Eventually, her perception of everything disappeared and the sensation of weightlessness filled her body, mind and soul. She didn't even feel exhausted anymore. She felt unfettered and free. Like a bird, she spread her wings and soared towards the skies!

A deafening boom reverberated within the Dreamy House's Pavilion as a beam of concentrated Dagger Intent filled the skies and sundered the heavens above. Fortunately, Zieve's formations held on and such a domineering heavenly phenomenon went unnoticed by the commoners and weaker cultivators.

But for Vanadis, the concentrated Dagger Intent bore down into his soul as he staggered backward. Clenching his chest in pain, he stared at the distance with his eyes seemingly piercing through the void.

"D-D-Dagger Intent! Someone actually comprehended Dagger Intent at the Outer Disciples Region? Wait, that place... It's someone from the Dreamy House's Pavilion?" Vanadis took a deep breath and reeled in his shock. Calming himself down, he dashed towards Rodger's room and directly opened the door.

Rodger huddled over the bed with a young woman bent over in front of him. Vanadis's interruption surprised the two as Rodger harshly glared at Vanadis.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you know that someone interrupting me in the middle of business is what I hate the most?" He lifted an eyebrow, his hips kept on moving despite speaking to his subordinate. The amorous moans of the young woman never stopped either yet Vanadis didn't have the time to process the awkwardness of the situation.

"Y-Y-Young Master... Someone from the Dreamy House's Pavilion actually managed to comprehend the Dagger Intent!" Vanadis spoke with anxiety laced within his tone.

Rodger stopped his hips and pushed the young woman in front of him to the side. With an astonished expression on his face, he turned to look at Vanadis and said.

"What did you say? Someone from the Dreamy House understood the Dagger Intent?!" Rodger couldn't suppress his emotions and blurted out loud.

All sorts of Intents existed under the heavens and the most powerful of them all was the Sword followed by the Bow and the Dagger. A pract.i.tioner that cultivated these profound intents possessed the strongest prowess and were unparalleled against those of the same cultivation.

What's more terrifying was the fact that they could summon a Domain filled the might of their Intent. That Domain could manifest in the form of a thousand arrows, sword or illusory daggers that directly a.s.saulted the enemy's soul. Once a Domain was deployed, those inside the domain were subject to the Domain Creator's ruling.

In other words, the Domain Creator was a G.o.d within his domain.

Fighting in close quarters combat against someone like that was deemed impossible unless you have an absolute advantage when it comes to cultivation. After all, a Domain wasn't invincible. Once it was suppressed by someone stronger than the Domain Creator then it could crumble and dissipate, sending a backlash to the Creator.

"Is that person still in the middle of comprehension or has she already completed her enlightenment?!" Rodger asked, frenzy and panic filled his voice. Someone from his enemy's side comprehending such a strong Intent meant that Roger would find it more difficult to suppress the Dreamy House.

Intents were rare and valuable, once someone that has an Intent was found, all sorts of influences would rush towards that person and offer everything that they could just to poach that person away.

But in this case, since the person in subject was from his enemy's side. Poaching wasn't an option. Rodger knew that so he asked this question to Vanadis.

"No, that person is sitll in the middle of comprehension.... Ah! Young master, are you saying that..." Vanadis said in a anxious tone but when he reached the end of his sentence. He suddenly shouted and stared at Rodger with shocked eyes.

"Yeah, if possible we must interrupt the enlightenment of that person ahd have him suffer the backlash of failing in the middle of comprehension about such a overbearing Intent!" Rodger declared and Vanadis sucked a mouthful of cold air.

Intent Users were as valuable as black diamonds so having someone like that within your territory and as an ally was a blessing itself. Interrupting that person's enlightenment meant opposing the Paradyne Academy.

Once Mathias knew what they were about to do, Death was the easy way out, if not. They would undoubtedly suffer a thousand years of torture.

"What are you hesitating for, Vanadis? I thought you were a loyal va.s.sal of mine!" Rodger frowned and said in displeasure. Vanadis straightened his back and stared back at Rodger with melancholy s.h.i.+ning within his eyes.

Ever since Rodger saved him from that nightmare back at that time and gave him the hope to live once again, he became his most loyal follower, doing all the dirty job and schemes behind the scenes for as long as he can repay his kindness to him.

Vanadis nodded his head and kneeled on the ground. His right hand placed on his left chest as he renewed his vow and solemnly swore,

"The Young master has once saved my life from that nightmare, and ever since that day, I swore that my life solely belongs to yours. Even if it's a mountain of daggers or a river of lava, I'd never cower as long as you commands!"

Rodger nodded his head in approval and patted vanadis's shoulders as a sign of acknowledgement for his resolve. Standing up, the two men clothed themselves in dark as they set out towards the Dreamy House's Pavilion.

Back at the Dreamy House Pavilion, Juliet stood amidst the destruction as Zieve stared at her and constantly observed her current condition. Judging from the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy around her body, she was about to reach the point of no return.

Withdrawing Spirit Stones from his Spatial Ring. Zieve dissolved it into pure Spiritual Energ and fueled the operations of the formations that concealed everything from the outside world. Clenching his fists, Zieve felt apprehensive and nervous.

According to the books that he read, Juliet should be in the middle of a comprehensive willpower test enacted by her own Dagger Intent. If she failed the willpower check, a backlash would strike at her soul and severely injure her, possibly even damaging her potential and talent.

Inside Juliet's dreamland appeared a scene that looked all familiar in her life. Dilapidated ceiling and a rundown door made from rattan straws and the pungent smell of sewer along with dirt wafted in the air. She found herself sitting on a stone bed that felt too cold to the touch.

"This... " Juliet mumbled and she stood up, splas.h.i.+ng sounds rang from her feet as she made contact with the mud on the ground. The sticky sensation stuck on her ankles enabled her to understand that she was back in her room where the people of the Luzon Clan kept her and her mother.

Bang!

A cras.h.i.+ng sound echoed out and a slightly skeletal pet.i.te figure crashed on the door. Juliet heard the figure's moans and she found it extremely familiar. Tears wellled up in her eyelids and when she lifted her head to stare at the figure, her tears went down like a river.

Puffed eyes, reddened nose, ragged breathing and sunken cheeks. This was how the previous Natalie looked like back when she was still in the hands of the Luzon Clan. Natalie saw the crying Juliet and she went forward to embrace her.

Her embrace was so tight that it almost choked Juliet. Nevertheless, the latter never complained and returned a tight hug on her own. Caressing her mother's back as gently as she could and tracing the outline of her skeletal figure.

"Aaaah..." Juliet mumbled as memories flashed inside her mind. This was the moment where her b.a.s.t.a.r.d of a father chased them away. Fortunately, Natalie's uncle took pity on her and sent her away with a pouch of gold coins that she used to rent a place at the faraway Empire of Dawn.

"Juliet, don't cry... We will make out of this alive, I promise you... Uncle gave me this so we'll get away as far as we can..." Natalie caressed her daughter's delicate chin and solemnly vowed, moving her robe aside. Juliet could see a medium-sized pouch placed between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Juliet sniffed and stared right back at Natalie's eyes. Back then, she was merely just a helpless child that couldn't do anything against those that bullied them. But now that she became a cultivator and trained at Martial Arts, she swore in her heart that she would never let those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds go. Especially that father of hers.

"Don't worry, Mama. Juliet is already big, so she will..." She stumbled before she could even complete her sentence. A cracking sound akin to gla.s.s breaking echoed in her mind and it felt like she lost something valuable.

"Juliet will..."

"Juliet will..."

She repeated these words and tried to finish her sentence but found that she forgot what she was about to say. Including the previous anger and hatred that she felt. Blinking, her eyes shone with an innocent light, a light that only came from those young children that never experienced the harshness of the world.

"Mama!"

Juliet exploded into tears and buried herself deep into her mother's chest as Natalie consoled her.

"Don't worry about everything, dear. Mama will protect you so don't cry, okay? Little Juliet has been so strong so you need to keep being strong, okay? Everything is for our sake..." Natalie cleaned her daughter's stained countenance and wiped the snot off her nose.

Standing up, she walked towards a kitchen that looked more like a toilet and tried her best to ignite a fire from rocks that became wet from humidity. She tried inciting a spark until her arms felt heavy and tired, she tried her best until sweat riddled her forehead and in the end, it was as if the rock answered her plea.

A small spark flew off the rock and struck the hay, igniting a small fire that eventually became big enough to cook some dishes. Smiling, Natalie wiped the sweat off her forehead and started making a porridge.

Juliet stared blankly at her mother's busy figure as she knitted her eyebrows. She felt like something so valuable was missing her mind. She tried her best recalling that information but before she could reach her answer, a sharp pain a.s.saulted the center of her eyebrows and she would flinch in pain.

Shaking her head, her nose twitched upon sensing the delicate and enticing aroma of the spices and herbs. Her mouth slightly opened in desire and little did she knew that a small string of silvery-liquid fell from her lips down to her clothes.

"Look at you drooling, were you really that hungry?" Natalie joked with a small smile on her face as she carried the pot away from the fire and placed it on the table.

Taking two ceramic plates, she filled it with porridge and gave the other plate to Juliet.

"Mama, why do I have more than Mama's?" Juliet asked in curiosity and Natalie replied with a sweet smile.

"That's because Mama is already an adult. Little Juliet is still a little girl so you need to eat more to grow up!"

Juliet seemed to be delighted by her answer and she furiously nodded her head like chicken pecking rice.

The Rice Porridge that they ate almost looked as clear as water and it didn't even contain any meat. Just a handful of vegetables were in there and it didn't even have any salt which made it taste bland.

Despite all of these, Juliet ate with gusto and Natalie stared at Juliet with complicated emotions in her eyes. Today, was the day that they would escape this nightmarish place. Afterwards, she will definitely spoil her little girl with all the sweets and snacks that she could.

"Don't be too worried about the portions, just eat until you're full! We still have lots of Porridge..." Natalie lightly chuckled and Juliet happily laughed, eating with gusto, she never realized that the pot was already empty and that Natalie never even touched her own plate.

"Mama, I want seconds so I can grow big!" Juliet exclaimed and waved her spoon around in a playful manner. She even carried her plate with one hand and gestured for another serving.

Natalie suppressed her bubbling emotions and stood up. Carrying the pot and her plate, she turned around so that Juliet wouldn't see her and poured her own serving back into the pot.

Turning around, she placed the pot back on the table and scooped up another serving of Porridge for Juliet. Witnessing the Porridge, Juliet ate once more and when her serving was done, she felt full and collapsed on her stone bed with a satisfied expression on her face.

Rubbing her protruding belly, Juliet smiled in bliss as Natalie took the dishes towards the kitchen and suppressed her grumbling stomach. After placing the dishes, she turned to look at Juliet and said.

"You ate good today, Juliet. Tomorrow, we will have lots to eat too so you need to rest early, okay?" Natalie affectionately rubbed Juliet's head and the little girl nodded her head in affirmation. Slowly, her eyelids closed and she eventually fell into sleep.

Staring at her daughter's peaceful expression. Natalie never felt so happy in her entire life. Caressing her delicate chin and kissing her forehead, she stood up and walked towards the door.

But before she could even stretch her hands to open the broken-down door. It exploded into pieces, sending splinters and her body back as she spat a mouthful of blood.

"You f.u.c.king b.i.t.c.h! You actually planned to escape! I heard everything from Elder Maros!" A dignified voice echoed beyond the door and Natalie clutched her chest in pain as she weakly lifted her head.

"G-G-Grand Elder..." She mumbled amidst her staggered consciousness.