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

Chapter 583: The Law of the Frontier

The massive, iron-reinforced stone walls of the northern gate loomed ahead as the heavy, creaking caravan finally broke through the dense perimeter forest. The hundred surviving mercenaries were entirely drenched in a mixture of sweat, mud, and dried spider ichor, their muscles trembling violently after dragging the six colossal, treasure-laden cargo sledges up the steep mountain trails.

As the armored city guards standing atop the watchtowers came into view, a desperate, fleeting thought of rebellion flashed through the minds of several captive cultivators. "If we yell for help, if we cause a massive riot right at the gates... the authorities will have to step in," a scarred sub-leader thought, his eyes darting toward the heavy iron spears of the garrison.

But that desperate hope died in their throats before a single shout could form.

The mercenaries ground their teeth, a cold, bitter reality crashing down upon them. This was not one of the heavily regulated, peaceful trading hubs within the interior peaks of the Soaring Dragon Kingdom. Out here on the lawless, brutal northern frontier, a common citizen’s life was worth absolutely less than nothing. There were no royal magistrates to investigate a murder, and no imperial enforcers to protect the weak from extortion.

In this frontier citadel, the only lives that carried any absolute, tangible value were the official disciples and esteemed elders of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. If you were merely a common transient, a rogue mercenary, or a slum-dwelling refugee, you could easily be slaughtered in a dark alleyway at the end of the day, and the city guard wouldn’t even waste a single cup of clean water to wash your blood off the cobblestones. If they started a riot, the guards were far more likely to slaughter them all for disrupting the peace rather than raise a finger against a monster of Ethan’s caliber.

Left with absolutely no alternative, the terrified prisoners swallowed their pride and laboriously dragged the massive mountains of silver silk and pristine spider components straight past the iron gates, heading directly toward the heavy stone fortress that served as the primary outpost for the Heavenly Sword Pavilion’s commercial branch.

The high-ranking guard captain on duty, a middle-aged cultivator clad in the sect’s signature azure robes, was casually sipping tea when the massive caravan ground to a halt outside the outpost yard. The moment his eyes swept over the six overflowing wooden sledges—piled dangerously high with thousands of kilograms of shimmering silver spools, jade-green mandibles, and rigid venomous stingers—his teacup froze mid-air, his jaw dropping in absolute, unadulterated shock.

"What in the world..." the captain muttered, rapidly recognizing the tattered, blood-stained banner attached to the leading sledge. "Isn’t that the vanguard unit of the Iron Claw coalition? Where is your one-eyed leader?"

The surviving mercenaries didn’t answer. The very microsecond they reached the designated delivery zone, they violently tore off the thick vine ropes bound to their chests.

"The cargo is delivered! Everything is here!" the scarred sub-leader screamed in a frantic, hysterical panic, not even waiting for the outpost clerks to tally the massive bounty or hand over their cut of the black-market coin.

Before the sect guards or the surrounding onlookers could even utter a syllable of confusion, the hundred battle-hardened mercenaries turned on their heels and began to flee in every single direction, scrambling through the crowded streets like a flock of terrified sparrows escaping an apex hawk. They sprinted as if the literal god of death was snapping at their heels, completely desperate to vanish into the deep underbelly of the city’s lower slums before Ethan could ever find a reason to force them into another horrific task.

The azure-robed outpost captain and his elite guards stood completely paralyzed on the stone steps, their eyes darting between the abandoned mountain of supreme treasure and the fleeing, terrified army, thoroughly impacted by the absolute absurdity of the scene.

Ethan stepped forward, completely ignoring the dust storm of fleeing mercenaries. He walked smoothly past the paralyzed guards and stopped right before the desk of the stunned outpost captain, casually tossing a handful of wrinkled parchment onto the wooden counter.

"We are here to turn in the bounty," Ethan said, his voice as calm and flat as a frozen lake. "Here are the hunting sheets for the Spiritual Web Spiders. Everything is accounted for."

The azure-robed captain picked up the papers with a trembling hand, his eyes darting from the official ink seals back to the mountain of glittering silver silk and pristine carapaces sitting in the courtyard. The sheer volume of resources was staggering, but what truly shook him to his marrow was the behavior of the Iron Claw coalition. Those mercenaries were the most stubborn, cutthroat trash on the frontier, yet they had just abandoned a literal king’s ransom and run away weeping.

This brat was an absolute anomaly.

Just yesterday morning, the captain had received a high-priority, confidential notification from the sect’s inner chambers. The official mandate is to completely drop all investigations. If anyone comes snooping or complaining about a missing thug, execute them on the spot or banish them to the wasteland. No witnesses, no problems, no curious eyes.

The captain looked at the massive, torn tear in Ethan’s midnight-black armor and the effortless aura radiating from his frame. "No witnesses, no problems..." the captain thought, a cold sweat breaking out across his neck. "Holy shit... is this brat the terrifying phantom the high elders are protecting? Who the hell is this kid?"

"Well, well, well! Look who decided to single-handedly crash our market economy!"

A loud, booming laugh shattered the tense silence as the friendly sect guard who had first received Ethan the previous day came jogging down the stone steps, followed by a small squad of clerks who had run out to witness the commotion.

The guard walked right up to Ethan, giving him a warm, highly impressed salute before gesturing wildly at the overflowing sledges. "Brother Ethan! When I told you yesterday that you could bring back whatever you caught, I meant a couple of decent sacks of silk! I didn’t expect you to literally drag the entire damn northern forest back with you! Ha ha!"

Ethan’s lips twitched into a subtle, dry smirk. "The spiders were very cooperative. They practically insisted on volunteering their mandibles for the sect’s forge."

"Cooperative? They look like they were put through a giant meat grinder!" the guard laughed, walking over to inspect a massive, four-meter elite torso. "By the gods, even the matriarch is here! Look at this clean cut... did you tickle her until her head fell off, or did you just ask her nicely to split herself in half?"

"A bit of both," Ethan replied smoothly, maintaining his unbothered posture. "Though I think the mercenaries did most of the crying for her."

"I can see that! Those bastards ran past the gates so fast I thought their pants were on fire," the guard chuckled, slapping Ethan on the shoulder before turning to the trembling clerks. "Alright, you lazy scribes, stop staring with your jaws open like caught fish! Get the scales out and start counting! We’re going to be here all night weighing this mountain, and if we miscount a single thread of this silver silk, I’m pretty sure Brother Ethan here will ask us to ’cooperate’ next!"

The clerks scrambled into action, laughing nervously at the joke while desperately trying not to make eye contact with the young monster who had just turned a legendary beast territory into a personal delivery service.

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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 ??