The vast, shielded bunker was saturated with the powerful, stabilizing aura of Kai's new Qi Condensation Realm. He had defeated a master and absorbed his energy, but the exhaustion was immense. The scent of ozone and shattered concrete hung heavy in the air.
Anya's demand was absolute. She stood amidst the wreckage of the battle, her blue eyes intense, focused entirely on the shimmering blue Qi that radiated from Kai's core.
"You promised, Kai. My investment bought this moment. The cost is high, but the payoff must be absolute," Anya stated, her voice steady despite the raw spiritual energy swirling around them. "Forge my artifact now. A permanent link to your power."
Kai felt the strain. He was still consolidating the immense Qi he had absorbed, and initiating another high-tier forge was a massive risk. But Anya was right—their alliance had to be sealed. She was his intelligence, his funding, and now, his only shield against the Ascendant Elders.
He focused his mind, drawing on the refined, powerful Qi Condensation essence.
[FORGE ABILITY ACTIVATED – PERMANENT ALLIANCE PROTOCOL.]
[TARGET: QI SYMBIONT RING (TIER 5 – LEGENDARY).]
[COST: 100 E-PTs + CULTIVATION BASE SAMPLE (HOST QI) + HAREM MEMBER'S AMBITION (REQUIRED).]
"The cost is 100 E-PTs, and a minute of absolute physical contact," Kai explained, his voice low. "The Forge needs to sample a thread of your ambition and merge it with my core Qi signature. This will bind the artifact directly to your Dantian, granting you a Foundation Access base."
Anya did not hesitate. "One hundred E-PTs transferred. I accept the condition."
She set her data-rifle down and stepped toward Kai, her movements deliberate and unwavering. She reached up and placed both hands on his chest, directly over his Dantian. The action was purely functional, yet intensely intimate in the context of their spiritual vulnerability.
"My ambition, Kai," she whispered, her gaze holding his. "It is the absolute destruction of Nexus Corp. Use it."
Kai felt the cold contact of her hands. He immediately channeled his refined Qi Condensation Essence, initiating the forge.
He drew a small, fine sliver of raw Celestial Alloy from the residual material still clinging to the Forge Blade hilt. He used his Qi to suspend the metal between their two bodies.
[FORGE MATRIX ACTIVATING: QI EXTRACTION IN PROGRESS.]
[HOST DANTIAN LINK ESTABLISHED.]
[HAREM MEMBER #1 (ANYA) – AMBITION EXTRACTED: NEXUS CORP DISMANTLEMENT (PURITY 99%).]
The celestial sliver began to spin, melting into a droplet of liquid silver. Kai channeled a single, ultra-pure thread of his Qi Condensation Essence, guiding it out of his Dantian and into the liquid metal.
The pain was sharp, a tiny piece of his core being excised and invested. Simultaneously, the Forge matrix sampled Anya's ambition—a cold, fierce, clean energy—and wove it into the silver droplet.
The liquid metal cooled rapidly, forming a simple, elegant silver ring—the Qi Symbiont Ring.
Kai placed the artifact gently into Anya's open palm. As her fingers closed around it, the ring glowed with a soft, steady blue light, signaling the activation of the permanent link.
[FORGE COMPLETE: QI SYMBIONT RING (TIER 5 – LEGENDARY) CREATED.]
[HAREM MEMBER #1 (ANYA) STATUS UPDATE:]
Cultivation Base: Permanently granted FOUNDATION ACCESS (Initial Stage).
Qi Capacity: Essence flow now regulated by Host's Dantian link.
Artifact Effect: Provides a permanent 50% boost to Mental Acuity (DATA) and a rapid 20% stamina recovery when near the Host.
Anya slipped the ring onto her finger. The transformation was immediate and profound. Her body tensed, her expression shifting from focused intensity to sheer, overwhelming awe. She felt the warm, pure Qi—Kai's Qi—circulating through her newly opened meridians. She was no longer just a tactical agent; she was a Cultivator.
"The purity… it's flawless," Anya breathed, flexing her hand. "I can feel the data streams of the city, not just see them on a screen. My analysis is instantaneous."
She looked at Kai, a powerful mixture of indebtedness, ambition, and a new, deep respect in her eyes. "You didn't just forge me a pill, Kai. You gave me the ability to fight them on their own terms. I am yours, strategically, irrevocably."
[HAREM MEMBER #1 (ANYA) – ROMANCE POTENTIAL: 75%. LOYALTY: 100% (Bound by power). ALLIANCE: PERMANENT.]
The Nexus Response
The moment of intimacy was shattered by a blaring alarm on the security console. The Tier-5 shield was under a coordinated, massive digital attack.
"Nexus Corp is here! Not the Golden Fist's replacement, but the cleanup crew," Anya reported, her voice regaining its professional sharpness, now amplified by the ring's clarity. "They are deploying Tier-4 cyber-spiders to bypass the Tier-5 shield protocols. We have three minutes until they breach the sub-levels."
Kai stepped toward the ruined wall, the Celestial Forge Blade hilt ready in his hand. "The Qi Condensation realm gives me control over the ambient energy. I can slow them down. We move the base now, Anya. Where is the new site?"
"The Ascendant Elders' primary target is the Star-Forge, not the base," Anya explained, pulling up a complex orbital map. "We need a location where your low-level Qi signature is masked by a high-level spiritual phenomenon. I've found a Tier-6 resource spike in the Western Sector—a spiritual disaster zone Nexus Corp has quarantined. They would never look for you inside their own disaster."
[QUEST ALERT: RELOCATION AND HIDING]
Title: The Spiritual Wasteland Gambit.
Objective: Relocate the core training equipment to Nexus Corp's quarantined Tier-6 spiritual disaster zone in the Western Sector.
Reward: QI CONDENSATION REALM stabilization, discovery of a Harem Member #2 target (The Nexus Corp Scientist who quarantined the zone), and the initiation of the Qi Condensation Arc.
Kai nodded, the genius of the move immediately obvious. "A spiritual disaster zone will mask my presence perfectly. But we need to use the one resource Nexus Corp hasn't destroyed."
He pointed to the massive, dormant fusion reactor core in the center of the room. "We don't need the Tier-5 shield; we need the Fusion Core itself. It's the most powerful power supply in the sector. The Forge can stabilize it."
Anya quickly activated a series of complex data-keys, unlocking the heavy containment field around the core. "It's too heavy for us to move, Kai."
Kai activated his full Qi Condensation power. His body glowed with a soft, clean blue light. He was no longer limited by mortal strength. He was manipulating the very energy of the environment.
He extended his hands toward the massive fusion core—a relic that weighed several tons. He focused his newly condensed Essence, weaving a massive, intricate net of Qi around the core.
"The Qi Condensation realm grants [QI MANIPULATION]," Kai stated. "I don't need muscle. I need pure spiritual force."
With a grunt of immense effort, the several-ton fusion core floated three inches above the ground.
Anya stared, speechless. Qi Condensation was true power.
"You have three minutes, Anya. We need to get this to the transport vehicle," Kai commanded, already moving toward the exit, levitating the massive core with pure spiritual force. "Let Nexus Corp find an empty shell. Our next target is already waiting for us in the Western Sector."
Kai and Anya fled the collapsing bunker, the Qi Symbiont Ring shimmering on Anya's finger—a silent testament to the forging of a new, powerful destiny. The debt-ridden father had become a war-ready Cultivator, and his strategic partner was now spiritually bound to his side. The Qi Condensation arc had begun.