Chapter 80: Tasteless

On the dueling platform, Liana hadn’t even fought seriously. She merely wanted to gauge the extent of his strength.

The results had surprised her, yes.

Yet Theo’s abilities still paled in comparison to hers.

Moreover, ever since they entered the Silent Thunder Sect, they had been inseparable.

Right under her nose, she had witnessed no further fortuitous encounters for him.

In the same realm, there might exist those who could rival her, but they were all figures of renown.

Why? Now, the image of that young man was shrouded in profound mystery.

The air seemed to freeze.

Liana’s emotions were in turmoil. Shock, confusion, doubt, resentment.

So this was how it felt to be overshadowed?

[Host ranked second in the standings.]

[Reward One: Three vials of Emperor’s Nectar.]

[Reward Two: One True Phoenix Feather.]

[Reward Three: One Jade Bed of Frozen Marrow.]

The system’s rewards were all exceedingly rare treasures, perfectly suited to her needs. Each invaluable.

Take the Emperor’s Nectar, for instance... This essence of heaven and earth is born from the skies and scatters upon the ground. Plants that absorb it become spirits. Beasts that consume it gain wisdom. For humans, it purifies the body, allowing martial arts to advance by leaps and bounds.

Only once every sixty years does Emperor’s Nectar descend in certain parts of the domains.

Then there was the True Phoenix Feather.

A Phoenix’s feather is its lifebound treasure. When fused with one’s body, it grants wondrous abilities. Akin to a true dragon’s reverse scale.

As for the Jade Bed of Frozen Marrow. She had owned one in her past life.

Meditating upon it doubled the efficiency of cultivation.

Without question, these rewards were extraordinary even by the standards of her previous life.

But...

[Detected host has activated the ’Punishment of the Defeated’.]

[System will temporarily withhold all rewards until host fulfills the penalty conditions.]

[Failure to meet conditions results in system unbinding and destruction of all rewards.]

[Current penalty condition: Share a bed for one month with the one who surpassed you.]

[Challenge begins at dawn tomorrow.]

Complex emotions churned within her. Liana stared blankly at the rewards and penalty terms.

When she had chosen to increase the stakes and accept the challenge, she never imagined she would actually face punishment.

The intensity of her emotions caused the suppressed Aurora Spark to run wild.

The room grew colder still. So cold that thoughts froze and minds stilled.

Her frost-laced eyelashes fluttered before her eyes finally closed heavily.

Liana’s consciousness faded into darkness, sinking into dreams.

In the dream...

A boundless sea stretched endlessly beneath a sky devoid of sun, moon, or stars.

Only lightning danced wildly, painting the world in monochrome.

Towering waves surged, forming a vortex of unimaginable scale, swallowing all into oblivion.

Hazily, Liana recalled this place.

The Abyssal Return.

In her past life, she had searched relentlessly for this. The final sanctuary holding the secret of ascension.

It was also where countless legendary figures had vanished without a trace.

[Those who seek immortality, enter and face tribulation.]

This was the only thing standing upon the sea.

A towering stone stele piercing the heavens.

She had been here before.

And not alone.

The Nine Sovereigns of the Heavens had gathered here.

Together, they slew the guardian of the Abyssal Return and stepped onto the Path of Ascension within.

But.

She had failed.

Now, Liana finally remembered the reason for her defeat in the tribulation.

"A heart... incomplete."

Dawn.

Seated upon a frost-hardened meditation mat, Theo exhaled slowly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

He focused his mind inward, into his dantian.

Within, the wisp of internal energy, once thin as a strand of hair, had grown tenfold. If dispersed, it could fill the entire dantian.

With a thought, the energy obeyed his will, coalescing and scattering, morphing into various shapes.

Theo pushed open the door and stepped outside, walking to the frozen lake.

With a single punch, his internal energy seeped into the thick ice.

Moments later, he tossed a small stone onto the surface.

Crack.

The frozen stream shattered instantly, its waters flowing once more.

"Not bad."

Theo was pleased.

In the past, this would have required considerable effort.

"Is the ice block still not up?"

He glanced curiously at the room upstairs.

Normally, Liana would already be sipping tea at the stone table by this hour.

But seeing the state of the Autumn Water Pavilion, he understood.

After last night’s commotion, she probably needed extra rest.

"Hmm?"

Vespera stumbled out, rubbing her sleep-heavy eyes and scratching her flawless shoulder.

Taking in the scene in the courtyard, she blinked in confusion.

"It was the ice block," Theo said offhandedly.

"Ohh."

Vespera nodded lazily, then stomped her foot lightly.

A furnace-like heat radiated outward.

The "Little Sun" effect of his beautiful master was remarkably effective.

Then she turned her gaze to her precious disciple.

"Uh... Master, is something wrong?" Theo asked, puzzled.

"Ahem! Starting today, this master will be properly instructing you."

Yesterday, the elders had held a spirited discussion with her.

Several had become quite emotional, declaring her unfit to be a teacher.

Vespera had reflected.

She had left her disciple to his own devices for nearly a month.

As a master, she really ought to teach him properly. Had she done so earlier, perhaps her precious disciple wouldn’t have lost to Liana.

And then she wouldn’t have lost so much money.

So, starting today, she decided to diligently instruct her disciple, guiding him to step into the Inner Scenery realm as soon as possible.

To prepare, she even made a special trip to the Grand Library to review the texts on how to break through the Body Cleansing realm. After all, she had originally stumbled into her own breakthrough after getting drunk. There was no way she could let her beloved disciple follow such an irresponsible example.

It was rare for Vespera to be this serious.

"Today, I will teach you how to condense Inner Scenery energy."

"But Master... I have already reached the Inner Scenery realm."

"You little—!"

...

Vespera rushed off to the Grand Library in a hurry, not even stopping for breakfast.

She said she was going to review knowledge related to the Inner Scenery realm. She needed to understand how her disciple had broken through so fast without her guidance.

Noon.

Tendrils of cooking smoke rose from the Autumn Water Pavilion.

"Not a single sound all morning."

"Did the ice block really run into trouble?"

"Or was it because of yesterday..."

Theo’s mind flashed back to the scene from yesterday when he had pinned Liana to the ground.

After all, she was a woman, and it had happened in front of everyone.

Could it be that she was avoiding him out of embarrassment?

"Probably not... right?"

Theo didn’t think Liana was the type to act that way.

After some deliberation, he decided to go upstairs and check on her.

Carrying the freshly cooked dishes, he climbed the stairs and knocked loudly on the wooden door.

No response.

Theo blinked, then pushed the door open with a creak.

The moment he stepped inside, he froze.

The room was as cold as a freezer.

On the cracked bed, where one would normally sleep, lay a solid block of ice.

Inside the ice, a girl was curled up in a fetal position, her condition unknown.

It was Liana.

A literal ice block.

Theo: "!"

How in the world did you manage to encase yourself in ice?

There wasn’t even enough water in the room for this!

It made no sense.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Liana."

He tapped the ice and called out twice, but there was no response. He didn’t have time to question the absurdity of the situation. He immediately prepared to smash the ice open.

Whoosh.

But halfway through swinging his fist, he abruptly stopped.

The eerie blue ice was clearly no ordinary frozen water. It was unnaturally solid.

Who knew if shattering the ice would also shatter the girl inside?

"Wait, Inner Scenery energy!"

Theo suddenly remembered. He was now a martial artist who had reached the Inner Scenery realm.

He extended his hand and channeled wisps of his pale red energy into the ice.

Swish, swish.

Under his control, the energy acted like a precise chisel. Its unique incinerating properties slowly eroded the frozen mass.

The progress wasn’t fast.

...

Half an hour later.

Liana was finally rescued.

Her eyes were tightly shut, her delicate brows furrowed as if trapped in a nightmare, but her breathing was steady.

Theo took her wrist and checked her pulse, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to pull his hand back.

A cold grip suddenly tightened around his wrist.

She held on tightly. Like a drowning person clutching a lifeline.

"You..."

Theo wanted to ask if she was alright, but the words died in his throat when he saw Liana open her eyes.

What a complicated gaze.

Confusion?

Complexity?

Even a hint of helplessness.

He had never seen the ice block look at anything with such an expression before.

The Liana of the past had always been aloof and detached, as though nothing in the world could truly matter to her.

She had always seemed in control, certain of her every move.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Theo had no idea what she had gone through, so he could only ask this.

Liana took a deep breath and loosened her grip slightly.

The chill in the depths of her soul had faded a little.

If not for him, she wouldn’t have let her guard down last night.

And yet, it was also him who pulled her out of that nightmare.

"Were you holding back yesterday?"

After a long silence, Liana’s quiet voice finally came.

During their spar, Theo clearly hadn’t displayed strength surpassing hers.

That could only mean one thing. He had been hiding his true power.

Liana had once concealed her own strength in the past.

Theo: "!"

So she was still hung up on yesterday?

And she even went into isolation over it?

Something was off.

Was this really the ice block? Why was she acting so strange today?

"Sorry."

Theo gave an awkward chuckle.

Liana lowered her gaze.

He admitted it.

He had indeed held back during their fight.

"Why?"

"..."

Theo fell silent at the question.

It had been an accident. There was no deeper reason.

But if he had to give one.

"Because of the hammer."

Theo pulled out the Stellar Mallet from his sleeve.

"The Crucible of Genesis?"

Liana blurted out.

A divine weapon?

No. Only the appearance matched. It lacked the essence of the real thing.

This was just a replica. A mere profound weapon.

Theo: "!"

How did she know?

Back at the armory, they had sworn secrecy. No fourth person was supposed to know.

Unless... Master?

Thinking of Vespera, Theo immediately understood.

She must have let it slip while drunk.

Theo sighed.

"The Crucible of Genesis is indeed with me. Please do not tell anyone."

"I had no choice. Hope you do not mind..."

Well, the ice block wasn’t an outsider. If she knew, so be it.

...

"No choice..."

Liana’s eyes flickered with realization, as though a fog had lifted.

Now she understood.

The commotion at the armory that day. It was because the Crucible of Genesis had chosen its master.

And that master was Theo.

A divine weapon couldn’t be revealed so easily.

"Can you... wield it?"

Liana asked seriously.

"Barely."

"Unless it is life or death, I would rather not."

Theo shrugged helplessly.

Back when he was at the peak of the Body Cleansing realm, he could only sustain the power of the World Seed for a single breath. Any longer, and he would collapse from exhaustion, or worse, injure himself.

"No wonder... no wonder..."

Liana finally grasped the situation.

The Heavenly Mandate ranked them based on combat prowess.

And prowess didn’t include external aids.

For example, if someone had a one-time-use weapon of immense power, it wouldn’t count toward their permanent strength.

But Theo was the master of a divine weapon. One he could barely wield.

Naturally, the hammer became part of his strength.

The might of a divine weapon.

Liana recalled a scene from her past life. Vespera wielding the Crucible of Genesis. A single strike could topple mountains, like a meteor crashing from the heavens.

That kind of power was beyond human limits.

Could she withstand it?

Absolutely not.

No matter how invincible she was within her realm, or how she could fight above her level, there was no way she could block a divine weapon’s strike in the Inner Scenery realm.

But. A Body Cleansing cultivator wielding a divine weapon?

Wasn’t that just a fantasy?

She couldn’t fathom how he had managed it.

Yet this was essentially exploiting a loophole in the system.

As long as she couldn’t withstand the hammer’s power, she would forever be ranked below Theo.

"Now that everything is cleared up, let us eat."

"...Mm."

Liana had faced far greater challenges in her life.

She didn’t fear adversity. She feared the unknown.

Now that she knew the reason, it was fine.

Divine weapons didn’t grow stronger, but her cultivation advanced every day.

If she could secure the system’s rewards, she would eventually outscale the static power of a weapon.

For the first time, Liana found the food tasteless.

That unfamiliar, unsettling feeling rose in her chest again, lingering stubbornly.