Chapter 306: Damian Rejects a Beauty

The five women remained hidden inside the roof space, quietly watching the distant crimson-black aura.

Then, suddenly, a figure appeared beside them, causing all four to tense instantly.

But the moment they recognized the newcomer, they all cried out the same word. "Master?!"

Esmeralda was just as stunned. "Damian?"

Damian stood before them completely unharmed. More importantly, every single one of them could sense something terrifyingly different about him.

The pressure radiating from Damian’s body was overwhelming, far greater than even Cassian’s or Aldren’s.

Esmeralda slowly stood up and carefully looked Damian over. "Damian, what the hell happened to you?"

Damian looked at her and flashed a completely shameless grin. "I just got stronger because of..."

He racked his brain for an excuse before finally coming up with one. "A treasure got thrown out of Alehart while Cassandra was massacring them, and I managed to get my hands on it. Then, all of a sudden, I became like this."

Esmeralda and the others stared at Damian seriously, but in the end, they could only sigh.

No matter how much they pressed him, Damian clearly had no intention of telling them the real reason.

Cynthia quickly changed the subject and pointed toward the festival grounds. "Master, what about Cassandra?"

Damian jerked his thumb in that direction. "She’s fine. At least, she should be once she finishes whatever the fuck that rebirth process is."

Linsey immediately raised an eyebrow. "Rebirth process?"

Damian nodded. "Yeah. It’s basically some kind of cultivation art."

The five women stared at him.

Damian quickly added, "And before I explain anything else... keep this fucking secret, alright?"

Cynthia nodded first. "Of course."

Helena, Linsey, and Evelyn followed.

Esmeralda hesitated briefly before nodding as well.

Damian relaxed. "Good."

He leaned against the nearby wall. "Basically, Cassandra’s technique creates something like a blood festival."

Esmeralda frowned. "A blood festival?"

Damian continued, "It absorbs cultivators, Qi, blood essence, life force, cultivation foundations... basically everything it can fucking consume."

Linsey’s expression changed.

Damian shrugged. "All of that becomes a sacrifice. And once enough energy is gathered, Cassandra uses it to rebuild herself completely."

Cynthia’s eyes narrowed. "So she’ll become stronger after the rebirth?"

Damian nodded. "Much stronger than you could imagine. But there’s one huge fucking price to pay."

Everyone became quiet.

Damian pointed toward the distant crimson-black aura. "When the rebirth finishes, Cassandra will become a genuine demonic cultivator."

Esmeralda’s eyes widened. "A real one?"

Damian nodded.

Linsey suddenly looked Damian up and down, realizing something. "Wait a minute."

Everyone turned toward her.

She pointed at Damian. "Could Cassandra have absorbed too much energy and somehow transferred some of it into you?"

Damian blinked.

Helena immediately frowned. "Meaning..."

Cynthia finished quietly. "Master might have become a demonic cultivator too?"

Damian’s expression twisted instantly. "No, no, no."

He waved both hands. "Absolutely fucking not."

Esmeralda raised an eyebrow. "Then explain your cultivation realm."

Damian coughed. "It was the treasure I mentioned."

Everyone stared at him.

Damian nodded confidently. "The treasure."

Silence.

Then all five women rolled their eyes almost simultaneously.

Clearly, whatever had happened to Damian had nothing to do with Cassandra’s forbidden art.

Linsey eventually gave up and changed the subject. "Fine, Master."

Her grin returned. "More importantly... Cassandra."

Damian looked toward her.

Linsey folded her arms. "So is she officially joining our [Forbidden Immortal Harem]?"

Damian immediately nodded. "Of course."

Then he paused. "Wait, didn’t you girls say I needed your approval first?"

Cynthia smiled. "That’s why we discussed it."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Cynthia answered calmly. "She’s strong and extremely talented, and she clearly loves you. She’s already handled her own revenge, so... she’s qualified."

All three others also nodded at the same time.

Cynthia looked toward Damian. "Once Cassandra finishes her rebirth... she can officially join us."

Damian’s grin immediately widened. "Perfect."

Cynthia’s gaze suddenly shifted toward Esmeralda. "Speaking of joining us..."

Esmeralda immediately knew where this was going.

Cynthia smiled faintly. "What about you?"

Everyone turned toward her.

Esmeralda hesitated. "I... still don’t know."

Before she could say anything else, Damian suddenly interrupted. "For her, I think we should wait."

Silence.

Cynthia blinked.

Linsey looked genuinely surprised.

Even Helena and Evelyn turned toward Damian.

Their master rejecting a beautiful woman from joining his harem?

That was fucking abnormal.

Esmeralda looked equally stunned, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Am I not beautiful enough?"

Damian immediately noticed her expression. "Don’t look at me like that."

He couldn’t tell them the real reason.

Linsey, Helena, Cynthia, Evelyn, and now Cassandra had all reached major turning points in their original fates.

Their revenge, tragedies, or central life problems had largely been resolved.

Esmeralda was different, as her story clearly wasn’t finished yet.

Damian crossed his arms. "You’re different from them, Esmeralda."

She frowned. "How?"

Damian gestured toward the four women. "All of them, and Cassandra too, have basically finished the biggest revenge or goal hanging over their lives."

His gaze settled on Esmeralda. "But you haven’t."

Esmeralda became quiet.

Damian’s eyes sharpened slightly. "Am I wrong?"

She didn’t answer.

Damian continued. "There’s still someone you hate."

Her expression changed.

Damian smiled faintly. "Someone you probably want dead."

This time, she said nothing at all.

That silence was enough.

Damian nodded. "Exactly."

He looked toward Cynthia. "So I don’t think Esmeralda needs to join the [Forbidden Immortal Harem] right now."

Cynthia slowly nodded, understanding his reasoning even if she didn’t know everything behind it.

Damian continued, "But you two can stay connected."

He pointed between Cynthia and Esmeralda. "You two can talk, exchange information, or even help each other if needed."

Esmeralda remained thoughtful.

Damian finally clapped his hands. "Alright."

Everyone looked toward him. "We’re done here."

He glanced toward the distant ruined festival grounds. "This city is already completely fucked."

Linsey laughed.

Damian turned toward the exit. "So let’s head back to the other city before someone decides we’re somehow responsible for this mess."

Helena immediately muttered, "Considering you... that’s probably a good idea."

Damian nodded, then quickly gathered them all onto a platform and took them away.