Else's words took Konrad off-guard; he had not expected their relationship to be so deep that she virtually knew everything about him! However, he didn't lose his composure.
"Hahahahaha!"
He burst into laughter while nodding in approval.
"True, overwhelming differences. But tell me, who is to blame for this?"
Konrad began, causing rising discomfort within Else's heart.
"Good, I was abused and trampled wherever I went.
Good, I was forced into the palace and castrated to become a eunuch!
Good, I was caned to death due to refusing to be your proxy's boy toy!
A lifetime of indignation, sorrow unending! That is what being good brought me.
That being the case, why can I not be evil?!"
Konrad roared, using the memories of the previous body's owner to fuel his ire. With just those words, he could see distress flash within Else's eyes. Hence, he pursued.
"Even after being harmed to this degree, I have never harbored hatred, only tending to my work, and wishing for a peaceful life. However, you wouldn't let me off, persecuting me, and allowing your goons to batter me to death!
If my bloodline didn't awaken at the critical juncture, I would have truly died full of grievances!
That being the case, why can I not be selfish, wicked, and slaughter does who offend me?"
"I had nothing to do with that!"
Else cut, struggling to maintain her composure. Konrad knew very well that she most likely didn't have anything to do with the caning. However, only by pushing the blame on her and squeezing her guilt could he get out of this unscathed.
The deeper her affection for the previous Konrad, the easier it would be.
"Nothing? Hehe, how queer, if not for you, why would your proxy have me caned to death? We'd never met beforehand and absolutely had no grievances. Were it not for you, why would she attack a low-level eunuch?
With those words, Konrad hit home. Indeed, if not for Else's attention, her proxy, Tamara would have never used her Origin Sight on a low-level eunuch. If not for Else's care, she would not have become so wary of his demonic blood, fearing they'd all become implicated if it were ever revealed and a link between the two established.
Therefore, for all intents and purposes, although she didn't order it, Else was the cause of the previous Konrad's death. And she knew it very well. Therefore, for the first time since her arrival, she floundered, riddled with guilt and not knowing what to say.
"The awakening of my demonic blood was both my salvation and my chance at rebirth. Since then, I've sworn to never again live the ignominious life of an ant! To never again be subject to other's whim! To take what I want to, how I want to, and without care for anyone besides me!
What I hated, I will love! What I loved; I will hate! And with my demonic blood to lift upward, I shall trample anyone that stands in my way and delight in all the abilities of my infernal lineage!"
Konrad's indignation bark and flaring eyes shook Else's soul. For a moment, she shut her eyes, and although he couldn't read her mind, it wasn't hard to guess what went on within.
"Since you know so much about me and my lineage, you should also know who my demonic blood comes from. It didn't just provide me with new abilities. More importantly, it gave me the crucial experience I needed to blossom into the demon you so desperately needed!
How preposterous that I've not even knocked on your door to calculate what you owe me, that you knock on mine to spout drivel!"
Else wanted to say that the true reason why she accepted taking him into the palace was that she again wanted to have him by her side; to say that she would never harm him and only wanted to protect him, that in this world no one loved him more than she did.
But as she clawed on the chair arms, struggling with her inner guilt, the words couldn't leave her lips.
The pressure surrounding Konrad dispersed, and in a blue haze, Else vanished from his sight.
"I know you must have been thinking of subduing the key women of the inner court. Verena also must have pushed you toward Yvonne, but it's best you stay away from her.
First, she's haughty and tyrannical. No man can catch her fancy. Unless your incubus powers grow to the point you can overwhelm her through them, you have no hope for success.
Second, her body is special. At your current level, assuming you could somehow conquer her, you can gain no cultivation benefit from her. In this world, those who can survive dual cultivation with her are not that many.
Last, Olrich closely monitors her. Although she kills his spies as soon as she finds them, you never know when one might lurk in the shadows. If words reach him that she shows you the tiniest bit of goodwill, eunuch or not, as long as you're a man, he will butcher you. His obsession for that woman is deep and immeasurable."
Else's words ended, and alongside them, all trace of her presence vanished, leaving Konrad alone within the room. He stepped into the space mansion, landing in the room where he'd sent Jasmine who still soundly slept.
"Phewww!"
Konrad sighed in relief. Was it not for Else's profound affection for the previous body's owner, whether he could have fooled her or not was uncertain. But at the same time, was it not for that affection, she would not have probed so deep into his true self.
After all, for people like them, as long as their goals aligned, they would never care about who owned the body. For the Infernal Cult, the current Konrad was obviously a better weapon than the previous one ever could be.
Konrad even wondered if when he finally met her, that "mother" of his would show the least bit of interest in his transformation's cause.
With another sigh, he fell onto the bed and sat in meditation to increase his cultivation.
As the events unfolded, increasing his strength at the fastest possible pace became of paramount importance. At this point, he didn't lack resources. Time was the core issue. With more than 174,000,000 exp left in the system, perhaps he could exchange a Holy Rank time treasure to solve that issue. If they proved too expensive, he could always dual cultivate with his Semi-Saints first, before making the purchase.
He stepped into the system, accessing the artifact board and perusing those within the Holy Rank.
"Time Warping Clock: Can make time pass ten times faster within a fifteen-hundred square feet radius.
Mid-grade Holy Artifact, 450,000,000 exp."
It was the right middle. With a single night of dual cultivation with his Semi-Saints, he could make up for what he lacked in exp.
Konrad returned to the space mansion, spending the next five hours within the warmth of his Semi-Saints, then returned to the system to exchange for the Time Warping Clock.
He installed it within an empty room, to spend the rest of the night in silent cultivation.
Using the energy accumulated from the session with the Semi-Saint maids, Konrad attacked the next God Meridians.
It took seven hours to unlock the second one, and another twenty to unlock the third. Konrad's initial plan was to unlock three of his God Meridians and condense nine Supreme Meridians before completing his first Fleshly Transformation and officially stepping into the Transcendent Knight Rank.
However, if condensing Supreme Meridians was as time-consuming as unlocking God Meridians, at this rate, he feared it would take him more than four years in the space mansion to complete his first Fleshly Transformation. In the outside world, that would still be around five months!
"The Transcendent Rank at fifteen, the Semi-Holy Rank at twenty.
At this rate, if I insist on this supreme foundation, I'm afraid it will take me half a century within this room, and five years in the outside world to reach the peak of the Transcendent Rank.
How the hell did she do it?"
Konrad didn't doubt that for Yvonne to have that rumored, terrifying battle power, she should at least have a supreme foundation. Although she didn't have God Meridians to unlock, having dozens of Supreme Meridians was very likely.
Even if her talent defied heaven's will, with the resources of house Voight, how could she achieve that level in less than five years? To say nothing of the fact that on the Ancient Crystal World, time treasures were incomparably scarce.
She must have a secret!
