Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Thal'Korr returned to Liam's soul space while his master gazed at the body of the enemy, ignoring the screams of the masses.

But he didn't look at Susanna's body for long. Feeling icy glances in his direction, with murderous intent almost palpable in the air, he turned his eyes to where a beautiful white-haired woman was standing.

When he saw this third realm cultivator, he didn't need anyone to tell him who she was or why she was so angry. 'Abyss Matriarchs.' He identified each of the women next to Eleanor before the group turned and left the arena.

There was nothing to complain about or say now. In Demon Gate, murder was allowed in the battle arena, and there was no way to seek justice for such a death. If those women let their emotions get the better of them in this place, the referee could even give them the death penalty if he wanted to!

But even if they didn't do or say anything, Liam felt the animosity between them had just gone up a few notches.

'It seems there's no turning back for us. Since that's the way it is, I have to take every opportunity to murder those damn women.' Despite the pain coursing through his arms and hands, he tightly clenched his fists.

Meanwhile, Azariah left his seat with a terrible look on his face, not at all pleased.

'Shit! The bastard survived!' Azariah made his way out of the arena, feeling that even if Liam had more trouble with the Abyss Matriarchs, Liam might turn against him after this event.

'I must move. With his survival, there's a chance that my circumstances may worsen before they improve.

Liam Porter, I'll be keeping an eye on you!'

Other spectators left the stands with smiles on their faces, pleased with Liam's performance and curious about his next steps.

This is not the case for Felicity and Mary.

The two made their way to the competitors' wing, hoping to talk to Liam face to face. But while they were relieved that he had won, they were both concerned.

Mary knew Susanna was part of the Abyss Matriarchs. Such a fight would certainly turn against Liam in the future.

At the same time, Felicity didn't want so many eyes on her new ally.

'I've been away from the guild for two days and shit like this happens...' The orange-haired woman sighed in defeat, her heart heavy with the realization that she had to step in or risk losing her ally prematurely.

Simultaneously, as the two moved to the competitors' wing of the arena, Lazarus made his way to the area with a broad smile on his face.

When he gained access to Liam, he approached his faction member and said in a pleased tone, "Liam, congratulations on your victory, my friend! Haha, you fought bravely and killed that bitch!"

Lazarus steered clear of touching Liam's body, instead hovering near the injured young man who was making his way through the space recently vacated by the Healers.

From what he'd heard on the way there from the battleground, his injuries weren't as bad as they seemed. He should be fine after a few visits to the Infirmary.

He definitely didn't need to be hospitalized, since his life wasn't in danger.

But he already knew that. After he felt the aura of the blue star covering his body, he felt his most serious injuries and even the effects of the Ephemeral Ascension Pill being reversed. He still didn't understand how it happened, but he was sure that the blue star had saved his life!

But that wasn't all...

'Thankfully, I had already completed the first level of Mana Mask before Susanna's passing. If not, those individuals would have been aware of my recent promotion to 7-Star.' Liam feigned interest as Lazarus showered him with compliments, acknowledging his accomplishments, bravery, and unwavering resolve to emerge victorious.

Liam had advanced to 7-Star after the blue star healed his injuries and more serious physical problems. But with Mana Mask active, he could pretend to the faction representatives that he was still at 6-Star.

In particular, his magical aura seemed much weaker than his original power before he consumed the Ephemeral Ascension Pill!

'I want my allies to think that I'm as weak as my appearance suggests...'

He smiled inwardly, very satisfied now that he had overcome the major obstacle that had been worrying him for over two days.

'This is the first step towards fooling my many enemies.'

"... Anyway, as I promised you, here it is. The Refulgent Life Elixir. You'll be able to reverse some of the side effects of the Ephemeral Ascension Pill and also improve your battle wounds a bit using it." Lazarus handed Liam a 200 milliliter bottle and a small red pouch.

"What is this?" Liam asked as he looked at the bag with a crystal inside.

"An Ancestor-grade Arcane Crystal. Use it to help your Spirit fully recover. I know you'll have to complete your mandatory crystal gathering task soon. Use it to prepare for this mission and don't worry about working for the faction for the next 10 days. Use this time to recuperate and take care of your business."

With those words, Lazarus left after receiving Liam's thanks, passing Felicity and Mary, who were waiting outside the contestants' wing where Liam was.

Lazarus looked at Felicity with interest, not expecting Liam to have already made such a powerful friend.

'What is that woman doing next to him?' He wondered as one of his men thought of something else.

"Chief Ross, I wonder why Liam didn't use his two Spirits today?"

Another of the Leopard's subordinates added. "I heard Liam didn't use his second Spirit against Francis in the struggle armed by Hannibal, either."

They and many others were curious about this, but they wouldn't ask Liam. Details about Spirits were too private to be asked openly. Usually only masters had this kind of conversation with their students.

But Lazarus wasn't disconcerted by Liam's behavior. In fact, he already had a good idea of the motives of the boy who had been burned.

"He probably made a pact with a support-type Spirit. If I'm not mistaken, his main Spirit isn't good for fighting. Because of that, he hunted down the second while he was still in the awakening experiment."

"Oh?" Lazarus' two subordinates understood their boss' theory.

There were many types of Spirits, those that focused on attack, defense, movement, support, you name it. It wasn't unusual for someone to have support Spirits that couldn't fight for them. But it was unusual for such a thing to be the Spirit Master's dominant Spirit.

The dominant Spirit was what a Spirit Master's first Spirit was called. Spirits grew up with their masters, and the longer their relationship lasted, the more the Spirit grew. But for that very reason, these Spirits were precious, and it was right to have good combat Spirits for the first positions in a Spirit Master's battalion.

Choosing a support-type Spirit to be the main Spirit was a mistake!

"I guess he's not that smart after all, haha."

"Not necessarily." Lazarus sighed. "Scared and alone among enemies, can you really judge the actions of a desperate mind?"

As they talked, Felicity and Mary came face to face with Liam, both unable to say a word at seeing him in such awful shape.

It did not surprise Liam to see them together, and he said, "I need your help. Mary, go to my room and wait for me. Felicity, help me get to the Infirmary. I don't want Mary to do this, so my current enemies don't target her."

Felicity and Mary understood what he meant, and both agreed to do what he wanted.

"But..." As he leaned against Felicity, Mary hesitated. "Are you really all right? Your injuries look..."

"Horrible?" He finished her words with a subtle smile on his face. "Don't worry, we'll talk about that later. For now, I have a healing potion that will help me."

His plan for the Refulgent Life Elixir was to keep it as an item to protect his life from future problems. For now, he was confident that he could recover without this valuable Third Class resource.

With that, he set off alongside the orange-haired woman, who had several things she wanted to discuss with him.

Once he was away from Mary, already on their way to the Infirmary, Felicity said, "There are a few things I want you to answer, but before you do, let me tell you the good news. I've found someone who will most likely accept your advances and keep your secret."