Andrea fell on her back, looking at the tall ceiling from Yasenia's head. "That was… tiring."
Yasenia gently walked away, keeping her head balanced not to bother her darling with her steps. "How was it, Darling?"
Andrea took off her helmet and pondered as she looked up while lying on Yasenia's dragon head. "I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement. We are coordinated to a very superficial level."
Yasenia agreed. "However, once we manage to reach a deeper sense of synchrony while battling like this, I think it will be a very powerful combination. It can also help you use and enhance your skills through me."
Andrea chuckled. "Did you ask me to learn this in case I become weak, love?"
Yasenia scolded. "This is more in case I become too strong. Darling, you are extremely strong for someone at your level. I'm just an outlier, an almost unique chance in heaven's path. After all, a Dragon that has gained control over a Unique Element is nothing but a massive coincidence of strength. I was born to become stronger." Yasenia sighed. "The fact that all of you can keep up as you are right now is already something I never expected."
Andrea was silent and continued listening. "Darling, I'm going to be honest. While I've always tried to increase your strength, I knew that by the time we arrived at the Unification Realm, hoping for you girls to match me in strength would be nothing but a miracle." Yasenia chuckled. "And yet, you are still right behind me. It is true that I'm stronger than all of you if we don't consider Valeria and Mirrory. However, I'm not hopelessly stronger compared to you."
Yasenia sighed with admiration. "Andrea, you've managed to gain such strength by your own effort. You can fight as my rider not because I'm lowering myself to you but because you are reaching up to me and stubbornly keeping up with me. Yours and the other girl's determination is what feeds my own strength as well."
Andrea smiled and answered. "Yasenia, you are our guide in this life. Without you, all of us would've lost our paths or never overcome mediocrity. As much as you say we are keeping up, that's because you pull us from the front. Before meeting you, I was just a Level Six Mental Nourishing Realm cultivator at age 32. Now, almost 15 years later, I'm at the peak of the fourth realm in two cultivation paths. I took the same time to go from zero to the second realm as I did to reach from that point to my current height."
Andrea laughed, feeling absurd. "If we are your determination… You are our path forward."
Yasenia smiled silently, her draconic mouth arching gently as she returned to the side of the rest.
Now that they'd advanced, they needed to return to the other side. After all battles had finished, there was a 24-hour rest.
After all, while this was a test of strength, it was not a test of endurance. Both sides were expected to be at peak capacity when the battles started.
Tatyana welcomed the girls and smirked. "A mere middle-level leaving you girls so tired… Weak."
The girls felt like an arrow pierced their hearts.
Of course, it was just a joking remark. At their age, Tatyana herself would not even be qualified to attend the Summit as a spectator.
Naturally, her resources were also much more lacking, but that was not the point. Luck was also part of one's strength, and only results mattered in a world of cultivation. If you were stronger, you survived; if you weren't, that was it.
It didn't matter how someone got that strength at the moment of fighting to the death.
Yasenia approached and hug her, smacking her butt with a loud-sounding slap and a smile.
Tatyana jumped a bit and blinked twice, looking up at her smiling lover.
"Feeling mischievous?"
Tatyana's lips arched further. "Yes. And now, aroused."
Yasenia laughed and gave her a kiss. Then, she turned toward her other darlings. As soon as she did so, a golden bullet slammed into her embrace, the extremely long and soft gold-like threads surrounding their figure.
Yasenia couldn't help but admire the knee-length blonde hair as her fingers slowly caressed it. "Baby, your hair is really pretty."
Angel looked up from Yasenia's enveloping bosom and smiled sweetly. "I love your hair too, Yasenia."
Evelyn asked with curiosity. "So, how is fighting against middle-level Epoch Cores one-on-one?"
The girls pondered, and Cecile answered at length. "It's like balancing on thin ice. Their strength is absurdly high, so if any of their attacks land on you, they can reverse the situation. I didn't notice when Yasenia fought in the front lines and held them back with Andrea. However, once you have them close and their attacks coming your way one after another, it is honestly nerve-wracking."
Cecile continued analytically. "Not only is their strength absurd, but their resilience is honestly out of this world. Any average spiritual cultivator would've fallen much quicker. However, Body Cultivators can take much more punishment while pursuing you recklessly."
Cecile sighed. "Thankfully, it seems that their ranged skills are sorely lacking. While they have some, they are telegraphed and clearly not created as the main attacking methods. Our agility is barely enough to dodge that. Were you looking, Evelyn?"
Evelyn nodded while crossing her arms. "I felt it the most during Kali's fight."
Cecile agreed. "Even with one dryad being buffed to the point that it would die in seconds and another 99 dryads also enhanced by other auras, you could see them constantly flying off like sacks of air being hit by a sledgehammer."
Kali answered. "If the female Dolur hadn't stopped at the beginning of the fight for some reason, allowing me to summon my 100 dryads securely, the battle would've dragged out much more. I would've needed to use poisons and parasites instead of pure strength to win."
Evelyn looked at Kali thoughtfully. "Say, Kali."
Kali tilted her head, her large fox ears flopping to the side in a cute way. "Hm?"
Evelyn got distracted for a moment, looking at the furry ears flopping, but she recovered quickly from the sneaky adorableness attack. "Cough. Why don't you use your poisons and similar more often? For example, you have that skill called [Life Draining Spores], which enhances all your summons with them."
Kali smiled. "These battles are not battles to the death. They are meant to polish our combat styles and stabilize our foundation to the point of perfection. What's the point of using poisons and winning easily?"
Evelyn smirked. "You think you can win easily with them."
Kali nodded gently. "This is not arrogance, but spiritual medicine in Distancia is honestly lacking. I'm probably close to the level of a top 10 alchemist, medicine master, and poison master in the entirety of Distancia. Using those skills would give me an honestly unfair advantage."
Kali looked at Yasenia and clarified with an amused smile before Yasenia intervened. "I know that there is no fairness, love. But with our objective when participating here, that's how it feels."
Yasenia blinked and laughed. "Okay, I won't nag."
Kaleina tugged Yasenia's skirt with her claw, making our dragoness look down and crouch to hug her and pick her up. "What's wrong, love?"
Kaleina asked. "Mommy, why did only Mama Andrea, Kali, and Cecile fight alone?"
Yasenia explained the rules as they moved toward their resting spot.
The day passed like that, with no other complications. Other leaders came to congratulate Yasenia for reaching the top 500, while Coraline stayed with them for a while to accompany Ebirah.
Remember that Ebirah could not accompany Andrea to battle. Even if they were linked, other people knew Ebirah, and to avoid any complications, they didn't publicize Andrea's and Ebirah's connection.
After all, for the still hard-minded Beast Humans who had yet to begin their acceptance of humans, learning something like this would be detrimental to Coraline, her race, and Yasenia's sect.
Moreover, it was no one's business.
Coraline looked at Yasenia with a deep expression. "Say, little Yasenia."
Yasenia stopped playing with Kaleina and turned to look. "Yes?"
"Be honest with me."
Yasenia nodded and heard Coraline's question.
"When you overcome the fifth realm tribulation… How strong will you be?"
Yasenia paused, getting thoughtful. "Well…" She smiled wryly and sighed. "It's difficult to say."
Coraline tilted her head. "Why?"
Yasenia commented. "Hm… I have something similar to an inheritance in me. The inheritance events weren't triggered during the tribulations you saw. They seem to happen either on my highest cultivation realm breakthrough or with just the spiritual path."
Coraline nodded, and Yasenia sighed. "This peculiarity in my tribulations strengthened them."
Hearing that, Coraline's eyes widened. "What?"
Yasenia nodded. "If that particular event happened during my fourth realm tribulation, I would've been in danger, hahaha."
Coraline's face became serious, and she asked. "Little Yasenia… Can you survive? If you are not confident, never crossing over and staying in your current realm of strength is not impossible-."
"Impossible."
Yasenia's firm voice cut her off as her reptilian golden eyes looked at Coraline straight into her eyes. "That's impossible. I either survive or die trying. However, I'll never stop."
Coraline's words actually got stuck at the intensity and blazing determination in the dragon's golden eyes. After a few tries, she sighed and spoke. "If you need anything, tell me. The Sun Engulfing Ore Lobster Race will aid you with all of our strength."
Yasenia's expression relaxed, and she nodded with her usual naturally sensual smile. "I will. Thank you, Aunty Coraline."
"The second round is starting!"
Yasenia slowly stood up, and the rest followed her. Then, Yasenia looked upward and focused on the phantom tournament tree. "Our opponents are… Oh? What a coincidence."
She could see one of the groups that teamed up with the Silent Fang Sect—the ones with bull characteristics. Andrea also remembered them and lifted an eyebrow. "Those hot-headed bulls actually managed to qualify?"
Kali squinted. "They didn't seem that bright, so if they didn't qualify because of their intelligence…" Cecile finished her sentence. "They must be strong enough to beat everything down. We must be careful."
Coraline, who saw them, commented. "They are not in the Thirty-Three Clans, not because they lack strength, but because they don't like complicated things. Many groups individually compare to the powers inside the Three Lists, meaning the Three Empires, Nine Sects, Thirty-Three races."
Coraline added. "However, they can't compare to us in influence because of the prestige of being on those lists. That's why they are a bit more unknown. Still, in their area, they are overlords. Distancia is really large, after all. There is more than enough space for these kinds of local tyrants."
Yasenia nodded. "Interesting. However, since we have a grudge with these people…" Yasenia smiled coldly. "We'll change the participants a bit."
Eira, at the side, grabbed the hilt of her sword, her face getting colder as she felt the radiating killing intent coming from her Young Miss.