The air in the subterranean vault was thick with the scent of ozone and the rhythmic thrumming of the lasers. Ethan stood before the immobilized Su Ni, his shadow stretching long across the Cold Steel floor.

"You really think I’d tell you anything, you stupid, low-born animal?" Su Ni spat, his voice trembling but still laced with that ingrained, toxic arrogance. "You are playing with forces you don’t understand. My sect—"

WHACK.

Ethan’s hand moved faster than the eye could follow. The sound of the slap was like a whip cracking against leather. Su Ni’s head snapped to the side, and two blood-stained teeth skittered across the metal floor.

Ethan leaned in, his violet eyes mere inches from Su Ni’s face. "I’m sorry," Ethan whispered, his voice dangerously soft. "I didn’t quite catch that. Could you repeat it for me? A bit slower this time."

Su Ni gasped, his mouth filling with the metallic taste of his own blood. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced—raw, physical, and utterly humiliating. Tears of rage and agony welled in his eyes.

"Damn you...!" Su Ni choked out, a string of crimson saliva trailing from his lip. "You are a beast! A primitive beast! My father... when he finds out what you’ve done, he will burn this world to cinders! He will make you beg for the mercy of death!"

Beside them, the red-haired guard stood frozen. She watched the "Young Master"—a man who was a god in their realm—being treated like a common criminal. The sight shattered her reality more than the destruction of the scout army ever could.

Ethan didn’t look angry; he looked bored. He reached out and grabbed Su Ni’s chin, forcing him to look at the massive, glowing portal array.

"Your father isn’t here, Su Ni. Your sect isn’t here," Ethan said, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. "Down here, five kilometers under the dirt, there is only me. And I’m not asking you for permission. I’m giving you a choice: you can be my map, or you can be the fuel for that machine. I hear the spiritual energy in a ’Young Master’s’ soul is particularly high-grade."

"Fuck you," Su Ni wheezed, his face a swollen, unrecognizable mess of bruised flesh and shattered pride.

Ethan delivered another backhand, the impact sending three more teeth clattering against the cold steel floor.

"I don’t think I made myself clear," Ethan said, wiping a stray drop of blood from his knuckle. "If you don’t speak, I will *make* you speak."

"Fuck... you..." Su Ni could barely finish her words; her voice was almost inaudible, her breathing was heavy, and she seemed about to faint.

"You have a surprisingly sturdy spine. I like that," Ethan remarked.

In the silence of his mind, he reached out. "’Crul, the slavery contracts. Give me one. I don’t want to waste any more time on this trash.’"

[Master, it won’t work on him] Crul replied instantly. [We lack high-level contracts. To bind someone like him, you would need a Spiritual Core level contract. Lord Amethyst didn’t bother with such trivial tools and never recorded the methods for crafting them, so we cannot use the Amethyst crystals to create one.]

’I see... a pity. Then we do this the hard way.’

Ethan turned his attention to the guard. "Miss... I’d rather not keep calling you ’Redhead.’ Could you tell me your name? I’d like to know who I’m dealing with."

"I’m sorry," she replied, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. "You can kill me right now. I won’t tell you anything. I am the Master’s tool. I have no soul, and I feel no pain." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Ethan watched her closely. Her declaration of absolute loyalty was fascinating, yet Su Ni didn’t even flicker an eye in her direction. He didn’t acknowledge her sacrifice; he didn’t offer a look of sympathy. He looked at her as if she were a piece of discarded equipment. In secret, the redhead’s eyes dimmed, a shadow of realization crossing her mind that her devotion was being met with total indifference.

"Are you sure you want to follow a master like him?" Ethan asked. "He doesn’t seem to care if you live or die."

"It doesn’t matter," she responded firmly. "My answer is sincere. I have no name; I am merely a warrior of the Sect. I live for it, I die for it. My body, my soul, and my blood belong to the Northern Peaks."

Ethan flicked his wrist, sending a small blade of compressed air through the space between them. It hissed as it sliced through the silk of her sleeve, tearing part of her dress away and exposing the curve of her chest. The redhead didn’t flinch. Her expression remained as cold as the steel surrounding them.

"As I said, I have no fear of pain or shame. I lost my femininity the day I enlisted," she stated, her voice hardening. "You can do whatever you want. If you want to fuck me here to humiliate me and force a confession, try it. I’ve had poles shoved inside me bigger than any cock you could have."

Her words were brutal, a testament to the harsh training of the Sect. With a swift, defiant motion, she used her own combat blade to slice the rest of her clothing away, standing naked in the center of the industrial vault. She dropped to all fours, exposing herself with a cold, hollow defiance.

"Show me who is in charge," she challenged, her eyes locked on Ethan’s. "I am not afraid!"

Ethan looked down at her, his eyes devoid of lust, reflecting only the cold indifference of the Void. He didn’t move toward her; instead, he let a small, dark spark of amethyst energy dance between his fingertips.

"You have courage, I’ll grant you that," Ethan said, his voice echoing like stones grinding in a deep well. "However, I must do what is necessary. You think your Sect prepared you for every horror in the heavens—that they mapped the limits of what a human can endure. But you’re wrong. Soon, you will understand that there are fates far worse than death, and unfortunately for you, I am the one who wrote the script."

--------------------

From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.

Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.

Body Refinement Realm

Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement

Spiritual Gathering Realm

Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation

Spiritual Core Realm

Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)

Spiritual Soul Realm

Spiritual Soul Awakening / [Locked] / [Locked]