As they walked, everyone in the group watched the surroundings intently. Well, except for Isaac, who did everything but watch his surroundings carefully.

The differences between the Qi types were remarkable in the cave. The predominantly rocky formation was everywhere, but the details varied according to the monsters inhabiting the separated spaces.

They passed several places that would be interesting for Dante to come in the future. The one that caught his attention the most was a place that had the highest density of fire Qi he had ever seen. Other than the one generated by Isaac, of course.

Since their major goal was to get to where they had made their reservations as quickly as possible, they tried to avoid as confrontations. The monsters that had the misfortune of detecting them met their fate quickly, usually in the form of an ice hammer.

"We have arrived. I have taken the liberty of reserving other rooms next to the training rooms that Rim and Sabrina will stay in. Come on, there's no time to waste," Isaac announced as he took the lead and walked through an ornate door.

Just like the other times, an ornate door marked a big difference between the rooms it connected. Leaving the cave, whose Qi of the area seemed to be thunder, they came upon a strangely familiar corridor.

Perhaps not familiar to the others, but normal to Dante and Isaac. The environment was eerily similar to the training room he went through every day in the evening.

"Master, this here... the castle basement was based on this, right?"

"The opposite, actually. The area we are now was built long after the castle. Now, let's get to know our new temporary home."

It wasn't long before they entered another room, which had a yellowish light from the crackling flames. The environment seemed less oppressive than outside. Almost welcoming.

"The bigger bed is mine!" shouted Rim, as she ran to a partition that supposedly led to the bedrooms.

Moving at superhuman speed, Isaac was at the door before Rim could blink.

"Negative. There are two beds in each of those rooms. You can divide them any way you want. I have reserved my special accommodations here," the master said, disappearing into the room and closing the door.

A large corridor contained several doors. Dante deduced that besides the training rooms, there were accommodations there. After all, even cultivators needed rest and food from time to time.

"Come on, Dante. I want to leave my things and I'll make dinner. It won't be easy to keep to the biological schedule without the sun as a reference, but I think it's important that we discipline ourselves," Hector said, going to one room. He acted promptly in order to avoid any confusion of words by Sabrina and Dante. Not that they would disagree on anything, as neither of them barely had the courage to speak to the other.

After they were comfortable, everyone ate a quick meal and went to bed. For Dante, training would begin soon.

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"Good morning, sunshine."

Dante felt a hand lifting him by the collar of his robes. For a moment, the anger that took over him for being woken up drove him to try to get rid of whoever had grabbed him. The attempt proved in vain before long. It was easier to move a mountain than Isaac's hand.

Isaac was pleased when he saw that the other three were already good to go. Ironically, the one using the power of the sun could not wake up together with the star. That would soon have to change.

"Very well. Rim, Sabrina, come with me and I'll show you how to open your rooms. Hector, if you need anything, you can ask. I will not interfere with your training, as you clearly know what you are doing. Dante, I have taken the liberty of reserving a small room with no ambient Qi at the end of the hall. Please wait for me there. Hector, there is one for you too, if you want."

Dante cringed when he heard his master's words. He was sure that the reservation had not come for free.

The room was exactly as Isaac had said. Empty and with no ambient aura.

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Dante sat down and waited, anxious about what was about to come. It didn't take long for the master to walk through the door. All playfulness drained from his gaze. When it came to cultivation, Isaac was ruthless, admitting no jokes. And then, again, the training that would destroy Dante's body began.

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As soon as she entered the room, all the metal attached to Rim's clothes began to shimmer with energy. It was as if she had entered a large magnet. The aura was concentrated to the point that she could taste metal in her mouth.

Feeling the aura that permeated the room, she even considered forgiving Isaac for making her reserve the room for a month. Places like this were certainly almost impossible to find, even more so for specific Qi types like hers.

Releasing her spheres, she tested her control. At first, she decided to stick with just her two main spheres. While levitating them, she activated the aura of both at the same time. Around each of the spheres, the air was shifted so that a vacuum was created. She was reasonably pleased with the result. After training - a lot of training - her new spheres would be unstoppable.

She couldn't wait to find out how her oversoul would work. Hector had said that often the power of the oversoul was so important that it caused cultivators to have to change their paths in a fundamental way.

Hoping that this was not the case, she spread her belongings on the ground and got into a meditation position. As soon as she crossed her legs while sitting on the ground, the metal balls came one by one and settled on her lap, like a dog being called by its owner.

Feeling the metal Qi coursing through her veins, she grunted in pain. Opening her eyes, she decided that it would be wise to absorb the Qi gradually. Her meridians were not used to such strength. It was a pity that Isaac had guided her to cultivate for a few days, so that she could reach the maximum efficiency of her core. It was a pity because she knew it would be foolish not to listen to her teacher.

Although Isaac was somewhat annoying, Rim had no doubt that his power was above them. Not of only them, of the four of them, but above even that school. She couldn't feel his core yet, but it was the way he carried himself. He reminded her of those bastards.

Channeling her anger, she took this as a perfect time to enter a state of concentration. There was no better incentive than the desire for revenge.

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Sabrina was faced with absolute darkness as she entered the room. No, absolute darkness was not a good definition. Dark was a concept people gave to an environment devoid of light.

The room was not exactly devoid of light, but rather carried an excess of shadows. It was as if the darkness was palpable, almost physical.

Closing her eyes, she ignored all her senses. At least the typically human ones. In that environment, every inch would function as her senses, bringing her more information than any normal cultivator.

Taking a deep breath, she let herself be consumed by the darkness and her heightened senses. Her meridians quickly absorbed the darkness, which danced within her, in harmony with her Qi.

She had to hold back her tears. It wasn't as if anyone was going to see her crying there. It was that should they start to fall, she wasn't sure she would be able to stop them.

Her life had been marked by tragedies. Having to fend for herself early on, she never had many friends. The stolen belongings were memories of the special people who had helped her at some point in her life. Lurdes, who gave her food when she was hungry. Roy, who gave her work and taught her how to negotiate. Everyone who had marked her heart in some way was in that box.

And now, the box was no longer there. Someone had stolen it. Even with that, the strange thing was that the tears were not only of sadness. She couldn't help but feel joy as she remembered the journey so far. For the first time in a long time, she was comfortable with those people there.

She could be Sabrina, the real Sabrina. Little by little, she managed to control her emotions, putting everything back into darkness. Now was not the time to think. Now it was time to surrender to absolute darkness.

Soon, she would show what she was trully capable of.

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While everyone else was cultivating, Hector was walking through the cave. For him, cultivating now would be of little use, since only one specific room would offer enough Qi for him to make progress there.

He was already ready for advancement. His sacred materials would be more than enough. Yet, he would use the room provided by Isaac, just to be safe.

If only resources were enough to take a cultivator further on his way to the heavens, wealth would always mean power. He well knew that this was not always the case.

In each of the rankings, the progression was different. While in silver the mastery of new techniques and purity of core were usually what drove progression, in gold it was different. In gold, it was all about experience. Sure, solidification of the core occurred with cultivation, but combat was paramount.

He didn't take long to reach one of the deepest points of the cave. According to the map, there was a risk of encountering a Class B monster. He knew he wasn't ready yet, so he just kept in range of the C-Class monsters.

The monsters in that region were strange creatures. With the heads of fish and bodies of dogs, the beasts manipulated ice Qi accurately enough to trap their victims before any reaction was possible.

Taking a deep breath, he accessed his core.

There could only be one ice king. Kill. Kill.

His monster’s thoughts were still rudimentary. In life, it had been a Class A Yeti, enough to terrorize this entire lower realm. Now, he served Hector.

Although he could speak little by voice, notably because of Hector’s still weak core, the monster's intentions were clear. The world was too small for other icy beasts.

Letting Qi leak from his body, he smiled as the nearby monsters looked at him in awe. It was time to gain combat experience.