"Hiss... that old man really hits hard. Did he count the part where I stole his granddaughter away too? We are going to be family in the future. We will still have to see each other all the time."
Wu Ling lay on his bed at home and complained while Rose checked his body and massaged him.
"Mm-hm. Who told you to overestimate yourself and challenge him? A Spirit Emperor and a Titled Sage are separated by a qualitative gap. Even if the current you can defeat an ordinary Spirit Emperor, if you want to fight a Titled Sage, you should at least fight inside the workshop. And Lucius Cross is a level-ninety-nine Ruler."
"According to my calculations, after your domain is activated, an ordinary Titled Sage would have roughly seventy percent of the damage reflected. For someone infinitely close to level one hundred, the reflected damage should only be around sixty-one or sixty-two percent."
"Considering he cut you into eight pieces, he will probably need to rest for a while too."
Rose smiled as she analyzed his condition, clearly enjoying herself. After all, the clones were usually the ones who died for the main body. This was the first time the main body himself had died, even if he had revived afterward.
"I only let it go because he is Aurelia's grandfather. Otherwise, one of my twelve lives would have to be counted against him. Trading one life for a Ruler barely counts as worthwhile."
"Speaking of which, I suddenly thought of the evil god worshiped by Hidan in Naruto. Could that evil god be Angra Mainyu? Both need a medium, then use damage to the self to harm the enemy."
"If Hidan and I both drank each other's blood and committed suicide at the same time, who do you think would die, him or me?"
Facts proved that once a person became bored, their thoughts would run wild. The solution was to interrupt that chain of thought, or give them something else to think about. Rose did exactly that.
"What, main body? Do you want to go play in Naruto? I will say it first. That is impossible. Based on my research, the most we can do right now is visit a few nearby worlds."
"The reason is simple. I can only capture about two coordinates at the moment. The traces of the others have basically dispersed."
When world travel came up, Wu Ling grew serious.
"You figured that out already?"
Rose pinched the soft flesh at Wu Ling's waist.
"Of course I have not finished. Do you think I am omniscient and omnipotent? Even if you dragged a Grand Caster here, they might not be able to build the whole thing in this short a time. I only confirmed the coordinates first."
Wu Ling had already overcome the weakness at his waist, but he still pretended to wince. Only after Rose released him did he rub his waist and ask, "Ahem. Please explain in detail, Miss Rose."
"Hmph. I used a certain Magecraft array to preserve the positions of those traces. Compared with the Reverse Side and Imaginary Number Space in the Type-Moon world, this kind of simple tracking and recording is almost too easy."
"Then I removed the coordinates that were too far away and kept three nearby ones. According to my calculations, one of those three seems to be the Divine Realm of Soul Land, so considering the main body's current strength, I removed that one too. That leaves only two world coordinates."
"And given the distance, those two worlds are highly likely to be among the worlds governed by the Soul Land Divine Realm."
Rose's explanation was easy to understand. Wu Ling had never read much of Tang Sect Heroes, that mixed-world crossover mess, but he had at least heard of it. At the same time, the ending of a certain Emperor title surfaced in his mind again. Even after more than ten years, he still could not forget that absurd plot.
"Wait. In that case, the target worlds' strength level and the return problem are both basically solved, right? I wasted so much thought before."
As he spoke, Wu Ling sat up.
"Fine. That old man helped me loosen up, in a way. Since my foundation is stable enough, I can keep cultivating at a normal speed. One year earlier or later does not matter much."
After speaking, Wu Ling put on his clothes and pulled open the door, only to run straight into a young girl.
"Young master, you came out."
Wu Ling tilted his head. He looked at Blair Lockehart, who stood outside the door in a maid outfit, then glanced toward the entrance.
"How long have you been standing here?"
"Only a little while, young master."
Wu Ling did not believe Blair's "little while" at all. He had not heard any footsteps outside since earlier.
Even though he had Azure pass Hassan's assassination knowledge to Blair, and even though Blair's cultivation speed far exceeded the original path, she still could not arrive outside his door without alerting him.
That meant there was only one possibility. She had come to his door during the short period after he returned from the Pope's Palace, while his mind was still adapting from the transition between life and death. Only then would he have failed to notice her.
"Main body, since your body has recovered, I will head back first. I still have a great deal of research to do."
After speaking, Rose walked past Wu Ling and Blair. Before leaving, she tossed Wu Ling a look that clearly said, "You know what I mean," then leisurely returned to her workshop.
Wu Ling understood Rose's look, of course. Blair had grown quickly over the last two years, and the maid outfit made her seem more composed than before. Still, she was not even eleven yet. Wu Ling was nowhere near shameless enough to cross that line.
"What is it, Blair? Did something happen?"
Blair's eyes were full of Wu Ling. After hearing what sounded like concern from him, she smiled faintly. It appeared for only a moment, then vanished back into her usual calm.
"Nothing. I only heard that you had returned, young master, so I came to greet you."
Although Blair said nothing was wrong, the look in her eyes gave Wu Ling the feeling of a small cat waiting for its owner to come home.
Wu Ling looked at Blair, and Blair looked back at Wu Ling. Then Wu Ling's gaze slowly moved upward. Blair's cheeks reddened faintly, and right in front of him, she activated her Martial Soul possession.
"Not bad, not bad. Blair, you are getting more and more skilled."
As he spoke, Wu Ling thoroughly ruffled the hair between Blair's cat ears.
Finally, Wu Ling patted Blair on the head.
"All right. Drinks and desserts, same as usual."
Feeling that reassuring hand disappear from her head, Blair felt a flash of disappointment. Then she adjusted her mood and went to prepare Wu Ling's drinks and desserts.
Watching the cold beauty who faced outsiders reveal this softer side only before him, Wu Ling smiled with satisfaction.
"Forget it. Missing one day of cultivation will not matter. I just suffered a double blow to body and soul today. I will spend the rest of the day teasing the cat and comforting my fragile heart."