"Thank you for coming out, everyone." Kaze announced to everyone at the party with a booming voice, triggering cheers and applause.
"Countless people have asked me about my transformation, and I told them I'd explain it tonight." Kaze chuckled, "Well, I'm here to announce it was solely hard work and dedication."
Everyone burst into laughter after seeing his cheeky smile.
"Okay, a small amount was cultivation." He added after a pause.
The partiers erupted into cheers and thunderous applause.
"Many believe cultivation techniques allow you to cultivate—they're wrong." Kaze asserted boldly, "Techniques only help one intake Qi efficiently.
Therefore, simple awareness of one's meridians and Qi flow can double a person's performance.
I'd like to give everyone some tips for cultivation now. Can I guide you through a session?"
His words were met with shocked gazes as partygoers processed his words.
"He's sharing everyone! Scrawn Fuuuuuuuuuuuu!" The drunken man howled, leading to an outpour of cheers that rocked Meridian City's streets.
His name was Larkin Downs, a lanky idiot with dark brown hair.
The emperor usually wouldn't allow such a foolish man to join his forces.
However, he appreciated people who supported his rise to power, so he gave the man Illuminesent Breathing to be a jester and hype man of the faction.
That said, the man was truly an idiot. When he got the technique, he said: [I feel like I understand cultivation just by being around you, Emperor Scrawn].
The emperor chuckled and ignored him for the rest of the night.
"Come now, let's get into the lotus position. I believe you've seen it online, yes?" Kaze asked.
Everyone chuckled and sat down, struggling to get into position.
"In the event of another Qi pulse, keep your eyes closed and continue mediation." The emperor instructed.
"Those waves are harsh, and you can only handle them well if you cultivate."
Many nodded hesitantly and got into position, and Kaze made his way to the center to join them.
The action left Evalyn shocked on the rooftop, realizing something for the first time.
"H-How much Qi is coming tonight?" She whispered in horror, interpreting what she was seeing.
If Kaze was sitting in the middle, sucking in endless amounts of Qi in a vortex, and there were [still] problems, that meant that the world was about to get a wave so massive it would rock society.
The third happened two days ago, and it triggered the epidemic. One day later, there would be a larger and more profound one.
Evalyn finally comprehended that the apocalypse was beginning. She closed her eyes, thinking about her mother and father, and made her way to the center of the rooftop.
"Should I cultivate without frost tempering?" She whispered in conflict.
She no longer had Kaze to protect her from the cold, so she had to practice Qi intake as she did two nights ago on the mountain if she wanted to temper her body.
After preparing her meridians for Crystal Divinity, it became possible to cultivate without the atmosphere freezing.
However, it was inefficient and removed the advantages of her body. She'd only get half of the gains of specialized cultivation by not using it, which would be a waste.
"What a stupid question. I'll just stop tempering when I can't take more." Evalyn chuckled in self-deprecation, "It's not like I'm incapable."
The emperor panned his gaze over the partygoers below.
"You're about to feel a slight pulse and become aware of your meridians. Focus on the points that tingle exclusively and follow the energy that passes through them." Kaze explained, "Focus your breathing to maintain concentration."
A faint green glow washed over the park, enveloping everyone and relaxing them.
The emperor used a technique called [Forced Tranquility], a paragon-grade Spirit Qi technique, to calm the area. It used Qi in the atmosphere, so he didn't need to worry about using its elementary capabilities and dying due to Qi deprivation.
He let out a [light] pulse of Qi in the area, distorting the space momentarily, assaulting non-chosen people's major meridians, skillfully forcing open everyone's Qi channels.
The last thing he wanted was for those at the party to be insane in ninety seconds around his chosen people.
Within sixty seconds, many were in a trance-like state, and the entire area was illuminated in red, a sign of those with Illuminant Breathing.
Those that opened their eyes to gasp at the shocking development were assaulted with Qi, forcing their minds shut and calm. It was the effects of Forced Tranquility in action.
Kaze opened his eyes, got up, and walked through a portal to the tallest skyscraper overlooking the area.
He wouldn't help anyone retain their mental balance and hold their hand after giving them a high-level cultivation technique and calm.
While he chose many of Evalyn's acquaintances to provide tickets to Immortal Skye, he didn't do it strictly to comfort her.
The emperor couldn't contain his faction members from mass panic and destruction.
Incidents would spread fear, discord, and mistrust at a time when they had to train and prepare for the rapture in two weeks when society would melt down permanently.
To prevent breakdown, he needed elites who could help police members ignorant of the apocalypse.
That's where the Lockheed students came in. Tonight they would briefly see the apocalypse for themselves and experience panic and desperation before they got hauled off to Immortal Skye.
After that, they would understand what would happen if the same panic played out with thousands of people.
To convince them, the emperor saved their lives with techniques and would let them see the apocalypse briefly.
Life in exchange for preventing a future calamity—that was why he helped them.
Everyone else would die like the other 99.4% of the population wiped out in the next two years.
He lacked sympathy for the dead when he could provide a chance to the select few.
The emperor walked to the edge of the skyscraper's roof and looked down at Evalyn, wondering if she'd be okay without him.
"No, she must learn how to control herself." Kaze muttered, "She needs to learn the consequences of reckless cultivation."
He looked into the sky as massive vortexes to the Sky Plane opened above Meridian City, instantly turning night to day.
Light washed over the city as if the sun was rising, telling the peaceful world to arise and meet another mundane day in their lives. However, such a day would never come again.
Kaze turned away, walked to the rooftop's center, and entered the lotus position. It was time.
"I hope my selfish quest to bring you happiness didn't taint the perseverance and determination that kept you alive." He whispered to himself.
A suffocating pulse of Qi rippled through the world, distorting the sky and leaving shadows twisting and morphing on the ground.
The world looked underwater, and its populace drowned as Qi pulsed in its heart.
Those who walked outside to see the strange phenomena hit the ground, clutching their chest before curling into balls as their body's meridians lit on fire, desperately attempting to accept the Qi.
Screaming filled the city streets as countless people attempted to cope and free their lungs, which held the only meridian working for most people.
The meridian worked on overdrive, but it was insufficient to handle the endless surge of Qi assaulting bodies.
Many fell unconscious due to the pain or had heart attacks from the sudden shift in their bodies, dying as the heart stopped breathing due to the never-ending pulse that didn't ease.
The park Kaze became restless. The minds and bodies of the partygoers fought desperately against the effects of [Forced Tranquility], keeping their minds steady and grounded as they got assaulted.
Those with the technique gritted their teeth as they accepted Qi beyond their meridian levels, ripping them open violently and letting excess Qi flow in.
Only those who had techniques prior were in decent shape. Those without gasped for breath and screamed out in pain.
However, they kept still as the remaining effects of Kaze's technique pushed them forward.
While countless people would blame him for what he did, they'd be able to do so because they were alive. It was an inconvenient reality for the emperor, but its costs far outweighed the benefits.
Kaze kept his eyes closed in a tranquil state as he accepted profound levels of concentrated Qi that temporarily rivaled the Transcendent Plane of Cultivation.
One hundred thousand cultivators from the Sky Plane were using a cultivation technique to pull the Qi from the atmosphere and pump it into Earth.
They didn't know they were inadvertently feeding the future emperor of the Immortal Plane, pushing him closer to the heavenly realm of cultivation.
His mind became clear as he reached a point of enlightenment during the ten-minute non-stop pulse of Qi raining down from the heavens.
After his mind guided the synapse network to form skillfully, he opened his eyes with a serious face. His eyes moved in Evalyn's direction, and he closed his eyes again.
"That woman." Kaze scoffed in disbelief, "Is she just fated to be like this?"
He stood up and glided over to the edge of the roof. When he got to the edge, he took a deep breath.
"That fool. Power only helps you if you're alive." The emperor muttered in annoyance.
"I coddled her for weeks, yet she still ended up a suicidal masochist on a quest for power."
Kaze watched the rooftop with a conflicted expression.
He didn't know whether to help or watch, only ensuring she wouldn't die. It was his responsibility, as he gave her a life-threatening technique.
Evalyn's words entered her mind.
—
[Then can you help me with the select few? My family's away, and I couldn't teach them].
—
He closed his eyes. "You fool. You forgot what was important due to your thirst for power. Just as I did."