(Relationship) Progress

Half a day later.

Donning the most ordinary attire which he could find and with his divine features obscured, Theodore hid amongst the crowd and explored the city. Unsurprisingly–and exactly as he had hoped–a curfew had been enforced, while soldiers were strictly scrutinizing every single person even getting close to one of the gates. They hoped to catch the perpetrator of the massacre at the South-Western garrison like a turtle in a jar. Yet, rather than confining him in here, they had trapped themselves instead.

With a carefree smile on his face, he stealthily took note of every single location that housed groups of people which would be so kindly donating their Talents and Attribute Points to him very soon. He didn't plan to act immediately, but rather would give them just enough time to recall any potential forces from outside, as well as to grow a bit complacent, subconsciously thinking that nothing was going to happen.

'Three days should suffice. But they really do have a lot of soldiers under their employ, far more than I would have expected in a settlement of this size. They're definitely planning something. It's a shame that I'll be throwing a spanner in these works before they can develop to a noteworthy degree.'

Not only were there eight garrisons, each situated next to their respective city gates, but there were also another four reserve garrisons–and that was just in the Outer City. There, the number troops, if all those stationed along the walls were counted as well, added up to more than 6,000! When combined with the various corrupt officials and other non-military institutions under the rule of the Hans, there were at least 20,000 Talent donors waiting for him!

'Then there's the underworld organizations like the black market, the slave traders, the gambling dens, et cetera. Even if I only do a casual sweep, it should add up to 40,000 very easily.'

Glancing at one of the four gates to the Inner City in the distance, he smirked.

'The vast majority of people in there can be considered prey as well. Either they are Imperial Han Family members, or their most loyal lackeys. Other than the slaves which they no doubt keep there in vast numbers, the rest will do just nicely.'

Never once had he considered sparing the children, as being descendants of the self-proclaimed Divine Dragon had doomed them from the start. They would grow into beings that the vast majority of the Heavenly Court would not blink twice at exterminating in due time, without fail. Even should that reason be ignored, to leave behind roots of trouble which might turn into a problem in the future was an extremely unwise choice.

'It wouldn't be too bad to have an Imperial Han Family member working for me, though, but they're all so damn insufferable.'

Shaking his head in exasperation, he blended into the crowd once more, slowly making his way back home. As he did so, he mentally skimmed through all of the target locations and people which he had marked, double-checking if he had missed anything.

Using Intraworld Teleportation, and considering how high his Attributes would be at the time of his attack, it shouldn't take him longer than a few minutes to clean up the entire Outer City! No matter how well that the Hans prepared, they would neither see it all coming nor be capable of resisting his attack.

'But there are still a few things left to do before I'll make a move. I wonder what realm of the Body Refinement Stage my current limit is. And will I reach it within a few days?'

If he were to actually spend more than a couple of hours every day on it, then there was no doubt that he would succeed in doing so. However, on one hand, he was not in too much of a rush, and on the other, there was a time-consuming task waiting for him.

'The biggest concentration of Energy Veins is right below that second Energy Gathering Array. I could infiltrate the Inner City and search for the path there, but there would still be a significant risk of exposure, which would force me to change my plan of action. I might as well just dig my way straight to the Energy Veins–it should take about the same amount of time.'

With his current physical prowess, the Mining Proficiency which he had picked up during his illusory lives, as well as the Mining-related Talents that he had occasionally collected, digging a tunnel underneath a city was not a matter of months, but one of days. And it was exactly what he would be busying himself with.

During his observation of Huizhong City, he had already made multiple purchases, including various digging tools like shovels and pickaxes, as well as plenty of wooden beams and other necessities. As he had been careful to buy them in small quantities from different parts of the city, there shouldn't be an issue. And even if there was, the Concealment Array would suffice.

"Welcome back, my Lord!"

As soon as he returned, Li Shuying noticed him out of the corner of her eye. She reverently walked over, bowing to him with a friendly smile on her face. Her words announced his arrival to the girl currently resting underneath a tree, recovering from a cultivation session.

"Hu-Husband! Umm... I'm glad that you've... come back!"

Overheating as soon as she became aware of Theodore, Xie Mei's face turned a deep shade of crimson. Never before had she felt so conflicted and shy, yet also so excited at the same time!

As she walked up to him and planted a kiss on his lips, she couldn't help but recall the events of last night, cheekily sneaking a peek at his groin area.

For the first time since she had taken care of him when he was unconscious had she seen him naked. And not just that, both of them had been exclusively in their birthday suits! Needless to say, while they had initially merely washed one another, things quickly escalated. Not only had they intimately entangled with each other and made out, but their petting had reached a whole new level. Yet they had not stopped there.

'I didn't know... that we could do all those things... w-with our mouths!'

When their greeting kiss came to a close, she subconsciously licked her lips, thinking back to all of the 'instructions' that she had received. Those intimate acts of oral nature which both of them had partaken in in the bath replayed in her mind, making her look forward to the time when they would finally cross that last boundary even more!

To be honest, a part of her had always felt frustrated at the two of them not having gone all the way–and that sensation had been increasing in intensity all this while. However, her anticipation and nervousness had also been on the rise, with no end in sight!

'Hmph! He's definitely doing this on purpose!'

Playfully unhappy, she rolled her eyes at him and resumed her rest, sparing no effort to clear her mind of all of those tempting distractions. After all, she still planned to cultivate some more today!

"My Lord, please have a meal before you resume your work. Mrs. Mei'er and I cooked it together."

Adoring the relationship between the two, yet not daring to speak up about it–despite the fact that only by being deaf and blind could she avoid having a front row seat to their 'activities'–Li Shuying switched the topic. Leading him to an already set table, she slightly heated up the meal that Xie Mei and her had made a few hours earlier, when Theodore was still travelling outside.

"... it's quite delicious. You've done well."

Although this steak alongside the accompanying omelet could only be considered the most ordinary meal to him, the two women had definitely managed to whip up something nigh miraculously tasty from these standard ingredients. Combined with the fact that this meal was made with love and care, while that didn't magically improve the taste even further, it slightly warmed his heart.

"Ying'er, in the evening, prepare another bath for us. I'll likely be busy until then."

Having adopted the same nickname for their servant as his lover did, mostly out of laziness, he gave her an instruction, just in case. While he was certain that she would have done so on her own anyway, it never hurt to be thorough.

"Understood, my Lord! May your endeavours progress smoothly."

Once he had finished eating, Theodore went to a completely unfurnished, empty room which he had already designated as the dig site the day before. With a few flicks of the wrist, he removed a huge number of floorboards–enough to begin.

Contrary to what might be expected, he did not have to deal with the disposal of a huge amount of earth and stones. Rather, using his now superhuman strength, he compressed them together into the walls, ceiling and floor of his mining tunnel, further securing it. Combined with the wooden beams plus various other odds and ends, he wouldn't have to worry about it collapsing at all!

He only utilised his tools to dig out the path ahead, then he switched to using his body to shape the tunnel. Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid doing so, as his lacking equipment simply couldn't bear the required amount of strain.

Time flies ever onward, especially when one is doing a repetitive task. As Theodore slowly but surely advanced forward and slightly downward underground, the early evening rolled around. Stopping in his tracks, he calculated the distance to his target and nodded confidently.

'I'm exactly one third of the way there. Looks like my pace was on point. Good!'

Figuratively patting himself on the back, he rose and walked through the entirely pitch black tunnel until he arrived at his temporary home. Even if the Darkness Affinity from his Darkness Incarnate Talent hadn't passively provided him with perfect vision in unilluminated areas, then there were still a couple of other unremarkable Talents which blessed him with the same or a similar effect.

After sitting down within his Energy Gathering Array, he spent another two hours focused on cultivating.

'The 738th realm of the Body Refinement Stage, huh? I progressed ever so slightly faster than yesterday.'

With 371 realms worth of improvement under his belt, the power which he now commanded likely surpassed a decent chunk of regular Energy Refinement Stage cultivators. Of course, any and all Named Family descendants at that stage would still far surpass him in terms of Attributes, but those a few levels less talented than them would mostly not be able to handle his pure physical prowess any longer.

'In another two days, even if I do hit my limit, I should be close to invincible when facing everyone in this city who is at the Energy Refinement Stage! That should be sufficient to deal with any and all troubles which I could encounter here. And if not, I'll just teleport away.'

The exact moment he opened his eyes, a lovely, melodious voice entered his ears.

"Theo, you're finished for today, right? Want to guess what realm I've reached?"

Not bothered by the dirt that he was covered in, a sweaty Xie Mei dashed up to him at an incredible speed far surpassing human limits. She had noticed his eyelids trembling from afar, due to her now vastly improved perception. Realms within the Body Refinement Stage were comprehensive enhancements, and the physical vessel's senses were therefore also benefiting accordingly.

"Hmm... judging from your movement speed... the 112th realm?"

Seeing her joyful expression freeze awkwardly in response to his deduction, he gently pulled her closer and patted her back in encouragement.

"Don't accidentally give yourself away next time, then it'll be harder for me to figure it out. But still, you've surprised me! I thought your limit would be somewhere between 90 and 100, yet you've surpassed that quite easily! Are you still advancing as smoothly as before?"

Noticing the intrigued and joyful look in his eyes, a smug grin stole itself on her face, then her mood soured a little. Shaking her head, she heaved a sigh.

"No, every breakthrough to a new realm takes a lot longer now. I think I'm getting progressively closer to my limit. By the way, how do I realize that I cannot continue any further?"

"It's very straightforward. As soon as the Energy circulating within your meridians automatically gets rejected from permeating the rest of your body, you're done. Continuing after that is completely pointless and detrimental instead."

Nodding in understanding, Xie Mei's mind–now having found the answer to the last cultivation-related question which had puzzled her–drifted off to the realm of lust once more. Realizing how filthy the two of them currently were, she grabbed his hand and led the way.

"I know you've instructed Ying'er to prepare a bath, husband. It's been ready for some time now. Follow me~!"

That night, the last barrier separating the two was finally pierced through.