Duncan watched as various emotions slid across Leia's face.
Watching her panicking at the beginning to calming down soon, and then thinking deeply about her experiences in the past year, Duncan realized that he didn't need to worry about Leia much.
Leia wasn't someone soft. It was true that the recent events had broken her down. But, with a little help, she had bounced back from it in a firm manner. Now seeing that firm look on her face, Duncan knew she could take care of herself pretty well.
Especially when Leia sported a slightly murderous look at the end, Duncan knew that she was completely back to her normal self by now. That murderous look on her face didn't disturb him at all. Rather, it only endeared her to him more.
Shaking his head, Duncan left Leia to her thoughts.
Leia's thoughts were on a whole different tangent at this moment. After realizing the implications of Duncan's words and knowing that her life wasn't in immediate danger, Leia's thoughts turned towards the manipulator who had been playing with her life from the shadows.
While she wasn't someone who wanted to kill people for small quarrels, the quarrel she had with this person was very personal. The manipulator had almost made her into a puppet. They had broken her down completely and had made her wallow in despair for weeks.
She didn't want to let whoever it was to get off easily. She wanted the manipulator to pay a heavy price. Now that she knew their intentions, she would be waiting for them to deliver themselves to her door. And when the time comes, she would stick her knife deep in their back as well.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTaking a deep breath, Leia came back from her thoughts and saw that Duncan was already back to meditation. She felt a flash of disappointment in her heart. But, she didn't want to push Duncan to obtain more. He had already done enough for her. Without him, she shuddered to even think about her current situation if not for him.
Leia calmed herself and began thinking about what she would do after Duncan left. Initially, she didn't want Duncan to leave her. So, she didn't want to think about her future after Duncan left. But, Duncan had been firm in his opinion that he was a danger to be around. So, she could only let go of her unrealistic thoughts.
In the past four days, Leia had also begun to realize how big of a power gap existed between cultivators. Before this, all cultivators almost looked the same to her when it came to power – unimaginable and mythical.
However, after listening to Duncan's words in the past few days, she realized that the difference between cultivators at different cultivation realms was infinitely magnified. The more deep their cultivation, the more mysterious their powers became.
Duncan had once shown her an example with the help of his martial arts cultivation. That's when she realized that even among cultivators at the same level there were differences in power. Hearing Duncan speak that he could take on even cultivators at the early-stage Violet Palace realm, Leia understood that Duncan had the potential to become a very strong cultivator in the future.
After realizing that, Leia also began to look inward. From her experience, she knew any unequal relationship would never have a proper ending. She also realized that her feelings for Duncan might run very deep.
Logically, Leia knew that Duncan's actions were very coincidental and he didn't come for her particularly. But, even then, his actions gave her a new lease on life. It was enough for her. Somewhere in the past week, her feelings for Duncan had changed into something different.
She wouldn't call it love yet. But, there was deep affection towards Duncan within her heart. Moreover, Duncan was incredible in the bed. If possible, she wanted to keep him all for herself and enjoy the way he used her for a long time.
But, she knew that a man like Duncan would never settle for a single woman. Even when he was mortal, Duncan was a lusty beast. It was clear to her that with the increase in his power, Duncan's bestial nature had only grown even more stronger. And from what she could see, it would only grow stronger in the future.
When she realized this, she began to think about how to keep hold of Duncan as much as possible. Leia understood that for that to happen, she must be more memorable than other women that Duncan took to bed. That's why she played up the slave aspect and tried to give Duncan something only she could give.
But, Leia also gradually recognized that her body was too weak. When compared to the mortals she had been with, Duncan's superhuman strength almost broke her. And Duncan's strength would only grow as time progressed. If she didn't become stronger in the future, then even if Duncan wanted he wouldn't be able to use her at all.
That thought almost sent her into a panic. Leia could only smile deprecatingly at that. She never expected that she would change so much. But, her feelings were true and her heart didn't lie. She wanted to hold on to Duncan as much as possible and for as long as possible.
Then, the only way for that to happen was for her to become stronger.
The difference in power levels between mortals was relatively manageable. But, when it came to the difference between a mortal and a cultivator, they changed drastically. She didn't want Duncan to make gentle love to her. She wanted him to use her. Take her forcefully like he did the first time and shatter her mind. After experiencing such a thing, she didn't want to settle for a tamer version.
After figuring these things out, Leia dedicated herself to cultivation wholeheartedly in the morning. She dutifully absorbed everything Duncan told her about cultivation. And the results were evident as well. She could feel her progress intuitively whenever she entered meditation.
She also realized that Duncan was also helping her secretly in some other way. Her body strength had almost doubled since last week. Every time she woke up with bruises and took a portion of the medical pill to resolve them, she could feel her body strengthening more and more. The time taken for her to resolve the power of the medical pill portion was also beginning to shorten.
Even though she could feel her strength beginning to rise drastically every night, she realized that the gap between her and Duncan was already huge. She didn't want the gap to widen further. So, she worked hard to introduce qi into her body.
The moment she felt qi enter her body, she immediately realized how big the gap was. From being a mortal to someone who only introduced qi into her body, Leia felt as if a whole new world had opened.
Her senses felt sharp. She could feel the qi entering into her body and traveling through the route Duncan had instructed on. Everything felt surreal. She even felt that her entire body possessed much more strength while holding qi.
The first thought that came to her mind at that time was how much difference would it make to have such sharp senses when indulging in carnal pleasure with Duncan. That thought almost made her break out of her trance. She really wanted to try that at least once before Duncan left.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAs she sat in her futon and drew more qi into her body, Leia realized that she rather liked the feeling of having such sharp senses. She didn't if everyone experienced such a sharp increase in their senses after cultivating, but she kinda liked it. She didn't want to ever let go of this feeling.
Guiding the qi she drew into her body into the pattern that Duncan taught her, Leia felt the desire to become more and more powerful for the first time in her life. Not to keep hold of Duncan, not to make that manipulator pay, but just to see how sharp her senses could get as she progressed in her cultivation.
To each their own.
While others wanted power to destroy or dominate people, Leia wanted to see how much better her senses could be with more power in her body. What she didn't know was that the people of the Spirit Clan were blessed with sharp senses due to their bloodline. Their typical senses are five times stronger than an average person's.
This sharp increase came because of the increase in their spirit power. This was unique to their clan. Members of the Spirit Clan always had a stronger spirit than other people. When they begin to cultivate, the spirit power they possess will grow by leaps and bounds. Those who haven't unlocked their bloodline will never experience such a sharp increase in their senses just by introducing qi into their body.
That is one of the reasons that fail to step into the Violet Palace realm. To establish a proper foundational pillar, the spirit power requirement for Spirit Clan members was comparatively higher than ordinary cultivators. This was something unique to their bloodline.
This higher spirit power made the Spirit Clan members masters of auxiliary occupation in the cultivation world. Whether it was artifact crafting, pill concocting, beast taming, talisman crafting, array creation, or any other auxiliary profession in the cultivation world, the requirements of spirit power are very high.
The higher the spirit power one has, the easier it will be for them to practice these professions and progress faster in them. This caused the Spirit Clan members to become very influential in the upper realms. This was something that was inherently unique to her.
It was no wonder she got lost in such a feeling…
*****
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