Slifer reappeared inside Oliviare's cottage just in time to see an enormous, clawed paw pressed down on Oliviare’s back.

The Pantherion was easily twice the size of the others, with fur the deep purple of twilight. It turned its head toward Slifer. A low snarl emanated from its throat.

The message was clear. One wrong move from him, and the girl would pay the price.

Slifer clenched his jaw, weighing his options.

Of all the ways this could have gone, getting caught in a hostage situation ranked pretty low on the list. I didn’t even know beasts were smart enough to take hostages!

From the weight of leader’s aura, the Pantherion King had clearly reached the Nascent Soul stage. Slifer then remembered that Pantherions were able to reach human-like intelligence earlier than most beasts. Negotiating safely out of this predicament wouldn't be easy.

"Seems we've found ourselves at an impasse here," Slifer called out mildly. "So, what do you want?"

The Pantherion rumbled again in response.

Right, no convenient baby dragon around to translate. I’ll just have to wing it.

Slifer tried to decipher meaning from the Pantherion's noises and body language.

The beast appeared reluctant to actually make good on its threat unless provoked. It seemed like it knew that its ambush had failed and that Slifer wasn’t the Foundation Establishment cultivator that his aura indicated he was. Now the beast just wanted to secure safe passage for the remaining members of its pride.

As for why it targeted Oliviare, either the beast was intelligent enough to sense that the girl was the only villager Slifer cared about or Slifer just had dog-shit luck.

No matter what happens, I cant let her die… hmm, I think I can work with this…

"How about we make a deal?"

The Pantherion scoffed at the notion of cooperating with the man who'd slaughtered half its kin. As if reading its thoughts, Slifer laughed.

"Look, you attacked us first. If I was set on killing you all, would any of your pride still be breathing? I'm offering you a chance here."

Grudgingly, the Pantherion had to acknowledge the logic in his words.

Among beasts, it was kill or be killed. Temporary alliances were common when mutually beneficial. And right now, with most of the male members of his pride dead, the females and cubs were vulnerable. Perhaps this arrangement could work. But how could this human help him, and what exactly was being asked in return?

Sensing he needed to show his worth, Slifer subtly adjusted his aura until it surpassed even the Nascent Soul beast - stopping just short of Half-Step Origin Realm.

Who knew the Peak Slifer Aura Card would be useful.

Immediately the Pantherion tensed, claws flexing as that oppressive pressure settled over it.

"Let me sweeten the deal. Swear your allegiance, and I'll help you rule the nearby lands." Slifer smiled.

The Pride was in a precarious situation. Before the ambush, the Pantherion Pride was one of the weaker beast groups in the area, had it not been for their speed and intelligence, they would have been wiped out long ago. If what the human was promising was true…

After a stretched silence, a fire of ambition lit up the Pantherion's gaze. It dipped its head and stepped away from Oliviare.

Well, I’m glad that worked out, and here I thought I’d have to waste another card.

Crisis averted. For now, anyway.

Slifer's aura dissipated as he approached the girl and her father. He pulled a small brown pill from his sleeve.

"Here - he needs to take this quickly."

Brom's eyelids fluttered weakly at the sound of Slifer's voice. With Oliviare's help, he managed to tilt his head back enough to swallow the medicinal pellet.

The effect was immediate - colour returned to Brom's cheeks as the bleeding stopped and torn flesh began knitting back together. Within moments, only faint scars remained across his abdomen.

As Brom struggled to rise on still-shaky legs, he eyed Slifer warily. "I suppose you think yourself quite clever then?" he huffed, nodding pointedly to the hulking Pantherion King. "Lure the beasts here with a feast, only to play the hero?"

Slifer raised his brows, looking vaguely offended by the accusation. "The Pantherion Pride has been stalking your village for some time. I sensed them closing in even before we arrived. It was mere coincidence that provided an opportunity to...ah, kill two birds with one stone."

Brom's expression remained sceptical. Slifer tilted his head toward the Pantherion King. "Ask it yourself if you don’t believe me."

After a moment of what seemed like silent communication between man and beast, Brom grunted ambiguously. "It seems you weren’t lying. But the arrival of you immortals always brings trouble. You can’t blame an old man for being cautious."

Cautious? That’s a…nice way of putting it. The old man was downright rude, but Slifer didn’t care enough to argue, he did see the old guy’s point.

"I understand. I know you only want to keep your daughter safe but left unprotected, even a peaceful village such as yours can become prey." Slifer placed a hand gently on Brom's shoulder. "The path of cultivation could give her the power to defend herself, when you no longer can. Is that not worth thinking about?"

Brom stared silently at the ground. When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy with resignation. "You may be right. I’m just an old fool, I can’t decide for her. The girl must choose her own path now."

Oliviare clutched her father's arm, smiling up at him brightly. "Don't say such things, father. But becoming an immortal could help keep our family and village safe. With your blessing, I will try my best."

Brom patted her hand. "You have it, though it pains me to see you leave. Do an old man proud."

Slifer had considered changing Brom’s mortal fate, but he knew that it would be extremely difficult for the old man to cultivate at his age. The body tempering stage was too difficult, most mortals couldn’t bear with it, some even described it as torture.

If it was like my situation, where he would be recultivating, that would be a different situation.

Seeing the father and daughter pair embrace, Slifer motioned to the Pantherion King to follow him.

On the way to Morvran, the Pantherion King recovered corpses of its kin. When they finally found Morvran, they arrived in time to see the bald steward grinning savagely as he smashed the heads of two Pantherions together repeatedly.

The Pantherion King growled at the sight.

"Had enough fun?" Clearing his throat, Slifer got Morvran's attention.

Morvran, realising that the Pantherion King had submitted to his master, let the beasts go.

The beasts immediately scurried over to cower behind their leader, letting out whines of complaint.

"Ah, Master. We’re done?" Morvran dusted the blood off his hands.

With a slight shake of his head and chuckle, Slifer nodded. "We are. The sect can dispatch someone to deal with the rest."

A Nascent Soul elder would be sent to guard the village until the Pantherion deal was secured.

Together, they returned to Brom's cottage, where Oliviare waited for them.

Slifer tore open a portal back to the Black Rose Sect. There was one final piece of business before this night’s work was concluded.

“It’s time to see Hughie!”

----------------------------------------

Slifer sat casually in his courtyard, orange robes draped loosely across his shoulders as he nibbled on a freshly-steamed pork dumpling. Beside him stood Morvran, hands clasped behind his back. As usual, the plump baldy looked ready to beat someone up at the slightest provocation.

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Across the courtyard, standing alone near an ornamental rock garden, was a young woman in pale blue cultivator robes. She fidgeted nervously with the fabric, eyes downcast and cheeks flushed.

Oliviare's heart pounded as she waited for Hughie. She was eager to see him after so long apart, but what if he reacted poorly to her presence here? What if there was another girl? Maybe coming to the sect had been a foolish wish...

Noticing the girl's nervous fidgeting, Slifer smiled to himself. Ah, young love...how nauseatingly sweet.

No matter the realm, some things never changed.

A faint whistle sounded from above. Slifer tipped his head back lazily, catching sight of a dark figure rapidly descending from the sky.

Right on time. Slifer popped the last dumpling into his mouth just as Hughie landed on the ground and bowed.

"You summoned me, Master?"

Hughie's dark eyes flicked briefly to the shy, brown-haired girl standing off to one side. He did a double take. Was that...? No, it couldn't be.

"Allow me to introduce our newest recruit." Slifer rose and gestured to the blushing young woman. "This is-"

"Oliviare?" Hughie blurted out in disbelief.

Oliviare's eyes widened at being addressed so directly. A pretty blush coloured her cheeks as she gave a nervous nod.

"Y-yes, Greetings Senior Brother Hughie," she stammered, gaze fixed firmly on the ground.

Now that she was a member of the sect, Hughie would be her Senior Brother and she had to address him as such, he wasn’t just her Hughie anymore.

Hughie stared, mouth agape. He seemed torn between rushing forward to embrace her and remaining rooted in place out of shock.

Meanwhile, Slifer watched on in amusement.

Ah, to be young and in love again. Takes me back to my first girlfriend, Kylie. Or was it Kaylie? Hmm, can't seem to recall her name, probably wasn't important, they probably have more realistic AI models now anyway.

"I don't understand." Hughie finally found his voice. "Oliviare doesn't have the aptitude to cultivate. Why is she here?"

At his words, Oliviare’s smile faltered. After all this time, that was the first thing he said? Oliviare bit her lip and turned away before Hughie could see her eyes water.

A lover’s spat? I guess it’s up to me to fix it! Slifer cleared his throat.

"Yes, well it's true she doesn’t have a spiritual root. But after hearing how my favourite disciple had lost his heart to a mortal girl, what sort of master would I be if I didn't help my disciple out?”

Slifer paused, eyebrow cocked as if waiting for some praise at his benevolence. When there was no reaction, he huffed and continued.

"As I was saying, a lack of spiritual roots poses no real obstacle for someone like myself. She’ll have some spiritual roots soon enough, then you'll be free to pursue your, ahem, romantic interests openly."

"You really found a way?" Hughie breathed, scarcely daring to hope.

"Of course! Why else would I have brought her all the way here?"

"Humph! Your master lies. No treasure in the mortal realms could awaken a non-existent spiritual root," Li Fenghao scoffed from within the ring.

Hughie ignored the sceptical immortal spirit, too focused on Slifer's words to care. All that mattered was the possibility of a life with Oliviare.

Hughie dropped to his knees before Slifer. "Master, I beg you, please help make Oliviare a cultivator!" His voice cracked with emotion.

Slifer looked profoundly uncomfortable with this sudden display of gratitude. He waved his hands frantically.

"Alright alright, that's enough bowing. Just doing my duty as your master, no need for all this." Face slightly flushed, Slifer quickly rummaged through his storage ring. "Now let's get this over with.”

He retrieved an unremarkable circular medallion on a long cord and gestured for Oliviare to approach.

"Here, place this on your forehead and close your eyes," he instructed gently.

Oliviare glanced nervously at Hughie, who smiled and nodded encouragingly. With a small gulp, she raised the talisman to her brow.

The talisman pulsed with a soft blue glow the moment it touched her skin. Gasps echoed around the courtyard as glowing runes began flowing outwards, slowly enveloping Oliviare's body in an intricate web of light.

The runes spun faster, weaving together to form the image of a massive wheel rotating around and around her slender frame.

Hughie stared transfixed as the hypnotic patterns swirled, holding his breath.

After several moments, the runes flickered and faded. The now-dark talisman slipped from Oliviare's brow as her knees buckled.

Hughie darted forward just in time to catch her limp body before it hit the ground. Cradling her close, he frantically swept his spiritual sense over Oliviare.

"She's alright," he announced with clear relief. A smile broke across Hughie's face. "No, more than that - she has a spiritual root now. I can't believe it!"

Overjoyed, Hughie spun Oliviare's slumbering form in an impromptu dance across the courtyard.

"Yes, the Wheel of Fate talisman is remarkably effective, if a bit rough on the user,” Slifer remarked. “She will probably sleep for a few hours. When she wakes up, she will be at the Qi Refining realm."

He was rather curious what sort of root the girl had awakened. But using spiritual sense without permission to scan another’s body was rude, especially when their lover was right there.

Eh, I can just ask later when she wakes up.

Hughie paused his celebratory jig. "You mean she'll skip the Body Tempering stage completely?"

Slifer simply chuckled. "This sleep is her tempering. When she wakes, she can begin refining spiritual energy. Consider it a bonus for having such a benevolent master," he finished with a roguish wink.

"Master, thank you. This means more than I can say.”

Ding! Congratulations Your Disciple Hughie’s Loyalty Has Reached 100% New Option Available: Convert Hughie to a Righteous Cultivator Reward: A Righteous Disciple Will Earn x3 Credit

Finally, it’s done, Slifer let out a tired sigh. His plan had worked.

Ding! New Mission: One Righteous Disciple Is Worth More Than A Thousand Demonic Trash Description: Your Disciple Is Ready To Join The Righteous Path. Give Him A Sermon And Ask Him To Join

Hughie carefully set Oliviare's sleeping form on a bench. He turned to face his master once more, his expression turning serious.

"Master, there is something important I need to tell you."

"Don't you dare, boy!" Li Fenghao shrieked. "Have you mushrooms for brains?"

But Hughie didn’t care what the grandpa thought.

No more lies. No more hiding.

It’s time for Master to learn everything.