In the pitch-black void of space, Victor sat cross-legged in meditation, his form resembling a black hole as it greedily devoured the spiritual energy flooding in from all directions.
As time passed, his aura grew increasingly powerful.
The space within tens of thousands of kilometers warped and twisted under the pressure, fracturing into countless fragments before regenerating in an endless cycle of destruction and renewal.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Victor's momentum reached its absolute peak.
A blinding light erupted from his body, instantly illuminating the silent darkness like a newborn sun blazing to life.
But just as quickly, the radiance faded, and the void returned to its stillness.
Victor slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. An excited grin spread across his face, one he couldn't suppress no matter how hard he tried.
"The Divine Transformation Realm! Hahahaha!"
Though he floated in the vacuum of space, his laughter echoed through the surrounding void, carrying for tens of thousands of miles in all directions.
More than a month had passed since his beloved disciple Stelle had returned to the Hollow Zero world.
Since the day he'd urged the girls in the chat group to cultivate diligently, Victor hadn't been idle either. He'd thrown himself into his own training with equal fervor.
At first, he spent most of his time meditating in his room.
Occasionally, he'd take breaks to relieve his fatigue with the girls at home.
Of course, sometimes he'd also visit Stelle and Belle for some... quality time together.
More than half a month passed like this, and finally, he felt the bottleneck to his next realm begin to loosen.
That's when he came here to retreat and break through properly.
After another half month of relentless effort, he'd finally stepped into the Divine Transformation Realm!
The joy of this achievement made Victor eager to share the news. He immediately opened the chat group.
[Victor: @Everyone, I'm back, everyone!]
[Shinoa: Welcome back, Abstract Emperor!]
[Kiana: So you finally broke through?]
[Victor: Of course!]
[Lumine: Big brother is amazing! Big brother is the best!]
[Belle: Congratulations, honey! By the way, I've reached the Golden Core Realm too!]
[Victor: You broke through as well? That's incredible! Here's a kiss for you~ Mwah!]
[Stelle: Hehehe, I've also broken through to the Nascent Soul stage! Come praise me too!]
[Victor: Stelle's amazing! Mwah~!]
[Victor: What about everyone else?]
[Kiana: Like Stelle, I just broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm yesterday. Lumine, Shinobu, Bai Yuekui, Rin, and Shinoa are all at the Golden Core Realm now. Kurumi, Tsunade, Kikyo, and Gu Yuena are still at the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[Victor: Not bad at all. Looks like you've all been working hard.]
[Lumine: Of course we have!]
[Shinobu: By the way, my sister and Krul have also reached the Golden Core stage. Kanao and the others are in the late Foundation Establishment stage and should break through soon.]
[Victor: Good, good! You're all doing wonderfully!]
With this level of strength, they could truly be considered powerhouses in their own right.
[Lumine: Wait, hold on. Why is Krul's cultivation progressing so fast?]
Lumine could understand why Kanae had advanced so quickly. After all, although she wasn't a chat group member, she'd started cultivating at roughly the same time as most of them, following her sister's lead.
But Krul was different. She'd begun her cultivation journey later than most of the group members, yet she'd already reached the Golden Core stage. Wasn't that a bit too fast?
[Shinoa: I know the answer to that one.]
[Tsunade: What's the secret? I want in too.]
[Victor: You can't use this shortcut, it only works for vampires.]
[Victor: The reason Krul's cultivation speed can keep pace with yours is because she's a vampire. I occasionally provide her with my blood. After drinking it, her strength skyrockets.]
[Tsunade: Vampires are so overpowered! I'm jealous beyond words!]
[Gu Yuena: It really is enviable. Even as a dragon, I don't have that kind of advantage.]
[Victor: By the way, has anything interesting happened in the past two weeks while I was gone?]
[Shinobu: Nothing much on our end.]
[Bai Yuekui: An advance team of Hell Demons appeared in my world. They showed up near Longgu Village, but I dealt with them quickly.]
[Kurumi Tokisaki: Some appeared in my world too. I asked Kiana to come help, and we eliminated them together.]
[Victor: The Hell Demon invasions seem to be getting more frequent.]
After chatting for a while longer, Victor closed the chat group and returned home.
The first thing he did upon arriving was gather all the girls in the house for some celebratory... exercise.
After an extended session of passion, it was already the morning of the third day.
Looking at the women sprawled across the bed in various states of exhaustion, Victor felt deeply satisfied.
As his cultivation realm continued to rise, his stamina had become increasingly formidable. Even Shinobu, who was at the Golden Core Realm, couldn't keep up with him anymore!
They'd even had to call in Erina and Hisako for reinforcements.
And still, they'd all lost in the end.
Even Kanao and Qian Renxue had accidentally gotten dragged into the battle along the way.
Licking his lips contentedly, Victor carefully extracted himself from the tangle of slender limbs draped over him, dressed himself, and left the bedroom that reeked of their activities.
When he reached the main hall, he found it eerily quiet, a stark contrast to its usual liveliness.
There was no helping it. He was currently the only conscious person in the entire household.
This made him feel a bit bored.
Maybe he should visit the other girls' worlds?
By the way, it's been so long, why hasn't Stelle gone to Pinocchio yet?
Thinking of this, Victor immediately opened the chat group again.
[Victor: @Stelle, baby, why haven't you gone to Pinocchio on the Astral Express yet?]
[Stelle: We arrived there ages ago.]
[Victor: You did? When? Why didn't you tell me?]
[Stelle: You were in seclusion at the time.]
[Victor: Fair enough. So, is the Pinocchio incident resolved yet?]
[Stelle: Not yet. We're still searching for Robin.]
[Stelle: Damn it, the restrictions in the dreamscape are too limiting. I can't use my spiritual sense freely.]
[Victor: If I remember correctly, Robin's consciousness is in a forgotten place called the Dreamflux Reef. But you might have trouble finding it on your own.]
[Stelle: Then how do we get to that forgotten place?]
[Victor: It's a bit complicated to explain. I'll come to your world and take you there myself.]
[Stelle: Okay! Wait for me a moment, I'll exit the dream and return to reality to meet you.]