Chapter 23
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Although Lucifer wasn't made entirely clear of his growing clarity in his comprehension with each step he took on his cultivation path, it was undeniably happening. When one included the fact that comprehension efficiency influenced the rate at which one could refine pills, lower-level clones were no longer necessary.
With all of this in mind for moving forward, Lucifer watched as the 1,000 7th Stage Qi Condensation Realm Clones left his home. Once they were gone, he pulled out a handful of pills and got right back to gobbling them down.
All of the pills were of the Mist Element, and his goal was to achieve Stage 4 in that same Element before eventually making his way to the Spiritual Pools.
'Though using pills for increasing cultivation is good and all, if I were to combine them with the medicinal effects of a few Spiritual Pools, I could potentially multiply my cultivation speed ten folds…!' he thought.
Lucifer was pumped up about his future cultivation, to say the least. However, the moment his Mist Elemental Body made a breakthrough into Stage 4, he received an unwelcome guest...
Knock! Knock!
A loud knock sounded at the door, followed by an annoyingly saccharine voice not long after:
"Young Master, I have come to inform you that Miss Mu and Lord Xiao are requesting your participation in the Monthly Family Competition. They insist that you must attend it and do your utmost to win, as there will be a number of special guests this time."
After being delivered this irritating message, Lucifer could hear Wei Kun's soft boots tap against the ground as she walked away from his room.
The moment she got far out of sight, a contemplative look formed on Lucifer's handsome face. He didn't like this one bit.
"This is definitely a set-up and not even a good one at that," he muttered under his breath, wondering how he should handle this 'request'.
'I could leave the family and find my own way in the world outside, but that would definitely be unwise. After all, this new family of mine has spies all across the Fire Nation and even the neighboring Nations. Escaping their spider-like gaze will be impossible…'
'And if they do end up catching me after an escape attempt, they will surely bring me back and turn me into a mindless puppet, doing with me as they please…'
Lucifer really didn't want to go to this Family Competition, but it didn't look like he had much of a choice in the matter...
'If I go, I will likely be sold off to those 'Special Guests,' probably as some kind of groom. But if I leave the family, I will lose my free will after getting caught.'
"Well… Shit… It looks like I will need to mess around with the playing board if I want to come out with all the benefits."
With these cryptic words, Lucifer glanced at a few clones he had just summoned.
"You all will buy from dozens of different herb shops, even those outside of town. We must not alert the family or any high-ranking government officials of our mass purchases. Use the Heavenly Transfiguration Technique if necessary. Just get it done."
"Affirmative," the 30 or so clones responded in unison before vanishing from his sight.
"With that out of the way…" Lucifer pulled out even greater numbers of Mid-Mortal Rank Pills, putting them into his mouth before walking out of his room.
He made his way through the confines of his home while circulating a technique called |Elusive Ascension|, which allowed him to actively cultivate even while exercising or walking around. In a sense, it was a Technique aimed toward the act of AFK cultivation, making it the perfect technique for constant use.
This Technique had also been bestowed upon Lucifer by his main body before he was created, but from what he had heard over countless epochs, this technique was given to the Main Body by some mysterious extraterrestrial feline.
But regardless of that little tidbit of lore, Lucifer made his way out of the mansion's main courtyard, taking in all the stares aimed at him.
'It seems like my Brothers and Sisters are quite interested in me—or rather, in my fragile position in the family. Hence, they have had the servants from their factions keep an eye on me.'
Lucifer could see right through the backgrounds of everyone in the Main Courtyard, accurately identifying who they were and which faction they were a part of.
'You hid them well, my dear kin, but in the end, all of this is for nought.'
"!!!" "!!!" "!!!"
Under the astonished gazes of the servants, Lucifer suddenly made a run for it, quickly dashing past all of them as he made his way past the main gate.
"Hurry, let's get after him! We must not lose sight of him!"
The various houseworkers and servants dropped what they were doing and rushed after the receding figure of the 6th Young Master.
Despite being in a hurry, they tried their best to make it seem natural.
"Sure… That's very natural of you guys… I bet every dumb dipshit in the world would be proud of this moment," a muted whisper could be heard from within an elaborately decorated shrubbery outside the front gate as Lucifer watched all the imps chase after a clone.
After a few seconds of making sure that everyone was gone, he scoffed aloud before heading up a curved mountain path to the left side of the mansion. This was where the various Spiritual Pools were located and also the place where his true grind would begin.
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