115: The joy of crooked ways

You have to understand, today it's one finger, tomorrow it might be two, the day after three, and in five days, it'll be a whole hand.

And the speed might even increase exponentially.

Perhaps by the day he goes to kill Marcus, he will have already fully mastered the Extraordinary Factor.

Over the next few days,

Locke Galahad did nothing but cultivate.

He had almost reached a state of self-forgetfulness.

The feeling of receiving constant feedback on his progress truly made him unable to stop.

Even when accepting Selene's invitation to train, he would subconsciously practice this technique whenever he wasn't actively attacking.

"Perhaps I can try this."

Looking at Serena, who was doing squats in front of him as part of her training, Locke Galahad, perhaps having a moment of madness, suddenly thought of a marvelous exercise method.

That was to condense the Extraordinary Factor onto the Nibelungen. This simple act immediately led him to a new discovery.

Although the first time he mobilized it onto his 'dragon root,' it was too sensitive, and the Extraordinary Factor retreated back into his heart after less than a second.

But Locke Galahad was not one to give up easily, so he tried again.

This time, Locke Galahad found that the Extraordinary Factor he could mobilize seemed to have increased slightly compared to the last attempt.

This speed of progress was many times faster than the previous training method involving his fingers.

Previously, one training session required condensing it for at least ten seconds, but now, merely covering the 'dragon root' for one second yielded progress.

"This shouldn't be my imagination!"

This cultivation speed was so incredible that Locke Galahad couldn't help but wonder if it was due to his own excessive sensitivity.

So he continued practicing dozens of times and realized it wasn't his imagination; he truly was making progress.

This made him burst into laughter, and he slapped Serena's shapely bottom hard:

"Hey, Serena, you really helped me out big time today."

"Huh?"

Selene turned her head to look at him, her face full of confusion, not understanding what he meant.

Locke Galahad didn't explain further but hugged Serena tightly and kissed her.

As the [Nibelungen] moved in and out, he completed one session of cultivation within a second.

His control over his Extraordinary Factor improved by another notch.

Now he finally understood why people in the TV shows he watched often ended up walking the path of Evil Cultivation.

There was no helping it; this speed of progress was far too fast compared to normal cultivation.

Locke Galahad guessed that perhaps the external physical stimulation while manipulating the Extraordinary Factor

was what made his progress speed so rapid.

Of course, he didn't rule out that it might be due to Dual Cultivation.

In short, after discovering this method, Locke Galahad cultivated all day long, showing even more fervor than before.

Basically, aside from eating and brief breaks, he spent all the remaining time on this Evil Cultivation exercise method.

After all, besides the joy of progress from simple cultivation,

there was also the joy of cooperating with Serena, Emilia, and Erica.

That's right, because he needed to cooperate with people all day, and relying solely on Selene wouldn't be enough.

For the rest of the time, he would find excuses to go to Erica's small clinic in the castle, or take Emilia to the conference room for detailed discussions.

The intertwining of these two types of joy brought his mood to its peak.

After such a day, he felt that life was very fulfilling, and every night before sleeping, he felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

Four days passed like this, and he was now able to condense the Extraordinary Factor to completely cover both hands, even extending to his wrists.

However, there was still less than a tenth of the Extraordinary Factor remaining that he couldn't control, no matter how hard he tried.

Even using the Evil Cultivation method didn't work.

"It seems I have now reached what others call a bottleneck."

Locke Galahad tried again, and after realizing he truly couldn't budge the remaining Extraordinary Factor, he clenched his fists.

He then abandoned the idea of continuing to cultivate, figuring this hurdle couldn't be overcome immediately.

Locke Galahad stopped worrying and looked out the window at the setting sun.

His gaze involuntarily deepened:

"But this is fine, this much is enough. I think it's time to set off and deal with Marcus and William."

Serena, who had just finished bathing, walked over with a weary body. Seeing him lost in thought, she asked with concern:

"Darling, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking it's time to set off and deal with that guy Marcus."

Locke Galahad's decision was naturally not rash; he had previously received news from the bat.

That Marcus fellow would likely reach Alexander Corvinus's villa in about two days.

"When are we leaving? I want to go with you." Serena held his hand, her gaze firm.

"In the next couple of days. Let's prepare first; we can't just rush over there."

Locke Galahad mainly wanted to wait for his subordinate extraordinary creature—Alfred the Bat—to fully complete his transformation.

After all, so many days had passed; logically, it should be nearing completion.

When the time came, he would take Sequence 9 Alfred and Serena with him.

Dealing with two Sequence 9s, he would be more confident, rather than having only 90% certainty as he did now.

Of course, the reason it was so low

was that he mentally accounted for several hidden trump cards for both Marcus and William,

similar to Victor's, something unexpected.

Otherwise, based on their apparent strength, Locke Galahad felt he could easily crush both of them.

But he also felt that this was unlikely.

After all, if a character like Victor had trump cards, how could Marcus and William, the progenitors, not have them?

That's why, out of caution, he only calculated his chances at 90%, or perhaps even lower, around 85%.

Of course, once Alfred wakes up,

with an extra Sequence 9 to help restrain the Lycans, he would have at least 99% certainty of victory.

His idea was simple: he would first deal with Marcus, the rational Sequence 9 Vampire.

Then, Serena would lead Alfred to contend with the mindless William.

Once he takes down Marcus, the confrontation will be completely over.

Just like that, another day passed. Sure enough, just as he expected, the Great Bat transformed into an extraordinary creature and flew to his window that evening.

"I did it, I did it, I succeeded, I succeeded, cackle, cackle."

Alfred, whose fur had turned a dark reddish-black, stood on the windowsill, frantically flapping his bat wings, looking extremely excited.

Locke Galahad climbed out of bed, pulled back the curtains, and immediately saw the dark red Great Bat outside the window, which almost completely obscured the entire pane...