Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Liam explained to Hugh what had happened outside of City Thirteen. His group had gradually lost its members in the fights against his three enemy factions, and then they had been surprised by the Silver-Winged Leopard.

But in this conversation, he went into detail about what happened after he absorbed the Silver-Winged Leopard and was nearly killed by the puppets he believed to be William Semple's.

Officer Foursong saw the truth in Liam's words and regretted the group's misfortune. "So that's how it happened. It's a shame we lost so much. Robert really came close to achieving his goal, but he faltered in the end..."

The man lamented for a minute before turning to Liam and getting right to the point. "It's good that you survived and made it this far. From now on, you'll lead the Leopards until you're ready to join the inner wing. Do you have anything to say about it?"

Liam shook his head negatively. He had taken many chances with this faction. He really needed to give something back to the group.

He easily accepted Hugh's direction.

"Good! But tell me when you plan to reveal your third realm of cultivation to the rest of the city? I'm sorry to tell you this, but you won't maintain your current position for long. Your own enemies will force you to reveal your cultivation to the Officials so they get rid of you."

Liam sighed and said, "I know. That's why I won't stay here for long. In a month at the most, I'll find myself in the inner ward of the sect... I'll probably have to fight William, so I'm close to revealing my cultivation."

"Oh? So the rumors of the challenge are true?" Hugh narrowed his eyes.

That was his primary concern about Liam at the moment.

"Yes, he challenged me tonight."

"And you intend to accept?" Hugh asked with a strange expression.

"It's not like I can avoid him by refusing the challenge... I'll have to fight him one way or another. But by doing it in the Arena, I'll at least have the security of facing only one opponent."

Hugh understood Liam was worried about his companions and didn't try to stop the man from going ahead with his plans.

"Do you need anything from me?"

"No, thanks." Liam looked into the Officer's eyes and said, "I got more than I could have asked for. I'll use my current resources and go into seclusion for the next few days."

"You should definitely do that." The man agreed. "In the meantime, find someone to handle the affairs of the faction in your stead. Delegate someone to act on your behalf and bring you the most important matters. Robert had Lazarus, and all the leaders in this city have people on their side."

"I already have someone in mind." Liam thought of Mary, who excelled at organizing plans and dealing with people.

"Good. I won't be available all the time, but if you have problems, use it to talk to me." Hugh handed Liam a small communication device. "It will work whenever I'm in the sect. But avoid calling me for little things."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The man put on his mask and left without making special requests of Liam. But as he sat alone in his new office, the young man already knew he had a lot to do for the faction.

'I will put Mary in Lazarus' place and let her find out exactly where the faction stands. I'll regain as much of the lost power as possible before I leave for the inner wing.'

He decided while still sitting at the side of visitors of his desk.

A man entered the room and asked if Liam had orders to give. Liam then send messages to Mary and Electa, but also to Grace and Nance.

Mary and Electa were his companions in Leopards. Meanwhile, the other two were a leader and an important member of other powerful factions in the city.

'I will form an alliance with the Grace's and Nance's factions. Even if the next leaders of these groups change their minds about acting together, it will take time. Until then, the groups will enjoy the benefits of partnerships.'

After considering the alliances, he thought about his profession and how he would start working with the studio in the next few days, where Ann worked as a Runemaster.

'Maybe I can make some deals with members of that group to provide matrices for Leopards...'

...

Mary and Electa arrived at Liam's office on the top floor of the coliseum almost simultaneously.

They were both shocked by the events of the last two days and the fact that almost half of the arena's top 10 had died outside the city. But they were both thrilled to know that most of their enemies had fallen, and now they could prepare to leave the city.

They were worried about William, but after learning that Liam had absorbed a 6-Star Spirit Earth Spirit, they calmed down. The battle against William would not be easy, and it was difficult to predict the outcome. But they were confident that their companion had a real chance of winning.

When he had finished explaining what had happened, he looked at Mary and said, "I have called you here to talk about the future. I want you to manage the faction in my absence, Mary. You will be announced to all the faction members as Lazarus' replacement in the morning."

She wasn't surprised, while Electa looked at her with relief. The black-haired girl would never have wanted the position Liam was giving to the blonde!

"I'll do my best."

He trusted her a lot and gave her some resources before he gave something to Electa.

"I need both of you to get as strong as you can. We probably won't have more than a month before I'm promoted to Officer. I don't know how you're going to get to one of the inner cities with me, but you need to cultivate fast these days."

The two became more serious at the thought of not being able to cultivate with him after those days.

"I'll try to make a deal with my superiors when I go to an inner city, but there's no guarantee that I'll get the favor of one of them to promote you. The best thing to do is to take advantage of the time we have together and increase your strength. Perhaps that will make it possible for you to be promoted more quickly."

He became more serious as the lines around his face deepened. "I will probably stay in the inner wing of the sect for about six months until I get my chance to escape. I won't try to move on my first time outside the headquarters, but I'll make my attempt the second or third time. You have until then to come with me."

Liam had already spoken to Electa and Mary about his intention to escape and given them the option of joining him. The two had shown interest, despite their many concerns.

"That should give us about nine months, give or take..." Electa muttered, wondering what they would have to accomplish by then. "Normally, it's possible to be promoted to the inner station with 3-Star cultivation from the Spirit Earth Realm.

Basically, we'd have to improve by 2 to 4 levels by then."

Mary, who was currently a 9-Star Spirit Lord, said, "I think I'll be able to become a 1-Star Spirit Earth cultivator before Liam leaves. But after that, I don't know if I'll be able to advance two levels in those months.

Mary looked at Liam and went on, "You could say I've never cultivated without you, so I don't know if that's enough."

Electa didn't know either. Her talent alone was doubtful, and she didn't think she would get there so fast without his help.

Liam sighed when he saw the looks on their faces. "Don't think too much about it now. Let's make the most of the resources we have and the time we have together until my transfer.

And even after that, it won't be impossible for us to meet. It certainly won't be like now, but Officers are always coming and going from outer cities..."

This reassured them a bit, while they both felt like starting cultivating with Liam as soon as possible to become stronger, faster.

He had become stronger, and his seductive aura was much more obvious than before. They both felt that cultivating with him now would bring them great benefits.

"I will visit you in your rooms later. But for now, we have to leave everything for the next few days. I've accumulated a lot of merit points after these problems, so I'll give you the opportunity to cultivate with me in a group room at the Lotus Temple. This will give us some extra benefits."

Liam had always wondered what it would be like to cultivate in the Lotus Temple. But until now, he hadn't done it, a problem related to his lack of resources.

The two opened their eyes before hearing the most important part of what he had to say.

"I will spend two hours with each of you in a group room on the third level of the temple."

Neither of them had ever entered the level three rooms of the temple, so they were both eager.

'This will cost me 250 merit points for each woman... I'll take Mary, Electa, and Grace... It might be interesting for me to take Jane and Ann to the temple if they both cultivate with me.'

He thought as he saw the two women talking excitedly about this possibility.

He also thought about Nance and imagined that it would be good to go to the temple with her, which would cost him over 1,000 merit points!

After discussing these plans with Mary and Electa, Liam said goodbye to the two. The blonde woman promised to take care of the faction starting the next morning, while the black-haired beauty would assist Mary with strength.

Not long after they left, Liam received word from one of his men that Grace had invited him to her residence. As for Nance, she hadn't been found when he left the coliseum.

...

While Liam made his way to Grace's residence, Felicity was with that woman while they waited for him.

The two women were sitting on two different couches in a large living room that contained several paintings and decorative items.

Drinks were on a table while the orange-haired woman looked at the leader of her faction with serious eyes.

"You're not following my plans, Grace," Felicity said in a low tone. "Do you know how many women Liam has been seeing lately?"

Grace heard her friend pressuring her again to control Liam's impulses. Sighing, she said. "I don't know... How many?"

"Besides you, he's been with five others!" Felicity said in a harsh tone, her 4-Star cultivation evident.

"And what can I do about it? He's a dual cultivator, Felicity! What do you expect him to do?!" Grace asked, not bothering to share her man. Having grown up in a household where her father had three wives, Grace found it common for relationships to involve women sharing their man with others.

She understood Felicity's plan. It made perfect sense to control a Liam and have him all to herself. But damn it, he was a dual cultivator. How could she prevent him from cultivating with others? That was Felicity's mistake, in Grace's opinion.

"You are the most beautiful woman I know. Find a way to control him, Grace, or another woman will eventually do it for you."

"I have my doubts about that..." Grace smiled, looking forward to seeing him again after his victorious return from his last journey out of the city. "But if you are so confident that one can master the mind of a dual cultivator, why don't you do it yourself?"