The days leading up to the family competition passed slowly. Alm and Bruno awaited the system signal with the optional quest complete, but the Onis still didn’t seem to have been fully conquered. Despite being named King, there was still a natural pride in them that prevented them from fully accepting the leadership of anyone who wasn’t an Oni.
’Well, now that they’ve started cultivating, they’ll conquer the entire continent in no time. It’s something that, months ago, we couldn’t even imagine happening so quickly,’ said Bruno, hopefully.
Meanwhile, the whale was in the city, using its time to make improvements to the place. Utilizing their mastery over the laws of Yin and Yang tattoos, they could completely manipulate all the laws of this ascending planet.
The laws on this planet were fragile and incomplete, whereas tattoos never disappoint. They currently felt they could utilize every law that existed on the planet if they wished; however, the Qi cost for this would be currently unfeasible. With each passing day and after absorbing a large amount of knowledge from the immortal Oni, Alm and Bruno became more certain: this technique was created by a cultivator in the immortal realm.
The whale restructured all the city’s training and study locations. They gathered the laws and created something similar to the Oni’s test, while their physical cultivation-based technique was also left for study. It was much easier to cultivate than physical cultivation itself, and despite its power being equally inferior, it was still high-level.
Now in the city, there was an infinite variety of incomplete Daos, cultivation knowledge, and all basic laws. Techniques of high difficulty, such as mental and physical cultivation, were made available in more basic levels than the complete cultivation they had, which would facilitate the beginning of training for everyone.
Additionally, an Alchemy Center, a Forge, and the Formation Center recently created by Ruri; existed with teachings from the gods themselves and were available for anyone who wanted to study. Added to everything, there was a divine-level herb field with unimaginable things growing. Hardly in any sect or planet in the queen’s universe was there such a suitable independent place for studying and cultivating.
Afterward, Alm and Bruno visited Oldis and his three children born a few months ago. Zaimo was perfectly healthy after reincarnating, and now he had two twin sisters. Oldis asked the whale to name the three, as Zaimo was important to him. There were no doubts: Zaimo kept his name, while his sisters were named Ximiya and Yimiya.
Zaimo already exhibited traits similar to those of his father Vuard; they were somewhat similar in appearance to his past, except for the red beard and hair. As for the two girls, they were blond and resembled their mother Oldis, in the future their appearances would probably be considered pleasant even by human standards.
After this, the whale was summoned by Quitera, who had recently returned to the city with little Quirio in her arms. During the previous year, she had spent a few months in the city, but the rest of the time was dedicated to the Three Extremes Sect. Quitera visited her Obsidian clan, finding a place that bore little resemblance to what she remembered. All her acquaintances had long been deceased. However, she felt compelled to care for those descendants of her remaining friends.
Without any surprise, considering the connection between them, she was offered the leadership of the clan and the sect. This time, Quitera came to talk to Alm and Bruno and decided to accept. She clearly witnessed the corruption that had taken hold in the sect and her clan during this time. She was determined to restore order with her own hands. She wanted Quirio to be proud of his two homes in the future, and she would live the rest of her life with that goal in mind.
The entire city will offer her the necessary support. From the day Quitera takes over the leadership of the sect, the central capital of the entire continent became the sacred city. The sect became merely the place where planet cultivators could start their cultivation, but those born in the sacred city were the true power behind everything.
The two regions were connected, which multiplied Langrum’s work several times. Now she had responsibilities with the city, and everyone on the continent saw them as their protectors. With great power came great responsibility; Alm and Bruno remembered that infamous phrase from Earth, and they said it to Langrum. But internally they were grateful for this problem to be someone else’s.
Naturally, the religion of the whale would gradually be disseminated by everyone. To keep things organized, some rules were established. Annually, the sacred city would be open to the external public for visitation, in a religious ceremony where everyone would be introduced to the place and the statues.
So those who wished to become followers of the whale would have to undergo the karmic baptism of the statues before being considered its followers. If they were good people, they would enjoy a peaceful life with karmic blessing; otherwise, negative karma would multiply, and they would die before causing harm or staining their names.
***
The week passed, and the day of the family competition arrived.
The whale was in the city when a spatial channel appeared above the formation. Moving out alone, they saw Ruri and Kaiyka waiting for them. They would join the Moonlight clan for the competition, being considered outsiders of this family due to their connection with Ruri.
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Kaiyka respectfully waved to the whale, while Ruri held their arm intimately with a radiant smile. Alm and Bruno felt something strange; Kaiyka seemed extremely odd internally. Her fluctuations were a mix of curiosity, fear, and... shyness? They looked at Ruri, who returned the innocent gaze. The whale snorted and decided to ignore it; the three soon entered the spatial channel.
They found themselves in a luminous and lush region, with the entire horizon glowing in a violet hue full of energy. Even breathing absorbed hundreds of times more Qi than on the planet.
"This is the home of the Moonlight clan. The family competition happens every year in one of the four families, and this year it will be here," explained Kaiyka softly.
The whale smiled internally. The difference between this place and the twelve servant families was like night and day. It was as if the gathering formation was activated all the time; everyone born and living there, even without attempting cultivation, sooner or later reached the highest levels of mortal realms. However, breaking through to the divine realms was something much more complex and difficult.
"Master, master, this competition is different from the others. They announced great prizes for the top ten outstanding youths," said Ruri excitedly, holding their arm.
Under the whale’s gaze, Kaiyka calmly explained, "Due to the recent incident on the planet, the families obtained information that no one else had. This brought us prestige and rewards, so we decided to use them to benefit the youths of this generation."
Alm and Bruno immediately understood. All the heroes were searching for Mihkriel and the demonic whale after the incident in the underworld. As troublesome as breaking the second seal on the planet was, it could still be remedied over time. However, the information about Mihkriel’s involvement and whereabouts was a valuable find for the families, resulting in a considerable reward.
"There are ten immortal weapons of saint level. This is something that only the main members of the families possess. Even Lady Kaiyka doesn’t have one," Ruri added quickly. "Will master participate and win one?"
"Hmm... no, I came to settle another matter. You can have it," replied the whale emotionlessly.
They would already receive one of those weapons, and defeating the foolish youths of the families wouldn’t be difficult. However, their current cultivation level was low compared to the opponents. Qi consumption would be a problem if they had to fight multiple times.
Showing a bit of their skills would be inevitable. However, the risks outweighed the benefits. The Empyrean families were connected to the heroes and the queen and could have some knowledge about physical cultivation and their other abilities. If they fought only against that idiot, everything would be simple and quick. It was better to play it safe; soon enough, everything from the families would be under their control.
But as they took their first steps into the grand city, a fervent commotion erupted. The next moment, the whale narrowed its eyes in astonishment. Several gazes were fixed in their direction.