It was the luck of the Saint continent, that it was somewhat remote and devoid of rare resources and qi that the angry godlings finally stopped wasting their world energy with constant attacks on the upstart Sovereign.
Also, it was somehow counterproductive, as instead of massive human deaths or panic all they could achieve was deplete nearby stocks of beasts, and expend time and resources in a sink pit.
The Guardians actually grew strong and experienced, by fighting beasts, then forging their bones or cooking the meat, and eating it. For one whole year, they gained lots of experience.
The Volcanic Fire sect became more powerful from all this, expanding all over the Red Dew and the Yellow Marshes continents, and setting up a hundred new firecones with their new Tyrants in all the sizable towns.
The druids finally managed to reduce the cults on their home continent, the Green Gea, with the aid of the new Sovereigns and
Blue Xi started a new branch of their Wall, to create 12 new provinces someday. For now, it was only one, Ang Xi's son who emerged as an Emperor, but every Tyrant could ask to raise a new province for an heir, as long as the Wall Command had enough troops to support an expansion.
Wixtal supported the initiative as well, as his heir had indeed reached Emperor rank, even if she was a woman.
She'd have to rule along with a husband, but Pef had already arranged that, the crafty little bastard.
More and more trade airships began flying among the civilized continents, as merchandise could be easily stored in storage rings, and books or metal were valued anywhere.
The new metalsmiths from firecone Fuji had managed to melt iron and the news spread all over the world on snake wings.
Then Lithos and his smith wife managed to create steel, by experimenting with various alloys, and produced a tiny handbook for the Patriarchy, which allowed the new million smiths to duplicate the results, if they had iron and charcoal at hand.
And with steel, higher concrete constructions could be poured safely, and without walls that thick. A meter at the base, and half a meter walls over 10 meters high was considered a safe norm, once the concrete was reinforced.
Some discoveries spread to the Pef Empire as well, although they only found iron on the Black Magma continent, not daring to dig into the Tian Mountains. The worm wasn't aggressive, being content to simply refine qi in whatever manner the beasts did, but the locals had myths of ancient times, when the Sword Saint had battled the worm and forced it to retreat into the mountains.
Pef escorted a hundred Fire Guardians to the city of Jovis, where they would melt and pour iron and steel, and Practice as smiths. His Sky ranked Majors, Merri, Chu and Ren were setup as governors, and given a dozen Earth rank Guardians as garrisons.
It wasn't enough, but our hero wasn't going to risk dispersing his wives on another continent.
They were kept busy near the capital, or Carthage or Smithtown, mostly.
Pef was lazing in his sauna again, when Yuan and Lia entered and sat in front of him, naked and pretty.
"I have already lost, my smartest wives. Just tell me where to sign." he admitted without shame.
Lia smiled kindly, since her husband was smart enough to realize when the odds were not favorable. Not that he seemed to care, most of the time.
"You're perhaps a decade or two still away from your Monarch rank, husband. Unless..." Yuan said in a fairy smile, then glanced at Lia as a hint.
The Sovereign sighed in defeat. Damn oracles.
"I already said yes." he explained in a somber tone.
"Lia, Lin and Lara. You have three golden auras, that need to rank up, young husband. And here, they will grow slowly. Safely, but slow. And you want more than two druid Sovereigns, don't you?" Yuan asked with a deep breath, making her chest jingle in a mesmerizing way.
'Should we, my glove?' Pef asked his main adviser.
'The Monarch has a point. Your Tyrants aren't 60 thousands years old sword masters. And you have always compensated training with ranks.' the system answered after a few long seconds.
"Everytime I roam, the godlings get angry and attack en masse..." Pef answered instead, worried of another huge beastwave.
"Aria and Jian can guard the coast west of Port Li. Perhaps Pela as well. Mia and Yen will prefer to stay close to the kids." the oracle argued instead.
Pef glanced at his groin then towards Lia, with an eyebrow raised. His beloved oracle visited him perhaps once a year, and it showed. They were a bit cold now, as if this marriage was a job and not a joy, for her.
"And I want lots of love. Mountains of love..." he demanded with a charming smile.
Yuan had to pay the oracle a gold plate for some reason. "I knew you would say that. Damn it. Why can't I be wrong?" Lia asked rhetorically.
Pef scratched his cheek, thinking deeply. "If it's such a bother...then forget it. I could ask Zhong, if he likes..."
"Damn idiot! Not all women are the same, no matter what you think. You got spoiled and even got lucky in love. But my job means killing people, Pef. A million people, with a million separate sword strikes, every time holding life or death in the balance. Judging and executing people. And most of them are heinous men. You know what kind." the oracle said with a sob, and hid her face in her palms.
The young man didn't have so many moral qualms though. He had killed innocents as well, to save them of worse fates.
But seeing a woman cry broke his heart, and he stepped forward to hug and pat his dear wife.
"We leave next week, you two. Don't spend all week in bed." the Fire Monarch said in a weak voice, then left with an impressive speed. Yuan was bit jealous, since she could only watch and yearn, for this kind of deep love.
In the end, these two kinda spent all week in bed, or near one, using Pef's penthouse as a retreat.
But when the golden party was gathered for departure, Lia was a bit less cold and distant. Not very warm, but almost normal.
By now, everyone in the group had a Monarch ranked polearm, and Monarch rings or breastplates.
They were difficult to use, but at least Sovereign bears wouldn't break the Tyrant ranked wives arms with a glancing hit.
It would take a full hit.
Guardsman Pirel was again at his post on the roof, still an Earth rank but with wind spirit, so he could fly in emergency.
"Hey boss, you should bring two beauties this time. One for me!" the man demanded in a secret bro code.
"So, I should tell Rumi to expect a sister wife?" Pef wondered curious.
"Actually, pretend you didn't hear me. I'm not a god's chosen, to be rewarded with understanding wives..." the man muttered in more subdued voice.
Lin smiled sweetly, as she loved being called understanding. "You hear that hubby? Two more sisters, for your understanding wife!" she proclaimed as she took off into the sky.
Lara winked at her husband, kinda hoping for a new hot sister.
Lia just sighed, knowing how it will end anyway.
And Yuan watched all this and asked herself again, what in god's name was she doing here?
Soon enough she found out, as Pef took out the Anaconda, and had her push the airship, to train herself more.
While Pef lazed in the nacelle's couch, being fed grapefruits and getting a neck massage.
But such was the way of the Legion. The stronger ones worked even harder, to shore up the weaker links.
The city of Frigia was a place of contrasts, with high raising palaces made of stone and animals bones, but also dilapidated wooden huts or ever tents made of leather.
The street were narrow and packed with dense snow, as the climate was mostly cold, for three fourths of the years.
Also, people were diverse and highly contrasted, from rich masters wearing furs of beasts as trophies to simple people trembling under blankets and ponchos.
But what they all had, was fervent belief in Artus, the god of winter, and the cold wind whispering in their hearts.
The city wasn't especially large, perhaps 50 thousand people, of which perhaps 70 were cultivators and 5 were at Sky rank.
So when 5 new cultivators of unknown rank descended in their city, the locals were quite curious and excited.
Children looked with wide eyes at the strangers, four women and a man, all wearing bluish armor with wolf fur trimmings.
"Mister, are you from the Fire lands? Or maybe the Blue lands?" a brave child asked the only man, since he looked young and friendly. The women beside him, looked old and scary, in his eyes.
"No. I am from the Saint continent." Pef explained with a kind smile.
He glanced around at the curious city, trying to perceive what problems could appear. There were no slaves or crazy cults around, that he could discern, only hardy people, struggling to survive.
Yuan blinked at her husband, as he again did something unexpected. This time chatting friendly with a young boy about 10 years old, and gifting him trinkets and sweets.
The boy's mother was a bit circumspect, but didn't seem scared, even though there weren't strong cultivators around. Well, except their group.
Pef arranged with his new friend for a tour, and got them introduced to the important buildings or places. The reindeer market, the seal market, the fish market, the winter temple...
"Let's go take a look, I guess. Never seen a winter temple in my life!" the Sovereign proclaimed in an enthusiastic manner.
"You can go, mister, but be polite. Lady Winter is kinda cold and harsh..." the young boy said in a fake whisper, then ran back to his mother.
Pef nodded wisely and walked inside the temple looking around curious. Motifs of ice crystals and snowflakes, even some cold climate animals or plants were sculpted and painted inside the building, and he smiled when he realized some support beams were actually Morse tusks, like he had used for his lance.
There were some stone benches and clever windows made from translucent beasts parts, like retinas. This whole temple seemed old, very old. There was no wood inside, at all. Only stone or bones, durable enough to have withstood thousands of years with little erosion.
Towards the back, there was a stone slab with a sword resting on top, and it made Pef gape in wonder, when he realized that sword was of Monarch rank. Blue light filtered through slits in the ceiling, giving the whole place a holy aura.
'You should leave this place, at speed. Actually, it's too late. Just be yourself, Aspirant' the glove advised Pef as an afterthought.
The young man smiled a bit sad. A person had appeared in front of the sword altar, so fast or skilled that he only noticed the shape a few seconds later. There had been no qi warning, nor had his water domain been disturbed.
"Hello, I'm Pef Xi. You must be Lady Winter?" he asked politely while peering intently at the new arrival.
The woman had piercing azure eyes, and platinum blonde hair with azure highlights, and wore only a simple white robe, with a wide leather belt and a pair of leather sandals. But as much as Pef tried, he couldn't discern her age or strength, only a feeling of cold and distance.
"Visitors... You brought me gifts, or sword methods?" a profound and icy voice came from the woman, almost like Xia could use, in her special moments.
Pef checked around, and even scanned behind the walls, but there were no rooms or tunnels from where this strange priestess could have come.
"Well... I haven't invented ice cream yet, but I have other things. I'm a great cook and smith..." he explained serenely, and heard some wives snort in the back.
"Hmmm. You wear a messenger's skin, all of you. Locust, I think. But it was that Fire Monarch who made them. Not that I have use for armor..." the woman observed in a flat tone, like it was something evident or obvious.
Our hero pointed his wives to sit while he advanced a bit closer, and sat on the first stone bench, right in front of this woman. A thousand possibilities roamed though his mind, as he searched the huge inventory in his rings and glove.
In the end, he took out a copper tray, and a steel knife, and began squeezing some oranges in a tall glass.
Then he took out some lemons and a jar with honey, and made a fast dessert, right in front of Winter.
"Sit and try it, my lady. Orange juice and candied lemons from my home continent." Pef offered, pointing at the seat beside the tray.
An amused snort resounded from the azure haired woman, and she instantly appeared seated at the offered spot.
The Sovereign, continued making more juice and desserts, adding bananas and apples to the menu, which he also ate, to test for quality.
"Tian and Magma fruits. Haven't tasted these for many years. You are quite brave, venturing this far. Are you the new Patriarch of the Xi?" the woman asked after tasting a dozen fruits and drinking a liter of orange juice for free.
"Nah, old Deng is still alive...that stubborn bastard will bury us all." he explained with dejected voice. It seemed this woman knew the Patriarch, so she might be quite old.
The azure eyes measured the young Sovereign slowly, stopping for a second on his glove.
"Hmph! Young Deng is still around, but you wear his precious glove. Perhaps his godblade as well?" she wondered glancing towards her sword, with inscrutable eyes.
Pef sighed and nodded in defeat. Another old monster, and a sword master no doubt.
"I have a Veritas Legion knife, but it's not the Patriarch's one. This puppy was damaged and cracked, but I'm slowly attuning it..." he whispered and unfolded the knife for inspection.
The knife floated around a bit, even tapping the woman's hand for a second, before circling around and returning to the glove.
There was no blood or scratch on that hand though, suggesting a few things to this visiting Sovereign.
The woman was a Monarch, or perhaps more.
She glanced at Pef, then towards the women in the back, examining each with her strange gaze. "Show me something nice, young Xi. The oracle is a good start, but I've seen a dozen."
Pef grinned and cleaned the bench, removing the tray with snacks, then began depositing various medicinal or meridian pills or school books, even formations or array metal plates and captured scrolls and jade crystals.
The priestess set aside the White and Green pills and the penicillin box, then a book about water and its various uses, from boats to irrigation, then saunas or steam engines, and again one book about metals. "It seems humanity has advanced a bit, since I last explored the world. That worm is still there, in the Tian mountains?" she asked a bit curious, after scanning through all the other items with disinterest.
Pef froze for a second, then patted her hand with his gloved hand. A flood of information came through, confirming his worst suspicions. "En! It is still quiet, that Rock Worm. You scared him good, Lady Saint."
"I must have, if people still remember it. I hope that forest grew back..." she said with a far away look, possibly trying to remember that fight.
"Well, the meridian pills might shorten your ascension by a million years Lady Saint, but there's still a dozen more, at the rate you're going. So, any advice how to meld my qi and soul?" the man asked cheerfully, now that he had an expert nearby.
The atmosphere in the temple decreased by 100 degrees, as the Saint narrowed her eyes at the rash youngster.
"Just master your soul, and train it to obey. Formations and forging, or soul shields. Isn't your Monarch teaching you?"
she wondered as it should have been obvious.
"Ah, that was an accidental ranking. Volcanis gave me this sprite...and I donated it to Lady Yuan. But, now I got another, so it's all good. Except my Ignited wife advanced in rank, before we could... cultivate" Pef said with an embarrassed chuckle.
The Saint smiled faintly, as the young Xi produced a flaming sprite in his left hand.
She held her palms up and two icicles formed at once, to show she knew exactly how it goes.
"I see. Very similar to my promotion, a long time ago. So, you actually want to learn the sword?" the old woman, who looked around 50, but in a good way, replied with a wise nod.
"Truthfully, I'd prefer to take you with me, and drain you of everything you know, Lady Saint. You're wasted here." he admitted with a shrug, while passing his glove over the bench to collect back the items, the scary woman didn't select.
Yuan coughed in surprise, while Lia just smiled amused. Their husband was back at his own games, collecting allies with insane ideas and childish demands. Lin kinda wanted to object, but who could refuse a Saint, if she came willingly?
The Sword Saint appeared next to the sword altar, and picked up her sword with grace and reverence.
"And I would prefer to exterminate anyone who presumes this much. But we rarely get what we want, isn't it so?" she replied with a serene voice.
Pef gasped audibly, as this was a threat, and not a small one." Or you can spar with us a bit, and relieve boredom. My wives and I need practice, and the Lady Saint could use some friends to talk to." he said while scratching his head, a bit awkwardly.
"Friends... I could have friends...to make fun of..." the woman mused out loud, covering herself in ice from head to toe, then vanishing somewhere.
'Was that, a yes?' Pef asked himself in wonder.
'You're still alive, Aspirant. This Saint had the right idea though, you're great at making fun of...' the orange glove answered amused.
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Aug 8, 2019Report
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PefVersed in the lewd.
After an hour of waiting, Pef decided the Saint won't be coming back soon, probably digesting the pills somewhere, or perhaps reading his books.
At least the first page was especially made to explain the conversion, from chicken marks to the new letters and numbers.
The rest of the manuals were also easy to read and understand, with hand made pictures and baby talk, as they were intended for new engineers or smiths.
"Let's go someplace and build us a mansion. And a sauna..." Pef commanded in a thoughtful voice, as he reached his wives and looked for agreement.
"And a smithy. I still have to work with this steel more, and build a better engine..." Lady Lin demanded with a nod.
"And a smithy. Maybe a restaurant as well. Make ourselves useful to the natives..." the young cook mused while hugging his smith wife.
In the end, the golden aura wives haven't managed to increase in rank, even after two months of roaming the wilderness.
His oracle, Lady Lia was almost at the peak of her Tyrant rank, but now was stuck. And it wasn't practice or combat that she lacked.
Lady Lara, the former Wall Guard Major was doing well, and almost reached the middle of Tyrant rank. She could use more practice, but then everyone could. She hadn't received a Green or Yellow Pill, so her qi rank needed more time.
And his dear smith, Lady Lin, was still in early Tyrant rank, with the least combat in their group, and also lacking the extra meridians.
Thus for a month, the new arrivals worked hard (almost two days) to build their new dwelling at the outskirts of Frigia, then started making new houses and teaching the locals, having started a school for the more curious kids.
A large maize farm was set up in the back of their mansion, and Pef could only be amazed again, as the wonder plants of the Legion sprouted and grew to four meters tall in weeks, refining qi on their own to grow and create the corn, and ignoring the freezing weather.
Sadly, each corn seed had to be activated individually with the glove, and the plants wouldn't grow outward by pollination or normal means. The plantation would remain locked in place, and only produce new corn once the corncobs were collected.
Then one day, as Pef was lazing tired in the sauna, and eating a naked Yuan with his eyes in fruitless hunger, the sauna got cold suddenly, and a new person appeared inside, glancing curious at the occupants.
"Is this some kind of training or just relaxation?" the Saint wondered while blushing a tiny bit.
Pef smiled and patted the bench beside him. "Sit and try it, my lady. I'll grudgingly keep my eyes closed." he replied in a wise manner, and proceed to close his eyes and dive inside his soul sauna.
A cold snort was heard in the sauna, and Pef could feel Yuan breathe a bit anxious. But he wouldn't change his ways for anyone. If the Saint wanted his help, she could get with the program. Or get out.
A few hours later, he came out of his meditation, feeling a tiny bit more in tune with his qi and soul.
His fire sprite had come out and was playing inside the metal stove for some reason, but otherwise the sauna was empty.
Pef scratched his cheek in thought, then asked his advisor. 'So, you got anything more?'
'Huo Xuyolan Cellia. White aura. Water spirit. Saint rank, age about 2 millions. 7 meridians open. No surviving children. Lady Netherfrost of Artus and likely your new sword teacher. And Water qi teacher. Has a variant of the Cutting skill, but uses a Monarch sword to reduce it's damage.' came the full print, explaining some things.
'But she took the pills, right?' he asked to make sure. Not that he could find a better use for them. Saints were rare.
'Indeed, just last week. New projected time to ascension, 2.4 million years.' the glove answered at once.
Pef nodded and walked out of the sauna, feeling his fire sprite get swept into his palm, the second he left the room.
'Damn sentient constructs, they'll be everywhere as I ascend, right?'
'Exactly, even on your hands. Wait till you meet the Veritas guns. They rarely explode their users after the latest patch, but these antiques might not have the newest upgrades.' the glove explained in a serious tone.
'I wonder if they can play music...' the idiot Sovereign mused inward, almost crashing the subroutines of his expert system.
After a minute though, the glove concluded it would be possible, as the power word weapons were scalable. They didn't have to shatter reality, all the time. Teaching an old hound new tricks though...well. If the neo knife could do it, perhaps a gun might as well. Or explode a galaxy by accident. Either way, it would be fun to see the user try.
For another month, the 5 younglings were trained in the sword by the Saint, and got themselves equipped with full Monarch plate armor and swords, just to survive getting smacked around by their teacher.
Pef grew in a month more than in his past year, and reached two minutes of sword qi at the end of the training. His soul felt a bit more strong and responsive, the water clone moving naturally now, and his resistance to cold doubled too, for some reason. Nothing to do with getting hit by ice spells every day.
Lady Lin and Yuan gained the most, as they didn't have any sword qi before, and now they had three and five seconds of constant use.
But after this month, the Saint told them to go out and get stronger, and return with Monarch ranks and fused souls. Having a source of nice food or people to beat up was great, but it was also distracting.
"Well, I kinda hoped you'd join us and train us more..." a bruised Pef muttered while digging himself out of the ground.
A prison of ice englobed the mouthy youngster, and almost froze him solid.
"And I will, once you're more durable, young Xi. But this old woman has other problems, beside watching over young pups as they stumble. I told young Deng the same thing, and he still hasn't returned. Your Ignited wife can stay, if she agrees." a cold voice bounced around his head, making the ice vibrate and his blood get sluggish.
'It would take maybe 10 years now, Aspirant. Don't push your luck...' the glove advised him in a warning tone.
Pef pulsed a question to Yuan, and the woman hesitated. The she shook her head.
"It's tempting, Lady Netherfrost. But my duty is to my husband. I'll watch over him, til he's ascended again." she said in a worried voice, her eyes frowning at the ice globe around Pef.
"Hmph! Husband or not, he's just a young pup. He might die like that, the next divine messenger you morons get into a fight with." the Saint declared in a bit of contempt, snapping her fingers and making the ice vanish.
Pef drew on the fire sprite for warmth, then flew close to the stern woman, undeterred. He stopped just a step away, and looked her directly in the eyes.
"We'll meet again, my cold lady. You're strong, and I love strong women. Makes me less worried, that they'll die to some beast or disease. And ask your god, how would the cold winds blow, or fresh snow fall, if the planet gets pushed too close to the sun.
Or if the light from the sun gets concentrated, with millions of mirrors on the arctic ice." the Sovereign said with a calm voice, and caressed a strand of the Saint's hair.
'Activate indoctrination?'
'No, she needs to ask for it, and that will take time. And she knows where I live.' Pef answered inward, still amazed at the silky texture of the Saint's hair.
Then he turned and flew away, heading into the wilderness again, a bit more confident now.
By next day, the 5 Legion recruits left the Grey Taiga continent behind, along with its harsh climate and people.
Although there was an abundance of qi, the beasts were low ranked and avoided the few towns from far away.
It didn't take a genius to conclude their Saint protector was responsible.
A week later, the group stopped as their way was blocked by huge dust and smoke clouds, going from horizon to horizon.
'Arachne and Volcanis are fighting over these islands. She detonated 46 volcanoes at once, and killed most of the locals...' the glove explained after scanning the outskirts of the Tan Marinesia continent, a place with millions of old stone buildings but fewer people.
'Climate change, and colder winters due to dust blocking the sun.' Pef mused examining the scene with cold and angry eyes.
'Not yet, as planet Lacrima is much larger that you think, Aspirant. This was just to annoy the fire god and get him to disperse some forces. The real fight is elsewhere, most likely the Yellow Marshes. But there's a hundred spider nurseries here, and we have two Ignited to calm the eruptions.' the orange glove answered in a kind of suggestive way.
"We're staying the help. Lia, hunt the spiders with Lin and Lara. Yuan, time to feed our fire sprites!" Pef ordered in a commanding voice.
They dove towards the afflicted islands, saving or killing people as per need. Yuan proved a hundred times more proficient at draining the heat of the volcanoes, so Pef abandoned that task to his Fire Monarch, and returned at hunting and cooking spiders.
There were large stone sculptures everywhere, large human heads and fishing tridents a hundred meters tall, decorated with origin stories of the world, the oceans spilled from the mouth of god Mershe, and his tongue transformed into fish or islands.
A dozen more women hit with soul arrows were found during the next three months, and Pef used Lin and Lara to throw the arrows at various beast flocks or herds, piercing their shells and detonating the charged arrows inside Sky or Emperor ranked beasts, for lesser environmental damage.
The Water Sovereign also worked on installing defense arrays to block radiation and dust, as well as creating sterile formations to block small animals and planted maize plantations, saving perhaps 300 thousand people from Marinesia.
They had an Emperor with a Sky ranked wife still able to rule the islanders, but Pef didn't put much hope in him. That guy seemed more likely to steal the gold of the array anchors, to wear it himself.
Pef Awoke a couple locals as Guardians and got them trained a bit, to hold off minor beasts waves or hunt the spider Disciples if they returned.
Then the group continued onwards, and reached the Orange Sand Continent, which was indeed a mostly large desert with orange dunes and crazy wildlife. Even animals were dangerous, not to mention beasts.
The Orange Kick Jumping kangaroos were among the scariest creatures Pef and his wives had seen, as they kinda adapted to jumping really high and kicking at their enemies.
And when a Sovereign ranked kangaroo kicks you...it hurts a lot.
The surprised Sovereign got bent in half, and spewed his breakfast, as the crazy herbivore jumped from the midst of its herd and kicked him at hyperspeed.
His knife flashed white for a split second and removed the offending leg, while the glove instantly stored the leg for lunch.
It was a 5 meter long leg though, so it could feed 5 people well.
Lady Lin and Lara yelled excited and chased after their possible rank, and kinda butchered the poor beast in mid air, with their Monarch ranked locust legs forged into polearms.
Lin got to keep the bones, while Lara got the kill, and climbed higher in her energy, but not enough for a new rank.
'This continent seems a good place to train, right?' Pef asked inward while circulating qi to heal himself. His Monarch armor took the worst of the kick, but it still hurt to be kicked by a jumping bulldozer.
'Yes, there's a dozen Sovereign beasts, including an Orange Soul Poison Rattlesnake. Targets marked. Also, thousands of ingredients for the Orange Meridian Pill.' the glove explained helpfully, generating a new high altitude map with markers for the required plants.
'So many...nobody collects these plants?' the Sovereign wondered while taking point towards the next Sovereign beast.
'No humans can live here, Aspirant. Even Sovereigns would have a hard time, simply surviving a month. Be warned, everything here has evolved to kill humans.' the system added in a flat tone, like an airship departure.
"We do not land and step foot on the ground, my dear wives. Well, Yuan could, but it's still risky.' Pef told his golden aura recruits as they began diving closer to the ground.
Lia glanced at his glove, then down towards the endless sand dunes and patches of grass.
"Poisons?" she asked in a wary tone.
"And toxins, venoms and disease. Even in the air be wary. Other beasts can jump or fly, and they are all dangerous." he said in more protective manner, raising his water shield.
Just as he spoke, Yuan fired a huge firebomb and then a couple of fire streams, detonating in the distant horizon and scorching the sand to glass under them as well.
A yellow-brown lizard emerged from the vitrified sand, and spat a few of its teeth at Yuan in retaliation. The projectiles were supersonic and hissed with acid or venom on the Monarch's armor.
"Insect cloud, 80 kilometers south. And a herd of sand lizards just below. About 50 Tyrant ranks. " Yuan reported while igniting her sprites and cooking the beast, making it dive under the sands.
Pef sprayed her sizzling armor with a water jet, cleaning away the venom. "As I said, a bit dangerous. Let's keep going!"
Some 50 kilometers away, there was a small oasis with orange and brown plants growing all around.
'There's three ingredients here, marking with blue outlines. Red outlines are lethal to Tyrant ranks.'the glove related and did just so, making half the oasis get deadly with a simple colored crayon.
"Tyrants, fly a kilometer up. Yuan on guard." the young husband ordered while descending cautiously.
Soon, various types of pollen and allergens filled the air, straining Pef's breathing until he began filtering everything with his water domain.
He turned upside down, and began collecting the precious fruits and bulbs or leaves, flitting like a hummingbird from place to place, and careful not to touch any of the dangerous plants.
In a few hours, he had mostly cleaned up the oasis, leaving only a dozen flowers surrounded by red thorns and carnivorous plant mouths.
There was a half digested lizard inside one of the closed mouths, and he didn't want to risk it.
He began lifting up when a human sized dragonfly appeared from somewhere, moving in short bursts at immense speed.
Pef backed away cautiously, but the beast possibly suspected he was the thief, looting the precious plants. It sped up and headbutted Pef in the chest, pushing him some 500 meters and making him crashland into a sand dune.
The Sovereign sped away and rose higher, with the crazy insect in pursuit.
It was a trap however, at a kilometer altitude, he had backup, Yuan flashing by and catching the beast by the tail.
"Lara, it's yours!" the Monarch decided while waving the beast a bit, to deny it purchase and grip.
The blue haired Tyrant yelled in joy and flew forward, scything with her weapons and battering the Orange Oasis Dragonfly untill she got a kill by cracking and splattering the beast's head. Her rank rose even higher, holding right at the peak of Tyrant.
Pef rushed to hug and kiss his wife in congratulation, then whispered the next step in her neck.
A minute later, Pef and Lara flew two kilometers higher and entered the Anaconda's nacelle for a bit of dual cultivation.
Took them a bit more though, and they fell asleep tired but happy. When Pef woke up next morning, he found a dazzling Sovereign in his arms, her body transformed even more into a heavenly form, her bountiful flesh firm and dense, but also warm and elastic and soft to touch.
"This feels so good, my senses are so strong and wide now. I can even sense my sisters, staring at us with hungry eyes." Lara Xi murmured to her husband and kissed him a bit forcefully.
The hero sighed audibly. "Okay, I'm up and making breakfast in a minute. Geeze! Let a man rest a bit, would you..." he said in a defeated voice.
A bit of giggles and laughter sounded from his other wives, who were hungry for more than breakfast.
"I already made breakfast an hour ago, beloved husband. Boiling maize and brewing tea isn't quite that hard as your cultivation." Lia spoke in a teasing tone, and sipped her tea as proof.
The hunt for more ingredients and beasts continued, until Lady Lin killed a fifth Sovereign beast, an Orange Royal Striped Thylacine, which was kind of a wolf and tiger combined. Her qi ranked reached the peak, and she immediately demanded extra care and private time to cultivate.
She needed a week though, until her husbands love and qi injections crossed the lovely smith into the Sovereign rank.
The other wives got a bit bored and had to cook for themselves, and then train with the sword or forge more items.
But it was Lin's turn to ascend, and kinda the point of the whole trip.
After that, Pef continued the search and collected the rest of the pill ingredients, while Lia was helped to kill four Sovereign beasts including an Orange Tiger Beetle, but to no avail. Even spending night after night beside her husband didn't work.
'Why isn't she ascending, my glove? We did everything!' Pef asked in a bit of desperation.
'Your dear oracle, she's too calculating and logical. It's a rare thing in humans, and not a bad thing. But the love comes from the soul, as it says in the manual. Her body and brain can try all they want, but her soul is constrained and constricted. I think...you have to die, Aspirant' the glove concluded after reviewing all the user's history.
Pef mulled and mused for a few minutes, but the glove was always right. 'Okay, Lia has the golden aura, so it makes sense. If that's what it takes...she's more important, after all. Just save my mom, when they reach the heavens..'
The glove sighed inward at its moron user, with a great heart but not enough brains.
'Right. We'll use the last Sovereign Rattlesnake for your death. It should be heroic and dramatic, and hopefully unblock her feelings. You did good, Aspirant.' it said in a proper military tone, honoring him who was about to die.
The hero sighed and lead the group on his final mission, decided to die with glory. And possibly in horrible pain, if that soul poison was as potent as he suspected.
He pulsed to Yuan to stay back and not interfere, as he had a perfect plan.
Then he handed his Legion knife to his dear oracle, and dove toward the snake in a last dance of the swan.
His sword strike and moves were fast and precise, blinding the snake at the first pass, then slicing through a tooth on the return strike.
Venom spewed out, and Pef turned around protecting Lia Ching Xi at his chest, while his Monarch ranked armor sizzled and melted under the powerful soul imbued poison.
It hurt a million times more than he'd imagined, and he screamed and spasmed as the insidious venom burned through the armor's backplate then his spine and heart. And so, the hero died, protecting someone he loved, and giving Lia only the chance to revenge him.
"Damn idiot! Always ignoring danger, and risking your life...and now you've died, to a stupid sand snake!" the oracle sobbed while dragging his corpse in the sky.
Her golden aura pulsed in unrestrained anger, and solid wings of light appeared on her back, as she handed her husband's corpse to his still virgin wife.
"I'm sorry Yuan...if only I'd loved him more. Just a bit more." Lia said in between tears, then dove at superspeed toward the poisonous beast who took her only hope away. Her tears evaporated under her solar domain, and the neo knife glowed with fierce golden light.
A single cut decapitated the horrible beast, but it was too late. She was now alone, and fated to return to her old home, with a stupid grave marker saying 'Beloved husband?'
Lia didn't care about her new Sovereign rank or various contingencies of her skill.
She took out a wine pitcher and drank in mid air, trying to drown her sorrows.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
The smell of burning flesh woke the grieving oracle from her revelry, and made her glance surprised towards the Fire Monarch.
Wasn't it kinda fast to burn their husband already? She could have stored him and let the other wives have a last goodbye...
Then she glanced around searching for the loyal puppy of her husbands, and saw it work together with Yuan to chop organs out of his burning corpse.
"Okay, what the hell! Are you cooking him and making a last meal of his dead flesh?" Lia asked a bit outraged.
"Pef's fire sprite is fine. He is not departed yet. Dead, but not dead for good. Lara, you keep his brain frozen. And you, Lia, see what the silly knife is doing." Yuan ordered in a composed manner.
A minute later, the sizzling and melted flesh of their husband chest had already been cut out and vanished somewhere. Then the crazy knife flew around, and stabbed itself in Pef's remaining lung.
Lia could only stare with a small hope in her heart. The dual white and silver soul was still there, being tied around the Neo knife, the god tier blade which was made to sever souls. She chuckled a little, already running percentages of what must have happened.
Their stupid and inventive husband must have trained his puppy knife to stitch together his soul to his body, by sleeping with a damn soul knife in his chest.
Her hand poked the glove with a gentle finger, asking about Pef's status.
There wasn't a voiced answer like Pef must receive, but it was an answer. All good.
The new Sovereign let out a breath of relief, and hugged her eldest friend, Lin Xi. "He's fine. Well. In a half melted body, kind of fine." she explained while tears of joy fell on her face.
Yuan wiped her tears as well, and caressed her young husband's lips. "You're not dying on me, damn idiot. You haven't even loved me properly... He would want the snake I think." she muttered with a more serene voice, and flew down to let the glove store the Sovereign rattlesnake.
A 500 meters long beast wavered and folded to a point and vanished as the glove moved by itself and waved up with Pef's slack right hand.
The Fire Monarch nodded at that. If the knife could move, of course the glove could move as well.
Damn god-level artifacts!
They held powers so strong and unfathomable, no wonder even Volcanis was wary of them. Pef seemed to have an unlimited storage in his glove, and the knife could store blood and meat or sever souls with ease. Her Monarch ranked rings were amazing and large inside anyway, but they would never store things on their own.
After a second of thinking, Yuan decided to fill one of her rings with sand, as this sand seemed finer and smoother than anything she's seen til now.
Perhaps she could try glassmithing and create that perfect glass that her husband kept failing to make.
Though he was mostly trying to create a weapon of sorts, for Lia. Yuan knew that glass was fragile, if quite sharp when broken. But how it could be made in a weapon, she had no idea. Even the sharpest material blade, like the thin neo knife, was unable to scratch a Monarch. Not unless further enhanced with sword qi.
'Don't worry, fire fairy. You did as asked, and allowed the Radiance to feel again. Head to Etna now.' a thought form entered the Monarch's mind, just as years before, when she was told was her skill did.
A line of fire appeared in her vision, pointing the way for a second.
Yuan sighed but obeyed. It was probable that Saren Xi was at the Etna fire cone, if Arachne kept pressing the offense for the Yellow Marshes.
"Form on me, sisters! Time to go." Yuan said in a qi pulse and flew up with Pef's disfigured body in her arms.
It seemed now the fates had reversed, and she was the one to nurse a see through spouse back to health.
At Sovereign speeds, the travel times were much shorter, and the party crossed the distance in less than week.
The knife remained asleep inside Pef's lung, even as his skin and some flesh grew back and covered the gaping holes.
But Yuan wasn't worried. Not anymore. She had been in similar state and had healed and even ranked up.
Miracles happen every day, and her tears could cure anything. Even soul poisons. Or maybe that was the Green pill? Maybe the White?
Anyway, by the time the party arrived at Etna, Pef was still asleep, but his fire sprite came out to play with a tiny water clone, and chase one another in mock sparring.
Yuan added her own sprites and a fire clone kept tiny, and then Lia made a tiny sun fairy with wings of light to mother over all the tiny creatures.
Lin and Lara nodded at each other, then glanced at the visible fire cone fort in the distance.
It seemed they wanted their own clones as well.
As their party landed at the Fire Disciple base, Pef open a tired eye and just glanced around, before falling asleep again.
'Your stomach will be functional in two days, Aspirant. Continue training like before.' the glove chided him, for wasting energy without purpose.
The user had a damn qi clone, so he didn't need real eyes to see. Or just use his soul, like any intelligent being, even the glove itself or the knife.
It wasn't like they ever had, or needed eyes.
Next day, Pef figured out how to speak with his clone, modulating water waves like vocal cords.
It was still hard work, as his qi reserves were quite low, being used for regeneration.
But enough to ask for Saren, and drop a ring with Orange Pill ingredients in his hand.
The poor uncle failed the first two pills, before figuring out the correct sequence. But by next day he managed to refine one pill.
Then Pef was helped up and fed the first Orange Meridian pill, making him glow like a sun.
His qi levels soared, raising the qi energy by 20 percent, and giving him a tiny taste of entangled qi.
'This is good, right? I feel much stronger!' Pef jubilated inside, a few hours later.
'Yes. Now there's about 8 years left to the next rank. The various soul poisons like all the snake venom and divine bubbling qi will be reduced in effects against you. By 20 percent.' the glove said serenely. It was a huge boon. Not for a weak Sovereign, but further along, at equal strength the user would be guaranteed an effective defense.
Even more, the extra meridian helped the soul expansion due to the White pill increase again.
His soul would be comparable in size to that of the Sword Saint, the user liked so much.
Her qi would be much more potent and dense, like it was normal for a Saint, but their souls would be equal.
Three weeks later, Pef opened his eyes to find two visitors in his room, Tyrants Lucia and Mengue, the later he recognized as well, since she gave him the first hug for a While Meridian Pill, back in Vesuvius.
"Hello." he spoke with some difficulty, as he still had about one week left of growing his spine.
"Lord Pef! Thank god you're all right!" Lucia exclaimed and jumped from her seat, then sat back with an embarrassed face.
"Wives?" he asked with a pained voice, while searching with his senses as well. There weren't any signs of their auras in a 60 kilometers radius.
Mengue blushed for some reason, then shook her red hair and spoke softly." Helping defend our lines. At Lamia and Loa. Another push from the spiders."
The injured Sovereign blinked in acceptance then closed his eyes. 'They left me bodyguards while they go out to have fun?'
'Yuan can return in 300 seconds, if there's any problem. And three Sovereigns can match 30 Tyrants with ease.' the glove explained in a relaxed manner.
Pef called his water clone instead, since moving it wasn't any pain. "Hold the glove for a second, both of you." he demanded while speaking through his clone. The Fire Tyrants did as asked, and he soon had a report on their progress and latest life stories. They were getting strong, though countless battles.
It seemed the leadership of the Volcanic Fire sect was sending all the new Tyrants outwards, into combat or expansion. A dozen of them had died already, but they haven't managed to produce a new Sovereign. Instead, they have obtained a hundred new Sky ranks, which were recalled to refine fire qi, at various volcanoes.
"What's going on, my ladies? Why so many loses?" he asked a bit confused.
Lucia sighed and refused to answer. The other Tyrant drew a bit of qi for a privacy array, then answered in a wary voice. "Our Lord Sovereign thinks we are impure. And after Ardent Hestia remained on Blue Xi, and the Lady Ignited married you...he fears you're suborning our sect."
Pef agreed inward. He kinda was converting a good chunk of their fire sisters into Fire Guardians. Completely on the Saint continent, in fact.
"I see. Well, the Sovereign is not wrong, but not right either. I aim to unite all humans on this planet, and deny all the godlings human followers." the water clone explained in a distorted voice, and patted both senior disciples on their heads, with careful movements.
Lucia stared at her ring, given to her by Pef some time ago, while Mengue nodded while she thought deeply.
"And after that? Who will charge Volcanis, or even Gaia to fight against the evil deities?" Lucia asked after a minute.
"Who charges me, or you, for that matter? Who can stand against a Saint?" Pef asked rhetorically.
The women hesitated and glanced at each other. Lucia stepped off, and began boiling some tea, almost using the qi balancing right. Her fire domain had grown, as did her control. Pef brought his clone close and dropped two rings from his glove, old ones from his Emperor days.
Then the clone placed the rings on the table, in front of Mengue and Lucia, an Orange pill along with Sovereign ranked set of armor for Mengue, and a White and Orange pill in the ring for Lucia.
Pef only had 4 White pills left, but since Lucia didn't get one from her bosses, he could help. And Saren had made him 200 Orange pills, and took 50 pills with him when left toward Vesuvius. With three meridians open and some love, both of these women could ascend to Sovereign rank in a week.
They already had digested a Red pill, as former high ranks in the Fire sect, which helped maintain their health and beauty for thousands of years, combined with their purifying fire qi.
But it was the short Awakening at Phobia which really transformed them both, giving them a more voluptuous and muscled body, while smoothing their skin and making them glow with beauty. They reminded Pef of Jian, when she emerged transformed from the basement with a mere Spirit rank.
Just a bit more love, and the new Tyrants will become superpowers and supermodels. If they took the rings and became his wives.
Sadly, Pef was still weak and recovering, and his water clone dissipated into vapors as he drifted asleep. Thus, he never saw what happened after, although his glove watched amused.
It watched even more interested when white and orange light mixed to create interference patterns, and give it more clues on what exactly was going on in this universe. To block off the Legion communications, meant that a powerful Tier 7 entity or any Tier 8, was involved and had sectioned off a sector of reality, for whatever was going on here.
But the Heavenly Lightning still coming through, with bits of information and extra energy, meant it wasn't a closed system, just restricted.
Various contingencies and conjectures were proposed and discarded. A prisoner camp? A demilitarized zone? Refugee camp? Disaster area? War memorial? Private hell? Tourist attraction? Amusement park? Weapons testing area? Contaminated laboratory?
Some features fit one description, but not the rest. Skills were normally gifted and supported by a higher entity, testing various abilities in a controlled environment. Golden auras were normally dispersed over multiple universes, to allow a rapid and non synergistic ascension. Legends and myths were easier to establish for a single person, rather a whole group.
Divine pantheons took a lot of energy to set up, and were weak to wide area attacks, like it had happened to the Veridian Legion, in a distant past.
The expert system continued mulling over discrepancies and energy readings, until morning, when the neo knife decided it had hibernated enough, inside Pef's lung, and sliced its way out. The two Fire Tyrants were still groggy from digesting their pills, and they didn't notice the curious puppy left its crib and roamed around.
The knife didn't use halls and doors to explore, since stone was same texture as air for it. It bobbed and weaved, doing a whole circuit of the Etna fire cone, before diving, and entering a secret cellar.
A Fire Disciple of Earth rank was tied to a slab of boiling magma, the fire and heat slowly tempering the man and his qi pathways, while a couple of Spirit-ranked disciples chanted mysterious mantras around the altar.
The knife dove even lower, into a more secret chamber, with a magma golem caught between a dozen formations, which kept it immobile and suppressed.
An old man with red and white hair and beard was dialing and turning various metal and crystal arrays, while two blinding white fire sprites were keeping guard over him.
The puppy did a happy run around the room, bouncing off the golem and being swatted away with a backhand by the old mage.
"Go away, damn knife. I'm busy." the man muttered a bit annoyed, although the blade didn't even scratch him.
In other rooms next to this one, on the same level, the brave bladed explorer found other creatures kept prisoner by magic barriers and arrays, even spiders or locusts or tiger beetles.
The knife did a last tour then flew up, so it didn't see a woman dressed in a white robe appeared in the golem room.
"Another one! What do you want, Cellia?" the man asked in a grumpy tone.
"Nothing, just checking on my apprentice. He still needs to grow a spine though..." the cold Saint said in a level tone.
"Well, if you're here...grab the end of this soul strand and pull for an hour, damn messengers are damn hard to disentangle." the other Saint muttered and passed her a soul filament, while he kept the qi part anchored with his sprites.
The pair worked for an hour to separate the divine strand from the golem, before grabbing it with magic tools and refining it into fire qi, into a red crystal cauldron inscribed with a hundred formations. The golem became ordinary stone, and was folded into a ring with a careless gesture.
After that, the two old monsters sat to drink some tea in silence.
"That's like the fifth messenger this year, isn't it?" Cellia asked to be sure.
"Hmph. I'd still need a thousand more, if I only relied on Volcanis. Too bad I'm not a pretty woman, to beg for meridian pills from horny youngsters." the old Saint said in a sarcastic tone.
"Yea, about that. Make me two Divine Grey Ice pellets, my young friend. I don't like being in debt to people." the woman murmured and set a storage earring on the tea table.
"Oh, you found two Grey Divine Sea Anemones? I thought them extinct..." the Fire Saint asked in some surprise, examining the contents of the earring.
"There are a hundred left, you fool! They just cluster together in the Nether Frost Arctic trench. Took some hard work to steal two and escape alive..." the female Saint admitted with a grimace, while pointing at her half melted sandals.
They both shuddered while examining the damage. Saint ranked items didn't get damaged. Unless something truly terrifying hit them, like a dozen Monarch ranked Divine beast spikes.
"You must really like this guy, Cellia! Maybe you plan to get married again?" the Fire Saint asked in a teasing tone, before a sword blade appeared on his shoulder and tapped his neck playfully.
"S-shut up idiot! I'm just being a good friend. I'll come back next year, for my pellets." the Ice Saint muttered with a slight blush, and vanished without a trace.
The Fire Saint sighed and sipped his tea, pondering the task ahead. Six months for a Grey pellet? Harsh mistress, his old teacher.
Then again, he did have two more divine messengers in captivity. He could be ready in 2 months if he used half of that energy for the pellets.
'Sorry Volcanis. Cellia is scarier.' he whispered inside, and cursed his fate again. Why couldn't he have water qi and live an easy life?
In the room above him, the Earth ranked disciple advanced into Sky rank, and became an Ardent, immune to fire and heat.
Poor guy would be happy, for a while. But for the next million years he would refine qi for their god, if he survived that long.
It wasn't impossible, it just took long and boring hours. And not get eaten by some beast or another.
This million years early Saint was proof it was possible. Too bad nobody remembered he existed, living deep underground and hidden from the world.
Well, except Cellia...which was possibly worse. Those sandals? They were made from his own skin.
'Damn it. I have to make her new sandals.' he realized a few hours later.
He sobbed in self-pity while he decided which leg to skin next. 'Why did I have to take the Red pill?' the man muttered while reviewing his life choices, again.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
The next days Pef remained asleep, focusing his energy on self repair, and circulating qi in a trance meditation.
His nurses fed him honeyed tea and waited, while thinking about the Lord Ignited's words. There was an offer there, probably like the Lady Ignited had received. And they both wore his rings now, and hang at the peak of Tyrant rank but unable to cross, even if they refined qi by the gallon. Well, they would ascend eventually, in thousands of years, but who had so much time to wait?
Then one day, Yuan entered the room, smiling thinly. "Wake up already! These women are burning to talk to you." she demanded in an official voice, and sent a fire pellet towards her husband. His right hand moved in a blur and intercepted the incendiary bullet.
"Okay, okay. I'm up. Gee! These spells are dangerous..." Pef exclaimed while feeding his fire sprite the delicious spell.
The women sweat dropped and blinked at his irregular use of the Holy Fire. Not that this cute sprite had any connection to Volcanis anymore, since Pef wasn't using a Volcanic method and the sprite had been partially refined and indoctrinated anyway.
He looked around the room, taking note of Yuan even higher qi level, due to recent combat and an extra meridian getting open by the Orange pill.
"Make us some lunch, husband, and then reassure my sisters." the Fire Monarch commanded while the Tyrant Disciples looked at her with awe and admiration.
An hour later, Mengue and Lucia flew up and sat on a cloud next to the young Sovereign, and digested the near immortal meal, while drinking wine and being surrounded by a water vapor sphere.
"Ask me. What is troubling you, my fiery ladies?" Pef said while sitting down with his legs crossed.
"If you proposed to me, while missing half your organs, including your heart..." Mengue whispered while holding up her palm and admiring her ring.
"Me too. I mean, your brave and strong and... I will accept, if you did..." Lucia said with a trembling voice, while blushing fiercely.
"To be truthful, at that time I thought I was dead and speaking with two otherworldly angels. It seemed appropriate to fluster and confuse such beautiful angels. But now..." the young man explained in a serious tone, glancing from one woman to the other.
Mengue sighed and bit her finger. "Makes sense. You were kinda delirious, Lord Pef. And you did die. I thank you for the pill...and I should offer a hug, right?" she asked softly, then flew closer and hugged the hero, while tears fell on her face.
"Then again. Two beauties who actually want to put up with me? I'd have to be stupid to refuse. Mmm, millions of years of hot and arduous cultivation...and by that I mean sex..." he mused while his hands roamed a bit impolitely over the Tyrants soft parts.
Lucia yelled in joy and rushed in to be hugged and kissed as well. And so, our womanizing Sovereign got to enjoy a few hours of hot bliss aboard Anaconda One, while sealing the deal with his newest wives. The weddings and the new feelings.
One after the other the peak Tyrants benefited from the qi injections and the extra perk of Legion method, the growth through love.
When they rested for a bit and Pef began cooking dinner, the other four wives entered the nacelle, and smiled prettily at their husband. Especially Lady Lin, who had only wanted a smile life, a husband to provide bones and help her raise a few children. Now she had a large family, and still no children, instead having to share the husband with 15 women.
"So, the Yellow Continent?" he asked with a pleasant smile while stirring and frying meat over his stoves.
"Clear of spiders now. And breeding camps." Lia said in a perfectly level voice.
"Great! Also, I'm not dead. So there's that, too." Pef noticed after a minute of awkward silence.
"You need to love our new sisters more, hubby. They're really close of becoming Sovereigns." Lara commented unfazed, and hugged Pef from the back, just happy to see him, alive and well.
"Lucia and Mengue, don't bother getting dressed. We'll be cultivating hard, after we eat." the shameless husband explained while filling a few trays with porridge and kangaroo steak. He just discovered some mint and rosemary in his inventory and the meat smelled amazing.
'How long for the new wives?' he asked inward while portioning and dicing the meat.
'Mengue perhaps 5 days. Lucia will take more. She's introvert and has trouble accepting her own feelings. Maybe a month of daily cultivation.' the glove estimated a bit hesitant.
Pef nodded. Shy woman, check. He'll focus on Mengue first, on the way back home.
Lady Lucia will need some alone time, and meeting the kids. That would give her a hint of why they got married.
The return home was pretty much as expected, only with small disturbances, as the Empire was guarded by two Sovereigns and a few Tyrants.
Pef got to see the kids, and introduce the new wives, then run around for a week in a tour of the Empire to see what needed fixing or improving.
A bit north of Sandyport, he decided to start another naval base, with large protected anchorages and dockyard, and begin another section of the Continental Canal to protect that corner of civilization.
Most of the Guardians of Earth rank were sent there to work, supervised by Lady Aria and Emperor Zhong, who would get this new province as his domain when it was finished.
The eastern side of the continent was growing fast, and the children subsidies helped support the ever larger families.
In Port Li, Pef found his apprentice Wong had taken two new wives and was busy cultivating them, making his primary wife, Chen, a bit unhappy.
So he took Wong aside and gave him a White and an Orange pill, as he was still just a Sky ranker and making him look a bad teacher. "Young Wong! You have the guts to indulge in two new wives?"
"Boss...it just happened! We met at his party and had a good time, and then at another party and, before I knew it, they were living in my house. Lei Ling is the sister of..." the young apprentice justified with a meek voice.
"Good! You should have guts Wong. As my apprentice, you have the sky open for you. But, are you really that strong and competent to train these young Practitioners into Tyrants or Sovereigns?" Pef asked with some ulterior purpose, while pointing at his own new wives, Mengue a Sovereign and Lucia a Tyrant.
They were swimming and relaxing in Wong's pool, and chatting with his five wives about mysterious and profound matters like double stitching and waist lines.
The Wong Leader hesitated, as he felt there was no good answer.
He instead poured more wine and enchanted his palate with alcohol and his eyes with these radiant beauties warming his pool. "Boss...I fought in ten beast waves, and I lost three fingers to a crab monster. Chen lost a toe...we're lucky to be alive." he murmured in a more subdued manner.
Pef sighed and poured himself more wine as well. How did this idiot lose fingers to the earth ranked crabs that attacked Port Li?
"You panicked and cut them off yourself, didn't you?" the Sovereign asked at random.
Wong nodded in shame, and gulped his wine as a penance.
"Master Xi, you are indeed all knowing! I should have been like a god, with my Tyrant ranked pole arm.
Instead, I saw Chen get knocked over, and was afraid for her life. I took the fastest way out, and rushed to her side..."
"It's good you know the problem then. To protect the ones you love, you need to be strong, my apprentice. You will take my Python airship, and go to the Black continent and help around Myrrth for one year. Then, once you reach your Emperor rank, you will go to the Yellow continent, and help the Fire Disciples civilize the continent for another year. And when you return as a Tyrant, you may find a few Tyrant ranked beauties at your side. There's a hundred of pretty women, just like Lucia, lonely and scared, but still fighting monsters." Pef explained in an enticing voice, while preparing a Sovereign armor set and supplies for two years of roaming in a Sovereign ring, along with two rings more filled with highly pressured water.
In time, he would obtain digital weapons like in his memories, but for now these will have to do.
Wong glanced at the Tyrant wife of his boss with the eyes of a toad drooling at swan meat. The wine in his mouth felt stale all of a sudden, compared to what else he could feast on.
Then Pef swiped his hand over the table, depositing the rings he had prepared in his glove.
As the Sky ranked noble picked them gently one by one, he scanned the interior with amazed eyes.
"I won't let you down, Master. Even if it costs me my arms and legs, I will return with a Tyrant wife like Lady Lucia. So the water rings, just point and release?" he asked pointing his ringed hand toward Pef.
"They are weapons and tools, Wong. Stopping fires, killing low ranked beasts, cutting through mountains, even digging and filling irrigation canals or storing water for your water qi spirit to use in combat. Wear one ring on each hand, and try not to lose them both." Pef answered with a sly smile.
The next week, just as Pef arrived from his tour back at the Xi Palace, Wong departed on his own adventure, with his soul three times stronger, due to the meridian pills.
Madam Wong Chen found herself in charge of the throng of lazy nobles who were hiding under her husbands coattails, along with a pair of crying sister wives in the basement. She licked her whip in a bit of excited manner, thinking of all the serious training she would impose on those sniveling nobles.
At first, she'd been a bit jealous on Kira, for lucking out with the Emperor. But now her red-haired friend was dead, and her own weepy husband would soon be a Tyrant. She had to practice how to act tyrannical, and be a model wife when Wong returned.
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