'Now, what to do?' Aster was in the living room and sat on the sofa while the fainted Kamryn sat in another one. He was also shocked that his conjectures were true that this inconspicuous looking guy is actually a girl. 'The world really has myriads of tricks and treasures.'
The triplets were also quite curious about Kamryn's treasure. They were there the entire fight, so they heard of Aster's shocking revelation that stunned the Valentines.
Aria eventually got back to the point and asked. "Aster, should we run away? Glenn Valentine has a lot of connections in the city that he can overpower you quite easily."
"Hmm. I don't know much about this Valentine guy but surely he would not be much different than that Garth, right. Can you tell me what his cultivation level is?" He had to consult the best information consultant he knew and that was the triplets that memorized a lot of houses. Even if they isolate their knowledge on the subject of houses, they are still bound to know about a thing or two regarding some celebrity.
"Well, from what I have heard. Glenn is a twenty-year-old mage that reached the peak of the Expert ranks. We never really delved much in cultivation levels but I am pretty sure that he is stronger than the guys you beat up." Aria said in worry. She saw of Aster's inexplicable abilities but a huge gap in strength like that would be impossible to overcome.
"Tsk. Here I thought that Green Silk City was just a weak city in Great Heaven and the perfect starting area to grow power. To think that there is actually a man like that in his age group to reach that level." Aster quickly released his tongue from the top of his mouth in criticism. "Girls, you should have heard of relative ranks in this city. Mind telling me the average and the strongest."
Eve was quick to answer with a bit of animosity. "Well, people say that there are a lot of Experts here because of the existence of Creed Academy and the Feral Regions. Coincidentally, that heartless city lord is among the strongest with a Master level in cultivation. Creed Academy is also said to host professors who are more powerful than him but they are just rumors being spread around."
Both Creed Academy and Feral Regions are great attractions that made the city stand out in the bordering cities of the nation. Creed as the prestigious institution of learning while the Feral Regions as the dangerous treasure trove of cultivators.
"I could enroll at Creed Academy but it looks like it will take some time for them to offer a hand in inviting a handful of students to learn inside their walls. Yet my plan to lay low there had become obsolete due to this incident." Aster contemplated while shooting a glance to Kamryn. 'This crossdresser is essentially my hostage and would be the perfect leverage against her older brother. Unfortunately I can't control and conquer her because I can't figure out where that disguising treasure is at.'
'Someone whose acclaimed title is Romance Tyrant is bound to be some guy who does not fall short from my level of handsomeness and his sister would eventually be a beauty as well.' Aster felt it to be unfortunate that the mediocre disguise and manly looks made his interest wane. 'Here I thought that my idea of punishing enemy women was happening and I am presented with this vexing situation of not being able to punish this haughty girl because I am unable to get rid of that manly disguise..'
'System, anything sold on the Shop that can help me with this?' The system is bound to have a solution to this but the system simply replied with. "No."
Being a lover of his sister was the best option so that the guy would reign his tendency to take revenge on Aster from making Garth into a bird.
'That rules that option out of the list. No choice but to empower myself then. I pummeled an Expert, then I could do it again. Even if I can't get him, I will scare him off by matching his abilities and showing my potential.' He turned to his cultivation and was mind struck by the amazing discount option of Envious Mana Refiner.
[Cultivation: Initiate 1 (0/10,000) 100% discount]
"Hahaha!" It did not take long for Aster to issue a sudden and loud laugh that baffled the triplets. Plum innocently asked. "Aster, have you gone crazy?"
He nearly choked from her question and realized that he lost his bearing in front of the girls. "It's nothing. I just found out something that made me happy and can't help but try it out."
Aster closed his eyes again and let mana enshroud him as he ordered the system. 'System, advance me to Initiate 2.'
The levels of the Initiate and its corresponding levels are not much different in the Novice ranks. Instead of mana filling up the three cores sequentially, the Initiate ranks fill up the three cores in a simultaneous manner. By the time one reaches the level that is Initiate 10, the person is bound to carry ten times more than what he has in Initiate 1.
Aster felt the mana inside him being doubled in quantity in all of his three cores and power coursed through his strengthened meridians. Each level is bound for greater manipulation and practice to get used to but Aster had ways to ease himself with that.
Every level is considerably hard to reach because it takes effort to store up mana. It even takes more time to master the use of that mana. This is the reason why Aster was surprised by the presence of the Romance Tyrant who broke the norms much like him.
'I have my excuse for being overpowered due to the system. That Glenn guy must be some sort of heaven-destined character like someone which is meant to be the main character of a cultivation novel.' That was the only practical reason he could assume regarding Glenn. This only enforces his claim that he should either be friends or stay away from that guy's revenge. 'If the formula of the novels I have read is bound to be true and he is the main character, I would be the enemy that becomes his stepping stone.'
'Heck, he might even kill me and take the system for himself.' Aster envisioned Glenn as an ugly guy who defeats him and would say. "Haha! I was already talented before but with this system from you, I could truly rule supreme. You should have never crossed me, the one who is chosen by the heavens."
'Pfft! Like that would ever happen. This is real life and not some sort of trashy and redundant novel. Now that I think about it the creator said that he made us from imagination, maybe...' Before Aster could break some sort untold wall in the fabric of their existence. The system and the creator unknowingly influenced his mind to stop with what he was thinking and back to the topic at hand.
Aster eventually regained his bearing and went to check on his cultivation level and needed lust points to advance.
[Cultivation: Initiate 2 (0/20,000) 100% discount]
'Thank heavens. The new skill I learned really paid off. System, advance me to Initiate 3.' Another influx of mana revolved from the surrounding and was absorb towards his inner core. The mana was a bit denser that the girls also felt the disturbance in their surrounding mana.
"Aster, you are really a monster." Eve commented as she realized that Aster's cultivation broke through again with him just sitting there. Not that she found it strange only a bit surprising because she was experiencing breakthroughs just by having sex with him.
"Hoho! Eve, are you planning to break up with your monster of a lover?" He joked to ease the tension that they are feeling in the moment. Eve could only roll her eyes at him and said. "If you talk like that to me, we will not sleep in your room tonight."
He could only relent due to her tactics while relishing on the sensation of empowerment from a recent breakthrough and could not help but ask for more. 'System, another jump in cultivation to Initiate 4."
The system did not have to deduct any of his lust points as another full discount option was considered. Attributes of mana were literally forming a shrouding cloud around him as he now had four-times of mana in his reserves compared to when he was in Initiate 1.
'To think that I was just a book reader and now I can already rival my stuck up cousins.' Aster felt his blood boil and can't help but form a mental image in his head where he was slapping their arrogant faces to become no different than a pig's. 'It will not be long for them to feel that way.'
[Cultivation: Initiate 4 (0/40,000) 100% discount]
[Cultivation: Initiate 5 (0/50,000) 100% discount]
Aster did another succession of breakthroughs while thinking about conforming to his skills with his cultivation level later. If his math was correct, without the discounts, he would have never reached this level with what little lust points had left in reserve.
[Cultivation: Initiate 6 (0/60,000) 10% discount]
He was stumped with the price and the minimalized discount tag. 'It is a shame I can't harvest again from the Garth bird. I already controlled my mana sucking carefully to put him in the borderline of being a cripple and the other guards are not to touch yet because of Glenn's presence. Discounts would have long been overflowing if I did not want to mend bridges with the guy. I'll suck them up when I am sure to beat him though.'
'I can turn to hunt Expert beasts but I doubt that they would be as dumb as Garth bird. Lower level beasts would essentially yield not many discounts at all. I guess I am stuck at Initiate 6 for a while.' He still felt that he could not stand on equal grounds with the Romance Tyrant at the moment, so he would turn to improve on things that can help him and those were skills.
'This Glenn guy would literally pay with how much I am burning my lust points just to face him.' Aster had a feeling that he is a one-day millionaire that wasted his wealth in an instant. His dislike towards the unmeet Valentine had already peaked. 'It is quite stifling to want to kill the guy while maintaining a peaceful front to avoid direct confrontation at the same time.'
A suppression from being weak was what was caging Aster like how he was at the treated at the Suns family. 'This stifling suppression is what a lot of people experience in this world and what hinders us from attaining true freedom.'