Chapter 63
Victoria tapped off the floor on her toes and floated into his arms, pressing her crimson lips to him in one deep peck. "You’re so good to me~"
She snapped her fingers, space twisted at her fingertips, and she drew several dark purple crystal cards out of the distortion.
"There are several hundred million spiritual stones in these~"
"All for you."
Spiritual stones weren’t merely hard currency, they were the raw fuel of accelerated cultivation, and several hundred million was no small figure.
The energy stored inside was enough to carry a Middle-Tier Demon Emperor across the threshold into Upper-Tier.
Of course, breakthroughs never rode on energy reserves alone, destiny and fortune mattered, environment mattered, the firmness of one’s Dao Heart mattered.
Soren needed to reach Upper-Tier as fast as possible, but he’d already taken a hundred million off Victoria recently, taking several hundred million more felt uncomfortably like sponging off a woman.
"Ahem, that won’t be necessary, if I keep taking them, I’ll never pay you back."
"I can make do with the hundred million I collected from Grant."
Victoria would not be moved. "I am already entirely yours, why are we dividing what’s yours from what’s mine?"
"Besides, haven’t I received something far more precious from you?"
"You don’t owe me for these, and you don’t owe me for last time’s hundred million either."
Even so. "Black Dragon Mountain is full of rare herbs, those can push me to Upper-Tier quickly too."
"You should be stockpiling stones and herbs for yourself, find your opening and attempt the Lower-Tier Ancestor Realm."
Victoria’s face visibly dimmed. "I’m so disappointed."
"You won’t even use my spiritual stones."
"When a man won’t use a woman’s spiritual stones..."
"How can he be said to love her..."
"Do you not like me anymore?"
What kind of logic is that? Soren looked at the pitifully drooping Victoria and understood that one more refusal, and this woman, a bloodthirsty demoness in every outsider’s eyes, was going to shed real tears right in front of him.
He had no choice but to take the crystal cards, Victoria’s pout swung instantly to delight, her voice going bright.
"That’s more like it, when I give, you take, we’re only just getting started, and everything still has to be built from nothing."
"Only when you are powerful can I truly be powerful."
"What I have left is enough for one attempt at the Ancestor Realm."
"You need these far more than I do~"
Her finger traced light circles on his chest, something clearly held back behind her teeth. Hesitating.
"What is it?"
"Can you promise me... that you won’t use spiritual stones, pills, spiritual fluids, anything like that, given to you by other women?"
"I want to monopolize that privilege."
"Your demand for resources is enormous, so I’ll keep working to secure more top-grade stones and pills for you."
"Okay?"
The power of lighting that special title was proving a little overwhelming, to the outside world, Victoria was still Victoria, the one standing in front of Soren had been born anew.
"I like putting in effort for you."
"I don’t mind doing more." She nestled against him, savoring the sweetness of it, and only once she had extracted exactly the answer she wanted did she settle, thoroughly satisfied.
Victoria departed for the Endless Demonic Domain, to take over management of the Great Emperor Palace from Orathis, before leaving, she said her farewells to Sylene.
Soren set about raising his own strength as fast as it could be raised, strength was the capital that crushed all argument.
Without it, even the Strategy Encyclopedia couldn’t deliver absolute suppression, he had been clear from the very beginning, make his personal strength terrifying enough, and he could sweep the heavens even without the Encyclopedia.
He took inventory, his spiritual stones, plus the pills, fluids, and resources pried out of Grant, combined, an attempt at Upper-Tier Demon Emperor was no problem.
Inside the demonic fortress, Lysara gathered her courage and knocked, a wave of Soren’s hand worked the formation, and the door swung open.
She hesitated a beat, then stepped in. "Master and the Great Demon Emperor of the Violet Jade Immortal Domain..."
"You care about that very much?"
Lysara froze at the question, then nodded.
"What is it you care about?"
"I... I don’t know either, thinking of Master shut in this room with Victoria for days on end made me feel somewhat low."
Her tier sat at Deep Affection and Righteousness, one level above Obedient and Submissive, her feeling toward Soren had drifted into secret affection.
An unconfessed crush, the object of that crush had sealed himself into a room with another woman for days, curiosity, and a sour thread of jealousy, surfaced on their own.
"Lysara doesn’t understand."
"What don’t you understand?"
She pulled in a breath of cold air, voice strung tight. "Master already has Lysara, why does he still need Victoria?"
"Is it because... Lysara isn’t good enough?"
Soren beckoned, she stepped forward without daring to hesitate, and two fingers tipped up her chin. "You’re jealous."
Having it named out loud brought no anger, no embarrassment, what she felt was relief. "Yes, I am jealous."
"Have you ever considered..."
"That your standing and Victoria’s standing are not the same?"
Lysara looked into those wickedly imposing eyes, and her own gaze went shimmering and fluid.
Since she’d come on her own initiative, Soren used the chance to hand her two tasks.
First, she was to have Jared select a batch of trustworthy clansmen in the gaps between his training.
Second, he taught her the method for inscribing the totem mark, using the blood essence of Ice Heaven Alluring Fox clansmen, she would inscribe the marks and fuse them into the chosen candidates.
Marked, they’d be immune to the sonic wave, free to push deep into Black Dragon Mountain and harvest its rare herbs and spiritual fruits.
The harvest could be traded for resources a growing faction devoured, or fed straight into their own people’s strength.
Soren then sealed himself in cultivation for seven full days.
The first two went entirely into liberating the Heavenly Dao Demonic Form, lifting her Conversion Degree from 31 points to 52.
At 52, his Devour ability had passed beyond the Upper-Tier Emperor Realm, reaching a level comparable to a Lower-Tier Demon Ancestor, his devouring speed rose with it, absurdly so.