Ethan didn’t immediately turn around. He held his plain iron blade aloft for a fraction of a second, allowing the last few droplets of emerald ichor to slide cleanly off the tip before executing a crisp, rhythmic flip of his wrist to sheath the weapon.

"A true swordsman does not enter a fight to battle, Roy," Ethan said, his smooth baritone carrying a freezing, absolute certainty as he finally turned his head to look over his shoulder. "He enters to annihilate. When you execute an attack, your mind must be entirely devoid of hesitation. Do not think about what you will do if you miss, and do not formulate a fallback plan in case your target survives. A master of the blade has no need for a second strike, because the first is always more than sufficient to end everything in its path."

Roy’s jaw remained slightly slack, his breath catching in his throat as those heavy, philosophical words etched themselves directly into his soul.

Ethan glanced toward the massive mounds of bisected spider carcasses cluttering the clearing before looking back at the family. "The three of you should begin harvesting the components here. The materials on these adult specimens are highly pristine. I will move slightly ahead to completely clear out the remaining nests and bring this hunting mission to a swift conclusion."

Without waiting for a response, Ethan turned on his heel and glided smoothly into the deeper, mist-shrouded layers of the valley, vanishing into the foliage like a dark phantom.

Left behind in the quiet clearing, Mary was the first to shake herself out of her daze. She slung her longbow across her back and pulled a heavy hunting knife from her belt. "Come on, children," she urged, her voice low but sharp with a renewed sense of purpose. "We cannot let a single scrap of this fortune go to waste. Roy, help me gather some sturdy branches and thick lianas from the treeline. We need to build a crude cargo sledge to drag this harvest back to the town gates."

"Right away, Mother," Roy said, scrambling to his feet.

It took them less than ten minutes of frantic, coordinated effort to assemble a wide wooden sledge reinforced with braided vines. Once the frame was secure, they began the systematic process of butchering the carcasses. They sliced away the venomous, rigid stingers, pried loose the razor-sharp jade-green mandibles, and meticulously packed the heavy, shimmering spools of raw silver silk. The sheer volume of high-grade materials available from over forty adult beasts was absolutely staggering; the sledge was rapidly filling to the brim.

"We need to move faster," Mary said, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead as she tied down a massive bundle of spider silk. "Ethan is moving at an unbelievable pace. We don’t want to fall too far behind his shadow."

They quickly grabbed the vine ropes of the sledge and began advancing deeper into the valley, following the precise path Ethan had taken. However, no matter how much they strained their muscles or how quickly they tried to march, they soon realized that catching up to the youth was an absolute impossibility.

They weren’t tracking a man; they were following a localized natural disaster.

The deeper they ventured into the misty cavernous ridges, the more horrifyingly magnificent the scenery became. The entire forest floor had been transformed into a continuous trail of total destruction. Every ten paces, massive Spiritual Web Spiders were scattered across the dirt—not a single one had survived, and every single specimen had been cleanly, flawlessly bisected into identical halves. Some trees had been completely felled by the residual shockwaves of his Sword Intent, their trunks sliced with microscopic precision.

The sheer, unadulterated brutality of the scene made it incredibly easy for them to visualize the terrifying reality: Ethan walking through this infested nightmare entirely alone, his white-blue blade flashing casually as he systematically turned a lethal, feared predator territory into a literal paper-thin buffet.

"Look at this cut..." Roy whispered, stopping beside a three-meter-wide alpha spider that had been split perfectly from head to spinneret with a single vertical stroke. His hands trembled slightly as he traced the smooth, unchipped bark of the tree behind it. "The carapace didn’t even slow his blade down. It’s like the metal itself surrendered to his will before the edge even made contact."

Mary walked up beside her son, placing a firm, heavy hand on his shoulder, her eyes reflecting a mixture of profound awe and maternal ambition. "Do you finally understand what I’ve been telling you, Roy? You must absorb every single syllable that comes out of that young man’s mouth. You must memorize the exact way he balances his weight and holds his hilt. Having a true, primordial master guide your cultivation is a privilege that the wealthiest noble clans in the inner provinces spend millions of spirit stones to secure. You have been granted this miraculous fortune entirely by chance. If you remain lazy or let your fear slow you down, you will be committing a sin against your own future."

"I know, Mother," Roy said, his gaze hardening as a fierce fire ignited in his core. "I won’t let his teachings go to waste. I will train until my arms break."

Mary offered a satisfied nod before shifting her sharp gaze toward her daughter, who was quietly walking on the other side of the sledge, nervously clutching her small hunting dagger.

"And what about you, Louisa?" Mary prodded, a subtle, highly intentional maternal smirk playing on her lips as she nudged the young girl’s elbow. "Are you just going to walk in silence while a man of this caliber builds an empire right in front of your eyes?"

Louisa’s cheeks instantaneously flushed a light pink, her grip tightening around her dagger. "M-Mother! What are you even talking about? I’m just trying to make sure I don’t trip on the webs!"

"Don’t play innocent with me, girl," Mary countered smoothly, her voice dropping into a teasing yet entirely serious whisper. "A woman must be realistic, especially in a brutal frontier town like this. Look at him. He is devastatingly handsome, his wealth is already limitless, and his strength is comparable to the ancient legends. If you do not actively use your youth and your charms to find a permanent place in his heart, I can assure you that the moment we step inside the main gates of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, the high-born daughters of the grand elders and the elite female disciples will swarm him like locusts. If you miss this chance to anchor yourself to a dragon while he is still walking among the sheep, you will never find another man like him for the rest of your miserable life."

"Mother, please!" Louisa stammered, her face exploding into a deep, burning crimson as she frantically looked toward the misty path ahead, terrified that Ethan might hear them. "He... he only views us as acquaintances he rescued! Besides, he is far too spectacular... how could someone like him ever look at a simple girl from the slums like me?"

"Then make yourself someone he has to look at," Mary replied with the ruthless wisdom of a mature survivor, her eyes locked onto the continuous trail of severed carcasses ahead. "A man like Ethan doesn’t need a warrior at his side; he needs a sanctuary to return to. Learn what he likes, anticipate his needs, and ensure that whenever he looks back, your face is the one that brings his mind peace. Now, keep pulling, the trail is clearing up ahead!"

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

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 / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion

Golden Core Realm

Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction

Spiritual Sea Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??