“Take this to her,” Cade said, putting away the quill and handing King a folded piece of paper.

  “But… now?” King asked, checking his timekeeper with a worried glance. “It’s past eleven. Why not just message her on the comms or give her the letter yourself tomorrow?”

  The ex-bandit was easy to read. He clearly didn’t want to intrude on Jade’s meeting, and he definitely didn’t fancy getting on Castien’s bad side.

  “I don’t want him to know it’s me messing up his plans just yet, and her token isn’t connected to mine. Still, I’m not going to just sit here and let that worm sip on tea while he squirms his way into Jade’s head. Who knows what he really wants—hence the letter,” Cade explained, pushing the paper into King’s hands.

  “Uh… alright. But Boss, you must have my back in case Castien lashes out,” King said, his tone laced with concern.

  "Fighting is forbidden in the monastery, with the arena being the exception. Unless he wants to pay a hefty fine for as much as a slap, the worst he can do is get someone to challenge you in the hopes of giving you a solid beating. If that happens, you’ll just yield. Since you can’t drop in the ratings, there really isn’t anything he can do to you,” the Asura reasoned.

  King mulled it over, his expression shifting, before he finally nodded and left with the letter. Cade considered using his life sense to observe Jade and Castien’s reactions, but he had done a lot of hard training recently and needed to recover as quickly as possible. Instead, he steadied his mind and drifted into sleep.

  “You wanted to talk?”

  Cade turned around. In front of him stood the princess, looking at him from under narrowed eyelids. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her expression was a mask of stern inquiry.

  “Yes. I wanted to clear up this ridiculous misunderstanding between us.”

  It had been three days since King had passed his letter. During that time, Cade used every spare moment to catch up on sleep and was now fully recovered. According to King, Jade was definitely happy after receiving his letter, though she did try to hide it. On the other hand, Castien didn’t seem thrilled about this development. Cade snickered, picturing the lanky disciple’s soured expression.

  “Fine. And let me tell you, I have questions! You won’t be able to wriggle out of answering them, Fellow Daoist Ward,” she warned him, wagging a finger in front of his face.

  He immediately held his hands up in mock surrender. “I know. Like I said in the letter—I’m happy to explain myself. When can we talk?” Cade asked, smiling lightly. Now, that was more like the Brightheart princess he knew.

  “Come to my room after the lectures,” she muttered, then walked off without a glance back, her shoulders tense beneath her robe.

  Whistling a false tune he picked up from King, Cade headed towards the lecture hall.

  It was early evening when he returned to the dormitory. Instead of focusing on the lectures, he had found himself enthralled by Feral Path, reviewing the hundreds of images and visions explaining various techniques. It took a lot of effort, time, and swearing, but he eventually managed to inscribe a couple of diagrams into his realm of consciousness. Thankfully, the Book of Life contained a huge amount of insight into the Dao of Creation and its countless laws, which made understanding what he was looking at a little easier. It was a great learning experience—these diagrams were beyond complex, but growing his comprehension was something Cade was determined to do. Understanding various laws was priceless, as it would allow him to forge his own path in the future, creating abilities that were best suited to his purposes.

  For now, it was clear that mastering Feral Path would take years, as he needed to turn every technique into an instinctual reaction. The road ahead was long but very exciting.

  His plan now was to quickly wash, change, and head to Jade’s, but he noticed a dark figure of a man waiting opposite his door, leaning against the cold stone wall. He appeared to be a human in his late twenties, wearing silky-smooth black robes—an inner court disciple.

  The Asura reached out with his life sense. The man was a body cultivator in late Skeletal Reinforcement, half a head shorter and rather stocky, but nowhere near Brickwall's size. So he did send someone after all.

  “Are you Ward?” the man asked with an arrogant flair in his voice.

  Cade took out his monastery token and unlocked the door, ignoring the unknown disciple.

  “Are you deaf?” the man frowned, pushing himself off the wall. He had a lean, angular face, a short goatee, and long, dark hair swiped to the back.

  “Fuck off, I've got things to do,” Cade threw over his shoulder before opening the door to his quarters.

  His sixth sense rang quietly, and he felt the black-robed disciple’s hand reaching for his collar. He allowed it to happen, knowing that the monastery's spying formations observed and recorded everything. The moment the man grabbed onto his robe, the Asura turned around sharply, pulling the surprised fellow forward as his own arm blurred.

  Feral Path: Ghost Touch!

  One finger pressed at the disciple’s extended shoulder, and a crimson micro-formation circle lit under its tip. A spark of blood qi primed with one of his new diagrams passed into the nerve center located near the joint, instantly disabling the whole arm. Like all the diagrams from the Path he had examined so far, Ghost Touch could be applied with great precision and varying intensity.

  The black-robed cultivator’s eyes flashed in surprise as his remaining arm shot at the Asura. Cade brushed it aside with a lazy backhand, his move briefly opening up the man's chest. This was an opportunity too good to miss, and Cade's hand flickered, his index finger pressing lightly beneath the man’s ribcage. Another micro-formation blazed under the tip, and a spark of primed blood qi shot into a nerve center below the inner disciple’s sternum, seizing his lungs. Clasping his hands behind his back, Cade stepped away and observed the man’s struggles with mild curiosity.

  The black-robed fellow’s pupils widened in alarm, his mouth opening in a futile attempt to breathe. He smashed his qi-enhanced palm into his chest, trying to expel the invading energy.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Cade sighed and shook his head, wearing a pitying look. Even this tiny amount of ignited Asura blood qi was way too potent to be swiftly removed with mere infusion of spiritual qi. The difference in their cultivation ranks simply wasn’t large enough to immediately overcome its domineering strength. The commotion attracted glances from several cultivators returning to their dormitories. Some stopped, joining Cade in curiously observing the inner court disciple’s baffling act. He calmly watched the black-robed man smash palm after palm into his chest, shoulders hunched, his left arm dangling uselessly. Four palms, and it’s still active. Not bad. Unless you know how to purge it, the primed qi is a pain to get rid of. Now he might as well let it run its course. The disciple's eyes began to bulge as his need to breathe escalated into the first signs of panic.

  A tall, blonde-haired woman who lived two doors down frowned at the scene. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked. He didn’t know her name, but they always exchanged friendly nods. Now her puzzled gaze flicked between the inner court disciple, Cade, and the two gray-robed youngsters standing nearby.

  Both young men shrugged, shaking their heads.

  “It’s probably all this damp air from the cooling formations,” Cade said, nodding thoughtfully. “Apparently, it's really bad for your lungs.”

  The woman blinked, her suspicion wavering. She’d been certain the two men had just scuffled—but the confidence in Cade’s tone made her hesitate. For a moment, she actually wondered if the formations could really cause that.

  The Asura shrugged, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. He gave the blonde-haired woman his usual nod, then walked into his room and closed the door behind him. A few moments later, a muffled sound of desperate wheezing reached his ears, turning into a coughing fit, followed by quickly receding footsteps. There was no doubt the man was sent here by Castien. It was no secret that the core disciple was immensely popular among the lower-ranked disciples and had a group of fervent followers in both the inner and outer courts. Cade expected someone to pay him a visit much sooner, and it seemed his short meeting with Jade had finally prompted a reaction.

  Feral Path had already paid off, and he hadn’t even begun practicing it properly. Recalling the inner disciple’s panicked expression, the Asura couldn’t stop himself from chuckling with satisfaction. He then collected a fresh set of gray robes and headed towards the baths.

  Cade knocked lightly on Jade’s door. After the scene in the dormitory hall, he expected another of Castien’s worshippers to wait for him outside the bathhouse, but no such thing happened. His ears picked up a faint sound of someone moving inside, and in the next moment, the door opened.

  “Come in,” Jade offered him a tight-lipped smile, but he didn't expect an excited welcome anyway.

  “I brought you tea. It’s from… I actually don’t know where. My Master left it for me,” Cade said, handing her a small package.

  “Thank you. Yes, we’ll definitely talk about that, and many other things,” Jade said, giving him what was supposed to be a forbidding look, but it was obvious she wasn’t really that angry.

  “Alright. What do you want to know?” he asked, looking around her room. Her walls were draped in expensive white cloth, her bedding was blue silk with gold trim—imperial colors—and the room appeared not only more luxurious but also homely and inviting, unlike his own little prison cell.

  “Sit with me first,” she said, settling at the small table. “I’ll boil some water.” Her kettle was a handy goldscale artifact. With just a little spiritual qi, the water inside would boil in less than half a minute. Many simple artifacts could greatly improve the lives of ordinary people; alas, they could never afford them. A goldscale kettle cost between 20 and 50 crystals, enough to sustain a large family for decades. Cade remembered when he had dreamed about owning a water crystal so he wouldn’t have to carry so much water from the river each day. How things have changed.

  Jade took out gilded teacups from her storage ring, added a small amount of Cade’s tea into each, then carefully poured boiling water over the leaves. “How long should it steep for?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve never really been that much into tea. I don’t even know why my Master gave it to me,” Cade smiled apologetically.

  The princess nodded, taking a sip from the teacup. Her eyes instantly lit up, and the skin on her face first took on a rosy coloration, which then turned into a subtle golden glow. “Heavens, this is amazing! I’ve never drunk anything this good!” she exclaimed.

  Cade smiled, lifting his own teacup and taking a small sip. It was just as Jade said, absolutely delicious. There were many floral notes, and the tea itself was sweet as if honeyed. The tea delivered an initial spike of spiritual energy, which then smoothed out into a warmth that spread into every part of the body. Or at least, that was how he imagined other cultivators would experience its effects. His voracious heart devoured the spiritual energy, converting it into warm pulses of blood qi.

  Jade put the cup down and met his gaze. Her deep blue eyes were like an ocean: calm at first glance, but one couldn’t be sure if a storm wasn’t brewing just behind the horizon. “Let’s start with what King said when you first saw each other during the trial. Eyes, nails, teeth—what does that mean? And don’t even try to feed me any of your usual bullshit,” the princess said, pinning him with her gaze like a hawk.

  Cade coughed violently, nearly spilling his tea. “When did I... never mind. I was born with… certain traits that make me stand out. I use a special art to conceal them so I can blend in.” He gave a small shrug.

  “Show me.”

  The Asura sighed. “First, swear a cultivation oath that you’ll keep it all to yourself.”

  Jade grimaced, her brows knitting together. He could tell she wasn’t willing, but curiosity won out. After a moment, the princess gave a reluctant nod. “Fine. I will keep everything you show and tell me today to myself and never share it with anyone. This I swear on my cultivation.”

  Cultivation oaths were never taken lightly—because they worked. An oathbreaker might suddenly fall ill with a mysterious sickness that slowly eroded their foundation. Or they could be unexpectedly poisoned by an old enemy they hadn't heard about for years, their pre-core withering away. Breaking a cultivation oath was a risk few were willing to take.

  In response to her oath, his blue irises turned into hundreds of tiny vortexes spilling out blood. Blue was drowned by crimson, and his pupils stretched into vertical slits. Jade watched the process with obvious fascination, leaning forward.

  “Your eyes are… a little weird, to be honest, though maybe it's just the pupils," Jade said, shifting her head to look at his eyes from an angle. "When they reflect light, your irises glow red. It’s a bit unnerving and fascinating at the same time…” the princess murmured, her voice trailing briefly. Jade abruptly straightened up, realizing she had strayed from her planned course of inquiry. “What kind of spiritual art can manipulate the appearance in such a way?” she coughed, promptly asking another question.

  “It’s more like an illusion, I suppose,” Cade offered her a crooked smile. He knew she’d ask him that, but he couldn’t come up with a better explanation without lying outright, which he really disliked. What he told her could be considered a half-truth, as his minor technique of appearance transformation didn’t really change anything other than his looks.

  “Oh, I see. That makes sense,” Jade nodded to herself. “What was wrong with your teeth?”

  “Same as the eyes, just a minor tweak to make them appear normal,” Cade answered, showing her his fangs. This wasn’t nearly as much of a shock to her. His fangs were just a fraction of an inch longer than human canines, unless extended. Noticeable, but not necessarily unsettling.

  “What about the nails?” she asked, her brows drawing together.

  The young Asura sighed, placing his hand on the table. His human nails swiftly shifted into thick, black fingernails, slightly curved downwards and sharp as razors. Changing these little details had become second nature to him.

  “I’ve never seen anyone with nails like yours… Actually, they’re more like claws…” Suddenly, Jade’s face tensed as she recalled someone describing being hurt by a tall, red-eyed man with thick, black nails. The princess gasped, her eyes widening in dreadful realization. She lifted her gaze, staring at Cade with a mixture of horror and disbelief.

  A feeling of pressure rose in the back of the Asura’s head, and with this, his sixth sense came to life.

  (State of Cade below)

  Only 12 chapters left in Book One—things and events are beginning to heat up!

  State of Cade:

  This week I’ve written a bit less because it was time to fully flesh out the advanced soul-related cultivation systems. Until now I’d only sketched them out. I’m happy to say they’re mostly finished, and with the proper framework in place I no longer have to worry about anything feeling off or breaking the internal logic of the world. I’m genuinely satisfied with how it turned out—the system opens a lot of new paths for Cade’s future adventures.

  For now, his focus is on cultivating the body, with many epic clashes on the horizon!