Yin & Yang Pleasures of Cultivation

Hearing the Siren Mage's gargle-up words, Darcel actually paused. His eyebrows curled in curiosity, and he then made a split-second decision. 

Instead of letting the Siren Mage quickly die off, Darcel lowers his Magical Energy output, allowing the Mage to live that bit longer.

In all honesty, this method was crueler than just killing the Siren Mage off. 

Now he'll have to experience death at an agonizingly slow pace and be completely powerless to do anything about it.

From the Siren Mage's horrific expression, it was easy to see how brutal this option was. 

However, Darce had long since abandon showing any of his enemies any shred of mercy. Hell, he first squashed that part of him as he grew up in the Parasol Organization. 

What mattered the most to Darcel now was keeping both Aniela and Masami safe. And the Siren Mage's words arouse that little bit of worry.

After all, this Siren Mage has dozens of years of experience in that organization over him. Therefore, whatever opinion he has would most likely be the absolute truth. Moreover, since he is on his last legs, the Siren Mage seemed very willing to talk.

With all this in mind, Darcel ignored the look of utter agony on the Siren Mage face and asked, 

"Dog organization? First time I've heard it described like that. Everyone in Azog Ice Town just seems to have nothing but praise for them."

"Heh-heh….is that right….? 

As the Siren Mage spoke, his lips starting twitching. Even though he's in immense pain, he can't suppress specific memories from bubbling up in his subconscious.

Memories that made the Siren Mage's lips twitch up in a disdainful smirk. That harrowing smirk coupled with the gruesome blood running down his face genuinely made for a terrifying image.

Despite wanting the release of death at this moment, the Siren Mage still continues to talk, as if he was venting out everything slumbering deep within him. 

"A bunch of bullshit. Just one slightest mistake, and you get heavily ostracized. And if you don't have the power, there's nothing you can do to change. Just one wrong move, and your life is ruined. Praise my ass. Among Mages, they are the most prideful and treacherous." 

The Siren Mage said it all in one breath. Afterward, he puked a copious amount of blood. It was like those last words took nearly all of his lifeforce. 

Right then, the Siren Mage became heavily blurry and felt his consciousness all but left him.

However, before he truly passed on, the Siren Mage said in a very faint whisper. 

"You will see it too…." 

And with his final piece said, the Siren Mage had finally died.

Darcel stayed motionless for a second. On instincts, he recalled back his Magical Energy, letting the Siren Mage corpse crash to the ground. 

As a heavy silence filled the area, Darcel tightly knitted his eyebrows. 'I wonder….if he knew what I could truly do, would his words change? But then again, he did imply about my talent being so great, so perhaps he already saw through it. Really, I had no plans to stay here long, but after that….we may need to speed up our time.'

Darcel took the Siren Mage's last words to heart. His combat prowess is great but nowhere near enough. 

Being content or absolutely confident is impossible unless his powers reach the very summit of the whole world.

At this time, Darcel was assured no other Senior-ranked Siren Mage could ever hope to match them. 

But those Elder Mages, his worries couldn't stop about them. And now, it only increased after that short exchange. 

After pondering for a few moments, Darcel came to a swift conclusion. With a complete grasp over their combat strength, it was now time to significantly boost their cultivation.

Suddenly, Darcel was taken away from his thoughts when he heard footsteps stroll up to him. Turning over, he spotted Aniela and Masami causally walking up to him.

Seeing the girls, some tension alleviated from Darcel's body. 

Really, having a highly reliable team make things much less suffocating. Even more perfect is that they're both beautiful women and his lovers.

"So you already finished things here, Darcy? Truly, we all went far faster than I could have ever expected." Aniela spoke first after taking one look at the Siren Mage's hole-filled corpse.

Now, there was a noticeable vibrant energy within her tone that wasn't quite there before this mission. 

"Well, well. If all missions like this, we can clear several of them just today!"

The smugness in Masami's tone was more apparent to notice. Her head was held proudly high, being distinctly different compared to her stature just before this mission.

A blooming smile blossomed onto Darcel's face. 'Even though that warning was ominous, it's all worth it to see the girls coming back to their old selves.' 

Truly Darcel can consider this mission as the highest success they achieved over these past days.

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Darcel then nodded to the girls, looked back over to the Siren Mage's corpse, and told them, "Come on, let's finish looting this thief trio; they bound to have plenty of good stuff. Then, once we claim our rewards, we'll fall into a schedule of close-door cultivation and completing missions."

"Sounds perfect, Darcy/I'm all fired up now." Aniela and Masami's voices, respectively, overlapped with each other. 

The girls were genuinely eager. Neither could even recall the last time they felt this pump since the Mercenary Exchange Event.

With all that settled, Darcel began walking up to the Siren Mage's corpse. And though he appeared calm on the surface, his mind started to rummage on this man's last words. 

Hopefully, they could leave before any actual disasters happen.

….

Days quickly breezed by, turning into weeks before Darcel, Aniela and Masami knew it. 

Since their first-ever mission, about two weeks have passed. 

During this time, the trio fell into a smooth regime. They would first complete several missions then later on cultivating throughout the night. 

While on this schedule, neither Darcel, Aniela, or Masami paid much attention to the outside world.

But, with every completed mission they achieved, their infamous reputation increased. 

Now Siren Mages had no other choice but to admit that Darcel's group was an excellent addition to their organization.

The tiers of mission the trio completed weren't easy at all. Some missions they achieved would be impossible for even other several Senior-ranked Siren Mages.

And though Darcel, Aniela, and Masami never bothered to seek out other Siren Mages to form relations, public opinion about them was slowly changing. 

No matter what, the trio has performed great merits that will benefit their organization.

Of course, no matter how opinions about them sway, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami couldn't care in the slightest. 

All of their focus was on gathering an abundance of resources. And aided by their Mystical Aura State, their cultivation and Magical Energy increase by leaps and bounds. 

Currently, a profound event was occurring within Darcel's group room.

Inside, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami sat in their usual cultivation positions. But the energy surrounding the three of them was heavily intense. 

Within the air, visible black spatial cracks lines ripple all around the room, gushing chilling tidal waves of Heavenly Qi energy.

If any Siren Mage were to step within the room, they would drown in the suffocating ocean-like energy permeating the air. 

The reason for this phenom was all because of Darcel and Aniela. At this moment, the duo was in the midst of breaking through to the Heavenly Transformation realm! 

As they were entirely focused on their cultivation, their speeds were at a breakneck pace.

Furthermore, Darcel and Aniela were already close to the peak of the Innate Core realm in the first place. With their comprehension being insanely high, it was only a matter of time.

And today is where the duo will take that final step. 

Darcel almost instantly adjusted himself to his best mental condition. His mind was unwaveringly clear, akin to an unending stream of warm water.

Then, without any hesitation, Darcel stimulated all of the accumulated Heavenly Qi energy within his nine Innate Core cracks. The Innate Core cracks was filled to their absolute limit and was ready to release at any time.

'Bang!' 

Showing zero hints of emotions on his face, Darcel detonated his nine Innate Core cracks! 

Darcel's body violently shook, but at that time, his bloodline vigorously surged. 

Tremendous power filled every inch of Darcel's body, stabilizing his Innate Core while also pushing Darcel's Spirit Sense. 

At a rapid pace, Darcel felt his Spirit Sense approach a new border of great power.

But before Darcel's Spirit Sense could fully transform, he felt a slight resistance. 

Right then, Darcel only had one firm thought that served as his underlying foundation for nearly all of his actions.

'This is just another stepping stone so I can keep Aniela and Masami safe. And eventually find that yellow-eyed woman!' 

'Ka-Cha!' 

A resounding shatter shook Darcel's mind and body.

In that instance, Darcel felt his mind broaden to a tremendous level. His Spirit Sense entirely transformed. 

At this moment, Darcel finally gained his Heavenly Spirit Sense!