Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Toby led Liam to City Two, taking 20 minutes for the trip.

The distance between City Two and City One wasn't long. Connected by a point on each of their peaks, one could quickly cover the distance between the cities while enjoying a beautiful view of the fjord.

Liam got to know the main path between the inner cities of Demon Gate a little better until he returned to his new home, passing near Elder Neill's residence again on his way to his own.

His home wasn't far away, though. Even though he was newly promoted, Liam managed to find a middle position in this city.

"That's your house, Chief," Toby said, gesturing toward the property before them. The residence boasted sharp architectural lines, a sparse garden area, and a tall green hedge that separated it from neighboring properties, offering ample privacy.

Liam strode ahead of Toby as the young man described the property, having visited earlier when he'd accepted his new position as Liam's subordinate.

"Your house has eight bedrooms, Chief. Each has a spacious walk-in closet, a bathroom with a tub and sauna, and basic furnishings. The sect doesn't provide decorative items, so you'll need to adorn the rooms yourself.

Besides the bedrooms, there are two kitchens, a large dining room on the first floor, a spacious living room on the second floor and a smaller one on the third, and a small library.

The basement houses a 30-square-meter vault and a 50-square-meter training room capable of withstanding even Spirit Kings' battles. This room should resemble the one you had on level 3 of the Lotus Temple in Thirteen City… It's impressive, but not the finest you'll find in the inner sect.

The main Lotus Temple in City One has rooms ranging from level 4 to 6, so you should familiarize yourself with those options before deciding to seclude yourself at home," Toby chuckled as he trailed behind Liam.

The black-haired young man surveyed rooms that were vacant or furnished with quality pieces, yet devoid of personal touches like flowers, portraits, statues, weapons, or books.

The residence was well-appointed but lacked the smaller items that typically reflect the inhabitants' personalities.

'I'll keep that in mind,' Liam thought as he pressed on, exploring every corner of his property, leaving the underground areas for last.

Toby continued, "There are a few other spaces I haven't mentioned, including a small greenhouse in the backyard, two rooms suitable for workplaces, and a formation room—where your property's defensive controls are housed.

This property has several layers of security and devices to increase the density of mana and elements within the building. The Chief has to take your time and get to know the formation room if you want to disable a mechanism or change something by adding or removing matrices from the formation."

Liam explored most of the property, venturing into the backyard where he found the greenhouse, along with a recreation area featuring space for gardening, a small fountain, and an aged wooden table surrounded by nine chairs.

Many things caught his eye and made him think about how to use this place in the future, but he didn't invest too much in plans just yet. He looked at Toby and as he walked back to the residence, he asked, "Can I bring people to live here with me? I mean, people from other towns?"

"Certainly," Toby nodded. "Officially, all sect members are assigned a residence. But just as in the outer area, disciples can cohabitate if they choose and have the means to do so. The same applies here.

However, I'd caution against inviting people outside your official sphere of influence. Some sect members will be under your command, as you're aware, Chief. Others answer to different Division Chiefs, Commanders, or Guardians…

Consider the potential risks if you invite someone who reports to another superior.

The danger could be significant!"

"That makes sense… Regarding this group I'll command, do I have any input on who'll be under my authority?"

Toby shook his head. "I can't say for certain. There are ways to appoint people through deals with other well-placed individuals in the sect. Politics plays a role, after all. But typically, sect members don't choose their subordinates. Usually, high-ranking members of the Records Hall make these assignments."

Liam filed this information away as they reached their destination. "I'm going to spend some time cultivating alone. Take the day off and return in the morning. After that, I'll continue acclimating to the inner wing of the sect."

Toby complied without fuss, urging Liam to use his rewards to grow stronger. He departed shortly after, leaving the sect's newest Division Chief alone in the compound's underground level.

Liam activated the area's defenses, capable of repelling even newly promoted Spirit Kings, to prevent any intrusions.

'The wealth of the sect's inner wing, especially City Two, is truly impressive!' Liam mused.

Here, he wouldn't have to worry about midnight infiltrations, as had occurred in City Thirteen.

Liam proceeded to the residence's vault, a space with enhanced security measures where he felt at ease leaving some of his newly acquired possessions.

Long past being an ordinary individual, Liam now carried wealth in his spatial ring comparable to that of sect factions or even mortal states like his predecessor's homeland. Enjoy more content from empire

Some items in his spatial ring were intended for his wives. He extracted these and used the vault's empty shelves for storage.

One shelf held hundreds of gold coins, another dozens of Arcane Crystals, a third over 20 weapons of four different types, and even five mannequins donned with new armor. In another corner, he stocked a shelf with pills and potions, placing various herbs, roots, and exotic fruits underneath.

The vault wasn't merely a fortress for his riches; it also contained spiritual mechanisms capable of preserving and even enhancing magical properties.

He knew that if he sealed the place and kept it closed for a thousand years, the herbal resources, pills, and potions would become stronger and perhaps even improve in rank.

After stocking his vault, Liam inventoried his spatial ring's contents. As usual, he kept recovery potions and pills for immediate and future use, some of which he'd consume today.

While his safe held hundreds of gold coins, his spatial ring held 21,000 gold coins and 40,000 silver coins, as well as weapons, armor, and Arcane Crystals for his own use.

The Division Chief's salary wasn't bad at all. Each Division Chief earned 5,000 merit points, 1,000 gold coins, 100 High-level Ancestor-grade and 1 Low-level Sage-grade Crystal per month.

Liam had received his monthly salary, a promotion bonus, and 10 Division Chief salaries for the Secret Hunt mission—totaling 12 times those amounts.

His ID now boasted over 60,000 merit points and enough Arcane Crystals to sustain him for weeks without concern for hunting, even if shared with his wives.

Moreover, he'd filled his vault, feeling no loss from leaving many items on his property.

With that done, and a satisfied smile on his face at having acquired such wealth, Liam made his way to the cultivation room across from the entrance to his vault.

There, he found a place identical to the cultivation rooms on the third level of the Lotus Temple in Thirteen City, just as Toby had said earlier.

For the time being, this was great for him, as he was still benefiting greatly from cultivating in the Temple of City Thirteen!

Liam sat down on a cultivation pillow in the middle of the room and consumed the worst of the pills he had saved to consume.

Starting with the best resource would make him use less of the worst resource in his ring, so he strategically started with the one that would give him the best benefit in the long run.

Having taken the first pill, Liam closed his eyes and felt its medicinal effects begin, a pleasant warmth spreading from his stomach throughout his body.

The room's super-concentrated mana approached Liam, soon penetrating his skin through countless pores as his face contorted.

His skin turned red and he began to sweat profusely, quickly soaking his clothes as his soul inflated along with the strengthening of the mana vortices in his soul space.

Thal'Korr, the Incubus, and the Silver-Winged Leopard felt more mana reaching their cultivation platforms, which was good news for him.

The Incubus and Thal'Korr felt that they would soon be able to cultivate to their next levels faster, but the Silver-Winged Leopard still didn't feel comfortable.

Even if Liam's cultivation increased rapidly, the winged creature felt that it would still take a few weeks to recover from all the wear and tear of fighting William.

Obviously, today's cultivation wouldn't be enough for Liam to reach the same level as this beast and help him recover quickly.

But despite the disappointment of Liam's younger beast, he would be very happy for the next few hours.

On his first day in City Two, he would leave the 5-star beginning and reach the 6-star end of the Spirit Earth Realm!