*The next day*

The wind blew over the fields, causing a few women to hold down their wide-brimmed hats to keep them from flying away. The men working along the women in the fields took a moment to enjoy the cool breeze before bending back to working up the soil with their hoes, bringing air down into the soil.

It was easy work, as for some reason there weren’t any of the usual pests to contend with. For whatever reason, they were glad. It made it so that they didn’t have to worry about cleaning the produce of any insects that would ruin the produce when it was placed in storage.

Joram watched, happy that his Realm could be used in such a way. He hadn’t ever really planned on having people settling in his Realm, but found that it had made him surprisingly happy. Yes, the sting of losing his home was still there, but seeing the people working and even looking happy helped reduce that sting.

He looked over to the horizon where Avi had planted vast orchards and vineyards to supply her winemaking hobby. He was still stunned at just how much wine she’d made… and still had stored.

He was more than considering taking a crate or two to an auction house and seeing what they’d get for a bottle. Grammy had loved them, stating that they were of the best quality. He could also sense that most were magical in nature, Avi having used various medicinal plants and fruits in their making. He was also sure that they would also affect the imbiber with other effects, but wasn’t sure what they’d be.

He could just sample them to find out, but he’d never understood how people could like the stuff. He’d blamed it on his being a “super taster” back on Earth. Even now, though, he still disliked the taste of any alcohol he’d come across.

Not that he’d been able to sneak any in the Clan Home. No, he’d tried some of the stuff Avi had made, the non-magical stuff. She’d laughed at his expressions as he’d tried a dozen different vintages, brews, or spirits.

He sighed, knowing that he was thinking of things inconsequential instead of worrying about his mother.

He looked down at Zaleria as she played with one of those wooden cut-out shape puzzles made for toddlers on the balcony beside him. He smiled again, remembering his daughters playing with the very same toy when they were little.

He’d gone into his storage area after seeing Xixi to bed the night before. It had been years since he’d gone through the contents of his old apartment. Probably due to the painful memories that resurfaced every time he saw their old toys and such.

Joram shook his head again, ridding himself of those melancholy thoughts. As much as he would always miss his daughters, he knew they were in a better place. He also had other people to care for here, so that helped.

He looked at his little sister again, happy that she was so happy. Then stared into the distance again as his mind went back to this mother.

He was very glad that Avi could perform the ritual needed to transform his mother into a High Elan, because he wasn’t sure that he could. Not that he lacked the knowledge, no. He had been given that by Altaea herself. What he was certain he couldn’t do was be the one to take his mother apart, rewrite her genetic code, peeling away her various organs that would become useless in her new form. Taking her skin off to do it all.

Nope. Just nope.

He was very sure that Avi would wind up being the one to do that for anyone else he knew that might want to join the ranks of High Elans. He looked at his sister again then clapped his cheek with both hands, causing Zaleria to look up at him in confusion.

“Just being silly,” he said with a smile.

Zaleria gave the toddler equivalent to a shrug, which for Zaleria was a funny wiggle of her eyebrows, and went back to her puzzle.

He sighed, trying very hard to keep his thoughts occupied while making sure Zaleria didn’t try to squeeze through the balcony’s railing or something.

Then his mind when back to the issues with [True Resurrection], wondering if his hypothesis was correct. He really didn’t want to experiment on people. That was kind of a Thing after all.

No. It wasn’t quite human experimentation in the classic sense of the concept. It was more that he was trying to figure out the limitations to his spell-like ability than anything else. Yes, the one returned might come back at a lower Tier than they’d been in life, but cultivators could always just start cultivating again to offset that… quirk.

He “hmm’d” a lot as he thought about it, occasionally taking a break from thinking about it to play with Zaleria and to give her a snack.

Joram was proud of how well his sister was behaving and playing. He was pretty sure that she was going to be another prodigy of the Clan given how sharp she was. Which set him to thinking about Xixi and Zanth again.

Their individual cultivations were unheard of for their age. Both were at the peak of Tier 1, ready to break through to Tier 2 at any time. He realized that his Realm wasn’t an ideal place for just anyone to cultivate due to the limitation of the ambient mana. Sure, it was pretty high, but he realized that the types of mana available here were linked to his cultivation level.

Right now, he was at the peak of Tier 4 which allowed his Realm to have both regular Type 1 mana as well as Type 2 mana, also known as Earth Qi to those of the Zhizun Zhanshi continent.

Something he’d come to learn was that as someone cultivated, they naturally came into contact with the various types of mana. Which wound up being important to their future efforts in cultivation. They’d gain an almost instinctual recognition of the other types of mana that was needed to make breaking through higher Tiers much easier for them.

For Joram, well, he was kicking himself a bit.

When he’d cultivated in his realm before, he had relied of Crystals to accelerate and fuel his cultivation, effectively giving himself a handicap. That was part of the reason why he hadn’t broken through to the 5th Tier yet.

What allowed someone to progress through the 4th Tier was the ability to take the Type 2 mana that they were now able to sense and draw in and fuse it with their own mana. No, he’d become rather good at that actually. The mana would then go from being kind of gaseous to a heavy mist.

No, what was hindering him was the major bottleneck that everyone struggled with when trying to get to Tier 5: sensing and influencing Type 3 mana, Heaven Qi.

He’d needed to exit seclusion after having figured out an appropriate way to cultivate with his new physique and seek out some Tier 3 Crystals.

He knew that it was a bit of a cheat as most people didn’t have access to that kind of wealth, but…. He didn’t actually care what other people thought when it came to that sort of thing. If he had the resources to do things that others couldn’t, well, he’d take advantage of them as it was the height of foolishness to not use what you had at hand to become stronger.

He withdrew a few T3 Cards from his storage ring and admired their deep, deep, sapphire colour. They looked just like one would think of then thinking of a standard playing card shaped sapphire. Well, people probably never imagined gemstones in such a shape. But there they were, each 2 millimetres thick and gorgeous as could be.

It struck him then that he was now holding more wealth in one hand than most clans made in one year. Now, he could get five T3 Cards, each worth one thousand High Grade Crystals of the same Tier, just by selling one of his brown topaz healing stones at auction.

“Tah!” Zaleria suddenly shouted at him from his side.

He looked over, startled at the insistence in her voice. She was actually standing beside him on tip-toes, holding the railing for balance as she reached up with her other hand, trying to reach high enough to get one of the Cards.

“These aren’t toys, Zaleria,” she gently chided her.

Then he learned something very important about his adorable little sister. When she got mad her glare was strong enough to bore through stone.

Too bad for her that his skin was stronger than steel.

“No means no, Zaleria,” he said, resisting the urge to give her anything and everything that she desired.

“Meanie!” She shouted, then walked over to the toys she’d been playing with and gave a stuffed bunny a mighty kick that sent it skittering… a few feet across the floor.

Ah, will I have the legendary “Super cute but terrifyingly violent when angry” little sister? He mused, watching as her wrath quickly bled away as she picked up a princess doll and started chatting with it, now thoroughly ignoring her older brother.

Joram smiled again as he watched his sister play, but also organizing his thoughts on how he’d fumbled his way through his own efforts in cultivation.

He went through the first parts of Encompass the Universe making mental annotations to it. He hoped that his experiences would be sufficient for Avi as she tried to follow the path he’d taken with his cultivation. He was aware that a good deal of his survival was due to luck more than anything he’d done.

He was also sure that he wouldn’t have survived his ordeals if he hadn’t started cultivating the Adamantium Body Technique. Which meant that Avi would have to also take the same steps he had. Or, rather, have done to her what Avi had done to him that would enable her to absorb various things and integrate their properties into her very being.

She’d shared the process with him before taking Sulia away, letting him familiarize himself with it long before he’d need to implement the technique for her. From what he’d read, she would have to get to the same stage as he had before Altaea had “upgraded” him. Which meant that she’d need to learn [Genesis] and make it her own realm.

Joram sighed.

He really wanted her to be able to use the version he was working on. He was sure that it would provide her significant benefits as she grew in power. He wasn’t ignorant to the fact that it would still take a very long time to grow her own Realm. No, it would take a while, even with the accelerated growth the realm would have in the new version.

But it should allow other grades of mana to enter each of their Realms before her cultivation would normally allow for it. As was currently the issue for him.

He looked over to where his sister played, then wondered what his father would think of all this.

Would he have been supportive of his mother’s decision? Would he have objected? Would she have even considered it had the attack not happened? What would Zaleria think when she learned of it? Would she be horrified by it, or would she want to also become a High Elan just like her mommy?

He wasn’t sure, but knew that he wouldn’t even consider such a request before she was an “adult”.

“Why are things so complicated here?” He asked himself as he bowed his head.

“Too much rules,” Zaleria shared her words of wisdom.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re right, in a way,” he told her. “But sometimes rules make things simpler.”

She just gave him the most dubious of looks before turning back to her doll play.

He started fidgeting with the Cards, flipping them this way and that over his knuckles, watching how the light played over them. It reminded him of Xixi’s and Zanth’s need to get out and cultivate. He’d need to set up an area where they’d be safe as they did so. It was best to be somewhere natural, even if it meant using a cave.

By the time Avi contacted him, he’d already planned out where he’d build a secure cultivation cave for the clan and had sent Kinkade to start work on it.

‘Joram?’

‘Yes, Avi?’

‘We’re done,’ she sent happily. ‘I’ll let her rest for a while even though it went a bit smoother than anticipated.’

‘Oh?’

‘I’m not sure if it was due to her being a distant descendant of another High Elan, her level of cultivation, or her iron will. Could be a combination of all those things. Whatever contributed to it, though, I’m glad for it.’

‘Me too,’ he sent, very glad things had gone smoothly.

‘That said,’ Avi continued. ‘I’m not sure why, but your mother was able to stay at the peak of Body Tempering.’

Joram fumbled the Cards and had to grab them with [Telekinesis] before they fell to the ground ten stories down.

‘What now?!’

‘Again, not sure why it happened, but as I worked on and modified each part of her body, mana would enter and temper it.’

‘Huh,’ he sent, not quite sure of things. Was it good news? Certainly. Was he confused beyond all measure? Yep.

‘Maybe make sure that she doesn’t consolidate before she’s able to read through Encompass the Universe,’ he sent, still disturbed. ‘I’m adding my own notes to it in hopes that it’ll help you with your own efforts. And hers too, I guess.’

‘Are you sure that you want your mother to try cultivating that?’ Avi asked dubiously.

‘No, I’m not,’ he sent flatly. ‘But I don’t want any doors closed to her before she even has a chance to decide for herself.’

‘Gotcha, boss!’ She sent back cheekily. ‘Do you think your notes will be ready soon? I’d like to start as soon as possible.’

‘About that,’ he sent, then proceeded to explain his reasoning behind him wanting her to wait until the new [Genesis] was done.

‘Good reasons, all,’ she sent back reasonably, then continued. ‘It won’t really affect my development to use the one Altaea left for me, then upgrade to the new one you’re making later.’

He thought about that for a minute before answering.

‘My mind is a bit muddled, isn’t it?’

A minute later, Avi appeared beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder. He noticed that she was wearing the Daisy-Dukes she enjoyed- him too!-, along with a bikini top that showed her exemplary bosom-

*Click*

Joram blinked away the afterimages from the flash and looked at Avi, confused.

“What was that?”

“I took your picture.”

“Obviously. But why?”

Instead of answering, she held up her hand, her omni-tool coming to life to show him an image.

He blinked, then blushed as he turned away.

“Still think you’re muddled?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips theatrically, drawing attention to her waist and causing her assets to jiggle just so.

Instead of answering, he placed his hands on the wrought iron railing, bent down, and placed his forehead on it.

“It’s really bad,” he said, almost like a question.

“I’ll keep this one for the slideshow at your wedding,” Avi said, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“How is it possible for my face to look like one of those,” he paused, shooting a glance at Zaleria before continuing over the Network.

‘How do I look like one of those damned perverts in a mature harem anime?!’

‘All boys go through that phase?’ She asked more than stated, still smiling like the cat who’d gotten into the cream.

‘I’m going back into seclusion until this passes,’ he sent, standing up and nodding to himself. ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do!’

Before he could [Planeshift] away, Avi grabbed his arm, then spun him to face her. Which was impressive given her lack of cultivation.

‘You’ve got better things to do than hiding away to sulk,’ she snapped at him.

He was so shocked he just stood there, jaw dropping open as she continued.

‘I realize that puberty is incredibly inconvenient, but it’s something you need to deal with. Your family needs you. Xixi needs you. Zanth needs you. Tatia needs you. Tillia still needs you, along with everyone else who was taken away that day!

‘Hells! The rest of your clan and the residents of Brightside need you! Do you think you’re the only one to have lost people? Everyone lost someone that day. Others lost everything but their very lives.

‘It’s time to grow up, Joram. Your body may only be eight years old, but you’re well over fifty.

‘You’ve gone through my training and survived. You’ve become like me, now act like it.

‘Firm up.’

In that moment Avi looked so much like Altaea that he was stunned into paralysis. He could do nothing, not even breath. His mind locked up, unable to do anything except focus on her.

He didn’t know how long he stayed in that state of paralysis, but he was snapped out of it by a pair of hands cupping his cheeks. His eyes came back into focus, showing Avi standing in front of him, cupping his face in her soft hands.

‘Get to work,’ she sent, then he felt himself shifting into his High Elan form, suddenly taller and much broader than before.

He blinked in confusion.

‘I’m still part of you, you know,’ she sent with a wink, then started in surprise as Kinkade piped in.

‘Let’s go.’ Then Kinkade shifted him away.

* * * * *

Avi stood there for a while, staring at where Joram had been until Zaleria got her attention by tugging on her shorts, nearly pulling them loose.

“What is it?” She asked, looking down at Joram’s little sister.

“Where Jo?”

“He had some work to do,” she said, crouching down so that she could speak with Zaleria at eye level.

For her part, Zaleria just pouted, bottom lip starting to quiver.

“Would you like to play?” Avi asked, already knowing the answer.

“Dress up!” Zaleria shouted, jumping in excitement.

* * * * *

The world felt… muted, bland.

She lifted her hand and felt as though she had been long ill, having lost all her strength. She opened her eyes, but everything seemed as though their colours had faded, like a painting left in the sun.

Sulia clenched her hand, shocked at how it trembled. She let it drop to her side, suddenly glad that she was on a soft bed.

She looked down at herself, but could only see the contours of her body through the thick sheet that covered her. Then was glad it was there because, for the first time in years, she felt a bit cool.

She raised her hand again, this time to study it. There was nothing that she could compare it to, for she had never gotten an injury that had scarred her hand. But it… looked the same?

Was that right? She had vague memories of pain that, when remembered, nearly stopped her breathing. But the next moment, she was breathing again just fine.

But there was something else. She’d only ever had very minor success in cultivating Mental Strength, as in: could sense it when it was around and that was about it.

But now? She felt the energy in her body, naturally welling up within her.

She was about to sit up when someone suddenly appeared right in front of her, as though he’d used a teleportation array, causing her to nearly jump out of bed in fright, not knowing if she needed to fight or flee, her eyes darting around looking for the door.

When her eyes returned to the man, she saw that it was Joram. She blinked.

“Ah, sorry about that,” he said, scratching the back of his head while looking very embarrassed. “Avi told me that you were done, so I thought that I’d come and check on you. See how you’re doing.”

Sulia sat up, holding the sheet in place with one hand as she beckoned him forward with the other. Which proved helpful as she got a sudden bout of dizziness once she was upright, but Joram’s hand enveloped hers, holding her steady.

“Thank you, Joram,” she said once the dizziness passed. “I feel weak,” she said, an apologetic expression on her face.

But Joram just smiled at her, his eyes looking deeply into hers.

“How do you feel otherwise?”

She paused before answering.

“Like I’m a teenager again,” she said with a soft smile. “Not like I’m young, but because of how weak I feel,” she explained, hoping that he would get it.

Joram grinned at her, getting a far away look in his eyes for a moment. When he looked at her again, she felt his invitation to his Network again and immediately accepted it.

“Funny story?” He asked, looking rueful. At her nod, he continued. “Shortly after my own transformation, I was meditating and accidentally… stopped my heart for a few seconds.”

Her eyes went wide, jaw opening to say something, but her brain decided that laughter was what came out.

“Sorry,” she said, stifling her giggles. “How did you manage that?” She finally managed to ask as she avoided looking at a blushing Joram.

He cleared his throat before answering. “I started meditating as Altaea was off doing something. I just went through the meditations I’d taught myself growing up so that I could fall asleep easier at night…. Those visualizations wound up being much more effective as a High Elan,” he finished, his gaze finally returning to her.

“So, what you’re saying is that I should have some sort of instruction manual so that I don’t accidentally kill myself,” she summarized, her tone flat as week-old soda.

Joram did his weird grunt/chuckle that seemed to release some tension.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he said, smiling as a small crystal appeared in his hand. “This is a Crystal Mind. It stores knowledge inside of it that, with a trickle of psionic energy, you can gain access as though you’ve always known it.” He then handed her the small quartz-like crystal.

She took it in her hand, admiring how clear it was while it seemed to catch the light in unusual ways.

“You’ll have to teach me how to do that,” she said with a smile that she hoped would take away any sting that the words might have.

Joram smiled at her, then did just that.

* * * * *

Avi grinned as she picked up her latest protype, inspecting what looked like nothing more than a pair of reading glasses.

They were rather common looking, with rectangular lenses held by a thin titanium frame. Even the arms of the glasses seemed rather normal, if slightly thicker than usual.

Well, that was to be expected, as they contained pretty much all of the circuitry and the power source for the lenses.

From what she’d gathered, these glasses were what Joram had been waiting for in his world for over a decade. Fully functional augmented reality glasses that could provide a heads’ up display for anything you’d need! Combined with jaw-conduction sound, it became a wonderful way to watch movies on the go! Well, that and it would make working, diagnostics, phone calls, and whatnot much more private, especially with cultivators having super-human hearing.

She’d also linked it to her omni-tool to reduce just how much needed to be packed into the glasses themselves. The wireless connection was fast enough that it might as well have been a wired one. She was proud of that part.

She turned them on with a simple touch of the finger to the side of the frame and watched the brief boot sequence. Once done, a simple HUD that contained a tiny icon showing a successful connection with the omni-tool, the charge in percentage form, and the date were displayed in the top right corner of her field of view.

Avi then sent a video to the display then took the glasses off and looked at them from the other side. Sure enough, she couldn’t see anything. She smiled. Doing more work on the go, without people asking annoying questions like: “What the heck is that?”, and “What spells are you using to do that?”.

Yes, she was very much looking forward to how much more efficiently her time would be spent!

Then she sighed, remembering just how much she had on her plate. As soon as she figured out how to properly activate [Genesis], her time would vanish like mist under the summer sun.

Well, she wanted to get strong. Wanted to help and support Joram as best she could. And for that she needed to be able to go where he did, did what he did, without being a liability to him or anyone else. Which meant joining him on his path of cultivation.

She twitched as a Crystal Mind appeared on the desk in front of her, shifted there by Joram. Even though she could also just shift anything from one place to another in the Realm, she sometimes forgot that Joram could do it too. A side effect from chilling there for a thousand years, she supposed.

‘Hey, just finished my annotated version of Encompass the Universe. Hope it helps!’

‘Thanks. I’ll read through it,’ she sent back, waving a hand over it as she willed it into her storage ring.

Ave placed the AR glasses into a small case and put them on a shelf labelled “Get Joram to [Delve] this”. It was getting a bit full, so she’d likely have to expand it to a full bookshelf soon. She shrugged, then took a look at A3’s progress with her own basic version of [Genesis] and smiled as she played with her purple bracelet.

Soon.