That night, after chatting with the girls in the group for a while, Victor closed the chat interface and prepared to go to bed.
Just as he had settled under the covers and was about to close his eyes, he heard a gentle knock at his door.
"The door isn't locked, come in."
With curiosity piqued, Victor sat up and looked toward the entrance.
The moment the door opened, what came into view was Shinobu wearing thin, translucent silk pajamas. Her delicate skin was faintly visible beneath the soft fabric in the ambient lighting.
"Shinobu, what brings you here?"
The enchanting sight before him instantly banished all traces of sleepiness from Victor's mind.
Sleep? What need was there for sleep when such beauty graced his presence?
Shinobu's cheeks flushed crimson as she lowered her gaze and whispered hesitantly, "Um... I, I wanted to sleep with you tonight. Would that be... acceptable?"
Without waiting for Victor's response, she gently tugged at the delicate straps of her nightgown, allowing the silken garment to slip gracefully from her shoulders.
At that moment, the most exquisite work of art in creation stood revealed before Victor's appreciative eyes.
Understanding the girl's intentions perfectly, Victor naturally had no inclination to refuse such a heartfelt invitation.
"Of course."
[Content depicting intimate relations has been tastefully omitted]
Two hours later, Shinobu lay exhausted and perspiring lightly, nestled contentedly in Victor's protective embrace.
"How are you so incredibly resilient?" she murmured breathlessly.
With such formidable stamina, defeating Victor single-handedly was clearly impossible. It seemed she would indeed need to recruit a few more sisters to share this delightful burden.
"Actually, you performed admirably yourself," Victor replied tenderly, gently pinching Shinobu's nose with affectionate playfulness.
Although this had been her first such encounter, Shinobu had managed to match his energy for two full hours, a truly praiseworthy accomplishment.
"By the way, what inspired you to make this decision tonight?" Victor asked, changing the subject with genuine curiosity.
Previously, Shinobu had never seemed mentally prepared for such intimacy, so Victor had refrained from pursuing the matter. He had assumed this situation would continue indefinitely, yet tonight she had offered herself willingly!
Shinobu's blush deepened as she asked shyly, "You and Stelle have also... been intimate, haven't you?"
Although Victor was surprised that Shinobu knew about this, he nodded and acknowledged it openly.
"That's correct."
Shinobu continued earnestly, "Well, if I don't make progress, I'm afraid I'll be overtaken by even more girls in the future."
"Plus, with Alisa joining our household today, I felt a renewed sense of urgency that finally motivated me to act on my feelings."
"I see."
So Victor had Alisa to thank for this wonderful development.
It was decided, he would shower Alisa with extra affection when the opportunity arose!
Such thoughtfulness deserved proper appreciation.
Time flowed onward like a swift river.
Since that memorable evening, Victor first refined a batch of cultivation-enhancing pills for the group members to accelerate the girls' training progress, then began an extended period of intensive cultivation.
He was determined to increase his strength as rapidly as possible.
Although the Golden Core realm was considered formidable in many worlds, it represented barely a footnote in the vast multiverse, especially when compared to those supreme cultivation realms where Golden Core practitioners were "as common as dogs, and Nascent Soul masters walked everywhere."
As someone who pursued ultimate power with single-minded determination, Victor would never rest easy until he achieved true invincibility.
More than a month passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Victor's cultivation had advanced from the early stage of the Golden Core realm to the middle stage, a satisfying progression that spoke to his exceptional talent and dedication.
He had intended to continue his retreat and push forward to the late stage of the Golden Core realm in one concentrated effort.
However, the chat group's notification sound echoing in his consciousness forced him to withdraw his attention from cultivation.
[Ding! Tsunade has joined the chat group, please give her a warm welcome!]
[Ding! Tokisaki Kurumi has joined the chat group, please give her a warm welcome!]
[Belle: Wow! New members!]
[Lumine: Welcome, welcome!]
[Stelle: Look! Fresh newcomers! Let's approach quietly, don't startle them!]
[Kiana: Observing +1]
[Shinoa Hiiragi: I'm finally no longer the newest junior member.]
[Rin Tohsaka: +1]
[Bai Yuekui: It's been more than two months since new members joined this time. It seems the intervals between arrivals are growing longer.]
[Shinobu: Indeed.]
[Victor: How interesting, two incredible individuals have arrived.]
[Lumine: Oh, Victor has emerged from seclusion?]
[Victor: When new people join, how could I remain in closed-door cultivation?]
[Kiana: Judging from your tone, these two newcomers seem to be characters you recognize?]
[Victor: Of course I know them. The legendary Slug Princess of the ninja world, Tsunade-sama, and the elegant Spirit of Time who charges for love, Kurumi-chan.]
[Tokisaki Kurumi: Ara ara, are you referring to me when you say 'charges for love'?]
[Tsunade: Bastard! Who are you calling the legendary sucker?]
[Tsunade: Also, what kind of jutsu is this? How can it actually invade my mind!]
At that moment, in a short street within the ninja world, Tsunade stared at the virtual interface before her with grave concern.
Over the past few seconds, she had disrupted her chakra flow multiple times, yet the mysterious panel remained stubbornly visible.
This proved it wasn't a genjutsu, after all, she was confident that no illusion technique could successfully ensnare her.
Therefore, she speculated this might be some form of jutsu that directly invaded the brain!
[Victor: This isn't ninjutsu. You two should check the group announcement first. The answers you seek are all explained there.]
Hearing this suggestion, Tsunade, who had been about to voice further protests, immediately directed her attention to the group announcement.
Simultaneously, the same scene unfolded as Tokisaki Kurumi in another world followed suit.
It didn't take long for both women to finish reading the comprehensive explanation.
[Tokisaki Kurumi: Ara ara, so you're all from different worlds? How fascinating.]
[Tsunade: How is it possible for a chat group to connect across different worlds?]
[Victor: Who wants to handle the explanations this time?]
The group had grown accustomed to members like Tsunade who remained skeptical about the chat group's authenticity. They had developed ten proven methods to demonstrate the group's legitimacy.
The most effective approach was undoubtedly sending red envelopes.
Simply sending something that didn't exist in the recipient's world would naturally convince them of the truth.
[Stelle: How strong are these two newcomers? Can they handle the Antimatter Legion?]
[Victor: Their strength is quite respectable. They could manage ordinary Antimatter Legion forces without significant difficulty.]
[Stelle: In that case, everyone step aside! Let me handle this demonstration!]
[Ding! Stelle sent an exclusive red envelope to Tsunade!]
[Ding! Stelle sent an exclusive red envelope to Tokisaki Kurumi!]
[Stelle: These are local specialties from my world. I'm guessing you don't have anything like them in your realms, right?]
[Victor: Be careful with those. Although the Antimatter Legion units from Stelle's side are considered cannon fodder-level monsters, they're still quite formidable opponents.]
With Tsunade and Tokisaki Kurumi's abilities, defeating the Antimatter Legion wouldn't be particularly challenging. Victor's concern was that they might become overconfident and fail to take proper defensive precautions.