When Xin woke up, she found herself on the spare mattress they had in their trailer. She assumed Ebony would be awake and training to get back full control over his mana since he probably wouldn't move away from her unless someone dangerous was here for blood, but he was also asleep.

She eyed her husband from head to toe intensely, burning his new figure into her mind while trying to shift her attention away from whether she undressed herself by habit or he was the one to do so. She was knocked out cold, and knowing herself, she probably did it. A sign that she had gotten so comfortable with him that her instincts treated it as a safe haven she could sleep undefended.

The mana poisoning was worse than her exhausted self claimed. Bad enough that her mana poisoning resistance evolved, but the Will suffusing the room was calmly trying to reduce the harmful effects on her. It wasn't perfect, but it helped her body get used to his new mana.

Impeccably pure.

Extremely vast

Yet knowing him, this vastness of mana was going to increase overwhelmingly in a short period due to the Potential he gained after his evolution. His skills were going to level, refine and evolve at a quicker pace once again.

She had been in a bloodthirsty frame of mind when he first found and saved them. Then, crushed. Seeing Athena corrupted by an emotion-based spell. Following her Intuition and getting Dusk to help her catch up to Ebony before he ran off to take her prey. Feeding him. It felt a little surreal due to how sudden it was. From the three frost elves helping her to today, not many days had passed.

While she didn't expect a separate ambush that sent her to Fragadal's Sea, that was more manageable since she was already in a guarded state. Anti-divination and stealth that can avoid her senses were troubling, but not deadly once one sees it coming. The trio that did so were individually weaker than the first assaulter by leaps as well. They weren't even Emperors, but they were not as pathetic as the majority of the king-ranked fighters of the Empire.

It took a lot of energy out of her to finish them off.

Lure consisted of members who didn't work cooperatively. She seemed to be a prize for them, along with everyone they deemed as having a high-quality soul. The only refreshing thing was that no one seemed to care about them being related to Xengs, even when they knew who the Xengs were. As expected, Elcrians might fear Xeng as much as they do, but there were plenty of foolish, overconfident and ignorant people around.

Ebony's presence used to comfort her because his emotions numbed out every other in the area.

This gives her calm. Unable to feel every random passerby's anxiety or any other emotions. When he was around, he was all she could feel, and it was either silent or a full-on affection. While the affection had always been real, she had long known that he could cut her out any time. If---if he ever lost her, he would simply get over it. Perhaps take revenge if there was avenging to do, but that was it.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with that. That was necessary for him to achieve power.

Now, she could feel a link. A bond.

Not quite the same intensity as her link with her sword spirits but it was now possible to tie him down. She just wasn't sure if that's what she wanted to do.

For now, he has already done so himself.

Her uncertainty didn't last.

Nothing changed, even if his previous attachment was fake. He wasn't getting away from her, and neither was she going anywhere. Might as well make it as strong as possible together.

That was well and all, the most curious part was what she saw in his eyes.

He wasn't lying to her, but she saw numerous near-death experiences. That was the guts of any respectable warrior. They have been in deadly situations, but the current Ebony had edged death so much more that his pre-evolved state was not even comparable in this aspect. It was as different as night and day.

It scared her. How far did he leave her behind?

She was too strong-headed to think about how close she was to losing him without being able to do anything. After all, the fact was that he was alive and still himself. She could touch him. She could smell him. There were no what-ifs.

Her Profession had caught up to speed.

All she needed was for her Conditioning to get to Priming and she was ready. She flipped her coin repetively.

Receiving her answer, she just needed around 100 to 150 hours more of repeated the new training regime she created with Ebony for herself, and she would get her Priming.

The coin answered her again, and it seemed there was no huge opportunity in the foreseeable future, hence she wouldn't be missing out on much if she evolved soon after evolving her Conditioning into a Priming.

Her gut told her she would come out more different than Ebony did. Almost a complete overhaul of herself.

She hoped that was only in terms of strength and not personality.

Poking her husband's cheeks, she wondered how deep asleep he was. Now that he didn't need to breathe, it was harder to tell if he was faking it.

Giving his tight biceps a pat, she could feel that he didn't forget to shore up his physicals, but he was still a lot weaker than her in base strength, with her Core Skill's passive effect taken into account. However, his body durability and toughness were ridiculous. Unless she augmented herself or he expels the mana in his body like right now, she can't even pinch him. A lump of metal.

He must be draining his mana outside so that he isn't poisoning her right now. Giving her the pleasure of pinching 'soft' cheeks.

Her body temperature rose, and she snapped out of it. There was no privacy screen here and she doubted her self-control if she were to stay in bed any longer. What if someone was watching from another Realm? What if her ancestor was peeping on them?

Their house's privacy enchantment could prevent that, nowhere else. The privacy enchantment can even stop her grandmother's divination, as it was also disconnected from the Astral Realm. That was probably why the armour assaulter had to enter and he didn't know the layout until he entered. Their door had to be improved.

It probably couldn't stop the Saintesses' perception, but they had better things to do and probably respected privacy…probably.

Either way, she couldn't bear to show that part of herself to some random peeps.

She clicked her tongue and frowned, pulling the blanket up to cover her upper body before scooting over to the window and gently peeking through the blinds.

"Those cowards brought an effigy of their Saintess?" She muttered at the peeps that surrounded them. A couple of them were surrounding a small statue of the same figure that's currently guarding Lacuna Expanse's portal. Now that she learned what an Angel was, she was aware that this Saint might be able to draw more power than usual. This effigy was more than just a symbol.

It was almost like the extension of her Domain into this space.

Touching Ebony's belly under the blanket, it seemed like she slept for 2 full days. Or at least, he hasn't eaten for two days.

'I got to put some more meat on him.' She subconsciously caressed his chiselled abdominal muscles a moment longer.

These weren't muscles of a functioning flesh creature; she can say that for sure. The way the muscles were entwined was specifically made for his martial arts movements. As someone who bit into this man's flesh, she knew that eating him would not be a delight in terms of texture due to the sinewy musculature. But it was fine, he didn't have to be an even bigger target for beasts when his mana, essence in general and blood were already so tasty.

Taking another peek outside to see their uncanny still figures, she got back under the covers. His mana wasn't expelled for nothing.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

She didn't sleep properly throughout his evolution, and two days couldn't wipe her sluggishness out.

Yawning, she resisted the physical love she craved and was on her way back into dreamland. Still, she threw his arms around her and snuggled herself. She was always about the same height as he was and her frame was larger than the average human woman. Being able to be fully wrapped like this was nicer than she thought.

She might have to consider trying to maintain her size during her evolution just so she could enjoy this embrace. After she threw her leg over his so she could emulate hugging her bolster, she shook her head. Impossible. For her sake, she needed to get a little bigger, or her nights were going to be even tougher than they already were.

Unlimited food. Unlimited blood. A living, breathing husband to share them with was enough to distract her from her needs and desires.

'Maybe not breathing anymore---' Dreamland took her away.

❅❅❅

Refreshed, Ebony woke up and mentally pushed the frozen attackers to the side a few dozen kilometres away. In just 3 days, a fourth group was added to the pile. He didn't do anything about them at the moment, but he didn't touch the effigy they brought with his mana yet. It represented an unknown danger he didn't want to touch while recuperating. The attackers were all humans, and all were Kings in the low 500s. He counted 33 of them so far.

A live connection to Dusk made him aware that the turtle fortress was almost back to Tidal and was free from attacks so far. Although he made his trailer invisible too, his mana was a dead giveaway.

There were either too few of these Lure members, or they've coincidentally ignored his mobile fortress for 3 days. Now that news about his high-quality soul had been moving around, they probably thought he was more valuable prey compared to survivors of the City that the Estacy Lord harvested.

There was no coordination behind these people's attacks. It should be true that they weren't under one banner and moved either individually or in small groups.

His wife was in his embrace with red hair, her legs locking his with extreme strength.

The trailer started driving off while he got her hair out of his eyes.

When he passed by Bubble Hills since he was subjectively not far from Ordina, he noticed something with Mana Discern that his Scout Pigeons didn't.

'The Nebulian village is no longer hidden from my perception. Good…' Ebony saw that they were still around.

The village didn't have strong fighters. When he encountered their village, there wasn't even a single King-ranked individual to his prior perception. Yet, they had 3 Emperors that chased him all the way to Tidal. These were the ones that cast Entity Evanscence on him, and it lasted on him till he became King. Impressive.

But it also gave him the chance to be more than aware of their skill's touch.

The three Emperors that Vent took on.

One of them was present in the village now.

Did they have any other Saint besides Cormac that wasn't enslaved by the massive merchant group? There seemed to be some.

Vent supposedly dealt with them, but one could never be so sure with these 'higher beings', especially when Vent said he used borrowed power.

Cormac apparently even escaped from Shi Tao, though the intensity of her chase was questionable. By allowing himself to die, expediting his journey in Hell and rebirthing himself through his Mandates. Ebony didn't know the full details, but that was the gist of what happened.

He didn't notice the slight raised edge on his lips.

So there's at least one left for him, maybe more. Fantastic.

Ebony packed Will Relay Buffers fifteen kilometres away from the Nebulian Village and encircled them. They'll keep an eye on the village and the sole Emperor present. The excess mana he had begun to store underground in the form of treebark scales. His most efficient shape for compressed mana.

It wasn't to be overprepared; he was particularly resistant to Mandates from the get-go, and he believed he might as well be immune unless they had multiple Emperors combining Mandates like before.

This was merely surveillance to make sure the Mandate user didn't slip away while he returned home. They were not worth disturbing his wife's rest.

Besides, they had nowhere to run.

Their village's mist stealth was amazing, it must be a combined Mandate of their Emperors or their Saints. It probably hid them even from the Elves and Frost Elves till this day.

Ebony was not complaining or questioning how he could find them now. Be it Perception, his mental resistance to illusions tricking the mind or his resistance to Mandates, they were all extremely high.

His gravity tunnel increased his travel speed by leaps and bounds. His trailer needed a rework or to be phased out for a conjuration. He dismissed the Numbers protecting his house and allowed them to work on rebuilding their network that was destroyed. Of course, they were recast with new mana that carried the strength of his current Intelligence stat.

The first thing to do was to clean his house. There was blood, footprints.

Oddly enough no broken pieces of armour. 'This trespasser is good. Extremely dependent on armour but specialised armour-based skills. High tech, too. He must have retrieved all the broken pieces. Metal magic would not be unexpected. Sophia can learn a thing or two from this.' Ebony decided to bring his business partner to watch a skilled metal mage at work if it was convenient whenever he decided to look for payback.

His shirt was tossed aside somewhere, but he didn't even bother sensing mana in the room to look for it.

'Need new pants.' Shorts that reached his knees were now too short for his liking. The no magic rule had him getting a glass of water like a normal person and not using runes to turn mana into water directly in his body.

Stepping out of the trailer and bracing the cold, icy winds. It was snowing quite heavily for the Icy Region. He could practically taste the mixture of mana to confirm that this was due to some creature's magic colliding, which changed the weather in these parts.

Yet when he stepped out and his mana began to spill out of him again, it was like the chaotic mana settled down immediately. The snow didn't stop, but the ambient mana calmed down. An unnatural silence suffused the Glades.

Ebony saw that the Apex Apes were guarded against him, but didn't run. They had more guts than most creatures after all.

'Looks like they think it's my fault they got caught.' They were not wrong.

It was his fault those people surrounded and captured the Apex Apes. The Apex Apes weren't monsters. They were an intelligent race that likely had Classes. They lacked the capacity for cross-racial communication outside of body language.

One of their Grandmaster Elders walked up to him and was less than half an arm's length away. The Apes breath blew down on him.

Ebony looked up, but he didn't have to twist his neck that much anymore. The Apex Ape had his fist on the ground like a gorilla and standing at full height.

Without so much as a single sign, the Elder practised their highly evolved twitch muscles and rammed their fist into Ebony's upper body.

Ebony took a step back to maintain his balance, but his other foot didn't move.

The Elder put his fist back down and continued to glare at Ebony, taking on the full blast of Ebony's simulations and martial aura.

Winding his fist, Ebony returned a punch and sent the Elder back to his resting rock.

With a few cheers and no more competitors, the matter was settled and they welcomed him back into their territory. They recognised him after all.

'It got colder?' Ebony reduced his augmentation to nothing and felt the chill sink into his bones. It was noticeably colder than he recalled this area to be. Almost matching the Legendary Worldcore that he had been on his honeymoon.

He did a light stretch outdoors with the younger Apex Apes copying his exercise before parking the trailer by his garden. His Numbers tried to restore the damaged portions but the plants that were affected by mana were already dead. The potted plant given to him by the Frost Elves as his wedding gift was fine. It was hidden within the tree form of Dusk and was more than safe. The frost plum trees were shivering but safe. He only lost a few herbs and some Rare vegetables. These got sliced by wind pressure from the intruders stabbing his wife.

He didn't know if it was because Dusk was mostly dormant or because it had the foresight to keep the damage done unrecovered, but Ebony was glad the spear thrust into the tree form of Dusk wasn't recovered. It left a trace for him to analyse.

'There are two signatures in this one attack. Another Will. Hmm, its only one attacker, so why two Wills or Intents….I see, an Armour Spirit or something along those lines. Maybe a spirit resides in his spear?' Quasar, his mother's spear, was also a spirit and had its own Will or Intent signature.

After the calisthenics and guidance for a few Apes to make sure their form wasn't too far off, he started house cleaning. Half-naked because most of his customised shirts don't fit properly. His robe can't even fully cover him anymore and was a tight squeeze.

Something was settling about using only a normal human's strength and abilities to take care of mundane tasks. That might be why Shi Tao's temple also didn't have many magical items or technology. 'I didn't even consider efficiency…' Ebony spent 4 hours cleaning the entirety of his house without so much as a thought about efficiency. It was curious how meditative this act of slowing down was.

'It's that, isn't it, the cultivation novels about acting human to train…' He shook his head free of the useless thoughts.

Anyway, Cultivators were real in this world. Users of Qi was mentioned by Ferroquads of Teheil. There was also a famous Qi user from the Xengs. The Cruel Empress of the Empire from the Qin Clan was a so-called Cultivator. Hex was mana dominant with no Worldcore that produced Qi, hence practically no users of Qi would be found in Hex Region unless they were travelers or descended from Qi users that migrated.

This armour user should be mana-based so the unknown factor of his energy source was smaller.

Now that he thought about it, how would overflowing Wisdom affect users of a different energy source? It might be like how overflowing Vitality doesn't interact with Wisdom and cause entirely separate effects.

He probably wouldn't be satisfied by any theoretical answer till he experienced it himself.

During his cleaning, he found Miss Wiggles still floating in their pool. He didn't blame the pig's hibernation since she was healing from the direct attack of a Saint, but it would've been nice if this super pig had protected the one that fed her while he was out cold.

It might do Xin some good to learn a generic taming skill, but neither of them feels the need for it. Creatures should be free. They were either food, friendly or had no relation. Building companionship didn't require a Skill.

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