Chapter 652: The Master’s Pavilion and the Alchemist’s Wrath
Chapter 652: The Master’s Pavilion and the Alchemist’s Wrath
The first rays of the morning sun had barely begun to pierce through the thick mountain mist when Ethan quietly slipped out from beneath the heavy blankets. Beside him, Louisa was completely and utterly exhausted, her delicate body deeply asleep, thoroughly spent after a long night of being relentlessly loved and claimed over and over again to satisfy her husband’s monstrous, unyielding physical endurance.
Ethan dressed in a pristine white robe, checked on the still-sleeping Mary behind the privacy screen, and stepped out into the cool dawn air. It was time to inspect his new territory.
When he arrived at the massive commercial plot near the main peak junction, his amethyst eyes widened with a rare flash of genuine surprise. The sect’s engineering corps had moved with a terrifying, supernatural speed. Although the structure was designed as a two-story pavilion, it possessed the staggering, sprawling footprint of an elite clan mansion.
The ground floor opened into an immense, cavernous reception hall lined with polished white stone and heavy mahogany counters. Upstairs, the layout transitioned into dozens of spacious, fully furnished private chambers equipped with high-tier spiritual wood beds—a dedicated luxury zone designed specifically for Ethan, his family, and his VIP guests to rest in absolute comfort. The structural skeleton was completely and beautifully finalized, its pristine architecture drawing the curious, awestruck gazes of passing disciples. Nobody among the general populace knew who owned this majestic new estate, but its sheer visual presence was undeniably spectacular.
Ethan stood in the center of the grand lobby, slowly nodding his head in approval.
"Good morning, Master Ethan," a sharp, respectful voice called out.
Maeve stepped out from the side corridors, executing a flawless, deeply reverent bow toward her savior. Her newly stabilized Spiritual Core aura was humming with a vibrant, healthy resonance.
"Everything has been progressing beautifully, Master," Maeve reported, her eyes shining with immense pride. "Under your executive directives, we have successfully dispatched promotional notices across the entire outer peak and its surrounding sub-sectors. The only zone we have temporarily left untouched is the official Inner Court, as our administrative evaluations are still legally processing, but we will personally handle that area the moment our promotions are finalized."
"You have done excellent work, Maeve," said Ethan, offering a rare, appreciative nod. "Where are Mirah, Cardis, and Clare?"
"They are currently down at the lower registry, systematically distributing queue numbers to the crowd," Maeve explained, though a hint of professional anxiety crossed her beautiful features. "Since you explicitly decreed that you would not be taking open consultations for a couple of days while the construction finalized, a massive, suffocating line of desperate patients has already accumulated outside. However... we ran into a significant logistical bottleneck. We have absolutely no idea how many sect merit points we should legally charge for your treatments, which is precisely why I rushed up here to seek your guidance and finalize our pricing sheet."
Ethan leaned casually against a polished stone pillar, his face an unreadable mask of clinical calculation. "The final cost will depend entirely on the specific severity of each individual’s meridian blockage or physical affection. However, make it known that for the vast majority of standard outer disciples, our baseline treatments will remain remarkably fair and accessible. I will personally calculate and dictate the exact fee structure during each patient’s initial physical examination."
Maeve nodded her head in deep, absolute conviction. "Understood, Master. That sounds incredibly just. After all, it is impossible to accurately predict the absolute level of difficulty and rare medicinal paste required before physically diagnosing a patient’s internal meridians."
But before Ethan could issue another operational directive, the tranquil morning air outside the grand pavilion was violently shattered.
The heavy, suffocating pressure of multiple high-tier cultivators suddenly crashed against the building’s perimeter warded array. Walking through the main entrance with an immensely majestic, arrogant, and suffocating posture was a large contingent of Senior Alchemists dressed in vibrant, burning orange silk.
At the absolute vanguard of the group marched an ancient, austere man whose eyes burned with a cold, ruthless malice—the Vice Hall Master of the Alchemical Pavilion.
Word had rapidly reached his executive desk that a renegade, unlicenced establishment boldly titled the "Immortal Doctor’s Pavilion" was being actively constructed right on his economic border, a direct and open declaration of war against his centuries-old financial monopoly. Armed with the full institutional weight of the Alchemical guild and backed by a personal retinue of elite enforcers, the Vice Hall Master had marched directly onto the plot with a magnificent, unyielding aura, fully determined to ruthlessly halt the construction and permanently crush the arrogant fool who dared to challenge his authority.
The large contingent of alchemists flooded into the grand reception hall, their heavy leather boots echoing aggressively against the newly polished white stone. The Vice Hall Master stopped at the center of the room, his long orange robes snapping as he slammed the butt of his golden staff against the floor, sending a sharp ripple of spiritual energy through the air.
"Where is the master of this pathetic establishment?!" one of the senior alchemists shouted, his voice echoing off the high mahogany ceilings. "Show yourself immediately before the Alchemical Pavilion deems this structure an illegal heresy and razes it to the absolute ground!"
Ethan stood quietly by the polished stone pillar just a few paces away. His hands were tucked smoothly inside the sleeves of his pristine white robes, his face completely devoid of expression. He simply watched them with a cold, calculating detachment, deliberately withholding his identity. He wanted to see exactly how far these arrogant fools were willing to push their luck, and whether they truly possessed the suicidal audacity to initiate violence on his new property.
Seeing that none of the workers or disciples in the hall were stepping forward to grovel, the Vice Hall Master’s face contorted into an ugly, ruthless sneer. He took a heavy step forward, his ancient eyes locking onto the high ceilings with intense disdain.
"I am the Vice Hall Master of the Alchemical Pavilion!" the old man roared, using his high institutional authority to pressure the room. "I demand the immediate presence of the rogue practitioner running this scam! If no one claims this illegal monument within the next three breaths, I will personally wipe it from the face of this peak!"
As he finished speaking, a suffocating, violent pressure erupted from his ancient frame. The air inside the pavilion grew immensely heavy as the old man fully unleashed his cultivation base—a terrifying, oppressive aura at the Early Golden Core Realm. To the ordinary outer disciples and common workers in the area, a Golden Core master was a literal god of destruction capable of leveling an entire mountainside with a single strike.
"One!" the Vice Hall Master barked, raising his hand as crimson alchemical flames began to dance wildly across his fingertips, ready to thoroughly demolish the grand reception hall.
Before he could count to two, a group of senior architects and defensive engineers from the sect’s official engineering corps ran out from the side corridors, quickly throwing themselves between the old man and the main pillars.
"Vice Hall Master, please halt your hand!" the lead engineer shouted, his face pale with sweat but his voice remaining remarkably firm. "You absolutely cannot damage a single brick of this estate! This entire territory and the construction permits were personally granted and signed by the Grand Branch Leader himself! If you launch a single attack against this pavilion, we will be legally and contractually obligated to report your actions directly to the supreme bureau as an act of open insurrection!"
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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 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.
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