Seeing Ethan's performance, the senior officer's eyes burned with a newfound competitive fire. He stepped onto the sparring floor, the air around him thickening with the oppressive weight of a man who had survived a thousand battlefields.

"My turn," the Captain grunted, his hand reaching for the hilt of a practice blade before deciding against it. "I want to see how deep that Void of yours really goes."

Isabella stepped forward, raising a hand to stall him. "Be careful, Commander. I have to present him to the War Council shortly. Try not to break him too much, won't you?"

"Of course, Your Highness," the Captain replied, a grim smile tugging at his lips. "I'll just knock the dust off him."

The moment the Captain moved, Ethan's world turned into a blur. The speed was incomprehensible; Ethan's eyes couldn't even track the physical form of the man. Suddenly, a fist appeared inches from his ribs. The blow didn't even land—the sheer air pressure preceding the punch sent Ethan tumbling backward across the stone like a ragdoll.

Ethan scrambled to his feet, his amethyst eyes glowing with an intense, violet light. "Crul, full synchro! Stop the act! I need everything just to see him!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

[Acknowledged. Overclocking spiritual meridians. Simulating breakthrough... now.]

In an explosive burst of energy, Ethan's aura flared. A shockwave of dark, violet-white light erupted from his core, mimicking the sudden advancement from a Half-step to a Full Spiritual Core Realm. His senses sharpened instantly. He still couldn't block the Captain's strikes, but he began to move, twisting his body in mid-air to avoid direct hits, his eyes darting frantically to predict the next pocket of displaced air.

The Captain stopped abruptly, his hand resting an inch from Ethan's throat. He looked at the young man, who was gasping for air, covered in sweat but still standing.

"I've seen enough," the Captain announced, retracting his hand. "He has no formal combat techniques. None. He fights purely on raw instinct. But those instincts... they are terrifying. He is like a blood-starved beast that has learned to hunt in the dark."

Isabella nodded, her expression satisfied. She had watched the exchange with the keen eye of a high-level cultivator. She was no fragile flower; her own power resided in the Middle-Stage Golden Core Realm, while her Captain was at the Half-step Spirit Sea Realm.

The Captain was her strongest personal asset. She had nurtured him since his days in Body Refinement, ensuring his loyalty was absolute. However, the Kingdom had strict protocols: personal guards were tied to the royal individual, not the state. If she wanted her men to join her on official naval missions, like the recent excursion with Commander Malphas—who was actually a trusted subordinate of the Crown Prince—she had to navigate complex bureaucratic channels. She preferred keeping her Unicorns close and private, rather than letting them be absorbed into the Kingdom's general military machine.

"You've done well, Ethan," Isabella said, walking toward him and offering a silk handkerchief. "You've proven you have the foundation. Now, let's see if the War Council thinks you're worth the trouble you're about to cause."

Ethan took the cloth, his chest heaving. He looked at the Captain, then at the Princess. He was in a den of monsters, but for the first time, he felt like he was finally learning how to grow claws of his own.

Ethan straightened his posture, ignoring the dull ache in his ribs. He turned to the Commander of the Unicorn Corps and bowed with a shallow, respectful tilt of his head. "I will seek your counsel again, Captain. Next time, I hope to at least see the fist that hits me."

The Captain let out a booming laugh, his earlier coldness replaced by a soldier's grim appreciation. "Whenever you want, kid. Just make sure you bring a thicker skin."

Isabella watched the exchange, her satisfaction deepening. She didn't want a toothless tiger or a pampered scholar. She needed soldiers—men with auras forged in blood and an instinctive drive to kill.

She was many things: capricious, spoiled, and often ruthless. But she was no fool. The only reason she had taken such a gamble on Ethan was the memory of that first moment in the brig of the Invictus. When her team had burst into that dark, gore-stained cell, they hadn't found a broken man begging for mercy. Despite the meat hooks, the shattered bones, and the agonizing Iron Mask, Ethan hadn't cried out. His eyes, though clouded by pain, hadn't held a spark of fear. They had held a bottomless, soul-searing fury. He didn't want to be saved; he wanted to kill.

It was a gaze Isabella recognized—the look of a beast that would gnaw off its own leg to get at its captor's throat. It was far easier to give claws to a wolf or wings to a tiger than it was to cultivate the courage necessary to use them.

"Enough posturing," Isabella said, her voice dropping into a smoother, more intimate register. "Go and take a bath. You can't appear before the High Council looking like a common brawler."

Ethan looked down at himself. The sparring had turn his naval uniform was a collection of tattered rags. Large strips of fabric hung loosely, exposing the flawless, marble-white skin of his chest and the hard, sculpted lines of his abdomen. He was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and light spatters of blood—a 'sexy disaster' that radiated a raw, masculine magnetism.

Isabella didn't look away. In fact, she leaned back, her golden eyes traveling slowly and deliberately over his chiseled frame. She stared without a hint of shame or royal modesty, treating the view as if it were her divine right. To her, he was a masterpiece of lethal beauty, a sight she had no intention of wasting.

"The servants are waiting in the east wing," she added, her gaze lingering on a particularly sharp line of his obliques. "Don't take too long. I like my 'guests' punctual."

Ethan felt the heat of her stare, more intense than the Captain's spiritual pressure. He gave a short nod and turned toward the palace, his torn clothes fluttering in the breeze.

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

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 ??