Skyfire Avenue

This didn’t change the powers so much as sublimate them. It was subtle, but the increase in Lan Jue and Luo Xianni’s strength of Domain was measurable.

“This is like some sort of amplification protogenia.” Luo Xianni mused.

The Queen of Heaven discipline was known for its self-sacrifice in service of others. It was described as the most selfless power. Even before ascending to Paragon she could bring someone from the brink of death. Paragons, in a sense, were pure humans, did it mean she could influence other Paragons now?

Was her protogenia meant to empower others?

Luo Xianni’s brows were furrowed as she immersed herself in the waves of power emanating from Zhou Qianlin.

“Girl, release your Domain. Let me feel your power.” She said.

For Paragons, drawing their Domain into the real world was the strongest reflection of their protogenia. Having just broken through to Reflection of Heaven and earth surely she would not be proficient in the use of her abilities, but summoning her Domain shouldn’t be difficult.

Qianlin nodded. Now was not the time to gush affectionately over her love. Her eyes hardened, and a moment later pale light flooded the area around her. It surrounded Lan Jue and Luo Xianni, enveloping them in its embrace.

The warmth of comfort of her power became clearer. Lan Jue felt a sense of well-being that was difficult to describe. Nothing seemed strange or disconcerting. However, Luo Xianni’s reaction was much different. She stared at Qianlin in utter disbelief. “This is impossible!”

Lan Jue looked at her in confusion. “Mother, are you alright? What is it? What is Qianlin’s Domain?”

Luo Xianni turned her head to look at him, fixing his eyes with a firm gaze. “You’ve sure chosen a fine wife, my son! I can sense two things from her Domain – truly stupendous things.”

“Stupendous?” Lan Jue was even more surprised by her dramatic description. “Why don’t I feel anything?”

Luo Xianni’s response was impatient. “That’s because you haven’t called your Domain. You’re already in your prime state. The first part of her Domain is stabilizing and recovering protogenia.”

“Domains by their nature are not stable. Protogenia changes due to influences in its environment. To put it simply, if an enemy were to attack with your Domain active, Qianlin’s abilities would prevent it from being overcome or dispersed. It wouldn’t matter how strong your foe is, your Domain would prevail – that is, until her strength is consumed. But that isn’t as important as protogenic recovery. With her by your side you could use your strongest attacks, and your stamina would be immediately recovered through her Domain. It seems to apply to everything within its scope. This is her Domain.”

Lan Jue blinked in surprise. “That’s incredible.” Lan Jue was well versed in the many types of Adepts. Many were involved in healing and recovery, like Skyfire Avenue’s Doctor. However, these Adepts did not become Paragons. Their Disciplines only applied to humans, and didn’t benefit super-humans like Paragons. Once an Adept broke through, they were considered an aspect of protogenia.

If they couldn’t manipulate protogenia, how could they became a part of it? Because of this, healers who reached peak level were already extraordinary. Still they could only apply their abilities to humans and Adepts who had not broken through. They could not help Paragons.

Luo Xianni’s surprise made her explanation less than perfectly clear, but Lan Jue understood. Qianlin’s ability to recover protogenia was extraordinary and immensely powerful. In a fight Lan Jue wouldn’t need to worry about holding back or maintaining stability. With Qianlin present, all of the Paragons within the scope of her Domain could fight with everything they had.

“There’s more!”Luo Xianni’s eyes burned as she looked at the younger woman. “And this second power is even more marvelous than the last – a firefly compared to the light of the moon.”

Something more powerful than protogenic stabilization and recovery? Lan Jue looked at his mother, almost disbelieving. “Aren’t you exaggerating?”

But she shook her head, denying his claim. She smiled. “With her ascension to Paragon, your father and I will not die. Do you think I exaggerate now? Her Domain’s second ability is to shield against universal protogenia!”

Lan Jue froze. The face he made now was as shocked as Luo Xianni’s had been when she felt it.

Shielding against universal protogenia? This meant that his mother and father didn’t need to fear retribution when using their powers within Qianlin’s Domain. They could finally employ their full strength.

A firefly’s light before the moon indeed!

Luo Xianni went on. “So long as the two of you are together, it doesn’t matter how strong you become. The Infinite and beyond, her Domain will protect you! It’s amazing that such a Paragon could exist, much less that I would know her. When the two of you achieve Nirvana you will know it more clearly. What an incredible revelation. Chu Bupang, the old coot, won’t have an excuse to hold my powers back any longer. Look after me, I’ll prepare now.”

Lan Jue’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Break through? She was already a Paragon at the border of Nirvana. That meant… the Infinite!

In all of human history the only one to have ever achieved such strength was his father. If his mother could rise to such heights, free from the tyranny of universal protogenia with Qianlin’s help, the benefit to humanity would be colossal.

“Auntie, shall I use my Domain to help you…” Qianlin hurried asked. 1

Luo Xianni’s response was crouch and discontent. “What’s this ‘auntie’ nonsense? You’re with Lan Jue, call me mother. You don’t need to call your Domain directly. Just be near me, that’s fine. Your presence will help stabilize the protogenia. I won’t need your shielding abilities until after I’ve broken through. When I need you to use your Domain, I’ll let you know.”

“Alright.” Qianlin replied. Her face was red, but Luo Xianni’s words had made her happy. It meant she accepted her. She stole a glance Lan Jue’s way, only to spot him looking back at her. The stolen moment made her blush all the more.

Luo Xianni’s style had always been dramatic and resolute. She dropped immediately into a cross-legged position and a pink aura sprang up like a blanket.

The Infinite, she was about to break through to the highest degree of Paragon! Lan Jue looked upon his mother in awe and admiration. After becoming a Paragon himself, he sensed things differently. Only once the veil to protogenia had been lifted could one sense the scope of power being manipulated.

The changes to protogenia, the control of this power, was not about pure energy. To an extent, it required controlling the rules of the universe. The universe, in turn, strove for order and balance, and worked to suppress perversion of its rules. Thus when one person was able to manipulate reality in such a way, reality fought back.

In many ways the universe could be understood as an integral whole – a single ever-expanding body. It had its own rules and protogenia it lived by. Creatures within it that could change, ignore, and create their own rules were like a sickness. Like the human body it would try to protect itself by exorcising the offender and curing the ailment.

In this way Paragons could be compared to cancer in humans. Universal protogenia was like white blood cells. If the mutations didn’t have a way to hide from the white blood cells, they would be destroyed.

There were only two results that could arise from this. The vast majority of the time universal protogenia destroyed the offending lifeform. But if it didn’t, if the Paragon grew strong enough to threaten the universe itself, then reality itself could detonate. A new Big Bang, with new rules to replace the old. The lifeform, if it survived, would be the new universe.

This was the theory of universal replacement.

Lan Jue’s familiarity with the idea deepened after becoming a Paragon. He was also beginning to understand, at least a little, how the destruction of the immortal realm came about.

According to legend, the immortal realm of ancient times was expansive. Powerful beings resided within it, not least of which the Three Pure Ones and other mighty gods. Together they created the immortal realm, and it was there they lived.

It served as a protective screen to separate them from universal protogenia – like how cancerous cells trick the immune system. The body that was the universe didn’t know it had a sickness growing within it.

1. Prior to getting married, one refers to older women, including their boyfriend’s mother, as aunt. Fathers are uncle. Part of the marriage ceremony is changing the way one addresses their spouse’s parents from aunt and uncle to mother and father.