Hello, dear readers! here's chapter 130 part 1! Slight warning, this chapter is relatively Lore heavy so the dialogues are a bit long. Still it gives you some more insights into the story's World background.
This week: Not much happened. I guess I can mention that the last few advance chapters have been getting longer(Around 5100-5200 words long). Also, I'm still 'only' at 12 advance chapters available, though I'll try to add another one this week.We'll see how it goes.
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Some time later, the group arrived in the middle of the square where a massive fountain was located.
At the bottom was a carving depicting the words 'Flowing Silk Square', while the rest was a colossal sculpture of an open oyster shell, the latter's bottom serving as the fountain's 'bowl', while the upper part was slightly inclined with several white pearls of different sizes placed inside the shell, forming beautiful white lotuses.
Each lotus was constantly gathering a certain amount of Elemental Water Energy, using it to create clear jets of spiritual water falling from the clam's top to its bottom, following the shell's outline and creating a multi-layered curtain of water blurring the view, which made it difficult to see clearly inside.
Nonetheless, Demian and the other three could still somewhat distinguish a female silhouette slightly reclining on her side and seated on a large silver pearl, her long hair almost entirely covering her front upper body.
In contrast, her lower body seemed fish-like with scales and a tail fin of a darker color.
However, what color it was exactly, the four could not tell because of the spiritual water impeding their senses. "Is that a mermaid?" Exclaimed Seraphine.
Ling nodded and explained. "This is the Mermaid Queen, Eldoria Silk. To be more specific, she's the queen of the Silk Aronawa branch located in the Northern Inner Sea and under the supervision of Bright Star Island."
Cocking his brow, Demian questioned. "Silk Aronawa? Isn't Aronawa a kind of exotic fish?"
With a nod, she specified. "Well, you probably only know merpeople as a lone race, but what is commonly known as a mermaid or merman is actually a descendant of, at the bare minimum, a King Grade Sea Beast whose bloodline has mutated. Merpeople are different from transformed Beasts because the former's base form is half-human, half-fish, while the latter's base form is just a Beast. Sure, both have Beast forms, but because of that characteristic, they're still considered two different races."
Shaking her head slightly, the woman then added. "Well, whatever the case, that woman's ancestor was an Emperor Grade Silk Aronawa, so their bloodline is still pretty strong, with the woman herself being one of the Federation's Core Elders with a cultivation at the Peak of King Grade. At least that's what's known to the world. Only she knows if it's true or not." [A/N: King Grade = Void Seed Rank = Tier 4]
Pausing for a second to give them the time to digest the information, Ling then continued. "You've probably guessed already, but the word 'Silk' in their race's name and the fact that this Square with her statue set right in the middle of it is specialized in clothing-related items is no coincidence. The Silk Aronawa Merpeople race can produce a special silk called 'Aronawa' silk, which is both very colorful and extremely resistant to Energy Attack, especially those containing Water Elemental Energy."
Gesturing toward their outfits, she remarked. "Your clothes are actually made from that material, though they're only made of Peak Tier 2 Aronawa Silk. Speaking of which, and before I forget: The Silk Tier depends entirely on the cultivation of the Merperson producing it, which, as you've probably guessed, made them a target for nurturing and protection for the Federation, though the downside of that is the fact that it also made them a target for those from the Frost Beast Palace..."
As the saying goes, 'you can't have the Pill and eat it too'.
Every advantageous choice had its tradeoff, although in the Merpeople's case, the benefits vastly outweighed the drawbacks, and their current flourishing situation was the best proof of that.
Knowing about the Four's lack of general knowledge, Ling spoke further about not only the Merpeople's current situation, but also some other minor races located around Bright Star Island, from their current martial strength to their economic circumstances.
It lasted almost half an hour before she concluded. "Alright, that's enough teaching for now. Let's continue strolling around. Speaking of which, there's a place I've been wanting to show you since you arrived in the Federation. I'm sure you'll be surprised. Especially you two."
The two in question were Seraphine and Demian, whose expression turned instantly curious when they heard the enigmatic statement.
"Follow me." Ling instructed, guiding the group toward the Northwestern part of the Square through the labyrinthine market alleys, whose larger size than 'normal' should have made them simple to navigate if not for the Square's colossal scope.
Thus, it took them a while to leave the market proper, though they were not exactly pressed for time, and arrive in front of those high-end shops surrounding the square.
Or more specifically, in front of one shop in particular, one that immediately caught the group's attention.
It was especially the case for Seraphine and Demian, who froze on the spot when they saw the surprisingly familiar name and design, though they were not the only ones, since Brynhild and Adeliya also looked surprised at the shop's name.
Indeed, wasn't it the same name they heard from those two a few months ago?
The one they visited in Damovotsk during their first date.
If Liya and Bryn recalled correctly, Demian even bought a summer dress for Sera from that place.
Could it be a coincidence?
In Sera's mind, however, were a myriad of memories about that particular day.
The warmth of his hand, the love in his voice, and the gentleness of his embrace.
That day, she finally felt seen and loved by a man, someone who, despite her handicap, CHOSE her.
The true her. Not some fake image she created to fool the world, or the fabricated idea he may have had of her.
No. It was her and only her.
He saw her and embraced who she was.
And that day was the first day she realized she had found that kind of man, someone she could trust with her life, and one she would go to hell and back for.
That day was carved in her mind, and that dress, as childish as it may sound, had become an important memento she treasured greatly.
Unfortunately, because of her physical changes after her Bloodline awakening, it became impossible for her to fit into it, turning the beautiful piece of clothing into a keepsake she looked at from time to time with nostalgia.
Knowing what that dress, and by association, that shop, meant to her, it was not surprising that she was so affected when she saw the plaque bearing the words 'Fairy Dust' masterfully written on it.
As for Demian, though his emotional attachment to their first date was slightly weaker—after all, he had regained 30 years of memories at that time, strengthening his Will to a certain point—, the young man was still affected.
No matter how strong-willed, Love had the knack for shaking your Heart when you least expect it.
Thus, after a few moments of shocked silence, he turned his head toward Ling's direction, noting the knowing smile she sported before he asked with a tone laced with confusion. "Why is there a 'Fairy Dust' shop here?"
That was all he said, but that was enough for the older woman, who knew about the connection between that shop and the Mikhailovs, to understand the underlying meaning, prompting her to respond. "Fairy Dust is actually a franchise owned by the Heavenly Grove Conglomerate, a Low Tier 6 Force from the Main Continent. You can find their stores pretty much everywhere in the Federation, and Fairy Dust is only one of them. From what I heard, the store you went to in Damovotsk is actually owned by one of the Peak Core Formation from that Force who's planning to use that place to refine their Heart for a time before going through their Tribulation in the Main Continent."
As she shared what she knew, the four Mikhailovs recollected themselves, with Liya even asking. "Shouldn't that information be secret? What if their enemies get wind of that cultivator's presence there?"
Shaking her head while wearing an amused smile, Ling replied. "The Origin Island is different from what you all think. It's actually pretty common for cultivators up to Core Formation from those Tier 6 Forces to move there to do the same thing as that Heavenly Grove cultivator. Since the place is under the Immortal Crimson Autocracy's protection, the strongest known Force in this World, no outsider dares to create trouble there, making it pretty safe overall. Of course, it's pretty desolate in terms of Energy, so it can only be used to refine your Heart and not to advance your cultivation or comprehend Elemental laws."
The words plunged the four into a thoughtful silence, only broken when Demian recalled something, prompting him to question, his brow slightly furrowed in worry. "You said 'no outsider dares to create trouble', but didn't you annihilate an entire family of cultivators? How come you didn't get troubled?"
Feeling touched at his concern for her husband and herself, Ling looked forward to the surprised look on their faces as they heard her following words. "Actually, Sergei and I are natives of the Origin Islands. To be more specific, Sergei is from a side branch of the Anrepov family established on the Origin Island, and being a great talent, he was sent to the Federation relatively early on, then found a few backers and grew from there. As for myself, by the time he was brought here, he had already conquered my heart, so I went with him. The rest is pretty much history."
Well, she did gloss over many things, but most were not things she wanted them to know, or more accurately, not things she felt comfortable for them to know.
Those things she left in the past, decades ago, and she believed they should stay there.
Not every secret needed to be shared, and not every memory needed to be recalled.
At least, that was what she thought, though only the Heavens knew if she was right in doing so.
When it came to the Four Mikhailovs, none of them was stupid, and thus immediately understood her desire to keep a few things to herself.
As people with life-threatening secrets themselves, blaming her for it would be hypocritical, and so they simply let it go.
Instead of prying further, Sera asked. "Teacher, when you say 'Immortal', do you mean...?"
Turning toward her student, Feng Ling's brow rose slightly. "Well, if you're talking about the Immortal Crimson Autocracy, then yes, it's that kind of Immortal. At least, that's what the rumors say. To be honest, no one I know of has ever seen that so-called Immortal. But even without that elusive cultivator, the sheer number of high-level cultivators that Power has is enough for any other Force to behave themselves. Right! When I say High-level cultivators, I don't mean those at the Void Seed Rank or even at the Void Sapling Rank. What I mean is, those people at the Tribulation Transcending Rank, with many of them at the Late level or even at the Peak level of that Rank. In front of them, our Federation is no better than a small insect they can crush at any time."
Her tone turned a bit wistful before she added solemnly. "What you need to understand is that for us, Void Sapling Cultivators are the top of the pyramid. Though no one but the Supreme Elder knows of the exact number we have in the Federation, we should have, at the very least, a dozen at that Rank. But in the Immortal Crimson Autocracy, Void Sapling cultivators can be found in the thousands or even tens of thousands. Just a fraction of them attacking us would be enough to obliterate us, without even the need to mobilize anyone at the Transcending Tribulation Rank. I'm telling you that, not to scare you, but to tell you to be careful when you meet anything or anyone related to that particular force. Well, to be fair, any Tier 6 Power is to be avoided, unless you have no other choice."
Pausing for a second, she then added, her tone slightly more relaxed. "The good thing is that most cultivators from those Forces would stay in the Main Continent, where opportunities are not only much better but also much greater in number than in or around the Federation, so the odds of you meeting someone from one of those Forces are very low."
While gesturing toward the Fairy Dust shop, Seraphine questioned. "What about that store then? Didn't you just say it was owned by a Tier 6 Power? Doesn't Tier 6 mean that they have at least one Tribulation Transcending cultivator?"
Nodding her head, Ling replied. "Yes, but those people owning the Fairy Dust's shops are peripheral members of that Force and not true members, so it's not the same. Even if that shop were to be destroyed, there wouldn't be many consequences for the Federation. At most, some monetary compensation, but nothing more serious."