Chapter 1118
Nobody had a worse view for his parents’ own advancement than Chidi. Technically, his perspective was tied with the vast majority of people in the system, but for someone who could have been close enough to actually watch it was pretty limited. He would be getting secondary replications of energy signatures and that was it. And he wouldn’t actually be able to see because… he couldn’t.
It was better to be somewhat disappointed at missing out than have any risk of causing something to go wrong. This wouldn’t be a process where his parents could back down, so they needed as clear of a flow of energy as they could. With Chidi’s inner formations meant to negate energy flow, even if he wasn’t intentionally entering a state of negation he could be a confounding factor. So he waited nervously, trying not to think about the odds of a double success.
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Timothy and Catarina shared looks. They could feel devotion pouring into them from all around, devotion they had been rejecting along with all forms of energy. Any words they had to exchange had been said long before, and two people could not be so close for centuries without going beyond the need for words most of the time regardless. Not that they didn’t enjoy hearing each other’s voices, even as they changed with age.
They moved with the confidence necessary to become a Domination cultivator. If they weren’t confident, they would have given up before they got so far. Unless they were truly foolish, and even cultivation couldn’t select out certain sorts of fools.
If it were practical, they might not have chosen to be observed- but the Alliance watching was literally going to improve their chances. It seemed impossible that they could end up with too much devotion. If they couldn't handle a certain amount of energy, they couldn’t handle Domination.
They approached their chosen positions where they sat back to back in the middle of a solar teleportation platform. Complex runes spiraled out around them, many of which had been recently added by Catarina’s own hands. Some were simply carved out painstakingly, while others had been inlaid with expensive materials. There were fillings of worldheart and even some specks of starheart dust that had been obtained through much effort by their allies.
Beyond contributing their personal wealth, the Scarlet Alliance had invested heavily in them. In the case of their unfortunate failure, the Alliance would lose out in many ways but they couldn’t afford not to invest in their potential first Domination cultivators. Even the sects that were part of the great powers understood that, despite their frequent jockeying for power.
The tension around them was palpable, nobody speaking a word- even though the platform was empty except for them, and thus any sound would have faded into the vacuum of space unless they intentionally projected it.