Three years is not a long time in terms of cultivation. Sirin basically shut herself for most of these three years. The feedback from Kiana's cultivation is enough to let her catch up. With zero bottlenecks and a rocket-like progress, she reached the late stage of Golden Core Realm.
Kiana, on the other hand, reached the peak stage. Veliona reached the peak stage along with Seele. I remained in the lead with a little bit left for the Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough.
What I once imagined as impossible was proven to be true with the help of honkai hacks. There are also the Demon Arena to supply us with endless demon beast meat and the Herrscher of the End to serve as a sparring partner.
All I can say is, place us in a cultivation world and we'll make everyone else question their very lives.
"Boss!"
I appeared in Pardofelis' office. Her physical body had grown up. She is no longer the girl from the Sundown Alley, but a competent CEO who manages a dozen subsidiary companies. The brown-framed glasses she wore suited her light brown hair.
She stood up from her seat and bowed. I could only remain helpless at her repeated insistence.
The black pencil skirt she wore added more legitimacy to her CEO title.
I thought I would leave this position to Bronya at first, but I ended up passing this to Pardofelis instead.
"It's been three months since the operation. Are there any side effects?"
Her cat-like ears trembled. Her long tail hid behind her back.
"...No. There are none."
"Give me your wrist."
"..."
Pardofelis presented her right hand. I can scan her condition with a quick spiritual consciousness sweep. Only, that feels inappropriate. Doing this avoids that feeling at the very least.
I ran through her physical conditions and found nothing strange. Except for her unfixable fragmented soul, her physical body is far stronger than before.
Since two and a half years ago, Mobius kept in contact to improve Project Soldier. I had no qualms in doing so. I sought to combine her MANTIS study and immortal cultivation's Taoist Body acquisition.
To that, the Herrscher of the End contributed a lot of samples. It took us two years to develop a mature outcome that could house the advantages of both the honkai and immortal cultivation.
Pardofelis herself volunteered for that along with the lines of "contributing for the Boss".
I let go of her wrist and sat down on the chair across her desk. The glass wall behind her encapsulated the bustling city below.
"You see what I told you before? Most bosses who worked enough can operate hands-off."
"My abilities are not good enough for it, Boss." She scratched the back of her head. "I need to create a brand new management structure. The usual ones won't suffice. Only when I can maintain the company's operations world-wide can I fulfill it."
Unlike before, Pardofelis took her 'job' more seriously. The number of orphanages she helped, be it in donations or creation of a foundation herself, numbered tens of thousands.
The "boom" created by the lack of honkai and spiritual qi led to a huge reshuffle of the world's major powers. The ones left above are morally good. Coupled with the physical improvements and newer findings granted by honkai energy and spiritual qi, the world progressed at an extremely fast rate.
Fire MOTH took the helm as the first world government to spearhead these changes. Countries are no longer divided by national governments. Thus, the formation of the Earth Federation occurred under Doctor MEI's leadership.
"How is the bottleneck going?" I asked.
"About that, Boss…"
It took a while for Pardofelis to form her words.
"Do you know of a dangerous place?"
"Dangerous place?"
I understood what she wanted to do.
"It's rare for you to take that initiative."
"Being stuck for two years is frustrating!"
Meow-!
An imaginary cat's complaint reached my ears.
"Eminence in two years and you're still complaining…"
"But Boss! Hua's attainments are just like mine. She caught up to me…"
No matter which place it was, competitions are a way to motivate people. Fu Hua's comprehension was insane despite her lack of thousands of years of experience. With the help of spiritual qi, the physical body recovers faster. This allowed for a faster adaptation of it to honkai energy.
Like Fu Hua, Pardofelis got stuck at the level of [Eminence]. The traditional way of reaching [True Form] relies on Tao Hearts.
Bad news? This world is inherently flawed.
Good news? I found an alternative for it.
"Impatience clouds your mind. Project Immortal is your biggest chance. What you lack is the synchronization of body, mind, and soul."
"..."
She could not speak.
Tao Hearts' main purpose is to turn the 'forceful' adaptation into a 'natural' one. It is akin to turning it innate. Project Immortal, borne out of our efforts, granted exquisite physiques.
To create a high grade Tao Body, one requires enough Demon Cores with True Spirit Bloodlines. The number needed must make up three True Spirits with pure bloodlines. The concentration of the True Spirit Bloodline mattered the most. The never-ending supply of Demon Beasts from the golden orb gave me a chance of acquiring one.
However…
With Project Immortal, it is reduced to a tenth of the requirements, requiring 10% of a True Spirit's Bloodline at most. Granted, the blood from the Herrscher of the End is present. Honkai hacks are at work again.
The best physique that came with it came with the benefits of a high grade Tao Body and control over imaginary energy itself. Moreover, every physique can be customized.
I did not hesitate to grant Pardofelis this opportunity. Twenty Demon Cores of True Spirit Felines are used to give her the equivalent of a high grade Taoist Body.
Unfortunately, she is not a cultivator. Her Tao Body remains semi-active. The part with imaginary energy control is active. But, the other half related to immortal cultivation remains inactive.
Nonetheless, it is enough to comprehend the [Blade Mantra 2.0] to the [True Form] and even [Heart Intention] realm.
"You fell into a misconception. You do not need to control everything."
"..!"
Looking at her face filled with enlightenment, I nodded. I divined her predicament and knew all that's left for Pardofelis is a change in mindset. I needed to speak at the right time to fix it.
Buzz-!
I isolated the entire office space from anywhere else with spiritual consciousness. Not a single thing fell down due to the shockwaves she emitted.
A bright glint passed by her blue eyes. She breathed out as she reverted to her normal state.
"Boss…"
"Alright, alright. You can show off now. Just remember not to strike at Daoist Jingwei's sore places."
"..!"
Pardofelis' face turned red due to embarrassment. Kiana is not the only cat who likes to shower Fu Hua with strays. Perhaps due to their age, Pardofelis became remarkably closer to Fu Hua. They became martial arts buddies.
Although, there are times when Pardofelis ends up flexing her somewhat developed chest. Shenzhou's Imperial Tablet really has fate with anything but a flat chest.
"Practice well."
"I will, Boss!"
My figure soon dissipated from her office space.
Several steps later, I arrived back at my abode.
Only…
"That's why I told you not to check the Internet!"
Ji Xuanyuan could not hide her blush. On her phone is something I was familiar with.
"B-but I thought rule thirty-four is a precept about…"
She ended up discovering the world of NSFW.