Maxine mentally cursed as she watched a swiss man by the name of Alexander Schmidt go through his lightning tribulation. This situation more or less confirmed that people born on Earth had a much higher chance to breakthrough naturally than people born on other worlds. Thankfully, she had already made her worries known to the UN and they had collectively decided to limit immigration, severely. Although, it took some convincing on her part to get them to go along with it, but they swiftly agreed once they saw the damage that can be caused from a lightning tribulation. Thus, they spent several days discussing where cultivators could breakthrough to gold stage while causing minimal damage to both the environment and nearby cities. It had been an annoying, but it needed to be done. It did not help that she had been feeling restless the whole time for some odd reason.


    However, as she finished her mental complaints, the swiss man''s lightning tribulation ended. The poor bastard was covered in burns and, thankfully, still had all of his fingers and toes. Maxine practically teleported beside him with how fast she moved and force fed him a healing pill.


    [Calm down. It''s just me,] Maxine told him via spiritual sense as he feebly resisted her efforts to help him, [Remember? I told you that I would have to treat your injuries after your breakthrough. Just sit still and try not to talk. After all of your flirting, I thought that you would be overjoyed to be in my care.] That got him to stop actively resisting her and allowed her to bandage his wounds without further incident.


    [How long before I recover?] Alexander Schmidt asked.


    Maxine scanned his injuries and found trace amounts of lightning tribulation remaining in them. [A month at the earliest if you take the medications when you''re supposed to,] Maxine answered honestly, [However, you should be able to take care of yourself in a few hours as long as you don''t mind the pain. Just avoid any rigorous activities until you recover completely. Also, remember to eat heartily for every meal of the day. While nutritional pills will suffice, nothing beats a homemade meal when it comes to nourishing the body. As I said before your tribulation, you will need to take one healing pill in the morning every day until they''re gone.] As she finished giving him instructions, she placed a small bottle in his hands.


    [Is there any chance that I could convince you to cook those ''homemade'' meals for me?] Alexander Schmidt asked with a charming smile, even though half of his face was heavily burned. She quite impressed at his pain tolerance. After her lightning tribulation, she could barely move without being in horrendous pain.


    [Nice try, but no,] Maxine answered in a tone laced with amusement. The man had tried flirting with her a lot on their way to this place.


    [That''s too bad. I was looking forward to that. No matter. What about the other thing?] Alexander Schmidt asked, [You know about me taking over as Earth''s representative?]


    [I said that you just have the potential to take over for me, just like every other native gold stage cultivator,] Maxine answered honestly, [Unfortunately, none of them have met my minimum requirements. I may ask you to assist me in handling a few matters pertaining to being Earth''s representative, but that''s a topic for another time. For now, you need to rest and recover.] Although, if I''m being honest, he would make a decent replacement, but I need to hammer it in his head to not flirt while attending an Alliance assembly. He could get challenged to a death match by someone''s very angry spouse.


    [Alright,] Alexander Schmidt acquiesced, [Can I at least get your number?]


    [No,] Maxine bluntly refused as she opened a portal beneath him and deposited him onto his bed at his apartment. Seriously, how can he think about that shit while in his condition? He has second degree burns on his thighs, arms and half of his face. Does he just not feel any of that?! Then again, adrenaline could account for his lack of pain, but he''ll be feeling it in the next few minutes. That''s for sure.


    Maxine created a portal and returned home. However, as soon as she walked into the living room, she spotted Reena watching TV, but she kept glancing around every few seconds as if she were keeping an eye out for a predator. Maxine narrowed her eyes in suspicion and quickly looked for Lucas. He was practicing his martial arts in the training room, but his moves seemed more aggressive than normal. Shit. This is not good. If it was just me feeling uneasy, I would pass it off as paranoia, but with both of them acting up too, that more or less confirms that something or someone is triggering our survival instincts. But who or what could do that? My enemies wouldn''t even try going after Lucas and Reena with daddy and mom here. That just leaves daddy''s enemies.


    Without missing a beat, Maxine swiftly went to Guan''s personal training room/alchemy lab and reached to knock on the door. However, it opened before she could and she saw worry in his eyes. "Care to fill me in on what the hell is going on and why my instincts are acting up?" Maxine asked.


    "I don''t know what it is, but I know it''s coming in less than three months," Guan answered and that worried Maxine more than anything else, "But be prepared to take your mother, Emily and the children into hiding soon. In fact, it might be wise to prepare your replacement as Earth''s representative during this time." He''s feeling it too. Whatever, it is. If it''s a major threat even to him, I can''t do a damn thing to fight it in that case.


    "How bad?" Maxine asked somewhat fearful of his answer.


    "I''m not sure. Whatever, it is, poses a significant threat to me," Guan answered. I''m starting to freak out here. Daddy always has the answers. He''s literately the most knowledgeable, not to mention powerful, person that I know of.


    She was about to have him clarify, but her communication disc began vibrating. She pulled it out and received a message from the Alliance. ''Warning! Deity of unknown origin''s descending process detected. Estimated time of arrival 67 standar days. Reminder: These powerful beings cannot stay in our plane of existence for very lengthy periods of time before they''re ejected.'' is what it said. Well, that qualifies as bad. Although, I''m more interested in how long someone like that can stay.


    "Uh, daddy, is there any chance that one of the clans or sects that you wiped out had a senior that became a deity?" Maxine asked nervously.


    "Possible," Guan answered, "I didn''t bother looking that kind of information up before I released my poisons. I only investigated into their current and potential combat power beforehand. Did this question have anything to do with the message that you just received?"


    "Yes, it did," Maxine answered, "Apparently, a deity is descending in roughly 67 days. By the way, how long can someone like that stay in our plane of existence?"


    "A decade at most and that''s only if they don''t abuse their powers," Guan answered, "Less than a year if they do. It''s best to avoid entities of that level of power, if at all possible. Unfortunately, if I am their target, I do not know if I can hide from such an entity. My strength would be like a torch at midnight to their senses, even if I were to mask it. But you and your mother, on the other hand, would be nearly impossible to find due to so many other''s having similar levels of strength. That is why I''m asking you to take her and your adopted siblings into hiding. Preferably to a place that is both remote and one that you''ve never ''publicly'' visited before. Do you understand?"A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Yes, I do," Maxine replied, "I have the perfect place in mind." That magic world with those glowing blue gems fits both of those criteria as far as I''m aware. It''s a good thing that I marked it with my spiritual sense. In fact, I could flee there right now. I have enough supplies in my dimensional ring to feed me and those to gluttons for the better part of a year.


    "What about Orianna?" Maxine asked.


    "She has Maxwell," Guan answered, "Even deities would be wary of enraging someone with a battle god physique. Once a battle god''s rage reaches a certain threshold, they effectively become indestructible while they continuously get more powerful up until their enemy is slain. After that, their bodies self-destruct from the overwhelming power that they used."


    "Why wasn''t that mentioned in your notes?!" Maxine asked incredulously.


    "Its an extremely rare occurrence," Guan answered, "It''s only happened maybe seven or eight times in recorded history, most of which happened when a overly confident fool killed the wrong person''s wife or child." That''s both the most broken and heartbreaking ability that I''ve ever heard of. Perhaps, that''s why it''s much more dangerous for them to reach gold stage and practically a death sentence for one to try to reach immortal stage. It''s a way for the universe to balance out their ridiculous abilities.


    "I see," Maxine said, "But regardless, that deity might not even be descending for you."


    "True, but it''s better to err on the side of caution," Guan reasoned, but Maxine noticed a slight variance in his voice before he continued, "I rather just put myself at risk than any of you. If nothing else, perhaps, my reputation for being the deadliest poison master in the Alliance should work in my favor. Poisons are wonderful equalizers when it comes to a large differences in power."


    "True enough," Maxine replied, "Still, it might be a good idea to warn Orianna and Maxwell about this."


    "I already have," Guan answered calmly, "And oddly enough, she hasn''t felt any sense of restlessness. Neither has Maxwell. Perhaps, it''s my proximity to you and the children that''s the problem. Or her instincts are duller than yours due to your preference for close quarters combat."


    "Or my instincts are just warning me to keep my head down while the big strong guy is in the area so I don''t get blasted into oblivion," Maxine pointed out, "If you havn''t forgotten, Orianna is in an entirely different galaxy compared to us."


    "That''s possible explanation," Guan answered, "But I would still prefer it if you go into hiding."


    "Fine," Maxine said in exasperation, "I just have to figure out how to convince Emily to go along with this. Wait, what about Silkie and Lan?"


    "They should be fine," Guan answered, "Neither are directly related to you via blood. At most, they would assume that you raised Silkie and taught young Lanitherin as a means of occupying your mind. Beings that live as long as hydrakin do tend to think differently."


    "I guess," Maxine agreed uncertainly, "I''ll make the arrangements to go into hiding a week or two before that deity arrives. Hopefully, that new guy will be sufficient. He''s certainly smart enough for the job. I just wish he wasn''t such a flirt with every pretty girl he meets."


    "Oh?" Guan said with one of his rare smiles, "That could certainly cause some issues, but nothing too damaging. Earthlings are already known for their promiscuous nature."


    "They think we''re all sexual deviants," Maxine said in frustration. I''m just grateful that they havn''t caught wind of some of the more perverse fetishes just yet, but it''s only a matter of time before they do. Ugh, I''m already getting more than my fair share of strange looks.


    "Only when compared to the other members of the Alliance," Guan agreed and change the subject in the next breath, "Now, I need to make a few potions for Lucas and Reena for when they attempt breakthrough to silver. I know you could make them just as easily, but I want to make it for them in advance." That''s disconcerting. He never talks like this. It''s almost as if he''s expecting to die soon.


    Maxine examined Guan a little more closely and realized he was tense. "You''re not restless. You''re genuinely afraid," Maxine said out loud, "Whoever it is, is coming for you."


    "Yes, but I''m not entirely certain of this either," Guan admitted without looking guilty in the least, "Still, I intend to confront this deity shortly after they descend and only if they come towards me."


    "Does mom know?" Maxine asked.


    "Not yet," Guan answered, "I was going to tell her this evening."


    "What are your chances if he''s hostile?" Maxine asked, but felt like an idiot for even asking it a moment later. A deity was literately too powerful to exist in the lower planes of existence. If I were to do a comparison, it''s like daddy, a three-dimensional being, facing off against a forth dimensional being. The shear difference in ability would be a gap too great for daddy to breach even with the deadliest of poisons.


    "Eighty five percent chance," Guan answered and Maxine started to feel hopeful before his next words killed hope in a very brutal fashion, "Of my death."


    Maxine was stunned into silence for a moment before she got up and tried to drag Guan to Hellen. "You need to run. He can''t chase you to the shadow world," Maxine reasoned, "You said it yourself that you could only get there because I created the portal for you."


    "Maxine, stop," Guan said as he refused to move and gently patted Maxine''s hand, "You have no idea how much it gladdens my heart to see you act like this, but it''s no good. A deity is not restricted in the same way as other being. In facts, I doubt hiding in that pocket dimension would do us much good. Chances are they would be able to force their way in, much like you can. They''re already doing such a thing by descending to our plane of existence."


    Maxine stopped and growled out, "I know, but I can always hope, right?"


    "There is nothing wrong with that," Guan answered, "But I know better. I am not afraid of death. I am afraid that you and your mother will get hurt because of what I''ve done. So, please, do as I ask and hope that my preparations are for nothing."


    "Alright, daddy," Maxine said in resignation as she released Guan''s hand.


    "Good girl," Guan said as he spun her around and hugged her, "Just do me a favor in case the worst happens and have lots of children. It will make your mother happy."


    "What are you going to do?" Maxine asked as she looked up at Guan.


    "I thought that much was obvious at this point: I will prepare the best that I can," Guan answered as he released her, "You probably won''t see much of me before you leave due to that. Even if I loose, I''ll be taking my opponent down with me. He will not harm you or my grandson inside of Emily''s belly."


    "I appreciate the thought, daddy. But why did you tell me that Emily''s going to have a boy?" Maxine asked in exasperation, "Emily and myself wanted the gender of our child to be surprise."


    "I''m sorry. I wasn''t aware of that," Guan said.


    Maxine wanted to yell at him, but let it go. She didn''t want any potential last memories of him to be one of anger and conflict. "It''s water under the bridge now," Maxine said and decided to make her exit as she created an arch back to Earth, "Go spend some time with mom. I''m going to hang out with Silkie. She wanted to talk with me about something. She wasn''t real big on the details." But knowing her, she''s probably wants to ask my opinion on various wedding dress designs. She intends to be more than prepared for when she finally marries Lan. Hell, she''ll have the whole event planned out quite thoroughly at this rate. All I will have to do is pay for it and I''m quite happy with that kind of result. I''m horrible at planning things like that.


    "Alright, have fun," Guan said as Maxine walked through the portal.


    She immediately spotted Silkie weaving an arachne silk undershirt while browsing through a wedding dress catalog for various beastkin. Called it, but I''m curious as to where she got ahold of that catalog. Wait, is it written with japanese kanji? I think it is. I guess this makes it a little easier to help her pick out a wedding dress. It''s the least I can do as her adoptive mother.