Chat with a beauty

Leo was pleasantly surprised by the benefits of the Divine soul but also frustrated by the number of crystals needed for a breakthrough. 20 crystals with 100% efficiency is four times the normal amount needed by an above-average soul for a breakthrough. Also, Leo had a hunch that it would be even more unrealistic as his cultivation progresses.

'It seems like I need to find other opportunities in the underworld besides my projects to meet my expenditure.'

Just when he decided to take a look at the different cultivation levels, he heard a knock at his door. Leo got up from his chair and on his way to open the door he came across a large mirror that reflected his image. He was surprised to find that he was more handsome than expected. He had blue eyes, a chiseled nose, and a well-built body which is neither fat nor thin.

'I have to continue my charm even in the underworld ah..'

Leo involuntarily sighed as if the entire underworld would be devastated if he didn't agree. While appreciating the image he completely forgot that someone was waiting on the other side of the door. There was a saying -Nature of someone won't change even after one turns into ash. Leo's narcissistic personality seems to have followed him to the underworld too.

He woke up from his stupor when the knock turned into an irritating thud. As Leo opened the door, what greeted him was an impatient Eva. Without waiting for his greeting, she asked what she wanted to know the most.

"How did it go?"

Leo replied casually with his already ready-made answer "It went well, I felt energized all over the body but I didn't notice any change in my soul. Maybe I need to enter soul foundation level before I could sense anything."

Eva sighed with disappointment and didn't believe that Leo would lie to her. Instead, Eva would have doubted him if he told her that he could sense something because according to her analysis Leo would be eager to show his worth to remain under the umbrella of the Royal family.

Eva's analysis would be spot on if it was anybody else with a high potential soul but Leo had a divine soul which completely surpassed her imagination.

"Leo, our situation is not good to unconditionally nurture you. I will assign you my trusted subordinate who will show around you and answer all your questions. After you get an idea of the situation, you will naturally know what to do. I hope whatever you decide wouldn't harm the interest of the Royal family or the Eastern region."

After saying her piece Eva naturally returned to her work and within five minutes Leo saw a new face at his doorstep. It was another beauty but she was in her thirties. Leo was mesmerized by the mature charm of the new lady. If Eva was a blossoming flower then the new lady was ripened fruit that screamed to have a bite. She was ample in every part of her body.

The new lady chuckled at the amusing expression of Leo. It was not the first time she was experiencing that so she didn't mind. "Hello, my name is Lisa. Eva told me that you have a high potential soul which surprised me a little. It's very rare even in the second level of the underworld. Anyway, let's have a walk before we talk more. Shall we?"

Leo nodded with a smile. How can he reject an invitation from a beauty like her? Moreover, he also had many questions about this new world that need urgent answers. As they started their walk Leo silently appreciated the Royal palace.

According to Lisa's description, among all the Royal palaces in the first layer of the underworld Eastern region had the most beautiful architecture apart from the central region. Leo was impressed by the attention to detail in every wall. He found all types of carvings on the wall including erotic ones. Even Leo who had extensive knowledge in the 'gentleman's literature' blushed after seeing their poses. Lisa on the other hand didn't even blink as if she saw something trivial.

"Sister Lisa, are you married?" Leo threw a random question to pass the awkward situation.

"Hehe, does little brother wants to marry me if I say no?" Lisa teased with a smile.

But to her surprise, Leo replied with a surprising "Yes" and Leo didn't avoid the eye contact either.

Lisa laughed "I like that little brother is daring but I must warn you that you will have to face a lot of rivals from the tortoise sect. Probably they will skin you alive if they witnessed us together chatting like this."

Leo filtered most of her words and asked his next question, "Tell me about this tortoise sect."

Lisa's expression turned serious all of a sudden and both of them entered the garden outside the Royal place. Leo smelled the fresh scent of nature and listened attentively.

"There are four sects in the underworld. The Eastern region has the tortoise sect, the Western region has the tiger sect, the Northern region has the dragon sect and the Southern region has the phoenix sect. The central region doesn't involve in the sect affairs but acts as mediators for the underworld market and is known for its wealth.

Sects are the true powerhouses in the underworld. We Royal families are just vassals to help them in the administration of the region. Actually what we have in the surface layer are just branches and the true sect headquarter is located at the level below us. Here they guard the entrance to level 2 and also protect us from the forbidden region.

I know what your next question is, forbidden region is a very chaotic region in the underworld where abnormal creatures enter from different spacetimes. They are born to disrupt the rules of the universe and it's not limited to the underworld. Even heaven faces a similar threat from these creatures."

Leo understood the fairly simple explanation and nodded. Before he could ask another question Lisa continued.

"Leo you must have known by now that our Eastern region is not doing well. The main reason for that is the tortoise sect. A few years back one of the Royal members offended an important figure in the tortoise sect and as a result not only did he get a death sentence but also the Royal family lost favor with the tortoise sect.

In the yearly competition, every region would take help from their sect to compete but for the last 3 years, we were participating with only Royal family members with no support from our sect. Although our Royal family is strong it can't be compared with the geniuses of those sects."

Leo got more clarity on the underworld affairs but he asked a confusing part " Then why our sect simply replace the Royal family with another one?"

Lisa chuckled " We have to thank the rules of the underworld for that. Unless we unilaterally stop paying tributes to the sect, the sect can't take any action against us. Moreover, the sect has no time for the trivial affairs of the secular administration. It has its problems facing the forbidden area deep inside the Eastern region."

Leo nodded in understanding and silently thanked his lucky stars again 'Fortunately that father and daughter duo didn't know the value of my soul otherwise they would have simply offered me as a tribute to the sect and repaired their sour relationship. Probably they thought that the high potential soul was not enough to redeem themselves.'

Lisa saw that Leo was deep in thought and mistakenly believed that he was organizing the new information and remained silent to give enough time to digest it. After a while, the pair entered a horse carriage and it started going in the direction Lisa instructed.

Although the technology was somewhat advanced in some areas, it remained medieval in most of the remaining areas. It was mainly because of a lack of motivation to invest time and resources in the field rather than lack of knowledge. Sin crystals were already difficult to earn and on top of that, if anyone started investing in the automobile area just to experience mortal luxuries, it would be very stupid.

Leo admired the well-maintained streets but most of the shops were closed. It was not lively because of the current situation but it gave him a similar feeling as he was on Earth. Leo asked another important question.

"Lisa can you tell me about cultivation levels and when can someone able join the sects?"

Lisa expected this question and casually started answering looking at the window.

"Cultivation levels are divided into 7 levels. Soul foundation - soul apprentice - soul master- soul grandmaster - soul great grandmaster- soul sage - soul deity. In the surface level, foundation and apprentice level cultivators are common, master level cultivators in the level 2, and so on. No one knows about the seventh layer which is the deepest layer in the underworld. Probably those at the deity level are only aware of that information.

Now let's come back to your priorities at the moment which is soul foundation which has 9 sub-stages just like all the other levels of the cultivation. When you refine a sufficient number of sin crystals, you will open a soul alter inside your consciousness. Soul alter has many functions which you will understand when you reach soul apprentice level.

But for a good soul alter one needs to have a good foundation. The foundation level is divided into 3 levels namely gaseous, liquid and solid levels. Each level corresponds to 3 sub-stages meaning if you reach level 4 of the soul foundation it means your soul alter has transformed from a gaseous state to a liquid state. Similarly, if you reach level 7 it corresponds to soul alter being transformed from liquid to solid-state.

As for the soul-apprentice level let's talk about it after you reach the later stages of the foundation level. But to quench your curiosity I will give you a little introduction. Soul apprentice cultivators can materialize a clone on their soul alters which can take either the warrior route or the mage route. After sufficiently cultivating the clone, apprentice cultivators enter the next level which is the master level.

In the master level, they no longer use mortal bodies like us instead their clone becomes their external body. Manifestation of clone into the real body is the differentiating factor between apprentice level and master level."