"Morning, Sweetie.." Hana groggily opened her eyes to see the shameless little bird still snuggling upon her bosom. It seemed that it had become its ‘private’ nest. Piko-piko was still a baby, so she had no qualms for it to constantly snuggle close to her. After all, it just felt like snuggling a warm chicken-sized fluffy bird who was a little clingy. Honestly, it felt good as compared to coddling with her Shiro. Shiro was only perfect in warm weather. Now, her life felt complete. Walking lamps in the form of gigantic termites, a fluffed 'bed' in the form of Shiro, and a warm bolster in the form of Piko-piko.

 

Hana exhaled gently while rubbing the little chick's head in a doting manner. Somehow, it reminded her of her 2 year-old at home, who was as clingy as this. Last night was really a hectic night. They had tried all means to stop this little bird from eating the spiritual pearls non-stop. Hana felt a severe headache at the moment. She felt her bankruptcy was coming soon if she couldn't remedy the situation. The little bird will cost too much to be fed. Gone was the day to buy a pound of kibbles for her kitties at home. That alone was already equivalent to buying a kilo of chicken breasts for her family of four to eat for three days. Although Kuro and Shiro ate quite a lot, they knew how to go out and feed themselves outside and only occasionally snack at home.

 

Hana swiped open her smartphone to habitually check for her beloved's reply. She was too preoccupied yesterday and finally remembered. The short response from her hubby truly soothed her heart. She knew her Arash was someone who always tried his best to please her, accommodate her, and will support whatever she did, as long as it wasn't too crazy. She was thankful for her hubby's support and trust in her, even in times of heartache mixed confusion. She perfectly knew how he felt since she felt the same way too. She knew Arash probably only believed less than ten percent of what she said. But at least, he kept on trying his hardest to be positive and believe in her.

 

She turned her head to her left shoulder, where her beloved little pet snake was lazily dangling and gave it a peck on the cheek.

 

"Ku-chan?"

 

"Hmm?" Kuro tilted his head in the right angle he knew Mommy loved most. True to his speculation, the light of fondness in Mommy's eyes increased a couple of notches.

 

"Will Papa be able to cultivate with our chant?"

 

Kuro was silent for a moment as he pondered deeply.

 

After a while, he spoke, "Mommy, honestly, I’m not sure. Due to the urgency at that moment, I had to adapt your soul to be able to accept the chant. I carved a series of runes we lightning serpents innately possessed since we were born into this world. It looks a little like this." Kuro generated a small amount of electricity from his silver unihorn and flared it out to the air above them. Looking at Hana's awed expression, he chuckled, "Just a little trick, thanks to you, Mommy. Constant regeneration at low voltage."

 

"Returning to what we discussed before, I don't think Papa could truly cultivate his soul with it. The requirement was actually to be a lightning serpent, to have the constitution of a Lord-tiered soul, and at the very least, to be able to soul-link to you. Truly, Mommy, you're  a miracle. We had taken a very huge risk to make it work. Not so sure will it work the second time."

 

Seeing that the aunty had started to become gloomy, Kuro quickly added, "But don't lose hope, alright? Who knows? Just let Papa try. If he could sing as well as you, I'm pretty sure he could benefit at least something out of it."

 

The corner of Hana's mouth twitched a little. She knew her beloved was the exact opposite of her in terms of controlling vocal chords. After a while, she sighed and smiled. "You're right. No harm trying right. You're such a treasure. Always had the right words to make Mommy happy. Thank you, Sweetie."

 

Kuro beamed with delight.

 

Hana replied to her beloved's messages with a smile on her face. There were so many things to tell again.

 

After she was done, she stood up and planned to prepare some light breakfast. It had been days since they had eaten proper food.

 

"Shi-chan, come help Mommy." She patted the fluffy head just beside her dotingly.

 

...

 

Kuro and Shiro convened outside the cave as they whispered telepathically with each other. They had just finished their breakfast, which comprised of grilled honeyed mushroom skewers and some fresh honeyed coconut juice. It was genuinely delicious and yet so simple to make. The mushrooms were spiritual lightning mushrooms, given to them in heaps by the generous Q-chan. Their mistress was already meditating as she immersed herself in cultivation voluntarily. It seemed that she had been enjoying her cultivation time lately.

 

They didn't disturb her and even encouraged her because every time she did, all of them could feel that they were linked together into a massive network. Without doing anything, their soul had been tempered together with the same beat repeatedly, wave after wave. It did not just happen to Kuro, Shiro, Ara, Q-chan, and Pi-chan. Kuro and Shiro noticed all of the Elemental Fiends loitering around the area were receiving similar mass effect!

 

The map-making had to start sooner or later. I need these Elemental Fiends to be groomed into excellent soldiers who listen to instructions well.

 

Soldiers? Why so, Bro Ku? Is it just asking for entry from a Lord's area? The challenge was to make Q understand what they needed to do to relay topological information to her to arrange everything. I don't think that will be so tough.

 

Are you stupid?! Who is willing to let outsiders enter their territory?! What if the outsiders find all the resources they hoard and start to covet them?

 

...True. Then, should we talk things through with Mom?

 

Do you want her to be sad again? She had been focusing on this since the very beginning. The plan had been set long ago, do you have the heart to say to her don't chart the land, just stay with us here for eternity, never to see her beloved again?

 

Shiro sighed. He could already guess how this would proceed. Tell me what's in your mind, Bro Ku.

 

I need to leave. I need to find the heavenly treasure to help our Mommy become stronger, faster. On the way, I will meet up with Q and King to discuss this matter. They're not as stupid and as clueless as we think. With the soul-link in place, I'll manage to piece all the puzzles somehow. I hope that you could help arrange for them to learn and understand our plans. After that, slowly conquer the whole area around us while I was away. If they submitted, then, it's fine, just go through their land, chart up the map, list out the strong ones, and send the Lord of the area to be a soul-slave to our Mommy. No need to take away their resources.

 

Shiro was speechless. "..." O_O

 

How extreme can this tyrannical brother of his could be?!

 

Seeing that Shiro was going to talk back to him, Kuro continued quickly. Stop hesitating. Don't be affected by Mommy's personal sentiments. You, as a spirit beast yourself, knows how things work around here. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. The truly stronger ones are further south, and a couple of them are on the east-side. We must make sure Mommy’s force will be strong enough to be able to hold them off. We must be ready. It is always better to take the initiative rather than wait to be attacked.

 

Shiro was quiet and had a serious look on his face.

 

..What if the Lords around here retaliate, Bro Ku?

 

Kill off the ones who resist. Took in all the Noble-tiered and above who submitted, let Mommy enslave all of them, no buts. Ravage the land to give an example to the rest. Kuro replied stoically.

 

Shiro was quiet for a long time. He had a hard time to digest these radical militant thoughts. It was something that will make their Mom ballistic if she knew. She had a gentle pacifist heart and loved all animals equally, except for cockroaches. Whatever that was.

 

...Until what end should we go, Bro-Ku? You do know that we're not the strongest here. It’s only a matter of time before the “Eight Monarch” caught wind of this, and we will have a big problem.

 

Kuro ruminated silently. Make a genuine alliance with the old geezers from the fish slave girl's clan. Find out what they want. We will try to work things out. Make sure to find a way to enslave the stupid bird's friend from the floating tree too. We must be able to mobilize all birds and all fishes when necessary. We will have manpower on land, in the water, and over the sky. It's a strategic three-pronged attack, which will be hard to be fended off once appropriately implemented.

 

As someone who always works alone, he was deeply familiar with the power of numbers. He had been hindered multiple times due to others' efforts using such a strategy. However, the casualties they faced were not small. Kuro was a vengeful tyrant. If he couldn't get what he wanted, he'd rather destroy them as much as possible. He had made so many enemies left and right due to this. This time, he too can use the power of numbers to attack others.

 

Shiro hesitated. This is such a big move, are you sure we're not going to inform Mom about this?

 

Not for the time being. I know Mommy will definitely say no. But to survive here, it is a necessity. Especially when she figured out a systematic way to enhance the level of a spiritual beast and she became so popular within this realm. The reclusive experts will pour over to come and enslave her. Only by increasing the soul-link network within her Soul-hall Domain will give her and us a chance to survive.

 

How sure are you with this cultivation method of yours, Bro Ku. After all, you didn't achieve full mastery yet. Mom only started for a month!

 

Don't look down on her. What she achieved was equivalent to a Lord's level soul's attribute. Not in terms of strength, but in terms of comprehension and speed. She will soar very high once she could fulfill the exact requirement of Soul Empowerment. The heavenly treasure will play a big part since she is too weak physically. I must get it for her no matter what! To temper her body the usual way will take way too long.

 

Kuro flew directly in front of Shiro's face and look at his soul-brother in the eye seriously. "I trust you to make sure Mommy is safe, and our land is secured. If she dies, all of us die. Remember that. Do your part as a member of this family. Train the shameless baby bird to be Mommy's absolute guardian and an obedient flying mount. Make sure it stabilizes its realm properly so that it could use its full power when necessary. It will be a strong helper in our cause. It will grow up in no time as long as we feed it enough nutrients. Before Mommy could successfully master Soul Empowerment, she will need that stupid little bird." Once it grows, it will be the best time to replace the Silver-banded Monarch. Kuro added confidently as he sent tremors to Shiro's back.

 

His big brother's vision was truly grand. He had been wrong all along, finding small matters to nit-pick, while his brother was looking at things from a broader point of view. His brother had always been thinking about their future survival!

 

However, Shiro wondered, how could the increase in the number of soul-slaves affect their Mom's overall prowess. Kuro had never explained the specifics on how their Mom could benefit from the link, the 'children' were the ones who could indirectly benefit from Mom's cultivation sessions. It sparked a deep sense of curiosity in him. He will need to discuss with Mom about this. Perhaps, by truly dissecting the mechanics of the unusual soul cultivation method, they could find a way to speed up the process of comprehension even more. Mom could finally link with everyone around her with ease!

 

...

Both brothers proceed with their own tasks after the secretive talk with each other. Neither of them mentioned anything afterward. However, they became a little closer at this moment. After Hana finished the third cycle of the chant, she nodded with a smile on her face when he saw the two brothers were hanging out together harmoniously.

 

"They just needed some time to cozy up with each other.." She whispered happily. She wondered how she could make both brothers treat Ara a little better. She knew the small fish had been bullied behind her back. Since Ara was already part of the family, they should've been friendlier to her as well.

 

"Maybe it's time to visit Ara soon." She whispered while caressing the feathers of the sleeping little bird dotingly.

 

...