After Caine left, the elders who had been hidden in the shadows like specters quietly reappeared.
At this moment, however, the way they looked at their Patriarch had completely changed. Their eyes were filled with reverence and admiration.
Earlier, Cain had terrified them. In their minds, he had been an invincible monster.
Yet their Patriarch had subdued him effortlessly and even made him obediently hand over the secret behind his power.
Only now did the elders finally understand.
Shah Hassan had never been spouting drunken nonsense.
He had spoken with such certainty because he possessed absolute confidence and overwhelming strength.
With such a wise, courageous, and far-sighted Patriarch leading them, the Hassan Clan was destined to stand at the pinnacle of the world for a long time.
"Distribute this Meditation Technique to everyone in the clan," Xiao said firmly.
He then handed the Soul Dantian Method and The Art of Alchemy to several elders.
Xiao needed more clan members to master this miraculous cultivation method.
Only in this way could the Hassan Clan nurture more top-tier experts.
After all, Caine would certainly not give up easily on harvesting Cyber Aura.
It was easy to foresee what would happen next.
In the near future, a large number of Cyber Cultivators would appear.
The entire world would inevitably descend into chaos.
And the Hassan Clan, as Xiao's core force and an important asset for controlling this world, needed even greater strength to stand firm in the coming storm and defend their supreme position.
"As the Patriarch commands!"
The elders accepted the Soul Dantian Method and The Art of Alchemy with great excitement, immediately beginning to study them carefully.
Soon afterward, the Meditation Technique was spread to every branch of the clan, and the Hassan Clan officially began attempting cultivation.
…
…
Meanwhile, after returning to the High Table, Caine immediately summoned all the Continental Hotel managers.
In the presence of the Forerunner, he presented the token and seal given to him by Shah Hassan, officially confirming his authority as the new leader of the High Table.
The subordinate forces and hotel managers were shocked.
But what shocked them even more was the power of the Hassan Clan.
If even someone like Caine had been subdued by them, what hope did anyone else have of resisting?
For a time, the Hassan Clan's status as the Dark Emperors of the underground world became unshakable.
Many people even began to question whether Caine had truly wiped out the twelve councilors by himself.
After all, it was common knowledge that no one could travel across the world and slaughter multiple powerful families in a single day.
But if the Hassan Clan had been behind the operation…
Then everything suddenly made perfect sense.
The Hassan Clan had grown dissatisfied with the arrogance of the twelve councilors.
So they had used Caine as a fuse, secretly eliminating all twelve families while remaining hidden in the shadows.
This explanation perfectly matched everyone's understanding of the world.
Soon, it became the widely accepted version of events.
Even John Wick and Hao Er, who were close friends of Caine, believed it.
As former comrades, they knew Caine's abilities.
Although Caine had once been stronger than them, he was now blind and had lost at least half of his combat ability.
How could he possibly slaughter eight councilors in a single day?
But once Caine completed his takeover of the High Table, the various managers and factions still performed their loyalty rituals to him.
Shortly afterward, Caine summoned the Continental Hotel managers and core members again.
This time, however, he revealed his secret.
"What the hell?!"
The managers stared at Caine, who was calmly floating in mid-air.
Their faces were filled with disbelief.
They had assumed Caine was merely a puppet installed by the Hassan Clan.
But now Caine was telling them that he was a cultivator.
Their worldview shattered instantly.
The reason the twelve councilors had fallen so easily was not because they were weak.
It was because Caine had transcended the human realm.
He had become something closer to a wizard.
"God… I must be blind," John Wick muttered.
He had spent his entire life pulling triggers and killing enemies.
He had always believed firmly in materialism.
Yet now someone was telling him that supernatural power truly existed.
Fortunately, after the initial shock passed, excitement quickly replaced disbelief.
After all, Caine hadn't revealed this secret merely to show off.
With the heads of twelve powerful families as proof of his strength, he didn't need to demonstrate anything.
Which meant there was only one explanation.
He intended to share this power.
Everyone stared at Caine with burning eyes.
They were waiting for him to say it.
Caine did not keep them waiting.
"Do you want to cultivate with me?" he asked.
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"Very good."
Caine smiled in satisfaction.
Then he produced a heavily abridged version of the Soul Dantian Method and distributed it to everyone present.
He explained that he would provide each of them with a Cyber Aura seed, along with the cultivation method for opening the first acupoint.
He even included a complimentary copy of The Art of Alchemy.
"Oh, you're too generous!"
"We swear eternal loyalty to the High Table!"
"We will obey the Councilor's commands!"
Praise immediately filled the room.
As they examined the Meditation Technique, the managers showered Caine with compliments.
Caine maintained a calm smile.
Inside, however, he muttered to himself:
You're celebrating too early.
Then he took out another list.
This one contained the complete cultivation methods and their prices.
Each additional acupoint cost 10 gold spirit coins.
Each meridian cost 100 gold spirit coins.
The complete Foundation Establishment Soul Dantian Method cost 5000 gold spirit coins.
The method for forging a Natal Artifact cost 2000 gold spirit coins.
And the technique for expanding the Soul Core space cost 3000 gold spirit coins.
Even the small auxiliary spells were priced in gold spirit coins.
None of them were cheap.
Finally, Caine looked at the crowd and said calmly,
"Pay to win."
"The more you pay…"
"The stronger you become."
In truth, Caine knew the prices were outrageous.
But he had no choice.
The only complete technique he possessed was the Soul Dantian Method, along with two fragmented spell techniques and a partial Dharma Eye method.
If he wanted to establish a sect and build a powerful organization, he had to split the cultivation method into pieces.
Every acupoint.
Every meridian.
Every stage of advancement.
Each had to become a separate product.
Looking at the long list of items and their terrifying prices, the room fell into silence.
This bastard…
On the surface, he was generously sharing the secrets of transcendence.
But in reality—
He was harvesting their Cyber Aura, forcing them to spend their time and effort working for him.
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