Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

By becoming more battle-hardened, gaining more powerful physical attributes, and going further with each of his powers, Thal'Korr was now a new Shadowfiend.

Liam felt it in his heart and couldn't help but smile as he opened his eyes and stood up. Stretching his muscles after hours of sitting, he thought about doing something when a sound surprised him.

Pa! Pa!

"Liam, it's me. Let's talk."

Felicity's voice came from the other side of the door, startling him.

'Is she back? I thought she was out of town on a mission.'

He walked to the door and was soon face to face with the beautiful orange-haired woman.

As he let his ally into his room, he could see the smile at the corner of her lips as she looked at him with interest.

"You've moved on," she said, ignoring the simple surroundings and standard details of his room.

"Hmm, fortunately, I have advanced a realm. In two days, I'll have a new challenge in the Arena and I'm sure my enemies will try to overpower my opponent so he can kill me." Liam smiled at her as he sat on the edge of his bed.

Standing in front of him, she continued to look at him with a smile on her face. If someone saw her there now, it wouldn't be hard to believe that she was thinking of something hot...

"So..." Liam didn't like being watched like that by a woman who didn't want to go to bed with him. He asked. "What brings you here? I heard you were going on a group mission."

She nodded affirmatively. "As a matter of fact, I did go on a mission. It ended this morning and then we returned to the city. Now I'm here to talk business with you."

"What business?" He smiled. "Have you finally decided to cultivate with me?" he asked in a propositioning tone.

She laughed to see that he still had hope. "You really are funny, Liam."

Felicity grabbed the only chair around and pulled it in front of Liam. Then, changing her expression, she said more seriously, "Let's talk about your next target. Grace Carson."

Liam frowned, instantly recognizing the name. "The number 3 in the rank?"

"Yeah."

"Are you serious?" He stood up, not believing Felicity's audacity.

"I am." Felicity shook her head, amused at Liam's reaction. "You wouldn't dare?"

He frowned and sat back down. "It's not that I wouldn't dare. Does this woman really need dual cultivation? Reaching the top 3 should be an indication that she's doing very well, right? I'm afraid of being hunted down if I try to act against someone I shouldn't."

Risking everything and acting on instinct wasn't Liam's type. He had gotten where he was by being careful, hiding his powers, and using methods with controlled risks. He didn't want to throw everything up in the air and risk a big gamble like the one Felicity had just suggested.

Felicity explained to him, "You're incorrect if you think Grace is a great talent. She's mediocre, to tell you the truth. She's been in City Thirteen for over two decades. It wasn't easy for her to get to her current position, and it will be even harder for her to get stronger."

"What?" Liam didn't expect to hear that.

Felicity understood her ally. All the newcomers in the city thought that the top 10 disciples in the city were all monsters. But at least half of the top 10 were cultivators who didn't have great talents, but who had worked hard to get where they were.

"Grace has been in town for 25 years, to be exact. She's currently 49 and is a 3-Star cultivator from the Spirit Earth Realm. Considering the number of fights she has in the arena, she is ahead of even stronger young disciples, like Enos, who is a 4-Star.

She hasn't advanced to the inner wing of the sect because she knows she'll be an ordinary person there for the rest of her life. She wants to stay in City Thirteen as long as possible until there is no more room for her here and someone promotes her.

She knows she doesn't have much time. William will be promoted to the inner ward soon, and it's possible that one or two more of the top 10 will leave the city next year. That will put her in the top 2 and possibly the top 1 in a few months. At that point, she'll only have one more year and then she'll be transferred to an inner city."

Liam understood what Felicity was getting at. "She wants to stay in City Thirteen, but she'll only be able to stay here for another three years or so... Do you think that's why she'll accept methods that can strengthen her faster now?"

Felicity smiled. It was nice to deal with intelligent people who didn't need everything explained to them. "Exactly. Or rather, it's not that she'll accept it. She just won't have a choice.

When she gets promoted, even though she will have access to better opportunities than what she currently has, she is already reaching the peak of her talent and may struggle to handle her new responsibilities. It is unlikely that she will ever advance to the position of a First Officer and instead, she will remain a subordinate in the ranks of Officers for the rest of her career.

She doesn't desire such a fate, but Grace doesn't have a choice here. Hence, she will have to accept whatever opportunities come her way."

"I see." Liam made a thoughtful expression, understanding a little more about Grace.

Standing up, Felicity touched one of his shoulders and spoke soberly, "I know this is a step up for you, but there's no one better than her in town. All the others are like me, unwilling to cultivate with you. They'll betray you if you try to go against them, or you'll have to go through a lot of trouble to win their hearts.

What's left is Grace.

Besides, Grace can move to the inner wing of the sect at any time. As long as you stick together, even if you can't take Electa and Mary with you to the inner wing, Grace will stay by your side."

This was as important to him as having good current cultivation partners. The idea of going to the inner wing and having no one to cultivate with, and having to start his mate search from scratch, scared him.

He wasn't looking for women to fall in love with right now. He wasn't interested in the game itself. He just wanted partners to become stronger together and escape this damned place.

The escape was his priority!

If one day he wanted to have more than sex and cultivation with his women, well, that was for the future when he was no longer in this hellish sect. Before that, he wanted to secure his freedom.

'I'll probably advance one level in our first cultivation together, and as Felicity said, I'll have her by my side right away when I'm sent to the inner wing of the sect.

Ann already knows about my situation. Now Felicity does too. Soon some Official will realize my situation and take away my choice of when to leave...'.

He clenched his fists, sighed, and decided what to do. "All right. I'll get close to her. But I imagine that won't be easy, will it? A woman like that must be busy. I've heard that she has her own faction."

Felicity smiled. "Lucky for you, I'm in the same faction as Grace. There's an event coming up that my faction will be attending and I'll be able to take you as my guest.

Buy some nice clothes and get ready to meet her in three days. Sometime in the evening, she'll be alone and you should entertain her."

Narrowing her eyes, she said, "I imagine you can do the rest yourself... Your incubus must be much stronger now. I can see it in your eyes."

She could feel her seductive aura getting weaker and weaker in Liam, obviously a joint result of Liam's and the incubus' improvements. From this feeling, she could tell that he would be able to influence his targets more easily than ever.

"I won't know for sure until I meet her. She doesn't have any seduction skills, right? That would hamper me a bit."

"Lucky for you, no. Grace isn't very talented, but she's always been a warrior. She's never liked politics, so seduction doesn't suit her, though her beauty can captivate even women."

"Good to know. So, we're all set for three days. Unless something unexpected happens, haha." He chuckled softly, his thoughts filled with bitterness as he anticipated his trip to the Arena in two days. He truly wished he could spend some time cultivating with Grace before that.

"What's wrong?" Felicity asked as she shifted her gaze, momentarily letting go of the idea of leaving.

Liam said to her, "I'm going to fight in the Arena again, and like I said, my enemies will probably drug my opponent to strengthen him. But if I leave with everything I've got, I'll make it clear to everyone that I've advanced, which would hurt me at a time when I still have things to do in the city."

She understood the problem and didn't like the situation either. It would be better for her if he stayed in City Thirteen until at least Grace joined him. 'That's no good. If he's sent away, I'll lose everything I've built up so far, and I won't be able to contact him for a while...'

Looking over and seeing a small decoration plan, something common to the rooms in this dormitory, she thought of a solution.

"What do you think about simulating the use of a temporary strengthening potion?"