Dan nodded his head in comprehension as Mathias finished his explanation: "As for those so-called three Imperial Protectors, they're indeed quite strong and their origins are unknown. Since you sowed hatred with them, you must be careful whenever you exit the Academy..." He warned with an amiable smile and Natalie interjected at the side.

"How about those girls that the Luzon Clan imprisoned, what would happen to them?" Natalie's voice was heavy. Mathias froze for a moment before saying: "Since there's no organization that could shelter them, I gave them a substantial amount of money enough to spend for the rest of their lives and returned them to their villages, However..."

Mathias heaved a deep sigh and so did Dan who continued, "The injuries and trauma that they sustained would forever be a scar that would haunt them even in their sleep..."

Natalie gave a bitter smile before dispelling her thoughts. Turning to stare at Mathias, she asked: "Senior, mind telling us your business? I don't think that you came here just to inform us about these things..."

"Indeed, I noticed that the Academy is becoming quite hectic, every disciples are gradually becoming busy and I feel like something is brewing..." Dan interjected at the side and Mathias lightly laughed.

"That's right, even though the three of you cooped yourselves in this small room, huge changes in the environment is still noticeable..." Mathias thought for a moment and continued, "Three months later, the entrance to a mysterious Mystic Realm will open, that Mystic Realm is an excellent environment for cultivation, especially to the three of you..."

"Excellent environment for cultivation? As far as I know, Mystic Realms doesn't have the same Spiritual Energy concentration with the outside world, how is that a good environment for us?" Dan asked with knitted eyebrows.

"As members of the Longinus Clan, the three of you requires an environment that is particularly filled with negative energies to improve, right?" Mathias asked and Dan nodded his head without hesitation.

"I won't say anything lest I spoil too much. I'll just give you the name of the Mystic Realm. It is called, the Mystic Realm of the Undead...'

"Mystic Realm of the Undead?" Dan's eyes widened in realization and so did Natalie and Grace who sat beside him. The name of the Mystic Realm alone confirmed that the Mystic Realm was an excellent place for cultivation to the three of them.

"However, spots for the Mystic Realm is limited, the Paradyne Academy only has ten slots along with the Charming Lotus Academy which is our ally, as for the Empire, it's not worth mentioning since they wouldn't dare to object before the power of our two academies..." Mathias shrugged and continued, "At least a battle prowess at the Divine Soul Realm is necessary. Fortunately, all three of you are Honorary Disciples so your spots are secured."

A cunning light flashed through Mathias eyes which gave the three a foreboding feeling. Dan nodded his head and the three of them went into secluded meditation, all for the sake of attaining the realm of the Divine Soul in the course of three months.

Natalie and Dan's cultivation was already at the highest peak of Spirit Tempering Realm so breaking through for them was only a matter of inspiration. However, Grace was different, because she possessed two n.o.ble Bloodlines, her cultivation was harder than the average cultivator.

Thunder rumbled, Lightning flashed and an icy storm materialized inside Natalie's residence as the three of them transformed the room into a suitable cultivation cave. Fortunately, the reinforcement that Mathias himself applied held out and the three of them safely continued on their cultivation.

Somewhere in the Outer Disciples Region, Juliet stared outside the window with a melancholic and longing expression on her face. It was still several days since Juliet lived on the house that she built with the help of her friends but she already missed her home back at the Fragrant Peak Pavilion

The Paradyne Academy had a rule that Outer Disciples must take residence within the Outer Clan Region so that they would get used to being separated with their parents. After all, most of the Outer Disciples were pampered kids and must be tempered for them to s.h.i.+ne.

"Do you still miss them, Juliet?" A feminine voice along with two footsteps echoed behind Juliet as she puffed her cheeks. Turning around with her arms in akimbo, she said with a scolding voice, "Both of you, don't treat me like a child!"

Sandra and Jacob appeared with smiles on their faces. The two of them looked pristine and healthy, void of the gloomy aura that constantly surrounded them back at the Merchant Town of Kalur.

Their figures also became bulkier with Sandra becoming more feminine and Jacob becoming more masculine. Despite everything that they experienced, the innocence of a child could still be seen within her eyes as the two of them smirked at Juliet.

"Winter is coming soon, we have to stock up our supplies or else we won't last through the winter..." Jacob commented and Sandra glared at him, "If not for a certain cultivation maniac, we would have enough food now..."

Juliet lightly laughed, "Sandra, give him a break, we both know that it would take a miracle to stop Jacob's training..."

"Both of you..." Jacob flushed in embarra.s.sment and indignance. Under the a.s.sault of the two, Jacob succ.u.mbed and compromised, saying that he would fetch the necessary items that they required from the Commerce Block.

"Still, why does the Academy prohibit the entrance of carriages? Walking from here towards the Commerce Block takes at least two weeks, not only that, it's also winter!" He moaned in complaints and continued, "If those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the Duterte General Merchandise only lowered their prices, we wouldn't have to force ourselves..."

Juliet ruefully smiled, everytime she went home, she always told her parents that everything was okay and she was living fine. Unfortunately, it was the complete opposite, if not for the fact that Juliet was used to hards.h.i.+ps, she would've gave up cultivation and let herself be spoiled with her loving father.

"Juliet...How about you go and ask Senior to bring us some food? I'm sure that with his authority, we can easily get a warehouse full of food until the end of winter..." Jacob suggested but his words were met with a glare from Juliet.

"That's a no! I can't possibly rely on them! I must be a strong person like Mama!" Juliet declared and Jacob stared at her with astonishment in his eyes. Sandra also stopped her exercise due to Juliet's shout.

"Then, what should we do to survive this winter? It's our first winter and I heard from the other disciples that stayed her for several years that the winter here is harsh and all sorts of monsters rushes out from the forest making travel difficult..."

"And with our current financial situation, it's impossible for us to buy high-grade Spiritual Ingredients for cooking at the most, we can buy low-grade Spiritual Ingredients but their help for our cultivation is minimal and it still wouldn't last through the winter..." Jacob shook his head in disappointment.

The monthly stipends that they got from the Academy combined with Juliet's personal money wasn't enough. They had to secure funds fast or they wouldn't be able to last through the harsh winter.

Jacob and Sandra worked at the Longinus Pharmaceutical Company's branch at the Outer Disciples Region, but their salary still cannot cover the necessary funds that would help them survive for the next three months.

"If we cannot secure anymore funds, we'll just settle with buying mortal ingredients since those are cheaper and is more delicious than the potent and hard to season Spiritual Ingredients..." Juliet concluded their problem with a single phrase but Sandra and Jacob interjected.

"Are you sure about that? If we use mortal ingredients, we may lose most of our customers especially those n.o.bles. Unless we have something that could disguise the taste of mortal ingredients as Spiritual Ingredients, there's no way that we can use those ingredients in our products..." Sandra said and Jacob nodded his head in support.

Juliet clicked her tongue, her clear eyes flashed with struggle and her eyebrows knitted in deep thought. Her mind madly spun thinking of all the possible solutions that she could discover as she said with an indignant voice, "Just do what I say, when Jacob arrives from the Commerce Block, I'm sure that I have found a solution regarding that problem..."

Jacob sighed and Sandra also resigned. Juliet was their leader and as subordinates, their job was to follow, not to intervene in their leader's decision making. Nevertheless, they still thought that reducing the quality of their product all for the sake of quant.i.ty was a bad move as disappointment filled their hearts.

Before the completion of Juliet's residence, the three of them had already established a small-scale restaurant that could house twenty customers at once, that restaurant was named as Juliet's Dreamy House. Despite the small size, it gradually gained traction due to the food quality and the fact that most of the foods were street foods that the busy disciples could eat on the go.

It quickly became a medium-scale restaurant that could house a hundred customers at once. Unfortunately, the establishment of the Duterte General Merchandise hindered their growth since most of their customers were n.o.bles that supported those surnamed Duterte.

Lifting her head to stare at the distant Duterte General Merchandise, a unique expression appeared on Juliet's face, if Dan was here, he would notice that Juliet was wearing the same expression as her mother when she was excited or in antic.i.p.ation.