—–

When I realized my power might have created a bit of a catastrophe, the doors slammed open, and a crow-faced bastard entered. The man who had dared me to do that entire challenge just so I could be approved by his almighty standards. He was now flying towards me with a wide smile on his face. If it wasn’t because he had the face of a crow, and I found birds quite cute, I would have been a bit creeped out.

“My disciple, you are awake! And that showcase of power! So it has worked! Were you able to use the Chaos Ki?!”

“I-I did! And did you just call me your disciple?” I asked in shock. “D-Does that mean I passed?”

“Of course you did.” He nodded, calming himself down and standing in front of me. “Well done, girl. Now, tell me what your name is.”

“My name, right… Did I never introduce myself? I’m Anna.” I said with a smile. “It is an honor to meet my new master, the great Heavenly Demon!” I bowed my head.

I had to just curry favor with him for now. If I act disrespectfully, he might get upset and angry, and this entire relationship between master and disciple might crumble in seconds. This entire world never appeared in the novel, so I have little idea what to do or how these characters even work or interact with people, so I must act nicely and learn from them.

“At least you know your manners.” He nodded. “And yes, I’ve accepted you as my disciple after you accomplished your trial. Not only did you defeat all thirteen thousand mechanical monsters, but you destroyed their facilities and even fought against their elites. Beings that possessed fragments of the heavens I was not aware of.”

“Well, I did tell you I would do it.” I nodded with a prideful smile, temporarily forgetting my manners.

“It was indeed an incredible showcase of pure strength.” He laughed. “I never imagined a bald ape girl like you would go and do all of that on her own! It was utterly impossible and incredible at the same time. Yet you surprised me and brought my expectations even further beyond their limits.”

“A-Ah, well, I did my best…” I sighed.

I still almost died anyway. With all the power I’ve amassed, there are still many powerful foes out there, some of whom could easily kill me. I need to get even stronger.

And the key to becoming stronger is within the Heavenly Demon and the Heavenly Empress teachings!

“No, you did even more than your best.” He smiled. “Now, I suppose you’ve already realized your new powers, right? While you were sleeping, I decided to heal you using my secret techniques, and I’ve managed to modify your Spiritual Body in ways I never thought possible thanks to your amazing potential.”

“Y-You did what?” I asked. “Wait, now it makes sense, master! So it was you who helped me out there!”

“Indeed.” He nodded. “I have created new potential within you. Using the Heaven Fragments left behind by that monster. I created a harmony between your three Meridians, your Fourth Meridian, your Inner Martial Core, and your Physique. You must have already felt it, right? The constant flow of energies that no longer disrupt one another?”

“Yes… I-It is incredible, something I would have never been able to do on my own.” I said.

And for real, I would have never been able to do it on my own!

He probably did some really ancient and amazing technique—something way beyond my league, something that can’t be imitated.

“I’ve given you a chance now, a chance to break through your limits and forge a new Physique, Inner Martial Core, and Spiritual Body beyond anybody in this world. Or perhaps there are many worlds out there.” He laughed. “However, at your current stage, its true powers have yet to blossom. Now, tell me something, my disciple.”

“Yes, master?” I asked.

“What is your purpose for coming here?” He squinted his eyes. “You’ve done as I said, and you’ve gained my trust, and even I’ve given you new potential, a new talent. However, what is your purpose? What do you fight for? What do you strive for?”

“I… What do I strive for?” I wondered, feeling slightly surprised by such a simple question.

Of course, I strive to save my world, the Earth.

But also, I am here because I wanted to become stronger so I could save my own world.

And to do that, I have to save another world, so I can become stronger and save my own.

I guess that would be a good answer.

No, he might not accept that.

What else is there than…

…

Wait, yeah, there’s something else there.

Something else that I’ve simply been trying to associate with my desire to save my world and those I love.

There’s something that is completely unrelated to those emotions—something much more primal, much more… selfish.

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“Because I want to reach the pinnacle.”

“…”

He remained in silence, looking into my eyes.

“There were two options you could have given to me, and both of them were your true motivations.” He said. “However, the one you choose aligns with my own thought process, is it not? Was that why you picked that answer?”

“Yes,” I sighed. “It is something within me—a sense of selfishness—to strive forward just because I want more power. I might be just greedy and selfish, but I really want to get there! To the pinnacle… I want to reach higher than anybody else and crush the faces of the bastards that dominate everything. I want to… become the strongest.”

“Hah…” He smirked. “Hahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!”

He laughed loudly, raising his beak into the skies.

I was left staring at him dumbly.

I felt stupid for ever saying something so immature and edgy like that.

My priority is still saving and helping everyone I love. It just so happens that my selfish desires align with my selfless ones.

But at the end, I shouldn’t simply focus on that part either. Just thinking, “I want to be the very best!” shouldn’t be enough!

The Heavenly Empress would be pecking my head with her beak if she ever heard that from me.

What was I even thinking? Even the Heavenly Demon laughed at me!

His respect for me is probably going down with every second that passes.

It’s so over.

“GOOD!”

“Eh?”

Did he say “good!”?!

“What’s good? I… I was dumb for saying that. I apologize-”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, foolish disciple.”

He stopped me midway through my words.

His crimson eyes stared into my very soul.

“Your purpose and your objective—I like it! I had the same back then!” He laughed. “Why should there be something deeper? Why should I be striving to save others? Why should I care about anything other than myself? Between heaven and earth, I am sublime! Be selfish, be greedy, look for more, and hunt! Take away the opportunities of others; kill if necessary! Don’t let them laugh at your dreams; don’t let them stomp you down because they can! Fight back, tear them down, and reach the pinnacle!”

“…”

“It is only when you reach the summit that you realize that… There is nothing more fulfilling, bwahahahaha!” He laughed. “Don’t believe those who say that the pinnacle is lonely! It doesn’t matter at all! Set your objectives clearly and do ANYTHING to achieve them! Once you finally reach the end, you will feel fulfilled. You will feel reborn! As I stood at the pinnacle, nobody could fight against me; nobody could say a word; nobody could bark back. I was supreme, and supreme I was!”

“I…”

“My foolish disciple!”

“Y-Yes?!”

“Within your mind, however, the thought process of a demonic cultivator such as myself is not there yet.” He spoke. “You are not one of us. Yet at the same time, you perfectly align with us anyway. Your mind is divided, a perfect balance between righteous morality and selfish insanity. You possess a Dual Mind, as some call it.”

“D-Dual Mind?”

What sort of bullshit is he speaking now?!

I mean, after the whole edgy rant that any Heavenly Demon did, has he now started talking about having a Dual Mind?

Is that even a thing?

And wait, why am I feeling so overwhelmed by his words? Like, he’s really hitting my heart with those words.

It’s weird how weirdly inspiring this man’s words can be.

“The mind of someone who doesn’t belong to either faction.” He said. “I’ve met a few through my life. People who wanted perfect harmony. There was someone… Someone dear to me also thought like that. They fought and strived for such a world, but… Well, it didn’t end well.”

“Someone dear to you? Was there such a person, master?” I asked.

“Of course there was, do you take me for an emotionless monster?” He sighed. “More importantly, back to the main topic. Your mind, your ideals, your thoughts! All of them align with both factions, yet none at the same time. And this is also the reason why… I’ve decided to take you as my disciple, despite the Heavenly Empress having done the same. But tell me now. What other objective do you have in this world?”

“I want to save it.” I said. “That is the mission I was given—the mission that’ll make me even stronger so I can save my own, much weaker world!”

“I see.” He nodded. “And for that, what do you want to do then?”

“I need to learn; I want to learn how to actually fight with my body and not rely on just Skills or the System.” I said. “To fight like experienced warriors would! I want to learn both factions’ fighting styles, and also learn more about your history, your culture, and your people, because, if I have to be honest, I am really intrigued and amazed by such a wonderful world, master!”

“Hmph…” He looked into my eyes, this time without any doubt in his eyes. In fact, he seemed to be giving me a rather warm smile. “I suppose I should feel flattered that you feel so charmed by this old world, Anna. Very well, just as I promised. I shall become your master and teach you what I can within this limited time window you possess, because I am sure you have one.”

“I do… 15 days. I’ve already spent two days here, so there’s only thirteen days.” I sighed.

“I see.” He nodded. “Then what is your plan? Are you going to go back and forth between the two of us?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.” I nodded. “If you allow me, I possess a special artifact that’ll open a portal only I can use or those I allow to use, which will allow me to instantly teleport from here to the Heavenly Empress’ island. This way, I can train, get strong enough, and then destroy those two trees on each island before we all aim for the third.”

“You’ve got a whole plan already laid out. Amazing. For being such a young girl, you possess the mind of someone several years older than you.” He said. “At least someone in their fifties.”

Fifties?!

Wait, well, if I count my previous life, where I lived 29 years, and then my second life as Anna, which was 17 years, then those are 46 years!

Yeah, almost fifty, midway through it.

I am indeed a bit older in mentality.

“What with that face? Are you upset? Haha!” He laughed. “Don’t sweat the details. I tend to speak rashly, that is who I am. You better get used to your master.”

“Y-Yes, I will.” I nodded. “Now, I really need to return to the Heavenly Empress to tell her that everything went fine…”

“Not yet.” He spoke. “You’re spending two weeks with me first!”

“Eh?! I don’t have enough time for that!” I cried.

“Inside my Inner Realm, you’ll have!” He roared. “I must first teach you something! You simply can’t leave!”

“Ahh… I guess you’re not wrong.” I nodded. “So should I go in right away or…?”

“You’re already inside.” He said.

“I am?!”

I ran out of the window to find I wasn’t on the island at all.

Surrounding this palace, there were dozens of gigantic peaks, with purple, red, and pink skies swirling above the heavens and clouds of similar colors.

The surrounding forest looked as if it were perpetually in autumn, showing red, yellow, and orange leaves. I could see gigantic Martial Beasts roaming the forest and flying in the skies.

This entire palace was surrounded by a smaller village than the one on the island, but there were also inhabitants living here. Perhaps descendants of a lineage of people that have always served him.

“I can accelerate the time of my Inner Realm to ten times its original time.” He said. “If I could recover some more, twenty or thirty times could also work. You’ve got enough time now, right?”

I suppose I’m staying for a two-week “vacation” here.

Though it feels more like the Heavenly Demon kidnapped me, or is that just my idea?

—–

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep