Chapter 549: Three Reactions to Failure

Omilaena admitted that she had been arrogant. Oh, she freely acknowledged that in general, it was just that usually she considered her pride to be entirely justified. But this... there had been a part of her that had assumed she could easily outperform one of the Frontier elites with just part of her attention.

Apparently not. She'd needed a decisive win and instead she'd gotten something he could spin in his favor.

The problem was, her previous logic hadn't been wrong, not in the fundamentals. She couldn't afford to focus on Irun to the exclusion of everything else, especially since she had projects in Krysal and wanted to get back to Goralia. And while their threesome's power wasn't immediately relevant, it remained her highest priority and she didn't want to abandon any of that work, especially not when the Physique experimentation was getting so interesting.

Could she still swing altruism to work for her? Everything she was doing in Irun was directly relevant to her ongoing research, but that didn't mean that it would be productive to divide her time evenly. Eventually she might have to choose.

For the first time in a month, Omilaena drew her entire attention together and focused on her plans. It began with staring at three pills and thinking about a pool of metal...

.

..

.

It wasn't fair. Zae Zin Nim should have been used to the injustice of Deadwaste, since after all she had seen what it did to her husband time and time again, yet she was still disgruntled when it scorned her wife. Omilaena's methods were clearly superior to what that elite was doing and it was absurd that the others couldn't see that.

Even though her plan had been to return to Krysal, Zae Zin Nim remained with them, and not for prurient reasons as Quinta's glower seemed to indicate. It was essential to support them now, in this critical time, and she would gladly fulfill that duty.

Unfortunately, Irun was not a good match for her abilities, especially not compared to Krysal. The Irunian soldiers needed more than she could offer... unless she could teach them formations? Zae Zin Nim considered this possibility for some time before realizing that it was impossible: their metal-inhabiting powers were simply too inappropriate for such flowing qi techniques. If anything, chakra might be better suited, so trying to introduce formations would only give ideas to the enemy.

Trying to help them was frustrating, especially compared to her own cultivation, which was moving along gloriously. She continued to consume the Brightwind Meridian Perfection coils, melting them down in her qi and enhancing her own meridians. Each made her own cultivation leap upward, and beneath that made her a purer cultivator.

She had even tried to gather the Heavenly Qi, and despite the fact that it should have been too much for her, she had been able to circulate the qi into her dantian. The only problem was that the qi was so intense that it was excessive, so she kept it for later. There was still a long path to Sky Soul, after all, and the last steps were said to be the most difficult.

Zae Zin Nim doubted that would be the case for her. Yes, she needed to cultivate substantial amounts of qi in her dantian yet, but once she did, she would have perfect meridians, heavenly qi, and now even a new pill from her wife. Omilaena had created her a pill perfectly attuned to her that was more than up to the task of helping her break through.

So really, it was a waste of time to cease cultivating in order to help this nation of dour swordsmen. Whichever way the competition went, Zae Zin Nim and her spouses would gain unparalleled power, and she could join them once she became a Sky Soul.

She tried to tell herself that... and felt guilty.

Yes, she had struggled mightily to reach this point, but she didn't want to be a young master taking credit for the help of others. She never would have survived the Blackblood Physique without Kai. Her best qi pill was a gift from Omilaena. And the Brightwind Meridian Perfection, which was clearing her cultivation so effectively, would have been completely useless if they hadn't helped Orotaisin. Who knew what she might gain from giving a little now?

And so, while the others were busy, Zae Zin Nim went to do something that she had never imagined she might try. Quinta Agyama was working in the garden, tending a plant with grace that would have been appropriate on Cloudspire. For some reason she scorned Kai and Omilaena, but perhaps Zae Zin Nim could get through to her.

"You have a beautiful garden." Zae Zin Nim entered and sank down beside her.

"Thank you." Quinta glanced at her briefly, then continued her work, which was invitation enough.

"I don't believe we've been introduced."

"I've heard of you."

That was an icy reception, but Zae Zin Nim was not to be put off. "I won't pretend to be here for small talk. I would like to request your assistance. My wife is attempting to help Irunians develop their Physique, and I am told you represent one of the best lineages in the nation. Your contributions could well be an essential component."

Quinta scoffed. "And you're doing this all for the sake of Irun, are you?"

"No, I only care because this is my wife's project. But I do believe this would be best for your nation as well. Omilaena is very skilled with such things."

"At least you're honest." Quinta set down her shears and turned to look at her. "I've seen her work, and I understand she'll need to draw blood, among other things. What would you give me in return for my collaboration?"

Zae Zin Nim blinked in surprise - she expected all Irunians to be altruistic in defense of their home, so this self-interest was unusual. Not unfamiliar, though. "I could compensate you with both money and qi, alongside other resources."

"Money will do us no good, and I doubt your resources will be compatible with Irunian abilities."

"Well... there are certain dual cultivation techniques that might be of use. You and your husband have very compatible abilities, yet you don't seem to be sharing power. Doing such would most likely help you both, and it would not be difficult to teach."

"No." Quinta's expression shut down entirely. "Please be on your way."

Such an abrupt failure was dismaying. Zae Zin Nim had thought that making the formal request was already embarrassing enough, and would have been willing to kowtow and beg for Omilaena's sake, yet it seemed like that would be useless. Either Quinta hated them irrationally, or something in their conversation had angered her.

Accepting the blockage for now, Zae Zin Nim bowed stiffly and then left the garden. If one path was blocked, she would take another.

.

..

.

Even though Kai had intended to focus on training the Irunians, there was less that he could do than he hoped. It wasn't as if they were loafing around when Omilaena wasn't working with them: they were engaged in continual training programs, some developing their Ironpath Physique and all at least training their skills.

Still, Kai could do better. He managed to schedule a sort of "hell week" to push them to their limits, but it would have to be later.

In the meantime, he wasn't sure what he should try. Other than continuing his cultivation and Physique training, he didn't want to spend time on himself - Omilaena needed his help, plus the most valuable thing he could work toward was political capital within the elites. If they failed this trial, Yuinafal could well keep pushing them out of the circles of power.

When Omilaena came to the area of wasteland he'd used for training, he expected strategy talk, if not lewd suggestions. To his surprise, she handed him a pill and rushed off, as if there was no time at all.

He was left rolling the pill in his hands, feeling the power within. This was unquestionably the pill that would break the 999 Power limit for himself, and he should have been grateful. Under normal circumstances, Omilaena would have demanded a reward. Yet he found himself wondering if she should have focused on this when she was so stressed by her other work.

His other wife arrived not long after and hovered in the air in front of him, arms folded. "She left you a pill as well?"

"Yeah." Kai gestured with it. "So she finished her special qi pill for you?"

"She had three projects to create three perfect pills. I believe she has finished two and completely abandoned work on her own." Zae Zin Nim shook her head. "This is unacceptable. We must help our wife."

"You have ideas for how to actually do that?"

"We are going down paths of power that may never have been walked, so exploration is essential. You are standing before two major breakthroughs, yes?"

"You could say that." Kai got to his feet, feeling a new energy. "After I break the 999 Power limit, I should be able to advance in Physique as well. You're going to suggest something different?"

"Exactly." Zae Zin Nim nodded sharply, dark eyes alight. "You are more than equal to simply breaking through, so I believe we should use this opportunity for an extremely risky experiment."