Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Liam looked towards the source of the laughter, but he kept running without slowing down. He pressed on, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead, his heartbeat echoing loudly in his chest.

The aura emanating from the creature that had recently assaulted him, along with the onlookers, was boundless. These were formidable creatures, having reached the third level of cultivation. Confronting even one of them would surely result in his demise, leaving him with no opportunity to defend himself!

After passing through eight corridors and nine corners on his way, Liam arrived at a torch-lit area that looked like a barn.

A man in wolf's clothing, sitting behind a table at the entrance to the barn, with a slight smile on his face, looked in Liam's direction while the other men laughed.

Some men were on the roof of the barn-like structure, while others were sitting on top of the grandiose cages.

Liam paused where the cages were no longer around him, having been left behind on the path he had overcome. He looked back and saw the path more clearly, and also saw the men laughing as they watched him from the top of the cages.

'What's wrong with these people? Were they having fun watching me?'

Liam took a deep breath, but kept his thoughts to himself.

The man sitting behind the desk at the entrance to the barn opened his eyes and said to Liam, "kid, are you here to start your mandatory activities?"

Liam took his hands off his knees and looked in the direction of the man, who was at the beginning of the third realm. He realized he shouldn't get on this person's bad side.

"Yes, senior. I've been assigned to work at the Beasts Hall for five hours a week. I'm here to start my shift today."

The man made a hand gesture, and Liam handed his ID to the standing Senior Initiate.

"Liam Porter, uh? Well, this is your first day here. Do you understand the meaning of the Beasts Hall?" This muscular man asked with a solemn look on his face.

"I read about the hall in the Library, but I would appreciate any instruction from you, senior," Liam said, making a sign of thanks in advance.

"You're not bad." The square-faced man stroked his chin, liking the way Liam had accepted their prank without complaint, and now asking for guidance. He, Lazarus Ross, liked to deal with disciples who understood the difference between superiors and inferiors!

"All right, Gideon, come here." Lazarus looked to the top of one cage and motioned for an 8-Star Spirit Lord to come to him.

Gideon, a thin man about six feet tall with a youthful appearance and red hair, stopped in front of Lazarus and looked at Liam with a smile on his face, remembering how Liam had nearly shit himself a few moments ago.

"Boss?"

"Liam Porter, starting today, your duty will be to assist Gideon in cleaning and maintaining the cages. The Beasts Hall houses the training creatures and future Spirits of certain citizens of our esteemed City Thirteen.

It is crucial that we provide them with proper care to ensure their continuous growth, preservation of their quality, and readiness for battle or eventual assignment for their future owners.

Your job in the cage wing will be to clean the "homes" of the coliseum beasts, and to help move them in and out of their cages whenever one of them needs to be moved.

There are only 30 of us brothers in the cage wing, so be prepared to deal with some beasts that scared you a moment ago."

Liam looked back, swallowing his saliva at the thought of having to enter the cage of one of those creatures.

"That..." He opened his mouth for a moment, but then closed it.

'I'd better not say anything. If I win the enmity of these people, I'll only have a more arduous journey ahead of me.' He thought for a moment, changed his mind, and swallowed his fear.

The men in the area watched him, expecting to see another newcomer chirping, saying what an absurd job this was, and clamoring for another responsibility.

'Go on, brat. Defy Boss Ross!' A fat man, hiding in the barn, clenched his fists as he grinned, waiting for the next one to annoy Lazarus and replace him in the job of carrying beast feces.

Liam did no such thing and greeted the man named Gideon. "I hope I don't get in senior brother's way."

Gideon looked at Liam with interest. "Brat, you're in luck. The beast cages on this level were cleaned yesterday and none of them need to be moved today. We're going to level three now."

Liam just nodded in agreement before waving goodbye to the men nearby.

As he left after Gideon, the fat man in the barn, Azariah Crockett, changed his smiling expression from a moment ago.

'You wretch! Why did you accept this so easily?' he asked himself angrily, disliking Liam without even exchanging a word with the young man.

Meanwhile, Lazarus stood back in his seat and looked in the direction Gideon and Liam had gone. 'This is good fruit for my group... New to the sect and already promoted... His behavior isn't bad either. He passed our test without making a fool of himself.'

When Liam was no longer on that level, Lazarus motioned for one of his men to approach him.

"What do you need, Boss Ross?"

"Find the brat Liam later and offer him a chance to join our faction."

...

Liam followed Gideon through three levels, leaving the underground area of the coliseum until he reached a better lit area of the interior of this extensive building.

He could still sense a strong smell of animal feces in the air, as well as the varied sounds of creatures of different breeds, almost as if he were in a zoo.

When he reached an area where there were large cages, mostly inhabited by birds, he heard Gideon open his mouth to speak for the first time. "Liam, right? Where are you from? Did your family have cultivators before you?"

"No, senior brother. As far as I know, I was the first to awaken. I come from a humble place, a mortal city in the Espia Kingdom," Liam explained, not giving details, but not lying, either.

In Twin Land, there were approximately 100 distinct states. The continent was populated by both magical beings and cultivators, but certain areas were restricted to mortals with no cultivation. These were known as the cultivators' cities. Simultaneously, there were mortal cities where most residents had yet to awaken their powers, despite the potential presence of cultivators in those regions.

A cultivator like Gideon wouldn't be interested in a mortal city. Such places usually had a low mana density, few resources, and no way for Spirit Masters to stay long or be interested in visiting such an area.

Gideon looked at Liam out of the corner of his eye, not expecting such a talented and focused guy to come from such an ordinary background.

'How strange. Few people from your background do so well in life and still maintain behavior like yours...'

"I see," Gideon said as he turned his attention forward again. "Well, I come from a similar background to you. So let's help each other." He offered Liam one of his hands. "By the way, you seem smart, hehe. We used the most complicated level of the coliseum to test the personality of the new members in the hall. But you did very well."

"Really?" Liam wasn't surprised that it was a test. "I almost peed myself with fear," he said as he shook Gideon's hand.

"Haha, that's normal. Who wouldn't tremble with fear when faced with third realm beasts?" The red-haired man smiled as he looked at Liam. "Anyway, the important thing is that you got away from taking a terrible job. As dangerous as it is to deal with these beasts, we have tools to help us limit their strength. So relax."

"Then I'm relieved."

"Today, you'll assist me and see how the job is done. But in a month at the most, you should do some of the easier jobs yourself, so pay attention." He sighed as he stopped in front of a cage.

"The work isn't difficult. You just have to keep an eye out in case one beast goes crazy when cleaning the cage or transporting them. Other than that, the job is pretty easy."

Looking at the two meters tall, second realm, 8-Star bird, Liam clenched his fists, not letting the fear of a stronger creature get the better of him.

"We must clean the bars. The feces and urine of some beasts are corrosive and can cause weaknesses in the cages if not cleaned regularly. At the same time, we are responsible for providing water and food for these creatures. That's all we'll be doing today."

"All right." Liam followed Gideon, understanding what he had to do.