"What's wrong with the captain?" asked Longbeard as he looked at Jack who had suddenly sat cross-legged on the deck of a ship and entered meditation. Their current situation wasn't exactly the most optimal for an impromptu cultivation session.

Still, none tried to probe his state, mainly owing to the terrifying aura radiating from his body that instantly evaporated the thousands of immortal ghosts that had invaded the ship.

"I don't know, but we need to protect the captain," said Tiny-Sparkles, the dwarfed unicorn and first mate of the crew. "I know just the place."

Around the massive Jolly Rancher was a scene of total chaos. The realm they were in was experiencing another round of invasion, and this time many forces had broken through the external protective formation around the realm, entering it and causing chaos.

While the owners of the realm were busy fighting off the invading Dao Lords, the rest of the residents of the realm were left to fend for themselves against the invading armies. As it happened, the location that Jack and his crew were in was invaded by countless Yin-ghosts that fed on the souls of the living, and were mostly immune to all kinds of physical attacks.

Even using laws against them was not easy due to their inherent qualities of becoming ethereal. They were in the middle of battle - one of many that they had faced recently - when the captain suddenly started to meditate. Considering that Jack was the strongest fighter on the crew, his sudden exclusion from the fight made the situation much harder on them - especially since their main focus was trying to collect the Ghost-cores and Yin-ash the ghosts dropped after they died.

However, Tiny-Sparkles selflessly decided to protect Jack in this critical moment, displaying the very valor that made him first mate. Using a beam of rainbow light that shot out of his horn, he carefully picked up Jack and placed him in the most secure location in all of the Jolly Rancher - right on the bow of the ship, at the very front.

None of the crew members commented, and instead continued their fight while Monk, the bear cub, took the helm and started to control the ship. With the terrifying aura radiating from Jack's body as a battering ram, the Jolly Rancher started to plow through all the ghosts around them gathering all their precious dropped loot onto the ship.

Bob, whose mouth had been stuffed using a Divine Wine cork they got, and who was tied to the top of the mast, looked at his captain with admiration in his eyes. Who else would use their own body as a battering ram? No one except the great Captain Jack!

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he thought of how lucky he was to follow the captain.

He tried to speak, but the cork that was specifically designed to preserve the essence of a wine used by very high level Deities prevented his divine energy from activating, keeping him quiet... for now.

Unbeknownst to the crew, the reason Jack had suddenly entered such a state was because Lex was receiving treatment that few in the history of the universe ever had. To have thirteen, genuine Dao Lords work personally to ensure that Lex is completely and fully prepared, in the best possible condition, to receive an inheritance was a luxury not many could enjoy.

In fact, the actual children of Dao Lords could not enjoy such privilege, as even meeting their own parents becomes difficult. Only heirs to powerful organisations or forces could experience something similar. The only reason Lex could receive such benefits was because the statues were completely and unquestionably subservient to Nuwa.

Their very existence was to carry out her commands, and despite their cultivation levels, they were basically the same as Spirit Treasures under her control. It was similar to if Naraka, Lex's sword, suddenly gained sentience. No matter what power or cultivation it would have, that would not change the fact that Naraka would unquestionably obey Lex.

To have an actual Dao Lord massage him? To have one play music to relax and cleanse his spirit? These were unimaginably lavish, and beyond what Lex himself could have hoped to achieve. When he came to learn the Masterless technique, he expected nothing like this.

After all, he'd learned some pretty valuable techniques on his own. Whether it was his own cultivation technique, or even the Back of Atlas, he had required no special circumstances to learn them. Yet both of those were actually exceptions. In truth, it was not so simple to gain access to a top level technique.

Yet no matter how privileged or prestigious the treatment Lex received seemed, in truth he'd already received something far more valuable. He'd received the direct protection of Nuwa, which was something even the help of hundreds of Dao Lords could not equate to, let alone thirteen.

This was a testament to just how much Nuwa valued Lex's future. As long as he does not get himself killed, she expected to reap incalculable returns on her investment in him.

For five, continuous months, Lex remained in that meditative state, excreting the pollution from his spirit, lightening the mental burden he had every time he attempted to make use of the information Regix gave him, and completely digesting whatever information he could actually use.

In truth, Lex had excreted far more than he had absorbed, but that was for the best. A temporary boost in power in exchange for affecting his future was not a trade he would ever accept.

It was only after those five months of intense preparation under the guidance of the thirteen statues that Lex finally exited from that trance, though the process of safely exiting the trance also took three days.

"What... happened?" Lex asked groggily as he opened his eyes, feeling both exceptionally refreshed as well as uncharacteristically drowsy. His brain took a few moments to begin working properly, at which point he realized that a lot of

time had passed.

He quickly checked up on the Inn, and found that there had indeed been a few developments - not to mention visits from the Henali to discuss the matter of the taverns. Fortunately, nothing too serious had happened during that time, meaning that Mary had been able to delay any meetings that required his attention.

"I will now begin the transmission of the Masterless technique," said the Nuwa statue aloud as she looked at Lex. However, discreetly, she also sent him a message via her spirit sense.

"Don't worry, I won't be like these super serious, boring statues, and use up all your mental capacity. Although it will slow down things a bit, I'll allow you to retain 1% of your self awareness so you can continue to control your external incarnations."

Clearly, the statues had detected the presence of Jack. How could they not? The one protecting Lex and Jack was Nuwa, and she would not hide it from

them.

"How much slower will it be?" Lex could not help but ask. Unfortunately, he got no reply as the Nuwa statue had already begun the process of initiating the

transmission.