Divine Emperor of Death

"Shirley..." Davis swiftly looked amused as he sensed her undulations.

"This wouldn't do. You need to stabilize your Body Tempering Cultivation more..."

Shirley instantly looked aggrieved, "Ehh~? I just stabilized my Essence Gathering Cultivation on the day of the top disciple battles, and now after I drank the nectar, I hastened through three levels, entering Peak-Level Gold Stage. The time it would take for me to stabilize such an increase is undoubtedly more, but I am bored~"

"Shirley, what happened to your determination to get stronger?" Davis blinked.

"Eh? That was only for my Essence Gathering Cultivation and Soul Forging Cultivation. Body Tempering Cultivation wasn't even on my current list until I can afford to work on it after I return, but because of this nectar, I've gotten an extra load."

Davis blinked. He really couldn't tell if she used a sexual innuendo or it was just his dirty mind as her beautiful face was normal.

"I want my free time back so that I can spend it with you~"

Davis shook his head as he heaved a breath, "Fine, you can chat with me a little longer before you I send you back to cultivate. I want you back home soon, so quickly reach your goals!"

"Yes! I will do my best!"

Shirley cheered, but then looking at Esvele, who strangely looked at her, she smiled back, letting her know that this was her playful self, not that fake cold exterior she wore because she was too tired to socialize with people she didn't need in her life.

"How lucky, Esvele. You got some of that rare nectar yourself, so quickly go and improve your Body Tempering Cultivation by leaps and bounds, but make sure that you don't cross three levels. It would be safer if you stop at two levels or the level before you reach the next stage, so be careful and proceed with utter concentration."

"I understand, senior sister Shirley..."

Esvele nodded her head, gazing at the vial before she turned to look at Davis.

"Thank you, senior brother. I won't disappoint you either!"

Hearing her voice that appeared as if it came out of her heart, Davis smiled.

"No worries. You can ask for advice if you come across any trouble, although I would ask you to also stay vigilant as there might be a huge incident in your Burning Phoenix Ridge in the near future."

"Huge incident...?" Esvele's expression became adrift in thoughts before she just nodded her head, not really asking anything as she had her thoughts from listening to their previous conversations.

"You're really going to do it...?" Shirley sounded reluctant, her expression becoming hesitant.

"I already gave my word to that big woman. You want me to back down?"

Shirley shook her head, "I don't, but-"

"I already told you that I would be fine..." Davis looked relaxed.

"Fine, at least, you must be aware of your enemies and temporary allies, so I'll give you the specifics of the power dynamics here."

"Sure, but do you want to use the little time you have to chat? Cause I'm sure sending you back in there to let you cultivate shortly."

Shirley giggled, "We haven't even married yet, but you're already ordering me around like I'm your wife."

"We haven't even married yet, but you already told me not to touch Esvele." Davis raised his brows.

"Wait!~" Esvele blushed, "Why am I being pulled into your couple's fight? I'm leaving...!"

"Alright, alright..." Shirley almost couldn't help but burst out with laughter, "Stay with me for a while, Esvele. Even I don't know the full dynamics of the power distribution here, so having you here would help me explain better."

Esvele looked at their faces that looked suspicious, but she still nodded her head.

"Ten families, right?" Davis raised his brows.

Shirley nodded her head, looking pleased that he had done his homework, "Accurately, it is nine families because the tenth is the Burning Phoenix Magical Beast Clan. You should've seen Grand Elder Regis in the top disciple battles. To my knowledge, he is the most powerful Burning Phoenix present in the Burning Phoenix Ridge currently, capable of even holding his own against Sect Master."

Davis nodded his head, knowing that Grand Elder Regis was at Mid-Level Emperor Beast Stage, not surprised.

Magical Beasts were intrinsically different.

Like humans, if people were to divide the cultivation system of magical beasts, their cultivation path can be divided into two. Only Body Tempering Cultivation and Soul Forging Cultivation were present in the magical beast bodies. They lacked a dantian, and the magical beast core in their head or somewhere in their body, in some rare cases, was the storage for their energy. Furthermore, the magical beast core that nourishes isn't exclusive to their body but also their souls.

They lacked a vessel for Essence Gathering Cultivation, and this was why they couldn't actively cultivate but only absorb energy from the atmosphere around them or spirit stones to nourish their magical beast core, which in turn increases their Body Tempering Cultivation, or even their Soul Forging Cultivation.

Nevertheless, their bodies and soul would almost be at the same level, giving them an immense advantage over humans who could only match them equally, face to face, if they have two of their three cultivations at the same stage and level.

However, if a human had three of practiced tri-cultivation to an equal degree, having all his cultivation systems one and the same in terms of stage and level, then that human would be able to easily best an equal level magical beast.

However, was it that easy?

Even Sect Master Lea Weiss, who had reached High-Level Law Rune Stage, had only reached the Martial Sage Stage and King Soul Stage, the eighth stage in her other two cultivation systems. It was unlikely that she could fill in the gap any sooner, and that told volumes about the difficulty in tri-cultivating!

"Wait, if Grand Elder Regis could even hold his own against Sect Master Lea Weiss, then shouldn't they join forces to kill Valerian at this point? We already know that the magical beasts support Sect Master Lea Weiss, and enmity has been established between the two camps, so why are they have not to take action yet?"

Esvele felt doubtful as her voice echoed out.

"It isn't simple as that, Esvele." Shirley shook her head, "As the saying goes here, there's always a bigger bird above a bird. That essentially prohibits them from making a move. Besides, the loss of a potential High-Level Law Rune Stage Powerhouse like Valerian is a huge loss to the sect. Even if this Valerian is a villain, when the sect needs to collectively conserve its forces for its future existence and survival, it will need to have such persons like that because righteous people truly achieved nothing of profit and stayed stagnant till the end."

Davis's eyes lit up as he heard Shirley's speech, while Esvele nodded in understanding as she descended into contemplation. He looked at her with a bit of pride as it was unexpected for him that she could understand these intricacies at such a young age.

"Shirley, I feel unfortunate that I wasn't with you to witness your growth..." Davis wryly smiled, "But should I thank your friend for this?"

"Hehehe..." Shirley happily giggled at his compliment and shook her head, "No need. She didn't teach me how to view the world, but I followed her and tried to look at the world through her eyes. Although, I won't deny that she had taught a lot to me and been good to me..."

Davis kept his wry smile, truly feeling difficult to categorize Ellia's other incarnation.

Was she bad, or was she good?

Which was it?

However, she was dangerous.

She had already offended him once but also helped Shirley, who could've met with so many disasters in this Fifty-Two Territories.

Should he still hold it against her, or be the bigger man and forgive her...?

'Well, I'll try to forgive her if she obediently gives back Ellia...'

His eyes flashed before he shook his head.

"Alright, what about the other nine families? I don't want to accidentally kill anyone in Sect Master Lea Weiss's side."

Shirley nodded her head while Esvele blinked.

What...? Don't want to accidentally kill Sect Master Lea Weiss's side? She had heard it before, but he was still saying it? How could a Soul King be able to kill them Ninth Stage Powerhouses?

Was he going to entrap them using some unknown method?

Esvele's mind wandered off in incredulity while Shirley began to explain.

"Weiss, Rein, Schatz, Rayn, Hector, Strom, Stein, Bach and Burnwind. These are the other nine prominent families of the Burning Phoenix Ridge and commands influence all over the sect and the cities established outside the mountains. These nine families also represent the highest amount of bloodline the current Burning Phoenix Ridge has to offer, so if someone with more burning phoenix blood is found in their bodies, they are immediately recruited into one of these families to keep the high bloodline intact."

"Out of the nine, the Schatz, Rayn and, Hector families support the Rein Family while the other four, the Strom, Stein, Bach, and Burnwind, support the Weiss Family. From this, you could see the power dynamic where the Weiss Family and the Rein Family enjoy the most influence and possess the highest bloodline of the Burning Phoenix."

"I see..."

Davis came to understand more, so if he saw any people with the kind of name from the latter four families with his Death God Eyes, he'll think of warning them to not interfere with him if they were on Sect Master Lea Weiss's side.