Another World Trip: Journey with My Cat and an Otaku Loli Goddess Chapter 348 - Physiques 101

‘I see you’re going far on your path to cultivating the dao of heading to the store for milk.’ Long Di told the Destiny Scale.

[I don’t know what that dao is, but it sounds beset with disappointment and filled with bums.]

****

‘That’s not inaccurate,’ I told it. For that dao, I honestly wondered if child support cheques qualified as qi deviation. Unfortunately, I can’t ponder this most profound of theories.

There were too many things to do, and what Steely said kind of piqued my interest. ‘You said something about some old shrews. What’s going on there?’

[Ice Phoenix… do you care for this young woman?]

‘Come again?’

The Destiny Scale asked a question that was for me but didn’t sound like it was for me. Meh, I’ll just answer.

‘I guess… yeah. I do.’ Personally, I didn’t have any issues with Qin Ling. Well, the Qin Ling from before that is.

[I see. Then I won’t tell you to kill her.]

‘This is the second time you’ve wanted me to kill a woman in my life. What’s up with that?’ I was starting to see a pattern here. The kind of pattern that would alert the FBI and put Steely on the most wanted list. Maybe the one for serial killers. Did he even qualify? What with it being a sentient piece of ancient history and all?

[The cultivation method for her… d-did you create it… too?] The Destiny Scale sounded apprehensive as it asked me this question.

Probably because everyone in the know keeps going on and on about how cultivation methods or martial techniques were not things easily created, yet here I was metaphorically defecating them out whenever I so please.

Now that I think about it, that does explain why I have SCHIACT.

‘I did…’

[Of course you did. Well, I’m sure you are aware that specific cultivation methods can influence your personality, demeanour, intelligence and so on… right?]

He wasn’t wrong, to be honest. I still remember how Shen Ling changed when her cultivation method was switched and how Feng Yu changed simply by being in contact with others who boasted a cultivation method closer to her origin.

[It’s the same for you.] The Destiny Scale advised.

‘What are you talk–’

[Haven’t you realised your will gradually being strengthened?]

‘My will?’

[Your will remained unshattered in the face of an Imperial Edict.] The Destiny Scale reminded me.

It also brought up my fights against Heavenly Executions. To face the killing intent of the Heavens itself was apparently no small feat. Lesser men would find their will crushed and unable to bring out their full strength in the face of such suppression.

Leave it to cultivators to equate an adolescent child being struck by lightning as fighting against the Heavens.

[You’ll need to do the same for the girl.]

It took a while to process that. ‘You want me to brainwash–’

[To influence her cultivation technique so as to allow her to retain her emotions. The Icy Heart Mantra is what they want for the holders of that physique. The physique can freeze your emotions, yes, but an outside force reinforcing this isn’t right.]

‘I’ve never tried to do it in the context of emotions before. How can I do it when emotions aren’t really my forte?’

[I don’t know…] The Destiny Scale’s intent appeared subdued. [But you need to learn. You need to come to terms with your own emotions and in turn help that girl. If not, I won’t have to tell you to kill her… you’ll have to.]

The Destiny Scale’s intent faded away, but it left me in a sombre mood.

“Long Di!”

A shout drew me from my thoughts and I saw Mina staring at me with nine parts annoyance and one part concern.

“We’ve been trying to get your attention. You were like staring off into space for like five to eight minutes straight!”

“Really? I thought conversations like those were supposed to be instantaneous or something.”

Can nothing go right today?

“You’re being weird again,” Mina said, falling backwards to feel the soft surface of the back of Lord Whiskers.

Wei Yun drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them as she looked at us both. We’d already derailed from the previous conversation, no sense in trying to catch that train.

I went ahead and took the physiques tome from her and went into a bit of research regarding physiques and how they work.

And boy oh boy did this thing enlighten me. So get this, apparently, many physiques can come about for a myriad of reasons.

It can be down to bloodline, the environment, the multi-generational practice of a cultivation technique, even karma can play a part.

Regardless, physiques varied, and their diversity wasn’t small. However, they very rarely appeared in people.

Which you know is gonna be called out for its bullshit eventually when I start seeing physiques by the boatloads. I’ll probably see a physique for every situation.

Heck, I won’t even be surprised if I see a physique for throwing hands and catching P, but I digress.

Apparently, though physiques were numerous in their variety and manifestation there were a scarce powerful few that appeared more than once across the eras.

These were far more powerful than the others and were dubbed the Named Physiques, and above even them, you had the Five Holy Physiques. Of course, the Cold Heart True Ice Physique was one of them.

Unfortunately, this tome didn’t list the others, but it was useful though. It held a lot of knowledge and educated me on things I didn’t know.

Things like multiple awakenings for certain physiques were a thing, which I’m certain also applies to my physique. It also went into detail on how stimulation that resonates with my physique can hasten its awakening.

If that isn’t possible, then cultivating while keeping one’s physique activated can achieve the same effect. Which is another way of saying, lazy ass people like myself can’t sit around and do nothing and let plot do the work for me.

Eventually, the day came for Pebbles to leave and it was only with a tantrum-infused argument that Long Zhe decided that an additional week more was all Pebbles would get. After that, no matter what, they were leaving.

Personally, I don’t mind. If I get one more week with my best friend, I can’t complain. The days would be dull without him around.

However, I wonder if his growing interest in securing me a harem should be cause for concern.

At times, he would be engaged in conversation with Shen Ling, and at other times he would talk for hours on end with Xiannu Liang. He sometimes managed to talk to them both at the same time.

I need to remind you how miraculous that is when you consider that Pebbles The Wondercat’s mileage for social interaction is even worse than mine. Seriously, if I’m a gas-guzzling Humvee, then he’s an attack helicopter with bullet holes in the gas tank while it’s exploding.

In any case, we took a break since I needed to test something out real quick.

Pebbles followed me but no one else did. Once we were far enough away, I activated my physique for a quick test.

Hong!

Its heavenly pressure unfurled in an instant and I could see as Pebbles inspected me closely.

“Mina really did pimp you out didn’t she?” he commented.

“Oh, this isn’t hers,” I told him.

“And her disappointment became its own dao and reached the peak! Five out of ten for the rest of her days!”

Suddenly, Mina’s voice transcended space and was heard as clearly as ever.

“Your fur is a five out of ten you stinking cat!”

That sure as hell baffled me. “How did she–”

Pebbles yelled to the sky in retaliation, cutting me off in the process. “It’s a condition, you averagely average goddess! Once I become better at spiritual body attainment, even Whiskers will wish he could be like me!”

I promptly ignored them both and started delving more into my physique's profundity.

With only a thought, I descended into the realm of my physique. As soon as I entered, my will took me where I wanted to go. I was first in a realm inundated with Divine Ivoric Calamity Tribulation lightning.

It didn’t harm me in the least. Not because I cultivated this energy but simply because I was the master of this world.

I was satisfied with this for now, and I was then transported to another location. I could tell that distance was a factor here, but it didn’t hinder me in the least.

I soon stopped once I cleared the realm of lightning and the light of the stars all around twinkled quietly.

“These things have so much use aside from just aesthetics I know they do. I should ask Mina about that badass-sounding physique she wanted to give me before this physique decided to evict it and set up shop in my body… or is it on my body? Under my body? Whatever… maybe that physique and its specific workings can give me some clues. Now, where did I put those–?”

It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for.

A large plain, entirely of my creation came into view among the stars.

“Hm? Well slap my ass and call me Sally. What happened here?”