Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!

Now that they had acted together against Emerald Owls, it was only natural that the faction would extend invitations to not only Mary, but Electa and Jane as well. So, while talking to Lazarus, Liam had no problem to get the man's invitations to the three women. Mary accepted immediately, while the other two would hear it later.

Once that was settled, Liam gave Mary the Guardian Sphere to use in the meantime. He was now in the third realm and wouldn't need the item as much, while she would now be in her most sensitive moment within the sect.

With that settled, a member of the faction took Mary to register with the group, leaving Liam alone with Lazarus.

The two men discussed the previous action against Emerald Owls and the repercussions for them. Enos' faction had already realized what had happened to Hannibal's group and could act at any moment.

After a warning from Lazarus about Liam's imminent entry into the arena, he left the Beasts Hall to continue his morning plans.

Before heading to the Runes Hall, he stopped by the Barter Fair and exchanged some of the new weapons he had got for Runemasters' products. That wasn't enough, so he stopped by a shop, where he spent 240 gold coins on what he thought he needed to master the Second Class.

He then made his way to the Runes Hall, where he would meet Ann's entire group this morning, with Fred, Virginia, and Giles present for today's training.

Liam's three competitors looked at him as soon as he arrived and couldn't help but notice that this guy's aura was even stronger than yesterday.

'What's going on? How is he improving so fast?' Virginia looked at Liam with a strange expression on her face.

She had recently advanced to 4-Star, but Liam's advances had come in a strange order for her and the others.

Fred, the strongest of the three, currently a 6-Star Spirit Lord, looked at Liam and clenched his fists. He had gone hunting in the forest and thought he had caught up with Liam's cultivation. But while he was away, his rival had improved many times over!

'I still have more experience than him. He's just a newcomer. His knowledge can't compare to mine, which I've been studying for months!'

While the three youths were thinking about Liam, Ann was also surprised. But her surprise was for a different reason than her group's.

'He's showing 8-Star cultivation, but he's definitely hiding something. He's learned a technique to hide his cultivation, and there's no reason for him not to use it.

He's still not strong enough to deal with the problems of City Thirteen, which means his cultivation is at least 9-Star, or even 1-Star from the Spirit Earth Realm!'

They all entered the classroom in silence, thinking about the same person.

As each of them went to their own corner to continue their training and studies, a bigger and bigger smile appeared on Ann's beautiful face.

'Interesting. He's certainly had some amazing opportunities to grow so much in just over a month in the sect.' She monitored Liam as he read a few volumes.

With only two more readings to go before he felt ready to test the Second Class rune inscriptions, Liam intended to finish these two books and attempt his first Second Class enchanter later.

It took him only 20 minutes to finish the book he had almost finished previously when he began reading the last basic book component of the required reading for Second Class runes.

It wouldn't be long before Liam had read more than half of the book, as there was little that was really new in it. Since most of the content was a deeper interpretation of what he had already seen, it wasn't difficult for him to understand, even on the first reading.

But halfway through the book, Liam couldn't help but change his expression when he saw the explanation of the last test he had taken during his Promotion Exam.

Ann was standing behind him as he paused for a moment to think about what he had just read, and, of course, she understood what was on his mind.

"The test you took, and everyone takes during the Promotion Exam, is an aptitude test that determines your affinity for various professions, especially that of Runemaster." She explained, making him look back.

"As easy as it looks at first, it's not simple at all. Getting the number of birds and their colors right is quite difficult, as it involves your ability to master runes.

The test itself doesn't take much into account your successes, but your mistakes. Two people who get the same number right will have different perspectives. In short, being able to identify the bird is the most important thing, while its color is secondary."

"I see. Is that why some of my companions weren't directed to the Runes Hall that day, even with a slight difference to my result?" Liam asked.

"Exactly." Ann shook her head. "Think of this test as a ladder, with the bottom representing incompatibility and the top representing compatibility. Depending on where you are, you will be suitable for different professions.

Each bird hit is one step, and each hit of bird and color is two steps. Every miss of a bird is one step down and the miss of bird and color is two steps down. The error of just the color doesn't count. As I said, it's less important.

Your result is that you've reached the tenth step of the thirty existing steps. This means that even if you don't put in the effort, you can become a Third Class Runemaster. And if you put in the effort, it's not impossible to become a Fourth Class Runemaster!"

Such a thing was impressive, far beyond what it sounded like. Liam didn't know it yet, but less than 10% of the Runemasters had the natural talent to challenge the Fourth Class one day.

Even in a powerful sect like the Demon Gate, Fourth Class Runemasters were treated as more relevant experts than even some "ordinary" sixth realm cultivators!

The higher the rank, the fewer professionals there were who could create high-level artifacts. The higher the quality of the artifacts, the greater the competition for them.

While a First Class item would be hard to covet because it was so common, cheap, and easy to get, a Fifth Class item would cause even sixth realm cultivators to move. Such an item could hardly be kept without causing bloodshed around it!

High-level professionals were generally precious in the Twin Land. This was especially true for those who could create cultivation resources, weapons, and, most importantly, enchanted items!

"I see," Liam muttered, as he understood why she had bet on him.

After a moment's thought, he looked into the beautiful redhead's eyes and smiled, more confident now that he was stronger than Ann. "Is the bet still on?"

"Sure. I'm looking forward to getting my merit points, so keep working hard," she said.

Ann had an anxious look, waiting for the day of Liam's and the others' exam.

He smiled and asked, "Senior Ann, you're going to get so many merit points because of me... It's not fair that I get nothing."

She narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I want a date with you."

Seeing the determined look in his eyes as he looked straight at her, she became even more interested in his confidence. With a subtle smile, she said, "All right. If you can beat these three, I'll have dinner with you."

"That's all I need." He turned back to his reading, thinking of very different things than Ann.

'If you can really win, it won't be bad for us to go out. It will be my chance to learn more about you.' Ann thought to herself as she returned to her seat, feeling her heart beat faster and her body become a little warmer.

For the next few minutes, she barely paid attention to Liam's three competitors, answering their questions occasionally with little thought, concentrating on watching him. When he finished his last reading, he surprised her by entering one of the glass booths in the classroom.

'Is he going to practice his First Class runes today?' She watched, not long before she saw something different from what she had expected.

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