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

Chapter 709: Chapter 709: The Hidden Leash

”I really do not want to damage you, Heidy,” Ethan said, his gravelly voice dropping to a freezing tone. ”But I suppose I have no other clinical option.”

Ethan violently unleashed the full baseline of his hidden power. His eyes flared with a brilliant, predatory amethyst light, and a layer of obsidian, metallic scales rapidly synthesized across his skin, covering his physical form.

Seeing his hybrid transformation erupt in the tight space, Heidy instinctively flinched, her absolute shock breaking her martial focus. ”What... what kind of monster are you?!”

”A monster?” Ethan murmured, his voice sounding deeper, distorted by the scales. ”True, I must look exactly like one to you right now. It is a profound shame that I have to cause you harm.”

Ethan vanished.

And he instantly reappeared right at her left flank. Heidy’s battle reflexes were exceptionally fast; her blade executed a fierce, instinctual counter-arc. ”Cry of the Crane!”

The atmospheric pressure around them violently distorted as a blinding white shockwave tore through the exact coordinate Ethan had occupied a microsecond before, shattering the cavern wall.

”Vaya... so this is the true tactical strength of the realm positioned directly above mine,” Ethan’s voice echoed from the shadows.

He materialized several meters ahead, staring flatly at her. A thin, vertical line of crimson blood leaked from his forehead, running down his face. He had barely evaded the strike; the white energy would have split his vessel vertically in two if his cognitive processing had been a second slower.

”It appears executing a direct, frontal assault against a Spirit Sea practitioner will not be an easy task,” Ethan remarked. He calmly retracted his hybrid state, his skin returning to its human baseline. ”Well... kneel down.”

The exact millisecond the command left his lips, Heidy’s eyes widened in horror. Her knees violently buckled as every single shred of physical and spiritual strength instantly drained from her muscles. She slammed heavily onto the rocky floor, gasping for breath.

”What... what are you doing to my body?!” she shrieked, trying to force her arms to lift her frame.

”Did you honestly think that I would assist you in elevating your cultivation base to a metric where you could damage me, and then simply leave you to roam free without a single method of absolute control?” Ethan asked, his tone dripping with clinical mockery. ”Are you an absolute idiot? Every single practitioner inside this pavilion who has ever been treated by my medical hands resides entirely under my hidden control.”

Ethan walked forward, his boots clicking softly on the stone. He reached down, grabbing her firmly by the throat and lifting her paralyzed frame off the floor. ”Since your internal loyalty makes you far too dangerous to my long-term survival, I must thoroughly take care of your consciousness right now.”

He paused, closing his eyes internally. ’Crul, it is time.’

This was a specific psychological question Ethan had researched extensively back in his original world—how to absolute subdue an enemy’s mind. Back then, the AI had informed him he lacked the cognitive development because his soul baseline wasn’t strong enough. But now, his current evolution had changed everything. He could easily dominate a vessel, especially since his previous medical treatments had deliberately inserted a dormant cluster of his own amethyst essence directly into the deepest core of her spiritual sea.

Ethan’s amethyst eyes flared to life again, peering straight through her skull to analyze her internal matrix. ”It has been quite a while since I executed this specific ability. Let us see how much its structural strength has increased.”

”Space Seal!”

The raw power of his eyes erupted, freezing the air and locking down the immediate space around them. Ethan refused to permit a single operational error during the possession process; any mental backlash could result in severe trauma to his own brain. He aggressively began marking his runic signature onto her paralyzed spiritual sea.

”You can functionally consider this specific seal as a dormant bomb ticking inside your soul,” Ethan whispered into her ear. ”The exact millisecond I desire it, it will detonate, and your existence will reach an immediate end. From this moment onward, if you execute a single thought of treason against me, you die. And believe me, when you expire, absolutely no one in the pavilion will determine the cause. I will simply report your death as a tragic ambush executed by the Crimson Sect. Hehe.”

Ethan loosened his grip, letting her slide back to the floor. ”It will be significantly better for you if you surrender your will and remain perfectly obedient. I possess zero desire to cause you. any damage.”

Heidy’s shoulders collapsed completely, her head hanging low as she began to weep silently, her spirit entirely broken and subjected to his command.

Heidy looked at him with a depressed expression. ”What exactly is your true objective inside this pavilion?”

”I want the pavilion to launch a total, unyielding war against both the Crimson Sect and the Blackmountain Sect” Ethan said, his voice filled with hatred. ”I need all three factions to be completely and thoroughly destroyed.”

Heidy’s brow raised slightly, a cold smile touch his lips. ”I see... you are executing that objective exceptionally well. In fact, far too well. If you continue to strengthen our pavilion’s military baseline, all it will take is for me to leak a single shred of strategic intelligence to our rivals, and that total war will instantly ignite. Your grand plan is practically completed already. Tell me... where do you originally come from?”

”A small, unaligned island in the southern seas... it was completely slaughtered and wiped out by the Crimson Sect,” Ethan said, with a hint of nostalgia. ”Princess Isabella personally rescued me from the ashes. I owe her everything. She provided me with the material opportunity to execute my vengeance, and I will absolutely not stop until there is not a single trace left of the Crimson Sect on this continent.”

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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

The Melting Tide / The Tidal Horizon / The Sea Mist Ascension

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

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Sword mastery levels

Sword Intent.

Sword Aura.