There were four main disciple factions in 70th Port Snake. The Blackheart Faction, the Liyang Faction, the Rampage Faction, and the Tang Faction. Each of these was effectively backed by one of the port's four Nascent Soul Commodores, the equivalent of an Outer Elder in the Moon Crying Swan Palace. 3rd Division Commander Ji Tianfang was not far from the Saint Realm. When he began his ascension, he would be promoted to Strike Force Commander, leaving the position of 3rd Division Commander open for the taking. Whomever of the four Commodores was selected for the position would receive a huge increase in resources, more than enough to escape Nascent Soul and reach the Transcending Impurity Realm.

As such, competition between the four groups was fierce, as they sought to acquire status and power for their faction. There were the formal annual faction contests, and countless informal power struggles and secret battles. If asked, most would say that new disciples should stay well out of the factional warfare. It was simply too dangerous for Qi Condensation newbies, or even those in the lower levels of Foundation Establishment. However, Bing Meilu planned to throw herself into the deep end of the conflict.

Why? Simple: Power and resources. Conflict necessitated risk, but those who were victoriously reaped the rewards.

"The question is simply which golden thigh to hug," the girl pondered.

There were effectively two options. The former Crimson Dragons had been allied with the Rampage Faction. Therefore no one would find it strange if 'Bing Meilu's Faithful Slaves' Faction, their successor, simply continued such a relationship. The other option was the Blackheart Faction, which was currently the most powerful of the four.

'I'll stick with the Rampage Faction. While the Blackheart may be a bit stronger, any faction I support is guaranteed victory. Meanwhile, those who defected from another group are often reviled and mistrusted even by those they joined. A traitor once can be a traitor twice after all.'

The fact Bing Meilu herself had never personally been an ally of the Rampage Squadron would not stop her from being seen as a turncoat, which would draw unwanted retaliation from Rampage and even mistrust from Blackheart. It was then clear sticking with the Rampage Faction was the best idea.

"The first thing to do is work up the strength of our faction, both of my slaves and myself, to a sufficient degree of strength."

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" Zhang asked, sighing. "I know you're a young, hot-blooded cultivator, but being cautious is not a vice. You could just stay out of this and peacefully cultivate."

The resigned sigh he gave indicated not even the Core Formation expected his words would be persuasive. He was correct.

"I know what I'm doing," the girl assured him. "Besides, the faster I can grow in power, the faster you'll get the medicine you need."

If she'd been the type, she would have laughed at the irony of being lectured on the follies of youth by a cultivator not even in the Deathless realm.

Zhang nodded tiredly, sighing as he left Bing Meilu alone in her throne room. Physically only eleven years of age, she was dwarfed by the throne, constructed for the massively muscled body of Jiang Hu, former leader of the Crimson Dragons. As far as she was concerned, that only meant the chair had more legroom.

She hopped down from the comically oversized seat of power, making her way out of the factional headquarters with a confident stride. Through the wide open field upon which the many buildings in the compound were built she walked, until she arrived back at the dorm room initially assigned to her and Xia Xuefeng.

Now that she no longer needed the place, she could move her items out of it. Bing Meilu did not actually have much to her name by the time she arrived in Port Snake. Mostly some random trinkets, clothing and money she picked up along her trip from the northern tip of the Bird Talon Continent.

As she picked up several bags, she caught sight of a large block of red ice with a snake wriggling inside. Blinking, Bing Meilu remembered. She had captured this snake demon when it had sneak attacked her in the Flesh Mountains, using the technique Frozen Blood Prison Art. She'd been busy with cultivating and then finding XIa Xuefeng so the thing had simply... slipped her mind.

"Well then little Demon, looks like your time has come," Bing Meilu muttered.

She picked it up, noticing the way its eyes rapidly blinked and turned to stare at her, with burning malice. It felt almost... human-like. Her instinct told her there was something unusual about the scaled beast, and to a cultivator, such instincts were not something easily ignored.

"Yet I can't tell what could possibly be special about you," the girl shrugged. "To my eyes, you seem like any pathetic demon in the Qi Condensation Realm."

The snake aggressively blinked several times, slit eyes boring a hole into her. It was almost as if it could understand her and was angry at the dreaming insult... That was unlikely but, well... stranger things had happened.

"Hmm? Disagree? Are you not just a stupid, useless little beast?"

The snake began to furiously trash, and hiss in rage. A curious light appeared in the girl's eyes.

"You realize you've just given away you can understand human speech, right?"

The snake froze, staring up at her with wide eyes. It knew it had screwed up, it seemed. Bing Meilu smiled.

"Always interesting to find anomalies. A demon usually does not achieve wisdom until the Nascent Soul realm, and even then it is a simple, bestial intelligence. Understanding human language at the Qi Condensation Realm makes you a special find... I guess I can always find a use for a tamed Beast."

Bing Meilu's Qi began to pour into the serpent, completely overwhelming it.

----

Aiwa Satsushi struggled as a burning frost ripped its way through his meridians. His limp, injured Cultivation base could barely muster the force to slow down, let alone stop the infiltration. Fury and terror in equal parts churned within his tiny snake chest.

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Minor)!

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Minor)! x2

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Minor)! x3

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Moderate)!

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Moderate)! x2

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Moderate)! x3

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Major)!

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Major)! x2

Status Effect Gained: Internal Qi Infiltration(Major)! x3

Where had it all gone wrong for the human-turned-Snake Demon? Not a few weeks ago he lurked in the bountiful gardens of the Flesh Mountains, hunting caravans for points to fund his 'Demon Beast System'.

There he had been, peacefully minding his own business when hunting when the blasted bitch had appeared.

Bing Meilu! Rage coursed through his heart at the sight. However she was, she was certainly important. He would not have been offered a 'story quest' to kill her. Yet somehow she had managed to survive and even capture him, circumventing every seemingly foolproof plan.

'Just wait! When I'm out of here!' he raged.

System Warning! Debilitating effect 'Beast Slave Contract' is building up. 10%

System Warning! Debilitating effect 'Beast Slave Contract' is building up. 20%

White hot fear lanced through the serpent's heart. This could not be happening. There was no fucking way.

System Warning! Debilitating effect 'Beast Slave Contract' is building up. 30%

System Warning! Debilitating effect 'Beast Slave Contract' is building up. 40%

System Warning! Debilitating effect 'Beast Slave Contract' is building up. 50%

'Stop! Stop! Fucking stop! Please, God, Buddha, anyone? I promise I'll do whatever, just don't let this happen!' he screamed internally.

Aiwa was destined for greatness. He was chosen out of all of humanity, to be reborn in this strange new world, to be the host to this system. Surely he could be enslaved here, right? That wasn't his chosen fate. It couldn't be.

'System! There has to be a way to stop this? Is there anything?'

There was no response, and Aiwa could only despondently watch as the bar ticked up.

60%

70%

80%

90%

95%

99%

100%

His system cheerfully chimed. Aiwa regretted setting it to that sound.

The debilitating effect 'Beast Slave Contract' has been activated. User 'Aiwa Satsushi' now has the status effect 'Slave Contract' with Owner: 'Bing Meilu'.

Class: 'Nightstalker +3' forcibly changed to: 'Tamed Beast'

Name Aiwa Satsushi forcibly changed to 'Name Pending'

Contract Effects:

1: Tamed Beast may never disobey the Owner

2: Tamed Beast can never attack the Owner

3: Tamed Beast and Owner form a spiritual link

---

Bing Meilu raised an eyebrow as the beast-taming method took hold, subjugating the white-scaled serpent. A mental link formed, information flooding into her. She could sense its corporeal form, only a few feet from her, riddled with injuries and shattered meridians. It appeared the creature had been more powerful in the past, only to have lost its cultivation base? That might explain its unique spirituality to some degree.

Even more concerning was the molten copper Qi etched into the beast's Dantian. She would of course recognize anywhere the vile, esoteric Qi that made up a Sealing Mark created by a Demon from the depths of the Underworld.

She had, after all, used the very same thing to sacrifice her Heaven and Earth to become a Paragon.