System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)

Chapter 611: The Predator’s Harvest

Deep inside the Crag of Wolves, the thick, damp fog grew increasingly dense, swirling around the treacherous stone paths like a living shroud. The elite core-region factions continued their rapid advance, their elegant leather boots barely making a sound as they navigated the rocky terrain.

"Maintain this exact pace," said the young leader of a prominent core squad, his eyes darting across the misty cliffs. "The commoner trash behind us will be stuck fighting the shadow wolves for at least another hour. We will reach the inner gate completely unscathed."

"Captain, look behind us!" said one of his teammates, his voice suddenly spiking with a sharp note of panic. "There is something... something is moving through the fog at an impossible speed!"

"Don’t be ridiculous, nothing can move that fast under the array’s—"

Before the captain could finish his sentence, the air temperature around them violently plummeted. The dense, freezing wave of pure, unadulterated bloodlust slammed into their backs like a physical wall, causing their spiritual qi to violently stutter.

Swish!

Out of the thick white mist, a massive, dominant silhouette materialized directly in front of their path. Ethan stood perfectly relaxed on top of a jagged boulder, his notched steel blade still resting across his broad back, his piercing amethyst eyes looking down at them with a cold, predatory gleam.

"Who are you?!" said the captain, instantly drawing his jade rapier as his heart hammered against his ribs. "Get out of our way, you frontier rat!"

"You have five seconds to hand over your talismans," said Ethan. His deep, heavy voice echoed off the cavern walls, carrying an absolute weight that left zero room for negotiation. "Or I will simply break your legs and take them myself."

"Insolent fool! Surround him!" said the captain.

The five members of the elite squad lunged forward simultaneously, their high-tier weapons erupting with brilliant bursts of elemental qi as they attempted to pin Ethan down using a highly synchronized core-region battle formation.

Ethan didn’t even bother to draw his weapon. Moving with absolute, unrestricted velocity, his figure blurred into a series of terrifying afterimages. He bypassed their coordinated strikes entirely, appearing directly inside the captain’s blind spot.

BARM!

"Guh!" said the captain. A sickening crunch echoed through the mist as Ethan’s heavy, iron-hard palm slapped into his chest, shattering his reinforced breastplate and sending him flying backward into a stone wall.

Before the remaining four could even register their leader’s defeat, Ethan moved like a hurricane. A brutal sweeping kick shattered the knees of two swordsmen, while his heavy fists drove straight into the abdomens of the rest, completely incapacitating them in a single breath. Within a matter of seconds, the entire elite squad was collapsed on the muddy floor, groaning in pure agony.

"Pathetic," said Ethan. He bent down, effortlessly ripping the three small spiritual talismans from the captain’s belt.

He didn’t take all of them. He carefully calculated the weight, keeping his total count low enough to ensure the valley’s spiritual gravity remained completely nonexistent on his body.

"Please... spare us..." said the bleeding captain, clutching his broken chest as he stared up at the monster in absolute terror.

"Be grateful I am in a good mood today," said Ethan. He tossed the stolen talismans lightly in his palm, a dark, dangerous smirk breaking across his face as he looked further up the mountain path toward the vanguard of the true core families. "Your little insider secrets built a very comfortable road for me. It would be a shame not to use it to hunt every single one of your precious young masters."

With a sudden burst of motion, Ethan vanished back into the swirling fog, leaving the crippled noble squad behind as he accelerated toward his next targets.

Ethan blurred through the treacherous crags like an invisible reaper, his movements completely unrestricted by the array. Within minutes, he caught up to the next vanguard squad—the heirs of the prominent Iron Wood Clan.

"Who goes there?!" said the lead heir, spinning around as a terrifying pressure slammed into his back.

Ethan didn’t say a single word. He moved like a localized hurricane. His heavy fists and brutal palms smashed through their refined defensive stances in a fraction of a second, leaving the five elite cultivators crumpled on the frozen mud, groaning in pure agony.

As Ethan looked down at the pile of shattered nobles, he noticed something peculiar about the spiritual tokens scattered around them. The talismans were glowing in distinct, rhythmic pulses, categorizing themselves into specific color-coded groups based on the factions they were stolen from.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled, anonymous letter he had received earlier. His eyes locked onto the faded ink at the very bottom of the parchment, revealing the hidden second part of the message that he hadn’t fully decoded until now:

’In the second trial, gather as many distinct talisman groups as you can handle, but do not overload a single one. In the final third trial, the applicant with the highest diverse tally will have the absolute right to choose first. To claim the ultimate reward of the pavilion, you must be the first to pick.’

A brilliant, dark smirk broke across Ethan’s face. The loophole was masterful. The ancient array’s gravity didn’t calculate the total number of talismans an individual carried; it calculated the numerical density of a single synchronized group. If a participant hoarded fifty tokens from the same faction, the array would crush them. But if someone gathered just one or two tokens from dozens of completely different groups, the weight wouldn’t increase at all.

"So that is the true game," said Ethan. He let out a low, deeply amused chuckle that made the bleeding nobles shudder in terror.

He bent down and carefully inspected their spoils. Instead of taking their entire hoard, he meticulously picked exactly one talisman from each distinct group they carried, adding them to his growing collection. As he stepped back, his body still felt lighter than a feather, completely free from the suffocating gravity of the valley.

"You... you are a demon..." said the lead heir of the Iron Wood Clan, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the stones as he watched his hard-earned tokens get stripped away.

"I am merely playing by the rules your families so carefully crafted," said Ethan. He tossed the new, multicolored talismans lightly in his palm, his piercing amethyst eyes flashing with absolute, dominant malice. "Make sure you survive the walk back, young master. The hunt has only just begun."

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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 ??