Chapter 170 - 12-20

Chapter 12: Slave Trade (Yara's POV)

Yara looked the mayor up and down. At first glance, he did not give a suitable first impression. In fact, something about him looked wrong. It wasn't just because he was fat, short, and not very good looking. No, she couldn't find fault with someone's appearance alone, although that did take a couple points off. Instead, what she feared was not something visible. It was more of a feeling. The aura around him just seemed wrong, but she couldn't explain why exactly.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her sister silently pinched her waist. At that, she focused on the mayor, who was droning on with pleasantries. She hadn't even realised he was talking until now.

"-go into the city like that! Such an action out of nowhere made our citizens panic! That bell that was rung earlier was not for the next hour, it was the defense alarm!"

"With all due respect, Mayor Brownwell, we have always been sheltered since young, and we do not know proper conduct in public so well, nevermind in the human lands," Raya interrupted with a steady voice. "Forgive us for crossing any hidden lines, we did not mean ill."

The mayor scratched his scruffy chin for a moment. "Well, I guess that makes sense if that's the case. Still, an apology won't cut it. Your sudden appearance has interrupted thousands of our workers from their duties for at least an hour. The consequences of such actions have lost our city tens of gold. I fear that unless you compensate us for this, then our town will be at a loss from your sudden intrusion."

Yara exchanged bewildered glances with her sister before scrutinizing the mayor with three parts confusion, one part interest, and six parts amusement. She thought she'd seen shamelessness in Razzatar, but the human in front of her was at another level.

First of all, there was no way that every single worker in the city was distracted for an hour. Second, most of them were vendors or service workers, which did not actually generate any income, as their wares could always be bought later. Well, maybe some food would be compromised, but that was a pittance at most. And last, although she did not know how much gold was worth, she knew that even if there were thousands of workers being delayed for an hour, it would only cost maybe two or three gold, and not the tens of gold the mayor said. Plus, it wasn't as if she told those workers to gape at her and her sister. They did that on their own.

Raya seemingly knew that too, but she knew better than to say anything. Instead, she just stared at the mayor with a raised brow. "I know that I'm a demon, but come on, do you really have to be so obvious? Don't you human nobles do things a little more subtly?"

The mayor's expression froze. "Ah, well, that's still the truth, isn't it? I thought you demons liked hearing things straight up. Anyway, what are a few gold coins compared to your wealth?"

Yara's lips twitched at that, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at her sister and let her do the talking, like usual. By the expression on her face, she was sure that she had some words to say, and they probably weren't complimentary.

But before they could progress in their conversation, a servant walked in with a tray in his hand. On top of it was a teapot, along with three partially filled teacups. After setting it on the table, he bowed silently and left the room.

The mayor looked at the departing servant, then shrugged. "Sorry about that. Jonny has always been like that. Anyway, this tea is my favorite. Jenniper leaves, suxie flowers, and uniqua sap. Three very simple ingredients, but they blend to create a wonderful, fresh taste. Why don't you have a try?"

Raya hesitated, but being a guest, she couldn't appear impolite. With a shrug, she took a small sip. Yara upon seeing this, followed suit. After seeing that, the mayor looked much more happy.

"So? How does it taste? Is it good?"

Yara put down the teacup as her face contorted. "Ugh. This tastes horrible, no offense. But I did hear that humans have different tastes than we do."

The mayor just leaned back in his seat casually. "Oh well, it looks like I'll have another critic. It's not the first time I've heard that from someone, nor will it be the last."

Yara nodded, then made some small talk with the mayor. After a few more minutes, she felt like she was gaining some ground on the conversation. The mayor seemed to be on the back foot, and his smile seemed more forced every moment that passed.

Seeing this, she remembered her childhood lessons, and could only silently thank her mother. Thanks to her and her sister's upbringing, they had the required social skills that they needed to deal with people like this. Though she was bored out of her mind when she first had to learn them, she finally started to see the benefits. Of course, in her mind, she still thought the endless hours learning the skills were not worth the effort.

Suddenly, the mayor smiled brilliantly. "Ah, finally, you were both affected. Guards, do as we discussed earlier!"

Both sisters were bewildered by the sudden change, but Yara soon knew what happened. "The tea! Goddamnit, he poisoned us! No wonder he never drank any! I can already feel my muscles turning to jello! Raya, does your spatial ring have anything that can detoxify us?"

Before Raya could respond, the mayor laughed as his five guards stormed in. Once they surrounded him, he looked at the two of them with smugness. "There is no use. Actually, there was a fourth ingredient in the tea I gave you. I won't tell you what it is, but even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm would have trouble getting rid of it. That ingredient was very expensive, but it was worth it for sure. Once I sell you to those slavers, I'll get ten times the amount back! Not to mention that I'll loot your spatial rings once you fall asleep!"

Yara gritted her teeth and tried getting out of her chair, but it was a futile effort. While the mayor was monologuing, she had gotten up, but her legs gave out before she could go anywhere. Even her qi was stagnant and unresponsive. Seeing this, she looked at the mayor with both hatred and despair. She was still wrapping her head around the fact that such a man would dare to offend them with their background. Even if he didn't know who she was, he still saw them arrive in a flying carriage. She never in a million years thought that anyone would dare to kidnap them.

"Don't you know who we are? Aren't you afraid of what will happen if you go through with this?" Raya barked angrily. Unlike her, she wasn't so lucky on her landing when the drug fully kicked in, and looked like a dead dog on the floor. Still, her anger seemed to make the guards tighten their grip on their sheathed swords despite her compromised situation.

The mayor, however, relaxed into his seat with an arrogant smile. "Oh, I don't know who you are. But I'm not afraid of you. Actually, the Black Tiger Sect has a few disciples staying the night here. They are known for their brazen slave trade, despite it being outlawed in most of the empire. Because they live in the border cities, they can get past the ban and publicly trade them. Though it may be audacious to sell demons as slaves right at the border, how can such a thing intimidate the Black Tiger Sect?"

Yara sneered, but her numbing lips made it look more like a grimace. "You moron, we're from the Haithu Secth! I donth think a mthere Blacth Thiger Secth could withthand our Secth's wrath, can thit!? Oh, and my mother ith in the Golthen Core Realmth! Uhh, thupidth poithon! Damn thou!"

The mayor grinned evilly. "Well, it is a good thing that the Black Tiger Sect will not know that until it is too late. Anyway, your mother won't be able to save you so easily. Do you think the other sects will let her trespass so easily? If so, then our empire wouldn't be standing so firmly to this day. As for me, I'll be long gone by then, as well as these five gentlemen here. Isn't that right, boys?"

The guards nodded, their fear having left them at last. One of them was even audacious enough to taunt her. "Heh, the good sir knows exactly what to do! It's too bad we can't try you out, though. Virgins sell for premiums, and it would be a pity to lose so much over a momentary pleasure."

Yara just looked at them with disgust, but didn't say anything. In fact, she wanted to, but her tongue was completely numb. Her vision was already starting to blur, and she knew that she was not going to be conscious for long.

When she came to terms with her situation, she finally felt fear, something foreign to her. After all, she was a cultivator from a strong background, and could not be offended easily, even if she was a demon in hostile territory. The fact that someone even had such a strange poison, let alone drugged her and decided to sell her to slave traders, was something that she was still struggling to process.

However, she did not have long to think about such things. Her vision quickly darkened, and it wasn't long until she lost consciousness. The last thoughts in her mind were of worry, helplessness, and cautious hope.

Hopefully, mother will find a way. Or anyone, for that matter. I just hope the two of us can be rescued before it is too late. Otherwise… I wouldn't know… what to do…with myself…

Chapter 13: Awakening Preparations Complete

"Next!"

Randon stepped forward with a smile. Finally, their team had made it to the front of the line. The mercenaries were also excited, and couldn't stop talking about what they wanted to do when they got in. However, he couldn't tune into their conversation at the moment, as he had to communicate to the guard in front of him.

"Hello, my name is Randon Magna. I heard that I need to register my identity in this city, is that correct?"

"Well, pretty much," The guard responded. "As long as you plan to stay for more than three days, you are required to register your identity. If you don't and you get caught, it won't be good, trust me."

Randon nodded. "I'll do that. By the way, how much is the fee to enter? I have myself and seven others with me."

"That'll be 16 taels for the lot of you."

Randon smiled, then retrieved 16 taels from his backpack. After giving it to the guard, he was given directions on where to go, and was then let through. In mere moments, their group was inside of the thick city walls and walked into the city. 

Upon seeing it, he could only whistle in appreciation. Comparing it to Shad was like comparing a house cat to a tiger, or as the locals liked to say, heaven and earth.

"Ahhh, it's been a while since I've last seen the insides of these walls," Dylan reminisced. "If I remember correctly, there should be a good tavern at the end of this street. Actually, I think I see it already!"

Sabrina, one of the two female mercenaries in the group, chuckled at that. "Ha, looking to get wasted already Dylan? Or do you want to get laid? Or both?"

Dylan sputtered at that, not to mention Randon who started coughing. "What do you mean by that, Sab? I'm a bit old for a one night stand, but I don't mind a good drink! Anyway, you flustered the boy with your antics. What will you do about that?"

Sabrina laughed. "I'm just having fun teasing him while I still can. Who knows if I'll be able to see him again after we depart. But if he's willing, I'll be more than happy to compensate him properly this evening," she teased suggestively, biting her lip while looking him up and down.

This time, both Dylan and Randon stumbled at that. Dylan of course, was able to get his bearings first, as he was used to her antics. Randon however, was taken completely off guard from her words. His eyes widened as his lips tried to form words, but he couldn't get anything past them. He was stunned speechless.

Upon seeing their state, Sabrina giggled again. "Relax, I don't mean much by it. But Randon, I really think you'll grow up into a looker when you grow older. Don't get into too much trouble with the ladies, alright?"

Randon chuckled wryly. "With your teasing, I don't think I'll survive until then."

The three of them bantered on for a while, but ultimately, they went their own ways. Randon specifically, went exploring around the city. Selena, Jahin, and Dylan all had good tips on what places he should visit, and after listening to them, he was intrigued. There were lots of things he could buy, but first, he needed to visit a clothing store. It was time to appear like a real young master.

In such a big city, it didn't take long for him to arrive in front of a clothing store. However, the store seemed to only sell regular garments. Due to that, he didn't bother stopping by and kept going. After a while of searching through stores, he finally found a tailor who was honest enough to give him directions to the kind of place he needed.

20 minutes later, Randon entered a much higher quality clothing store. Of course, it was located in the richer districts, where much wealthier patrons dwelled. Right as he entered, a young man welcomed him at the door with a stiff smile.

"Hello sir, is there anything you need here?"

Randon looked around and nodded with satisfaction. "I need several sets of clothing that'll make me look like the young master type, if you know what I mean."

The young man scratched his head with embarrassment. "Ah, I see. Follow me, sir."

The two of them made their way around the shop, and Randon tried on some articles curiously. Some made him look elegant, some extravagant, and some like a playboy. But through his many options, it took him a while to find a few that looked presentable. After finding four pairs of unique clothing sets, equipping one, and dumping his old set, he thanked the young man and made his way out. 

As he walked around the wealthier section of the city, he finally looked like he fit in. No one gave him dismissive glances, and some passerby even nodded as he made his way past them. In the end, it really seemed that clothes made a difference. The cliche wasn't without merit.

Finally, after another twenty minutes of walking, he made it over to the cultivator section of the city. Like the district he was just from, the shops were expansive and extravagant, selling their wares at prices no working class citizen could think of affording. There were few people walking down the streets, but they all seemed to be wealthy, some even having robes with crests. If he were to guess, he'd bet money that they were sect disciples.

Unlike the wealthy district however, everything seemed to be more militaristic in nature. This was of course, due to the nature of cultivators. Most sects were purposed for fighting, so their purpose in the empire was to defend the borders, fight skirmishes, protect nobles, or fight in duels of honor if the situation called for it. Some cultivators were used as merchants, envoys, or even messengers.

However, not all cultivators were used for their might. There were some sects that were profession based. They usually focused on one major profession, though some focused on multiple, some even on all five. The five major professions represented alchemists, formation masters, artificers, talisman engravers, and beast tamers. There were also many more, but they were not listed as the five major ones, as they were less popular. These professions included spirit farmers, healers, beast tamers, and others.

What Randon needed were two artifacts that were not commonly produced by artificers. The first item was an awakening stone, which was what most sects and noble families used to awaken their children's cultivation talents. The second item was a qi orb, which would determine how much talent one had in the cultivation path after awakening.

Thankfully, although they were not produced very often, there were a few stores that had such items lying around. And though the prices were too high for what he had in his inventory, he quickly rectified that. After the week in the city and the next three weeks he spent traveling, he had a couple dozen charges saved up in his artifact. All it took was a quick trip to the latrine, and suddenly, his backpack was fuller and heavier than it was a minute ago.

After getting everything he needed, Randon made his way to an inn. There, he had a much needed warm meal before he made his way into his room. After he closed the door, he prepared himself to do what he'd been thinking about for the six weeks of his new life. 

Finally, he was going to awaken his cultivation talent!

Chapter 14: Talent and Prospects

"So this is the testing stone?" Randon muttered. In his hands was a round stone with strange symbols carved on it.

According to the book, I have to cut skin and have a drop of my blood land on the stone. Then, I have to hold it tight to my chest and have it stimulate my potential to awaken. It is a good thing that it can be done more than once without any side effects, so I can do it multiple times without worrying. 

Welp, here goes nothing! With a faint curse, Randon put down his dagger after he cut into his chin. With a quick swipe, he brushed his finger onto the stone. As it started glowing, he held it near to his stomach, where his dantian was supposedly located.

Several seconds later, Randon started to feel a subtle heat running through his veins. The heat seemed comfortable enough at first, but it wasn't long until it started to sting. The stinging turned more and more uncomfortable until it felt like it was burning his insides. Just as he was about to yell in pain, the stone flashed white, causing the pain to fade almost immediately. Once that happened, everything went back to how it was before.

At least, it seemed that way on the outside. Randon, however, felt completely different from how he felt earlier. His body felt more alive, and his cells were humming. Even his vision improved slightly. He could see things in more detail and clarity than he had before.

Feeling this, he couldn't help but giggle hysterically with excitement. With these changes, he knew that he'd awakened his talent for cultivation. With a bit of practice each day, he had the potential to reach great heights, gain lifespan, and even look better appearance wise! The benefits of cultivation were numerous, and he couldn't wait to start on his path.

However, the benefits depended on his talent in the end. According to what he learned in that book, there were 12 grades of talent that could be measured by the talent testing orb. The hierarchy included grade F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, Legendary, Divine, and Primordial. Each grade was also separated into 9 tiers, with 1 being the lowest while 9 was the highest.

According to the statistics he found in that book, Randon found out how rare certain talents were. F grade was by far the most seen talent in cultivators, coming in at 80% of all cultivators. After that were the E and D grades, which consisted of 15% and 4% of all cultivators respectively. Sects rarely took in F grade talents, given that rarely any of them made it to the Foundation Establishment Realm, but many warmly accepted E and D grades.

C grades and above were rare and almost unseen. C grades appeared in 0.8% of cultivators, let alone B and A grade talents, which appeared in just 0.17% and 0.027% of cultivators. Any sect would leap at the chance to recruit such talents, especially the B and A grades. Their potential in cultivation gave them a decent chance to reach the Longevity Realms.

Finally, there were the S grades, which were as rare as phoenix feathers, so to speak. S grade talents were the most common by far, their ratio completely different from the grades before. Still, S grade talents were rare, being only 0.00299% of all cultivators. The SS and SSS grades were much rarer, consisting of 0.0000099999% and 0.0000000001% of cultivators.

The last ranks were just purely legends. Testing pearls could not test for such talent, but there were legends of heaven defying geniuses in the past who could do absurd things beyond reason. Only because of these "heaven's children", as they were called, was there a special category for talents above SSS. There were even myths about such ranks being measured in the immortal realm, but the book excused that as mere hearsay, as it probably was.

Randon didn't know what to expect for his talent test, but he was optimistic. After all, he was a transmigrator. There had to be something special about him. Still, he didn't come in his original body, and that was the problem. His current body was just an orphan from a small town orphanage, so how talented could he possibly be?

Well, here we go again. Randon sighed internally. As he reached for the talent testing orb, he muttered whatever prayers he had. Is there a god of luck?If there is, please help me out and give me the best talent! Eh, who am I kidding? I don't need luck.

After his hand hovered over the testing orb, he pinched his wound from before, letting a drop of blood come out. Once it landed on the orb, he took it in his hands and stared intensely at it, waiting to see the letters. At first, there was F1, then F2, F3, and so forth. The F grades shifted upwards continuously until they reached F9, which quickly transformed into E1, signalling that he was at least at E grade. After that, the numbers swiftly increased. E4, then E6, then E9, then finally, D1. Still, the pace did not falter. The tiers did not stop their ascent, or even slow.

As the letters increased in grade, Randon's eyes became ever brighter. As the testing orb ascended to the C grade, his smile widened. After it reached the B grade, his grin turned brilliant. However, after it reached the A grade, his expression turned serious. He knew just how rare and heaven defying S grade talents were. He knew that he couldn't ask for too much, and was happy just for being at the-

Randon's thoughts suddenly stopped as his specs in the testing orb shattered the S rank barrier like nothing. As the numbers increased, his eyes turned ever wider. Finally, as he crossed into the SS rank, his eyes shined like stars.

HELL YES! WOOOO! SS!? And the numbers aren't stopping either! He thought frantically. There's no way I'll reach SSS, right? Well, I am a transmigrator, so… it shouldn't be impossible… Wait a second, I'm almost there! Please, SSS! Give it to me… OH MY GOD, HELL YESSSSS!

Randon started laughing hysterically after the orb reached the SSS grade. He didn't even bother looking at it anymore. Instead, he started dreaming about the future. If what the book said was true, then he was going to be an unparalleled genius. According to the legends, a cultivator that reached even the lowest of the SSS tiers could cultivate to the 9th level of the Qi Condensation Realm in just a matter of weeks without any resources whatsoever. With resources, well, it could only be said to be a blistering ascension up the realms.

Still, that ended up limited to what kind of foundation the said genius decided to have. Apparently, there was no limit to the amount of Qi Condensation Stages there were. As long as one had the resources, they could continuously condense their qi forever. It wasn't uncommon for even normal geniuses to push past the minimum of 9 stages.

However, there were consequences to this. If one pushed their foundation realms too far without the proper resources to continue, then they'd be left to rot. Since the resources weren't possible to obtain or weren't worth the effort, then the force behind them would expel or even kill them. 

Because all three foundation realms required the same amount of stages, then someone who cultivated to the 13th stage of Qi Condensation would also have to reach the 13th stage of Foundation Establishment and Crystal Compression Realms. Since pushing past the basic limits of the foundation realms required an exponential amount of resources, even one or two stages could be a world of difference for a sect or force.

Thankfully, Randon didn't have to worry about that. He had the strange duplication artifact, which would give him infinite resources. Although it had limited space, such a thing wasn't something that bothered him anymore. If his conjecture was correct, he was pretty sure that he had a way to get around that.

I'll have to try that out before I push the limits. But before that, I want to cultivate. It is about time I get started, and- Wait! What was my talent in the end?

Randon tuned out his thoughts as he looked at the testing orb. In front of him sat the fated specs he expected: SSS9. A talent that hadn't been seen in generations, despite the incredible population of the world.

There was still one question that remained, however. Was his talent SSS9, or even greater? And if so, how much greater? How absurdly fast could legendary grade talents cultivate, or even divine or primordial grade talents?

"Welp, that is more than one question," Randon muttered excitedly. "Anyway, it seems like there's only one way to find out. Today, I'll begin a legendary journey!"

Chapter 15: Intertwining Fates (Raya's POV)

Raya glared furiously at the two disciples. If they even gave her a sliver of a chance in escaping, she would take it and swear revenge. In fact, if she could, she wouldn't even decide to escape immediately. Instead, she would try to kill them while she could, regardless of the consequences.

Normally, she wouldn't do something so extreme and dangerous. As a young mistress of the sect, she never considered violence as a means of solving issues properly. However, the way they treated the both of them was truly on another level of cruelty. The two young cultivators seemed only to care about their perceived worth at auction. If they could get away with humiliating them, then they did it unrestrainedly.

There were three main acts the two disciples did that infuriated her. Firstly, they would intentionally play with their emotions regarding food. In the best cases, they purposely gave them leftover scraps, and at worst, nothing. Sometimes, they even forced her to eat bark and leaves, under the threat of punishment. It was all done for their own amusement, of course.

Secondly, they made them play ridiculous games when they could. The game was random and usually made up on a whim, but they usually led to her humiliation in some way. She tried her best to avoid such a fate, but the two played dirty. Sometimes, they changed the rules on a technicality, and other times, on a whim. There were even times where they had them choose who got the worst circumstances. She, of course, chose to bear the consequences. After all, she was the one responsible for being led on, and she felt incredibly guilty. She figured that it was at least a small way of repaying her debts, even if her sister refused to see it that way.

Finally, the last and most hateful thing the two did, was interrupt their sleep randomly with no apparent warning. Though that was usually not too much of a problem for the two of them due to their current cultivation, they still needed sleep. Unfortunately, they didn't even have qi to delay the effects of sleep deprivation, as it was frozen by the slave collars around their necks. After a few days of harassment, their state of mind was sluggy and cloudy. The constant exhaustion was not helping their mental health too much, either.

In the end, after just 8 days of that, they were completely and utterly humiliated. However, there was at least one silver lining. For some reason, the two of them didn't touch them inappropriately. Thanks to that, both her and Yara still had their dignity intact. The reason was probably due to their higher perceived value by being "untouched" or "unseen", but the fact that they had this as a bottom line was enough to keep her and her sister's sanity intact at the very least.

Just as she was pondering her dilemma, an annoying voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Raya and Yara, right? Looks like you are in luck. We're about to arrive at Renast, which will be where we sell you. Heh, if you get lucky, your new owner won't be cruel, but don't expect to keep your dignity. You'll be broken in soon, you sluts! After all, we are selling you two in one batch! Imagine the profit we can make when they discover that you're twins, hahahaha! I can already feel the gold in my grasp!"

Raya wanted to curse the man's ancestors, but she gritted her teeth instead. She already learned the hard way when she did that. Instead, she looked at her sister. As expected, Yara was worse for wear. Her head already hung in defeat, and her eyes were dark and bleak. It appeared that she already lost hope of her rescue.

Seeing that, she decided to cheer her up. "Sis, don't look so down. Whatever happens, we will get justice eventually. Mom will find a way, okay?"

Yara looked back at her with a brittle smile that made her heart drop. "I'm afraid it's too late now. If mom could find us, she would have by now. She probably ran into some trouble at the border, and is otherwise occupied. Also, the pills' effects have already expired two days ago, and the lust is already clouding my mind. By the time we are at auction, it would be a miracle if we still had our reason with us."

Raya frowned, but couldn't fault the logic. After thinking about it for a bit, she could only trudge on silently. However, Yara's words didn't dampen her spirit. The future was indeed bleak, but it didn't mean that she couldn't at least afford a little hope.

(Randon's POV)

"Huh, this definitely isn't normal," Randon muttered, blinking with utter disbelief.

After cultivating for just 15 minutes or so, he already managed to break through to the 2nd Stage of Qi Condensation. Such a speed was so ridiculous that he still couldn't believe it. In fact, he reckoned that anyone in the world would be flabbergasted at the speed he was cultivating. If things persisted at this pace, he was sure to make it to the lesser limit of Qi Condensation in just several hours' worth of cultivation!

Unfortunately, because of how cultivation worked, Randon couldn't do that. Since meridians heated up during cultivation, there was a maximum limit of cultivation time for most cultivators before they had to take a few hours' break. Most more experienced cultivators could go on for a couple hours at least, but since he just started using his meridians, they weren't used to the stress. Because of that, he was already starting to feel meridian fatigue symptoms.

Due to that, he decided to call it quits for the moment and allow them some respite. In the meanwhile, he decided to take a bath. After breaking through to the next stage, his body was covered in impurities, and being covered in sticky, smelly goo was not fun. Thankfully, the inn in which he stayed had indoor baths, which made everything much easier for him in terms of convenience.

Though when he passed by a nearby mirror, he stopped in absolute shock. No way, is that me? What the actual fuck!? Why do I look like I went through puberty for a couple years!? He screamed internally with confusion and excitement. This must be a side effect of cultivation! Well, I won't complain about that! This'll actually help me a lot!

Being in an even better mood than before, Randon disrobed his soiled clothing and lowered himself in the lukewarm bath. Once he got all the way in, he sighed in relief. The impurities on his body were already coming loose, which was a better situation than he expected.

After a few more minutes of relaxing and gentle cleaning, Randon made his way back to his room. Upon sensing that his meridians were still fatigued and a little sore, he decided to go outside again. There were a few things that needed doing, and since he had the free time to do them, he decided to get them done. The sun was going to set soon, so he only had enough time to complete a few errands at best.

One thing that Randon needed immediately was a spatial ring. The amount of gold he could duplicate far exceeded his carrying capacity, and he didn't want to use a wheelbarrow to bring in his sacks of gold coins to the local bank. Doing such a thing was just asking for attention and potential trouble, even in the richer districts. Having a spatial ring would not only make his load lighter and extend his carrying capacity of supplies, but it would also hide his wealth. Such a thing was number one on his priority list, with spirit pearls being the second.

His train of thoughts were interrupted as he spotted something unusual coming his way. What interested him wasn't the unusual carriage with the black tiger insignia, but the two shackled beings walking next to it. They clearly weren't humans, given their purple skin and lush black hair-

"Huh, looks like those Black Tiger disciples still have fresh demon slaves," A man near him stated out loud, drawing him out of his thoughts. "I thought for sure the skirmish ended a couple months ago, though. It seems a bit late for there to be any left."

"Demons, huh?" Randon replied curiously. "So that's how they look. Interesting."

The man near him smirked. "Heh, you must be new around here if you haven't seen a demon yet. It isn't that rare for someone of status to keep a demon as a slave here, so you see them every once in a while. These demons, though, are a different story, I'm afraid. Since they are in the Black Tiger Sect's entourage, they're probably going to be sold at the Rossier Auction."

"Rossier Auction?" Randon questioned. "Is that the local auction in this city? Do you perhaps know what they usually sell there, sir?"

"You can call me Zane," the man started. "As for what they have, they usually sell a lot of interesting items there, both cultivation and non cultivation based. Herbs, weapons, slaves, talismans, hell, even other people's debts are sold there on occasion. Every auction starts at the beginning of the month, so the next one starts in 4 days, at noon. If you are interested in attending, you can find the auction house by the intersection of 4th Street and Brail Street."

Randon nodded, smiling. "Thanks for the help, Zane. I appreciate the info."

"No problem, no problem," Zane smiled back. However, his smile didn't reach his eyes. Randon only noticed what he wanted when he blatantly held his hand out.

Ah, damn it, you got me! Randon smirked internally. Most people would have been a bit irked, but he didn't feel that way. After all, he had infinite money. Even giving the man a few gold coins wouldn't hurt his wallet, let alone a few coppers. He wasn't a prodigal son though, so he just gave the man an owl before bidding him farewell.

As he made his way to the cultivation district of the city, he couldn't help but think of the upcoming auction. Rossier Auction, huh? Sounds pretty interesting, count me in!

Chapter 16: Rossier Auction

After getting a spatial ring, things became much simpler for Randon. The ring was an absolute miracle in many ways, and made his life much easier. Thanks to it, he could bring out furniture, supplies, or even fresh food as if it were just cooked a minute ago.

The sheer convenience of the artifact allowed him to focus wholeheartedly on his cultivation. For the next four days, all he did was cultivate, eat, bathe, use the facilities, and sleep. Because of this and his extraordinary talent, he made crazy progress. 

On the first day alone, he broke through from the 2nd stage of Qi Condensation to the 6th stage. The next day had him break through from the 6th stage to the 9th stage, and the day after the 9th to the 12th stage. Finally, on the last day, he reached the 14th stage of Qi Condensation, with considerable progress toward the 15th stage. His strength was leagues ahead of what it was before, and it made even the cool headed Randon a little arrogant.

However, cultivation wasn't all he did. Apart from the occasional stroll and exploration around the city, he spent his remaining time on his daily workouts. Even though he was a cultivator, he saw no reason to stop the grind. With the use of mental suppression over his own qi, he found lifting dumbbells was still as hard as before, and that meant more gains. Though it had no real use to him out of aesthetics anymore, he didn't let that stop him. He had nothing to do anyway, and working towards an aesthetically pleasing, toned, and chiseled body didn't hurt. He was already starting to see the difference in his physique.

Despite the intense grind throughout the last few days, Randon woke up refreshed the following day. After a little morning workout and a relaxing bath, he made his way outside the inn. On his waist was his coin pouch, but that was just a disguise. His real wealth was hidden within his spatial ring, which had hundreds of gold coins. Due to his current strength, he no longer had reservations about keeping so much of his wealth on him.

After having a nice scenic walk around the city, and definitely not due to him being lost, he finally arrived at the Rossier Auction House. The auction was no small thing, and many people crowded the entrance. It took him no small effort to get around everyone without causing any problems.

Once he made his way inside, he couldn't help but admire the architecture. The ceiling and walls seemed to be made out of quartz, and the floor some kind of volcanic stone. Apart from that, there were a variety of staircases. Some of them looked to be big enough for multiple people on each step, while others seemed much smaller in size. If he were to guess, he'd say that the bigger ones led to the public auction seats, while the smaller stairs led to private and VIP booths.

"Hello, how can I help you, sir?" A female attendant asked after spotting him.

Randon blinked as he faced in her direction. "Hi. I would like to join today's auction. Also, if possible, how do I get a private booth? I like discretion if possible, and I heard that that feature is possible with private or VIP booths."

The lady nodded with a smile. "That is indeed correct. Please follow me, sir."

After that interaction, he made his way to a private room, where he got some more of his questions answered. According to the lady, private booths were 1,000 taels a piece, while the VIP booth was available through membership. To get a membership required not only spending a million taels at auction, but an identity and connections. Of course, enough money could solve such problems if he really wanted such privileges.

But Randon didn't do any of that. He was more than happy to pay the fee for the private suite. VIP status was not something that really made a difference for him, as all it did was provide some refreshments, more comfortable seating, and a servant. Still, the idea of having a servant to do whatever he wanted was tempting to his young mind. It took more willpower than he was willing to admit to dismiss trying for VIP status.

Once everything was settled, Randon sat down in his little room with a sigh. His current net worth was inestimable, but he reckoned that he had around 1,000 gold coins in his spatial ring, with around a third of them being phoenixes. In terms of taels, that was around 8 million, give or take.

However, that was just the tip of his wealth. Most of his wealth was spent on low grade spirit pearls earlier on, which he got for 1 million taels apiece. Because he bought 3 of them yesterday and used up four out of his six remaining charges to duplicate them, that brought his total to 81 spirit pearls. With that and his gold, he had a net worth of around 90 million taels. 

And that wasn't even counting the 3 remaining charges on his duplication bowl, as well as his 7 other spatial rings. If he had to factor all of that, his total possible wealth was already nearing 1 billion taels. Such a worth was more than enough to buy a majority of the items presented combined, if needed. Of course, he didn't think that was going to happen, so he left his remaining charges unused.

Randon zoomed out of his thoughts for a moment as the announcer commenced his speech. The older man stated the rules of the auction, as well as the appropriate behavior and sportsmanship etiquette. When he finished, he bowed, then made his way back into the hall.

After another minute, another figure went to center stage. This time, it was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that. In fact, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in person. With her revealing dress, she was a magnet for attention, especially for the men. Most of them looked at her in appreciation, and some even left the venue upon seeing her. Apparently, they'd only showed up just to catch a glimpse.

Seeing that, Randon chuckled out loud. The woman was probably there to boost sales, and it appeared to be working already. If he were to guess, he'd reckon that she'd use tricks to arouse the men throughout the auction so that they'd compete with one another for her favor. There was no shortage of simps, and it appeared to be no different here.

"Hello everyone, and thank you for your attendance today," The vixen smiled. "I am Anastasia, and I will be your host for the day. Please be civil and follow the directions. If you decide to break the rules or even cause a minor disruption, the auction house is allowed to kick you out. So keep that in mind before we start. We have had such incidents before, and it does not bode well for anyone involved."

Anastasia then spread her hands. "Anyway, with that out of the way, let's begin today's auction! The first item on the list is the Aurora Sword, a 4 star, tier 1 sword forged by none other than Blacksmith Ironhammer of the Rubicon Guild! I'm sure that many of you have heard of his famed craftsmanship, have you not? His quality is superb for its grade, and this sword is no different! It will serve well for any swordsman under the Foundation Establishment Realm, and won't break so easily even if used by Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"Other than that, the sword is balanced evenly and weighs 15 pounds. In emergencies, if infused with qi, the sword will become extremely brittle almost instantly. Upon contact, the blade will shatter into a much shorter blade. If you happen to catch your enemy by surprise, it can be used for a well timed killing blow!"

Taking a deep breath, Anastasia paused for a moment as her gaze swept over the audience. "Because of its incredible craftsmanship and lifesaving inscription, this sword will start at 30k taels, with a minimum bid increment of 1,000 taels! The bid begins now!"

Almost immediately, bidders placed their bids on the sword. The increments weren't always the lowest, either. It wasn't long until the price ascended past 50k taels, then 60k. After a few more back and forths, the sword ultimately landed in the possession of a man in one of the other private booths for a staggering 65k taels. However, by the sound of the man's triumphant shout, they seemed quite happy with that.

After the sword was sold, Randon spaced out for a bit. The first item was just the appetizer, and the next items were not very useful for cultivators. Most things sold were just flashy trinkets, though there was the occasional land deed and bad debt receipt mixed in. It wasn't until another hour passed that the auction finally arrived at the good stuff.

"Alright folks, time for a quick 10 minute intermission." Anastasia smiled brightly. "Once the 10 minutes are over, we will start the second part of the auction. For anyone not a cultivator, these items will not have any use. So, if you don't want anything, you are free to leave once you check out. As for the others, prepare yourselves. We will have 23 items to sell, and they will be listed in the brochure. If you would like to acquire the said brochure, please just ask the nearby staff, and they will provide it for you."

Randon sighed, then stretched his muscles. Now that the boring part was over, his excitement grew. 23 items weren't a ton, but they weren't too little either. Any item at such an auction had to be at least somewhat special. If what he hoped for became true, he'd be walking out of the auction with much lighter pockets.

Chapter 17: Scythe, Robes, and Twins

Randon's eyes gleamed with interest as he looked the brochure up and down. There were many items that seemed tempting to bid on. Among them were talismans, pills, and even formation discs. 

But… no demon slaves. Seems like Zane was wrong, I guess. Unless the so-called mystery item are the two demons themselves?

Upon thinking about it for a bit longer, he decided to dismiss his concerns. As of now, he needed to choose what to get before he had any other thoughts. There were multiple items that interested him, but the intermission wouldn't last too much longer. He had to come to a decision, and fast.

After looking up and down the list again, Randon came up with three items that he favored. The first was a scythe, something he thought was super cool. He always liked scythe based heroes, and the scythe on the brochure reminded him of them. If he could become a badass scythe wielder, he surely would. Just thinking about it made his blood boil. He already pictured future legends of himself, cleaving mountains and seas like a dark overlord. The god of death would certainly become an awesome legend.

The second item he wanted was a mysterious formation plate found in the ruins of a Tier 1 Sect. It wasn't clear on what it did exactly, but it seemed to be made for some kind of combined attack. Most likely, it was a war formation, something that could be used by multiple people in cohesion to increase their cohesion and fluidity. Though it had no real use for him now, he thought that it was interesting. If the price wasn't too ridiculous, he was more than eager to get his hands on it and study how it worked.

As for the last item, it was a robe. However, it wasn't a regular robe. According to the brochure's description, it was a type of enchanted armor. Depending on how much qi was injected, it could block attacks from mere mortals to even cultivators at the 6th Stage of Foundation Establishment. The armor wouldn't exactly block the blow 100%, but the vast majority of an attack's power would be deflected as long as the qi was sufficient. In essence, it was a treasure that could protect his life, and that was something he needed desperately.

It wasn't long after he made such a decision that the auction began. Anastasia, the woman from before, entered with the same seductive sway she performed last time. In her hands was a spatial ring, and by the looks of it, it was where all of the items were stored.

That was confirmed a moment later when she summoned a stack of talismans in her hand. She looked around the venue before starting her introductory greeting again. "Hello again everyone, and welcome to the second stage of today's auction!"

"The first items that will be presented today are 20 Thunderbolt Talismans!" She shouted as she held them in the air. "These talismans, when injected with qi, will summon a bolt of lighting in whatever direction you point it at. Once it is fully charged, you'll be able to hold onto the charge for up to 5 seconds before releasing. The power output is equivalent to the 9th Stage of Qi Condensation. Bids start at 300k taels, with increments of 5,000 taels, starting now!"

Randon eyed the talismans curiously, but he decided not to pitch his own bid. There were talisman shops everywhere, and it wasn't like he needed them urgently at the moment. By the time he left the city, he was sure that they'd be useless to him given his incredible progress.

In the end, the talismans sold for a whopping 545k taels to a VIP customer. The sheer amount of taels it took to buy them would have been astounding for the past him, but the current him just smirked disdainfully at the numbers. His current wealth in just gold was around 8 million taels, not to mention his cache of spirit pearls. Just the gold alone was enough to get him dozens of Foundation Establishment talismans if he so desired.

After the talismans were sold, a few more treasures were auctioned, but none that interested him. Most of them were weapons with unique features, but there was the occasional pill mixed in. Still, their effects were mundane or not needed for the current him, so he decided to forgo getting them. Instead, he just relaxed in his seat and didn't place a single bid.

That was, until the 13th item showed up. When the scythe was presented, he sat up in his chair with interest. The weapon looked beautiful and deadly both, and he felt a desire to have it for himself. Unlike the others, the Moonveil Scythe wasn't merely a tier 1 weapon. Instead, it was a 5 star tier 2 weapon, which had the durability to hold back opponents nearing the Crystal Compression Realm. Even though he cultivated quickly, he knew that such a weapon would last him for at least a month, if not longer.

"This next weapon is more unique than its predecessors," Anastasia began with a smirk. "The Moonveil Scythe is at the 2nd tier, and is at the pinnacle of its tier. I'd dare say that it could hold back even early Crystal Compression Realm experts for some time. That's not the best part, however, as this weapon contains an interesting enchantment. With the injection of qi, the scythe can convert your qi into heat. With enough qi invested, the scythe can form a heated edge that will cut through many items. And don't worry about damaging the enchantment by overloading it, as the artificer who enchanted it created a limit to prevent that."

"Due to these overwhelming qualities, the price can only be correspondingly high," Anastasia smirked. "The opening bid will start at 1.3 million taels, with an increment of 50k taels. Bidding starts now!"

"1.4 million!" Randon shouted immediately, hoping that his higher starting bid would intimidate his opponents. However, that didn't work, as someone from a nearby VIP box immediately raised it by another 100k taels.

"1.6 million!"

"1.65 mill-"

"2 spirit pearls!" A VIP shouted suddenly, silencing everyone with shock. Even Randon looked at the VIP with surprise. He didn't know that spirit pearls could be used for bidding, so the fact that he gave such a bid was unexpected.

Seeing the silence, Anastasia decided to butt in. "Spirit pearls at current market value are worth 900k taels. Given that, this bid counts as 1.8 million taels. Would anyone like to bid further?"

"2 million!" Randon shouted immediately, not even giving her time to count down.

The silence lasted for a moment, but it was quickly broken by the same VIP from before. "Young man, whoever you are, you should think carefully before bidding again. I am from the Black Tiger Sect and-"

His voice suddenly choked as a tremendous pressure surged from the center of the auction. As Randon looked down, he realized that it came from none other than the hostess herself.

"Customer, threats are not allowed at the Rossier Auction!" She shouted coldly. "I hope you understand your mistake. Otherwise, if this happens again, you will be banned for 3 months and will pay the appropriate damages! Have I made myself clear?"

Once she finished, her aura retreated to how it was before. This seemingly allowed the VIP to speak freely, as he shakily apologized for the offense.

This seemed to placate the vixen, as her frosty look melted back into her usual expression. "Well then, does anyone else want to up the bid? I'll commence the sale in 3…2…1… sold to private guest number 36 for 2 million taels!"

Randon sighed in relief. He didn't want to be put into a troublesome situation like those infamous MCs, so he felt relieved when he got away scott free. It was a good thing that the auction managers had an actual spine, and weren't like those he read about who just bent over backwards to anyone of any background.

After that little incident, the auction was relatively straightforward. Right after the scythe, were the defensive armor robes, which he happily won. It ended up costing more than even most tier 2 treasures, but he took the deal happily. 1.1 million taels might have been a lot for some, but to him, it was hardly worth mentioning. The only thing that he felt a little miffed about was the fact that he couldn't get a good deal on the war formation. Some guy bought it for tens of millions of taels, and he wasn't in the mood to waste so much money just to study some random formation he couldn't even use.

Finally, after all the listed treasures were sold, Anastasia stood still, adding a little anticipatory tension in the crowd. When it seemed the crowd would burst from impatience, she grinned impishly. "Everyone, it seems that we have finally gotten to the mystery item! So without further ado, let's present the goods! Raya, Yara, come out and say hello!"

Chapter 18: Rescuing the Twins

A trapdoor in the center of the stage opened up immediately. Moments later, two beings climbed the stairs to the surface, showcasing themselves to all the spectators around. Their appearance was obviously not human, given their purple skin, spaded tails, and ink black hair. They were the demon slaves from before, and were the final item to be auctioned.

"As you can see, these are demons from Razzatar," Anastasia started. "But, they aren't just any demons. We have done extensive testing, and we found some very interesting details about them. Not only are these beautiful demons at the 8th Stage of Qi Condensation, but they are twins as well! Oh, and they are virgins, of course! I'm sure that a lot of you understand why buying them would be a tempting deal, don't you?"

Seeing the wide eyed and lecherous stares from some of the bidders, she smiled with satisfaction. "By the way, if any of you have doubts about their controls, don't worry. These collars are wired very specifically to prevent betrayal. If there is any killing intent released by these slaves, the collar will punish them with unimaginable agony, using their own spiritual energy for the torture. Even if the target runs out of spiritual energy, the collars will use the surrounding spiritual energy as fuel. If that isn't enough, there is a third collar that the master can wear. That collar is in control of the two others, and will torture the said demons until they follow their master's orders."

"Anyhow, although this is not as good as a true slave contract, this is just a stopgap measure. If the destined owner wants, they can immediately finish the process at a contract pavilion for a more stable ownership," Anastasia continued. Seeing the understanding in the audience's eyes, she continued, "Since the collars come with the package, the minimum bid will start at 5 million taels, and the increment 250k taels. Bids start now!"

Immediately, the bids came roaring in. VIPs and those in private booths battled amongst each other, raising bids left and right. It didn't take long for the bids to soar over 10 million, the bidders not even slowing down.

Randon frowned at the sight. He thought that there would be at least a minimum standard for decency among slaves, but that did not turn out to be the case. Instead, the auctioneer didn't even hesitate to call them for their feminine temptations, eagerly highlighting what they were intended for. The fact that she didn't even care about being discreet made him reel in disgust.

There's no way I'm letting such a thing happen under my watch. Randon concluded solemnly. No matter how much it will end up costing, I'll have to buy them. After that, I guess I'll have to figure out how to get those collars off. But before I do that, I'd like to get a background check on them just in case. Who knows if they really were really innocent or actual criminals in the end?

With that, Randon decided to call the next bid. Since the last bid was at 15 million taels, he decided to be bold. "20 million taels!" He shouted, putting the bidding to a momentary halt.

However, it paused only momentarily.

"21 million!"

"21.5 million!"

"22 million!"

Suddenly, a voice roared out from the VIP box. "30 million! I'll raise anyone who bids against me, count my words!"

Seeing that the bidding went completely silent, the hostess's eyes gleamed darkly. However, she didn't do anything. The man was just announcing his strategy, and that was technically aloud. So all she could do was frown.

Randon took this in, and looked around. Apparently, no one challenged the man with other bids. The jump of 8 million and his shocking words were too much even for those at the current auction venue. However, the same didn't apply for him.

"40 million!" He shouted, causing everyone to look in his direction with shock. Even the hostess was bewildered by the raise.

The other VIP didn't seem to be taking it too well, and he raised him again, this time with visible anger. "50 million!"

"60 million!" Randon matched him calmly.

"No, I refuse to believe that a private guest like you can afford so much!" The VIP suddenly shouted. "If you have that much on you, I'll let you win this bid! But if you don't, you know the rules! You'll be banned for life, and blacklisted from every other auction house in the empire! I hope-"

Anastasia suddenly released her aura again, interrupting the man's shouts. "VIP in box 8, since you want to disrupt this auction so badly, then so be it! However, you must know what happens if the guest in question does have the proper amount, no? Not only will you be temporarily banned for 3 months, but you'll have to pay 10% of the item's total value to the guest in apology! Are you still sure you want to go through with this?"

"I am!" The VIP affirmed. "I will accept all consequences if he actually has the money he says he does!"

Anastasia nodded. "Alright. I will have one of my staff see for themselves whether the guest has the funds available. For everyone who hasn't bought anything, if you do not want to wait and see what happens in this drama, you may leave. As for those who did, a staff member will come by shortly and confirm your order. Thank you all for attending this auction today, and I hope to see you in the future."

With that, almost everyone not in private booths decided to leave. Some VIPs and private guests probably left as well, but Randon couldn't exactly tell who. They were blocked off from sight, so he could only speculate.

Anyway, considering everyone's reactions, he concluded that the drama wasn't that big of a deal. If it really mattered that much, he reckoned that there would be at least a few more spectators. The fact that there weren't meant that such a situation wasn't too rare.

Oh shit! I need to duplicate my spatial ring before the staff counts my money! Randon suddenly thought grimly. Looking through the window, he exhaled in relief. No one was coming over yet, so he still had some time left. With practiced ease, he quickly duplicated his ring.

After using all 3 charges, he immediately dumped most of the gold on the ground. Though the spatial rings could carry infinite weight, they only had so much space for storage. His spatial ring specifically only had 16 cubic feet of space given their grade, and gold took much more space than spirit pearls. The more he could get rid of, the better, as he'd eventually need every bit of space he had left soon enough.

Not long after he situated the gold, someone opened on the door from outside. He was a man seemingly in his thirties, but the aura he revealed made it seem otherwise. Given his projected strength, Randon felt like the man was somewhere near the Crystal Compression Realm, if not already in it. He wasn't too good at reading auras, so he couldn't really tell the man's exact cultivation.

"Hello young master, I am the appraiser. As you know, I am here to see if you have the funds to purchase the demon slaves," the man stated. He then looked at the pile of gold on the floor with an awkward cough. "This is quite the pile you have. But looking at this, I cannot say for certain if it matches the amount proposed. Do you have anything else to offer as collateral? Don't worry about revealing your wealth, I am sworn to secrecy by a blood contract. Not one word about you will escape this room, and whatever you offer as collateral will be fairly traded, mark my words."

Randon nodded. "Yes, I do have more with me. But, is there any way to count all of this? I don't exactly know how many taels this pile of gold is worth."

The man just laughed. "Ah, that's an easy fix. Here, take a look at this!" Saying that, the man pulled out a strange treasure the size of a horse, then infused his qi into it. All of the sudden, it turned into some kind of strange vacuum cleaner. All of the gold in sight was immediately sucked in once the treasure got close enough to it. As the gold disappeared, a number started growing on the display, consistently increasing in proportion. Finally, when everything was sucked in, the display stopped at a certain number.

"According to the counter, the pile adds up to 60.992 million taels. After your 3 purchases, your total owed comes out to be 63.1 million taels. What remains to be paid is a total of 2.108 million taels."

Randon nodded, then summoned three spirit pearls from his spatial ring. After giving them to the man, the counter ejected a number of coins into the man's waiting pouch. It wasn't long before everything was settled.

"Alright, since you really have the funds, you'll get your 6 million taels in reparations soon enough," the man smiled. "Just wait here for a moment, and I'll be right back with your items and gold."

Once the man left, Randon exhaled slightly. His mind was still catching up with his decisions, and he knew that things would not be the same for a while. 

Welp, my privacy is gone now. When I take care of the demons, I'll have to be careful in not exposing my talent. My cultivation will probably stall because of this. Randon complained internally. 

Definitely worth it, though. Saving some demon baddies is kind of awesome!

Chapter 19: Awkward Conversations (Yara's POV)

Yara dragged her feet as she followed Lucien, one of the staff, up the stairs to meet her new master. She expected to be afraid at this point, but all she felt was emptiness and a deep helplessness. After everything she'd gone through alongside her sister, she had already lost all sense of struggle.

The final straw wasn't the humiliating test of her virginity, nor the constant beatdowns by the two Black Tiger Sect disciples. Not even the news of her mother's recklessly determined defeat at the border really pushed her over the edge. In the end, what really broke her was the slave contract she would soon receive. If, no, when her new owner decided to become her master with that, she would be forever bound to them. 

Once that happened, her master would have control over her life and death. If they ended up too far from each other, she would slowly die. If she harbored killing intent towards them, she would be tortured. If her master ended up dying, she would die as well. And the worst part was that there was no way to break a slave contract that she knew of. Once it was done, she would be forever bound and forever shackled.

Yara was dragged out of her internal miseries when Lucien stopped. It was only then that she realized where they were. In front of them was the fated door to the private box, the final barrier between her and her new master. When that door opened, she would finally know who she would spend the rest of her life with.

While she watched gloomily, Lucien knocked on the door. "Young master, I have brought you the two slaves, along with the collar to control them."

The door opened, and a young man appeared behind it. "Thank you, sir. You may leave the slaves here. I'll take it from here."

Lucien gave him the collar, then turned around to the two of them with an expressionless look. "This is your new owner from now, demons. Take care not to offend him, and try your best to make him happy. After all, he paid a lot for you, so I don't believe he won't sign a slave contract with the two of you."

With that, he made their way past them. After he was gone, Yara finally had a good look at her new master. When she looked him over, her eyes widened slightly. She was expecting someone older, and perhaps less handsome. However, what she got was completely the opposite of that.

The man in front of her wasn't handsome enough to turn heads on the street, but she wouldn't dare say he wasn't pleasing to look at. His tussled brown hair, paired with his gentle blue eyes and sharp brows completed his look well. His body was a bit on the thin side, but his dress and composure made it look natural. All in all, he was young, handsome, and his cultivation-

Yara's eyes widened in shock when she felt his qi fluctuations. Is he going for a higher grade foundation? He definitely is above the minimum threshold! As for how much higher he is, I can only guess. But he must be at least at the 12th stage, if not higher!

"Uh, hello?" The young man spoke, startling her out of her thoughts. Looking at the both of them, he spoke warmly, "As you might have guessed, I'm owed 6 million taels by the man in the VIP box. So, while we wait for him to pay up, come inside and have a seat. I'd like to introduce myself and lay out some ground rules for the future for the both of you."

Yara exchanged glances with her sister, then shrugged. After coming in and seeing only one seat, she sat down on the floor. Raya immediately joined her, patting her shoulder in reassurance. However, what she didn't expect was that the young man would also sit down next to them. The fact that he sat down with them and not on his comfortable chair raised her impression of him a few notches.

The young man looked between the two of them, then smiled. "First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Randon Magna, and I am not affiliated with any family or sect. When we are indoors, please just call me Randon." Randon then grimaced. "But when we are outside, you must call me master. Calling me by name would be a bit telling about our relationship, and I don't really trust people in this city to be so open minded. I hope you can understand."

Yara was stunned at the response. Upon sneaking a glance at her sister, she realized that she, too, was shocked. But not unpleasantly so. "Mast-Uh, young master Randon, my name is Raya, and my sister is Yara. We are both in your care," Raya bowed, her head touching the ground. "Please treat us well, and we will do what you want of us without complaint."

"Don't bow to me, now or ever." Randon hurriedly said as he stopped Raya from bowing. "You can trust me in the fact that I won't treat you badly. Honestly, I find slavery repulsing, and don't want anything to do with it. I only bought the two of you because I found your situation pitiful. So if you don't mind, just consider our relationship similar to that of a generous young master and his two servants for now."

Yara felt the tension ease from her shoulders at that. Finally, she could feel a bit of hope for her situation. Maybe he isn't like the others. If he is as good as he seems to be, there might be a chance for everything to go back to the way it was before!

(Randon's POV)

Randon tried very hard not to look at the two demons' tails. They intrigued him, and he continued to be distracted by them. The alien appendages were straight out of myth after all, and their sashaying movements kept turning his eyes. After getting his introductions out of the way, he just had to ask about them.

"Sorry, but can I ask about your tails? I don't know much about demons, so I can only ask about them directly. I've heard that they are very important to you, but I don't exactly know why."

Raya blinked, then chuckled at that. "That is a weird thing to ask about, but we don't mind the question. Our tails are basically our lifeline. If you didn't already know, we demons are all females. The only way to birth new children is by injecting our tails into another demon, or doing it the regular way with another race. Apart from that, we also need them for balance."

Randon nodded awkwardly. "Ah, yeah, makes sense. That solves some of my misunderstandings. While we're on this topic, is there anything about you two that you'd think I'd need to know? As you can see, I don't know much about your race, nor any others for that matter."

Yara sighed, then spoke hesitantly. "Actually, there is. If you didn't know, us demons have a problem with our lust, and we need lust suppressant pills to help deal with that. The auction house gave us a temporary fix to that, but we aren't sure how long that would last exactly. If we don't get any such pills before the appropriate time, we'd need to, uh, well-"

"Don't worry, I'll get something for that," Randon gently interrupted. "In fact, I can get whatever you guys used here at the auction house. They should have at least enough to last you two for a while longer."

Both demons seemed to be relieved at that. But before they could ask anything else, a feminine voice resounded through the door. "Sir, I'm here to give you your compensation."

Randon got up and quietly opened the door. "Hello, miss. For the compensation, can I get it in spirit pearls, or do I have to get it in gold?"

"We can do spirit pearls, sir. But since you are getting 6 million taels, that will make your change 6 spirit pearls and 30 phoenixes. Is that acceptable?"

Randon nodded. "Certainly. Oh, and is it possible to buy some lust suppressing pills for my two demons? They've told me that the pill you gave them will only last a few hours longer, sooo…"

The lady looked at the two demonesses, then looked back at him confusedly. "Actually, this is the first time I've heard anyone ask for such things. Usually, our buyers take them back to their residence and have their way with them on the same day. So, before selling them, we use heilu extract to suppress their lust, then have it unravel slowly when in contact with the male in question. Depending on the pheromones, the demons in question will take around 3-5 hours to go into a heightened arousal state, where they would be susceptible to enjoy even the fattest, ugliest men. Seeing that you are a young man, it will probably take effect around 3 hours from now."

Randon looked back at the demons, only to see their horrified expressions. "Uh, so, do you have the pills to suppress such effects or not?" He asked. For some reason, he felt a bad premonition for the near future.

"Sir, we do have such things, but they won't work, not this time," The lady said, her professional smile giving way to slight embarrassment. "Heilu extract cannot be counteracted with simple lust suppressing pills. The means to counteract it doesn't exist, or at least, I've never heard of them."

Randon's brows creased as he frowned at the response. "So, you're telling me that they'll go into a lustful frenzy, and there's nothing that I can do about it?"

The lady just shrugged. "You don't need to. If you don't want to have sex with them, just leave them in a room by themselves, and they'll solve their own problems." Upon seeing Randon's unimpressed stare, she felt a bit put on the spot. "Anyway sir, I am not the one to ask about this. Here is your change, and have a great day!" Before he could respond, she escaped.

Chapter 20: Troublesome Situation

Once the lady left, Randon and the two demons looked at each other with disbelief. It was only after a few seconds that Raya decided to break the ice. "So, what now?"

Randon just sighed. "Apparently, there's nothing that we can do. But, I won't just take her word for it. I'll need to check the front desk and verify with the experts first."

With that, the three of them made their way to the front desk downstairs. However, before that, the girls reminded him to put on his slave controlling collar. After all, it would be against the law if he went around with his slaves without it on. Moreover, even if it wasn't against the law, he wasn't exactly sure how people would handle seeing collared demons without their master. Knowing just American history, he wasn't very convinced of humanity's "humanity."

After verifying their conversation with the front desk, the man confirmed what the lady from before told them. While the lust suppressing pill would work after the incident, the arousal drug would not be stopped by the pill, or even dampened. Apparently, the only way to stop the upcoming storm was to just ride through it.

Of course, since he was there, Randon decided to buy a few dozen lust suppressing pills. With that, he no longer needed to worry about the demons having any more episodes, at least for a while longer.

Once that was taken care of, Randon finally braved the streets. However, while he expected the occasional derogatory remark, he wasn't at all prepared for the hatred his fellow humans had with demonkind. It seemed that the latest skirmish was still on the peoples' minds, and they did not hold back.

"Fucking demon sluts! Hahaha, look at them in their slave collars! Seems like they got exactly what they deserved!"

"Well, at least some of these man-nappers are getting their due! If it were up to me, their whole race would be fucking sold off!

"Goddamn, though, look at the tits on the two of them! These ones don't look half bad! I'd still prefer any human woman over them, though! At least they aren't uncivilized soldier rapists!"

Randon winced at the insults, but he pressed forward through the crowd. Due to the surprising amount of them, he looked back at the two girls with worry. Thankfully, they seemed to be holding up well enough, which made him rest a little easier.

Finally, after seemingly forever, the three of them made it to the inn's lobby area. Once they made it up the stairs and into Randon's room, they closed the door behind them and collapsed on the sole bed.

After all that mess, Randon looked at the twins with sympathy. "Did you guys have to deal with this every time you went out? Honestly, I almost feel ashamed to be a human being after hearing their bigotry."

"After hearing such things over the last few days, we're used to it." Yara, or Raya (he couldn't really tell), sighed with exasperation. "Actually, they weren't completely wrong."

"Hmm?" Randon blinked. "So you mean that a few of those insults are actually based on real events?"

The other twin nodded slowly. "Well, us demons like abducting humans sometimes. We also make the men into sex slaves if their assets are acceptable. So, it isn't really a problem with just the human race. However, we actually use our slaves for breeding, mainly, and treat them well. Humans, though, other than the occasional hero like you, do not treat us very well. Their bigotry makes them look down on our race, and doesn't make them above hurling insults and mistreating us regularly."

Randon sighed at that. "Well, that's too bad. At least you have me, though. With me here, you can forget about getting mistreated or punished unless you actually deserve it. Until we return you back to your homeland, you'll be treated fairly and will be given the dignity you deserve."

Both the twins' eyes shone with gratitude at that. "You have our thanks, Randon. If there's anything we can do to repay you, we will do it without hesitation."

"No need for that." Randon smiled. "By the way, I'll be going to cultivate in the bathhouse right now. While I'm away, please don't leave the room, alright?"

The two twins looked at him with confusion, but just shrugged and settled down. With that, Randon made his way downstairs and got himself ready for a meditation session. However, when he arrived at the men's bathhouse in the back of the inn, he found someone else occupying the area.

When the old man saw him, he smirked. "Huh, let me guess, back here to meditate some more? Last time you didn't even notice me, hahaha! At least now that you're awake, I can introduce myself. The name's Harvey, young man."

"Randon," Randon replied evenly. "Nice to meet you, sir. I hope you don't mind if I cultivate here again?"

The man looked at him weirdly, then shook his head. "Of course I don't mind. But if you don't mind my question, why do you decide to cultivate here instead of your room?"

Randon hesitated for a moment, before replying. "Well, I've been trying for a breakthrough lately, and I don't want to get my clothes dirty. I'm sure as a cultivator yourself, you'd understand, haha."

"Another breakthrough!?" The man's eyebrows creased in both confusion and awe. "Didn't you breakthrough yesterday, too? How come you are ascending to the next stage already?"

Randon's pupils narrowed dangerously. Shit, I fell into that trap like an idiot! How can I get myself out of this mess!? Think! THINK! 

His mind scrambled for a few moments before he forced a smile onto his face. "Actually, I've been using these very powerful pills for the last few days. Since my foundation was study, I've decided to stubbornly push through the last stage. I honestly didn't expect to reach the end of the stage again. But since I'm here and have one more pill, I'll break through here again if I can do it."

The man raised a brow at that. "You used a pill for such a fast and powerful breakthrough? As far as I know, there is no such pill in existence. May I see it?"

Randon's smile froze on his face. He was just using such a thing as an excuse. He didn't actually expect that he would be seen through by the man. "Uhh, can I say no? Everyone has their secrets, hehehe."

The man's eyes flashed, but he just nodded. "That's fine, of course. Just pretend as if I don't exist then."

Randon stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. After entering the lukewarm water, he pretended to retrieve a pill from his spatial ring and put it in his mouth. Once that happened, he sat down in a meditative position.

It wasn't even two minutes before he broke through to the 15th stage. The feeling was incredible as always, feeling his very cells strengthened and his qi reserves compressed once again. Once he finished, he continued cultivating for a while longer, stabilizing his breakthrough and making his way closer to the next stage. 

However, not long afterward, he decided to stop his cultivation, despite being able to advance more. The man next to him was most likely still watching, and he didn't want to reveal his talents so blatantly. He'd already revealed too much, and he didn't want the man to think his "pill" was so powerful.

As he opened his eyes and ended his cultivation, Randon was surprised to find the man gone. He wasn't expecting the man who was so curious and probing earlier to suddenly not care anymore.

Huh, guess I'll keep cultivating. He shrugged. With that, he cultivated another couple of hours. However, due to the increasing difficulty of advancing stages, he couldn't ascend to the next stage in the same cultivation session. He ended his session a hairsbreadth away from the 16th stage.

As he exited the bathhouse, Randon frowned in thought at his slowing cultivation speeds. Ascending towards a higher foundation is no joke, it seems. Still, I can't complain about my cultivation speeds. If someone else heard my thoughts, they would probably spit blood, hahaha. Maybe I'll have to try using spirit pearls to cultivate and see how much of a difference they make, but for now, I'm happy with my current cultivation speed.

Randon's thoughts were interrupted when he opened the door to his room. Seeing two pairs of lustful eyes staring back at him, he shivered. "Uhh, hey girls. It seems like the extract started its work already, huh? Let me just get my clothes, and I'll be out of your hair-"

His words were cut off when the two demons pulled him toward the bed, their lustful eyes sparkling. One of the two licked her lips with deep hunger. "You aren't going anywhere, human! Today, you will not leave until we're fully satisfied!"

The other just smirked playfully. "Yara, my reaction isn't as bad as yours, so you can have him first. In the meantime, I'll watch as you drain him dry, hehehe."

Randon's eyes widened with shock and lust as the twins stripped him bare. Wait, I'm not ready for this! I'm a fucking virgin, I'm definitely gonna die! But… goddamn, I don't even mind!