Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

'This is perfect. With this cultivation, he should soon become a Second Class Runemaster and advance to become an inner disciple. From then on, he'll be more valuable to me!'

As she thought about it, Felicity didn't regret not talking to Liam about the next targets for him to 'hunt'. He had too many issues to deal with and it was best that he stay with Mary and Electa for now. She only wanted to present him with new opportunities when he had improved his situation a little.

He needed time to breathe so that he could invest in his women!

Not wanting to burden her ally for the time being, she put away the names she had with her and made her way to the fifth floor of the building.

'I just hope he's not taking any risks with this secret mission... I'll monitor him. Now that he's showing his potential more than before, I can't risk losing him!'

...

One hour and a half had passed since Liam had separated from Felicity.

He was now drenched in sweat, his head pounding, as he completed inscribing the last two characters of a rune onto a rectangular metal artifact.

In the last hour and a half, he had created a new magic lamp, this time working much faster and more efficiently than the first attempt under Ann's supervision.

With increased mana, experience, and improved physical characteristics to handle the workload, Liam successfully crafted a magic lamp in just 30 minutes. He then took a brief break before commencing the second phase of his training.

In a room rich in mana and elements, he could recover quickly and continue his training, eventually reaching the ultimate inscription of the rune he was now creating.

Just like before, his hand quivered as he gripped the brush, his mana levels dangerously low. But unlike that day in the Runes Hall, today he had created a magic lamp and was now finishing an item with 3 runes and 12 characters.

When he finished and saw the runic symbols disappear, Liam opened his mouth and let out a slight groan of relief, completing the enchantment of the second type of special item he had been working on.

The brick-sized rectangular metal block absorbed the mana from its surroundings, and a moment later, a holographic screen with a welcoming message appeared on one of its faces.

{Please bring your identification card closer to my lower face.} The message said, with an arrow pointing in the direction to move the badge.

Liam did so out of curiosity, with a smile on his face.

As soon as he let the device's sensor read his badge, he saw his personal information appear on the holographic screen.

{Name: Liam Porter}

{Rank: Initiate}

{Status: Regular}

{Arena Position: 6,747th (165 pts)}

{Quests: Runes Hall; Battle Hall; Beasts Hall.}

{Affiliation: City Thirteen; Leopards.}

That was all the information the equipment he had created could read on his Demon Gate membership badge.

But Liam was happy to see the enchanted artifact working perfectly.

As he looked at his {Arena Position}, he was a little surprised because he had paid no attention to the points he had earned from fighting Susanna. But now, he thought about it and his plans for the area.

'I'll only fight in the arena as long as I have to. I'm already close to advancing to the third realm, so there's no point in going for the top rank. As incredible as the benefits are, it goes against my goals of leaving this place as soon as possible.'

He was less than 19 years old and more than a year away from reaching the 1-Star of the Spirit Earth Realm, which wasn't a hard mission for him. It would be pointless for him to try to improve his ranking when he would probably leave the city long before he reached the top 100.

'It might be risky for me to go to the sect's inner ward as soon as I advance, but the opportunities in one of the inner cities are also much better than the ones I have here. Besides, there's a reward for those who become third realm cultivators before the age of 20, which I can't ignore.

There is a very good chance that I can choose one beast from the Beasts Hall to be my third Spirit!'

That wasn't the whole prize for reaching the third realm before the age of 20, but it was the most well-known prize and the one that caught Liam's attention the most.

'Let's see what happens next,' he thought as he put away his materials, planning to cultivate in the last few minutes he had in this room.

'If I advance to the third realm quickly, I might consider staying in City Thirteen for a while to better prepare myself to enter an inner city of the sect. But if I delay my advancement, I'll have to take my chances and change my position to that of an internal member more immediately.'

He closed his eyes and began to cultivate, feeling the mana in the surrounding seeping into his body, replenishing his depleted reserves.

...

Minutes later, Liam left his cultivation room and made his way to the temple's exit, planning to go to the Runes Hall to inform them he was back in town and would return to his classes with Ann the next day.

As he walked down the street from the Lotus Temple, however, he spotted a brown-haired woman he already knew from afar amidst the hustle and bustle of the many disciples on the street.

"Ester!" Liam identified the woman who had hit him on the head and then stolen his resources.

But he wasn't the only one who noticed someone there. The moment his eyes met Ester's, the woman shivered as she saw him stare at her and walk towards her.

"Liam!" She realized he hadn't died outside of City Thirteen, and looked from one side of the street to the other, searching for a place to escape.

Ester didn't hesitate to make her way to one of the administrative buildings in the area, where there were enough Officers to keep someone like Liam from trying anything dangerous.

Liam followed her, using his physical advantage to catch up quickly.

'Shit! Why is he after me? Did he see me that day?'

She feared, while she couldn't help but regret leaving him alive.

She entered the arena where she knew Liam's enemies were. They could help her if the situation got out of hand!

Still, he didn't seem to be afraid to enter enemy territory. He moved forward, forcing her to keep looking for a way out, passing the entrance to the bleachers and then moving on.

As he ignored the looks in his direction, Liam went straight for her, passing through the control area until he reached the grandstand.

He saw Ester choosing a seat where the surrounding area was filled with spectators, with no room for newcomers like him.

Still, he made his way to her, the look on his face deepening as he remembered how much he must have lost because of this woman.

When he arrived in front of her, he saw a young man with scraggly hair and 5-Star cultivation sitting to her right.

"Friend, would you mind giving me your seat?" Liam asked the young man from the second realm, showing him 5 gold coins.

The boy had no reason to give up his seat, but 5 gold coins were not something he would ignore so easily. Not everyone in City Thirteen had Liam's resources. Most disciples spent their entire wage in the first half of the month and ran out of money for the rest of the month.

He accepted the offer from the strange guy with the short black hair, got up, and walked to another empty seat.

As soon as he got there, Liam sat down next to Ester, not hesitating to grab one of her wrists when she got up to leave, preventing her from running away.

"We have a lot to talk about, Ester," he said in a solemn tone that only she could hear over the noise coming from the stands of the arena.

At that moment, a fight on the platform was reaching its climax, and hardly anyone was paying attention to this couple.

Ester shivered as she felt the hand on her wrist, no longer in doubt that he knew what she had done that day.

This was surely about their encounter in the forest!

Gulp!

"What do you want? We have nothing to talk about," she said, as her voice couldn't help but waver and show her current fears.

With his face turned towards her, Liam smiled upon hearing such nonsensical words.