Pef's wives jumped ahead to contain the marine invasion, and soon their fires made the entire population of Sandyport drool in hunger, as boiled and fried crabs do smell very nice.

The Sovereign himself stopped next to his sister, checking her for damage and signs of growth. Still, only a B cup, so he kinda pitied Wu for his poor luck. "Hey sis, you should abuse your husband more, if you want to reach next rank this century." he explained politely.

Remi heaved a tired sigh, as her qi was nearly depleted and her Emperor ranked polearm was nearly chipped away on those hard crab shells. "Shut up, idiot! There's been constant waves since you've left, who had time for love?" she muttered in an exhausted manner, leaning on her loyal husband to save energy.

Pef nodded wisely, as he kinda expected this, which is why he had left five Tyrants and five Emperors to defend the homeland continent.

"Where's Zhong?" he asked curious.

"With the first Guardian regiment, at Carthage. The new port has been hit eight times, in last eight months." Wu answered instead, the former Major looking even more tired and worn out.

"Yuan, rush to Carthage, please." he said in a commanding tone, his voice imbued with qi to cover the loud noises of combat.

The Lady Ignited glanced at the beaches full of hundreds of cooked Emperor ranked crabs and smiled a bit. She was kinda overkill here. In a step, she arrived next to her husband and stole a kiss, then fled away, blushing fiercely.

"Jian and Qin, along the coast to Port Li." Pef demanded next, somehow suspecting two more Tyrants would help clear the beaches in minutes instead of weeks.

"And Yen, we're staying here for a week, and have lots of sex." the leader of the Pef Empire decided as his newest wife looked to him for orders. His wife nodded a bit shyly, glancing at her husband's sister with reddish cheeks.

"Ah, that clearly seems the priority, stupid brother, when the Empire is under attack." Remi added in a sarcastic tone.

Pef hugged the tired sister and patted her hair.

"Lady Yuan is a Monarch rank, silly sister. We can relax now." he whispered in a soft voice, while taking out an old Tyrant ranked ring, with two sets of Sovereign armor and weapons, and two White Meridian pills, and gently placed it in her palm.

Then he dove at speed towards the beach, collecting fresh meat and shells, and obliterating the crab wave remains in half and hour, while also washing the sand with his water qi, and cleaning up the battlefield, like it had never happened.

Then he laid some soft furs a kilometer away and began kissing and molesting the new druid wife.

Wu hugged his seething wife cautiously, and poked at the gift from their Leader. His eyebrow rose in wonder, as it was a precious gift indeed. "Well, my superb and glorious Empress. We could retire to our mansion for a few days, and digest the new pill..." he offered in a gentle tone.

"Yeah...and then a week of hot sex as well. I won't be left behind, by my stupid brother!" Remi demanded with gritted teeth, and left herself be carried as a princess by her husband.

Emperor Wu didn't know if to cry or laugh. Both of the siblings were much the same, but it would be his own body that will be abused to the limit, by the insatiable wife. Then again, insatiable wife. He couldn't quite complain, could he?

His boss had been truly generous, to offer him his lustful sister. The woman had the craziest ideas in bed.

A week of carnal debauchery later, Green Blossom crossed into her early Sovereign rank, by the grace of three meridians open, two of them recently, then the Legion method, and intense combat and love brought to her by a nurturing husband.

The only sad part, was losing her ability to heal others, as Gaia reserved that to her devoted druids, and wouldn't bother to waste energy without draining life in return.

In the last communion, the goddess told her she'll regain a small amount at the next rank, as Monarchs could fuel healing with their own soul.

Still, Gaia wasn't ungrateful for her long service, and left Blossom a tiny gift of life. She just didn't tell her former druid, leaving the new Sovereigns to believe they got lucky.

After buying a large amount of lemons and oranges from Sandyport, Pef was preparing to take off, when a voice called after him. "Emperor Pef!"

He scanned the market and saw Master Gu with his wife, also shopping for things, now that the invasion threat was over.

"Third Master and Madam Gu. How you've been?" he asked politely.

"Very good, thank you Emperor. And hello to you too, Lady Xi." the young Master said, nodding at Yen with respect.

"Hey. I'm Yen Xi and the newest wife..." she replied shyly.

"Are you an Empress rank as well?" Feng Feng asked her with wide eyes.

"Ehm... We are both Sovereign rank, actually. So how the business going?" Pef replied instead, his eyes scanning the rich clothes and jewelry on these two merchants.

"Ah, it's going really well. My smiths have discovered how to melt and separate gold and silver, so we have become rich..." Master Gu answered proudly.

"And?" Pef asked with some ulterior motive.

"Right! I need to pay back the loan, right? Here, 10 gold plates! They're worth more than the loan, but I don't forget debts!" the young trader said a pained smile.

Pef took the gold with a smile, sensing the strong resonance and already thinking how to use the new metal, for magic arrays. "You will sell 90 percent of gold to the government, Mister Gu. This metal can support defense arrays strong enough to block similar invasions." he demanded with a serious voice, after concealing their persons in a water cloud.

The trader grimaced for a second, then nodded. Safety was more important than profit margins after all. He could board his emergency airship and fly away, but his family or investments would be lost.

"Secure trades then, via storage and Emperor ranks?" Gu asked to be precise.

"Yes, and only documented sales. If anyone has gold, he better have a stamped sale." Pef ordered as final word.

"It will be done, Sovereign. Though it will take some work to back trace all sales, it won't be hard, just a bit time-consuming."

Gu answered politely then ran away, before more absurd demands were placed on him.

Feng Feng stayed a bit longer, to ask Yen how to dye her hair the same way, but when hearing it was a goddess blessing she just sighed. "Nice to meet you again Pef, and you too Yen. Gotta go now, my two kids must miss me already."

Pef stared after the normal woman with new eyes, wondering if perhaps normal people weren't happier with their easy reproduction. "Damn lucky guy, this Gu. Two kids already..." he murmured and sped away, first toward Yellow Tear, and then Stoneport and finally home.

He granted each Sky ranked Guardian a Tyrant ranked feather, partially forged but not completely, to allow the recruits to attune their weapons to their aura and spirit.

This should make turning beast waves easier, even if multiple Sky ranked beasts or even Emperors appeared somehow.

At each stop, he checked and awakened promising Practitioners and induced them into the Guardians, but the numbers were small, a couple here or there.

The population on his continent was still too small. But in Stoneport, he glanced at the Volcanic Fire firecone and mused inward. 'There's a thousand Disciples here, ready to be used.'

'Good idea, Aspirant. You are their Lord Ignited after all.' the glove agreed at once.

Pef and Yen stayed at the firecone for a day, holding another great spider meat feast, with some boiled crab on the side.

Then he selected a hundred more solid Disciples, and showed them his fire sprite.

"Brothers, god Volcanis had invested me with his mark, to become Ignited and lead mankind against the beast onslaught.

The holy General of the Xi had granted me a symbol as well, the neo knife! And Gaia has given me her druids, first Tyrant Aria and now Sovereign Green Blossom. What say you? Will you join me and become Guardians of the realms of men?" Pef proclaimed dramatically, holding his hands in the air, one burning with yellow fire, the other holding a shining white blade.

Just like everywhere, superstitious and faithful people were the easiest to convince.

One hundred Disciples became Fire Guardians, and cried their hearts out for a month. Among them, there was a young woman who Pef didn't remember, but she would never forget him, her savior who rescued her from a Tang breeding pen, right here in the Stoneport Tang Citadel.

She never cried, happy at the chance to become strong and hunt, those who had shamed and humiliated her.

And by Awakening a second time, she discarded her old name, and called herself Firaga, the larger fire. As the Legion method worked through her, the old scars healed, and a new imprint developed, to allow her to grow and love again.

Only the glove noticed, as it never forgot anything or anyone. The new obsession was logged and accounted for, to be used as bait or sacrifice, as needed.

Pef flew onward, reaching the Xi Palace at noon. Lara and Erin were absent, still working on some construction project in the capital, but they'd be back in the evening.

He landed in the second courtyard, Yen hiding shyly behind him.

"Hello, my lovely wives. Your beloved husband is back!" Pef proclaimed with a wide grin.

Lady Yuan waved a few fingers from the pool, then continues to relax in the shallower part, showcasing her new swimsuit and heavenly body.

Pef almost dropped his jaw at the sight, then sighed in defeat. The Monarch firebird wasn't in his reach, yet.

Aria and Xie came first to hug and kiss him, then Pela and Lady Lin, and lastly Si and his beloved oracle, Lia. There was one missing after all, Mia Xi Quing, Pef observed with dismay.

"Mia's too pregnant to fly around, silly husband. Now introduce us our newest sister!" Lia said in a warning voice, as Blossom was fidgeting and staring at her feet.

"Of course. Green Blossom Yen, former druid. Sovereign rank and a very kind woman. Please be nice to her..." he said in a more subdued voice, holding a hand to his new wife.

After another pile up of hugs and kisses, Pef made a large feast, and offered his wives the new gifts, including armor and weapons and the White Pills. Lady Lin received a set of Monarch bones, and got mollified enough to continue accepting the lecherous husband.

Aria took Blossom away for secret druid chats, while Pef held Si in his lap and played with her soft body, while drinking wine and waiting for the last wives to arrive.

The oracle watched the whole thing a bit amused and impressed, as Pef had indeed returned a Sovereign, and also upgraded Yuan to Monarch and gained a new Sovereign wife.

'He's so strong, my young husband. And his sword skill is much better than mine. Ah, why do I feel left behind now...' Lia mused inward, while Si blushed and sobbed, happy at all the attention.

She kinda expected to be set aside and forgotten, and yet, even with all these immortal beauties around, her husband still cared and showered her with love and gifts and lustful hands...

Si stuck her lips on Pef's ear and murmured a soft "Please..."

Her husband was kind enough to flash away and take them to her room, before giving in to passion. And hour later though, she was exhausted though, being still just a Spirit rank.

"Take the pill, my love. It will be enough for the next rank. And your body won't get tired so easy, next time." Pef whispered, urging her to ingest the White Meridian pill.

Si exploded in white light, and her soul doubled and purified, and over the next day, crossed into Earth rank, with quite a bit of pain. But Si expected the pain. There could be no love and good without pain.

Meanwhile, Pef returned to the pool, and played with Xie a little, and even with Xia for a minute, underwater.

"Husband of mine, what is sense from this White pill...it's truly a wonderful gift. Is a kiss, really the only thing you wish from us?" the other wife asked with wise and profound silver eyes.

Pef hugged her to his chest, enjoying the warm feeling. "A gift is freely given, my lady. Even a kiss is too much, but I am a young and greedy man. But no less than a 10 minutes hug!" he demanded in a petulant voice.

"Indeed, our amusing husband. A kiss from us is the more precious boon. For to be loved by a goddess is priceless. And thus you gain even more, without asking. Just take care, at the next step, young husband. Your General patron is not around to safeguard your soul. And you will wear it on your sleeve. You have water qi, and mixing ink with water is the same. Mysterious action at a distance, only that distance is not in space, but higher, towards divinity." the silver eyed wife explained with a reverberating tone, touching Pef profoundly.

He hugged her tighter, and pawed over her revealing wet swimsuit. "I have a vague notion, dear goddess. Like tangled hair and mixed hair colors. And I have Yuan to learn from. Her flesh resists but I can taste her soul with every kiss."

The purple haired wife smiled a little, as the idiot husband was quite close to the truth. Especially with regard to hair colors.

"You must remember this, Pef. Purple is a special color. Is a mixture and a property of the soul. Never take it lightly, or your own soul will suffer for it." Xia said in a warning tone, and tapped his glove twice.

'Purple qi, like Divine beasts. Another clue, Aspirant. You should fly out and meet the other wives.' the glove told the user in a serene voice.

From here on, there would be no more free wins. Pef will have to work hard to entangle his soul and qi, and no cryptic advice could help. Just Practice and practice and practice. Not 300 thousand years like the former Volcanis slave, but many years. There just wasn't any shortcut to take.