That might be sufficient for now, but something told me that true invincibility required skill, not just strength.
I entered the Gothic-style building that housed my library. As soon as I stepped inside, the plump spirit of the library appeared.
“Greetings, Master. How may this humble spirit be of service?”
“I require some martial arts that complement me well,” I replied.
The spirit assessed my constitution and pondered for a moment.
“Master, you possess a Primordial Wood-Attribute Spirit Root and the Myriad Dao Body. It is no wonder you ascended to your current stature without a technique or martial discipline. With such a foundation, you could cultivate simply by existing. In all my years as librarian, I have never witnessed someone so fated.”
He placed a myriad of wood-based techniques before me:
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Eternal Spring Divine Empress Sutra
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Falling Petal Mirage Step
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Ancient Cedar Body Art
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Verdant Dragon Coiling Fist
Each technique was grander than the last — pinnacle Wood-attribute inheritances that shone with an indescribable lustre.
I gathered them and thanked the elder spirit before making my way back to the children.
When I returned, they had solidified their gains and were just waking from meditation.
“The best way to grow accustomed to your strength is to practise your movement techniques,” I instructed. “Comprehend their intent.”
The children eagerly began reading their manuals, each focusing on a different aspect.
James moved with the speed of lightning. After several attempts, he grasped the essence of the technique — decisive shifts without hesitation. He stopped thinking about the path and instead focused solely on his destination, allowing instinct to guide his movements.
Harry, aligned with flame, moved with deliberate strides. He began to understand that fire could be light and airy, yet a single spark could erupt into an inferno when bolstered by wind.
Lucy was the most unusual. She glided with the fluidity of water, shrouded in a faint aura of shadows that made her difficult to notice unless one was deliberately searching for her. If unaware of her presence, one could easily allow her to cross a battlefield unimpeded.
Seeing their rapid progress, I began practising my own technique.
The Falling Petal Mirage Step emphasised grace and elegance. When practised to completion, it could create faint illusions; upon mastery, it could produce as many clones as petals falling from a cherry blossom tree.
The manual contained detailed diagrams explaining how to circulate energy to achieve the technique. Yet despite its profundity, enlightenment descended upon me almost instantly. Every intricate detail unfolded in my mind.
As if guided by instinct, I began moving across the room. Faint afterimages appeared with each step. Gradually, they solidified, multiplying around me until they were indistinguishable from my true form.
The children stared in awe.
“Granny, what level are you? This technique is amazing!” James exclaimed.
The other two nodded vigorously in agreement.
“That doesn’t matter,” I replied calmly. “I have the strength to protect you. That is all you need to know.”
As they continued training, I comprehended the remaining techniques and began practising them. Each resonated perfectly with my constitution, and within half an hour, I had mastered them all.
A single flick of my wrist sent forth a coiling beam of emerald energy shaped like a dragon.
The Ancient Cedar Body Art transformed my physique into something akin to an ancient cedar tree — immovable and enduring. According to the manual, my body would be immune to conventional weapons, fire, and frost, also allow me to absorb solar energy to enhance healing and cultivation.
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We descended to the main entrance to have a snack and wait for Adam. After we had eaten and several hours passed, something felt wrong.
He had said a couple of hours. It had been far longer.
Even if he had received some reprimand, he should have returned by now.
Then, through our spiritual consciousness, both Guardian Beasts sent me a message.
Someone was approaching with killing intent.
Another approached bearing the scent of myself and the children — gravely injured and on the verge of death.
Outside, Adam was being dragged forward by two soldiers. They threw him to the ground before a man at the Golden Core Stage.
Extending my spiritual consciousness, I deduced that this must be Adam’s superior.
As the children and I made our way to the door, I heard Adam pleading.
“Please, sir, leave them alone. She is just a widow caring for mortal children. It was a gift from her husband.”
The older, battle-worn man sneered.
“Listen carefully, you useless wretch. If that woman possesses something that can help defend our kingdom’s borders, then as a citizen, it is her duty to surrender it. Without our protection, would she have anything at all?”
He glared down at Adam.
“It is merely a pathetic widow. Not killing her is gratitude enough for taking her elixirs.”
I stepped outside slowly. After hearing everything, I began clapping — deliberate and unhurried.
The man turned and looked me up and down. Over the course of the day, I had learned to suppress my aura, appearing as nothing more than a Foundation Establishment grandmother.
“Is this how the Kingdom of Camelot conducts itself?” I asked evenly. “Brutalising its own people, stealing what does not belong to it, and abusing subordinates with conscience?”
He stiffened.
“You presume to judge this kingdom’s military?”
I fixed my gaze on him and released my aura to match his Golden Core cultivation.
“Does this make me qualified?”
Then I raised it further — to the Nascent Soul Stage.
His face drained of colour.
He rounded on Adam. “You worthless fool! You said she was Foundation Establishment! This is Nascent Soul!”
He kicked Adam viciously.
“You are hereby dismissed from the military. You dishonoured your superiors and nearly cost us our lives.”
He drew his blade.
Before he could strike, I moved.
“Verdant Dragon Coiling Fist.”
An emerald dragon surged from my punch, roaring forward. The leader shrieked in terror.
“Why, esteemed one—”
He turned to ash mid-sentence.
My voice was calm and unmistakable.
“You do not touch my people.”
The remaining two soldiers fled. Seeing that they were weaker than Adam, I allowed them to run. Perhaps they would spread word.
Though something told me this would escalate into conflict with the kingdom.
I glanced at the children.
“I need to make all of you stronger,” I murmured.
“Sooner rather than later.”
“James and Harry, go and help Officer Han inside. I’m going to get a healing elixir.”
I hurried through the pagoda and made my way to the alchemy room. Once inside, I recalled the recipe for the Rejuvenation Elixir.
This elixir contained three ingredients, just like last time:
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One Lily of the Emerald Valley, ground into a fine powder
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Two strands of shredded Harmony Grass
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Three hundred millilitres of purified water
Again, I relied on the inheritance of the Support God to guide the timing. Everything depended on scent and Qi density. Measuring by time alone was pointless — every herb carried different concentrations of energy and reacted slightly differently.
As the process continued, the secrets of alchemy unfurled before me.
I realised I was forming my own understanding. Subtle refinements revealed themselves — adding a few extra strands of shredded Harmony Grass while incorporating the powdered Lily increased potency while reducing condensation time.
When the elixir reached its peak state, my Heavenly Flame manifested, compressing and purifying the essence into perfectly round pills.
Each pill exuded a heavenly fragrance so invigorating that fatigue fled my body. The pill lines formed into my now-signature animal patterns, amplifying their potency.
Without hesitation, I left the alchemy room and returned to the others.
I carefully placed a pill into Adam’s mouth.
For a single heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
His body arched violently.
A blinding column of light erupted from him, slamming into the ceiling of the pagoda. The air trembled. Qi from the surrounding area surged inward, forming a visible vortex that spiralled around his body.
His wounds sealed in seconds. Torn flesh knitted together. Deep scars that had carved across his skin dissolved as if erased by time itself. His greying hair darkened strand by strand, regaining its youthful sheen. His hunched posture straightened as though an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
But it did not stop there.
A low rumble began deep within his dantian — audible, like distant thunder rolling across mountains.
Cracks of spiritual force echoed through his meridians as they widened under the pressure of rapidly condensing Qi. The vortex intensified, pulling in ambient energy from every direction. The Guardian Beasts outside roared in response as the heavens themselves seemed to acknowledge the surge.
Adam let out a primal roar.
The sound shook the pagoda walls.
Qi condensed violently within his lower abdomen, spinning faster and faster, compressing beyond its natural limits. The children shielded their eyes as arcs of light danced across his skin.
Then—
A sharp, resonant pulse burst outward.
The vortex collapsed inward.
Within his dantian, the chaotic storm stabilised into a radiant, solid core.
He had stepped into Core Formation.
The pressure in the room vanished abruptly, replaced by a steady, commanding aura. His presence was no longer that of a struggling cultivator — it carried weight now. Authority. Stability.
That very morning, he had been mid-level Foundation Establishment.
Now, he stood one realm below the Golden Core officer who had dismissed him.
Adam inhaled slowly, eyes opening with newfound clarity.
At least now I had someone capable of walking beside me in this world — someone strong enough not to be crushed by it.
I slowly looked at the four of them.
“If anyone does wish to become our enemy…”
A cold glint flashed in my eyes.
“I can wholeheartedly oblige.”