"Do you have any cultivation technique that can help cultivate variance energy?" Tamasya asked with a puzzled expression.
William had already shared his supreme-grade Spiritual Veins and the Body Tempering cultivation base with her.
William had placed a 100x feedback binder on her as well. At first, he had been unable to contain his excitement. In his mind, the possibility of an incredible loophole had appeared.
According to the system, the Soulmate Mark was treated as a special exception when it came to the interaction between time dilation and the feedback binders.
That meant if Tamasya cultivated inside the domain, he would receive one hundred times the benefits of her cultivation through the binder.
Then what if he shared his own cultivation back with her? She would receive an enormous boost in strength; now, of course, the system won’t give returns on that, but if she cultivated again afterward, the process would repeat and generate another round of multiplied returns, which William would share with her, making both of them strong exponentially.
The more William thought about it, the more ridiculous the possibility seemed. A devilish smile slowly spread across his face.
An infinite cultivation glitch seemed to be right within reach.
[Ahem!!]
Orion suddenly coughed.
The timing of it was suspicious enough that William immediately understood there was a problem.
"Tsk. Don’t tell me..."
[Once you receive a 100x cultivation return from your soulmate inside the domain of infinity, you will not be able to directly share that returned cultivation with her.]
William’s eyes widened.
"What?! That’s cheating! How am I supposed to abuse the system properly if you keep patching everything?"
Orion sounded calm. [Relax. There is a workaround.
William’s irritation immediately subsided.
"Alright. Go on."
[Whenever you receive cultivation feedback from your soulmate, you can only share your cultivation with her again after personally cultivating an equivalent amount of cultivation time on your own and without the aid of binders.]
[For example, if Tamasya cultivates for 100 days inside the Domain of Infinity and you receive the feedback, you must then personally cultivate for 100 days before you are allowed to share your complete cultivation base with her.]
William listened quietly before letting out a long sigh.
"Oh... that is a lot more reasonable than I was hoping for."
The dream of an endlessly multiplying cultivation exploit had died before it had even begun. Still, it was not entirely impossible. It simply required actual effort.
William turned his attention back toward Tamasya. "The Primordial God Flow Scripture can cultivate varied energy."
Tamasya’s eyebrows rose immediately. "Really?"
William nodded. "Yes. It is compatible with variance energy cultivation."
A bright smile appeared on her face.
The next several minutes passed pleasantly. Before leaving, Tamasya showered him with kisses and affectionate teasing. Only after she had thoroughly exhausted her desire to cling to him did she finally leave to begin her cultivation.
She went off to search for a quiet location somewhere within the vast Domain of Infinity where she could focus without distractions.
Meanwhile, William exited the domain.
Another matter had entered his mind, and after some thought, he headed south toward World Academy.
***
Inside the academy domain, Principal Andrea was enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Because the academy was currently on vacation, the enormous pile of administrative work that usually occupied her days had become considerably smaller. Rather than burying herself beneath reports and paperwork, she had decided to dedicate some time to relaxation and cultivation.
A cup of tea rested in her hand as she sat comfortably behind her desk.
Knock.
The sudden sound drew her attention away from her thoughts.
"Come in," she called.
The office door opened, and William stepped inside with a polite smile.
"Good afternoon, Principal Andrea." Andrea smiled and gestured toward a nearby chair.
"It is good to see you again, nephew."
William immediately froze. For a brief moment, he wondered whether he had heard her correctly.
Nephew? Noticing his reaction, Andrea could not help laughing.
"Relax. I am not trying to become another Samantha."
William visibly relaxed.
Andrea leaned back in her chair and continued.
"When we were young, Yue, Anne, Tamasya, and I grew up together. We were practically sisters. There was no blood relationship between us, but that never mattered. The bond we shared was no different from that of a real family."
William finally sat down and smiled awkwardly before telling her.
"To be honest, it is difficult to imagine my mother and Tamasya as sisters when most of their interactions these days involve arguing with each other."
Andrea blinked.
"Oh? What happened between them?"
William released a helpless laugh.
"I happened."
For a second, Andrea stared at him.
Then she nearly spat out her tea. A burst of laughter escaped her before she could stop herself.
"Hahaha!"
She covered her mouth but failed to regain control.
"Well, I suppose I cannot blame them. You somehow managed to fall for your aunt and completely sweep her off her feet."
William rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I guess that is one way to put it."
Andrea gradually calmed down, and then curiosity flickered in her eyes; she leaned forward slightly.
"Let me ask you something." William noticed the change in her expression and became attentive.
"What is it?" Andrea studied him carefully.
If you could go back in time, and you already knew from the beginning that Tamasya was your aunt, even though she was not blood-related, would you have pursued her? Would you have seen her as a woman rather than an elder?"
William tilted his head slightly.
The question did not seem particularly difficult to answer.
"Of course." His reply came without hesitation.
"I would do it all over again."
Andrea remained silent, allowing him to continue.
"If anything, I would probably move faster. I wasted a lot of time questioning myself and doubting my feelings. If I already knew what would happen, I would not repeat those mistakes."
Andrea listened quietly. William had no idea what conclusion she hoped to reach from the question. Perhaps she wanted to determine how genuine his feelings for Tamasya were, or perhaps she simply wanted to measure exactly how shameless he could be.
Either way, he had no interest in constructing a socially acceptable answer. There was no reason to pretend. He spoke honestly.
Andrea nodded slowly, and then she asked another question. This one was considerably more uncomfortable.
"What if she had actually been your blood-related aunt instead of merely someone connected through relationships? What would you do then?"
The room became noticeably quieter. William drew a slow breath as he understood that there was no universally correct answer.
There was only the truth.
After a moment of thought, he answered. "Nothing would change."
Andrea watched him silently. William met her gaze.
"I would still pull her into my arms and treat her as my woman."
His voice was calm. There was no hesitation, no attempt to soften the statement, and no desire to justify himself.
Once he finished speaking, silence settled over the office. Andrea continued studying him for several seconds.
Then a faint smile appeared on her face.
She slowly nodded.
"You have grown up."