In the number four devotee grotto on the sixth floor of the Origin Lust Sword Temple. The grotto was 20X20, and it was extremely plain. There was only a stone bed and a stone table inside.
At this moment, Rita was lying on the stone bed in a pathetic state as her dress was almost destroyed, her body was filled with dirt, bruises, and blood, and there were even open wounds on her stomach and left shoulder.
Her hair was disheveled, but she didn't seem to be worried about any of that at all, as her sniffling sound could be heard while she covered her face with her hand.
At this moment, Cyrus appeared out of nowhere as he looked at sniffing Rita. He wasn't holding the Lust Sword either because Eve was literally gloating when Rita failed the second trial. So, he knew she would only be cheering more if she saw Rita's current state or if she already did so.
Still, it wasn't the time to bring his sword as no one knew about Eve's existence, and people will definitely take it the wrong way, especially the women around him.
"This place is not bad, I guess." He uttered in a calm tone while looking at the grotto. It was his first time seeing the resident of the temple devotee as well.
Rita's figure trembled when she heard Cyrus's voice, and then she seemed to chock on her sniffling and start to cough violently as more blood gushed out of her wounds.
"Heh, so much for being a queen who can't even breathe properly." Cyrus mercilessly sneered before he cast a healing spell on her, and almost instantly, Rita's wounds started to heal.
She was finally able to sit straight as she kept her head low, hidden under her long, disheveled hair, "A-are you disappointed?" She uttered in a weak tone at this moment.
Instead of replying, Cyrus questioned, "What do you think?"
"I-I… I'm not suitable to be your Dao Companion!" She finally revealed her inner thoughts.
"What made you think of that?" Cyrus coolly asked.
"Because I failed to pass all the requirements of the first trial and then failed the entire second trial!" She cried in gloominess.
Cyrus shook his head as he coldly questioned, "Do you think I would see you differently if you passed or failed some measly tests? Are you looking down on me?"
Rita trembled slightly when she heard Cyrus's cold tone, but she kept her head lower and said pathetically, "I'm not looking down on you but myself. I almost forgot about you in the first trial. Then I couldn't even fight properly despite all that training you gave me. I'm pretty sure Hilda has already passed the second trial while here I am."
"If you're comparing yourself with Hilda, then you should know that she is vastly different from you, and not many can rival her talent out there. So, there is no point in comparing yourself to her, nor do I ever compare my women with each other. Everyone is special in their own right.
"Trials are made to pass, and failure teaches us and shows us the way forward. If you lost the will to move forward with a single failure and didn't learn anything from it, then you are right; you are not qualified to be my woman." His eyes went sharper as he watched Rita trembling violently.
"But the thing is, you are my woman, and there is no changing it, and you can't die until I say so. Not even death can take you from me, so I'll mold you into my woman whether you do it willingly or unwillingly. You have no choice except to choose to do it the hard way or the soft way.
"So, I'll give you one day to rest before I want you into the training ground tomorrow. One of your rewards is fighting training with me until you pass the entire second trial from phases one to three.
"Even if I have to beat it into you, you will learn how to stand back from failures again and again until you turn them into success instead of shedding meaningless tears and wasting your precious cultivation time."
Done stating his intentions, he vanished from the room as he appeared. He knew if he tried to comfort Rita, it would only turn into a habit of hers; instead, he wanted to make her strong by giving her some setbacks.
Not only that, but he was stating the fact that he won't give up on his Dao companions no matter what, and Rita has done nothing wrong in the first place. She just suffered a small setback and almost gave up.
Cyrus abhorred this kind of behavior, and if it were someone else, he would've already kicked them out of the temple.
But it was Rita, so he will give her even more setbacks to make her understand that the setback she suffered was nothing in front of the setbacks he would rain down on her every time she acted this pathetically, period.
Rita finally looked up to where Cyrus had vanished. Her bloodshot eyes were in a daze and disbelief.
All of a sudden, a strange purple mist started to ooze from her, and it was not gentle or pleasant, but instead, the moment it appeared, the entire space started to freeze into crystallized purple ice!
---
Cyrus appeared again in another space of the temple, which was 50X50 large and fully furnished with daily necessaries.
This was the Worshiper Lodging Number 4, which belonged to the fainted, bloody beauty on the comfortable bed. It was none other than Carla, who was in an even more wrenched state than Rita.
"Why do I have this feeling that I'll be everyone's healer after every battle like that? System, you better do something about it, or there is no point in having members for moments before they will be dead."
Cyrus muttered under his breath in annoyance before he cast a healing spell on her and then vanished right away before leaving a note for her.
---
He then paid a visit to Leona, who was far better than Carla, but still exhausted and injured nevertheless.
When she saw Cyrus appearing in her room while she was busy tending to her wounds, she yelped in surprise before she blurted, "L-lord Lust!"
A tingle of blush appeared on her charming face.
"You did well today." Cyrus nodded as he cast a low-grade healing spell on her.
Leona was shocked when she saw Cyrus casting a spell on her without even uttering a single word, but she was even more alarmed when her wounds started to mend.
"H…healing magic?!" She exclaimed, but when she thought who this person was, she quickly blushed and lowered her head, "I-I… please forgive my uncouth behavior. Thank you very much for providing this chance and all your benevolence you show to us sisters."
Cyrus's lips curled up, seeing the tall woman acting shyly in a submissive manner, and said, "No need to thank me. You two have earned your spots with your own prowess. I did nothing but select you and give you the chance. You have three rewards in total. In which I will choose four things for you.
"The first thing I chose for you is a Qi cultivation manual which you can access through the Sacred Knowledge Sanctum's Cultivation Arts Section on the second floor.
"I have given you permission to learn the first Three Cultivation Realms Manual of the Cultivation Technique called the Devil's Spouse. This will be the core cultivation art of our temple, and only the true members can learn it, and only women, as a matter of fact.
"So, don't share or discuss it with anyone, not even your sister, as you all have your own unique path of cultivation despite cultivating the same technique. If you want to gain access to higher realm manuals of the Devi's Spouse Cultivation Technique, then you need to pass the Third Floor Trials."
Leona was in a daze when she heard she was going to get a cultivation technique that they were hearing about all this time, and almost all the dimension wanted to get their hands on one.
Cyrus continues without caring about Leona's dizziness as he still has more places to be, "You can gain access to the sanctum as it should appear on your status in the rewards section now.
"The second reward I chose for you is the collective cultivation classes conducted by me from tomorrow onwards. You just need to remember the devil's spouse technique today, and I'll summon you to the venue. While the other two, I'll reveal them in due time!"
After announcing Leona's rewards, he vanished without giving her a chance to say anything.
When he visits Leo, she was even more comical than Leona as she directly kneels in front of him and starts to explain how she had to kill him because she was muddled by some witchcraft.
Cyrus was surprised by the killing part as he still had no idea what those trials were. Eve refused to tell him, and after hearing from Rita that she almost forgot him, he lost interest.
But now, after finding out Leo has to kill him in the second illusion where he seemed to be her enemy, that's the true reason she failed in the second trial and probably Leona as well.
He was somewhat displeased with the system!
Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience