After a bit of back and forth, the conversation had finally come to an end. Maria had not only been given several tips from a genuine oracle, but she was even told that she had a very strong affinity toward it.
Maria was even given a manual for divination.
'I managed to learn quite a lot from this myself honestly.'
It helped that John and Maria were connected on a spiritual level. The more knowledge and abilities she gained the more he gained.
In fact, John had already received a notification letting him know that his understanding in the laws of fate were at 0.2%.
It wasn't nearly as good as his understanding in the laws of water, but it was a start.
Speaking of which, that was nearly 2.1%. He was kind of hoping for a reward once he hit 1%, but sadly he had to wait until he reached 20%.
He did gain rewards based on discovering what his moons were the most compatible with and was pleasantly surprised when he received a reward for discovering that Maria had an affinity for fate.
"Even the reward I- I mean WE gained because of it."
This led him on a new mission of wanting to discover what all 31 moons could do. As for the other 81 moons? He'd have to figure something out later. For some reason his connection with them wasn't that strong.
They didn't even have that much qi on them to begin with.
As for the reward he got from Maria?
"The Book of Revelations," he spoke.
John was SUPER confused at first, but he quickly realized that the book wasn't a religious one. It actually had to do with actual revelations.
He tried looking at a few pages but they were full of blank pages.
He thought it was garbage so he just gave it to his favorite moon Maria for her to figure out. He also discovered that saying moons all the time was really, really annoying.
'Maybe I should just give them nicknames? Should I just call them wives? Or sister moons? How about something fancy like Pinnacles?'
Either way, Maria discovered the book was helped with you make certain breakthroughs so it should've been called the Book of Epiphanies instead… whatever.
He gave the book to Maria and asked her to pass it around. He gained more from his… Pinnacles(?) than from using the book himself.
"Ugh, I'll think of a name later. For now, let's figure out what everyone can do," he said.
...….
Meanwhile, on the Fourchan ship.
Tiza spoke to her "crew" of Grandmasters and Masters.
"We have found what we were looking for. Set the course. We're going to kill some Dragons!"
Soon cheers were heard echoing through the halls after hearing the announcement.
Shortly after the announcement, everyone moved to their battle stations. Well, except a few Grandmasters who were close enough to Tiza to ask about what happened on the surface.
"So what happened? Who was this foreigner the oracle spoke of?" one of them asked.
The oracle in question didn't belong on the battlefield, so she left the warriors to discuss matters while she walked away, trying not to trip on any broken panels or ripped-out wires.
Tiza and the rest just watched her walk away before discussing matters.
After she left, Tiza explained the situation—or at least her own version of it. Tiza had no intention of oversharing, especially since she'll gain much more from this than they would, and she wasn't obligated to share everything for that reason alone. She most certainly didn't intend to let others know that she could now absorb the qi from her victims, or that she will soon have a monopoly on all the spiritual energy in this sat system… and maybe beyond.
After a bit of back and forth, she just explained to them that the foreigner had agreed to help take over the star system in exchange for naming and mining rights for "Holstein."
Everyone was confused, but nobody saw it as a real loss. Not even Lord Grinder could withstand the pressure from the planet. Even he nearly died just trying to get out of the stratosphere.
Whatever these humans were, they clearly meant business. Fortunately, from what they knew, they were pacifists; otherwise they would be really nervous.
This logic, of course, had more to do with their terrible tunnel vision. The desire to get everything over with and get the prize above all else.
"So what did they offer in exchange?" one man spoke.
Tiza looked back at the one who spoke, "My dear brother. I can smell the greed coming off of you," Tiza said.
Yes, the people she was talking to on the bridge (or at least a resemblance of one) were her immediate family. Sadly, due to her superiority complex, she had a severe lack of trust even for her own siblings.
Despite the fact she was drowned in unique and powerful treasures by her late husband simply because she was the prettiest.
As for worthy?
In the world of cultivation, the only thing that really matters—at least to the more primitive civilizations—is "devouring" as much qi as they can and being called talented by others for it.
No matter the race, cultivators will always be shitty people after all.
Tiza thought for a moment before throwing them a bone.
"The human performed a ritual," she said with a smirk.
A blatant lie, and not a very good one. Fortunately she knew the weakness of her race well enough. Her brothers were more interested in treasure than anything.
"Well? What is it? What does it do? Can we try it?" the younger brother asked excitedly.
Tiza just chuckled, pleased that her ruse worked.
"The ritual is a one-time use upon performing it. If you must know, the ritual allows a person to bond with any planet they want and command that qi from any distance. The ritual was meant to mark the planet I would bond with. Simple."
Her brothers were stunned!
If their guess was correct, then she either bonded with the moon she was on—which didn't have much, if any, qi at all—or she bonded with the newly named Holstein.
Either way, that planet wasn't any better. She would've been better off bonding with their own planet. It is a 3-star planet after all… well technically a 0.1-star planet considering how many cultivators were on it.
Was that her plan all along?
An extra boost?
Tiza just chuckled as she looked at her idiot brothers.
"Ask yourselves: how do you cultivate on a planet not even an Earth-Immortal can survive on?" she asked, hoping they would understand.
Fortunately, the brothers weren't as dumb as they appeared. They quickly figured out the situation, and the blood nearly drained from their faces. Not that you would notice considering their faces were covered in scales.
"You'll have sole ownership of all the qi in the star syatem. If anyone finds out about this…" They understood the danger, and for once in their lives, they began to fear their own flesh and blood.
Why wouldn't they?
They understood their sister quite well. She was the golden child of the family, loved by their father and the former lord of their domain.
This had only made her spoiled and cruel.
It was in her nature to look down on others even her own siblings and parents.
These two brothers even thought for a brief second that they should kill or rat out their own sister. Sadly, it would take at least a dozen Grandmasters to do that, and all of them were far too loyal to her.
These two brothers began to fear the future more and more.
Instead of speaking up, however, the two began silently plotting against her. Not because of greed or power. In fact, in the face of true evil, it is in the very nature of all living beings to either fight or run away, and they knew full well that once she became an Earth-Immortal there was no fighting back.
The brothers quickly made up their minds and spoke up:
"We look forward to your rise, sister. Our people are in desperate need of true leadership."
The other brother nodded his head, almost questioning if his brother was lying or if he could trust him as well.
Tiza, on the other hand, just looked at both of them and nodded with a slow bob of her head as she told them to return to their quarters so they could rest.
They had a big day today, and they were responsible for manning the cannons and covering for her.
Once they disappeared from the bridge, they regrouped a little further away to discuss the situation. They had to get out of earshot first; a Dragon-rank was no pushover in perception after all.
Once they moved far enough away, they began discussing things—probing each other.
"Do you think this is a good idea? Allying with an alien? Performing some kind of strange ritual that would help her monopolize all the qi in the star system? Doesn't this seem a bit… worrisome?" The brother who congratulated Tiza earlier was the first to speak.
The other brother sighed a bit in relief at that.
'I'm glad he's on my side.'
"You're right. Nobody would be able to cultivate ever again if she had her way. She'll have the full backing of a 3-star planet. Worse, she'll be an Immortal… And I don't want to be sexist or anything, but our people are known for our impulsiveness. Our women especially. I'm just saying, having her as supreme leader seems a bit… reckless."
The two brothers both sighed in relief. Thankful they were both on the same side. As for what the second brother said about their women?
If John were there he would've asked the Akashic Records for an example and quickly found out that across the cosmos it is a universal law that makes it so that no female Fourchan, no matter the subrace, is ever allowed to hold a seat of power.
Not because they're women.
But because they're one of the most gung-ho women in the cosmos. Known for their over-ambition, impulsiveness, and the fact that their race has gone extinct 99% of the time on a cosmic scale whenever they take leadership roles.
Not every race is like that. There are plenty of matriarchies in any universe that have withstood the test of time. Patriarchies too.
It's just that the Fourchans aren't one of them.
So as they began making their plans, they were completely unaware that they were being watched over the system comms.