Villain Seduces to Rise in Status

Chapter 26: 26 - Beast Garden

As soon as Cale leveled up, he immediately checked his complete stats displayed by the system.

[CHARACTER INFORMATION]

[Name: Cale Regulus Midgar]

[Age: 18]

[Race: Human (Dragon Bloodline - Awakened)]

[Cultivation Rank: Novice Rank 6]

[Mana Cultivation: Spirit Rank 1]

[Body Cultivation: Novice Rank 6]

[Current Health: 185/185]

[STR: 168 | AGL: 110 | VIT: 144 | INT: 137 | CHR: 109]

[Unassigned Points: 12]

[Skeletal Integration: 100% (Golden DAO Supremacy)]

[Cultivation Speed Multiplier: x1.5]

[PRIMARY ABILITIES: Lust Bond Formation, Dragon Genetics, Craving Touch, Pleasure, Dominate, Surrender, Qi Sensing (50m range)]

[PASSIVE TRAITS: Dragon Genetics, Aura Sensing, Natural Balance Attunement]

[TECHNIQUES MASTERED: Blue Thunder Arts (18 strikes), Qi Steps (100%), Fire Rune Inscription]

[NEW TECHNIQUE UNLOCKED: Great Dao of Natural Balance]

He opened the description for his new cultivation technique with great interest.

[GREAT DAO OF NATURAL BALANCE]

[Description: Absorbing nature’s Yin and Yang essence when in lotus position. The Great Dao of Natural Balance follows the laws of Heaven and Earth, guiding the cultivator to harmonize Yin and Yang, growth and decay. By drawing strength from nature itself, the practitioner refines body, soul, and Qi in perfect equilibrium. Excess is suppressed, deficiency is nurtured, allowing cultivation to progress steadily without deviation. Those who comprehend this Dao walk a path as vast and enduring as the world itself.]

”So it’s like this. This is a unique technique I’ve obtained. Taking essence directly from nature itself.”

It was indeed a wild thing since before he’d thought that qi itself was naturally present in all things, so how could drawing it from nature be any different from normal cultivation? But this technique was fundamentally different in its approach and efficiency.

This technique required either an environment dense with nature energy—mostly places with spiritual herbs, though even simple greenery would work—or places with dense Yang energy like volcanoes or any high-energy locations like spiritual springs. Alternatively, high-Yin places worked as well, like the deathbeds of beasts or locations where high-level cultivators had fallen.

Cale read further and was genuinely surprised by what he discovered in the technique’s description.

”The qi, if it exceeds the dantian and apertures’ limits, gets absorbed by the physical body as a liquid which gets automatically absorbed when qi becomes depleted? That’s incredible.”

He continued reading with growing excitement. ”And I can even use it as a source to fight, separating Yin and Yang from aura itself, and blending them together at will for different effects? This is far more versatile than I expected.”

The whole day then followed as he sat in the lotus position, testing the newly acquired technique with enthusiasm and focus. He experimented with different positions, different breathing patterns, different ways of channeling the natural essence around him. Time seemed to pass in a blur as he worked tirelessly to understand every nuance of this powerful new cultivation method.

Night came, and Cale slowly opened his eyes after an entire night of continuous practice and meditation.

”I’ve trained for the whole day now, but all that’s happened is that the core slightly filled and the seal—or rather, mark—of the technique was formed on my dantian.”

The seal represented his progress with the technique, a marker of his advancement that would deepen as he continued to practice and master it. He chose the most green-looking place he could access near the academy, one with not particularly high but at least low-level spirit herbs scattered throughout, and some beasts of the lowest grades like birds, falcons, and various small creatures that roamed the lower cultivation zones.

The sun was the only best source for Yang qi, he realized. Even such an overpowered technique would be useless if not performed in the proper environment with adequate energy sources.

The current seal formed was only the Yang seal, the Yin one wasn’t even formed properly yet due to the deficiency of accessible Yin-based locations near the academy grounds. He would need to journey to places where Yin energy concentrated naturally, places of decay and death where the natural order expressed its other face.

He got up and went for whatever dinner was available in the academy cafeteria. Although there was nothing particularly special or expensive, it was still something he looked forward to, since he could socialize with various people—some rude, some idiotic, some smart, some over-smart with inflated egos, and some future geniuses scattered throughout.

Seth, one of the guys he sometimes talked with and was good enough to be called a ”friend,” was an average student with middling abilities and no particular distinguishing characteristics. He came and sat beside Cale as if it was an everyday occurrence, completely at ease with the familiarity.

”Hey, long time no see. Why don’t you visit the dining hall during normal times like everyone else?”

”I cultivate. It takes a lot of time to reach higher levels.”

Seth shook his head with apparent concern. ”You and your obsession with those easterners. Didn’t you hear? They’re going to invade one day. If you continue obsessing like this, you’ll be called a traitor. Aren’t your siblings just waiting for one such chance to arrive so they can use it against you?”

”I will be long gone by then.”

”Yeah right. Did you see bronze-rank armors? They already cost eight hundred something silver coins. Imagine how much silver and gold-ranked armor would cost.”

Cale wasn’t paying particular attention to Seth’s rambling, his gaze having drifted to something else across the dining hall.

”What are you looking at?”

Seth turned and saw Elon and his group sitting at a prominent table, clearly trying to draw attention to themselves as usual.

A group of girls came inside the dining hall at that moment, with every gaze in the room focusing on one girl in particular—Lysara Aislewood, a half-elf and daughter of a merchant family. Don’t mistake it for a random merchantry; it was poised to become one of the best in the world within the next decade, currently sitting at number two on the list of most influential trading families with connections to almost every political leader around the continent.

Seth’s eyes widened with interest. ”Look, it’s her.”

Cale’s gaze turned to her, taking in her slightly bluish hair and the purple hanfu from her mother’s lineage, a blend of eastern and western fashion that marked her unique heritage beautifully.

Elon, seeing her enter the dining hall, immediately tried to brag about his latest purchase in a decently loud voice that carried across the entire space.

”This is an interspatial ring. Although it looks small, it can store things within an area of two by two meters square.”

Some kids actually get obsessed with the most childish things. Unless you’re traveling continuously, a interspatial ring is absolutely pointless.

Cale turned to Seth and spoke quietly. ”It’s pointless. Don’t buy one even if you want to.”

Seth looked surprised. ”How did you know I was going to want one?”

”You’re one of those kids who sees a poster and then elects that same teacher as the best teacher in the academy. You think I wouldn’t notice that pattern in your behavior?”

”But still, what if Lysara falls for him because of it?”

”Hehe, she won’t fall for something as cheap as that.”

Cale, who saw Lysara as one of her future soldiers in the battle against the cultivators from the eastern sects, knew that what she wanted right now wasn’t something like shallow romance. She wanted to make up with her childhood friend Elowen; they were usually together most of the time, but it was like there was still an invisible wall between them that neither could quite breach.

Seth looked at Elon with skepticism. ”Well, at least it doesn’t look like she likes material things or money.”

Seth was wondering about her father’s real background—powerful enough to even topple the continent’s entire money supply if he ever decided to move against the established financial system. The implications were staggering to anyone who understood the power such control represented.

He made a funny expression and asked curiously. ”Hey, she wouldn’t happen to like girls now, would she? If so, the competition would be hard.”

”Haha, you sure like bullshitting about things you don’t understand.”

Seth shifted his tone completely, moving away from the gossip. ”That aside, would you like to enter the beast garden of the academy?”

The beast garden was, simply put, a summoning zone where cursed objects were all stored in one concentrated place, leading to grouped summoning of beasts in one contained area. The academy had seen an opportunity to make a business out of it, and they’d capitalized on it. Entry cost two gold coins per person per day, and everything you killed inside belonged to you to harvest and sell.

Just so one understood the economics of it, to recover those two gold coins through beast hunting, you’d have to kill seven or eight one-star beasts, four or five two-star beasts, or three three-star beasts. That was pretty much impossible unless you had a crazy synchronized party teamed up perfectly or you were absurdly loaded with money.

But since Cale was decently strong enough now with his new cultivation rank and techniques, he decided to go hunting with all his recently earned money on the line. His goal was to get close to one of the biggest monster graveyards on the capital’s outskirts for Yin essence cultivation purposes. Having access to a concentrated source of Yin energy would dramatically speed up his formation of the Yin seal on his dantian.

Cale planned with Seth, Carl who came despite not particularly wanting to join them, and Nex who just wanted to have fun and experience the beast garden for himself.

”Seth, you buy some basic weapons like bows, arrows, and swords for reinforcement. Remember, you can get everything under six silver if you bargain properly. At most ten silver total if the vendors are particularly stubborn.”

Seth raised an eyebrow. ”Okay, but have you bought weapons before? You’re talking as if you buy them daily.”

”Well, of course I buy them regularly. Now go. We will meet up at the training grounds and then head to the beast garden together afterward.”

Seth and the others left immediately, eager to prepare for the hunting expedition.

”Hehe, though I should be going since it was my plan originally, I don’t have any money left, my friend.”

The irony wasn’t lost on him—organizing the entire expedition but having spent all his resources on materials and cultivation supplies rather than keeping money for the entrance fee. He would need to hunt enough beasts to at least break even on his costs.

Meanwhile, Cale went to retrieve the paralyzing grass he had already collected before from his room. The herb would be incredibly helpful when fighting high-leveled beasts or the ones who ran away fast before he could properly engage them. Combined with his improved speed and strength, having a reliable way to immobilize fast opponents would dramatically increase his hunting efficiency.