Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

As he left the Lotus Temple, Liam had the serene look on his face of someone who had just completed the requirements to become a Third Class Runemaster.

As he descended the stairs from the third level of the temple to the entrance hall, he wore a belt around his waist with several special features, his first Third Class creation. Besides being able to store inanimate objects in a space of 6 cubic meters, it could also store mana and create a defensive barrier that could last for 5 seconds when attacked by cultivators up to 9-Star of the third realm.

'Unfortunately, I won't have time to create many enchantments before my promotion. Otherwise, I would arm the faction with Third Class items.'

Leopards had plenty of ordinary Third Class tools. All it would take was a Runemaster of the same rank to turn them into enchanted items even more powerful than they already were.

But he had already done a lot for the faction in the last month, and he didn't regret the little time he had left in the city for long. He soon left the temple building and headed to the coliseum for the meeting he had arranged with the faction.

Today was his farewell day!

He wanted to talk to all the people of the faction in City Thirteen and guide the future of the group in his absence, saying goodbye and appointing the new leader.

But before he could make his way to the Beasts Hall, two inner members of the sect, dressed in the uniforms of Commanders, stepped into his path and caught his eye as they stared at him.

"This... The seniors want to talk to me?" He asked these two strangers, individuals he had never seen before in City Thirteen.

"Liam Porter, come with us. You have completed the second phase of the Secret Hunt. Now you must join the inner wing of the sect as a Division Chief."

Liam's eyes widened when he heard these words, not expecting something like this.

Gulp!

"That..."

But as he stammered, not knowing what to do, a First Officer approached them.

"Fellas, what's the situation here?" the man who had been secretly watching Liam asked, causing the two men to frown.

"None of your business, First Officer," said one of the two men dressed in black and gray. He took a step forward, one of his hands wrapped around the hilt of a sword at his waist.

Liam noticed the aggressiveness of the man's posture and took a step back. Meanwhile, the First Officer, Guardian Amzi's subordinate, narrowed his eyes as he also reached for his weapon.

"This is City Thirteen. You are under the jurisdiction of Guardian Amzi Watt." The man warned as he positioned himself ready for action.

"Tsk! We are under the orders of the Council of Elders. We don't care who runs this town."

Liam turned pale when he heard the name Council of Elders, once again not liking how it all sounded. It would only make things more difficult for him.

'If the Council of Elders is watching me, it will be ten times harder for me to escape from the sect than if they weren't watching me!' He worried.

He would leave the city in two days, so this wasn't his primary concern right now. Even if he wanted to finish his business in the area and, more importantly, deal with William, his escape was still the most important thing.

But in addition to that, if he couldn't deal with William, he couldn't be sure that the man would act against one of his women if their fight didn't happen.

That was another thing he couldn't accept!

While Liam was thinking of a way out, the First Officer lost the confident look on his face. He hadn't expected Liam's situation to go as far as an order from the Council of Elders. He looked at the black-haired boy and wondered what Liam had done to get the Council's attention.

"Liam Porter, you must come with us immediately. We'll arrange for someone to pick up your things later, if necessary. Right now, you need to accompany us to the registration in the inner ward and meet with Elder Niall."

"Wait a minute."

Suddenly, a deep, powerful voice came out, just before several passing disciples felt a powerful pressure hanging over this area of the city.

The two Commanders sent by Elder Niall looked at Amzi Watt and understood what this was all about.

"Guardian of the Peak, are you going against the orders of the Council of Elders?" The stronger of the two men, a 6-Star Spirit Sky cultivator, asked.

But Amzi was just as strong and didn't push himself, as he was a 6-Star Spiritual Sky cultivator himself. He wouldn't allow these two to take Liam away like this!

He grabbed Liam's right shoulder with one hand and positioned the boy on his right side.

"I'm not going against the orders of the Council of Elders," the fat, well-dressed man said as he massaged his face, smiling kindly. "But Initiate Liam Porter is an outside disciple under my supervision. If the Council wants him, I won't stop you. But I'm afraid I need a justification."

The calmer of the two Commanders nodded for his companion to calm down and said to Amzi, "I won't go into details. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't ask us. Anyway, Liam Porter has completed the second phase of the Secret Hunt."

"Oh?" The fat old man looked at the boy next to him and understood exactly what that meant.

'That brat turned his demonic Spirits into Sage-grade beings? I didn't expect him to accomplish this mission.' He secretly clenched his fists. 'Damn, I took too long!'

While Amzi was thinking, Liam took advantage of the silence and tried to intervene.

"Elders, I'd like to ask you for two days." He surprised the two Commanders, but also the First Officer to his right.

"What?" One of them asked, but he didn't show his displeasure.

"I have a fight I'd like to have in City Thirteen. That will be the end of my business here, and after that, I'll go with you without any problems." He tried to bargain with what little he had.

The prizes for the mission promised him promotion to Division Chief, ten times the salary of a Division Chief, three nominations for promotion from outer disciple to inner disciple, three Spirits of his choice, each with a classification of the Sage-grade.

Liam wanted these prizes badly, but now he was particularly interested in the promotion to Division Chief, which would put him in a position to make these two men, and even Amzi Watt, think twice before deciding against him!

Demon Gate's hierarchy for the inner wing of the sect was strange. Commander, Guardian, and Division Chief were three hierarchical positions that theoretically had equal power.

Guardians were those who were in charge of all the affairs behind certain parts of the sect, in short, the managers and defenders of the sect. Commanders were the warriors who acted outwardly. And Division Chiefs were basically apprentices to the Elders, the future pillars of the sect.

Because of these different roles, everyone would put Guardians before Commanders and Division Chiefs before Guardians. After all, Division Chiefs had a more promising future. But technically, one wasn't superior to the other until one actually became an Elder or Supreme Leader.

Still, the three looked at Liam and considered the possibilities, advantages, and disadvantages of giving him what he wanted.

Amzi took advantage of Liam's request and support. "Let's do it, my friends. Let the boy fight his battle and finish his business in the city. It won't change anything for the Council of Elders."

Liam eyed the Guardian, inwardly grateful for the man's support.

"Why would we do that?" the bolder of the two Commanders asked, staring into Liam's eyes.

Liam thought about what he could use with these men and came up with the simplest and most relevant thing he could think of. "I have just become a Third Class Runemaster. You will have my services at your disposal whenever you need them in the future."

Amzi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and even the two Commanders couldn't help but look at each other in silence at Liam's answer.

Third Class Runemasters were indeed valuable, but more importantly, if an 18-year-old had achieved this promotion, it was almost certain that he would become a Fourth Class Runemaster in the future.

"All right, if you want two days, we'll give you two days." The stronger of the two Commanders said, "Of course, as long as you sign such a promise with us."

"I'm certainly willing." Liam sighed as he realized he could settle the matter this way.

He did so quickly and before the men left, one of them said with a smile on his face, "Let's pretend that you are cultivating in seclusion at the Lotus Temple. We'll wait for you until you complete your goals."

Amzi thanked the two men before they left and then signaled to his First Officer to remain silent about today's matter. Then he looked at Liam and invited him to the top of the peak for a chat.

"Liam, can you spare a few minutes for this old man? I know you're busy, but I won't keep you long."

"All right." Liam figured he still had half an hour before his appointment with the Leopards' men, so he followed Amzi to the top of the peak.

Halfway to the top, he couldn't help but sigh as he thought about the fact that he wouldn't be able to access his prizes until he got to the inner wing of the sect. Previously, he had thought that the mission rewards were like an entitlement that he could draw on as he went along. But now he saw it wasn't that simple.

'Sigh! The future pillars of the sect really are treated differently... I'll have to reevaluate all my plans after I enter the inner wing of the sect!'