Dealing with an Aeon is no simple thing… which is why I readied a countermeasure.
"I was ready to scold you after hearing what happened…"
Kiana's figure appeared on the frosted surroundings. Her arms were crossed, her mouth pouting.
"I did not have any other choice. How's the status of my body and soul?"
"Your cultivation technique ran automatically. Your accumulation from your previous dual cultivation session got refined completely." She paused before adding, "More than a hundred years passed on our side."
One hundred years…
It's not outside my expectations—the automatic refinement too. I am basically ready to break through the Void Refinement Realm. All that's left is me returning to my true body. Granted, I can achieve 80% progress in Amphoreus.
"What should I do?"
Kiana's concerned words brought me back to reality.
"Tell others to prepare."
"By others, you mean your future marriage partners?"
"...Something like that."
I chose not to lie. The [Xiutian Art]'s special function to link partners has long been debunked. Everyone connected to it will have a romantic encounter with me, one way or another.
Just look at Theresa.
"Is that why my Aunt acted weirdly over the past hundred years?"
"..."
Speak of the devil.
"What did you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said! Aunt Theresa asked me about your condition dozens times! No, hundreds of times!"
"..."
"I can see her thirst for you within her eyes. She looked just like me!"
I did not reply for a moment.
For fun's sake, we recorded our dual cultivation sessions one time. It is stored in an ultra-encrypted jade slip filled with seventh-grade restrictions. Kiana held possession of it.
I could imagine her watching those videos and seeing her… well, lewd and unrestrained self.
"Don't start apologizing. It's not your fault!"
The Tuna saw through what I would do next.
"Once you return, I want the three… no, the four of us to have a proper talk."
She thoughtfully included Sirin into the circle. The 'Kaslana Squad' became closer to reality with it.
Just when I thought it was over…
"Your two disciples made a huge fight. Also, that goddess from Venus is stalking you too."
"Why too?"
"Because there's another diviner doing so!"
…Kiana piled these events up.
*****
"Fu…"
Kiana puffed out her chest. She scanned her surroundings and made sure she returned to the Moon. She had accepted Eishi having a harem a long time ago. However, the development was drastically different than expected.
Kiana thought she wouldn't be jealous—that it would be fine as long as he has his eyes on her.
She was wrong.
Their last dual cultivation session was more than two hundred years ago. Kiana's "Tian Addiction" flared up at a bad time. Frustration gradually built up within her, which was further exacerbated by the "mess" made by his other women.
For once, his two disciples fought against Queen Mei due to differing ideologies. Kiana heard from Veliona later on that they wanted the Nine Yin Locking Seals too.
If there was someone at fault, it would start from Kiana herself. She allowed Sirin to use it, followed by the prideful Sin Mal. Even Bronya joined in the fun… and Kiana tacitly agreed in Sirin drawing it for them. The latter's talisman skills had long reached the pinnacle of sixth grade—Divine Transformation Realm.
'I made a mistake.'
Kiana ended up rectifying this mistake by banning the Nine Yin Locking Seals. They would simply be taking advantage of Shi Tian's kindness at that point, begging for a dual cultivation session to end their 'suffering'.
"You are too kind…"
She did not have anything to say about Shi Tian's character. He is decisive and tough, even ruthless on other things, but softhearted on those who really love him. He might punish them, but he would think twice on inflicting 'harsh' ones.
He is a living love reciprocating machine… which was one of the reasons why Kiana fell for him in the first place.
Mei and Griseo have the same madness as Seele's, raised to the tenth order.
Fortunately, Kiana was able to resolve that huge fight. The others also helped in doing so. Though it did not resolve other "problematic" ones such as Wendy's persistent stalking to Shi Tian. Venus' Goddess, Vita, also deviated from her usual self, choosing to do the same as Wendy.
Everything she said earlier was merely Kiana letting out her frustrations. All that's left now is a sense of responsibility to help Shi Tian manage others.
"Hmph. He should help me deal with them..."
*****
Amphoreus' situation hadn't changed for the better. The Black Tide kept closing in. The reappearance of the Flame Reaver also placed the Grove of Epiphany at risk.
The Head of the Nouspourist School, Anaxagoras, held the Flame Reaver back through an unknown alchemy ritual. The surviving scholars who escaped through Tribios' Century Gates sought help from Okhema's de-facto leader, Aglaea.
Unlike her original self plagued by her fading humanity, Shi Tian's artifact allowed her to retain it.
Most importantly, Cerydra was there to step up.
She cleaned the elders' ringleaders.
It was something Aglaea cannot do. Her selflessness is extremely evident with her retained humanity. She wasn't as cold-blooded as the original Aglaea. It does not help that the original, inhumane her, would have chosen to kill all the elders to solve their problems.
Cerydra has no such reservations. She has the disposition of a ruler—of an Empress. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirtied. Like Artoria's fate, she had long accepted that being a Ruler is to stray further from her subjects—from humanity.
All that matters is her perception of self. So long as it could be maintained, everything else is acceptable.
"Hum, it's him?"
"Yes, that's right. Professor Anaxa risked his life and held that evil-doer back."
A frown appeared on Aglaea's flawlessly beautiful face.
Thinking of that Anaxa irked her. Their ideologies are the exact opposite. Anaxa's disapproval of the Flame-Chase Journey touched Aglaea's reverse-scale.
It is an epic stemming from as far as a thousand years ago. Countless untold sacrifices were made to reach this point, yet a scholar not even as old as her dared to refute its legitimacy!
Even so…
She knew the right thing to do.
"I understand. I will be sending people over to the Grove."