Chapter 1

I nodded slowly, wondering how much I should tell her. “Under normal circumstances, that would indeed be impossible. But the Heavens are fair. For them to reach such levels without issue, there is a cost; and it’s more profound than you might think.”

As many powerful cultivators do, I had collected a small harem of beauties over the years. For a simple dalliance, any cultivator pretty much had his (or her) pick of mortals to choose from; it was rare for one of them to decline an immortal who took an interest in you, and it pretty much guaranteed a luxurious life, with the chance that your children might become immortals as well. It was also fairly common for immortals to just take mortals they fancied, though it was frowned upon by the “righteous” cultivators. But ... if you were strong, you could take what you wanted. That is the way of life in the cultivator world.

Still, it was considered in poor taste to bully the weak, and I certainly try to treat my women well. When I found someone I liked, I would approach her and offer her a place at my side as a concubine, with personal training in a suitable cultivation technique. Of the seven mortals that caught my eye, six had agreed to become mine; one was already engaged to a mortal she was in love with and would not be deterred by her family trying to convince her I was offering a better deal.

Sometimes that’s just how fate works; when you get to my level, you tend to be very careful of the karma you generate, as it can significantly impact you when enduring a tribulation; they were difficult enough that extra complications were something to be avoided if possible ... especially for me. Deliberately harming mortals for your own amusement was looked on very harshly by the Heavens.

I took a deep breath. “The cultivation technique I trained them in is based upon a very specific Dao that I theorized.”

Miura widened her eyes. “That you... theorized? You mean you designed a technique that you don’t even use?”

I sighed. “Look, you know how difficult it is to raise mortals in the cultivation world. Giving them a compatible technique and telling them to go cultivate has an extraordinarily high failure rate. I wanted my women to be with me for as long as possible, as close to me as possible. The cultivation technique that I taught my women was ... special. It was based upon what I call the Dao of Submission.”

“The Dao of... what?” Miura truly looked flabbergasted. I knew what she was thinking: how could such a Dao actually exist?

I took another sip of my tea. The cups and pot were all enchanted to keep the tea at the perfect temperature; a bit vain on my part, perhaps, but I enjoyed the luxury it provided. “You know the Seraphim do not experience tribulations, correct?” I didn’t wait for her nod to continue. “Their cultivation progression is almost identical to ours, but there are many more of them in the upper levels of power, because there is no need to prepare for a breakthrough. They don’t need to be prepared for the worst when cultivating, and they almost always succeed.”

Tribulation was something that all cultivators experienced when they broke into a new major realm, and even between minor realms when you got past Dao Seeking. The Heavens would congeal and send terrible lightning down upon a cultivator in their weakest moment. Some lightning was spiritual, where it would recreate your worst fears (we usually called these heart demons or mind devils) and try to force you into qi deviation, a life-threatening state where your qi no longer obeyed your will, while some lightning was powerful enough to incinerate even the toughest bodies of cultivators to ash in an instant. The more advanced the realm you were in, the more powerful, and insidious these bolts became, and more numerous as well.

My guest looked at me in confusion. “I had always thought that was due to their unique physiology.”

I shrugged. “I imagine that has something to do with it, but the basic facts remain, yes? They cultivate the qi of Heaven and Earth in much the same manner as we do ... but the Heavens do not seek to punish them. They aren’t that much different from us.” I found myself staring at my teacup again. “We have always said that cultivators experience tribulation because we defy the Heavens. By seeking power? No. I believe we defy the Heavens because we seek power on our own terms and for our own purposes. Have you ever met a Seraph with an original thought or personality? They are fanatics, slavishly bound in service to the Heavens and her lieutenants ... and as such, the Heavens do not seek to punish them.