When they arrived at the magnificent structure that was the castle, Juwaira flew over the wall, while the guards threw down a rope for Abdin and Denyanu along with their mounts.

Juwaira uncovered her face as Abdin was being pulled over. As he came upon the wall, she moved closer and laughed tauntingly at him, daring him to fly if he could.

Abdin just smiled and walked away.

The princess ran after him. "Your inability to fly aside, there is something I still don't understand. Why did you let Tairen go?"

Abdin didn't expect the princess to wait up until now to ask the question. He brought out the scroll that Tairen made an oath upon and handed it to her.

She read it and said, "It didn't stop him from escaping."

Abdin pointed at the scroll and gestured for her to read again. She did so but couldn't see any changes. He rubbed the scroll and chanted a few incantations over it. The writing instantly transformed as the letters rearranged themselves.

She reread it before lifting her head to glance at him. "You let him go on purpose?"

Abdin shook his head. "That's not what happened, I only gave him an option, indirectly. The oath he took won't kill him since the scroll upon which he took it was fake. But he didn't know that. So he would break it thinking he could die or lose his cultivation. He also doesn't know much about the castle's expansion. Anyone in his position would think the castle would encroach upon Will of San's territory, so there's always the risk of the sect being annihilated. If the young master does my bidding and goes straight to those villages, then he has chosen his life over his sect. And if he returns to the sect and reports, he has chosen his sect over himself. Either way, he is not going to die and I'll be getting what I want. Though I would prefer him to go back to the sect.

"Imagine he does that and the people he meets in the sect tell him the oath is just a test, and the scroll, a fake - because if it weren't fake, then, he wouldn't have reached the sect in one piece. What then would happen?

"They would ask him about his stay here, and he would tell them how he had felt his cultivation rising, and how, he thinks he could attain core formation soon if he continues staying in the castle. They would bring him back themselves if they are smart." Abdin paused and gave her a cursory look. "Don't forget Tairen is just a single student. He doesn't have the strength to singlehandedly drive away three villages. I know for a fact he couldn't do it. But with the help of his sect, a single word would be all it takes. They can give him a letter or send men with him. And then we would have succeeded in evacuating the three villages and also winning Will of San to our side. Even if it isn't wholeheartedly, fear and greed would make them reluctant to attack us again. And their greed would increase the moment they saw Tairen reaching the core formation stage. They would be exactly where I want them to be.

"This is why I let him escape."

How cruel! The scroll in her hand fell and she stared open-mouthed at him. Who was this man, again? She wondered not for the first time.

Abdin retrieved the scroll and walked away. She ran after him. "I would like us to cultivate together if Commander is free."

Abdin nodded. He didn't have any important thing to do at the moment except wait for Nanila and Wuran. The answers he would get would determine his next course of action.

The two returned together and went to the training house.

By the end of the day, the princess had earned twenty-one more years to her cultivation.

The next morning, she woke him up. Abdin wanted to make her wait until later, but then he remembered he had nothing much to do. So he let her in.

For the next ten days, they kept the rhythm of training nonstop. The princess kept progressing rapidly, but Abdin maintained his cultivation at 246 years.

By the end of the tenth day, Abdin was becoming worried and even confused. There was still no response from the two towns and Will of San. Tairen should have returned. But no sign of him as well.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Don't you worry. People take time to decide on issues like this." Juwaira consoled. She had observed how worried he was these past few days.

Abdin gave her a small smile but didn't reply. He had planned everything neatly and didn't want anyone to ruin it. Though the princess had a point, he ought to give them more time.

He waited for five more days. No one sent a message and no one came, and he grew weary. It seemed he couldn't just wait.

Currently, two scrolls were spread before Juwaira. One was a copy given to the head of Nanila. The other was a copy that was given to Wuran.

Abdin had explained everything clearly on the scrolls, and even before he handed the scrolls over, the heads had agreed to his conditions during their brief meeting.

The conditions were simple: he would help them or any one of their chosen children to attain foundation establishment in less than a month, even if they were on the first step of ki condensation; and in return, they would appoint him a position in their royal courts.

He didn't mention a word about vacating their towns. Of course, he did not need their inconsequential appointment but they needed it - every town head had a specific number of appointments he could make.

They would think he was helping them to get the appointment. But after they tasted the ki in the castle, Abdin would then present them with an option to relocate to the castle, just long enough for the castle to expand.

Perhaps, they would disagree with the relocation when the time comes, but for now, the heads of the two towns had the upper hand. They had no reason to reject the offer.

It was even agreed that they wouldn't appoint Abdin until they attained foundation establishment.

The Commander gave them a map that would take them to the castle. They would follow the map to confirm the existence of the castle even if they didn't believe the offer. So, why didn't anyone come?

And also Tairen, despite being a young master and arrogant and young, should have come back for the spirit ki. If a princess who grew up in a luxurious palace with an abundance of ki could get smitten with the castle, then there was little reason why a young master of a small sect in this corner of the world wouldn't.

Abdin concluded their training for the day and walked to the gate, as she followed behind him with the two scrolls she was currently examining for the twentieth time.

Although she understood why Abdin wanted to save those people, they could do nothing if the people didn't want to be saved.

As they approached the gate, Denyanu and the others came to greet them.

"There's still no one?" Abdin asked hesitantly.

They all nodded, bothered. Most of them could also see the situation. Even if they weren't expecting any visitors, a castle shrouded in mist on a traveling path, as Abd city was, would make one wonder why there were no visitors for two weeks straight.

Yes, the castle couldn't be said to be on a direct path since it was deep within a forest, but this was a time when cultivators were known to travel through forests. One wouldn't be alone no matter how far they were within a forest.

Abdin was the most distressed about all of this. Yes, this could all be nothing, and the town heads just didn't accept his offer or they were taking their time. But, it could also mean something perilous. What if all the parties involved had accepted his offer and come but couldn't locate the castle?

Abdin was more inclined to believe the latter, even though that wasn't possible. The castle was shrouded in mist, yes, but it was visible as you moved closer.

Besides, the mist was fascinating by itself and had managed to attract Juwaira and her team. So then, why did nobody come for two weeks straight?

What if the castle had turned invisible?

Abdin shook his head.

The castle only turned invisible if it were about to expand, and that wouldn't happen unless Abdin reached 250 years in his cultivation. He was still at the 246th mark a second ago.

After some debate, Abdin ran to the top of the wall and jumped over. Juwaira was confused at the sudden outburst - why would someone that couldn't fly jump over the towering wall - she quickly jumped over the wall ready to grab him, but both of them found themselves in an inexplicable situation.

A surprisingly powerful force grabbed them and threw them back into the castle, crashing them into the opposing wall.

They were dizzy for a long time before they managed to sit up. Blood dripped down the side of Abdin's mouth and out of Juwaira's nose.

Denyanu and four others ran forward and surrounded the princess protectively. Denyanu held her head gently and wiped the blood on her face with a clean handkerchief.

Abdin was left alone.

That didn't bother him, for he was full of foreboding. They couldn't leave and those outside couldn't see the castle or enter... this could only mean one thing: it was time for the castle's expansion.

But that had never happened before. It was always when he reached 250 years.

At that moment, he heard the castle whispering in his ears.

[It is time for the first expansion.]

[Congratulations. The castle has expanded successfully and consumed three villages and two towns. 63,345 men, 802,873 livestock, 400,323 demon beasts, and 6,118 ghouls were sacrificed.]

[Want to return to before the expansion? Y/N? Going back in time would cost you 60 years' worth of pol.]