Yasenia opened her eyes and noticed Tatyana sitting nearby and looking at her with eyes full of intrigue. Looking around her body, Yasenia noticed that the weeds had grown tall enough to reach around the edges of the boulder she sat on. "...Only a year has passed, right?"
Tatyana smiled. "Yes. Only a year. Do not worry. The weeds here grow quite rapidly."
Yasenia sighed in relief. She had thought that all her alarms were for nothing. Slightly puzzled, she glanced at Tatyana and asked, confused. "Have you been looking at me for an entire year?"
"What else could I do in such a short time frame? Other than dealing with those curious people who came inquiring what I was doing here, the rest of the time I've spent it looking at you."
Tatyana's smile deepened, her eyes darkening a touch. "I just look at every single patch of your skin, every detail. I could do that for eons and not get tired of it."
Yasenia giggled and gestured for Tatyana to come over. After hugging Tatyana into her soft embrace and kissing her cheek, Yasenia smiled. "I am happy that you don't get tired, but you could've done something else, right?"
Tatyana lazily leaned into Yasenia's embrace and shrugged. "What else is there to do? Just a year. It goes by in the blink of an eye."
Since she insisted, Yasenia didn't comment on it anymore. Instead, she asked with a serious expression. "What do you think about my progress? Am I too slow? Or is my speed good enough?"
Tatyana snorted a laugh. "Too slow? Don't say this any other place than around me, or you will be slapped to death by some indignant cultivator."
Yasenia chuckled. Tatyana twirled one of Yasenia's locks with her finger and commented. "Your cultivation speed is fast. Your comprehension of concepts is also high-speed and profound. You are no less knowledgeable than some thousand-year cultivators."
She paused for a second, pondering a bit. "Still, you have yet to improve your Celestial Intent Domain. Can you do it in less than a year?"
"I am not sure." Yasenia frowned. "Comprehending my Intent Domain is not solely a matter of effort. I need to have an epiphany or become enlightened. Therefore, it will all depend on whether I am able to achieve that during the following year."
Sui Xing manifested and asked, curious. "Are you not going to enter the bead?"
"I will for the last month." Yasenia nodded. Then, she commented. "Before that, I will roam this area and try to become one with the nature around it. I am sure that I can reach some sort of understanding if I focus on this place's atmosphere."
With that said, she placed down Tatyana and jumped up. In a fraction of a second, her figure ballooned, transforming into her cosmic dragon form. Even then, the basin they were in was too large, thousands of kilometers across, so her giant dragon body didn't really bloat the space.
After she transformed, Yasenia flapped her wings and flew off in a random direction. Tatyana stood up slowly, and with a single step, she appeared on Yasenia's head, standing between her giant golden horns.
So, for the following months, Yasenia soared through the skies, hunted some beasts, and acted like a wild dragon. The only thing she did during all this time was try to use the Celestial Intent Domain as often as possible.
The times she encountered a somewhat serious opponent with close strength to her own, Yasenia would attempt to defeat it with just her Intent Domain and no other skills.
With time, her proficiency when using it deepened, and at around 10 months after her liberating experience, Yasenia came to a realization. It was not a profound one, as Intent Domains only needed those during the qualitative jumps.
The only thing she realized was that she was confining her Intent Domain. She took it as a finite domain, as a realm. But after thinking deeply about it, that went strictly against the true nature of the cosmos. 'While it might have limits, as my strength is far from limitless, I should not restrain it. When I manifest it, I should just… unleash it.'
A change occurred deep within Yasenia's being, and the Celestial Intent Domain in her Dantian pulsed, becoming larger and more refined.
"[Celestial Intent Domain… Level 2]."
BOOM!
Her aura enveloped a massive area, her Celestial Intent Domain absorbing everything within her influence into the separated dimension. Tatyana allowed her body to fall into it as well, looking around with awe and wonder. 'She did it. Incredible.'
While Tatyana had a lot of trust in her Little Treasure, she was realistic in a way. She knew that the time frame needed for what she asked Yasenia to accomplish was usually a hundred times longer. There were even times when she was tempted to just tell Yasenia to forget about it and practice in the bead.
'Thankfully, I didn't. It seems that Yasenia works best under pressure and without being restrained. A mix of both suits her best.'
After soaring through the domain for a while, Yasenia deactivated it and felt excited. Unable to hold it, she opened her maw and roared to the skies.
ROAR!
Tatyana laughed, her excitement feeling contagious. In the nearby area, Tian Long and Lauren's mount roared back, clearly delighted that the Little Princess had become stronger once again.
Both approached, accompanying Yasenia in her pirouettes and happy roars.
After a few victory laps in the air, Yasenia landed on the ground and returned to the spot with the large rock where she cultivated.
Tian Long spoke with a smile, landing nearby in his smallest form. "You did great, Little Princess."
Cai Xue and Lauren nodded as well, their compliments making Yasenia wag her tail.
"Thank you, Uncle Long, Uncle Lauren, Cai Xue."
After speaking with them, Yasenia returned to her human form and took a deep breath. After exhaling, she pondered aloud. "Second Level beginner stage for Celestial Intent Domain and Third Level beginner stage for my Tyrant Warlord Intent Domain. This should be good enough for the upcoming battles."
Tatyana agreed. "Unless you encounter someone with a Sixth Level Intent Domain, you will probably have a chance to fight back. And if someone managed to understand an Intent Domain to the Sixth Level in just a thousand years, I wouldn't be surprised if their cultivation was also equally ridiculous."
Yasenia asked, curious. "What is the average for each realm? I am just confused because sometimes, a one-thousand-year-old Transcendence Realm cultivator is considered a genius, and other times, they aren't."
Tatyana laughed. "There are no averages you speak of, love. It all depends on the background and environment. For example, if you are born in the Blue Pearl World, reaching Transcendence before your 500th birthday can be considered genius-level. Those people would then take another 500 years to break through one, and perhaps around 1,000 to reach the next level. So, a 2,000-year-old third-level Transcendence Cultivator can be considered a genius."
She added. "Usually, cultivators who keep their intents one or two levels below their realm are also considered genius cultivators. Anyone who matches their intent and realm level is considered a peerless genius."
Yasenia hummed. "That's the standard here? I see now why you are so confident in the tournament."
Tatyana smiled. "As I said before, that's the average. There are super geniuses everywhere, so train properly for the following 2 months inside the bead."
Yasenia nodded and spoke aloud. "Sui Xing, let's start!"
The man materialized outside and smiled. "Finally. By the way, Draheart has finished her evolution. She is already a One Star Supreme Ranked treasure. You can call her whenever you are ready."
"Huh?" Yasenia blinked and called Draheart.
The weapon appeared in her spirit form. As usual, Draheart was wearing a loose blue scaly dress that resembled her sword form. In the middle of her chest, right above her large, soft breasts, she had her sword's red core shining softly, giving her an otherworldly charm. Her eyes were deep-red slit eyes, while her hair was bright, deep blue, following the color scheme of her sword form once more.
Once she landed, the petite girl looked up at Yasenia with her usual deadpan face, the roundness and adorableness of her features making her look soft and cute. "I am done."
Yasenia paused for a brief moment, her heart thumping at Draheart's cuteness. The next instant, she snatched the petite girl into her arms. "Ughhh! Why are you so cute!?" She rained kisses on Draheart's face.
Draheart didn't resist, her lips arching faintly like a satisfied cat. 'Hm~, feels nice.'
After venting her feelings about Draheart's cuteness, Yasenia smiled contentedly and asked. "How is it? Do you feel strong?"
Draheart nodded. "Strong. But I can get much stronger."
"I don't doubt that." Yasenia chuckled and extended her hand, then she called with a smile. "Come, [Draconic Heart]."
With a flash of light, Draheart transformed into her giant sword shape. The atmosphere around her twisted, a sense of pressure emanating from the new blue blade. The red core at the center pulsed rhythmically like a living heart, each thump making the air around it wobble.
Then, without using any skill or strength, Yasenia slashed horizontally while aiming up.
SLASH!
The air was cut, a massive sword-light soaring to the sky with boundless energy and splitting the clouds far above.
"Wow~."
Yasenia looked at Draheart with surprise. She had expected a qualitative improvement, but the change was truly immeasurable. Before, Draheart's edge and energy were sharp and dense, but they would probably falter against Yasenia's own dragon scales. Not that Draheart couldn't cut through with the use of Yasenia's skills, but by herself, Yasenia was confident her defenses would block Draheart's edge.
With the current Draheart, though, she would not test such a thing. The sword light that she released was sharp enough to make Yasenia feel threatened.
Even Tatyana was impressed. "Draheart has become a proper sword. I bet that to block her, a high-starred armor would be needed. Anything at a similar level to her will be like paper. Anything below her level… It's probably like cutting through water."
Yasenia was curious as well, so she took out a peak-level Transcendence Realm shield from her storage world. "Mom, hold it. Draheart can't cut through you, right?"
"She can't. Not yet, at least."
Yasenia hummed and swung her sword with just brute strength. Draheart flashed through the air, a terrifying sound following the swing, and impacted against the shield.
The dragoness had expected a loud banging sound, but what met her eyes was the shield being split in half like dough, Draheart's edge only stopping after hitting Tatyana's hand.
Everyone nodded, and Tian Long spoke, his rumbling voice carrying a hint of a smile. "Great. I was starting to worry that you'll need to change weapons soon to match your strength. It seems that my worries were unfounded. Draheart is good enough."
Yasenia chuckled, feeling the dissatisfaction of her precious weapon. "I trust her. Her growth rate is terrifying. It was only a century ago that she was a Magic Ranked Treasure. Now, she has pierced through Earth, Heaven, and Transcendence to reach the Supreme Treasure Rank."
Draheart buzzed happily, the air around her feeling ancient and profound as she showed off her strength. She was basically telling everyone that she was good enough for Yasenia!
"Hahaha, I am also excited, Draheart. With you, my combat power has grown greatly once more."
Sui Xing spoke with a faint smile. "Be careful. Your copy will also have this Draheart, after all."
Yasenia's smiling expression froze for a second, while everyone else glanced at Yasenia with a hint of pity and amusement.
Tatyana placed her hand on Yasenia's shoulder and smiled like a holy mother. "Good luck, Little Treasure. I hope you don't lose your tail or one of your tits in the process."
Yasenia's desire to spar against her copies plummeted, and she was almost tempted to flee from her responsibilities.