NOVPUBAiwass woke up to find the sky outside still entirely dark.
"...Three o’clock in the morning," he mumbled.
He smacked his lips, slightly hesitant, "Should I... sleep a bit more?"
But after seeing the newly acquired Path trait, Aiwass got out of bed, eager to try it out.
——First, let’s feed the Shadow Demon a bite to taste, to evaluate its flavor.
However, it wasn’t until Aiwass cut his finger that he suddenly remembered the current imbalance in his Path’s power. He couldn’t use the Shepherd’s Nurturing for half a month.
"...It doesn’t matter."
As the sweet whispers of the Shadow Demon rose, the shadows at his feet crawled up his legs and spread to the tips of his right fingers, enveloping them.
Intentionally making a sucking sound, it murmured indistinctly, "I don’t mind."
"Without using Shepherd’s Nurturing, can you still draw strength from my flesh and blood?" Aiwass asked, observing the Shadow Demon drinking with relish.
"Of course... not possible."
The Shadow Demon chuckled lightly, "The high-level Transcendents of the Iris Flower with the Path of Love, at least one-tenth of them have ’Sacrifice of Flesh.’ If they allowed Phantom Demons to grow in strength at will, wouldn’t that be too much?"
"So, how does it taste?" Aiwass seriously sought customer feedback, inquiring about the new product.
"Compared to the holy blood from Shepherd’s Nurturing, it’s just average," the Shadow Demon gave a fair assessment. "But I don’t mind... there’s still a bit of flavor. Hmm... like the water in a cup after drinking lemon water. It has a bit of taste."
That’s still quite lacking.
"Then stop drinking it. Wasting my blood," Aiwass waved his hand, slapping the Shadow Demon, stuck to his fingertip like mud, back onto the ground with a smack.
A flare of fire danced on his fingertip, similar to a lighter. The flame flickered and the tiny wound disappeared without a trace.
"Eh, why be like this..."
The Shadow Demon expressed some dissatisfaction, "Over the past half-month, has it not mostly been the Defiant Flame Butterfly drinking?"
"And what about it?"
Transformed into the Flame Butterfly and perching on Aiwass’s shoulder, the usually silent Defiant Flame Butterfly couldn’t help but respond in a voice similar to Yulia’s childish tone, "I’m growing."
Having fed on blood for half a month, the extent of Little Butterfly’s increase in strength was unclear, but its intelligence had certainly improved considerably.
At least now it could communicate normally.
It was then that Aiwass suddenly heard someone knocking at the door.
The knocking was very soft, as if afraid to wake a sleeping person inside. If it hadn’t been for Aiwass being awake already, he would have never heard the knocking.
Since Lily was still in her ascension ceremony and hadn’t awoken, Aiwass went to open the door himself.
To his surprise, he found Isabel standing at the doorway in her pajamas.
Her hair was disheveled, her eyes groggy with sleep. Clearly, she had just woken up, and had even dashed over without washing her face. Her body faintly radiated the warmth of bedcovers in winter.
She was shivering a little from the cold at the doorway, so Aiwass promptly pulled her inside.
"...You came in such a hurry, is anything wrong? Why didn’t you knock louder?"
As he spoke, Aiwass took off his white fox-fur pajamas and draped them over Isabel. The startled Flame Butterfly immediately took flight, scattering a few sparks, then fluttered around Aiwass twice before settling on his shoulder.
Once he removed his top, Aiwass’s inner physique was revealed.
Far from the sickly image of wearing fluffy white pajamas and sitting in a wheelchair, after discarding his outer garment, the clearly defined muscles were visible on his alabaster body.
They weren’t extremely exaggerated muscles, but his pectorals and abs were visible without the need for tensing, and even his shoulders and arms had subtle contours. Yet even so, his collarbones remained deeply etched and prominent.
——Had it been before, Aiwass might have felt a bit cold.
But after his Priest profession advanced to the third energy level, he had received a considerable boost to his constitution. Even in the deep winter of late December and early January, being shirtless didn’t make him feel overly cold.
Moreover, the Path’s power of "Sacrifice of Flesh" from the Domain of Blood further enhanced Aiwass’s body, making it even more perfect.
Isabel, wrapped in the pajamas, watched this scene with a slight blush on her cheeks.
...She really wanted to touch it.
Such a thought suddenly sprang into her mind.
——How could I think such a thing, Isabel! That’s too... too shameless...
She quickly shook her head hard to dispel the whimsical thoughts in her heart.
Even though she knew Aiwass had been part of the sports team, she had always subconsciously thought of him as the frail and sickly type... the kind of delicate young master who wears thick clothing but cannot help but cough softly. But now, having seen his abs, her first impulse was to touch the grooves between the muscles.
She herself had no such thing as abs.
Had it not been for her need to learn dance, just sitting there painting or playing the piano all day would have been enough to give her a potbelly.
The "Prodigy" profession’s enhancement to her dancer identity mainly manifested in the flexibility and balance of her body. Even at the third energy level, she still lacked strength... of course, only in comparison to other Transcendents of the same level; she was certainly much stronger than ordinary people.
At least for now, doing several consecutive backflips is pretty simple. She felt that she might even be able to spin horizontally while doing a backflip… but that move was too dangerous, and without a teacher watching, she didn’t dare to practice it recklessly.
Looking at Isabel, who was staring intently at his abdomen, Aiwass touched it with a somewhat peculiar expression, then looked down at it.
Ah, indeed, it has become more apparent…
"...Isabel?"
He couldn’t help but remind her, "You came here for something, didn’t you?"
"Oh!"
Isabel suddenly came back to her senses.
She tightened Aiwass’s pajamas, which still retained his warmth, and said in a low voice, "I’m just... a bit worried about your condition.
"I don’t know if you completed the promotion…"
As she spoke, she swallowed subconsciously, as if to wash down the taste of blood still lingering in her mouth.
Before she fell asleep and lost consciousness… the last image in her mind was of herself biting Aiwass’s wrist like a mad little dog, sipping his blood greedily.
If it weren’t for the fact that Daiya’s milk teeth weren’t firm and sharp enough, she might have bitten off Aiwass’s wrist entirely.
Even so, she still felt somewhat guilty.
Because she knew the force she had used - as if tearing at tough meat, she put her whole body into it, her face fierce and contorted.
That must have hurt.
And if the blood loss was too much, Aiwass might even die… not to mention, she didn’t know what happened afterward.
She was worried that she might wake up and hear that Aiwass had failed in his promotion. Although the ceremony at this level didn’t carry much danger, it would still make her feel like she was a bother to Aiwass.
However, what truly terrified Isabel was the fear that she would drag Aiwass down during a higher-level promotion ceremony - could she really be a qualified teammate for Aiwass? Truly helpful to him, rather than being protected at all risks…
"——What are you daydreaming about?"
Aiwass, as if he heard her inner thoughts, sighed helplessly, "I succeeded in my promotion.
"Not only that, but I also ranked first in points."
"That’s amazing!"
Isabel exclaimed in admiration.
"It’s nothing... By the way, what Path attribute did you choose?"
Aiwass was somewhat concerned, "You came over so quickly, didn’t you choose in too much of a hurry?"
"Ah, the teacher had already outlined the options for me. Besides, I only had one purple attribute, so I could only choose that one," she said.
Although Path attributes are secrets that even close ones are not allowed to reveal casually, Isabel obediently answered, "I chose this..."
As she spoke, she spread out her right hand.
A pale pink glow blossomed, turning into a pink rose in her palm.
Then Isabel, smiling lightly, placed it in Aiwass’s hand.
Feeling the real and solid sensation of the flower petals in his hand, Aiwass asked uncertainly, "What is this?
"Cunning Spell? Resilient Illusion?"
"Yes. Resilient Illusion."
Isabel was very pleased, "This way, I can follow the path of Illusion Technique… The teacher is also very skilled in these sorts of spells."
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The effect of Resilient Illusion was to increase the difficulty of seeing through illusions. Although it could not inflict physical damage, even if one broke free of the illusion, they would be forced to suffer about one-fifth of its effect.
This Path attribute also had subsequent enhancements, which made it a decent route to follow.
"…Is there a problem?"
Isabel, noticing Aiwass’s momentary silence, hesitated, "Did I choose wrongly?"
"No, not at all."
Aiwass quickly replied, "I was thinking about something else… This Path attribute is very strong. Later on, you can choose Cunning Spell or True Illusion, which will further boost the effect."
…There was one issue, though.
This Isabel was deviating further and further from the original history’s "Queen Vanhua." Initially, Isabel’s abilities were shaped in the Holy Nation, mainly manipulating various plants through music, painting, sculpture, and poetry.
But now, with Isabel still able to learn under Master Yanis’s guidance, it looked like she might take up her mantle instead.
As the Little Butterfly flapped its wings, the changes in history became increasingly apparent—what Aiwass had just been contemplating was whether, if changes became too extensive, would his Prophet abilities still be of any use? Or would they become a hindrance instead?
…However, compared to the Queen Vanhua, who always had a cold expression and furrowed brows, the currently cheerful Isabel might represent a better turn of events.
No, not might.
——At least, she was smiling.
That must be the better, more enjoyable "possibility" that she preferred, Aiwass thought.
