Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

In the middle of the afternoon, Liam stopped in front of the Law Enforcement Hall in City One, where he promptly spotted the two First Officers of his group and three masked Officers, the group he had requested for the mission on the outskirts of City Five.

Having managed to recover the Silver-Winged Leopard's magical status in the past few hours, as well as getting a level increase from Thal'Korr, he was ready to proceed with his mission.

"Are you ready? Don't you have anything else to do?" he asked the Officers in the group, seeing them promptly nod or answer that they were ready.

"Then let's go." Liam led the way, already familiar enough with the paths from the inner area of the sect to the outer wing to not need the guidance of one of his First Officers.

At the beginning of the journey, the two First Officers talked to Liam about a few things, about the situation in City Five, what to look out for, and what creatures were common around the area they were going to.

All the beasts around the Demon Gate's forest had been brought here by the sect. However, the situation between these creatures and the sect wasn't that simple—it wasn't an alliance. The creatures lived freely and unregulated in certain areas. They couldn't attack the cities in the region, nor could they attack travelers on the sect's official paths. But in all other areas, they could basically do whatever they wanted.

Given these rules, even groups on special missions for the sect had to be careful of the creatures in the area. Some of them could attack them even if they weren't hunting and weren't outer disciples.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Liam listened to his two advisors for a while until silence greeted the group halfway through the journey to City Five.

On this part of the trip, he thought about Ann and Joan, with whom he had already spoken about his intentions to leave the sect in the future. Like Grace, they hadn't thought about the possibility before. But unlike that woman, they responded positively to his invitation almost immediately.

They believed it would be too dangerous to flee the sect, and they would be in a much worse situation outside than inside the sect. But as long as they could continue to cultivate together, they knew they could eventually reach a situation that was even better than the positive aspects of being an inner member of the sect.

Liam was on his way to becoming a Fourth Class Runemaster, which made Ann even more confident that they would eventually find a positive way out of the sect.

But before they accepted his invitation, they both pointed out that he would be giving up a lot of good things by running away from his position in the sect. A Division Chief had great opportunities, and he wasn't far from the level of a sect leader. If he was patient, in a few years, he could fully enjoy his position in the sect and lead instead of being commanded by superiors.

To be honest, Liam hadn't thought about being free within the Demon Gate by becoming one of the sect leaders. But it didn't make sense to him.

As much as he understood the logic behind Ann and Joan's thoughts, he didn't want to dedicate his second life to a force like Demon Gate. If he was going to lead, he would rather start his own group from scratch and build a force completely different from the Demon Gate.

Liam was determined to pursue his goal of leaving this place and starting a new life in Twin Land!

Thinking about it on the last half of his way to City Five, Liam spotted the place after dozens of minutes of walking.

"Chief, we should go to Peak Five and meet Guardian Jasper. We don't need to see the plague patients ravaging the city, but it might be interesting to do it." Toby advised.

Jane then said, "Br—Chief Porter, we definitely need to see the sick. It will help me understand what kind of plant we're dealing with."

"Hmm, all right. Let's do it." Liam led the group along the insider's path.

On the way to the top of the peak, they encountered a few Officers coming and going along the path paved with identical rectangle-shaped stones.

Almost all of these Officers took the time to make gestures of greeting after clearing the way for Liam's group, which made him feel different.

It was nice to be respected with almost no hesitation!

Liam also spotted a group of carriages led by a commander heading to the top of the peak, obviously a group bringing new Aspirants to City Five.

The Officers in this group also made gestures of greeting to Liam until he saw the Commander at the head of the group stop his vehicle and cast a serious look in his direction.

"Are you here to see Guardian Jasper?" the Commander asked without bothering to greet Liam.

"Yes, we have some business with him," Liam said, curious why the Commander was asking him such a question.

"Then you'll have to wait. I need to talk to the Guardian as well. I'm with a group of six new disciples for the sect." The Commander revealed what he had in mind.

Liam laughed, but he wasn't intimidated. Toby had already given him good advice on how to deal with Guardians and Commanders.

"I see... But it doesn't matter if you come back with new disciples. You'll wait until I've finished my business with him," Liam said in a louder tone than the newcomer himself, attracting the eyes of the sect's new Aspirants.

These people, afraid of the Commander who was leading them into the sect, looked at Liam with hopeful eyes, eager to see someone teach this arrogant and cruel fellow his place.

The man with short brown hair and green eyes narrowed his eyes as he grimaced.

Although Commanders, Guardians, and Division Chiefs were practically on the same hierarchical level, it was the Division Chiefs who were closest to the command of the sect.

"Oh? May I ask what this Division Chief's name is? I confess I don't recognize you," said the man as he stepped out of his carriage and into the path of Liam and his people.

The moment the Commander made this move, Liam's two First Officers stepped forward, both drawing their weapons.

Toby said as he forced an aura of the same level as the Commander against the individual, "You stand before Division Chief Porter, Elder Neill's disciple.

Only 10% of the Division Chiefs had Elders as their masters, which showed Liam's status far above ordinary individuals in their hierarchy.

The man's arrogance vanished almost instantly when he heard the name of Elder Neill, a powerful Spirit King who had only the best talents in the sect under his tutelage.

Liam smiled as he saw the Commander make room for him and said nothing more.

"Then I won't impede Chief Porter's journey. Have a pleasant chat with Guardian Jasper. We'll wait for your matter to be resolved," the individual said as a fake smile formed on his face.

Jane felt incredible to see a Commander step back from standing in Liam's way and feel good for his friend.

"Commanders are arrogant people, Chief Porter. Most of them are fighting maniacs. Stand up to them or they will think they can run roughshod over you." The unmasked woman to Liam's right advised.

Toby agreed. "You were right not to give him a chance. Most Commanders try to impose themselves on Division Chiefs. And when you become known for being easily pressured, everyone, even the newly promoted Commanders, starts treating you like someone who doesn't deserve respect."

Liam listened to his two advisors in silence, aware that the position of Commander was susceptible to megalomania.

He didn't bother with the incident of a few moments ago for a long time, when they finally came to Guardian Jasper's post, where the man was already waiting for the group of new disciples of the sect.

But Jasper easily understood what a man in red was doing there this morning.

"Guardian Jasper, my name is Liam Porter. I'm here because of the trouble that's plaguing your town." Liam introduced himself as he greeted the man.

Jasper did not know Liam's cultivation, considering how effective the boy's costume was at protecting his cultivation. But even without the outfit, Liam was comfortable protecting such information. He had already reached the maximum level of Mana Mask mastery, and even an elder would have difficulty overcoming his cultivation concealment technique.

Not knowing Liam's cultivation, Jasper treated the Division Chief as he would anyone in that position, with absolute respect.

"Chief Porter, I must say you look young. Are you, by any chance, one of the sect's prodigies?" asked the slim, tall man, very well groomed with a refined posture.

"Some would say so," Liam replied vaguely and followed the man into the building at the top of the hill. "Anyway, I'm here to let you know that I'm in charge of the mission regarding the poisonous plant that may have sickened some of your city's disciples.

I'm going to check on some of the sick people in your town, and then I'm going to investigate around the peak."

The Guardian understood and said, "In that case, I have some information to share with your group, but I would also advise you to protect your respiratory system when dealing with the sick.

The agent causing the crisis in my city seems to spread through the airways with great efficiency. As a result, 40% of my city is currently afflicted with the problem, and I have been forced to institute a mandatory lockdown."

Liam and his companions hadn't expected the situation there to be so bad and couldn't hide their negative surprise at hearing these words.