Pov: Vik
System: "You know, host, you never had any seclusion or nonstop cultivation throughout the day and night. You always find a reason to sleep at night; you are considered to be in a group of the laziest cultivators."
Vik: "System, could you stop antagonizing me? I sleep cause Pushpa needs to sleep at night, and Pushpa doesn't sleep without me; you don't know the hardship of a pet parent."
System: "Host, please. You have an outer god entity resting on your neck, and your primary excuse for a eight-hour sleep schedule is 'the cat gets lonely.' If other cultivators in the Void Traveling realm heard this, they'd cough up three liters of blood in sheer outrage."
Vik: "Let them cough. They spend three hundred years sitting on cold rocks starving themselves just to gain a single minor realm, while I get to enjoy a comfortable bed, a purring cat, and steady progress. Who's really winning here?"
System: "You literally have a bottleneck because your Prana energy refuses to move unless you comprehend life force, Host! Maybe—just maybe—sleeping like a mortal every night isn't helping your enlightenment!"
Vik: "Pushpa, do you hear this? The system is trying to ruin our bedtime routine."
Pushpa didn't even bother opening an eye. She just let out a soft, dismissive mew, adjusted her head slightly deeper into the crook of my neck, and purred a little louder.
"See?" I smirked, tapping the control panel to lock the bridge doors. "The outer god has spoken. Motion denied."
Shaking my head, I left the control room behind, the automated systems quietly humming as the Great White glided silently through the dark abyssal waters. The corridor was dim, lit only by floor-level violet nightlights. Passing Noah's room, I paused for a split second, sensing his faint, steady breathing through the door. The kid was sleeping deeply—the kind of dead-to-the-world sleep that only comes after your entire life gets torn down and rebuilt from scratch.
'Enjoy the rest while you can, Noah,' I thought dryly. 'Starting tomorrow, your real training begins.'
Walking into my captain's quarters, the room automatically adjusted its temperature to a cool, crisp mountain breeze. I took off my outer robe, tossing it onto a chair, and unceremoniously collapsed onto the oversized memory-foam bed. Pushpa immediately slid off my shoulder, hopping onto my chest, circling twice, and flopping down like a heavy, furry pancake.
I rested my hands behind my head, staring up at the metallic ceiling. The subtle, rhythmic vibration of the submarine's marine turbine engines acted like a soft lullaby.
Despite my banter with the System, my mind couldn't completely settle. The information about the Western Continent was troubling. A transmigrated girl named Ruby who treats an entire world like her personal video game, absorbing high-tier Qi with a cheat ring, stealing ancient bloodline contracts, and establishing her own sect in less than a year...
She wasn't just a threat to Noah; she was the exact kind of chaotic, narrative-breaking anomaly that attracted Heaven's attention. And where there are transmigrators breaking the rules, "chosen ones" and "protagonists" inevitably flock like flies to a feast.
'A world full of chosen ones fighting a hidden war,' I pondered, closing my eyes as I stroked Pushpa's smooth back. 'And I'm sailing right into the middle of it with a sub full of villains.'
System: "Host... are you actually asleep already?"
Vik: "Shh. Pushpa is sleeping. Don't disturb the outer god."
System: "...I hate you."
The Next Morning...
I woke up to the warm sensation of Pushpa patting my nose with a soft, unsheathed paw. Sunlight—or rather, the artificial golden light simulated by the submarine's automated morning array—was filtering into the room.
After a quick, refreshing shower and getting dressed in my clean white robes, I picked up Pushpa, placed her on her usual throne on my left shoulder, and walked out into the mess hall.
To my surprise, someone was already there.
Noah was standing by the central kitchen counter, holding a steaming mug of spiritual tea. He looked infinitely better than he had yesterday. His skin had regained its natural tone, his posture was straight, and though his cultivation is destroyed he is still trying to gather spiritual energy despite being unable to store or control that energy, his gaze was remarkably clear.
The moment he saw me walk in, he froze, quickly setting his mug down and bowing deeply.
"Good morning, Master Vik!" Noah said respectfully, his voice firm and clear.
I raised an eyebrow, walking over to the counter and pouring myself a cup of dark coffee from the automated dispenser. "You're up early. How are your meridians feeling?"
"They feel... incredible, Master," Noah replied, looking down at his open palms. "The burning pain in my chest is completely gone. When I tried to move spiritual energy around me this morning, the energy moved without a single blockage. Although, I can't cultivate but I did not have any problem while connecting with spiritual energy."
He addressed me as his master, although I still not accepted him as a proper disciple, but he must be already considering me as his teacher.
"That's because your old foundation was built on bloated medicinal pills and praise from your retainer families," I said dryly, taking a sip of my coffee. "It was wide, but hollow. The Prana energy I used to reconstruct your pathways purged every single chemical residue and flaw out of your system."
Noah's expression grew serious, a mixture of deep gratitude and lingering guilt flashing in his eyes. "I understand now. I was arrogant... I thought I was a genius, but I was just an empty vessel."
"Knowing you're an idiot is the first step toward becoming smart," I replied, leaning against the counter as Pushpa let out a tiny meow of agreement. "Now, drink your tea. We have twenty-four days left before we reach the Western Continent, and I'm not going to let you waste a single hour."
Noah's eyes lit up with a sudden, fierce spark. "What is my first assignment, Master?"
I smirked, setting my coffee mug down. "First, we're going to the lower deck prison block. You need to say hello to an old friend."
A few minutes later, Noah and I stood outside the reinforced containment cell on the lowest deck.
Inside the glass box, Luther was curled up in a corner, his fine silk clothes wrinkled, dirty, and covered in sweat. Hearing our footsteps, he snapped his head around. When his eyes landed on Noah—standing tall, healthy, and completely free of injuries—Luther's face turned deathly pale. He scrambled backward until his spine slammed against the back wall, his gagged mouth letting out muffled, hysterical whimpers.
Noah stared through the anti-magic glass at the man who had kicked him in the back, spat on him, and ordered his execution just two days ago.
I watched Noah closely, waiting to see his reaction. Would he fly into a blind rage? Would he beg me to open the cell so he could tear Luther apart? Or would he look at his enemy with bitter hatred?
Instead, Noah's expression remained terrifyingly calm.
He didn't yell. He didn't punch the glass. He simply looked down at Luther the same way one looks at a crushed bug on the side of the road—with complete, cold indifference.
"Master Vik," Noah spoke quietly, not taking his eyes off Luther. "What do you intend to do with him?"
"He's your baggage, Noah," I said, crossing my arms. "His family controls West Oak City, and he bought off an A-rank officer to have you killed. I brought him along because throwing him in the ocean would have been too easy. What happens to him when we land on the Western Continent is entirely up to you."
Noah fell silent for a moment, letting out a slow, measured breath.
"In the past," Noah said softly, "I would have demanded his execution to satisfy my anger. But looking at him now... he's just a symptom of my own failure. He only dared to step on me because I allowed myself to be broken."
Noah turned away from the cell, looking at me with absolute resolve.
"Keep him locked up, Master. When we reach West Oak City, I will use him to drag his family out into the light. I will not waste my energy on a coward today when I have a mountain to climb tomorrow."
System: "Oho! Look at that character development, Host! The disgraced young master is learning restraint! I tell you, your villain recruitment program is working wonders!"
Vik: 'System, if you don't stop calling my teaching a 'villain recruitment program,' I'm going to figure out how to put a password on your voice module.'
System: "Host is so abusive to his hard-working system!"
I ignored the System's whining, a genuine, small smile touching my lips as I looked at Noah. The kid really did have a good heart under all that past arrogance. He wasn't consumed by mindless bloodlust; he was focused on rebuilding himself.
Thinking again about his character, I decided to officially accept him as my disciple, so I said, "Noah, you already considered me as your master, but I did not agree, so let's make it official. Noah Bloodborn, are you willing to be my disciple?"
Hearing me, Noah immediately got on his knees and with a fanatical voice he said, "Yes, master, I am more than willing to be your disciple."
Along with that, a system notification came.
"Ding, congratulations, host on accepting your fourth disciple."
"Ding, system is unable to provide rewards, cause it is blocked by main system space."
Vik: "Keep it short, system, and show me Noah's status."
"Ding showing disciple Noah's status
Name: Noah Bloodborn
Age: 21
Affinity: Blood, Thunder, Fire
Realm: None(broken)
Martial soul: None
Physique: Primordial Thunder physique
Possession: A broken engagement ring.
Artifact: Emblem of Bloodborn(Broken).
Luck: chaotic
Special status: Crippled Cultivation.
Title: Invincible prodigy, Last heir of Bloodborn, Blood Demon, Loser in Love.
Evaluation: He is the last heir of the Bloodborn family, a family that made invaders scream in terror just by hearing their name. Although he did not have any major world-toppling achievements, he was considered one of the strongest among his peers on the Western continent. But fate decided otherwise; he desired to find true love, and so he did. He loved a simple girl without any major talent, a bastard of some noble family. But that girl, changed one day becoming something that is dear to heaven, a chosen one, although he did not have any enmity with the chosen one but still blind in love he dared to challenge path of Chosen one, as the destiny of chosen ones can't be tied to any place or person, so he got rejected in a way, that humiliates him most, defeated and lost. His original fate would be to die at the hands of his old enemy, but due to a certain arrogant snake, now his fate is chaotic.
Sigh! No matter how many times I see it, I still wonder why every male disciple of mine has this title "Loser in Love" in their status. But I decided to focus back on Noah
"Good answer," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's head to the cultivation chamber. It's time to teach you how to fight like a real monster."