Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Closing the door to the meeting room, he found himself in a small space that could accommodate only two people sitting face to face around a rectangular table. The room had a minimalist aesthetic, devoid of any decorations, except for a yellowish lamp hanging directly above the center of the table, casting its glow upon the walls painted in a shade of gray.

As he took a seat opposite the senior disciple, he offered a brief introduction. "I'm Liam Porter. And what might the miss' name be?" He smiled, unable to ignore the plump, moist lips of the woman with eyes as piercing as an eagle's. However, it was evident that she wasn't in the best of moods.

She answered him coldly, "My name is Ester. I have the information you need. We can exchange it for 50 silver coins."

Liam lost the smile on his face when he saw this woman's personality. "Miss Ester, I might seem like a fool to you. 50 silver coins for information I can get for free?"

The most valuable currency in Twin Land, among those that circulated the most, was gold. One gold coin was worth the equivalent of 10 silver coins, more or less. However, there was no fixed exchange rate. You could exchange for more or less, depending on supply and demand. But usually the exchange rate didn't vary much, with the normal ratio being 10:1.

'With 50 silver coins, I can pay the survival costs of a family of mortals for an entire month!' Liam clenched his fists as he looked at Ester, feeling outraged.

He still wasn't used to the cultivation world and was making comparisons with the figures his mortal predecessor knew.

Ester stood up, staring at Liam. "You are the one who needs the information. If you're reluctant to pay, find someone else."

He opened his mouth for a moment, but before she left, he stood up and grabbed one of her wrists.

"Wait!"

For a moment, the two looked at each other while in the middle of the small room. Liam was tempted to seduce this woman. But something, a deep thought, made him put that idea aside.

He still didn't know enough about the place he was in, nor had he trained enough to take a chance on a complete stranger. Liam also wasn't used to the idea of taking on unknown women out of the blue. What had happened to Mary on the island had been beyond his control.

He didn't particularly see a problem with taking an enemy, but Ester's case was nothing like Mary's.

"Will you pay the 50 coins?" She asked, unconcerned that he was holding one of her wrists.

He released her and nodded in the affirmative. "Yes," he said in a defeated tone.

'Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to negotiate. I didn't expect to have to deal with such a tough negotiator... Sigh, I guess everyone here is a creep and will try to take advantage of situations.' Liam pulled the 50 silver coins out of his spatial ring and handed them to Ester.

With the coins in her spatial necklace, Ester sat down again before beginning. "Do you want to know about the factions in City Thirteen or the sect? As you may already know, there are 13 peaks in the headquarters. On each of them, there are different cities, eight of which are outer disciple cities, four are inner disciple cities, and one is the city of the sect's masters."

'I didn't know that...' Liam pondered in silence, trying to think of the best question to get the most out of the coins he had paid Ester.

"Tell me about the factions that could affect me."

She continued, "As a resident of City Thirteen, you can be affected by the factions of our city and the rival factions of our city. The eight cities on this side of the fjord share the same forest area that the outer disciples can use to perform their tasks. Outside our home city, any faction from the other seven cities, or even factionless members, are rivals or even potential enemies.

Within City Thirteen, however, there are 17 factions..."

She explained things Liam knew and things he still had to learn, listing the names of the 17 factions of City Thirteen, their fundamental characteristics such as number of members, major goals, rivals and allies.

Each faction had more or less similar goals, such as the obvious goal of having its members and factions ascend to one of the four inner disciple cities.

Some factions were older and had branches outside of City Thirteen, with internal members living in one of the four cities on the other side of the fjord. But there were also smaller, newer factions that only existed on Peak Thirteen.

Some of them had specific goals, such as a focus on studying a specialization.

In short, Liam had to think carefully before choosing which group to join!

'Crimson Rebels, Leopards, and Emerald Owls...'

After a few minutes of listening to Ester talk about each faction in City Thirteen, Liam learned more relevant details about the three factions that had approached him.

'The Crimson Rebels are the strongest of the three, with the most members and apparently the least involved in disputes within the sect. However, they have no members in the Beasts Hall or the Battle Hall. Meanwhile, I have to work where the Leopards and Emerald Owls rule.'

Liam closed his eyes, feeling the difficulty of making a decision he wouldn't regret later.

'The Leopards have most of their members in the Beasts Hall. They control most of the creatures used for training and as prizes for the outer disciples living in City Thirteen. Standing up to them would be a problem. In a compulsory activity, they could just make one of those beasts go crazy against me...

Meanwhile, the Emerald Owls have most of the members of the Arena in the city. If I choose the Leopards, Emerald Owl members will probably harass me on a weekly basis.'

In short, whatever decision he made would have its negative consequences, with the unchosen side possibly turning against him and increasing the difficulty of his journey in Demon Gate.

'The strength of Emerald Owls and Leopards is not that different. If I choose one or the other, it's likely that the pressure on the side I don't choose won't be too great. At least inside the city, where the law prevails. But outside, I'll be on my own.'

"... As for the factions in the other seven cities, I wouldn't worry about them if I were you. All the people in the other cities are your enemies as long as you are a resident of one of the outer disciple cities. It doesn't matter what divisions they have between them, just as it doesn't matter to them what divisions we have in City Thirteen." Ester finished, answering all of Liam's questions.

"So outside of City Thirteen, we're considered allies?" He looked at her with a strange glint in his eyes.

"To our rivals in the seven cities, yes. But among ourselves, we know better."

"I see. Thank you for the information." He thanked her as he stood up, already having everything he needed.

Before he left the room, she asked, her tone slightly different from the indifference of their minutes of conversation, "Which faction did you choose?"

Ester was no fortune teller, but guessing what was on Liam's mind was easy for a disciple who had been here for over four years. How many others like Liam had she seen?

"Do you belong to one of these factions?" He didn't answer her question, looking out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not part of any faction. They only pay attention to those who can stand in the way of their leaders reaching the inner wing of the sect—like you." She pointed a finger in Liam's direction.

"But you're stronger than me," Liam answered in a questioning tone.

"It's not a matter of strength, Liam Porter. It's a matter of status, of influence. A few outer disciples advance to the inner wing of the sect each year. So they don't care about someone who grows slowly, they care about someone who rises meteorically—like you."

Liam looked at Ester in silence, learning a new lesson. 'It seems that growing up slowly also has its advantages. While they focus on me, people like Ester can grow in silence. By the time they realize how far she's come, she'll be strong enough to maintain her position without too much danger.

Unfortunately, I don't have that opportunity.'

He asked, "In that case, does it matter to you? No matter what I decide, nothing will change for you."

She stayed with her thoughts, interested in this rising young man.

But Liam was right, it made no difference to Ester which group he chose. She was just observing the chaos around her as she quietly made her way as an average cultivator.

But that didn't mean she wasn't looking for opportunities!

'I will monitor you when you leave the city... I can already smell the blood following you.' She closed her eyes and licked her lips in silence, alone in this gray room.