Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

"Eliakim…" The Guardian acknowledged the arrival of the city's chief Runemaster, one of the best in the sect. "Have you spoken to the boy? Have you seen what he can do?" he inquired with interest.

Eliakim nodded as he accepted a cigar offered by Amzi and sat down next to the Guardian on the balcony to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

"He's really talented. He became a Second Class Runemaster in just two months and can definitely reach Third Class in another six."

"Oh?" Amzi looked at Eliakim with interest, having never heard of such a talented Runemaster in his sect.

"As for whether he will become a Fourth Class Runemaster, only time will tell. He will probably achieve it, but I don't know when exactly. It could take 5 or 25 years. It depends on his talent and luck."

Spirit Masters had different kinds of talents. The most common ones showed the limit of how far one could cultivate without outside help and the limit of understanding.

These factors were interrelated. Nothing was so simple that one could definitively say someone would never achieve a certain feat.

Generally, if you didn't have a well-rounded talent, you would eventually encounter a bottleneck, even if you had a great aptitude for something specific.

Liam had shown a good understanding of the Runemaster profession, but Eliakim couldn't definitively predict how far the boy would go.

"That's enough for now. But tell me about him. Some of my people can no longer sense his cultivation. He seems to have advanced in mastering his technique," Amzi asked with interest.

Eliakim narrowed his eyes, still watching the waters of the fjord. "He is close to being promoted to the inner wing of the sect. But he still needs to work on his skills. However, in six months, I can have him ready for you in the inner wing."

"So he hasn't advanced yet?" Amzi asked with a sigh.

"No." Eliakim lied, both for the boy and for himself.

He was curious to see how far Liam would grow under his tutelage. Besides, he didn't want to see a talent like Liam sent away from headquarters too soon. Until he finished his orientation, he preferred the disciple in the outer wing.

'I'll see how far he can go first. In the inner wing of the sect, I won't have any priority to guide him, but here, I can do whatever I want.'

"I see…" The Guardian didn't doubt Eliakim. He had no reason to disbelieve the Fourth Class Runemaster.

"Continue working with him, and when he becomes a Third Class Runemaster, bring him to me. It will be the right time for me to take him to the inner area."

"I will certainly do that."

...

Meanwhile, in the Lotus Temple…

Liam, Mary, and Jane had pooled all their merit points to secure a collective cultivation room on the temple's second level.

Mary and Jane had gathered the low-quality herbs that the Essences Hall should discard that week. Since they had succeeded, just as Jane had predicted, they now had two hours to absorb their opportunities.

When the three of them entered the room they had rented for the next two hours, they didn't hesitate to set up the space.

"We need a bathtub, hot water, and an hourglass," Jane instructed her companions.

Liam had already acquired these items and quickly summoned from his spatial ring a large 4,000-liter bathtub, a little over 3,000 liters of water, and the hourglass.

He placed the bathtub in the center of the cultivation room and poured the water into it before heating it with the runes he had inscribed on the tub's surface.

"The water will boil in 10 minutes," he informed them, awaiting the next steps.

Mary began working with the herbs they had collected, dumping them beside the pool and then mixing them with a farming tool.

By the time Mary finished, the water was boiling, and Jane finally took action. She poured four bottles of colored liquids into the bathtub while walking around the structure, speaking strange words to Liam.

The dense mana in the room moved toward the tub as Mary poured the crushed herb mixture into the water.

Almost 18 minutes after they entered the room, the water in the white bathtub, once transparent, now appeared viscous and green, like swamp water.

The most striking thing about this fountain was the magical fluctuations emanating from it. A few minutes ago, the magical fluctuations in the room had been ordinary to Liam, with nothing noteworthy.

At his current level, a level two temple room wouldn't have caught his attention.

But after the mixture of herbs, potions, and Jane's apparent spell, everything changed dramatically.

Liam felt goosebumps all over his body, while a strange glow from the bathtub indicated it had exceeded the level required to affect him.

The bathtub had become so potent that if he wasn't careful, it could be dangerous to step into it!

"That…" He looked at Jane in shock. "How did you do that?"

"Shocked, Brother Liam?" The green-haired girl laughed, proud of herself. "That's what a Herbalist can do, haha."

Mary smiled as well, before pointing at Liam. "You can go in now. Since the medicinal effects of this artificial magic fountain are strong, it would be better for us to start after you've begun your cultivation."

Jane indicated the same, eager to enter but aware that Liam should start before she and Mary made their moves.

Liam undressed without ceremony, not surprising Mary, but causing the green-haired girl to blush and turn her back to him.

Liam just laughed at Jane's behavior and soon settled into the tub, submerging himself until the water reached his neck.

He had brought just over 75% of the water needed to fill the tub, but with Jane's mixtures, the volume of liquid had risen almost to the reservoir's limit.

He felt his skin burning intensely, prompting him to meditate with most of his body submerged in the green liquid.

Jane and Mary made their move after five minutes, removing their clothes and stepping into different corners of the tub.

There was enough room for the three of them to sit in the lotus position and cultivate the medicinal power of the fountain together.

As the two meditated, both feeling even stronger burning sensations than Liam, he noticed their movements even with his eyes closed. The threat of the magical fountain subsided a little. He sensed that cultivating in the bathtub reached the optimal point of benefit versus risk for him.

As he inhaled deeply through his nostrils, he felt the mana from the room entering his lungs and circulating into his bloodstream. The medicinal essence gradually permeated his body through his skin. As the mana and medicinal essence penetrated his cells, Liam felt parts of his body becoming more resilient, elastic, and strong as his mana level increased.

It wasn't so frightening that he could increase his level in just over an hour and a half of cultivation. But in the first minutes of cultivation, he could feel that his strength within the 2-Star level had improved by an impressive 20%.

By comparison, Liam would have to cultivate with all his current partners for four days in a row to achieve the improvement he saw in just 30 minutes!

'If I maintain this rate of improvement until the end of our time in this room, I will save almost 3 weeks of cultivation in these minutes!'

He thought to himself, feeling how impressive this was to him, but not realizing that Jane and Mary were the ones who would actually get the most out of this opportunity.

Jane and Mary were at the same level of cultivation, but their performance in today's opportunity was different.

While Jane felt her understanding of her profession, Herbalist, evolve closer to the peak of Second Class, Mary felt some of her magical instability and loss of vitality improve.

The blonde girl felt her body grow stronger. Her foundation solidified, while her vitality increased by 10% to a higher level.

The two of them made it all the way through the 7-Star level, reached the end of the level, and easily entered the 8-Star of the Spirit Lord Realm!

With only 15 minutes left of their time in the room, Liam opened his eyes, feeling that continuing wouldn't be beneficial. It made sense to let his two allies make the most of the opportunity alone.

As he left the bathtub and got dressed, he noticed the women improving faster now that he had finished.

It wasn't enough for them to reach 9-Star. With four minutes left, Mary and Jane opened their eyes, both in the middle of the 8-Star!

Even though they didn't reach the final level of the second realm, they were extremely happy with their progress. Each had achieved improvements beyond their mana reserves!

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, hehe. You'll soon become 9-Star Spirit Lords," Liam said with a smile as he watched the water level in the bathtub drop below 40% of its height.

Almost half of the water had evaporated or been absorbed into their bodies in the last few minutes, and now he could see Jane and Mary's bare breasts.

As soon as she realized the situation, Jane moved to clean up and get dressed, while Mary was slower. Liam paid no attention to them in these last moments and gathered up the items they had brought.

"Brother Liam, drink this potion the next time you go cultivating." Jane handed him a vial with a red liquid inside. "It will help you process the remnants of the medicinal essence in your blood. Sister Mary will do the same, so we might all feel a little better later."

"Oh? All right." He accepted the potion and looked at Mary. "Maybe we should cultivate together, hehe," he said in front of Jane, while the girl only partially understood his intentions.

Mary remained silent, watching Liam play with danger, and laughed lightly.

They left the room, with Jane going to attend to her own affairs and Mary accompanying Liam for a while. The two planned to use Jane's potion together when they met later.

They couldn't do what they had in mind right away, as they needed to wait a few hours for the potion to have the best possible effect.

They also had their own responsibilities for the day and would soon say goodbye to each other, both discreetly hiding their cultivation progress as they were accustomed to doing.