Chapter 517: Chapter 517: The Echo of the Blade

The final hours were a blur of "Unicorn" cruelty. They didn’t let him sit. They didn’t let him lean. When he began to hallucinate his mother and wives standing in the doorway, the Captain slapped him across the face until his cheeks were raw.

"They aren’t here!" the Captain yelled into his ear. "Only the blade is here! Only the pain is real!"

By the twenty-fourth hour, Ethan wasn’t even reacting to the pain anymore. He had entered a state of "Dead-Eyed Vigilance." His body moved with a terrifying, jerky economy—dodging strikes by the smallest possible margin, his mind stripped of everything but the singular goal of seeing the next second.

When the hourglass finally ran out, the Captain signaled a halt. The guards retreated into the shadows. Ethan stayed in the center of the room, his eyes wide and fixed on the door, his hands still raised in a defensive posture.

"It’s over, Ethan," the Captain said, his voice dropping the persona of the torturer.

Ethan didn’t move. He didn’t even blink.

"Ethan. Relax. The twenty-four hours are up."

It took another ten seconds for the words to penetrate the fog. Slowly, Ethan’s hands lowered. His knees buckled, and he fell forward into a heavy, leaden collapse.

The Captain caught him before his head hit the floor, looking down at the young man who had just endured a cycle that usually broke veteran scouts.

"He’s still awake," the Captain whispered to himself, noticing that even as Ethan’s body gave out, his eyes were still tracking the movement of the shadows. "Gods help the Pavilion. They have no idea what we’re sending them."

The silence of the room was a trap.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open, but he didn’t see the morning light filtering through the high windows. He saw shadows. He saw hooded figures. His nervous system, still screaming from the twenty-four-hour vigil, bypassed his brain and went straight to war.

"Die, you bastards!" Ethan roared, his voice a jagged rasp.

He exploded from the bed, his feet barely touching the floor as [Wind-Path Light Steps] kicked in with violent intensity. Amethyst lightning crackled across his skin, arcing in every direction as he lashed out. He wasn’t thinking; he was a storm of raw instinct. He smashed a bedside table into splinters and drove a lightning-clad palm toward a figure near the door.

"Target sighted! I’ll kill you all!" he screamed, his eyes bloodshot and unfocused.

"He’s in a frenzy! Pin him down!" a voice commanded.

Three guards lunged at him simultaneously. Ethan twisted in mid-air, using a micro-burst of [Void Power] to cancel his weight, nearly slipping past them. He kicked one in the chest and bit the hand of another, fighting like a rabid animal.

"Ethan! Stop! It’s over!"

The Captain stepped into the fray, catching Ethan’s wrist and twisting it behind his back while the other two guards tackled his legs. They slammed him onto the cold stone floor, holding him down with the weight of three Spiritual Soul cultivators.

"Get off me! I’ll tear your throats out!" Ethan thrashed, his muscles bulging, the lightning hissing against the guards’ armor.

"Ethan, look at me!" the Captain barked, pressing his face close to Ethan’s. "Look at my face! It’s over. The cycle is finished. You’re safe!"

Ethan’s chest heaved, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He stared at the Captain, his amethyst pupils slowly shrinking back to their normal size. The madness of the "training"—a word that felt far too small for the hell he had endured—slowly began to recede.

"Captain...?" Ethan whispered, his body suddenly going limp as the adrenaline crashed.

"Yeah. It’s me," the Captain said, signaling the guards to let go. He stood up and offered a hand. "That’s how a warrior should wake up. Paranoid and ready to kill. You’ve done well, kid."

Ethan stayed on the floor for a moment, staring at the ceiling. "I feel like I’ve been chewed up and spat out by a mountain."

"You were," the Captain replied with a grim smirk. "Rest for now. Eat. Sleep if you can. This afternoon, we head to the capital’s central auction. The Princess gave strict orders to find you an ancient weapon. Something that doesn’t scream ’Navy’ but can still hold its own. We need to find you a relic that looks like a piece of junk."

Ethan nodded weakly. "I’ll be ready."

The Captain and the guards filed out, leaving the room a wreckage of broken wood and scorched stone. Ethan closed his eyes, but a few minutes later, the soft sound of sliding footsteps made his hand twitch toward the lightning again.

"Your bath is ready, Master Ethan," a melodious, sibilant voice whispered.

Ethan didn’t recognize the voice. He looked up and saw a woman who was definitely not one of his elven spirits. She moved with an unsettling, fluid grace, her body swaying in a way that defied normal human anatomy. She had an impossibly tiny waist that flared out into massive, powerful hips and a curvaceous rear that seemed to hold its own gravitational pull.

Her eyes were the most striking part—golden-yellow slits like those of a reptile, and when she smiled, two elongated fangs peeked over her bottom lip.

A snake woman, Ethan thought, his mind momentarily distracted from his trauma by her exotic beauty.

"The Captain said you would be... agitated," she said, her tongue flicking out momentarily to taste the air. She began picking up the debris of the broken table with agile, claw-tipped fingers. "I am here to serve. If you wish, I can carry you to the tub. You look as though your legs might fail you."

"I can walk," Ethan grunted, though his knees shook as he stood.

"As you wish," she smiled, her reptilian eyes trailing down his scarred, muscular torso. "But the water is infused with serpent-gall and mountain herbs. It will draw the heat from your bruises. Please, let me assist you."

She moved closer, her skin cool and smooth as she draped his arm over her shoulder. The scent of damp earth and orchids filled his senses, a strange contrast to the carnations of the Princess’s silk.

Ethan leaned on her, letting the "serpent-maid" lead him toward the giant tub. He was exhausted, broken, and hunted—but as he felt the sway of her hips against him, he realized that perhaps the rewards of this world were just as intense as its tortures.

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

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 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

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 ??