《Dreamers of Eternity - A Xuanhuan Webnovel》


 1. Registration

    Once every year, the Beaumont Clan held a competition to test out their youth. Unlike most clans, they allowed outsiders to enter. Getting into the semi-finals was handsomely rewarded by Lord Beaumont and the finalists got the chance to become a vassal: a noble in all but name.


    Adrian was aiming for that spot.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked his father, ¡°I know you¡¯re a Cultivator but I hear the Beaumont lads are on a level of their own. Peerless within their generation, they say.¡±


    They were sitting in a carriage with Adrian to the front. Looking out the windows caused a slight migraine and made him feel his head spin.


    ¡°They are,¡± said Adrian with closed eyes.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too dangerous?¡± asked his father. After a slight pause, he added, ¡°If it¡¯s low-level elixirs, I can buy them for you but if it¡¯s a priceless treasure, I¡¯m afraid I can do nothing.¡±


    ¡°My Cultivation cannot be damaged yet, father. Breaking apart a mountain might be difficult but shattering a speck of dust is impossible,¡± said Adrian with a wide grin on his face.


    ¡°If you defeat a single Beaumont, you¡¯ll have earned great fame for your family. Do not push yourself. You¡¯ll only strain yourself and lose precious time,¡± said his father.


    ¡°Understood,¡± said Adrian, holding back the urge to roll his eyes.


    He had to treat his father with respect, even if what he spoke was of no use to him. Recovery was something that only ailed mortals.


    It didn¡¯t matter to him now.


    ¡°Remember to forfeit if you¡¯re matched with the Demon Twins. They say they¡¯re dangerous,¡± said his father.


    ¡°I know,¡± grumbled Adrian.


    Who did he think he was?


    A mortal?


    He had the pride of a warrior now and giving up before seeing the extent of his capabilities was not an option.


    The carriage slowly came to a halt and the coachman called out with his gruff voice, ¡°We¡¯re outside the Beaumont Estate, Young Master.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the ride,¡± said Adrian and gave a nod of approval to his father. Then, he gently opened the door and slid out.


    ¡°I wish you luck, Young Master,¡± said the coachman, which Adrian answered with a thumbs-up.


    ¡°Take care,¡± said his father but this time, Adrian ignored him.


    He was sure that the older man wasn¡¯t waiting for an answer.


    While the Beaumont Estate was a mile out of Blue Pavilion City, it was bustling now. If a traveler passed by, they¡¯d assume the manor to be the center of the city.


    There were a large number of merchants in their caravans lined up along the outer fences of the manor while some of the more prominent ones were allowed inside and lined up the stone road that led to the white marble mansion.


    There were carriages of various Noble Houses entering through the open black iron gate. Each bar of the gate resembled a sword with the tip facing toward the ground, contrary to the classic upward-spear design that the fence used.


    Two guards adorned in the dark green military uniform of the Empire stood at each end of the gate, both holding spears.


    Most days, no mere peasant or even merchant would be allowed into the estate but today was a special day. So was the rest of the week, for the annual Beaumont Festival was happening.


    He passed by the guards and the moment he entered the land, Adrian¡¯s nostrils were assailed by the sweet aroma of flowers, kept within the fence by the runes that were engraved into it.


    One of the many luxuries that the richest family in the Blue Pavilion City could afford.


    The road to the mansion, which had three floors and was long enough to seem like a large shop, was wide enough to fit ten grown men side-to-side so the carriages didn¡¯t take up all of the space.


    Adrian had come to the Beaumont Estate several times before. It was one of the greatest times of the year for he could watch the Cultivators fight. It was the only time that he could slip out of mandatory classes that he was forced to take by his father.


    ¡°Vassal status, here I come,¡± Adrian mumbled underneath his breath with closed eyes as he clutched onto the pendant that hung from his neck. It was a silver locket that gleamed magnificently in the sunlight, completely devoid of jewelry or any fancy decorations, ¡°Watch me, mother. Soon, your dream will be fulfilled.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    He looked around, and after seeing that he wasn¡¯t in anyone¡¯s path, he knelt on one knee and placed a finger on one of its petals.


    Electricity coursed through Adrian the moment his finger touched it.


    It was filled to the brim with Qi.


    If normal flowers could be compared to a droplet, this was a lake in comparison. Perhaps that amplified its aroma.


    Such a shame that he was not yet at the stage where Qi would be useful to him. If he did and he¡¯d become a vassal, then he would surely be supported by the Beaumont Family.


    There were only three experts of the Soul Refinement Stage in the entire city, after all.


    ¡°You¡¯re that merchant¡¯s kid,¡± said a boisterous voice from behind.


    ¡°Depends on which one you¡¯re referring to,¡± said Adrian as he climbed back to his feet.


    That voice belonged to Tristan Ulrich, the favorite to win the competition. They said that he was at the Muscle Refinement Layer of the Body Refinement Stage.


    That was the fourth one whereas Adrian had struggled to achieve the first.


    To reach such a level before the age of twenty was a miracle and he¡¯d achieved that.


    ¡°Mr. Anderson, if I recall correctly,¡± said Tristan loudly.


    He had a thick frame. That was the only way to describe him correctly. He wasn¡¯t large but he had the presence of one. If one and a half Adrians were put side-by-side, it¡¯d match Tristan¡¯s frame. He had blond hair that was swept sideways and green eyes.


    ¡°Then you would be correct,¡± he said.


    ¡°Ha! I¡¯ve never fought a merchant¡¯s child before,¡± said Tristan.


    ¡°Brother, why are you spouting nonsense?¡± asked a smaller lass from slightly behind him. She had the same blonde hair that her brother had, which was tied into a neat ponytail that reached the bottom of her neck. Her eyes were of a different color and they were far sharper than that of her brother¡¯s, ¡°Forgive him. He¡¯s too muscle-headed so he may have mistaken you for a fighter.¡±


    If Adrian was correct, she had to be Edna Ulrich, a genius that couldn¡¯t quite qualify as a prodigy like her brother.


    ¡°Huh?! He¡¯s clearly a fighter!¡± shouted out Tristan and then whispered, ¡°Your eyes okay, sis?¡±


    ¡°How do you expect a mortal to fight you? It¡¯s unfair,¡± Edna mumbled back.


    ¡°But he isn¡¯t,¡± insisted Tristan, still whispering.


    ¡°No way. Not a snowball¡¯s chance in Hell. He¡¯s the child of a merchant,¡± said Edna.


    ¡°Actually, I am,¡± added Adrian.


    Edna turned to look at him and peered at him harder than she was before. Maybe she¡¯d just been looking at him before and was only focusing now. Her eyes were intense.


    ¡°No way. You¡¯re a first-generation,¡± she said after careful scrutiny that lasted five seconds.


    ¡°More or less,¡± said Adrian as he scratched his cheek with a finger with a small smile.


    ¡°That means your blood is pure,¡± said Edna and grabbed both of Adrian¡¯s hands with both of hers. With a massive grin, she came closer, her face almost touching his, ¡°What¡¯s your talent? When¡¯d you start? What layer are you at? How tall are your parents?¡±


    Tristan grabbed her face with a hand and pulled her away. His massive hand fully covered the smaller girl¡¯s face.


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not done yet!¡± she shouted.


    ¡°Sorry bout her. She¡¯s into all this bloodline nonsense. Don¡¯t pay it any mind,¡± said Tristan, holding her away with an outstretched hand as she struggled to get away.


    They were as eccentric as the rumors said, despite being nobles.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We need to put our names in the brackets,¡± said Tristan as he dragged her away after placing her on his shoulder. She pounded on his back with her fists as she was taken away.


    That reminded him that he had to get registered as well.


    Only sixteen were allowed to participate in the competition and if more than sixteen were registered, then a qualifier round in which everyone fought until sixteen were left happened.


    This year, it seemed like there¡¯d be more than sixteen.


    Adrian chased after the duo.


    He wanted to know how they could know that he was a Cultivator. It seemed like it didn¡¯t take much effort either. So far, he was simply going off his knowledge to figure out who was a Cultivator and who wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡± asked Adrian after he caught up.


    ¡°Did what?¡± asked Tristan.


    ¡°Realize I was a Cultivator,¡± he added.


    ¡°Just felt like you were,¡± said Tristan bluntly.


    Felt¡­ like he was?


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll go. I¡¯ll go. Let me down!¡± grumbled Edna and finally, Tristan did. She placed a hand on her chest and shouted out, ¡°I¡¯m the Young Lady of a Noble House, you know?! I have dignity to uphold and you¡¯re dragging me around like I¡¯m some whore.¡±


    Tristan snorted with a smirk, looking away.


    ¡°You wanna fight? Fine! Let¡¯s go at it!¡± she screamed as she summoned a sword out of nowhere. It seemed to grow out of her hands, forming as motes of blue light as it did.


    That was a Spatial Ring.


    Adrian had one as well and it could only fit a single weapon inside itself.


    The rapier was fancy, with golden embroidery lining the basket handle. The blade was snow-white, which meant it was at least an Aural Item.


    It wasn¡¯t that the steel itself was white, but the aura was. Because Adrian and other Cultivators could see Aura, which was Qi in its barest form, they perceived it as white.


    Mortals couldn¡¯t see that so to them, it would simply look like a fancy, steel sword.


    After becoming a Cultivator, Adrian was filled with amazement and wonder as everything became colorful. The water seemed to glow a soft blue while the grass seemed to glow a dim green.


    It was like a luminous fog was resting everywhere.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that-,¡± started one of the Demon Twins while the other filled in the rest, ¡°-will not be allowed.¡±


    Both of them were twins in the truest sense, with the exact same appearance and clothing. However, as if to differentiate, both of them had side-swept hairstyles that ended in braids combed to the opposite side.


    Despite their title, their appearance was everything but that. They would be what you¡¯d call ¡®charming princes¡¯, more beautiful than handsome. It seemed that they took after their mother.


    The elder one that wielded the sword had hair that fell to the right and had a grumpier voice whereas the younger one that wielded the sword had hair that fell to the left and a more cheerful tone.


    Joshua and Joseph Beaumont, both of them Cultivators.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. She didn¡¯t mean that,¡± said Tristan after he gave them a wink, which escaped Edna¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I did!¡± she screamed out.


    ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± said Tristan.


    Edna tried to protest again but Tristan pulled her aside and placed his hand over her mouth, serving to muffle her shouts and screams into something incomprehensible.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Tristan, as if to assure the duo. He even added a smile on top of it.


    With that, the Demon Twins left. Unlike mortals, they didn¡¯t walk or run. Instead, they jumped up to the roof of the three-story building in one leap.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna register as well, right?¡± asked Tristan as he turned to Adrian, still holding the wildly protesting Edna with one hand.


    It was apparent he was stronger, not because he was a man, but because his Cultivation was on a different level.


    Fighting against him would be paramount to suicide and his bones would be turned to dust.


    Yet his palms were itchy and his teeth were tingling.

 2. Qualifier

    The registration for the competition happened at the Beaumont Estate but the actual competition came the day after that and it happened in the arena. It was a circular building with yellow paint outside it. Inside the building, it resembled a luxurious inn where the rich stayed, with red carpets and fancy chandeliers.


    That decoration extended to the VIP seats of the arena that overlooked the field from above.


    In terms of stories, it would be equivalent to a room on the third floor. The distance to the stage was so that it¡¯d be the perfect spectacle from that exact spot. That meant there were seats to the VIP Booth¡¯s sides, below it and above as well.


    Unlike the booth, though, they did not share the comfy chairs with red cushions nor the roof, and that meant there were no sources of light to speak of but the pale blue moon and the torches stabbed around the stage.


    They doubled as the sources of the runes that operated the barrier around the stage.


    Without it, the spectators would be in mortal peril if a powerful attack was unleashed, though that only happened in combat between those of the Mind Refinement Stage.


    None of the younger generations were at that level.


    ¡°I hear that your son is a first-generation,¡± said Lord Beaumont, seated next to Thomas Anderson.


    Merchants, no matter how wealthy, were not able to sit side-by-side by the nobles but today was an exception, for a single parent of the participants was allowed in the booth.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Thomas lightly after a nod.


    His expression was fit for a seasoned gambler, betraying nothing. The clean mustache and goatee that adorned his face coupled with his distant eyes made him seem like he always had ulterior motives that none could see through, even if he didn¡¯t have any.


    Lord Beaumont was an old man.


    From his appearance alone, one would assume he was in his late seventies but he¡¯d long since passed the age of eight hundred. Over a hundred years ago, he¡¯d become a veteran of five wars and accrued enough wealth to match even the greatest of nobles.


    His defining feature, his amber hair, was now faded and several shades whiter to resemble pale blond, resting on his shoulders.


    ¡°That means either you or your late wife found a priceless treasure, does it not?¡± asked Lord Beaumont.


    Thomas didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Not to worry. First generations are rare to come by. I bear no ill will. It truly is a shame that he¡¯s a boy, though,¡± said the lord.


    Lord Beaumont¡¯s butler, a man with round glasses and a dark complexion glared at Thomas, his gaze intense.


    ¡°Does that mean what I assume it does?¡± asked Thomas.


    ¡°Most Noble Houses would graciously accept your son if he were to be wed to their daughters,¡± said Lord Beaumont, ¡°The blood is still strong in him.¡±


    Thomas¡¯s face contorted into a frown for a second but that was hastily replaced with his deadpan expression.


    The only one that saw that was the butler and he earned himself a glare from Thomas himself, complete with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°Mind if I join your friendly banter?¡± asked a young man that looked to be in his thirties, holding a fat glass of wine in his hand.


    His most noticeable feature was his golden hair: not blond, but golden in a literal sense. Made of precious metals.


    ¡°You¡¯re always welcome,¡± said Thomas with practices ease.


    ¡°I truly did not expect your son to become a Cultivator. You have my congratulations,¡± said Gunther as he swirled the wine within his glass, staring into it, ¡°I¡¯m supposing you¡¯ll be selling rarer herbs soon. Even the Merchant Sect wouldn¡¯t dare to offend you if you start doing so.¡±


    Thomas chuckled slightly.


    It was elegant as if he¡¯d faked it millions of times before. But that¡¯d be wrong, for he¡¯d faked it billions of times.


    ¡°Sadly, I will not be endangering my son with such tasks. He has dreams other than supporting his father¡¯s trade, I am sure,¡± said Thomas.


    ¡°Shame,¡± said Gunther. He took a sip from the wine and stepped closer to the glass windows.


    All twenty seats were lined up at the very front but as the match hadn¡¯t started yet, all of them were enjoying the banquet on display. There were other peasants in the room but most were the family of crippled Cultivators that had their status stripped, or hadn¡¯t bothered to contest for nobility.


    ¡°It¡¯s started,¡± roared Lord Beaumont¡¯s butler, loud enough for everyone to hear.


    Slowly, all the contestants made their way to the stage.


    There were twenty of them and that meant four of them had to be disqualified for the qualifiers to end. After their number is reduced to sixteen, for a minute, they¡¯d be able to do whatever they desired ¡ªincluding fighting, so in most cases, less than sixteen remained at the end of the contest.


    ¡°Would you make a bet with me, Mr. Anderson?¡± asked Gunther.


    ¡°On how many make it to the next stage, I assume,¡± said Thomas as a faint smile appeared on his face.


    Gambling.


    His guise of a seasoned gambler had to be earned, and what better way to earn it than gambling?


    ¡°Not quite,¡± said Gunther and turned around, staring directly at Thomas, ¡°On who makes it into the next round.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too easy?¡± asked Thomas, itching to hear about the catch.


    There had to be a catch.


    ¡°Yes, but we¡¯ll be betting on everyone that we believe will make it to the next round. Correct guesses will yield nothing while a wrong guess will cost a hundred Red Crystals. If both of us guess incorrectly, then no one will pay. However, we¡¯ll choose as contestants as the largest number chosen by any of us to assure a fair game,¡± said Gunther.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°That is quite interesting,¡± said Lord Beaumont, ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on it as well, Earl Ulrich.¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Gunther. It¡¯s confusing when you address me by my family name. There are too many others named Earl Ulrich,¡± he said with a shrug.


    Unlike Lord Beaumont and his family who swore allegiance to him to become Honorary Nobles, House Ulrich had numerous Named Nobles amidst their ranks.


    That translated to more land, one part of which was in the Blue Pavilion City.


    ¡°That said, you would not mind if the bet was to be raised to two hundred, would you? I doubt your treasury is too large,¡± said Gunther, ¡°After all, we¡¯d be paying two rather than one.¡±


    ¡°Five Green Crystals,¡± offered Thomas. After a slight pause, he added, ¡°You are correct. My treasury isn¡¯t large so I make up for it in quality.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that is quite a hefty sum. I suppose winning is the only path,¡± said Lord Beaumont as his face contorted to a smile.


    ¡°Excellent. We¡¯ve all come to a conclusion, have we not?¡± asked Gunther after a clap, ¡°I¡¯ll be placing my bets on both my nephews, the Demon Twins as well as the duo from House Cranford. That¡¯s six, I believe,¡± said Gunther as he sipped on his wine, ¡°And for the wild card, I¡¯ll choose Diana Alcott.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the Titan¡¯s daughter is participating as well, is she not?¡± asked Lord Beaumont, to which Gunther gave a nod.


    Thomas hummed underneath his breath for a few seconds before making his choice as well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go for the Demon Twins, both of the prodigies from House Ulrich, the lad from Cranford, and the Titan¡¯s daughter for the sure-to-pass list,¡± said Thomas before pausing for a few seconds. As if he finally found an answer, he added, ¡°My wildcard will be Emma Beaumont. She¡¯s been in Solitary Cultivation for the last year, was she not?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I can find nothing from merchants. You have your ways,¡± said Lord Beaumont and let out a deep sigh, ¡°I¡¯ll have to place my bets before the fight starts, won¡¯t I?¡±


    Both nodded.


    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll go for the Demon Twins as well as Emma from my family, Tristan, and Edna from House Ulrich as well as Mr. Anderson¡¯s son for my favorites to win,¡± said Lord Beaumont with a smirk.


    Thomas raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That boy feels peculiar but I¡¯ll have to see him in combat to make a judgment,¡± said Lord Beaumont.


    ¡°And your wildcard?¡± asked Gunther.


    ¡°Elsa Cranford,¡± said Lord Beaumont.


    Both Thomas and Gunther nodded sagely.


    ¡°That is indeed an excellent choice, but-¡± said Gunther, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the lady from Cranford have been better listed as your sure-to-win? And then you name her a wildcard. It is a fortune that none of the Cranfords came to watch the show.¡±


    The butler announced that the battle started the moment everyone took a stance on the stage.


    Thomas peered down at Adrian standing there without a care in the world as if he was begging to be attacked. Both of his hands were hanging almost limply instead of forming any pose.


    No one was using their weapon yet, strangely.


    ¡°That Anderson kid¡­ he¡¯s either a madman or he¡¯s good,¡± said Gunther as his constant smirk turned to an expression of fascination.


    ¡°Even the Demon Twins can¡¯t ignore Tristan¡¯s Martial Intent. To not be fazed even a tiny bit by that is a grand feat, not to mention the constant clash,¡± said Lord Beaumont with a nod of approval, ¡°If things turn out well, I might talk to my brother about betrothing Emma to Adrian.¡±


    Despite no one moving an inch, they seemed to be sweating. One of the participants, specifically Elsa Cranford, lashed out at thin air after generating a knife from her Spatial Ring, only to fall down, unconscious.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Thomas.


    ¡°She couldn¡¯t bear the clash of intents and lost her consciousness. She¡¯ll recover in a few hours,¡± said Gunther, his face wider now, ¡°So it seems the both of us owe Mr. Anderson some Green Crystals, huh?¡±


    Adrian wasn¡¯t fazed by that?


    As if on cue, all of them pulled out their weapons from their Spatial Rings.


    Tristan pulled out a massive staff that was more pillar than weapon from his Spatial Ring and threw it at the older of the Demon Twins, the wielder of the sword, which he was helpless against and was thrown out of bounds.


    Before the staff, too, left the arena, Tristan closed the distance with a single step and grabbed it from behind. While he stepped, it seemed like one of his legs was far longer than the other.


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s the Far Step. At such a young age? He truly deserves his title as a prodigy,¡± said Lord Beaumont as he stared at Tristan.


    Eighteen left.


    Then almost within an instant, two of the participants that hadn¡¯t been bet on were knocked out by Eric Cranford¡¯s strike with the back of his spear: both of them were thrown out of the ring with a single blow.


    Sixteen left.


    Then as if that was a cue for the true battle to begin, Eric launched at the younger of the Demon Twins.


    They were too busy to commentate the fight, instead fully focused on it.


    Thomas¡¯s attention was now on Adrian, though.


    His only son being crippled during a so-called friendly event was a possibility and he¡¯d much rather not let that happen.


    Still, he wanted to do it and now, Thomas was unable to do anything of it.


    To Thomas¡¯s dismay, the younger of the Ulrich prodigies, the girl, launched herself at Adrian with her rapier aimed at his chest.


    Adrian effortlessly swayed to the side, as if a paper in wind, and let the attack pass by.


    Driven by her inertia, Edna¡¯s rapier landed on an unfortunate fellow that hadn¡¯t been bet on and the moment it did, the blade seemed to curl up instead of stabbing into his flesh. It coiled and coiled until the entire length was equal to that of a small book.


    Then with a mighty boom, the fellow was pushed away and into the barrier outside the stage with immense strength.


    The barrier stopped him but a crack loud enough to be heard from above could be heard, and as that couldn¡¯t be the barrier, the result was obvious.


    ¡°An Aural Item with an effect? I didn¡¯t expect House Ulrich to be so resourceful,¡± said Lord Beaumont as he stared harder at the stage, ¡°But that Anderson boy. I assume he has a master already.¡±


    Master?


    ¡°Does he?¡± asked Lord Beaumont after turning to Thomas.


    ¡°Not any I know of,¡± he answered.


    ¡°That is understandable. Martial Masters are often kept a secret by their students,¡± said Lord Beaumont with a few nods.


    ¡°Both the Demon Twins got taken out!¡± Gunther exclaimed, dragging their attention back to the fight between the younger of the Demon twins and the lad from Cranford.


    In a similar fashion to the two others that were sent out of the field by him, Eric had simply thrown the poor sod out of the field with the back of his spear.


    Fourteen left.


    Almost within a moment, the daughter of the Titan grabbed two of the participants by the throat and smashed them down to the ground, knocking them out.


    Twelve left and that was when the time was up.


    Finally, a minute had passed after they were down to sixteen.


    ¡°We¡¯ll call it even for them,¡± said Lord Beaumont with a shrug.


    ¡°Eric, was it? That boy is talented. He defeated the Spear Demon at his own game,¡± said Gunther and put a finger to his chin, ¡°But how? That brat has that annoying technique. It shouldn¡¯t be that easy.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because of a Martial Disturbance,¡± said Lord Beaumont, making both Thomas and Gunther raise eyebrows.


    ¡°Hey, hey. You have to be kidding me. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t spot it if it was so,¡± said Gunther with a twitching left eye.


    ¡°That¡¯s because one of them used a Qi Technique. You have yet to break through to the Soul Refinement Stage so it is understandable that you have not noticed it,¡± said Lord Beaumont with a smirk, which looked rather unusual on his face, considering he was known to be a stern man.


    ¡°You mean to tell me one of the wildcards is already at your level?¡± asked Gunther, eyes wide.


    Thomas knew what that meant.


    ¡°Not quite,¡± explained Lord Beaumont, ¡°Qi Techniques can still be taught to those that haven¡¯t broken through to the Soul Refinement Stage. Contrary to popular belief, every Cultivator has Qi within their bodies, and using it is indeed possible. They simply cannot generate their own so the effects are underwhelming due to the minuscule amount held within them.¡±


    ¡°Qi Techniques? If that¡¯s true, you would¡¯ve taught it to your children as well-¡± started Gunther.


    ¡°The Cloud Body Technique that Joseph uses is one such technique. Sadly, only he could learn it among our house,¡± said Lord Beaumont.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean someone else also used the Cloud Body Technique? Did that brat Tristan copy that as well?¡± mumbled Gunther.


    ¡°Not quite. Mr. Anderson¡¯s son used it to dodge Edna¡¯s assault. Due to that, his superior mastery disturbed Joseph¡¯s Martial Heart and he couldn¡¯t fight back against the Cranford boy,¡± explained Lord Beaumont.


    ¡°Then his Master has to be someone at the Soul Refinement Stage as well. There are only a handful of them on the Empire, so¡­ who could it be?¡± asked Gunther.


    ¡°If I¡¯d known of the boy¡¯s existence earlier, I would have been sure to talk to my brother. It is too late now,¡± said Lord Beaumont with a slow nod.


    ¡°So he¡¯s already engaged to someone related to his Master is what you¡¯re saying,¡± said Gunther and gave a nod of approval, ¡°I¡¯m supposing it¡¯s one of the Knight Errants or Lord Cranford. He¡¯s always had a good eye for talent.¡±


    Thomas slowly nodded along, as if he didn¡¯t have the faintest clue.


    But he knew who it was, and he knew that it was none of those that they discussed.


    They had no business knowing of the Shadow, after all.

 3. Shadow

    Living in a mansion was a luxury that most merchants were not allowed. Only those that had numerous caravans and shops working for them had that opportunity. Most were content with and busy selling rather than spending.


    Thomas Anderson was one of the few that could afford to spend all day and that meant he had a mansion.


    It wasn¡¯t an estate like those of Nobles, for he couldn¡¯t own land. Only the building and that meant they had to live within the city. While it wasn¡¯t an estate, there was a generous yard but anything he did with it would be confiscated by either Lord Beaumont and the Crown.


    That unreasonable taxation didn¡¯t apply to Nobles, who were allowed to profit from their land.


    ¡°What you¡¯re doing is dangerous,¡± said Thomas, sipping on a cup of tea.


    Despite his distressed tone, his expression remained the same.


    ¡°Just a grain of sand in a desert. It¡¯s nothing new to me,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°You¡¯ve abandoned a peaceful life as the spoiled child of a king among merchants. Will you be content with living a life full of bloodshed and mortal peril?¡± asked Thomas.


    ¡°It happens to be the only one that lets me live forever,¡± he said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll live for a thousand years. And what? You¡¯ll spend half of it struggling to get to the next stage to extend your lifespan and the other half fighting for your life. Do you truly wish to live like that?¡± asked Thomas calmly, now his cup of tea on the small table between them.


    They were sitting opposite to each other, on two comfortable chairs that were more along the lines of couches than chairs.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m intending to do just that. If that means I¡¯ll have to learn from him, so be it,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°But that thing is a monster!¡± shouted Thomas, suddenly.


    ¡°A monster you made two deals with,¡± said Adrian, cold as a cucumber.


    ¡°I needed it,¡± Thomas hissed through his teeth.


    ¡°And I need a proper Master. One that doesn¡¯t see me as a husband for their daughter,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Do as you wish,¡± said Thomas and he promptly stood up before buckling only a moment after that.


    Adrian handed him his cane, which he accepted begrudgingly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not pissed off at you for selling my soul,¡± said Adrian after he turned around.


    ¡°It¡¯s about her, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Thomas.


    Adrian didn¡¯t answer, for his father already knew it.


    ¡°It was to keep you alive,¡± reasoned Thomas, now his tone softer.


    ¡°I thought you saw me as a disposable bargaining chip,¡± said Adrian, ¡°Since you sold my soul before I was even born.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no reasoning with you,¡± grumbled Thomas and sharply turned around. Supporting most of his weight with his cane, he walked out of the room and made it a point to slam the door shut.


    That was the end of it.


    At least he hoped it would be.


    With how dramatically his father exited the room, Adrian decided to remain in it until his father turned the corner. It would be anticlimactic if he, too, walked out of the room and started walking in the same direction as his father, for their rooms were on the same side of the house.


    Right next to each other, in fact.


    Or there was a better solution: leaving through the windows.


    While he was considerably more durable than mortals, if he landed wrong while jumping down from the second floor, his ankles would most definitely be strained.


    But he was confident in himself.


    Adrian opened the curtains, looked at the streets below. It was already evening so it was dark outside. The estate had two lamps that were powered by Red Crystals, one of which would last for a month.


    It was the equivalent of buying two horses or lizards as a ride every single month, which not many commoners could afford.


    For a merchant as rich as Thomas Anderson, especially one that made a deal with the Shadow, it was no challenge. Even if his empire was built upon lies, it was an empire nonetheless.


    He could smell fried food from across the street, which was why both Adrian and his father had rooms that faced the other side. While the smell of food was aromatic in moderation, it turned into an unbearable stench in excess.


    It was more bearable on the ground as the wind didn¡¯t carry the smell close to them, for there were other buildings that stood between the mansion and the diner.


    With one leap, Adrian jumped out the window and floated down to the ground. It wasn¡¯t like flight, but akin to a paper being dropped down to the ground, swinging from side-to-side until he reached the ground.


    His feet lightly touched the ground and that was when his clothes as well as the rest of his body collapsed, like the weight he¡¯d been storing away had just returned or as if the slowed-down playback of his fall was returned to its actual speed.


    Most of the servants in the house were allowed to leave after seven, excluding the guard that stood watch near the entrance of the house.


    To enter the house, you had to walk into a small chamber in which the guard sat and then enter through the door to truly be inside the house, and that was visible in the form of a room protruding from the rest of the mansion with the only visible door on this side.


    Adrian didn¡¯t enter the house, though.


    Instead, he turned to the streets and pulled up his scarf.


    He was planning on meeting his Master so he was already in his disguises: a loose and old white shirt that had gone yellow along with loose black pants, also known as ¡®peasant garbs¡¯ by the Nobles.


    The only addition on top of that was a red scarf that he used to cover the lower part of his face, including his nose.


    The guard¡¯s duty was to keep people out, not keep them in, so there was no need to be sneaky with his escape. He just had to cover his face and no one would bother him.


    No one cared what a peasant did if they weren¡¯t stealing or making trouble.


    Adrian¡¯s destination was outside Blue Pavilion City, which he would reach after half an hour of light jogging. With how close the mansion was to the edge of the city, it wasn¡¯t difficult to make it there.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The reason was simple.


    Adrian¡¯s father made everyone believe that he was a godly herbalist and could find priceless treasures from anywhere, but that was a lie. It all came from the Shadow¡¯s treasury but his father no longer utilized his nonexistent talents after he built his company.


    After working up a sweat, Adrian found himself near a river with nothing else in sight but the mountains that loomed in the distance and the moon that illuminated the land. With how nondescript the location was, the Shadow¡¯s Tomb couldn¡¯t be easily discovered.


    Adrian didn¡¯t know how his father found it but he did, and while that cost him his soul and mother, it gave him an excellent Master as well as talent in Cultivation.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Adrian jumped into the river and dove to the very bottom.


    Instead of hitting the rocky bottom as one would expect, he passed through the illusion and landed in a tunnel that was lit up with torches that burned forever.


    While dry, the stones that made up the corridor were round and smooth, worn from ages of water currents before the tomb was built. To his left was a dead end and to his right, the tunnel continued.


    It led him to the Shadow¡¯s abode.


    After mere seconds of walking through the tunnel, he got to the end of it. There, at the end, was a cave. It was well-lit by the same endlessly burning torches that lit up the tunnel. Its size was larger than the Arena, which was a large building by most standards.


    Gold and Crystals once littered the floor but they¡¯d long since been pushed to the side or taken away by Adrian¡¯s father. Among those many treasures were dozens of Spatial Rings, some capable of perfectly persevering priceless herbs.


    Adrian¡¯s Spatial Ring was from this collection but it was the most mundane one, for he couldn¡¯t afford to draw too much attention.


    ¡°Ah, you have returned,¡± said a disembodied and raspy voice, coming from everywhere and nowhere. It was smooth and comfortable to the ears, much like the sweet words of the Devil.


    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to teach me,¡± said Adrian fearlessly.


    There was no fear in him, for he knew the Shadow couldn¡¯t do anything to him¡­ yet.


    ¡°I must know, child, why are you so intent on jumping into the belly of the beast?¡± asked the Shadow as it manifested its corporeal body before Adrian, appearing as a cloaked man made of darkness, ¡°You will be mine once your life ends yet you wish to remain by my side even in life.¡±


    Instead of legs, it had tendrils that slithered across the ground and instead of eyes, he had two smoldering cinders for eyes. Its movements were unnatural, as you would expect one that hovered from place to place rather than walking the distance.


    His hands, though, were normal and cold as one of them caressed his cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯m already in your mouth and you¡¯ve shut your jaw the moment I was born. I just decided to struggle is all,¡± said Adrian and slapped away the hand, which dissipated into black smoke along with the rest of the Shadow¡¯s body several meters away, now turned away from Adrian.


    ¡°So you truly wish to become my Disciple?¡± asked the Shadow, ¡°Is this a trick you play at? If so, know that no trick can fool me.¡±


    ¡°If it truly was a trick, don¡¯t you think that I¡¯ve already fooled you?¡± asked Adrian with a snappy chuckle.


    ¡°I could strangle you to death here and now. Do not tempt me,¡± said the Shadow in one breath.


    ¡°Even Lord Beaumont would be no match for you, I am sure. But you cannot touch me, can you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll orchestrate an accident so devastating that you¡¯ll wish you were dead!¡± said the Shadow.


    ¡°Also impossible, as per the terms of your contract,¡± said Adrian and he casually turned around, grabbed one of the Spatial Rings, and put it onto his finger.


    Within it was numerous Jade Slips, each of which let him learn a technique instantly if he were to absorb the information within it but could only be used once before the writings on it disappeared.


    Alas, each one took several weeks to absorb.


    He wasn¡¯t learning from the Shadow as much as he was using his resources to learn everything by himself.


    For now, at least.


    ¡°You lack talent. You¡¯ll never reach the Nascent World Genesis Stage,¡± said the Shadow as it turned into a mass of darkness and floated in front of Adrian, arms crossed.


    ¡°I will,¡± said Adrian nonchalantly.


    ¡°I gave you the measly talent of an Outer Disciple of a trashy sect. You truly think you have a chance?¡± asked the Shadow and once it leaned close to Adrian¡¯s ears, it whispered, ¡°You are destined to fail.¡±


    ¡°Giving and taking talents. That¡¯s something you excel at, no?¡± asked Adrian as it slapped the mass away, forcing it to dissipate and form inches away, ¡°What¡¯s to say I won¡¯t steal the talent of someone else? You make it sound easy.¡±


    ¡°Child, I¡¯m an immortal,¡± hissed the Shadow.


    ¡°A dead immortal that can¡¯t touch me,¡± said Adrian as he looked down at his palm, ¡°Meanwhile, I can leave this place and collapse the entrance to your tomb. That means you¡¯ll be locked in here until I die.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve rotted in this hole for a thousand years. You think your puny lifespan will faze me?¡± asked the Shadow, more amused than agitated, ¡°After your life ends, I¡¯ll come back to life and finally take over this world. Doesn¡¯t that pressure you? The mere prospect that your life is the last straw that¡¯s holding me back?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Adrian casually as he fumbled through the rest of the Spatial Rings that had formed a mountain, ¡°Cuz I¡¯ll become immortal.¡±


    ¡°I told you, did I not?¡± asked the Shadow, ¡°Your talent is meager. It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Adrian paused and stared at it for a minute. No movement and no sound save for his breathing.


    ¡°You like gambling,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°You have nothing of interest,¡± said the Shadow and grew in size to resemble a giant, as if trying to intimidate him.


    That wouldn¡¯t work.


    ¡°Not even your soul is yours to sell,¡± it added.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you this pendant,¡± said Adrian as he pulled the locket off from his neck.


    He tapped a button at the top of it and it snapped open, revealing the painting of a younger Thomas and his wife holding a child. She was a blonde whose hair reached her lower back from the looks of it.


    ¡°You want it, right?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°Ha! Is that all? The mere last fragment of your mother? Why would I want with that?¡± asked the Shadow and cackled. It gradually grew louder until it shook the tunnel.


    ¡°You think it¡¯ll be yours after I die,¡± said Adrian and closed the locket. He tightly clutched it in his fist and shook his head, ¡°It won¡¯t be and by then, I assure you that I¡¯ll have collapsed the entrance to this place.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare lose it,¡± it said, ¡°It¡¯s her last fragment that does not belong to me.¡±


    Adrian put the locket in his mouth, between his molars and he spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t collapse the exit!¡± it shouted.


    ¡°You said I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the Nascent World Genesis Stage. The Soul Refinement Stage is all I need to collapse the entrance,¡± said Adrian as he pulled the locket out of his mouth, ¡°Then you¡¯ll never get out, even if I die. Just one-hundredth of a soul short to rebirth.¡±


    ¡°Hateful brat,¡± growled the Shadow and shouted curses for several minutes while flying around the cave with immense speed until he recovered and stopped before Adrian, ¡°What is it you wish to gamble on?¡±


    ¡°On whether I can become immortal,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°That¡¯s an easy bet to win, for me,¡± said the Shadow, and its featureless face somehow frowned.


    ¡°Not if I have better talent,¡± he said.


    ¡°So you wish to become the greatest prodigy there ever was,¡± said the Shadow and it shook its head, ¡°Even then, becoming an immortal is difficult. It¡¯ll require more resources than I have and it is more a matter of luck than talent.¡±


    ¡°No, not something as pathetic as you. I won¡¯t die at all. That¡¯s the kind of immortal I want to be,¡± said Adrian.


    Contrary to Adrian¡¯s expectations, the Shadow cackled rather than yell at him.


    ¡°You interest me, brat,¡± it said after it finished, but it shook its head, ¡°That¡¯s not a gamble. That¡¯s a fool¡¯s errand and I¡¯m supposed to give you more talent?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t. It¡¯s extortion that¡¯s being labeled a gamble,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Ha!¡± the Shadow snorted, ¡°I like your style, brat.¡±


    It was calling him a brat instead of a child now.


    Was that a good or bad thing?


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll give you some decent talent. Reach the Nascent World Stage with this and I¡¯ll give you something better. How about it?¡± asked the Shadow, ¡°If you give up or if you stray from your Martial Path, I¡¯ll take your soul along with that little trinket.¡±


    Adrian extended his hand.


    ¡°You¡­ you are gullible,¡± it said.


    ¡°Am I? Or are you?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know your limits,¡± it said and after a slight pause, it added as it reached out its hand, ¡°I don¡¯t hate that.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± added Adrian, ¡°If I do reach it, this trinket will shatter and the soul will disappear.¡±


    The Shadow pulled its arm back.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Adrian, almost annoyed.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving you decent talent. That means you can reach it before the age of five hundred,¡± said the Shadow, ¡°It¡¯s not a challenge. It¡¯s a test of your willpower.¡±


    That was surprisingly fair.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll store the fragment within myself and if I die, both my soul and hers will return to you. You can do that, can¡¯t you?¡± asked Adrian with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Good, good. Those are good terms,¡± said the Shadow as it extended its arms again, but just before their hands touched each other, it dissipated and hovered as a black cloud, ¡°But in the meantime, you¡¯ll take this mirror with you.¡±


    Mirror?


    ¡°So I can watch your foolish crusade,¡± explained the Shadow, to which Adrian nodded.


    But he was no fool.


    ¡°On top of that, you won¡¯t be able to make a deal with anyone that isn¡¯t in this cave,¡± he said and the Shadow¡¯s form visibly fluttered for a second but it reformed the next second as if he was trying to hide it.


    Then their hands grasped each other and they shook once.


    The moment they did, they were covered in a sphere of darkness that blocked out the light from the torches. The darkness then entered Adrian and it felt as if they were piercing through every millimeter of his body, invading it but not truly harming nor hurting it.


    ¡°You¡¯re on the level of an Inner Disciple now. Use that talent well, brat,¡± said the Shadow.


    ¡°That bargain concluded nicely,¡± Adrian thought to himself, but the Shadow¡¯s voice reverberated within his head to answer him.


    ¡°Indeed, it did,¡± it said.


    What was that?

 4. Talent

    There was a rest of three days between each round and three days had passed since the qualifiers. Adrian didn¡¯t leisurely spend that time after he wrangled out a bit of talent out of the Shadow¡¯s clutches but he knew that it didn¡¯t matter in the short term.


    It¡¯d take at least a week to cultivate to the next layer even if he used various pills and cultivated in nature, and that was the best-case scenario.


    Fighting right after breaking through wasn¡¯t optimal and he could damage his cultivation by doing that so a last-minute breakthrough was foolish.


    ¡°That¡¯s a tricky technique you¡¯ve learned but don¡¯t think it¡¯ll decide the match. You can¡¯t use it properly yet,¡± whispered the Shadow within Adrian¡¯s mind as he sprinted through the rooftops of houses until he got to the Arena.


    It was a warm-up.


    ¡°I know,¡± he thought back and for a moment, he wished he could somehow mute it.


    While its advice helped him, it was far too nosy, and having someone monitor his each and every move was an annoyance.


    ¡°But it¡¯s just a tiny competition on the Northern Continent. The inheritance of the Sky School won¡¯t lose to anything the trash on this Continent know,¡± said the Shadow, and Adrian rolled his eyes.


    One of his eyes was hazel and the other was light gray, bordering on white.


    That was the mirror.


    Adrian didn¡¯t understand half the gibberish the Shadow spouted but the term ¡®Sky School¡¯ came up several times as he tried to learn the techniques.


    Out of the seven Jade Slips that the ring contained, he¡¯d learned the first two.


    The first was the Cloud Body Technique and he¡¯d just finished learning the second one yesterday.


    It was like a cheat.


    ¡°So the only way I¡¯m losing is if I suck¡­ right?¡± Adrian asked, which the Shadow affirmed with a grunt.


    He knew full well that he had no chance against Tristan, for the gap between them was too much but the others were manageable.


    Tristan was of the Muscle Refinement Layer when major changes to the muscles occurred and made him leagues stronger than Adrian was, enough to punch through rock walls and bend steel.


    The worst part was that unlike the others, who were of at least the Bone Refinement Layer, he did not have the durability to protect himself. If he¡¯d been at the second layer, the Bone Refinement Layer, his bones would be able to endure Tristan¡¯s blows as if they were by a normal person but as it was at the moment, they¡¯d be snapped like twigs.


    The layer between the Bone Refinement Layer and the Muscle Refinement Layer was the Flesh Refinement Layer, which would make it so that the flesh could endure a blow from someone at the Muscle Refinement Layer.


    The first layer that Adrian had cultivated up to so far, the Cartilage Refinement Layer, only made it so that he was more flexible than a normal person, barring his immense Stamina and strength enough to punch through wooden planks without any effort.


    It was all up to how well he could evade and whether he could defeat the others by a ring out, because defeating them with brute strength was not an option.


    The Arena, while empty most of the time, was chock full of spectators when there was an ongoing match and they had to enter one way or another. If the contestants were to use the same entrance as the spectators, it¡¯d be inconvenient.


    That warranted for a separate entrance for the contestants, which was on the opposite side of the stadium.


    Wherever several Cultivators, especially juvenile, were gathered, there was action and Adrian unwittingly managed to stumble into each and every one.


    That was a sort of talent of his.


    It was how he¡¯d gotten mortally wounded before and why his father sold his mother¡¯s life to the Shadow.


    ¡°Who do you think you bumped into, huh?!¡± hissed a no-name.


    If even Adrian didn¡¯t know who it was, it had to be a no-name. He made a point to learn about every Cultivator worth their salt in the city and the lanky fellow with a slightly oval head didn¡¯t ring any bells.


    The one that he was next to, on the other hand, was one of the favorites to win the competition: Eric Cranford.


    Next to Eric, there was a girl with purplish-black hair as well. Perhaps both his minions were talents as well, as Lord Cranford went to great extents to recruit Cultivators with decent talent.


    They did survive the Qualifier, which was difficult. When Tristan released his Martial Intent, even standing felt like trying to swim up a waterfall.


    ¡°That kid there¡¯s bad news. Kill him while he¡¯s still a cub,¡± whispered the Shadow.


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°He has a bad temperament and has the talent of a Core Disciple. If he can realize his full potential, then I fear for the future of this continent,¡± said the Shadow.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to take over this place as well?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want his dirty paws on it,¡± hissed the Shadow but Adrian was drawn back to the situation outside his head.


    Down on the ground, in front of the trio, was someone else. It was the girl that took out two contestants in the Qualifier: the Titan¡¯s daughter. She was something of a big deal so Adrian knew about her.


    Diana¡¯s frame was large and Adrian estimated she¡¯d be a head taller than him if she was standing. Her hair was left loose but that was no issue as it was short enough to not be a bother.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± said Diana as she climbed back to her feet and the no-name froze.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She managed to make it look ominous.


    ¡°H-hey, it¡¯s the g-great Eric Cranford that you bumped into, you know?¡± he shouted.


    Contrary to expectation, Diana turned around and walked away without a care in the world. Eric didn¡¯t pursue her, for his eyes were burning holes into Adrian.


    ¡°Young Master, she¡¯s leaving!¡± shouted the no-name with one finger pointed at Diana but the female minion slapped the back of his head and gestured at Adrian with her chin.


    Eric gave the no-name a glare and made him gulp.


    With no regard for his minions, Eric walked up to Adrian with his signature perpetual frown on his face and once he was close enough¡­ he noticed how short Eric was.


    It wasn¡¯t noticeable at the qualifier and no one spoke anything about his height, but somehow, he was half a head shorter than someone who was almost below average in height.


    What they did speak about was his nasty frown and constant glare, both of which were plastered on his face at the moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m stronger,¡± said Eric, suddenly.


    What was that supposed to mean?


    ¡°You probably are,¡± said Adrian with a raised eyebrow and slightly tilted his head, ¡°But why say it?¡±


    Eric grabbed Adrian by the collar and raised him up with one hand.


    If Adrian¡¯s information was up to date, Eric was at the Flesh Refinement Layer and that meant he was far heavier than Adrian. After all, his bones and flesh were condensed and that meant they became heavier. On the other hand, Adrian was lighter so even if they had the same strength, he could be thrown around far more easily.


    ¡°Umm, I think fighting before a match isn¡¯t allowed,¡± offered Adrian with both hands slightly raised.


    ¡°Hmph, so you¡¯re some bumpkin, huh?¡± asked the no-name. He put a smile on his face and raised a finger before explaining, ¡°You see, you¡¯re allowed to warm up before matches. As long as no one is crippled and no weapons are drawn, you¡¯re allowed to fight whoever you want.¡±


    That was better.


    He placed his palm on Eric¡¯s forehead and that made Eric fume. With one swift motion, Eric tried to throw Adrian away but to his surprise, he felt his head be dragged as Adrian fell.


    It was like Adrian was holding his head with a palm, which couldn¡¯t possibly do that.


    ¡°Another technique,¡± grumbled Eric, ¡°But that¡¯s only a trick! Without it, you¡¯re nothing!¡±


    Eric snapped his finger and from within his Spatial Ring appeared a wooden spear.


    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing that doesn¡¯t count as using a weapon,¡± said Adrian as he hopped back a few meters, the technique inactive now. Some cold sweat found its way on Adrian¡¯s back as he nervously stared at Eric.


    The technique he was using was the Mystifying Palm, the second of the seven techniques. It could let him hold onto others merely using his palm, even if he was touching a place that couldn¡¯t be conventionally grabbed, like a forehead.


    It was another Qi Technique.


    While they were both powerful techniques, Adrian couldn¡¯t generate his own Qi and could only use the amount his body amassed from nature. If he used it all up, he would have no chance in his actual fight because he couldn¡¯t recover it fast enough.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fight!¡± exclaimed a boisterous voice filled with joy from behind Adrian, where the gate was.


    ¡°Come back!¡± shouted Edna right after that.


    Tristan pulled out his spear from within his Spatial Ring and slammed it on top of Eric¡¯s wooden spear to hold it down.


    Despite appearing wooden, both of them were far more durable than ordinary weapons.


    ¡°I have no business with you,¡± said Eric as he put the wooden spear back into his Spatial Ring.


    ¡°No fair,¡± said Tristan, an over-exaggerated frown on his face, ¡°So you were just bullying him.¡±


    Eric¡¯s nose scrunched up and he almost tried to stab Tristan in the chest with it, pointing at him sharply.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. In a month¡¯s time, I¡¯ll be able to easily defeat you,¡± Eric hissed.


    ¡°Oh? So you¡¯ll breakthrough in a month?¡± asked Tristan as his frown turned into a grin, ¡°Good spirit! Come to our estate once you do. We¡¯ll have a proper fight then.¡±


    Eric glared at Tristan for a few seconds before he sharply turned around and walked away.


    Just as Adrian was about to open his mouth to thank Tristan, he managed to ask his question faster, ¡°Since Eric¡¯s gone, you wanna spar?¡±


    So he just wanted to fight¡­


    ¡°We already warmed-up,¡± said Edna and grabbed Tristan¡¯s ear to drag him away with, ¡°And if you fight him now, he¡¯ll be too exhausted to fight in the match.¡±


    ¡°B-but-¡± retorted Tristan but Edna was having none of that.


    ¡°Shut it!¡± shouted Edna and Adrian only watched as the strongest contestant was casually dragged away.


    Siblings were scary.


    ¡°Brat, what continent is this?¡± asked the Shadow.


    ¡°Did you just go senile, old man?¡± thought Adrian, answering a question with another one.


    ¡°Is this the Imperial Capital? Has it changed since I¡¯ve died?¡± it asked.


    ¡°The capital is Pale Rose City,¡± thought Adrian, just in case it did indeed change.


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± shouted the Shadow, ¡°Talents like those five are rare even on the Central Continent. How could a backwater village have so many?¡±


    Four?


    If he assumed four were Eric, Tristan, Edna, Diana but who was the last one?


    The no-name or that girl from before?


    ¡°Are all of them on the level of Core Disciples?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°Indeed. Their talents are astounding. If they can survive for a five thousand years, becoming immortals isn¡¯t out of the question,¡± said the Shadow.


    Adrian understood that Outer Disciples were talented in their own right and that Inner Disciples were even more talented. Then there were the Core Disciples: the actual monsters.


    But how big was the difference?


    Thankfully, the Shadow could read his conscious thoughts and answer his questions before he aimed them at it.


    ¡°If you say that an Outer Disciple is one in a hundred Cultivators and an Inner Disciple is one in a thousand Cultivators, then a Core Disciple is one in a billion. This entire continent doesn¡¯t even have a trillion people and yet it harbors five worthy of becoming Core Disciples,¡± said the Shadow and that gave Adrian an idea.


    It basically meant that he was out of his depth.


    But he wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.


    ¡°What level was your talent?¡± asked Adrian, but this time, he accidentally did so out loud.


    ¡°That of an Inner Disciple,¡± said the Shadow, and Adrian put a smirk on his face.


    If the Shadow could make it, then he would as well, no matter what.


    After all, he had the talent of an Inner Disciple.


    Even if he had to steal the talents and Cultivations of others, he¡¯d become immortal.


    No¡­ perpetual.


    Speaking out loud meant that, inevitably, someone would hear.


    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± asked Emma Beaumont, the only remaining Beaumont in her own clan¡¯s festival.


    It had to be humiliating.


    She was the same height as Eric and had curly ginger hair that reached the base of her neck. It looked puffy.


    ¡°Just giving myself some words of encouragement,¡± said Adrian and put a fake smile on his face. It was the kind that didn¡¯t involve the eyes but a lot of cheek.


    He¡¯d learned to do that well, being the son of a merchant.


    ¡°You were pretty good back in the Qualifier. You have some talent,¡± said Emma as she walked next to him, matching his pace so walking either faster or slower didn¡¯t shrug her off.


    What did she want?


    ¡°Six of them!¡± shouted the Shadow inside his head, making him wince.


    She was that talented as well?


    This was ridiculous.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t talent,¡± said Adrian.


    He was too used to referring to the speed of growth as talent thanks to the Shadow, so whenever someone used the term ¡®talent¡¯ to refer to combat prowess, Adrian felt something innately wrong about it.


    ¡°Oh?¡± she asked.


    When he opened his mouth to answer, he was stuck.


    What was he meant to say?


    That it was hard work?


    That¡¯d be plain arrogant but saying that it was dumb luck would make him sound weak, even if it was indeed luck.


    It took him a week to learn the Cloud Body Technique and almost an entire month to learn the Mystifying Palm whereas it would have taken mere days for a decently talented Cultivator to learn. Even with how fast it made the learning process, it took him that long.


    Now, he had better talent but how good it was relative to his old one, he did not know.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± said Adrian, at a loss for words.


    ¡°So that technique¡¯s nothing for you? Hmm, that¡¯s quite something,¡± she said and sagely nodded.


    ¡°I-¡± started Adrian but he got stuck again.


    ¡°Oh, and that eye you have is probably some priceless treasure, right?¡± asked Emma.


    ¡°The eye?¡± he asked and then remembered the mirror that merged with his eye.


    Did it merge or did it get replaced?


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s from a training accident. I was trying to learn a technique and failed,¡± he said.


    It was the most convincing excuse he could come up with.


    ¡°An Eye Technique? I see, I see,¡± said Emma and nodded a few times.


    The Shadow cackled inside his head but Adrian ignored him.

 5. Match

    There was something about official matches that reassured Adrian.


    Unlike fights, there were strict rules about losing and winning. That wasn¡¯t present out in the streets when you were fighting for your life. You could be backstabbed or ganged up on during a fight but during a match, everything was fairer.


    He loved matches but hated fights.


    But still, his opponent was a powerhouse: Diana Alcott, the Titan¡¯s daughter.


    While first generations were known for the purity of their Cultivation base, which wasn¡¯t present within Adrian, courtesy to his source of Cultivation being artificial, those of the second generation used that purity to increase their Cultivation speed.


    As the Titan was a first-generation, Diana, his daughter, was a second-generation.


    But that meant nothing right now, for they¡¯d be fighting rather than racing to the top.


    She stood on the other edge of the stage. It could fit twenty people effortlessly so it was far too large for two combatants. Winning via ring out was difficult but still manageable.


    Adrian had no intention to lose during the first match and it seemed that Diana shared that sentiment.


    While he had almost godlike techniques compared to everyone else in the tournament, he couldn¡¯t use them for long. He could only use both of them in a minute and none were sure-fire wins.


    Just means to an end.


    The judge was one of Lord Beaumont¡¯s people. It was an event that was being held by his house, after all. The old Cultivator that had gray hair and gleaming armor was meant to stop the fight if things turned sour rather than announce when the fight began and ended.


    Unlike the spectators, he stood within the barrier, for nothing that those of the Body Refinement Stage could faze someone at the peak of the Mind Refinement Stage.


    Almost leisurely, both of them walked to near the center until they were merely five meters from each other.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go easy on me just because I¡¯m a woman,¡± said Diana and gave him a bow, a palm, and a fist joined together.


    It was better to not bow at all than accidentally offend others by doing it wrong. It was easier to defeat someone that wasn¡¯t angry. They tended to hit softer.


    She said not to go easy on her, but if anything, it was Adrian who warranted easy-going. She was a giant that had an abundance of muscles whereas he had little to none of that.


    Being the son of a merchant, who was groomed from youth, didn¡¯t pay when you were trying to fight.


    But that only applied to mortals, for there was little to no difference in one¡¯s frame and build if it was Qi that did the heavy lifting. Even in that regard, though, Adrian was at least a stage below her.


    He was the last Cartilage Refinement Layer contestant to survive, for most of them were knocked out by the clash of Martial Intents during the Qualifier.


    While Tristan¡¯s was oppressive, it was nothing compared to the Shadow¡¯s and that was the only reason that he managed to survive.


    In one step, Diana managed to close the distance until there were only inches between them: the Far Step Technique. It let them elongate their legs using the enhanced flexibility from the Cartilage Refinement Layer and push it to its literal limits, then use that leg to step forward and retract it within a short timeframe.


    It was a simple one but one that eluded Adrian, for he didn¡¯t have a convenient Jade Slip to learn it from and it was a technique that was learned through repetition rather than comprehension.


    Her fist landed on his abdomen and Adrian coughed up all the air within his lungs. Contrary to expectation, he wasn¡¯t sent flying or pushed away, but instead, remained where he was all the while the vibrations from the strike reverberated through his body, causing him to feel nausea.


    Being hit by her was bad news.


    Before her next strike hit him, he activate the Cloud Body Technique and fluttered aside like a piece of paper in the wind. Right after dodging, he stopped using it and launched his own fist toward her nose.


    He had to be efficient or he couldn¡¯t win. He was the underdog so there was no room for playing fair nor honor.


    The punch was easily dodged by a sidestep and before Adrian could react, a heel struck his forehead and sent him tumbling to the ground.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Right before he fell, he used the Cloud Body Technique and instead of falling hard, he was blown aside by the wind and managed to regain his footing by the time another kick landed near his liver.


    That, though, didn¡¯t do much damage as there was nothing holding him in place, letting him sway with the attack.


    It hurt, though.


    That was when Adrian realized that the kicks didn¡¯t have the same rattling effect as the punches.


    ¡°You¡¯re sloppy,¡± she stated before her next flurry of attacks that included several punches, all of which Adrian tried his best to dodge and there were dozens of kicks that he took thanks to the Cloud Body Technique.


    Right after the flurry, Adrian felt that the Qi within him was near the halfway point.


    And he hadn¡¯t even attacked properly yet.


    To find some room to breathe, Adrian hopped back several times and the distance between them was around ten meters.


    The Far Step couldn¡¯t close the distance faster than Adrian could realize this way.


    ¡°Her foundation is good. Yours, on the other hand, is flimsy. Fancy techniques aren¡¯t all there are to fights, brat,¡± said the Shadow inside his head.


    ¡°I know that,¡± Adrian thought back.


    He didn¡¯t need lectures right now.


    ¡°Try to get above her. She¡¯s used to combat between mortals, not Cultivators,¡± suggested the Shadow and Adrian knew full well that it was the only way he could win.


    It was a troublesome opponent.


    Against someone that used weapons, the condition for victory was disarming them but against someone that didn¡¯t use weapons, like him, it was either a ring out or a knockout. That was far more difficult to achieve when he wasn¡¯t even decent at hand-to-hand combat in the first place.


    She used two Far Steps to close the distance, which let Adrian anticipate her and hop several meters back again.


    The Far Step was a Martial Technique that fully relied on the body and that meant it was innately straining on the body. Using it carelessly would render one unable to walk. Qi Techniques, on the other hand, did not strain the body in the least but required a large amount of Qi, which was why most who broke through to the Soul Refinement Stage abandoned Martial Techniques altogether and started practicing Qi Techniques.


    Maybe he could tire her out like this.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get anywhere if you just keep dodging, you know?¡± shouted Diana as she started to sprint at him rather than use the Far Step.


    She had a brain.


    ¡°No, but I might find a weak spot if I buy time,¡± said Adrian.


    Dodging was definitely easier than landing a blow but at some point, he¡¯d have to hit her. While jumping up was definitely an option, as the Shadow offered, he had to get to her blind spot for that to work.


    ¡°Words of a weak man,¡± said Diana as she pulled knuckle dusters from her pockets and slowly put them on. She didn¡¯t have a Spatial Ring as they were expensive and the Titan was neither a merchant nor a noble.


    There were absolutely no openings to take advantage of even as she put on the weapons.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong about being weak, is there?¡± asked Adrian as the first visages of a plan started to form inside his head.


    He just had to get to her blind spot without setting off alarms.


    Adrian pulled off his red silk shirt that most peasants wouldn¡¯t even dream of wearing, but here he was, ready to sacrifice it to win a match.


    Then again, the money with which it was bought came from selling his own soul so he felt that it was earned.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go easy on you. Since you¡¯re a coward,¡± said Diana and she started cracking her neck, pulling it from side-to-side.


    That was the chance!


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try fighting seriously as well,¡± said Adrian with a shrug and casually grabbed the shirt. Then, while she was slightly distracted, he threw the shirt at her as he made his way toward her.


    It created a blind spot which let Adrian jump up as he used the Cloud Body Technique to make himself lighter.


    While fluttering in the wind like paper was what happened if he didn¡¯t force his body to move, if he did do that, it¡¯d be as if he had no weight at all. That meant he could jump up to the tops of buildings with casual ease.


    This time, he wasn¡¯t jumping that high, instead of managing to hover around three meters above Diana.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless!¡± she roared and pulled aside the shirt with one hand and her eyes widened.


    That¡¯s when Adrian deactivated the Cloud Body Technique and took advantage of both his weight and gravity.


    If he¡¯d been of the Bone Refinement Layer, this blow would be far more devastating but this was the best he could manage.


    As he fell, Adrian slammed his right fist to the back of her head, taking advantage of the increased flexibility to spin around as he fell to add to the damage.


    Upon impact, Diana tumbled to the ground, unaware that Adrian was above and a sharp pain surged through Adrian¡¯s body as the impact from the blow shattered his right fist and forearms.


    ¡°You coward!¡± she growled after she fell.


    There was no time for rest.


    Adrian pounced at her as she struggled to climb back to her feet to place his palm on her back.


    Within an instant, he activated the Mystifying Palm Technique and dragged her over to the edge of the arena, which was closer thanks to his constant retreat from before all the while she helplessly struggled to strike him.


    Forcing all of his strength into his arms and legs, he pushed forward with his feet and spun while the palm was glued to Diana¡¯s back and mid-spin, he deactivated the Mystifying Palm so she¡¯d be thrown outside the ring.


    Victory by ring out.


    The judge only gave a nod of approval and that was the end of it from his side, but there came an abundance of boos and curses from the spectators. There were a few claps but they were far outnumbered by those that were not impressed by his method of victory.


    But no matter.


    He won and that was all that mattered.


    ¡°You fucking coward!¡± screamed Diana as she made her way back to the stage but she tumbled down, unable to jump over the raised pedestal of the stage as her body did not do what she wanted it to.


    A hit to the back of the head scrambled the mind¡¯s control over the body.


    ¡°I did what I had to do,¡± said Adrian and let out a long sigh.


    Was he not allowed to do that?


    How was he supposed to beat a monster like this without using cheap shots?


    Even if he hit her with his hardest, the only chance he had was to damage or disrupt her organs temporarily to gain an edge, which was exactly what he¡¯d done with her brain.


    If she was of the Internal Refinement Layer, the one after Muscle Refinement Layer, then it wouldn¡¯t be an issue for her as the organs, too, would benefit from enhanced durability but that wasn¡¯t so yet.


    If she was at that stage, she would have no equal.


    But that reminded him.


    If he couldn¡¯t even manage Diana, how would he even stand a chance against Tristan?


    To think he was actually excited about a fight with him¡­

 6. Token

    ¡°It hurts,¡± grumbled Adrian as he lay on a comfy chair, unable to move too hard. While both Diana and he had similar power outputs, the difference in their durabilities showed when Adrian¡¯s full-power strike damaged him rather than her.


    At least it rattled her brain and gave him a brief opening to win by ring out.


    He was waiting for the matches to end and was watching from one of the halfway-VIP seats where the participants were.


    The ones that were still in the game, at least.


    ¡°How much does the Bone Mending Elixir hurt?¡± thought Adrian but the Shadow was nowhere to be found.


    It was the simplest solution to his current dilemma but he¡¯d heard that the elixir inflicted a pain far worse than the injury and he was rolling on the ground with just this.


    ¡°That was a good trick you used there,¡± said Tristan as he pat Adrian¡¯s back far too hard, making him shout out in pain.


    ¡°That hurts!¡± he yelled.


    ¡°Man up, Adrian. On the Martial Path, such injuries are dime a dozen,¡± said Tristan.


    Was that his idea of encouragement?


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t deal well with pain. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± he asked.


    The current match was the one between Emma Beaumont and Cranford¡¯s goon. It seemed that he was competent but the fight ended far too fast. Unlike a fight between bare-handed opponents, the match ended once caused an injury that was enough to hinder the opponent.


    He¡¯d heard that Emma used a saber but seeing it in action was slightly different.


    The fighting style was violent as if she was trying to hack someone to pieces rather than hit them precisely.


    That fact alone let her overpower Cranford¡¯s male goon with a flurry of assaults until his arms fragmented from trying to block the strikes and he gave up, in which blocking was more practical than dodging due to her immense speed.


    Speed was an unknown factor as their speed wasn¡¯t magnified by becoming a Cultivator. It wouldn¡¯t be increased until they reached the Mind Refinement Stage, which was too far away, meaning they had to increase it the same way they would have as mortals: by training.


    ¡°That technique you used against her was interesting. I don¡¯t think any expert on the continent knows that,¡± said Tristan.


    Only the ones that finished their matches were allowed in the booth so only Adrian and Tristan were there at the moment, for only two matches had ended.


    Three, including Emma¡¯s.


    ¡°Well, I guess my master isn¡¯t from this continent, then,¡± said Adrian while chuckling lightly.


    When he tried to shrug, only to wince in pain.


    Once all the matches ended, he¡¯d buy a Bone Mending Elixir on the way back and get this over with, even if it hurt a lot for a short period of time.


    It¡¯d take a week for it to properly heal without the elixir and the next match was in three days.


    ¡°That means it¡¯ll be fresh,¡± said Tristan and gave him a grin, ¡°I¡¯ve never fought the disciple of someone that strong before. It¡¯s two firsts at once with you.¡±


    He was actually excited to fight Adrian?


    How in the hell did he expect Adrian to even match his strength?Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t flatter me like that. I¡¯m not that impressive,¡± mumbled Adrian.


    That was when the door lightly creaked open and Emma Beaumont walked in.


    ¡°Beaumont!¡± exclaimed Tristan, ¡°That was a magnificent style. I¡¯ve never seen someone that used a style like that! Wanna spar before the next match?¡±


    He really was a fighting addict.


    ¡°I¡¯m aiming for the finals so we¡¯ll probably meet there,¡± said Emma as she walked up to the seat next to Adrian and took a seat on it, ¡°Why spoil the results before then?¡±


    She was dressed in a tight black shirt and pants when fighting but now, she was adorned in a comfortable red dress, her arms bare. She¡¯d even changed into high heels after the match.


    Did she keep clothes in her Spatial Ring?


    Maybe that was common practice and it was Adrian who was the oddball.


    His shirt was ruined so he was in a dark green vest that was sewn with cloth: something only merchants and nobles could afford to wear casually.


    Tristan was standing behind Adrian¡¯s chair, one hand placed on its back.


    ¡°You look like you¡¯re in pain,¡± said Emma, and Adrian suppressed the urge to shout out his response.


    It was easy for him to do.


    Before he became a Cultivator and found about the Shadow, he was at the mercy of his father and that meant he had to learn how to sound respectful.


    It¡¯d serve him well in the future when the people he ran into became more and more unreasonable.


    ¡°Would you fancy a Sense Severance Elixir? I happen to have one on hand,¡± she said and placed one leg over the other elegantly and turned her head to the side somewhat sharply, letting her puffy hair sway slightly as she did so.


    Was she trying to show off her wealth?


    That was likely.


    ¡°Whoah. You guys are rich,¡± said Tristan, eyes wide and mouth agape.


    The Sense Severance Elixir had the effect of making the body unable to feel anything for half a day. That applied to pain so it¡¯d help him get through this slog and bear the pain from the Bone Mending Elixir.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Two of our Elders are Alchemists so getting my hands on it was easy,¡± she said and Tristan nodded along.


    Alchemists could easily create ten vials of elixir from a single herb and enhance its effectiveness. That meant they could make an immense amount of money if they wished to, but most of them belonged to the Noble Houses so it was rarely sold and often given.


    The number of Alchemists in Blue Pavilion City was merely two and in the entire Empire, there were only ten of them.


    Even House Ulrich, one of the greatest Noble Houses in the area, didn¡¯t have one.


    However, House Beaumont was on a completely different level in terms of resources and had two of them.


    ¡°But that¡¯s even more impressive,¡± said Tristan.


    Tristan didn¡¯t know the Beaumonts had Alchemists?


    Just how sheltered was he?


    ¡°Here,¡± she said and casually threw the vial filled with precious medicine at Adrian as if she didn¡¯t care if it fell.


    Adrian extended his hand and just when he realized he couldn¡¯t grasp it fast enough, he activated the Mystifying Palm Technique and made it stick to his hand.


    ¡°There are no strings attached,¡± said Emma and gave him a wink.


    ¡°But I can practically see them,¡± said Adrian with a wry grin.


    She was definitely trying to win him over.


    ¡°But you won¡¯t bite so there¡¯s no difference,¡± said Emma and shrugged, ¡°Since your loyalty already belongs to someone.¡±


    Her eyes said otherwise, peering at him as if he was prey and she was the predator. Rather, as if he was the fish and she was the fisher that could catch a fish just by swinging around her fishing rod.


    Did she figure it out?


    Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t have used the Mystifying Palm but if she truly realized that he wasn¡¯t under the protection of any Noble House, she¡¯d probably start making moves.


    Moves that wouldn¡¯t harm him but still, they were moves.


    Tristan just stared at them with a tilted head, seemingly unable to figure out what they were talking about.


    ¡°Just drink it,¡± she said and turned to the arena below, ¡°If you really feel bad, feel free to pay me back with the ingredients. It wouldn¡¯t be a hassle for you to find them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t keep such low-grade herbs in my rings,¡± said the Shadow, suddenly.


    ¡°Yes, but father provides them,¡± thought back Adrian.


    ¡°Hmph, that child couldn¡¯t even tell apart a grass from herb. Yet you tell me that he sold anything other than what I¡¯ve given him?¡± the Shadow asked.


    Adrian mentally nodded, which was simply rolling his eyes.


    The booth was directly opposite to the other VIP booth where the parents sat in so it had a great view.


    ¡°Well, if you insist,¡± said Adrian as he popped the wooden cap of the vial.


    Within it was glowing blue liquid, extracted from the Moon Flower that only grew in places where the sunlight never reached but the moonlight did. He chugged it down and felt the chilly liquid enter his body and spread all around.


    It was the refreshing kind of cold rather than the freezing kind, and within moments, he could move around without feeling the pain.


    His body could be damaged, though, but he just wouldn¡¯t feel anything.


    ¡°The fight hasn¡¯t started yet,¡± said Tristan after Emma kept staring at the empty field for more than a minute.


    ¡°I know that,¡± said Emma almost the instant Tristan finished but she still kept on staring at the stage, as if she wanted to burn holes into them.


    What was wrong with her?


    After almost ten minutes of awkward silence, the next fight began.

 7. Letter

    ¡°How old are you, brat?¡± asked the Shadow as Adrian sat in a lotus position, eyes closed.


    To properly absorb the Bone Mending Elixir¡¯s effects, he had to actively absorb the ambient Qi and temper his body with it. In the process, the elixir¡¯s innate Qi would be released and absorbed to temper the bones.


    Adrian ignored the Shadow and proceeded to absorb the Qi within the elixir.


    ¡°Answer me,¡± mumbled the Shadow and he repeated that phrase several hundred times within a minute, forcing Adrian to answer.


    ¡°What?!¡± he roared inside his head.


    ¡°How old are you?¡± asked the Shadow.


    ¡°You should know,¡± said Adrian as he slipped, accidentally saying that out loud.


    ¡°Days turn into years and years turn into centuries within my tomb, brat. I know not of your age,¡± it explained and Adrian grumbled underneath his breath.


    ¡°Sixteen,¡± thought Adrian, conjuring as much of an annoyed tone as he could.


    ¡°Yet you are so innocent,¡± it said and earned a glare from Adrian, which manifested in him glaring at his reflection in the window.


    Glaring at one of his eyes was the equivalent of glaring at the Shadow, for the mirror took the place of an eye. At least that¡¯s the effect he was going for.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± he yelled inside his head.


    ¡°It means that you need a bride, as any boy your age should,¡± said the Shadow.


    Bride?


    ¡°I have no need for them,¡± said Adrian, gritting his teeth.


    He was interfering with his Cultivation about nonsense like this?


    Ridiculous. Simply and utterly ridiculous!


    ¡°Perhaps not today, but what happens in a hundred years¡¯ time? You dream of Perpetuity and if you have a bride to give birth to hundreds of children, once you are at the Nascent World Genesis Stage, you will have a Clan that can easily take down what you call armies on this measly continent,¡± said the Shadow.


    Adrian tried to tune it out but it was inside his head: a most unwelcome place for random chatter to exist in.


    ¡°I have no intention of meddling in romantic affairs. It¡¯s a waste of time,¡± Adrian roared at the mirror.


    ¡°It is beneficial for cultivation as well,¡± said the Shadow, but this time, his voice didn¡¯t come from inside his head.


    It came from the mirror.


    Within the mirror¡¯s reflection, Adrian could see the Shadow¡¯s visage floating behind him but when he turned to look away, he found nothing in the real world.


    It did say it¡¯d be using a mirror, so perhaps mirrors that he looked at let the Shadow manifest within.


    ¡°Tell me, brat, have you heard of the Dual Cultivation Method?¡± it asked.


    Everyone had heard of it at some point.


    The vessel of the female became the cauldron and within it, the talents of both Cultivators would mingle and the dominant of the two Cultivators would retain both their own talent and half of the other, whereas the inferior would lose half of their talents.


    It was a cruel and vile method.


    ¡°I¡¯ll never engage in that,¡± hissed Adrian.


    ¡°But your talent is pathetic. How do you assume I¡¯ve reached Immortality, child? You take advantage of the fools and never let your guard down. The Path of Dao is one that is cruel and you often have to resort to those vile methods you abhor,¡± said the Shadow.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sign of weakness,¡± said Adrian, ¡°Relying on another.¡±


    ¡°Yet you rely on me,¡± said the Shadow as its grin appeared. It was a portal on its body that led to a world of fire, ¡°Hypocritical, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re different,¡± said Adrian, now a mere whisper.


    ¡°How so? Because I was promised your soul? Because I offended you?¡± it asked, now the same mocking tone he¡¯d had in the cave in his voice.


    There was no reason.


    He couldn¡¯t find a reason, let alone an excuse that wouldn¡¯t make him sound bad.


    ¡°I am inside your head, brat. I know you better than you know yourself, it seems,¡± said the Shadow.


    It started to cackle and it felt like it lasted for hours as Adrian froze in place, staring at the Shadow¡¯s visage in the mirror. His eyes focused far too hard on him, as if he meant to kill it.


    ¡°Ah, Killing Intent. How refreshing?¡± it said.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± whispered Adrian.


    ¡°You¡¯re on the verge of tears,¡± it mocked.


    ¡°Shut up, shut up, shut up-¡± mumbled Adrian like a mantra.


    ¡°You cannot hurt me, brat, so I will do as I please,¡± it said, the last part spoken word-by-word, with slight pauses between them to give emphasis to each word.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± roared Adrian and with one punch, shattered the mirror into a hundred pieces.


    Fragments of the mirror embedded themselves deep into his flesh and drew blood.


    Even when he hadn¡¯t reached the Flesh Refinement Layer, simply being a Cultivator enhanced one¡¯s durability to become as if it was made of wood. While glass could pierce through wood, it didn¡¯t make it far.


    It didn¡¯t and thus, only a few droplets poured down onto the expensive rug that lay below the mirror, staining it red.


    ¡°Irritating, is it not?¡± it asked once again, now within his head.


    Adrian didn¡¯t answer this time.


    ¡°How does it feel? To be helpless? To wish to hurt another, but have no means to? To hear the ramblings of another with no means to cover your ears?¡± asked the Shadow.


    It paused for a few seconds as an uneasy silence reigned supreme.


    ¡°This is what you are to me, brat. A thorn in my side that I can never remove. You worm your way into my side and treat me as if I am worse than dirt. And I could do nothing but agree. Know that I, too, can be to you what you are to me,¡± it said, its voice less mocking and more condescending now, ¡°Know to respect your elders.¡±


    He ignored it.


    That¡¯s when a series of loud thuds came from the door.


    His father always knocked with the handle of his cane and this was the signature sound of that.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Leave me alone,¡± said Adrian, loud enough for his father to hear from outside the door.


    ¡°You have a letter from the Beaumonts. Take it,¡± said Thomas, his voice slightly muffled by the door between them.


    Letter?


    ¡°Ah, the princess makes her moves,¡± said the Shadow within his head.


    Adrian walked over to the door and grabbed the envelope from his father¡¯s hands, who was dressed in his formal attire. There was little difference between what he wore at home and what he wore for business and it all came down to whether he wore a jacket over his shirt or none at all.


    At home, he wore none. For business, he wore a heavy trench coat over a jacket or simply a brown jacket that went with his brown dress pants. It had square patterns over it, which the other merchants saw as the attire of a show-off.


    That would be correct, too, for Thomas Anderson was a show-off.


    One of the best, or rather, worst, in fact.


    ¡°Do not embarrass me,¡± said Thomas and he sharply turned to leave, ¡°You are allowed to use Fifty Green Crystals from the treasury. Buy the most expensive treasures.¡±


    Allowed to use Green Crystals?


    One of them could buy houses!


    Not mansions like their own, as those cost three.


    ¡°What did you mean?¡± Adrian thought to the Shadow after slamming his door shut.


    He needed something to vent out his frustration on, and it happened to be the door and the mirror. The rage from before was reduced but it wasn¡¯t fully gone yet.


    The insignia of House Beaumont, the shape of a sword stabbed into the carcass of a lion, was on the seal.


    He slid the letter out of the envelope and unfolded the paper.


    It invited him to the Imperial Auction House¡¯s newest auction, but it wasn¡¯t from the Auction House itself.


    Rather, it was from Emma Beaumont.


    Only Nobles were allowed to participate in the Imperial Auction House¡¯s auctions. It meant that no matter how rich one was if they weren¡¯t a Noble, they weren¡¯t allowed to participate at all.


    If a Noble invited you, on the other hand, it was possible. No one had invited his father to date, for it was an unofficial message to the public. It meant that those invited were almost a part of the family.


    In short, it meant that they were engaged.


    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± said Adrian.


    Turning someone down was bad for his father¡¯s name and showing off would make the Merchant Sect vomit blood for not allowing him in.


    ¡°You are already old enough,¡± encouraged the Shadow.


    ¡°If I accept this invitation, then I¡¯ll be a part of House Beaumont. It¡¯s a bad offer,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°All those resources, within your reach,¡± said the Shadow, ¡°You have nothing to lose. Only they do.¡±


    He wouldn¡¯t be losing anything, for most marriages into a Noble House was more along the lines of becoming a vassal of theirs.


    Initially, Adrian was planning on winning the status of a vassal from the tournament and then giving the title to his father, but if he agreed to this, then he would be the vassal rather than his father.


    It choked his freedom.


    But he was aiming for the top and he needed to take shortcuts, both to prove the Shadow wrong and to reach Perpetuity.


    He stared at the letter in his hand and rubbed his forehead.


    It just made his life a lot more complicated.

 8. Meridian

    There was little that the Auction Houses couldn¡¯t get their hands on. Anything that the market couldn¡¯t afford to sell went to them and that meant anything that was worth buying, especially for Cultivators, was on the market. Then anything that couldn¡¯t be placed in a normal Auction House was placed in an Imperial Auction House for greater security and due to the oppressive system of the empire.


    Every region had only one branch of the Imperial Auction House and that meant it was one of the few places where nobles from different regions came face-to-face with others.


    It was a custom for only the heirs to attend, as the nobles had long since turned it into the perfect meeting opportunity for the next generation.


    That meant no one from the older generations accompanied them save for a few bodyguards, all of them in the service of them non-nobles but nonetheless a part of their respective clans.


    There were eighteen carriages and carts in total and a total of four Noble Families were sending all of their heirs.


    Halfway through the journey, it was apparent that the total allowance of everyone in the carriages combined couldn¡¯t reach half of Adrian¡¯s.


    ¡°Do you think no one can afford the Screeching Ginseng this year as well?¡± asked Joseph, the younger of the Demon Twins, ¡°I think that the Springwells might afford it this time. I hear Theodore has been saving up for a year for it.¡±


    ¡°How expensive is it?¡± asked Adrian.


    The Demon Twins were seated opposite to Adrian and Emma. The older of the twins rested his head on the window and had his eyes closed, presumably sleeping. Joseph, on the other hand, was eager to chat.


    Emma was busy trying to look impressive, conducting herself with every bit of grace that was expected of a noble lady and some more.


    ¡°Two Green Crystals,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the most expensive item?¡± asked Adrian with a raised eyebrow.


    Joseph nodded.


    ¡°I see, I see. Even for the son of a merchant, it¡¯s too much,¡± said Emma and nodded several times, ¡°If you have need for crystals, feel free to ask me. After all, I am a noble.¡±


    Joseph snorted and Emma gave him a glare.


    ¡°What?¡± she questioned but she managed to look elegant as she lashed out.


    Somehow.


    ¡°Erm¡­ how much do you think Mr. Anderson has?¡± asked Joseph.


    ¡°Well, since he¡¯s a merchant, I assume he has around thirty Green Crystals at any one time. That means Adrian probably has an allowance of one or two,¡± she said, each part of her sentence with a slight pause between them as she did the math.


    Joseph snorted again.


    ¡°What?¡± she growled this time, the illusion of elegance falling apart like it wasn¡¯t there in the first place.


    ¡°Okay, so you think Adrian has one or two,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°You have a problem with that?¡± she asked.


    Joseph turned to Adrian and gave him a smile.


    The only one that knew how much his allowance was Joseph, as he was at the treasury with him. It was the only place where such a large amount of funds could be kept safely and nobles and merchants alike stored their profits there.


    That¡¯s when Emma turned to Adrian as well.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Now that he looked at her with eyes that checked her out as a woman rather than a Cultivator, she was a fine lady. While she wasn¡¯t an otherworldly beauty that could start wars, it was one that several suitors would fight over. There was a sort of charm in her that made her seem more mature than her age would suggest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± said Adrian.


    Joseph nodded cheerfully, possibly elated at the opportunity to tease Emma.


    ¡°How much did you bring?¡± asked Emma as she leaned on him and placed her head on his shoulder.


    It was uncomfortable, not because of the sexual tension but due to her bone and flesh density being higher than that of Adrian¡¯s, meaning far heavier than him. Her head alone made him strain himself to keep his back straight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think I deserve to know?¡± she cooed.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it common courtesy to say how much you have first? You know, since you¡¯re a noble lady and all,¡± added Joseph.


    ¡°Oh, shush. He¡¯s my betrothed. It¡¯s obvious that such things do not apply between us,¡± she said.


    Betrothed?


    Just like that?


    For all her nonsense about being a noble lady, she was fickle in declaring him her husband.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± she asked.


    It wasn¡¯t all that bad of a deal.


    The Shadow affirmed that the same benefits as a First Generation applied for him, even if the source of his talent was artificial so both sides would get what they want.


    Adrian would get greater resources that were barred from peasants and merchants while the Beaumonts would get a refreshment to their Blood Dilution. And among the rewards, there was Emma, a noble lady.


    It meant that no one would try to drag him into marriage later on so it made the pressure on him lighter.


    ¡°She has Three Green Crystals,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°You¡¯re simply jealous,¡± she said and then addressed Adrian, ¡°That said, how much do you have?¡±


    ¡°More than you,¡± said Adrian, and Joseph snorted again.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said and covered her mouth with one hand, ¡°It seems I¡¯ve been overconfident.¡±


    Joseph snorted again.


    ¡°Hmph. My date has more of an allowance than both of you combined,¡± she said and put a smirk on her face.


    Joseph shrugged.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here,¡± said Joseph and jumped up.


    Here?


    What kind of nonsense was that?


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been two hours,¡± said Adrian.


    The Shadow chuckled inside his head.


    What was it laughing at?


    ¡°The Auction House is in Dreamy Firmament City. It¡¯s the closest city to Blue Pavilion City,¡± said Emma and gave him a wink, ¡°Try not to get lost.¡±


    ¡°Umm, you don¡¯t need to. I¡¯m good at navigating,¡± said Adrian as he raised a hand.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be too busy admiring the scenery to pay attention to where you¡¯re going,¡± assured Emma.


    Despite having an abundance of freedom, both financial and literal, he never wandered into another city. He¡¯d visited a few villages close to Blue Pavilion City and often visited the Shadow¡¯s Tomb, but he never entered another city.


    Cities were dangerous places, especially when you managed to look like a show-off without intending to. Not to mention looking like a prime target for robberies and all sorts of crimes.


    That issue was partially mitigated by becoming a Cultivator.


    Once the door opened, Adrian¡¯s eyes widened and his mouth hung agape, staring at the abundance of mist that covered the area.


    ¡°This place is full of Qi,¡± mumbled Adrian.


    ¡°The city is built on a World Meridian. Don¡¯t pay it much mind,¡± said the Shadow but Adrian couldn¡¯t help but look at it in amazement.


    Only the Shadow¡¯s tomb had this much.


    Cities couldn¡¯t have that much due to the lack of nature to provide the energy. The grass and the trees were quelled and often only a small amount remained to provide Qi to the world. It meant that this World Meridian thing generated the Qi, or rather, carried an abundance of it while a part of it got leaked to the world.


    That¡¯d only be true if a World Meridian was the same as a Cultivator¡¯s Meridians.


    ¡°On the Central Continents, even villages are built on World Meridians. Precious Herbs only grow around them,¡± it explained further.


    That made sense.


    A large amount of Qi would mean that it could bestow anything that basked in its brilliance for long enough extraordinary characteristics.


    ¡°What was this place called again?¡± asked Adrian after he got off and looked around.


    The Qi looked like mist but it didn¡¯t hinder vision like normal mist would. Instead, it was like the color of everything was more vivid if you saw through it. It added to the beauty of the world and seemed more like a faint trace of steam in terms of obscuring vision: negligible.


    But what caught his attention was the sky.


    It was a light shade of pink that seemed to pulsate with life every few seconds. What looked like stars swam in the ocean that was the sky, creating ripples as they did so.


    To think that mortals couldn¡¯t see it.


    He felt bad.


    ¡°Dreamy Firmament City,¡± said Emma and she pulled him closer, crossed an arm with his, and leaned close to his ears to whisper, ¡°Try to act like we¡¯re closer than we are. We need to sell the act.¡±


    Sell the act?


    That¡¯s when Adrian¡¯s eyes fell on the large building on the other side of the paved road, numerous carriages with noble insignias on their sides parked side-by-side.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do the usual,¡± she said with a raised finger as both Joseph and the now-awake Joshua rolled their eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s the usual?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a dramatic entrance, obviously,¡± said Emma and gave him a wink, ¡°We only go in when the most expensive item comes up. Until then, let''s go sightseeing.¡±

 9. Secret

    There were few things as glamorous as an adventure but traveling was the second greatest thing, as Adrian found out within moments of entering Dreamy Firmament City. The nature and the ambiance made it seem far more mystical than he¡¯d expected it to look.


    ¡°I¡¯m not used to this,¡± said Adrian as they walked through the market, arms crossed with each other.


    She wasn¡¯t clinging onto him but it felt awkward to walk with his arms not in his pockets or being swung around as he sprinted at his fastest.


    ¡°We just have to look like we¡¯re engaged,¡± she said.


    ¡°We are,¡± he said.


    ¡°But we must look like we are as well,¡± she said.


    ¡°And what does that even mean? You don¡¯t see people walking like they¡¯re glued to each other like this,¡± he said.


    ¡°So that I won¡¯t get any more suitors. They¡¯re annoying pests,¡± she said and then held a finger to her lips, ¡°Keep this a secret from my father, though.¡±


    It¡¯d be a hollow marriage?


    That served his purposes well. Focusing on family relations was his weakest suit and he wasn¡¯t looking forward to any of that.


    Not when he had his eyes set on immortality of the greatest caliber.


    ¡°Where exactly are we going?¡± he asked as they started to gradually make their way from the market into a shady part of the town with smaller buildings and half-naked ladies lined up around the road.


    Deep down, he knew where they were headed but he just needed her to say that they weren¡¯t going there, of all places.


    If she was, then she was serious about the act.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the kind of sightseeing I thought we¡¯d be doing,¡± he added as they went deeper into the street and reached a large building that looked like an inn, with four floors.


    There was a large sign with a bed on it, for those that couldn¡¯t read but next to it, there was its name: Daylight Inn.


    ¡°We¡¯re being tailed,¡± whispered Emma as they walked through the door.


    They stood out like sore thumbs with their clothing.


    Most of the ones inside either wore thin dresses made of cheap fabric or worn clothes that looked like they¡¯d been passed down from their grandparents.


    On the other hand, Adrian was wearing a brown tunic with long sleeves that looked like it was sewn just yesterday that reached his ankles while Emma was wearing a dress with a dark red gown that had gold embroidery around its shoulders and back.


    ¡°Room for two, please,¡± she said and nudged his arm.


    He didn¡¯t have coins on him¡­


    After a long sigh, he placed his hand on the table and conjured a Red Crystal from his Spatial Ring, which may have seemed to appear from nothing for a mortal.


    ¡°And drinks,¡± he added.


    ¡°R-right this way, please,¡± said the man behind the counter after he snatched the crystal on the table with impressive speed, tucked it into his pocket, and pulled out a key from the drawer.


    Then the man scurried out from behind the counter and pounced up the stairs to guide them to a room. When Adrian tried to run as well, a tug from Emma stopped him.


    Their room was on the fourth floor where there were only two rooms, contrary to the dozens of the other floors. By the time they got there, the door was open and the innkeeper was standing near the door, holding it open.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that,¡± said Emma and grabbed the key from the innkeeper¡¯s hands with a smirk.


    She shut the door after walking in, locked the door, and collapsed on the bed, face in the pillow.


    There was only one bed, despite her saying that she wanted a room for two.


    ¡°It¡¯s exhausting,¡± she mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.


    ¡°Why did we even leave the carriage?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°To walk around and look pretty,¡± she said.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    That made Adrian think.


    Did only Emma act in public despite the exhaustion or did all Noble Ladies do so?


    ¡°Everyone has to see you. Even father and those two gremlins,¡± she said.


    From what Adrian gathered, she was the older of the three geniuses from House Beaumont, currently eighteen years old whereas the other two were only sixteen and fifteen respectively.


    It made sense that she was bossing around the Demon Twins, as seniority determined authority in most Noble Houses. Even if they were geniuses.


    Adrian sat down on the ground in a lotus position, closed both eyes, and tapped into the ambient Qi. Rather than waiting for him to guide them toward his body, the Qi seemed to want to come into his body.


    He let it do that.


    As the refreshing energy surged through his body, he entered a state of heightened awareness: hearing and smelling everything in the inn.


    The smell was putrid and the noises were everything but decent, forcing him to snap back to reality.


    ¡°Ha, you¡¯re some moron,¡± said Emma after a short chuckle.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of Qi here. I couldn¡¯t resist,¡± he said.


    ¡°It makes no difference for us. We can¡¯t even fully absorb what we have back in Blue Pavilion City. World Meridians are just places that look pretty to us,¡± she said.


    Can¡¯t absorb all of it?


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the first thing about Cultivation,¡± said the Shadow inside his head, clearly snooping around his thoughts.


    ¡°Excuse me, but you never taught me anything, did you?¡± asked Adrian inside his head.


    ¡°You are not qualified,¡± said the Shadow, and that single line made him give up on arguing.


    It was freeloading inside his head now and he couldn¡¯t do anything, even if he wanted to. The only thing that he could threaten the Shadow with was gone as well.


    ¡°There¡¯s an upper limit to how much Qi you can absorb at a time. If you try to go beyond that limit, you¡¯d rupture your Core but we haven¡¯t formed any so it¡¯s fine. Our bodies are passively absorbing the Qi to gradually increase our physiques in the first place. Cultivating at our stage just means we have to guide the energy to strengthen parts of our body rather than try to absorb more. There¡¯s no difference between consciously cultivating and passively doing so,¡± she said.


    Adrian¡¯s mouth opened wide and his jaws hung loose.


    So he wasn¡¯t Cultivating at all?


    Emma slowly stood up and walked up to a small shelf on which were several bottles with dark liquid along with some glasses.


    She poured one for herself and then another one as she explained.


    ¡°Father and the Patriarch seem to think you have a Master. But I realized you didn¡¯t after our first conversation,¡± she said and let out a deep sigh, ¡°It¡¯s easy to spot. Don¡¯t talk about Cultivation at all. Don¡¯t act surprised by things like this and we might just sell the act. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be bad for both of us.¡±


    She sipped on the contents of her glass and placed the other one on a small table between two comfortable chairs that were placed next to each other, then seated herself on one of them.


    ¡°Get up. You look like a slave down there,¡± said Emma.


    Adrian climbed up to his feet and took a seat opposite her.


    ¡°Sitting in a lotus position doesn¡¯t do anything. Don¡¯t do it again,¡± she said, ¡°Other than make you look like a fool, that is. If that¡¯s what you¡¯re going for, feel free to keep doing that.¡±


    It didn¡¯t?


    The Shadow snorted inside his head.


    ¡°I do have a Master. He just doesn¡¯t teach me anything other than techniques,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Oh, please. Even the Crown Prince wouldn¡¯t have a Spatial Ring like that,¡± she said and that was when he realized he was screwed.


    He was openly wearing the Spatial Ring that contained the Jade Slips.


    ¡°Just kidding,¡± she said and gave him a wink, ¡°But it¡¯s this easy to make a fool out of you. So I¡¯ll be at your side whenever you¡¯re in the presence of other Nobles. I¡¯ll try to be there and if I¡¯m not, avoid them at all costs. Say you¡¯re Cultivating or make up some other excuse.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re evil,¡± he said.


    ¡°Every Noble is. Even that good-for-nothing gremlin Joseph,¡± said Emma, ¡°He¡¯s been sizing you up all day. I¡¯d say he¡¯s trying to drag you into a spar in front of everyone else.¡±


    Was he?


    ¡°You stand no chance, though,¡± she added.


    ¡°Why is everyone suddenly pissed at me?¡± he asked as he swirled the liquid in the grass and took a whiff.


    It smelled like wine.


    He knew because his father only ever drank wine, and he smelled like this. Rather, his clothes did when he spilled it on them.


    Eric Cranford snapped at him a few days ago and then Joseph was also going after him. The Nobles had a real issue if they got enraged that easily.


    ¡°Only Joseph and Eric,¡± she said, ¡°That time you used the Cloud Body Technique, you accidentally caused a Martial Disturbance in Joseph. Since Eric was fighting him at the time, he feels that you defeated Joseph while you weren¡¯t even paying attention to him.¡±


    She sipped on the wine once and gulped a few times before placing it back down.


    Then she put on a content smirk on her face and raised her head, fixed her hair, and swung it up while she did so.


    ¡°For my troubles, I want something, of course,¡± she said and raised a finger, ¡°Anything will do.¡±


    The Shadow chuckled.


    ¡°Be quiet,¡± thought Adrian.


    ¡°She reminds me of you, but with none of your cards to play,¡± it said.


    Emma stared at her with expectant eyes: slightly wide but with a surprising lack of emotions.


    ¡°After the auction,¡± said Adrian.


    He didn¡¯t even know what or how much the Shadow had. It seemed like he didn¡¯t have much aside from a vast treasury of Crystals and golden coins.


    It was too much for a person to spend in a lifetime or two but the priceless treasures were the herbs and the seven techniques engraved on the Jade Slips, as well as the dozen or so Spatial Rings that contained weapons.


    Weapons!


    ¡°I¡¯ve only collected a few Aural knives to make skinning Aural Beasts easier,¡± said the Shadow, stopping the thought process dead in its tracks.


    But Aural Weapons of an Immortal ought to be decent, even if they were only used for pelting and skinning.


    ¡°They¡¯re nothing special,¡± it said as if trying to counter him at every step of the way.


    The window cracked and Adrian covered, out of instinct.


    Once he opened his eyes, he found a spear stabbed into a wall.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s time for our dramatic entrance,¡± said Emma and hopped back to her feet after finishing her cup of wine in a moment.


    Adrian, too, downed his entire glass and stood up.


    ¡°So¡­ ugh, what does it mean?¡± he asked after he got up.


    ¡°It means we gotta make a dramatic entrance,¡± said Emma and gestured at the spear with her head, ¡°Put that in your ring and activate the Cloud Body Technique. Then all you have to do is follow my instructions.¡±

 10. Show

    ¡°Should we really indulge that habit of hers?¡± asked Joshua, the elder of the twins, lounging on a chair.


    Every house had a booth for themselves. There was no way to tell who, among the house, was bidding in the auction if you didn¡¯t recognize their voices.


    ¡°Why not? It makes us seem cooler,¡± said Joseph and shrugged.


    He sat on another chair, hugging a comfy pillow as he looked at what happened below.


    ¡°Still, father is such a cheapskate. He never gives us enough,¡± said Joseph after a long sigh.


    ¡°He gave us Three Green Crystals. Don¡¯t be spoiled,¡± said Joshua, ¡°That¡¯s six in total. It¡¯s more than peasant families make in their lifetime.¡±


    ¡°But we aren¡¯t peasants,¡± he pouted.


    ¡°Shush,¡± said Joshua as his eyes narrowed.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Joseph.


    ¡°The ginseng isn¡¯t the last item in the auction,¡± said Joshua, a smirk on his face, ¡°It should be the the third from last. This is absurd. Theodore¡¯s already used four crystals on this one. He¡¯ll never afford the next item. If all three of us pool together our money, we might be able to show off.¡±


    ¡°Five Green Crystals going once,¡± said the host and tapped his hammer on the gavel, for dramatic effect, ¡°Five Green Crystals going twice. Is there no one that¡¯ll match Young Master Springwell¡¯s bid?¡±


    ¡°Seven Green Crystals,¡± said a familiar voice.


    ¡°What!¡± shouted Joshua as he stood up in shock, staring down at the public booth.


    The show-offs liked to bid in the public booth and that meant Emma frequented that place.


    An eerie silence reigned over the auction house but soon murmurs followed.


    There were smaller Noble Houses, too, and vassals as well. Not everyone at the auction was a big shot like the Beaumonts and the Springwells.


    ¡°S-seven Green Crystals!¡± shouted the host, ¡°We have a bid of Seven Green Crystals, everyone!¡±


    ¡°Hmph,¡± snorted one of the too-many-to-count nobles in the room. His most defining feature was his cleft chin and loose black hair that reached his shoulders. From behind, most would see him as a lady that wore masculine clothing but would soon be proven wrong by his pronounced jawline and goatee, ¡°As late as always.¡±


    ¡°All but the last items are for the peasants, as they say,¡± said Emma, a resting bitch face, a big frown on her face contrary to her cheery demeanor and her eyes expressionless, ¡°Were you actually bidding on them, Young Master Springwell?¡±


    Of course, linked to her arm was Adrian, for intimidating purposes or something of the ilk.


    ¡°Umm, sir,¡± said one of the servants with a fancy vest over a clean white shirt, approaching the duo, ¡°A-are you sure that you bid Seven Green Crystals? There¡¯s a no-refund policy and if you will, we need proof.¡±


    Up above, Joshua stared at the scenery below, eyes alternating between narrowed and as wide as it could get.


    ¡°How much does he even have?¡± he mumbled underneath his breath.


    ¡°I suppose I can say it now, since he¡¯s showing off,¡± said Joseph after a self-confident snigger and a snort, ¡°All the items from this point on¡­ will be his.¡±


    ¡°I-is Mr. Anderson that wealthy?¡± asked Joshua, words barely forming in his mouth.


    ¡°Not always. I happened to stumble into him wrangling out most of father¡¯s and Lord Gunther¡¯s personal savings after the tournament,¡± said Joshua with a shrug and a smirk, ¡°How do you think I got over my Martial Disturbance that easily? Comedy helps.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Get to the point,¡± said Joshua.


    ¡°He has fifty. I saw him at the treasury,¡± said Joseph and anyone could see that Joshua, the more composed of the duo, was on the verge of vomiting blood, ¡°That¡¯s more than the total amount we¡¯ve gotten on hand in our lives, isn¡¯t it? In total, too.¡±


    ¡°Does Emma know?¡± asked Joshua, to which Joseph gave a tilt of his head.


    Just one version of shrugging that he did frequently, of which he had dozens of if not hundreds.


    ¡°And who¡¯s that peasant you¡¯ve got there?¡± asked Theodore Springwell down below, the one with the cleft-chin, ¡°Does he even realize the difference between Red and Green Crystals?¡±


    Emma tugged at Adrian¡¯s arm ever so slightly.


    It was time to flex.


    ¡°You¡¯re a shameless son,¡± said the Shadow inside his head.


    ¡°He¡¯s just paying me back for my soul,¡± thought Adrian, ¡°I assume that¡¯s expensive enough.¡±


    He turned to the servant, and asked, ¡°How many items are left?¡±


    ¡°I see, I see. I knew that you¡¯d rethink your decision. We actually have two more items so the Screeching Ginseng isn¡¯t actually the last item. So, sir, should we assume that the ginseng is Young Master Springwell¡¯s?¡± the servant asked.


    ¡°Two items left,¡± said Adrian and let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Ha, as expected of a peasant,¡± said Theodore.


    Emma tugged on his arm again, far harder this time.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m bidding for the ginseng,¡± said Adrian and then turned to Emma, ¡°Do you want the other items as well?¡±


    Emma didn¡¯t give him an eager nod or anything of the sort. Rather, she sneered at Theodore.


    ¡°Whatever. The last item will be my dowry,¡± said Adrian and he turned to Theodore, ¡°Tell me, are you the richest one here?¡±


    He didn¡¯t need to ask.


    Theodore had saved up for two years to afford the ginseng, so he had to be the one with the most funds.


    Unlike merchants who could stockpile their wealth and spend it accordingly, Nobles had little effective wealth unless they were corrupt. The wellbeing of the cities were paid for by the Nobles and the taxes that they collected from the people didn¡¯t add onto their wealth, but that of the Crown¡¯s.


    One of the many unfair caveats of the system.


    Theodore stood there, for a few seconds, and questioned Adrian.


    ¡°I assume that is an effort to offend me,¡± said Theodore.


    ¡°Of course not, Young Master Springwell. My betrothed, as you said, is a peasant. He is unfamiliar with the etiquettes that are to be upheld,¡± she said and gave him a small bow.


    Then came a pinch on his arm.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s offensive,¡± said Adrian, as if he didn¡¯t even care.


    Emma wanted him to show-off but on top of that, he had to show-off for his father.


    He did have enough.


    ¡°I¡¯m merely asking how much you¡¯ve brought. I see no need to waste my time with a mere Regional Imperial Auction if there aren¡¯t any competitors,¡± said Adrian and raised a hand, flashing his Spatial Ring.


    ¡°You want to sell a Spatial Ring?¡± asked Theodore and smirked, ¡°Woe to you, but the Imperial Auction House does not barter. That¡¯s something only second-class Auction Hous-¡±


    He froze mid-sentence as a mountain of Green Crystals dropped to the ground from Adrian¡¯s Spatial Ring.


    Emma, too, froze.


    ¡°Ah, that feels much better,¡± said Adrian.


    Spatial Rings didn¡¯t simply store everything in a void. It made everything smaller and stored it in a special crystal that could only be mined on the Central Continent. It made the weight of objects insignificantly small but if it was full, it was akin to carrying around a boulder.


    It was full with crystals.


    The servant knelt down next to the mountain of crystals and grabbed one of them, pulled out a monocle to examine them and nodded.


    ¡°These are genuine,¡± he said.


    That was when the host came around, walking like a penguin, adorned in a black suit and a top hat.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Mr. Anderson¡¯s son, I see,¡± said the host and nodded, ¡°Indeed, I am afraid that none can contest your wealth among the Young Masters, but I am sure that so much will not be necessary. Would you humor an auction, just to estimate the amount you¡¯ll have to pay?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± said Adrian, ¡°A mere Fifty Green Crystals isn¡¯t a lot for me. Take it as a gift from me to the ones that put the items on display. For saving me the hassle of finding a passable dowry myself, that is.¡±


    With that, he turned around, practically dragging Emma out.


    Up in the booths, Joseph could be seen cackling like a maniac while Joseph just stared at the mountain of emerald crystals that glimmered, not because of light from the outside, but because of the Qi within it.


    Most had seen such an amount only in the Treasury, where everything was kept for storage.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you had that much?¡± grumbled Emma after they finally got seated in the carriage, whispering to not be heard.


    ¡°It worked out decently, didn¡¯t it?¡± asked Adrian, ¡°As far as showing-off goes.¡±


    ¡°No, no. That¡¯s not showing-off. That¡¯s wasteful spending. You should¡¯ve humored the auction in the first place,¡± she said and then whisper-shouted, ¡°You could¡¯ve gotten everything with twenty!¡±


    ¡°Not to my father. He¡¯d make it rain Red Crystals if he wanted to show off,¡± said Adrian, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I had to show off. Why do you think I had that much?¡±


    As if she finally realized that she wasn¡¯t the only one playing the games, Emma quieted down.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t you worried about your father¡¯s finances? That his company will bankrupt if you spend too much?¡± asked Emma.


    ¡°Not one bit,¡± he said.


    Emma just stared at him, a weird mix of a smirk and a frown on her face.


    ¡°I only do that for my father¡¯s company, though. He¡¯s practically a bottomless wallet,¡± said Adrian. Then, as if reassuring himself, he thought, ¡°Because he sold my soul.¡±


    Just to make himself seem a little less like an insufferable prick.

 11. Team

    The exhilarating sensation of his bones shifting in composition and shape tickled him from within. It was like an itch he couldn¡¯t scratch, but in a good way. Like he could punch a wall and actually have his fist pass through it without breaking.


    He couldn¡¯t, but still, he felt like he could.


    ¡°Six months just to break through to the Second Layer,¡± said the Shadow, within a mirror that had been replaced in his absence, ¡°You¡¯re slow beyond compare.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s thanks to Emma,¡± he said, ¡°While you watched me do something useless for months.¡±


    Before the auction, she gave her advice on Cultivation. Namely, using the Qi to refine parts of his body rather than try to absorb more, like he assumed he had to do.


    The Shadow didn¡¯t respond. It merely grinned within the mirror.


    Most would scream in terror if they saw a mass of darkness within their mirror, but it was something that he was getting used to.


    ¡°I can properly hit people now,¡± said Adrian as he stared down at his hands.


    He clenched his fist and felt that the bones were closer together but wider, giving a sense of being more compact. His skin had darkened significantly, courtesy to not having ejected the impurities that were pushed out of the bones.


    ¡°I feel disgusting,¡± he said, after a few seconds.


    He¡¯d have to practice bloodletting for the impurities to leave his body but he didn¡¯t have much time for now.


    The matches would begin in an hour and if he let out too much blood, he¡¯d be weakened significantly. Just a tiny bit wouldn¡¯t hurt, he supposed.


    There was no stench yet, but if he started to bleed, then the reek of the impurity would escape his body. Even if he could possibly be weakened by it, it made him feel dirty on a fundamental level.


    Adrian bit into his thumb and cracked the skin for the blood to drip down into a pre-prepared bucket.


    As wasteful as he was, he liked this rug and didn¡¯t want it to be replaced. Its color was relaxing to the eye and it was comfortable to bare feet.


    The putrid blood dripped into the iron bucket and an unbelievable stench that could be likened to waste emanated his room, forcing him to open a window for proper air circulation as the thick black blood accumulated in the bucket.


    Almost a cup¡¯s worth dripped down and that was when the wound closed: the healing factor due to his subconscious usage of Qi, which every Cultivator had to some degree.


    It was said that immortals could recover from any injury short of a loss of their head or total destruction of the body.


    ¡°For the first time, I am elated that my sense of smell has not followed me into the mirror,¡± said the Shadow.


    He¡¯d love nothing more than a quick dip into a bath but he was pressed for time, and on top of that, a bath would do him no good save for making him feel clean.


    The impurities that were expelled from the muscles and the flesh came straight from the pores, so they were easy to clean but the impurities from the bones ejected themselves into the veins and circulated through them.


    Adrian brought the thumb he¡¯d bitten close to his eyes and stared at the mark he¡¯d left: it was like a bite mark, except if it didn¡¯t pierce the flesh despite the fact that he did.


    The Qi within him healing his wounds was less regeneration and more akin to turning back time, or reverting the body to a state it hadn¡¯t been injured in. It was due to this that Cultivators could live for millennia, their aging halted as the Qi kept them in their prime for longer than they should be in.


    ¡°I forgot,¡± said Adrian, staring off at empty space.


    ¡°Forgot what?¡± asked the Shadow.


    ¡°I had to meet her at the Beaumont Estate before the tournament,¡± said Adrian.


    Wait¡­ couldn¡¯t it read his thoughts?


    Then why was it asking?


    ¡°I was testing you,¡± the Shadow said quickly, now inside his head instead of the mirror.


    He grabbed a fancy shirt from the bed and put it on, then jumped out the window as if it was the exit. He looked natural while doing that, too, as if he was used to it.


    With the elegance of a paper in the wind, which wasn¡¯t a lot, Adrian floated down to the ground and landed.


    Soon, he¡¯d learn to activate it mid-fall but he ended up panicking after the first second passed, only to activate the Cloud Body Technique while panicking most of the time.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    By far, it was the technique that he¡¯d used the most and had served him the best, for the Mystifying Palm, while strong, wasn¡¯t practical against an opponent like Diana: the one he¡¯d barely managed to defeat last time.


    There was no need to hurry over to the Beaumont Estate, for there was a carriage with their insignia waiting outside the doorway of the house. The lack of a fence or gate made the mansion look more welcoming than an estate.


    ¡°That¡¯s convenient,¡± he mumbled as he walked up to it.


    The chauffeur that had been standing next to the door opened it for him before taking his seat at the front of the carriage.


    How long had they been waiting over there?


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I didn¡¯t know I could do this,¡± said Adrian after he took a seat opposite to Emma, who was dressed in practical clothes that would often be associated with men: a leather armor that extended to her elbow and loose brown pants.


    ¡°I expected that you¡¯d be busy cultivating,¡± said Emma, ¡°Since you couldn¡¯t stay put even on the way back.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what happened? When the items came, I mean,¡± said Adrian.


    They got three items, two of which that no one knew about save for the people from the Imperial Auction House. If the Ginseng was such a treasure, then the other two had to be as well.


    ¡°Everyone expected it,¡± said Emma and shrugged, ¡°But you made all the Young Masters drop their jaws. That alone is enough. Now everyone thinks that the Beaumonts are better off than we actually are.¡±


    The carriage had already started moving.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, then,¡± said Adrian, and he sunk back to his seat.


    He wanted to do the bloodletting ritual earlier than later and that meant he wanted the fights to finish quickly.


    ¡°How long did you take to reach the third layer?¡± asked Adrian.


    She had better talent than him if the Shadow¡¯s words could be trusted, and that meant he¡¯d take longer.


    ¡°Within a year of awakening,¡± she said, ¡°It¡¯s all smooth-sailing until you have to break through to the Flesh Refinement layer, which is where the bottleneck is. I¡¯ll instruct you after you breakthrough.¡±


    He did need an instructor, for the Shadow was more of an observer that threw in a witty remark every now and then than anything useful.


    ¡°And when did you awaken?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°Back when I was twelve,¡± she said.


    That¡¯s six years ago!


    Would it actually take that long for him as well?


    No, he didn¡¯t care about that.


    He wanted immortality and that meant time was of no essence to him. Perhaps it¡¯d take him millennia to achieve it or even more, but he didn¡¯t care. He would reach the top, no matter what, and then achieve immortality that even other immortals wouldn¡¯t dream of.


    ¡°Giving up?¡± she asked with a small smirk.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be in solitary cultivation for a bit,¡± said Adrian, ¡°I hear it helps.¡±


    Emma looked at him, a weird expression on her face: not quite a smirk, but something along the lines of a normal smile.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No one does that,¡± she said.


    ¡°But you did,¡± he countered.


    ¡°That¡¯s just a fancy way of saying that I went missing for a bit. It happens a lot,¡± she said, ¡°It¡¯s easier to explain that way.¡±


    Then no one did Closed-Door Cultivation?


    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said, ¡°I got lost in the Cloud Mountains north of Dreamy Firmament City. They called for an immortal from the capital to save me. That¡¯s why our treasury¡¯s shrunk considerably.¡±


    She got lost in the mountains from where no one returns from?


    And an immortal could find her from such a place?


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± shouted the chauffeur, interrupting their conversation.


    Emma pulled out a pocket watch from a small purse she often carried and took a glance at it. It was silver, with a button that made it pop open.


    ¡°Just in time,¡± she said and clicked it shut.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it faster to just run here?¡± asked Adrian, ¡°Since we can run faster than carriages.¡±


    ¡°That is absolutely unacceptable,¡± she said and puffed up her cheeks a bit, ¡°We must show up fashionably. Together and in my carriage. Since you¡¯re my betrothed.¡±


    That made Adrian think about how similar she was to his father.


    Both of them liked showing off. One just had a lot more at his disposal to show off with, whereas all Emma could do was look dramatic with her actions.


    ¡°Hold the door for me,¡± said Emma and added, ¡°To show off.¡±


    Adrian hopped off the carriage and held it open, but Emma rubbed her forehead.


    ¡°Never jump off. Always use the stairs,¡± said Emma.


    Then she made her way down the extendable stairs of the carriage that was folded into a small box after kicking it down, ¡°It¡¯s so inelegant. That¡¯s why you have to do it. But very well, there was no one to see it this time.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± said Adrian and rolled his eyes while looking away.


    It had seemed easy to just become her husband and get rid of troubles down the line, but now, she was demanding him to look stylish at all times?


    Then they walked into the participants¡¯ area, their hands linked.


    He was getting used to it.


    ¡°If you¡¯re matched against someone stronger than you, which means someone other than Isabella, then it¡¯s better to put up a show and then forfeit,¡± suggested Emma, ¡°You might get humiliated otherwise.¡±


    He gave her a nod.


    Adrian knew better than her that he had no chance against Tristan but he felt that he had a chance against Edna and Eric.


    Eric was silently sitting on one of the benches with his female follower, whom Adrian knew to be Isabella. She was quite strong, as she¡¯d managed to defeat one of the Young Masters from the minor Noble Houses with little difficulty.


    Tristan and Edna, on the other hand, were as noisy as Adrian expected them to be.


    ¡°No, you do that!¡± shouted Edna.


    ¡°No way! That¡¯d be unfair,¡± growled Tristan, ¡°You join them.¡±


    ¡°Screw that. I already have a combo move planned with Adrian!¡± she shouted, ¡°I wanna use it.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯d be unfair if I join that side so you do it,¡± said Tristan, ¡°I want a proper fight.¡±


    ¡°Boo. You¡¯re gonna get wasted by our combo either way,¡± she said.


    ¡°Blah, blah, blah. I wanna fight Eric so you go there,¡± he said.


    Just¡­ what the hell was happening?


    Emma stared at the two of them and covered her mouth with a delicate hand, intentionally failing to hide a smirk.


    She just wanted to look cool.


    ¡°Oh my, oh my. Don¡¯t you think you need my permission to get close to my husband?¡± asked Emma out loud, ¡°It¡¯s improper, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Edna glared at her, one eye widened and the other narrowed. Then she tiptoed toward Emma, whispered something into her ear and that made Adrian get goosebumps.


    ¡°Hmm, hmm,¡± nodded Emma, then she said out loud, ¡°That sounds good. I shall allow it.¡±


    What was she allowing?


    ¡°Bah, the women on this continent are too feisty,¡± said the Shadow inside his head, ¡°Perhaps that is the charm.¡±


    Edna stepped the duo and she stuck her finger out.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± shouted Tristan, ¡°That¡¯s unfair!¡±


    ¡°Quiet down,¡± growled Eric, earning himself a glare from Tristan, to which he answered, ¡°It¡¯s unsightly.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Tristan grumbled and took a seat next to Isabella and Eric.


    He was lost ¡ªtoo lost.


    ¡°What the hell¡¯s happening?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°The next match is a team fight,¡± said Emma, ¡°Three against three. She wants to do a cool-looking technique with you. It¡¯s fine, right?¡±


    Edna¡­ was on their side while Tristan was on the other side?!


    That was bullshit.

 12. Back

    The stage wasn¡¯t large enough for more than sixteen contestants to have ample size to themselves, and that was why it was easy to annihilate the weaker ones.


    Much like before, Tristan activated his Martial Intent as the Qi started to flow turbulently and assailed everyone within the stage, threatening to smash them down to the ground. Resisting it was directly proportional to the Martial Intent within those that tried to resist: the will to fight back.


    In the Qualifier, Adrian was confident.


    He could take on the Martial Intent with some trouble and he could almost ignore the Shadow¡¯s Killing Intent as he knew it couldn¡¯t harm him, but now, he knew the gap between Tristan and himself.


    His knees trembled. When he was almost on the verge of plummeting to the ground, another presence made itself known from next to him.


    Edna was leaking Killing Intent, unlike his brother.


    If you could liken Martial Intent to a bonfire that threatened to singe your flesh, then Killing Intent was like a storm of glass. It sought to pierce into the flesh and it covered every millimeter of the body.


    The stark contrast between the effects of the Martial Intent and Killing Intent on Adrian was noticeably different.


    The Killing Intent came from Edna, whom Adrian assumed he had a chance against, and thus, it did little to damage him. The needles trying to pierce into his flesh were akin to toothpicks that were being slightly tapped in intervals.


    The Martial Intent, on the other hand, came from Tristan, whom Adrian saw as someone superior. That made the flame hotter as if his face was being held against a metal that was on the verge of melting.


    As easy as it was to release either of the two, using it in any offensive capacity, and intentionally, at that, was extremely difficult.


    ¡°Wake up,¡± said a distant voice.


    It sounded like it was the echo of an echo reaching him from the other side of a thick forest, barely audible.


    ¡°Come back to your senses!¡± roared the voice, snapping him back to reality and the current situation.


    The fight had already started and Edna had produced her rapier already, now matching Tristan move for move.


    One of Emma¡¯s hands were pale beyond compare and she was huffing, now kneeling on the ground.


    Adrian looked around for the source of the voice and just before he chalked it up to the Shadow shouting within his head, he found Eric, standing a few meters in front of him, arms crossed.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake,¡± said Eric and his trademark frown became less severe, closer to a neutral expression than a full-on scowl, ¡°Draw your weapon.¡±


    ¡°Was it you?¡± asked Adrian.


    Before he could get an answer, Eric was already next to him after a skillful usage of the Far Step, his fist almost in front of his abdomen.


    Adrian activated the Cloud Body Technique just in time, letting his body sway along with the movements of the fist.


    After Eric had extended his arms to the limit, he deactivated it and thrust his fist toward Eric¡¯s face, now too busy fighting to care about reason, not to win, but to show-off a tad bit.


    There was no meaning behind winning the tournament now, after all.


    But before he could do that, as if by magic, Eric¡¯s fist extended and struck him in the belly to send him tumbling a few inches away.


    ¡°You¡¯re fighting a Cultivator, not a mortal. Pull yourself together,¡± said Eric as he pulled back his hand and placed it back in its place, probably after dislocating it, ¡°Did you suddenly become a wimp after you got struck by that pathetic Martial Intent? I expected better from you.¡±


    Adrian grit his teeth and thought.


    Eric was better than him when it came to a normal fight, but if he used a Qi Technique, then he had a chance. But against an opponent of his caliber, he had to cheat.


    That was the only way¡­


    The Shadow chuckled within his head but Adrian was too busy to take notice of that.


    ¡°This is a pickle,¡± Adrian mumbled underneath his breath as he took a faux stance, imitating Diana, with one fist below the chin and the other a bit to the front and below the first one, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to fight seriously.¡±


    ¡°Your stance is all wrong,¡± Eric remarked as he extended a hand to his side.


    In his hand, an abundance of the mist that was Qi gathered and formed his spear: produced from his Spatial Ring.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going easy against a coward,¡± he said and before Adrian could even react, the first thrust came.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Using the Cloud Body Technique against a piercing attack wasn¡¯t very effective. In the very least, he¡¯d be nipped and if he proceeded to slash, then he¡¯d be downed for sure.


    It called for drastic measures, and that meant he had to jump.


    Jump as high as he could, and then activate the Cloud Body Technique, just like he¡¯d done with Diana in their fight.


    This time, it wasn¡¯t an ace in the hole but rather, just a way to buy some time for a plan.


    Even if he could disarm Eric, it¡¯d be difficult to fight him afterward. It¡¯d be even more difficult than fighting Diana, he wagered. After all, Eric seemed far more skilled than he was.


    ¡°Get down and fight me fair,¡± growled Eric as he saw Adrian fly up, fueled by his considerable strength and supported by his complete lack of weight.


    Up above, as he fluttered down from almost thirty meters, he overlooked the entire situation on the stage.


    On one part, Tristan and Edna were exchanging move after move, each rapier strike repelling one from Tristan¡¯s staff and the occasional strike landed, only to be dodged or mitigated to become completely and utterly ineffective.


    Emma, on the other hand, was struggling, barely able to move as Isabella casually shot large crystals of ice¡­ that was a Qi Technique!


    How was she able to use it so much?


    ¡°The girl is using her Martial Heart for fuel. She¡¯s gathered Qi within an imitation of a Dantian for later usage, which is now,¡± explained the Shadow, ¡°Your bride is in trouble. Aren¡¯t you going to help?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Adrian mumbled out loud.


    ¡°Everyone can try. Only a few of those that do, however, reach their goal,¡± it said, ¡°Where is the boy that threatened to lock me in my tomb for all of time? Where is he who aspires of Perpetuity? Because I cannot see that man within you, brat. You¡¯re a mere broken child now.¡±


    Was he?


    No, that couldn¡¯t be it.


    Even if he was, so what?


    His goal hadn¡¯t changed.


    He wanted to become immortal: to achieve eternity.


    That place¡­


    He never wanted to visit that place again.


    It was filled with screams of terror and it smelled of burnt flesh, as well as rotten corpses. The air was bone-chillingly cold and hot enough to burn the lungs as it passed through the nose, leaving a trail of pain behind.


    He didn¡¯t want to die again.


    Never.


    Not again.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a tournament,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Will you give up, then, brat?¡± asked the Shadow, its voice gleeful.


    ¡°No,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ll win. The path to the only victory that matters is paved with a thousand small ones.¡±


    The Shadow quieted down.


    ¡°That world of yours. It¡¯s disgusting,¡± said Adrian as he reached the ground and landed with his back facing Eric.


    ¡°You¡¯re underestimating me!¡± Eric shouted and dashed toward Adrian, but he expected that.


    If he got struck by the spear, he could die.


    If he died, he¡¯d be there again.


    So that wouldn¡¯t happen.


    Adrian had an idea of how fast Eric was, so when he expected Eric to be halfway through, he turned around and activated the Mystifying Palm Technique.


    What seemed like a cheat before ended up being nothing more than a way to grab onto something that couldn¡¯t be grabbed, as far as his expertise allowed. Only the Cloud Body Technique would be a game-changer against Eric, but even then, piercing attacks were its weakness.


    It¡¯d be a tough match.


    Adrian¡¯s palm latched onto the side of the spear¡¯s blade, giving him maximum leverage at an unexpected moment.


    In essence, both Eric and he were of the same level when it came to strength. However, the real difference came in the form of weight.


    As Eric had broken through to the Flesh Refinement Layer, he¡¯d already started making his flesh denser, and thus, was heavier than him. It meant that unless Adrian caught him off guard, he would be lifted before he could lift Eric.


    The weight wouldn¡¯t be a factor once they grew to a sufficiently high level, but that was too far away.


    Using the spear as a lever, Adrian pulled it down as he squatted, forcing Eric¡¯s body up into the air.


    The grip that Eric had on his spear didn¡¯t allow him to fight back against Adrian, but within a few seconds, Eric realized the game and advanced his grip so that it was closer to Adrian, past the halfway point.


    That made the leverage ineffective, but he won a few seconds: a few seconds in which he could do something that could matter.


    Thinking on his feet, Adrian sent his fist at Eric¡¯s face.


    With a satisfying snap, the fist connected and forced Eric to face away.


    That won him a few seconds!


    Using that time, Adrian pried one of Eric¡¯s hands off the spear and pulled it with all his might, now using both hands: one on the blade, stuck to it with the Mystifying Palm Technique and the other holding it somewhere around the midway point.


    That let him pull it off from Eric¡¯s hands.


    With swift movements and the ease of use that the spear was designed for, Adrian swirled it around and by the time Eric finally turned around to meet Adrian¡¯s eyes, it was already embedded into his shoulder.


    ¡°Ah,¡± groaned Eric as he took a step back.


    The firm flesh that had been condensed would be almost impossible to pierce with normal spears, but this wasn¡¯t a normal weapon.


    This was an Aural Item, meant to be used for combat between Cultivators and that meant it was durable.


    ¡°You lost,¡± said Adrian, huffing.


    Eric scowled, deeper than his usual frown, and raised his hand high up: his right one, which wasn¡¯t stabbed in the shoulder.


    ¡°I forfeit!¡± he shouted.


    One down.


    Just when he let out a sigh of relief, Eric lunged at Adrian and before he even realized it, Adrian was on the ground.


    Was that a feint?


    No, that couldn¡¯t be. It was illegal to do that. It would be trickery, and even if it wasn¡¯t illegal, it¡¯d lose him face.


    Eric stood there, his palm almost fully punctured by a needle of ice that he used his hand to stop. The spear was driven deeper until it came out the other side and slid, coated with dark brown blood.


    ¡°Bella!¡± Eric shouted, gritting his teeth, and then he continued with a slightly quieter tone, which grew dimmer by the second, ¡°Don¡¯t use such cheap tricks. It¡¯s pathetic.¡±


    Right after he muttered the last word, he collapsed to the ground.


    The judge intervened then, pouncing into the stage to rescue Eric.


    Isabella froze in shock, one hand over her mouth, and Emma didn¡¯t waste that chance. She managed to use a Far Step to close the distance and hacked at Isabella¡¯s arm with her saber, now held in the left hand as the other one was frozen or affected by frostbite.


    Contrary to her usual composed appearance, Emma¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and her hair was messy, a few trails of red running down across her body.


    ¡°You whore,¡± hissed Isabella after being slashed until the bone, which could very well be broken.


    ¡°Forfeit,¡± said Emma as she pushed the saber closer to her bone and up, cutting into Isabella¡¯s flesh, ¡°If you want to keep the arm, that is.¡±


    Isabella, too, forfeited with that.


    It was a dirty win, but it was a win nonetheless.


    But did Emma just go along with such a dirty trick?


    Then in a very expected turn of events, Emma turned to Isabella as she flailed away, holding onto her bleeding arm, ¡°Hey.¡±


    Isabella turned to Emma and snarled.


    ¡°He¡¯s my man. If you¡¯re trying to stab him in the back, I¡¯ll obviously stop you,¡± she said.


    She was showing off, again.


    But the real issue wasn¡¯t Eric or Isabella.


    It was Tristan.

 13. Combo

    The fight between Tristan and Edna was fast.


    Not in the sense that they were moving fast, but in the sense that there was no room for thought. It looked like they were simply letting their reflexes do the job, reacting to attacks that they shouldn¡¯t be able to react to while launching attacks at openings that they couldn¡¯t possibly have seen.


    The rapier served as more of a bludgeoning weapon, forcing the spear to recoil after striking it with its springy effect pushing it away.


    Initially, it would seem that the staff was being wildly twirled around but a careful observer could see that it was forcing Edna to move in a pattern that Tristan wanted her to move in, by closing off the exits, while the real strikes came from his fists and feet.


    Unfortunately, Adrian wasn¡¯t a careful observer.


    ¡°Go rest,¡± he said after he touched Emma¡¯s frozen hand, now kneeling on one knee next to her, who was lying on the ground.


    It was almost solid.


    Could their natural healing solve it?


    It probably could, but what would the side-effects be?


    ¡°I know that,¡± said Emma and gave him a pained smile, ¡°You had the common sense to come to your betrothed during a tournament, I see.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d have yelled at me if I didn¡¯t do something that looked good to the spectators,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°It hurts,¡± she said as her eyes slowly closed.


    ¡°You¡¯re damn heavy but I guess I¡¯ll have to do it,¡± said Adrian and let out a slow sigh.


    He couldn¡¯t find room to enter the fight between siblings so all he could do was look fashionable until they ran out of Stamina.


    Slowly, Adrian climbed up to his feet while holding Emma in a princess carry, and with as solemn an expression as he could muster, he walked up to the edge of the stage until he reached the judge.


    ¡°She passed out,¡± said Adrian and he produced a Green Crystal from his Spatial Ring, ¡°Have the medics find a Sense Severance Elixir for her and feed it to her before she wakes up. I don¡¯t care if I have to pay twice or even ten times the actual price.¡±


    She was actually awake.


    He could feel that from her breathing pattern, which felt proud,  that was possible.


    The judge, an old man with gray hair and silver armor, nodded and gestured for the medics who¡¯d just finished escorting Eric to the treatment room. Then he carried Emma to the nearest stretcher.


    There were six stretchers, one for each person, but only one had been used: for Eric.


    Normally, only Nobles could get their hands on the Sense Severance Elixir, or through an auction, but Adrian was already a noble to most.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    He¡¯d be marrying into House Beaumont, so he¡¯d take the name of Beaumont but the ceremony wouldn¡¯t be held for a while.


    With that done, though, he needed to enter the Tristan and Edna fight and assist her in some way.


    They were way beyond him.


    Adrian couldn¡¯t believe that he thought that he could take Edna just because she tried to stab her a few times, which was when he realized that she wasn¡¯t using stabs at all.


    Was she bad at them?


    Without any means of ranged attack, it was difficult to get close, let alone intervene, so he looked awkward as he stood a fair distance away from them.


    Tristan¡¯s expression was serious, lips slightly puckered as he struggled to balance inhaling and exhaling, timing each exhalation with a strike. Edna, too, did the same, trying to time her exhalations with her sharp movements.


    It was enlightening to just watch the two of them fight, completely in the zone.


    He knew about the combo.


    They¡¯d discussed it before the match started.


    It was a simple one, really.


    Adrian would use the Cloud Body Technique to get past Tristan¡¯s defenses and use the Mystifying Palm Technique to latch onto Tristan¡¯s face, covering his eyes in the process.


    It¡¯d be difficult to pry him off his face, during which Edna would unleash her strongest technique: the very same thrusting attack from before, and they¡¯d hope that it scored a ring out.


    That was why both Tristan and Edna were fighting near one corner of the stage, which was where she¡¯d guided him.


    One team and the last standing member of the other team would enter the semi-finals, which meant that no matter what, Tristan would be in the semi-finals.


    Even if Edna and he lost, or if they won.


    Then he found an opening.


    Within a moment, Adrian lunged into the fight and activated the Cloud Body Technique halfway through to increase his speed mid-flight.


    As expected, Tristan struck Adrian with the back of his staff but the Cloud Body Technique let him sway away from it while maintaining his momentum, which let him his palm onto Tristan¡¯s eyes.


    After the constant usage of his Qi Techniques during the fight with Eric, he was low on accumulated Qi.


    The method that Isabella used was unfair and that meant he wanted to learn it, but that was a thought for a later time.


    ¡°Now!¡± shouted Adrian, but even before he shouted that out, Edna was pushing her rapier into Tristan¡¯s guts as it coiled, ready to send him flying with Adrian on top of him.


    But that didn¡¯t matter, as it was a team match, not an individual one.


    Neither of the duo saw the large grin on Tristan¡¯s face nor the way his body swayed along the rapier¡¯s path, just as if he¡¯d learned the Cloud Body Technique.


    The spring reached its full course and when it was time to push it away, Trevor didn¡¯t fly away, but only rebounded backward while his feet were almost glued to the ground.


    During the rebound, Adrian¡¯s Qi ran out and that was when Tristan managed to pull Adrian away from his eyes, and then casually toss him outside the ring.


    Just like that?


    That kind of strength was absurd.


    It was like he was a child again and Tristan was an adult, casually throwing him aside as if he weighed nothing and all his efforts were useless.


    How was Edna fighting a monster like that?!


    Move for move, at that, as if she was equally matched.


    Did the rapier help that much?


    Then it was time for him to buy a weapon!


    It wasn¡¯t like it¡¯d be difficult for his father to buy.


    Soon after, Tristan managed to sway away from Edna¡¯s strike and slam her outside the stage with his staff as well.


    That meant that Edna would be the last standing fighter of their team, and that meant the tournament was over for both Adrian and Emma.


    But he didn¡¯t mind that.


    If he had to fight monsters like Tristan, Edna, and Isabella again, then he¡¯d rather not participate at all.


    They were scary, but unlike before, there was something in him that was still uncertain about the results of his fight with Edna.


    She was almost casually defeated after Tristan started using the Cloud Body Technique, so perhaps he had a chance as well¡­


    With no Qi to fuel him, the enhanced strength faded as his body became more and more difficult to hold up, and he fell to the ground, deeming it easier to just lie on the ground until his body absorbed more Qi into its system.


    This was another disadvantage of using Qi Techniques: it¡¯d completely paralyze him if he ran out of it.

 Volume 1 : Afterword

    First of all, I''d like to thank you all for sticking to the story until this point. As you might have seen, I tried to take a different approach to the typical Xianxia stories that you see. The MC is special, but it just so happens that there are a bunch of people that are more special than him. He isn''t some hidden genius and is instantly seen as a "decently talented guy", but not too great.


    Even the events of the story were meant to deviate from the norm by outright starting during a tournament, which Adrian inevitably loses at the end. I made it a point to make the fights as snappy and gritty as possible where every step matters rather than the standard formula of launching massively powerful attacks at each other until one falls down, and I hope that it is to your tastes. If you''ve been looking for fights like that, I''m afraid this story isn''t a place where you can find it from.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    As a slight note, I changed the Volume name from "Blue Pavilion City" to "Clan Festival", as I have decided to use the descriptions of the arcs for the volumes rather than locations.


    I''ve been having fun writing the story. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have been able to pump out 25,000 words within such a short timeframe, and you can expect to see such a crazy posting schedule until the Writathon is over (or it reaches 55,000 words).


    I can only hope that you are having half as much fun reading it if you''ve made it to this point.


    If you have any feedback or criticisms, feel free to leave them in the comments below and if you want to post an early review, now would be a decent point. And lastly, thank you all for sticking with the story until this point. ??


    <hr>


    Volume 2: Beast Wave


    What to Expect: Delving into the details of Cultivation, Martial Arts, and further development of the Blue Pavilion City (and its characters).

 14. Claw

    The next week had come to pass, and as many expected, Tristan took the win with ease. It all boiled down to a short fight between Eric and Tristan, in which Tristan abused the Cloud Body Technique to the maximum.


    How did he even learn it?


    ¡°It¡¯s still red,¡± said Adrian after he poked Emma¡¯s hand with a finger.


    It had been mostly healed but her pale skin was marred with a red mark all across the hand, which was where it had been frozen.


    ¡°I dare you to heal faster than me,¡± she said, a small pout on her face.


    Adrian liked her resting bitch face more, but he knew that it was an act that she put to piss off others or impress them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind as long as you¡¯re fine with it,¡± he said and shrugged. He looked at the wooden blade in his hand and tightened his fist around it: the handle was rough and coarse, but it was comfortable to the touch.


    ¡°Ha, I can beat you up with my eyes closed,¡± said Emma as she took a stance, which wasn¡¯t quite what he expected.


    She held her blade diagonally in front of her, hand parallel to her left hip, arm fully outstretched, in a position from where it seemed impossible to generate any force from but she fought from such a position.


    ¡°Hold onto your sword as tightly as possible but relax your arms. You need to be like water. Strong but flexible,¡± said Emma as she approached him with a casual gait.


    Adrian held the wooden claymore in his hand with both hands and held it in front of him.


    Hitting her with it as he would with a stick would be the most obvious choice if this was a fight, but this was a lesson and that meant he had to try to learn rather than use the tools he had at his disposal.


    So he did.


    Adrian gripped the handle even tighter and relaxed his arms.


    The tension from before disappeared and he felt like a heavy weight was lifted from his chest.


    ¡°Try to hit me,¡± said Emma after she tapped the tip of his sword with her own, which was also a claymore ¡ªdifferent from her saber.


    They were in the training area of the Beaumont Estate, which was a spacious area with barren earth among the sea of grass and flowers, right behind their mansion. Various wooden weapons were placed on racks and in barrels. A few dozen meters away from them, there were dummies for the practice of both archery and swordsmanship.


    Adrian pulled the sword back and threw a vertical slash toward her shoulders, which was casually dodged by a squat before Emma¡¯s sword reached his solar plexus.


    She didn¡¯t hit it, but simply stopped there and after it touched him, she pushed it into his solar plexus to force him away.


    There was an uncomfortable sensation at the pit of his stomach.


    ¡°You really are a novice at this,¡± said Emma and shook her head, ¡°Your stance is all wrong. You can¡¯t even properly swing a sword and anyone could slash your head off. Even mortals.¡±


    Even mortals¡­


    Adrian bit his lips after he heard that.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t trained by the best the city has to offer,¡± said Adrian quickly after he thought about a response for a few seconds, ¡°There¡¯s no way I could¡¯ve learned it.¡±


    ¡°Your father is the man with the most personal wealth in the city and you complained about that?¡± hissed Emma, ¡°If your father looked for a Knight Errant to teach you, every single one of them would be lined up outside your door.¡±


    ¡°But-¡± started Adrian but he was harshly stopped with the tip of Emma¡¯s sword on his lips.


    ¡°No excuses. You¡¯re taking it too lightly,¡± she said.


    ¡°But what if I don¡¯t want to fight? I don¡¯t have to fight to become an immortal,¡± he offered.


    The Shadow snorted.


    ¡°You have to. Even if you never offend another, there will be those that offend you. And you must be able to stand up for yourself. Especially as a Beaumont,¡± she said and pulled the sword back, ¡°We¡¯re engaged now and our names are linked. I can¡¯t allow you to slack off.¡±


    She was a lady, wasn¡¯t she?


    No, that wasn¡¯t true. Not after she became a Cultivator, at least.


    Among mortal men and women, there was a disparity in their physical prowess but for Cultivators, there was none. Stereotypes became invalid and their temperaments, too, changed to fit their capabilities rather than their genders.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Adrian grumbled and twirled his wrist with his hands still holding the sword.


    Its weight was negligible and its center of mass didn¡¯t matter.


    Not for holding it, at least.


    ¡°But why can¡¯t someone else teach me? Like one of the Demon Twins,¡± said Adrian.


    The elder of the two was an expert with the sword, wasn¡¯t he?


    ¡°They¡¯re attending the Summit with father. Most of the Young Masters and the knights left as well,¡± she said, ¡°Dame Michelle is the only one left, and she¡¯s too busy protecting the estate to train you.¡±


    Summit?


    Was it that time of the year again?


    Then again, it was shortly after the Clan Festival so it added up. He just never bothered to keep track of it before, but he was too deep in the matters of Noble Houses to not notice it now.


    Adrian let out a long and exaggerated sigh.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have accepted the invitation,¡± said Adrian.


    He was just there to show off and here he was, stuck to this maniac for the rest of his days.


    But deep down, he knew that Emma was the least maniacal Young Lady among the Noble Houses.


    As one of the merchants¡¯ children, he knew the others. They weren¡¯t friends nor accomplices, but more acquaintances. From their mouths, he¡¯d heard that Elsa Cranford often tortured and killed her servants, the screams of whom could be heard in the northern reaches of the town.


    Then there was Edna, the battle maniac that couldn¡¯t stay put for a day: one of the two prodigies from House Ulrich. If she wasn¡¯t sleeping, she was training. Even while she ate, she trained.


    Maybe she¡¯d have been easier to deal with.


    If she was always training, then she wouldn¡¯t be home all day to yell at him, no?


    The minor Noble Houses had several decent ones, but his father wouldn¡¯t allow something as outrageous as that, for his son had to marry an esteemed lady so that his reputation would skyrocket.


    If his father was twenty years younger or if Emma was twenty years older, then they¡¯d have been a match made in hell.


    But they had a massive age gap, especially if one wasn¡¯t a Cultivator.


    Because one wasn¡¯t a Cultivator, for the age difference between Cultivators didn¡¯t matter. Even centuries and millennia were nothing more than a single year for some, after all.


    ¡°But you did,¡± said Emma and tapped him on the nose playfully, a smirk on her face, ¡°So you¡¯re stuck with me.¡±


    ¡°Was that your idea of flirting?¡± asked Adrian, a smile of his own plastered on his face.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she said and pointed her sword at him after she walked a few meters away from him, making some distance, ¡°But I¡¯ll have to beat some survival instincts into you.¡±


    Wasn¡¯t that¡­ too early?


    That would be an issue of the Mind Refinement Stage, not the Body Refinement Stage.


    ¡°Use your legs. Always keep moving. If you move a lot, and away from your opponent, you will be harder to kill,¡± said Emma as she wildly swung it around near his shin, making large sweeping motions, meant to make him move from his spot rather than hurt him.


    Well, it was probably meant to hurt him, as in inflicting pain, but not in the sense of damaging his body.


    Not that wood would be able to do that.


    It¡¯d get splattered into tiny chips long before it could cause such damage.


    He hopped back as instructed, far too used to running away: he did that long before he learned how to throw a punch before he became a Cultivator.


    Just as he was getting used to the tempo after thirty seconds, the blade swung up and struck him in the chin.


    It was a light hit but it rattled his head and made his head spin for a split second.


    His organs were weak spots, and one of the most essential ones happened to be contained within the skull.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have been hit if you moved back,¡± she said and flashed him a toothy grin, ¡°Stay further away. Don¡¯t get close unless you plan to hit your opponent.¡±


    It¡¯d be a long hour until lunch¡­

 15. Mirror

    Cultivation wasn¡¯t just about meditating, as Adrian recently found out.


    Very recently, in fact. Only a few hours had passed after the fact and he was still at the Beaumont Estate, which was preferable to remaining home. On the last three days of the week, his father remained home and that was one person he could do without running into.


    As grumpy as Adrian was at home, he still managed to run into the man one way or another.


    That, and lunch at the estate was better than eating at home so he¡¯d decided to stay over for dinner.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± asked Adrian as he stared at the copper mirror hanging in the meeting room of the estate, which was a massive room with a long table that could seat ten at once in the middle as well as numerous windows.


    ¡°The final item at the auction,¡± she said.


    After they finished lunch in silence, she dragged him there.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Far-Sight Mirror. The only thing that lets us connect to the Central Continent,¡± she said and tapped on it with a nail, ¡°It can let you see and hear anyone that has a Far-Sight Mirror. In the entire Empire, there are only six of them and two belong to the Royal Family.¡±


    ¡°So I don¡¯t owe you a treasure, do I?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Obviously, you do. Since I¡¯m returning this to you. And the other one as well,¡± said Emma and puffed, arms crossed.


    ¡°No, no. I insist. Keep the mirror. I don¡¯t have any use for it,¡± said Adrian, ¡°But bringing you a treasure is annoying.¡±


    ¡°The patriarch is too modest. If you don¡¯t take it back, he¡¯ll insist on paying back Mr. Anderson and his personal fund is as low as it can get. That directly impacts my allowance so it¡¯s unacceptable,¡± said Emma, ¡°He gives me more crystals than father.¡±


    Allowance¡­


    Adrian couldn¡¯t remember a time where he was in need of crystals. He just wished it into existence, almost. It came out of his father¡¯s wallet, but he was far too spoiled to care about that before.


    Even if he was better now, he knew the truth, and that allowed him some leisure in acting like a spoiled Young Master.


    ¡°That said, since you said annoying, I assume it¡¯s not dangerous. How can that be?¡± she asked and put a finger to her chin, ¡°Immortals like to challenge others before they let them take their treasures. It just doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    It would if she knew that the tomb was only there for the Shadow to collect souls to assist it in coming back to life.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. It¡¯s dangerous. It¡¯s just¡­ annoying to me, but deadly to anyone else,¡± he said.


    If the Shadow roped her into a deal, his plan would fail.


    Not that he wanted to antagonize the old crook that much. He just didn¡¯t want it to come back to life as he didn¡¯t want the Northern Continent to be under the rule of a tyrant. That, and he happened to hate where he¡¯d go after he died.


    The world inside the Shadow.


    It was a disgusting place.


    ¡°So you have some sort of treasure?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ah, ah,¡± said Adrian and raised a finger, then shook it, ¡°I¡¯m not answering any more questions until you answer mine.¡±


    Emma rolled her eyes and mumbled something underneath her breath: it was just a word, not a sentence.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°You never ask,¡± she grumbled and rolled her eyes, ¡°I¡¯d answer them if you did.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I need a breather so no more questions until I ask something,¡± he said, ¡°Actually, until I ask three questions.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beating you up harder during our next training session,¡± she said.


    As much of a nagger she was, Adrian couldn¡¯t contest that she was decent at teaching, even if her own fencing wasn¡¯t all that great. It was more like she was used to fighting and winning, but with a weapon in her hand, rather than using the weapon to its full potential as some did.


    She was also the first one to teach him anything about fighting.


    Well, if you didn¡¯t count the sloppy punching technique that his father taught him to fight off bullies, which had gotten into more trouble than out.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming back in four days, right?¡± asked Adrian after he stared at the copper mirror on the wall for a bit.


    ¡°Is that a question?¡± Emma asked, looking away with half-lidded eyes.


    She was unbelievable.


    ¡°Well, never mind that. I should cultivate,¡± he said and turned around, but realized that he didn¡¯t know a thing about the estate.


    It wasn¡¯t the city where he¡¯d grown up in, but the land of a Noble who could have him executed on a whim back when he was a mere mortal.


    Before he left for somewhere to sit in, he heard an unearthly screech from right behind his back, which forced him to cover both ears with his hands. It faded as soon as it started, but in its absence, he could hear someone talking.


    ¡°So this thing really works. Using it is intuitive,¡± said the voice.


    Adrian turned around and looked at the mirror on the wall, and could see the visage of both Joseph and Joshua: the Demon Twins.


    ¡°Oooh, you two are together,¡± said Joseph and rigorously nodded, ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fiddle with it. You might damage it. That thing is too expensive,¡± said Joshua from the side and tapped on the glass, and after they heard the nail click on the copper mirror on the other side, their visage disappeared.


    It looked more like a window rather than a mirror while the Demon Twins were speaking to them, and they seemed larger than life.


    How did this even work?


    It could transmit both the appearance of others in real-time and even the sounds they made. It was astounding to even think that such inventions could be made, using the Ambient Qi for fuel so that it would essentially be free.


    Then the mirror snapped back to the scene with Joseph and Joshua, in which Joseph was pushing his older twin brother away from the mirror to buy some time to speak.


    ¡°I just wanted to let you know that we might be returning later than expected. Father said that his presence is necessary in the eastern reaches of the Empire and will be leaving for Intrepid Valley City after the Summit. We¡¯ll be following him so don¡¯t be worried if you don¡¯t see us with the rest of the Young Masters, kay?¡± said Joseph and gave her a secret wink, which he tried to hide but failed.


    It was almost impossible to hide it when they were both looking at the mirror, seeing the exact same things.


    ¡°Earl Ulrich will yell at you!¡± shouted Joshua as he finally managed to overpower Joseph.


    ¡°He¡¯s probably drunk alr-,¡± grumbled Joseph but the call ended, and this time, Adrian didn¡¯t want to humor their conversation again.


    He wanted to cultivate now, especially now that he¡¯d had a revelation of sorts.


    Rather, he wanted to refine his body, which was the point of the Body Refinement Stage, as Emma explained. And the best method was to repeatedly break his bones bit by bit and have them heal, enriching it with Qi so that he could infuse more Qi into it faster than he would by simply having it circulate around his body parts.


    That only worked for the Cartilage, Flesh, and Muscles but not for Bones. Bones were a closed system that only had small gaps to squeeze Qi through, which would be enlarged for a certain period if he broke it, letting the Qi enter through the gaps to increase his Cultivation Speed.


    After his bones were filled to the brim, he¡¯d be able to move to the Muscle Refinement Layer.


    ¡°I should probably do it as well,¡± said Emma and shrugged, ¡°Since everyone¡¯s away, I might as well surprise them when they come back.¡±


    With that, the duo split and walked away from each other, to opposite directions.


    For now, cultivating together wouldn¡¯t affect their training speed as they couldn¡¯t even fully absorb the Ambient Qi in the air, meaning there were no issues of sharing the same power source.


    Adrian stopped, turned around, and coughed into his fist loud enough for her to hear.


    ¡°Let¡¯s train after dinner as well,¡± he said, and after some hesitation, he added, ¡°And, umm- never mind.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± she asked, an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°I said never mind. It was something dumb,¡± said Adrian and waved his hands lazily after he turned around.


    She let out a short chuckle and walked away.


    He¡¯d never been next to girls for long enough to get to know them. The closest one he¡¯d gotten to was one of the merchants¡¯ daughters, who disappeared for months or even years on end. Their relationship was something along the lines of ¡®the two kids that played outside while their parents discussed business¡¯.


    Even finding a friend was rare, and this seemed like friendship.


    At least felt like one.


    His only other friend was a drunkard that slept through half the day and drank rum or alcohol during the other half. Compared to his tenuous relationship with the drunkard, what he had with Emma was a bit tighter: stronger.

 16. Cultivation

    It took years to break through to the Muscle Refinement Layer for most. Even an Inner Disciple would have to spend a minimum of a year to do it, if Shadow¡¯s words were to be believed, but Adrian had made it a point to not depend on the fickle ghost too much.


    It didn¡¯t teach him and he had someone to help him along the way now, unlike before.


    He¡¯d learned two of the seven techniques on the Jade Slips, each one exponentially growing more difficult.


    While the Cloud Body Technique was easy to learn, which meant it took him a week, the second one took him a month. It was safe to assume that the next one would take six months or even more.


    But before that, he needed to learn how to fight properly.


    Even with a great cultivation base, if he couldn¡¯t fight, then the same fate as Diana and Eric would be waiting for him: he¡¯d be defeated by someone less powerful than himself.


    Perhaps not in a real fight where there were no rules or ring-outs, but still.


    Adrian looked down at his palms, now trembling.


    His fists were cracked, but not shattered like before. There was no need for a Bone Mending Elixir and it didn¡¯t hurt as much. There was a big difference between shattering the bones into a hundred pieces and simply cracking the tips of them.


    It was time to cultivate now, and he could do that without sitting down.


    Adrian closed both eyes and focused on the nature around him, currently standing in the backyard of the Beaumont Estate. While it appeared as a colorful mist to the eyes, it was a completely different substance for the body.


    The warmth enveloped his body as he focused on gathering Qi, the specks of Ambient Qi moving at his beck and call.


    Rather, it was like the gravity that affected the Qi was now aimed at Adrian, so with the elegance of a glass marble falling to the ground, which was barely any, they slammed into his body.


    But it was only the Ambient Qi that came from plants that was like this.


    The Qi in the mountains was refreshingly cold, like a mint leaf on the tongue while the Qi in the Shadow¡¯s tomb was a different kind of refreshing cold, like ice-cold spring water passing through the throat on a hot summer day.


    Slowly, but surely, the Qi was redirected toward his hands: only his hands.


    The warmth that had been enveloping his body faded, forcing him to involuntarily shiver for a second as the summer breeze passed right through him.


    The warmth turned to an unbearable heat around his cracked knuckles, pushing away all sensation of pain from before to replace it with a burning sensation.


    It wasn¡¯t actually burning him, for raw Qi could do no damage, but very much like Killing Intent and Martial Intent, it could cause sensations.


    Adrian grunted.


    He¡¯d never focused this much Qi in merely two spots before.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Back when he used it on his Cartilages, it was split between every joint that he had, and that was more manageable. This time, it was focused on both of his knuckles.


    He feared what would happen if he focused everything on a single spot.


    It felt like he was rubbing his knuckles against red hot iron, whereas his cartilages felt like they were in almost boiling water.


    Mortals would barely see any difference but Adrian knew that pain was an essential part of attaining Perpetuity, and he preferred the path of least pain with the most effectiveness.


    It was a contradiction in the truest sense.


    Then it happened.


    The heat stopped being as oppressive as the warmth entered his bone. It surged into his knuckles, but the respite was short.


    Rather than touching hot iron, it was like the bones of his knuckles started to burn him from the inside: the phalanges that connected his fingers to the metacarpal bones, as well as the metacarpal bones themselves.


    They were figuratively on fire, only because the Qi couldn¡¯t damage his body.


    Tears streamed down his face but he grit his teeth to silence himself, but he failed at it and let a shout out.


    It was less a scream of pain and more one of irritation. It contorted into that on the way out of his throat due to his stubbornness not letting anything other than that out.


    He stopped pooling Qi into his bones but it didn¡¯t leave his bones as he expected them to, and Adrian stared down at his hands in horror.


    They¡¯d healed.


    With nothing on his mind other than breaking his knuckles to let out those bones, he slammed his fists into the dirt but the ground couldn¡¯t break it, for the dirt acted very much like a dampener.


    Tears streamed down his face and he growled. His eyes wandered around wildly, looking for anything that could break his fists. His eyes didn¡¯t even take note of several servants staring at him from the distance and out the windows. Instead, his eyes could only see the manor.


    Stone walls.


    They had to be hard.


    Within a moment, he hopped back to his feet and elected to slam his fists into it, but Adrian stopped halfway through as he fluttered in the wind, his body flailing like his bones were gone.


    The pain subsided as the Qi within his bones got drained along with all the other Qi in it, dampening the pain into nothing more than a slight distraction.


    Adrian was breathing hard by the time the session ended.


    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± he mumbled in-between breaths, ¡°I hate it already.¡±


    ¡°You can always give up,¡± suggested the Shadow softly, ¡°I would rather come back to life earlier than later.¡±


    ¡°In your dreams,¡± said Adrian with a smirk and his breathing grew faster, ¡°I can regulate the pain now. That means it¡¯ll be easy.¡±


    The Shadow only chuckled.


    ¡°That¡¯s a painful method. More often than not, it is also a waste of time,¡± stated a deep voice that could be easily distinguished as that of a woman.


    Adrian turned around and saw a woman with an eyepatch and a missing arm, her hair dark gray not from age, but due to an injury from years prior. Everyone in the city knew Dame Michelle for her valiant sacrifice during the previous war in which she defended Lord Beaumont.


    Despite her injuries, she seemed to be doing well, a wide grin on her face, revealing fangs that you¡¯d think couldn¡¯t possibly belong to a human. She didn¡¯t wear armor, for most forms of it would serve as nothing more than a chunk of iron that wasn¡¯t even harder than her own flesh, but she still had her blade sheathed to her hips: it was the falchion she was known for, which was one of the two Giant-class Weapons in the city.


    ¡°It¡¯s the fastest,¡± he said.


    ¡°Maybe, but you¡¯ll have to break all the bones in your body. You¡¯ll want to die or leave the Martial Path because of it. It¡¯s dumb,¡± she said and shrugged, ¡°Maybe not if you chug down enough Sense Severance Elixirs, which you could afford. Just take it slow, kid.¡±


    ¡°But I want to get there fast,¡± Adrian said through his teeth, but he didn¡¯t hiss.


    She deserved a degree of respect, like most nobles and knights. Especially knights who¡¯d survived a war.


    ¡°Slow and steady always wins in the long run. Just bide your time and cultivate properly,¡± said the Dame and gave him a wink with her single good eye. Thenshe added slightly quieter than before, ¡°You¡¯re already doing too good.¡±


    Dame Michelle mumbled something underneath her breath but Adrian couldn¡¯t overhear it.


    ¡°Well, whatever. Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself. You might end up ruining your base,¡± she shouted out and left after giving him a wave after turning around.


    Ruining his base¡­


    He didn¡¯t even know how he could ruin it, but others used that term a lot.


    That was a question for Emma in a few days¡¯ time¡­

 17. Why

    There were few things that were as exciting as the tomb when he first made his way into it, but the glamour had faded after his third visit. The most hateful creature that he knew resided within the damp cave that resided underneath a river, after all. It¡¯d be difficult to say he liked visiting the place, but he often had to do just that.


    Keeping the expensive ring on his person proved to be a problem, as he could easily get robbed of it and it could possibly be flashy.


    Thus, anytime he wanted to practice the third Qi Technique, he had to come to the tomb.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. It¡¯s impossible to learn that as you are now,¡± said the Shadow, floating next to him with arms crossed as Adrian held the Jade Slip in his hand.


    It was very much like a scroll made of jade, foldable due to masterful craftsmanship that let it act like chainmail. The text upon it was a magnificent golden color and they let out a warm glow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll never know until I try,¡± said Adria and focused his eyes on the scroll, but was halted by the Shadow¡¯s hand slipping between him and the slip.


    ¡°Do you desire to be a cripple so much? The information held within this slip is a hundred times greater than the previous two combined. Your head will explode,¡± grumbled the Shadow, and by the time it was out of his way, the Jade Slip was gone from his hand.


    How did it-


    ¡°Give it back,¡± hissed Adrian.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you that your brain will melt if you do that,¡± grumbled the Shadow and threw the Jade Slip back at him, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you die or live, but I¡¯d rather see through your eyes until the moment you die in the hands of a worthy foe rather than rot in this cave until your demise that will come in a century.¡±


    His brain would melt.


    ¡°Stubborn brat, your mother is alive and well within me. So why bother, if it is revenge you want?¡± it asked and raised a finger. Atop his fingertip manifested a smoky, dark sphere the size of a glass ball used by fake clairvoyants, ¡°Look.¡±


    Within the ball, Adrian could see the visage of his mother sitting in a dark street amid the mud as it rained, a torn blanket over her. She shuddered and the lively look that she always donned in life was gone, only an empty gaze that stared down at the ground present on her face.


    ¡°If you join her, then she wouldn¡¯t be in such a pathetic state,¡± said the Shadow and let the ball dissipate.


    ¡°If that was your attempt at persuading me, then I¡¯ll have to say that you¡¯re bad at it,¡± said Adrian and gave him a thumbs-down.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± roared the Shadow as its size grew larger, enough to match a house, and then almost touched his nose with its face. It poured out its Killing Instinct, and despite the massive difference between Tristan and it, the Shadow¡¯s Killing Intent did nothing to Adrian.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid of it.


    But more importantly, the Shadow¡¯s tone was different from before.


    While it had been full of pride and a mocking attitude before, it almost seemed desperate now: it was music to Adrian¡¯s ears.


    ¡°I want to become immortal,¡± said Adrian and stuck out his tongue, ¡°Too bad. You¡¯re never coming back to life.¡±


    ¡°I swear I¡¯ll tear your mother limb from limb!¡± shouted the Shadow, ¡°And I¡¯ll let you hear her as she pleads for mercy. But she¡¯ll get none. All because of you!¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± said Adrian, a small frown on his face.


    ¡°She¡¯s inside me. You saw her!¡± hissed the Shadow.


    ¡°But she¡¯s dead,¡± he said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll-¡± it started but it lost its motivation halfway through, let out a deep sigh, and slunk back down to its original size, which was that of a regular human, and its tone become weaker, almost frail, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to become Perpetual. Many have tried before you, and all of them failed.¡±


    ¡°Even so, I¡¯ll become Perpetual. I told you, didn¡¯t I?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Why?¡± it asked, almost a moan compared to its tone before.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to die,¡± said Adrian, ¡°I know that even if I become a part of you and join my mother in that world, I¡¯ll die at some point. I¡¯ll die and become nothing. I¡¯ll never think again and I¡¯ll just be¡­ gone. Doesn¡¯t that terrify you? The fact that you¡¯ll simply stop existing, once and for all after you die. Even if I reincarnate, that person won¡¯t be me. If I die, Adrian Anderson will cease to exist.¡±


    An uneasy silence choked all the sound in the cavern for a few moments.


    ¡°And I get a feeling that cultivating out here gives me more of a chance to reach Perpetuity than being stuck inside you,¡± said Adrian and shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s all there is to it. I don¡¯t want to die.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd. All men are fated to die,¡± said the Shadow.


    ¡°Yet we go against the heavens and try to achieve both immortality and martial prowess, do we not? We push on, despite the Heavenly Tribulations threatening to strike us down. Isn¡¯t that because all Cultivators are stubborn?¡± asked Adrian and sat down on a nearby pile of gold and crystals, ¡°Didn¡¯t you achieve that fake immortality of yours by being stubborn as well?¡±


    ¡°Stubbornness and idiocy aren¡¯t one and the same!¡± shouted the Shadow, ¡°To dream of immortality is a goal, but to dream of Perpetuity is nothing but audacity!¡±


    ¡°Where do you draw the line?¡± asked Adrian.


    The Shadow didn¡¯t give him an answer.


    ¡°Where do you draw the line between the possible and the impossible?¡± he clarified, but got no answer again, ¡°Just a year ago, I dreamed of becoming a Cultivator. My father had all the riches in the world, and yet he couldn¡¯t buy me that. It was impossible. For someone without talent like me, it wasn¡¯t even in the realm of possibility.¡±


    Adrian paused for a bit, waiting for its input, and continued after he heard none.


    ¡°When I was on the verge of dying after being beaten up by Cultivators and half of my spine was gone, even the greatest physicians in the city said that I wouldn¡¯t survive for more than a week. Yet here I am, alive and a Cultivator. Both things were supposedly impossible. Isn¡¯t it funny?¡± he asked, ¡°That¡¯s why I believe in the impossible. Because I know that it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a fool,¡± said the Shadow after the speech.


    ¡°Father called me a fool for wishing to become a Cultivator as well,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°This is not the same,¡± grumbled the Shadow.


    ¡°But it is,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Bah, hateful brat. There¡¯s no reasoning with you!¡± shouted the Shadow and it flew away.


    It was ignoring him now.


    Good for him.


    The treasure trove was indeed massive, and he could put all the crystals within it into his Spatial Ring if he wished to, but that would cause problems. The volume here was massive and there were crystals of colors that he didn¡¯t know, possibly far more expensive than the colors that he knew.


    After all, the Shadow was from the Central Continent and they most probably used more expensive crystals.


    But his eyes were on the single Spatial Ring that he¡¯d never opened before: the one that contained weapons.


    It was pitch black save for a red ruby, which made it special from among all the rings. While all the others were simple signet rings, this one alone had a precious gem on it.


    He slid it onto his hands and closed his eyes, instantly accessing the space within. He could feel everything inside it, as if he had put a hand into his pockets and was looking for something inside it.


    The Shadow¡¯s words were true.


    There was no sword save for one, all the others daggers. He didn¡¯t bother to unload the daggers and simply chose the sword, and then had it manifest.


    The rich Qi in the atmosphere shot away from him, causing a gust of wind to blow as the weapon formed within his hand: it was a longsword with a dim red handle with a pommel that looked like a red crystal.


    It was unusually simple-looking.


    ¡°That¡¯s just a slightly durable sword. You¡¯d do better if you buy your own,¡± said the Shadow from one corner of the room.


    ¡°I like it,¡± said Adrian as he looked at the sword that gleamed within his hand.


    It was most definitely an Aural Weapon, as it looked magical, and it was modest enough to not draw the attention of others.


    ¡°Then take it. It¡¯s just a trinket,¡± said the Shadow, still from afar.


    ¡°I was going to take it anyways,¡± thought Adrian, and unlike before, the Shadow didn¡¯t answer his thoughts.


    Now, he had a sword.


    So now, all he had to do was to learn it¡­


    Which was the hardest part, even with Emma coaching him.

 18. Drunkard

    There were few things as boring as having to follow his father around for social events. He liked showing off and having his son who happened to be a Cultivator at his side was the greatest form of it.


    The number of Aural Beasts in the area had grown too large. It was threatening the merchants who couldn¡¯t afford several Cultivators as bodyguards during their travels, and natural threats like this didn¡¯t distinguish between Independent Merchant or Merchant Sect Member.


    That meant they¡¯d mobilize the Steel Fang Company to hunt them down.


    Adrian had shown his face enough and he wasn¡¯t needed during the discussion. It was boring to hear the old men trying to outwit each other needlessly, and it was most certainly not something he enjoyed listening to.


    They¡¯d left the house at dawn and it was now noon.


    It was an urgent meeting, they¡¯d said, but they were taking more than six hours for it. The meeting itself had only started an hour ago, to boot. Before that, the merchants did their best to show off as much as possible: bragging to each other about their most recent accomplishments.


    ¡°Dad!¡± groaned an all too familiar voice, without a hint of elegance or self-control. The smell of alcohol was strong enough to reach his nose from around the corner and the sound of his gait included dragging one boot.


    ¡°Remus?¡± mumbled Adrian, an eyebrow raised.


    He walked across the corner, holding a bottle of wine in his hand. His shirt was missing buttons and was drenched with sweat and wine, apparent from the purple stain on it. His snow-white hair, which was due to a unique condition of his, was also stained with a slight bit of it.


    ¡°Remus,¡± said Adrian out loud and scoffed, ¡°You¡¯re outside!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± grumbled Remus and peered at him with one eye, which let Adrian notice his other blue eye.


    Now that Adrian looked at him, it looked as if he¡¯d earned himself one hell of a beating. Blood had rushed down his nose, leaving a trail of brown, crusty blood on his face, and he didn¡¯t seem to be walking like he normally should: one of his ankles was twisted.


    It would be an insignificant injury to a Cultivator, but for a mortal¡­ that¡¯d take a while to heal.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Adrian and put a smirk on his face, ¡°Pissed off Erwin¡¯s gang again?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± said Remus and shook his head vigorously, ¡°There was this chick, see? She just beat me up out of nowhere!¡±


    ¡°You probably got handsy with a friend of hers,¡± suggested Adrian.


    ¡°But still, that¡¯s bullshit!¡± shouted Remus, ¡°She at least has to announce the reason. It¡¯s proper etiquette.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t changed one little bit, even after six months.


    ¡°Where you been, anyway?¡± he asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you for what? A year?¡±


    ¡°Half a year,¡± corrected Adrian, ¡°I was busy. Don¡¯t mind it.¡±


    ¡°I suppose. Either way, move aside. I gotta talk to dad,¡± said Remus and he tried to push Adrian away, but failed. His eyes widened as he stared at Adrian¡¯s face, ¡°Did you work out? You?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just too drunk,¡± said Adrian and stepped aside, hands raised.


    If he was going in there to cause some trouble, then so be it. There was no reason for him to care about that, but the guards would, and therein lied the struggle.


    Remus¡¯s father, being a sensible person, would never let him ruin a meeting like this so he¡¯d probably warned the guards ahead of time.


    ¡°There¡¯s a meeting going on inside. I¡¯m afraid you cannot pass,¡± said one of the guards grumpily as he stood there, a spear in hand, guarding the Merchant Sect¡¯s office.


    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that? My dad¡¯s in there, you know?¡± grumbled Remus, but the guard didn¡¯t budge, ¡°How much do you get paid in a year? I¡¯ll give it to you, so get the fuck out of my way.¡±


    Adrian chuckled quietly as he watched the situation unfold in front of him.


    Seeing Remus make a fool out of himself tended to be entertaining and this time was no exception.


    He tried to walk past the guards but was pushed down to the ground by one of them, and fell rather painfully. And he was already injured.


    That had to hurt.


    ¡°Stop that,¡± said Adrian from the side.


    One of the guards glared at him, but within a moment, that glare turned into a bow. The other one bowed his head as well.


    The authority he had just by being a Cultivator was immense. Just being the son of a rich merchant wasn¡¯t enough. Just being a Cultivator wasn¡¯t enough as well. When you added those two together, then he became someone you wouldn¡¯t want to piss off. Add onto that the fact that he was the betrothed of a noble and you got someone that could kill you in broad daylight and walk away, and not be held accountable in the least.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s a drunk and injured man. You can afford to stop him without pushing him around. You¡¯re guards. You¡¯re supposed to be strong. That¡¯s why you¡¯re being employed,¡± he said.


    ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake!¡± roared Remus and climbed back to his feet, ¡°I¡¯m telling you. My father is in there. I need to get in. You have no right to stop me!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Easton instructed us to not let you in. I¡¯m afraid that we do have that right,¡± said one of the guards ¡ªthe one that had been speaking before.


    ¡°What?! That¡¯s unfair!¡± shouted Remus and he rubbed his forehead, then he shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Ugh, hell. Fine. Fine! I¡¯ll get lost. You happy now, dad?!¡±


    It wouldn¡¯t be possible for his voice to reach the meeting room, but it was probably a rhetoric question meant for himself rather than anyone else.


    Adrian let out a deep sigh.


    It wasn¡¯t as fun anymore.


    Nothing was.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else, buddy,¡± said Adrian and tapped Remus on the shoulder.


    ¡°With this leg?¡± he asked with his teeth bared out, ¡°It took all I had to crawl all the way here, and that bastard¡¯s locked the damn door!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re out of money,¡± said Adrian, and Remus shrugged as if it was obvious.


    Adrian grabbed Remus strung him up on his shoulder as if he was carrying a bag of dirt. It wasn¡¯t difficult, but it wasn¡¯t easy either. Despite his strength that was superior to that of mortals, he wasn¡¯t at the Muscle Refinement Layer yet.


    After he reached that, he¡¯d be able to toss around mortals like they were tiny stones, let alone carry them.


    ¡°You did work out,¡± shouted Remus.


    He was naturally loud and obnoxious.


    ¡°You¡¯ve missed a lot,¡± said Adrian and gave Remus a pat on the back while he was on his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it. Don¡¯t bother paying me back.¡±


    Red Crystals were expensive and most mortals wouldn¡¯t even dream of getting their hands on it, and while the merchants dealt with crystals in masses, it was unlikely that Remus ever got his hands on it.


    Even Adrian didn¡¯t get any until he became a Cultivator.


    Daily needs could easily be paid with coins, and Adrian happened to have half of his Spatial Ring stuffed with golden coins.


    While using the crystals in the Shadow¡¯s tomb was risky and would make others question him, having an abundance of gold coins wasn¡¯t a problem, because one Red Crystal was worth a thousand gold coins. Each golden coin, then, was worth ten silver. Each one of those silver coins was worth ten coppers.


    Only wealthy commoners ever got their hands on gold, let alone crystals. Most merchants that couldn¡¯t afford to find and sell priceless treasures like herbs or Aural Weapons only dealt in gold.


    It was like there was a rank among merchants: those who sold ordinary goods at the very bottom, and those who sold goods for Cultivators perched at the apex of the food chain. And the difference between them became more and more apparent as the scale of their operations grew until someone like Adrian¡¯s father could be richer than most Nobles and half of the Merchant Sect combined.


    Mr. Easton, Remus¡¯s father, was the former.


    That also meant that most taverns only got paid in copper and silver coins, which was what Remus¡¯s allowance amounted to.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s broken?¡± asked Adrian as he walked through the busy streets of the Market District that was full of stalls and salesmen shouting at the top of their lungs.


    ¡°No idea. My ankle¡¯s twisted and my eye¡¯s throbbing. It hurts all over,¡± said Remus, and Adrian could feel his muscles tensing, probably as he clenched his fist, ¡°That girl. Who the hell even does that?¡±


    ¡°Something tells me that there¡¯s a reason behind her actions,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°I swear there weren¡¯t any,¡± argued Remus.


    Before he got lost in the conversation, his attention got drawn to a shop to the left. There were few shops in the Market District, as most of them were stalls. Anything that was inside a building was called a shop, and anything that was outside was called a stall.


    It was to make taxing them easier.


    The particular one that Adrian was looking at had a carving of a herb on a wooden plank hanging from a stick that protruded from the building. The herb looked like a berry branch, but every berry was a star.


    That was the first herb that his father sold: the Star Drop Branch, used to grant a massive growth spurt to whoever used it, which was sold to the Royal Family in the Capital Imperial Auction House, garnering his father enough crystals to kickstart his career.


    As he walked on in a trance of his own making, Adrian realized that yet another situation had unfolded, and in this one, he was at the very center.


    ¡°So you¡¯re his friend,¡± said the Titan¡¯s daughter, a glare on her face. This time, she was wearing leather armor that covered her upper body but for her lower body, she had loose pants of the same brown color as her armor.


    ¡°Who? Remus?¡± asked Adrian, his expression blank and tone innocent, ¡°I guess so.¡±


    ¡°Ha! So you¡¯re here to make trouble?¡± questioned Diana, ¡°Just so you know-¡±


    ¡°Nope. Not at all,¡± interrupted Adrian, ¡°It¡¯s his fault. Sorry about whatever he did, now please, step aside. I need to get him to a physician. As you can see, or as you might remember, you¡¯ve roughed him up quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± asked Diana.


    ¡°He¡¯s drunk, can¡¯t you see? He obviously couldn¡¯t be right,¡± said Adrian and shrugged, ¡°And he¡¯s a troublemaker, to boot.¡±


    ¡°I did nothing!¡± shouted Remus from behind him, as his head was on the other side of Adrian¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°You obviously did,¡± Adrian retorted.


    ¡°She¡¯s a thrice-damned beast. Do you think I¡¯d stoop so damn low?¡± growled Remus from behind him, and that was when Adrian realized his nose had gotten used to the alcohol.


    ¡°No, but it could¡¯ve been one of her friends. Didn¡¯t I say it before?¡± asked Adrian, as calmly as possible. Then he turned to Diana, ¡°Excuse him. He gents handsy with too many girls that he mightn¡¯t remember touching your friend.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± said Diana.


    Her expression was weird. It couldn¡¯t be called angry and it most certainly couldn¡¯t be the face of saying enjoying the situation. If Adrian didn¡¯t know better, he¡¯d probably say it was an expression of confusion, her mouth slightly agape and eyes blank.


    ¡°You still¡­ haven¡¯t moved away,¡± said Adrian awkwardly as Diana intercepted him just when he was about to walk around her.


    ¡°Put me down!¡± shouted Remus, and Adrian casually gently placed him on his feet, ¡°For god¡¯s sake, I¡¯m not that injured.¡±


    ¡°Fight me,¡± Diana said suddenly and pointed a finger at him.


    ¡°No,¡± said Adrian almost instantly.


    ¡°Huh-¡± said Diana.


    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re stronger than me. The only way I could win the match before was by a ring-out. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll beat you on the streets,¡± said Adrian and chuckled while shaking his head, ¡°And there¡¯s no way I¡¯m fighting out here, in the market of all places.¡±


    Diana was frozen with shock.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. I guess you¡¯re walking to the physician by yourself. Here, pay him with this,¡± said Adrian and placed ten gold coins on Remus¡¯s palm, ¡°That ought to be enough. If it isn¡¯t, just put it on my tab, alright?¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± shouted Diana but Adrian jumped to the top of a nearby building, using the reduced weight granted by the Cloud Body Technique to his advantage.


    And he was gone.

 19. Fang

    ¡°Huh? Why should I?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°Because it¡¯ll be good for your cultivation,¡± said Emma, sitting on the opposite seat in the carriage.


    ¡°No way it will. I have to break my bones and fix them up. How does it help?¡± he asked, ¡°Even if it did, fighting Aural Beasts? That¡¯s deadly. Hell, the only one among the younger generation that is qualified to take them on is Tristan, and he downed both me and Edna like we were nothing.¡±


    Hunting Aural Beasts with the Steel Fang Company was possibly the most absurd idea that Emma came up with, and she came up with many of them.


    ¡°How do Aural Beasts come into existence?¡± asked Emma, completely disregarding his statement.


    ¡°They eat herbs and the Qi that they got from them empowers them,¡± said Adrian, ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not quite correct. Beasts can eat herbs and they can naturally become Cultivators like us, growing as we would. But unlike humans, they are born with Cores. As you know, absorbing too much Qi after forming your Core can rupture it. What we call Aural Beasts are those that have a ruptured Core and are constantly bleeding Qi,¡± said Emma and raised a finger, ¡°Crystals are the remains of their Cores, but that¡¯s only one-tenth of the Qi they possess. Where do you reckon the rest goes?¡±


    ¡°The air?¡± asked Adrian, head slightly tilted.


    ¡°Yes, and what do you think happens when you¡¯re around when they die?¡± asked Emma after she gave a small nod, as if affirming it.


    ¡°I could possibly absorb a bit of their Qi, but so what? We have enough of it around us,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°You tried the method I taught you, didn¡¯t you? It hurt, but that¡¯s because you were processing the Qi that came from nature. And what do you reckon happens if you absorb the Qi that¡¯s already been processed by the Aural Beasts?¡± she asked after another small nod of approval.


    ¡°It won¡¯t hurt,¡± concluded Adrian and he scoffed, ¡°It really won¡¯t hurt?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t, and it¡¯ll seep right into your bones, which means you won¡¯t necessarily have to break it as well,¡± said Emma and smiled. It was a proud one as if she¡¯d achieved something impossible.


    It really wouldn¡¯t hurt!


    ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll need an Aural Weapon to pierce through your hides. Since we¡¯ll be registering today, we mightn¡¯t have time to attend an auction. So if you have none, I wouldn¡¯t mind providing you with one. After all, you are my bethro-¡± started Emma and pressed her chest with her fingers, as if gesturing at herself, but she was interrupted.


    ¡°I have one,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Huh? When did you get that? You shouldn¡¯t have any,¡± said Emma, brows furrowed. Then she whispered after she finally realized it, ¡°It¡¯s from your treasure trove.¡±


    He gave her a nod.


    ¡°Is it a Giant Slayer? It¡¯s a Giant Slayer, isn¡¯t it?¡± she asked, a large grin on her face, practically drooling, ¡°Let me see.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just an Aural Weapon. Nothing special at all,¡± said Adrian, and Emma visibly frowned. Her widened eyes narrowed until they reached their idle state and she slumped back, ¡°It¡¯s a longsword. The same as Joshua¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°So you want classes from him?¡± she asked and puffed up her cheek.


    ¡°No. From the one that taught him,¡± said Adrian and she rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Old Man Richards is as busy as is. He won¡¯t possibly teach you,¡± she said, ¡°Even if he did agree, your talent with a weapon sucks.¡±


    ¡°And yet here you are, dragging me to hunt beasts that will rip me to shreds because you believe I¡¯ll survive,¡± said Adrian.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Surviving is different from being good at being alive, obviously,¡± said Emma and pulled out a pocket watch from her purse. It popped open after she clicked a button and she nodded as she looked at it, ¡°We¡¯re on time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re late, is what you mean,¡± he said.


    ¡°Fashionably late,¡± she corrected, ¡°I plan these out meticulously, you see? We can never be any more late than fashionably late.¡±


    The carriage pulled to a stop, almost on cue.


    Adrian groaned.


    ¡°I do that thing, right?¡± he asked, to which Emma eagerly nodded.


    The chauffeur opened the door from the outside and the sharp light of the sun assailed Adrian¡¯s eyes. The curtains of the carriage were kept closed at all times unless one of them was peering through it.


    Adrian kicked down the extendable stairs that were packed into a box with a foot and it folded itself open, letting them get down without jumping, as you would from an ordinary carriage. How such a small thing could support all their weight was a mystery that he wasn¡¯t feeling like thinking about.


    He got down first and helped her down, supporting her by holding one of her hands, as unneeded as that was.


    All for a show.


    Everyone else was already there by the time they got there, including the Titan and his daughter. Adrian didn¡¯t fancy her. After all, whoever beat up a mortal like that despite having far more effective means was sure to be an unsavory fellow.


    There were a total of thirty Cultivators, which was almost all of them in the entire city. Among the ones that were left, that is. A vast majority of the Cultivators were nobles or in the service of nobles, and said nobles were attending the summit.


    That left the commoners who were either too weak to serve the houses and the unsavory bunch that wasn¡¯t good company, and the official members of the Steel Fang Company on top of that: there were ten of them.


    If everyone was here¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s him, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Emma as her eyes fell on a lad with dirty blond hair, wearing a rough shirt without sleeves that revealed his muscular arms. Arms that meant nothing now, that is.


    ¡°Not him,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°I could always have him executed. For assault of a Noble Cultivator,¡± said Emma lightly as she pulled him close, and then crossed their elbows.


    Adrian was far too used to this to be bothered.


    ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s not him,¡± said Adrian, a wry grin on his face and he looked straight into her eyes, ¡°He was just a pawn, and pawns aren¡¯t responsible for the actions of their king.¡±


    Emma quieted down.


    Everyone was standing in something of a circle around two horse-drawn carts, meant for transporting as many people as possible rather than convenience. Two horses each were at the front of the carts, and unlike the snow-white or dark horses that were at the front of most nobles¡¯ carriages, these ones were either chestnut or dun in color.


    Horses of sharp colors were often associated with Nobles, and that was understandable. Most of them liked standing out, and what better way to stand out than outlaw commoners from riding horses of the color that they fancied?


    That¡¯s when his eyes fell on the Titan, and Adrian could see that the man earned his name. It was apparent that he was taller than most men, even as he stood inside one of the carts, elevated so that everyone could see and hear him. If Adrian could estimate, then he would suppose that he was two heads taller than Tristan, who was already tall enough as is.


    And he was muscular, impressively so. It was enough to prevail against any mortal if he, too, was a mortal. But muscle mass was nothing but an aesthetic at their level, especially at the level of the Titan, who was at the Mind Refinement Stage: a whole Stage beyond them.


    ¡°Now that everyone has arrived, let us get to the chase!¡± shouted the Titan, his voice gruff and it felt naturally loud as if he always spoke as loud as that. With eyes wide, he continued, ¡°We¡¯ll be going on a hunt, as you know. If it¡¯s your first time, then brace yourselves. You ain¡¯t ready for this yet.¡±


    He jumped off the cart, carrying a massive box in his hand. It was long, enough to fit a spear, and most probably heavy enough that Adrian would suffer to hold it if it was filled to the brim with weapons.


    Then the Titan threw it on the ground and pulled off its lid.


    ¡°But you¡¯ll be ready with this,¡± said the Titan and gestured to the box, ¡°Aural Weapons. The only things that can get through their thick hides. If you¡¯re good at punching and kicking, great. You¡¯ll annoy them and be our bait if you try that. They don¡¯t care about that. Your punches and kicks? They¡¯re nothing. You need to take this.¡±


    He squatted down and grabbed a spear.


    ¡°Then stab it into their damned hearts or brains. That¡¯s where it hurts the most. That¡¯s where you have to hit to kill them. Anywhere else? Then tough luck, you¡¯re out of the game,¡± said the Titan. He threw the spear back into the box and turned to the masses, then he asked as he bared his teeth, which was likely his idea of a smile, ¡°So you in?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. He¡¯s just exaggerating it,¡± said Emma and gave Adrian a pat on the back, ¡°I ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Literally, this time. You¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    When she was lost in the Cloud Mountains?


    So that¡¯s how she survived for so long.


    He¡¯d have to ask her about that at some point but now wasn¡¯t the right time.


    ¡°Alright, grab one and hop in, whoever¡¯s brave enough. If you¡¯re pissing your pants and trying to keep it a secret, let me tell you, I can smell that. And the beasts will too. Don¡¯t try your luck. Get in ready to slaughter those bastards or go home,¡± roared the Titan, and with every sentence that left the man¡¯s mouth, Adrian got the feeling that he wanted to discourage as many people as possible.

 20. Paw

    There were few things that made Adrian as anxious as the result of his first actual battle. It was the first real fight he¡¯d be in. There would be no pauses or judges to stop the fight, and if he got caught unaware, he¡¯d die. If he slipped and missed an attack instead of having it matter, then he¡¯d die.


    That realization made him want to rethink his decisions and return to the city, but by the time the thought crossed his mind, they were a dozen miles away.


    They were on a different road from the one that led them to the Dreamy Firmament City. They were tasked with the eradication of an Aural Beasts infestation around fifty kilometers east of the city on the road that led to the Imperial Capital.


    Or at least on the road that would eventually reach the capital, for there were several large cities along the way.


    ¡°Can you let go now?¡± whispered Adrian.


    What he was used to was having Emma stuck to him when he was walking around, but it was making his shoulders stiff to have her lean on him like that for so long. Especially when they were sitting on a bench with several others.


    She shook her head.


    ¡°Little Miss Beaumont,¡± said the Titan loudly, ¡°I heard that ye survived all alone in the mountains. That ought to have been difficult. I suppose ye know your way around killing them beasts, eh?¡±


    He was sitting on the bench on the other side, with seven others. Each bench had eight seats and two of them in both of the carts meant that it fit them perfectly. Next to him was Diana, his daughter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your compliments,¡± snapped Emma.


    Was she angry?


    ¡°Ah, excuse my manners,¡± said the Titan and he nodded with a closed mouth a few times. When he opened his mouth next, he was quieter, ¡°I thought that it¡¯d be a good idea to ask. I suppose it wasn¡¯t.¡±


    She looked away, which had the added benefit of letting Adrian¡¯s shoulders rest for a few seconds after the heavy head stopped resting on it. Even if looking away meant awkwardly looking back at the road.


    ¡°That said, I heard ye beat my daughter in the festival. Adrian, was it?¡± asked the Titan, his voice louder again, ¡°I happened to miss it. How¡¯d ye do it? Fair and square? Cheap and dirty? Overwhelmingly or just barely?¡±


    ¡°Barely, with a trick,¡± said Adrian.


    The fact that he¡¯d let Adrian rest his shoulders for a few seconds earned a favor from Adrian, and answering the question was the least he could do.


    ¡°Ha! So ye got done in by a cheap shot!¡± shouted the Titan with a massive grin, which was more bared teeth than a smile.


    Diana was uncharacteristically quiet.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good thing ye did there, lad. She had to learn one way or another. That tricks are an essential part of fighting, eh,¡± said the Titan, ¡°Especially in fights like these. Ones that you stake your life in.¡±


    The Titan was the first person that didn¡¯t berate him for cheating.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a round,¡± said Diana as she pounced up, her eyes wide and fists tightly clenched, ¡°I can down you in three moves. Try every one of your cheap shots, but they won¡¯t get me again.¡±


    ¡°As I said before, you¡¯re stronger,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°But he thinks you¡¯re stronger,¡± hissed Diana and came up to him, and then she pulled out a knife from a holster at her thighs. She put it against his neck in a moment and pushed him into the cloth that was the wall of the cart, ¡°Stand up. We¡¯re having a match.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my fianc¨¦ you¡¯re laying your dirty paws on,¡± said Emma, her tone lower than normal.


    ¡°Huh?¡± growled Diana, an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°I said you¡¯re dirtying my fianc¨¦ with that dirty paw of yours. I want those hands on the ground in five seconds. Whether they be attached to the rest of your body or not is up to you,¡± said Emma and produced her saber from her Spatial Ring, ¡°That¡¯s three seconds now.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Ryan, halt!¡± shouted the Titan and the carriage slowed down to a halt.


    In the blink of an eye, Emma¡¯s saber was near the hand that Diana held her knife in. Just when Adrian thought that Diana did indeed lose her hand, he saw the Titan pull his daughter away while still sitting, showcasing his size.


    A grown man could lie sideways and he¡¯d perfectly fit the width of the carriage, making it an impressive feat.


    ¡°Since ye lasses are so intent on fighting, why don¡¯t ye take it outside? And make a show out of it, while you¡¯re at it,¡± the Titan said and clapped a few times, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re making a stop, everyone!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to chop off that paw of yours to remind you of your place,¡± said Emma and swung her sword downward, making a swishing sound before letting the sword slip back into her Spatial Ring.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± said Adrian and grabbed Emma¡¯s wrist, ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°Let go,¡± whispered Emma.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°You want to lose your paw too? Like that peasant,¡± asked Emma, and for the first time, Adrian saw a cold gleam in her eyes: a look that he¡¯d never seen on her.


    He let go and raised both hands in the air.


    ¡°You¡¯re the boss,¡± he said and stepped back into the shadows of the cart as everyone jumped out of it, eager to watch the match. As always, Emma wanted to be fashionably late so she was the last to remain, aside from Adrian, of course. Just before she left, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t get hurt.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a stray mutt,¡± she said.


    Why was she so angry?


    Everyone had made a circle and with Adrian¡¯s height, it would¡¯ve been impossible to see the match unless he was at the very front. Thankfully, he was in the cart and that let him get a perfect view.


    He¡¯d accidentally secured himself a great vantage point.


    ¡°I feel pity for the child with the knife. She poked a hornet¡¯s nest with it,¡± whispered the Shadow inside Adrian¡¯s head.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t heard from you for a while,¡± said Adrian out loud, as no one could possibly hear him.


    ¡°I happen to love sleeping,¡± it said.


    The match started and both of them walked around in a circle, one with a knife in hand and the other with her sword.


    Did Diana always fight with a dagger or was it because of the hunt?


    Diana used the same trick she used on Adrian before and used a Far Step to step forward. But just as Diana¡¯s elongated leg hit the ground, Emma was already there. Before she could pull herself forward, the tip of Emma¡¯s blade dug into her flash and came out of the other side, eliciting a scream.


    Before the scream even ended, Emma pulled the saber out of Diana¡¯s leg and in the same motion, sliced through Diana¡¯s hand like a warm knife through butter. That made Diana¡¯s scream restart before it ended.


    It plopped to the ground and Adrian couldn¡¯t hold back the urge to vomit. He put his palm over his mouth and gagged.


    There was something unnatural about the way a hand fell to the ground with none of the control or motions it should have. The knife in Diana¡¯s now-severed hand fell to the ground as the muscles stopped holding her fingers together.


    That¡¯s when Adrian saw it.


    There came a surge of the colorful mist that he knew as Qi, which flew up and dissipated into the large mass that was produced by the forest.


    Diana lied there, tears streaming down her face while she screamed. She was hugging her knees on the ground.


    Adrian turned away his eyes.


    She went too far.


    ¡°I wonder. What made her hate peasants so?¡± mumbled the Shadow and chuckled eerily, ¡°If her soul had been sold to me, she¡¯d have made an excellent disciple.¡±


    Adrian couldn¡¯t even throw a witty remark back at the Shadow.


    ¡°Whew,¡± whistled the Titan and picked up Diana¡¯s hand. He looked at it from each side and threw it aside, then knelt down next to Diana, ¡°We¡¯ll get you a new hand once we get back to the city. I know a guy.¡±


    But Emma wasn¡¯t done yet.


    She stabbed her sword into the ground right next to Diana¡¯s head and squatted down next to her, ¡°Look at me or him with that look again, and I¡¯ll poke out your eyes, understood? And don¡¯t even think about laying your other paw on him.¡±


    Emma then hopped back to her feet and let her sword fade into her ring, a smile on her face. It looked eerie with the slight splash of blood on her face. That made the circle walk aside as she walked back to the cart.


    ¡°Splendid job, Miss Beaumont. I assume my daughter¡¯s learned yet another lesson today,¡± said the Titan and he chuckled. He gestured with a hand and one of his men threw him a Sense Severance Elixir, which he poured into Diana¡¯s mouth.


    As if she could finally breathe again, Diana sucked in an exorbitant amount of air with wide eyes. Even if she couldn¡¯t feel it, she was bleeding severely.


    Emma took a seat at the edge toward the front of the carriage and tapped the bench next to her as if beckoning him to sit there.


    ¡°You went too far,¡± whispered Adrian.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a peasant,¡± said Emma and rested her head on his shoulder again, ¡°I¡¯ll be sleeping. Don¡¯t move.¡±


    The slash from the tournament was dangerous and most definitely painful, but it wasn¡¯t this severe. While Cultivators could recover from flesh wounds in a few days'' time, a limb that was cut off wouldn¡¯t be healed.


    Only immortals could possibly replace a limb that had been slashed off, but imitating it with a weapon wasn¡¯t outside the realm of possibility. Especially if it was only a hand, but still¡­


    ¡°This is the world of Cultivators, brat. You want to reach its peak, do you not? Then make yourself at home, because the world won¡¯t change itself to fit you in,¡± said the Shadow, and Adrian bit his lips.


    He didn¡¯t vomit, at least.


    Even now, he could hear Diana grunting and screaming.


    It was too overwhelming.

 21. Pack

    First came the sound of footsteps.


    They were loud but light, like the manner in which the creatures walked was elegant whereas their weight didn¡¯t allow for much of it.


    Aural Beasts were no mere beasts.


    While they appeared fundamentally the same, they grew in size. Unlike humans who could condense their Cores, the bodies of beasts grew as the Qi within their bodies grew. It repeated on and on until they reached critical mass, and that was when they¡¯d start becoming impossibly durable.


    The ones they were meant to hunt had already grown to that level already.


    Even with all the preparation in the world, as Adrian stared at a wolf that stood at twice his height on all fours, he froze. It bared its teeth and out of its maw came steam and drool. As if sizing him up and deeming him a non-threat, the wolf simply stood there and stared at him.


    The screams of several others snapped Adrian back to reality.


    It was bloodcurdling, and more importantly, it may have been the only thing that saved his life.


    Moments ago, they came across a pack of wolves, but they were no Mundane Beasts. That much was apparent. By the time they got off the carts, it was already too late. They were among them, over eight of them, covered in gray fur that no mortal weapon could pierce through.


    But they weren¡¯t mere mortals and their weapons were meant to slay them.


    That¡¯s where it got the name: they were named Aural Weapons, for they could slay Aural Beasts.


    The only thought on his mind as the wolf finally lunged at his neck, which was more along the lines of the entirety of his body was¡­ sword!


    Adrian summoned his Aural Weapon from his Spatial Ring and held it in front of himself, to protect himself from its packs.


    But he¡¯d underestimated its weight and strength.


    The Aural Beast wasn¡¯t a creature he could stop with a sword. It weighed at least twice as much as him and its strength defied explanations like he was fighting against Tristan.


    Uncomfortably, his arm got pushed back and the fangs of the beast dug into his flesh, making two neat holes in his right shoulder and thigh. And worst of all, he felt himself rising and moments after, the beast started swinging him around like a chewing toy.


    His eyes became blurry and hot bale started rising up his throat, but that was the least of his worries. It felt like his neck was on the verge of snapping, now aching. His limbs flailed like he was a straw man, and his blade was thrown aside from all the swinging.


    Just when he thought he¡¯d be spending the night inside the belly of the beast, it froze.


    Adrian finally found a window of time to take a breath, and that was when he started to feel himself falling down. He fell to the ground, pinned underneath the neck and head of the giant wolf, and groggily looked around.


    The wolves were down.


    They were lying on the ground, holes in their necks or around the chest area, dripping blood that drenched their silver fur, staining them a dark brown.


    ¡°What happened?¡± he mumbled, or rather, tried to, but no voice came out of his throat.


    That¡¯s when the same colorful mist that came out of Diana¡¯s hand when it was cut off left through the mouth of the beast, washing over Adrian. His body absorbed it like it was a sponge dipped into water, not letting a single drop of it pass through.


    It entered his body and he felt something that he¡¯d never felt before.


    The Qi merged not with the amount held inside his body, which was constantly being used to upgrade his body, bit by bit, but went straight to the task at hand: reinforcing his bones and refining them.


    It felt right.


    Like he was supposed to have it.


    If using the Qi from the Beaumont Estate was akin to drinking hot water and absorbing the Qi in the Shadow¡¯s tomb was akin to putting ice within his mouth, this was water of just the right temperature. The temperature was so perfectly configured that his mouth wouldn¡¯t even feel the water inside it, for there wasn¡¯t a tiny bit of discomfort.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It seeped into his bones like its shell didn¡¯t exist, but in a few places, he felt them entering. It wasn¡¯t the alien sensation of a bug running through his body, but was similar to scratching his back: satisfying and under his control, or at least it seemed that way.


    The mouth of the beast was pulled open by one of the Titan¡¯s men: a permanent member of the Steel Fang, letting him out.


    Adrian crawled out of it with the vigor of a child and sat up.


    Without his consent, a smile formed on his face. He looked down at his hands and clenched his muscles. As small as the gain would be for his flesh and muscles, he felt like they¡¯d be stronger.


    That¡¯s when he noticed that the dizziness was completely gone and the injuries didn¡¯t ache anymore.


    He took a look at the holes, only to find them closed. They weren¡¯t fully healed yet, but they weren¡¯t bleeding profusely as he¡¯d imagined them to.


    ¡°Your first time?¡± asked the one that pulled open the beast¡¯s mouth, heaving.


    Adrian nodded.


    ¡°Feels good, right? Even the injuries they cause. As long as you aren¡¯t dead, you¡¯ll survive. Somehow,¡± said the man with a grin, ¡°They die and it comes out of every hole. Mouth, nose, wounds, cheeks.¡±


    He had a red bandana and a slight goatee underneath his chin, and in his hand was a bloody machete, still stuck to the neck of the beast.


    So this was the man that saved him.


    The man then pushed the beast onto its sides and dug his sword into its flesh, near the part that joined its belly and chest. After wiggling the blade for several seconds, he pulled out the sword and put his sword into it. From within, the man pulled out a bloody Red Crystal.


    He never knew that it¡¯d be this gruesome to extract crystals.


    ¡°You¡¯re in bad shape,¡± said Emma.


    ¡°You left me,¡± hissed Adrian.


    ¡°No, I correctly assumed that you could survive until I helped that peasant kill the beast that pounced at him. Who, by the way, just saved your life,¡± said Emma and raised both eyebrows, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want my fianc¨¦ to die. Especially not against such pathetic bests.¡±


    Adrian bit his lips.


    ¡°That¡¯s your definition of¡­ weak?¡± he asked and his tone shifted to a rougher one, now a full-on shout, ¡°Aren¡¯t you just one layer above me? How the hell are you so strong?!¡±


    ¡°Experience and ruthlessness with a dash of luck,¡± said Emma and pressed a finger to his lips. She put her face next to his, her forehead touching his cheek and giving him a whiff of the expensive herbs that she washed her hair with, ¡°You can yell all you want when we¡¯re alone. But not now. Too many people are watching.¡±


    She gave him a peck on the lip and pulled back as if that was meant to calm him down.


    Adrian took a breath, ready to keep on yelling but stopped.


    Not now.


    In private.


    He wasn¡¯t in the best state of mind, and as his father always droned on, he had to be calm, no matter what. Angry or excited people made mistakes: mistakes that anyone successful couldn¡¯t afford to make.


    Adrian stomped on the ground once and turned to the cart, now the cloth that covered the entirety of the carts on one of them torn, revealing its passengers without defenses against the sun and the wind.


    That¡¯s when his eyes fell on the fallen ones.


    They were lying on the ground in tatters, bleeding profusely. Rather, it was difficult to say that they still had blood in them. Being cut into four pieces didn¡¯t allow for much survivability, and then another one that had their upper body missing, possibly eating.


    A dash of luck, huh?


    He had that.


    If he didn¡¯t, then he¡¯d be on the ground with them.


    That wouldn¡¯t do.


    Not one bit.


    He had to survive and become an Immortal, no matter what. He¡¯d reach Perpetuity and leave everyone in the dust, no matter what it took, and to do that, he had to kill these beasts.


    Next time, he told himself.


    Next time, he¡¯d definitely kill them. He wouldn¡¯t freeze, no matter what, and he¡¯d fight.


    Adrian¡¯s eyes wandered and fell on Diana, a dagger in her one good hand, who was still fighting despite missing a hand. It had been cauterized and that was all they did for her.


    Wasn¡¯t a father supposed to care for his son?


    Were all of them like this?


    Perhaps his father wasn¡¯t the worst of them after all. Maybe there were worse fathers than those that sold their child¡¯s soul before they were even born. Maybe there were fathers like the Titan who only berated his daughter after she got her hand cut off, and then proceeded to drag her around on extremely dangerous adventures.


    And Diana?


    She was tough as nails to go along with that.


    It was absurd, how she could fight with that handicap, but that reminded him: did she even fight?


    He didn¡¯t see, but he knew that the Titan could easily take beasts of this caliber down, for they produced Red Crystals: they came from Aural Beasts, and only the ones that produced Green Crystals would be a challenge for someone of the Mind Refinement Stage.


    The difference between Stages was astronomical, even if a difference of one or two Layers wouldn¡¯t be the end of the world unless one of them granted an absurd benefit like the Muscle Refinement Layer.


    ¡°Four down. That¡¯s good odds against a pack of eight. We don¡¯t see many of ¡®em,¡± said the Titan loudly and turned to everyone. He raised his hands and stretched them out, as if hugging the air, ¡°This is what ye signed up for! It¡¯s war. Anything can happen. You can die. Anyone can die. Even me, if we run into a strong one. So anyone wanna leave now? Last chance.¡±


    Hands were raised, one by one, until six of them were up in the air.


    Four down and six out of the game.


    ¡°Good. We¡¯ll be using one cart, then. It can fit an extra five and the ones that are returning will take the other. Anyone that can drive a carriage among ye lot? I¡¯d rather not waste manpower to take you to the city,¡± said the Titan, and one of the ones that raised their hands nodded.


    That was good.


    The Titan tapped on Diana¡¯s back with impressive strength, which was more a slap than a tap. It could be heard from dozens of meters away.


    ¡°I¡¯m staying,¡± said Diana.


    The Titan looked at him with a small smirk and nodded. He turned around and hopped up on the cart, then turned to everyone, ¡°Hop on in. We gotta strike down three more before night falls and it¡¯s already noon.¡±


    Three of them within a single day?


    Was this man a madman?


    Well, most likely, but still-


    Adrian turned to Tim, the one that almost killed him before his father made his second deal with the Shadow, using his mother¡¯s soul as a bargaining chip. For a moment, he had the urge to stab his sword into the bastard¡¯s throat and watch him choke to death, but¡­ sword!


    He had to pick up his sword.

 22. Glimpse

    Night came as the sun rested behind the trees.


    They¡¯d found a cave for themselves after evening came and the first day, surprisingly, only had a single encounter. Whether that was a good thing or a bad one, he did not know but from the expressions of the Steel Fang, he knew that it was a bad one.


    They were being paid for a job and that was pest control. As dangerous as it may be, it still qualified for that. And they wouldn¡¯t get paid until they reached their quota, which was a hundred of them.


    After they¡¯d done that, the military could take it from there.


    The lazy bastards never did anything unless it was easy or a danger to the Empire, and cases of the latter almost never happened.


    ¡°I was too rash earlier,¡± said Emma slowly.


    Adrian, as always, was too busy to focus on her. While the Qi from the Aural Beast had seeped fully into his bone, he needed to absorb more Qi from nature and focus it around his wounds so that they¡¯d heal faster.


    The pain came back moments after the rush of Qi Rush ended, and he was left with two annoyingly painful injuries that had to be taken care of as fast as possible, especially if he needed to fight constantly.


    ¡°Are you listening?¡± asked Emma.


    ¡°Apologize to her, not me,¡± said Adrian as his eyes opened.


    The Qi within the cave was cold, and that was a refreshing change from the hot, burning pain from the Qi in the Beaumont Estate. While their extremes hurt essentially the same, this wasn¡¯t that. It wasn¡¯t contained within his bones and he hadn¡¯t focused enough to be painful.


    One could say that it felt like a piece of ice was held onto his flesh.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t an apology,¡± said Emma and raised an eyebrow, ¡°It was a reflection on my past actions. I probably won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    Probably?


    Adrian rubbed his forehead.


    Were all of the Nobles crazy in at least one way?


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to cut it off,¡± said Adrian and looked at everyone else. They¡¯d pushed the corpses out of the path and dragged one of the wolves along for dinner, and they were cooking it.


    Nobles didn¡¯t need to participate in such activities, nor those who couldn¡¯t cook, so most of them happened to be resting. The cave was spacious enough for the remaining twenty to fit with a fair amount of space from each other, and it was lit with six torches strategically placed around the room, standing upright on stands made for them.


    ¡°There¡¯s a saying among us. Rebellion must be cut off at the root with urgency and the utmost care,¡± said Emma and looked at him, ¡°Even if it¡¯s a child that doesn¡¯t know better or a Cultivator that doesn¡¯t know her place.¡±


    She would have had no qualms about cutting off his hand if he wasn¡¯t engaged to her, wouldn¡¯t she?


    After all, he, too, was a commoner.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a hand,¡± she said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a hand,¡± countered Adrian, ¡°You can use it to hold weapons, or write, or eat.¡±


    ¡°She still has one left,¡± said Emma.


    ¡°Then what happens after she angers another noble and has her other hand cut off?¡± asked Adrian, eyes narrow.


    ¡°So others can do it but I can¡¯t?¡± asked Emma and Adrian quieted down.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    He was getting too heated.


    ¡°That kiss. Why¡¯d you do it?¡± asked Adrian, turning his attention away from Diana¡¯s case.


    ¡°We¡¯re engaged, aren¡¯t we? That means it¡¯s acceptable,¡± said Emma and let out a short chuckle. Then she leaned in close, ¡°I had to make it look like I didn¡¯t say anything, so I made it look like a kiss. Wouldn¡¯t want my husband to be known as a coward that never goes against his wife.¡±


    He grumbled.


    ¡°Will you stop moping or will I do more eye-catching things?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± said Adrian, biting his lips.


    ¡°You are,¡± she countered.


    ¡°I¡¯m cultivating. What you see is my neutral expression,¡± said Adrian and closed his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the other one enough. You have that cute scowl. This one isn¡¯t cute,¡± said Emma and grabbed both of his cheeks with her thumb and index finger on each hand then pulled them apart.


    His cheeks were almost rubbery.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that,¡± said Adrian.


    He didn¡¯t even bother to fight back. He just told her to. It was a waste of effort to do any more than that.


    ¡°You should really start smiling,¡± said Emma after a few seconds of fiddling with his face.


    ¡°I do, every now and then,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°No, you smirk and scoff. You never smile,¡± said Emma and let go of his cheeks. Instead, she used her index and middle finger to push up the sides of his lips.


    ¡°Did I miss something? You¡¯re acting weird,¡± said Adrian and once again opened his eyes. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her, ¡°You¡¯re never like this.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen me with the twins enough. I do it all the time,¡± she said and rolled her eyes before pulling away: annoyed.


    Staring at her until she backed off was a tactic he was practicing.


    ¡°I¡¯m just bored,¡± she finally said and looked around at the others, ¡°All the nobles are away. There¡¯s only a bunch of minor nobles left behind and¡­ you. You¡¯re better than these peasants. You¡¯re the Starbringer¡¯s son and a first-generation.¡±


    The aroma of the wolf¡¯s flesh being roasted over an open fire stirred Adrian¡¯s senses. It smelled delicious, which couldn¡¯t be said for many dishes. Especially when he could eat anything he desired whenever he wished to.


    It was magical, just like the herbs and flowers at the Beaumont Estate being more aromatic than normal ones.


    ¡°So what?¡± asked Adrian, genuinely curious, ¡°Is prodding me your idea of entertainment?¡±


    ¡°No, but prodding you and making you talk to me is,¡± said Emma and shrugged, ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve been tricked into starting a conversation with me.¡±


    ¡°You could¡¯ve asked,¡± he said.


    ¡°I could have, but you mightn¡¯t have answered,¡± she said.


    ¡°I would have. I always do,¡± he said.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know that. Neither of us knows anything about each other. You have this¡­ shell that hides you. You never come out of it, never giving me a window to take a peek at what makes you tick. I caught a glimpse of it today so I showed you a bit of me as well,¡± said Emma and rested her head on his shoulder.


    He was already used to the constant pressure of a heavy head lying on his shoulder.


    ¡°You can always ask,¡± said Adrian and hurriedly added, ¡°But only a few questions at a time. It¡¯d be overwhelming if you did too many. ¡±


    ¡°Well then, what¡¯s your favorite color?¡± she asked.


    Color¡­


    ¡°We should start from the small things, don¡¯t you think?¡± asked Emma.


    ¡°Yellow, I suppose,¡± said Adrian, and because of her expectant stares, he added, ¡°Because it¡¯s the color of gold. I like it.¡±


    ¡°Time and time again, you prove yourself the son of a merchant,¡± she said.


    ¡°I am one,¡± he said.


    That¡¯s when the first round of the wolf¡¯s meat made its rounds, pulled away from the flames. It wasn¡¯t seasoned with anything but it looked delicious all the same. But he suppressed his urge to go and grab one.


    He had to wait toward the end.


    There was enough for everyone and everyone would get at least one large piece that was larger than the size of their bellies, and thus, there was no rush.


    ¡°Then what about your injury from eight months ago?¡± asked Emma.


    Adrian¡¯s expression froze.


    ¡°It was nothing,¡± he said, his tone monotone.


    ¡°But I heard you were on the verge of death before you got your gift,¡± said Emma and looked at him, her eyes almost ready to pierce holes through his head, ¡°Who did it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± hissed Adrian as his fists clenched themselves all by themselves and his breathing became faster.


    ¡°But it is. You¡¯ll be my husband. Any act of offense toward you must be avenged,¡± Emma whispered into his ear, ¡°Do you want me to kill that boy? It¡¯d be simple. Or have him tortured? That could be arranged.¡±


    ¡°As I said,¡± growled Adrian and then proceeded with a softer tone, ¡°He¡¯s just a pawn. I¡¯m going straight for the king.¡±


    Emma clicked her tongue and sat back.


    ¡°Then tell me who the king is. I could arrange for his arrest and a lifetime of pain and misery if he isn¡¯t a Cultivator or a Noble,¡± she said.


    ¡°I won''t let you,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Emma.


    ¡°Because I must do it with my own hands. I won¡¯t be satisfied with any less,¡± said Adrian and he hopped to his feet.


    ¡°You¡¯re worse than me, then,¡± she whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being a hypocrite?¡±


    ¡°I only go as far as necessary. And that guy warrants going all the way to the end, and that¡¯s not a matter of satisfaction. It¡¯s because he¡¯s dangerous,¡± he said, ¡°Diana didn¡¯t warrant such heavy-handed measures. You¡¯d won after you landed your first strike.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re never letting it go, are you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I already have. But I¡¯ll remember it,¡± said Adrian.

 23. Murder

    There was no overwhelming sound like before but without cloth to mask their arrival, everyone could see.


    It wasn¡¯t a pack of giant monsters. Rather, it was, but the scale was different. They weren¡¯t giants like the ones before. Giant compared to what their mundane counterparts would be, for sure, and terrifying still. However, it had none of the fear factors from before. And there weren¡¯t too many of them, too.


    Rats, a mischief of them with a mere ten in it, which was far less significant than before.


    But there was a single difference: there weren¡¯t as many of them now as well.


    With the number of people on the carriage and the weight the horses were pulling, they were moving slow. Perhaps that gave off the image of being vulnerable. Why were they attacking them in the first place? Hunger? He assumed they didn¡¯t need them now that they had a strict diet of Qi.


    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± shouted the Titan and pounced over the side of the cart, a large sword in his hand, which was his preferred choice of weapon. It was a two-handed sword being used with only one.


    Did he do that before as well?


    Adrian couldn¡¯t remember.


    He summoned the sword from his ring and held onto it tight, remembering the time it got knocked out of his hand so easily: a mistake he¡¯d never make again.


    By the time they came up to the elevated ground of the path, climbing up, they were ready. Perhaps they weren¡¯t last time. Maybe that¡¯s why so many died. Or maybe it was just the fact that the wolves were far stronger, larger and deadlier.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t spacing out,¡± said Emma, a small smirk on her face.


    ¡°I¡¯d be dying if I was,¡± he mumbled and let a breath out. Then he breathed in, bracing himself for a metaphorical impact as the beasts came up to the path.


    They weren¡¯t out of the forest yet and it¡¯d last for another half day¡¯s worth of travel if they didn¡¯t suffer much of a delay. That gave the rats something of a cover but when they were the size of humans while standing on their hind legs, that factor was almost nonexistent.


    It was twice as many of them against far fewer, and possibly weaker Aural Beasts than the wolves they encountered before.


    Adrian caught a glimpse of the Titan cutting straight through one of the rats, splitting its body in half, letting the colorful Qi wash over him and another one of his men taking down another rat with just as little effort.


    The fear from before was gone and the shock wasn¡¯t present either, so he was ready.


    Just as one of them pounced at him, Adrian managed to put his sword before him, the last few weeks of constant practice with Emma paying off. It skewered the rat straight through the chest and he didn¡¯t just stop.


    The moment it pierced flesh, Adrian swung it down, holding the sword with both hands. It wasn¡¯t simply swinging down either. As he swung down, he twisted his wrist downward to add to it and it ended disemboweling the beast, making its innards spill to the ground while the body itself hit him in the shoulder.


    If it had been a wolf, he¡¯d be pinned to the ground but this one was lighter than him so it wasn¡¯t much effort to push it sideways.


    From the massive hole came out the Qi and seeped into him, as if he was a magnet.


    Adrian scoffed and turned to the others to find all the rats dead.


    Was it this easy before as well?


    Maybe Emma was right. Maybe it wasn¡¯t all that dangerous or scary. He just had to be cautious and more importantly, he had to suppress the urge to freeze or run away. Despite their size and appearance, maybe they weren¡¯t that dangerous.


    Relatively speaking, of course.


    The injury from yesterday was almost gone but after he absorbed the Qi from the beast, it seemed to become even better. It was fully closed but a scar was left in the place of the holes.


    Adrian stared at the sword in his hand, now bloody. His mouth was agape and his eyes narrowed.


    This was the first time he¡¯d killed something, and yet, it felt right, like it was meant to be.


    There were no casualties on their side and it had been a breeze. There was no need for teamwork, too.


    He squatted down and stared at the carcass of the rat. It was a disgusting creature, with teeth that stuck out of their mouths. They had long whiskers and had disgusting dark brown fur, now soaked with its blood.


    Yet, after he did that, it felt hollow.


    There was no struggle and there was no effort. With just one stab¡­ no, it wasn¡¯t even a proper attack. It was just a slight movement of his sword, and it was dead, just like that.


    Were Aural Beasts this fragile?


    No, rather, was life as fragile as this?


    Diana¡¯s hand had been cut off with little effort and the life of the beast faded just as easily. Even if they had flesh strong enough to halt a mortal¡¯s punch in its tracks or bones that couldn¡¯t be broken by a fall from the top of a palace, they died just like this if you used a weapon.


    He stared at the sword in his hand and stared at the edge. Slowly, he ran his finger along the edge, careful not to cut himself on it.


    It was sharp, unbelievably so.


    Like it could cut paper if it fell on its edge.


    Adrian gulped.


    ¡°Did you just fall in love with your sword,¡± chimed in Emma, dragging him out of his stupor.


    He didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s a kill or be killed world out there. You either kill or get killed. As simple as that. That¡¯s why we¡¯re treated so well. Not us Nobles, but us Cultivators. We¡¯re the murderers that can kill the murderers of whatever nation that stands against us,¡± said Emma and poked his cheek with a finger, ¡°Mortals aren¡¯t allowed to murder but we¡¯re paid to do that. Isn¡¯t it funny?¡±


    ¡°I was always ready to kill,¡± mumbled Adrian and summoned a towel from his ring. As he wiped away the blood with the cloth, he turned to Emma, ¡°I just never realized it was this easy.¡±


    ¡°Easy?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Easy,¡± said Adrian and put away the sword into his Spatial Ring, along with the cloth.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    She scoffed.


    ¡°But you can die just as easily,¡± added Emma.


    ¡°Yeah. But I just have to kill them faster,¡± said Adrian.


    He stared up at the sky and narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Look up!¡± shouted Adrian.


    There, in the sky, circled around more than twenty giant ravens. Their shadows had washed over Adrian for a second, blotting out the sun, and then disappeared. Clouds didn¡¯t move that fast so it was clear what that could have been.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t trying to kill us. They were running away,¡± said Adrian, more to himself than others.


    ¡°This is pretty dangerous,¡± said Emma and stepped back.


    They made up a dark cloud over their heads and were now bloating out the sun. Perhaps sizing them up from the sky. It was clear that they were larger than normal but he couldn¡¯t get an idea of just how large without them getting closer.


    Birds had to be light and their bones couldn¡¯t be refined, lest they lose the ability to fly.


    That gave them an advantage.


    They couldn¡¯t possibly be more dangerous than the wolves, right?


    But the worst part was that each one of them would have to take at least one down.


    ¡°Take cover!¡± shouted the Titan but not many moved instantly.


    Perhaps it was shock.


    Emma did. Almost the first one to do that, in fact. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the Titan and his men throwing the frozen ones down where the trees could cover them, but as a side-effect, it also covered up the vision of the ravens.


    Were they hiding from the birds?


    Their shadows were far bigger than possible. The rats were far smaller than the wolves, and despite their mundane counterparts being only a tad bit larger than rats, it seemed that the birds were far larger than the wolves.


    How?


    Perhaps it was because of their wingspans being longer, making them look larger despite their body being only slightly larger than that of the rats.


    Then came the first one, swooping down through the branches like they didn¡¯t exist. It was swift and quick, and before anyone could react, the bird had grabbed one of them with its legs and flown away.


    Adrian¡¯s eyes widened.


    Just like that?


    No, that couldn¡¯t be the end of it. They could survive falls from the tallest buildings, so even if they were high up in the sky, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to escape.


    That¡¯s when he noticed that the man had left his sword behind, which was now on the ground.


    He was dead, for sure.


    Another one swooped down, but this one chose the wrong prey: it was one of the Titan¡¯s people, who stabbed her sword deep into its gut and downed it.


    One down and who-knew-how-many left to go.


    ¡°They¡¯re dangerous but they can¡¯t see us any better than we can see them! If you hear them, stab them. Try to even if you can¡¯t. It¡¯ll scare them off!¡± shouted the Titan and everyone shouted in unison.


    It was dangerous, but what was this sensation that he was feeling?


    His palms and soles were itchy and his heart felt like it was being tickled, a large grin on his face. It was a feeling that he knew innately, but coming out at the most peculiar time.


    He was excited.


    Emma was underneath the same tree as him and that reminded him of Diana.


    She was right next to the Titan, hopefully safe, even with one hand missing. It had been cauterized with fire and ash, making for a difficult sight to stomach. Seeing her trying so hard despite that inspired Adrian.


    ¡°Did you fight any of these before?¡± asked Adrian as he leaned back on the tree.


    ¡°No. You hide from them. They¡¯re dangerous,¡± said Emma, also leaning on the bark of the tree on the other side.


    That¡¯s when he heard a rustling from above him and instantly swung up, without even looking up, and that proved to be a mistake. He¡¯d been too early and it managed to grab him, along with several other ravens managing to catch prey of their own.


    As he was dragged up into the air with impressive speed through the branches, he could feel his skin being torn in places due to the trees. It flew with impressive speed and that was when he could clearly see what happened to the first one to be dragged out.


    The man¡¯s body was being torn apart and gobbled down while one of the ravens held it in its beak.


    The sheer number of them let them do that to ten at a time, and that was when he saw that some of them were holding the rats rather than humans.


    Did they eat anything?


    After they finished feasting on the carcasses of the first prey and the rats, then it was apparent what would happen to him.


    The sword was still in his hand, much to his relief. His fist was clenched far too hard around it to do that, and as he was turned sideways, he could easily reach its legs.


    That was when it tightened its grip around Adrian¡¯s body, making him shout out loud. They were large enough to fully cover his body and it was like he would be crushed at any moment, so he did the only thing he could: he slashed at its legs with all its might, and like cutting through butter, the sword cut off its legs and made him plummet down to the ground.


    The raven shrieked, and just as Adrian let out a sigh of relief, one of the ravens that had been feasting on a rat elegantly lunged for him, aiming to catch him up in the air.


    But he wouldn¡¯t be caught.


    He wouldn¡¯t die, for he had a goal.


    No matter what, he had to become Perpetual.


    So instead of falling normally, he instead activated the Cloud Body Technique and slowed down his fall, making the bird pass through below him. Timing it almost perfectly, Adrian deactivated the technique and fell on top of it, and as he fell, he stabbed his blade into its neck with his loudest shout.


    It penetrated and after a moment of flying straight, it started to plummet down as blood poured down his neck like a fountain.


    None of the ravens dared to come after him.


    Adrian could do nothing as the ones that were caught alongside him were torn to shreds up above him, and while he spaced out, the carcass of the bird hit the ground, rattling all his bones and head, making him dizzy for a second.


    He¡¯d fallen on the path, with a clear view of the sky.


    After they finished gobbling down the ones that they had up in the air, the murder of ravens wandered away.


    That was a close call.


    Too close.


    His body ached all over, not from any broken bones, thankfully, but bruises.


    While his bones were durable, his organs and flesh weren¡¯t.


    As he knelt on top of the bird, he cackled.


    Inevitably, the Qi left the bird¡¯s body and entered the only one that it could find: Adrian.


    It felt just like that of the wolf. The rat¡¯s was underwhelming but this wasn¡¯t so bad. It made him like he was floating among the puffy clouds: relaxing and more importantly, it made him calmer. That had the effect of halting his maniacal laughter.


    Adrian stomped on top of its skull and pulled back the sword, then looked at it.


    ¡°Swords are useful,¡± he mumbled to himself.


    That was when he realized he¡¯d been holding a breath, and let it out. Slowly, he breathed in and the stench of iron was strong in the air. And that wasn¡¯t all. A foul stench that he could only liken to rotten food or excrement also found its way to him, and that was when he realized that there were intestines lying on the ground right next to him.


    Leftover from the feast of ravens.


    That made him retch but he covered his mouth with his palm and looked away.


    After a proper breather, he shouted, ¡°They¡¯re gone!¡±


    Slowly, the remaining few peeked out of their covers and climbed out. Adrian half-heartedly searched for Timothy and found him nowhere.


    He was dead?


    A sense of satisfaction filled his chest and he almost wanted to smile, but he suppressed that urge. As much of a bully he¡¯d been, he was a mere pawn that had been manipulated.


    Just a pawn.


    That¡¯s what he told himself.


    Adrian looked up at the sky and narrowed his eyes as if glaring at it.


    ¡°So the Calamity has already happened,¡± said the Shadow within his head, dragging him into his thoughts.


    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Adrian mumbled to himself as he¡¯d gotten used to, for there was no one near them to hear him speak.


    ¡°The amount of Qi in the world. It¡¯s more than octupled. Every Cultivator born after the Calamity has had a massive boost to their Cultivation Talent. Suffice to say, the lowest level of talent possible now is that of an Inner Disciple rather than that of an Outer Disciple. You are¡­ only normal,¡± said the Shadow.


    Only normal?


    What was that supposed to mean?


    He knew that there were those that had greater talent than him, but did it mean that no one had talent inferior to his?


    It didn¡¯t bother him much, but the thought that he would cultivate as slow as the slowest Cultivators in the world infuriated him. Not the implications of it, but the amount of time it¡¯d take.


    ¡°So everyone is an Inner Disciple?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°It seems so. But still, even you easily broke through to the Bone Refinement Layer far too fast with that measly talent. It¡¯s absurd by the standards of when I was alive,¡± said the Shadow, and Adrian nodded along.


    That was when he felt something heavyweight almost knock him off his feet.


    Two arms cupped themselves around his shoulders and he felt like he was being crushed by Emma¡¯s grip.


    ¡°I can¡¯t breathe,¡± he managed to say out loud.


    ¡°You¡¯re alive,¡± said Emma, her eyes wide and a faint trail of tears visible on her face.


    Did she cry?


    Why?


    ¡°I¡¯m alive, obviously. Some random birds can¡¯t just come out and kill me,¡± he said and shrugged, now free from her hug and able to breathe and speak again.


    ¡°Ye took that damned thing down in the sky?¡± asked the Titan, a massive grin on his face as he stood a few meters away from him, arms crossed, ¡°Not bad at all. And you say you¡¯re only at the Bone Refinement Layer.¡±


    ¡°I was just lucky,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be modest. You¡¯re at least capable, and that¡¯s commendable,¡± said the Titan and clapped a few times, ¡°Alright, lads. Pack up and we¡¯ll walk back to the city. We¡¯re bound to run into some on the way back, eh?¡±


    Walk back? When they had a carriage?


    That¡¯s when he realized.


    Horses!


    Adrian stared at the carriage and found none of them there.


    He rubbed his forehead.


    Walking for hours on end?


    That was ridiculous!

 24. Enforcer

    Night came slower than expected, but perhaps that was because the day had been eventful. It felt like it was ages since the last time night fell, for they¡¯d run into two more groups of supersized rats, which was ultimately no problem. Nothing more dangerous and only a single casualty from both attacks.


    At the end of the day, they had five casualties. Among the five, two were permanent members of the Steel Fang, leaving a total of fifteen of them.


    Eight were from the Steel Fang and seven weren¡¯t.


    A total of nine people had died and six had returned to the city, which left them at exactly half the initial number. Thankfully, they were on their way back. After half a day¡¯s worth of travel, they¡¯d be back.


    Then, they¡¯d return for a second excursion. Whether Adrian would come back or not was something even he did not know.


    He¡¯d never expected a hunt to have so many casualties.


    And he¡¯d survived, somehow.


    ¡°Remind me to never get convinced by you again,¡± said Adrian as he focused the Qi into a scratch on his triceps, of which the dull ache made him completely forget the complete lack of a sleeve on his left arm.


    It had to be torn or it¡¯d have been limply hanging from the shirt by a few threads, making it impossible to properly fight with it flailing around.


    ¡°But you¡¯re still alive, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Emma.


    This time, they didn¡¯t have the luxury of camping within a cave, for there were none around. In the plains, it was impossible to find such a place and after around twelve hours¡¯ worth of travel, they¡¯d get back to the Blue Pavilion City.


    Walking back was the worst part of it all.


    ¡°I¡¯ve walked more than fifty miles today,¡± growled Adrian, eyes wide open, a wry grin on his face, ¡°It¡¯s absurd, is what it is.¡±


    Emma scoffed.


    ¡°What?¡± he hissed.


    ¡°You¡¯re interesting,¡± she said and shrugged.


    Adrian rubbed his calf sourly and felt it sting, leaning on a rock. Despite being a Cultivator, he was still prone to exhaustion for the great strength that he¡¯d gotten was used to move around his body that was just as heavier. Even if his lungs didn¡¯t feel it, his body did, and it reacted accordingly.


    The pain was nothing compared to the searing pain from before, but it was a bother nonetheless.


    Emma was sitting atop the boulder, looking at the distance.


    And he¡¯d have to walk with it present tomorrow as well.


    ¡°You¡¯re Adrian,¡± said a man from behind. It was a voice that felt oddly familiar but he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it. So he turned around to see a boy of his age with one side of his lips curved up into a smirk, hands raised in the air, ¡°I mean no harm.¡±


    He was from Timothy¡¯s gang. He was present when they were beating Adrian until he was inches to death.


    ¡°Get lost,¡± grumbled Adrian.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to get lost, especially out here,¡± said the boy.


    He rolled his eyes.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± asked Adrian and hopped back to his feet. One of his eyes twitched at the sudden sting from his calf but that was nothing compared to the injuries he¡¯d sustained in the last two days.


    ¡°Just wanted to make sure you¡¯re, well, you,¡± he said and then added, ¡°I¡¯m Gary, by the way. And I saw it. When it touched Tim.¡±


    Adrian¡¯s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.


    ¡°Yeah, that thing,¡± said Gary.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Emma, a smile on her face.


    ¡°None of your business,¡± Adrian said casually, shaking his head with an open mouth. Slowly, his expression contorted to a smile ¡ªa genuine one. Then he mumbled underneath his breath, ¡°It¡¯s real. Ha!¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°That said, I think it¡¯d be best to join, well, this team of yours. I¡¯d have a better chance of surviving than with them. As you¡¯d expect, they don¡¯t like me. Most of them were, well, bullied, by Tim. And since I hung out with him, they hate me as well. What is to say that I mightn¡¯t accidentally trip during an attack, and say, get mauled to death by a rat?¡± asked Gary and turned his head toward Emma, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m willing to do all the dirty stuff, like extracting the Crystals out of the beasts. Nobles shouldn¡¯t do that, after all. Do I have your permission?¡±


    Emma narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°I won¡¯t touch any of you, of course. I know you hate that,¡± added Gary and gestured at his hands raised up to the air with his chin, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m keeping them raised.¡±


    ¡°You may lower them,¡± said Emma with practiced ease.


    Gary shrugged and let it down, the smirk still on his face.


    ¡°Now then, I think it¡¯d be better if we were left alone. I can see Young Master Anderson has some questions for me, which I assume he doesn¡¯t want you to know about. For your own safety,¡± said Gary, and then after a moment, he added, ¡°Or, we could leave you for a second, if you¡¯d prefer that.¡±


    ¡°I want to hear it,¡± said Emma.


    Gary turned to Adrian and slightly gestured at her with his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous,¡± said Adrian, the smile still partially on his face, but it was rapidly fading away.


    ¡°I¡¯m stronger than you,¡± said Emma and hopped down from the boulder, ¡°And I have better resources to exact revenge if it¡¯s the so-called king you were talking about.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough,¡± he answered.


    Emma opened her mouth and closed her eyes, as if thinking, then spoke, ¡°Your father may be rich, but House Beaumont has an army. I could mobilize a part of it for revenge after our marriage.¡±


    ¡°An army? Just an army? Of what? Fifty Body Refinement experts and five or so Mind Refinement experts?¡± asked Adrian, an eyebrow raised, ¡°That¡¯s not enough for him.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking of, brat?¡± said the Shadow, joining the conversation from inside his head.


    ¡°None of your business,¡± Adrian growled inside his head.


    ¡°I agree. I doubt even the General will be able to hold a candle to him, and I¡¯ve met him before. That thing was stronger,¡± said Gary, a finger on his chin, staring up at the night sky.


    ¡°Tell me, or I won¡¯t train you again,¡± said Emma, as calm as a cucumber.


    It was a valid threat.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°I¡¯m your wife. I have a right to know, and I have a slight inkling that it has something to do with that thing of yours,¡± said Emma and tapped on his forehead with a finger.


    But he knew what she was referring to.


    ¡°It was immaterial. Something that no one could touch. It passed through anything and anyone that it passed through, started acting weird. Out-of-character, if you will. Like they weren¡¯t the same anymore,¡± said Gary and looked at Adrian, ¡°And after it passed through Tim, he started going off about how much he wanted to beat up Adrian, turned around and did the deed. A Cultivator beat up a mortal for no reason at all, as far as anyone else was aware. I saw Adrian look at it as if he could see it but I could never get close enough to him.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡± asked Emma, her eyes glazed with bloodlust ¡ªlike back when she cut off Diana¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Dead. The birds took care of him,¡± said Adrian, ¡°That¡¯s all you need to know about that man. He made Tim beat me up.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, so an Enforcer indirectly caused the death of your mother,¡± said the Shadow, ¡°That is an unexpected turn of events.¡±


    Enforcer?


    ¡°It¡¯s something that shouldn¡¯t be in the Outer Continents, but times have changed. All or none of you could be special in this new world,¡± it added.


    ¡°What does that mean? What are they?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°The Will of the Heavens must be enforced, and it is them that are tasked with it. They change the very futures of those that they pass through, and most are helpless against it. But not you, or that boy, for that matter. You are deviants whose very existence goes against the Heavens, and it is only you that can fight back against it,¡± said the Shadow, ¡°Do not think much of it. It couldn¡¯t see you. Perhaps it directed that boy who beat you up to kill a deviant, and as far as it¡¯s aware, you¡¯re dead. You are size¡­ for now.¡±


    If that was the case, why did Timothy attack him rather than Gary?


    It didn¡¯t make sense.


    There was a sour expression on Adrian¡¯s face now: a scowl.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ve spilled everything I know but it seems that he knows a bit more than me. Calling that thing he, that is,¡± said Gary, and nodded his head.


    ¡°It was a man. He wore brown fur as a cape and had a long beard. There was a helmet with horns on his head and an ax in his hand. Looked old, all his hair and beard were white,¡± said Adrian as he shook his heads slightly with each word, looking down at the ground, ¡°I could see that, even if he was blue.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I see,¡± said Gary and shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s all I wanted to know, but quite frankly, I don¡¯t care. I wanted your trust, and yours too, milady, so I could possibly get home in one piece. Will I?¡±


    ¡°If you watch that mouth of yours, you might,¡± said Emma, a smirk of her own on her face.


    Adrian could see none of the antagonization from before in Emma. When she lashed out at the Titan and Diana, the look in her eyes and her expression seemed like she was staring at trash, like it was something foul.


    But still, an Enforcer¡­


    What the hell was that?


    ¡°How strong do I have to be to defeat it?¡± asked Adrian in his head.


    ¡°Stronger than me,¡± it answered.


    ¡°I will be. How much stronger?¡± he asked again.


    ¡°The strongest in the world, perhaps. None can challenge the Will of the Heavens, but I must admit, I¡¯ve never seen a Fateless go far,¡± said the Shadow.


    But he¡¯d challenge it.


    That¡¯s what took away his mother.


    It called him a Deviant, a Fateless, but those names meant nothing to him. If that meant the Enforcers couldn¡¯t see him while he could, then so be it. It was enough of an advantage: better odds than he¡¯d ever had.

 25. Bond

    There were no more encounters, but the constant walking made it seem far longer than he¡¯d assumed. With two breaks on the road, they managed to make their way to the city by evening. They started to move the moment the sun came up and still, it took long.


    In just a few more steps, the city would be in sight.


    Running was always an option but none dared to do so, for it was essential to persevere their stamina in case they ran into another pack of Aural Beasts.


    ¡°Well, that was better than expected,¡± said Gary casually with his usual smirk and shrugged, ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll skip town soon. Too many enemies.¡±


    He¡¯d lost someone who¡¯d been a friend of his for years and that was how he reacted? Skipping town and saving his skin? No mourning or anything of the sort?


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be some sort of bully? Why are you afraid?¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°I am, but I don¡¯t like my odds one against what? Fifty? Tim could manage. He was at the Flesh Refinement Layer and he was one nasty guy. I¡¯m not,¡± said Gary.


    Timothy was the son of a former Steel Fang member who¡¯d died during a hunt, and Adrian could see how his father had died. This was a dangerous profession to have, and he¡¯d seen it first-hand. If not for his quick-thinking, he may have been killed out there. And that was why he¡¯d been cultivating for over ten years.


    ¡°Everyone else? I remember him having a bunch of goons,¡± asked Adrian.


    ¡°Goon? That¡¯d imply we worked for him. Obviously not. He was just a convenient vanguard for us wayward kids. Easier to bully others when you have a short-tempered and big guy as the face of your gang,¡± said Gary and raised both hands slightly, then pointed at himself with both of his index fingers, ¡°Just look at me. They won¡¯t be afraid of me if I give them a mean glare. But they¡¯d shit their pants if Tim give them that. That¡¯s how normies work.¡±


    They were walking in groups of sorts.


    Rather, they were separated with a slight bit of distance now that they were in the clear. There were no beasts this close to the city so it was safe to separate, but back in the forest or the plains, they were closer.


    The Titan and his people were at the forefront, almost on top of the small hill that would give them a perfect view of the walls: Adrian had come here quite a few times after visiting the Shadow¡¯s tomb.


    It was a beautiful view from there and he could never get bored of it.


    Then there was everyone else, following them while Adrian, Gary, and Emma made it a point to walk slower to get behind them.


    Emma didn¡¯t like being near peasants, apparently. Especially the nasty bunch, one that she assumed Gary wasn¡¯t due to his current attitude, but Adrian knew otherwise.


    Everyone stopped at the top, admiring the view, no doubt. But when the first one stepped back and started tumbling down toward them, Adrian realized something was late.


    He caught the one tumbling down, saving him from a long fall. It was a thirty-degree slope that spanned for at least a furlong in length. So he¡¯d have been rolling for a long time unless he managed to stop himself.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Adrian after he pulled him up.


    The lad shook his head slowly and let out a breath, ¡°Look at it yourself.¡±


    Adrian placed him on his feet and dashed up to the top of the hill and stared down at the walls of the city, now flooded with beasts, all of them Aural, without a doubt. They were oversized, which was apparent even from such a distance away.


    The walls weren¡¯t meant to weather assault but to stop stragglers from wandering into the city without paying the fee. Anyone that passed through or entered it would have to pay the fee if they weren¡¯t permanent residents, in which case they¡¯d have been noted by the guards.


    With a height of only ten or so meters, it couldn¡¯t stop some of the beasts from jumping over it, like the wolves they¡¯d first fought or worse yet, anything that could fly.


    But that rule didn¡¯t apply to Cultivators or Nobles.


    ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯m skipping town earlier than later,¡± said Gary and shook his head.


    ¡°We need to call for help,¡± said Emma and stared down at the army of beasts below, and he felt her shudder.


    They¡¯d covered an expanse of land that was at least a mile in both length and width with their bodies, and if he counted, he¡¯d find more than a million. Some were larger than the others and some were smaller, making the count too difficult to calculate.


    More than a million Aural Beasts and that¡¯d mean they¡¯d need at least five hundred thousand Body Refinement experts in the best-case scenario, and they had nowhere that many.


    If there were more than a thousand, it¡¯d be a miracle.


    ¡°The mirror,¡± said Adrian, ¡°But they won¡¯t make it fast enough and none of us can fly. The city is lost.¡±


    ¡°No, Lord Cranford is in Solitary Cultivation. The Titan can make it to their estate within an hour if he moves at his fastest and isn¡¯t held up,¡± said Emma and turned to the Titan, ¡°It¡¯s an order. Summon Lord Cranford. It¡¯s a matter of utmost urgency.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing I get a handsome reward if I succeed,¡± the Titan said and raised an eyebrow, ¡°Ye know, since it¡¯s the fate of the entire city we¡¯re talking about. It connects the land of four nobles, after all.¡±


    ¡°You will most certainly be knighted by the Crown,¡± said Emma, gritting her teeth, ¡°Now, do it.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°No can do. I¡¯m a mercenary, not an honorable man in the least,¡± said the Titan quietly and appeared right in front of Emma, then squatted down so their eyes could meet, ¡°And I have no qualms about killing an arrogant little Noble when the scenario is perfect. Emma Beaumont, a hero who threw away her life to protect the city, who fought against a horde of Aural Beasts with bravery that not even the knight orders could harbor. And his fateful fianc¨¦ Adrian Anderson, who too, died as a hero.¡±


    ¡°Y-you¡¯re threatening me?¡± she stuttered.


    ¡°Well, ye did cut off my daughter¡¯s hand,¡± said the Titan, ¡°And no one can do anything about it. Even if they could, they wouldn¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°You dare?¡± she growled.


    ¡°Stop it. I¡¯ll pay,¡± said Adrian and put himself between the two, hands outstretched, ¡°I don¡¯t have anything on myself but get me to a treasury, and you¡¯ll see a handsome pay. The city¡¯s burning. If my father is dead, I¡¯m a very wealthy man.¡±


    ¡°Ah, the son of a mercenary. Ever the diplomat,¡± the Titan said and stood back up, ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°You threatened me. Do you understand what this means?!¡± shouted Emma, ¡°I¡¯ll have your head on a pike!¡±


    ¡°And ever the arrogant noble brat that can¡¯t read the mood, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked the Titan, and he clenched his fist.


    Adrian could see the Qi around the Titan¡¯s arm get sucked into it as if he was planning to use a Qi technique. And no one could do anything about it.


    Emma was too stubborn.


    ¡°Father,¡± said Diana as she walked out from behind the Titan, her knife in her hand. She twirled it in her one good hand and spoke, as she walked toward them, ¡°Let me do the honors.¡±


    ¡°This is treason,¡± said Emma and stepped back, finally.


    ¡°Skylar Alcott is one most worthy of the title of honorary knight,¡± said Adrian loudly and stepped in between Emma and Diana, ¡°He delivered an urgent message to Lord Cranford in times of peril, saving it from certain destruction. For it, he is to be handsomely reimbursed by both the Crown and the nobles that call Azure Pavilion City their home.¡±


    ¡°And what was that?¡± asked the Titan.


    ¡°The letter she¡¯ll be writing to the Imperial Capital after all of this is settled,¡± said Adrian.


    Emma opened her mouth but he turned around and with all his might, swung his hand to hit her with a backhand blow to the cheek, sending her tumbling to the ground.


    ¡°Gary, cover her mouth,¡± said Adrian.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem all that willing,¡± said the Titan, this time eerily silent as well.


    ¡°She will be,¡± said Adrian and turned away from her, whose mouth was being covered by Gary, against whom she was doing her best, but failed.


    Adrian knew that Gary was an annoying guy to fight against. He¡¯d seen the lad hold back Tim, and Emma couldn¡¯t be much stronger than Tim. They were at the same layer, after all.


    ¡°And what proves that?¡± the Titan asked as the Qi around his fist started to dissipate, ¡°Why should I believe ye?¡±


    ¡°My word is my bond. I¡¯m a merchant at heart, Mr. Alcott,¡± said Adrian and took a step forward, then another, with each sentence, a small smile on his face, just as he was taught, ¡°I know to honor my promises. That¡¯s the first thing my father carved into both my flesh and my mind. And more importantly, I know how the world works. How royalty thinks. And I know you¡¯re an asset. One that they¡¯d rather do with than without. What¡¯s the word of a mere daughter of an Earl compared to someone on the level of the greatest knights in Cultivation? Think about it.¡±


    Diana was almost next to Adrian, and he raised an arm, barring her advance.


    ¡°Stop,¡± said the Titan quietly.


    ¡°She¡¯s Emma Beaumont, dad. She¡¯ll have you executed, no matter what,¡± she turned to her father and reasoned.


    ¡°Stop!¡± roared the Titan, making Diana jump and stop where she stood. Then he turned to Adrian and spoke in his softer, quieter, and more importantly, eerier tone, ¡°I have your word, then.¡±


    Adrian had the urge to step back, to wince, to react.


    But he didn¡¯t.


    He had to be calm, or at least have the guise of a calm man.


    So he raised his hand to a level it¡¯d be comfortable for the Titan to hold it.


    ¡°Merchants seal their deals with handshakes and pen on paper. I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t have the luxury of the latter,¡± said Adrian and tilted his head slightly sideways, ¡°This will be my second deal, and I assure you, the first one has gotten his end of the bargain.¡±


    His first deal was extortion, one involving the Shadow.


    It was a lie, but merchants had to learn to lie as well. Lie with a straight face, like it was natural. Being natural was good. It made others easy, and that was when the snake lunged for the neck.


    Adrian was trained to do just that for years.


    The Titan took his hand and they shook thrice.


    ¡°Now then, I assume you have your end of the bargain to deal with, Mr. Alcott,¡± said Adrian softly, the smile still present on his face. He showed a few of his teeth as well, to prove that he was confident. He slowly turned to Emma, for show, and added, ¡°And I have mine.¡±


    Gary was trying her best and Emma didn¡¯t have the luxury of using her sword, for her hands were being held behind her back by one of Gary¡¯s while the other one covered her mouth. He was sitting below on top of her, a knee on both her wrists and the other hand holding her mouth while keeping her head in place.


    ¡°Dad!¡± shouted Diana.


    ¡°Be quiet,¡± growled the Titan, pointed a finger at her, gave her a stare with intense eyes, and stormed away with impressive speed. It was difficult to follow him with his sight, making him look more like a blur.


    ¡°She¡¯s not thinking straight,¡± said Adrian and gave Diana a fake smile, one that he didn¡¯t think she could see through.


    ¡°Dad¡¯s gone but he never told me anything about killing you,¡± she hissed.


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t like that, I assure you. If you¡¯re half as afraid as I think you are of him, you¡¯ll stop right there,¡± said Adrian, eyeing the dagger in her hand.


    Fighting beasts was one thing but fighting another human¡­ that sickened him.


    Diana tightly clenched the dagger in her hand, gritting her teeth, but she put it back into its sheath and turned around begrudgingly after giving Emma a glare.


    He had to calm down a rabid beast now.


    ¡°First up, I¡¯m very sorry,¡± said Adrian after he gestured for Gary to release her.


    Within a moment, Emma hopped back to her feet in a single motion and summoned her sword in that same motion, and she held it against his neck.


    She had anger issues.


    ¡°I saved your life,¡± said Adrian, hands raised up. He could see Gary making his way a fair distance away, which was over thirty meters and that was when he realized there was a red bruise on Emma¡¯s face, ¡°You¡¯d have been killed back there.¡±


    ¡°Saved from a peasant by a peasant,¡± she growled and pushed it closer into his neck, digging into it and leaving a small cut there. Then she spoke with a scrunched nose, ¡°Who do you think I am?¡±


    Adrian closed both eyes and grit his teeth, more a reflex than a reaction.


    ¡°The one that decides my fate,¡± said Adrian slowly, as if tasting each word, ¡°Do to me what you will after this is over. I won¡¯t resist as long as you don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    Testing the waters, he slightly moved a leg forward, slowly.


    She didn¡¯t react.


    He stepped forward and put a thumb and an index finger around her saber from the side without the edge, mouth slightly open, and he slowly spoke, ¡°If you want to punch me, do that. If you want to stab me, do that. But not now. Now, we have to survive and we have to save the city.¡±


    Emma gulped and pulled the saber away from him, and she let it dissipate into her Spatial Ring.


    Just when he started to think he was free from her wrath, she lunged forward.


    Adrian¡¯s eyes widened and he tried to step back, but he couldn¡¯t. Not in time, at least. And that¡¯s when he realized that¡­ nothing hurt.


    Her arms were around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug, almost choking him to death but she let go just before he did.


    ¡°Your word is your bond,¡± said Emma and gave him a wink, now with her usual small but fake and confident smile.


    That was more like it.


    ¡°Again, I am very sorry. I¡¯ll make it up to you by¡­ giving you something from that place,¡± said Adrian and paused for a bit, and then added, ¡°Something you¡¯ll like very much.¡±


    Women liked jewelry¡­ right?


    There was that fancy Spatial Ring in the Shadow¡¯s tomb and giving it to a Noble shouldn¡¯t hurt too much. No one would question it.

 The Great Rewrite

    Hello there,


    I''ve finally got my life together and now have time to start writing again!


    It will most likely begin with a rewrite of the Dreamers of Eternity, with most parts of it rewritten and outright changed save for the general concept due to years of daydreaming of the outline of a story without the time to write down what came to my mind.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I will return with a back-log so I can maintain a consistent release schedule once again, so until then, it might take a month or more until I feel comfortable. The writing quality will most likely improve, and so will the characterization (hopefully).


    Think of my disappearance as a training arc. ??