Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Basilisks and Hydras were classified as beasts capable of producing High-level, Sage-grade Spirits, while Wyverns and Quetzalcoatls were classified as Low-level Primordial-grade Spirits. They were the first creatures of this quality that Liam had read about, inferior only to Dragons, which were supposed to produce Arcane Crystals and Spirits of the High-level, Primordial-grade.

According to {Dragons and Their Descendants}, even though it was almost impossible to find a Spirit Master with a Dragon's Spirit, finding an Arcane Crystal from a Dragon was something that could be achieved with a lot of effort and courage. Not only that, absorbing such a crystal could turn an ordinary Spirit Master into a renowned expert in just a few years!

But this was only something for higher-level Spirits, with a magical quality of at least Sage-grade, High-level. According to Master Eldrin Thalor, the author of the book in Liam's hands, a Spirit of lesser quality would explode if it tried to absorb the Arcane Crystal formed by a fully grown Dragon.

Master Eldrin Thalor had no data on what a Dragon's Spirit should be like. But based on his conversation with someone who had got an Arcane Crystal from these beings, he had theorized that if someone were to attempt to absorb the Spirit of a Dragon, that person would have to have powers so strong that their Arcane Crystal would be of at least Primordial-grade.

Anything less would cause the Spirit Master's soul to explode, resulting in their death.

'Dragons are truly impressive... No wonder they're considered the gods of destruction in Twin Land!'

Liam closed the book with more fear than desire to face a Dragon, praying sincerely he would never have to risk his life in front of such a creature.

The Dragon's descendants had caught his attention and might be interesting to hunt, should he become an expert on the continent one day. But Dragons were so far removed from reality he didn't even covet the immense power that the Arcane Crystal of a single one could give him.

'Sigh! At least now I know some areas to avoid in the future.' He smiled as he put the book {Dragons and Their Descendants} aside and moved on to the next reading.

As he would take a copy of a techniques book, Liam started reading {The Roads of Twin Land} after his reading about Dragons.

By the fourth hour of study, he had finished the geopolitics book and learned even more than his predecessor knew. His continent had 17 states, 6 independent regions, 4 enormous forest areas as large as kingdoms and empires, and at least a dozen sects and clans as powerful as the Demon Gate.

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Much of the continent was very well controlled by these large sects, alliances of medium-sized sects and clans, or ruling families who had ties to these powerful forces on the continent. The independent areas and the forests were places that were influenced by powerful tribes, including the Dragon's Clan, or by one of those forces as famous as the Demon Gate.

Only in a small part of the continent, in the southeastern part, one of the weakest areas, with a large presence of mortals and a few Spirit Masters, were there fewer areas directly or indirectly influenced by those forces.

'As expected, the continent is almost entirely controlled by Spirit Masters or beasts. If I want to escape from Demon Gate, I'll either have to go to the territory of an enemy power or to one of those 'deserted' areas of the continent.'

Luckily for him, the first place he wanted to go after his escape, Espia Kingdom, was in the least controlled area of the continent.

'I will have to hide near Espia Kingdom for a while, accepting slower progress and fewer resources for a while. During this time, I'll have to plan how to get back into powerful areas without being hunted.'

For a cultivator who has already gained enough opportunities and knowledge to know how incredible and opportune cultivation is, it would be difficult to just give up this life and its opportunities.

'Living as a hermit can have its advantages. I don't want fame, and I don't see myself fighting for supremacy. But in the future, I will need to leave my residence from time to time to strengthen myself and stay prepared. Demon Gate is simply too complex for me to just hide away and think that it will work out for me all my life.'

He looked around, glancing toward the books in this library.

If outer disciples like him had access to such in-depth knowledge of the continent, how much more did an inner disciple not know? In a way, this was frightening and made the black-haired young man skeptical.

With a long sigh, he continued reading, jotting down the names of families, clans, and sects he needed to know about, matching old information with the map of the continent, trying to understand where he was.

Unfortunately, the map in his hands didn't show the location of Demon Gate's headquarters. As Liam had expected, this information was only accessible to inner disciples, especially those with the rank of at least Commander. Below that, even those who could leave the headquarters usually had to go under someone's command to understand exactly where to go.

'If I want to create a route to the Espia Kingdom, I'll have to do some missions outside of the headquarters and understand where we are, more or less, based on the vegetation, types of beasts, and geographical marks. Tsk! Those bastards are really making it difficult to escape.'

He finished another book and moved on to the last one.

An hour and a half later, he stopped by the level three counter and handed a book on command, suppression and creature control techniques to an Officer in the area.

He soon left the Library with a new copy in his spatial ring, pausing for a moment outside the Library, breathing in the cold air as he looked up at the starry night sky.

'Time to go to Mary,' he thought about another cultivation session tonight as he made his way to the city's central stairwell, heading to Street Thirty-Nine, his companion's current home.

The traffic on Street Thirty-Nine was weak, and Liam passed only nine people along the hundreds of meters, including three Officers monitoring their surroundings.

In the night's silence, he crossed the street and made his way to the side of the sidewalk where the dormitory he was targeting was located.

As he made his way there, he felt a shiver run down his spine and instinctively looked back, where he saw nothing.

'That feeling...'

He remembered something and without hesitation circulated his mana in preparation. 'Is someone following me? Is someone planning against me?'

He felt insecure, as if he had entered a cave and the powerful and fearsome owner of it was now watching him, preparing to attack!

Liam didn't stop at the entrance to the building in front of him. Even though he knew that the chances of something happening on the street were lower than inside the building, he continued, trusting his instincts.

'If I stop, I'll reveal what I know and warn the enemy to be more careful. I've got the Guardian Sphere ready to defend myself in case they are much stronger than me, and I've also got Third Class armor under my clothes.'

Liam swallowed his saliva, preferring a fight where he would have the advantage of surprise rather than preparing the enemy to take him seriously.

As he entered the building and climbed two flights of stairs from the first to the fifth floor, he felt the previous sensation intensify!