It was her turn to ascend. Blood flowed down in a wooden basin boiling in the open air so fresh that the human-faced demon host still struggled. Her father slit the poor creature's throat with a wooden knife, and the audience watched the once human flail and kick. The ceremonial offering from father to child made this baptism of blood holy. There was power in bathing in enemies' blood; some demon cultists did so exclusively. Bathing in blood nurtures the flesh and refreshes the spirit.

She tried not to look at the audience, but there was no getting around her problem. Three of her rivals were present for her transformation.

Her palms felt clammy with sweat as she tugged slowly at the tie of her robe; she knew they were hoping she would make a mistake.

Maddie needed to part the tie on the third step and let the robe fall before the sixth. Anything less betrayed the Prophet and weakened her connection to him. And anything more would be false because no noble could be genuinely devoted to the Prophet and rule successfully.

Maddie shed her robe on the correct step as she rehearsed in King Michael's cathedral and exposed herself but hesitated to take the final step into the boiling basin.

"You need to submerge yourself quickly; if it cools, the blood will lose its transformative properties." Her father said.

She wanted to yell that she knew that and say he was ruining her special day. This was her first step into the cultivation world, and she had to be perfect. But, Maddie didn't dare expose her throat; she would make her mother proud and strike fear into her rivals' hearts.

Dynasties rose and fell, and harems became monogamous through poison and infighting. It was the way of the world, as Maddie knew it. Resources were limited, and not everyone could inherit. For now, preparing a pool of demon blood was like pulling water from a well. But in the future, it would be as difficult as digging a desert well. Bonding with a high spirit of exceptionally pure fire, qi would usually be reserved for higher nobility. So she took what she could while their resources were plentiful because her future husband had no concept of wealth.

Red played the roles of both her greatest foe and ally.

Once, she had recognized Emily Ramael, an interrogator of the inquisition currently in the nascent realm, as her greatest enemy. So she put on the front of a caring wife, and the offish orc played the part of the whore. Even the ashen lady pretended to be pregnant. If they wanted to use underhanded tricks, Maddie knew what to do. But, for now, she would play the high road and present herself as an indispensable resource while the others fought. Then, when the dust settled, the survivors would be weakened.

But what could she do with a husband whose only concern was collecting spirits? Did he even want to advance?

She stepped into the blood and wanted to scream. It burned her skin, and she felt tears well up in her eyes. Everyone was watching, but she wanted to cry. Maddie took another step into the boiling blood-filled basin. The burning traveled up her legs, and she slipped.

Maddie cried out as she fell forward and clawed at the air. No one helped her, and all her rivals were there to see her stumble. Even her mother saw her fall into the basin. She listened for laughter even as the burning rose over her body rapidly. A scream escaped her lips as she thrashed, and coppery boiling blood spilled into her lungs.

She couldn't stand this humiliation. Where were Red, her brothers, and her father? Why weren't they helping her?

The boiling surrounded her body, and she screamed as boiling blood filled her lungs. Then, finally, something shook and popped inside of her, and she thrashed towards the surface. But no matter how hard she fought, Maddie continued to sink. Her body fried like she had been dunked in boiling oil.

She continued to thrash and crawl towards the surface even as she felt her muscles give out. The spirit of black flames appeared in her vision. She felt its fire in a singular desire to see something finished. The fire within the black flames burned at her body, and she saw herself under the cold gaze of her disapproving mother.

"I wish she was a son." Her mother said that to her father after Maddie was betrothed.

The Baroness, her mother, always loved her brothers more. While they were allowed to fight and play, she was made to learn how to lie, betray, and poison.

Maddie swore then to make her mother happy and prove that she could be the perfect noble lady. But nothing worked out the way it was supposed to. She went from the promising prospects of marrying a duke to marrying a powerful nobody.

What else could she call her future husband? He seemingly had no ambition other than acquiring more spirits. The plan he had seemed simple, almost childish. Even the fortress was just a reaction.

How was she supposed to make him into something respectable and kill her rivals at the same time? It wasn't fair Maddie did everything right; she even agreed to fulfill her duty. So why was she being punished when she was being good?

It hit her while she thrashed and cried. But, there was another aspect of being a wife that her mother rarely touched on. She was supposed to be supportive.

If she killed her rivals, did it affect her betrothed's position? All of the women he collected still had some use. Maddie wanted to be helpful, but how?

Red needed ambition. So, the answer was obvious she needed to nag and badger Red into gaining a greater ambition. Once everything became stable, she could rid herself of her sister wives. The first step was to acquire the power she needed to ease his quest to gather the spirits. Once she has proven herself, invaluable Red will listen to her. She needed spies, assassins, and manservants.

Something solidified within her, then she would work with the others until it was time to betray them just as her mother taught her. It was all for a higher goal.

Her eyes opened, and she felt strong. Aura of the coalescence realm solidified around her black as coal, and the blood began to flow into her skin. She felt her qi increase rapidly as the power within the blood flowed into her. The demonic essence of the lion's anti-humanity itself gave way to her new dominion. Her merging with her spirit had changed something fundamental within her.

Maddie stood in an empty wooden basin; her body felt good, better than good. Her skin glowed with health, and her body radiated power in a black corona of aura. She heard clapping and looked up to see her family, ashen footmen, and her rivals clapping together. Even Red seemed pleased by her transformation.

She pushed her senses out slowly and touched them against Red's aura. What she saw made her feel giddy. Wood and fire qi poured through his body, spiraling through his organs and flesh. Maddie understood then how Red could have withstood Hela's heat. His body burned in places constantly, only for wood qi to regrow the burned flesh. Red was constantly burned alive and healed by his qi. When his flesh grew back, it took a little longer to burn each time.

Red approached her, carrying a cloak made of lion's fur much like the one he wore. He quickly wrapped the new cloak around her shoulders and tied it. Did he know what wrapping a cloak around a girl after her baptism meant?

"If we weren't already betrothed, my brother would duel you for my honor," Maddie said.

"I prefer living. I'm sure I'll have to duel plenty of yeomen in the next few days." Lucio said.

That's right, they had to restore their homeland. Heroes have already invaded, most likely to pillage the local sects. They needed men of fighting age, allies, and supplies. For now, they had nothing.

"Yea, next few days will be interesting. After we run by Gungale and warn them of the spreading blood spirit infestation, we should collect a few sects." Red said.

He made it sound like they were collecting stones from a quarry. A sect master was usually in the nascent realm, at least. No coalescence realm cultivator could stand against one even with 10 high-class spirits. The difference in power was too significant.

But Red seemed confident. In fact, he looked stronger than he had been days ago. His skin seemed to shine with its own radiance. Then again, they all looked cleaner than they had before.

This fortress was luxurious in ways even the most well-built castles simply weren't. Maddie bathed at least twice a day because she felt like it. There was no need for servants to carry water when it was available with the touch of a formation. She would miss the fortress after they left. Red would reward her with those luxuries if she stuck with him.

…

Lucio decided to make a final inspection of their mounts before they left, and it was too late. The horses were some of the most potent beasts he had ever seen. But, that didn't stop him from inspecting them to ensure they weren't given lame or ancient animals. Ashen horses weren't the same as normal horses. Lucio knew that, but old habits died hard. So, while the others said their farewells, he inspected them to ensure the ashen weren't making fools of them.

His inspections started with the teeth, the flank, each hoof, and the genitals. Finally, Lucio ended his inspections by feeling up the stallion's balls to check for lumps.

"Are you going to finger my asshole, next human? Please spit on it first." A voice said.

Lucio stumbled backward on a root-only for a mare to catch his shirt with her teeth. The same set of pearly whites he had checked moments ago.

"You can talk," Lucio said.

"I can? Did you hear that Gloria, I can talk?" The stallion said.

Gloria flicked him back on his feet and licked her lips. "Don’t be a dick, Drue. The human looks like he’s going to pass out.” Gloria said without speaking through her mouth.

“Why can you talk?” Lucio said.

“See, he isn’t that far gone. Just a little slow on the uptake.” Drue said.

Lucio knew that the ashen could take on many forms, but not all were human. Time could allow even nonhuman spirits to gain intelligence. But that didn’t mean they could talk. How in the Prophet’s name did this happen?

“There are many skills we ashen use that most find unnatural,” Drue said.

“We vibrate the air with fire qi to make human noises. Was that really so hard to explain? To think we had to be stuck with you because your brother was too far afield.” Gloria said.

Lucio realized he was going insane; that was the only explanation. The heat had finally gotten to him, and he was collapsed somewhere.

A light nip from Gloria knocked him out of the notion. Her breath was hotter than a celebration bonfire on Saint Gregory’s day. Her teeth would melt through his clothes if he wasn’t wearing a lion’s pelt. The mare turned and bit Drue’s ass, and the stallion bucked, and Lucio threw himself out of the way. He dodged just in time as a hoof kicked out where his head had been.

“Gael’s boil infested cock you bite hard, Gloria. Stableboy, rub my rump. I need those delicate fingers of yours.” Drue said.

“You know it's not too late; maybe we can replace Drue with a donkey. But I’d settle for a goat. I’m sure they’d last just as long on my back.” Another mare said.

“I’m not a stableboy; I’m the heir of the Terranor Barony Lucio Prescott,” Lucio said.

“Lucio, that’s a pretty name. Will you ride on my back? I promise not to burn you.” The ashen mare said.

“Mary, don’t make promises you can’t keep. The mistress has already assigned you to a rider.” Gloria said.

Lucio turned when he sensed Red walking up. He didn’t know what to feel about Red anymore. He helped save Maddie and the others, but that wasn’t his goal. Red had decided to prioritize killing demon hosts instead of safeguarding nobility. As a member of the inquisition, Red made the right decision, but he was wrong as a citizen. If Red was a peasant battlefield engineering skills or not, he would have been executed.

Red circled around Mary and began inspecting her genitals. “They talk that’s interesting. Have you already inspected them?” Lucio watched Red move his hand around the mare’s delicate parts and remove a tick. Then, he held up the fat orange parasite for all to see.

“No, their ability to talk distracted me,” Lucio said.

Red tossed the tick into the moat and plucked off another one. “We’ll groom them every day. I don’t know what kind of diseases ashen ticks transmit, but if they’re anything like normal ticks, they’re dangerous.” Red said.

Lucio didn’t know whether he should be inspired or concerned by Red. On the one hand, Red identified a definite problem, but he ignored the fact they bought sapient beings. Slavery is a crime, and it’s outlawed for a reason. Avoiding the issue wouldn’t make it go away.

“So, their ability to talk doesn’t bother you,” Lucio said.

“Why would it? We can ask them how they feel and see to their needs easier. It's like having 10 powerful coalescence class cultivators added to our ranks. Do you dislike talking horses?” Red asked.

All 10 ashen horses were suddenly staring at him. The discomfort he felt rivaled when his father found out he had a bastard off a peasant girl. “Hey Lucio, my friend, I’m giving you permission to stare at my ass; I feel an itch that only your hands can scratch,” Drue said. Caring for horses was suddenly a much more trying process. But misery loved company.

“You know what, we should have the girls groom their own steeds; it will be an excellent bonding experience,” Lucio said, already imagining the discomfort on Maddie’s face from picking off ass ticks.