Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Jame was now sweating like a pig inside his armor, which now showed a series of dents and even cuts in various parts of its structure.

His voice, now hoarse, carried exhaustion and, more importantly, pain.

His pain was not from physical damage. His fear of facing Liam had caused him to protect himself with armor that had prevented fatal injuries in this high-level training. His pain was on the spiritual side, as one of his Spirits had been destroyed and the other was now extremely injured and about to explode, too.

While the signs of physical exhaustion accompanied his mental pain, Jame could see the delicate situation of his allies in this plot against Liam. If he had suffered with the young man with the short black hair, then his 'secret' allies had suffered even more.

By trying in vain to hurt Liam amid this farce, the three Spirit Masters had only destroyed each of their Spirits, either for Liam's or Thal'Korr's 'mistaken' attacks, or even for Jame and his Spirits' attempts to fight Liam and Thal'Korr.

Liam and his Spirit's movements were so good at dodging attacks that they managed to pit these 'secret' allies against each other!

Not only that, but their attacks on Jame not only weakened this man but also injured the Spirits of his allies.

As Liam had said in the middle of the battle, his control over his Spirit and his powers was not so good. If his 'allies' got too close to them, strange things could happen beyond his control.

Consequently, the three Spirit Masters were now exhausted, their souls wounded, two of them collapsed on the platform and one of them stood up, trying to keep his wits about him against Liam.

Liam, on the other hand, though sweaty and with a few cuts on his clothes, was fine. His armor had prevented any of the enemy's attacks from piercing his skin.

Still, he had used up much of his mana and was looking rather pale.

Although he was already a Spirit Master of the third realm, it was difficult to fight four Spirit Masters with only Thal'Korr at his side. Even though his opponents were weaker than him and his Spirit, Liam had to be careful not to reveal his powers and fight his opponents one by one.

It wasn't easy for him to get to this point, and he was truly tired when the last of his three 'allies' couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground.

Thal'Korr moved against the Spirit in front of him, paralyzing it for a moment before destroying it with his long, sharp claws.

Jame coughed up blood as he fell forward, feeling the end of the challenge come with an absolute defeat for him and his 'secret' allies.

The 2-Star Spirit Earth cultivator knew the outcome of this confrontation four minutes before they reached this decisive moment. However, when he saw Liam was the only one standing on platform five and then looked in his direction, he couldn't help but feel a powerful urge to get up on stage and act for himself.

But just then, a member of Leopards arrived at the training area and spotted Liam standing around the fallen opponents.

"Haha, looks like Junior Porter is really different," said a 1-Star Spirit Earth cultivator from Leopards, who was there to train with the men from the Battle Hall.

The moment he heard this voice, Tristan turned around to see one of his rivals approaching him and platform five.

'Guernier!' He clenched his fists, missing the opportunity for a quick surprise attack on Liam.

Liam didn't know Guernier, but he recognized the symbol on the man's clothing. Taking advantage of the situation, he said to Tristan. "Senior, I finished my training today. Now, I must depart."

Liam caught up with Guernier, who certainly wasn't strong enough to beat Tristan, but was enough to keep Emerald Owl man from acting there.

As he greeted Guernier, the boy saw the man wave to him and say a few words of congratulations, saying he was looking forward to seeing Liam fight up close.

Liam said he didn't think it would be long before that happened and then said goodbye, reporting he had to cultivate.

Guernier wasn't alone, and when he heard Liam, he made one of his two faction mates accompany the boy, putting Emerald Owls' men in a difficult situation.

'Wretches!' Tristan shuddered as he looked at Guernier, feeling they would lose the chance to act forcefully against Liam, as Enos had ordered.

"Guernier, your training isn't for another hour. Why are you here so early?" Hannibal's replacement asked.

Guernier laughed when he heard that. "Can't I enter the training area of the Arena a little earlier? I've never seen that rule anywhere."

"Tsk! I hope you're ready for your challenge. Your opponents today are keen to see the power of the War Monkey." Tristan threatened between his words.

"Oh? I hope they are. I've just returned from hunting with my newest Spirit and I'm looking forward to a serious fight." Tristan's threat did not deter Guernier, for he knew his situation would differ greatly from Liam's.

Even if Emerald Owls wanted to act against him, they couldn't. Aside from Enos, who was injured, the strongest members of the faction were 2-Star Spirit Earth cultivators. However, one of the only two people in the faction with this cultivation had recently died to Liam, leaving only Tristan alive.

The other third realm cultivators in the faction were only 1-Star Spirit Earth cultivators without even their third Spirit. As far as Guernier was concerned, these were not opponents to be afraid of!

Besides, his training would be conducted by members of the Battle Hall who weren't men from Emerald Owls, and they wouldn't accept the faction's pressure to play dirty with him.

'Liam did a good thing. By taking down three Spirit Earth cultivators from Emerald Owls in one fell swoop, he's hurt this faction more than he realizes.' Guernier laughed as he walked in front of Tristan.

"If your boss was here, things would be different. But just you? Not that impressive. Stay out of my path."

Guernier made his way to the platform where he would soon train, leaving Tristan seething with anger, but immobile where he stood.

"What do we do now, boss?" asked one man injured by Liam as he stopped beside Tristan.

"Let's go to Plan B," the man replied through clenched teeth, his eyes red with hatred. "Let's prepare Rauf for the challenge of the brat Liam Porter!"

...

Later that day, Liam had cultivated with Mary in the middle of the afternoon and then visited Electa in the evening to learn more about her findings on the incubus book. Returning home to practice his runic inscriptions, Liam created two Second Class incantations in a row, exhausting his strength in the process.

After practicing his profession and studying, he would meditate for a few minutes to recover before focusing on meditation for self-improvement.

Honestly, he preferred cultivating with his women to meditating. But with plans to allow Thal'Korr to advance his cultivation realm, Liam was determined to spend much of tonight meditating to put his Spirit in the best possible condition.

After the fight earlier, Thal'Korr had absorbed some inferior crystals that Liam had to help his Spirit recover quickly. This helped the Spirit repair his depleted strength, heal the minor injuries he had suffered, but not only that, it brought him even closer to advancing.

Moving forward was much easier after overcoming challenges. After a great battle and serious injuries, it would often only take a minimal effort for a beast, Spirit, or Spirit Master to take the next step toward greater power.

Two hours into his meditation, Liam felt something different on Thal'Korr's platform in his mind space.

In that place, illuminated by the blue star, Thal'Korr's body was sucking in more of the mana vortex above his platform, and like the snap of a finger, his cultivation rapidly increased, breaking the barriers of the second realm and entering the third.

Climbing levels within the same realm was like climbing a staircase on a mountain. The steps got higher the higher you went, but the rules of the staircase itself were the same, and all you had to do was gather the mana you needed to complete the climb. But moving up a realm was like jumping from one mountain to another, even bigger and higher, where new rules and much bigger steps awaited you.

The qualitative leap from one realm to the next was no small one. As Thal'Korr touched the third realm of cultivation, the light around Liam flickered, and the shadows of the room distorted into macabre shapes.

If it hadn't been for the formation that every dorm room in this city had, half the building he was in would have suffered from a powerful aura of terror that spread from Liam's body to the surrounding area.

Even Liam's enchanted items vibrated in fear as demons of darkness worshipped his lord in the shadows of the room.

The overall quality of the Shadowfiend's powers didn't evolve with Thal'Korr's advance, but his mana increased noticeably, reaching a stage where all of his innate powers became stronger!

As Liam opened his eyes, he caught a glimpse of his future in the arena and a smile crept across his face, envisioning the imminent challenge that awaited him.