— Fast forward to a month later —
*Ding!*
[Completed Main Quest #2 - Survive and Eliminate]
This was the quest Nylon completed a month ago. The rewards he received from it were especially tasty.
One of the boons was the evolution of a certain Martial Spirit, as ten |Jagged Burner| Martial Spirits were fused and transformed into the Rank 4 Martial Spirit |Hell Ripper|. This Martial Spirit Fusion doubled Nylon's cultivation speed and also brought about a realization.
That realization being that the lesser forms of evolved Martial Spirits could not be equipped while they were equipped. This meant that any extra |Infernal Sword| and |Jagged Burner| Martial Spirits were left in the Inventory to rot until another ten of the respective Martial Spirits were gathered for further Fusion.
As for the rest of the rewards Nylon received from completing his second Main Quest, namely:
[50 Reward Wheel Spins, 50 System EXP, 100 |Spiritual Condensation Pills|, 1 |Divine Absorption Pill|, 1 |Mid-grade Tempering Potion|, 1 Epic-tier |Godland Third-eye| Martial Spirit]
He stacked the Wheel Spins, gained the System EXP, swallowed the Spiritual Condensation Pills, acquired the Epic-tier Martial Spirit, and saved the rest.
However, even after the refinement of hundreds of multiplied |Spiritual Condensation Pills|, Nylon barely managed to create the 5th Golden Petal of the Midas Heavenly Chart. This meant he only attained the 5th Plane, Juggernaut, after using enough resources to produce several Mystery Plane cultivators.
Absurdly costly…
After another month, though, the 6th Golden Petal was successfully created. This meant Nylon had regained his place in the 6th Plane, Invincible, and was now working toward the 7th and most difficult Plane—Mystery.
"Even after activating my third Martial Spirit, Godland Third-eye, my cultivation speed only more than doubled again—and that only because it was Peak Rank 4, not normal Rank 4."
Nylon conjured that very Martial Spirit while sitting in a moving aircraft. The turbulence was hitting hard, but not enough to affect him or his cultivation.
After being conjured, a purple-slitted eye opened up in the center of his forehead. It improved his cultivation speed, yes, but it also gave him the ability to predict the movements of his enemies. As for future Evolutionary Traits, they were less physical and more qualitative, as the first one, acquired at the Unmaker Plane, allowed for the very near future of an opponent to be seen the way it would happen.
This foresight ability would be limited to a fraction of a fraction of a second but would still make all the difference in battle. Moreover, the second additional evolutionary trait would make things even better, for it would make it possible for him to alter the attack of an opponent before it struck out.
Overall, the Godland Third-eye was overpowered and was the perfect choice for Nylon's third Martial Spirit.
'That reminds me,' he thought to himself, opting not to speak for the sake of the peacefully sleeping woman on his lap. 'Just how many Martial Spirits can I have?'
It was a subject that had been eating away at his curiosity for a while now. After all, artificially implanted Martial Spirits were typically limited to one—whereas natural Martial Spirits could usually go up to two or three for the supreme heavenly geniuses of Earth.
But for Nylon… he felt that three was nowhere near his limit.
He had many guesses as to why this was the case, but none of them would turn out to be right. This, after all, had to do with one of his other special 'Qualities'—just like with Actualization.
"I suppose I'll figure out my limits in the future, and pick and choose what Martial Spirits I'll keep or discard—"
BANG!
The highly advanced, super private jet they were flying in was suddenly hit with an unnatural amount of turbulence. The snoozing Tessa shot awake before drowsily turning her head around like a puzzled black cat.
"Whooz dere!?" She suddenly looked in a certain direction with a lethargic ferocity, yet wound up glaring at nothing in particular. She scratched her head in confusion, ultimately looking to Nylon for answers.
"You have sharp senses, My Lady," he said, rubbing her head. "It would appear that we're not alone in these skies."
"Cacaaaww—!"
Outside the expensive, gold-gilded jet was a massive flying creature. With the head of a bat and the body of a vulture, it appeared eerily unnerving. It was also very powerful, with a cultivation base of the 1st Layer of the Innate Realm.
"That thing is banging on the protective barrier of the jet," Nylon announced nonchalantly, sending alarm through the crowd of Family Servants. "We have a couple of Innate Realm Hired Hands on board, don't we?" he voiced this question to Amary, who wasn't sitting too far away.
The Head Maid nodded. "After the latest incident with that human garbage, I requested further protection from 4th young miss's father. They've only just been able to join us at the same time we departed for London. However, I can assure you they're quite capable; should I ask them to—"
"No," Nylon interjected. He rose from his seat with Tessa in hand before laying her down gently on the same seat. With his back turned to Amary, he said, "I've been lacking a decent opponent. I'll go and deal with it."
"!!!"
"Are you sure you won't reconsider, young Nylon??" Amary tried to speak some reason into him. After all, that was no ordinary flying creature, as it was a Mutant—and an Innate Realm one at that!
By default, the Innate Realm was impossible to cross over and defeat for Awakening Realm cultivators. However, when including the fact that Mutants were stronger than their equivalent Realm human counterparts, the chances of an Awakening Realm cultivator claiming victory against an Innate Realm were…
Worry surfaced in Tessa's expression. She was about to persuade Nylon against this reckless action as well when Nylon spoke first, saying:
"I am confident."
The words were so simple and straightforward, yet they made all the difference for Amary and Tessa's apprehension. One sighed in unison after hearing it, while the other made a heart shape with her polished hands.
"You can do it, Darling~! Beat that shit bird up~!"
Nylon nodded.
Then he vanished.