The next day Feicui Long and his entire circle gather in the dining area which this time has new and bigger tables, new chairs and in general looks better thanks to his carpenters in the carpentry workshop, because today Annie is having her birthday.
Annie is this time sitting in the center where everyone including her family can look at her. She looks a bit nervous but a little happy that for the first time something this big is being organized for her. After all, on the table are several delicious meals prepared by Elise and Evelyn's maids, and also a sumptuous cake made by her master personally.
Feicui Long looks at her and touches her shoulder and says: "So, what do you think? There's no need to be so tense, please eat, the party is just starting."
Annie nods trembling as always and with that everyone begins to eat while chatting happily and with harmonious laughter, but more importantly the beautiful slave, the older beast-woman, whose specific race is a leopard-woman with the ability to sing, play instruments and talent for music named Alana Mülten, is playing a beautiful song with a piano that Feicui Long buys specifically for her to play.
Everything goes on joyfully, until everyone finishes eating, the moment when Feicui Long speaks: "I would like to thank everyone for coming to our dear Annie's party. Although she is a bit clumsy and very shy to be an orc, now really begins the most important part, the time for gifts and then cutting the cake."
After saying this, several people line up, first Feicui Long's adoptive daughters, then his nieces, followed by Arianne, Freja, Caroline, Andrea, Gloria, Isabella, Marianne, Feicui Long himself and although they only know her for two months, Evelyn and Elise's maids who deliver the gifts from their young ladies and place them directly on the table, while Alana is guided outside temporarily to rest and to not hear certain things.
The girls place the gifts on an empty table that only contains the gifts the other maids put there, gifts Feicui Long helps them select and buy, while the twins Callista and Melina place medicines they make themselves. Arianne, Freja, Caroline and Andrea each place different things: Arianne some magic spells and books, Freja cultivation resources and a combat technique, Caroline a movement technique and a craft made by her, Andrea a defense technique and a thank-you letter, Gloria places a mortal-grade level 4 artifact.
Isabella places a grade 5 defensive artifact and a pouch with gold coins, as well as a thank-you letter. Marianne, who becomes her best friend, places something incredible: a support artifact to improve energy gathering, concentration, law comprehension and booster of the four mystical energies, and also an advanced combat technique and an egg of an energy beast. Everyone thinks this is the most luxurious gift, including Annie herself. Only Isabella, the twins and Marianne know that this is far from reality…
Feicui Long instead of putting it on the table, hugs her and says: "Annie, although at the time I see it as something necessary, I apologize for doing what I did. Therefore, as an apology and birthday gift I take on the task of creating you a cultivation technique. Here, take it."
Feicui Long hands her a carefully written book with a cover made of energy beast leather, then he adds: "It's called the Draconic Mastery of the Mystical Energies. It's not much, but at least I'm sure you'll be able to reach the Absolute Palace Realm with it. Since I don't have much familiarity with the four mystical energies, I can only complete the cultivation technique as such, but I can't create and include many combat, defense or movement techniques. However, I include some that I learn by observing my sister, the Supreme Goddess of the Mystical Energies, Soraya Namiran, and others based on dragons. It will be up to you to design the rest yourself."
Everyone stays silent processing what they just hear, except for those who already know about the gift. The others can't assimilate this. A new technique created by Feicui Long and on top of that, as a minimum it takes you to the Absolute Palace Realm? Most here have at most heard of the Immortal or Sacred Realm and the most privileged have heard of the Divine Palace or Earthly Divine Realm. That realm they hear about is new to them.
Annie wants to refuse, but doesn't know how, and besides her master is too stubborn for her to say no. But Feicui Long won't let the moment be ruined by everyone's surprise so he says: "Alright, who wants cake?"
This makes all the children present jump, which makes everyone else react and the mood be lifted again. Soon Annie also snaps out of the shock and approaches to cut the cake as tradition dictates. But in the end she can't comprehend this, that in her 21st year, she would be blessed with such gifts and such a party. She can almost thank the Absolute Heaven for giving her the chance to sign the servitude contract.
The party continues late into the night, especially after Alana returns.
…
The next day Annie brings her mother, her aunts and her two grandmothers to sign the servitude contract, which is the main reason why she brings them with her. It is necessary so that they can live with her and in fact the use of the servitude contract for servants is common everywhere since unlike the slavery and familiar ones, it does not restrict freedom too much, although it depends on how it is modified. What the most basic one does is only protect the master from the servant revealing information or attacking directly. In the case of Feicui Long it only limits the information and what can be revealed and acts of betrayal.
As for Annie's little sisters and cousins, they sign the same apprenticeship contract as Feicui Long's adoptive daughters although with a slight modification. The contract, just like the one for the girls, is designed to protect them and prevent them from unconsciously revealing information that could put them or the whole town in danger. After all, they are children. The modification in the contract compared to that of his daughters is that if they decide not to sign the servitude contract in adulthood, all sensitive information will be erased from their memory and they will also have to move to a house gifted by Feicui Long in the town, to give them freedom of choice.
This is because after all Feicui Long's identity is something that must not be revealed to the public under any circumstance, especially in a context where Adolf and his vassals are carrying out an extermination genocide against the mortal races. Any revelation of this is a death sentence both for him, his loved ones and even the Habsburg Empire.
Feicui Long assigns them the servant rooms on the second floor. He would like it to be on the first floor but those 15 rooms are already occupied by his daughters, his nieces, Isabella's team, Gloria, Annie and Marianne, so only the 15 on the second floor remain.
As for why Annie's family are only women, it is because although orcs are not a race with a gender predominance unlike other mortal races, especially because both women and men have exactly the same physical strength without cultivation and maintain that equality even if they train with mortal methods.
That makes their societies have leaders of any gender. In fact, orcs as a race value strength a lot, but it really depends on the species or society. Some value physical strength, others energetic, others a type of energy or even value intellect. In the case of Annie's village, her father, her uncles and her grandfathers were part of the village council and the main defense, so they lost their lives defending their family and helping them escape.
That day Feicui Long after finishing with the contracts goes to the triple workshop to finish a small project he has also been working on these last days that passed.
…
The next day a blonde woman with blue eyes, 1.8m (5.9ft) tall with fine features and a voluptuous body, around 33 years old, approaches a small open clearing. This area is mysteriously quite arranged, although it is not strange especially if you see the 700 m² (7534.74 ft²) mansion with three floors that is beside it. Ignoring this detail, she continues walking until she is behind a tall man of 1.95m (6.397ft) with emerald green hair.
The man in front of her is sitting and feeding two energy beasts. One is a purple eagle with feathers that are more like scales than feathers and that release purple sparks. The female eagle, despite still being a chick, is extremely affectionate with the man letting herself be petted calmly. The other is a small puppy black as night, with red eyes that emit fire. The little female dog eats from his hand calmly and with a certain familiarity. This female dog, for some reason always gives her a shock when she sees her.
Then the man, who notices her presence, speaks: "Oh you came Irina, what do you need?"
Irina then replies: "Young master Feicui Long, you were the one who told me that every time I was going to leave the town to keep exploring the Leechwald forest I should come inform you."
Feicui Long then understands why she comes: "Hmm yes that's what I said, but didn't I also tell you it would be better to wait until the first month of next year to continue?"
Irina nods but still says: "Yes young master, but I believe we should take advantage that not many dare to go into the forest in winter. Besides, I am used to the cold climates of my homeland."
Feicui Long sighs. This girl is stubborn, more stubborn than him, so he can only give in, so he gets up and turns around and tells her: "Alright you will go with Kagetsume, I'll also give you this to take with you."
Feicui Long takes several things from his spatial storage medallion. It is a complete armor set, a bracelet, a hybrid bow and a pair of swords. All are artifacts.
Feicui Long then speaks to her and explains: "This armor set is made by me. It is made from energy beast leather, specifically made from flame wolf and snow wolf leather. The inscriptions I placed allow it to withstand both low and high temperatures well. It has enhanced defense, but at the same time is light. The inscriptions also partially disperse scent, reduce sound and slightly distort vision. It is perfect for infiltration."
Irina quickly replies: "Young master you can't give me all this, I don't think it is necessary."
Feicui Long shakes his head, puts each artifact in her hands one by one and replies while explaining each one: "No, since you insist on going, you'll have to take this. I made the boots specifically from shadow lizards, with two wind gremlin cores. They have an effect like using the light feet spell to increase speed and agility, and they completely nullify noise."
Feicui Long then takes the bracelet and adds: "The bracelet, just like the previous artifacts, I also made it myself and although it's not that impressive, it increases energy gain and recovery, while also nullifying the capacity for perception and detection of many things, from long-distance abilities to the spiritual perception used by spiritual palace cultivators or more powerful ones like divine sense or weaker ones like aura perception from the three lesser earthly or sovereign realms. By the way, the bracelet is of the growth type."
Irina stays silent, each artifact is incredibly valuable and even more considering they were made for her, but she doesn't understand why so much care just for going out to explore. Even so, she has to wait until Feicui Long finishes.
Feicui Long then passes over the bow and swords: "The mixed bow is one of the bows I bought extra for the army. It's grade 6, not much but it'll be useful to you. The swords are twin swords, made of bloody black iron. They're a project I've been working on in the triple workshop as part of an experiment. They are growth-type and work as a single artifact. They have the blood attribute and also possess certain abilities, so I named them the Bloody Queens."
Feicui Long then remembers something else and takes a storage pouch: "Here are consumables that might help you, from medicines to talismans, and I also included two ingots of bloody black iron essence and black iron essence of blood. These are for you to give the swords once you mark them with your blood and they jump directly to grade 6."
Irina is in shock. Bloody black iron, although it can occur naturally just like all energetic metal alloys, such as black steel which only needs black iron and coal or energetic coal to be close in an area with high elemental metal energy concentration, in the case of bloody black iron it would require the accumulation of blood energy and blood in a black iron mine. Both bloody black iron and those other alloys can also be created artificially, but they're much less efficient than those produced in natural veins.
That is in fact the reason why, curiously, most black steel or cyan-purple bronze comes directly from mines and not from forges. In the case of bloody black iron, making it artificially is very, very inefficient. To start, you need to soak the black iron in the blood of an energetic creature like a cultivator, an energy beast or a monster. Then you need that same kind of blood but concentrated by boiling it, and then melt the black iron after drying it and slowly add the concentrated blood.
It's a slow process, from 3 weeks to 2 months, although someone talented or with a lot of experience could shorten it to days or less. She doesn't doubt that Feicui Long can do it in less time, but that's not the only tedious work he must have gone through. Black iron essence can also be produced naturally and artificially and he must've done that too, same with the blood one. In short, she's impressed by the great work he went through to make all of this and now he's giving it to her just like that...
She knows she didn't choose wrong. Even though she, her brother and her sister-in-law along with the girl had decided to stay because of the good relationship with Feicui Long, that was only one of their three reasons. Another was that the three of them were once members of a mercenary group that took them in as children after their hometown was destroyed by the Superior Races and only they and a few others survived. The mercenary group was wiped out on a contract and they, as cultivators in the elemental realm grade 9, were captured by slavers and sold, so now they had no place to return to.
As for the third reason, it was that she convinced them, because she didn't have anyone waiting for her either... the person she loved died in that contract and after what happened during her time as a slave she didn't want to interact with anyone anymore, but this guy not only accepted her brother's request to buy her even though he had only planned to buy 250, it's true that there could be some interest but she doubts it. Even though she doesn't doubt her own beauty despite everything that happened, he has never looked at her with lust like the eyes of those slavers.
Maybe it's because of his interest in the Eyes of Truth, a rare ability, but those eyes only have three functions. The main one is detecting lies, but that can be achieved through different methods, mind control, mind reading, soul search or more, and if you really need that information, soul search is much better. While the other two, one is detecting illusions or projections or similar things, which many other skills or even artifacts like the Third Eye, the Magic Eye, etc. can already do, and the third one detects traps, hidden dangers, formations, which also have replacements in more common skills or spells like detect traps and such.
So even if that could really influence the final reason why he decides, it has to be simply pure and raw compassion and this proves it, she right now is still a slave, her contribution points are at 5000 just from the discovery of the great energy stone mine, plus what she had which is 2500, she already has 7500 and to buy her freedom she only needs 10,000 points, that is, she is about to be free, but this man is giving her such equipment without fear that she will escape and steal it after being freed...
Feicui Long looks at her and says: "Is something wrong, Irina? Are you okay?"
Irina snaps out of her trance and says: "No, it's nothing young master, I… thank you very much, although the bow is unnecessary, I have this." Irina touches a tattoo and from there comes out a very beautiful bow in white and sky blue colors, with golden eagle figures on the ends embedded with energy gems.
Irina explains herself and says: "This bow is one of my family's relics, the icy golden eagle claw bow, it's a growth-type bow with a spirit, although it is now asleep, young master."
Feicui Long then nods: "Alright, I'll take the bow." After that Feicui Long whistles and a giant raven black as shadow appears.
Feicui Long looks at it and says: "Alright Kagetsume, you have to be a good girl and protect Irina or else I won't give you your favorite nuts, do you understand?"
Kagetsume, surprised, responds: "What?! Tyrant, you're threatening this ancient goddess who has lived 3 million years!"
Feicui Long laughs and gives her some nuts to calm her down and then places her on Irina's shoulder and says: "Well take care, Irina, I hope to hear good news."
Irina nods and leaves for an exploration that might change the village's future...
Feicui Long, for his part, sighs heavily, Kagetsume and Sunribit reach adulthood in the earthly palace realm, but right now they are only in elemental realm grade 9 and in the mystic realm grade 1, due to the lack of energy resources, he would really love to start exploiting that energy stone mine...
Especially because Kagetsume is only about twice the size of a normal giant raven, when she is supposed to reach a size capable of carrying a human, just like his sparking draconic purple eagle, which hatched recently and hasn't decided on its name yet...
And then he has this other problem, he looks at his celestial dog pup and sighs even more heavily, this species is supposed to normally be born in the immortal earthly realm and in adulthood reach the celestial divine realm, it is an incredibly powerful beast only slightly inferior to the beast of his father in this life, the leader of the sanctuary of all races, the divine black tortoise, in fact this dog along with his sovereign quartet was what made him so exaggeratedly protected in the sanctuary, not even the fact that he was the heir influenced as much, that's why he was guarded all the time by high-level guards...
But this girl is born without cultivation so she has to start from the elemental realm, now this isn't exactly rare, normally when a species has a minimum birth realm it is under standard, ideal conditions, since there are several external factors that can influence, the first 5 are from the natural environment and the area, like a necessary climate, a specific energy, ideal temperature, depth, altitude, these can make it difficult for the creature to be born or weaken it because of it.
The other 5 are about energy and laws: energy concentration which divides into specific and general, energy quality, law concentration both specific and general, law quality and law strength, if the concentration is weak in both laws and energy in general, the cultivation they are born with will be lower than expected or they will even be born without cultivation, if it's due to a specific energy the cultivation may vary but not so much, quality affects the same but to a lesser extent.
While in the case of law strength, if they are too weak this will cause the area to not be able to support a creature like that being born naturally and therefore it will greatly reduce its cultivation at birth or it will directly be born without cultivation, there are others like artifacts, seals, spells or curses, the latter is what he thinks is the cause, because even though this area they are in has little energy, firstly it's not necessary to be born without cultivation, and second she wasn't born here but in the sanctuary, which is why she is his contracted creature through the sanctuary of all races pact, a place with immense energy and all that is needed.
So it is likely that by accident one of the curses that were passed to him in his mother's womb when the assassination attempt failed got transferred to her and that is a huge problem, because now they will have to go through way too many cultivation realms, Feicui Long can only sit back down with his energy beasts thinking about everything he will have to spend...
…
While Feicui Long is there lamenting in his misfortunes, Irina has already left the village, she carries everything she needs in her special storage pouch including a tent, a fragmented formation, food and water, exploration during winter times is calmer but at the same time more dangerous, since energy beasts specialized in this climate or with ice attribute love to go out hunting, while the rest decrease in number and with barely any people entering the forest.
It is easier to be attacked even by herbivorous beasts, after all unlike common animals, the mortal version of energy beasts, where herbivores only consume meat from time to time to easily get nutrients or carnivores eat grass for the same reason, energy beasts whether herbivorous or carnivorous can consume both types of food without issue.
So she has to move carefully, which is why every time she sees a beast too close she kills it and takes the body quickly with her new twin swords, with the ingots they have now reached mortal grade 6 quality – supreme rank – advanced stage, the blood queens also do not require her to worry about spilled blood since they absorb it like a thirsty man in a desert, of course if she can avoid an energy creature she does.
She goes here and there, exploring like she normally does, unaware that a group of people from different places hiding have entered the Leechwald forest...