'Finally, I'm ready to break through to the next substage.'
Ken constantly used the Core Expanding Hastening Pill throughout his cultivation, hastening his core's growth speed by a few times. He also set up a triple Concealing Formation in the house to hide the triple Qi Gathering Formation, which he fed only with higher Qi Stones to enjoy purer Qi.
Since he already used the original Core Expanding Inducer Pill when he broke through to the intermediate phase and developed tolerance, he had to concoct a variation of the pill once he reached the maximum size, four times the original.
He created a variation of the pill by replacing some of the original ingredients with materials of the fifth grade, granting his pills stronger effects while wasting much of those materials' essence when combining them with the rest of the ingredients to prevent the mixture from being imbalanced.
It was an expensive solution, but he didn't mind paying it for becoming stronger. Even after wasting so much money he still had more money than he first came to Divine Sword Sect; the robbing industry was that lucrative.
Once again, he managed to enlarge his core by 5.5 times after consuming 12 pills, hitting his maximum at the same number as last time. Once ready, he took out the emerald Core Condensing Pill and worked on condensing his core.
'Back to the original size, now it's time to bathe. I just need to decide what to do with the two girls since they know too much about me and would never betray the sect.'
Ken washed with a simple water technique to get rid of the sweat, wore his clothes back, and undid the formations that covered the floor, walls, and ceiling.
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"Hey girls, anything new?"
Ken walked into the apartment of the girls, finding them both playing with their pups. Ken has let Emrys stay with him during his training to enjoy the high Qi density in the house but didn't give him any attention beyond that.
"You need to knock before entering, especially given your Big Sisters are popular pretty girls."
"Weird, I didn't see anyone coming to hit on you when I was around you. Anyway, I'm a child, I don't know any better."
Ken shrugged it off as always with his child excuse, but the two girls just scoffed at his words.
"Who would dare approach us when we hang around the forbidden fruit? Nobody is that self-confident."
"And you can't use the child excuse after we saw you behead 5 people simultaneously without a hint of hesitation or disgust on your face."
"Ah, who knew that our Forbidden Fruit is so twisted."
The girls talked among themselves before Ken stopped them to talk about what he came for.
"Are you done with your training?"
"Yes, we broke through to the peak of the Core Formation Stage a few days ago. I did it first by the way."
Jane declared proudly, and Diana just rolled her eyes. It was only a 2-day difference.
"All right, so we are all set to go. We won't wait for the bodyguards this time. Since the enemies keep the rules of war, their presence isn't that important, and I know that they are about to have a breakthrough."
The two ladies exchanged worried looks before Diana spoke.
"We gained a lot more resources thanks to their presence last time. Besides, the fifth-stage cultivators can stop us from killing their juniors, and without Miles and Henry, we won't be able to do anything about it."
They both thought having the two men by their side was necessary. They knew their bounty would be much less bountiful without them last time.
"Don't worry, we will just go there for a week to get accustomed to our new strength and return. I also broke through to the next stage and want to try it out. Even if we lose some prey because they aren't by our side, we will be safe until they are done with their cultivation session and can accompany us again."
They nodded hesitantly and complied with his wishes. In a way, he did make sense; they planned on plundering resources inside for the next 7 months to gain more resources, and maybe even buy a higher Earth-grade technique that fits them better than what their sect had.
"All right, there's no point in playing with the pups all day anyway. But we must come back every week and check on them. The pups are now second-rank beasts, but it's not enough, what should we do with them?"
"Let Miles take care of them, I will leave enough pills for them for a couple of weeks."
"Wouldn't it hinder his cultivation?"
"Nah, he can let them play among themselves. Besides, he is kinda a pushover."
Diana and Jane froze for a moment before nodding naturally after thinking about Ken's words; they made sense.
After leaving the pups at Miles', the trio headed toward the border with the Outer Ring, entering after having their tokens checked.
"Last time we spent the whole time in the mountains. I heard that in the 15% of the Outer Ring that was dictated for the war, there are mountains, one forest, and one volcanic belt. We don't have the third one near our sect, want to pay it a visit?"
Ken suggested to the women. Although he expected the place to have mainly materials with Fire Qi, he wanted to experience the terrace and see the place for himself.
"Yes, sure. But remember, one week and we go back."
The trio headed to the huge volcanic mountain. It was over 50 kilometers away, and Ken and Diana stayed alert the whole trip. It took them 2 hours to get there by jogging, breaking a light sweat.
Diana, Jane, and Ken stood in awe as they arrived at the volcanic belt. The air hummed with anticipation, and a mix of excitement and trepidation filled their hearts. Before them, a majestic panorama unfolded; volcanoes dotted the landscape, their peaks crowned with wisps of smoke and hints of fiery hues.
Diana gasped, her eyes wide with wonder, as she felt the immense power of the Earth Qi and Fire Qi beneath her feet. Jane looked around excitedly, looking for potential burning monsters to fight, while Ken had to remind them to be on the lookout for humans and treasures.
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