Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 137 part 1!
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
The unexpected words made Pietr's mind freeze for a second before he turned his head toward Maksim, his face a picture of speechlessness.
"Old man, I'm already 20,000 years old. Isn't it too late for that? Even if it wasn't, where am I supposed to find someone around my age? Also, with the current tense situation, where would I find the time for Romance? Don't you think there are more important things to think about?"
Chuckling at the younger man's words, Maksim immediately caught the changes in Pietr's mindset, making him feel relieved, though instead of mentioning the changes in question, he doubled down on his suggestion.
"Everything you just said sounds like excuses. I'm sure you're aware, right?"
Seeing the other man avoiding his gaze with an expression of guilt on his face, Maksim continued.
"Who said that your wife needs to be as old as you? Just choose someone you like, and that's enough. Also, too old for Romance? What are you, a Mortal?"
Shaking his head with amusement, he added, although his tone turned a bit more serious.
"As for the current situation, it's exactly because it's tense that you should find yourself a Dao Partner to accompany you. After all, should you pass away in battle without having experienced love, it would truly be a massive waste..."
Those last few words were said in a reminiscing tone, as old bittersweet memories surfaced in the older man's mind.
Hearing the change in Maksim's tone, Pietr turned his head back toward the former and asked hesitantly.
"Was it worth it?"
The absentminded look on the brown-haired man slowly disappeared, replaced by a soft look as he replied.
"Yes, it was."
With a slight frown, the blue-haired man wondered.
"Even when you lost her?"
Maksim's expression froze briefly at the question before his gaze moved away from the younger man to rest on the Void Energy flowing and ebbing around them.
For a few seconds, a trace of sadness appeared on the older man's face before disappearing, replaced with a soft smile that Pietr could not understand.
However, his curiosity was answered as the older man replied.
"It's difficult to bear at first. It's as if all joy in your life disappears, leaving only pain and suffering. The World becomes dark in your eyes, your Heart feels as if it's constantly being crushed, and every negative emotion you had repressed in the past erupts at the same time. For me, it lasted for many years, until one day I asked myself: 'What would my life be had I not taken her as my partner?' That's when I realized that without having experienced her light, I wouldn't have become the man I am today, someone I can genuinely be proud of. If I had to experience my Heart being torn to pieces and my whole world crumbling down to carry all those beautiful memories, then it was a price I was willing to pay."
Letting out a sigh, he then added, his tone a bit complicated.
"I still miss her every day, but I feel comforted when I think that she would want me to live on and enjoy the rest of my life, no matter how long it lasts."
Pausing for a second, he then turned his gaze back to rest on Pietr's face as he added with a playful smile.
"And... Who said I would never meet her again? Though I have no proof, I do believe reincarnation exists, and if that's so, wouldn't I be able to meet her again? If not in this life, what about the next? Or the one after that? Knowing that, why would I waste my life and risk being scolded by her at that time? I want her to be proud of her man, not disappointed."
The two chuckled at the light-hearted words before Pietr commented.
"I'm truly impressed with your broad-heartedness, old man. If I could have even a quarter of it, then I'd consider myself extraordinary."
Cocking his left brow, Maksim retorted, his tone half-joking, half-serious.
"A good start would be finding yourself a wife. Look at little Eldoria. She's clearly on her way to find herself a good husband, and here you are, three times her age and still single."
Hearing those words, an expression of frustration immediately appeared on Pietr's face as he replied, his gaze slightly resentful.
"You're still stuck on that? For Heaven's sake, now I know how the little girl felt earlier..."
Patting his shoulder, Maksim said.
"As long as you don't do it, I'll still be stuck on that, as you put it. So, for your own sanity, it's best that you get moving."
Shaking his head, Pietr wondered if he should use the excuse of Closed-Door Cultivation to avoid the old man's pestering, knowing that once the latter had an idea in mind, he was sure to stick with it.
It was especially the case since with the man's heaven-defying senses, Pietr was sure the other man caught the changes in his mindset.
Having realized the 'weakness in his defense', it would not take long for the younger man to find himself married and with children without even knowing how.
That was how scary that old man was.
'Well, thinking about it, his arguments aren't without merit. I guess, it wouldn't be a bad idea to look for a wi... No! Damn it! I almost fell for his mind-washing tricks! This is clearly not the time!'
Shaking his head inwardly to shove that dangerous thought aside, Pietr immediately changed the subject, the atmosphere quickly switching from light-hearted to extremely serious.
"Let's put my marriage matters aside, Old man. There are more important things we have to worry about for now."
Seeing the younger man's expression turning solemn, Maksim stopped teasing him and listened to the latter's next words, though he had a faint guess as to what it was about.
"This attack today... It's concerning. We both know that an operation involving so many King-Grades along with two Emperor-Grades on an Inner Island is unprecedented, even if it was meant to kill a Peak Heaven-Grade genius and an Immortal Seed-Grade one. Well, if they knew beforehand about Demian's Immortal Seed's status, then it could barely be explained, but the 'Heaven Recognizes the Soul Lotus' phenomenon only appeared today, and from the operation's scale, it should have taken at least a few days to prepare. The most likely scenario is that, three days ago, they learned of the lad's breakthrough and decided to mount a killing mission, using the opportunity to not only remove Demian but also those around him. In other words, they risked the lives of so many King-Grade Demon Beasts and even those two Emperor-Grade Beasts simply to rid themselves of a potential threat that would only materialize hundreds or even thousands of years from now... It doesn't make sense to me. I'm sure there's something we don't know..."
The two men knew that there were only two possible reasons for what happened.
The first was that something went wrong in the Frost Beast Palace.
Whether an Emperor-Grade Beast died, was crippled, or anything else that would weaken them, everything was possible.
If that were the case, then it would be good news for the Federation, though the enemy might become extremely reckless, in a 'if I die I will take you with me' type of mindset.
It would be dangerous, but as long as they were careful, the Federation would become the final winner.
However, the second option was much less advantageous for the Human and Spiritual Beasts nation.
Actually, it would be more accurate to say that, should that option be the correct one, then it would completely alter the current stalemate between the two Forces.
Normally, Pietr would not consider that possibility too seriously, but there was something different in the few threats Misty Serpent threw his way.
Something...
Ominous...
As many thoughts traversed Pietr's mind, Maksim commented.
"We're thinking alike. Now, the question is whether it's a good thing or a bad one. From your expression, you seem to favor the latter?"
Letting out a sigh, the younger man turned toward Maksim and replied hesitantly.
"It's nothing certain, but... When that Snake was here, he kept saying that the Supreme Whale Emperor would be furious and I would regret killing his direct descendants and the like... Normally, I wouldn't care much about that sort of empty threats used to save face, but this time I felt something different. It was almost as if he truly believed what he was saying. I don't have any proof, only a gut feeling. But if it's not just my imagination, that would mean..."
With a calm expression on his face, the brown-haired man finished Pietr's sentence in a matter-of-fact tone.
"That the Supreme Whale Emperor took that step and broke through to the Mid Emperor-Grade and became as powerful as a Fourth Level Void Sapling Cultivator."
Nodding his head, the blue-haired man commented.
"That's my speculation, yes."
Pausing his words for a second, he then added.
"If it's true, then today's events are easily explainable. Knowing how arrogant that whale is, he probably wants to make a statement, announcing his breakthrough with the death of a few of our greatest geniuses."
There were surely more layers behind the Whale's actions, but speculating wildly would only result in them creating fears out of nothing, falling into that devious Beast's trap.
Thus, Pietr kept silent and waited for Maksim's opinions.
After all, the older man had lived twice as long as the blue-haired man had and had had to face the Frost Beast Palace's antagonism for almost as long.
That was why, if someone knew the Demon Whale best, then it was certainly the Federation's Supreme Elder.
After all, most of the time, those who knew you best were more your enemies and not your friends.
There were exceptions, certainly, but this case was not one as Maksim responded, his tone thoughtful.
"Knowing that cunning old fish, the odds of him having broken through are high. Otherwise, he wouldn't have escalated our conflict with this operation. But even if that's the case, it would take time to consolidate his cultivation. Decades, if everything went well, and a few hundred years, if he encountered some mishaps. Since he did not appear, it's likely that he's still consolidating his cultivation. If that's the case, then why would he reveal his recent breakthrough and give us time to prepare?"
Though he could guess the answer, he wanted to see if Pietr could discover the reason.
He was not disappointed as the younger man responded.
"He's trying to keep us on our toes, I think. Maybe... Wait! Could it be that his breakthrough went wrong and he's stuck in closed-door seclusion for a while? So, he's using this method to keep us guessing, make us wonder if any advance from our side would be suddenly met by a furious retaliation from a Mid Emperor-Grade Demon Beast!"
Hearing those words, a satisfied grin appeared on Maksim's face before the latter nodded his head and replied.
"That's the most likely explanation. That old fish never does things without a purpose and has layers upon layers of schemes. Even I, who knows him the best, would never believe that I understand his intentions perfectly."
Halting his words for a moment to give the younger man time to assimilate his explanation, he then resumed.
"In this case, though the breakthrough most likely happened, there's a nine out of ten chance that it was a forceful breakthrough, making his cultivation extremely unstable, maybe even incurring severe injuries. So, forget a few decades, the most likely scenario is for that Whale to be stuck in seclusion to nurse his wounds and stabilize his cultivation for, at the very least, a thousand years, and it's not even impossible for him to be unable to act for a few thousand years. So, although we'll still have to face him in the end, the Federation gained a thousand years to grow strong enough to deal with the situation. If we succeed, we'll finally be able to destroy that cursed Frost Beast Palace, and our Federation will be able to expand beyond the current Flowing Star Archipelago and even grow from being a Low Tier 5 Force to become a Mid Tier 5 in at most a few hundred years. Of course, if we fail, the Federation I founded 40,000 years ago will completely disappear from this World, along with every cultivator it nurtured."
Gazing at the worried expression on Pietr's face, Maksim asked playfully.
"A rather daunting situation, isn't it?"