The great thing about King Dong, Cade quickly learned, was that he loved to hear himself talk. Once the immediate threat of death was removed, Cade didn’t need to lift a finger; the man spilled everything. It turned out that two years prior, King Dong had personally met Griswold through his father’s dealings. The young Brightheart had even taken him out drinking, probably out of sheer boredom.

  King Dong’s tale made a terrifying amount of sense and shed significant light on the slave trade in the northern Sun continent. Apparently, all official traders were beastborn, and some races, notably elves and fey, were not fond of slavery. Interestingly, these two shared some very distant ancestry. King said he had heard of individual deals being made under the table. Some elves purchased beastborn, then freed them on the condition that they would enter a five-year employment contract. King suspected the beastborn were paid only the bare minimum, but after five years, they were free to go. It certainly beat being a slave for life.

  King had also heard that quite a few human elders from various large sects had their own dealings with the slavers, though again, he didn’t know any details and couldn’t guarantee it wasn’t just hearsay.

  Regarding the Brightheart siblings, Griswold and Veronica were the children of Baron Marius Brightheart, a son of a thrice-removed cousin to the current Emperor. Marius’s line didn’t live in the capital and was rather impoverished, at least by noble standards. Apparently, there were several thousand Brighthearts in the Empire, and most didn’t live in the capital—or were rich for that matter—so it wasn’t out of the ordinary. The Baron’s lands were located in the north-western outskirts of Sacrament City, and Marius held an elder position in the nearby Sword Sacrament sect.

  The young bandit didn’t know whether the Baron was directing his children or if the two acted on their own interests, but he knew they had started their operations around four years ago. Initially, they both acted under fake names and wore masks, but not long after it all began, one of their henchmen got drunk and accidentally revealed their identities. After this incident, the young Brighthearts dropped their fake identities. There wasn’t much to be concerned about; buying slaves was common, especially beastborn. Organizations from all over the continent would buy Kettle slaves to replace their continuously diminishing numbers of outer-sect members, who, after finding out they were essentially free labor, would often pack their things and leave. This, along with a great number of spiritual herbs at good prices, were the main reasons so many races had representatives in Kettle.

  King strongly suspected that Griswold and Veronica were purchasing slaves for someone of even higher, unknown status. Another interesting tidbit King knew was that the siblings were big spenders, especially in the alchemy department. King also reaffirmed he had never heard about them either selling or being interested in buying humans. In terms of their cultivation rank, Griswold should still be in the eighth stage of Qi Condensation, and Veronica in the seventh.

  That murdering bastard has definitely made some progress. On the night of the attack he was in the sixth stage at most, more likely peak fifth stage. In the end, it made little difference. Nothing could save that man after what he did to his mother.

  Cade knew well that at least Griswold had captured and sold humans in the past, and it didn’t seem like that night was his first time either.

  In the process of squeezing every last bit of useful information out of the young bandit, Cade had also learned a lot more about the use of cultivation furnaces. It was a truly despicable practice and one of the main reasons the slave trade in Kettle was booming.

  It was all because of old monsters, living fossils who had long reached the end of their cultivation path. Pretty much every sect had a few of these ancient beings skulking around, often pulling strings from the shadows. Within the Sun Continent, there had to be millions of aged elders. When cultivators approached the end of their lifespan, they were faced with two choices.

  First choice: simply die and make room for the young. Naturally, most wouldn’t let go of life that easily.

  Second option: use cultivation furnaces to forcefully raise their realm by one stage, maybe two. Many of these elders had been stuck for more than a hundred years at the great circle of Foundation Establishment, and by forming a True Core they could not only elevate themselves and their entire sect, but they would also add another few hundred years to their lifespan. To them, no price was too large to pay, even if their actual strength would never match someone who had achieved their rank through natural progression.

  However, the higher the realm, the more living furnaces one would need to advance. King wasn’t sure on the specifics, but he had seen beastborn clan elders purchasing over a hundred youngsters each. This was the only time throughout the entire monologue that Cade detected the slightest lie fluctuations from King Dong, and he immediately understood that the scared man was attempting to downplay the true numbers. They were likely much higher.

  The ritual shared many similarities with refining alchemical ingredients, except it used living, breathing people, refining their bodies and souls into pure spiritual qi. Cade suspected the pain those unlucky youngsters suffered could be dozens of times worse than what he had experienced during his own rebirth. It was difficult to imagine such a level of sustained torture.

  After the cultivation was forcefully raised by one stage, this was usually it. However, on rare occasions, raising it by two stages was possible. One of the best ways to increase your chances was to refine a human. In fact, the more, the better, but even one made a huge difference. Raising cultivation by three stages was luckily impossible. Aptitude could not be stretched beyond a certain level. Otherwise, these greedy old monsters would have drained the young generation dry in pursuit of power and lifespan extension.

  When Cade finished listening, he realized his nails had involuntarily extended into claws, piercing the palms of his hands. He was so consumed by rage he didn’t even notice when it happened. He forced himself to breathe, slowly calming down. Then his eyes met King’s.

  “I suggest you leave Kettle and change your line of work,” Cade said in a measured tone. “Your aptitude is not bad; you could become a true expert. There are humans in the south, you know. The only reason we’re even having this conversation is because I know you’re a robber and not a murderer at heart. Not yet, at least. Do something with your life before it’s too late.” He stared into King Dong’s eyes for another breath before turning and walking away.

  He didn’t get to see how the young man chose to remain in the alley after his departure, massaging his throat with a thoughtful gaze.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “That’s… I don’t even know what to say. I never knew slaves were used for such nefarious purposes. I sort of assumed they were being purchased as cheap labor, you know, to do things around the sects that nobody wants to do.” Gorgo was momentarily speechless after listening to Cade’s explanation of how cultivation furnaces worked.

  “What do you think about the Baron’s involvement?” Cade asked, curious to know Gorgo’s thoughts on the subject. Between the two of them, the giant was definitely the more objective one.

  “Even if he doesn’t take part personally, I bet he’s still involved,” Gorgo’s opinion came as no surprise and reflected Cade’s own. He could hear the disgust in his friend’s voice. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one standing behind everything. I won’t believe that two sixteen-year-old children came up with this plan on their own.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. They were old enough to know right from wrong, but not old enough to come up with such a complex scheme.”

  “Tell me how you want to go about this,” Gorgo said, clenching his fist, “and I’ll have your back.”

  “Thanks, brother. I already have an idea.”

  The next day, the two of them headed out to purchase personal fliers. Though Gorgo had initially planned on getting a basic disc because it was the cheapest option available, after adding the profits from selling a few dozen cores and beast carcasses accumulated over a month spent in the Verdant Sea, each of them had slightly over 9,000 spirit crystals. It was more than enough to afford a decent flier. Eventually, they both settled on Arrow Six personal speeders, which, after some serious haggling, set them back just shy of 6,000 spirit crystals each.

  These speeders were made by the finest goldscale artificers and therefore were quite expensive. True to its name, the Arrow Six looked like a narrow, ten-foot-long arrowhead made of darksteel, with a single seat positioned towards the rear. They were some of the fastest fliers on the market, several times faster than the best flying discs and beaten only by even more expensive Arrow models. Additionally, one could link them with their storage ring through a special formation, allowing the flier to siphon energy directly from the crystals placed inside. Similar to flying discs, the speeders were equipped with a wind barrier, as well as momentum-reducing formations.

  Gorgo was very keen on purchasing a fast flier, as the distance he had to travel was huge, and the closer he got to Xia'lah, the more dangerous flying animals he would encounter due to rising spiritual qi density. With the speed and maneuverability of an Arrow Six, he could basically ignore all aerial threats below Rank 3. He originally planned to buy a cheap disc only because he was short on crystals. The towering warrior was initially considering an Arrow Seven, but the price difference of nearly 3,000 crystals forced him to change his mind.

  What truly convinced Cade to get this particular speeder was its siphoning formation’s ability to accept a cultivator’s own energy, including their blood qi, even allowing the flier to push its speed far past normal limits for a brief period. He knew the smarter thing to do would be to purchase something cheaper, considering he might need the crystals to get into the monastery, but since he was about to mess with the Brighthearts, he had to have a fast flier to make a swift escape in case things didn’t go according to plan. Naturally, for spiritual qi cultivators, burning blood qi was a self-harming art that could affect their future cultivation and was typically used as a last resort. This did not apply to Cade; his only concern was how much of his blood qi the formation could utilize without the flier breaking down mid-flight.

  The first few test flights were both an exhilarating and humbling experience, after Cade nearly crashed into the side of a mountain, attempting to boldly maneuver between the peaks without reducing his speed nearly enough.

  After a few days spent flying over the Verdant Sea, Cade had finally tracked down a peak Rank 1 beast—a glass tiger. He wanted to gauge his current strength and obtain higher-potency blood, as even using pure middle-stage Rank 1 blood essence was making his coffin cultivation painfully slow. All in all, he was quite fortunate, as peak Rank 1 spirit beasts weren’t easy to find, with multiple hunting parties often fighting over higher-ranked creatures. Before they went after Gris, Cade wanted to raise his cultivation to the great circle of Blood Transformation; he even had some hopes of advancing into Flesh Fortification. Gorgo was likewise busy cultivating, attacking the eighth stage of Qi Condensation and a hair’s breadth away from breaking through.

  The glass tiger was fifteen feet tall, powerfully built, and its fur resembled thin shards of dull glass tightly packed together, mimicking the colors of the environment. This glass coat was also the beast’s primary line of defense, as the shards were incredibly sharp and could effortlessly slice through flesh and most normal types of armor. Special darksteel suits existed for the sole purpose of fighting these things. And glass tigers, like pretty much every carnivorous spirit beast here, loved eating cultivators.

  When the tiger noticed Cade approaching, it stood its ground, its front paws spread wide to appear even bigger. The creature growled menacingly but didn’t attack. Instead, its pupils narrowed into tight vertical slits as it evaluated this suspiciously calm prey. It was obvious the tiger’s intelligence was leaps and bounds above the man-eating ape’s.

  Master Lao Ren once said that perfection doesn’t exist within the universe. “Everything in this world has a weakness, a law easiest to sever.”

  In the case of glass tigers, their weak point was their underbelly, which had only a very thin layer of glass shards protecting it. Additionally, their skulls weren’t very tough, and blunt damage was most effective when attacking directly. They were, however, very fast. Rarely did anyone risk hunting these creatures by themselves.

  Cade read this in a new, obscenely expensive bestiary he bought in Kettle. He purchased it alongside a great number of other books and treatises, all of which were preserved on special crystal slips, like maps. This amazing invention made reading and cultivating in the coffin not only possible, but enjoyable.

  Cade noticed the shards on the tiger’s back were finally standing on end, a telltale sign it was preparing to strike. He traced the ring, pulling out his short sword, a perfect tool for this job.

  The tiger roared ferociously, pushing off with its powerful hind legs and leaping the sixty or so feet between them in the blink of an eye. The beast was strong and impressively fast, worthy of being at the peak of its rank.

  Cade chose not to ignite his blood qi; this encounter did not require brute force. The moment the tiger jumped, he burst into a sprint, pushing his speed to its limits. Just as the tiger’s massive front claw was about to tear him apart, Cade’s body bent backward at a seemingly unnatural angle, sliding right under the tiger’s outstretched form. At the same moment, he pushed the blade upwards, carving a deep furrow along the cat’s belly.

  The tiger howled mournfully as it tumbled heavily through the forest, scaring numerous birds and leaving behind a trail of glistening intestines. Its momentum was halted by a thick oak tree, the force of the crashing beast splintering its ancient trunk. After bouncing off the tree, the big cat lay twitching on the ground, whimpering quietly.

  Cade arrived fast as a shadow, stabbing the dying animal through the eye and giving it a quick release from its torment. He then harvested an immaculate, glowing core from its skull. Both the core and the carcass were brought into his ring, which began to greedily extract the creature’s blood essence.

  After cleaning his sword with a spare linen cloth, Cade returned the weapon to the ring’s storage space. He was becoming quite fond of this little blade; its sharpness was excellent and the balance was perfect. While it wouldn’t work as a main weapon, it definitely had its uses.

  With a satisfied expression, Cade took out his speeder.

  “One down,” he said to the silent forest, “a few more to go.”