After eight days, Paul finally finished his breakthrough and stabilized his powers.
The breakthrough itself took only two days; the rest of the time, he used to adjust his powers, as this time they went through slight changes, alongside doubling once again.
-Took you long enough.
Irine said, seeing him, as she sat in the garden enjoying tea, while reading a book.
-Yeah, it's much harder than I thought, and soon enough, you will experience that as well.
He smiled, taking a seat across from her and pouring himself some tea.
-So, how did the search for the crystals go?
He asked, changing the topic.
-How did you know that there was one?
The seamstress asked, surprised as he was already in seclusion, when the ladies went through the city looking for any power crystals they could find.
-It does not take a genius to figure out that most women in the city would have a problem with becoming slaves, even for a short while, to escape from here.
So instead, they went for the second option, which was finding more power crystals, to have spares once the ones that keep the pulse and the barrier going shatter.
Paul explained.
-I don't expect them to find many of these, or at least not any that are usable.
He added.
-Yeah, they only found one that can be used, but it's damaged and won't last long.
The rest was either shattered or taken away, most likely by the people who started this whole thing.
Irine admitted, and after thinking about it, it truly was not that hard to figure out.
-On another note, there are at least a few women in the city who want to become your cultivation partners, and I think that most of them will try for a position of your woman, or at least that's the feeling I'm getting whenever I talk with any of them.
-This also is not surprising; if anything, I'm surprised that they waited so long.
-True, from what I gathered, there are at least three dozen dual cultivators, and all the ladies are trapped here for a long time, ranging from months to decades.
With that in mind, I doubt they can resist having some fun with a man once again for too long, and we also decided to leave it to your discretion who you want to cultivate with, but all the new sisters need to be accepted by us, and there are no exceptions.
This surprised Paul, since he thought that the ladies would make a fuss about it, but on the other hand, it was better this way, since he wanted to use this opportunity not only to gain more experience as a dual cultivator, but also to increase his cultivation as much as possible.
As for getting some new additions to the family, he would see about that, and he wholeheartedly agreed that they had to be approved, and that meant by all of his ladies and himself.
-I didn't give you the power to stop anyone from joining the family, only to overrule you.
Paul smiled.
-The idea always was that even if I'm too blind to see any red flags, you all would be able to see them and warn me before I end up like Sei.
He reminded her.
-As long as you remember and hear us out, there won't be any problems.
Irine smiled, hearing his assurance, as it was only a matter of time before such a situation would occur.
Just as they were talking, Lia came and hugged Paul, seeing him for the first time in a week.
-Irine, Gu Man is back again, and asked to see you.
She said as soon as she let go of Paul.
-Invite her in, I think that she didn't come only to see me.
Irine smiled.
-Oh, does she also want to become my cultivation partner?
Paul asked, seeing Irine's smile.
-I think that she might be the first one to try to become your woman, but we shall see.
At the moment, we all know way too little about her to approve or disapprove of her.
However, I'm confident that she wants to cultivate with you, and considering her cultivation level and the benefits to your cultivation, I'd say go at it, but let her wait till at least tomorrow, as she is not the only one tired of waiting.
Irine winked at him, just as Gu Man approached them.
-Did you come with more orders for me?
Irine asked the elder as she sat next to her.
-Yes, the underwear you make is in high demand, but that's not the only reason for my visit.
The woman smiled, seeing that Paul was out of his seclusion and managed to reach the beginning stage.
-I'm not one to beat around the bush, and from what your ladies told me, trying to seduce you is pointless, so let me ask you straight.
Will you accept me as your cultivation partner?
Gu man asked, seriously.
Paul was a bit surprised at such a direct approach, but he liked it more than playing games; he never understood.
-Sure, as long as you want to be my cultivation partner, I have no reason to reject you.
He agreed with a smile.
-However, you will need to wait for a day or two, since my ladies also demand my attention, and they will always come before anyone else.
Paul added.
Gu Man nodded, as she was prepared for that.
In the end, she was an outsider, and it was already good that she was accepted as Paul's cultivation partner, even though she would need to wait for a bit longer.
-I can wait for a day or two, but let me warn you that I'm not the only one with this idea, and soon there will be more ladies coming to ask you to accept them.
She said.
-Then let them come.
As long as they don't try any tricks, I see no reason to reject them.
However, if they want to join my family, then it's not that easy, as they will need not only my approval, but the approval of my ladies.
He explained, not hiding this fact.
-Great, I expected something like this, and I truly admire you for giving your women so much power over who joins the family.
Most men decide by themselves, and their women or even wives have no say in the matter.
The elder said with a smile.
-That might be true, but any man with a shred of common sense would want to have a peaceful family, without any internal conflicts to resolve every day.
The easiest way to achieve that is to let the ladies decide who they accept as their sisters.
Gu Man nodded in agreement, as what Paul just said made a lot of sense, and she would also prefer to belong to a family that is peaceful and harmonious, rather than constantly being on guard against the women who were supposed to be her sisters but were, in fact, enemies.
-Then what do you do when someone covets one of your ladies?
She asked, curious about his approach to such a problem.
-I ask them to back off, or if they don't intend to do so, I'll kill them.
That is, if my ladies won't kill them first.
Paul explained calmly and looked meaningfully at Irine, who knew what he meant.
-Alright, then what if a married woman wanted to become your cultivation partner?
Gu Man asked, a bit worried that this would disqualify her from cultivating with him.
-As a general rule, I don't condone cheating, so in most cases, there would be no way I'd agree.
Paul answered, and the elder was not even surprised, considering that he didn't lack beautiful women, and didn't like to attract trouble, why would he go after the married ones?
-However, there are exceptions, such as our situation at the moment.
Paul said, and she immediately paid attention once again.
-You are stuck here for the last eleven years or so, or at least that's what you told me before.
Gu Man nodded in confirmation.
-Were you married before being sent here?
He asked, and she nodded again, this time slower, since this might make Paul and Irine see her as a cheater or a loose woman.
-Well, by now, you are most likely already declared dead or divorced by your husband.
In either case, it means that you are free and don't need to worry about being seen as a cheater.
Lastly, in an unlikely event that your husband is still waiting for you.
He doesn't need to know what happened here.
Paul explained.
He would never sleep with a married woman, in normal circumstances, but at the same time, he didn't see anything wrong with helping women who hadn't seen a man for who knows how long, to get rid of their frustration.
In the end, they were all people and had their needs.
Moreover, by helping them, he was also helping himself, as the more partners he had the faster he could cultivate, and most ladies in the city were at higher cultivation levels than he was, at least for now.