Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

The air grew heavy with tension as the ape's widened eyes trembled in an uncommon display of fury. Yet, before it could react to Liam's impending attack, Thal'Korr used the murky darkness of the basement, seamlessly traversing the shadows to appear behind the creature.

The hall's basement, a place shrouded in darkness, heightened both Liam's and the Shadowfiend's abilities. With a swift activation of his powers—Shadow Projection and Vital Drain—Thal'Korr swiftly immobilized the creature, leaving it paralyzed under Liam's impending strike.

As shadowy minions emerged from the darkness, their eerie presence casting an ominous aura, they surrounded the colossal red monkey. They gripped the creature's mighty limbs, rendering it immobile. Meanwhile, Thal'Korr began draining the vital energy from his foe, absorbing its power to fortify himself. Aware of his fleeting advantage, he knew he couldn't restrain the ape for long.

In a crucial moment, the Spirit unleashed a paralyzing force upon the creature, freezing it in place for a mere three seconds.

Seizing the opportunity, Liam swiftly soared through the air, his heart pounding in his chest, until he reached the creature's exposed back.

Liam saw the creature was immobile, but increasingly angry. If he didn't defeat it now, it would become much more difficult for him to face it.

He used everything he had into this one attack, using Power Amplification to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy.

The spear in his hands contacted the monkey's back, penetrating its flesh like a hot knife touching butter.

Liam was surprised, but he soon regained his composure, remembering that this instrument in his hands was not simple.

The golden spear was not only an artifact of the same classification as the creature in front of him, but it also had the special characteristics of denying mana and suppressing cultivation.

By denying the mana of a body, it could more easily penetrate any living body that could use mana. By suppressing cultivation, it could temporarily weaken a being to a certain level, allowing other methods to be used to resolve the situation.

The monkey felt its body weaken when the spear pierced its body, just before it fell backwards.

Taking into account the creature's size, it fell and kicked up dust in the air. Right before Liam grabbed one tweezer that he and Gideon had brought, he applied it to the neck of the snake-tailed ape.

Applying it to the beast's neck made it drowsy and even less aggressive, an effect of this device.

With the monkey under his control, Liam let out a long, tired sigh, relaxing his muscles a little as he looked at the creature. 'Shit! What caused such a reaction?'

But it didn't take him long to turn his attention back to Gideon, who wasn't screaming as much anymore. The man, now unrecognizable, slumped in a corner of the red-furred monkey's large cage. The stench of blood filled the air, mingling with the metallic tang of fear.

Gideon's artifacts, once pristine, now lay crumpled over his body, stained with crimson. Liam's gaze fell upon Gideon's face, distorted by pain and terror. Each eye turned in a different direction, a haunting sight that sent a shiver down Liam's spine.

Blood dripped incessantly from Gideon's mouth, nose, and ears, creating a macabre symphony of dripping sounds.

As sympathy welled up within Liam, he couldn't help but hope that his senior was still clinging to life.

"Electa, please call the men from the hall! We need Healers urgently!" he shouted to the woman with black hair.

Electa had watched the whole fight helplessly, having seen the extreme power of the monkey against Gideon, but also Liam's efficient way of controlling the situation.

As soon as she heard the young man still standing, she ran out to call the men from the hall while Liam forced the monkey to accompany him.

Azariah, hiding not far away, cursed Liam with a dozen different names, even more frustrated and angry with this newcomer.

'Wretch! I was supposed to be the one to save the day, defeat the beast and save Gideon!' The fat young man clenched his hands tightly before leaving, feeling he had to destroy some evidence.

As he left, Lazarus arrived at the area next to the Beasts Hall's Healer, having taken less than a minute to get there after Electa called for help.

As big as the coliseum was, it could be quite fast for strong cultivators to cross this place on the run.

"Liam! What happened here?" the man with the thinning hair and square face asked in an agitated tone.

Liam said in a breathless voice, "Boss, I don't know, but this monkey seemed very perturbed earlier. It was like it was out of its senses... Maybe drugged? I don't know, I don't have that much experience. But it was different."

By this time, Lazarus and the Healer were already in the monkey cage when Electa finally reappeared on the area.

The Healer stoop beside Gideon, while Lazarus alternated his gaze between his wounded man and Liam.

Sensing Electa standing there, he asked. "Miss, will you still face this beast? It may prove to be an even more tough opponent if we let it fight today. Why don't you choose another beast? We have three other options for you."

But Electa had found the red monkey's strength to be exactly what she wanted for this challenge!

For someone who sought breakthroughs through extreme challenges, the monkey seemed perfect for her!

"I will keep it," she said with an eager smile on her face. "It'll serve me very well, as long as it's not weakened by what Liam did."

Lazarus closed his eyes and shook his head. "Don't worry, it only seems to be weakened by our artifacts. When we release it, it'll be back to its best."

"Then that's fine with me," she said, satisfied.

"What is his situation, Healer Cord?" asked the tall, muscular man standing next to Gideon's badly injured body.

Liam looked in the direction of the three of them, a little worried. That could have been him!

Healer Cord shook his head and sighed. "Not well, I'd say. He's alive, but whether he'll survive the next 48 hours is another matter. We'll have to get him to the Infirmary and perform an emergency procedure. I won't know his chances for sure until the surgery is over. But I'm not optimistic."

"I see." Lazarus lamented.

Although Demon Gate was a dangerous place, full of competition, there was also camaraderie. It wasn't something that would stop you from acting for your own benefit just because your actions might hurt others. But as long as you didn't have to deal with another, it was possible to live in harmony and even have a kind of friendship in this place.

Gideon was Lazarus' subordinate, and the man had never had to look at Gideon as a competitor. To him, such a poor fellow between life and death was an efficient man at his job and a funny guy who added more positives than negatives to the hall's routine.

After a moment of mourning, Lazarus gave his order. "Liam, take the Miss' beast to the battleground. I'll take care of the rest."

Liam did as he was told and left the cage with the ape in front of him, still using the special clamp around the creature's neck to guide it in the desired direction.

As he left the cage and walked in front of Electa, he heard her say in a low voice, "Your performance was interesting. Was that a Shadowfiend? He's on the same level as you. Don't you see any problems with that?"

Even though he had used all of his power in the previous fight, Liam had kept the Mana Mask activated. Electa had only sensed a 6-Star cultivation in him, the same level of Thal'Korr.

He smiled subtly and nodded. "You have sharp eyes. To recognize my Spirit in such a dark place, where its attributes are stronger, is impressive."

She said nothing in response to the compliment, but asked. "Why didn't you use both of your Spirits? Were you sure you could win with only half your power?"

"Was that it?" He answered with a question. "But maybe you'll find out later. You're still going out with me, right?"

"Right." She whispered, quite interested in him now that she had seen him fight.

Because of her personality, shaped by her tragedies, Electa was most interested in power, techniques, good Spirits, and allies. She didn't expect to find allies in this place, but perhaps it would be possible and interesting for her to find some pawns in Demon Gate.

Seeing how strong and interested this woman was in battle made him take a new interest in her.

He felt this as he remembered the signs from earlier, when she had insisted on continuing with the monkey.

'It looks like there's no risk of her opening her mouth to talk about my cultivation abilities. Once she realizes how strong she can become alongside me, she'll use it to her own advantage.'

He smiled to himself as he walked ahead of her, directing the beast at the battle platform.

'Now I just need to find a discreet place to make my move!'