Pima was born into an ordinary family. To be more precise, an ordinary family living in the Capital. They could support themselves and manage their children, but support a cultivator? They weren't even close to having such power.
Even though they could support themselves, within the Capital, she was actually a very lowly, ordinary person. So ordinary that she didn't even have a surname. Despite this, she had a rather unusual talent. Perhaps one of her ancestors had somehow reached the Meridian Realm. Perhaps an ancestor from hundreds or thousands of years ago. Perhaps it was an adventurer who scattered their seeds while passing by. Either way, as that person's descendant, Pima had inherited a legacy. She possessed a Lightning Body—a rare gift indeed.
Bodies are a type of cultivation talent passed down from ancestor to descendant. If one of their ancestors, their parents, or even their parents' parents—in short, someone in their bloodline—had reached the Meridian Realm, there was a very small chance they could possess the body of one of the Tao that their ancestor had advanced in. Pima's possession of a Lightning Body indicated that one of her ancestors was a Transcendent who had attained understanding in the Lightning Tao.
So what was the benefit of this? It was true that it increased the cultivation speed somewhat, but the more important benefit was that it allowed you to reach the level of understanding in that Tao that your ancestor had attained much more quickly. Taking Pima as an example, her ancestor had reached the Stepping stage of the Lightning Tao, and at least Pima's lineage was at that stage when she was born. Pima had already reached the Stepping stage of the Lightning Tao while still in the Sage Realm.
Even if it was just a normal Tao, its effect was undeniable. This was the opportunity that drove Pima and led to her marriage into the Meng family.
Generally, the children or grandchildren of Transcendent individuals had a higher chance of possessing a special body. That's why there could be a few such individuals in noble families, but similarly, there was also a chance that someone like that would be born after many generations. Bringing Pima into their family was an important move. Pima had now almost Ascended, which showed what a good decision it had been to bring her into the family.
However, it also meant they had to put up with Pima's impulsive behavior.
Pima had an old appearance. Although not as old as Meng Duo, she was still the mother of Sufkro, who had lived for hundreds of years. She retained the appearance of her old age. She had a bony face and gray hair. Still, black streaks were visible among her hair, and her eyebrows were also streaked with black. Her body was somewhat wrinkled. Still, she generally maintained a healthy appearance. At least, that was how she looked in calmer times. Now, she was an angry mother.
"BARO!!!"
As she walked down the middle of the street with her eyebrows furrowed, lightning bolts materialized around her and fired randomly at various locations. People had fled in fear to their homes or shops. Pima's aura merged with the lightning, causing chaos. Behind her, soldiers could be seen running toward her from the North Gate. And not just them; Maria and Kasuur were there too.
Pima had broken through the city's North Gate. If all the military units in this city had gathered, they might have had a chance to resist her in formation, but they would never unite.
Not everyone in this city belonged to the City Lord.
"You cannot cause such chaos in the city, Lady Pima. This is not the Capital."
Baro slowly stepped out of the tavern door and greeted Pima. Pima stopped, but the lightning did not. It continued to destroy everything around them. People were watching from their windows and doorways. They understood the reason for the past tension as much as they wondered what had brought this woman here.
Mais sat calmly drinking his tea at the window on the upper floor of the tavern. He could still hear everything. If he could see, he could look out the window.
Pima held her head high. She was frowning so hard that her mouth was almost forming an 'n'. Her fists were clenched. The jet-black dress she wore fluttered under the aura's effect. She glared fiercely at Baro. In contrast, he stood calmly with his hands clasped over his chest. This infuriated Pima even more.
"Does it matter?"
"What does it matter? Of course, as you please—"
"Do a mother's feelings change in the Capital or in the Yellow City?!"
When he heard her voice full of hurt, Mais's raised teacup suddenly stopped. There was an uncertain, bewildered look on his face.
Unlike him, Baro was not so relaxed. He was just trying to appear that way. He was buying time. Troops had already arrived from the North Gate.
"I'm sorry for your son's death. Regardless, you can't harm people because of your feelings."
Pima shook her head.
"I won't harm anyone. Except you and your daughter!"
At that moment, a lightning bolt began to materialize in Pima's hand. It was an extremely abnormal sight, even for experts in the Stepping stage. When you reach the Stepping stage of Tao, you need much more body movement; that's how you direct the Tao. But Pima just extended her hand.
This was not a Stepping stage. This was Becoming One With Your Body.
"Pima!"
At that moment, another unit appeared from Baro's side. An old man stood before them. Although he also radiated an extraordinary aura, he could not reach Pima. Still, this did not change the fact that Meng Duo was a Lord of Origin Heart. Behind him was a thousand-strong unit of the Meng family. It was pure luck that the Meng family's soldiers had been on guard at the South Gate this month. Still, Meng Duo had brought them here without regard for the rules.
Pima looked at her husband. In one hand, a lightning bolt was growing larger. The sky was cloudy and growing darker. Pima's eyes were bloodshot. At that moment, each of the ten Origin Hearts beating in her body could be heard. They were pumping a terrifying power at separate rhythms. It was as if a terrible apocalypse had descended upon Yellow City. People couldn't even stick their heads out of their homes.
At that moment, there was a look of pain on Pima's face. Grief. And denial.
"Duo, is Sufkro really dead?"
Amidst all this chaos, the question was asked very calmly. Maria and Kasuur were scared. They tensed up. The soldiers grabbed their spears and swords. They prepared for what was to come. To avoid drawing Pima's attention, they began to form up from the back rows. There was a battalion of 6,000 here. Clearly, far more people had been sent to guard the North Gate than the South Gate. Six thousand people constituted one-third of Baro's unit in the city.
If they managed to join the formation, they would possess the power of a 10th-level Sage.
"He's dead, Pima. I performed the autopsy myself."
At that moment, Pima's energy, which had been spreading out into the surroundings, suddenly became still. Baro was quite tense. He had already spread his legs.
"Then I'll send that bastard lord to join him!"