"So that black screen… it took in my Divine Lightning and made it even more powerful?

" Lin Luo had a shocked expression on her face, as if not believing any of of this.

"

I nodded.

"You're lucky I managed to close my Chaos Mirror in time… otherwise, you would've gotten disintegrated.

"

"… I hope you are not expecting a 'thank you'.

"

"Don't worry, I'm not. I'm just saying, you owe me your life, whether you like it or not.

"

"Tch…

" she gritted her teeth and turned away.

"I used to think the power I hold was unmatched. Even among Celestici, awakening the Divine Lightning was extremely rare. But now that I've seen your power in action…

"

"I haven't even explored the abilities of Chaos fully yet,

" I said, glancing down at my ring.

"I have no doubt… it carries with it a lot more mysteries.

"

Then, turning to Mei Gui, I continued.

"Oh yeah, by the way, you can do it now, Mei Gui.

"

"…?

" The other girls tilted their heads in confusion, but Mei Gui mere nodded and walked over to Lin Luo.

"Hey-! What are you-

"

However, she was powerless as Mei Gui placed her hand a few inches above her chest, a red energy flowing out of it.

After a few seconds, she moved away and turned back to me.

"It has been done, Master.

"

"Good. Now, Lin Luo… if you ever betray me, not only will I take the power away from you, I'll also kill myself — and you will die too.

"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"What?!

"

As if to demonstrate, I gently cut my finger open with the Chaotic Lightning Blade.

"Ngh!

" Lin Luo cried out, her finger splitting open completely as blood flew out of it in a gruesome river. She fell out of her chair, clutching her finger in agony.

I blinked.

"Wow… wasn't expecting the effects to be so powerful.

"

"Master, a light injury to you, as long as you will it, will be transmitted as a wound of the same spot to the tethered target, just amplified hundredfold.

"

"K-Kuh…

" Lin Luo panted as she glared at me with hatred.

"… Will this effect… trigger whenever you get hurt…?

"

"Only when Master chooses to,

" Mei Gui replied in my stead.

"Huh, if the effects are this powerful, I don't even have to kill myself to get you killed,

" I chuckled.

"All I have to do is make a slightly large cut somewhere on my body… and you'll die from blood loss.

"

"Tch…!

"

I stood up, wiping my cut finger on my pants.

"Alright. Now that that's over with… let's get some food, shall we? Qing Yue, patch her up.

"

"Okay~

" she replied, before going to work on Lin Luo as the rest of us departed from the room.

*****

After grabbing some lunch at a restaurant, we paid Old Man Leng a visit, then headed back to the inn.

"Alright, everyone. I think it's about time we enter the Void Realm,

" I announced as all the girls gathered around me.

"The Void Realm?

" Lin Luo frowned in confusion.

"Don't worry about it,

" I quickly replied, not wanting to explain anything right now.

"We just ate, so… yeah, we can give it a try,

" Feng Mian replied.

"But… what about using the bathroom and all that…?

"

"You… can just… pick a private spot… and go,

" Yu An Xue replied.

"It's… the void. Anything… will disappear.

"

"Huh, I see, that's fair,

" Yu An Yan mused.

"We could sleep inside the Void Realm too, you know. That could give us more cultivation time…

"

"You sure you want to sleep there? It's not going to be comfortable, I guarantee that,

" Xiang Peng laughed.

"I think 3 years are enough of cultivation time, don't you think?

"

"True… anyway, An Xue, how do we activate this thing?

"

"Just… pour mana… into it.

"

"I see…

" I closed my eyes and prepared to channel my mana into the talisman in my hand, but then, I felt someone hug me from behind.

"Master… you're leaving again?!

" Flaria sobbed, rubbing her face against my back.

"And for three whole years…

"

"Relax… it'll only be three days for you,

" I sighed, patting her head.

"Besides, we'll be back to eat and sleep.

"

We were planning on eating twice everyday, once before we go in, and once before bed. The rest of the time would be spent cultivating. Time was spent differently in the Void Realm, but our bodies were still accustomed to the original world's flow of time. Therefore, there was nothing to worry about.

"Hmph…

" Flaria pouted angrily, not wanting to let me go.

"I'll let you sleep with me every night for the next three days, whenever I return from the Void Realm. How about that?

" I proposed, a gentle smile on my face.

"If that's the case then… f-fine,

" she reluctantly let me go, face blushed.

"She's like your daughter, hehe,

" Lan Xiao Su giggled.

"Who's the mother?

" Xiang Peng cackled evilly.

"A-Ahem… let's get going,

" I said, closing my eyes before the girls started fighting.

I began channeling mana into the talisman… and suddenly, I felt like I was being sucked into something. Before I could even open my eyes, however, the feeling was over, and I found myself in a beautiful purple realm of… nothingness.

The sky was light violet, like the color of wisteria except more pink. I seemed to be standing on a completely transparent floor, and there was nothing underneath me except a mirror world of the sky.

Beside me, the girls stood, gazing in wonder at the scenery all around us. The only one who wasn't that impressed was Yu An Xue, who had already been here once before.

"Here we are, it seems,

" I mused, looking around.

"Mei Gui, I'll have you on call-out duty. Whenever it's time to head back to sleep every year, just wake us up and let us know.

"

She nodded in return.

"Understood, Master.

"

And so, the ten of us sat down and began meditating, beginning our three-year long cultivation.

*****

- Three Years Later -

"Master.

"

"Hm…?

"

"It is time. We should exit now — we are to enter Fragment in an hour.

"

"I see… it's been so long, I almost forgot about that…

"

"Three years… they passed by in the blink of an eye,

" Feng Mian said, waking up beside me.

"We're all technically 18 now, huh?

"

"Well, I'm older, but yeah,

" Xiang Peng chimed in.

One by one, the other girls came out of meditation.

"So? How was it, everyone?

" I asked around.

"My mana… it feels a lot… stronger and purer,

" Yu An Xue noted, glancing down at her own two hands.

"Hm… Legendary Ice Magic — Freezing Point.

"

She smashed into the ground, causing the ground as far as the eye can see to turn into ice. I shuddered as I felt my feet become frozen in the ground, the ice slowly making its way up our bodies.

"W-Woah, hey-

"

"Don't worry, heh!

" Yu An Yan called out as a flame appeared in her hands.

"Legendary Fire Magic — Flameburst!

"

The concentrated singularity in her hand suddenly exploded, encasing the whole Void Realm in fire. The ice on us was melted away, and strangely, the fire didn't hurt at all.

"Woah… what is this…?

" Feng Mian murmured, touching the flames with her hand.

"It feels… nice and warm…

"

"This is a spell I learned back in my family's library, just like the Freezing Point An Xue cast just now,

" Yu An Yan explained.

"To allies, it grants empowerment, while to enemies, it scorches them to death.

"

"Wow… too bad I don't know any Legendary spells…

" Feng Mian sighed, pursing her lips.

"In any case… all of us can now cast Legendary spells, huh?

" I chuckled.

"Looks like those three years of cultivation was quite worth it. We can be called… Ancestral Mages now, I guess.

"

"Not me,

" Xiang Peng suddenly butt in, a smirk on her face.

As all of us turned to her, her eyes suddenly flashed a bright white-blue, electricity stemming from them.

"Behold, everyone — my Battle Soul.

"

Above her, a white lightning icon formed with a purple outline, thunderclouds forming around it and striking down at the floor.

"This is… an Element Battle Soul,

" Lan Xiao Su remarked, mouth open in awe.

"We have a Golden Monarch among our ranks now, it seems,

" Obsidia noted.

"Quite an increase to our fighting power.

"

I smiled.

"Congrats, Xiang Peng.

"

"Hm… but technically, we didn't take any Advancement Exams to prove that we could use these higher rank spells… we can't claim any rewards from the IMF, can we?

" Qing Yue asked, raising her hand.

"That's true, but all of us already have plenty of elements,

" I explained.

"There's no need to awaken anymore, honestly. Advancement Exams are a hassle, and having too many elements may be a downside too — you may end up losing focus on your best element.

"

"Says you,

" Feng Mian rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, let's head back.

"

We all nodded in return, then took out our talismans once more and poured our mana into them.

We felt the same suction force, and when we opened our eyes again, we were back in the real world.

There, Lin Luo and Flaria were waiting.

"Master! Welcome back!

"

Flaria dove into my arms as I caught her and lifted her into the air. She yelped in surprise.

"… You all seem… older,

" Lin Luo noted, quite obviously.

"How old are you?

" I asked.

"Xuan Kai!

" the girls yelled, reprimanding me for asking a lady for their age as Lin Luo turned away awkwardly.

"Uh… my bad,

" I cleared my throat, then turned to Mei Gui.

"Now then… where's the place to enter Fragment?

"

"It will be quicker to ride someone's vehicle, Master,

" she replied.

"Alright…

" I pulled out my phone and gave Old Man Leng a call. As soon as he picked up, I got to business.

"Hey, Old Man-

"

"Need a ride?

" he interrupted, already knowing what I was going to ask.

I smirked.

"Yeah. ASAP.

"

"On my way, kid.

"

With that, he hung up.