[: 3rd POV :]
Near the sect lay a bustling city, home to hundreds of thousands of people.
This was the place Daniel intended to bring Cecilia for her first real exposure to the outside world.
It was also the city of her origins, a place tied deeply to her past.
The currency used across all continents consisted of Coins in six tiers of prosperity.
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Crystal, and Royal.
Each tier held a value a hundred times greater than the one before it.
To reach this city, however, Daniel and Cecilia would have to pass through a dense forest teeming with countless beasts—hungry predators lurking in wait for their next meal.
With his heightened senses, Daniel could feel the overwhelming concentration of Qi saturating the forest—millions of times denser than the air within his sect.
He scanned the surroundings carefully.
The beasts here were not to be underestimated; he sensed several camouflaged predators lying in wait for him to lower his guard.
"Cecilia," Daniel said calmly, "since we're inside the forest, why not use this opportunity to test and refine your abilities?"
"Alright, Master," she replied eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement.
She was eager not only to wield her newfound power but to demonstrate her growing strength to him.
And just moments later, a massive beast known as the Grey Wolf suddenly lunged out of the shadows, catching them off guard.
Its snarling maw aimed straight at Daniel and Cecilia, ready to tear into them.
But the battle was over almost before it began.
"Hmph. How dare you show your stinky presence to Master?" Cecilia spat coldly, her voice dripping with icy disdain.
No one would have ever believed that the timid, insecure girl—once powerless and full of doubt—had transformed into a ruthless Ice Empress.
Barely a heartbeat before the Grey Wolf's ambush, Cecilia's sharp senses caught the attack.
With a swift, decisive motion, she clenched her fist, and the beast instantly froze solid, its fur crystallising into glistening shards of ice.
In a blink, the once-ferocious Grey Wolf shattered into a swirling mist of frost, vanishing into nothingness without ever understanding what had struck it down.
Seconds ago, it had been lunging to kill a human—but now, it was nothing more than a frozen memory, erased before it even realised its fate.
"If before, I would have been helpless, and if not for Master's divinities, I'd have been devoured... so don't blame me for killing you."
It was remarkable that Cecilia had no trouble dispatching the beast—especially for someone who had only been cultivating for less than six hours.
Still, when the beast fell, a small crystallised orb dropped to the ground.
"Master... what is this?" she asked, picking it up with curiosity.
Daniel smiled, already knowing what it was.
"It's a beast core," he said, then queried the system about its significance.
[: The beast core serves many purposes, such as material for blacksmiths or alchemists :]
[: Most cultivators consume the beast core to either engrave spiritual beasts or boost their cultivation level :]
[: However, the system offers a unique, efficient method to absorb the beast core by exchanging it for stat points :]
[: Would the Host like to exchange the Mortal Beast Core for 10 stat points? :]
"But... what exactly is a beast core?" Cecilia asked, honestly puzzled.
"I've never heard of anything like it before."
"But it must be valuable, right, Master?" she guessed hopefully.
Daniel nodded.
"A beast core can be used as crafting material or to increase your cultivation level."
"So, that means beast cores are precious?"
"Should we consider hunting all the beasts in this forest then?" she asked eagerly.
Daniel was taken aback by how much his disciple's personality had shifted—but in truth, it was a good change, one that would benefit her greatly.
"While beast cores are indeed valuable, there are limits to how many you can absorb, and without a doubt, some side effects will come with it," Daniel explained.
"I understand, Master," she nodded thoughtfully.
'System, exchange the beast core for stat points.'
Without hesitation, Daniel converted the core into stat points.
As the beast core vanished from his hand, a notification popped up confirming his stats had increased by 10 points.
'This is making me look forward to hunting every beast in this forest,' he thought.
'Maybe I should spend some time here before heading to the city.'
"But for now, show me what you can do against the beasts in this forest," Daniel said, giving her the go-ahead to take them on.
"All right, Master," Cecilia replied, a hungry smile spreading across her face—one fueled by her desire for her master's praise once she completed the task.
Daniel resolved to hunt down all the beasts in the forest, but his primary goal was to gauge just how much strength Cecilia had truly gained.
By coincidence, a pack of grey wolves suddenly appeared before them.
'Just our luck,' Daniel smirked as Cecilia prepared to face them.
The wolves howled fiercely, sensing the death of one of their kin, their anger palpable.
But Cecilia paid no mind to their fury or feelings.
'Be thankful—you're all about to be sacrificed to put on a good show for my master,' her eyes darkened with determination to impress him.
In an instant, she summoned a legion of massive ice boulders that hovered ominously above the pack.
With a sharp command, she sent the frozen rocks crashing down, annihilating all fifty grey wolves, leaving behind only shattered ice and fur.
The scene was utterly devastating—a chilling display of power that crushed any chance the wolves had to show pride before succumbing to her icy wrath.
Yet the biggest surprise was Cecilia herself.
She tilted her head, bewildered.
To her, beasts were terrifying creatures, known for their overwhelming strength, capable of effortlessly defeating hordes of humans.
And yet, here they lay—completely destroyed without her even truly trying.
She had hoped to give her master an impressive show.
But instead, she wiped them out in a mere second.
Though impressive, she couldn't help but feel a hint of disappointment.
Her eyes sparkled with awe and gratitude as she whispered, "It feels like I've only tapped into one per cent of my true power, and yet I faced no struggle against them... All of this is thanks to Master..."
Her loyalty to Daniel deepened with every word.
"Mas—"
Before she could finish, a group of cultivators suddenly appeared, blocking their path.
"Oh? What do we have here?" one of them sneered.
In the heart of the forest, just as Daniel and Cecilia were preparing to leave, they encountered these fellow cultivators.
Their smiles seemed friendly on the surface, but an unmistakable edge of hostility lingered beneath.
"Never did we expect to find two cultivators wandering this far into the woods," the leader said with a wide, unsettling grin.
Daniel's eyes darkened, a faint, ominous glow emanating from them as a surge of protectiveness flared within him.
He had no intention of making friends here.
"Woah, hold on a second. Why the rush?" the leader continued, stepping forward with a sly smile.
"Would it really hurt for us to travel together? After all, the path you're taking leads to the same destination as ours."
There was a subtle but threatening undertone in his voice as he roughly grabbed Daniel's arm, trying to assert control.
His gaze then shifted to Cecilia, filled with something far from friendly and it was filled with lust.
Daniel's dark eyes locked onto the man's hand on his arm, a cold fury rising in his chest.
''What kind of stranger would just randomly greet you and grab your hand in the middle of the forest?' he thought, voice low and dangerous in his mind.
More infuriating still was the way those men ogled Cecilia, their lust clear and unhidden.
"I'm not interested. Let go of my arm," Daniel warned firmly, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable threat.
As his eyes scanned their robes, he spotted the emblem—a blazing sun crossed by a sharp sword—marking their allegiance to a notorious sect.
The protective fire in Daniel's gaze intensified.
No one would lay a finger on his disciple.