Chapter 665: Envy

"I have to cultivate harder," Amalia, Eris’ paternal grandmother, muttered with great determination under her breath as she rode together with her granddaughter aboard a tartan heading from Misty City to Martin, the true capital of the Balfour March.

Looking back over her shoulder, Eris tilted her head cutely in confusion for a moment before seemingly having an epiphany and smiling, "I think you look just fine they way you are, Grandma!"

Reaching up and tussling her granddaughter’s hair, Amalia simply laughed, "You wouldn’t understand, Little Eris; and hopefully, you never will."

Pursing her lips, Eris thought about it for a bit, but truly didn’t understand. She was still young, after all, and with her cultivation growing rapidly each day, becoming ’old’ wasn’t something she was even remotely worried about.

Amalia, on the other hand, after watching the stunning transformation Elizabeth Carlson had undergone, couldn’t help feeling envious.

And how could she not?

A month ago, Elizabeth looked decidedly older than Amalia did, but now she looked over a decade younger. On top of that, Elizabeth was stronger than ever and had gained 70, 80, or maybe even 100 more years of lifespan.

If it had been a year ago and Amalia encountered a similar situation, she probably would have just shrugged and not thought much about it. Elizabeth Carlson was the Supreme Elder of a Count-Rank family, while she was the simple wife of a humble, former countryside baron.

Amalia loved Edward dearly and would not have traded him or the life they had built together for anything, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to reach greater heights in her cultivation.

Living a longer, healthier life, one where she was able to see her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and perhaps even further generations grow up around her was something Amalia and every individual who gave a damn about their family in the Rockwell Kingdom wanted.

Now, to be fair, there were a surprisingly large number of people who didn’t give a damn about their families or lovers and put the pursuit of personal power or wealth above all else, but that was a separate issue altogether.

That said, the fact that both Amalia and Edward had left the Newton Barony to Charles and Sasha all those years ago, traveled to the Royal Province, and entered seclusion on Mount Tranquility should have made it obvious that neither of them was willing to give up breaking through to the next Realm.

At that time, and even as recently as a few months ago, both Amalia and Edward probably never could have imagined achieving much more than reaching the Sea Establishment Realm. As for breaking through to the Spirit Realm, that wasn’t even a dream; it was a laughable fantasy.

Now, however, things were different.

Amalia hadn’t really thought her grandson-in-law to-be was serious when he said he had something he wanted her and her husband to do for him. Both she and Edward simply assumed Lucas was trying to comfort them and make them feel welcome.

While the old couple appreciated the thought, they were still planning on leaving Misty City in the new year to return to their secluded retreat.

Their daughter-in-law’s family, the Balfours, had made it clear within hours of their arrival that they were more than welcome to stay in Misty City and use whatever resources they needed to cultivate, but Edward and Amalia both had their pride.

They might be willing to accept a little bit of goodwill, but they would never lower themselves to become leeches.

Even if it decreased their chances of success dramatically, without being able to offer something in return for what they were given, neither Edward nor Amalia would be able to rest at ease in the Balfour March.

Then, they were introduced to Project Ascension.

It turned out that Lucas had not been lying to them, he really did need their help; or rather, Elizabeth Carlson needed their help.

Even as a Complete Peak-Rank Initiate, there was only so much Elizabeth could do to further Project Ascension on her own; she needed dedicated research assistants, people who were both completely free and completely trustworthy, to work with her.

Amalia and Edward fit that description better than anyone else in Misty City, even more so than Louise Rockwell who, despite being a princess and having no need to work, was actually quite busy most of the time managing her merchant company, Golden Flower Chamber of Commerce.

And so, Celestina, Lucas, and Elizabeth all agreed to ask Eris’ paternal grandparents to participate in the project as full-time researchers.

Louise also joined the project, her knowledge of the Rockwell Family’s Grand Mountain Record being essential to their plans to help Christina further her cultivation, but it was undoubtedly the old Newton couple who spent the most time working together with Supreme Elder Carlson these past 5 months.

Understanding just what a gift they had been given, as well as the heavy responsibilities that came with it, Amalia and Edward had dedicated all their time and effort to Project Ascension and had actively assisted Elizabeth in all manner of research.

The pair had even personally tested some of the theories Project Ascension’s team had come up with. Sometimes this resulted in injuries and cultivation backlash, but Amalia and Edward felt no resentment at all. They knew what they were trying to do was groundbreaking and that risks could not be completely avoided if they wanted to make progress.

When everything they had been working on came together, and Elizabeth had broken through, Amalia and Edward both celebrated and congratulated her from the bottom of their hearts.

Working together so closely with her had quickly allowed them to become friends despite the massive gap in age and status, so they were genuinely happy for Elder Carlson; but, Amalia and Edward would be lying if they said they weren’t also excited about what this breakthrough meant for them as well.

No longer were their ambitions limited to the Mortal Realm, Amalia and Edward now had their eyes set on greater things.

As for how far they would ultimately be able to go, only time would tell.

For now, however, they had other commitments to deal with, such as the one they were on their way to attend right now.