Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Chapter 490: Domain Seed & Departure

A few minutes later, Liora sat opposite the two visitors, her gaze having only become even more strange compared to before.

The middle-aged man, the Dean of Helios High School, appeared to sense her confusion. He smiled faintly and followed up on his earlier thoughts.

"Liora, you don’t have to worry. This is a common practice. In fact, pretty much every student who enters the Super-Grade Academies will be accompanied by several subordinates."

"Some of them may belong to their family, while others may simply be sponsored by other forces.", the Dean explained, looking at Elena from the corner of his eye.

"If nothing unexpected happens, every student who graduates from the Super-Grade Academies will eventually become a Rank 4 Awakener. There’s even a chance to go beyond that. Thus, many forces are willing to invest in them before they become successful."

Saying this, the Dean stared at Elena with envy before shaking his head.

"The Lord of the Nova Terra Planet paid a high price to help Elena advance to Rank 3. He wishes to have her follow you and help you while in a War Academy. You can consider this an investment.", he said.

Liora immediately understood his implication, as well as why he had made the earlier request, asking her to have Elena accompany her to the War Academy.

Clearly, this was not the Dean’s reckless decision, but rather the order of the so-called Nova Terra Planet’s Lord.

"Is this an investment? If that’s the case, then everything makes sense.", Liora thought.

"I’m the only person to have qualified for a Super-Grade Academy in the history of Nova Terra. If its Lord does not invest in me, he would be blind."

She knew what the other party was hoping for.

In his opinion, after graduating from the War Academy, Liora would enter the circles of the Super-Grade Academies’ graduates, obtaining a high-level official position within the Human Federation.

If he had already established a good relationship with her, the Nova Terra Planet would benefit greatly from its connection to her.

Unfortunately...

Liora shook her head.

"I’m sorry, Dean, but I’m not planning to take anyone else with me to the Academy. My aunt has already made preparations for my future.", she said, giving a suitable excuse.

The Dean was momentarily surprised, while Elena, on the side, grew embarrassed. It was a humiliating thing to be offered as a subordinate only to be refused, after all.

Fortunately, the Dean regained his composure quickly. He smiled wryly and couldn’t help but praise the Lord’s intelligence inwardly.

"Cough, cough. Liora, don’t rush to refuse just yet.", he cleared his throat and added:

"The Lord of the planet has asked me to give you this gift. He knows the first four Ranks will not be difficult for you to achieve. However, from Rank 4 and above, an Awakener’s progress will become much more difficult."

"For this reason, he asked me to give you this."

The moment the Dean finished speaking, a shiny metal chest appeared on his lap. After he entered the password and confirmed his identity using his fingerprint, the plates of the chest fell down, revealing the item lying inside.

The temperature in the room immediately surged.

Elena, despite her advancement, instantly burst into sweat, while even the Dean, a veteran Rank 3 Awakener, had to use all his power to protect himself.

--

A few hours later, the Dean was long gone.

Only Liora and Elena remained in the building, much to the latter’s inner embarrassment.

Seeing her state, Liora did not try to comfort her.

After settling her down in a room and asking her to wait for the War Academy’s representative to arrive, she returned to her own room and took out the gift that the Dean had sent.

Following his instructions, he mimicked his earlier actions, and the metal chest broke apart once more, revealing a small flickering flame inside.

The temperature instantly rose again, threatening to plunge the entire building block into a sea of flames.

Fortunately for her neighbors, Liora reacted quickly.

Her World of Heart descended into the material world, restraining the spread of the flames and keeping the object in place.

At the same time, she reached out with her hand and clasped the flame.

It was hot to the touch. The moment the two came into contact, Liora sensed intense yearning emanate from the depths of her body, urging her to devour it.

The Dean’s—or rather the Lord of the planet’s—reminder resurfaced in her mind.

"This is the seed of a Fire Domain."

"Domains are a necessary ability that all Awakeners reaching Rank 4 must awaken if they wish to advance further. With a seed of Domain in hand, an Awakener can either study it slowly and comprehend its hidden mysteries, or they can devour it at once, using its immense power to fall into enlightenment."

"However, be careful. Only Rank 4 Awakeners can withstand its impact. Even Rank 3 Awakeners will suffer if they act recklessly."

Thinking of these words, Liora’s eyes narrowed.

Domain. This was a term she had never heard of before—at least in this world.

However, based on the brief description, it was not difficult for her to understand that it was likely the missing piece limiting her advancement.

"Would comprehending this object’s mysteries truly break through my bottleneck?", she was doubtful, glancing at the flickering flames that were trying to spread and engulf her body.

She hesitated.

She had already fallen into a "bottleneck".

Should she use this treasure now and hope for the best, or wait to reach the War Academy and learn more about Domains first?

Liora fell into thought.

But a few moments later, her predicament was resolved.

In the inner map constructed through the unfolding of the World of Heart, she saw a spacecraft streak through the Nova Terra’s atmosphere and rush toward the planet’s surface below.

One moment it was flying through space, and the next moment it had appeared above the city.

It was invisible. No person detected its arrival, including the Dean and perhaps even the Lord of Nova Terra.

Yet the instant it showed up, Liora received a message through the Information World.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"It seems that the War Academy is finally here.", she thought, putting away the Domain Seed and sending a message to Elena.