I sat in my office pondering the events of the last week since Lila massacred the palace.
Kitty gave me the dual-cultivation type manual for increasing circles that she promised me when we got revenge for Lila.
I kind of took that as her approving of Lila and I've begun to wonder if the places she puts me aren't random like she says, and maybe she's playing matchmaker.
First, she put me in a place where the nearest city would have a sect where I'd meet Luna, then she literally put me in the same room as Lila.
I guess I'll find out later, maybe in the next sphere.
The city returned to normal and was even better than before.
Lila reduced taxes to a fraction of what they were and it became better to just pay them and shop normally rather than set up black markets.
The taxes for imports on goods into the country were raised slightly, not to an unreasonable level, but to one that would encourage production in the country as it's enough cheaper. This would grow the economy in the country.
Overall, the common people weren't affected much other than not having to pay as much for goods.
Other countries sent gifts to welcome the new queen, some of them couldn't care less about a change in leadership, but of course some were having the people delivering the gifts spying on how weak the country was.
Since the military is currently weak, one might try to attack, but if they do Lila will just call me, and we won't mind crushing them to set an example.
Elaria, Nyla, and I have been teleporting back and forth to Ironspire while Alexis stayed with Lila.
News didn't take long to reach the rest of the world about Beastholm's lost princess; it was a hot topic for a few days before people forgot about it.
Elaria takes care of Youth Retaining magic then when she's done works on helping Nyla with cultivation, magic, and I've had her teach the first chapter in my swordsmanship book to her; she's quite smart and learns quickly.
I started having Elaria give some of the mana stones we make to Lila since I have more than enough to take us to the peak of this world; she needs some to run the government properly since Fredrick ran it to broke.
I couldn't really think of anything else to do in this world; I know I want to visit Alfheim and get their magic books and spells; elves are the best at magic, so naturally, they have the best spells.
I decided it was time to increase my cultivation to the peak, then start gathering enough energy to devour the world and move on.
I took out a pile of mana storage and closed my eyes when the door opened, I opened them again and saw Elaria and Nyla standing there like they thought they did something.
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you Master."
"Don't worry, you didn't."
Her face relaxed a little.
"Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
"Nyla has reached Core Formation and the first stage in swordsmanship. She is also now a 9th circle mage. I've collected the income from the brothel and added it to your storage bag with your money, I currently have no idea how much is in it, and Mrs. Lila said she has plenty; would you like me to count it?"
I waved my hand dismissively, "No need. I was about to go to the next realm myself; now that you're here, let's go back to the palace and all do it together."
"Master, if I may make a suggestion, we shouldn't all do it together in case for some reason someone attacks."
I nodded, "Let's do it 2 at a time then."
We all teleported ourselves back to the palace and found Lila explaining something to one of the officials.
Most of the officials were still in their positions as it was too difficult to find better replacements, though they all knew if they didn't do as expected, they would be replaced immediately.
She sensed us and ran over leaving the guy hanging without a conclusion.
She hugged me forgetting about what she was just doing.
"Don't you think you should finish with him then we can do something."
She looked confused then remembered, turning around, "He's supposed to take care of the palace repairs but apparently doesn't know how to hire craftsmen. Alexis would you please make sure he gets it done?"
Alexis smiled, "Yes Mrs. Lila, I'll ensure he gets the task done."
The guy turned slightly pale; Alexis had been asked to help several of them get their jobs done; she earned the nickname of "Slave Driver" in the palace. Of course, no one dared to say it where they thought we could hear.
I took Lila's arm in mine, "Let's go reach the next realm."
We walked to our room, and Nyla sat in a chair by the door; I don't know where Elaria went but she's always doing something to help.
We sat down next to each other and took out a pile of mana stones.
I started devouring them for my cultivation while Lila immersed herself in hers.
A while later, I heard the system chime as soon as I reached Soul Transformation.
I opened my eyes and took out my new book on soul cultivation.
Soul power, also called mental power by some as consciousness and the mind are linked to the soul as can be seen from transmigrations.
The cultivation of soul power is thought weaker than qi cultivation by some as it's a bit slower in improving your combat capabilities and isn't so straight forward in doing so, it takes more practice.
However, it is a little faster in extending the range and capability of the divine sense than qi cultivation.
It is also more necessary in alchemy than qi cultivation.
As I read the capabilities of cultivating soul power, I was quite excited. It reminded me a lot of the "Force" in star wars when cultivated.
Almost like the guy who thought up those movies transmigrated from a cultivation world where they focused on soul power.
I could already pick up small objects with mana by simply thinking about it, no spells required. But soul power would allow me to exert much, much more strength.
It would also allow me to execute soul attacks and defend my soul from others; unfortunately, there were only the most basic techniques included in the manual Kitty gave me and if I wanted more I'd have to wait for her to offer another.
Unfortunately, I was already considered to be in the first realm of soul power now and it couldn't be improved at this world level.
'Kitty would you be so kind as to give me some techniques for soul power?'
[Not unless you can give me a reason I like]
'What about a manual on hand to hand combat? I need it for Nyla to help protect Lila, Luna, and I. It would also help because we might not always have a sword in a fight or you could lose it, I don't want them to get hurt.'
I really wanted Kitty to give me the manual; I could always pick up books and manuals when I visited Earth or even some other places where it was more developed, but Kitty's stuff is all just divine, making everything else seem like it was written by a baby, and not a smart one at that.
[Alright, I can agree that you might not always have a sword or you could lose it during a fight.]
She chimed and I saw she actually gave it to me.
'What about one for guns?'
[Don't push it; I can still take things back.]
'Will you give me it when I reach a world with them?'
[Sure, how about this. If Nyla perfects the combat manuals you have, I'll also give you another to keep her busy.]
'I love you Kitty; you're so thoughtful.'
[I know but thanks for the compliment]
I opened the inventory and looked at the new manual I'd gotten and noticed there was a second in addition to the hand to hand one she gave me.
"Espionage and Assassination."
'Uh thank you for this also'
[Give it to Nyla; she needs those skills to become an unseen bodyguard like you're thinking]
'I'm grateful, so please don't take them away, but why did you give me something for free?'
[Just remember you don't want to be alone for trillions upon trillions of years. And do you want me to make you do a dance or something?]
'Nope! Thank you.'
I pulled out a copy of both manuals and gave them to Nyla who was still sitting by the door.
"Here is more for you; they are full of good skills."
"Thank you Sir"
She opened one and started reading it while we waited for Lila to finish.
A short time later, she finished, and I told Elaria and Alexis it was their turn.
They took a few hours to finish and there were no attacks during our cultivation time.
Even though there were no incidents, we should cultivate this way in the future rather than all at once; it's just best practice.
If there happened to be sudden interruptions such as someone attacking you while you were cultivating, it could be harmful, especially with the amount we are absorbing at once while using the mana stones.
"I'm going to start getting ready to move on from this world; you guys just keep doing what you normally do, and I will start doing what I need to do."
They all nodded except Nyla who looked heartbroken and about to cry.
"Please don't leave me; I want to come with you!"
Elaria patted her head, "Don't worry, we'll all go with."
She looked at me hopefully, "Really?"
I bent down a little to her level, "Yep, I'm taking you along, so don't worry. I've always been planning to take you along ever since you agreed to come with me."
She nodded smiling, happy she wasn't being left.
"Alright, I'll be back before dark."
I teleported to a remote place between Ironspire and the palace of Beastholm. I knew of this place as it was on the path we took on our trip to Ironspire.
It was still in Beastholm so when parts of the land started disappearing Lila could tell people to ignore it as she was doing something there. And it was far enough from anyone else that they would listen and ignore it not having to worry.
Not that people could hurt me if they came looking, but they could get a little annoying.
I placed my hands on the ground and started devouring the area around. I could tell it was going to be much faster than the first time I did it; not only was I starting off with more Energy I needed to do the devouring, but I was also better at controlling it and could eat up a much bigger area at once.
I estimated I'd be done in about 6 months, rather than years.