The next time he opened his eyes, he stood in a forest, surrounded by trees.

[You have died at the enemy's hand. You have lost 3 months.]

Whenever he committed suicide - say by hanging, knife to the heart, or poison - he would lose a lot of his lifespan. But when killed by the enemies, the loss in cultivation would depend on the manner of the killing.

The house Abdin entered a few minutes ago had killed him. But Abdin lost only two months, unlike the three and a half years he lost when he was killed by Laluri. That was why he commonly used the house whenever he needed to kill himself. Contrary to when he stabbed or poisoned himself, death at the hands of the black house would register as death at the hands of the enemy.

The question here was, why would Abdin want to kill himself?

The answer wasn't far-fetched.

Abdin just wanted to raise his cultivation. In the previous loop, he had gained more than a hundred years - more than what he expected. Because of that, he wanted to repeat the entire loop by resetting everything that occurred.

For instance, he wanted to kill Laluri again, drive away the cultivation sect called Will of San, and capture Tairen.

This wouldn't earn him the same amount of years he got in the first run, but he could still get at least thirty (or twenty if he was unlucky) percent of that. He could get another twenty percent when he repeated it the second time, and he would keep repeating it until he could no longer receive any bonus.

Since the whole world was oblivious to the loop, no one could bring him any setbacks. All he needed to do was reenact everything exactly as it had happened, and everything would fall into place.

Reenacting the same thing over and over could drive a person insane. But Abdin was used to it. He knew exactly what he needed and how he needed to do it. He would never tire as long as it earned him a lifespan.

He marched to the heart of the forest and drew the same seal as before to summon the castle. Then he went and invited Juwaira and her party,

Will of San attacked again. This time, he earned twenty-nine years. But it barely ended before he reset it again and gained another eight years. He repeated it for the last time and earned a year. After that, he continued from where he stopped.

No one in the world knew the situation except Abdin. The loop wiped away every memory and every gain from all people as soon as it resets.

Abdin peered into his core and smiled.

[Congratulations. Your overall cultivation base has reached 246 years. You have 158 years and 9 months left to live.]

It was now only four years before the castle expanded. But before then, there were things he needed to do.

In three days, Tairen would decide. Abdin was sure the young master wouldn't turn him down because that would mean death for him and he knew it. But even if the young master did his job and cleared the three villages, two more towns would remain. Abdin had calculated the trajectory of the expansion of the castle this time and he was sure it would involve the next two towns after the three villages. So he also needed Juwaira.

That evening, after his discussion with Tairen, he looked for the princess. She was ordering her men at the gates. Abdin could see her gesticulating with her hands even from a distance. She had somehow become more lively after the death of her slave.

One of the young men in the princess' team used earth-style cultivation. Juwaira used his power to blockade the entrance. Where the gate used to stand was now but a dead end. If not for the difference in the stone, one was white and the other dark brown, no one could tell that a gate used to stand on that spot.

Abdin gave them a curious look. "So, how can people pass through?"

Juwaira was startled when she heard his voice. She didn't know when he arrived. "We have little option. Since there is no gate to replace the missing one, I think it would be better to block it off. We will have to pull anyone who wants to enter, with a rope maybe."

Abdin shrugged. That could work. Cultivators had the strength to pull even horses over the wall.

"Good job then. I have nothing to pay you for now, but everyone can go and have two days' rest. Team A should stay behind to keep watch."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He removed a map of the castle and handed it to Denyanu. One house at the center of the castle was marked on the map. "Do you remember the captive we took from Will of San?"

Denyanu glanced at the map and then at Abdin before he arched his brows. They captured one prisoner earlier this morning. It wasn't even ten hours yet. None of them could ever forget this day in years, not in hours. Why would Abdin ask him that question?

"Is there another prisoner?" Asked the elderly man.

Abdin shook his head. "No. Just one. His name is Tairen. He is inside the marked house. Post a sentry to watch him."

Denyanu nodded, but he couldn't stop looking questioningly at Abdin. The way Abdin spoke was probably what got his attention. For him, the battle they had with Will of San was still fresh. He hadn't even taken a moment of rest since it happened. But it was different for Abdin, who felt as though the whole thing happened three or even four months back because he had repeated it more than three times.

Even though no time had passed, still his brain did witness things as they passed by. So the way he viewed time would often differ from other people.

"Do you have a minute?" Abdin said, turning to Juwaira and leaving the confused old man there. "I want us to talk."

"I have ten years," replied the young woman.

Abdin gestured for her to follow him before he left. Juwaira gave some instructions before she followed.

Abdin directed her to a small training house west of the gate. He reached out to hold her hands, but she drew away quickly.

Abdin tilted his head in confusion. Why was she moving away?

The woman trembled slightly and Abdin couldn't help but chuckle. She must be thinking about the marriage and probably swearing to herself she would never give in to whatever he was trying to do.

That didn't even cross his mind. One thing he learned the hard way was that his strength alone wasn't enough. He needed people to help him if he wanted to ever progress in his cultivation. That was the only reason he was wasting time on her.

Though the princess was absorbing spirit ki faster than his expectations, he still wanted her to grow faster. He didn't have much time. Enemies would start appearing from every corner of the world as soon as the castle expanded.

"What do you fear?" He asked.

"Who... Who says I am afraid?" She even blushed like a trifling teenager.

He had to admit. The way she pouted when she spoke and the brilliance of her eyes looked charming. She looked like a pouting bride. Even more interesting was she wasn't trying to look cute. It felt like she wanted him to know she was angry, but her fury couldn't show that much on her beautiful face.

He had to gather all his courage not to laugh. "I have a technique that could aid you in absorbing ki. But you can leave if you don't want it."

He turned and gestured toward the entrance. And that was when he realized the door had locked itself. They were all alone in the well-furnished building. Sweet smells from the garden stationed just behind the room filled the atmosphere. Maybe the princess had some mildly-acceptable reason to act as she did. Not that it mattered, of course.

Juwaira wasn't aware of his thoughts as she kept gazing at him. She finally nodded and held out her hands. He reached out and held both hands tight. His right holding her left as the left held her right hand.

This wouldn't be the first or the second time Abdin was holding the hand of a beautiful lady, but this was the young woman's first time to hold the hand of a man that wasn't her family. Her face reddened as though heated. Her fair skin betrayed every reaction she felt, which served to make her self-conscious all the more.

At first, Abdin was oblivious but he eventually frowned. Even the princess' hands were getting hot. Her attention wasn't on the matter at hand.

"I'll start absorbing the ki. I want you to do the same with me. I'll show you how we can merge our cores using the [copulation technique]. That way..."

Juwaira coughed and tried to break free.

"Damn it. It's not what you think." Maybe the name of the technique was wrong, he thought. "Forget about the name. We will only be holding hands and the ki absorbed will double itself. Do you get it?"

"Hmm? Yes... Yes..." She stuttered. Her face was just red. No other color was left.

Abdin inhaled deeply. Perhaps, the young woman was well-versed in the matters of cultivation and leadership but she lacked any experience in anything that had to do with the relation of man and woman. Their marriage would be a long way from now if that was the case.

He shook her hands. "Pay attention. I don't need any ki at the moment, so all the ki we absorb will flow to your core. Let me know if you have enough to make a year."

She nodded and turned a stern face. She was a princess. The most beautiful in the realm. Abdin was a mere peasant in possession of pol and treasures. How many thousands of cultivators bowed before her yearning for even a glance from her? Why would she feel differently about him? The man hadn't had the looks or the nobility of other royals.

Abdin had already started absorbing ki and she was forced to concentrate

Ten minutes later.

"Ok. It is ok, I have it." She stopped him.

Abdin raised his eyebrows curiously. Did that mean she had already gotten enough ki to create a year? But that shouldn't be possible. He had used the same technique on many women in many empires, ten minutes was too short a time.

As if she wanted to confirm his thoughts, she shut her eyes and began to chant. The ki that gathered in her core churned and condensed.

Her cultivation was more than two thousand years, putting her at ten times his current level. But it would still take him two days before he got a year if he was alone. And even with her help, it would take him almost a whole day. However, if his cultivation was as much as hers, it would take him more than a week to add a year to his lifespan.

But she did it in just ten minutes.

After about a half hour of meditation, she opened her eyes and glanced at him. A delighted smile brightened up her face as their eyes met. "Thank you," she said.

Abdin forced a smile. If the girl got a year every forty to fifty minutes, then he would never surpass her.

"Let's continue," he said.

Juwaira nodded and managed to grab his hands before he was ready.

Abdin went deeply into thought. There was this long time when he summoned a castle and managed to find good friends. However, his friends' achievements eclipsed his own and somehow led to the destruction of the castle. He lost a lot...

Something like that shouldn't be allowed to happen again. Call him paranoid as much as you would like, he believed in his safety first.