When the snake beast and the young man's eyes met, the difference in their willpower was revealed. It was like heaven and earth. This person may be young and may be the weakest opponent it ever had. However, this young man's will was the strongest of all.
Was it stronger than a dragon's will?
It's hard to gauge from far below. What was sure was that, in terms of confrontation between willpower, this young man was above the snake beast.
Because of that, Nyx has become a slave.
.
.
Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks.
Almost two months had passed before Jasper was done with his hellish cultivation method. When he was done, Jasper fell asleep right after.
Although Nyx had already experienced Jasper's abnormal willpower before, it was still shocked by how it manifested right in front of it.
'Such a cruel and self-destructive cultivation method… although it produces the best result, it breaks one's mind. Even I wouldn't last an hour. However, this young man lasted until he was finished.'
Was there a possibility that being a slave and burning one's cultivation would be beneficial? Nyx couldn't believe it would feel fortunate to follow the book's advice to accept this young man's enslavement.
Jasper, its new master, may only be at the Body Tempering Realm right now. However, after this cultivation method, Jasper just might be the strongest Body Tempering Cultivator in the supercontinent of Nirvania, if not the whole world.
Another several days had passed when Jasper finally woke up from his longest sleep yet.
He felt incomparably rejuvenated, and his body was as light as a feather. Jasper looked around and saw that he was in a dimly lit cave, however, he was able to recognize his surroundings as if he had a flashlight with him.
Walking out of the cave, Jasper stretched and felt the wonderful sunlight hit his skin.
He then looked at this description.
[Description]
—
Name: Jasper Langford
Authority: User
Race: Human
Cultivation: Body Tempering Realm - Peak Stage
—
Jasper has now become a cultivator.
He looked over his shoulder and saw a pitch-black snake sleeping. He then looked down and saw another snake sleeping.
"Must be because I don't feel any cold."
Jasper just realized he was naked. At the same time, his body was very dirty.
Taking a bath right now is perfect. He can clean himself and then recollect his thoughts. Thus, using his sharpened senses, Jasper picked up the nearby sound of a stream.
Nice, there was a river nearby. Feeling a lot of energy, Jasper began running at full speed.
"W-woah!"
As soon as he accelerated, he tripped and tumbled, making him land on his back with his legs wide open above him.
Being naked and in this position, he undoubtedly looked like a pervert.
I am a pervert, though, Jasper pondered with some self-awareness. But not this kind of pervert!
"Master, you're awake."
"Hmm, Nyx? Sorry for waking you up. I'm not yet used to my strength."
"No worries. You'll eventually get used to it."
Jasper nodded and patted the small snake's head.
Nyx wanted to say not to treat it like a pet, but eventually chose not to. As of now, he is just a slave.
"Ah yeah, why are you so small now?"
"I'm hiding myself as this is no longer my territory. Other beasts at the Nascent Martial Spirit Realm may seek out revenge on me once they learn of my current state."
"I see…" Jasper walked towards the river, "You must be pretty discontented with your cultivation burned down, don't you?"
"I am but a slave. I have to serve the master."
Jasper laughed, "You're quick to adjust."
"I accepted your enslavement, and my willpower was weaker. All these consequences came from my action. I didn't have to follow the book's advice."
"That's right. I don't feel like I have to apologize either."
"No need for that."
Jasper didn't say anything any longer. He could make a promise that the snake will get stronger in the future along with him because he is now the user of the
Furthermore, Nyx is a slave, not a follower. There's no need for an implicit control.
After a short walk, Jasper felt his body and began to get used to it, so he ran faster and faster.
Soon, he found the river and just catapulted, not caring about the rocks and stones. As a peak Body Tempering Cultivator, the rocks and stones should be wary of him instead.
"Huuu—" releasing a relaxed breath, Jasper felt something and looked at a fish with big, sharp teeth gnawing on his forearm, doing nothing, not even a scratch.
"Get out of here, little beast."
He threw the fish away and looked down as he saw another one. This time, gnawing on something more important.
"Fuckin-!"
He crushed this one in anger.
"That's for the non-consensual suck."
"Master, you should slightly release your aura as a peak of Body Tempering Cultivator so these small fries would leave you alone."
Nyx gave advice, "But don't spread it too far, it may attract stronger beasts."
Jasper nodded and did as Nyx advised. This gave him comfort, and he was finally able to fully relax.
He didn't worry about beasts at the Qi Refining Realm walking past and seeing him. He had the snake beast with him. This was the snake's territory for decades. Nyx will surely tell him if there's danger ahead.
'Wait, actually, do slaves feel loyalty or are they just forced to follow orders?'
To be sure, Jasper ordered.
"Nyx, warn me if there's danger ahead."
"Of course, Master."
After some thinking, Jasper decided to just ask.
"The book is not with me here for now, so I'm a little bit lost. Nyx, tell me the truth, do you feel loyalty to me because you're a slave, or is that just your character? It's because you've been a very good aide. Normally, you should be resisting a little bit."
Nyx turned his head away before turning back to Jasper and lowering his head.
"Master, it's hard to explain. But as you know, we beasts respect strength most and foremost, yet we also have pride. If your strength is greater than a beast's pride, they will naturally listen to you. However, the inner strength Master has shown me is greater than anything I've seen. This snake is truly humbled. What I mean is, Master, I believe the reason for my loyalty comes from being a beast, then as a slave comes after that. It's not usually my character."
"I see… thanks for explaining that clearly," Jasper smiled.
"My pleasure. You may call it a beast instinct that I know this."
"Hmm. In the near future, let's see how the other beasts I'll enslave become."
"..." Nyx didn't comment any further and just gave a slight nod.
Jasper soon turned quiet and appreciated the relaxing atmosphere. This made him collect his thoughts.
To recall what happened before he became a cultivator, he was almost killed by Liam, a Third Stage Body Tempering Cultivator. He barely survived and was taken care of by an Ancestor's clone, offering him to become one of the Ancestor's disciples.
Jasper's mind still felt numb from how outrageous this was. He was a simple non-cultivator all his life, and now, he was entangled with the Ancestor.
It's still hard to believe that.
Then, with a twist, the sentient book that made the Ancestor the legend he is today chose Jasper as its new master. To escape the Ancestor's radar, that sentient book and Jasper made a plan to retreat.
Their plan is split into three parts. The first part includes the treasure returning to the Ancestor's side for the time being and for Jasper to somehow escape.
Jasper chose to feign his own death by giving up parts of his authority. This was suggested by the book. Since it will be returning to the Ancestor's side, it will not be able to personally side with Jasper. Thus, Jasper has no need for his so-called 'authority' over the sentient book that is the Unrivaled Sovereign System.
The concept of 'authority' within the Unrivaled Sovereign System is still a mystery. Jasper just know that this determines who gets to be the owner of the system, or their position. By expending this, he is removing his title as the system's master, and getting demoted to just a user. In turn, he was able to get a shortcut and enslave a Nascent Martial Spirit Beast.
Second part of the plan was for Jasper to temporarily hide and accumulate his power and influence. The book stated that Jasper's authority will naturally increase along with his power. Once he can afford to make himself known and sufficiently increase his authority along the way, the sentient book will return to him, making him its master once again.
The problem is his identity. He didn't have the current connections to change his identity and return to school. Furthermore, the Ancestor's clone has access to his school's registry.
"Hmm… this is difficult. I guess I don't need to return to school then."
With not much choice, Jasper decided that he would accumulate power in another way. He's more familiar with schools, so it was quite the bummer.
Once Jasper accumulated enough strength, the third part of the plan would start. That brings us to the present.
"Now, how do I get home?"
He was currently naked without his smartphone.
"The campsite… Nyx, how long has it been since we've met?"
"I believe it's been more than two months now, Master."
Thunder crackled in Jasper's head. He was expecting two to three days or even a week, but two months!?
He was too focused on cultivating, and his sleep felt like a refreshing blink. Jasper didn't notice that time flew by that much.
"Alright, let's go!"
Jasper left the river and searched for the campsite to see if the Ancestor's clone left some things behind. He hoped for clothes in there or his smartphone.
After a day of searching, using the mountain ranges and the direction of the sun along with the flow of the river, Jasper found the campsite.
Nobody was there. Of course, the clone should've left a long time ago. There should be no reason for him to stay here.
When he found the campsite, Jasper was ecstatic to find his belongings. His wallet and his phone was there!
"Come on, I know you've been drifting in the river with me and that I haven't charged you in two months, but I believe in technology!"
[1% battery life]
It's alive!
Cheers for technology!
Jasper immediately texted his friend to go find him here the boundary.
[No signal]