Looking around, Yasenia realized that she was back in her initial room. To make sure that it was hers, she went to the bed and looked at the corner. "Hm. The scratch I made, just in case, is still there. This means we return to the same room after each event."
Her eyes went to the top of the list, and she observed the time she had left. A clear 3597 was slowly ticking away. 'Hm. I see. About an hour to do the next ten waves. It is more than what they gave us for the first ten waves.'
Not having any haste to complete the ten waves, she approached the fountain at the sides and used her hands to scoop the water and drink.
The second she drank the clear water, she felt her energy replenished and her fatigue disappear. A smile appeared while she licked her lips. "Sweet. Even though I almost completely recovered, it's a very nice addition to the room… Huh? My Celestial Energy is not being refilled?"
The dragoness frowned and drank a lot more to make sure. Seeing the Celestial Energy Star not accelerating its recovery, Yasenia sighed. "I will have to use those skills sparingly if that's the case. How many Celestial skills can I cast? About… six more? Seven if the event goes on for more than six hours."
She tilted her head. "Speaking of which, will the harpy be able to recover with this water? Meridian damage is very troublesome, but it might be possible…"
Her brows came together. "I hope not." Then, she relaxed. "Well, even if she could recover, it doesn't matter. The next time I meet her, I'll have to ensure she willingly surrenders."
The dragoness looked at the bronze talisman that appeared on the table in the middle and smiled, her eyes shining with a predatory light. "I didn't expect these types of rewards. What happens if I kill those with [Library Tickets] in the next event rounds? Can I gain more chances?"
After taking the bronze talisman into her ring, she walked toward the list and read the names, just in case.
1.- Tatyana Dravory, 18th wave. 57,400 Points.
2.- Cecile Dravory, 13th wave. 25,400 Points.
3.- Yu Lei, 12th wave. 20,200 Points.
4.- Chen Yanli, 12th wave…
…
27.- Kali Dravory, 11th wave. 15,400 Points.
…
475.- Yasenia Dravory, 10th wave. 11,000 Points.
…
Yasenia nodded calmly. 'The first 40 waves will be interrupted by the events, so it doesn't really matter if you don't get the max points first. The real problem will be if more than 50 people keep perfect scores by round 50. Moreover, the following events can also become an opportunity.'
She remembered Evelyn's comments about that squirrel woman, and she was about to search for her, but she didn't know her name. 'It would be nice to see affiliations.'
The dragoness finally turned and entered the portal toward the eleventh wave.
Her body flashed, and she appeared in the same prairie as the one for the first ten waves. 'It seems that the creator wants a frontal battle.'
[Welcome to the eleventh wave. Defeat five second-level Fusion Core Beasts in ten minutes.]
Yasenia lifted an eyebrow. "Quite a big jump. If this continues increasing at this rate for every ten waves, the fortieth wave bracket might have level ten Fusion Core beasts. Either way, challenges seem adjusted to cultivation level instead of overall strength, so I have an advantage."
Yasenia stopped thinking because the five giant quadrupedal beasts had arrived before herself.
Instead of using weapons, Yasenia's lips arched in a wild smile, and she lunged toward one of them.
The five-meter-tall beast swung its claw, and Yasenia punched to meet with it as her energies wrapped around her body, increasing her strength many times over.
BANG!
Like an enormous explosion bursting right beside that creature, muscles, bones, and internal organs ruptured and exploded while Yasenia's energies sunk into it and blasted it flying.
The dragoness turned around and clawed the air. "[Sun Dragon Claw]."
The image of a gigantic golden claw slammed from above the beast and detonated in a violent golden fire burst, engulfing the other four in damaging energies and killing them.
To finish it, Yasenia jumped and spun once mid-air, slamming her tail on the side of the remaining beast's head and killing it instantly.
[Congratulations, you won perfectly against five level-two Fusion Core beats without receiving any damage in 14.9 seconds. You've won 2200 points. x2 Multiplier detected. You've won 4400 Points. You have 15400 Points.]
Yasenia nodded, and after exiting, she looked at the list again.
1st, Tatyana Dravory, 73,000 Points. 20th wave.
In another room, Evelyn's lips arched in a wry smile. 'Tatyana is quite absurd. I'm still in the fourteenth wave. Speaking of absurd, where is my lovable but silly dragoness?'
She spotted her in the hundreds on the eleventh wave and blinked. 'Why is my love so slow? Hm?'
Then, her jaw slowly dropped as Yasenia's name jumped every three to five seconds.
12th wave, 13th wave, 14th wave…
By the time Evelyn reacted, her dear dragoness had already finished and reached the seventh spot on the list with the 20 waves done and an identical score to Tatyana. "What in the heaven's name? Did she wait a bit to give the others a chance or something?"
After waiting for an answer for two seconds, Evelyn blinked and muttered. "Right, Sierra is also participating."
She couldn't help but scratch her cheek. 'When someone that's always there suddenly disappears, you can't help but miss her more than I thought.'
Looking up, she saw that the initial 3600 clock was only down to 3462. Yet, more than nine people had finished the eleventh to twentieth waves. Evelyn was somewhat speechless. 'Who is this timer for, anyway? Oh? Sierra has arrived at the eighteenth wave. I should also hurry up.'
With a sigh and shaking her head, she entered the red formation while grabbing her spear.
[Welcome to the fifteenth wave. Defeat twenty-five second-level Fusion Core Beasts in ten minutes.]
Evelyn focused, and her entire body exploded with thick white and black lightning bolts. 'Let's resolve this in one attack.'
Time appeared to slow down as her hair danced around, and dragon-like coiling electricity arcs went from her shoulder to her weapon, encasing her long spear in powerful lightning.
Then, she pointed upward while channeling one of her skills, crackling electricity consuming her surroundings. "[Luminous Phantom Assault]."
Lightning and Light energies mixed in the air and formed numerous five-meter-long white spears made entirely from Luminous Lightning. Then, Evelyn launched them all toward the twenty-five beasts charging at her with a circular, sweeping motion.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
[Congratulations, you won perfectly against Thirty second-level Fusion Core beats without receiving any damage in 4.8 seconds. You've won 3200 points. X2 Multiplier detected. You've won 6400 Points. You have 43,400 Points.]
[Congratulations, you won perfectly against Thirty-five second-level Fusion Core beats without receiving any damage in 6.7 seconds. You've won 3400 points. X2 Multiplier detected. You've won 6800 Points. You have 50,200 Points.]
[Congratulations, you won perfectly against Forty second-level Fusion Core beats without receiving any damage in 9.1 seconds. You've won 3600 points. X2 Multiplier detected. You've won 7200 Points. You have 57,400 Points.]
[Congratulations, you won perfectly against Forty-five second-level Fusion Core beats without receiving any damage in 11.9 seconds. You've won 3800 points. X2 Multiplier detected. You've won 7600 Points. You have 65,000 Points.]
[Congratulations, you won perfectly against Fifty second-level Fusion Core beats without receiving any damage in 14.3 seconds. You've won 4000 points. X2 Multiplier detected. You've won 8000 Points. You have 73,000 Points.]
After completing the ten waves, Yasenia sat on the bed cross-legged and looked at the list. 'How is the difference in points with the largest group? Hm… There are those who reached the 20th wave with 42,460 Points. That's… Doing the waves perfectly with the 1.4 multiplier, right?'
Yasenia calculated it in her head again and nodded. Most of the cultivators had fallen into this bracket. "What to do until they end… The number is still at 3106. Ah. I know."
Her tail unconsciously wagged, and she opened the communication device channel. Soon, a soft and cute voice was heard. "Mommy!"
A constant tapping could be heard because of Yasenia's long, wagging tail hitting the bed. "My baby~, how are you doing lately, love? Did you finish the book we read before together?"
Kaleina answered with a sweet laugh. "I was waiting for Mommy to read it together~. Today, you called earlier; I'm very happy, hehe~."
Yasenia felt a pang of guilt in her heart. "Sorry for not being able to be together, baby."
Kaleina's voice was a little smaller on the other side as she whispered. "Mommy, will you come back soon?"
Hearing her sad tone, Yasenia frowned and wanted to go to her side immediately to hug her and bathe her in kisses. "I don't know, baby. I promise it won't take much longer." Then, she put a teasing tone. "Also! You won't believe where Mommy is right now."
Knowing that her Mommy was about to tell another exciting story, Kaleina's voice brightened. "Where, where?"
Yasenia smiled softly and spoke with a smug tone. "Mommy is at a competition with many other cultivators from around the World!"
Kaleina exclaimed. "Wow! Around the entire world!?"
Yasenia laughed. "Yes. Do you remember the top powers we learned about together?"
Kaleina blinked and asked. "Which ones, Mommy? The ones from the Sky Continent or the ones from Distancia?"
Considering the superior intelligence of dragons, Yasenia has started teaching many things at a very young age. Most of the education programs followed Tatyana's education from when Yasenia was young, changing the things that focused on spiritual cultivation for beast and body cultivation knowledge.
While knowing about Distancia's powers was important, Yasenia knew that learning about Sky Continent's power balance was as crucial since an extended part of their future lives would pass there.
Yasenia spoke. "The Distancia ones, baby."
Kaleina's confident voice came from the other side. "Yes! I know most of them! Isn't that right, Aunty Selena?"
Selena, the lamia maid's voice, was heard from the other side. "Of course. Little Young Miss is the cleverest baby in the world~."
Kaleina's delighted laugh was heard from the communication device, making Yasenia laugh with her. "Well, there is a list here telling ranks, and almost all of us are in the top ten!"
Kaleina asked, curious. "How many people are participating, Mommy?"
Yasenia asked with a mischievous tone. "Guess~. If you get it right in three tries, once I return, I'll play with you all you want until you get tired!"
Kaleina's excited voice was heard. "O-Okay, Mommy. Then, then… 100 people!"
Yasenia made a sound to tell her that it was wrong. "Wrong~. Many more people!"
Kaleina exclaimed. "Many more than a hundred? Wow! Then, 1000 people!"
Yasenia repeated the sound. "Wrong~. Even more people! A little more than double."
Kaleina's nervous voice reached Yasenia, almost making her laugh aloud. "Um… I don't know… How much was a double? Two times… right?"
Yasenia nodded. "Excellent, baby. It was two times."
With an uncertain tone, Kaleina said her final guess. "Then… A bit more than two times 1000 is… 2100?"
Yasenia looked at the large 2354 on the wall, but she said with confidence. "Very good, baby! You got it right! Not one more or one less than 2100."
Well, it was clear that our dragoness wouldn't let Kaleina lose since the promise was something that she herself wanted. Moreover, it was close enough.
Kaleina laughed happily. "Yay! Did you listen, Aunty Selena? I got it right!"
Selena's laughing voice was heard from the device. "Of course. I'll keep it in a note so that Young Miss doesn't forget to play with Little Young Miss once she returns, all right?"
"Okay! Did you hear, Mommy?"
Yasenia laughed. "I heard. Mommy will kill gods and immortals if they come in the way of our playing time!"
Kaleina laughed. "So exaggerated, Mommy!"
Selena spoke to Yasenia. "Young Miss, can we speak for a minute before you continue your conversation with Little Young Miss?"
Yasenia spoke. "Baby, give the device to Aunty Selena. We still have more than 40 minutes to speak."
Kaleina nodded. "Okay! Here, Aunty Selena. Don't take too much time."
"I won't, hahaha."
Yasenia asked after a few seconds. "What happened?"
Selena spoke. "Young Miss. Taking into account your absence, there have been a few people trying to infiltrate the sect. We've allowed a few under heavy surveillance to see what they were up to, and we discovered that they are trying to find weaknesses of the formation and also people you consider close."
Yasenia's eyes flashed coldly. "Which powers did it?"
"From what we've discovered, they are the usual ones. Wolf Clan, Garuda Clan, Assassin Sect, and their allies. However, I wanted to inform you because there were two harpies mixed in between."
With a confused tone, she asked. "Were they also investigating the same thing?"
"Yes. That's why we are asking you."
Yasenia's mind flashed with many thoughts, but then she remembered Feathra. "Have you spoken to Tengliu?"
Selena denied it. "Not yet."
Yasenia crossed her arms and pondered. 'If it was under Tengliu's order, and we ask, we will tell her that we've caught her, and it might trigger conflict even before I can return, which is not ideal. If it is not, and it is a growing faction that is against Tengliu's cooperation with us, telling her can nip the problem in the bud before it becomes something large…'
Yasenia considered many things and spoke calmly. "Invite Tengliu to that room and ask her. If she is behind it…" Yasenia trailed her words for a while, but then she became resolute. "… Kill her."
Selena answered solemnly. "Are you sure, Young Miss? You've been delaying action because you wanted to move personally…"
Yasenia stayed silent for a few seconds and then sighed. "Do it. We can't afford to have an ally that can betray us at any time. We are strong but not untouchable by any means. If she is trying to get a hold of my weakness, that's a good signal telling me that any punishment other than death or similar will go nowhere and that she had not repented and has been acting during the last five years."
Yasenia added. "With the amount of knowledge about us that she has, Tengliu acting this way is completely out of turn and illogical. She is a brilliant woman, someone I've even grown to admire. That's why I'm sure it is a hidden faction in her power. A power the size of Tengliu's is bound to give birth to some extremists. Therefore, I'm ninety percent sure she has nothing to do with this. If she didn't know, cooperate with her and see how much sincerity she shows."
Selena nodded. "Understood. What is your bottom line of punishment toward that faction, Young Miss?"
Yasenia sneered. "A group targeting my weaknesses? That means they are targeting not only my dears but also Kaleina. My bottom line is Dantian crippling. Making all the leaders above Epoch Core disappear would be the ideal result. Those under that strength are no longer threats, so you can be more lenient and end it with limb crippling."
Yasenia explained a bit about Feathra's situation, and after five minutes of talks, she asked. "Place Kaleina on the communication device again. I already miss her voice."
Selena nodded with a smile in her voice. "Yes, Young Miss. Don't worry much about this; there are harpies working for other powers, so they might also be a bait or a trap. We'll deal with it to your satisfaction."
Yasenia smiled. "I know."
Yasenia spent the rest of the time talking with Kaleina.
The next event started after the number on top of the list reached 0000.
Yasenia waited for a while before stepping forward, just in case something else spawned in the room. After nothing appeared, she stood on the yellow formation and was transported to the second event.
******************************************************
Yasenia: Things are happening outside the secret realm…
Evelyn. Are you worried?
Yasenia: Not that much. I have confidence in my maids.
Author: Well, things are slowly tangling up and becoming more interesting~. I summon you!
WPOmega: Hello! I'm here to ask Sarah another thing!
Angel: You ask her a lot of things, hahaha.
WPOmega: I find her an interesting character.
Sarah: I'm here.
WPOmega: Sarah, assuming Yasenia trusts you enough to bring you back to the Sky Continent when she returns, would you go with her and continue to be overshadowed, or would you rather stay in Distancia, where you'd grow nearly unimpeded?
Sarah: I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. Also, I don't think I'm that overshadowed, right? In an all-out match, we shouldn't be too far off strength-wise.
WPOmega: Oh… Did you think like that?
Sarah: Yes. I have many items that can be used.
WPOmega: I see. So, the answer is, no plans yet?
Sarah: That's right. I don't think that Yasenia is the only way back either way.
WPOmega: Aha.
Author: And that's all for today~. Thank you!