Shout-out to Kuuh for supporting me in my patron. Thanks a lot!!!

***

To confirm the knowledge he received, Nik decided to visit his spiritual world. Just like he recalled, his spiritual world was parted in crimson and violet land while a mesmerizing starry sky encompassed all. His presence failed to induce his unnamed spirit and the stern Lilith. It was only the cheerful Asmodeus that greeted him in the form of the flickering violet blaze.

"Ahoy, mate!"

Nik admitted that in the past, he had already chatted for hours with Asmodeus in his spiritual world. Although he was startled to know that Asmodeus and Lilith had their memories erased before getting sealed into his spiritual world, the shocking news was that the two spirits that boasted to be one of the most beautiful women in the multiverse were barely legal.

This made Nik want to inquire about how they could even be so certain of their beauties only to find that certain pieces of information regarding their own past were already present in Nik's spiritual world. What these memories spoke of was not informed to Nik even by the cheerful and talkative Asmodeus.

"Matey," Nik nodded and smiled, "Do you know something about spirit rings?"

Asmodeus' blazing form halted for a moment. At this moment, even Lilith's form materialized in front of Nik while draped in a starry coat, Nik's unnamed spirit also made its arrival.

"What... ?"

Nik observed the three spirits and even if they did not have eyes on their strange hazy forms, Nik could bet that they were observing him intently. 

"Spirit rings... you mean the ones that come in colors white, yellow, purple, black, and red based on the years of how old the spirit is?"

Lilith inquired with somberness, trying her level best to hide her excitement.

"I know about the black spirit rings. I don't know anything about red spirit rings."

Nik nodded as the unnamed spirit couldn't control her emotions and finally started to laugh in wild abandon. Asmodeus soon followed.

It was only Lilith, who could control her emotions in check even after getting corrupted by Nik's spiritual world for so many years.

"Leave those two be. Let me explain the situation."

Lilith spoke calmly. When she did not receive Nik's reply and instead found him staring at her with his eyes narrowed, she couldn't help but feel weird and finally spoke up, "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Nik began with a shrug as he mocked Lilith with a slight rise of the pitch in his voice, "I just don't like spirits who— that only talk to me because they want to and not the other way around," but before Lilith could retort, Nik grinned, "But it is a good thing that I ain't no bitch who gets offended by such slights. So, what's up?"

Lilith faltered for a moment before speaking, "Look, the basics of such cultivation are simple. By cultivation, I mean— us. There are certain spirits in the multiverse whence devoured by us, can make us... eligible to have our individuality. It is complicated in a manner and many things will only get clear to you after some time.

The thing you have to do now is to awaken the spirits— us— into the real world. That is the first step."

Nik looked at the mass of the glimmering black ball and a peal of violet blaze jumping around and turned his attention back to Lilith.

"Let's say that I awaken my spirits... how will I know that which... spirit rings are beneficial to you guys?"

"That is a job for us. And I want to clear the basic probable misconception of the world you are probably in. The true use of Spirit rings is to make the spirits complete, so finding compatible spirits within flora and fauna is hard but not impossible. So, what I mean to say is, everyone is a fair game. Oh, and you also need to find a method to cultivate the spiritual energy dormant within your spiritual world and also..."

At that moment, Nik realized that he liked the stern Lilith who could feign arrogance and coldness to even her host. Otherwise, the moment she starts to talk, she is just like a mother sending her child to market with a long list of groceries to purchase with details on what brands and the quantity to buy.

Finally, after clearing his understanding regarding the current power system in the world, Nik tapped out of his spiritual world lest Lilith decided that her current explanation wasn't already enough.

After coming to be in the real world, Nik exhaled deeply and found Ray gazing out into the streets through the window.

"So? We ask the generous gentleman to awaken our spirits, too?"

Nik inquired as Ray shook her head.

"Did he not say that the better the quality of awakening stone used the higher the amount of spiritual energy released from our spiritual world? I am staking out for some potentials."

Ray muttered as his gaze went from an orange-haired youth running around with another boy with spiky bluish hair. 'He's cute,' Ray observed the orange-haired youth before shifting his attention. He looked barely old enough to support himself and from the looks of it, he did not seem to have enough currency. Ray also couldn't find any spatial ring on the youth's fingers.

"Hmm?"

Ray's gaze landed on a purple-headed youth with equally violet eyes. Unlike the rough fabric worn by the citizens that Ray observed, the youth wore soft fabric with golden embroideries. He was handsome, had two spatial rings on his fingers, and most of all, the youth walked with an entourage of bratty youths that kept on laughing around him.

"Did you find someone interesting?"

Nik inquired as Ray turned his head and grinned, "Nik, wanna be the brute who is trying to distress a damsel?"

***

"Heh, the classes are going to start in a week... sure you guys are prepared for the entrance examinations?"

Ye Hong inquired his friends. Most people in the city think that he likes to carry lackeys and bolster his ego but he and his friends knew that it was quite the opposite. Ye Hong wasn't the slightest bit interested in the matters of his uncle— The City Lord— and wasn't interested in the struggles of cultivation. He was talented and eccentric enough to enjoy the sky as it is and make friends with commoners.

Sure, the legends of a single warrior uprooting the cities sounded exciting, but why would Ye Hong ever think of uprooting other's hard work when he knew he wasn't even probably half of as hardworking as them?

"You harlot! How dare you refuse to service the Great Me?"

Ye Hong's attention was attracted to a bare-chested hunk with a face that made Ye Hong consider the possibility that other aristocracy might be involved. But the moment his violet hues landed on the short, silver-haired beauty with round, beautiful face and hazy-pink hues, Ye Hong felt his mind go blank for a moment.

As an observant youth, not to mention, a connoisseur of the professional services of myriad generous ladies willing to replace Ye Hong's regret of not being able to meet his mother daily, only one thought revolved within his mind— Why was he made aware of such a gem only today?

"I-"

Ray's teeth clattered as his fallen figure elicited desire and pity simultaneously. But none dared to interrupt. As Nik and Ray had already observed, many of the citizens were already turned into meek fowls due to the unruliness of this plane and if Nik was boisterous enough, only the stronger ones would even think of interrupting their act.

"I don't care!" Nik roared without feeling an iota of shame. He was well-versed in the art of acting—  One of the many practices that make for an actually experienced harlot.

As Nik raised his thick arm to deliver a swift slap, a calm voice finally interrupted the act, "Mister, please hold your anger."

"Huh?" Nik raised his eyebrow and puckered his lips in a threatening manner before turning his head and matched Ye Hong's violet hues. With Nik's large figure and devilish face, it was easy enough to nail Ye Hong with his gaze itself. Not to mention that Nik had also released his [Pheromone Illusion] to direct Ye Hong slightly.

"I am surnamed Ye and am a member of the Snow Wind Family."

'No, you are a target and your surname is Fucked.'

Nik added internally.

***

Ye Hong

https://tales-of-demons-and-gods.fandom.com/wiki/Ye_Hong#Manhua