The morning plaza surrounding the Heavenly Sword Pavilion’s outer mission board was already buzzing with activity. Groups of rough, heavily armed hunters and low-level rogue cultivators stood in clusters, scanning the freshly posted parchment sheets pinned to the massive wooden notice board.

Ethan, looking sharp and blending in perfectly in his deep crimson leather armor, stood beside Mary as her experienced eyes scanned the open listings.

"Let’s see what beasts have bounty quotas today," Ethan murmured, his eyes sweeping across the dense columns of text. His gaze skipped past the low-tier herb-gathering requests and locked onto a massive red ink notice stamped at the very center of the board. "Look at this one, Sister Mary. A subjugation bounty for a single beast paying 100,000 low-grade Spirit Stones. That converts to exactly 1,000 medium-grade stones."

In a frontier territory like this, such an amount was an absolute astronomical fortune. It was enough wealth to purchase a fortified estate or fund a low-tier cultivator’s progression for an entire decade.

Mary’s breath caught in her throat as she quickly pulled Ethan a step back from the board, her voice dropping into a tense, anxious whisper. "Don’t even look at that notice, Ethan! That bounty belongs to the Azure Mist Red Bear. It is the undisputed king of this entire mountain ridge. Normally, it stays in the deepest, most isolated valleys of the inner peaks. To even reach its territory, a hunting party would have to fight through the massive nesting grounds of the mountain wolves."

She glanced warily at the surrounding crowd before continuing. "But recently, something has agitated it. It has been spotted prowling the outer perimeters, dangerously close to the boundaries of our town. That’s why the local elders issued an emergency subjugation order. But nobody here is foolish enough to take it. That monster possesses the raw, devastating combat strength of a peak-stage Spiritual Core Realm beast! If it keeps encroaching on the town, the local branch will be forced to escalate the request to the main headquarters of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, begging them to dispatch an elite core disciple to execute the beast."

"Peak Spiritual Core Realm, I see," Ethan said, a calm, unreadable expression settling over his flawless features. Underneath his facade, his mind was already calculating the raw energy such a beast’s core would provide to his own restricted inner void. But maintaining his cover was paramount. He offered a compliant nod. "Well, if the bear is out of the question, what about these mountain wolves listed here?"

Mary shook her head instantly, her brow furrowing with deep worry. "The pack is entirely too dangerous for a two-person team, Ethan. Even the standard pack wolves are at the very peak of the Spiritual Gathering Realm. And their alpha? Our reports estimate the wolf king has already broken through into the early stages of the Spiritual Core Realm. It’s suicide for independent hunters."

Ethan’s eyes drifted lower, settling on a third option written in standard black ink. "And what about the Mist Monkeys?"

Mary let out a small, cautious breath of relief. "The monkeys are much smaller. The rank-and-file members of their troop are at the peak of the Body Refinement Realm at most. Even their troop leader is only estimated to be in the early phases of the Spiritual Gathering Realm. They rely mostly on their agility and throwing stones from the high canopy to deter intruders."

"Then the choice is simple. Let’s hunt the Mist Monkeys," Ethan said with a reassuring, carefree smile. "They should be far more straightforward to handle, and we can easily secure a steady profit without taking unnecessary risks."

Mary opened her mouth to argue, a natural maternal instinct urging her to suggest a completely safe herb-gathering run instead. But as she looked at Ethan’s broad, steady shoulders wrapped in her late husband’s crimson leather, she suddenly froze. A sudden realization struck her like a cold wave: She didn’t actually know Ethan’s true cultivation realm.

He had dragged a three-ton Silver-Horned Boar down a mountain single-handed and dismantled an entire mercenary gang without a scratch. Yet, he spoke with the humility of a novice. Swallowing her doubts, Mary gave a slow, reluctant nod. If things went entirely wrong, she reasoned, the monkeys’ lower cultivation meant they could still easily turn around and escape back to the safety of the perimeter.

"Alright," Mary whispered, adjusting the strap of her hunting bow. "The monkey territory is along the eastern ridge. Let’s go, but we must remain alert."

"Before we head toward the eastern ridge, Sister Mary," Ethan spoke up, his hand casually coming to rest on the blackened, twine-wrapped hilt behind his shoulder. "Is there a blacksmith nearby? As I mentioned before, this family relic of mine is already heavily weathered and damaged from my escape. I really don’t want to risk clashing it against anything and breaking it before I can find a master smith to restore it properly."

Mary blinked, her eyes softening as she looked at the heavily wrapped, crude-looking iron rod. To her, his explanation made perfect sense. A young master protecting the absolute last heirloom of his extinct clan would naturally want to preserve it at all costs, especially during a routine hunt.

"Of course," Mary nodded understandingly. "We can stop by the One-Eyed Old Man’s forge. It’s just a few alleys away from the main market gate. His prices are relatively cheap compared to the Pavilion’s official armory, but his ironwork is incredibly durable. Most of the local hunters get their skinning knives and iron arrows from him." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Perfect. Lead the way, then," Ethan said with a polite, appreciative smile.

As they turned down the bustling side street toward the sound of distant anvil strikes, Mary walked ahead, completely focused on navigating the morning crowd. She was completely unaware of the chilling truth behind Ethan’s request.

He didn’t want to avoid using the Black Ruin Sword because he was afraid of breaking it. It was the exact opposite. The ancient, chaotic weight of that blackened relic was entirely too destructive; the moment his spiritual energy or raw physical force filtered through its core, it would instantly obliterate the lower-tier beasts of this mountain, leaving absolutely nothing behind to harvest. Furthermore, an antique of that caliber would immediately draw the unwanted attention of the higher-ranking Pavilion elders monitoring the area.

To keep his camouflage deep and his true, terrifying nature buried in the shadows, he simply needed a piece of ordinary, disposable mortal iron.

-------------------

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 ??