Over the next five days, I killed the Red Sea Demons' Commander in various ways. Got so bored I even tried exotic ones. Like having Bul and Pikachu fuse to give him a solid beating underwater and drive him ashore, where I finished him quick. That was the fastest method, so I used it for all later kills.
Thanks to my mana Restoration talent letting me jump back into fights fast, I killed that "tribal bull" just over a hundred times in five days. Could've done more, but I didn't want to overdo it—rested a few hours daily.
First, I fed 49 Commander souls to my Frost stars, raising them to the sixth step. Tang Yue's gonna freak—everyone thinks she's sponsoring me. One such soul costs at least 100 million yuan...
Factoring in the next 49 strengthening my Summon Element, that's a minimum ten billion yuan. Wonder how grateful she is that I'm boosting her family's prestige in the country? And I don't ask for a single yuan.
Checked—no halo over my head, thank god. But gotta be careful henceforth; no more excessive good deeds. Or balance karma with bad ones... Decided: punish TuTu even harder at night—she'll love it.
Fed the rest to the Pendant, pushing its Cultivation acceleration to x4.5. Without its future soul-creation function after absorbing that ancient Emperor's grave lotus, I'd toss the thing in a lake.
Devouring so many souls for just +50%? Insanely costly. But with my cheats, no complaints. I'll have souls to feed it. Stronger Commander souls should add way more.
Finally, TuTu's eyes fluttered in the corner and slowly opened. She scanned our spot, found me, checked me over, and said:
"Mu Bai, you look tired. Something wrong?" she asked with concern. Nice when people worry about you.
"Don't worry, like I said, I finished cultivating early and popped into a couple places. Good night's sleep and I'll be fine." I reassured her. Truth was, repeating the same thing for five days got old; needed variety.
"How'd your Cultivation go?" I asked, sensing only her main element. Gotta "acquire" a sensory talent later for more enemy intel. Won't blow cover like with other tasty talents.
"Broke through to peak Initial level in Summon Element. Think next tower visit I'll hit Intermediate Tier!" she said joyfully, a wide smile spreading across her face.
Might seem bad—and it is. But factoring in TuTu's poor talent, it flips. Key for me is her breaking through levels herself, so control doesn't tank hard. I'll boost steps if needed.
Though as I learned, don't overdo it. Either transplant high Cultivation at once and wreck control—talent can't fix that.
Or do it gradual, with breaks, letting them breakthrough naturally. Then the mage can cast decently, with control dips but not catastrophic. Talent fixes it, giving top-tier control over their element—what I want for my girl.
"My smart girl." Sincerely happy for her bright future, I stroked her head, and she nuzzled me like a cat. Even mimicked purring, the little devil—convincingly too. Hope she doesn't fake it in bed...
After ten minutes of cuddles, we headed to the second floor to grab Mu Nujiao. Found her in a corner, peacefully cultivating. Guess she started a bit later and wasn't done— no rush.
After a couple hours waiting—during which TuTu and I had a great time cuddling and chatting softly—Jiao Jiao finally opened her eyes and stared at us unreadable.
"Sister Mu!" TuTu jumped her right away. Why's she react like that? Just a week apart.
"How'd your Cultivation go?" I asked.
"Broke through to second step Intermediate Tier in Wind element. Both elements at second step now." She smiled faintly. Happy about the power boost.
"At this rate, 6-9 months to peak Intermediate Tier in both, then High level breakthrough." I congratulated her. Mu Nujiao's talent is top-notch.
"Hope so." She said dreamily, while TuTu hugged her tight.
Finally gathering ourselves and exiting the Three-Step Tower, we headed home. Rest today, tomorrow I'll give them their artifacts. After a day familiarizing, off to Kowloon. Plenty of chances there to hone mastery.
That night, as promised, I mercilessly punished TuTu's body. Think even Mu Nujiao at the other end of the house heard her screams. Shouldn't have asked Pikachu to share his Lightning element... Kinda awkward—we kept her up.
Next morning in the living room, Mu Nujiao greeted us with bags under her eyes, sipping coffee. Her glare was so pointed I switched topics fast.
"Here're your artifacts—not the full set, but the core ones are done. Wings and Cultivation vessels pending." I dumped gifts from my spatial ring onto the sofa; Jiao Jiao's eyes locked on them. Close call.
"So pretty!" TuTu inspected joyfully, cheeks flushing. Wasn't just me embarrassed around our roommate.
Once the girls stored the artifacts in their Inner Worlds, I pulled out and handed TuTu the Silvergrass seed container.
"Here. Finally found a good plant seed for you. Think it'll suit you perfect." I explained.
"What's the plant?" TuTu asked curiously, turning the container.
"Silvergrass." Unlike puzzled TuTu, Mu Nujiao dropped her coffee cup.
Good thing I caught it quick—didn't wanna haul the rug to the cleaners. Wonder if Bul can double as a washing machine? Test later.
"That Silver Grass?" she gasped, grabbing my shirt. I just nodded.
While she recovered and explained to baffled TuTu what it was, Tang Yue texted: "Got the info you need. Waiting at Shanghai's main hotel today. Can't send stuff like this by email." Didn't expect her so fast—half the deadline she set.
"Girls, get comfy with the gifts. Gotta meet someone urgent." I pecked TuTu's cheek and bolted to the hotel.
That info intrigued me. If it pans out, I can find perfect totem vessels for the girls. Maybe revive their totem remains someday for a powerful ally.