A Cultivator in the World Dominated By Awakeners

Oliver and Sofia rolled their eyes upon hearing her casually mention dating the Prime Minister in her youth.

But that wasn't what intrigued Oliver.

The fact that the Prime Minister actually owned an artifact was interesting—but given his status, it obviously wouldn't be easy to trade with him. Just meeting him was something beyond Oliver's current imagination.

Besides, what could he possibly offer in exchange?

The Prime Minister had wide connections and was friends with many Awakeners and Cultivators. If he ever wanted to trade his artifact for something useful, he could easily reach out to those people.

In the end, he wasn't in the kind of vulnerable position Miya had been in, afraid of being robbed.

"Forget it," said Oliver, shaking his head.

"Exactly," Sofia agreed. "Besides, who knows whether that artifact is even that amazing."

She wasn't wrong. The value of an artifact was defined by its function. A Storage Ring, for instance, was technically an artifact—but its use was far too basic.

"No, the artifact the Prime Minister keeps is still quite impressive, though not as powerful as a True Form," Miya suddenly said.

"What does it do?" Sofia asked curiously.

Oliver looked at his mother. So far, he was surprised at how excited she seemed when it came to talking about cultivation.

Maybe she had always craved power—but with her children, it wasn't something she felt comfortable discussing. It was different with a friend. Who knew how obsessed she had once been—possibly to the point of doing something forbidden?

"It's basically called an Independent World," Miya explained. "Kind of like a Storage Ring, but the space inside isn't frozen. It's even more advanced in storing things. For instance, it can absorb a large area and transfer it into the artifact."

Hearing that, Oliver was slightly surprised—but not very interested.

He figured it might be something similar to the space he saw inside Edward's pagoda, although that seemed far larger than a typical Independent World.

Artifacts like this didn't really have size limits. Their capacity could grow depending on who refined them.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the kind of artifact that directly increased power.

"I don't think I'll bother going after that one," Oliver said.

"But you're definitely satisfied with my artifact, right?" Miya said with a teasing laugh.

Oliver didn't say anything in response—but his expression made it clear he was more than satisfied.

"Luckily I didn't ask much from you," Miya continued, still in a joking tone. "But in my opinion, if you reach an extremely high level in the future, you should at least offer me some help."

"I hope I can reach the level you imagine for me, Mrs. Everly. If I do, of course, I won't mind helping you," Oliver replied with a faint smile.

"Anyway, Mom—I brought food on my way home. You probably haven't had lunch yet, right? Please eat something first," he added, turning to his mother as he began taking out the meals he'd purchased. Everything came in high-end, premium boxes.

Even though Miya was a famous singer accustomed to luxury, she was still surprised by the presentation.

"Sofia, you're really lucky to have such an amazing son," she said with a chuckle.

"Mrs. Everly, feel free to eat lunch here too," Oliver said to her. "I bought way too much anyway."

"Of course. But Oliver, you really have to stop calling me by my last name. Just use my first name—or if that's hard for you, call me Sister Miya. I don't like being addressed so formally by someone your age. Honestly, I think we're basically the same age."

Oliver: "..."

"Miya, what drug did you take earlier that made you think you're the same age as Oliver?" Sofia immediately shot back. "That's why you need to get married and have kids—or you'll forever lose touch with your age. Have you forgotten you're almost a year older than me?"

"Oh come on, Sofia. As a woman, you should never bring up another woman's age," Miya replied with a dramatic sigh. "Of course I'll have kids one day—but I haven't found the right man yet. I want to have beautiful and handsome children, so I need to make sure my man has the best genetics."

"You've taken too long to choose. If you get old, who'll want you?"

"Who wouldn't want Miya Everly?" she said with a grin. "Even now, too many rich and powerful men are chasing me. Even young guys—like your son—are enchanted by me. I'm sure ten years from now it'll be the same. Especially now that I've become a Cultivator and will age much more slowly."

As she said that, she looked directly at Oliver, still smiling—with a smile full of meaning that was hard to interpret.

Seeing that smile up close, Oliver's mind went completely blank.

It wasn't that he had never received a smile from a woman Miya's age—but Miya was different.

Her sharp features, elegant nose, and soft red lips—combined with her meaningful gaze—made her smile powerful enough to shake even the calmest hearts.

Oliver wasn't sure what was happening. But one thing was certain—he had already eaten lunch, so he wouldn't be staying here any longer.

"Mom, I'm heading to my room—I already had lunch earlier," he said, walking toward the stairs.

In his room, he pushed away every lingering thought in his head.

He pulled out the jade bracelet he had received from Miya, still curious about its True Form.

But here in his room, he was concerned its transformation might cause damage.

It would be easier to test this in the Chaotic World—but he didn't think it was the right time to go there. Ivy might be wandering near the portal right now.

If he entered the Chaotic World and didn't help her, it would look bad. And right now, he just wanted to cultivate—not fight.

"Later," he thought, placing the jade bracelet back into the Observation Ring as his Void Sense slipped into the internal space, scanning the massive snake scales inside.

He planned to extract as much inspiration as he could from those scales, even if it was just a little.

Minute by minute, he improved his understanding bit by bit.

Though not as intense as the first time, his progress was still steady.

By late afternoon, he finally opened his eyes.

(Innate Scripture from Void Body:

Black Hole (5.20%) +0.10

(Scripture:

Order of Life (4.10/10%) +0.10

(Innate Techniques from Void Body:

Void Domain (2.00%) +0.01

Void Particle Control (7.00%)

Void Step (6.40%) +0.20

Void Body Transformation (10.31%) +0.30

Void Sense (9.50%) +0.50

(Technique):

Absolute Fusion Technique (0.15%) +0.05