“Trying to play tricks on me, huh?” Cassian narrowed his eyes.
Everything Ravager said just felt off.
“Come on now, bro.
You’re the warden here, aren’t you?
Same as those before me, I need you to keep an eye on things.
Why would I fool you?
Wouldn’t that be digging my own grave?”
“Fine,” Cassian said, voice laced with suspicion.
“Then tell me, how do I open up the hidden sanctum in my body?
And how do I awaken this so-called soul gift?”
“Simple,” Ravager said, shrugging.
“Just keep tempering your body.
As for your soul attributes, we’ll talk about that once you’ve carved out the first sanctum.
Stick to my path, and becoming a transcendent isn’t just a dream.”
“Tempering, huh?” Cassian frowned, then turned toward Crimsonlotus in Cage Three.
“Didn’t you master those Immortal Elixirs?”
In his mind, Crimsonlotus was a medical emperor-if he could use elixirs for body refinement, wouldn’t that save a ton of effort?
Crimsonlotus raised his single brow.
“Kid, if you’re looking for shortcuts, I got a few up my sleeve.
But if you aim to carve out a true sanctum, and become someone real, my advice?
One step at a time.”
“You saying using elixirs isn’t solid?” Cassian asked.
“It’s not about being fake,” Ravager cut in.
“It’s just not grounded.
The only thing that counts is what you forge with your own hands-your own body.
Start messing around with tricks, and you’re asking for trouble down the line.”
Quick fixes just lead to ruin.
That was the unspoken truth behind Ravager’s words.
Cassian might look like a genius in Lunaris now.
But once he steps outside the city?
He’d be a nobody.
“You got a faster way for me to toughen up?” Cassian asked, staring him down.
“Your continent’s got sects or academies, right?” Ravager said.
“Go learn the basics there first.
Once you feel they’re not enough, come back to me.
Then I’ll show you the real stuff.”
It was obvious Ravager wasn’t the type to hand out secrets.
He was the strict teacher kind-you want his teachings, you’d better earn them.
Even basic techniques weren’t given lightly.
“So, after all that, what do you want from me?” Cassian asked, cutting to the point.
“Just bring me some wine.” Ravager grinned.
“That’s it?” Cassian blinked, surprised.
Bloodfiend in Cage One liked blood.
Willow in Cage Two preferred water.
Crimsonlotus went for spirit materials.
And now Ravager, in Cage Four, just wanted booze…
Seems like these old monsters weren’t that hard to please after all.
“No clue what the guy in Cell Five’s into,” Cassian muttered.
The morning light had already spilled across the corridor, and frankly, he didn’t feel like poking into another damn cell right now.
“Kid, take my advice-don’t go waking up more inmates just yet,” Ravager’s voice followed close behind.
“Not until you’re stronger.
Not till you can handle the consequences.”
Cassian turned.
“Why?”
“You’re the only one in charge here,” Ravager said calmly.
“Every prisoner that wakes?
You’re tied to ’em.
Just like me and the others up ahead.
The more benefit you draw from us, the heavier your burden.
Cause and effect, got it?”
“What if I just walked away from it all?” Cassian asked, brows raised.
“My gut says I’d rot away, piece by piece…
maybe vanish without a trace,” Ravager gave a half-smile.
“Something tells me if everyone here dies, this whole place’ll burn.”
“I kinda felt the same,” Bloodfiend chimed in from the shadows.
“That’s why I tricked you-had to make sure you’d take responsibility for me…”
“You what?!” Cassian nearly jumped out of his skin.
That pressure on his shoulders suddenly doubled.
Hell, he hadn’t even thought about it that way before.
If all these monsters in the golden cells woke up and he was expected to deal with each one?
Forget cultivation-he’d break his back just keeping them all fed.
“I’m not trying to scare you,” Ravager said.
“But fair warning: one day, they’ll all wake anyway.
Best grow strong before then.
If you’re strong enough, you won’t have to fear bearing the weight.”
Cassian sighed hard.
Guess that initial curiosity he had about these cells needed to be shelved for now.
Even treasures had to be digested slowly.
And he was still too damn weak.
“You’re right.
I’ll be cautious.
Next time I drop by-I’ll bring wine.”
“That’s all a man can ask,” Ravager chuckled.
*****
Cassian pulled his awareness back.
Eyes opened, and he found himself lying in bed again.
Didn’t gain anything concrete from Ravager this time-but his words lingered deep in Cassian’s mind.
About digging open the bodyforged sanctum, about responsibility.
Still, the trip hadn’t been a waste.
His cultivation had now reached the first stage of the spiritcore realm.
More than that-he was a ninth-rank alchemist now.
“The Elwoods’ betrothal gathering must’ve started already…”
He skipped breakfast, grabbed the token Emily had handed him yesterday, and bolted straight toward the Elwood clan’s mansion in Lunaris.
Truth was, Cassian hated these matchmaking events.
He couldn’t care less about them.
But his Uncle Charles had signed him up anyway.
The man was thinking of the Faraday family’s future, sure-but also looking out for Cassian’s path.
Cassian couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
By the time he reached the square outside the mansion, the place was packed end to end.
Local townsfolk, wandering merchants-hell, even cultivators from across the Northreach Dominion had shown up.
Word of Landon’s search for a suitor for his daughter had been circulating for months.