"Why did you bring me here?" I stared at Ji Woo. Who stood facing me with a calm look, as the breeze blew our hair.
We were standing in the backyard of the palace, though there weren't many people present here. There were still some servants who were watering the plants.
"Sister, let me teach you some things about cultivation. After all, your knowledge is limited to the blood refining realm." He said with a calm yet scornful look. I wanted to argue with him, but curiosity took over my anger. So, I patiently waited for him to explain more.
"You should have already known the basic cultivation realms, right?" He asked me.
"I know about the Mortal realm, Earth realm, Heavenly realm," I answered.
"Hm, well, the blood refining realm is also the mortal realm. Do you know why princesses are allowed to practice till this stage, but aren't provided further cultivation methods?" He nodded at my answer before throwing another question at me.
"I don't know," I said while waiting for his answer.
"It's simple because the blood realm doesn't just give you a little bit of strength, but it also helps in passing strong genes to future generations. As for why princesses are not allowed to cultivate higher realms, that answer is written in history books. So, I won't explain it; just know that in the Azure Kingdom, women are for breeding, and the blood realm is strong enough to breed healthy and talented children. That's all you need to know." He continued, his eyes staring straight into my eyes as he spoke.
"Let me tell you one more thing, don't think these rules are just for princesses. They applied for every single person in the Azure Kingdom except for Silver Moon Palace." He said.
"Silver Moon Palace," I muttered, wasn't this name similar to that cultivation method called the moon? Could they be related?
He caught my words and explained further, "Don't think Silver Moon Palace is some blessed land for women, they are evil. Remember, in future if you ever meet them, you have to stay away from them." He turned extremely serious as he reached the end of the sentence. His glowing red eyes almost gave a scare.
I took a step back, taking a long breath in. I was trying to calm myself, a hand wrapped around my waist pulling me into a warm embrace, his other hand pressing me against his chest. When I turned my head upward, I saw his beautiful eyes, catching me in a daze for a second.
"You don't need to worry about anything, or how the world works, nor do you need to follow their rules. This life is yours, be evil or be good up to you." His words caught me off guard in my whole life. I never imagined that this pervert could say something like this.
I pushed him away from me and looked at him angrily. But he just ignored my anger and sat on the ground and said, "You know, you are already at the earth stage, just like me. The only difference is our strength. Right now, you are still weak, even weaker than mortal realm cultivators."
He paused before continuing again, "You know the thing in your dantian is called? That is Blood Core, it allows you to channel the Spirit Qi into your blood, helping you to make your blood evolve into a precious treasure of heaven and earth. Once you start to use the Qi, you won't be just limited to physical strength, and you will be able to use different kinds of spells."
"Spells… spells like fireball ball," I asked him excitedly. Since I came to this world, I had always been inside this palace, never seeing someone using magic, and the books I read and taught were all about physical cultivation.
"Fireball… nah… those are low-grade spells. Here I have gotten a high-grade spell for you." He answered with a sneer, but took out a small jade white jade and threw it at me.
I caught the jade and looked at it curiously. It was just like ordinary jade except for its unusual glow. Its texture was smooth, like carefully crafted with preciousness.
As I was examining the jade, his voice came again, "This jade is called spirit calling jade, it can summon some wandering souls for you to play with. Keep it safe, don't lose it."
"Tell me, where are you getting these things from? I haven't seen you going outside. How did you get them?" I decided to ask him the most important question because how could this guy suddenly start throwing away treasures and cultivation manuals? He was just like me, staying here since he was born.
"Huh… do you think I secretly left the palace to have fun outside?" He said his tone turned sadistic as he stared at the ground, swirling his fingers in the grass.
"Hey, I am talking about something serious, stop your acting." Maybe it was my doubt, or was he really trying to avoid my question?
"I got them from the assassins." He answered without looking at me.
"Assassins…" I repeated.
"Yes, assassins, or did you really think they just came to kill you. Let me tell you clearly that your life is worth nothing. They were here to steal the cultivation manual and resources, and I stole them back from them. Hehe…" He said, mocking me.
Now it all makes sense why he suddenly started throwing away cultivation manuals like this.
"Hey, what are you thinking? Forget about these miscellaneous things. The most important thing now you can cultivate, if others find you are done for. So, the only way you have is to become strong enough so that no one will be able to touch you. Hehe…," His words cut through my chaotic thoughts.
The reality is that I know I have hope, no matter how slim it is, but the chance exists that all I should care about. Yes, he is right. I already wanted to break these shackles. If I don't use these opportunities, then I shouldn't even dream of soaring into the clouds.
"Hey, don't run your thoughts too much. If you want to be free, then you have to break these shackles yourself. No one is gonna help you, and if you got someone to help, then it's not your freedom, just another shackle on your feet. Fly with your wings or steal them from someone else, but they can't be borrowed." Suddenly, his words caught me off guard.
His words… They are true. But…
"Sister… come here and sit, or your leg will start hurting." His tone shifted from deep, casual instant. As he smiled foolishly, his white teeth reflected under the sunlight like pearls.
I subconsciously walked towards him and sat beside him. My head was still heavy from whatever he had said in such a short time. I sat beside, his body leaned on mine, and his head rested on my shoulders.
He whispered in my ear, "Sister, you know the future is unpredictable. So don't overthink about it. The time you have now is most important."
After saying this, his body leaned back, pulling me with him. As both of us lay on the ground staring at the blue sky. I don't know why, but my eyes felt dizzy, the world became hazy, and the darkness took over my eyes.