Chapter 137: Chapter 137: The Best
Morning came quiet.
A pale light pushed through the glass window in long, flat strips across the floor.
Damon sat at the edge of the bed and watched the room come alive slowly.
Ariel stirred first, rolling onto her back with a soft exhale.
Mio was next, blinking up at the ceiling with her dark hair fanned out beneath her. Mia had somehow ended up sideways across the foot of the bed and woke up looking mildly offended about it.
Selene rose last, sitting upright with her platinum hair loose around her shoulders, her posture already straight even before she was fully awake.
Neko was already up, lay in the corner of the room in her cat form, her cat ears twitching as she chewed on a strip of dried meat she’d found somewhere.
Damon looked them over one by one.
Everyone had color back in their faces.
The fatigue from the past few days had cleared out, and the energy in the room felt stable, settled.
He stood and stretched his arms above his head.
"Get up properly," he said. "All of you. I have something to give you."
****
They gathered in the main hall ten minutes later.
Ariel had her hair tied back.
The twins sat side by side on the long bench near the window, shoulders touching, both watching Damon with the same quiet curiosity they always shared.
Selene stood near the far wall with her arms folded, her expression composed, though her eyes tracked him carefully.
Neko sat on the floor near Damon’s feet and looked up at him with her ears perked forward.
Damon reached into his storage ring and pulled out nothing, because there was nothing physical to pull out.
What he had was in his mind.
He looked at Ariel first.
"Come here."
She stepped forward without hesitation, and Damon pressed his forehead lightly to hers.
He activated the Mind Transmission Technique and transfer the Tidal Sovereign Art directly into her memory.
Ariel’s eyes went wide.
Her lips parted.
She stood frozen for a moment, then blinked rapidly, like someone trying to process too much light at once.
"That’s," she started, then stopped. Her voice came out quieter.
"Damon, this is Heaven Grade."
"I know."
"Heaven Grade techniques are worth a fortune, I’ve never even seen one up close, the Aquaria family doesn’t own a single one, how did you-" she stopped herself again, pressing her fingers to her mouth.
Damon just gestured for Mio.
Mio came forward with slightly less composure than usual, her deep purple eyes already bright with anticipation.
The ponytail at the back of her head swaying as she closed the distance between them with quick, unguarded steps.
Whatever she had been about to say died the moment he raised his hand.
He transferred the Void Arrow Technique in the same way he had with Ariel — his fore head resting at hers, a single steady breath, and it was done.
Mio’s eyes went hazy for a moment, the usual brightness in them momentarily replaced by something deeper and overwhelmed.
Then she blinked, and the brightness came rushing back twice as strong.
She looked at Mia, mouth half-open, clearly searching for words.
Mia, however, had already read the room. She was on her feet and walking over before Damon even called for her, her straight purple hair falling around her face, dark eyes calm and watchful as ever.
Mia received the Shadow Sovereign Art and stood very still for a long moment after, her dark eyes moving slowly as she processed the information settling into her mind.
Then she exhaled through her nose.
"You’re insane..." she said, but there was no heat in it.
She said it the way someone says something when they don’t have a better word.
Damon almost smiled.
He turned to Selene.
She hadn’t moved from her spot near the wall, but her arms had dropped to her sides at some point during the last few minutes, and she was watching him with an expression he couldn’t quite categorize.
He crossed the room toward her.
Selene’s chin lifted slightly as he approached, the old reflex of pride moving through her posture automatically.
"What technique?" she asked, her voice even.
Damon didn’t answer immediately.
He reached up and pressed his fingers to her temple, and pushed the Glacial Sword Emperor Art into her mind.
The effect was immediate.
Selene’s breath stopped.
Her eyes didn’t go wide the way Ariel’s had.
Instead they went very still, like the surface of a frozen lake, and Damon watched something move beneath them, something that wasn’t composure.
The technique settled into her fully, and she stood there processing it in silence for a long moment.
Then her eyes focused back on him.
"This is Saint Grade Technique, Damon." she said.
Her voice had lost its evenness. Not much, barely a crack in it, but it was there.
"Yes. I know"
"The Azure Dragon Sect has one Saint Grade technique in its entire sect, and it belongs to Sect Leader. I have been a cultivator for over a many decade and I have never personally held a Saint Grade technique in my hands." She paused.
"Where did you get this? Why are you giving it to me?"
Damon looked at her for a moment.
Then he stepped forward, cupped the back of her neck with one hand, and kissed her.
Selene went rigid for exactly one second.
Then, while his lips were still on hers, he activated the Mind Transmission Technique a second time and pushed the Sword Grandmaster memories directly into her mind.
Buy only the knowledge.
Her eyes flew open.
Wide open, wider than he’d seen them, the frost in them cracking completely as the memories hit her.
A thousands of sword knowledge, theory, instinct, refinement, all of it landing inside her mind at once.
He felt her hand grip his sleeve.
He pulled back from the kiss slowly.
Selene stared at him.
Her lips were still slightly parted, and for once she had absolutely nothing to say.
Damon held her gaze.
"Just trust me. You are my woman. My women always get the best."
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