As soon as she was by her lonesome again, the embarrassment on Rheya's face faded instantly, returning that bewitching smirk to her lips. Whether or not any of what she had just shown was genuine, only she could know.
But maybe, that wasn't even important. To Supreme Pillar heirs like her, whether they truly thought of others as friends or loved them would not necessarily prevent them from making tough choices once their backs were against the wall. Close relationships with others could be a boon, but they could also become a weakness. To properly handle them once they veered too far into the latter territory was an essential skill for them to master.
Rheya was still in the world that she had originally arrived in, but she had taken a few trips outside of it, especially towards the 'motherland' that this world was subservient to. As a result, her fighting force had grown substantially, and a few more of her plans had advanced forward.
Seated on a comfortable cushion placed on the ground next to her bed, she was currently in her luxurious bedchambers, ready to continue with her own personal Energy Vein Incorporation. To most learned and capable Heaven's Chosen, it was but an inevitable step on their path to greatness. Naturally, she was no different.
But compared to Theodore's radical, insane approach, hers was quite conservative. Firstly, she had only managed to begin when she had broken through into the Soul Sculpting Stage, which was still relatively outstanding, yet far worse than what her rival had achieved.
More importantly, she was not aiming to replace the walls of her meridians at all! That was a highly unorthodox approach which–as far as Theodore knew–nobody but him had ever attempted. Rheya followed a tried and tested route, one that required her to assemble countless Energy Veins into three mystical Array Formations which her mother had designed. One of each would envelop each of the entrances to her Dantians, forming a peculiar resonance with them the further that she progressed.
As someone who had outright mastered Array Formations a long time ago, it was not difficult for her to gather more Energy Veins via creating and handing out Array Disks especially designed for that purpose to her vassals. Obviously, she did not solely utilize these gains to strengthen herself–she also gathered enough Energy Veins to increase the present Energy concentration to terrifying heights! Having not yet met any resistance so far, she was still further improving it with all the surplus that she had on hand.
Despite having deliberately cultivated very slowly for someone of her aptitude, Rheya had arrived at the Initial Ascension Stage's Soul Garment Realm already. Yet considering her prowess, that alone would make her practically invincible during the first round.
'Unfortunately, I suspect that while the initial 'limit' of the pinnacle of the Dawning Numen Stage can be surpassed via manually increasing the Energy concentration further, there should be another 'hard limit' capping all progress once a specific point is reached. I just wonder when I'll get there...'
After she had finished incorporating all of her newly acquired Energy Veins into her body, she leaned backwards, gently resting her head on the bedside, staring at the ornate ceiling, her eyes a little bit unfocused. Every now and then, even she could allow herself to enjoy short moments of true relaxation–and not simply those shows of elegance that she put on for her image's sake.
The main reason as to why countless Heaven's Chosen and strong experts relied on gathering Energy Veins and fusing them into themselves was that their rate of absorbing Energy from their surroundings was inherently limited. Having sources of this most precious of resources within their own bodies enabled them to significantly circumvent this issue, depending on how many of them there were.
Naturally, there was a limit to this increase, and at a much higher cultivation stage, their passive Energy consumption would be too vast to be sustained in such a manner. Of course, by that point, there were other ways to progress further and make up for this problem.
Another main reason as to why Energy Vein Incorporation was so popular was that occasionally, a cultivator might enter an environment without any Energy at all, or with a terrifyingly low concentration of it. Should such a scenario occur, then their own Energy Veins could allow them to tide through those troublesome times with confident ease.
Ultimately, the most precious resource of them all, in the entirety of the Heavenly Court... were Energy Veins. Higher Energy concentration areas were vital to housing the strongest experts in their ranks, who could not leave those places for 'too long' and needed a reliable harbour–or charging station–to return to. More precious materials usually grew in environments with plentiful Energy as well. Nearly every single industry and person depended on varying amounts of it to succeed.
The main purpose of the Heavenly Court's expansion was not only to annex more worlds into the Heavenly Dao, which would further strengthen it–and in turn them–but it was also to collect as many Energy Veins as possible. Not just the new worlds that they made it to on occasion housed them, but the True Void beyond as well. The presence of Energy Veins was another difference between this void and its neutered counterpart. Everywhere under the Heavenly Court's jurisdiction, the Lesser True Void had been stripped of its Energy Veins, with only the occasional one popping up in random places due to them naturally regenerating.
The upper echelons of the court required truly extraordinary living conditions to avoid regressing in strength due to being exposed to more Energy-barren regions over prolonged periods of time. To combat this, they tended to scour the Lesser True Void for any scraps which they could find at regular intervals. Their harvesting was the main reason as to why it was in its current state.
"Your Sacred Divinity, the Supreme Chancellor has arrived."
A sudden knock snapped Rheya out of her laid-back state. Rising to her feet, she returned to being the embodiment of mesmerizing grace, her impeccably maintained tail swishing behind her in an elegant manner. With a thought, she employed some Energy to open the door to her room far before she ever neared it, stepping through it unhindered soon after.
"I shall meet him in the audience hall. Don't let me wait for too long."
Sparing the peak Initial Ascension Stage servant kneeling next to her little more than a glance, she gave her orders. Certain that she wouldn't be let down, she made her way through a long hallway, then stepped into a magnificent chamber decorated with the most precious and gorgeous works of art that this world had to offer.
Right after she had taken a seat on her throne, a robe-clad elderly man exuding a terrifying pressure appeared at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the elevated platform which she was situated on. He bowed respectfully, not daring to look up at her. Whilst he had once been the champion of his people, a pinnacle Dawning Numen Stage expert, something within him had now been extinguished, leaving his eyes eerily lifeless.
At the time when Rheya had met him, due to her vastly lower cultivation stage, her Talent hadn't been capable of smoothly making him submit. Instead, there had been an ounce of resistance remaining–which she couldn't permit existing. Therefore, he was turned into something a little more than a puppet, but less than a regular living being. What was most important was the role which he played in the society that he was a part of.
"Your Sacred Divinity, the Void Render fleet has been prepared, and the troops have been assembled. We await your command and are ready to set off at any time."
Having already expected this report, her expression didn't change much, although her smile ever so slightly widened. The main reason as to why she had chosen to subdue this civilization in particular was that they had some very useful vehicles in their possession.
Although the Lesser True Void was terrifying and nobody would be capable of braving it directly during the first round, there were still some ways around it. Not only did a few fortunate souls have extraordinarily special Talents to rely on–like Hercyna–but Teleportation Arrays could also allow the participants to move beyond the bounds of their worlds.
However, far more effective were the so-called 'Voidfaring Vessels', which were creations by extremely competent, powerful cultivators that were designed to allow smooth travel through the Lesser True Void. Depending on the cultures that they originated from, they could appear in all forms, shapes and sizes. Amidst the innumerable ruins all around, a few housed these vehicles–and very rarely, they were even intact!
The Prakāśa Republic–the aforementioned motherland–had lucked out a long time ago. Somehow, they had stumbled across an entire armada's worth of almost perfectly intact Voidfaring Vessels in one of the first ruins which they had ever set foot in. Despite some initial troubles, they eventually managed to figure out how to steer them skilfully, proudly naming them the 'Void Renders'. This fleet was what had originally allowed them to spread to other worlds. Only later on did they grow more proficient in the creation of Teleportation Arrays, mostly due to having plundered this knowledge from elsewhere.
"Fantastic! Then begin the expansion at once. By this time next year, I want the number of worlds that I rule over to have at the very least doubled."
Acknowledging her words with another deep bow, the Supreme Chancellor quickly departed, their formal meeting coming to an end in less than half a minute. Naturally, Rheya hadn't gone to her throne room solely for this–instead, it was because some other of her Subordinates would soon be reporting back to her. And contrary to Hercyna, she did not want them to see her in too casual of a setting.
Only a few minutes later, the disc-shaped device which she had brought with her lit up with another call request. However, right before she was about to pick up, her brows suddenly furrowed, and her expression darkened.
'It's gone. That vague, almost imperceptible sensation has disappeared.'
Ever since before Hercyna's report, she had felt as if something was different somehow, yet she had been unable to put her finger on what it was. Her gut hadn't warned her of any danger, yet that just served to unsettle her even more!
'It's worse than last time. Who was it? A peer of mine? Or someone observing the competition from the outside?'
No matter how much she racked her brains over it, she didn't get any closer to an answer, so she chose to proceed as normal and keep this incident at the back of her mind for now. After all, what else could she possibly do?
On that day, many thousands of Heaven's Chosen experienced the same disquieting sensation, yet none of them could figure out even the slightest detail about what it was that had occurred. Theodore too was in the same boat, his Fate Suppression proving utterly inadequate to shield him from this prying. Yet in the end, he was just as powerless as everyone else.
Meanwhile, in another part of the first round's event venue, the culprit behind it all opened her grey, cloudy eyes, no hint of joy to be seen on her almost excessively pale face.
'I've tried my hardest, but I cannot find out why Theo's fate has changed so shortly after the Heavenly Succession began. I can still see it, but it's incomprehensible and ever-changing now. Just what is it that he encountered?! Out of everyone I know, he is the only one who has transformed like this.'
Caught in deep contemplation, Evangelina Kismet eventually heaved an annoyed sigh. Ever since Theodore and her had come to know each other when they were still very young, she had sometimes observed slight changes in his fate, which had intrigued her, causing her to develop a habit of spying on his destiny regularly. But when she had done so again earlier today, what met her gaze was something that she couldn't even make sense of.
'... I don't like it!'
Pouting unhappily, she furrowed her brows. With her source of entertainment having been messed with by someone else, she wished for nothing more than to beat whoever was responsible into a pulp. Unfortunately, it appeared as if she was facing something above her pay grade, as fate itself had no revelations to share with her when it came to deciphering this mystery.