor. Her skin was as white as porcelain, and her breathtaking long hair flowed down to her waist, free of any strands. In the three years, Kanari had formally morphed from a young woman to a mature adult. Though she didn't possess the charm of her mother quite just yet, Kanari's appearance would snap any man's head off their bodies if she walked by them.
'If only she were this dignified at night...' Shin sighed as his girlfriend took his breath away for the thousandth time. Whenever she appeared in public, Kanari would put on a flawless persona of the perfect woman. However, Shin knew that it was all a farce. A monster in the bed would be quite an understatement to describe the woman and her carnal urges.
Speaking of monsters, Kanari had advanced at an even faster rate than Shin himself. Already breaking into the Rank 50 realm just a month prior, the Witch of the South broke everyone's expectations by becoming the first Spirit Lord among Shin's group. Shin had the Celestial Dragon and was the one providing the intense domain. So how could the young woman advance faster than Shin?
Zishen seemed to have the answer. Based on his theory, Shin had been too busy micromanaging every single task in his manor. Cultivation, joining the Lantis Republic's navy, attacking Payircis, creating an organisation that trained promising talents… That all had slowed Shin's cultivation somewhat.
On the other hand, Kanari had the luxury of concentrating on her cultivation and training only. In the Lantis Republic, she didn't have to care about diplomacy and managing the welfare of her people. The beauty could simply attend to her own training.
Furthermore, she had access to the most mana-dense fluid that Shin could produce. It was a fluid that not even Shizen would dare drink. And also… She was the target of Shin's… Dragon Lust… It made sense that the woman could advance at a faster rate than her lover.
"What is it?" The young man asked, his voice a little deeper than before.
"Senior Tian is here to see you again," replied Kanari. Her expression wasn't particularly enthusiastic.
Shin looked at the girl and gently flicked her forehead, "You still can't get it?"
"Hmph! Anyone will be pissed if a woman locks their boyfriend in a room with five girls!" Kanari folded her arms together and harrumphed in frustration. "Would you be happy if I spent a night together with five guys? Come on, that's absurd!"
"Haha, alright! Alright!" Shin chuckled. His hands slithered up, Kanari thin waist and pulled her closer until they were stuck like glue. The woman didn't blush, but her frown did abate just a little. The young man leaned in and whispered with the most sensual voice he had. "If I succeed, tonight… I'll reward you..."
"You..." Kanari snorted as her face slowly turned brighter. "Hah… You really have a way with words..."
"Hehe, that's almost my most valuable skill," Shin jokes. Landing a small kiss on Kanari's lips, the young man separated from her and turned towards the corridor. "Where's Aunt Tian?"
"Same place as usual."
"Alright!" Shin hopped, but not before Kanari landed a firm slap onto his buttocks.
"Hey! What's that for?!"
"A slap of encouragement!" Kanari leaned in closer towards the youth and gently stroked his face. "Make sure you advance into the Spirit Lord realm today!"
"Hehe, duly noted!"
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