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Dammit, just when I thought I could surpass her only using Hope and Myriad Self Arts, she still surpassed me.
It's still the same thing with the Heavenly Demon; if I don't use all my tools, shiny equipment, weapons, and skills, I simply can't surpass them.
Yet…
But that's fine; it's really just alright.
That's what I like about them anyways, that they're amazingly strong.
They are the two people that represent Murim the most.
The two factions, the two elements, everything—they are Murim.
Just like in that vision where I saw the first ever Murim Gods, they're like that…
Definitely, the Golden Dragon could probably pick them up to become Constellations once they die, like it happened to the rest.
But I don't want them to die, though! And I'm going to do my best for that to not happen.
"Haahh…"
I slowly opened my eyes. After she knocked me out, I slept for a little while…
Though instead of waking up in my bed or somewhere else, I was sitting over her…
Her lap?!
She was caressing my hair calmly.
"Did you sleep well?"
"A-Ah! Yes…"
"Sorry for being so brutish at the end; I might have gotten a bit too excited after you showed that wonderful technique that surpassed even mine."
"Even yours, master?"
"Yes, it surpassed them in terms of potential, imagination, power, and even their ability to expand and become something even further. This is… the pinnacle of Murim's Martial and Spiritual Arts, and you've surpassed all expectations once more!"
"T-Thanks, but I still lost…"
"Yeah, I mean, you are the second person to have ever seen that though."
"The second?!"
"Yes, the first was the Heavenly Demon. He's the only one I've showed the second phase of my Imperial Armament. Using his Axe and other Armaments he can make, he managed to break through all six palms. Although he struggled more than you did."
"Wow… Oh well, still… You're still weakened, right? It's not like I truly did it like he once did. It was a completely different battle back then.
"Hm, maybe! But even then, it was still something beyond what I imagined. So well done! Now it's time for you to refine that technique, evolve it, and transform it, while also growing strong yourself."
"Uh-huh…"
"The reason why you weren't able to defeat me was because you created a technique that was vastly more powerful than you are… therefore, it ended up coming out as much weaker than it should have been."
"And how strong do I need to be to release its full power?"
"I don't know… maybe at my level or higher? It is a technique that seems to draw from several things, many things related to the Heavenly Dao and Enlightenment. It also held a lot of Imagination and Projection within it, amazing."
"I see… I really want to surpass you… Is it selfish?" I wondered.
I sat down by her side.
"I feel a bit bad when I overthink about it, but still… Maybe wanting to surpass you is not the way?"
"Haha, hardly. I believe it's fine. It's beautiful even. A disciple as talented as you wanting to surpass me… There isn't a thing I've wished for more in my life."
"Huh? Why? You want someone stronger than you to appear? So the Heavenly Demon…"
"Indeed, only a little bit, but he's weaker than me…"
"Oh…"
"Since thousands of years ago, I've wished for someone to surpass me. The weight I carried as the strongest… it was so painful and tiring. I wanted someone else to… well, take the throne. But through my lifespan it hasn't happened yet."
She looked at the lake as we sat over the fluffy, yet solid clouds.
"Back then I believed Song would one day surpass me… And now I am sure he'll be able to do so, but it might take him years," she said. "But you, Anna, I think… maybe you could do it."
"To be surpassed…"
I looked at the bright crystalline sand near the lake; seeing my small reflections on it was a bit freaky; it reminded me of the insane potential Myriad Self Arts has.
"Okay, I'll surpass you, master."
"Good girl."
She patted my head as she stood up.
"Shall we end it for today? Let's go have a meal; I bet you're hungry."
"I am… very hungry… for how long I passed out?"
"Only around an hour and a half; it's almost time for dinner, so let's go."
We flew back to her palace where the rest of the family and friends were waiting. I saw Yu there, talking with Song and the rest of my friends.
They were surprised about her appearing out of nowhere and happily interacted with her. She was a bit nervous but talked a lot as well. She seemed to be slowly opening up and becoming better at socializing, maybe.
"Welcome back, Mama! Big sis!"
Song greeted us, flying towards us with his Aura and hugging us.
"We're back! Shall we have some dinner? Sniff, hmm? Someone's already cooking?"
"Ah yes, we started cooking already; we didn't want to disturb your training with Anna, Great Venerable." Yin Sheng said.
"He's actually a really good cook," said the Heavenly Demon. "So I left it to him… I can also cook, but I would rather just let someone else do it for me…"
"You're just as lazy as always, aren't you?" sighed Mom. "Anyways, let's cook something delicious for everyone. How about some stew? No, wait, how about curry? Hmm! I haven't had some of that in quite a long while! Perhaps a couple hundred years."
"Curry!" Song said. "What's that?"
"It's a delicious meal using spices and lots of veggies and meat," I said. "You'll love it!"
"Ooohhh!" Song became very excited, looking forward to it right away.
With everyone helping, we cooked a lot of different types of curry: yellow, green, brown, red, even purple and pure black curry too, each one with different types of veggies and meats. From red meat, white meat, fish, seafood, and so on. Accompanied by fluffy white rice.
As we enjoyed the delicious curry dinner, we talked a lot about how everyone had grown so far, and also, Zero One brought up the topic as we ate.
"Tomorrow morning, are you two ready?" She asked my masters. "Everything is ready for the nanomachine extraction procedure."
So it's tomorrow…
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