Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

With blood gushing from his chest wound, Hannibal didn't last long. His suffering ended in less than a minute as the Spirits of his allies were nearly all destroyed and they too fell in the same spot where Abimael's team had perished.

The four members of Leopards acted decisively, slitting the throat of one enemy and surrounding the other, who was still alive when Liam moved against Hannibal.

The Spirits of Liam's allies were practically out of mana and about to disappear. But with only 2 Spirits left of the original 17 enemies, the battle was decided when the last enemy Spirit Master had his head smashed in by a hammer.

The remaining Emerald Owl men died almost at the same time, causing the Spirits still fighting to disappear, while Liam's allies could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The surrounding plants stopped moving against the bodies of the enemies, dropping them as they moved away, making way for the group.

Jane and Mary returned to the side of their allies, each of these six individuals quite exhausted, sweating and panting. Though they weren't injured, they needed time to recover.

"We did it! We took care of the wretches!" Jane said in a cheerful tone, her fists shaking as she spoke to the six warriors with bloodstained weapons.

Electa looked at the green-haired girl and cleaned her spear, as did Liam and the four members of Leopards.

There was no need to discuss the division of the spoil. Electa would take the two men who had fallen into her traps, Liam would take Hannibal's belongings. The members of Leopards would seize the possessions of the remaining four enemies.

Jane and Mary had only provided support, while those six people had been the ones to actually kill the enemies. With no conversation on the subject, they each took their new weapons, armor, and storage items.

After collecting their loot, they went to another area where they cultivated for about 40 minutes, enough time for everyone to regain part of their strength.

"Now that it's over, we should split up," said the leader of the leopard group. "Liam, I'll tell Boss Ross what happened. You should talk to him on your next pass through the coliseum."

"Hmm, thank you for that." The young man with the short black hair made a gesture of gratitude. "And don't worry about what happened today. No one will say anything about it."

"We too. Anyway, see you later."

They left soon after, not questioning the Third Class items that Liam, Electa, and Mary had showed during the fight. They were curious about those items, but it wasn't their place to question such a thing.

As he left, the 9-Star Spirit Lord leading the team couldn't help but look back and think about what he had seen. 'Liam is clearly a 9-Star Spirit Lord... And he has Third Class items. I'll have to report this to Boss Ross.'

Liam was left alone with his two wives and Jane, unaware of what his Leopards' allies were thinking. He knew that if he used Third Class items today, he would attract the attention of his fellow faction members. Even third realm cultivators had a hard time getting artifacts as good as the ones he had now.

However, Liam wasn't worried. He really didn't have a choice. Fighting so many powerful Spirits and Spirit Masters hadn't been easy, even with these items. His party had exhausted themselves quite a bit before winning!

If it hadn't been for the help of his artifacts, the outcome would have been different!

Also, despite the risks of letting his allies know what he had, there was also the potential for it to give him an advantage. With Third Class artifacts, he was a stronger warrior who could be valued more highly.

It would be better to hide his wealth, even if there were interesting possibilities in revealing the truth. But that was beyond his control. So he didn't think about it when he was alone with the three women.

"What now? Are we going back too?" Jane asked.

"Yes, but not now. They've just left and we shouldn't go back together so as not to make a connection between what happened and you two." Liam pointed at Jane and Electa. "You'll go back together, and Mary and I will return after you."

They agreed, until Jane and Mary began to cultivate, since they hadn't done so yet, having stood guard for the rest of the group early. Liam and Electa soon were on guard, watching the area of large trees.

In the night's silence, with only the subtle sounds of the surrounding forest, Liam checked his earnings for the night.

'Thal'Korr increased his progress to the next level by 39%. I can't tell how much the incubus has improved, but he's stronger, too.' Liam closed his eyes for a moment, feeling his features grow stronger.

His mana itself hadn't gotten stronger. But his traits associated with the two Spirits were higher. He could feel it as clearly as he could feel the moisture in the air with his breath.

Thal'Korr was now at the end of the 8-Star, several steps closer to the 9-Star than he had been before. His overall quality had also improved a bit more, an effect similar to what happened when he used Arcane Crystals.

'It was a good harvest. I didn't know that Demon Gate had something as powerful as {Black Art}.' He opened his eyes again, this time looking at a black ring on one of his fingers.

'Aside from the crystal I took from Hannibal's body, he left me with some good resources. As expected from a third realm cultivator.'

Hannibal had left behind one potion and two pills of the Third Class, two potions and four pills of the Second Class, 250 gold coins, 18 books of techniques, one Third Class ordinary weapon, and various random items, including clothes, maps, and survival tools. There were also 7 Arcane Crystals, all Ancestor-grade, ideal for Liam to use on Thal'Korr.

As he looked at Electa, who monitored the peaceful surroundings of this area chosen by Jane, Liam knew he didn't have to worry about her.

'Electa collected the belongings of a 9-Star Spirit Lord and a 1-Star Spirit Earth cultivator. She should be well stocked with consumables and coins by now.' He looked at his blonde woman. 'It is Mary that I should worry about the most. She's weaker. She got nothing out of this killing, and she'll be associated with the disappearance of this group.'

Thinking about the steps they needed to take, Liam decided to give Mary the Second Class resources he had with him. They would be of little use to him, and since he intended to advance to the third realm without using resources, they would be of even less value to him in the future when he became a Spirit Earth Spirit Master.

He watched the minutes go by amid his plans, and soon came across his blonde woman, who was coming out of her meditation state, feeling 100% again.

In the meantime, nothing happened. The plants had told Jane that this was a good place for them to hide, and it had indeed proven true.

As soon as Jane woke up, Liam sent the green-haired girl and Electa ahead. In return for Jane's help, he gave her a pill, a potion, and two artifacts, all of them of the Second Class.

When he was alone with Mary, he looked into her clear eyes and smiled before handing her a ring with all the items he wanted her to keep. "You recently used pills, so it's not the best time to repeat the feat. Wait until you become an 8-Star Spirit Lord and then use these pills to advance to the end of the 9-Star level."

She nodded positively as she checked what she had received.

"Among these resources, there is a potion you can use right away. It should increase your vitality a bit and slow down the negative effects of our cultivation."

Mary's eyes lit up as she identified the potion.

There were a lot of items in Twin Land that could increase the vitality of living beings. However, such items were only effective if they were of a higher quality than the Spirit Master's cultivation, which usually meant that they were expensive to get.

When she got her hands on the vial of the potion, Mary didn't hesitate to consume it on the spot, bringing a smile to Liam's face.

For the next few minutes, Liam watched as his companion began to change, from physical changes, with improved skin quality, deep hydration, and the disappearance of small spots and signs of age, to even spiritual transformations.

In just five minutes, Mary seemed to rejuvenate herself by 10 years. Her eyes became brighter and more energetic, while her aura grew stronger.

When she opened her eyes, with a warm, relieved smile unlike anything Liam had ever seen, she told him, "Thank you, Liam. I've almost completely regained the vitality I lost during cultivation. Even my aura has stabilized a bit!"