I opened my eyes to a familiar ceiling.
I looked around and saw Kiana laying beside me. She watched my reaction with gusto as she used her right hand as a stand against the pillow.
"You like fainting after battles, don't you?"
She looked at me with a teasing smile. I chose to fire back.
"It's not just me who faints after every battle."
"Oh? Let's find out?"
It is completely ineffective. Her free hand is already circling atop my chest. I wore nothing except a t-shirt and shorts.
…
"How long was I out?"
"One year."
It's not as bad as I expected. A quick look at my body revealed no deep injuries. Traces of medicinal essence lingered around my bloodstream as well as Nascent Soul. Without any injuries left, it lay dormant.
"I fed you with the pills you left. The sixth grade one."
"Using?"
"My mouth, of course!"
Her smug answer made me speechless. My piled up treasures are mostly left inside the imaginary space. I also left a lot of materials on the Alchemy Vein. It's not surprising to fully recover after waking up.
"I saw some interesting stuff while I looked for the pills…"
I felt an ominous aura from the Tuna.
"For example, the Great Benevolence Pill. The Soul Shattering Whip. The Heavenly Furnace Collar…"
The Great Benevolence Pill is a strong aphrodisiac capable of affecting Divine Transformation Realm cultivators. The Soul Shattering Whip is a sixth grade spiritual artifact that can inflict pain and pleasure onto one's soul. The Heavenly Furnace Collar are basically slave collars worn by Female Furnaces—basically female cultivators whose Tao Bodies are beneficial in dual cultivation.
All of them are dubious stuff.
"How did you have the time to sort through them all..?"
"Sirin helped me with it. I have a feeling she likes them."
Her response rendered me speechless… again. Considering Sirin's disposition, it's not far from the truth. I barely stopped Seele from pulling this off. Now I have Sirin to deal with, too.
"You don't have to worry. I already told her not to use excessive things. The candles are a no-go, but the whip…"
Kiana's dirty talk made her hand more frantic. She already made her way down to my shorts. Just as I liked pulling her shorts down, she also liked pulling mine.
"Why don't we try it now?"
Seeing her lustful eyes, I knew she couldn't be stopped…
*****
Although a year had passed, the Federation's first major event is still talked about in many areas. The rewards gained from merits alone propelled numerous cultivators to make a breakthrough one after another. Rare treasures that wouldn't have circulated came out; and thousands of them, atop all.
As if that wasn't enough, they also had the chance to witness the First Cultivator's sword. Everyone who did so managed to elevate their Tao Hearts to the next level. It wasn't an exaggeration that the overall strength of immortal cultivators rose after this major event.
The name of the First Immortal also rang loud. Due to his absence after the Federation's establishment, his deeds are more of legends rather than history. Only when Earth saw his strength first-hand did their respect reach its peak. This phenomenon is particularly stronger within the Wushi Dao Sect. To them, Shi Tian represented the pinnacle of immortal cultivation.
Aside from that, the next major event was the discovery of two civilizations—Venus and Mars. The specifics weren't publicized yet.
Unbeknownst to others, a lot of talks went underway.
"It's finally done…"
Theresa signed the final amendment swiftly. It was a complete set of laws regarding Venus' and Mars' formalities. While these two civilizations did not have a huge population—spanning a hundred thousand at best—this was Earth's first case with aliens. Theresa knew the Federation must set a precedent to get ready for their future encounters with other worlds. She worked non-stop for a year, going as far as forsaking sleep and cultivation itself to manage these affairs.
A hint of fatigue could be seen in her eyes. If not for her constitution as a Golden Core Realm cultivator, she would have had large eyebags already.
Theresa set aside the documents and slumped on her desk. The height of her chair was adjusted to make it possible.
"Should I bring Yang back..?"
Thinking of the days she slacked off as the Principal of Saint Freya, she could not help but have the urge to resign. Unfortunately, she could not do so. The officials of her committee do not want her to resign, partly due to her efficiency as the Federation's President.
Most importantly, the Wushi Dao Sect did not say anything about it. The Sect is the true decision-maker behind Earth's development. Nobody dared to go against the First Cultivator, more so the Nascent Soul Realm powerhouses they have.
"I can fill in your position temporarily, President."
"Rita."
Theresa raised her head and saw an elegant maid bowing to her. She did not sense Rita's presence until now.
"Your Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough has been delayed several times." Rita reminded her.
"...Alright."
Theresa did not refuse her offer. The most troublesome year had already passed.
"How about Bianka? Did it go well?"
"Yes."
This year, three people broke through the Nascent Soul Realm—Bianka was one of them. It brought up the total Nascent Soul Powerhouses to eleven. Theresa is the next contender for the Nascent Soul Realm, having reached the pinnacle of Golden Core Realm a long time ago.
'Rita broke through too…'
A sense of urgency welled up inside Theresa. She had a feeling that her workload would have been easier had she broken through the Nascent Soul Realm already. After all, the weight of a Nascent Soul Realm Powerhouse is different from that of a Golden Core Realm.
Unfortunately, she was hit by one reform after another. The Foreign Civilization Policy is one thing; she was also caught up with the sect's establishment of the Law Enforcement Hall. It is an independent group directly answering to the calls of the Vice Sect Masters and the Sect Master himself.
They are built to deal with corruption and all sorts of internal affair struggles unaffected due to legal loopholes. Their power extended to the Sect and Federation alike.
A wide-scale purging was made, imprisoning more than a thousand officials from the Federation's lower levels. It was a sensational case that affected the vested interests of thousands, if not tens of thousands of officials.
In the end, it served its purpose of intimidating any potential corruption. It also appealed greatly to the general public.
Its cost was Theresa having to clean up the aftermath. This included the reformation of recruitment standards, optimized character tests, and so on. It wasn't exaggerated to say that the entire governmental system of the Federation went under a major revision.
Just then, a random thought popped up in her mind.
'I heard my nephew-in-law handing out rewards. Can I ask for one too..?'
*****
A/N: Auntie parachuting to the harem struggle...