Ashlock inspected Kaida and discovered the reason for his explosive growth in size.
"My summons and monsters generally don't follow the same cultivation system as humans, but if I had to guess, Kaida has gone up around three stages in the Star Core Realm," Ashlock muttered with a hint of surprise. Just how much ink Qi had this greedy snake absorbed, "If he experiences this much growth in the next Mystic Realm visit, he might be closing in on his evolution to A grade."
Since Kaida's entire body was made from heavenly ink, the more he absorbed, the more he would grow.
"Kaida, you are too big now to act like this," Diana protested as Kaida wrapped his body around her. The poor woman looked like she would drown in ink as she gasped for air.
The Lindwyrm, now easily thirty meters long, frowned at his favorite human's words.
Through his demonic eye, Ashlock saw how the heavenly ink Qi that made up Kaida's body began to condense, and his body started to shrink. It continued until he reduced his length from thirty meters to only three.
Diana gasped in relief as she stopped being coiled around and looked down at Kaida, who was now wrapped around her feet and clearly asking to be picked up like old times with his big golden eyes.
"Okay, fine, come here." Diana tried to pick Kaida up but struggled. He may have reduced his size, but was now far more dense. Kaida let out a sad hiss as Diana failed to lift him.
She put some Qi into her arms, and the stone below her feet cracked as she picked up the Lindwyrm with a grunt. "There. Are you happy now?"
Kaida licked her face, leaving an ink stain across her cheek as if someone had taken a paintbrush and slapped her with it.
"Can you stop licking me?" Diana grumbled as demonic mist carried the ink stain away.
Ashlock noticed her muscles were tensed, and if she didn't keep cycling her Qi through her body, lifting Kaida would be impossible. "Even with her partial demonic form due to her bloodline, which gives her immense strength, she still struggles to pick up Kaida. Though if she was to fully transform, I am sure lifting him would be a piece of cake."
"How did you even get so big in such a short amount of time?" Diana asked Kaida a question Ashlock was also curious about, but Kaida simply smirked and refused to answer.
Stella laughed from the bench, "He's a glutton just like Tree. I bet he found more of those eggs to eat or swam around an ink sea for a month!"
Kaida hissed in annoyance from Diana's arms.
"What? Am I wrong? Don't act so mysterious. It's not like you did something heroic or insane, such as robbing the Azure Clan or fighting a fire titan. Or did you—" Stella stopped speaking and winced from the pain, "Ow ow ow..."
"Stop squirming around and give the healing pills a minute to fuse your spine back in place," Elaine gently pushed Stella back on the bench, "The fact you are still in one piece is baffling."
"I'm fine, really," Stella waved her off, "I still have Sol's healing light running through my body. Just give me a minute, and I will be as good as new..."
Stella did, in fact, not look fine at all. Her white clothes were soaked with blood and were shredded in places. It was as if she had crawled out from a warzone. But through his demonic eye, he could verify that Stella wasn't lying. Even with Sol's healing light and the pills working in harmony, the rate at which her bones and organs were healing was horrifying. Cultivators really were a league above humans, as what Stella was treating as nothing to be concerned about would have killed a mortal person a hundred times over.
"Sorry, Stella, I got distracted by other pointless things. I should have repaired Sol first and had him heal you again," Ashlock said through {Abyssal Whispers}.
"Oh, Tree, I thought I felt your gaze on my back but wasn't sure," Stella looked over her shoulder and stared into his demonic eye with a smile, "This really is nothing. I am just glad you are okay... you are fine, right?"
"Nothing a long sleep can't fix," Ashlock reassured her. His system had offered to repair him for thousands of credits, but he had no interest in that. A few long sleeps under the nine moons and he would be as good as new.
"Thank the heavens, I got worried when you suddenly went silent after eating Dante," Stella sighed, "Even with the curse weakening her, Nox was stronger than I thought a fresh Nascent Soul Realm would be. Her presence was enough to flatten me to the floor, and every hit she landed obliterated my defenses as if they were mere parchment, and I felt her attacks down to my bones."
"Next time will be different," Ashock said, "I am on the cusp of ascending to Nascent Soul Realm, and you have all grown considerably since I last saw you. Stella, to block Nox's attacks and survive, you must have had a very productive session in the Mystic Realm."
"I went from the 4th to the 6th stage of the Star Core Realm," Stella said proudly, "It was hard, but due to your fruits and the Qi gathering array, I managed to make such progress."
"Very impressive," Ashlock agreed, "You are a step behind the Redclaw Grand Elder while being only sixteen."
"That is great progress, Stella; you should be proud," Diana agreed, "To be on the way to Nascent Soul Realm while so young... At your age, I was stuck in the Soul Fire Realm yet was hailed as a prodigy until the heart demons formed."
"Thank you," Stella beamed, "How about you, Diana? How was your progress?"
Diana grinned, showing her fangs, "I went from the 1st to the 4th stage of the Star Core Realm."
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Stella's smile faltered, "What?"
"Don't get jealous now," Diana gave Stella a knowing look, "Keep things in perspective. I am five years older than you. It's easier to progress through lower stages, and I found a realm specifically designed to help people of my bloodline progress in their cultivation. Not to mention the usual downside of my affinity, which is a risk of heart demons, is nullified by the truffles so generously grown by Ashlock."
As Diana spoke, Ashlock saw Stella's gaze slowly grow more tranquil.
"Yes, that is all reasonable, but progressing three stages in a single month is not," Stella grumbled, "Elaine, what about you? How much have you grown?"
Under Stella's tranquil gaze, Elaine shuffled to the edge of the bench, "Errr, nothing as impressive as you two."
Ashlock would have to disagree. If what he saw through his demonic eye was to believe, she had grown in leaps and bounds.
Stella squinted at her, "I killed your brother for you because you didn't want to do it. The least you could tell me is this, right?"
"I suppose so..." Elaine pushed her glasses up and smiled awkwardly, "I went up three stages in the Soul Fire Realm, so I am at the 9th stage now."
"So you also grew more than me," Stella looked at her feet and muttered. Her shoulders sagged, and she looked like she had just received terrible exam results.
"I am the one who should be feeling bad," Elaine protested, "I am a decade older than you and still stuck in the Soul Fire Realm and lacking the thing that matters most: combat experience. If anything, I am playing catchup even more than Diana."
Stella's eyes widened, and she glanced up at Diana, "Combat experience..."
"I don't like how you are looking at me with that overly calm gaze," Diana shuddered, "Just spit it out."
Stella stood up and drew her sword from her spatial ring, "It's been a while since we had a duel. Do you remember when you first arrived here, and we would spar day and night?"
"Yes, I remember you wouldn't stop demanding combat practice until you consistently started beating me, and then you weren't interested anymore."
"Well, so much has changed since then," Stella grinned, which was unnerving when paired with her bloodied clothes and calm gaze, "We have both awakened bloodlines and progressed into the Star Core Realm. Wouldn't now be a good time to see the difference in power between us?"
"Aren't you injured?" Diana raised a brow.
Stella cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, "In good enough condition to beat you."
"Arrogant as always," Diana clicked her tongue, "Fine. If it will sate your envy, then I don't see why not. We can duel."
"Is this really a good idea?" Ashlock asked, "Back then, the most you two could do was cause some damage to buildings, but now you could kill one another in a single well-placed attack."
"I survived being stamped on by Lucius while he was empowered, did I not? And Stella was smacked around by Nox and is now pointing a sword at me minutes later," Diana said to his canopy, "So long as neither of us aims for the head, it should be fine. We have Sol to heal us..."
"No, you don't." Ashlock reminded them, "Dante struck Sol with a void attack, so he will take a while to repair."
Ashlock had no interest in spending many of the hard-earned sacrificial credits he needed for his ascension on repairing Sol just so Stella and Diana could compare their egos. Cultivators really were unruly sometimes.
"Well, if I die, have Kaida revive me with some long-forgotten revival technique," Diana chuckled, setting Kaida down with a grunt. She then gestured with her chin for Stella to follow her over to the central area of the mountain peak, where they would have space to duel.
While they took up their positions a hundred meters apart, Ashlock had to wonder when Diana had changed. She used to be the more cautious member of the group but was now more arrogant and up for fighting.
"She became more emotional and impulsive ever since awakening her bloodline and transitioning into a demoness," Ashlock muttered, "Is this the fabled demon's pride?"
"Are those two really best friends?" Elaine asked as she sat alone on the bench with Maple on her lap and Kaida having returned to his full-size coiled nearby.
Ashlock chuckled, "Yes, though I suppose they act more like competitive sisters. Stella has a bit of a habit of getting jealous and paranoid when others progress faster than her."
"I see, that makes sense," Elaine nodded, "Who do you think will win?"
That was a good question. "Hard to say. It all depends on how serious Stella is about winning, and if her tranquil gaze is anything to go by, she is taking this duel seriously, so Diana may be in trouble if she isn't careful. But Stella is also injured, and Diana did experience some explosive growth in the Mystic Realm, so it's hard to say."
"Her gaze did seem odd. It was almost inhumanly calm. Is that related to her bloodline?" Elaine asked.
"Yes, though her bloodline is far more mysterious than Diana's. We are still learning more about it every day..." Ashlock said and realized something. Why had her bloodline activated during a duel with Diana?
"From the top of my head, her bloodline activated during the alchemy tournament, fighting Nox near me and the bounty hunters on the Bastion." Ashlock mused, "But it didn't activate when she tried to chase down Nox or trespassed the Azure Clan library. I was starting to think it activated when she felt threatened or if my life was in danger, but why wouldn't it activate when being stared down by an Elder from an upper realm?"
Ashlock looked at Stella. She stood with her sword tip pointed at Diana on the other side of the mountain peak with an utterly calm expression as the wind messed with her hair.
"Time to see who of us is the strongest," Stella said without a hint of emotion. Purple soul fire erupted around her body and down her sword, making the air ripple and warp as if bending to her will.
Ashlock felt this situation further cemented his hypothesis that Stella's bloodline was that of a ruler. "Perhaps Diana hadn't been far off. Stella really is the sin of pride and envy, for better or worse. If she feels her authority or pride is at risk, her bloodline will activate to help bridge the gap."
It was still a hypothesis, but it seemed to fit when compared to all previous examples of her bloodline activating. Ashlock had noticed how Stella's pride turned to envy when Diana mentioned how much she had grown in the Mystic Realm despite all the good reasons for their differing growth.
Ashlock had thought that Stella was simply too immature and seeking praise to understand that just because Diana and Elaine grew by three stages did not diminish the fact she was one of the strongest in the whole sect at only sixteen.
But perhaps it was less about her personality and something ingrained into her, just like how Diana would enter a berserk state when fully unleashing her demon form.
"Stella, I hope you don't make any excuses when you lose," Diana said as she began her transformation. Majestic wings of feathered darkness thrice her size sprouted from her shoulders, her fangs grew, and her nails elongated into claws. Finally, her eyes transitioned from grey to black. She opened her mouth and breathed out a cloud of mist that began to surround and conceal her form. Shadows manifested and started moving around the mist, letting out wails of misery that echoed across the mountain peak.
If not for his demonic gaze, Ashlock would be unable to tell Diana apart from the shadows inhabiting the mist. The difference between this mist made from her new affinity and the one made from water Qi in the past was like night and day. Due to the addition of the demonic Qi, this haunted mist was far harder to penetrate with spiritual sight and seemed to empower Diana.
"Now I am not so sure who will win..." Ashlock mused as he watched Stella fearlessly walk toward the encroaching mist. "I suppose whoever strikes first will be the winner; the question is, does Stella have an answer to Diana's mist?"
As it turned out, she had more than just an answer.
