Did becoming an Ascendant Sovereign require some absolute condition?

Some people once proposed that it took a special kind of substance. Others believed you had to gain the acknowledgment of some magic. And some said that anyone who became an Ascendant Sovereign possessed a certain special quality...

Of course, none of those guesses came from the Ascendant Sovereigns themselves. They were only the speculations of those who had failed to reach that peak.

So what about Alreis?

Even Alreis herself didn't know what conditions were needed to become an Ascendant Sovereign. Back when she broke through, it had all happened so naturally. She had simply kept exploring the abyss of magic, nothing more. It was like following a river downstream, and in the end, naturally flowing into the sea.

She had heard that some Ascendant Sovereigns broke through after suffering some kind of blow. Others had cultivated bitterly for countless years, then suddenly attained enlightenment somewhere. But as for the exact process, even Alreis had no way of knowing. Ascendant Sovereigns were obscured within the River of Time. Drawing on their power would invite backlash from the River of Time. Alreis understood that point very clearly.

And precisely because her cultivation had gone so smoothly, she had never really encountered any obstacles. Other than being trapped in her original world after becoming an Ascendant Sovereign, unable to grow any stronger, nothing had ever truly blocked her path.

So lately, Alreis had been deeply troubled.

She didn't know how she was supposed to get along with Wude anymore.

She didn't even know what she wanted to do.

Logically, after Wude branded her with a Slave Contract, she should've been trying to find a way to remove it. Or else, she should've simply followed the terms of the Slave Contract, become Wude's slave, and obediently serve him until his death...

No matter how she thought about it, she shouldn't have told Wude that Lingyue could be revived.

Reviving Lingyue was such a troublesome thing. It required that much life force. How was anyone supposed to gather enough of it?

Still... when Wude said he didn't want to drag innocent lives into it, the determined look on his face had been a little cool.

Just a little bit...

In the end, Wude still didn't understand the relationships between Ascendant Sovereigns. Honestly, Alreis felt that even if he found the Blessing of Light, there was no way the Blessing of Light would help him revive Lingyue. If anything, Lingyue's death had a lot to do with that very Blessing of Light. That woman was absolutely a scheming bitch. She'd learned that term from Wude.

And there would be great danger involved. Not just for Wude. Alreis herself would also face enormous risk. If the Blessing of Life wasn't dead, then by now her injuries had definitely already healed. The current Alreis was no match for her at all. And Alreis didn't think Wude would unleash all of his strength either. In his words, she was the "keepsake" Lingyue had left him.

When he'd said that, she had felt a little hurt.

They'd already spent a whole month together. He'd even done all sorts of excessive things to her. Though later, she'd learned from the little girl next door how to act spoiled to deal with him... still, that day, he had actually made her do that out on the street...

That was seriously too much.

But if she was a keepsake, then that meant she was pretty important to him too, didn't it?

He probably wouldn't want to let her leave either.

But if she removed the Slave Contract, what would she do then?

Wude was probably afraid she'd kill him. But that was obviously overthinking it. She still couldn't bring herself to do that. After all, he was still a pretty decent guy. She'd never met someone like him before.

She... could reluctantly acknowledge him as her friend.

It was absolutely not because she'd never had friends before!

But if she just told Wude that, he probably wouldn't accept it as valid proof. That guy was always saying you had to speak with evidence.

Seriously. Were all the people from his world that rigid?

No, no. How had all her thoughts drifted back to Wude again?

She needed to sort out her own situation first. Otherwise, she wouldn't even know how to face him...

There was no doubt that she still wanted to keep walking the path of magic. For that, she absolutely had to stay alive. But right now, Wude wanted to do something that was practically impossible. In Wude's words, that was "courting death." But sometimes he also said things like, "When a person comes into this world, there's always some death they have no choice but to face!"

And when he said that... he was kind of cool too.

But then why had she told Wude about the possibility of reviving Lingyue?

And why had she hidden the fact that even if Lingyue were revived, she might not actually be that same Lingyue?

Come to think of it, that Lingyue really was fortunate. To have someone willing to risk his life for her... dying like that was probably worth it. No wonder she had smiled so brilliantly when she took that blow back then. Had she already foreseen this outcome?

How irritating.

Still, maybe her goal and Wude's goal didn't actually conflict...

After all, an Ascendant Sovereign like the Blessing of Life, one who controlled the power of life, was really, really rare. If Alreis could use her for a bit of research, then she should be able to become even stronger too. In that case, going with Wude to find the Blessing of Life shouldn't conflict at all...

That's right. That had to be it.

Using Wude's words, her "subconscious" had already realized that, and that was why she'd told him to go find the Blessing of Life.

Now it all made sense.

As expected of me. I truly am the number one genius across all ages. Hahaha!!!

Not good, not good. She'd almost let Wude notice how excited she was. If he found out, he'd definitely start pressing her again. And if she told him, then maybe he'd do... that kind of embarrassing thing again.

Seriously, were all the people from his world that shameless?

And besides, she used to be a man.

Though she hadn't told Wude that.

As for the reason...

It was because she was afraid of the backlash from the River of Time. It was absolutely not because she was afraid he'd find her disgusting and stop talking to her or anything. After all, he was a friend she had acknowledged. It wouldn't matter much if she suffered backlash herself, but if he got dragged into it too, that really wouldn't be good.

She was doing this for his sake.

Speaking of which, she'd gotten very skilled at work lately. She could sweep the floor spotless, and she could very skillfully help Wude carry all kinds of things. Well, she was an Ascendant Sovereign, after all. Even though Wude still called her cooking "dark cuisine" and all that, which left her a little disappointed. It was honestly a blow to realize she had no talent in that area.

By the time she came back to herself, so much time had already passed?

Wude had said the clothes he ordered in town were ready. He said he bought them for her.

Heh. As expected, he still had to curry favor with an Ascendant Sovereign like her.

She would magnanimously accept them.

What was going on?

Alreis had looked weirdly happy when she took away the true maid outfit I personally designed. Did she really like it that much? The maid outfits in this world weren't actually like what I'd imagined before. Back when Lingyue was here, I didn't dare make one. I was afraid she'd think I was a pervert. But now, I could finally fulfill a wish I'd held for so long. After all, aside from being a little lacking in the chest department, Alreis was basically perfect everywhere else.

But did Alreis really know what that outfit looked like?

With the mental power of an Ascendant Sovereign, one sweep should've been enough for her to know exactly what kind of clothes they were.

So it should be fine... right?

"Wude! You pervert! Scumbag! How am I supposed to wear something like this outside?!!!"

Alreis's scream came from the bedroom.

"I never said you had to wear it outside! Just let me see it!"

Wude shouted back at Alreis.

"..."

Alreis didn't say anything else.

A while later, Alreis walked up to Wude in that highly revealing maid outfit. Her cheeks were bright red, and she fidgeted shyly as she moved.

"..."

Time stopped.

"H-Hey, say something. Looking like this is... so embarrassing. I... I worked really hard... to come out wearing it..."

Even Alreis couldn't speak smoothly anymore.

Wude dropped to his knees. He pounded the floor with both hands, tears streaming down his face.

"Another dream... fulfilled..."

Wude was overwhelmed with emotion.

"W-What is this supposed to mean?!!"

Alreis was on the verge of breaking down.