Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

"While you're tired and training has been difficult, your efforts will not go unnoticed." Evalyn said before thousands of soldiers and family members, "As I've explained to the volunteer Immortals, I will give distinguished cultivators sky-grade breathing and offensive techniques this week.

Everyone else will be learning earth-grade techniques."

Excitement spread through Lainwright military base, hearing that she was giving them billion-dollar techniques—and higher.

"Let's talk about how you can earn these techniques." The Ice General smiled ominously, "The first way is to land a hit on me during training. The second is to prove yourself loyal and trustworthy. Lastly, you can show remarkable skill or growth.

Since the second is unlikely, and very few will earn the third, I recommend you try to hit me with an attack. You all can attack simultaneously; in fact, I recommend it."

Gasps spread through the area, perplexed that she'd tell thousands of people they could get techniques if they hit her with a single attack.

Immortal Skye's elite soldiers cringed, feeling horrifying deja vu and taking pity on the Lainwright soldiers and volunteer family members.

"Naturally, anyone that tries to hit me can expect retribution." Evalyn smirked ominously, seeing their excitement, "So, only attack me if you're willing to face the consequences."

The atmosphere's pressure multiplied, seeing her sinister smile that told a dark story.

═─┈─═

Twenty-five hundred Immortals stood before the emperor with expectant gazes. They rarely saw him in training, as Jake led cultivation training and practice and Sandra and Aaron led military classes.

"How did my naughty Immortals enjoy breaking Malta's laws last night?" Kaze asked with a slight smile.

Carmen blushed and smiled wryly when a wave of over-zealous cheering crashed into her ears, reminding her of her position and actions.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He smiled, "Since you do, I'm pleased to announce that there are major additional opportunities to earn RP this month.

If you take advantage of them, you can take private classes, learn new techniques, buy luxury items, and explore your hidden fantasies—simultaneously."

More cheering rocked the sound waves, making everyone's blood start pumping.

"Not only are we doubling RP gains for the month, Immortals can earn vouchers for cultivation technique classes at the Exclusive." Kaze announced, "The top one hundred distinguished students in regular training will get them this week."

Excitement about the opportunity spread through the area like wildfire, making the atmosphere feverish. It was uncomfortable, but no one would leave for the world.

"Let's talk about how you can prove yourself a top student." Kaze smiled mysteriously, "I'm giving everyone a sky-grade breathing technique.

The top hundred cultivating it will get classes for sky-grade offensive techniques."

Silence spread through the area until all people could hear the sound of heavy breathing. Everyone waited for confirmation that he wasn't joking.

"Immortal Skye has conquered Earth's bitch ass!" Larkin screamed, breaking people out of their perplexed hazes, "That's why we're taking the muthafucking sky next!

IMMORTAL SKYE! IMMORTAL SKYE! IMMORTAL SKYE!"

Without tact or regard for the emperor's speech, the jester whipped everyone into a frenzy, making the area explode in vibrant cheers and chanting, creating an ominous echo that spread down the barren mountainside.

"That's right!" The emperor roared, feeding off the passionate atmosphere, "Everyone will take one more step to become legitimate Immortals!

In the next six weeks, you'll be able to challenge low-level Sky Plane cultivators! Who wants payback for what they did to us!?"

Battle cries rocked the area, ripping apart people's broken souls and melding them back together.

"Then seize it!" Kaze ordered passionately, "Let's take back what's rightfully ours.

To get there, work hard this month, train, volunteer, earn RP, take exclusive classes, and seize your destiny!"

Thunderous applause and overbearing bloodlust radiated in the area, making the atmosphere terrifying and suffocating.

The emperor would whip everyone into shape in six weeks and exploit every one of their desires and ambitions to do it with maximum morale. That was his strategy to succeed.

═─┈─═

Evalyn watched in slow motion as a blanket of slash attacks rained from the ground and sky like arrows. She waved her hand and created an ice barrier, blocking all of them.

While everyone was shocked her ice dome survived a hundred of their strikes, they could see cracks in it, while the Ice General couldn't see anything.

So everyone released battle cries and surrounded it, shooting hundreds of attacks at it simultaneously.

CRAaaaaCkkKKkkkK! BOOOOOOOM!

A cloud of ice shot into the air, falling to the ground like snowflakes after a fast-paced cracking sound ended in an explosion. Everyone cheered, feeling they had landed a hit on their general.

To their dismay, when the blizzard-like flurry of ice settled, they saw a smaller barrier underneath the first, like a Russian nesting doll.

"What are we going to do?" Someone asked.

"We're still on the offensive." A brunette said, "We should cycle our members to attack, breaking it down until there's nothing left."

"I'm not sure that we should waste that much Qi." A blonde-haired man countered, "If she escapes, we'll be doomed."

"How will she escape?" She scoffed, "She can't even see!"

As everyone talked, thousands of ice balls developed behind them. When they were complete—

"AGhHHhHHhHHhHhhHhHHhhHHhhHhhHhhHhhH!"

"WHAT IS THIS!?"

"Create a phalanx with the defensive cultivators on the outside!"

"There's no time. It's—"

CRraCK!

"—GahHHhHHhH!"

Hundreds of soldiers dropped every second when an ice ball crashed into their legs, hitting just hard enough to create bone fractures without breaking them.

Evalyn circled inside her inner ice dome, viewing the world through Qi flow to see the people and attack. "This is always the worst part, but it's necessary to prevent abrupt trauma from causing shut down."

The blonde watched what happened at the start of the rapture carefully, seeing how a thousand people still had immense Qi when it was over because they couldn't move.

To prevent that, she was recreating that hopeless situation to build people up. Like Kaze once suggested to her after sex one night, low-level trauma hardens the skin against major trauma.

It tattoos the mind's surface area, making it difficult for even major events to add more ink.

That was what she was forcing on her soldiers. In her mind, they would all die gruesome, meaningless deaths in six weeks if she didn't.

The Ice General's philosophy was that a person needed to be alive to hate her, so she'd accept as much hate as people wanted to give her.

"It seems you don't want to survive, after all!" Evalyn scoffed, breaking her barrier to see the thousands of soldiers screaming and groaning on the ground, "You're dead."

She lifted her hand, created thousands more ice balls, and systematically crashed them into people's stomachs, moving as fast as her mind could process.

"If your enemy cripples you mercilessly, you must still attack them!" The Ice General roared, ignoring their screams, "You didn't—look what happened."

Those who recovered their breath filled their lungs and apologized, begging for mercy.

"Did I hear you beg forgiveness for inaction?" Evalyn scoffed, "You still draw breath, yet you'd rather scream than cultivate and use Minor Healing? Pathetic.

I can understand pathetic soldiers being unwilling to save themselves. But seeing the civilians volunteering to protect their families giving up? Disgusting.

Unless you opted out like my soldiers, I don't want to see you back in the barracks until you've healed your legs. If I hear someone has helped you, I will severely punish them—not you."

Without further discussion, she left the screaming soldiers and civilians on the ground.

The Ice General closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she walked. "This is the best I can do. I pray that it's enough, or that Kaze wins and can correct my mistakes."

═─┈─═

"Now listen very closely." Kaze announced, "You will all experience pain as your meridians stretch. However, those with Minor Healing will be healing your meridians in shifts. It won't do much, but it will help.

Make sure to see a healer before you come back tonight. There's no value in pain if it holds back your progress. Do you understand?"

A hurricane of affirming replies shot through the area. Everyone was ecstatic to get the sky-grade breathing technique.

While they knew it would be painful, the rewards and hope it brought them were immeasurable. So they put their hearts and souls into it after they got the technique.

Kaze smiled strangely, watching thousands gritting their teeth with burning meridians and seeing their determined expressions. "I hope this is enough.

This is all I can do; the rest is up to your willpower and drive to survive."

He reappraised the situation with a strange smile that turned into a grin.

"Not exactly." Kaze chuckled ominously, "If anyone comes up short, I'll send them to Evalyn. She'll teach them what death feels like, and it'll change their perspective on dying."

The emperor turned around with a mysterious smile and walked away, delighted he had a partner who could fill in where he was lacking.