Six weeks went by before Paul and his ladies emerged from their seclusion, but once they did, they shocked everyone.
By then, Paul reached the pinnacle of the tenth stage in both cultivations, and the ladies were all the same.
Paul reached this stage only after a month of using his new cultivating technique, which was the moment he needed to stop cultivating with the ladies, or risk ascending alone.
Unable to cultivate with them, he focused on creating Yang Vials so that the ladies could match his cultivation and also so that he had a surplus for later.
It didn't change the fact that the next two weeks were extremely frustrating for all of them, but the reward was worth the sacrifice.
The moment all of them emerged from the seclusion, they were at the pinnacle of the mortal realm, and no one would dare to try to challenge them.
Additionally, they all changed a lot during this time since their new techniques had an immense effect on their bodies.
The ladies become even more beautiful and enchanting, especially in Irine's and Natalie's cases, since they now look like sisters rather than mother and daughter.
Additionally, both of them had to cast illusion spells on themselves as Lord Sei's seal was broken when they reached the ninth stage, and their first tails emerged along with fox ears on top of their heads when their bloodline partially awakened.
The next one to change a lot was Anna, but in her case, it was the color of her hair, which turned permanently white after she had fun with Paul under the moonlight a few times.
The last one to have a major change was Rina, who, like Irine, looked no older than her daughters right now.
As for the other ladies, they didn't change that much on the outside.
-How the hack did you reach such a level so fast?
Xiao Han asked Paul and Su when they came to visit them.
The province lord was shocked at their progress, and his wife was not any better.
-It helps when you have the cultivation technique perfect for your physique, and there is no bottleneck at the breakthrough to slow you down.
Paul smiled in amusement, seeing his Aunt and Uncle's surprised expressions.
-That's not funny.
Liu Lili said, seeing her daughter and nephew, with an amused expression on their faces.
-If you're talking about our cultivation, then you're right, but if you mean your expression, then look in the mirror, Mom.
Xiao Su said, having a hard time not bursting into laughter, seeing her mother's surprised expression.
-Young lady, you might be strong now, but I can still teach you a lesson for making fun of me.
Lili said with anger.
These words immediately made Su regret her words, as she was sure that her mother was not joking.
-Alright, calm down, everyone.
Xiao Han said, trying to defuse the situation.
-Though I must admit that I would love to see his majesty's expression when he sees you.
He added, amused as he was sure the emperor would be as shocked as they were, if not even more.
-Uncle, I don't plan on seeing the emperor.
Paul said, surprised at this remark.
-We plan to go to the capital, but the moment we do so, we will be ascending through the portal, and as far as I know, we don't need to visit the palace to do so.
-Then your plans need to change, as I received a summons to the imperial palace for all of you while you were in seclusion.
It orders you to bring all of your ladies and visit the palace at your earliest convenience.
Paul didn't like the sound of it at all, but on the other hand, such a summons indicated that the matter the emperor was summoning them for was not of any great importance.
Additionally, with his current level, there was not one person in this realm capable of stopping him if he wanted to leave, and that was without the help of his ladies.
-Since that's the case, then we have no choice but to go.
Paul sighed.
He was less than thrilled with this development, especially considering that the emperor was not a person who would summon him and his ladies just for a chat.
On the other hand, he was wondering about the reason he was summoned, and with all his ladies no less.
This was a bit strange for him, but the one thing he was certain off was that the emperor would not try taking any of his ladies into the harem as the imperial law stated that any imperial concubine candidate had to fulfil strict requirements, such as being from noble or prominent families, be well educated, talented in many fields, and most importantly had to be a virgin.
-Father, why would his majesty summon all of us?
Su asked, as puzzled about the summons as Paul was.
-To be honest, I have no idea, and the summoning scrolls also don't state any reason for it.
However, considering how powerful you all became, I doubt his majesty would be looking for trouble with you.
Xiao Han answered with a shrug.
This was surprising to him as well, since he never heard about the emperor taking an interest in the people who were about to ascend.
-Whatever the case, we will find out when we get to the capital city and go see the emperor.
Paul said with a sigh.
He was unable to figure out the reason for the summons, and he doubted that they could figure it out anytime soon.
Additionally, he agreed with Xiao Han's assessment about the emperor looking for trouble with them since even the imperial army would have a heck of a time bringing their group down.
-When do you plan to leave?
Liu Lili asked, changing the topic.
She was also interested in that since she wanted to spend some more time with them before they left, as it might be years or even decades before they would see each other again.
-We didn't set the date yet, but I think that in at most a few days.
Paul answered.
As much as he wanted to ascend, he wanted to spend some more time with his adoptive family, since lately he was too focused on cultivation, and Su was the same.
In the end, they spent most of the day in the province lord's mansion, only going home in the evening.
The ladies were as surprised as Paul and Su once they heard about the summons to the palace.
It would not be that strange if the summons were only for Paul, Su, Elaina, and Natalie, since they were in the palace before, but it shocked them when all of them received their summon scrolls.
Of course, the ladies had a ton of questions to which Paul had no answers.
-We will know what's going on when we get there.
He said, finally ending the stream of questions, and then changing the topic to the preparations for their departure.