《Take What Is Rightfully Mine》 Take What Is Rightfully Mine A remarkably beautiful man with blonde hair reaching his waist and wearing an exquisite golden robe was walking circles around a black-haired man laying on the ground and missing both of his legs and arms. There was not a single place on his body that was not full of scars, evident from the torture that he has gone through. With a smile on his face, the handsome blonde addressed the maimed man, "Artos, Artos, my dear. After Xena died receiving that prophecy, I felt threatened for the first time in my life. After all of my hard work of making sure that those two races are enemies of each other, your idiotic parents went ahead and made you." The beautiful man clicked his tongue a few times and shook his head, "Nevertheless, I was easily able to find the two that did the deed, but those morons went ahead and sacrificed their lives to send you to a Mortal Plane. Due to the actions of those two fools, I had to start my plans a few thousand years earlier than intended. I was thinking that you will hide like a rat in the Mortal Planes, but thankfully you are no smarter than your parents and decided to ascend to Godhood, delivering yourself to me in the process." Artos kept staring at the blonde-haired man with hateful eyes. He wanted to scream at him, curse him, spit on his face, but he couldn''t do any of those actions since he was being suppressed by the man''s Divine Power. Try as he might, he couldn''t break it with his own. After all, he is a Lesser God, while the blonde man is a Supreme God and one of the strongest at that. "With you out of the picture, there is no one left to stop me from taking what is rightfully mine." The blonde man let out a maniacal laugh and turned around to leave. Artos, on the other hand, slowly started disintegrating, not leaving even a speck of dust behind. Artos was a slave, a cripple, anyone that he befriended died shortly afterward. He lived through dangerous situations daily, but he managed to push through. Despite there being no one to teach him and guide him, he managed to ascend to Godhood, through lucky chances alone. He started learning more about himself, his parents and the reason why he had to live through so many hardships, but in the end, he was captured by the Supreme God of Life, Lightheaven. All of that because of a stupid prophecy and the greed of a God. Artos was mad, he wanted revenge, he wanted to slaughter Lightheaven and anyone dear to him, but he didn''t have the power to do so. In the end, he disappeared, leaving nothing behind. After Artos died, the world shattered like glass and disappeared alongside him, as if it was everything was but a dream. Artos woke up to the sounds of screaming and weapons clashing. Groggily, looking around he noticed that he is lying on the ground in a familiar steel cage. Two more Lion-kin boys were shivering in the cage wearing nothing but rags like him. They looked to be around 13 to 14 years old. Their golden manes would have looked beautiful, had they not been stained with dirt. "What happened? Was what I experienced all a nightmare? Or am I dreaming right now?" Artos asked himself in confusion. He wasn''t sure what to make of the current situation. Could he have gone back in time? Is that even possible? Even the Supreme God of Time, Huygen, was unable to turn back time. After all, time can only move forward and not backward. After a moment of hesitation, Artos made up his mind. Dream or not, he didn''t care. He had a grudge against Lightheaven, and he will pay him back a hundredfold for making his life a living hell. Even if this is nothing more than him hallucinating, he didn''t care, he will live his life the way he wanted to this time. In the meantime, he would also return the favor to the few that helped him out in his previous life. "Well, maybe I would still need their help." Artos thought to himself after taking a look at his missing right arm. He would need to heal his arm before his first Awakening, else he would be nothing more than a cripple again. Artos already went through his first Awakening with a missing arm and he paid the price for it. He wouldn''t make the same mistake twice.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. But before he could even think about all that, he needed to get out of this cage first. Standing up, he figured he will try something and see if anything he did in his previous life has carried over to this one. With just a thought, the Black-Steel bars of the cage easily bend enough for him to leave. Even a Silver-ranked Cultivator would have trouble bending Black-Steel, and yet he did it with nothing but his mind. [Requirements met, Telekinesis acquired. Skill level set to Lvl.7] Artos was happy that one of the few Skills he had acquired in his past life carried over, despite the Skill being looked down upon by those who aspire to become Gods. After all, Telekinesis is a skill that is believed to be impossible to level to a Divine Skill, which is extremely important when someone ascends to Godhood. Surprised that even the skill level carried over, he quickly checked his status to see what else is there. [Artos Forevermore] [Cultivation: Iron-Beginner] [Skills: Telekinesis Lvl.7] His cultivation was the lowest level Iron, like he remembered, despite him never cultivating in his life until this point. He had no idea why was this the case before, but now, knowing that his parents were from the Divine Plane, he figured it''s due to that. Stepping out of the cage, Artos calmly observed the Lion-kin and Humans that were fighting. The Lion-kin currently had the upper hand, but he knew that the strongest Human amongst the slavers, has still not taken action. In his previous life, the Diamond-ranked slaver slaughtered all the Lion-kin by himself. Although not having any friendly relationship with the Lion-kin, Artos decided to help them out. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As he was observing the fight, one of the slavers noticed that Artos has escaped his cage. The slaver wearing leather armor and carrying a short sword and a buckler shield made his way towards Artos. He had already reached Silver-rank and decided to toy with the bald-headed cripple. The slaver was not the least bit scared of the current situation since he was one of the highest-ranked amongst the slavers. A few others were Silver-ranked like him, while the rest of them were either Bronze or Iron-ranked, the two lowest levels. His boss and the leader of the slaver caravan was even a Diamond-ranked cultivator, as long as no Duke-ranked cultivator or higher shows up, his boss can easily take care of the situation. "What do we have here. The pathetic cripple has decided to escape and make a run for it. I never really liked your pretty face, so I''ll be more than happy to end your miserable life." The slaver smirked evilly while twirling the blade in his hand, but Artos didn''t even bother responding. Irked by not receiving a response, the slaver continued. "I shouldn''t have even bothered shaving your head yesterday if I knew you will die by my blade today." The Artos of before would have cowered and ran away from the slaver, but now he only shook his head, "Are you done talking?" "What?" Surprised at the response, the slaver exclaimed. Wasn''t this the cripple that always flinches when someone neared him? Wasn''t this the weakling that never talked back? Why is he looking at me with those emotionless eyes? Before he could question him further, the slaver felt something invisible bind around his arm. The next moment, the arm that was holding his short sword, plunged the weapon through his throat. "Argh." The slaver was completely bewildered by what happened. He didn''t see Artos doing any hand gestures and didn''t hear him say any incantation, and yet, he lost control over his own arm. He wanted to ask how, but in the end, he died without even knowing what happened. Artos walked up to the slaver, and removed the blade from his neck, beheading him in the process. He gave the short sword a few practice swings and heard a familiar chime in his head. [Requirements met, Weapon Mastery acquired. Skill level set to Lvl.3] Artos was bewildered by what he heard since he didn''t have such a Skill before. He was expecting to receive Blade Mastery, which he considered a Unique Skill, considering he knew only one person who had it. And that very same person was the one that gifted it to Artos in his previous life. He wasn''t sure why he acquired Weapon Mastery, but he didn''t have the time to dwell on it at the moment since a fight was happening around him. At the moment, the Lion-kin had the upper hand with their Gold-ranked cultivator leading the way. But the moment the Diamond-ranked Human makes his move, he will turn the fight around single-handedly. Artos was currently only Iron level and he wouldn''t be able to use his Telekinesis like he is used to due to his low energy reserves, but he believed that even without that skill, he would be able to deal with anyone here beside the Diamond-ranked cultivator. [Artos Forevermore] [Cultivation: Iron-Beginner] [Skills: Telekinesis Lvl.7 Weapon Mastery Lvl.3] ------------------------------------------------------------------- I have no idea how to make bluescreens and I don''t think I will bother with them. Don''t see the point.Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you enjoyed it or if you have any suggestions. Hope and Despair With the blade in his hand, Artos took a deep breath and suppressed his presence to a minimum. He might not be like those elite Assasins, who could vanish in front of your eyes, but he could reduce his presence to that of an insect so you could overlook him. Being on the run for most of his life, he had picked up a few things on the way, suppressing his presence is one of them. Dillion a Silver-ranked Lion-kin was fighting with a Silver-ranked slaver. He was using his trusty Greatsword, while the human was using a buckler shield and a short sword. The Beast-kin was relying on his higher strength, while the slaver on his higher agility. Both of them were pretty equal without having an advantage over the other. Suddenly, the human smirked evilly and dropped his shield. With his now free hand, he quickly scooped some dirt off the ground and threw it at Dillion''s eyes. "Ahh! You honorless scum!" The Lion-kin screamed out and closed his eyes. Despite that, he didn''t drop his weapon, knowing that the moment that happens, he will die regardless of being blinded or not. "Haha, little kitty, they don''t teach us how to fight fairly." Laughing out, the slaver positioned himself to land a fatal blow to the Beast-Kin. Just as he was about to finish him off, he felt a blade plunging through his throat. Turning around, the slaver saw a bald-headed man with black eyes and missing his right arm, staring at him emotionlessly. "The cripple? But how?" Were his last thoughts before he passed away and fell on the ground. Hearing the thud sound of a falling body, Dillion took the chance to rub his eyes and remove the dirt in them. Noticing the now dead slaver, he quickly scanned the area around to see who might have assisted him, but all of his Lion-kin comrades were fighting the other slavers. The only exception being the lone human slave, who was calmly walking amongst those that were battling. Dillion saw the bald-headed man step by step reach another slaver, and the moment the slaver made his attack, the one-armed human pierced his throat with his blade. The Lion-kin continued watching the human calmly walking amidst the chaos and murdering any of the slavers near him. Every time a slaver was about to make his attack, the bald-headed human would plunge his sword in their throats. The one-armed human wasn''t using any fancy movement techniques or amazing sword attacks. With just a simple thrust, he was dispatching the slavers one by one as if slaughtering chickens. Not once did he need to use more than one attack to end their lives. Simple and efficient. While Dillion was amazed at the prowess of the bald-headed human, Artos was cursing at how inefficient he was. If his cultivation was a tad bit higher, he would have used his Telekinesis to deal with all of the slavers in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, he was only an Iron-ranked cultivator at the moment and his energy reserves were too low to do so. Both leaders of the slavers and the Lion-kin noticed that the fight was tight of the battle was turning more and more in the advantage of the Beast-king. Gur, the leader of the Lion-kin was delighted at that fact while Greg the Cruel, the leader of the slavers was unhappy that he had to act so soon. Greg was enjoying the show that the Lion-kin were putting on for him, but he couldn''t allow too much of his men to die. There is a reason why people called him Greg the Cruel, he loved crushing people''s hope. Seeing how the morale of the Lion-kin was rising, he decided it''s time to turn around the fight. Might as well capture a few of them as well. His Boss would be happy to receive some Lion-kin slaves, after all, they are a highly-priced object. Sadly there are no females, they would go for an even higher price.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. With a mighty leap, Greg landed in between a bunch of Lion-kin. Unlike the rest of the slavers, Greg''s weapon of choice is a Warhammer. Most of his underlings might not even possess a weapon skill or simply have a very low-level one, but he is different. Greg''s Hammer Mastery Skill is level 5, on par with his Diamond-ranked cultivation. Most cultivators have a skill of at least 1 or 2 levels lower than their Cultivation while those that have a skill level equal to their Cultivation are considered talented. And those that have a higher rank skill than their cultivation are considered geniuses. With his Cultivation and Skill Level, the current situation was like a stroll in the park for the slave master. With just a single swing of his Warhammer, he would crush a Lion-kin into a meat patty. The giant Warhammer was like a toy in Greg''s hands and his maniacal laughter was lowering the morale of the Beast-kin even further. The slave master was playing whack-a-Lion-kin. The Lion-kin that were high on their emotions, thinking that they would win, had their hopes and dreams crushed. Gur was in despair seeing the situation. The moment Greg flared his Diamond-ranked cultivation, he knew that they are doomed. He cursed himself for bringing his comrades here. He now knew that he should have listened to his tribe leader, but he couldn''t allow for his two boys to be taken as slaves. Making up his mind, Gur decided to sacrifice himself to give his fellow Lion-kin a chance to escape. There is simply no way for him and his comrades to take care of the Diamond-ranked cultivator with the other slavers still around. This fight is already a lost cause in his eyes. Gur''s only regret is that he didn''t manage to save his boys. If only he was a Diamond-ranked as well, it would have been a different story. Alas, he is not, and he couldn''t hope for those lucky breakthroughs while fighting. After all, those are just stories told to the young ones. No such thing is possible in real life. "EVERYONE RUN!" He screamed out, "SAVE YOURSELVES! I WILL HOLD HIM BACK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE." "Run? Haha, there is no running!" Greg let lose another maniacal laugh. "Men, capture those that you can and kill those that resist. Don''t maim them too much, since they are precious goods after all. Hahaha." Gur growled hearing him and attacked with his Greatsword. Unfortunately, Greg easily deflected the attack and even managed to push back the Lion-kin in the process. The difference in strength obvious from their first clash. "Is the kitty showing its fangs? Tsk, tsk, tsk. As your master, I have to teach you how to behave properly. Be a good kitty and just drop your weapon, you don''t want to make this harder for yourself." Greg taunted the Lion-kin leader. "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR ACTIONS!" Gur growled while continuing his attacks. Unfortunately, Greg was easily able to deflect each and every one of them while taunting him in the process. Gur was a proud Lion-kin and considered a genius in his tribe. His cultivation was high for his age and his Sword Mastery Skill was level 5. He had a bright future ahead of him and could easily reach the rank of the royals, extending his lifespan in the process. Alas, he met his match today, with an opponent who has higher cultivation and a higher quality weapon. After each clash between the two, Gur''s Greatsword was getting cracked more and more. It wouldn''t be long before his weapon breaks, and he would be left defenseless at that point. A few clashes later, his Greatsword broke right in the middle. "No." Tears started forming in the proud Lion-kin''s eyes. He brought his comrades to their doom and couldn''t even manage to get them enough time to escape. He should have listened to his tribe leader and taken a different approach, but in his haste to save his boys, he doomed his fellow Lion-kin. "Hahaha." Greg let loose another hysterical laugher seeing the broken weapon and the tears in Gur''s eyes. He was delighted seeing the despair that the Lion-kin was feeling. All of a sudden the upper part of the Greatsword, the same one that broke off, flew straight at him as if it had a mind of his own. The broken weapon flew so fast, that no even managed to understand what transpired until they noticed the broken part lodged into Greg''s head. Everyone be it Lion-kin or slavers froze on the spot, completely confused at what happened. "How was this possible? Didn''t Greg break the Greatsword with his mighty Warhammer? Weren''t they just about to win?" The slavers asked themselves, while the Lion-kin immediately took action and mounted a counterattack. Gur was just as confused as everyone else, if not even more than them. After all, it''s his broken weapon that did the deed and yet he had no idea how. However, he had no time to dwell on the situation, his two boys were still captured and he had to save them. With no Diamond-ranked cultivator, the Beast-kin managed to kill off the rest of the slavers with Gur leading the way. Only one Lion-kin had a slight idea of who might have killed Greg. After the slave master fell on the ground, Dillion watched the one-armed human calmly walk up to him and start searching through his clothes. Shortly, it seems he found what he was looking for and pocked a green crystal. Prejudice "Might as well help them one more time. This would only bring a disaster to the Lion-kin if they take it with them." Artos thought to himself after taking the green Crystal from Greg. The green Crystal is a communication device linked to another green Crystal and is known as a Communication Crystal. It always comes in pairs, and you can only use it to contact or track the other Crystal it is linked to. In this case, Greg''s Crystal is linked to his boss''s Crystal, and his boss is someone the Lion-kin stand no chance against. Reginald the Slave Master, is one of the seven Kings of Tak. The only Human Empire in the Dana Plane. They have control over the entire Silver Grasslands in the East. Although humans are the most hated species in the Thousand Realms, no one has been able to take them down. Under the protection of the Emperor of Slaughter, the Empire of Tak has stood strong for the past 1 000 years. Greg was nothing but a pawn that Reginald was grooming. Should the Slave Master learn that the Lion-kin have killed his underlings and taken his merchandise, he would enslave them all. And should Reginald get his hands on them, none of them would die peacefully. In his past life, Artos was the personal toy of the King. Reginald made sure that whenever he had the time to torture him beyond despair. Saying stuff like "My God wants you dead, but I will make you wish for death." At that time he had no idea what he is talking about, but after his experience with Lightheaven, he had a better understanding of the situation. Artos might currently be weak, but he would surely pay him back. That is something for the future, but now, he would have to find a way to restore his right arm. In about half a year from now, he would reach the age of 20 and have his Awakening. Something that almost all the intelligent races of the Thousand Realms experience at some point in their life. Each race has a different condition for their Awakening, but the harsher the condition, the greater the strength they will gain from it. Some could even change to a different race after their Awakening. There are even a few special races that could experience more than one Awakening in their lives. When going through an Awakening, its important for the body to be in its best condition. Otherwise, it might result in a crippling injury or even death. Lion-kin for example, all Awaken at the age of 16 and can enter their beast from. Due to the simple condition, they only get a small boost in their physical capabilities and gain the ability to transform into their beast form. The only advantage of their beast form is that they can run on all four and are slightly faster. They can''t use weapons in that form and their Weapon Skills are rendered useless. Which is why they only use their beast form to travel and use their normal form to fight. After taking the Communication Crystal, Artos checked Greg''s body for anything else that could be useful to him. Unfortunately, the Diamond-ranked cultivator was poorer than he thought. Although his equipment was pretty good, Artos wouldn''t be able to use them since they didn''t fit him. As he was looting the corpse, a Lion-kin noticed him. "You there! What do you think you are doing, you human scum." The Lion-kin screamed out, seeing the one-armed human looting Greg. "Immediately drop anything that you found on the body. This is rightfully ours since we are the ones that took him down!" The Lion-kin said while eyeing the Communication Crystal in Artos''s hand. He didn''t know what the Crystal was, but it looked valuable. Since the fight with the slavers was finished, more and more Lion-kin started circling the one-armed human.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "I refuse." Artos answered with a calm and emotionless voice. "You dare, you filthy trash." Enraged by his response, the Lion-kin used his Greatsword to attack him. Artos didn''t even bother making a move and just stared at him with an expressionless look. "STOP!"Dillion moved in front of Artos and blocked the swing. "What are you doing Dillion? He is from that filthy outsider race. Why are you helping this human scum?" Angered, the Lion-kin used more force, trying to push Dillion away. However since both of their cultivation were the same, he couldn''t get past him. "Even if he is a human, he helped us out. He took out more than a dozen of the slavers." Their cultivation might have been the same, but Dillion had a higher ranked Skill than the other Lion-kin and was able to disarm him. "So what? Have you lost your pride in defending a human? They are the enemy! How many brethren have we lost to them? How dare you defend this scum? I should take you down for going against the pride. Come, brothers, let''s end those two together." Enraged, the Lion-kin urged the rest to help him out. They all took out their Greatswords and prepared to cut the two down. "Move aside!" A commanding voice was heard and the Lion-kin split apart to let Gur walk through the group. The two boys that were in a cage with Artos, were sheepishly following behind him. "Get him Gur! Kill the human!" The Lion-kin were excited to see their commander personally take care of the duo. Seeing his Gur making a move, Dillion was starting to feel desperate. He wanted to help the human, but he couldn''t stop his commander. Gur calmly walked up to Artos, and to the surprise of all of his kin, he bent 90 degrees. "Thank you for helping us! We are in your debt!" Hearing him, all the Lion-kin surrounding them all froze, unable to understand what happened. Moments earlier, after the fight had ended. Gur immediately ran to the slave cages. There were seven of them made of normal Steel, with each large enough to carry at around ten people, and one more made of Black-Steel, large enough for five people to fit comfortably. They were all lined up with wheels underneath them and were linked to a carriage with four six-legged horses pulling them. Not seeing his boys in any of the normal ones, he focused on the smaller cage. The bars were bent enough for someone easily pass through and it was empty. Seeing that, Gur thought that a slaver might have taken them and ran away. Tears were starting to form in his eyes, while he was thinking of the worst scenario. "Father!" "Father!"Relief washed over him, hearing their voice from underneath the Black-Steel cage. Immediately he ran to them and hugged his boys. Gur was happy to see them, but after separating from their hug, he asked how they managed to escape. His boys told him about a one-armed human who managed to bent the bars of their cage without even touching them. They also described how a slaver who wanted to stop him, suddenly killed himself with his own sword. Gur might not be the brightest out there, but he is a genius fighter. And for a fact, he knew that he had no chance of stopping, let alone killing Greg. Hearing that thinks slowly started clicking in his head. "So we owe our lives to a human, huh?" Humans are hated for a reason in the Thousand Realms. They are known as one of the cruelest races out there. Enslaving all other races and even their own kind as well. There''s also the fact they are an outsider race to the Thousand Realms, and there are also certain special humans that grant a Skill to the one that kills them. They are commonly known as Summoned Heroes, which have been granted a special Skill from an unknown being. Since their existence goes against the nature of the world, those that manage to kill them can obtain the Skill they were granted for themselves. Of course, not all humans are evil, but meeting one that would willingly help out Beast-kin is like finding a needle in a haystack. Nevertheless, he was grateful to the human that helped them out. As they finished their story, Gur heard a commotion happening and saw Lion-kin gathering in a wide circle. "Let''s go and see if he is still here, we have to thank our benefactor," Gur told his boys and made his way towards the commotion. When he got closer he saw his kin were encircling the one-armed human his boys told him about. Observing him, he didn''t look special. Around 1.85m tall, bald-headed, skinny with no muscles on his body and with a low cultivation. His face was somewhat handsome, but his eyes are what caught his attention. Black as the night, they looked like a gateway to the void. Despite being surrounded, his face was expressionless and his eyes emotionless. Gur felt a dangerous vibe coming from the one-armed human, so he decided to step up before his kin does something stupid. Hearing his fellow Lion-kin urging him to kill the human, Gur cursed in his mind. He hoped that they could peacefully resolve the situation. Even though the human had a low cultivation, he didn''t dare to underestimate him. After all, he managed to kill a Diamond-ranked cultivator with a single attack. Gur didn''t even know what kind of a Skill the human used to achieve that, but he was sure it was something extraordinary. Journey The races in the Thousand Realms follow a very simple rule. Might is right. Those that have power set their own rules and laws. Since Gur, the strongest of the Lion-kin, was thanking the human, the rest had to follow. They might have been confused by Gur''s actions, but they didn''t dare question him. "Are you sure you don''t need anything else?" Gur questioned Artos while eying him in his new gear. The human had found some leather pants and armor that fit him from one of the slavers. The right sleeve of the armor was cut off since it would only be a nuisance and get in his way. He also had six swords tied to his waist and a pouch filled with coins looted from the dead slavers. "Yes. I only need a bit of food and directions to the Silver Fox-kin." Artos answered him. "Food is not a problem, we could give you a few meat jerkies, but I do not advise you to go to the Silver Fox-kin. Humans are not really accepted there. Why would you even want to go there?" Gur asked. "Do not worry about me, I just need the directions." Artos had no desire to explain his situation to the Lion-kin. "As far as I know, the Silver Fox-kin live in the Yin-Yang Forest, which is on the other side of the continent. Since we are currently in the Bone Savannah, you would either have to go through the Boundless Desert or go around it. Even with a good mount, you would need around 2-3 years to reach the forest." Gur explained. "That''s too long. How about going through the desert?" Artus didn''t have the time of going around it. He needs to heal his arm as soon as possible, and for some reason, his injury can not be healed with anything less than a Royal-ranked cultivator or a Royal-class medicine. His only hope is that old fox. Hopefully, she has already become a Royal by now and would be willing to help him. Artos met the Silver Fox-kin after luckily escaping from Reginald. She, like him, had just escaped from her own imprisonment. Both of them had managed to escape due to a disaster and met each other in a mountain range. The Silver Fox-kin had her tails and ears cut off and was in a terrible condition, while Artos was still missing his right arm and had countless scars on his body. They each pitied the other and lived together for some time. The Fox-kin stayed in her beast form and refused to transform into her normal appearance no matter what. That lasted until one day, Artos woke up with his right arm healed while she laid lifelessly next to him. She was clutching a piece of paper in her hands with a message left for him, stating how her life was nearing its end. And since she didn''t have much time, she had decided to use what little remaining life force to heal Artos and help him out. The Silver Fox-kin had an old wrinkled face. Her body had just as many scars as his. That was the first and last time he saw her true appearance. It was also the first time that he shed tears for someone else. "I wouldn''t advise you to pass through the Boundless Desert since it''s too dangerous even for Royals. And even if you do successfully traverse it, you would have to pass through the Sleeping Giant. The mountain is just as dangerous as the desert. If you are lucky, you might reach the Yin-Yang Forest within a year. You should consider going around them since it would safer." Artos is their benefactor, and Gur tried dissuading him from going on a dangerous journey. "Like I said, no need to worry about me." Artos simply didn''t have the time to go around and had no other choice. "Since you have already made your mind, I wouldn''t try to persuade you further. Just beware that the Silver Fox-kin have a new Royal-ranked cultivator that is leading them. Under the Royal''s leadership, they have taken over the whole Yin-Yang Forest as their own territory." Gur advised him.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "A new Royal-ranked cultivator and they have already taken the over the whole forest? Has it already started? I must hurry if I wish to help the old fox." Artos thought to himself, already planning for the worst scenario. "I wish I could come with you, but I have my duties to the pride. I wish you a safe journey." Gur wanted to come with him, but he was being groomed to become the next leader. He couldn''t abandon his kin. "Then can I ask to go with him, Sir?" A Lion-kin nearby asked. "Dillion? Are you sure?" Gur asked. "Yes." Determined, Dillion answered. He like Gur was grateful to the one-armed human, but he also had his own reasons to go with him. "Would you be willing to take him with you?" Gur turned towards the human. Artos observed the Lion-kin in silence. His eyes were filled with determination, but he wasn''t sure if this is a good idea. He also didn''t feel comfortable with others around him due to his past. Not hearing a response, Dillion was getting anxious."Sir, you could also use me as a mount. You would be able to reach the Yin-Yang forest faster with my help. I could also be your guide until we reach the Boundless Desert." Hearing him the Lion-kin around him started murmuring how he has lost his pride, by willingly being a human''s mount. "If you slow me down, I wouldn''t hesitate to abandon you. Are you sure you wish to follow me?" Artos asked him. "Yes, Sir," Dillion answered with determination. Following him is risky, but it was a risk worth taking in Dillion''s eyes. The human was only an Iron-ranked cultivator and yet he killed so many with higher cultivation than him. He also managed to kill a Diamond ranked as well. How much would he improve in the future? How much would he be able to learn from him? He wasn''t sure, but he wished to find out the answers to those questions. "Let''s go then. We have to hurry." In the end, Artos decided to take him along. It would be faster with a mount and he didn''t have time to spare. After packing a few meat jerkies, and some camping supplies, Dillion said his goodbyes to Gur and the rest of the Lion-kin and transformed into his beast form. Standing 1.5m tall and 3m long with dark golden fur, Dillion looked quite menacing to a non-cultivator. Artos hopped onto his back, and the duo made their way towards the Boundless Desert. Their first destination was a Beast-kin town near the borders of the desert. The town was called Brownend and the leader of the town is a Duke-ranked cultivator. Unfortunately, Dillion couldn''t provide much information besides that. He didn''t even know what kind of a Beast-kin is the Royal. On their way, Dillion asked Artos questions from time to time. Like who he is, where did he come from, where did he learn how to fight like that. Sadly, Artos had no desire to answer him. Since he didn''t receive any response to his questions, Dillion started talking about himself and his pride. Telling him stories of his chieftain, who is a Duke-ranked cultivator. How he is a mighty warrior wielding a Greatsword. Due to that, all his kin use a Greatsword as well. Trying to imitate him and follow in his steps. Dillion also told him about his dreams of becoming a mighty warrior like his chieftain. The duo traveled until the sun started setting down. Since they couldn''t travel through the night, they found a safe place where they could set up their camp. Once they settled down, Dillion immediately fell asleep since he was tired from running and the fight with the slavers. Artos, on the other hand, sat into a meditative position and started cultivating. He had no time to waste, so he decided to cultivate rather than sleep. The cultivation technique that he is using is called Gentle Stream. Not the most confident inspiring name, nor the best cultivation technique, but beggars can''t be choosers. In his past life, the technique was good enough for him to ascend to Godhood and he didn''t know a better one at the moment. The Yi(mind) leads the Qi, Artos imagined the world energy around him slowly flowing into him. The energy gently flowed through his meridians in a specific manner like a stream moving through a forest. Until finally reaching his Iron core, filling it up. Nevertheless, cultivation is a long process, and it would take some time before he sees any improvements. Under the two moons, Artos cultivated until dawn. The night passed peacefully and Dillion woke up once the sun started shining. Despite not sleeping, Artos felt refreshed from his first time cultivating in this life. He felt full of energy and was ready to continue their journey. The duo packed their belongings and continued on their way towards Brownend. Around midday, the duo finally had the town in their sights.