Chapter 259: Tokisaki Kurumi's Inner World
Immersed in experimenting with changes to his domain, Franklin's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. Part of his consciousness sank into the Sea of Consciousness, where he once again saw You Wange leisurely reading a book.
"Can you teach me how a domain should change?"
Hearing Franklin's question, You Wange smiled and put the book down in her hands.
"Your pace is pretty fast. You've already noticed other ways to use a domain. Do you have any ideas of your own?"
Franklin frowned slightly. After a long while, he slowly shook his head.
"I did have some ideas at first, but after experimenting, I realized that thinking and actually doing it are two completely different things.
"There's a saying that goes, 'Everything is hardest at the beginning.' If I relied on myself alone to break through the first step, the amount of time it would take—I don't even dare to imagine it.
"And since I have a teacher like you in my Sea of Consciousness, of course I came to ask for help. I remember last time, when I broke through in sword dao enlightenment, you said I could choose another form of compensation.
"I think teaching me how to change my domain would be pretty good."
You Wange thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "That's true, there was such a thing. Since you've put it that way, it would indeed be unreasonable not to help you a bit."
As she spoke, You Wange stood up and walked directly in front of Franklin, pressing two fingers together and tapping them against his forehead.
In an instant, Franklin found himself in a blank space. Carefully sensing his surroundings, he realized there was a spherical barrier enveloping him.
Franklin frowned slightly, not knowing what he was supposed to do. At that moment, the Guardian Sword appeared directly in his hands.
"Calm your mind and focus your spirit. Meditate on the sword dao."
Letting out a slow breath, Franklin sat down cross-legged, placing the Guardian Sword across his knees, carefully sensing the rudimentary understanding of sword dao he had grasped.
The Human Path—Sword Qi Realm: sword qi sweeping freely, cutting down armies by the thousands.
The Human Path—Sword Radiance Realm: Sharp brilliance laid bare, all things severed.
The Human Path—Sword Force Realm: sword force restrained within, striking directly at the core.
The Human Path—Sword Intent Realm: where the heart wills, the sword goes; where the heart dares to think, all things can be broken.
As Franklin manifested his understanding of sword dao through meditation, a sharp, piercing aura instantly filled the spherical barrier around him.
When he opened his eyes again, Franklin looked confused. "Is that already over?"
You Wange slowly returned to her seat, smiling as she nodded.
"I've already helped you open the most fundamental connection between your consciousness and your domain."
"If you want your domain to change, just operate it the way I taught you just now."
"As for the future direction of your domain's development, I can't point that out for you."
"Since you've long had some guesses about my identity, you should understand that I'm also under certain constraints.'
"No—rather, everyone who survived from that era, as well as a group of people whose cultivation reached a specific realm, are all under constraints. I won't say more than that."
"As for matters concerning domains, you'll have to explore them on your own."
"Lastly, I'll give you a simple reminder: everything you experience in cultivation is meant to construct the world that suits you best."
With a casual wave of You Wange's hand, that portion of Franklin's consciousness returned directly to his body.
Opening his eyes, Franklin saw that the cake in Tohka's hands was already gone.
She was now looking at him pitifully, as if afraid of disturbing him, yet desperately wanting more cake—a truly adorable sight.
Franklin smiled and snapped his fingers lightly. A piece of chocolate cake instantly formed.
"Thank you, Lin. I love you the most."
Watching Tohka accept the cake with shining eyes and happily dig in, Franklin smiled helplessly. That love was way too cheap—it was worth just one piece of cake.
Shaking his head lightly, casting aside unnecessary thoughts, Franklin searched for the feeling of a sword-dao domain.
In just an instant, a chill spread throughout the domain. Tohka, who had been excitedly eating her cake, immediately shivered and looked around warily.
When she discovered that the source of everything was Franklin, her vigilance vanished at once. She sat back down on the ground and continued watching his actions.
At this moment, Franklin held two fingers together. In the sky, countless cold glimmers spread out as innumerable virtual swords rapidly took shape.
Each sword possessed the power of Franklin's full-strength strike at the Sword Intent Realm.
Letting out a quiet breath, Franklin looked toward Kurumi, who was still locked in fierce combat with the Icebound Puppet. He couldn't quite understand why Kurumi had come to attack him in the first place.
Was she really just here to suffer, or was she testing his true strength and limits?
Shaking his head lightly, Franklin's gaze grew much more serious. He could just ask her after everything was over.
With his fingers pressing downward, a single virtual sword slashed down. The intangible City of Devouring Time was instantly torn open with a massive gash.
Franklin's domain immediately invaded it, and the damaged City of Devouring Time was completely suppressed and forced back into Kurumi's body.
Binding Kurumi in place, Franklin walked toward her at an unhurried pace. With a casual wave of his hand, the massive Icebound Puppet completely dissipated into nothingness.
Slightly easing the pressure on Tokisaki Kurumi, Franklin looked her straight in the eyes, his expression serious.
"Does this count as defeating and suppressing you now?"
Hearing Franklin's question, Tokisaki Kurumi smiled and slowly shook her head. "It doesn't."
At that moment, Franklin's brows knitted tightly. The City of Devouring Time, which had been suppressed back into Kurumi's body, suddenly expanded, even directly repelling the suppression of his domain.
He himself was instantly enveloped within City of Devouring Time.
"I told you, Mr. Franklin. I will use any means necessary to deal with you—including finding help."
As Kurumi's voice fell, one Kurumi after another walked out from her shadow.
"By my count, I've already failed two hundred and fourteen times. Every single time ended in failure.
"Each time, I sent myself back to just now at a different point in time.
"Spiritual power and time have been consumed in enormous amounts, but that doesn't matter. I'll spend all the accumulation of these years on you, Mr. Franklin.
"As long as I can devour you, any loss is acceptable."
Looking at the more than two hundred Kurumi bodies before him, and carefully sensing the speed at which his lifespan was now rapidly draining, Franklin frowned slightly.
At this moment, his lifespan was being absorbed at a rate of one year per minute.
Franklin let out a breath, his expression growing much more solemn.
"For the sake of dealing with the Origin Spirit, you're willing to throw away even your life now?
"Or do you really think that by devouring me, you can truly grow to the point of defeating the Origin Spirit? What exactly are you thinking?"
Faced with Franklin's questions, all of Kurumi's bodies fell silent. Then, they began to smile wickedly.
"Who knows? Moths flying into a flame are like this too. For the sake of my original dream, it's either death… or death. I have nothing left to lose.
"From the day I recovered my memories, I bet everything I had on returning to the past to change all of this.
"For that, I even went so far as to kill people."
"From criminals guilty of heinous crimes, to people who abuse stray cats and dogs—my bottom line has been sinking lower and lower."
"I even feel that, given more time, my bottom line might drop to the point where I wouldn't even spare petty thieves."
"Until in the end, for the sake of returning to the past, I won't spare anyone I encounter at all."