Slifer shifted his focus onto Amelia, he felt a tad uncomfortable when she inched closer to him.

"So Amelia, how goes your cultivation?"

Amelia's brows creased in mild frustration. "Master, I need more victims. To breakthrough to the Late Core Formation, I need to devour the souls of three Late Core Formation cultivators.”

Ding! Your Disciple Is Struggling To Breakthrough Bring Your Disciple 3 Late Core Formation Souls Reminder: Righteous Souls Will Result In Credit Deduction Reward: 50 Karmic Credits

Slifer's eyes narrowed as he read the System notification. His mind churned with thoughts, Using a Peak Slifer Card just to get her these souls? Not happening. His thoughts drifted momentarily to Val. Once she's healed... if Amelia hasn’t progressed by then, perhaps Val could assist her.

He collected himself and refocused on Amelia. The hidden cost of her cultivation method had the potential to chip away at his painstakingly earned credits. That was a risk he couldn't take. "Amelia, you must ensure the souls you devour are not of innocent beings."

A look of genuine confusion spread across Amelia's face. "But master, how can I know who is innocent and who isn't?"

Slifer paused, taken aback by her question. She does have a point. He knew that it was the System which decided what was good and what was evil. Wanting to play it safe, he replied, "Target mostly demonic cultivators. When it comes to righteous cultivators, only act against them if they threaten you, or if you're sure they've harmed mortals."

He nodded to himself, his thoughts running along the lines of universal laws. In most realms like this, Heaven frowns upon the killing of mortals by cultivators. I hope the System aligns with this logic.

Amelia responded with an angelic smile, "Understood, Master." Yet, the glint in her eyes made Slifer uneasy. He hoped she wouldn't provoke others to assault her, solely to have a reason to claim their souls…

Mind Mirror!

Technique: Soul Render Description: Unleash a blade of soul energy to slice through the enemy's spiritual essence, causing profound damage at the soul level

This is intriguing, Slifer mused, a soul-based technique.

"Show me your progress with the Soul Render technique."

Amelia gleefully agreed, her eyes scanning the courtyard for a target. Realizing there was none, she muttered, "One moment," and vanished.

Wait a minute, is she... The thought barely took form before Amelia reappeared, dragging a trembling Qi Refining disciple along. His eyes were wide with terror.

Slifer's eyes widened as realization struck. He opened his mouth to halt her, but he was a moment too late. Amelia had already activated the technique. A ghostly blade formed from her fingertips, slashing through the air to strike the disciple. His scream of torment echoed through the courtyard as his soul was viciously shredded by the ethereal blade. The poor disciple collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, his face twisted in lingering anguish.

Amelia turned to face her master, a triumphant smile brightening her features. Yet the smile faded quickly as she met Slifer’s darkened gaze. His heart pounded heavily, witnessing such a brutal technique against a Qi Refining cultivator like himself was frightening.

Only a Qi Refining cultivator... The level of pain she could inflict was beyond belief. His heart shivered at the thought, his disciples' previous acts of violence paling in comparison. Ignoring the 1 credit gain notification, his eyes narrowed.

"Master...” Amelia stuttered, sensing that she had angered Slifer.

"Didn’t I make it abundantly clear to stop bullying lower-ranked cultivators?" Slifer's voice cut through the silence like a sword.

Amelia’s eyes widened in fear, "I-I wasn’t bullying him, Master. He agreed to let me practice the technique on him for you to see.”

Agreed? More like coerced, he thought bitterly. The boundary between consent and coercion was thin and murky in the cruel world of cultivation.

Slifer shook his head, feeling a prick of concern about Amelia's practice methods. "When you practice this technique, what do you normally do?" Surely there must be a different method, he thought.

"Oh, quite a few of the junior brothers volunteer," she replied nonchalantly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Slifer paused. Are these guys so desperate that they'd endure soul torture just to spend time with a girl? He shook his head in disbelief at their pathetic behavior, a term from his previous world echoing in his thoughts - simp behavior.

He sighed heavily. "Amelia, my intention was for you to demonstrate on an animal, not on another disciple. You left before I could give proper instructions."

Amelia lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry, Master. I should have waited for your guidance."

Slifer waved his hand dismissively.

Ding! Righteous Alternative: Soul Harmony Strike Description: By tuning one's soul to the righteous energies of the heavens, the cultivator can channel a harmonious strike that seeks to purify the malicious intent within the target. The strike resonates with the opponent’s soul, diminishing their malicious energies and weakening their offensive capabilities for a short duration. The effectiveness of this technique increases with higher cultivation levels.

Slifer read the description, taking a moment to let the information sink in. Soul Harmony Strike... it sounds less sinister compared to Amelia's soul devouring technique. However, it still deals with the soul, a realm that I am not yet ready to tread upon.

He was apprehensive. The soul was a delicate and profound essence of a being, meddling with it without sufficient understanding was akin to treading on thin ice. While the righteous version seemed to have a noble intent, the underlying manipulation of soul energies was something that he didn't take lightly.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He concluded that he would not be copying this technique, at least not until he was better versed in the intricacies of soul cultivation.

Slifer turned his gaze to Caelum, hoping against hope that his disciple had a technique that could prove useful. "Caelum, how goes your cultivation?"

A shadow of disappointment cast across Caelum’s face, his shoulders drooping. "Master," he began, his voice filled with self-reproach, "I have failed as a swordsman. I did not even recognize my own master was a cultivator of the sword."

Slifer blinked in confusion, momentarily taken aback. Then it dawned on him. Ah, the Deadly Strike card that manifested sword qi. I hope he doesn’t ask me for guidance, with the others, I might be able to mumbo jumbo my way out of it but Caelum isn’t as gullible.

Caelum, in his desperation, began to kowtow before Slifer. "Please, Master, guide me! My own sword cultivation feels shallow and incomplete. Witnessing your strike has shown me the true path of the sword."

His head lowered, Caelum awaited Slifer’s response with bated breath. He wished for his master's guidance but was realistic about his expectations. Master has always given us freedom, only intervening when he felt we were neglecting our cultivation. What are the chances he'd guide me now?

But Slifer, at that moment, was engrossed in a System message, not truly catching any of Caelum's impassioned plea.

Technique: Shadowstep Slash Description: This technique uses the blood essence of the user to teleport instantly to their target's shadow, delivering a deadly, unexpected strike

A grin slowly spread across Slifer’s face. This... This is it. Such a technique would be ideal to confront cultivators of higher realms. And being a sword cultivator? It does have a certain ring to it. Aren’t sword cultivators known for being able to fight above their realms?

Meanwhile, Caelum, who had raised his head in the meantime, misinterpreted Slifer's smile as an approval to his earlier request. His face brightened and he began thanking Slifer profusely. "Oh, thank you, Master! I knew you would guide me. Your benevolence is as boundless as the endless heavens..."

Slifer blinked, pulled out from his trance by Caelum's ecstatic gratitude. Wait a minute, what’s happening now? He realized he had been so engrossed in the technique acquisition that he hadn't paid attention to a word Caelum had been saying. Oh no, what did I just agree to? Slifer thought, a sudden pang of unease striking him.

He looked down at Caelum who was still in the midst of expressing his heartfelt gratitude, utterly oblivious to the internal panic seizing his master. "I shall put in twice the effort, thrice the discipline to live up to your expectations, Master," Caelum was saying, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears of joy.

The reality of the situation began sinking in for Slifer. Oh heavens, what sort of sword guidance is he expecting now? I can’t even tell a hilt from a blade.

He had never seen such emotion from his usually composed disciple.

Not wanting to shatter Caelum's newfound enthusiasm, Slifer nodded vaguely, hoping the system would provide further assistance when the time came.

Slifer, eager to familiarize himself with the new technique's nuances, gestured to Caelum. "Demonstrate the technique for me."

Caelum, visibly elated, nodded eagerly. "Certainly, Master." He stood up and focused his gaze on a nearby tree, preparing to launch his technique.

However, Slifer's eyes widened in alarm. He hastily interrupted, "Wait! We never practice on trees, especially not within the sect grounds."

Caelum, a tad perplexed, complied. His eyes swept over his fellow disciples, wondering who would volunteer. Hughie slowly stood up, a fearless grin etched across his face. He seemed to welcome a chance at tasting a bit of pain.

Slifer, recognizing an opportunity to also witness Hughie’s technique, fought to suppress a smile. He gestured for them to proceed.

Standing opposite Caelum, Hughie chuckled. "Don’t hold back, Senior Brother."

Caelum shook his head at the daring enthusiasm of his Junior Brother. He lowered his gaze to his sword, murmuring softly, “Awaken, Bloodthorn.” The sword responded, its form contorting into a demonic appearance. With a swift intake of breath, Caelum’s eyes flashed red, and in a whisk, he vanished, reappearing behind Hughie in a streak of red.

Hughie burst into laughter. “Didn’t even feel that!” However, his laughter caught in his throat as he abruptly coughed up blood, clutching at his chest where a ghastly hole had been punctured.

Anger coursed through him, triggering his technique. "Bloodforge Ascension!" Hughie roared. His frame swelled, morphing into a terrifying figure as malevolent energy surged through his veins. His skin reddened and veins bulged menacingly as he turned towards Caelum, an avatar of rage.

With a bellow, Hughie swung a gargantuan fist towards Caelum. A nimble dodge saved Caelum from a crushing blow. The ground where the fist landed cracked and cratered, sending shards of rock flying.

"Master, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Caelum shouted, keeping a wary eye on the transformed Hughie.

Slifer frowned, deep in thought. Perhaps I should intervene before things escalate further but is it worth using up a card…?

The Bloodforge Ascension technique had its dangers, and losing control was a common one among transformation techniques that dabbled with demonic energy. Slifer remembered that Hughie had a measly Will of 3, losing control was probably normal for him.

Yeah…I’d rather not get involved, at least not yet.

Amelia, who had been silently observing the mayhem unfold, smirked. “I could easily put him down, you know.”

As for Fenlock, he shook his head. I hope this isn't an everyday affair here. Even with his superior cultivation, Hughie's aura sent a shiver down his spine.

"Caelum," Slifer called out, "You must subdue him. As his Senior Brother, this responsibility is yours."

Caelum nodded, his face tightening with resolve. As Hughie launched himself towards Caelum with a ground-shaking roar, Caelum nimbly hopped onto his other sword which lifted him into the air, narrowly evading the lethal swipe from Hughie.

Hughie, in his demonic frenzy, seemed to have forgotten his own ability to fly, opting to leap off the ground in an attempt to snatch Caelum out of the sky.

With a swift maneuver, Caelum activated a technique, and suddenly, the air was filled with nine images of him, each wielding its own Bloodthorn.

Is this a mirage technique? Slifer wondered, but as each image descended upon Hughie with a vengeance, the reality of the situation hit him – they were all real, or at least capable of inflicting real damage.

Despite Hughie's inexplicable luck which helped him evade most of the strikes, the sheer number and ferocity of the attacks had a few land on target. Each strike that landed echoed with a sharp cry of agony from Hughie as he spiraled downwards, crashing into the earth with a deafening thud.

The coordination... impressive, Slifer thought.

The images of Caelum merged back into one as he descended cautiously to inspect the fallen disciple.

As Hughie staggered back to his feet, his body was a scene of carnage, riddled with gashes oozing dark blood. But as the Bloodforge Ascension technique continued to work its malicious magic, the wounds started healing, albeit painfully, while Hughie’s form expanded even further, his musculature bulging grotesquely. His eyes, now pools of boiling rage, shot up to the sky as he bellowed, "Die!"

A surge of demonic qi erupted from him, the blast force strong enough to send Caelum staggering back.

Caelum steadied himself, his eyes hardening. "I apologize, Junior Brother, but it seems I must stop holding back."