Joseph explained the technique like it was the most natural thing in the world, but Michael found it hard to actually put it to practice.

"Just spread your consciousness to those around you," he said.

Michael closed his eyes and tried to focus just like Joseph said. But all he saw was darkness. The core in his heart neither moved nor thumped a beat. It remained stagnant, like it had always been before.

"Remember your tribulation," said Joseph. "Remember the moment that you used your consciousness to protect yourself from the lightning."

It was at this point that Michael stopped what he was doing and looked at Joseph.

"I... uh... didn’t have my tribulation," he said.

Joseph laughed, thinking it was a joke. "Haha, good one. Every Nascent Spirit cultivator undergoes tribulation. It’s the defining moment that you defy the heavens and start to wield your godlike powers."

Michael had to explain to him about what happened. About the Starry Explosion phenomenon in the skies.

"...."

Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to use common sense on Michael. Nothing was ever normal with him.

"Okay, just follow my lead. Use your Aubility Power, but just barely. Think about summoning your Nascent Armor. But instead of manifesting it in real life, you use that idea to spread your power outside."

Michael did as he was told. And suddenly, he felt the core in his heart starting to move.

In his mind’s eye, he was starting to see the outside world.

His eyes were closed, but he could see about two meters around him. It was vague. Just shapes and the Maugnetic power emanating out of the Rebornians around him. But he did see them.

And in his mind, he saw a... blanket. One weaved from the Aubility Power threads that came from his own heart. Except, these threads weren’t real. The were incorporeal, not interacting with the real world at all.

Yet somehow, they were able to make a visible impact.

As soon as this blanket spread over Sheina, she suddenly raised her head and looked towards Michael.

She didn’t know what happened, but she instinctively knew that he was protecting her. A grateful look gleamed in her eyes, before she bowed towards him.

"There!" Joseph exclaimed. "You did it! With this technique, you’ll be able to extend your natural defenses against Influence towards other people of your choosing."

Michael continued to unwrap the blanket, now moving towards the other Rebornians in the room. They all felt a warm feeling in their hearts. They felt... safe.

"Of course, the more you spread your defenses, the harder it will be to maintain. You’ll need to constantly work on it if you want to expand your reach."

Joseph snapped his fingers. Another reverberation echoed out into the room as he exerted his Nascent Influence on everybody in the room.

Then, he brought out the very same apple.

"What color is this?" he asked them.

This time, Sheina proudly stepped up. "That is a deep red with streaks of white," she said.

The other Rebornians answered the same. Their reality remained unchanged!

Joseph nodded like a proud parent as he saw Michael start his very first steps as a Nascent Spirit cultivator. With this, he was sure that Michael had the basics of defense against those Upper Echelons.

Michael opened his eyes. "How can I spread my defense to my customers?"

Joseph raised his hand. "Slow down. What you’ve done is only the first step of many. You’ll need to first worry about maintaining that defensive reach to your immediate vicinity before you start worrying about an entire population."

He had a point. Michael was asking to run when he didn’t even know how to crawl.

However, Michael was desperate. He needed a way to fight against the Influence of the Upper Echelons or else he’d lose the Feast.

He needed to find a way. Right now, he could spread his defense to anyone in his current vicinity.

If he wanted to undo the Nascent Influence on his customers, then he needed to be there with them at the moment that they start ordering his food.

Of course, that wasn’t feasible. They had hundreds upon thousands of customers all over New Sparta.

Even if he used his Unity Clones, it wouldn’t be enough. And even then, he’d have to monitor them every second of the day since that Nascent Influence was continuing to be broadcasted out in New Sparta without stop.

He needed something that could monitor stuff 24/7...

And of course, the answer to that was none other than his drones.

He had thousands of Mini Drones. Thousands more if he decided to build more using his copious amounts of money.

If he could somehow spread his defensive blanket through his Mini Drones, then he’d be able to solve his problem easily.

But the problem was... how?

If he embodied a Mini Drone, then he’d be able to do it. But that was just one. And he had to take control of the Drone as well for it to work, which defeated the purpose.

He needed something automatic. Something that didn’t need his input.

Hey ChatJK6, is there any—

Before he even finished his question, ChatJK6 already had an answer for him.

[Certainly. Creating a new upgrade option for the Drone.]

[Mithril Artifact: Drone]

[Mini Drones: 1615]

[Nascent Blanket]

[Cost: 100,000 Soo drops]

[Allows Drones and Mini Drones to spread the comforting defense of the user. Any person that the Drones can see are protected from Nascent Influence to a certain degree proportional to the user.]

Michael almost dropped to the ground once he saw that price. 100,000 Soo drops. That was equal to a billion Sand Dollars!

Sure, he had a lot of money right now, but that didn’t mean he wanted to spend that much on a single upgrade!

[Correction, this would be thousands of upgrades. All Mini Drones will carry this ability.]

Semantics! That’s still a billion Sand Dollars!

If Michael wasn’t so desperate for a solution, then he wouldn’t have fallen for such tactics.