Chapter 86: Unconventional Experiments

’Not bad at all. Your Chaotic Wings happen to be an exceptionally high-grade property. That is precisely why your rudimentary domain is carrying this much raw power using only a single embedded attribute,’ Shadow commented.

’For comparison, ordinary practitioners need to layer at least ten different minor properties together just to match a tiny fraction of your domain’s current destructive output.’

’Oh,’ Summer mouthed softly from the center of the dark tempest, her crimson eyes blinking in mild surprise. So properties were also ranked! That was new information to her.

[Of course properties are ranked. You can learn that in the future.]

’Mm.’ Summer nodded as the system continued.

[You can theoretically add more properties or even completely different elements into the domain structure as you grow stronger,] the system interjected, its mechanical voice carrying a stern warning.

[However, you must keep one golden rule in mind: never choose opposing elements or conflicting properties, or the entire framework of the domain will suffer catastrophic failure and simply collapse upon itself.]

’What will happen if a domain collapses while I am standing inside it?’ Summer asked, tilting her head with innocent curiosity.

[You will die.]

’Can I actually die?’ Summer questioned, a hint of skepticism coloring her tone.

’Technically, you cannot truly die a permanent death,’ Shadow muttered, rubbing the back of its feathered wing. ’If your physical body gets completely obliterated, I can reconstruct your biological shell. If your spiritual consciousness gets heavily damaged or destroyed, corruption can rebuild you from scratch.’

’So that means I can freely try adding opposing properties or elements just to see what happens, right?’ Summer asked, a bright, mischievous grin spreading across her pale face.

[Little girl, why on earth do you have such a persistent desire to test the limits of death?] the system complained, its synthesized voice dripping with utter exhaustion.

[Can’t you just follow the safe, conventional path of progression like any normal cultivator?]

’Deliberately mixing opposing properties and elements sounds infinitely more fun than doing things the boring way,’ Summer answered bluntly.

[Sigh...]

Her active, chaotic mind immediately began racing with wild, dangerous possibilities.

What exact chain reaction would occur if she forcibly injected opposing fire and water elements directly into her shadow domain?

What violent spatial anomaly would be triggered if she combined highly corrosive corruption with pure, cleansing properties?

Summer genuinely could not wait to start running these completely unconventional, highly volatile experiments.

Besides, even if something went catastrophically wrong and her body blew up into pieces, both the system and Shadow had explicitly admitted that they possessed the capability to reconstruct her.

In her childlike logic, dying was practically risk-free.

However, before she could dive headfirst into those reckless explosive experiments, there was a far more urgent technique she needed to master.

She had to learn the exact secret behind her mother’s unique shadow element property. She was utterly determined to figure out how Derrick traveled through the dark, because she refused to let her beloved zombie puppets remain stuck walking separately or hiding inside clumsy supply crates ever again.

Click.

A faint, crisp sound echoed from the dark stone entrance of the cavern as Salma stepped through the threshold, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

Summer’s crimson eyes instantly brightened the moment she spotted her mother entering the room. What an absolute, perfect stroke of timing.

Salma paused near the entrance, her sharp amber eyes widening slightly in genuine surprise as she immediately sensed the residual, high-density energy of a fully formed domain lingering in the air.

’My little baby duck has already learned how to master a domain!’ Salma thought to herself, a mixture of shock and immense pride washing over her.

She had already been fully aware that her brilliant daughter had successfully broken through to the Apprentice rank during their long journey across the badlands.

In fact, she had quietly planned to set aside time to personally teach Summer the complex fundamentals of domain creation once they finally settled down in the Alathoor caves, before she eventually had to make her secret return journey to the middle world.

Yet, it turned out her exceptionally talented little princess had somehow figured out how to manifest a domain entirely on her own, without any external instruction.

Despite her bubbling pride, a fleeting wave of melancholy momentarily pinched at Salma’s heart.

She felt a quiet pang of sadness realizing that even after taking on the form of a young child, her daughter was still forced by circumstances and her own monstrous talent to learn and conquer everything by herself.

As a mother who wanted to provide everything for her child, she occasionally felt somewhat useless watching Summer stride forward so independently.

"Mother, please teach me your special shadow element property!" Summer exclaimed immediately, dropping the swirling dark vortex around her and scrambling to her feet.

She dashed across the stone floor, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

That sudden, enthusiastic plea caused Salma to snap out of her thoughts. She raised her head, her expression softening instantly as a bright, fond smile bloomed across her face.

Seeing the genuine excitement and eagerness radiating from her daughter, Salma’s lingering motherly worries melted away, her mood improving tenfold in an instant.

"Sure..." Salma bent her body to hug her daughter.

* *

"Are they settled?"

In the depths of a dimly lit cave, a man in his mid-fifties stood with his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

He wore a crisp, dark olive-drab military dress uniform, stiffly starched and immaculate despite the subterranean dust. The broad chest of his tunic was completely covered in multi-colored service ribbons and heavy metallic combat medals that glinted weakly under the hanging lantern light.

Thick silver stars gleamed upon his rigid epaulets, marking his absolute authority over what remained of the nation’s armed forces.

He was the Supreme Commander of the country.

"Yes, sir," replied a soldier standing at strict attention near the arched stone threshold. "The incoming convoy and their designated Rogue escort have taken full possession of the eastern cave sector as instructed."

"You can leave."

"Yes, sir." The soldier saluted crisply, spun on his heel, and marched out into the echoing tunnel.

The Supreme Commander remained motionless, staring silently into the flickering shadows cast by the lantern.

’Salma Al Mansari... I hope you are smart enough to forget about the past, or...’ His stoic voice trailed off in his mind.

Suddenly, his sharp, calculating eyes darkened to a terrifying degree. For a brief, unnatural moment, his pupils expanded until they completely swallowed the whites of his eyes, drowning his irises in pitch-black ink.

’Is this how you would have spoken, puny human?’

The cold, dignified expression of the military commander shattered, replaced by a menacing, twisted sneer that looked entirely alien on his weathered face.

The entity occupying the commander’s body scoffed internally, filled with quiet disdain for the mortal shell it inhabited.

’What a dangerously foolish human,’ the voice sneered inside his mind. ’Trying to harm and extort the true heir of the Al Mansari family? Even the ancient Palace Masters of the Seven Palaces would never dare to display such suicidal arrogance. Well, considering how blind and ignorant mortals are to the vast reality beyond their tiny world, it is no surprise you had no idea what kind of dragon you were poking...’

The commander’s dark pupils slowly receded back to their normal state, though his expression remained deeply troubled.

’If it were at all possible, I too would never choose to mess with a monster from that lineage. But what choice do I have? Her corrupted little monster of a daughter went and slaughtered the heir of the Seven Palaces!’