Observing my basketball-sized Black Hole Energy Generator Ability in my right hand, certain thoughts cross my mind.
Indulging them I take out the other half of Auril I stored in my body.
Using the essence produced by the generator I had the small chunk of Auril double and then triple in size.
Once it was of enough size I split it again and stored the rest in my body again.
The other half though, I separated into two. One I left there hanging, but the other I shaped with the essence generated into an arm.
At the shoulder, it was just large enough to cover the tube on one side out of which Mana and Life Essence exited. Focusing on that gap I willed the constructed Auril arm to stick to the generator.
Once on it, I saw and felt my intent happening. The arm gained the Aspect of my Ability.
It became part of the Ability.
Nodding at that part I tried the second part of the test. Focusing my intent on the arm in question and it separated from the generator and transformed back into a pure Auril construct.
" Ha, ha, haha, hahahahahahahahaha. "
In a hysteria I began to laugh at my genius, well… my original for inventing something as novel as Auril.
My laughter echoed out of the room and since I did not stop for quite some time, my servant came to check on me.
Waving her away I laid my body on the bed and just stared at the ceiling, while occasionally laughing a bit.
" Ha, now that I have confirmed it, which direction should I go from now on? " I asked myself in the high-pitched voice of a little girl.
" Should I make myself armor-like, like Iron Man? Hmm, NO. That would be a bad choice. It would mean I would have to wear it and this body sucks at anything physical, right now. "
" That leaves me with a Stand-like Ability projection? Hmm, probably, but there is more potential than just simple Ability projection. Should I go automatic or manual or halfway in between? "
" Sigh, for now, this will need lots of thinking. "
***
The day passed. Night came and it passed too.
When morning came and I woke up to Tao Fang calling for me, I knew I overdid it with the thinking part. Still slightly woozy from having too little sleep, I looked at the female servant.
Staring at her, I had no choice but to confront that feeling of having somebody at my personal, beck and call. Her youth did not help it one bit. She couldn't be more than 18 years old.
' I guess the old Jiao didn't want an old servant looking after her, after all, she did want independence. Although, in some sense, we all are servants of somebody, in some ways. It's the nature of a hierarchy, after all. '
" What is it? "
" Miss, the Lord has sent a message, to inform you to pay him a visit, as soon as you can. " She said.
" He did? I didn't expect it so soon. Alright, I will go and meet him soon. Actually, is the food ready? "
Shaking her head, Tao Fang replied. " No, Miss. I wasn't sure when you would wake up, but I did some preparations. Should I prepare the food? "
Looking outside and the strong light I considered it. " No, save it for later. I will go meet the Lord. Once I am back I can eat. "
" Yes, miss. " She replied, but if she thought me calling Yu Liwei by title and not family relation was strange, she didn't show it.
Putting on the boy's clothes, I had specifically asked for exercising my body, as they were much cheaper than the fancy silk, and since I was bound to dirty it too. It was just a better decision overall.
I left for the same part of the mansion as yesterday and found myself in front of the office Yu Liwei used every day.
Ignoring the steward, I opened the door, without any knocking. Opening it, the man in question saw me immediately.
Again we stared at each other for a bit.
Only this time, I broke eye contact much sooner and entered the office. Closing the door behind me, I resumed our staring match.
" The old man, isn't here? " I asked, still staring at him.
" He entered closed meditation. It will probably last a few days. He did, after all, ascend a stage. But before he went, he advised me to reconsider our relationship. " As he replied, I saw no emotion on his face.
Nodding I ask. " And how will our relationship be from now on, Yu Liwei? " Hearing me saying his name directly did show a twitch on his face but a second later it vanished.
He stayed silent for a second. " That will depend on you. I will not change my intent on treating you as an asset of the family, to be used as I please. But to know how I should treat you, I would need to know more about you and your goals. "
Saying nothing and considering it, I could only come to one conclusion. " You want to compromise so that both of us benefit? "
He nodded.
" I can work with that, are you prepared for it? My conditions will be greater since I stand to lose more than you? " I ask.
It took a few moments but he nodded. " Fine, before we start on the conditions that we can negotiate, there are two I won't compromise on. First, I want to be able to call you Father, anytime I want, without any trouble from you. Is that something you can agree with? "
I noticed nothing on his face, but for a second I could swear I heard a growl from him. Maybe my ears played tricks on me but he did respond. " Why? Explain. "
" Names are important if you know how to use them. The same can be said of the actions one does in life. " I replied and let that stew for a bit. " From the moment one is born, one's momentum in Life is created. Like a stone, you threw into a body of still water. The waves that are created are momentum. That momentum or motion of Life is what people call Fate, Destiny, Karma, or something else. I won't bother with explaining how it truly works, as I know only what has been told to me. Names and actions carry that momentum through Life. "
Taking a second to consolidate my next words, I continued. " When the previous Jiao died, that momentum had hit a wall. Most of that momentum dissipates into that wall but some of it is reflected back into the water and a new ripple is born. Weaker than before? Yes, but still there and I can grow it. I need it to grow, hence my second uncompromised condition is that I continue to use the name, Yu Jiao. "
With some surprise on his face, he considered what I said. " I take it, the greater the momentum, the greater the reward? Is that related to your Mantra? "
" It is. When I acquire a Soul, that momentum will increase the chances of me activating the Mantra. If I fail, it's my Death. " In a serious voice I replied, but I left out that it's a plus to have but not a requirement.
' If I had a Soul I could attempt it even now, and probably succeed. '
" I see. " He said. His gaze wandered a bit and I could hear light thumps of his fingers tapping on the desk as he considered it. " Alright, I will agree to it, for now. Now let's talk about you and your Goals? "
" Sure, anything specific I should mention, or should I just tell you my general plan? " I asked.
" Tell me about your plan, then we can speak about specifics. " Nodding to him, I laid it out to him. " In truth, I don't have a general plan. I would go where my desires tell me to go and do what they tell me to. Umm, right now, my current knowledge of this World translates into; Once I can, I will go and explore the World. See its wonders, eat its best food, eat some exotic fruits, and drink the best drinks. After that goal would be to meet new people and have adventures with them. Maybe find some beautiful girl or handsome body to play with, you know the body kind of play. " At that part, I smiled, and my new father Yu Liwei was not happy to hear it all.
With a twitch around his cheek, he spoke. " Play? "
" Naturally, Life isn't half as fun without its physical pleasures. " With a smile on my face, it probably felt like a punch to the guts to him but here I spoke another condition. " Here is another condition you will have to agree to, as it just came to me. I do not want you or anybody in the family to interfere with my love life. I come from a Society where Love was decided by the individual and not the Family and their desires. I can sleep with anyone I want. Anywhere I want. However, I want to. " Stopping a second for it to sink in, I gave him room to breathe. " But as that would be too one-sided, I will however accept your attempt at persuading me out of certain relations. Most will probably fail, but some I will accept. All of it will depend on the situation at hand. "
With hands clenched hard, he stared at me. Then spoke with steel in his voice. " Anything else? "
" Long term, I don't think so, as I said the majority of my desires. Everything else will depend on how Life unfolds from this point on. " Was my reply. " As for the short term, well aside from improving the physical quality of this body so I can finally end my nightmares and achieve the fabled heights of a woman's pleasure. There is one thing. "
But before I said such a thing, another pressure enveloped me on all sides. He probably knew it was useless, a thought later, a phantom visage appeared above me. It only had a head, arms, and torso at the moment.
Similar to how a Stand appeared in the JoJo anime, this one protected me from the pressure.
Contrary to the events from yesterday this one was connected to my Ability and since the said Ability was formed and anchored to me instead of being pure Auril, the cost of its usage reduced drastically.
Gazing away from the visage of myself, well...the original handsome version that had appeared to me in the Dream, I watched my stunned new father and Lord.
Thanks to the base nature of the Auril, the Ability is invisible to the naked eye and it was only thanks to the Divine Sense that I felt from him that I knew he observed it.
For pure theatrics I had my phantom interfere with Light and appear in full color to my father's naked eyes. It had a white pinkish human skin tone, if somewhat transparent. Black short hair and the most important feature of all, the bright green jade eyes.
" What in the Heavens is that? " Father asked, still stunned by its appearance.
" That is my Ability, well part of it. Since your threat yesterday I lost the time I wanted to observe my surroundings. So I had to speed up my plans, somewhat, and that is the result. " I replied.
" That still does not tell me what that is? " He said and had his Divine Sense influence the Qi in the surroundings to pressure me and my Ability.
It was while testing it that he realized something as his face showed that emotion.
He retracted Divine Sense through which he created said pressure. " Nevermind, I will find out in the future. What do you mean by pleasuring yourself? I will not allow you to defile that body, especially so… soon. "
" Soon? Did you not plan to wed your 13-year-old daughter to that Xia young master and have him defile her. " My frank words shocked him again. It was easy to see he didn't like the way I said it but when he noticed I still hadn't retracted my phantom, he changed his approach.
" That was different. "
" How is that any different? " I ask.
" First of all, I was just trying to establish an engagement. The minimum age of those being wed is 16 and marriage is different. "
" As if that is anything better. In my past life that is still below the legal age of being recognized as an adult. And besides, the human body only finishes its optimum growth at around age 20-25 depending on the environment, gen… I mean bloodline and available nourishment. So it's still too early. " I explained myself.
" Bah, it doesn't matter how they did it there, you're here now and you follow our rules. " He demanded.
" We will see about that. Anyway you're lucky this marriage never happened, if it did your daughter would have died on the first day of marriage. " I retorted to him.
" You… " Stopping there, my father took a deep breath. " Explain, why do you think so? "
" Please, as if I needed to explain that. I was a man once so I know how young men think. All they can think about is how to dip their little willies into the honey pot, and they care very little about the pleasures of their partner. " Saying that I displayed the said action with my fingers represented by a hole and an index finger but as the phantom was currently anchored to my actions in an unconscious use they mirrored my hand and finger motions.
It took me a few seconds to realize why his gaze bore the Will to drill me into the ground, so I stopped saying action. " Anyway, what I wanted to say is that, with how weak this body is that it falls unconscious just from a little exertion, do you think it would be any different in bed? " From his face, I could see that he never considered anything from a woman's perspective. " Even if you used all your power to have the marriage succeed, all that would have happened would be torture if you consider how I appeared here in the first place. You would have lost your beloved daughter either way, with the only difference being later than sooner. "
And his stone-cold mask broke. What replaced it was a grief-stricken man. Giving him some time to recollect himself I looked again at my phantom hovering above me.
When I gazed back at him, he still looked broken but at least he chased it away from his visage. Taking a deep breath he spoke. " It still doesn't change the fact that I don't want my daughter's body defiled so soon. I forbid you from doing that. "
" Please, I am not a pedo, wait, that is the wrong expression since I am not a man anymore. " Remembering the terms for a second, I continue. " I am not a Loli and even if I wanted to, which I can't at this moment, I don't need anybody else to at least pleasure myself. I can do it on my own. "
" What? " Like a bell, my declaration echoed as he reflexively replied.
Surprised at his reaction, I considered my next words. " Human bodies are designed with that function in mind, for those moments when the itch to do it arrives, and you don't have viable partners. It's a bit easier on a man but in exchange, females are granted much greater pleasure. And if that is not enough, there are tools for that too. " I explained my reasoning. He still just stared at me dazed. " So I take it, you… never used toys before? "
With an absent shake of the head, he denied it. " Oh, wow it's still vanilla, ugh I mean still normal. Wait, I mean normal is good. Indeed it... is… good. " With a cough, I shook my head, I switched the topic hurriedly. " Anyway, let's get back on track with our previous topic. The simple reason for my need for that pleasure is that my past memories are affecting this body. My mind wants pleasure but the body can't deliver as I am now of a different gender. So the next best thing happens, Dreams. In there the memories care not for the body but the more those dreams appear the greater the desire of the mind and an imbalance appears. It would be simple to fix it normally, but since I can't as it knocks me out, the problem becomes greater. Right now, every night those dreams haunt me, and the desire only grows greater. "
" I thought the old man explained it to you, but I guess not. " I said. "Only by improving the body to fix that imbalance is the way to go, and I can use the exhaustion to stave off the desire to some degree, and it helps for now. "
" Umm, is that the only reason? " My father inquired hesitantly. Probably unsure of how to go from this point on.
' I guess this is a topic all fathers dread. '
" Well, since we are already on the topic, I guess it's best I say it now. " Considering my words for a second. " In my previous World there were… scholars, I guess they could be called, that studied differences in the human bodies and separated by gender. The results showed that women and men feel pain and pleasure differently. Long story short, without me explaining it in detail, women can take on much greater pains than men due to the inherent function of childbirth. At the same time, they can experience at least ten times more pleasure, depending on the partner. " I summarized the study. " That knowledge spurred my mind's desire for pleasure and unconsciously I want to experience it. But since it's denied to me, the problem only grows. "
" I think that should be all for now. If there is something else, it's not coming to me at this moment. " I declared. " Should I take my leave? You know, since I have said my bottom line and for you to take all of it into consideration? "
" Ah. You can go, I will call for you again when I am done. " He said and I took my leave and the phantom being locked spatially on my body followed.
Right as I opened the door, I remembered the second thing I wanted to say. " Father, I just remembered one more thing. I want to take a look at the Heavenly Jade Mantra. While I won't cultivate it, probably, I do want to take a look at it. In the best-case scenario, I can adopt some of it into my Ability and have the Mantra be represented that way instead of cultivating it. After all, I am still of Yu blood. "
Wondering at my proposal he looked at my phantom. " Haven't you already done that? " He said and pointed at its head.
I knew what he pointed at without even looking at it. " No, I have not. " Shaking and denying it, I spoke my answer. " The image that you see is how I looked in my previous life. The eyes are included in that. And I should probably mention that I inherited them from him and not the Yu bloodline. My original was very adamant about that part. He wanted at least a part of his physical self to be represented here, and the color of the eyes is one of the easiest changes one can enact on a body. "
" I see, I will think about it. You can go. " He said and waved me away.
Nodding, my phantom vanished and I closed the door behind me and left, but it only took me a few steps for the curses to leave my mouth. " FUCK….FUCK….FUCK, why did I say all that? "
" Fuck, if anyone asks, I will blame it on the hormones. "
***
" Ha, damn it all. That girl will be the death of me. If not physically then emotionally. " Cried out the lord of the residence Yu Liwei.
" I doubt that will happen, Lord. " Another voice spoke. This one is much older. Alongside its appearance Light distorted and before the desk appeared an old man.
He looked to be 50 from his appearance but He Shoushan was in fact, 373 years old. His very recent advance in cultivation had reversed some of the aging brought upon him by time.
" I must say that stepping through the Void is such a magnificent ability. " He said as he stroked his beard that gained even more blackness than a day before. It was as if his change had yet to settle. " Anyway, at least now you have some ground rules upon which to set the compromise. "
" You can say that, but it wasn't your marital skills that got questioned. " Remarked Yu Liwei. " And by a 13-year-old girl. "
" Lord, you have to remember that she is much older in mind. " Replied the old man, all while ignoring the topic.
" Does Not change the fact that my skills were questioned by a little girl and in my daughter's body. " Not quite over the shock of that event, he went on. " If anybody learns of that, I would be embarrassed to Death. So old man, you better keep that to yourself, or I will have to hunt you down personally, even if you're a stage higher than me, right now. "
" Don't worry, my lips are sealed. " Agreed the old man, immediately. He wasn't a fool to anger the Head of the Yu clan. Even if he was a stage higher than him, he still was a healer, not a combat-oriented cultivator. Much less be able to fight somebody with a first-grade Mantra like Heavenly Jade.
After a threat, Yu Liwei relaxed somewhat. " So it was that kind of… problem that was mentioned last time. " Agreed the old man. " I am not versed in problems of the mind, but can such a thing happen? "
" Indeed. " Replied the healer. " The only reason why I said that the problem would be fixed over time is that she has no roots to influence. Without the unconscious influence of the Qi in the roots, the problem is lesser than with them, but as you saw, it still influences a person. This would imply that at the core she is that kind of person and that the overflowing desire she is experiencing right now, is only a manifestation of her true character. As for how much of the true character is governed by that desire, that is up for Time to show. "
" Sigh, fine. I didn't notice your Divine Sense when her… phantom appeared? " Asked the Lord.
" No, I know little of how Life Essence functions. I didn't want her to notice I was watching, so I didn't touch it. " After he explained himself, He Shoushan gave the Lord the gaze that he wanted to know what he felt.
" It… felt a bit like a Bloodline skill, I think. At least, it feels a bit similar to when I use my personal Bloodline. As for the skill or Ability, as she called it, that was even weirder. " He wondered as he remembered the sensation his Divine Sense delivered. " Unlike yesterday where I felt the barrier come into existence upon using Stage Oppression, this time it was different. This time the oppression entered the phantom and just vanished... is my best explanation. The Foundation stage didn't work at all, the Core on the other hand did give me something. "
With an inquisitive eyebrow rise, the old man showed his interest. " In the chest of the phantom, I felt a pulling force. Whatever it was inside the chest of that phantom it could draw Qi from the surroundings. Once my Divine Sense touched it I just lost all sensation. "
" And its strength? " Asked the old man. Yu Liwei considered his memory and replied. " Any Foundation cultivator can destroy it out of existence. Qi gatherers on the other hand, well… it would heavily depend on the Mantra. This is my best guess, without any further testing. But if it's anything like my bloodline Ability, then it will only get stronger as she gets more familiar with it. "
" Hmm, who did your brother send? Maybe we can have him test her? "
" Gao Junjie"
" Why him? " Inquired the healer. He was familiar with the men in question. They had very few interactions but he did know of the man's reputation.
" I may have been a bit more emotional when I asked Qian to send someone. He must have sensed something from my words and sent him. He is still a good choice if a bit annoying. " He replied. " At least he won't annoy me, so I don't care. "
" Alright, where is he then? "
" I had him wait for her at her place. "
" Oh! "
" Alright, here, have a servant deliver this to Jiao. " He said and threw a small bundle at the Lord's desk, which he took out of his sleeves. " Jiao knows how to use it. I will go and continue my meditation for a few more days. It won't be a deep one, so if anything unexpected happens, just call me. "
With a nod from the Lord, the healer vanished from the office.
" Xue? " Called Yu Liwei and the steward answered. " Deliver this to Jiao and pay more attention to anything happening inside. Especially the interaction between Gao Junjie and Jiao. "
" Yes, Lord. "