Published at 12th of February 2026 7:15 am

Chapter 3851: Tribulations and Rewards

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Amare heaved a deep breath as she studied her appearance in a mirror, placing a hand on her swollen belly as the warm light of the morning sun fell on her bronze skin. A team of court ladies brushed her long, brown hair while applying different creams to her face. They prepared light and loose clothes for her, woven from expensive esoteric fabrics.

She hated every second of it. It made her feel like a doll instead of the Martial Sage she was. Pregnancy had proven to be one of the most challenging things she had ever experienced. Not even the ten thousand years she had spent in her subconscious prison away from Rui, reliving the same life, was as tormenting.

At least she could fight with everything she had while reliving her memories as Esil. Pregnancy proved to be incapacitating that was maddening to a Martial Artist like herself. The fact that she couldn’t activate her Martial Art was the most frustrating thing, bar none. The feeling of weakness and vulnerability was almost as bad, but it was compensated by the fact that her grandmother was with her at all times, whereas Rui was not.

That, along with numerous other restrictions, including a prohibition on sleeping on her back beyond a certain stage, tested her patience dearly. It didn’t help that she had spent several months getting accustomed to the status of being a consort in the royal palace while dealing with her pregnancy. It was much more challenging than training and fighting as a Martial Artist.

The only saving grace was that she could get rid of some of the other downsides of pregnancy with her passive Martial Soul. She got rid of swollen feet, high blood pressure, and morning sickness; she couldn’t even imagine how much worse the experience would be.

Five months had passed since she got pregnant, and she had slowly watched her womb swell with the child she was carrying. It was the only thing that kept her going: her intense attachment to her unborn child. With a minute portion of her Martial Mind and Soul always active, she could connect with her child with profound intimacy. She could sense her growth and development; she could sense her form taking shape.

It was an intense bond that surpassed even what she had with Rui. She even pitied him for never being able to experience this kind of connection with their unborn child. No matter how much time he spent with their child in the future, she would always have a deeper bond. It was the only silver lining of the tribulations she faced with pregnancy, and surprisingly enough, was worth the suffering.

She knew her body inside out as a Martial Sage, having trained nearly every cell within it. She thought she understood the essence of what it was capable of. Yet, as her pregnancy progressed, she found herself appreciating some of its innate, unique capabilities for the very first time in her life. As a Martial Artist, the female physiology wasn’t always the most conducive for combat, even if it did grant certain advantages over male physiologies.

But as she watched her womb, a forge of life, create a new life with whom she developed an ineffable spiritual bond, she came to fully appreciate every aspect of her existence. It increased her Martial drive and made her stronger in ways that she couldn’t even imagine.

Her Martial drive was to gain the power to protect the people she loved. But the two people she loved the most didn’t need her protection, making her drive a little hollow at times.

But now that she was going to have a child, what was merely a fire had erupted to become a powerful inferno.

Just that alone gave her Martial power.

Everything was Martial Art, and it appeared that even the act of nurturing life was not excluded from that common Gen saying.

It was one of the deepest enlightenments she had experienced, taking one more step towards the Transcendent Realm.

"You look beautiful beyond words can describe, Amare."

Rui’s gentle and affectionate voice made her feel comfortable as her gaze shifted to his reflection in the mirror before her as she studied his appearance.

Over the past few months, he had changed in his mannerisms and body language, growing more powerful in the way that he carried himself. Before, he had always treated his extraordinary power as irrelevant to his place in the world, but after adopting responsibility and burdens and using them to grow stronger, she couldn’t help but feel that he had grown more masculine and attractive.

But perhaps that was just her hormones talking, another frustrating part of her pregnancy. She could control them with her passive Martial Soul, but she was advised not to, for those hormones were necessary for healthy fetal development.

"You look more dashing as well," she offered with a sincere tone, smiling at his reflection. "I always thought that formal, royal attire would never suit you since I’ve grown used to you in Martial attire. But... once you get used to it, this looks really good."

Rui huffed lightly as he turned his gaze to his royal attire and the reflection of the royal crown on his head. He looked less uncomfortable in his skin than he did when he first started out, but it seemed that he still missed his classic Martial attire.

He placed his hands on her shoulder lightly, bending down to kiss her on the top of her head, before smiling at her reflection. "Are you ready to go on our date?"

Her eyebrow rose as a soft smile emerged on her face. "Where are we going?"

"...To the future."

That was a strange and mysterious response, but she simply indulged in his desire to spend time with her. She had to admit that he had done a good job managing his time at the throne and with her. He would often work from their royal quarters, with her head on his shoulder, giving her love and affection.

She only regretted that he never slept with her, only spending enough time to get her to sleep before going away to train for more than a hundred hours in the manifold on his ambitious Project Autocorpus.

Still, she would take what she got.

She stood, placing her hand in his with an enthusiastic smile. "Let’s go then!"

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