Heaven, Earth, Me

Chapter 948: Paths Are Meant To Be Treaded, Not Skipped.

Estrella looked around the training room, which her mother had built for them to train in various things. Behind Estrella's figure, 20 maids stood straight and formal. 

They were her personal maids, and all of Yasenia's children had one group. The head maid of those twenty asked when she saw Estrella's lost look. "Little Miss, is anything wrong?"

Estrella looked at the black-haired woman and shook her head. "No, I was thinking about what to try next. I have a martial body, but I don't really feel like I am much better than my sisters. Do you know why is that?"

The maid smiled reassuringly. "Little Miss, sometimes, people have an affinity toward different types of weapons, and finding the right one is very difficult. Perhaps Little Miss is really good with an unconventional weapon, but you haven't found it yet. Care to tell me which weapons you've tried, Little Miss?"

Estrella nodded and commented. "I've tried the two-handed longsword, the giant sword, a spear, and twin swords." 

The maid nodded. "Well, I see that you've tried to use Lady Tatyana's, Lady Yasenia's, Lady Evelyn's, and an original one, right?"

Estrella blushed a bit, but she honestly nodded. "Yeah… I don't feel comfortable with them…" 

The maid laughed. "It's okay for you to try the Lady's weapons. Not only is it okay, it is very clever."

Estrella blinked, her heterochromatic blue and golden eyes looking adorably puzzled. "Why?"

The human maid leaned down and poked Estrella's nose with a smile. "Well, you are their daughter, Little Miss. Therefore, you might have talent with their choice of weapons."

Estrella nodded a few times with a bright smile. "I see!" Then, she pondered and commented. "Do you think Mommy and Mama will mind if I ask them what weapons they use?"

The maid straightened and laughed. "Mind? Little Miss, prepare to be showered with kisses~."

Estrella giggled and ran off. The other maids giggled. "Little Miss is adorable."

"She is also very hardworking."

One of them sighed. "It is a bit of a shame that she is attributeless. This blocks her Spiritual Path advancement."

Another one nodded. "It is, but it doesn't matter. Little Miss feels like a late bloomer. She might struggle at first, but with Little Miss's constitution alone, she can probably reach further than any of us." 

The head maid said. "Moreover, don't forget whose daughter she is." 

The other nineteen nodded seriously, and then they all followed Estrella at an appropriate distance to intervene in case anything happened. 

While attacks were impossible since there was no one who dared to barge into Yasenia's house to attack her children, Yasenia's personal maids sometimes made an attack simulation to test the new maid's alertness.

When Estrella arrived at Yasenia's cultivation, she saw Doriel there and waved her arm. "Doriel! Is Mommy there?"

Doriel's cold and indifferent face mellowed as she looked at Estrella and smiled. "Young Miss is currently inside. Do you want to see her, Estrella?"

Estrella nodded a few times. At first, Doriel's vibe was a bit scary for some of the children. However, when Skye spoke with her, asking about something, they saw Doriel's usually scary expression soften, which made all of them realize that she was a good person.

Of course, "good person" was a subjective adjective that only the children would probably attach to someone like Doriel, but since she was good to them, they were no longer scared.

The maids behind Estrella bowed in greetings to their senior, and Doriel nodded back. 

Doriel hummed and got thoughtful, and Estrella asked. "Is Mommy doing something important?"

Doriel smiled. "She is doing something very important, but it shouldn't be a problem if we interrupt for a second. Young Miss would probably scold me if she later knew that I turned one of her babies away."

Estrella humphed. "Don't worry, Doriel! I will tell Mommy not to shout at you!"

Doriel laughed. "Then, I am in your hands, Estrella."

Estrella nodded severely, crossing her little arms while her tail wiggled haughtily. 

Doriel approached the enormous door and spoke. "Young Miss, Little Miss Estrella is here."

It took not longer than a minute for the doors to start opening, releasing a wave of extremely dense energy. The maids behind Estrella held their breaths as Yasenia appeared. 

They were relatively new, and for them, Yasenia was a godlike existence. Not to mention the sheer authority her presence radiated, and the dragoness's beauty was enough to make the heart of almost anyone in the entire continent tremble.

She was, quite literally, chosen as the most attractive female in the entire continent. Even between beasts, her beast form was incredibly stunning.

When Yasenia came out, she looked down at Estrella and smiled brightly. "Oh~? My hardworking baby is here?"

Estrella ran forward and jumped into Yasenia's arms. "Mommy!" 

The dragoness easily caught her jumping darling and used her tail to secure her quickly. Then, she kissed her nose and asked. "So, it is rare that you come to visit me at these times. You are usually practicing. Is there something that baby wants to tell me?"

Estrella nodded a few times and looked back at her maids. The head maid smiled and nodded back, reassuring Estrella. 

The dragoness raised her eyebrow, seeing the interaction, but she waited for Estrella to talk. Estrella looked at her Mama Dragon's gentle face and asked. "Um… Can Mommy tell me which weapons you are good with? I still haven't found one that I am good at or that I have a talent for, so I wanted to know yours…" Estrella muttered. "I am your daughter, after all…"

Yasenia almost died from the cuteness attack that her daughter threw her way. "Uuu! Baby, why are you so cute!"

And, as the maid expected, Estrella's face was quickly covered with Yasenia's kisses, making the child laugh happily. After the dragoness was satisfied, she commented. "Well, baby. I am good at a few weapons. I am the best at with my giant sword… Let me show you."

Yasenia placed Estrella down and called [Draconic Heart]'s red core. Estrella looked at the red orb and asked. "That's mommy's weapon?"

Yasenia smiled. "That's right, look." Her energy poured into Draheart, and a bluish material surrounded the core, swiftly transforming into its usual giant sword shape. 

Estrella clapped. "That's so cool!"

Even the maids behind Estrella were surprised. 'Lady Yasenia's weapon must be extremely strong.'

Yasenia took a perfect stance, showing an air of confidence and strength, and she started moving slowly. "The giant sword needs broad strikes that carry the weight of the body. Agility is usually not something that you should have with this weapon. It is more of a war sword, as you use the broad strikes to blast the frontlines. Still…"

Estrella saw Yasenia's movements faintly change, and suddenly, the sword's speed multiplied, and Yasenia began swinging it around with almost no effort. "... If you are strong enough, you can use the giant sword agilely like this, creating something like a massive spear that has wide edges. Agile combat with the giant sword is possible for me because of two main reasons."

Yasenia didn't stop moving around, showing extreme mastery with the giant sword, enough to leave the maids behind Estrella breathless. 

"The first reason is I am physically very strong," Yasenia explained. "My body is not only enhanced by my Beast, Body, and Spiritual cultivation, but I also have various skills that give me even more strength. I've been refining my body with a powerful body-refining skill for many years."

Yasenia did a powerful lateral strike and summoned an enormous gale that swept all the leaves off the ground. Yasenia looked at Estrella and smiled. "The second reason is my tail." 

Estrella asked, curious. "Tail?"

Yasenia nodded and commented. "Focus on my tail in my next routine, okay?"

Estrella nodded twice and looked at Yasenia's gorgeous tail.

Then, the dragoness started moving again, and Estrella realized that the tail was constantly swinging behind Yasenia, helping her with weight balancing. "Ohh!"

Yasenia stopped and looked at Estrella. "Our dragon tails are an excellent asset during combat. Even if we don't use it to attack, which it totally can because of their sturdiness and hard scales, it can be used to aid the body's movement."

Estrella's eyes glittered. "I see!"

The dragoness sent energy toward the sword, and soon, it transformed into a pair of draconic-shaped gloves. They looked like scaly gloves with a red orb shining on top of Yasenia's right hand. They also went up to Yasenia's elbow, giving her a wild and imposing look.

"The weapon I am most proficient with after the giant sword is armored claws." 

Yasenia went into a martial art position, which Estrella swiftly picked up on, and the dragoness explained. "Claws are usually quite useless weapons. Their range is deficient, and a spear user can easily overpower you if they are good enough. Even the attack power behind them is lacking."

Estrella tilted her head. "Then, why do you use them?"

Yasenia grinned. "Because I am physically strong. My combat style is me trying to overwhelm my opponent with raw power and technique. I don't send attacks at random, but each attack I do is backed with brutal power and heaviness." 

Estrella nodded a few times, and Yasenia commented. "Look. This is exactly the same strength I used to make that sword swing that blew away the leaves."

The dragoness's body rotated from her ankle, up her leg, and through her torso, reaching her shoulder and transferring all the strength toward her fist.

Then, Yasenia completed the perfect punching motion.

BOOM!

The air before the dragoness exploded, creating a small shockwave.

The loud sound made Estrella's heart jump, but instead of fear, she felt excitement. Yasenia recovered her stance and laughed. "That's why I use claws. Because if I manage to sneak in and land a punch, they will be in a world of suffering. If I manage to release a combo on them? Heh, the fight would probably be over soon."

Estrella asked. "Are these suitable for me?"

Yasenia smiled. "I don't know."

Estrella blinked and pouted. "Won't mommy tell me?"

The dragoness laughed and began a martial art routine with the claws. "Estrella, the martial arts path is very personal. I will give you and the other children something when you are three years old. Then, after that, you need to learn by yourself." 

Estrella kicked a small rock at her feet, but her eyes followed her gorgeous mother's movements. They were mesmerizing and profound, showing incredible martial arts knowledge and depth. 

Even the maids behind Estrella were learning each time Yasenia moved. 

The dragoness laughed softly. "Baby, don't be sad. Remember this, and remember it well."

Estrella listened, and Yasenia explained. "There are no shortcuts in the cultivation world. You can advance quickly. You can advance slower. However, you can't skip things. Everything needs to accumulate slowly and become your strength. You know that I couldn't even fight a few levels above my level at first? I needed to accumulate strength, and now, look at Mommy. I can fight high-level Epoch Cores while at the Low-Level." 

Estrella pondered, half-understanding Yasenia's words. 

The dragoness added. "Still, baby. That doesn't mean that we won't help. Remember, the path is yours, but the guidance on how to tread on your own path is not received from nowhere. We, the maids, and everyone else are your teachers, and we will slowly help you learn."

Yasenia made a series of beautiful movements, turning toward Estrella and finishing with a punch in her direction that blew some wind in her direction. 

"Estrella, your name means 'Star.' You are bound to become a star, those that are high in the sky. Never give up, okay? I will always be your support."

Estrella looked at Yasenia's extended fist, and she lifted her short arm and bumped it with her. Then, she smiled. "Okay!"