My CEO Harem Cultivation System

[ Absorb the Medium Fire Beast Core Into Your Body? ]

[ If Unable To Absorb, It Will Be Detrimental To Your Soul ]

[ Warning: Host Is Only At Stage Seventh Qi Condensation ]

He held the small beast core in his hand. It was the shade of translucent red, something spiralled within it. And it was the very flames that the System spoke of. Setsuko and Leila had left already for dinner, while he stayed here and familiarize himself with the treasures that he acquired.

"If… Miss Taiga had been here, then perhaps she might have been able to absorb this?" he asked himself. The man was only accompanied by himself, and there was no creature to even react or detract from his statement.

This wasn't exactly bothersome.

But it was still much more comforting to speak with another individual than the System. Even while it provided an answer to his question..

[ Information Gathered From Individual Taiga ]

[ Spiritual Roots: Fire (100%) ]

[ Effectiveness: 25% ]

[ Reason: Different fires will negate one another and too much fire into an individual's soul can be highly detrimental. Condition: Burning Soul will be implemented if allowed. ]

"Huh." He muttered to himself and then decided that it was Miss Bai Minghua or Narissa who might have suited this then. But neither of them were around… this was meant for him. "Absorb the fire beast core as an energy source for the World Warper?"

This was what he had initially come here for.

[ Denied. System only accepts Individual's Innate Energy to fire the World Warper ]

He rolled his eyes. "Then the choice is the same, I have to absorb it." But how would his own roots absorb something like this? A warning was present because he was a Seventh Stage Qi Condensation Cultivator, but it failed to account that he had also begun to learn Energy Bending.

[ Spiritual Roots: Null Roots ]

[ Note: The Host's Roots Have No Affinity To Any Specific Element ]

[ Noteb: Null Roots Negates All Elements To A High Extent ]

[ Notec: Awakening Bloodline Can Change Current Element of Roots ]

Li Yang didn't need to look beyond the first line to understand his situation. Similar to his own lacklustre nature, his own roots contained no affinity? Perhaps it was some sort of joke. Regardless, it was all he needed to ascertain before he decided on his next step.

The man closed his hand and eyes, concentrating on attuning himself with the core and absorbing its energy. Within this small jewel came a pulse from within it, beating and throbbing like a heart.

He encountered the visage of something thundering and towering above his own self. A vision that quickly passed when similar to a spider's thread, the energy weaved and spun around his hand as he absorbed it into himself and took it for his own.

Not necessarily divine, but something primal flared within him.

If anyone had been around to encounter it, light spilled out from his eyes. The successful ding played in the back of his mind, faint as if it was repressed—but after he summoned the screen, it became clear to him.

[ Congratulations! You Have Absorbed The Medium Fire Beast Core Into Your Body ]

[ Purity: 85% Venomous Flame-Shooting Spider]

[ Condition: Incineration of the Physical Body (Negated) ]

[ Individual's Roots Has Rejected The Negative Effect Of Absorbing High-Purity Stone ]

[ Condition: Embers of Soul Flame (Negated) ]

[ Individual's Roots Has Rejected The Positive Effect Of Absorbing High-Purity Stone ]

It was a bittersweet moment, but he had rejected both equally and there was nothing he could do about it. Perhaps he should change his bloodline—but this kind of effect was the most desirable for him.

Good or bad, nothing would touch him.

For now, he looked at the next pieces of beast cores in the treasure chest. He had consumed the red beast core first, and the four other pieces were orange, yellow, and two pieces of green beast cores.

Should he absorb them all right now? One after another—another screen appeared in front of him before he could grab for another one.

[ Cultivate Absorbed Energy Into Innate Energy? ]

Li Yang's brows furrowed together. He thought it was automatic, but it didn't seem to be the case—well, he could still sense the looming sensation that loomed over him and begged for release or use.

Negation or not, unused energy could not stay idle.

The man sat on his bed and started his meditation. It was finally time to integrate the energy for himself and not simply allow it to stay as a foreign substance that clamored inside of him.

He did this for an hour or so, that he even noticed Setsuko's return and clambered to their bed, lying on her stomach and not disturbing him.

Once he was done, he glanced briefly over the sleeping figure. She had grown tired of waiting for him and slept awkwardly behind him. Shaking his head, the man made it a point to shift and move her position in sleep—

But her blue eyes blinked open at first contact.

As if his touch was enough to rouse her from the state of sleep. Setsuko herself seemed to have forgotten to breathe at their close distance. No words were spoken immediately until she cleared her throat and asked. "Will you be leaving tonight?"

"For just an hour or two." he nodded. "I'll be back right after." Mitsuko and he already made arrangements to meet at the Sacred Forest for the privacy of training away from the eyes of their fellow Priestess.

While the two of them had already met and trained in the morning and afternoon, even experimenting with his sword—Li Yang needed special instructions to catch up more properly to advance Ao lessons from her.

.

.

.

"Did nobody see you?" Mitsuko's red eyes glowed like a cat's when she stepped out of the cover of trees. The Priestess had done away with her own white robes, instead only wearing tight shorts and a sleeveless blouse.

Li Yang shook his head. "No."

It was too easy to slip away with his purchased Skill, while Afterworld Temporary Dissolution Technique was a mouthful, it made moving around without anybody's attraction simple.

The Priestess inclined her head lightly, "Very well then, let's return to our lessons…wait, there is a change in your aura. How did you come across a beast core?"

"I gained them."

She pursed her lips at him. "Fine, demonstrate to me the ability to use Ao to communicate with your surroundings. This will be a game of seeking—I will hide myself in the forest and hide my presence, use Ao to find me before sunrise to avoid getting caught."

"Before sunrise?" he asked.

Mitsuko gave him a smile. "This forest is larger than what it appears to you and understand that is already a hint for you. Now close your eyes and count to ten—I'll be gone by then."

"Ten seconds doesn't seem fair enough for you to hide."

"If you have the time to concern yourself about my hiding abilities, then learn how to use Ao not only yourself and your sword. While I admit that attuning the Ao to your weapon is an incredible amount of fine control—if your range does not extend, then you'll always be forced to stand in the forefront of battlefields."

"And there is something wrong with it?" he asked. The answer was obvious, but he allowed her to explain it.

Naturally, Mitsuko nodded. She raised her left arm and a sudden wave of Ao blasted from her palm and slammed into a distant tree. A palm mark was left into the tree trunk, clean and without any splinters on the wood, as if she had pressed her hand into wet clay.

This time, Mitsuko's lips pursed slightly. "I do not need to approach anyone to crush them."

"And so range is better than melee."

His words caught her off-guard, but then she nodded along. It would be humiliating to admit she was unfamiliar with it. "It's more controlled and efficient to take an enemy out from a distance." Mitsuko informed him.

He agreed with her from this perspective.

Once he mastered using his innate energy, qi or whatever it actually was—he'd like to develop his own techniques that allowed him superior range. But first, he cleared his throat and looked at her.

"You seem to be familiar with the idea of assassination. Is it amongst the duties of higher-ranked Priestesses?"

"I…" Mitsuko's expression was controlled. "It is something necessary… but I would not like someone who trespasses into our forest to lecture me on what is appropriate or not. You should be thankful that I am spending my time with you instead of focusing my time on my personal training."

He frowned slightly, but nodded. "Very well then, I'll count to ten." This piece of information only meant he needed to be more careful—if he or Setsuko gave them enough reason to warrant death, then they would descend on the two of them.

While the man could find a way out for himself, he still needed to take care of Setsuko. The stakes here were higher than he expected it to be, but as promised, he closed his eyes and started this 'little' game of hide and seek.

When the man opened his eyes, she was already gone.

Her movements were fast then. The man stepped inside of the forest and then suddenly felt the trees surrounding him stretch up higher than possible—and only the sound of numerous critters echoed in his ears.

Mashiro's Sacred Forest existed and extended far beyond what it originally appeared to be.

This was dimension manipulation.

—-

Author's Note: Space magic. Man, I'd love to fit in a lot of things in small rooms… and no, that wasn't originally a lewd joke. But *ahem* It's similar to writing a chapter and fitting in all the necessary scenes. Each word in a NovelFull needs to pack more punch than in traditional novels, huh?