Early in the morning, following a night of debauchery, the patriarch of the residence was busy smoking from his wooden pipe whilst leaning against the windowsill. He had thoroughly ploughed his wives until they were too tired to keep going. 

Now that he had spent all of the excess energy he acquired through fulfilling his marital duties, he felt like he should be powerful enough to comfortably court Bai Xing and Jingyao Zhenniao. He should also be able to deal with their potential suitors if necessary.

Anoteros preferred to underestimate rather than to overestimate himself when it came to such things. He could only truly know if such an obstacle could be overcome once said obstacle was right in front of his eyes. Edrick knew that–Unlike the Elt clan–The other great clans had far more focused ancestral techniques.

As was common, if an Alrin of either of those two noble girls were to want to test his mettle and merit, then it wasn’t certain that Edrick would be able to easily deal with such an issue. The Pain Sutra and Poison Sutra were refined books containing a great deal of complementary techniques, precise ways to progress into the specific path of cultivation they covered, the greatest resources that could be used to boost one’s strength, and–From what he had heard–Even battle arts of great power.

The Elt clan was very unpredictable and tended to have a great foundation in terms of raw talent and base strength, but the Xing and Zhenniao were pure specialists in their respective domains.

No one could be truly confident in being able to overcome their techniques, but Anoteros had never stopped practising the techniques Ku Xing had gracefully given him, and neither had he ever stopped following the instructions Ting Zhenniao had left him with. He was definitely more equipped than most to deal with agony and toxins. However, being equipped did not necessarily mean much.

‘If anything, I am innately used to dealing with pain without flinching’

Keeping a straight face while experiencing tremendous physical suffering was one thing, but the pain was still here. Edrick was merely very good at keeping his composure and giving the impression that it didn’t affect him whatsoever, but truth be told, when something hurt like hell, he absolutely felt it in full.

In fact, his sensory boosts made him even more sensitive to even the smallest bits of suffering, and if dealing with a Xing, no amount of poker face would do the trick. They could sense pain in others just as well as a cultivator could sense their own inner energy. They would know instantly that what they were doing was having an effect.

Nonetheless, Anoteros still believed that he should go for Bai Xing first.

Although his Deuvalra was a powerful, muscular woman–Typically, a Xing wasn’t focused on their physical strength. At least not anywhere as close as a typical warrior would be... They were mostly spell cultivators and usually used augmentative spells when fighting in close quarters.

...As such, if Anoteros needed to prove himself at one point, or if a fellow scion wanted to duel him for no other reason than to make acquaintances, then he had a very good shot at a quick victory as long as he could close the distance before they realised that his pain tolerance was high... And thus, before they had the occasion to use a truly powerful spell, he might just be able to knock them out.

It wouldn’t work for long, but if he managed to win Bai Xing’s heart, that’s all that would matter.

He exhaled a large amount of smoke. Stuffed inside his High-Chieftain's Wooden Pipe were various high-quality herbs from Eltysia, all of which had gone through Fanqia’s expert hands, purifying them to perfection, coupled with the effects of the item itself… Edrick never would have expected to think this, but smoking was actually healthier than the contrary.

He sighed as he put the wooden pipe away. It had been emptied.

Once Anoteros successfully wooed a noble girl from a great clan, both his family and hers would very strongly push them to have an offspring together. It was basically inevitable. Normally, when this happened, the Valdre and Valra would each want the resulting offspring to stay within their respective clan. However, taking into account the sort of plans Edrick had for the future, and the sort of ‘production’ of spawnlings he was anticipating, he wouldn’t mind at all if Bai and Jingyao were to keep the first… Even the first several, for that matter.

Once the Nursery Wing was completed and fully staffed, he would really be able to start pumping out his life-granting seed all over the place without restraint. He frankly couldn’t care less if he had so many that he didn’t know about even half of them. The Elt clan would be happy to have a main-line scion actually getting to work in producing the next generations.

He was already widely praised for having Simis with Fanqia, so he could hardly imagine what it would be like once he started filling up all of his wives and maids.

Speaking of maids… A nameless Housemaid came to inform him that Kaeleanth had arrived. Edrick thanked her with a slap to her backside, got himself dressed properly, and then went to greet the sect leader.

She looked the same as the last time Anoteros had seen her, wearing a simple robe over her bandaged body and a funeral mask covering her face.

“Welcome, Miss Kaeleanth”

“It is a pleasure to see you again, Young Master Zixuan. May I see the spectre?”

“Of course, follow me. She’s in a special room underground”

Kaeleanth went straight to the chase.

Anoteros led her to Chengjie.

The emerald spirit seemed quite surprised, not by the visit, but by the visitor.

The leader of the Sect Of The Old Decay asked a few questions, but quickly went to work. She set up an array, brought out several refined tools, and proceeded to cast spell after spell for several hours.

Anoteros–Even with his resistance to death-aligned things–Had to step out of the room eventually.

Kaeleanth worked for a very long time, never taking any break whatsoever, until the deathly presence inside the room began fading away... Only then did she step out, handing Anoteros the piece of emerald the spectre had used as a home for a long time.

“I have successfully altered the nature of this ghost. She is no longer bound to this emerald, but is instead bound to your residence and territory. I’ve also given her a few more abilities that could be useful… She should already be obedient with what I did, but if you want to make sure, she is currently unconscious in a corporeal state”

“You have my thanks, Miss Kaeleanth”

“You have my thanks, too, Young Master. Jingyi is proving to be an excellent disciple”

The bandaged woman did not stick around for very long after this, leaving Edrick with only one thing to do–Properly dominate his newest maid.