Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

But strangely, he couldn't move his arm, instead feeling a wave of pain that made him forget the pain in his eyes as he cracked his mouth to let out a soft, muffled scream.

"Aaagh!"

He closed his mouth after that as he tried to look down at his body, ignoring the surroundings of the hospital bed he was in.

As he struggled to move his neck, Liam saw his bandaged and immobilized body, his arms and legs in casts, his bandaged abdomen bloodied here and there.

He couldn't see his back now, but he was pretty sure he was bleeding at his right lung height.

For a minute, he was racked with pain, noticing every part of his body while ignoring his surroundings and what had happened earlier.

In addition to his physical injuries, his soul wasn't doing well either. Because Thal'Korr had been destroyed by the snake earlier, after his "allies" had cowardly attacked him and his Spirit, Liam's soul was now weakened.

But after a minute of sheer pain as he awoke in the Infirmary, Liam's rationality returned as he remembered everything that had happened.

'Hannibal!' He gritted his teeth as he thought about who was responsible for all of this.

Francis and the three Spirit Masters from the Battle Hall had been the executioners responsible for Liam's current situation. But the mastermind had been Hannibal!

As he shook with rage, a woman dressed in white, of average appearance with wrinkles that showed her age, entered Liam's small corner, opening and closing the curtain that surrounded his bed.

She approached him without asking questions, using a strange device to touch his face.

"It looks like you're going to be okay," she said after a few moments. "Fortunately, your comrades didn't hit any vital points. You'll be fine, boy." She looked into his eyes and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"Will I? How long until I recover, Senior?" Liam asked in a shaky, weakened tone, his voice rather hoarse, his throat aching as if someone had scratched it before he woke up.

"You'll be able to leave the Infirmary tomorrow. As for full recovery, I'd say a week's rest will do it." She estimated.

"A week? I only have three days before a challenge in the arena!" He raised his tone, gaining a little more strength for a moment as he realized the trouble he was in.

"Three days? You mean two. You've only been here for 13 hours," she warned him, giving him a look that conveyed the severity of his situation.

"That's... How am I supposed to fight?"

"That's your problem, I guess." She grinned at him as she turned her back to the exit. "Anyway, good luck. You'll be as good as new in seven days. Your Spirit should regain its mana body in 50 hours. But it will be weakened for at least four days after that."

She disappeared with her words, leaving Liam alone on that bed, seeing the double punishment the Emerald Owls had inflicted on him.

Not only had they hurt him, but they had weakened him so much that the challenge he had made to Susanna had turned against him!

'What should I do? Murder is allowed in the Arena! Susanna is one of the Abyss Matriarchs. She'll probably try to kill me!'

His heart raced with desperation as his mind worked, but no answer seemed to satisfy his many questions.

Without Thal'Korr, it would be very difficult for him to fight. But even with his Spirit intact, with his body weakened, the enemy would only need to use numbers against him—two Spirits against one of his—to keep him in check.

Besides, what would happen if he was injured again before he recovered? This was a magical world, but the earthly part of Liam told him he would have bigger problems. Injuries that didn't heal properly usually left after-effects on earthlings!

'I have to get in touch with Felicity somehow. She's the only one who can help me resolve this.'

He thought, wondering if Mary would come to see him in the next few hours.

'The Healer said I've been here for 13 hours. So it must be late at night, almost dawn. Mary must be waiting for me to cultivate. She'll soon realize that something has happened, and she'll come looking for information. When she arrives, I'll send her after Felicity.'

While Liam was deep in thought, his train of thought was abruptly interrupted as two men entered his small bed area.

He quickly recognized them as the two Leopard guards who served as night guards in his room.

"You took quite a beating," Said one of them as he looked at Liam with interest.

"What happened?" The other asked.

As Liam had anticipated, it was only a matter of time before his daily companions or vigilant observers would detect that something was amiss whenever he deviated from his regular activities.

He sighed when he saw these two and started, "Emerald Owls. They invited me into the faction, but because I chose Leopards, they put me in a hall training."

Both men were unsurprised; in fact, they had foreseen Liam's imminent troubles.

"So that was it..." The one who asked muttered as he sat down in a chair next to Liam. "Well, we'll stay by your side until you leave this place and go back to the dormitory."

"I thank the seniors. But there's something I need to know." Liam looked at them uncertainly, not knowing if he should say his next words or not.

'Shall I ask them to find Mary? I need her, but... I keep my relationship with her as secret as possible. If I make my 'allies' aware of my situation with her, it will only be a matter of time before my enemies know what she is to me. By then, I'll have a known weakness, and they'll surely use it against me.'

After further thought, Liam changed his question. "Do you know a way to restore an injured body and Spirit? I have to fight in the arena in two days against someone who will try to kill me. But I won't be 100% for another week."

The two men looked at each other, understanding Liam's delicate situation.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't help Liam without a price. But their boss wanted to give this brat a chance, so these two 8-Star Spirit Lords thought of a way to help.

"Actually, I know a method," the standing man said with an almost smiling expression on his face. "But there is a price."

"I'm willing to spend everything I have."

The guard shook his head in denial as he wiggled a finger. "It's not just about that. It's a price that you have to accept, along with the consequences of this approach.

It may not completely cure you, in my opinion. However, it will enhance your strength temporarily. It will enable your Spirit to operate at a higher level than it currently can and allow you to accomplish more in battle, even when injured."

The seated man understood what his fellow had in mind and added, "Ephemeral Ascension Pill. It is a pill that can increase your mental power, mana, speed, reflexes, stamina, and brute strength for up to 60 minutes. It is said that it can give you a boost of between 100% and 300% of your natural power, depending on the quality of the pill and your ability to absorb its essence.

However, these temporary improvements don't come without a price. The consequences of using it include extreme exhaustion, mana drain, physical damage, and even psychological dependence. Using it can be incredibly addictive, leading to weeks and even months of struggle to live without it.

I'm no Healer, but using it in your condition can also hinder your recovery and even lead to irreversible consequences."

Liam swallowed his saliva when he heard all that, quite disturbed by the negative consequences of this alternative.

"Yes, that's all true. But I don't know of any other method you can use in time for the fight in the arena." The other guard looked meaningfully at Liam. "As terrible as it is, the Ephemeral Ascension Pill could save your life."

Liam took a step back in his plans, imagining that perhaps the demon incubus could help him fight Susanna. "Do you know anything about Initiate Susanna Alexander? She's going to be my opponent in this challenge."

"Susanna? A member of the Abyss Matriarchs?" The young man sitting in the chair to Liam's right asked in shock, "Why did you challenge her? Are you crazy?"

"What's the matter? I checked her out, and she seems like an interesting opponent. She's also part of a group that has already attacked me, so this challenge wouldn't offend anyone who doesn't already hates me." Liam didn't understand such a reaction.

"Susanna is one of the best friends of the leader of the Abyss Matriarchs. But even if we don't take that into consideration, she is a rare genius, who can fight above her level!

I don't know what information you've gotten about her, but someone has clearly misled you. Even if you were at 100%, your chances of defeating her would be less than 15%," the other guard said, shaking his head in denial at Liam's naivety.

"That... Azariah told me about her."

"Azariah? That fat wretch?" The standing man laughed.

"I don't know if he said it out of spite, but he is a lowly fool. You can't trust the advice of someone weak." The seated man said, "Maybe he really didn't mean it. But Susanna isn't easy. If I were you, I'd give up this fight. Better to suffer the punishment than to die. Even the Ephemeral Ascension Pill won't help you much against Susanna."

With those words, Liam would remain silent for the next few hours until Mary came to visit, with the two men giving him some privacy.

As much as he wanted to hide his relationship with Mary, her coming to see him differed from him asking one of those men to go after her. In any case, he would be careful enough to send her back quickly so as not to attract attention.

But he would send a message to Felicity via her. He also gave Mary the coins for her to buy the Ephemeral Ascension Pill.

He hadn't decided yet how to deal with the difficult situation he was in, but he wanted to leave that option open so that he could use it depending on how things developed in the next few hours before the fight!