ã€ŠOne Look to Rule the Heavensã€‹


 Chapter 1: Why?

    ¡°Can anyone solve 2x+y3=50?¡± A fat man with graying hair, dressed in flannel and jeans, stands at the front of the class. Looking at the students his brows begin to furrow, squeezing his fist the chalk breaks.

    As they sit at their desk, none of the students are paying attention, half of them are on their phone and the others are talking to each other.

    In the second to last row sits a boy holding his phone. He has dark brown hair, so dark that if you didn''t see it just right in the proper lighting, you would mistake it as black. He looks to be around 6¡¯0¡¯¡¯ and overweight, but not to the point one would call him obese.

    Using his thumb he scrolls through his phone. On the screen in the latest chapter of One Piece.

    ¡°Yes!¡± filled with excitement he jumps to his feet ¡°1.5 billion!¡±

    ¡°No Patrick that''s not even close to being right" taking the outburst as an answer, the teachers finally finds someone to take his frustration out on. ¡°Are you even paying attention, how you would even get close to that number is beyond me! Thanks to Patrick over here I want you to all do pages 362-394 in your workbook tonight for homework! And you better show your work! And don''t think about not doing it because this will be worth a test grade!!¡±

    As the teacher goes off on his tirade spit flies everywhere and the other 29 students send Patrick death glares. With an apologetic look, he glances around the class.

    One group of 3 boys in the back corner look especially upset. They begin to mouth something in his direction. Taking but a moment, he reads their lips and finds out they want him to meet them after school.

    Embarrassed and scared he quickly sits back in his seat. The joy from the Big Mom arc finally ending and Luffy¡¯s bounty vanishes.

    ¡°Fucking loser. Because of him, we have extra work now.¡±

    ¡°Geez, Mark are you that upset~?¡±

    ¡°Sara, you don''t have to sit directly next to this freak. He reads porn all day and he smells strange!¡±

    As he hears the conversation of the person next to him, combined with the teachers continued yelling he becomes crestfallen.

    Suddenly the bell rings, indicating the end of the school day. Everyone, Patrick included, rush towards the door.

    Seeing this the fat teacher becomes more irate. ¡°The bell doesn''t dismiss you, I do! Now sit down!¡±

    Not a single student even hesitates before rushing out the door. Seeing this the teacher slams his fist against the chalkboard.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    Grabbing his bag Patrick moves with a swiftness uncommon for his body size and quickly exits the door.

    The hallway is decorated with a dirty green carpet, the walls are made of a creamy white brick, and along the walls are rows and rows of lockers. Moving down the hallway classrooms are located between the lockers at certain intervals.

    As he enters the hallway students from other classes pour out, quickly crowding the hall.

    ¡°It''s not my fault my eczema medication causes my body to smell, asshole" disgruntled he makes his way towards the end of the hall. As he does a wider hallway comes into view.

    The main hallway has rows of diagonal lockers on one side near the branching hallways. On the other side is a large railing one can use to look down to the first floor. Getting ready to turn right towards the staircase leading to the first floor he feels a hand grab his shoulder.

    ¡°Trying to run off somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Hehe the little bastard tried to run"

    His entire body stiffens as he turns around and sees Jeff, Bill, and Jeremy. The three boys from his class.

    ¡°Haha guys, long time no see" awkwardly scratching the back of his head he looks at the delinquents from his class. Jeffrey or Jeff for short is the son of a congressman. With his backing, the school does nothing to him out of fear of his father. Bill and Jeremy are just his goons because he''s rich and has a nice house, or so Patrick thinks.

    ¡°Uh, guys, what can I do for you?¡± with a wye smile he looks at Jeff.

    Jeff has a solemn look on his face as he looks at Patrick. Not even bothering to answer his question he walks past him, heading for the stairs.

    ¡°I know you read my lips earlier, trying to run from us, tsk tsk tsk. You know what happened last time you tried to flee, and yet you did it again.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, maybe the freak is a masochist, always reading porn in class and shit."

    As they finish speaking the begin to push him towards the stairs.

    ¡°It''s not porn...it''s manga"

    *Wack* Bill slaps him over the back of the head. ¡°Fuck! You have the balls to talk back!?¡±

    Clenching his fist and biting his lips he heads towards the stairs.

    As they arrive on the first floor a wide area comes into view. To the right leads towards the front of the school. And the left towards the cafeteria. Along the far wall are more branching hallways leading to more classrooms, and on the wall near the staircase are the faculty offices.

    With a shove, they continue to follow Jeff and the general flow of the crowd towards the cafeteria.

    Looking around he tries to find a teacher that can help him out of this situation, but every teacher he sees turn their head after noticing Jeff and his gang.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Letting out a breath, he resigns to his fate. As they move through the cafeteria towards the back exit that leads towards the buses people give him mocking looks.

    In this school everyone knows him, but not in a good way. During freshman year he was reading Manga on his phone during class. One of the most beautiful girls in the grade happened to sit behind him and saw what he was reading. Taking it as porn she made a big deal about it and complained to the teacher. His name spread through the whole school shortly after the incident as a pervert, even the police were involved.

    But looking back he wasn''t without fault, as reading Queen''s Blade in class probably wasn''t the best idea.

    Eventually, they exit the school using the double doors in the back of the cafeteria. As he exits the sunlight momentarily stings his eyes.

    Taking a second to adjust, he feels a shove moving him towards the left, away from the buses.

    ¡°Guys I live pretty far, if I miss the bus it will take me forever to get home"

    As the voice leaves his lips, Jeff immediately stops and slowly looks back over his shoulder. ¡°Did you say something?¡± a deep voice escapes as his brows begin to furrow.

    Seeing the look on his face a cold shiver runs down his spine, bumps begin to form on his arm, and his hairs stand on end. Jeff doesn''t talk much, but when he does, it''s never good.

    There was one boy who tried to hit on his younger sister, it was ok at the beginning because Jeff just told him to leave her alone. But the boy, in all his bravery asked him who he thought he was to tell him who he could and couldn''t chase. The next day the boy was beaten with a baseball bat, his leg shattered, never able to recover.

    The look on his face now Is the same one as when the boy questioned him.

    ¡°Ah nothing, nothing, I was just mumbling to myself" panicking he quickly answers as sweat begins to roll down his back.

    Silent for a moment, Jeff continues to walk towards the back parking lot.

    ¡°Dumbass dared to question the boss" With a wack, he continues to push Patrick.

    ¡°Hehe, maybe his balls are bigger than we thought?¡±

    Look up at the sky he contemplates his life. He feels no joy from living, the only thing that gives him even a bit of happiness is anime, manga, and light novels. Without them, his life would have no purpose. His family feels foreign to him, and the love he feels is more out of an obligation than actual familial love. Thinking about how he doesn''t belong, they finally reach their destination.

    A navy blue dodge challenger sits in front of them. Jeff reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys. Unlocking the door he rummages around the back seat before pulling out 3 workbooks.

    Pushing the workbooks into his chest Jeff looks him in the eyes ¡°I''m not going to make things difficult for you, just do the work" slapping him on the cheeks a few times, he leans on the car.

    ¡°Yea, and make sure you show the work!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you got lucky this time.¡±

    *Whew* Taking a sigh of relief a smile blooms on his face. ¡°Thanks, guys, no problem. I''ll get the work done, don''t wor-"

    A foot connects with his solar plexus, completely knocking the wind out of him. The workbooks fly out of his hands as he tumbles towards the ground.

    Seeing their boss take action a strange glint flashes through Bill''s and Jeremy¡¯s eyes.

    Looking at him on the ground bill steps forward. His right leg pulls back like he''s about to kick a ball. ¡°Hurrah!¡± swinging his leg at full force, he kicks Patrick as hard as he can in the chin.

    Patrick''s head jerks up causing a sickening crunch to emanate from his teeth as they crack from being smashed together. As the side of his head scrapes against the ground, a trail of blood is left behind from his face. As his neck bends as far as it will go, he throws up a mouth full of blood and shards of teeth.

    ¡°Fuck that felt good!¡±

    Tears stream down his face, one moment he was happy thinking they would let him go, and the next his teeth have been smashed. Before he can even cry out, another foot makes contact with his gut.

    ¡°Ooooh" his entire body slides back a few inches from the impact.

    ¡°Ok, one hit from each of us. Let''s go, my sister is waiting.¡± Jeff looks at Patrick crying and twitching on the ground. As he does a sick smile forms on his face. Looking for a few more seconds he enters his car. Bill and Jeremy climb into the back seat as the engine starts up. As the engine roar, Bill rolls down the window. ¡°Make sure you do the work and don''t let us catch you reading that faggot shit again¡± as his voice fades the car pulls away.

    The car peels out of the parking lot, leaving Patrick to silently sob on the ground. They weren''t the only students in the parking lot, as a lot of students drive, but not a single person moves to help. Some show looks of pity, but it''s not worth crossing Jeff.

    Tears continue to fall as he sobs quietly, the pain coming from his mouth is worse than anything he''s ever felt. Blood continues to seep from his gums and spill to the ground as cars drive past, abandoning him on the ground of the parking lot.

    ¡°Why?" a shaky, desperate, and pleading voice comes from his bloody lips. ¡°I just want to read, I never bother anyone, yet people find trouble for me.¡± Tears flow out faster, even more so than when he was kicked in the face. ¡°I don¡¯t choose to smell like this, why? Why? Why does everything bad happen to me!.¡± tears stream down his face mixing with the blood from his mouth and snot from his nose. As the fluids mix, it makes a grisly scene.

    Not wanting his mom to find out, he knows he has to leave. Rolling to his knees, he pushes himself off the ground, a line of blood flows out of his mouth. Rising to his feet, his eyes look dead. The right side of his face has been scraped and covered in specks of dirt and gravel. Blood and mucus continue to pour out of his orifices. Looking back he sees the buses are already gone. Glancing at his backpack and workbooks on the ground, he walks off.

    Walking down the back road he uses his shirt to wipe his face, leaving a messy blob on his grey shirt. As he moves down the road he pulls his phone out of his pocket. Opening his internet browser he looks at forums discussing the Latest chapter of one piece. Seeing people discuss if Luffy is an emperor now, he feels slightly better. Reading the post he walks down the street.

    Turning right he finally arrives on the main road. Cars whizz by as he walks in the grass on the side of the road. Pulling up his manga app he looks for any new chapter, trying to forget the pain from his mouth.

    ¡°No new manga, I guess I''ll check on anime and light novels when I get home¡­..Ah, how am I going to fix my mouth? If my mom finds out I''ll just be the one getting in trouble. She''s never trusted me again after freshman year...not believing her own son¡±

    After walking for over 20 minutes he finally sees a gas station. Heading towards the store he wants to buy some water to rinse out his mouth.

    As he enters the building the cashier looks at him funny. Ignoring his look he just nods his head before walking to the refrigerator area. In the store, besides the cashier, there are 4 other people. A young woman holding a 3~4 year old child, an older man in his 70~80s, and a middle-aged man.

    Ignoring them he heads to grab a bottle of water. As he grabs a bottle a loud screech is heard. Quickly turning he sees a black SUV parked outside the door. A man in a black mask rushes into the store brandishing a gun.

    ¡°Get down everyone get down!¡± the man waves the gun around the store.

    Pointing the gun at the cashier ¡°Quick quick quick give me all the fucking money!!¡±

    Patrick drop to the ground ¡°Why?? How is this happening? Am I doing something wrong? How can so many bad things happen after I felt such joy earlier?¡±

    ¡°Hurry it up! Give me the money!!¡±

    ¡°Ye-yes, sir! Right away!!¡±

    Seeing this a strange light flashes through Patrick''s eyes ¡°Power? Authority? Is that what I lack? Why people push me around? Why I can''t be happy?¡± thinking to this point he rises to his feet, a crazed look in his eyes. ¡°I''m weak, so people can just push me around...if I had power no one can bully me again, NO MORE!¡±

    Hearing the yell the man swings around, pointing his gun at Patrick. ¡°Get down! GET DOWN!¡±

    ¡°HAhaha YOU CAN''T TELL ME WHAT TO DO ANYMORE!¡± smiling, his cracked teeth are exposed giving him a sinister look. Breathing heavily he rushes towards the gunman.

    *BANG BANG BANG* three shots are fired into his chest. The world begins to spin and a burning pain envelopes his whole body. As the lights begin to fade he uses the last of his strength to tackle the gunman. Falling on top of the man, he dies.

 Chapter 2: I chose you sharingan!

    In a world of white, a giant vortex spins in the sky. It''s not that the world is white, but that it''s covered in an uncountable number of white souls. The vortex pulls in souls rapidly as it spins, devouring them like a black hole.

    In this sea of white souls is an anomaly. In the vast current of white floats a single blue soul. The blue soul streaks towards the black vortex entering its outer circles. Like being trapped in a whirlpool, the soul moves round and round as it pulls closer to the center. Sometimes white souls wash over it causing it to disappear, but as it moves closer to the center the soul is moving so fast it causes an eye-catching blue ring to appear in the vortex. Right before the blue soul is pulled into the center, it disappears.

    ¡°Gotcha this time!¡± the blue soul appears in front of a shadowy figure. ¡°After 325 years I finally got ya¡±

    The soul flickers like a wisp of flame, capable of vanishing at any moment.

    ¡°Ah, my bad" the shadowy figure waves his hand, causing the soul to be enveloped in a barrier. As the barrier forms, the soul stabilizes, becoming less transparent.

    ¡°She''s been getting on my case for 325 years to get your soul back...such a perfectionist, one soul shouldn''t make much of a difference¡± the shadowy figure moves around the soul inspecting it.

    ¡°There''s nothing even special about you...when she found out you died last time, and I failed to capture your soul, she forced me to watch my wheel of reincarnation for 16 years straight! And I almost missed you again!¡±

    ¡°To make up for my torture, I made your life a little hard, don''t blame this old man" the shadowy figure stops circling the soul but continues to stare it down.

    ¡°But even though I dealt you a bad hand, even going against the laws of the universe just to make your life miserable, you managed to do some good in your final moments. That little girl in the store, she was fated to die there. But since you don''t belong to this universe you were able to change her fate, and save her.¡±

    The shadow moves closer to the barrier ¡°That girl will allow that world to advance, she will develop technology allowing space travel. Now that planet will be able to discover new life on other planets, and war is soon to follow. Doesn''t that sound fun? So for bringing me some entertainment, and a little revenge against her, I will bear the backlash from the universe, to make your next life more¡­.interesting.¡± he stretches out his hand and taps the barrier.

    As ripples travel across the barrier causing the soul to flicker. At this time Patrick''s concessions return. Confused he looks around, but all he sees is a strange smokey shadow standing in front of him.

    ¡°Where am I, what did you do to me? Why did you kidnap me? Let me go or I''ll call the cops! I''m friends with some pretty powerful people!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve died, so that means you''re dead. I don''t really feel like talking to you so listen up. I will grant you 3 wishes on top of allowing you to keep this life''s memories. The wishes can''t be for things like invincibility, immortality, increase in strength, a power of creation, or power of death. Wish for any of those and I don''t mind facing her wrath and wiping out your soul. After you make your wishes, you will be reincarnated.¡±

    Listening to his words Patrick is stunned. Dead? Wishes? Soul? Reincarnated? Confused he''s about to ask for clarification before stopping himself, unsure how his captor would respond to questions. A little annoyed he decides to test the shadows attitude.

    ¡°Ok then, what is the ending to One Piece¡±

    The shadow looks at the soul like it''s retarded for a moment, before finally answering.

    ¡°Luffy becomes the Pirate King.¡±

    ¡°Fuck! That''s it??? No explanation or anything??¡± forgetting his circumstances that he could be dead, or possibly kidnapped, and even the fact he wanted to test the waters. Once the conversation evolves to anime Patrick became irate and even dared to yell at the shadowy figure.

    ¡°Did you ask for an explanation??¡±

    ¡°Fine that''s how you wanna play it? For my 2nd ¡®Wish¡¯ I want both Obito Uchiha''s Sharingan. But I want the eternal version, and I want them both to evolve into the rinnegan version similar to Sasuke¡¯s eyes so they can use both rinnegan and Sharingan abilities! And I want the eyes to recognize me as the original owner so no restrictions are placed the eyes or my body.¡±

    ¡°Shameless! I love it! Haha, she''s going to be so upset! Ok, kid no problem I''ll even do you a favor. The universe you''re going to is at a higher level than mine. In that universe, Qi can be cultivated, so I''ll make sure your eyes work with Qi!¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Hearing the shadowy figure approve of his absurd request, he starts to question the situation. ¡°Am I really going to be reincarnated? This isn''t some kinda joke? You didn''t just kidnap me and I''m really dead?¡±

    ¡°Kid I have no time or reason to lie and joke with you, what''s your last wish.¡±

    ¡°If this is real, I need to be safe. Kamui is great for defense but I''ll add another layer. For my 3rd wish, I want the Tori Tori no Mi Model: Phoenix. I also want to know how to fully control the transformations.¡±

    ¡°Ok kid, I¡¯ll alter your bloodline so those abilities work for you, now off you go.¡± waving his hand a miniature vortex appears. ¡°I finally get to use this mini samsara wheel she gave me.¡± reaching out he grabs the blue soul ¡°Ok kid don''t disappoint me, I''m sacrificing a lot to get you these abilities so make sure you mess her universe up. Since we are already partners in this, might as well go all the way. I''ll put your soul into a body so you don''t have to start as a baby.¡±

    Without even giving him time to reply his soul is thrust into the vortex. As the soul disappears the mini vortex dissipates, leaving the shadowy figure there alone.

    Fluctuations in the void begin to press down on the figure. As it does the shadow surrounding him dissipate, revealing a dashing young man in golden armor. A line of blood trickles down his mouth ruining his perfect figure.

    ¡°Fuck kid, were those powers really that strong? This backlash might kill me" waving his hand his body is once again enveloped in shadows, and he disappears.

    A blue soul streaks across the black void, space quivers as it shatters space-time. Patrick feels like everything is stretching and a burning pain envelopes his very being. Seconds feel like hours and hours feel like years. Yet his soul continues to travel. Everything becomes distorted, memories, feelings, and even personality.

    When a normal soul enters the vortex they are already without self so they feel no pain. going through the process of reincarnation usually wipes all karma and fate from a person''s soul. It takes a really unique soul to resist the effects and carry karma or fate into the next life. Some people are fated to love each other for all eternity, and some karmatic deeds are so great a little good, or bad fortune carries over into their next life.

    But Patrick soul is not great, and the only reason he can survive this torment is the barrier from the shadow man. While this barrier prevents his memories from scattering, the agony caused by traveling through this space still tears at his soul, changing his very being.

    Eventually, a white orb appears in the distance, as if finding a resting place, the soul flies inside.

    ¡°kuuuuh huuu¡± gasping for air a young boy of 16-17 sits upon a straw bed. The young boy has slightly tanned skin with short black hair that barely covers his ears, arched eyebrows, and green teardrop-shaped eyes. His aquiline nose enhances his features along with his thin lips.

    His is dressed in brown rags and cloth shoes that look irritating to the skin.

    But despite his handsome appearance the boy looks malnourished and covered in bruises. The back of his head is covered in bloody matted hair.

    As his body aches in pain, the boy looks around the room. He''s currently in a mud house laying on a bed of straw. There are no windows, but there is a door made of sticks allowing light to seep through the cracks.

    Confused, he tries to rise to his feet. As he does an intestines wave of pain assaults his head. Scenes of a strange world, an entire 16 years of life play out.

    ¡°That''s right, I''m...Patrick?. Everything seems different, that void" thinking up to here his body shiver at the thought of traveling through that vortex. The pain was so intense, Memories, feelings, dreams, and aspirations were combined into one. Then the vortex began shredding them apart piece by piece making everything seem so distant¡­foreign.

    A second wave of pain hits him. This time it''s not the head, but his entire body.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhh!¡± pain envelopes him as his body begins to pulse and deform. Powers that should not coexist in this world invade his body.

    His irises turn bright red with a small black pupil. One black tomoe suddenly appears around the pupil follow by a second, then a third. Beads of sweat form on his brow as the tomoe begin to spin. Eventually, the tomoe turn into three stretched triangles evenly spaced around the pupil, the top of the triangles curve around the eye to form a circle, making it similar to a pinwheel.

    Gnashing his teeth from the pain, he uses his hands to hold his temples, feeling as though his head is about to split. Blood begins to seep from his eyes as his pupils continue to spin. As it spins black lines begin to form behind the pinwheel, causing a vortex to take shape behind it with the pinwheel at the center. The eyes abruptly stop spinning but the blood continues to flow. If anyone were to look into his eyes at this moment, they would be mesmerized.

    Like a stone dropped in still water, his eyes begin to ripple. His formally white sclera turn a shade a light purple. His red iris turn dark purple with a black pupil in the center. Black circles of increasing circumference form around the iris and spread through his sclera. Three black tomoe form evenly spaced around the iris, followed by three more tomoe around the first circle filling in the gaps formed by the ones on the iris.

    At this point the pain is so great he passes out. After dropping to the ground blue flames envelop his body, but strangely enough his clothes or straw beneath him does not burn. When the blue flames finally extinguish the bruises that once covered his body can no longer be seen.

    His eyes flicker momentarily before opening, revealing his green eyes. Even though he just awoke waves of exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks. New information appears in his head, how to control his beast transformations and Sharingan.

    Struggling to his feet he wobbles for a second before bracing himself against the wall. Light no longer seeps through the door, only shadows remain.

    ¡°I guess this is real?¡± silence answers his question.

    ¡°I seem to have...changed? I feel calmer than I used to be...should be" taking a deep breath he walks towards the door. ¡°Am I even still Patrick? I have his memories¡­.but my way of thinking is no longer the same.¡±

    He gently puts his hand on the door. ¡°Is a person''s memories what make them who they are?¡± thinking for a moment ¡°No, memories are nothing but things of the past. A person''s will decides who they are, so Patrick is no more.¡±

    ¡°But I shall honor your last will, to thank you for these gifts. From this moment forth, I''m Marco Uchiha.¡± pushing forward he opens the door.

 Chapter 3: The plan takes shape

    Trinary moons hang in the air illuminating the surroundings. A lone mud house sits at the top of the hill. At the base of the hill is a small village.

    In the center is a larger wooden house, it is surrounded by a few smaller houses set up in a grid-like pattern. The houses in the village are mostly made of mud with only a few being made of wood. To the right and back of the town is a forest with a few felled trees, indicating the town is still under construction. To the left of the village is a river, it would take a few hours to cross by boat. The space below is wide enough for a large village to develop, but as of now its still in the beginning stages.

    Without climbing this hill, crossing the river, or traversing the forest it would be impossible to get to the village.

    As he stands in the entrance of the hut, his body is illuminated by the moons. Looking at his body he notices that he''s no longer covered in bruises, causing a smile form on his face ¡°The flames of resurrection really live up to their name, they must have healed while I was passed out.¡± the main reason he wanted that devil fruit ability was for those healing flames.

    Looking around for a moment Marco begins to frown.

    ¡°Was I some sort of scout? Why am I the only one up here?¡± frowning he walks to the back of the hut. The hill is fairly flat on top, almost like a plateau. The ground is upturn in a few places and footprints litter the ground.

    ¡°Was there some sort of large gathering here? Or maybe a battle?¡± walking further he arrives at the other side of the hill, altogether it''s about a quarter mile across. Looking down he sees the forest and river continue to run on this side as well. He can''t tell what''s on the other side of the forest because it stretches as far as the eye can see, but he can see the other side of the river. The other side is filled with mountains and small patches of trees scattered about. As the mountains block his line of vision, he can''t tell what''s on the other side. Between the forest and river on this side is a grassland. It stretches on for miles and is covered in smaller hills. Looking closer one can see herds of animals slowly moving about.

    After looking around for a bit Marco turns to walk back to the mud hut. ¡°What is this place? Why is it in the middle of nowhere?¡±

    As he gets ready to move, he feels a strange sensation on the right side of his chest. Not a painful feeling but more like the spreading of warmth, a pleasant feeling.

    Unsure of what the feeling is, he begins to walk back. ¡°I guess answers will have to wait till tomorrow¡±

    As he walks back not only does the feeling not go away but becomes stronger. Confused he rushes back to the hut.

    Sitting down on the straw, he places his hand over his chest. ¡°There is no discomfort, so I guess its ok?¡± reaching down he grabs a handful of dirt. Using both hands he smears it on his face before using his shirt to wipe it away, to remove the blood tears.

    Laying down, he closes his eyes and begins thinking about what to do tomorrow. As the warm feeling is so pleasant he unknowingly falls asleep.

    ¡°126 hey! Wake up 126!¡±

    Startled, Marco quickly sits up. Looking around confused for a moment, he has no idea when he went to sleep. He hears the voice again causing him to stand up.

    ¡°Fuck man are you alive or not!?¡±

    Furrowing his brows, he opens the door. Standing outside is a thin middle-aged man with brown hair, his nose looks like it''s been broken a few times and his face is covered in patches of hair. The man is dressed in similar rags as himself.

    ¡°So you''re up, good. It''s time to swi-¡± seeing Marco the man is stunned into silence for a moment. His face contorts as he looks at him strangely ¡°Fuck! Man! How do you look better after taking that beating yesterday?!?¡±

    Confused, Marco looks at his own body causing his eyebrows jump. Yesterday he looked to be so malnourished, the wind could probably blow him over. Even though the flames healed him, he was still deathly thin. But now even though he is still thin you can no longer see his bones, no longer on death''s door. Gripping his fist he notices he has more power than yesterday.

    ¡°Is this my devil fruit augmenting my body?¡± He mumbles to himself.

    Seeing that he is just as confusing as himself, he drops it. ¡°Well, not that it matters. It''s time to switch shifts, you''re on logging duty today.¡±

    ¡°Logging duty?¡±

    ¡°Tsk¡± the man clicks his tongue ¡°Guess you were hit pretty hard. Go to town and report to 37, you''re cutting trees today"

    ¡°Right, 37" nodding his head he walks past the man. As he moves downhill he glances back to see the man climbing on top of the hut.

    ¡°I guess it is some kind of watch post" as he moves downhill he sees more and more people moving about.

    Arriving at the outskirts he begins to hear voices.

    ¡°Common move it! We gotta turn at least three of these mud houses into wood by the end of the day!¡±

    ¡°You four, go move that log over for processing¡±

    ¡°Where you want these planks boss?¡±

    People mill about moving logs and planks. Some are giving orders and some seem to be the labor force, but all of them are dressed the same. Not knowing what to do he walks up to one of the men moving about.

    ¡°Hey, you know where 37 is?¡±

    The man stops and looks at Marco for a moment. ¡°Fuck! 126 you''re alive! Haha, great man good job. 37 is by the treeline¡± with a satisfied smile the man walks away.

    ¡°Strange" shaking his head he moves towards the treeline. As he walks past people, some pat him on the shoulder with a strange smile, and some thank him for being alive. Bewildered, he finally leaves the housing area.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    In the distance, he sees a group of people cutting trees with a single man overseeing the workers.

    Walking towards the man Marco pauses for a moment ¡°37?¡±

    Turning only his head to look back ¡°126 you''re late, grab an ax and get to work, not like it matters for you anyway¡± shaking his head he looks back towards the other men.

    Walking towards the axes lying on the ground, the look on his face is horrible. ¡°What''s with everyone''s strange attitude, what''s even going on here?¡± grabbing an ax he walks towards the trees.

    *Tak taktak tak* the rhythmic sounds of axes striking wood enters his ears. Walking up to a tree he swings his ax.

    Looking around he sees a person close to him. A young man of around 24-27 years old. He has short red hair and a face full of freckles, his nose is rather long and he has thick lips. His thin appearance makes him look like a birdman, tall and lanky with a huge beak.

    ¡°Hey, do you know why people are treating me so strangely¡±

    ¡°Ye don''t sey¡¯¡± a strong accent, that can only be described as country leaves his mouth ¡°Why de fuck peoples won''t be glad to see ya? As long as you''re not dead, you will take da beating for us!¡±

    Hearing his words it''s like all the gears finally click in place. The reason this person was dead, the wound on the back of his head, the bruises that covered his body, and the reason people showed him looks of gratitude and pity.

    ¡°Why am I the one getting beaten?¡± confused, he asks the man.

    ¡°Because of ye face! We be fucking soul slaves, and ye dare look better than da Master?¡±

    Soul slaves? Panic flashes through his eyes for a moment before realizing his soul is different from the previous owner of this body, so he should be ok.

    ¡°Why doesn''t he just ruin my face then?¡± remember no pain came from his face he asks the man.

    ¡°Fuck like I know how dem cultivators think"

    ¡°Cultivator? The master is a cultivator?¡±

    The man shakes his head ¡°It musta been pretty bad yesterday huh? He hit yer head? Scramble yer brains?¡± ignoring Marco''s question, he continues to chop the tree.

    Seeing that he no longer wants to talk, he moves towards a different tree and begins to swing his ax.

    ¡°Why can I understand the language? Is it like people with amnesia, while they have no memories they can still speak and use bodily functions? I can only assume it''s leftover functions from this bodies brain.¡±

    Chopping the tree he begins to space out.

    ¡°What do I want to do here?¡± as he chops, he begins to ponder ¡°The basic instinct of humans is to reproduce and survive¡± with the continued swinging the warm feeling in his chest returns and begins to spread throughout his body.

    A strange light flashes through his eyes as he chops the wood faster. The more he moves, the stronger the feeling gets.

    ¡°It first appeared yesterday after walking for a while, so is it physical activity that triggers it?¡± relishing in the refreshing feeling, he continues to chop. After a few minutes, he notices that not only is he not tired, but he feels a little better than when he started.

    ¡°This shouldn''t be Qi, as I can''t use my Sharingan. But it seems to be strengthening my body"

    Marco abruptly stops swinging the ax. ¡°If I have all these gifts, it would be a crime not to use them.¡± he gently closes his eyes and thinks about all the anime, manga, and light novels Patrick has read.

    After a few seconds his eyes open ¡°Its decided. I will build the Uchiha clan once more in this world, something Sasuke refused to do.¡± gripping the ax tighter a smile forms on his face.

    Without goals, people wander aimlessly through life. But when one has a goal they have something to work for, power without ambition means nothing. Those who seek strength for the sake of being powerful never have a good life, always ending up alone and isolated. So he shall build something for himself with his own hands.

    As Marco is lost in thought a man walks next to him. ¡°126, it''s time. The master wants to see you"

    Looking back at the man the smile is still present on his face. ¡°Yes, It''s time¡±

    Dropping the ax he follows the man. As they walk people stare at him, nodding their head in his direction. After walking for awhile they arrive at the large wooden house in the center.

    The man steps to the side, holding out his hand. ¡°Good luck man"

    Nodding towards the man, he walks to the door. Twisting the knob, he walks inside.

    As he enters the room a strong smell of cider hits his nose. The hallway is simply decorated. Some sort of stone is fixed into the walls providing light. A strange animal fur lies on the ground, the fur looks like some sort of big cat combined with a boar due to its snout and tusk.

    Walking into the hall he closes the front door. ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°In here, slave" a raspy voice comes from behind one of the doors.

    Walking to the door he takes a breath. ¡°This is where my journey begins or ends" pushing open the door, he walks inside.

    A young man stands in the center of the room with his hands behind his back. The room is a simple square, in one corner is a desk and chair, the walls are lined with bookshelves filled with stones, animal bones, and a few books.

    The young man looks to be around 18-20 years old. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, but his face is average. His eyebrows look unkempt and one of his eyes are slightly larger than the other. He''s dressed in a long black robe with gold embroidery.

    Seeing Marco walk in a strange look appears on his face, a smile so creepy kids would cry.

    ¡°127 I see you are alive hehe" he begins to stride over to Marco, stopping three feet in front of him, he begins to breathe heavily. ¡°Do you know your mistake?!¡± a crazed look flashes through his eyes.

    ¡°Before I came here I was worried. Worried if I could follow through with my plan. But I''m glad you are the first cultivator I¡¯ve met. Thank you for making this easy.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about!?!¡± erupting in fury spit flies out of his mouth ¡°How DARE you talk back to me!¡± veins begin to appear in his eyes ¡°ON YOUR KNEES!!¡± pointing at the ground he yells as he takes a step forward.

    Bending his knees his arms drape forward. Crossing his arms as he bends down, a smile forms on his face. A light flashes through his eyes as he springs forward.

    Seeing Marco''s actions the man sneers while throwing out a palm strike.

    ¡°Haa!¡± Marco swings up his arm, as they travel they erupt in blue flames. In the middle of the swing, his arms transform into large blue fiery wings. The increase in reach catches the man off guard blasting him against the wall.

    Flapping his wings back down causes them to propel him forward. Kicking out his right leg it erupts in blue flame, transforming into the talon of a Phoenix.

    As the man''s back slams against the wall, before he even gets a chance to fall, a talon grips his neck, slicing into his throat.

    ¡°Die!¡± with his talons gripping flesh he flaps his wings to propel him backward, ripping out the man''s throat.

    Shocked, the man tries to stop the blood from flowing out of his throat with his hand. His eyes go wide as he begins to panic. Using his other hand he reaches into the bag around his waist.

    Not giving him a chance to act, Marco steps forward sending out a series of kicks as fast as he can into the man''s chest. When he pulls his leg back it brings chunks of flesh with it. Using his sharp talons he is able to mangle the man''s chest.

    After a few seconds, the man succumbs to his wounds and slumps to the ground.

    Seeing the man fall, he finally stops and the transformation reverts ¡°The Tori Tori no Mi Model: Phoenix is mainly for utility and not meant for attack, but I guess its ok on weaker targets.¡± looking down at the corpse, blood gushes out of the body and the smell of is causes a sick feeling to overwhelm him. Turning his head he vomits.

    ¡°Uhhh" wiping his mouth he looks at the corpse again. ¡°I''m glad I was right. Judging by the wounds, I assumed he was weak, but he still managed to kill 127 so I was unsure.¡±

    Taking a breath he looks around the room. As his eyes land on the books, they light up. Walking over he grabs one off the shelf.

    ¡°Introduction to Demonic beast" nodding he grabs another book ¡°The levels of Cultivation¡± smiling he grabs the last book ¡°What are treasures? And how do you make them?¡± walking over he sets the books on the table.

    ¡°No cultivation techniques? Just normal books? If I can activate my Sharingan I''ll be a lot safer.¡± dissatisfied he looks around the room again before his eyes land on the bag on the man''s waist.

    ¡°Is that the legendary bag of holdings?¡±

 Chapter 4: Let it burn

    Looking at the bag causes Marco to pause for a moment. ¡°I really...really need you to be in there.¡± bending down, he unties the bag from his waist.

    The bag is big enough to fit in the palm of his hand comfortably. The top of the bag is already open, so using his right hand he reaches into the bag.

    Moving his hand around he feels a few tiny objects. Taking out his hand he pours the objects onto the table. Five items come out of the bag, enlarging as they hit the table. Two books, a paper talisman, a yellow token, and a bronze pearl.

    ¡°Looking good!¡± excited to see the books he quickly picks one up. ¡°Flowing Flower Palm" looking at the book his eyes twinkle. Placing it down he grabs the other. ¡°Revolver Qi" seeing the book he moves to the chair, places the book on the table and begins to read.

    Looking at the book it describes a breathing technique on how to gather Qi, it also describes how to move it around outside of the body. After twenty minutes he''s read the book twice, but he has no idea what to do from here.

    Thinking about it for a few minutes he places the book down and picks up The Levels of Cultivation. Opening the book he begins to read.

    ¡°The first three levels of cultivation are Qi gathering, body foundation, and core formation. Qi gathering has ten stages, representing the ten parts of the body used to gather Qi. One in the head, two in the chest, the core, two in your hands, two in the feet, the groin, and the back. Each gate opened allows for more Qi to be gathered. To open the gate one must brute force it from the outside using Qi.¡±

    ¡°Gates become harder to open the older you are. Only a limited amount of Qi can be controlled from the outside at this stage so when one is older it is harder to break the gate. When one gate is opened, the next gate can be attacked from the outside and inside at the same time. For every gate opened the pain and difficulty increases, if one cannot bear the pain and fails to open the gate with brute force they will face a backlash.¡±

    ¡°At this stage, Qi cannot be stored in the body so a cultivator will not be much stronger than a normal person if they aren''t constantly absorbing Qi from the outside, so if they ever find themselves in a situation where absorbing Qi is impossible they will be no different than a normal person. This also has a flaw as constantly absorbing Qi will drain your stamina.¡±

    Reading up to here, the book ends. Marcos brows knit together, he doesn''t know if his bodies age will be a problem. ¡°Well, at least I know what to do with the Qi technique now.¡±

    As he sets the book down the talisman, token, and bronze pearl catches his eye. The Token has the words Zhu carved into it. Looking at the talisman he sneers ¡°Probably some protection talisman, tear it and some powerful master or senior brother will track me down and give me a hard time.¡±

    Reaching out, he grabs the bronze pearl. The pearl is the twice the size of a fingernail, the outside is a transparent bronze color with a brown gas swirling inside. As he grabs the pearl, the right side of his chest pulsates, as if overcome by instinct he swallows the pearl.

    Realizing what he''s done his eyes go wide. He can feel the pearl traveling down his throat, but suddenly the lump turns into a warm current. The current travels towards the right side of his chest before being absorbed by something. Suddenly the same warm feeling erupts throughout his entire body.

    His body begins to change at a visible rate. It starts to beef up, causing the skinny youth to disappear. His tanned skin disappears, replaced by a flawless jade like appearance. The sheen returns to his hair and his eyes look more clear.

    ¡°What was that!?!¡± with flushed cheeks a broad grin appears on his face ¡°Was that one of those immortal pills from novels? I feel so good right now!" Marco twist and turns as he inspects his body.

    Excited, he puts the books back into the bag. As they near the opening they shrink in size. Glancing around the room one last time, he leaves. Stepping into the hallway he opens another door. Behind the door is a kitchen area ¡°Tsk.¡± closing the door, he moves to the last one at the end of the hall.

    As he opens the door a room comes into view. In the back right corner is an actual bed, sheets and all. In the left corner is an armoire.

    ¡°Please don''t be empty, these clothes suck.¡± Walking over he opens the armoire doors. Inside hangs three black robes, and at the bottom are rolls of shirts, pants, and underwear.

    ¡°Haha! The heavens have eyes!¡± putting down the bag, he quickly takes off his rags only leaving the cloth shoes on. As he stands in the nude one can see the malnourished youth from yesterday is really no more. In his place is a dashing youngster. Grabbing a pair of underwear he quickly puts it on. Next, he wears the dark blue shirt and pants. The pants are a little long, as he is only 5¡¯10¡¯¡¯ where the original owner was easily over 6¡¯.

    Grabbing the black robe he puts it on, completing his look. He puts the two extra sets of clothes into the bag before leaving the room. Walking down the hall he heads into the kitchen this time. Going inside he quickly moves towards the cupboards. After searching for a bit, he is able to find a few pieces of dried bread and smoked meat. Munching on a piece of meat he puts the rest into the bag.

    As he tries to put in the last piece of bread, it will no longer shrink. ¡°That''s it? Guess it''s not a very big space.¡± Tying the bag to his waist he holds a fire starter in his hand. Striking it a few times he manages to light a piece of wood on fire.

    Walking back into the hall he sets the burning piece of wood against the wall as he heads for the exit. Before he opens the door he looks back in the direction of the study ¡°Thanks.¡±

    As he opens the door a draft blows in, causing the wall to go up in flames. Closing the door he heads for the hill.

    Moving through the small town people give him strange looks. As he is no longer skinny, people fail to recognize him at a glance, and because they think he is a friend of the master as they are dressed similar, no one looks for long.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Hearing the confused whispers he picks up his pace, as he knows the entire house will go up in flames momentarily. Hopefully, all the slaves will escape and no one will think to look for him, but he made one mistake.

    As he exits the town he changes direction and moves more towards the forest than the hill.

    ¡°I don''t know if deep water is still my weakness, so the river is a no go. And If I turn into a phoenix and fly over the plain I might as well ask someone or something to kill me. with my current abilities, my strength is limited. So the forest is my only option.¡±

    He picks up his pace as he hears shouts of fire, before breaking out into a full sprint.

    ¡°They should be busy now, time to make a break for it!" as he runs the warm energy from his chest reappears, causing him to run more intensely. While running there is no discomfort from the vigorous movement and he feels no fatigue.

    After running for a while he finally enters the forest.

    -line-

    As the house burns, the study also goes up in flames. The body catches fire along with the room. As the table burns, the Talisman turns to ash.

    In an unknown location, in a quiet room, an old man who appears to be in his 60s sits cross-legged. Suddenly he opens his eyes. ¡°Hmm? Why did Haildu use the talisman I gave him? That area is well hidden, and all he wanted to do was play as a village lord.¡± the man''s brow furrows ¡°This is why he stayed at the 2nd stage of Qi gathering for all these years, a little pain and he stops trying to open the gates.¡± the man shakes his head *Sigh* ¡°I''ve spoiled him too much, I''m only an outer court elder, which allowed him to run rampant in the outer courts. I thought going out for a bit would help him cultivate, So I gave him some soul slaves to build a town.¡± the man rises to his feet while shaking his head ¡°Only three weeks and he''s already in some sort of trouble. If he could destroy the talisman it means the threat shouldn''t be too great.¡±

    The man cups his hands behind his back as he exits the door. As he does a grand hall comes into view. Giant pillars line the walls filled with intricate carvings. The floor seems to be made of marble and the walls of a different kind of stone. Paintings hang on the wall between the spaces left by the pillars. As he moves down the hall young kids of various ages between 8~18 greet him. All the kids are dressed in the same black robes with golden embroidery.

    ¡°Evening Elder Jun"

    ¡°Greetings Elder Jun"

    A smug look appears on his face as he''s greeted by the young disciples. Moving down the hall he arrives at a window. Above the window is the word ¡®Assignments¡¯. To the left and right of the window is a board filled with paper. Each sheet of paper list a different objective and their respective reward. Behind the desk sits a man who appears to be in his late 20s.

    ¡°Greetings Elder Jun"

    The man nods towards the Clerk ¡°I have an urgent task¡± the man pulls out a map. The map is mostly filled with forest, a long river, and a huge plain. One part of the map is circled, where the forest, river, and plain finally meet.

    ¡°I need three disciples to go here and fetch my grandson¡± as he points at the circle he stares at the clerk ¡°Can you find some people now?¡±

    ¡°No problem, If I can''t find people for the elder of the task hall what am I even here for?¡±

    ¡°Good" turning around he begins to head back towards his room.

    ¡°Elder Jun" the clerk looks a little flustered ¡°As for...the reward?¡±

    Elder Jun pauses for a moment, he answers without looking back as he continues to move ¡°15 low quality spirit stones¡±

    Hearing his answer a wry smile appears on the clerk face as he begins to think of who to send.

    -line-

    Walking through the forest Marco wades through thick underbrush. Tall trees tower above his head filled with the sounds of birds. The forest floor is teeming with life, insects move about with machine precision.

    Every step he takes causes thick crunching sounds, alerting every creature in the area to his presence. The warm feeling moves through his body as he treds along, but after walking for a few hours the feeling begins to fade. After a while beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead.

    ¡°I guess this power isn''t infinite?¡± puzzled he looks around. After a few seconds, he finds a huge tree with a few large branches. Blue flames erupt around his arms as they transform into wings. Flapping his wings he flies up the tree. After a few flaps, he arrives at the crown of the tree and lands on a branch.

    ¡°This should be far enough, right?¡± looking around his arms revert back. Besides a few birds nest, nothing else is up here. Sitting down cross legged, he reaches into his pouch.

    Pulling out a book he begins to read. ¡°Demonic beast are enemies of humanity. Like cultivators, they are divided into different levels. The levels are Bronze, iron, silver, gold, and legendary. Demonic Beast vary greatly in appearance and innate abilities. One Bronze level beast might be stronger than others. Beast with superior bloodline develops more rapidly than those with inferior bloodlines. One thing remains the same for all beast, every Demonic beast has a Demonic core corresponding to their rank.¡± reading up to here a light flashes through his eyes.

    ¡°That pearl earlier was a Demonic core? But why did I instinctively eat it?¡± putting a hand over his chest he continues to read.

    ¡°Not all demonic cores of the same rank look the same, as different beast have different elements. While demonic beast have different levels, they are unable to cultivate Qi. Instead of Qi, demonic beast utilizes a strange Aura that strengthens their bodies.¡± pausing again, the hand on his chest begins to tremble.

    ¡°Am I a demonic beast?!?¡± closing his eyes he takes a deep breath ¡°No, that''s impossible. I''m a human, but I have the abilities of the bird fruit model phoenix. So technically I''m a phoenix human?¡± relaxing, a smile forms on his face as he finally realizes what''s been going on with his body. Removing the hand from his chest he continues to read.

    ¡°Demonic beast are different from humans, the longer they live, the stronger their Aura becomes. But not everything is good as most beast have bloodline shackles. A demonic Gore Tiger is an iron level beast, the same strength as a body foundation cultivator. Their young, while born at the level of bronze like every other beast will eventually become iron like their parents as they grow older. But they will never be able to advance to silver on their own.¡±

    ¡°Bloodline limitation...I shouldn''t have that problem being a Phoenix, right?¡±

    Looking at the book he continues to read. ¡°But the heavens are fair, it''s virtually impossible for creatures with a powerful bloodline to mate with an inferior creature, as their blood energy is so powerful it will devour the weaker mates bloodline making reproduction near impossible. But some have succeeded, making lesser species. The dragons are a prime example of this. After having trouble finding other dragons for breeding, some finally succeed in mating with a lesser species giving birth to drakes. While drakes are more common, that is only compared to dragons. Eventually, drakes gave birth to wyverns and wyverns gave birth to wyrms.¡±

    ¡°Dragons are real? I wonder If there are other phoenixes?¡± as the words leave his mouth it dawns on him ¡°Fuck doesn''t that mean my blood is too tyrannical?? How will I build the Uchiha clan?!? I''m a fucking phoenix with the rinnegan!! How will I ever have kids??¡±

    Flustered he continues to read. ¡°But the heavens are fair, like how humans can cultivate to get stronger, demonic beasts are able to devour other cores, absorbing a portion of the Aura to strengthen their own. Devouring cores will allow a creature to break through their limits, and some creatures even have the chance to awaken their ancient bloodline to evolve.¡±

    ¡°Distinguishing beast is difficult for cultivators, as they release no Qi. This is dangerous because it''s hard to identify them by sight. But stronger creatures tend to stay in places with stronger spiritual air. Another problem is Legendary level beast are able to take human form and infiltrate society.¡± reading up to here the book ends.

    Closing the book he places it back into the bag.

    ¡°It''s time to try cultivating Qi" while closing his eyes he cups his hands on his lap.

 Chapter 5: Life or Death, Soar!

    The wind blows and the leaves shake. The sound of birds chirping echoes. Sticks break and leaves crunch as animals scurry across the ground. The sounds of life fill the forest.

    A black hair black robed youth sits in the crown of a tree. His eyes closed as his chest rises and falls.

    Marco continues to breath, following the technique from the Revolver Qi manual. As he breathes he tries to sense any strange energy around him, as described in the book.

    Hours pass and the sun begins to fall. Darkness encroaches the area, but Marco doesn''t move. As he continues the breathing technique his stomach begins to growl.

    Suddenly his eyes open ¡°Why is it not working? Is it because I''m to old? It did say it was harder to start cultivating the older you are.¡± frowning, he reaches into the bag and pulls out a piece of bread. Biting down he begins to angrily chew on the hard bread.

    ¡°I have the strongest eyes, and I can''t even use them!¡± talking while chewing causes crumbs to fly everywhere. ¡°There has to be a easier way for older people to cultivate! Or maybe this technique is just trash??¡± thinking up to here the smile returns to his face ¡°Yea, there''s nothing wrong with me, the technique is just trash.¡±

    Looking around he decides this place is safe enough for tonight as he hasn''t been attacked yet. Placing his back against the tree, he closes his eyes.

    Sunlight peaks through the canopy causing his eyes to flutter. As he moves to stretch, he almost falls off the tree ¡°Fuck, I almost died...but I can fly, so I guess it''s not that big a deal¡±

    Looking around, he takes in the view. ¡°This is already my 3rd day in this world, or is it my 3rd day of existence because my will is different from Patrick''s?¡± shaking his head he reaches into the bag and pulls out Revolver Qi.

    Reading for a while he confirms he did nothing wrong yesterday, and the technique is just too low a level. Putting it back in the bag he pulls out Flowing Flower Palm and flips it open.

    ¡°Unranked technique Flowing Flower Palm consists of two moves" pausing for a moment one of his eyebrows jump up. ¡°Unranked Technique?¡± closing his eyes for a moment he begins to think. ¡°Right, techniques really do have different levels in the novels as well, but I don''t know if unranked is good or bad"

    Shaking his head he continues to read. ¡°The first technique is meant for attacking, Palm like River.¡±

    The book has a series of pictures and explanations on how to perform the move ¡°The tiniest flow will eventually split stone, but the mighty river will wash away all.¡± dominating, overbearing, powerful. A sense of awe strikes him as he reads the quote.

    Excited, he puts the book back into his bag and jumps from the tree. As he falls his arms turn into flaming blue wings. With a single flap he breaks his fall, and glides to the ground.

    Reverting his wings he takes a stance. Taking a breath to relax, he trust out his palm according to the book. Quickly pulling his palm back he thrust out the other. ¡°Hmmm, according to the book your arms are supposed to be on a pulley system. As soon as one palm even begins to move back, the next palm should already be about to make contact, simulating a never ending flow. Once you accomplish this one will reach small completion.¡±

    ¡°Ok, lets go!¡± Marco begins throwing out one palm after another. While they aren''t fast, he tries to follow the example from the book. After a few seconds the warm feeling, Aura begins traveling through his body.

    With every palm strike he becomes a little bit stronger, and a little bit faster. Not much of an increase, but the Aura is constantly strengthening his body and preventing exhaustion, so as long as it doesn''t run out like yesterday he can throw out an unlimited number of palm strikes.

    A little over an hour later his Aura finally runs out. ¡°I can probably assume my core is bronze, which is the same as a Qi gathering cultivator. But Qi gathering cultivators have to actively gather Qi to be stronger than a normal person. But I can feel myself getting stronger so I think Aura is better for the body" walking toward the tree, he sits down using it as a back rest.

    ¡°Practicing this technique will be easier if my body was stronger.¡± reaching into his bag he pulls out a piece of meat and bread and begins to eat. As he eats he closes his eyes and concentrates on the right side of his chest. ¡°If I focus on it, I can feel the Aura regenerating¡± suddenly his eyes shoot open ¡°If legendary demonic beast can transform into humans, it shouldn''t be hard for them to get cultivation techniques. Maybe Aura blocks people from sensing Qi??¡± finishing his food he jumps to his feet.

    ¡°Lets try it out! Yesterday my Aura was pretty low, but it wasn''t gone.¡± taking a breath he begins throwing out palm strikes.

    After a few minutes he takes off his robe and shirt, stuffing them in his bag he continues. Twenty minutes later his body is completely covered in sweat.

    Gasping for air his form becomes sloppy so he stops. Transforming his arms into wings he flies back up the tree and sits down. Sitting down he crosses his legs and reverts his arms before he begins the breathing technique.

    Sweat rolls down his chest as it rises and falls in a rhythmic fashion. Tranquility overtakes his very being as he sits on the tree. Suddenly he feels energy swirl around his body, like a gust of wind. Focusing he tries to guide the energy, invisible to the naked eye. The whole premise of revolver Qi is that you are supposed to revolve the Qi around your body. Once it channels into a steady stream, you slam it into your gate.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Concentrating for a while the Qi suddenly rushes towards his head. As the energy crashes into his head it''s like being smashed repeatedly by hammers.

    He starts to hear a loud ringing sound and blood seeps out of his ears, from the corner of his closed eyes blood begins to flow, and his nose begins to bleed. Gritting his teeth he continues to bombard his head. He feels something begin to crack, but at the same time he begins to feel dizzy. His head begins to spin as the crack gets bigger.

    Struggling he feels the Qi begin to slip, and suddenly it disappears. His bloodshot eyes shoot open and he throws up a mouthful of blood. His vision begins to go black, but before he passes out he slams his back on the tree.

    ¡°Assholes, making me check the forest. Those slaves scattered everywhere, and the mission said nothing about catching them"

    Marco''s eyes abruptly open looking around he can tell a few hours have passed, due to the position of the sun.

    ¡°Just because my cultivation is the lowest they bully me, well they are three years older than me!! So what if they opened a few more Qi gates!.¡±

    Looking down he sees a boy. The boy appears to be anywhere from 12-14 years old, dressed in the same black robe with golden embroidery as this bodies former master. His hair is brown and his face looks like its still developing due to the baby fat on his cheeks.

    Getting on all fours he stares at the boy. Hearing his words Marco is alerted, how are they already searching for him? Do they know he''s the killer? Suddenly a drop of blood falls from the tree, causing Marco''s eyes to go wide.

    Blue flames erupt around his body as he jumps out of the tree. Trusting out his hand, he falls palm first.

    ¡°Hm?¡± Startled the boy looks up ¡°What!?!¡± panicking he quickly throws out a fist to meet the palm.

    As they make contact, the boys fist is stronger. But the falling force of Marco offset the disparity of power. Due to the power of the fist Marco is momentarily airborne, giving him enough time to throw out another.

    Quickly responding the boy throws out another fist. This time Marco is pushed back.

    Landing on the ground Marco rushes towards the boy sending out another palm.

    Seeing the flaming blue Marco approaching the boy snears, ¡°Sloppy!¡± the boy takes a few steps, then suddenly disappears from Marco''s view.

    Suddenly a fist connects with his ribs blasting him to the side. Tumbling a few times the fire burns more intensely as it heals his injuries.

    Not giving him a chance to recover, the boy rushes over ¡°Eat my stone fist!¡± throwing out a punch, a sinister smile blooms on his face.

    When his fire heals his injuries, he can feel his Aura drain faster than ever. Landing on his back, the boy''s fist sinks into his chest. Marco throws up a mouthful of blood as his sternum cracks, but as long as the flame burns it refuses to let him die.

    The boy backs up to gain momentum to launch another punch.

    Seeing this Marco kicks out both legs while on his back.

    The boy gets ready to jump to the side to dodge, but suddenly the entire area erupts in a blue flames.

    Seeing that he completely overestimated himself he pulls out his last resort. His entire body erupts in flames, his legs transform into talons covered in blue fire, his arms transform into large wings as his body turns into a sea of flames, his neck stretches and and his face transforms sprouting a golden beak.

    When he transforms his hands into wings they are barely longer than his normal reach. Currently Marco''s wingspan is over a dozen feet.

    Marco''s wings circle the boy cutting off his path of retreat as his claws reach out and latches onto his chest. Quickly rotating his body he flaps his wings. Shooting up like a missile of flame, one flap and he easily clears the treetops, another flap and he soars into the clouds.

    Abruptly spreading his wings causes a ring of blue flames to appear around his body. With his wings spread his momentum disperses and stop his ascension.

    Blue and golden fire burns along his body, three golden chains of flame dangle from his tail, his golden beak shimmers in the sunlight, majestic blue feathers flutter in the wind, the holy bird of fire, the phoenix.

    In his claw is a boy with a terrified look on his face, too petrified by the sudden change of events to act.

    Releasing the boy he flies a little higher before reverting to his human form.

    ¡°If anyone saw that, I''m doomed!" Marco and the boy begin their fall, plummeting towards the ground.

    ¡°AhhhhHhh! Ahhhhhhh!" the boy screams as he fall, his face pale.

    Seeing this, a smile emerges on Marco''s face. ¡°I''ve come this far so I might as well finish it" his arms turn back into wings. Flapping his wings he dives underneath the boy, kicking a leg up, it turns into a talon and grabs the boy.

    ¡°Seismic Toss!!¡± flapping his wings as hard as he can he dives towards the ground as fast as possible.

    Like a shooting star Marco breaks through the canopy. ¡°HuRahh" using all his energy he throws the boy to the ground while flapping his wings to break his fall.

    The boy crashes into the ground like a meteor. The impact sends shockwaves through the forest from the sheer force. A small crater is formed by the impact of the boy''s body.

    Flapping his wings he lands next to the hole. Reverting his body he looks at the boy. Broken bones burst from his bloody and mangled skin sits in a pool of blood.

    Reaching down he pulls the blood stained bag from the boy''s waist before tying it next to his other one.

    Sending out a few palm strikes he hits the boys chest, seeing no movement he runs away.

    ¡°Dam, my full Phoenix form is way too damn flashy, I need a lot more power before using that again.¡± running at full speed he tries to put as much distance between the battlefield and himself as possible.

    Reaching into his bag he pulls out his shirt and robe, putting them on he continues to run while adjusting his bags to sit on top the robes.

    After running full speed for a half an hour his Aura finally runs out, but he continues to run.

    Thirty minutes later he finally comes to a stop with sweat pouring from his head. ¡°I beat one guy and got overconfident, I even had to rely on various Phoenix transformations both times to get by.¡± walking forward he notices the noise from smaller animals are gone and only the chirping of the birds remain.

    Stopping, his arms turn into wings and he flies to the top of a tree. Reverting his arms he looks around.

    In the distance he sees a small clearing with a rock formation. The front of the rock formation has a cave. In front of the cave is a creature the size of a bear with the body of a boar. Its tusk look like stakes covered in blades and hooks sticking out of its mouth. Its body is completely black except for the red stripes running along its back.

    Exhausted he decides to ignore it for now as he sits down on the tree and begins to cultivate. After a few minutes of breathing the Qi begins to Revolve around him. Making it spin faster, he sends the Qi towards his head.

    Marco instantly becomes disoriented and his body begins to shake. Blood trickles out his mouth as the Qi pounds his head. The cracking from before becomes wider and wider, until it suddenly shatters.

    A wave of energy rushes into his head giving him a euphoric feeling. As he opens his eyes they are no longer green, but scarlet red.

 Chapter 6: Sharingan combat

    As Marco sits in the treetop his eyes begin to flicker about, catching the movement of every leaf, every ant, and even the dust particles floating in the wind.

    ¡°Finally" his chest rises and falls as he takes a deep breath. The Qi pouring through his head gate is being entirely funneled into his eyes, but even that is barely enough to activate the basic three tomoe sharingan. He probably can''t even use the sharingan illusion let alone activate mangekyou sharingan.

    But even this is a large improvement. While other cultivators enhance the power of their body with their Qi, he has to use it just for his eyes. Aura will supply the body for now so he''s not worried.

    Reaching into his bag he pulls out Flowing Flower Palm and looks over the picture indicating how to perform Palm like River. His eyes can now pick up every little detail about the drawings, even the individual strokes used to draw them.

    ¡°Hmm, so I was doing it wrong this whole time. The power doesn''t come from the force of an individual palm, but the overwhelming barrage of strikes. That''s how you increase the speed.¡± he no longer has to look at the drawing because every detail has been burnt into his eyes. The first ability of sharingan, eye of insite. The sharingan gives him super perception, able to copy any techniques he sees. It''s now down to his own ability to perform it. Flipping the page he goes to the next technique.

    ¡°Lotus Blooms, a defensive technique to block all things.¡± on the page is a series of pictures and notes describing the technique. The main principle is to use your palms to receive an attack while at the same time dispersing the force.

    He quickly learns every movement with his eyes, but he still doesn''t fully understand. At the bottom of the last page is a quote ¡°These two techniques are closely linked, with the latter leading to everything.¡±

    ¡°Strange¡± putting the book back into his bag, he decides to check his new one. Without pouring everything out this time, he sends in a wisp of Qi to check out the items.

    Inside there are a few things. Six blue stones radiating Qi, a sword in its scabbard, a yellow token that says Zhu, a book, and some dried meat.

    Grabbing the token he pulls it out of the bag ¡°Zhu again? Maybe it''s the name of the sect?¡± shrugging his shoulders he tosses it. ¡°No point in keeping it"

    Cutting off the flow of Qi his eyes return to normal. ¡°Damn, I know it said gathering Qi reduces stamina, but I didn''t think stamina meant my Aura too.¡± thinking about it, it makes sense. He doesn''t know if its like that for every demonic beast or a byproduct of his Blue Flames of Resurrection, but his Aura replenishes his stamina similar to how the flames can heal his wounds.

    Thinking up to here he''s convinced ¡°It has to be a byproduct of my Phoenix abilities, or normally demonic beast can go on a rampage till their Aura runs out causing widespread devistation.¡± looking in the direction of the boar a smile forms on his face. ¡°Wait till I recover a bit, then I''ll come play.¡±

    Closing his eyes he leans on the tree. ¡°If my guess is correct, while my core is bronze, it''s about equal to a 1st level Qi gathering cultivator. Which is why I lost in an exchange of fist with that boy.¡± licking his lips ¡°I need to eat some cores" while smiling, he drifts to sleep.

    <hr>

    A young man and woman stand next to a pile of burnt rubble. At their feet are a few dozen corpses.

    ¡°Where is Hotyu?¡± the young man looks at the girl. The young man appears to be 17-19 years old. His hair is dark brown and fairly short, he has yellow eyes and a broad nose. His lips are pretty thin, but his most distinctive feature is his masculine butt chin. He''s wearing the same black robe with gold embroidery as all the others, and at his waist is a bag.

    A girl around the same age looks at him. She has long dark blue hair extending to the small of her back. She has almond shaped dark blue eyes, a cute upturned nose, and small cherry lips.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know Brother Charles, you were the one who sent him into the forest, how would I know?¡±

    Charles furrows his brow ¡°Sister Hilda, I''m the leader of this mission, I don''t need or want your attitude. When I ask you a question I want an answer. You may have caught the eye of a few people in the outer court, but that''s useless in the field.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± stomping her foot she stares angrily at Charles ¡°Team leader he''s probably in the forest!¡±

    Suddenly a blue flame shoots into the air, almost like a grand flare. It immidiatly catches their attention, causing them to turn their heads.

    A slight frown forms on the mans face ¡°Obviously something strange is happening here" holding up his hand he reveals a yellow Zhu token ¡°Disciples are not supposed to discarded their identification tokens no matter what, so that means Brother Haildu is dead. We need to get Brother Hotyu and return to the sect. Someone is in the area of Zhu mountain sect and killing their disciples.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Hearing this Hilda scrunches her nose ¡°What If he''s already dead¡±

    Charles shakes his head ¡°Even so, we have to try. If we go back after abandoning a comrade, I don''t care how many suitors you have in the outer court or inner court, we will be killed for abandonment. We are a righteous sect after all.¡±

    Thinking about it for a moment she nods her head ¡°Right, let''s go¡±

    As they begin to walk towards the forest Charles looks up.

    Reaching into his bag he stores Haildu¡¯s token while pulling out his own. Sending in some Qi he gets a signal from behind him and in the forest. ¡°Let''s go, if we hurry we can pick up his trail before it gets dark" finishing his sentence he begins to run.

    ¡°Ahh" groaning, Hilda follows.

    <hr>

    In the darkness a pair of scarlet eyes gleam in the moonlight. ¡°It''s time¡± jumping from the tree his arms transform briefly to break his fall, illuminating the area momentarily.

    Running his hands across his lips he begins to frown. ¡°I should have brought some water, my lips are so dry they are cracking now.¡±

    His eyes shift about the surroundings, even though it''s night time it remains fairly bright due to the Trinary moons.

    ¡°After killing this boar I''ll find some water¡±

    Walking towards the cave he pulls the sword from his bag. The scabbard is pure black, and fairly broad. The hilt of the blade is some sort of black material with a circular silver guard. Pulling out the sword he notices it''s not a sword at all, but a saber. The back of the blade slightly curves up into a paint, the blade edge is curved and is more broad at the tip and tapers off towards the hilt giving it a domineering appearance.

    Swinging the saber a few times he smiles ¡°Haha what a nice feeling!¡± returning the saber to his scabbard he uses the straps to fasten it to the left side of his waist, while the bags are on his right.

    ¡°I need to read the book on treasures and the new one when I have time" picking up his pace he runs towards the cave.

    Arriving in front of the cave a smile blooms on his face ¡°Hey boar! COME OUT!¡±

    COME OUT

    COME OUT

    OME OUT

    OUT

    OUT

    His voice echoes through the cave.

    ¡°RoAhHHH" the ground begins to Tremble, and from the mouth of the cave the boar comes charging out.

    His eyes, the sharingan begin shifting about. They pick up every movement of the boar, even the slight twitch of its muscles. The Qi pouring in through his head gate is for his eyes, so he focuses on his core.

    Aura begins to pour through his body as he takes a breath. ¡°Marco has already debuted in this world" his grin becomes so broad his teeth begin to show ¡°But now it''s time for Marco Uchiha to arrive" as the words leave his mouth he rushes forward.

    ¡°Let''s test it out!¡± using his eyes he determines the next movement of the boar. Jumping to the side he dodges its charge.

    Seeing that it missed, the boar tries to stop, digging its feet into the ground.

    Seizing this chance Marco sends out a Palm strike, slapping the side of the boars body. As his palm makes contact his eyes flash, opening a little wider.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± a battle cry leaves his mouth as his Arua erupts throughout his body, and by the time the first palm hits the second one is about to connect.

    *Boom boom* two consecutive palms hit the boar, but before he gets a chance to launch the third the boar is about to turn.

    Seeing that the boar is trying to turn and goar him he jumps back and avoids his tusk by a hair''s margin.

    ¡°Fuck, this technique wants me to block those tusk with my palm?¡± as the words leave his mouth it''s like he was struck by lightning.

    Jumping back to get some distance he pulls out his saber. ¡°Just because the technique has palm in its name, why can''t I use a saber?¡±

    ¡°Roahh" the boar charges at him once again.

    Reading its movements he manages to once again arrive at the boars side.

    ¡°Taste my blade!¡± swinging the saber he slices into the boar¡¯s flesh, but before the saber even finishes falling his left palm hits the boar.

    ¡°Arghaaaa" roaring in pain the boar tries to turn.

    Seeing that he has enough time, the saber swings back up slicing the boar as his palm moves away. After slicing the boar he jumps back.

    ¡°I don''t get it, the saber is doing so much damage but the palm does nothing¡­¡± furrowing his brow he stares at the boar.

    ¡°I think this technique is trash as well, fuck! Putting in all those deep quotes like its some great technique.¡± angry he runs at the boar.

    The boar digs his feet into the ground and charges.

    Marco runs straight at the boar, his eyes scanning every movement. Suddenly he grabs the saber with both hands and jumps slightly to the left.

    The boars tusk barely misses his body as he swings the saber. The saber slices deep into the boars face as it''s charging. The saber continues to slice into its body as it runs passed Marco.

    As the boar passes and the saber finishes slicing through, he uses the momentum from the boar to spin around. Using the force of the boars charge he swings the saber at its back leg, easily slicing it off.

    *Buffff* The boar slams into the ground leaving a trail of dirt as it slides.

    Marco walks towards the downed boar. The boar breathes heavily, steam pouring out its mouth. The cut on its side is so deep bones are exposed.

    His eyes scan the wound, easily locating the bronze core.

    ¡°The sharingan really is great, even if cultivators can¡¯t sense Aura how can that stop my eyes? Even in the midst of battle I was able to make a pinpoint strike and expose its core" reaching out he grabs the core.

    The Boar quivers for a moment, then dies.

    Seeing this Marco shivers while putting his hand over his chest ¡°Will I die if my core is removed or damaged?¡±

    Shaking his head, he wipes the blood off the saber using the boars hide and returns it to the scabbard.

    Looking at the bloody core for a moment, he drops it into his bag.

    ¡°Well that wasn''t too bad. I only used a bit of Aura so my stamina is full. Now that I''ve opened a gate, my Aura doesn''t seem to affect my Qi anymore¡±

    Looking around for a moment he starts walking in a direction.

    ¡°If I''m not mistaken the river was in this direction as it entered the forest.¡±

    As he walks he gauges how much stamina is drained from funneling Qi into his eyes.

    ¡°Hmm, as long as I don''t do anything to deplete my Aura too fast, I should be able to keep my sharingan activated. Opening the next gate should give me enough Qi to use illusions¡±

 Chapter 7: Captured!!!

    In the darkness, a boy and girl stand above a crater, the looks on their faces are hideous.

    In the crater is a pool of flesh, bones, and dried blood.

    ¡°Who could have done this?¡± Hilda¡¯s face scrunches as she covers her mouth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but they definitely weren''t at the Qi gathering realm to be able to do this" frowning he looks towards the east ¡°The identification token Is still a bit away.¡±

    ¡°Do we head back?¡±

    Charles lowers his head, silent for a moment. ¡°A year ago, do you remember some guys who did a herb gathering mission?¡±

    ¡°what about it? Why would I know every mission people did?¡±

    Charles side-eyes her ¡°Four guys went on the mission but only two came back. When they split up to look for herbs two members were killed. When the sect found out that they left without even identifying the murderer, those two disciples were ostracized. No longer able to accept missions, banned from the Martial palace, forbidden entry into the Treasure pavilion, and not even allowed to buy from the shops.¡±

    Hearing this causes Hilda¡¯s face to go pale ¡°They can''t do that right!?!¡± pointing at the hole ¡°Look at that!! Whoever did this is out of our league!!!!¡± her chest begins to rapidly rise and fall as she becomes agitated, emphasizing their large size.

    His eyes travel around her body for a moment ¡°You can go back if you want, but I''m going to check it out.¡± Charles begins to walk off.

    Seeing him leave Hilda gnashes her teeth, she looks in the direction they came from, looks at the body in the hole, and finally towards Charles.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± stopping her foot she chases after Charles ¡°Wait for me!¡±

    <hr>

    Marco''s eyes shift about as he walks, looking for any demonic beast.

    The cool night air blows across his face causing his hair to ruffle.

    ¡°What a beautiful night, but I really need water.¡±

    Marco begins to walk a little faster.

    ¡°Maybe it''s time I get to civilization, I don''t think I can accomplish much all on my own.¡±

    Suddenly his eyes dart to the side and a smile forms on his face. Resting his hand on his saber he moves forward slowly.

    Creeping forward, he draws his saber and quickly slashes towards a bush.

    ¡°Graaa!¡± a black wolf jumps from behind the bush, dodging the blow. The wolf has black fur and red eyes, a blue crystallized substance grows from its back. Drool pours out its mouth as it''s growling towards Marco.

    ¡°Awooooooooooo!¡± raising its head the wolf growls.

    Tightening his grip he runs at the wolf. ¡°Good, more cores for me!" Marco swings the saber at the wolf.

    Jumping to the side the wolf begins to dodge.

    Seeing this Marco smiles. His previous swing had no power in it, as he saw that the wolf was prepared to dodge. Using the first swing as a fake, with a simple twist of the wrist he is able to swing the saber with full force.

    As the wolf is currently in the air it was unable to dodge, allowing the saber to slash its throat. Colliding with the ground the wolf rolls a few times and dies.

    Walking up to the corpse he releases a few more slashes and removes its core. As he places it into his bag he hears more growling.

    ¡°Grrrrr"

    ¡°Grrrrrrr"

    Looking around he notices he''s surrounded by wolves.

    ¡°Hahaha let''s go!¡± rushing forward he begins slashing wildly.

    Wolves charge at him from all sides, slashing and biting.

    With every few swings of the saber the life of a wolf is lost, but a new one takes its place.

    This is not without cost, as the battle continues his injuries pile up causing blue flames to roar around his body. His eyes easily track the wolves in his field of vision but dodging them all is impossible with his speed. The wolves attacking from his back are the biggest problem because he is unable to dodge. This battle clearly points out the flaws in his martial arts.

    ¡°Ahh" even though the flames heal him, they don''t prevent pain, with all the wounds he is receiving his Aura is rapidly dissipating.

    His clothes become shredded and his bags are ripped from his waist. Gritting his teeth he dives for one of the bags, reaching inside he pulls out both cores. Swallowing them, he feels a warm current surge through his body.

    ¡°Awooooooo!¡± the wolves howl, and more wolves continue to flood the area.

    Under continuous assault, his Aura drains as fast as it recharges. Suddenly the saber is knocked from his hand.

    ¡°Fuck! Why are there so many!¡± he has already cut down ten wolves, but dozens still surrounded him. Panicking he begins to throw out palm strikes.

    ¡°I need to run¡± not caring about attacking anymore he tries to run out from the encirclement. Wolves bite his legs and slash his body, but he bites his teeth and continues to run.

    By the time he breaks out of the encirclement, his body is covered in wounds and his Aura is gone. As he runs away, all that''s left are his shredded shirt, pants, and cloth shoes.

    ¡°Damn, if I transformed I can easily get away, but if I transform in every tough situation I will be exposed too easily! Relying on it will only bring me more disasters.¡±

    His stamina is so drained he can no longer gather Qi. Healing with fire burns way too much out of him, a lesson for the future. His Sharingan deactivates as he can no longer supply it with Qi. Using everything he has, he runs from the wolves.

    After running for a couple minutes he arrives back at the dead boar, but next to the boar stands two people.

    ¡°People?¡± seeing their robes the look on his face becomes ugly. Suddenly the male rushes towards him.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Glancing back he sees the wolves, and in front of him is the young man. Biting his teeth he gets ready to transform as he really sees no way out of this when suddenly the man jumps.

    ¡°Hya!¡± punching down, the boys fist connects with the head of a wolf causing it to explode.

    Seeing this causes the wolves charge at the new target.

    ¡°Come!¡± throwing out a series of punches he begins blasting away wolves.

    Seeing the wolves being cut down like grass causes Marco''s eyes to go wide.

    The girl walks up next to him, sensing that only one Qi gate is open she''s not worried.

    ¡°What are you doing out here?¡± looking Marco up and down causes one of her brows to arch ¡°You''re too weak to be traveling out here alone¡±

    Pointing his thumb over his shoulder ¡°Running with wolves?¡±

    ¡°Bah" The girl scoffs at his remark and frowns.

    Seeing this Marco turns towards the wolves.

    The young man continues to slaughter the wolves. Looking at him Marco can sense Qi pouring into his body from 10 different gates, causing his eyes to go wide.

    Shocked he looks back at the girl, finally noticing she has Qi entering 6 gates.

    Seeing that they can''t win, the wolves run away, leaving over a dozen dead wolves on the ground.

    The man seeing them run doesn''t try to stop them. Turning around he walks back towards the other two. Seeing the wounds covering his body and only 1 Qi gate open, he relaxes.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± he looks Marco up and down.

    ¡°I''m Marco Uchiha¡±

    ¡°Well Marco, what are you doing here.¡±

    ¡°uh¡± rubbing the back of his head he looks at the boy and girl ¡°I''m lost?¡±

    Furrowing his brow he reaches into his bag and pulls out a yellow token ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±

    Silent for a moment, he thinks of how to respond.

    ¡°A token?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± the young man rubs his chin.

    ¡°Brother Charles why are we wasting our time with this fool, he''s obviously who we are looking for.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± opening his eyes Marco looks at the girl. Before he can ask what she meant, the boy appears in front of him and chops his neck, rendering him unconscious.

    ¡°Hmph, trying to play the fool. If we didn''t have to take him back for killing two disciples I''d kill him myself.¡±

    ¡°Calm down, we caught him so that''s all that matters. I don''t know how he killed Hotyu, but It was better to not alert him till we took care of the wolves.¡±

    ¡°Is that guy retarded? Lost? Every city in 100 miles of these mountains belong to Zhu mountain sect, so there''s no way he wouldn''t know the token and show respect. Hence he failed the last test you gave him.¡±

    ¡°Well it doesn''t matter, we caught him so they can''t blame us.¡± pointing at the cave he looks at Hilda ¡°Let''s rest here for the remainder of the night and head back tomorrow. No reason to take any more risk tonight.¡±

    ¡°Whatever, you''re the ¡®boss¡¯.¡± waving her hand she walks into the cave.

    Taking some clothes from his bag he tears them into ribbons. Using the ribbons he binds his hands behind his back and his feet together. Picking him up he takes him into the cave and throws him against the wall.

    The young man and woman both sit down cross-legged and begins to cultivate.

    A while after he was chopped a bit of his Aura rejuvenated, allowing him to wake from his unconscious state.

    Feeling the bindings on his arms and legs, he realizes he was captured. Barely opening his eyes he sees them cultivating. He begins to think of how he can get out of this situation. Taking a small breath he makes his decision.

    Regulating his breathing he begins activating revolver Qi, going as quickly as possible so they don''t notice him revolving the Qi. After a few seconds, he drills the Qi into his right chest. At the same time, he guides the Qi through his head gate and attacks the right chest gate from inside.

    Like two boulders smashing into a paper house, the ribs on his right side begin to crack. Blood rushes up to his throat, but he holds it in.

    He doesn''t have much stamina, he can only do this for 10 minutes tops.

    Qi continues to slam into the gate, his ribs begin to shatter from the pressure. A small crack finally appears in the gate, but at the same time, his right lung is on the verge of collapse.

    Biting his tongue to resist the pain he uses all the Aura he has left to reduce the damage. A wisp of blue flame appears on his chest for a moment and disappears as soon as it came.

    The cracks in the gate get bigger, but at the same time blood begins to leak from his mouth as he can''t hold it all in. His final burst from his Aura protected his lung from collapsing, but that only bought him another second or two.

    Worst of all, the burst of flame stirred the two from cultivating.

    In a do or die moment he pulls the Qi back from both sides and furiously slams it into the gate harder than before.

    His eyes bulge open bloodshot, a torrent of blood flies out of his mouth, his lung collapses causing a slight hissing noise as he gasps for air, and ribs completely shatter causing pain with every breath.

    But all is not lost, because along with the bodily damage the gate was also broken.

    Charles and Hilda turn towards Marco and frown.

    Standing up they walk over.

    Charles shakes his head ¡°You brute forced a chest gate open? That won''t help you and all you did was cause yourself suffering¡±

    ¡°I knew this guy was stupid, but I didn''t think he was suicidal too hehe.¡±

    With his mouth covered in blood, it slowly creeps into a smile. Raising his head he looks at the two.

    ¡°It matters not, those rags were from a mortal ranked treasure. So without a mortal ranked treasure or being at the 4th stage of Qi gathering, you can''t break them.¡±

    ¡°Hey"

    ¡°What?¡± Charles answers patiently.

    ¡°Don''t you know? When fighting an Uchiha, never look them in the eyes.¡± using what little stamina he has left, he uses it to madly funnel Qi into both of his gates. Marco''s eyes turn scarlet red, and at the same time the three tomoe begin rotating around his pupil ¡°Sharingan illusion!¡±

    The second power of the Sharingan, eyes of hypnotism. With just simple eye contact the user of the Sharingan is able to place targets into an illusion.

    Charles and Hilda were confused at first, but suddenly their eyes turn dull.

    In a shadowy world, Charles is falling into an infinite abyss. Stunned, he begins to panic as he realizes his helplessness. As he tries to gather Qi he becomes frightened as he learns he can''t.

    ¡°Help! HELP! Hilda where are you!!¡±

    Hilda is trapped in a maze of fog. Every time she makes a few turns she ends up at the beginning of the maze, no matter where she goes she always returns to the same spot. Panicking she begins to run through the maze, eyes darting about as her face begins to crumble.

    Marco looks at the two bodies collapsed on the floor, his face deathly pale as his stamina is drained. If the stamina drain doesn''t kill him, the internal bleeding will.

    ¡°Formidable, I still need a lot of practice though, as all I can do is trap them in a loop. To alter their memories, alter their perception of time, or control their bodies will take time.¡±

    With every breath a burning pain stabs his chest, he won''t be able to make it for much longer.

    As he maintains the illusion he feels around half the Qi from his second gate is being used to supply it. Meaning he should be able to keep four people under illusions at the same time.

    Struggling he tries to free himself of his bindings. As he moves the pain from his ribs and lungs shoot through his body.

    ¡°How am I going to get out of this?¡± pondering for a second he comes up with an idea.

    Struggling he manages to sit up against the wall of the cave, pain running through his body as he pukes more blood from those simple movements. Looking down he can see the right side of his chest change color as the internal bleeding worsens.

    The pain flares causing him to pause for a moment. Taking shallow breaths as to not irritate his chest, he transforms his neck and head into that of a Phoenix. With his elongated neck and the use of his beak, he tries to untie the bindings on his feet. After a few seconds, he manages to untie them. Reverting his head and neck he struggles to his feet.

    Biting his teeth he endures the pain and begins walking out of the cave.

    As he passes the two disciples he looks at them furiously. Struggling with every step he manages to leave the cave.

    Walking next to the fourteen wolf corpses, he transforms his legs into that of a Phoenix. Using his talons he digs through the body of a wolf. After ripping through chunks of bloody meat, he manages to find the bronze core located in its upper back.

    The core rolls onto the ground, but at the same time, he collapses to his knees. Pain shoots through his body as he makes the movements contact with the ground as if his entire body is rattled. His eyes begin to slowly close, he can feel it, that if he just let''s go, he can have a nice rest.

    He forgets what he''s doing out here, why does he have to struggle so hard? what is he even doing this for? If he just...lets go, will anyone even know he was here?

    His head drops powerlessly as he sits there on his knees. His shoulders relax as his eyes close further. He falls flat onto the ground, the internal bleeding so severe he no longer feels the pain.

    Moments before his eyes close he sees the core just before his face, ah that''s right. His tongue stretches out his mouth and he stretches his neck a little further. With the help of his tongue, he is able to get the core and dirt into his mouth, using the last of his will to swallow it. As the core travels down his throat it turns into energy. When it travels by his core it devours the energy like a hungry ghost.

    Aura surges forth allowing blue flames to erupt around his body. His wounds begin to slowly heal, bringing him back from the brink of death.

 Chapter 8: So thats how you do it?

    As he recovers he slowly rises to his feet a smile forms on his face as he looks at the bodies of the other wolves.

    ¡°That was way too close¡±

    Walking around he digs the cores from the bodies of the wolves. As he picks them out with his foot he tosses them up, catches them with his mouth, and swallows them. After devouring all fourteen he feels better than ever and reverts his body to normal.

    Power surges through his body as his Aura increases. Suddenly he feels a popping sensation, and his Aura becomes a little thicker.

    ¡°Oh? What a strange feeling, the book never said cores have different stages like Qi gathering cultivators do.¡±

    Taking a few deep breaths he readies himself.

    ¡°Go!¡± his arms erupt in blue flames as they transform into wings. A loud crunch echoes as the bones in his wings shatter from the tight bindings.

    ¡°AhHhH!¡±

    Before they heal, he pulls his shattered wings from the bindings.

    The flames on his wings roar as they begin to heal. They heal in a few seconds and he reverts them.

    ¡°Well, this was way too close. I need to be a lot more careful in the future.¡± looking back towards the cave he smiles. ¡°Now what shall I do with you?¡±

    As he gets ready to walk back towards the cave he pauses for a moment and picks up the cloth.

    Walking into the cave he glances at the pair. ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, you just had to meet me, I don¡¯t know why you''re here but don''t blame me, you guys started it.¡±

    Walking up to them he unties their bags. Sitting down he begins to go through them.

    In the man''s bag, he finds 22 blue stones, 3 yellow Zhu token, a sword, a bottle of pills, a canteen, and dried meat. In the girls bag are 13 blue stones, a yellow Zhu token, a whip, a bottle of pills, a canteen, dried bread and meat, and a bunch of cosmetic products.

    Marco moves everything from the girl''s bag into the guys. He leaves all four tokens on the ground, as he gets ready to dump out the cosmetic products he hesitates before deciding to keep them.

    Tying the bags to his waist he looks at his shredded clothes. ¡°I need to get my other bags" pulling out a canteen he takes a swig, then spits out bloody water, then takes another drink.

    While putting away the canteen he pulls out the sword. The sword''s sheath is pure white in contrast with the black hilt. Pulling out the sword he feels his Qi fluctuate. His brows raise in surprise from the feeling, if he tried he could easily pour Qi into the blade.

    Hooking the sheath to the left side of his waist he waves the sword around a few times.

    Walking up to the man he smiles ¡°You saved me from the wolves so I won''t make it too hard for you.¡± infusing his leftover Qi from his second gate he slashes the sword. The sword passes through the man''s neck like a hot knife through butter instantly killing him. His head rolls to the side as his body gushes blood.

    ¡°Qi gathering cultivators really are like normal people if they can''t gather Qi¡± shaking his head he turns towards the girl.

    Tapping the sword on his shoulder he looks her up and down. ¡°What shall I do with you?¡±

    Returning the sword to the sheath he moves over to the girl. Moving her hands behind her back he uses the cloth from his hands and feet to tie her hands.

    As her hands are tied behind her back it pushes her chest forward. Looking at them for a moment he reaches out and grabs her breast. Her breast deforms as he squeezes, sending a soft supple feeling into his palm.

    Satisfied he removes his hand. Taking a few steps back he releases the illusion.

    ¡°I''m out!?!¡± she struggles to move her hands. Looking around she sees the headless body. ¡°Charles!!!¡± looking around she sees the man they captured ¡°What did you do!!¡± Qi begins to pour into her 6 gates.

    Seeing this Marco''s tomoe revolve putting her back in an illusion.

    In the illusion, she is strapped to a cross in a white room, in front of her Marco stands.

    ¡°Well, that wasn''t the best idea. You''ll have to excuse me, I''m still figuring this out.¡±

    Struggling she realizes she once again cannot gather Qi. Gnashing her teeth she stares daggers at Marco. ¡°Who are you!¡±

    ¡°Don''t be so self centered, I already told you my name.¡± doing a slight bow ¡°I''m Marco Uchiha, and I have a few questions for you.¡±

    *Scoff* ¡°Why would I answer anything you want to know?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Oh? Are you stronger than your friend? I thought you saw his body?¡±

    Silent for a moment she stares at Marco. ¡°If I answer your questions you won''t kill me?¡±

    ¡°Don''t give me a reason and I won''t kill you.¡±

    ¡°Fine! What do you want to know?¡±

    Thinking for a moment, he finally opens his mouth ¡°Why were you cultivating earlier? Don''t you just slam Qi into the gate? Since you can''t store Qi, what were you doing?¡±

    The girls face scrunches as she looks at him ¡°You really are stupid. Brute forcing the gates is the most barbaric way and more often than not will kill cultivators. You are supposed to use Qi to slowly whittle away at the gate, as damage done to the gate doesn''t heal.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that actually makes sense. I wondered how people dealt with the massive damage to their bodies¡­.¡± nodding his head he looks at the girl ¡°Why did you guys come after me?¡±

    ¡°Why!?! You killed the grandson of the Elder of the task hall! We had no choice but to come after you!¡±

    ¡°Great! It still ended up happening! Is this elder super powerful?¡± furrowing his brows he looks at the girl.

    ¡°He''s an Elder of the outer court, which means he''s at least at the early stages of core formation.¡±

    ¡°Is core formation strong?¡±

    ¡°It''s said that core formation is the beginning of cultivation¡±

    ¡°Ohh? Interesting. I know that after Qi gathering is Foundation establishment, what is that?¡±

    ¡°How do you not know these things?? Are you really a cultivator?¡±

    ¡°Tsk¡± clicking his tongue he scowls at her ¡°Just answer the question¡±

    ¡°Fine fine, for Foundation establishment it involves strengthening the body. There are six levels, and by using Qi from the 10 gates you slowly infuse it into the major parts of the body. The bones, brain, heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys. Doing so allows the body to connect all 10 gates, turning your entire body into a circuit for gathering Qi, and not just through 10 gates. When all 10 gates are linked you develop what is now known as meridians.¡±

    ¡°Why can''t you just begin infusing Qi into those six parts now?¡±

    ¡°You can, but you will lock your remaining gates. Even if you succeed you will have crippled meridians and it will be very difficult to keep advancing.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why would you tell me that, if you lied you could have crippled me?¡±

    ¡°If I lied and you became cripple, would I be able to beat you?¡±

    ¡°Wow, you''re smarter than you look"

    ¡°What does that mean!?!?¡±

    Looking at her chest he remains silent.

    ¡°Bastard!! Let me down and I''ll show you!¡±

    ¡°Ok ok stop, my bad. Hmm, that''s all I want to know for now.¡± waving his hand the cross disappears and he vanishes from the white room.

    In the real world, Marco stands in front of the dull eyed girl.

    ¡°I really need to learn to effect time in my illusions, that took way too long. Ah, I never asked her name"

    Shrugging his shoulders he picks her up and carries her over his left shoulder. As her breast press against his back he smiles.

    ¡°With my upgraded Aura I should be able to manage the stamina drain and power the illusion for a while.¡± walking forward he leaves the cave.

    ¡°I now have ? of my Qi left over from the 2nd gate, what a strange feeling it is having Sharingan activated with leftover Qi.¡±

    Walking in the darkness he moves towards where he met the wolves. His eyes dart about to prevent an ambush, paranoid he draws his sword.

    With a girl over his left shoulder, a sword in his right hand, scarlet red eyes, and tattered clothes he looks like a total villain.

    After walking for a bit he finally arrives back. The bags were destroyed, spilling their contents onto the ground. Sheathing his sword he puts down the girl. He takes off all his clothes and throws them to the side. Picking up undamaged ones off the ground he puts them on. Picking up the last set of clothes he places them in the bag with the cosmetics.

    Looking around he notices the saber. Hesitating for a while he realizes the saber must be of lower quality than the sword, so he places it into his main bag. Picking up the blue gems that give off Qi he places them in his bag as well, giving him 41 in total.

    Marco decides to only pick up the two books he hasn''t read, the one about treasures and another called ¡°How to tame demonic beast"

    Placing the books in his bag he decides he should still head for the river. Looking at the girl he squints his eyes.

    ¡°I don''t know how they tracked me, but I probably left a trail. So I need that trail to disappear.¡± moving forward he stands over the girl ¡°I have some confidence now with two gates opened.¡±

    His arms and legs suddenly transform to that of a Phoenix, he tries to keep the fire burning on his body to a minimum, revealing beautifully blue feathers. Gently flapping his wings he hovers above the girl as she lays on the ground. Using his talons he grabs her by the shoulders, careful not to hurt her so she doesn''t wake from the illusion.

    Picking her up he flies towards the river in the darkness as his flames give off a subtle glow.

    Moving through the forest he¡¯s easily able to avoid obstacles using his Sharingan, and in around forty-five minutes he arrives at the river running through the forest.

    Flying to the crown of a tree he sets the girl down on a branch before landing. Reverting his body he sits down with his back facing the trunk. The girl is laying in front of him with her hands behind her back and legs straddling the branch, a very provocative pose.

    Pulling out a piece of dried meat from the bag he begins to eat while staring at the girl. ¡°What am I going to do with you? If I had access to Kamui I''d just throw you in there till my illusions improved. But as of now, you''re a liability.¡± silent for a moment he shakes his head ¡°If I''m afraid now, how will I ever build a clan?¡±

    Reaching into his bag he pulls out a blue stone. Focusing on it, he feels as though he can pull out the Qi. Turning the stone over in his hands a few times, he tries using it.

    The Qi pours out of the stone and into his two gates. Doing it this way uses no stamina, allowing his Aura to actually start recovering. Pleasantly surprised he reaches into his bag and pulls out the beast book and begins to read as his Aura recovers.

    ¡°Demonic beast are our enemies, but why can''t they be our friends? Using a certain technique human can turn other humans into soul slaves, but that doesn''t work on people who can use Qi. Demonic beast don¡¯t have Qi, so why won''t this technique work on them? The simple answer is Demonic beast¡¯s souls are fundamentally different from humans. To a Demonic beast their core is everything. This is how you tame a demonic beast, first you must incapacitate the Beast, second is to open a wound on the best, and third is to use Qi to guide your blood to the Demonic beast¡¯s core. When you''re blood arrives inscribe this symbol onto the core with your blood.¡±

    At the bottom of the page is a very intricate symbol. Scanning it with his Sharingan he quickly commits it to memory and continues reading.

    ¡°Two possible things will happen, either the creature''s bloodline is stronger than yours and you die, or you have a new friend. For this reason, its recommended not to try this on any creature with an ancient bloodline or one whose strength is greater than your own. You can only use this technique once in your life, so choose wisely.¡±

    Reading up to here the book finishes.

 Chapter 9: Traveling companion

    Sitting on a tree branch with his legs hanging off the side, Marco basks in the moonlight. His scarlet eyes stare at the beautiful girl lying in front of him, his hand clutching a blue stone.

    ¡°If I go to sleep, will my stamina recover faster allowing me to keep the illusion active? But I can''t actively gather Qi in my sleep anyway so it''s pointless¡± shaking his head he looks at the flowing river. The sound of rushing water fills the area, drowning out any possible noise from animals.

    ¡°If I can''t sleep, I might as well try and cultivate¡± pausing for a moment, he furrows his brow ¡°When I brute forced the right side of the chest I shattered my ribs and collapsed my lung. What would have happened if I didn''t do my head gate first, causing the damage to be more intense, would I be brain damaged?¡±

    Squinting his eyes he thinks for a moment.

    ¡°Ok, I can''t brute force the last chest, groin, back, or core gate or I''ll probably die. So I can only open the four gates in my hands and feet with brute force and not kill myself.¡±

    Gripping the blue stone in his left hand, he uses his right to pull the last black robe from his bag. Using the robe he covers his left hand.

    Focusing he begins to practice Revolver Qi. Using the Qi from the stone it goes a lot faster. After a few seconds, he shoots the Qi towards his left hand, at the same time the leftover Qi from his chest gate rushes at it from the inside. As the Qi crashes into the gate an audible crunch is heard.

    The bones in his left hand instantly break. As the Qi drills into the gate, it begins to crack. Like a tree branch through a grinder, the bones turn to dust. The pain is so great his teeth begin to bleed from clenching them so hard. The nerves in his hand are on fire, like dipping it in magma. The muscles in his hand begin tearing into shreds. Blood pools in the skin turning it into a balloon.

    Under the robe blue flames erupt healing the hand just as fast as it''s being destroyed, causing perpetual pain. Suddenly, the gate cracks open. Qi pours in through his left hand and now that the destruction has stopped the flames are able to heal it. A cold sweat drips from his forehead as he looks at his right hand and feet.

    ¡°Who said these gates won''t kill me??¡± a smile forms on his face ¡°If I deactivate the Illusion I''ll have enough Qi to activate Mangekyou Sharingan, but I''ll need two more gates to use close range Kamui. Five in total, but if I open six it will be perfect¡± taking a deep breath he moves the robe and stone to his right hand.

    Focusing he activates Revolver Qi. Slamming the Qi from outside, plus Qi from his hand and chest gate inside, his bones don''t even have time to break and directly turn to powder. The muscles in his hand shreds to smithereens and his skin begins to wither on impact. The blue flames ignite to try and offset the destruction, but its withering to fast.

    Unsure if the total destruction of his hand will affect the gate he backs off the Qi, giving the flame time to heal.

    After a few seconds, he bombards the gate again and finally causes it to crack. Seeing that it''s an effective strategy he does it again. Backing off the Qi he gives it time to heal before ramming it again.

    Blood pours out the side of his mouth, as doing it this way is a lot more painful even if it is safer. To save Aura he doesn''t use flames to heal his bleeding mouth and cracking teeth.

    After ramming in three more times the gate finally opens and the stone turns to dust as it runs out of Qi.

    ¡°That''s four gates down, two to go" pulling out another stone from his bag he holds it in his hand. ¡°My Aura is almost used up from the healing so I need it to recover. Tomorrow I need to hunt some Demonic beast as My Aura now is no longer cutting it.¡±

    Using Revolver Qi and Qi from his newly opened gates, he sends his Qi to gently whittle over his last chest gate. The Qi moves like a paintbrush on a canvas, there is very little pain but also no visible progress.

    As his Aura slowly recovers he continues to whittle at his chest gate. Grabbing a new Qi stone every now and again, unknowingly hours go by.

    As the stone in his hand turns to dust sunlight gleams onto his face. Opening his eyes he looks around.

    ¡°I finally get how cultivators in all those novels Patrick read go into closed meditation for hundreds of years, it''s very relaxing.¡±

    Grabbing the girl he throws her over his shoulder.

    ¡°I''ve decided, it''ll be too dangerous to open the last two gates as I am now. So it''s time to go hunting.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Jumping from the tree his arms don''t transform, but all his free Qi rushes to his legs and softens his fall.

    Smiling he begins walking along the river away from the small town from earlier.

    Taking a swig from the canteen he begins to think.

    ¡°If I follow the river long enough I should run into civilization, right? Or should I go the other way as I doubt I''ll find something in the forest¡±

    Closing his eyes for a moment he listens to the river.

    ¡°Ok, I''ll stay in the forest for now and hunt demonic beast. But it''s too boring alone¡±

    Stopping for a moment he places the girl down. Backing up he decides to release the illusion. If he does he''ll only have to keep one Qi gate open, greatly reducing his stamina consumption and save his Aura.

    Releasing the illusion the girl immediately begins to stir.

    ¡°Uhhh¡± wiggling on the ground she opens her eyes, the first thing she sees is Marco''s scarlet eyes. Her brow wrinkles and she scrunches her nose, making her look adorable. Confused if his eyes always looked like that.

    ¡°Don''t do anything funny" placing his hand on his sword ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you, but If you try to gather Qi this will be the last time you wake up.¡±

    The girl is silent for a moment as she stares him down. ¡°Why are you doing this? Even if you are strong, you''ll never be able to beat the Zhu mountain sect. If you let me go I''ll make sure no one comes after you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?? You have a lot of power and sway in the sect?¡±

    ¡°.....no"

    ¡°Then get up and walk"

    ¡°Hmph!¡± squirming on the ground she tries to stand but struggles due to her hands being bound. After a few seconds, she manages to stand up.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    Marco points at the river ¡°Following the river.¡±

    ¡°Following the river?? Deeper into the forest? Why is everything you do so suicidal?!?! You couldn''t even beat a pack of Crystal Back Wolves!¡± because she is not gathering any Qi, she cant tell that four of his gates are now open, double from yesterday.

    Shaking his head he looks at the girl ¡°It doesn''t matter, now walk"

    ¡°Ahh!¡± she stomps her foot on the ground ¡°You''re too much! You have no idea how to treat a lady!¡±

    Bewildered, Marco''s brows jump up. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°First you tell me not to use Qi! But now you tell me that we are walking Deeper into the forest with Demonic beast! If I don''t die from trying to keep up with you, the beast will kill me!!¡±

    Listening to her reasoning, it makes sense. If she uses no Qi it will be like a normal person walking through the woods and will slow him down. Nodding he looks at the girl.

    ¡°OK! But let me warn you, if you attack me, try to run, or do anything strange I will do everything possible to kill you.¡±

    ¡°FINE! now untie me!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°What if I have to go to the bathroom!?! Will you feed me as well??¡±

    ¡°I''ll help you with both!¡± Marco shamelessly declares.

    Hilda¡¯s cheeks turn slightly pink as she quickly turns her head. Stopping her foot a few times she begins to walk ¡°Jerk!¡±

    Watching her walk away for a bit he finally starts following. His eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

    After walking in silence for a while he finally spots something.

    ¡°Hey, stop"

    ¡°What!?!¡± turning her head she stares angrily at him.

    Walking towards her he smiles ¡°What''s your name?¡±

    Squinting her eyes she looks him up and down ¡°Hilda"

    As he walks closer Marco puts his hand on his sword ¡°Well Hilda, don''t move"

    ¡°What??¡± taking a few steps back ¡°I''ve done everything you''ve asked!¡±

    Pulling out his sword he slashes at a nearby bush.

    ¡°Ha! Ha!¡± suddenly a yellow monkey jumps from the bush. In his hand is a wooden spear.

    ¡°Yellow monkey?? Where did that come from?¡± the Hilda backs up, contemplating if she should break the bonds as her eyes dart between Marco and the monkey.

    ¡°So they''re called yellow monkeys? Good to know.¡± staring at the monkey he waves his sword around.

    ¡°Haaaaa Haaaaa!¡± the monkey begins to howl as it charges towards Marco.

    ¡°Tsk, useless¡±

    ¡°They never travel alone!¡± Hilda yells as she sees Marco doesn''t want to flee.

    ¡°I know, I can see them" as he finishes speaking ten monkeys jump from the nearby trees, spears pointed at Marco.

    All four of Marco''s gates open, pouring in Qi. The three tomoe in his eyes rotate as a smile forms on his face as his eyes flicker about for a moment.

    All eleven monkeys drop to the ground, trapped in an illusion of black mist.

    Hilda''s eyes go wide. She knew he had a strange technique, but since she was always on the receiving end she never knew how it was used. Seeing that he did nothing, and eleven yellow monkeys who are usually equal in power to 5th gate Qi gathering cultivators dropped like flies. Any thought she had of resisting has finally disappeared. Looking at Marco her body begins to shiver, finally noticing he''s opened four gates. She knows for sure he only opened his second gate last night in the cave.

    ¡°See, no problem¡± smiling at Hilda he walks towards one of the monkeys.

    Moving the sword along the monkey, he stabs it in. Twisting the sword he opens a hole. Reaching into the monkey he pulls out a bronze core and places it into his bag. Doing the same with the rest of the monkeys, he collects all eleven cores.

    ¡°What are you going to do with all those cores? You planning on making a treasure or pills?¡±

    ¡°You can use cores to make weapons?¡±

    Hilda raises an eyebrow as she looks at Marco ¡°If you''re not going to make a weapon or pills, what are you doing? Who are you really??¡±

    ¡°I thought I already told you who I am¡± Marco returns the sword to the sheath, unfastens the sword from his hip, and put it into his bag. He pulls the saber from his bag and puts it back on his waist.

    ¡°Why is it I can put Qi into that sword, but not this saber? I like the feel of the saber better, so why is it worse?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand how your technique is so powerful yet you know next to nothing" scrunching her nose she looks weirdly at Marco.

    ¡°Haha well, I was a soul slave the other day.¡± pointing forward he looks at the Hilda ¡°Walk, and tell me about treasures.¡±

    ¡°You were one of those slaves? Hmph! If you don''t want to tell me, at least don''t lie!¡± stomping her foot she turns and walks.

    Seeing her walk away, he grabs a core from his bag and pops it into his mouth like candy. As the energy is absorbed into his core he begins to follow Hilda.

 Chapter 10: Dart toad

    In the forest Hilda walks along the river, her hands bound behind her back. Marco follows behind her.

    Popping a core into his mouth he feels his Aura slowly increasing. His Sharingan constantly scans the surroundings, looking for his next meal.

    Suddenly Hilda stops walking.

    Startled, Marco grips his saber, ready to draw it anytime.

    ¡°I''m hungry and thirsty!¡± Turning around she stares at Marco.

    ¡°Ok, but after this tell me about treasures¡±

    ¡°Untie me so I can eat.¡±

    Not answering her, Marco pulls a piece of bread from the bag. Walking up to her, he holds it up to Hilda¡¯s mouth. ¡°Eat"

    Hilda looks at his face for a moment, her gaze lingers on his scarlet eyes for a while. Seeing the three tomoe around his pupil she takes a bite of the bread.

    After she finishes eating he pulls out the canteen and pours it into her mouth, his gaze never leaving her body in case she tries something funny.

    A bit of water leaks from her mouth rolling down her chin, it travels down her neck and disappears into her robe. Following the path of the drop, his eyes land on her chest as it rises and falls from drinking.

    Removing the bottle from her mouth he puts it back in his bag. ¡°Ok that''s enough, now walk and talk.¡±

    With her lips moist from water, she turns around and stomps off.

    ¡°Treasure are just like techniques, they both have ranks. The ones I know are Unranked, Mortal, Earth, and Heaven. That saber you have is unranked and the sword is mortal ranked.¡± glancing over her shoulder she looks back ¡°My whip that your holding onto is also mortal ranked.¡± turning back around she walks in silence.

    ¡°That''s it??¡±

    ¡°What else do you want to know??¡±

    ¡°Why can I inject Qi into the sword but not the saber?¡±

    ¡°Ahhh you''re hopeless.¡± shaking her head briefly, only the sound of the river and birds chirping reverberate in the area. ¡°Treasures can be created at various levels by a skilled blacksmith, but you can still advance a low ranked treasure. Actually, hardcore cultivators prefer to advance an Unranked treasure from the beginning. Just like you infuse Qi into your body for foundation establishment, if you constantly pressure an unranked treasure with your Qi it will advance to a mortal ranked treasure. By doing so the treasures will be more compatible with you and show greater results. Its harder to advance treasures that are created at a higher rank. That''s all I know¡±

    ¡°Well, that''s good. I guess I''ll just read the book later"

    Hilda angrily turns around ¡°You have a book and you still made me explain it to you!?!¡±

    Smiling at her anger, he ignores her outburst. ¡°You''re the first female I''ve met and I really enjoy the sound of your voice.¡±

    Hilda''s cheeks turn slightly red from the complainant, a stark contrast from her blue eyes and hair. ¡°How old are you?? 16? 17? How can I be the first female you''ve met? What about your mother!¡±

    Marco shakes his head before pointing forwards ¡°Walk"

    Stopping her foot she turns around and continues to follow the river.

    In a somber tone Marco speaks towards Hilda''s back ¡°I don¡¯t have parents. It took two lives to create me, but I wouldn''t call them my parents. I have inherited both their wills, and I plan to make use of the life I was given¡±

    Not responding, she continues to walks.

    Noticing nothing dangerous in the area, only birds and forest critters, Marco decides to try pressuring his saber.

    Activating his unused Qi, he covers the saber in Qi and tries to pressure it. Qi completely surrounds the scabbard, it also seeps inside and surrounds the blade.

    With all of his Qi gates open, his stamina decreases faster causing his Aura to diminish at a greater rate.

    Qi doesn''t enter the saber or scabbard but pressures it from all sides.

    ¡°I have nine cores left, so it should be ok.¡± Marco mumbles to himself.

    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Hilda suddenly looks around.

    ¡°I was just talking to myself¡± Marco shakes his head, a little embarrassed.

    ¡°I don''t mean you, listen!¡±

    Furrowing his brow Marco stops using Qi on the saber and walks closer to Hilda, as she was a bit in front of him. His eyes never leave her in case she''s trying something.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    As he moves closer he begins to hear a low pitch squeaking noise and the sound of cracking trees.

    ¡°There''s something over there, let''s go take a look¡± grabbing Hilda by the upper arm he begins to pull her in the direction of the sound.

    ¡°I can walk by myself!¡± discomforted by the pulling she complains, but it falls on deaf ears.

    Walking for a moment the cause of the noise comes into view. A small group of winged creatures is being chased by a large toad creature.

    The toad has massive spikes growing out of its back and seven horns on its head. Every time it hops it leaves an impression in the ground. As it shoots out its tongue it either catches a winged creature, eating them or splits a tree trunk as it misses.

    The winged creatures look like small humans with wings. Only two remain as one was eaten when they arrived, gobbled like a fly. One of the creatures has two wings. A larger pair pointing upward and a smaller pair pointing down. The other one has three pairs of wings. The same ones pointing up and down, but also a third medium sized pair filling the space in the middle pointing slightly upwards. With the three pair of wings, the creature looks more complete.

    The toad shoots out its tongue again, seeing that it''s going to hit them the two winged creature pushes the three winged creature away. The tongue hits the two winged creature instantly turning its body to jelly, as whatever skeletal structure it has disintegrated. The tongue retracts into the toad''s mouth, eating the creature.

    Seeing this Hilda screams ¡°Dart toad and pixies!¡±

    Hearing the scream the pixie begins flying in their direction, unknown if its seeking help or hoping to divert the attention. Naturally, the toad follows and they are both heading towards them now.

    ¡°We have to run!¡± Hilda becomes flustered ¡°A Dart Toad is an iron level creature! The same as foundation establishment!¡±

    ¡°Iron level??¡± Marco¡¯s eyes flash as he runs towards the beast.

    Seeing this Hilda opens all six gates and rips through her bonds. Before she can run she notices Marco¡¯s eyes on her, a look of disappoint on his face.

    Marco never stopped being vigilant against Hilda, but he gave her a chance. If he could get an ally like her he naturally wouldn''t be dissatisfied, so he tested her. This was the first open opportunity she could use to escape, and she took it without thinking twice. Disappointment washes over him but quickly fades, as he only knew her for a day.

    His tomoe rotate and she drops to the ground.

    Opening all four gates he faces the front. The pixie flies rather quickly towards him, the toad closely behind. The toad shoots his tongue but misses, striking nothing but air. As the tongue lashes a loud whipping sound echoes as it breaks the sound barrier.

    Close enough Marco''s tomoe begin rotating. The pixie flying towards him instantly drops. Marco catches it out of the air as he continues to run at the toad, staring it down.

    With Hilda and the Pixi combined half of the Qi from the 2nd gate is used up. He uses the Qi from the other half of the gate on the toad, but it has no effect.

    The toad is getting ready to launch his tongue again.

    Catching every movement with his Sharingan he knows what the toad is about to do. Pouring in all the Qi from his 3rd gate the toad finally enters an illusion.

    Trapped in an endless black abyss the toad looks around ¡°RooAhhhhhh" as it roars cracks begin to appear in the ground and air.

    Feeling that the illusion is about to break he pours in all the Qi from his 4th gate as well.

    In the illusion, world chains erupt from the ground and wrap around the toad, but It still continues to struggle.

    ¡°Is the gap between levels this big!? 2 ? gates of Qi and its still going to break out soon? No, my illusion skills are just too poor" shaking his head he holds the pixie in his left hand and with his right, he reaches into his bag. He brings out a blood dried core after core and eats all nine of them.

    Aura surges through his body. He feels as though his Aura is now at the same level of his 3rd gate. At this time he finally arrives next to the toad. Drawing his saber he slashes down.

    The blade skims it''s tough skin, unable to break through. Seeing this Marco''s eyes go wide. Returning the saber to the scabbard he turns and runs.

    ¡°Fuck! Even if I can trap it, I can''t kill it!¡± running with all his might he arrives next to Hilda. He scoops her up and slings her over his right shoulder. He has no time to enjoy her body as he runs.

    ¡°The illusion can only trap it for around another few seconds tops! I need as much distance as possible!¡± following the river he runs with all his might.

    20 seconds later he feels the illusion break. Using all of his now free Qi he runs even faster.

    ¡°ROAHHHHHHHH"

    A loud roar reverberates through the forest.

    Using all his Qi and running causes his Aura to drain faster than ever. After 20 minutes of nonstop running, he is unable to continue as his Aura is now gone. Gathering Qi quickly begins to sap his stamina. Looking around all he sees are the river, trees, and small animals.

    Taking a breath he deactivates all his gates, except the ones needed for his Sharingan and to keep Hilda and the pixie in an illusion to lessen his stamina drain. Marco sets Hilda down against a tree trunk.

    ¡°Trapping stronger creatures completely in an illusionary world is going to be impossible¡± shaking his head he looks at the Pixie in his hand.

    He finally gets a closer look at the pixie. She is about the size of his hand. She has thin transparent bug like wings and her ears look like the tail of a fish, except instead of two points they have three. One point going up, one in the middle pointing straight out, and one pointing down. Her hair is the color of grass and is braided into a long ponytail that runs down her back. Her skin is the color of pale green tea, she has thin eyebrows, and her dull upturned shaped eyes are solid red. She has a small Roman nose and tiny red cupid-bow lips. Her body looks like that of a girl just on a smaller scale. Small leaves are wrapped around her ankles, exposing her bare feet. Small leaves also wrap around her wrist. Some sort of tiny vines wraps around her chest, covering her moderate sides chest for her size. The same vines wrap around her crotch and hips forming pants. Her waist is exposed along with her small belly button.

    ¡°What a beautiful creature¡± using his finger he feels her body. Its as if she has no bones because her entire body is soft. Her skin is smooth with no blemishes and warm to the touch.

    With his eyes he can see, even though this is a humanoid creature, in the center of its body is a tiny core.

    Marco places the creature sideways into his mouth, his lips holding her by her torso and back, Her arms and legs dangling. As she enters his mouth a sweet feeling is transmitted to his tongue. His tongue travels over the side of her body in his mouth.

    Suddenly his eyes go wide as he realizes why the toad was eating them. If he had lesser control he probably would take a bite.

    His arms and legs turn into that of a Phoenix, using his claws he grabs Hilda and flies to the crown of the tree. Setting her down he lands and reverts his arms and legs, he then pulls the pixie out of his mouth, saliva cover half her body from licking her. Sitting down he pulls out a Qi stone knowing its a waste, but if he doesn''t offset the stamina drain his Aura will never recover.

    Looking at Hilda he shakes his head before entering her illusion.

 Chapter 11: Authority of the Gods

    In a world of white Hilda is strapped to a table, arms and legs spread open. She struggles as she tries to get up, but it''s all in vain.

    Marco walks to the side of the table, looking at her messy blue hair. He runs a hand

    through it to try to fix it, but she turns her head and dodges.

    ¡°You bastard! Let me go!! Zhu mountain sect will never forgive you!¡± a smug look appears on her face ¡°I have many suitors in the inner court, once they find out you''ve captured me you''re dead!¡± a crazed look appears in her eye.

    Marco gently shakes his head ¡°Ok, you''ve won. Just tell me about pixies and I''ll let you go.¡±

    Hilda stairs at him for a moment ¡°Good! You know what''s good for you. I promise I won''t tell people where you are.¡± taking a breath ¡°Pixies are a rare creature, an ancient descendant of the Fey. Even though they are humanoid they are still a demonic beast. They are like the retarded cousins of fairies and no pixie has ever gone past bronze rank, even with people feeding them cores. Their only use is to an alchemist. They grind up their bodies to make pills and some people eat them directly.¡±

    Hilda squints her eyes ¡°That''s all I know, now let me go.¡±

    A smile forms on Marcos face ¡°I lied"

    ¡°AHhh!let me go right now!!¡± shaking violently she tries to break free.

    ¡°Now you see what it''s like for people to break your trust.¡± lifting up his hand a dagger appears ¡°Now, I''m going to use you to practice my technique.¡± swinging down his hand he stabs her in the arm.

    ¡°Ahhhhh! It hurts! Stop!¡± she wails in pain.

    Ignoring her he pulls out the blade and continues stabbing.

    In the real world, he looks at the pixie in his hand.

    ¡°I know this isn''t the best decision, but it won''t really matter when I get the rinnegan.¡± opening the pixie''s mouth reveals rows of sharp teeth.

    While holding a Qi stone he puts his right hand to his mouth and bites the skin of his thumb. Using his Qi three drops of blood flow out of the cut before a small flame heals it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how special my blood is, so you''ll be the first to find out.¡± with his Qi he intertwines the three drops of blood, turning them into a long string. The blood enters the Pixies mouth.

    Guiding the blood it manages to arrive at the core after some difficulties. The blood begins to wrap around the small core, twisting and turning. After a bit of effort, a ring wraps around the center of the core. Small lines spread out from the circle of blood forming tiny veins. As if fighting back the core begins to pulse. The blood faintly shimmers blue and the pulsing stops. The veins cover the core forming a runic design. Once the design is complete the blood sinks into the core and the design becomes part of it, like it was always there.

    As the runic symbol is complete he feels an immediate connection with the pixie, like she''s apart of him.

    As the connection is established the pixie is suddenly surrounded by a blue light. Suddenly blue runic patterns appear on the side of her thighs. Patterns also appear on her shoulders and etch down to her elbow. Another pattern appears between her cleavage and travels down to her navel and splits into two parts, coming to a point on both sides of her bellybutton. Blue streaks appear in her green hair as another runic pattern appears on her forehead. Her originally thin translucent wings fuse together, looking more like the wings of a swallowtail butterfly. As the wings transform they take on a slight blue hue. Tiny blue veins appear in her ears and her originally red eyes turn blue.

    Seeing this Marco release her from the illusion.

    The pixie stirs for a moment in his hand. Her eyes flutter before she sits up. She touches the side of her body when she notices that its wet. Confused she looks at Marco.

    ¡°Chem?¡± she tilts her head to the side.

    ¡°What''s wrong?¡± he can feel her confusion through the connection.

    ¡°Chem, kuu!¡± she rises to her feet while pointing the side of her body.

    ¡°Oh haha" a smile forms on his face ¡°That was an accident, don''t mind it.¡±

    The pixie begins to inspect her body. Noticing her wings they begin to flutter. Taking off from his palm she flies around.

    After flying around for a few seconds she lands on his shoulder and kisses his cheek.

    ¡°Chum ma!¡± excited, she begins to swing her feet back and forth.

    ¡°Ok be good, I need to concentrate¡± he touches her face briefly before turning towards Hilda.

    The Pixie uses her hands to cover her mouth.

    Concentrating on Hilda he focuses on the illusion.

    This whole time he''s been stabbing Hilda repeatedly she continues to scream.

    ¡°Hm...How do I make this pain affect you in the real world?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°pla-pla...please stop" tears stream down her face as she sobs.

    Raising the knife he gets ready to stab down. But something, a feeling, or an idea stop him from thrusting the blade.

    ¡°Oh??¡± his eyes flash for a moment ¡°I finally understand, memories may not make you who you are, but they still influence your actions subconsciously.¡±

    ¡°So that''s what it is? Patrick''s memories are affecting me. While in his last moments he wished for power, his memories and lingering feelings don''t want to see this violence. He''s holding me back¡±

    Hearing his deranged talking she sobs louder ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about, please please please let me go!¡±

    ¡°Because of your memories, you are scared of me, if you didn''t have those memories you''d treat me differently. Would you be a different person too if you lost all your memories?¡±

    Marco shakes his head ¡°I was wrong. I only came about because traveling in that vortex made those memories feel foreign. If more time passed, Patrick would have returned once the soul settled down and fused perfectly and I would have become a joke. That''s what it is, Patrick is slowly trying to make his way back. To think I was grateful towards you¡±

    Marco looks at her and shows a tender smile ¡°Thank you, my understanding of memories have deepened because of you and my illusions can take one step further.¡±

    In reality Marco''s tomoe spin as a smile forms on his face. Pulling out his saber he looks at his own reflection in the blade.

    ¡°Chu?¡± the Pixie tilts her head as she sees Marco draw his saber.

    ¡°I don''t need them! Patrick, you died!! This is my life now!¡± his tomoe spins faster ¡°Illusion seal!¡±

    Casting an illusion on himself he begins sealing all the memories of Patrick''s feelings, thoughts, and emotions using an illusion to cast a haze over them. He only leaves pure information and his own experiences over these few days.

    Taking a deep breath Marco closes his eyes. Returning the saber to the scabbard he listens to the sound of the river before he opens his eyes.

    ¡°A fourth of my Qi gate is now permanently occupied, but I''m finally me now.¡± as his eyes open they feel deeper, darker.

    Looking around he sees the birds fly, the rabbits dart about the ground, and squirrels playing in the tree.

    ¡°The memories are sealed, I can already feel my way of thinking and how I see things differently. Cute animals? All I see is food. I should be able to make even more progress now.¡±

    Looking at Hilda his tomoe rotate again, he begins to alter her memories. Instead of meeting him at the wolves, they met a foundation establishment cultivator. They fought against him but were no match. The male she was with told her to run while he holds him back. As she ran she happened to run into Marco. Knowing that she was a Zhu mountain disciple he helped her flee.

    As he finishes with the big details he fills in all the smaller ones.

    ¡°This will do, I''ll keep her trapped for now. I wanted to wait till my Aura was stronger but I''ll open my feet gate when it recovers.¡±

    Pulling a piece of meat from his bag he begins to eat.

    Seeing the meat the Pixie covers her nose.

    ¡°Don''t like meat errr do you have a name?¡±

    ¡°Chum chem la"

    ¡° I don''t know what that means, I''ll just call you Ezra.¡±

    ¡°Chuuu!! chuu!¡± the pixie begins to furiously wave her hands.

    Grabbing her off his shoulder he holds her in his left hand. ¡°So, what can you do?¡±

    The Pixie tilts its head. Suddenly she bites his finger.

    There is no pain but Marco''s brow furrows.

    Suddenly she begins to suck his blood. As she does her runes begin to glow.

    After getting enough blood she removes her mouth. Suddenly a blue flame appears in her hand. She holds the flame against the cut and it heals.

    ¡°You can heal other people?" Marco¡¯s eyes open a little wider from surprise.

    The pixie struggles free from his grasp. Floating in the air she puts her hands on her hips. ¡°Kukuu!¡± striking a pose she looks smug.

    ¡°Ok haha, you''re awesome¡± nodding his head he truly feels excited. Because of the bond he feels with her he knows she won''t betray him. This is his first real companion, one he can let his guard down around and trust.

    ¡°I''m going to cultivate, keep watch"

    Ezra nods her head furiously, then flies into his lap and closes her eyes.

    Shaking his head he looks at Hilda. ¡°It''s a shame, we could''ve been a great team¡±

    Closing his eyes he begins Revolver Qi. Using the outside Qi and the 2 ? open Qi from his gates he begins to gently whittle his left chest gate. Using the stone to fuel his Qi he waits till his Aura recovers.

    When his Aura finally recovers the sun sits on the horizon. Opening his eyes he takes a deep breath.

    Feeling his movement Ezra wakes up. Looking at him she tilts her head.

    ¡°I''m going to be in a lot of pain shortly ok? But don''t worry I''ll be ok, probably.¡±

    Nodding her head she looks serious.

    Pulling out the spare robe the places it over his lap.

    Ezra pops out from under the robe and flies into the air. She stares at Marco, wondering what he''s doing.

    ¡°Let''s do it¡± he begins Revolver Qi. The outside Qi and 2 ? Qi from his gates rush towards his left foot gate. Before the Qi hits the gate his foot erupts in blue fire. As the Qi crashes into the gate veins bulge in his entire body. Instead of the nerves in his foot being on fire, his entire body is in pain. The bones instantly shatter and the muscles shred. The blue fire heals the muscles slower than they are being destroyed. Because the gates are harder to open and he''s missing 1 ? gates worth of Qi so the process is going slower.

    After a full five minutes of pain and suffering, the gate finally breaks.

    Sweat pours down his head as he breathes roughly. Blood trickles from his mouth but a smile still appears on his face.

    Ezra bites her fingertips as she watches his suffering. Not sure what she can do to help she watches with worry.

    ¡°One down" taking a deep breath he wipes the sweat from his brow.

    Calming his mind he brute forces a gate for the last time.

    He goes a little slower this time because he has a feeling that if he goes full force his foot along with the gate will be destroyed.

    After thirteen minutes and burning through a Qi stone his last foot gate opens.

    His face is pale and his breathing is shallow, but he finally succeeded. If he tried this with any other gate he will probably instantly die. With his flames, he may be able to whittle a little faster than most people, but the last four gates are located in important places. If he destroyed his heart trying to open a gate, who would cry for him?

    Ezra rushes towards Marco and hugs his face.

    After being kissed a few times he pulls her off.

    ¡°Ok ok, It''s time to go.¡± a gleam flashes through his eyes. Suddenly the tomoe elongate into three stretched triangles evenly spaced around the pupil. The top of the triangles curves around the eye to form a circle. Behind the pinwheel a vortex pattern takes shape.

    ¡°Finally, Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.¡± a smile forms on his face as he looks into the sky.

    ¡°Three gates to activate the eyes and two more for close range Kamui.¡±

    ¡°Ezra, come¡±

    Ezra flies over and sits on his shoulder. Tilting her head in confusion.

    Marco grabs a Qi stone from his bag leaving only nineteen more after this one. ¡°I don''t know how draining this teleportation will be or the situation over there so I better be prepared.¡± Placing his hand on top of Hilda''s back. ¡°Kamui!¡±

    Two additional Qi gates divert their energy into his right eye. A spinning portal opens around his right eye, because he has both eyes the transport starts a lot faster than Obito¡¯s did. Their bodies begin to distort as they are sucked into the portal, and in only seconds all three disappear.

 Chapter 12: Zhu Mountain Sect

    An endless black sky, a vast white ground. Sitting on the ground is Marco Uchiha, in front of him lays Hilda, and on his shoulder sits Ezra.

    A look of delight appears on his face as he rises to his feet.

    Ezra lifts off his shoulder and begins to fly around.

    ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m finally here. In this dimension I control space-time, letting me teleport anywhere I''ve been before. My very own dimension to do with as I please.¡±

    Gray balls the size of a basketballs float in the air, the boundary between the black sky and white ground.

    Waving his hand he can make the gray balls fly around, concentrating he can actually change their shape into anything he wants or even combine them together to make them bigger... But because they are part of the dimension he cannot bring them out.

    Seeing the changes Ezra begins clapping her hands. She begins chasing after the balls.

    ¡°This place has no spiritual air so I can''t cultivate Qi. If I come here without any Qi stones I''ll be stuck forever¡­¡±

    ¡°Ezra come, it''s time to leave.¡±

    Hearing his call she flies back and sits on his shoulder.

    Bending down he touches Hilda ¡°Kamui¡±

    The portal opens around his eye and sucks them in, distorting their bodies as they disappear.

    A portal opens in a cave and the figures of Marco, Hilda, and Ezra appear. As they arrive in the cave the Qi stone turns to dust.

    In the cave, five wolves are eating Charles¡¯s corpse. When they see the three of them appear they are momentarily stunned. Coming back to their senses they begin to growl.

    ¡°Tsk, foolish¡± Marcos Mangekyou sharingan flashes before putting all the wolves into an illusion.

    Pulling out his saber he cuts off their heads and digs out all five cores. ¡°Three for me, two for you.¡± he holds two core to Ezra on his shoulder.

    Looking at the two cores she begins to pout. She begins to punch Marco in the face as she points at the core and herself.

    ¡°Huy Kum!¡±

    ¡°Ah ok ok hold on¡± he pops a core into his mouth swallows it then pops another till all three of his are gone. Taking one of Ezra''s cores he places it into his bag.

    He hands the last core up to Ezra ¡°Can you hold it now?¡±

    Seeing the core she continues to punch Marco in the face as she points to the core and herself.

    ¡°What? There''s only one now, can''t you hold it?¡±

    Seeing that he doesn''t understand she grabs her chest wrappings then points to the core.

    Suddenly it clicks, because of the desperate situation before he stopped caring about eating bloody cores. But Ezra got mad before when he got her clothes wet, and she obviously doesn''t want them bloody now. Finally knowing the answer Marco pops the core into his mouth. After cleaning it a few times with his tongue he holds it up to Ezra.

    Seeing the saliva on the core she looks at Marco unsatisfied for a moment before finally taking the core. Sitting on his left shoulder she begins to suck on it.

    ¡°Ok time for the next phase of the plan.¡± He takes six Qi stones, the bottle of pills, and the whip out of one bag and puts it into the one with the makeup. Looking around the cave for a moment he finds all four Zhu tokens, he places those into Hilda''s bag too.

    Drawing his saber he begins to cut Hilda''s clothes in various places. After doing so he puts the saber into his bag and he ties Hilda''s bag back onto her waist.

    Untying his bag he holds it in his hand ¡°Kamui" the bag is sucked into the portal.

    ¡°I can use Kamui twice with one stone, but without it my stamina drains really fast and kills my Aura.¡±

    Grabbing Ezra off his shoulder he looks her in the face. ¡°I can''t have you be seen so I''m going to send you back to that place ok? You can fly all you want and there''s another stone in the bag ok?¡±

    Looking at him for a moment Ezra nods her head.

    ¡°Ok be good. Kamui" the portal opens again sucking in Ezra. ¡°That place is bad for cultivators but has no effect on Demonic beast"

    Suddenly the sharingan in his left eye deactivates and he closes his right eye. With his left sharingan deactivated half the Qi he used to power his eyes are now free as he doesn''t need three full gates to power one eye. But because he deactivated one eye the efficiency of his illusions decreases causing the Qi consumption to double.

    His Kamui won''t activate as fast now, but because it¡¯s an ability of the right eye the Qi cost won''t increase.

    Picking Hilda up he leaves the cave.

    After walking for a while he sets her down and allows her to awaken.

    ¡°Uhhh, my head" she sits up holding her head. In her memories she hit her head while they were escaping, making her memories fuzzy.

    ¡°Did we get away?¡± Hilda looks around.

    ¡°yea, but we better get you back to the Zhu sect, too many people have died according to you.¡±

    ¡°Right, yea, we have to go back to the Zhu sect¡± standing up she looks slightly confused ¡°Thanks for saving me?¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I can''t leave someone in danger when I see them" Marco nods his head ¡°We should get moving, it''s still not safe.¡±

    ¡°Right" Hilda looks around for a moment. Even though she feels like something is off, she can''t tell what. ¡°This way" Hilda begins to walk towards the town he started in.

    Seeing her walk away Marco smirks before following. In the distance, the sun finally sinks below the horizon.

    <hr>

    In Zhu mountain sect, Task hall Elder Jun walks through the hall. Disciples greet him as he walks past them, but as he''s not in a good he ignores them. Arriving at the assignment desk he stares angrily at the clerk.

    ¡°Didn''t I tell you to put up an assignment, why haven''t you done so??¡± furious he slams the counter. As he forgot to control his strength a handprint is pressed into the stone.

    Panicking the clerk quickly answers ¡°Elder Jun, I did send people on the mission. I sent Brother Charles 10th Gate, Sister Hilda 6th Gate, and brother Hotyu 4th Gate out yesterday shortly after you asked me too.¡±

    Hearing his explanation Elder Jun begins to frown ¡°They left yesterday?? The trip should only take half a day, they should be back by now"

    As an outer court elder, he only oversees disciplines at the Qi gathering realm, as the few who step into Foundation establishment become inner court disciples. So from the simple fact he got a 10th gate cultivator to stop cultivating and go on a mission proves he did the best he can, and he can''t find fault with him.

    ¡°Was there really a great danger, and he wasn''t just fooling around like usual¡­¡± shaking his head he refuses to believe it ¡°Let me know as soon as they get back.¡± flaring his sleeves he walks off.

    <hr>

    Arriving back in the town the first thing he notices are the dead bodies.

    Seeing his gaze she opens her mouth ¡°They''re just slaves don''t worry¡±

    ¡°How did they become slaves?¡±

    ¡°You have to use a tool called the soul seal, It only works on mortals though. By using the seal you can brand your soul imprint onto theirs, forcing them to obey you.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡±

    Walking through the village they eventually arrive at a harbor. A large boat and a small boat is docked there. Hopping in the small boat they begin to sail across the river.

    Looking at the water Marco becomes apprehensive. While details of the Tori Tori no Mi Model: Phoenix has changed, all the abilities are still the same. He doesn''t know if he still has the same weakness for deep water.

    During the boat ride the expression of Hilda¡¯s face is constantly changing, like she''s in deep thought.

    He worried for nothing because after a few hours they manage to cross the river safely.

    Running the boat onto land they step off. Hilda waves her hand causing the boat to shrink and fly to her hand.

    ¡°The boat is a treasure!?!¡± shocked Marco opens his left eye a bit wider.

    ¡°Of course it is" Hilda places the boat in her bag and begins walking away. ¡°The sect is a few hours from here, let''s go.¡±

    Watching her walk away Marco mumbles to himself ¡°She wasn''t this rude when she was my captive¡­¡± Marco smirks as he follows her.

    Walking away from the river a trail leading through the woods appears. No Demonic beast come into view as they walk along the path, and after an hour the base of a mountain comes into view.

    ¡°Don''t tell me we''re going to climb the mountain?¡±

    ¡°Not this one" ignoring him a bit she keeps walking.

    As they walk a bit closer a tunnel winding through the base of the mountain can be seen.

    As they walk through the tunnel stones embedded into the walls light up, illuminating their path.

    Marco looks at the walls and notices they are the same stones used by that slave master in his house.

    Hilda occasionally looks back at him with a questioning look on her face.

    After walking for more than three hours they finally leave the cave.

    In the distance, illuminated in the darkness, is giant a mountain. The top of the mountain has been sheared clean and a large city, sect has been built on top. From the outside, a tall wall surrounds the entire sect. Towards the back of the sect are seven mountain peaks. Leading up towards sect is a large set of stairs.

    Not waiting for Marco to admire the view, Hilda keeps walking.

    ¡°Hilda" calling out to her causes her to pause for a moment and look back. Seeing this Marco opens his right eye revealing his Mangekyou Sharingan.

    Hilda instantly collapses.

    ¡°Well, at least I don''t have to pretend I don''t know you now.¡± Marco reaches out and touches her body. The Mangekyou Sharingan activates in his left eye as well to speed up the process. ¡°Kamui"

    The portal opens and sucks her in, as it does his left eye deactivates and he closes his right.

    ¡°I can alter her memories but I can''t have her wandering around the sect, that''s way too dangerous. Thanks for showing me the way to your sect, Hilda.

    Smiling he walks towards the stairs.

    The area leading towards the stairs is a forest. As he''s been in a forest for the four days he''s been alive, he''s ready for something new. Because his Aura is 3rd level bronze, or so he calls it, it can keep up with the stamina drain of his three opened gates forming an equilibrium. Only stamina from his walking is being drained, so If he stands still he can keep the three gates open forever.

    He hasn''t seen a Demonic beast as he walks through the forest, only small critters and birds. After walking for an hour he finally arrives at the base of the stairs.

    Two disciples dressed in black robes with golden embroidery stand guard.

    ¡°Halt! This is Zhu mountain, what are you doing here?¡± the boy on the right who appears to be in his early 20s step forward.

    ¡°I''m here to join the sect, Is that possible?¡±

    ¡°Join the sect? Why did you come in the middle of the night!¡± flustered he turns towards the other guard ¡°Go tell Brother Chu we got someone here who wants to join the sect"

    Hearing him the guard looks defeated. Turning towards the large set of stairs he begins to run up.

    ¡°So, what''s your name?¡± the remaining guard shows a lazy look.

    ¡°Marco Uchiha¡± looking at the guard running up the stairs for a moment, he turns back to the other. Sensing three Qi gates opened he relaxes a bit. ¡°What''s your name, and why do you seem so unhappy?¡±

    ¡°I''m Beneha, and who likes doing guard duty" he shakes his head slightly ¡°But I get two low quality spirit stones for taking a night shift¡±

    Assuming spirit stones are what he¡¯s been calling Qi stones, he nods his head.

    ¡°Is there anything special I have to do to join the sect?¡±

    ¡°Not for you, because you''re already a cultivator you can get in as long as you''re not already in a sect. To get non cultivators we normally send people out to find disciples from the nearby towns and cities. They have to be younger than 8 years old and have an affinity with Qi. It''s pretty difficult to find people.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that''s nice. I was expecting some sort of test"

    ¡°You''ve already opened six gates, and you look younger than me. What test could we give you?¡±

    As he finishes speaking the guard from earlier can be seen walking down the stairs. Behind him is a really fat and greasy middle aged man.

    The guard sees Marco''s look and smiles ¡°That''s brother Chu, he''s been in the outer court for over 30 years and still can''t break through the 9th gate. If he applies to much pressure he can''t deal with the pain, but too little and it won''t even budge.¡±

    Hearing this causes Marco''s brow to raise in surprise ¡°People have difficulty breaking through gates?¡±

    The guard looks at him like he''s crazy ¡°Of course, if that wasn''t the case foundation cultivators would be everywhere. Some people lack the talent so their gates are just harder to open, not being able to deal with the pain they become stuck.¡±

    Hearing this Marco becomes silent. If he didn''t have the power to heal forcing those gates open would have been impossible. He knows that he will automatically advance in Aura, but he begins to doubt his talent in cultivation.

    ¡°Is there any hope for people with no talent?¡±

    ¡°If you have enough spirit stones you can buy a lot of pills.¡±

    Listening to Beneha speak reminds him that he never found out what the pills he has does.

    ¡°Does the sect provide pills"

    ¡°No, but you can buy some from the pill shop, especially stamina pills. As you know Qi gathering cultivators have a stamina problem hahaha"

    Hearing this Marco''s face becomes ugly. Are the pills he has for stamina and has he been wasting them this whole time?

    At this time the guard and Chu arrive at the base of the stairs.

    Opening his mouth saliva begins to pour out ¡°Are you the one who wants to join my Zhu mountain sect?¡±

 Chapter 13: Demon!?!?

    Looking at the fat man Marco has an ominous feeling. According to his memories of light novels, this man will probably make a lot of trouble for him.

    With his left eye, Marco stares him down, not wanting to show weakness. ¡°Yes, I''m Marco Uchiha. I''m here to join the sect.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha good good good!¡± His belly jiggles as laughter roars from his mouth. His face is so fat only slits can be seen of his eyes. He has a patch of hair on his forehead tied into a ponytail, the rest of his head is bald. His skin is glossy from all the oil. Dressed in the black robes with golden embroidery, the standard of Zhu mountain sect.

    ¡°Come come come. Let me usher you in" his hand reaches out, his sausage like fingers seem to blot out the sky as they descend from the steps.

    Unsure if he should dodge as he sees the greasy fingers it''s already too late. The hand grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him up the stairs.

    Chu ascends the stairs, pulling Marco to his side. Seeing them go up, the guards return to their post.

    ¡°Marco, You''re going to be really happy here. Even if you never advance it''s still possible to live comfortably hahahaha! Just look at me!¡± his belly jiggles as he bounces up the stairs.

    Seeing this Marco is a little stunned. This situation isn''t going at all like he expected. ¡°Is there anything I need to do to join? Is it really this easy?¡±

    ¡°My friend I understand where you are coming from, but think about this. If you were a spy from another sect, what can you accomplish in the outer court? If you are talented enough to make it to Foundation establishment why would a sect put you in danger?? There are thousands of Qi gathering cultivators but only hundreds at the level of Foundation establishment.¡±

    ¡°That little?¡± Marco''s eyebrows raise slightly.

    ¡°Little?? Hahaha when you make it to foundation establishment tell me that again"

    As they walk up the stairs Marco glances around. As they get higher and higher he can see more of the forest. In the forest two tall pagodas can be seen on opposite sides of the mountain.

    Noticing his gaze Chu opens his mouth. ¡°Those towers are breeding grounds. The forest has weaker Demonic beast that can''t survive in the towers. The higher you climb the stronger the beast are due to the increasingly more powerful spiritual air.¡±

    ¡°So you''re raising beast?¡± returning his gaze to Chu he asks what he''s been wanting to know.

    ¡°Raise beast?¡± Chu rubs the fat on his chin for a moment ¡°More like breeding them I''d say"

    ¡°I came across a technique once that allows you to tame a beast, is that allowed?¡±

    ¡°Why not? I know a few people who rely totally on the demonic beast for combat, even in the inner court!¡±

    Hearing that a smile forms on Marco''s face. At this time they finally arrive the entrance of the sect. The outside wall is filled with runic carvings that glimmer in the moonlight. Based on his memories of light novels, he assumes they are part of a formation. The wall itself seems to be made out of a type of stone.

    The door to the sect are giant wooden double doors. They are reinforced by some sort of metal around the edges.

    Walking up to the door the inside of the sect finally comes into view. There is a second wall inside the sect. It appears to also be in the shape of a circle. Inside the second wall are the seven mountain peaks. While it is inside of the first wall, the area inside the second wall is larger.

    As expected, the first area is a giant circle. The buildings follow more of an Asian architecture from his memories with arched roofs. The most noticeable thing is that of the buildings he can see none of them seem to have a second floor.

    ¡°Welcome to Zhu. Follow me, I''ll get you a token and explain some rules.¡± Chu walks through the gate and heads for a building.

    Stopping himself from looking around further Marco follows him. Even though it''s late a few disciples can be seen moving about. Everyone who sees Marco sends him a questioning look as they notice his robes are solid black and not the uniform of the sect.

    Ignoring them Marco follows Chu into the small building. The inside of the building has a very simple layout. The back wall has three large chests, in front of the chests is a desk. On the left hand side is a bookshelf with a few books placed inside. The right wall has a door leading to a separate room, as the door is closed he has no idea where it leads.

    ¡°Welcome to the outer court registry office, every disciple has gone through here once. If you ever make it to the inner court, you''ll go to the one there too.¡± walking towards one of the chests he lifts the lid. Pulling out a yellow token he hands it to Marco.

    Taking the token he immediately recognizes it, as he''s seen it four times before.

    ¡°This is an identification token. Just pour some Qi into it and it will be bound to you. If you already have a token from another sect it will not work" Chu gestures with his hand for Marco to give it a try.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Holding the token in his hand he pours in some Qi. The token glows faintly then stops.

    ¡°Great, it didn''t break. Keep that token on you at all times so people don''t mistake you for an intruder. Also when you go on missions with other people your tokens can be linked so you can find their positions if separated.¡±

    As he finishes he looks Marco up and down before returning to the second chest. Opening it he pulls out a bag of holdings. Opening the third chest he pulls out a white slip.

    With the objects in hand, he gives them to Marco.

    ¡°That''s your bag, only the first one is free. Inside are your robes and a piece of jade. The jade can either be taken to the Treasure pavilion for a Mortal grade treasure or taken to the Martial palace for a Mortal rank technique. This white slip is a map, put in some Qi and you''ll know where to go in the outer court.¡±

    Looking at the items in his hand Marco furrows his brow ¡°That''s it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, my bad. Go to the living quarters to get a room" a smile forms on his fat face ¡°Now leave, I have other things to do"

    Looking at him for a second longer Marco turns to leave.

    Walking outside he looks around for a moment. The night air and beautiful buildings really are a feast for the eyes. Holding the white slip he sends in some Qi.

    Suddenly a map of the outer court and brief descriptions appears in his head. He is currently in the south section. This area is a sort of trading center, Disciples can come here to trade with the sect for things such as Demonic beast parts, Pills, and Talismans.

    The east section is the disciples living quarters.

    The north is filled with arenas and training fields. It is also where the Discipline hall is located.

    The west is where the Treasure Pavilion, Task hall, and Martial palace are located.

    After getting a rough idea he ties the bag to his waist and puts in his yellow token and map.

    Marco starts heading towards the east. As he walks he confirms the locations he saw on the map with the actual buildings.

    ¡°First thing first, I''ll get a room and let Ezra out.¡±

    Because it is the middle of the night not many people were in the trading district, but once he entered the residential area people could be seen all over.

    Seeing that no trouble arrived from joining the sect he decides to revert his EMS to regular sharingan, and activate them in both eyes.

    ¡°I still haven''t had the chance to use the intangibility of my right eye, I thought for sure I''d face troubles in joining the sect. But If it''s just regular disciples my normal sharingan is enough.¡±

    With both eyes activated he watches everything in his field of view.

    The disciples seem to be returning from different places, he doesn''t know if an event just ended or they all have jobs in the sect.

    Looking around he gets a general idea of the area. The area is filled with large grass fields. pathways run through the fields leading to different buildings. Most of the disciples are heading towards a large building with an arched ceiling. He has no idea how all of them are fitting inside. While the building is large he was told thousands of disciples live here. Besides the large building, there are thirty separate villas lined along the inner wall. The villas are surrounded by stone walls to keep out peeping eyes.

    Besides the large building and the villas, there are a few smaller buildings and the housing registry.

    Before heading to the registry he uses his sharingan to read the lips of a few people. He finds out most are coming back from the north training field.

    Smiling, he walks to the housing registry.

    Opening the door he notices that it looks almost the same as the other registry office.

    ¡°Ahh intruder!¡± a small girl drops the book in her hands. She rises from her seat and nine Qi gates active. ¡°Don''t think you can get me demon!¡±

    The girl appears to be around 15 years old. She has short wavy blonde hair and round baby blue eyes. She has a cute button nose and small but full lips. Her face looks as though it was sculpted with how well her features align.

    Looking around for a moment Marco points towards himself. ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°Don''t trick me demon! I''ve heard all demons have red eyes" she takes a fighting pose, her fingers constantly open and close like she¡¯s ready to go at any time. One foot in front of the other she begins to inch forward.

    ¡°Wait, I''m a new disciple here¡± he begins to reach into his bag.

    ¡°No!¡± the girl charges towards him.

    Seeing this all six of his gates fully open and his Aura turn on full blast. His sharingan traces every moment of the girl.

    He realizes besides trapping people in Illusions and that poor palm technique, he has no other means of combat.

    Marco takes the same form as the girl and charges at her. His eyes scan even her smallest movements and he copies them.

    The girl and Marco both throw out a fist at the same time. Their fist clash in mid air and Marco is pushed back.

    As they clash his Aura spread through his body further strengthening it. His eyes flash for a moment as he realizes he''s been neglecting his Aura. When he found out the palm technique was no good, he stopped practicing which caused his body to stop improving. It''s like having a large bucket of water but a small funnel, with practice the funnel gets bigger allowing you to access more water.

    Seeing Marco pushed back the girl twists and throws out a round kick.

    Putting up his forearms to guard he barely manages to block the kick.

    ¡°Got ya demon! Hurricane kick!¡± with her kicking leg still in the air she bends her knee and throws out another kick even faster than the first.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Marco has no way to cope with this technique. And because she is faster than him he will be unable to dodge. He can track her kicks with his eyes but he¡¯s not sure how to deal with them.

    Debating whether or not to put her in an illusion he has an epiphany, remembering the pictures in the palm technique.

    As the kick is almost upon him he stretches out his left palm. His palm lands on the area of the leg he knew were the fulcrum of her power. All the power of her kick is transmitted into his body. His right foot slides forward closing the distance. As his foot slides forward in one smooth motion his right palm strikes out hitting her in the chest.

    Caught off guard as she never thought someone with weaker cultivation could block her kick a second time. As the palm strikes her chest she jumps back to diffuse the blow. But how could Marco let her succeed?

    As his palm strikes her chest he clutches his hand grabbing her robe. His left palm rotates around her kicking leg, hooking it under his arm locking her in place.

    ¡°UP!¡± Marco lifts her off the ground and begins to spin. Using all his power he throws her towards the wall.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± as she''s spinning she loses her composure. While flying through the air she tucks in her knees and begins to roll. As she approaches the wall she unfolds, landing on the wall in a crouching position. Pushing off the wall with all her power she shoots at Marco like a bullet.

    Seeing this Marco shakes his head as he jumps to the side. If it wasn''t for his sharingan tracing all her movements this small girl would have trashed him. Reaching into his bag he pulls out his yellow token ¡°Stop stop, see? I''m a disciple.¡±

    As she missed her charge, she rolls as she lands on the ground. Hearing his words she looks between his red eyes and the token.

    ¡°You really are a new disciple?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡± Marco nods his head.

    The girl squints her eyes as she looks at Marco ¡°Who joins a sect in the middle of the night, demon.¡± she gets up and resumes a battle stance.

    Seeing this Marco is dumbfounded.

 Chapter 14: Elder of the Task Hall

    Seeing her inch closer Marco¡¯s face goes dark.

    ¡°I''m here for a room, if you won''t help me, don''t blame me for not being nice!"

    ¡°Demon you can''t fool me!¡± she begins rushing towards Marco.

    Seeing this he''s finally lost his patience. His tomoe rotate and the girl suddenly drops to the ground.

    In a white space, the girl is strapped to a table, her arms and legs spread. Marco walks up next to her, in his hand is an ice pick.

    ¡°Tell me how to get a room" he holds the ice pick up to her face.

    ¡°I knew it!! You''re a demon! Where am I! Let me go!!¡± the girl begins to struggle, but no matter how hard she tries she can''t get free.

    ¡°Tell me!¡±

    ¡°Never!!¡±

    He puts pressure on the ice pick, stabbing it into the girl''s eye.

    ¡°Stop ahhhhh" the girl tries to struggle harder.

    Not listening he pulls the ice pick from her bloody eye, shifting his hand he gets ready to stab the other.

    ¡°No please just stop! I¡¯ll tell you¡± blood and tears seep from her eyes.

    The ice pick disappears and the girl''s eye returns to normal.

    ¡°How do I get a room?!¡±

    ¡°In the chest behind my desk, there are seals. Take one and head to the dorms, find a cave with no seal and all you have to do is transfer Qi into it and place it on the door. With the seal, only you can open it.¡±

    Hearing her explanation he disappears.

    In the real world, he reaches down and pulls the bag from her waist. His eyes change into EMS as he touches her back. The portal forms around his right eye and sucks her in. As she disappears Hilda¡¯s bag and his old bag appears. Remaining open for a bit longer Ezra finally emerges.

    ¡°Chum juu!¡± happy to see him she hugs and kisses his face.

    ¡°Ok ok, I''m happy to see you too, but we have things to do.¡± his eyes revert to normal sharingan as he ties the three bags to his waist. Moving to the chest he pulls out a seal. As he gets ready to leave the building he has a sudden thought.

    ¡°She said demons have red eyes? Maybe Hilda just didn''t know, better safe than sorry" his right eye turns to EMS and his left to his natural green. He closes his right eye and decides to stop supplying Qi to the illusion keeping Hilda and the girl down.

    As the Qi has stopped being supplied they should be awake, but since there¡¯s no Qi in the Kamui dimension they are powerless. As long as they remain in his dimension he can put them in an illusion whenever he wishes, so no point wasting Qi now.

    Reaching into his bag he pulls out meat, bread, and the spare canteen. Opening his right eye he sends them to the Kamui dimension.

    ¡°Ezra let''s go" closing his right eye as he exits the building, seal in hand.

    Ezra flies out after him and sits on his shoulder.

    The night is quiet as few disciples still move about, oblivious to the fact another beauty of the outer court has been kidnapped.

    Walking to the dorm people give him odd looks due to the fact his robes don''t match.

    Entering the dorm building he is surprised. There is nothing in here except six set of stairs leading down, three on each side of the room. There''s a set in the front, middle, and back of the building.

    Marco''s brows shoot up as he remembers what the girl said, caves.

    His suspicion is confirmed when he sees a young man ascend the right middle stairs.

    ¡°I just go down these stairs to pick a cave right?¡± Marco asks the man as he tries to exit the building.

    He looks at Marco for a moment ¡°New disciple? Yea, but you''ll have to head down pretty far to find an empty cave" as he finishes speaking he leaves.

    Marco looks at the stairs before taking the one furthest to the left. Walking down the stairs he sees it breaks off into a long hallway. Seeing this Marco decides to go as low as possible.

    <hr>

    In another part of the sect, the Task hall. The clerk is sitting behind the assignment desk and biting his nails. He''s currently looking at the assignment board on the wall. Every disciple who goes out on missions has their tokens linked to their assignment. When they return to the sect the assignment will light up indicating their return. This way they can''t sneak back into the sect and not report to the task hall if they fail.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Just make it to tomorrow morning and my shift will be over and I won''t have to deal with Elder Jun. Five low quality spirit stones for a week shift is not worth this trouble.¡±

    Just as he was mumbling to himself a spot on the board lights up.

    His eyes light up as he jumps to his feet. They''re back?? They''re back!! Excited he rushes from behind the desk and runs through the hall. As he was heading to Elder Jun¡¯s room he suddenly stops.

    ¡°Was I really going to a core formation cultivator¡¯s room in the middle of the night?¡±

    Luckily for him, the Hall is empty at night and no one saw him almost make a fool of himself.

    ¡°Better go get them"

    Returning to his desk he grabs a black box. This box will lead you to anyone in the sect as long as they have their token. Inputting their identification token information the box begins to glow, seeing this he leaves the hall.

    <hr>

    Marco finally reaches the bottom of the stairs. By his estimation, he probably descended the whole mountain. Walking into the hallway he sees that all the caves don''t have seals on them.

    ¡°Ezra go pick a cave"

    ¡°Che!¡± excited, she flies off his shoulder.

    Following her, she passes by twenty doors before stopping at the twenty-first. Taking out the seal he places it on the door, at the same time he interjects Qi.

    The seal attaches itself to the door causing the stone door to raise. Ezra flies inside and Marco follows, as they enter the door closes.

    The room is fairly simple, the door opens in the right corner of the room. In the back left corner is a wood frame bed, next to it is a small wooden nightstand. In the left corner opposite of the door is a wooden desk and chair. On the back is a stone slab, behind the slab there is a hole in the wall.

    Marco can feel Qi emanating from the hole. Assuming this is the source of spiritual air Marco smiles.

    Ezra flies around the room a few times before landing on the bed.

    ¡°Chem chi!¡± she waves her hands in the air for a bit to Express her excitement and then lays on the bed.

    Seeing this Marco sits on the stone block. He unties the two old bags from his waist. Taking out all the spirit stones, the sword, the saber, and the pills he puts them in his new bag. Taking out the last piece of meat and canteen he eats and drinks as he continues.

    From Hilda¡¯s bag, he takes out the whip, the stones, and the pills and puts them in his new bag.

    Lastly, he opens the girl''s bag. Inside is fairly barren, besides a small bottle of pills that look the same as the ones he has, all she has is three spirit stones. Taking the stones and pills he puts them in his new bag.

    Holding the three bags he opens his right eye and uses Kamui to send them to his dimension.

    Sweat begins to form on his brow. As he is overusing Kamui his Aura is now completely gone and he''s running off stamina. Reaching into his bag he pulls out a pill.

    Looking at the pill it is green with a slight bronze tint. The pill is the size of a fingernail and gives off a pleasant smell.

    As he swallows the pill it dissolves in his throat and is absorbed by the core in his chest. Shocked his eyes open wide.

    ¡°It has the same effect as swallowing a Demonic core?¡± suddenly he remembers Hilda saying cores can be used to make pills.

    ¡°So these stamina pills use cores? The effect is only around a third of an actual core, but don''t I have a few?¡± standing up Marco walks to the bed. Taking out all three bottle of pills he pours them on the bed.

    ¡°Ezra help me count these¡± he picks up a pill and hands it to Ezra.

    Grabbing it she is enticed by the smell and begins sucking on it.

    ¡°Fine, I''ll do it myself¡± shaking his head he begins counting.

    <hr>

    As the clerk arrives in front of the door the box stops glowing.

    ¡°What!?! What happened?? They should be in the dorms! Why did the signal disappear??¡±

    Panic flashes across his face as he looks around. Gnashing his teeth he begins running back towards the Task hall.

    Arriving back at the Task hall he strides down the hallway, his face dark. Arriving in front of a door he takes a deep breath.

    ¡°Please...don''t kill me" raising his hand he knocks on the door.

    He breathes heavily as he waits for a response.

    The door slowly opens, and elder Jun appears.

    ¡°Are they back?¡± he looks at the clerk.

    The clerk begins to fiddle with his hands ¡°Elder sir" he swallows hard, sweat forming on his brow ¡°According to the board they returned. When I followed the tracer cube, it led me to the dorms. But something strange happened when I got outside the dorm their signal disappeared.¡±

    Elder Jun looks the clerk up and down before grabbing him by the shoulder. taking a step forward and travels over a hundred feet, another step and he leaves the Task hall.

    Waving his hand a sword appears and begins floating in the air. With a jump, he lands on the sword and begins flying through the air. The sword leaves an airstream in its wake.

    Because he can''t fly through the inner court he has to go around. As they soar over the western section a few disciples stare with envy.

    The clerks face is pale as he''s dragged through the air. At the speed their traveling his body can''t handle the air pressure and his internals are being damaged.

    In a few seconds, they enter the south section. Not slowing down they soon enter the eastern residential section.

    Elder Jun lands in front of the dorms ¡°EVERYONE OUT!¡± a roar filled with Qi reverberates throughout the residential area. Even though he''s angry he wouldn''t dare offend those old bastards in the inner court, so his voice doesn''t cross the wall.

    Many disciples who were cultivating suddenly spit up blood due to the Qi fluctuations from the yell. A few of the weaker disciples spasm and die.

    The clerk''s body is drenched in sweat, internal bleeding can be seen in his face and neck. If he doesn''t receive aid, he will probably die.

    Elder Jun releases the clerk and returns his sword to his storage ring. Standing on the lawn in front of the dorm he watches as disciples begin to come out.

    <hr>

    ¡°We have 47 pills...46 because you keep eating them" with a smile on his face he touches Ezra¡¯s cheek. As he gets ready to divide the pills he hears a yell.

    ¡°EVERYONE OUT!¡±

    Startled Marco looks at the door, a questioning look on his face.

    He puts the pills back into their container and places them in his bag. He takes off his robe and throws it onto the bed. From his bag, he takes out the black robe with gold embroidery and puts it on, finally looking like a real disciple.

    This robe feels more luxurious compared to his last robe. The sleeves are droopy and cover his hands indicating its slightly to big, not that he minds.

    Grabbing Ezra he places her inside of his robe. Using her hands she holds the collar and peeks out her head.

    ¡°I need to find something to cover my face or eyes as to not draw suspicion for now. I''m too weak to protect my eyes from being stolen right now.¡± shaking his head he closes his right eye as he walks to the door. Placing his hand on the stone door he inserts some Qi causing it to rise.

    Leaving his room he heads up the stairs.

 Chapter 15: Stay Your Hand!

    As he moves up the stairs the crowd becomes thicker and thicker until traffic comes to a halt. These stairs weren''t meant for everyone who lives in this section to exit at once.

    Being surrounded by all these people Ezra shakes inside his robe.

    ¡°What do you think''s going on?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea, but that Qi wave disrupted my cultivation¡±

    A few people begin to speak. As they do more and more join the conversation.

    ¡°Right? I almost died! This better be important¡±

    ¡°Important? Only a Core formation cultivator can release a wave like that, how can it not be?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe I bet its Elder Jun. A friend of mine was in the task hall yesterday and heard that bastard Haildu is missing.¡±

    ¡°Yea I''ve heard that too. This can''t be because of that worthless piece of shit right?¡±

    As more people begin talking it turns into a sea of noise.

    Hearing a few of the convictions Marco''s brows begin to crinkle. He knew Elder Jun may be a problem, but there''s no way he can know he killed his grandson right? But It can''t be a coincidence he''s here shortly after he''s arrived.

    As he slowly moves up the stairs his face suddenly goes pale. He remembers earlier when he brought out Hilda''s bag it was filled with their identification tokens. How can the sect not notice their return?

    Thinking about it for a moment Marco calms down. If they knew it was him, why would they call everyone out? Now that the tokens are back in the Kamui dimension they can¡¯t be traced.

    After a few minutes, they finally arrive in the main hall of the dorm. Groups of people are squeezing through the door.

    When Marco finally leaves he is stunned. As he was on the last floor he was one of the last to arrive. The field outside is filled with thousands of people, a sea of black and gold.

    In front of the villas stand 30 disciples, both men and woman. They look agitated and unwilling to be outside.

    Standing in front of everyone is a slightly older looking man in his 60s. He has slick backed white hair and a few wrinkles on his face. He has dark brown eyes and a narrow pointed nose. His lips are thin and he has a pointed chin. His robes look similar to everyone''s except for the gold TH embroidered on his left chest.

    Seeing as no one else is exiting the building Elder Jun looks at the crowd. ¡°Where is Charles, Hilda, or Hoytu!!¡±

    People in the crowd begin looking around and mumbling.

    Hearing the names called Marco lets out a breath of relief. A smile forms on his face as he looks at the crowd, playing dumb.

    ¡°I see.¡± Elder Jun picks the clerk up by the neck ¡°Either you lied to me¡± with his other hand he points at the crowd of disciples ¡°Or they are hiding them.¡±

    ¡°I sw..*huuh*..swa..*haac*..swear!¡± the clerk manages to barely speak while choking.

    Elder Jun looks at him before nodding ¡°I believe you, you have performed your duties admirably these past few days" Elder Jun squeezes his hand crushing the clerk''s throat, instantly killing him.

    ¡°But you failed to find them, forcing me to come out.¡±

    Seeing the clerk die the crowd goes deathly quiet.

    Marco''s eyes go wide, he didn''t think he would just kill him.

    Elder Jun cracks his neck as he drops the body ¡°I don''t think you all understand. Your lives are disposable.¡± he points at the villas behind him ¡°If you aren''t there, the top 30 disciples, you are trash.¡± he waves his hand and a sword appears.

    He points the sword at the crowd ¡°Has anyone seen those three?¡±

    The crowd is silent for a moment before someone finally yells.

    ¡°I haven''t seen them in over a day!¡±

    Like a ripple, it spreads. Disciples begin screaming in desperation.

    ¡°They''re not here!¡±

    ¡°We haven''t seen them!¡±

    ¡°None of them are here they left on a mission!¡±

    Voices begin to blend together into a sea of yells.

    Hearing them Elder Jun¡¯s brow begins to wrinkle ¡°Who is in charge of housing district!¡±

    ¡°Milly!¡±

    ¡°Milly is in charge right now!¡±

    Finding a chance, the crowd instantly sell out Milly. Finding a chance to shift his attention, they took.

    Hearing the name Marco begins to ponder. Turning towards the guy next to him, he taps him on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, what does Milly look like?¡±

    The guy looks at Marco, staring him up and down ¡°You must be new here if you don''t know Milly, one of the 100 supreme beauties of the outer court. She''s small and petite, short wavy blonde hair with baby blue eyes. Ah, if I could get someone like that as my Dao companion I''d be happy.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Oh, ok" hearing the description Marco is sure she''s the girl in his dimension.

    ¡°Milly come over here!¡± Elder Jun bellows.

    ¡°Go, Milly!¡±

    ¡°Go!¡±

    The crowd starts chanting for her to appear.

    But after a minute nothing happens. Seeing that even when he tones down his request, they still dare ignore him Elder Jun erupts in furry.

    ¡°You dare ignore my summons!?! You all have been hindering me since I arrived! MERE ANTS DISRESPECT ME?¡± colorless Qi begins to visibly seep from his body. Raising his sword above his head it begins to wrap in Qi. ¡°Die!¡± he swings his sword.

    A wave of Qi rips into the ground, cutting its way into the disciples. As the Qi wave passes through disciples it rips them apart.

    After cutting through hundreds of disciples it finally stops, leaving a long fissure in the ground.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡±

    Unknown where it started from, but everyone starts to scream.

    Disciples begin to scatter in all directions as they try to flee.

    Seeing this Elder Jun scoffs. He continues to swing his sword, sending out Qi waves and mowing disciples down.

    Seeing this Marco decides to act, a smile forms on his face as he steels his resolve. While people are running away, he runs towards the bodies of the fallen.

    Reaching down he rips the bags from their waist. The whole time he is watching the crowd, making sure it doesn''t get too thin.

    He''s not the only person savaging on the battlefield, a dozen male and female disciples are stripping bags.

    After picking up three bags he decides to leave. He runs into the group of people fleeing back into the dorm building.

    Ezra is currently shaking inside of his robe. Using the hand not holding the bags, he puts it on his robe to comfort her.

    Looking back waves of Qi constantly kill disciples. Elder Jun is going crazy sending out Qi waves, hundreds of disciples have currently died.

    Seeing this he realizes how naive he was, he thought he was strong enough to walk unimpeded. Seeing these disciples being cut down like grass he realizes how far he has to go.

    Suddenly a wave of Qi rips through the ground towards his group. Seeing this, he opens his right eye. He ducks his body to the ground, and at the same time the Qi wave passes straight through his body devastating the people in front of him.

    Intangibility, the second ability, and a unique type of teleportation from his right eye. Using the power of his right eye he is able to overlay the Kamui dimension with this one, allowing his body to exist in both dimensions at the same time. At will, he is able to shift his physical body to the Kamui dimension allowing him to pass through anything in this plane of existence. The only way to hurt him in this state is if someone manages to attack his physical body in the Kamui dimension.

    While his body is intangible his presence disappears along with any trace of his Qi. He can pass through any barrier and unless you can visually see him you''d never know he was there. This ability can be extended at will to anything the user is touching as long as contact is maintained.

    After the Qi wave devastates the disciples in front of him he closes his right eye and cancels the intangibility. ¡°Hang on Ezra!¡± reaching out he starts ripping the bags from their bodies. Ten bags in hand he dashes over the dead bodies into the dorm.

    As he enters the dorm he sees its filled with people trying to go down the stairs. Seeing that this won''t get him anywhere he furrows his brow.

    Screams of disciples fill the area as they try to flee. Some disciples use their superior strength to fight and push their way through, increasing casualties.

    Seeing all the mayhem Marco gnashes his teeth. Using Intangibility to dodge an attack in this cluster is not noticeable, but using Kamui to teleport or intangibility to slip through the floor is very noticeable.

    Taking a breath he gets ready to act. He will have to reform his plan but he can''t afford to die here. As he gets ready to open his eye a yell reverberates.

    ¡°Brother Jun stop!¡± three people fly in on swords.

    One of them is a tall man with brown hair, on the side are white streaks. He appears to be in his late 50s and is wearing black robes with golden embroidery, on his right chest is a TP. He has a straight nose, thin lips, and brown eyes.

    One is an ancient old man, he has a long white beard and stringy white hair. He is wearing black robes with gold embroidery, on his chest is MP. His eyes are so squinty they are almost closed. His nose is fairly large with warts, his face is full of liver spots and wrinkles.

    The last one is a woman in her 30s. She has fiery red hair and pale skin, her cheeks are lightly covered in freckles and has a small nose. She has small peach colored lips, yellow eyes, and a dainty chin. On her black robes are the letters DH.

    Hovering in the air the three look down at Elder Jun.

    Seeing the three arrive he finally stops swinging his blade.

    Most of the disciples don''t stop fleeing, but a few stay and watch. Marco is not one of those people. Before anyone can question him about the ten bags in his hand he rushes towards the stairs leading to his room.

    ¡°Brother Jun what are you doing!¡± The tall man lands on the ground, on his face is a serious expression. The other two land next to him.

    ¡°Brother Trigul, Brother Ulon, Sister Janice what brings you here?¡± Jun asks with a straight face.

    Hearing this Trigul¡¯s face goes dark ¡°you''re cutting down disciples like gr-"

    Before he can even finish his sentence Jun cuts him off ¡°They insulted my dignity, by the rules of the sect I am allowed to disciplin them"

    Hearing this Janice furrows her brow ¡°I''m the Disciplinary hall Elder, if a disciple steps out of bounds it''s my responsibility, not yours!¡±

    Jun gives her the side eye ¡°As Task hall Elder it''s my responsibility to decide the punishment of anyone who fails to complete a mission"

    Trigul erupts ¡°There''s no way these many disciples were on missions. You''ve killed hundreds!¡±

    *Tsk* He clicks his tongue ¡°They refused to hand over the suspects so I had to take action!¡±

    At this point the old man opens his mouth, it sounds as though he may die at any moment. ¡°Is there any proof that the disciples you''re looking for are here?¡±

    ¡°Of course! The clerk saw the token signature on the tracer cube!¡±

    Janice''s opens her eyes a little wider as she looks around ¡°And where is this clerk??¡±

    Hearing this Jun frowns ¡°Head dead"

    Janice frowns as she shakes her head ¡°We are a righteous sect, and we have our rules. You have been tyrannical since you became an Elder, but this time you''ve crossed the line. I have to take you in, brothers help me.¡± as she finishes the three Elders begin to surround Jun.

    ¡°You''re forcing my hand! I am an Elder!¡± Jun readies his sword.

    Seeing this old man Ulon shakes his head ¡°You have fallen" with the wave of his hand a spear appears. He begins rotating the spear filling it with Qi.

    Seeing Ulon take action his face darkens. He is only a 1st stage Core formation cultivator while Ulon is at the 3rd stage.

    As the spear fills with Qi it begins to give off a soft roar as it spins. Suddenly Ulon¡¯s feet glide on the ground as he rushes towards Jun.

    ¡°Flood Dragon Storms The Sea!¡± his squinty eyes opens wide as he thrust out his spear. The Qi around the spear takes the form of a flood dragon as it rushes towards Jun.

    Jun swings his sword to deflect the spear but as it''s about to make contact, the dragon swims around the blade, curving as it stabs him in the chest.

    The Qi dragon clashes into him, blasting him away.

    Throwing up a mouthful of blood he crashes into the ground.

    Janice falls from the sky, a pair of tonfas in her hand. Striking down she hits Jun in the chest, her strength so overwhelming the ground quakes and splinters. While on top of him she releases a series of hits into his chest, pushing him further and further into the ground.

    ¡°Haaaaa!¡± The punches get more fierce, blood constantly flowing out of his mouth.

    Trigul walks over ¡°Janice that''s enough¡±

    Waving her hand a pair of cuffs appears. Locking his hands together she pulls him out of the crater.

    Looking around at the spectating disciples she yells. ¡°The show''s over, leave!¡±

    Hearing her the disciples glance at each other before quickly running away.

    Trigul looks at the bodies before shaking his head ¡°Let''s clean this up.¡±

 Chapter 16: Ezra

    Pushing his way through the crowd Marco descends the stairs. A few people tried to steal his bags but his higher cultivation scared them away.

    As the disciples were making their way down they begin to hear thunderous crashing sounds, like the mountain was about to collapse. Due to the sounds, they moved faster.

    Eventually, Marco was able to break free from the crowd, hugging the bags to his chest.

    Feeling that no one was around, Ezra¡¯s head popped out of his robe.

    ¡°Chim chu!¡± she frantically looks around.

    ¡°It''s over now, we are almost back.¡± running down the stairs he begins to smile ¡°What an eventful night, I hope every day Isn''t like this or my heart won''t be able to take it" his grin becomes cheesy as he looks at the bags in his hands. ¡°I hope they aren''t as poor as that girl¡±

    After a few minutes, he makes it to the bottom of the stairs. Walking up to his door he injects some Qi.

    Walking inside he places all the bags down on the bed.

    Ezra flies out from his robe. After doing a few laps around the room she lands on his head. She lays down on his head, her chin resting on his forehead.

    Marco begins pouring all the contents from the bags onto the bed, even the one on his waist.

    A plethora of items appear. From spirit stones to weapons, books, pieces of jade to get a technique or weapon, clothes, food, drinks, pills, talismans, and even a few Demonic cores

    Reaching up he touches Ezra''s cheek with a finger ¡°Ezra we struck it rich!¡±

    ¡°Chee chee!¡±

    ¡°I really need to teach you to speak, can you Marco?¡±

    ¡°Chim chu!¡±

    ¡°No, Marco¡±

    ¡°Ceum Mrko!¡±

    Caught by surprise even his right eye opens ¡°Close enough! Good job!¡±

    Ezra becomes excited, her feet move up and down lightly kicking the back of his head.

    Looking at all the items on the bed he begins to think about what he needs to do.

    ¡°Ok, Ezra here''s the game plan. We are going to use this place as our base of operations. The outer court has thousands of disciples, so unless we stand out no one will ever notice us. I''m pretty sure no one lives on this floor or the next five above us which is good for privacy.¡±

    ¡°Chim chim!¡±

    ¡°My illusions are only able to KO bronze level Demonic beast and Qi gathering cultivators as evident by the fact I could only hold that toad who tried to kill you for a couple minutes.¡±

    ¡°Cheee chee!¡± hearing about the toad Ezra begins slapping his forehead.

    ¡°So I need to work on my illusions, if I can''t KO higher level cultivators I should instead focus on changing their perception of reality. I also need to work on my body, so I''ll see if I can get a good technique tomorrow. I also need to get enough cores for myself and you. All while finding time to cultivate.¡±

    Saying all this he begins to feel depressed by the sheer things he needs to do.

    ¡°I also need to figure out what to do with those two¡± Marco shows a bitter smile ¡°keeping them In my dimension is dangerous. While they can''t gather Qi, they can still interfere with my body if I happen to send it near them with intangibility by mistake.¡±

    Taking a breath he looks at the items on his bed again ¡°First thing first¡± reaching out he begins counting the spirit stones. As he counts them he drops them directly into a bag.

    ¡°We have 92 spirit stones total, pretty good" moving along he begins sorting the weapons. Besides the sword, saber, and whip which he already had, he now has four more swords, a pair of claws, a ruler, and a staff. Besides the original sword and whip only the claws are a mortal grade treasure, the rest being unranked.

    He puts the weapons in a separate bag from the stones and sets it aside. As for the jades, including his own there are a total of three. He places them in the bag with the stones.

    The clothes are for both men and women. As none of them fit him he gets ready to set them aside, but as he grabs a woman''s shirt he feels his Qi fluctuate.

    ¡°This is a mortal grade treasure, just like the cloth that guy used to bind me.¡± the shirt is gray, and way to small for him. Looking at it he has a sudden idea.

    He grabs Ezra from his head and looks at her.

    Seeing his gaze she tilts her head in confusion.

    ¡°Ezra, I don''t know how this will turn out, but do you want me to make you some new clothes from this?¡±

    Ezra places a finger on her lip and looks at the shirt. After looking at the shirt for a few seconds she nods her head.

    ¡°Great!¡± he places the shirt on the floor and pulls the Mortal ranked sword from the bag. Looking at the shirt he begins to think of a design.

    Ezra sits on the bed and watches, a look of excitement on her face.

    The first problem is her wings, if he makes something it has to not get in the way. Thinking for a moment he finally comes up with an idea. Taking the sword, he begins to cut.

    He cuts out a rectangle the size of Ezra''s chest, at the four corners of the rectangle are long pieces of cloth that he can use to tie it. For the panties, he just cuts out a long rectangular piece with strings on the corners as well. He cuts out a right triangular piece for a skirt. For her wrists and ankles he cuts out more rectangles just big enough to fit around and barely touch, on the ends are small pieces of string so he can tie them.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Satisfied he picks up all the pieces and returns to Ezra.

    ¡°Ok, take off your old clothes.¡±

    Ezra stands up and begins to take off her leaf clothes. Starting from her wrist guards and then her anklets. When she gets to her chest wrapping she reaches behind and unties a string. She begins to unwind the small vine like substance, and after a few seconds, her breast are exposed.

    Her breast are a moderate size for her small height. They are nicely shaped and perky, just like her skin they are a pale green. The runes on her chest move towards her small pink nipples, just like her navel. After taking off her top she moves to her bottoms, after undoing the vine her vagina is exposed.

    Surprisingly her groin has blue runic patterns as well. From her inner thigh to her labia, interact runes decorate the area.

    ¡°Chem!¡± after throwing the last of her clothes onto the bed she looks at Marco expectantly.

    ¡°Uh, right!¡± snapped out of his daze by her voice he grabs the long rectangular cloth. He slides a piece between her legs, making it even on both sides. Pulling up he holds it snugly to her crotch, slightly lifting her off the bed. She has to stand on her toes not to fall, because he is supporting most of her weight the feeling of her body is transmitted to him through the cloth.

    Tugging the cloth a bit cause it to rub against her vagina.

    ¡°Chuuu" a low call escapes her mouth.

    Seeing this causes the corner of his lips to curl. He continues to move the cloth back and forward causing her legs to go weak.

    ¡°Chuuu chuu" she begins to breathe roughly, she tries with great difficulty to reach for the cloth.

    Unable to support herself any longer she falls forward, seeing this Marco catches her. Looking at her naked body Marco remembers how sweet she tastes.

    Holding her up to his mouth he uses his tongue to part her legs, sliding it between her thighs. As his tongue slides through he can feel her body quiver, he wraps his tongue all the way to her lower back, and slowly drags it back. When the tip of his tongue touches her vaginal lips he tries to make it as narrow as possible, with slight pressure he begins teasing her vagina. The sweet taste coming from her vagina is far more intense than the rest of her body, making him lick even harder, like he¡¯s trying to dig his tongue inside her.

    ¡°Chim chim" Ezra begins to pant as his tongue touches her vagina. Her spine shivers as a strange feeling overwhelms her, causing her body to become hot.

    Unable to resist the taste he brings her closer to his mouth. Her legs spread across the corners of his mouth as his lips form a seal around her lower abdomen and butt. The tip of his tongue slightly penetrates her vaginal lips as he begins to suck. His thumbs knead her breast causing her nipples to go erect and push against his skin. His tongue ravages her vagina as he attempts to suck everything out of her.

    ¡°Chiiim" her lips part as she moans from pleasure. The sucking is so powerful her eyes roll back and saliva pours from her mouth as she loses control of her body. Her wings quiver as she moans.

    As he sucks the fluids from her vagina pours in causing his mouth to explode in sweetness, and with one big slurp, he finishes her.

    As she reaches climax her entire body quakes. Her toes curl and her fingers dig into her palm before her entire body goes limp.

    The pleasure was so strong she passes out.

    Seeing this he finally stops. Placing her on the bed he licks his lips. ¡°Delicious¡± smiling he puts on her clothes.

    He threads the cloth between her legs like before, except this time he proceeds to wrap the string around her waist. After tying the string she now has panties. Taking the piece for the skirt he puts the piece with the right down her left leg and ties the corners around her waist. The cloth is long enough to cover her crotch and butt, but her right leg is totally exposed.

    Taking the piece for her chest he covers her breast. He uses the strings to go around her wings, crossing them in the middle of her wings as not to interfere. Now he wraps the upper strings a few times around the top of her chest and ties it in the back. After doing the same thing for the strings at the bottom, he ties the wrist guards and anklets.

    Seeing that she''s still breathing lightly as she sleeps, he places her on the pillow.

    With a satisfied smile, he puts the sword back into the bag and throws the remainder of the clothes into a corner of the room. He turns his attention to the remaining items on the bed.

    ¡°I''ll set the books aside for now.¡± besides the book he had on treasures and beast taming, he acquired two new books ¡°Wonder of fire" and ¡°Cultivation knowledge¡±. Pickings them up he sets them on the desk.

    He gathers all the food, water, and liquor and puts them in a separate bag, and sets it down next to the weapon bag.

    The pills are the same as the ones he already had, so he puts all thirteen bottles of them in the bag with his stones and jades. As for the talismans, he puts them in a bag and throws them in the clothes pile. He has no idea what they do so he doesn''t want to mess with them. Lastly, there are six bronze Demonic cores.

    Putting two aside he begins swallowing the other four.

    After swallowing the last one he can feel his power increase, just a bit more and he''ll break through to what he''s calling bronze rank 4.

    Even though his bucket of water is getting bigger, and he has yet to widen the funnel, he will be able to train a lot faster than having no water at all

    Using that reasoning, and feeling that he''s so close to breaking through grabs a bottle of pills. He begins swallowing the pills like drinking water.

    After one bottle he felt the snap indicating he''s made it level four. Seeing that it worked out he decides not to stop and continues swallowing bottle after bottle. After the twelfth bottle, he feels the snap again.

    At this point the power in his body is so great it''s beginning to hurt. While having a lot of water is good if the flow is too slow the dam will break.

    He begins to panic, it feels as though his core is about to explode. In desperation, he activates all six of his gates and EMS in both eyes. He begins to practice the only technique he knows, the palm art.

    Standing in the room he throws out palm strike after palm strike. Even though he''s not trying, his eyes catch every mistake me makes and he subconsciously corrects them based on the diagram from the book.

    His strike gets faster and more perfect with every strike he throws out. Strengthening the body isn''t something cultivators are supposed to experience till foundation establishment. If he had more time to practice there is no way that girl could have beat him even with higher cultivation.

    The only thing in his mind right now is palm technique or death. They say near death experiences will make a person grow. While this situation was of his own creation, he is in danger of dying.

    His eyes are rapidly scanning his body correcting every moment. Flowing flower palm runs through his mind as he tries to survive.

    Stepping forward he begins drawing circles in the air with his palm. ¡°Receive the attack¡± his palm catches an imaginary fist ¡°Let it flow¡± he draws a circle with his palm, washing the fist away. ¡°Bloom" stepping forward he throws out a palm strike.

    This one strike is well beyond the limits of Flowing Flower Palm. The premise of the technique is to throw out palms in rapid succession to damage the foe, but each individual strike is weak. With his eyes, he was able to catch every flaw in his movements and perfectly copy the illustrations.

    After attaining perfection he noticed, those moves too had errors limiting them. With every palm strike, he got better and better, until arriving at this point.

    As his palm stretches out, palm shadows appear around his hand like the petals of a lotus. His Aura is draining at a rapid speed. Suddenly the shadows merge into one as his strike reaches completion.

    *Pooof* The air around his palm explodes at the end of his strike directly breaking the skin of his hand.

    ¡°Fuck!?¡± The pain from the explosion wakes him up from his state of enlightenment.

    ¡°Chee!¡± Ezra shoots into the air as she hears the explosion. Seeing Marco she flies over and begins to punch him in the forehead.

    ¡°Chem kum chee!¡±

    Ignoring her soft punches, he tries to ignite the blue flames around his hand. Stunned, he realizes his Aura is completely gone.

    His stamina is rapidly draining so he closes the unnecessary gates and returns both eyes to normal Sharingan.

    Holding up his broken hand he looks at Ezra. ¡°Ezra, I''m hurt, can you heal me?¡±

    She stops punching him for a moment and looks at his hand. Her tiny blue eyes go wide for a moment before her runes start glowing. Tiny blue fires appear in both her hands. Flying to his hand she begins to heal him.

    ¡°Chem Mrko!¡±

    ¡°Strange, I wonder why your flames can heal other people but mine can''t.¡±

    Looking at the last bottle of pills and two cores on the bed his face turns dark.

    ¡°Ezra we''re gonna have to get you a technique to practice so your body doesn''t explode. Now I see why demonic beasts are always fighting.¡±

    ¡°Chuym!?!¡±

 Chapter 17: Shopping

    As Ezra heals his hand, he thinks back to that palm strike. Using his sharingan he was able to see everything wrong with the technique and slowly perfect it. While the current technique still has flaws, it''s already something he cannot control.

    If Ezra has the same problem as him, he needs to get her something to practice to strengthen her body, as direct combat seems a little impossible for her.

    After a few minutes, she finally finishes healing his hand. While she is able to heal other people, it''s not nearly as strong as his.

    ¡°Chem crum!¡± seeing that he''s healed she goes to hit him again.

    Putting up his hand he stops her ¡°How do you like your clothes?¡±

    Hearing him, she looks at her body. Seeing the stylish grey clothes she hugs and kisses his face.

    ¡°Crim crum!¡±

    ¡°Ok ok, you''re welcome. Those pills and the cores on the bed are for you but eat them slowly. I''m going to cultivate so don''t bother me.¡± he ties the bag with the stones, food, and weapons to his waist. Moving to the stone slab, he sits on it cross legged.

    Taking out a stone, he begins to whittle his left chest gate.

    Four stones and a few hours later, he finally opens his eyes. ¡°I can''t be afraid, I need to spread the name Uchiha so how can I hide my eyes? Unless an elder instantly kills me, what do I have to be afraid of?¡± standing up he straightens his robes. Reaching into his bag he pulls out some bread and begins to eat.

    Ezra is currently laying on his head sleeping.

    ¡°Time to go, I wonder what happened after I left¡± As he walks towards the door EMS activates in both eyes. He currently has four gates open to supply all his Qi needs. As he leaves his room he grabs Ezra from his head and holds her in his arms like a football.

    Walking up the stairs takes a while, but he doesn''t meet anyone during the trip. In the main hall of the dorm he sees a few people, but he pays them no attention. As he gets ready to leave, someone calls him from behind.

    ¡°Marco, that you?¡±

    Marco Is a little stunned, there are only two people in this who sect who should know his name. How is it possible he ran into one here?

    Turning around he sees the guard from last night, Beneha.

    ¡°Beneha, Is your shift over?¡±

    He walks up to Marco, looking at his face he pauses for a moment. ¡°Uh, yea...hey were your eyes like that yesterday? I clearly would have remembered if I saw someone with strange patterns and designs in their eyes¡± Beneha laughs awkwardly ¡°Not that it''s strange or anything but you know it''s kind of unique and eye catching, you get it haha.¡± a bombardment of words exit his mouth.

    ¡°It''s a bloodline ability of mine, I don''t have it activated the whole time as its demanding. It increases my perception.¡± instead of avoiding the question, he felt it was better to tell half truths so he''ll stop asking.

    ¡°Wow you have a bloodline ability, must be from a good clan. I heard you guys had quite the time here last night, I''m glad I was on guard duty. It would have been a real shame if you died on your first night.¡±

    ¡°Yea, I hope every night isn''t like that, I mostly came here for a quiet place to train.¡±

    ¡°Man don''t worry, you hardly ever see Elders unless you head to the Martial palace, the outer court is mostly run by disciples.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I''m actually heading to the Martial palace now.¡±

    Beneha looks around for a moment, confirming no one is nearby he opens his mouth. ¡°You didn''t hear it from me, but Rugel and his gang hang out at the Martial palace sometimes. If you see a pretty boy surrounded by girls don''t agitate him, he''s one of the 30.¡±

    ¡°Ok, thanks for the info.¡± Marco turns to leave but suddenly stops. ¡°What''s the 30?¡±

    Beneha too was getting ready to leave, but hearing the question he stops. ¡°The 30 are the top disciples in the outer court. They live in those villas and almost never leave, as they are close to Foundation establishment. Only Rugel leaves his villa and plays around, seemingly not wanting to break through. With his strength at the peak of Qi gathering, who can stop him in the outer court?¡±

    ¡°I see, thanks" while waving his free hand he turns to leave.

    As he walks outside the scene compared to last night is completely different. The signs of last night''s struggle are completely gone, replaced by disciples happily moving about like it never happened. Guys and girls lay on the lawn flirting like they don''t have a care in the world.

    Hundreds of disciples are moving about while holding conversations, causing the area to be filled with white noise.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Due to all the noise and bright light, Ezra stirs awake. As she wakes Marco pokes her in the face.

    Opening her eyes she looks around confused. When she went to sleep she was in the room, but now she''s here.

    ¡°Hahaha¡± looking at her confused face causes him to chuckle.

    ¡°Chim!¡± flying out of his hand, she sits on his shoulder.

    Seeing her sit down, Marco begins moving towards the southern section.

    People shoot Ezra on his shoulder weird looks, a few glances at his eyes, but everyone leaves him alone sensing his six gates.

    ¡°Ezra I''ve figured it out, the direction I should take to get stronger.¡± a smile appears on his face ¡°But first I need to make sure this world even has what I want.¡±

    ¡°Chyum!¡±

    After a few minutes, he arrives at the southern section.

    ¡°First thing first, let''s go see if we can get some beast cores.¡±

    Compared to last night when he arrived, the place is full of hustle and bustle.

    There are two large shops and one medium shop. One large shop sells pills, attached to the pill shop is a greenhouse. As Qi gathering cultivators can''t make pills, the only thing they can do is help raise herbs. Because they are literally on a mountain top they have to use this greenhouse to grow precious plants. If disciples find herbs while out and about they can bring them back to sell, the better the condition the more they''re worth.

    The second large shop sells Talisman seals. Inside is a workshop for Talisman crafters. Disciples are able to work inside, besides drawing Talismans they can prepare the paper and ink.

    The last shop is a sort of general store for Demonic beast parts. You can buy or sell parts to the store for spirit stones.

    As Marco heads towards the Demonic beast shop he sees people coming and leaving the sect as well. Reading their lips, he finds out they''re going to the forest to hunt beast. Apparently, most disciples get their spirit stones from trade.

    Walking into the shop it''s filled with people. Furs and hides from a wide variety of beast hang on the wall. The floor is made of wood, embedded in the wood are various animal claws and teeth. There are rows of bins filled with different parts of the beast. Bones, tendons, teeth, claws, and feathers divided by species are everywhere. Along with the bins, there are also shelves filled with jars. Inside the jars are the more delicate parts, ranging from eyes, gallbladders, livers, and blood.

    There are a few disciples standing guard to the side, watching everyone in the building. Towards the back of the building is an old man behind the counter. The man appears to be in his late 70s, he has a head of short gray hair, dark skin, and squinty sunken eyes.

    Looking around, Marco doesn''t see any cores. After going around to all the bins, he heads towards the old man. He can¡¯t sense any Qi from the man nor see any with his eyes.

    ¡°Buying or selling" a raspy decrepit voice leaves his lips.

    ¡°I''m looking for cores but I don''t see any, do you have some?¡±

    ¡°Buying it is then" the old man shakes his head ¡°Shame, That looks like a rare fairy on your shoulder.¡± the old man points his bony finger at Ezra.

    ¡°Crim?¡± Ezra tilts her head.

    ¡°Sir, she''s a pixie, not a fairy. Also, she''s my friend so I''ll never sell her.¡± Marco slightly shakes his head ¡°I''m looking for cores do you have any?¡±

    Lookin at Marcos vortex eyes the man is silent. ¡°Those are interesting eyes you have young man, ocular bloodline ability? Very rare."

    Marco''s brows knit together ¡°If you don''t have cores I''ll just go.¡±

    ¡°Cores...of course, we have cores. Bronze cores are anywhere from 5~10 low quality spirit stones and the only iron cores we have cost 20.¡±

    ¡°Why are the bronze cores different prices?¡±

    ¡°Stronger beast cores cost more, of course.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I want three Iron cores then.¡± he reaches into his bag and starts taking out stones, counting out 60.

    Seeing all the spirit stones the old man is not even phased, constantly staring at Ezra. Suddenly he knocks on the desk a few times. Shortly after a disciple arrives at his side.

    The disciple looks to be around 18 or 19 and has short brown hair. His face is filled with scars, on his eyes, nose, and lips.

    ¡°Yes Mr. Ugway?¡± the disciple slightly bows his head.

    ¡°Bring me three iron cores"

    Bowing his head again, the disciple heads into a back room.

    The old man''s mouth opens once more ¡°Are you sure you don''t want to sell the fairy?¡±

    ¡°Chim kum Mrko!¡± before he can even answer, Ezra begins shaking her hands and throwing a tantrum.

    Marco grabs her off his shoulder and places her in his robe. She hangs onto his collar but keeps her head tucked in so only her fingers can be seen.

    Marco frowns as he looks at the old man ¡°I told you, Mr. Ugway was it? Shes not for sale.¡± as he finishes speaking the disciple returns with the three cores, and places them on the counter.

    Seeing this Marco picks them up, puts them in his bag, turns and leaves.

    Seeing him walk away the old man''s narrow eyes open wide ¡°Find out who he is, if he has no background kill him and bring me the fairy, I need it urgently.¡±

    ¡°Yes Mr. Ugway" the disciple nods and begins to trail Marco.

    ¡°Foolish brats, just because I''m not a cultivator you think you can just ignore me?? I''ve read eating a fairy can extend your life, and I don''t have much more time!¡± a glimmer flashes through the man''s eyes before returning to their squinty state.

    As Marco leaves the store he doesn''t even think about the old man again. Patting his robes a smile forms on his face.

    ¡°Don''t worry Ezra no one can ever take you, you''re mine"

    Ezra peeks out her head, remaining quiet as she stares at Marco.

    ¡°Ok now to the Treasures Pavilion¡± picking up his pace, he heads for the west district.

    As he walks away, the scarred disciple follows.

    <hr>

    A boundless black sky and floating gray balls. On the white ground, two girls are locked in combat. Pouches fly as sweat pours. Long blue hair flows as kicks are thrown, blocked by a small girl with blonde hair.

    ¡°Haaaa!¡± Milly throws out a series of round kicks.

    Hilda jumps into the air, she tucks in her knees and elbows to defend. The kicks hit her guard, sending her flying through the air. After doing a few flips she lands on her feet, just in time to take a hit to her gut.

    ¡°Guuu" Hilda bends over holding her stomach.

    ¡°You still have too many openings!¡± Milly looks at her smugly.

    ¡°Openings!?!? Why does that matter!¡± she glares at Milly ¡°You don''t understand what he''s capable of, THIS PSYCHO WILL NEVER LET US GO!¡±

    ¡°Hilda this is why your cultivation hasn''t advanced, you can''t give up! We will beat this demon!¡± Milly holds up her hand and clenches her small fist. ¡°As long as you believe in justice, anything is possible!¡±

    Hilda shakes her head ¡°It''s hopeless you don''t understand, he can kill us at any time"

    ¡°Hmph! I''ve already bested him in combat once! When we get out of here I''ll challenge him to a duel!¡±

    <hr>

    Arriving in the western section The Task hall, Marital Palace, and Treasure pavilion comes into view.

    ¡°Let us go.¡± patting his robe with a smile, he heads for the Treasure pavilion.

 Chapter 18: New Techniques

    If one called the Pill and Talisman shop large, then these three buildings can only be called grand.

    The Martial palace looks like a giant temple, the roof is being held up by four grand pillars at the corners. Smaller pillars line the walls on the side, the front has a great stone double door. The library is a small building attached to the back.

    The Task hall is shaped like a courthouse. The entire building carved out of solid stone. On the front of the building, huge letters are carved above the door, TASK HALL.

    The Treasure pavilion is in the shape of a pyramid. It is carved from stones and filled with runic carvings. The entire building seems to shimmer in the sunlight.

    Taking in the view, Marco heads for the Treasure pavilion. As he walks he notices there''s a large crowd in front of the Task hall.

    ¡°Open the doors!!¡±

    ¡°We did our mission now give us our reward!¡±

    The group continues to yell to open the doors. A disciple walks over to the group.

    ¡°Didn''t you guys hear, Elder Jun went on a rampage last night. He killed hundreds of disciples so the Task hall will probably be closed for a while.¡±

    ¡°What!?!?¡± shock travels through the group.

    ¡°Is Sara ok?¡±

    ¡°What about my brother Robert??¡±

    Some ask about their friends or family, but most of the group run off.

    Seeing this Marco shakes his head. Arriving in front of the Treasures pavilion, he enters. As he does he hears a yell.

    ¡°What do you mean 200 spirit stones!! I need this sword!¡±

    One disciple is yelling at another.

    The floor is made of stone and on the walls are thousands of weapons. Disciples are standing around everywhere in the room, on their robe is a spirit stone pin. The ones with the pin are attending to other disciples.

    After walking in a young blonde headed disciple with a pin approaches him. His hands are cupped behind his back with a slight smile on his face as he approaches.

    ¡°What can I do for you?¡±

    Marco unties a bag from his waist ¡°I want to sell these things¡±

    The disciple looks at the bag ¡°This way please¡± he begins walking towards the back.

    A series of doors line the area. The disciple walks up to one and opens the door and gestures inside with his hand.

    ¡°Have a seat inside and someone will be with you soon.¡±

    Nodding his head Marco walks inside.

    The room has a simple design, in the middle is a wooden table with two chairs on opposite sides.

    Marco moves towards the furthest chair and sits down. He puts the bag on the table and waits.

    ¡°Crim?¡± Ezra looks around the room.

    ¡°We are here to sell some stuff, be patient.¡±

    ¡°Chim chim" Ezra flies out of his robe and sits on his shoulder. As she begins kicking her feet, the door opens.

    A middle age man walks into the room. ¡°Sorry for the wait, the selling of items need someone more...specialized.¡±

    Marco nudges the bag on the table ¡°I want to sell some weapons.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, there has been a¡± the man looks Marco over ¡°influx of sales today.¡± a smile form on his face as he opens the bag.

    He pulls out five swords, a ruler, a whip, claws, and a staff.

    ¡°Hmm hmm, the sword is a mid grade mortal treasure worth 250 spirit stones, the whip is low grade mortal worth 150 spirit stones, the claws are also mid grade mortal worth 225 spirit stones.¡± he looks at the other weapons for a few seconds ¡°the rest of this is worth 120 spirit stones. So in total 745 spirit stones.¡±

    ¡°Great¡± the corner of his lips curl up ¡°How much is a space ring?¡±

    One of my man''s eyebrows raises ¡°10 mid level spirit stones.¡±

    ¡°I''ll just take the stones then.¡± Marco shakes his head.

    ¡°Ok, just give me a moment.¡± the man stands up an exits the room.

    ¡°Ezra we struck it big this time"

    ¡°Chim crims!¡± she begins clapping her small hands.

    ¡°I think I should get a weapon but I don''t know what. I don''t feel like a sword is for me, and the saber let me down on the toad. If my opponent''s body is too strong to cut through bladed weapons are useless.¡±

    ¡°Kihm" Ezra nods her head.

    ¡°So we have to look for a good weapon.¡±

    After a few minutes, the man returns. He sets a bag on the table and puts the weapons back into the other bag. ¡°I think we''re done here" he picks the bag up and leaves the room.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Marco pours all the gems from the bag on the table into the one on his waist. Leaving the room he begins to look at all the weapons.

    The room is mostly filled with swords, sabers, and spears.

    ¡°Are there no blunt weapons?¡±

    ¡°Chim" Ezra taps him on the face.

    Looking at her, she is pointing in a direction. Following her finger, he sees a mace hanging on the wall.

    The head of the mace is a solid rectangular black stone. In the center of the stone is a wooden handle, and at the bottom of the handle is a leather strap. The hammer has no designs or carvings on it, but for some reason he likes it.

    Walking over, he grabs it off the wall. As he does an attendant moves over.

    ¡°Has this caught your eye?¡±

    ¡°Well, how much is it?¡± holding the hammer he looks at the disciple.

    ¡°This is an unranked hammer so its 55 spirit stones, very cheap¡±

    ¡°Can I just pay you?¡± Marco raises an eyebrow.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Marco counts out 55 stones, placing it into the bag he just received. Handing the bag to the disciple he turns and leaves.

    When he gets outside, he swings the hammer a few times. ¡°This will do.¡± he places the hammer into the bag.

    ¡°Ok Ezra, time to get some good skills" He quickly walks towards the Martial palace.

    ¡°Chid chim!¡± Ezra points her finger at the Martial palace.

    As they walk through the district, their shadow is still on their trail.

    Arriving at his last destination, he walks through the door. As soon as he enters he sees an old man behind a desk. The old man has a long white beard and wispy hair. His face is full of liver spots and wrinkles. Behind the old man is four doors. Marco can¡¯t sense any Qi from the man, but what he sees is quite frightening.

    ¡°Hoho young man you are obviously new here"

    ¡°How can you tell senior?¡± Marco''s brows raise.

    ¡°Every disciple comes through my Martial palace at least once, and I couldn''t forget someone with eyes like yours. Very interesting, an ocular ability is a very rare bloodline. What clan are you from child?¡±

    ¡°Senior my surname is Uchiha, my clan was destroyed and I shall rebuild it someday.¡± Marco decides to tell half truths again.

    The old man shakes his head ¡°Shame, clan destruction is always a sad thing.¡± He looks Marco up and down ¡°Not to bad, 6th gate Qi gathering at age 16. Your Fairy beast is rare but not useful in combat. Your abilities are not the best around, if you want to build a clan it will be easy...but to make a great clan may be impossible for you.¡± the old man''s decrepit voice carries a morbid feeling, like foretelling a great prophecy.

    Marco is not phased by his words, as he''s only been cultivating for a few days. With his ocular abilities combined with those of his Phoenix, how can he not be great?.

    Reaching into his bag he pulls out three jades. ¡°Senior, I have three jades so does that mean I can get three techniques?¡±

    ¡°Ohhoho I see you made some profits from last nights tragedies.¡± a smile forms on the old man''s face ¡°Tell me, what techniques do you want. You can only get Mortal rank techniques.¡±

    Marco ponders for a while, thinking about what he lacks ¡°Senior are there any techniques that focus on illusions?¡±

    ¡°Illusions? Interesting...most young people want pure power when they chose techniques, few dabble into the realm of illusions.¡±

    Marco''s eyes light up ¡°So does that mean you have them?¡±

    ¡°Child, you won''t find them in the outer court. To cast illusions, one would have to be able to cast Qi outside of their bodies. Only when you reach Core formation can you project Qi from your body. To get the techniques you want, you would have to become a core disciple. Even then the selection of illusion techniques are few.¡±

    Hearing this Marco is disappointed, Core formation is far away. ¡°Ok senior I would like a movement technique, preferably one that focuses on sheer speed. The next technique is also a movement technique, but I want this one to focus on instantaneous movement. The last one is a defense technique you can practice without Qi.¡±

    The old man is quiet for a moment, his wrinkled hand rubs his beard.

    Marco is stunned once again, as he can see what he can only assume is a storage ring on the old man''s finger. He''s confused because he can''t sense any Qi from this old man, so he assumed he wasn''t a cultivator.

    ¡°There are a couple techniques that fit your description, take a look¡± the old man points his finger towards Marco''s head.

    Marco can see every action of the old man''s finger. Even though it looks weak and feeble, it carries immense power. He feels as though even if he wanted to dodge, it would be impossible. If this man wanted his life, only death awaits.

    A beam of colorless light shoots out the old man''s finger, hitting Marco''s forehead. As the beam hits, information on the name of techniques and brief descriptions appear in his mind.

    Before he can even look at the information he stares at the old man, stunned. Based on what he just said, he should be a Core formation cultivator.

    ¡°You''re an Elder?!?¡±

    A smile forms on the old man''s wrinkly mouth ¡°Have a look at the techniques, don''t mind an old man like me.¡±

    Marco nods his head and begins going over the information in his head.

    For speed techniques, there are three. Mid grade mortal technique Ignus Step. A series of steps producing a lot of friction. When mastered it is possible for the user to ignite the ground with his steps if conditions are met.

    High grade mortal technique Vanishing Mist. When mastered the caster moves so fast he becomes a blur, seemingly becoming mist.

    Low grade mortal technique Gale Leg. A series of movements allow you to move effortlessly like the wind, greatest effects when outdoors.

    Going over them Marco is able to almost instantly decide. Moving along he goes over the instantaneous movement techniques.

    This time there were only two. The first technique is a mid grade mortal technique Ruling Dust. The technique allows you to move around like a cloud of dust, scattering in all directions.

    The final movement technique is actually the supreme level mortal technique Radiant Ghost. No matter where the attack comes from, it will be like you were never there.

    The defense technique is easy to choose from, as there is only one technique. Unranked technique Golden Buddha Body. By achieving the right state of mind one is able to strengthen the bodies.

    Seeing this causes Marco to think for a bit. According to the knowledge he has, a Buddha is a supreme figure. Someone who has reached enlightenment and escaped the cycle of rebirth. How can a technique like this be considered unranked?? From his memories, he knows the key to becoming Buddha is the four noble truths and the eightfold path.

    ¡°Elder, this defensive technique? Why is it unranked?¡±

    The old man shakes his head ¡°Your requirements are too much, the basis of every technique revolves around Qi. Only this technique does not, the reason its unranked is because it''s a form of mental cultivation that doesn''t use Qi. It basically goes against everything cultivation is so no one bothers with it.¡±

    ¡°I see, I''ll take Vanishing Mist and Radiant Ghost for now. I''ll save my other jade for later.¡±

    ¡°Ok, step into the third door¡± the man waves his hand and a ball of light appears ¡°This will guide you to the books you want. Don''t try to sneak a book out because I will catch you.¡± the ball of light leaves his hand and floats in front of the door.

    ¡°You have one hour total to look at both books, now go.¡±

    ¡°Thank you elder" Marco nods at the man.

    Ezra also nods at him when she notices Marco doing it.

    ¡°Chrim"

    Following the ball, he enters the door. The room has bookshelves on both sides of the wall, filled with books. At the center of the room is a wooden table and chair.

    The ball of light flies towards a book. Seeing this Marco goes and pulls out the book, it''s titled Radiant Ghost. As he grabs the book, the ball of light flies to another. Marco follows and grabs that book as well, Vanishing Mist.

    Taking both books to the table he begins to read, trying to remember every word, description, and drawing.

    The ball of light floats above his head as if watching him.

    Seeing this, Ezra flies out of his robe and chases it around the room.

    After 10 minutes she gives up and falls asleep on his head.

    Marco''s sharingan works overtime, the details of this book are a million times more than Flowing Flower Palm.

    And in the blink of an eye, an hour passes.

 Chapter 19: Pill Shop

    As he was reading the book he realized the weakness of the sharingan. He is able to copy the pictures on how to perform the technique perfectly, but the theory on how to perform it is different. If he saw someone perform the technique personally he''d be able to copy their flow of Qi and copy them. But his own understanding is not the best, so even though these techniques are only mortal level he needed the full hour to barely comprehend them. Even then, it''s only a basic understanding.

    But he''s hoping that just like Flowing Flower Palm, he can use his eyes to see weak points in the basic technique and correct it.

    When the hour was up the light burst, causing an alarm to sound. Rising from his seat, he exits the door.

    ¡°I hope you were able to make some progress.¡± the old man''s voice enters his ears.

    Marco shakes his head slightly ¡°They were fairly complicated, how do I get more jades if I want to take another look?¡±

    ¡°Completing missions or trade with other disciples are the only two ways¡±

    ¡°Thank you Elder¡± as Marco gets ready to leave the elders voice sounds again.

    ¡°You can test your new techniques in the northern section, once you get a basic understanding the best way to improve is through combat.¡±

    Marco nods his head and exits the door.

    Of his six gates, he now has five open. Now that his Core is bronze 5, he can handle the stamina drain of five gates like breathing. A normal Qi gathering cultivator would never dream of something like this and would have to swallow pills just to copy it.

    His eyes are occupying 3 gates of Qi, his illusion on himself to suppresses Patrick is taking a bit of Qi from the 4th gate. Marco takes the hammer from his bag, holding it in his left hand he begins pressuring it with the remainder of his free Qi.

    The noise from the disciples outside causes Ezra to stir awake. Marco grabs her from his head and places her into his robe. She holds on, peeks out her head, and begins to look around.

    Marco and Ezra make there way back to the residential district.

    Unknown to them, the scarred disciple follows.

    After moving for a while, he arrives back in the southern district. He was originally planning to head straight back, but he realized that if he let all those stones sit in his bag it would be a waste.

    Thinking up to here, he walks into the pill shop. As he enters a strong herbal aroma hits him. Looking around, the room is fairly plain. The room is fully made of wood, the room is divided in half by a large glass counter. Behind the counter is a woman in her early 30s.

    She has long silver hair in a high ponytail. Her eyes are dark green and has a straight nose. She has nice full lips and as she smiles dimples are present on her face. She is currently dealing with a young man.

    Looking at her Marco can neither sense nor see any Qi. Marco walks up behind the young man to wait in line.

    ¡°Common Ms. Cynthia, I come here all the time! Can''t you give me a deal??¡±

    ¡°Ohh~ is there somewhere else you can go to get pills?¡± a sultry voice escapes her mouth, totally contradicting her adorable appearance.

    ¡°Disciples in the outer court cannot generate fire with Qi, so where else can you get pills, if not from me~. These are the prices so pay up¡±

    ¡°Ahh you''re ruthless!!¡± the disciple places some spirit stones on the counter, picks up a pouch of pills, then turns to leave. As he turns he sees Marco scarlet vortex pupils, causing his eyes to widen a bit. Getting ready to open his mouth he sees that he''s holding a hammer, causing him to bite his tongue. Scoffing, he walks away.

    Marco follows him with his eyes for a bit before walking up to the counter. The counter is filled with different types of various colors. He sees the green stamina pills he''s been eating, the ones made with bronze cores.

    Cynthia is silent as she looks at his strange eyes. The next thing she notices is a small fairy peeking her head out of his robe, furiously pointing her hand at different pills.

    ¡°Miss I''m here to buy pills, but besides the basic stamina pill I know nothing else.¡±

    ¡°That''s strange~ how can someone with a bloodline so great that he has an innate ocular ability know nothing about pills? Did your clan teach you nothing?¡± an eyebrow raises as she looks at Marco strangely.

    Marco takes a dramatic breath ¡°I''m the last member of my clan" he sighs deeply.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Seeing Marco look so sad, Ezra pats his chin.

    ¡°It''s ok Ezra" using his right hand he pats Ezra body in his robe ¡°It''s just you and me for now.¡±

    The ladies eyes become more tender ¡°Sorry for bringing it up! But what are you trying to do~ maybe I can recommend something?¡±

    ¡°Is there any pill that helps cultivation?¡±

    She shakes her head ¡°Qi gathering cultivators are very limited in what can help them, only pills that can decrease pain and lets you attack the gate more violently will help with cultivation.¡±

    Decreasing pain won''t really help with Marco, as he can just heal anyway. If he attacks the gate anymore then he already is, he''ll die.

    The best thing for him to do now is to increase his Aura so that his healing will become stronger and overall strength increase.

    ¡°Hmm, do you have any stronger stamina pills, preferably made with iron cores or stronger?¡±

    ¡°See~ you do have a bit of knowledge. To know stamina pills are made with Demonic beast cores.¡± a mischievous grin appears on her face, highlighting her dimples. ¡°I doo~ have what you want, but how much are you willing to pay?¡±

    ¡°Well, just tell me the price.¡±

    ¡°Standard pills are 20 spirit stones for a batch of 20, intermediate pills are 50 spirit stones for a batch of 5, advanced is 1 medium spirit stone each.¡±

    ¡°I don''t know if these prices are good or bad, but do you have anything that can help Demonic Beasts?¡±

    ¡°The stamina pills will help them just fine, but of course there are a few pills for Demonic beast as raising them is pretty popular.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I''ve heard that before, but why haven''t I seen anyone else with one?¡±

    ¡°Silly boy~ disciples who can tame demonic beast have some skill, you won''t see them randomly milling about the sect. They''re either out training or Cultivating. Even though your Fairy isn''t the most powerful beast, I''ve bet you''ve gotten a few strange looks.¡±

    ¡°Why does everyone keep calling her a fairy, and what pills can help beast?¡±

    ¡°It''s a fairy because it''s a fairy kid, I don''t know what else to tell you~ As for pills to help, besides the stamina pill there''s the spirit calming pill and the body cleansing pill. The spirit calming pill has been found to soothe their Aura and body cleansing pill will help remove impurities from the body.¡±

    Hearing the descriptions he squints his eyes, a sense of foreboding hits him. ¡°How much are they?¡±

    ¡°50 spirit stones each~¡±

    Marco blinks a few times, hoping he misheard her. Just when he thought he hit a windfall, he finds out he''s still broke.

    ¡°I''ll take two spirit pills, two cleansing pills, and five batches of intermediate stamina pills.¡±

    ¡°That will be~ 450 spirit stones"

    Marco¡¯s face twitches a bit. If he didn''t get these stones so easily last night, he''d be feeling the pain. Reaching into his bag, he begins counting out stones.

    After receiving all the stones, she places three containers onto the counter. ¡°Here you go~¡±

    Marco places the pills into his bag. ¡°Can you tell me how a Fairy is different from a Pixie?¡±

    ¡°Awww~ did you think it was a Pixie? Haha listen here kid, Pixie have separated wings while Fairy wings are solid.¡±

    Looking down at Ezra his brows shoot up. Feeling his gaze, she looks up. ¡°Well thank you, if I need more pills I''ll be back" Marco turns and begins to leave.

    ¡°Come again~¡±

    Walking outside Marco looks at the sky. Seeing the position of the sun he figures it¡¯s a bit past noon. Picking up his pace, he heads towards the dorms.

    Arriving back in the residential district he heads for the fields. In the fields is an area available for disciples to pump water into a barrel.

    Grabbing a barrel with his right hand he places it under the pump. After pumping water for a moment the barrel is full. While still holding the hammer, he hugs the barrel to his body.

    Uncomfortable due to the barrel, Ezra flies onto his shoulder.

    Marco begins to walk back to his room.

    The scar faced disciple sneers as he sees this. He''s been following this bastard for a while and he''s just now going back to his room.

    Walking into the dorm Marco descends the stairs, barrel in hand. As he is almost to his room, he notices a problem. He is one level away from his floor, but he can hear footsteps behind him. He knows no one lives at least three to five levels above him, so no one should be down here.

    Furrowing his brows he arrives at his door, opening it he goes inside. As he sets the barrel down Ezra flies to the bed. He finally puts the hammer down on the desk.

    ¡°Take off all your clothes, Ezra" Marco begins taking off all his clothes as well.

    Hearing him Ezra squints her eyes. Watching him take off his clothes she hesitates.

    ¡°Cheem!¡± After seeing he wasn''t trying to trick her again, she begins to take off her clothes.

    Setting his bags on the table, he pulls out all the pills and the cores. He splits the pills into two groups. He gets 20 intermediate stamina pills, 1 spirit pill, and one cleansing pill. For Ezra, she gets 5 intermediate stamina pills and a set of spirit and cleansing pills.

    ¡°Ok Ezra eat these stamina pills first then these two pills"

    Ezra nods her head.

    He then divides the cores, two for him and one for her.

    After taking a deep breath he begins swallowing pills.

    Seeing him do so, Ezra begins chewing the pills with her sharp teeth.

    He quickly swallows the 20 pills. The power is overwhelming, he instantly hears the popping sound twice. He directly stepped into bronze 7, before the power becomes unstable like last time he swallows the spirit pill and cleansing pill.

    Ezra is a bit slower but she too finishes her pills.

    His Aura becomes calm as it flows through his body due to the spirit pill. He can feel his body strengthening at a rapid pace, the body cleansing pill is pushing his Aura into every pore.

    The funnel on his Aura is rapidly disappearing as his body catches up with his power. Relishing in the feeling for a moment he picks up a core.

    ¡°Quick Ezra, swallow your core!¡±

    Swallowing the core causes more power than ever to fill his body. His Aura breaks through again, going from 7 to 9. Black ooze begins to seep out his skin, looking at Ezra she is in a similar condition as she swallows her core.

    Taking the last core he swallows it without hesitation. His eyes open wide as he feels his Aura break through to level 10. It continues to climb until it hits a wall. Closing his eyes he senses the changes in his core.

    Cracks form in his core and begin to quickly spread, power swells through his body as he begins to tremble.

    Ezra''s process was much simpler, as she didn''t have as many pills or cores she is already done. Covered in black ooze she watches Marco shake.

    After a few seconds, his shaking stops. A burst of Aura escapes the core as the cracks reform, leaving a solid grey core behind.

 Chapter 20: Back in the Kamui Dimension

    Power ripples through his body, a smile forms on his face as he grips his hand. Black ooze covers his body releasing a foul odor. Looking at Ezra in the same state he chuckles.

    ¡°Ezra, let''s take a bath.¡± walking to the barrel he climbs inside. He doesn''t feel a weakening effect, causing him to relax.

    Ezra flies over, her naked body hidden by the ooze. She hesitates over the water as she dips in one toe at a time. The water is fairly cold, so she doesn''t want to get in. After a few seconds, she can no longer tolerate the smell and drops in.

    Marco grabs Ezra as she drops into the water so she doesn''t drown. Using his hands he begins to wipe the ooze off her. His hands run along her tiny body, wiping her clean.

    To stop Marco from taking advantage of her she flies out once she''s clean.

    ¡°Haha Ezra you don''t have to run.¡± shaking his head he begins wiping his body.

    In the middle of his bath, he hears banging on his door.

    ¡°Inspection! Open up!!¡±

    The corner of his lips curl ¡°Finally here?¡±

    Rising out of the bath, he uses clothes from the pile to dry off. ¡°In a minute! I''m getting dressed!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up! This is an inspection!¡±

    Marco puts on his clothes and ties the bags to his waist. Grabbing the hammer with his left hand, he opens all six gates. With his iron core, the stamina drain is negligible. After powering his eyes and illusion, he uses the remainder of his Qi to power his hammer.

    Aura ripples through his body full force, an invisible layer surrounds his body. With his eyes, he can see that it''s not actually invisible, but gray.

    ¡°Is this the true form of Aura?¡± a smile forms on his face as he puts his hand on the door.

    Ezra is currently struggling to put on her clothes. She was sleeping when Marco put on her clothes, so she''s not sure how it goes on. Seeing that Marco is about to leave she begins to panic.

    ¡°Don''t worry Ezra, I¡¯m not going far.¡± Qi fluctuates and the door opens.

    A sword enters the door, stabbing straight for Marco''s chest.

    Looking at the face of the man he instantly knows where he''s from.

    The sword appears to be moving in slow motion in his eyes. Now that he''s broken through to iron level his body can slightly keep up with his super perception, giving him more time to make judgments. When he finally masters the movement techniques he can take advantage of his eyes more.

    Marco lifts the hammer, knocking the sword off path. Seeing that his sword is unranked as well, he stops pressuring his hammer.

    The scar faced disciple is at the 7th stage of Qi gathering, so he should be stronger than Marco. Seeing his sword knocked away so easily he''s stunned.

    ¡°That old man from the Demonic beast store sent you right?¡± a smile creeps on Marco¡¯s face.

    He can''t win, terror fills the disciples very being. He doesn''t know how this boy is stronger than him, but he has to survive.

    He jumps back to get into position, and with a shake of his wrist, he swings at Marco.

    *Tsk* Clicking his tongue he becomes upset. He was hoping he could learn something from watching him fight, but his skills are poor.

    Seeing the incoming sword Marco doesn''t dodge but reaches out his right hand.

    Seeing the sword is about to hit the disciple is filled with joy. The sword comes down on Marco''s shoulder, but instead of cutting him it passes straight through his body.

    Before he even has time to react, Marco''s hand lands on his shoulder. In the next second a portal opens around Marco''s right eye, instantly sucking him in.

    ¡°A perfect test subject.¡± Marco steps back into his room and the door closes. Looking at Ezra she''s finally figured out how to put her clothes back on.

    Grabbing his robe collar, he pulls it open a bit. ¡°Let us go, Ezra, time to play.¡±

    ¡°Chrym chim!¡± she flies straight into his robe and hangs on, and of course peeks out her head.

    Marco places his hammer into his bag and holds a spirit stone in his left hand. The portal once again appears around his right eye and sucks him in, leaving the room empty.

    Marco and Ezra appear in the Kamui dimension. Looking around he sees Hilda and Milly standing together, facing off agaisnt the scar faced disciple.

    Seeing Marco appear Hilda''s eyes go wide as saucers ¡°YOU!¡± pointing her finger she angrily roars.

    ¡°Finally justice can be dealt and the demon can be slain!¡± Milly places her hand on her hips and strikes a heroic pose.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The scar faced disciple doesn''t scream nonsense, because he knows how strong he is. He takes a stance and readies his sword, Reaching into his bag he pulls out three spirit stones.

    ¡°Ladies I see that we are all on the same side, take a spirit stone" tossing a stone to each girl a smile forms on his face. He''d have to live under a rock to not know these two girls. While Hilda has weaker cultivation than him, Milly definitely does not.

    Marco doesn''t stop him from handing out stones, because no one can leave this dimension once trapped.

    ¡°Ok Ezra, you watch from above.¡±

    ¡°Cryim!¡± She flies out of his robe and lands on one of the floating orbs.

    Marco closes his eyes as he tightly grips the stone in his left hand. He recalls everything he read in the manuals today. In the Kamui dimension he is unable to become intangible, so he will have to rely on himself to dodge.

    ¡°Demon! We meet again! This time I will not let you run!¡± Milly starts to charge. Running full speed she balls her tiny fist.

    Hilda''s eyes burn with fury, she never thought her life would be ruined on a simple escort mission so close to the sect. When she sees Milly charge, she gnashes her teeth and follows.

    The scar face man is more methodical, he begins to circle around to try and flank him.

    Opening his eyes his EMS scans his field of view, eyes flickering wildly as he tries to catch every scene. Taking a step forward he begins to charge.

    Wrong, this isn''t how it was shown. Steps too big, knee coming down at the wrong angle. Back too straight, twist hips more. His eyes continue to flicker as he watches his approaching opponents, thoughts flow through his head as he tries to correct every mistake.

    Suddenly Milly and Marco arrive within striking distance.

    Marco has been fighting on pure strength in all his battles so far. By using his eyes to his advantage he is able to avoid catastrophic failure, but his martial arts are terrible. Knowing this he watches Milly closely, last time he wasn''t able to keep up with her speed.

    Milly throws out a fist, Marco copies her exact move.

    Their first collide, equal in power. Marco is holding back to see all her moves.

    Seeing her punch fail she throws out a round kick, but to her surprise, Marco does the same.

    Their Kicks cross mid air causing a loud bang from the force.

    ¡°Demon you think you can copy me!?!¡± Her eyes are set ablaze by the challenge.

    Seeing this Marco smiles.

    ¡°Hurricane kick!¡±

    ¡°Hurricane kick"

    At the same time, Milly and Marco¡¯s legs become blurs as they send kick after kick, each one hitting each other. Their legs continue to cross time after time, constantly blocking each other.

    Milly refuses to admit defeat so she continues to launch kicks.

    Marco notices the strain this is putting on her knee and frowns.

    At this time Hilda finally arrives. Not wasting any time she throws a punch at his back.

    Marco¡¯s support foot suddenly twist as he jumps to the side to dodge, breaking away from the battle of kicks.

    But suddenly at his back, a sword slashes down. Blood pours as his back is slashed, Marco grits his teeth in pain.

    Blue fire erupts around his back as he spins. His wound rapidly heals as he faces the scar faced disciple. His Aura erupts to full power as he throws a single Palm strike at the man.

    The disciple tries to dodge by jumping back, but Marco follows.

    As the palm descends, 15 palm shadows bloom around it. Moments before the palm makes contact with his chest the shadows combine back into the palm. It gently touches his chest, followed by an explosion.

    Spitting out blood the disciple flies back like a ragdoll, a bloody palm print on his chest.

    All of this happened in a moment, because his back was to the girls the first thing they saw was blue flames healing a sword wound. Before they even had time to react to the healing, the disciple was blown away.

    Using his own self evolved technique Marco is satisfied, when he first used the move the stamina drain from his Qi was so great that it used all his Aura. Using the technique now only used ? of his Aura. Using the technique a second time he saw a few places he can improve to make more palm shadows.

    The principle behind the technique is the same as the original Flowing Flower Palm, using many strikes to supplement for power. The original technique wanted you to use both palms to send out a barrage of strikes, but there was one flaw. The technique took too long to do damage if you had to throw out many different strikes. Seeing the flaw, Marco used the concept of the one inch punch from his memories. The palm shadows aren''t shadows at all, but individual strikes. The number of shadows represents the number of strikes launched. They are so fast the hand appears to do nothing more than vibrate slightly. Fifteen strikes land at the exact same place at almost the exact same time.

    Recovering from the shock, Milly and Hilda charge.

    Learning his lesson, he senses their Qi approaching. Turning around he sees two fists launching at him.

    With his Aura now at full blast, they are no match for him. Marco throws out two fists to collide with theirs, careful not to break the stone in his hand.

    While they can''t overpower him, he is still able to learn from them. They have been training for a far longer time than him, but with his eyes, he can turn their experience into his power.

    The two girls continue to attack together but he fends them off alone, constantly improving, becoming sharper, and more deadly as he improves on the mistakes in their combat techniques.

    He has already Copied Milly¡¯s hurricane kick, but Hilda has yet to perform a technique. After a few minutes, he figures he has nothing else to learn from the girls, so he returns to what he originally came here for.

    The girls continue to furiously throw out punches and kicks, but Marco does nothing but dodge now.

    The moves of Radiant Ghost flash through his head over and over as he dodges their moves. While he is able to dodge he is nowhere close to Radiant Ghost.

    An Idea suddenly flashes through his head as he begins to decrease his power. He can still see every inch of their movement but It becomes harder to react, forcing him to be more precise.

    Seeing that he''s beginning to slow down Milly becomes excited ¡°The demon is tired! Press the attack!¡± Her attack becomes more enthusiastic as she believed she gained the advantage.

    Hilda¡¯s eyes show doubt, as shes not as optimistic as Milly. Just based on the fact he was able to fend them off together, and what she''s seen him do in the past.

    He constantly decreases his power but is beginning to dodge with greater ease. He has already gotten as far as he was able to understand from the book, so from here out it''s just him correcting flaws he sees in his movement.

    After constant improvements, Milly¡¯s fist flies towards his face, as it makes contact it passes through. The punched Marco disappears, like a ghost. Marco appears at the side of her body, lightly stretching out his fist he taps her on the chin.

    Seeing this Hilda loses all hope. She drops to her knees and begins to cry. ¡°Why?!? Why are you doing this to me!!¡±

    Milly throws out a sidekick, but that too passes through his body as the real Marco appears a few feet away.

    ¡°My current limit is one ghost, but I finally got the technique down.¡±

    Hearing this Milly¡¯s arms drop to her side. She looks at Hilda on her knees, crying towards the sky. Her gaze returns to Marco before she bites her lip. Blood begins to flow from biting so hard as her eyes begin to tremble.

    ¡°Has justice failed, what have I been training for?¡±

 Chapter 21: Justice!

    Marco stares at the defeated girls, even though he never hit them their wills are beginning to break. He can feel the spirit stone still has some use left in it, so he wants to continue practicing.

    ¡°Giving up already? We are just getting started.¡± Marco already has a grasp on Radiant Ghost, so he charges at Milly using Vanishing Mist.

    Seeing her not respond to his charge causes the corner of his lips to curl. Reaching out with his palm, it lands on her chest.

    Seeing him approach made her think this was the end, and when she saw his outstretched palm she was sure of it. She slowly closes her eyes and awaits death, everything she''s been working for is gone, justice defeated.

    His palm lands on her right chest, but contains no force. His fingers slowly close around her clothes, using a bit of force he tears her robes. As her robe tears, her small creamy white breast comes into view. The fact that she is only around 15 years old, and her naturally petite body, her breast are still developing. Her nipple is still slightly sunken into her areola, giving her a more innocent appearance.

    Milly¡¯s eyes go wide, looking straight at the man in front of her. His crimson eyes stare into her baby blues when suddenly his hand reaches out again.

    ¡°Demon!¡± her spirit once again reignites, not to fight, but to flee. Turning on her heels she begins to run away.

    Seeing this Marco is amused, how could she dodge his touch if he really wanted to grab her, with his eyes did he not see every movement of her body as she began to turn?

    While her breast may be smaller than the palm of his hand, her butt is ripe for the picking. All the years of practicing martial arts and the fact she specializes in kicks has given her butt a wonderful shape.

    Seeing her try and flee he reaches out his hand and slaps her butt. The firm, but the elastic feel is transmitted into his hand. He uses enough force to cause a slight ripple, visible even through the robe.

    Feeling his hand touch her sends shivers up her spine, causing her to achieve a speed even she didn''t know she could. She charges towards Hilda, whos still on her knees. Even though there are a few scumbags, it is still a righteous sect so no one ever crossed the line. She never had to deal with a situation like this.

    Tears stream down Hilda¡¯s cheeks as she resigns to her fate. She''s been trapped by this man for a couple days now, and she sees no way to escape. Suddenly her shoulders are shaken, looking down she sees Milly with a frantic look on her face.

    ¡°We have to run! The demon is trying to eat us!¡±

    Hearing her words causes her brows to furrow ¡°Eat us?¡± her gaze finally lands on Milly''s breast.

    ¡°Let''s go!¡± Milly takes off running again.

    Seeing this Marco can''t help but wonder, why don''t any of them have movement techniques?

    He doesn''t chase after Milly but instead walks towards Hilda. She stares at him as he approaches.

    ¡°Not going to run?¡±

    She silently stares at him for a moment ¡°Will I be able to get away?¡±

    Looking at her dead eyes causes Marco to think for a moment. Her will is already broken as she''s been powerless to do anything these past few days.

    Hilda sees no reason to run, in a dimension where cultivation is impossible, all she can do is wait to die. What has she been working for practically her entire life? Cultivation is all she knows, she''s already 18 this year but only at the 6th gate of Qi gathering. Two years ago she broke into the 6th gate, but she hasn''t even budged her 7th gate. So what if outer court disciples fancy her, so what if inner court disciples want her body. Will any of that help her breakthrough? All she wanted was to earn a few spirit stones in the hopes of budging her 7th gate, but now she can''t cultivate at all.

    Shaking his head he walks past her, this woman tried to run once so he won''t easily trust her again. Trying to execute Vanishing Mist, he chases after Milly.

    Hilda watches him run past her. She drops down and lays on her back, looking at the black void and floating balls above. She sees the Pixie sitting on one of the balls, kicking her feet and clapping her hands as she watches Marco.

    ¡°Are you really happy, being with that guy?¡±

    Marco tries to execute the technique according to his understanding, but his form is full of flaws. Radiant Ghost is about very short burst of speed in any direction, and Vanishing Mist is about extreme speed in one direction.

    Seeing him come after her causes Milly to become frantic.

    As he chases after her, he''s mostly trying to correct his own form. In a few seconds, he''s right on her tail causing him to realize he won''t be able to get this technique down in a short amount of time. Reaching out his hand he grabs her shoulder, and with a tug, he pulls her back.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    As she falls back Marco''s arms wrap around her, pulling her back into his chest. She struggles, trying to break free from his grasp, but how can he let her go?

    Milly struggles, as his arms wrap around her they begin to squeeze tighter and tighter. Suddenly his lips close around her ear, his tongue licking her flesh.

    ¡°Did you really think that you could escape from me?¡± Marco''s hand grabs her right breast, the soft and warm feeling transmits into his hand. Kneading her breast for a moment, his hand then rips across her robe revealing both breasts.

    Milly kicks her leg back as she tries to free herself, but it''s like kicking a steel plate.

    ¡°Let go of me Demon!! Let go!¡± Her struggling becomes more intense as she becomes desperate.

    After ripping her robe he lets her go. Watching her flee brings a smile to his face. Letting her run a bit further he proceeds to chase after, trying to practice his technique.

    ¡°Hmm, this technique is at a lower level than Radiant Ghost but why can''t I get it??¡± Marco frowns, playing with this girl is fun but it''s not helping him at all. Taking a few breaths a smile returns to his face.

    ¡°I greatly underestimated and misused my powers, after this I should head to the northern section and watch people practice and steal some techniques.¡±

    Looking at Milly he darts forward. Instead of getting behind her, he overtakes her and blocks her path.

    Seeing him appear before her Milly stops, fear in her eyes. At this point, her stamina is drained and her knee hurts from the constant use of Hurricane Kicks earlier. Thinking about it, why was she even running, where could she go?

    Marco¡¯s eyes scan her body, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathes heavily due to exhaustion. Light perspiration covers her skin, giving it a subtle glow.

    ¡°What are you going to do to me Demon?¡± She looks at him, fury in her eyes.

    ¡°I want you! I want you to be mine!¡±

    ¡°Never Demon! I''m an ally of justice!! I will defeat you and escape!!¡±

    ¡°Ok, let''s fight right now!¡± Marco looks at her with a smug smile.

    ¡°I''m too weak right now, I can''t win¡± she shakes her head slowly.

    With the same smug smile, he spreads his arms ¡°How do you plan on getting stronger here!¡±

    Hearing his words she''s stunned. He''s right, as long as she''s here she can never cultivate, how much longer will this single stone last?

    Thinking up to here, she actually calms down. After taking a deep breath she throws the stone to the side.

    ¡°I challenge you to an honorable duel to the death! No Qi! No weapons! I don''t know how you''re stronger than me with fewer gates, but let''s do this! Winner takes all!¡± Her eyes now burn with a fiery spirit.

    Marco looks her in the eyes before slowly shaking his head.

    ¡°Ok, let''s go!¡± Marco throws the stone to the side, causing all his gates to deactivate and his eyes to turn back green.

    Seeing this Milly is filled with fighting spirit. She throws her stone to the side and charges at Marco.

    ¡°I will not lose in martial prowess! Feel the power of justice!¡± Milly leaps through the air, performing a jumping sidekick.

    Marco performs a cross guard to block her kick. As her foot makes contact it causes him to slide back a few feet.

    Seeing that her kick had an effect, Milly becomes pumped. Landing safely she sends out a series of punches.

    Seeing this Marco throws out punch for punch. Their fist collides in mid-air blowing each other back, but Milly is slowly building an advantage as she''s forcing Marco to step back.

    Seeing this scene Hilda is stunned. From the start of the fight till now, Milly has been fighting nothing but air.

    As Milly continues to fight air, Marco watches from the side.

    Milly performs the none Qi version of hurricane kick, even though it''s not as fast, it''s still impressive.

    Illusion Marco begins blocking the kicks with his palm, as the kick makes contact he diverts all the force in another direction.

    ¡°Time to end this game¡± illusion Marco and real Marco rush towards Milly.

    Milly cant see the real Marco because she''s no different than a normal person right now her mind is Marco¡¯s plaything.

    Real Marco and Illusion Marco overlap throwing out a palm strike. Mill throws up her knee to defend.

    Suddenly stopping his palm, he twists his upper body. His leg swings in from the side full force. ¡°Hurricane Kick¡±

    The first kick connects with her ground leg throwing her off balance, the next kick lands on her ribs, and the third kick on her shoulder. She''s blasted to the side by the force of the kick.

    Milly tumbles on the ground, after rolling a few times she finally comes to a stop. As she''s about to get up Marco places his foot on her abdomen, his scarlet eyes staring down at her.

    ¡°Don''t struggle, you''ve lost¡±

    Milly bites her lip, unwilling to believe that she lost. Closing her eyes she takes a few breaths.

    ¡°I guess justice really did fail.¡±

    Marco squints his eyes ¡°Justice? What is justice? Justice is whatever the strong decide, You don''t need your justice, just carry out mine.¡±

    Milly looks confused ¡°The strong decide? Your justice? What about right and wrong! Good and evil!¡±

    ¡°I decide what is right or wrong. If something is beneficial to me than it¡¯s good! If it stands in my way then It¡¯s evil that must be eradicated!¡± looking at Milly¡¯s face he sees her struggle ¡°What will you do, will you get in my way, or become my Fury!¡±

    Milly struggles as she looks up at him, her face crumpling. Everything she has believes, and the power she attained, was it all a lie? Mom, Dad, is this how you become strong? Why you¡­

    ¡°What¡± she chokes back her tears as she tries to speak ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    The corner of his lips curls as he reaches out his hand.

    Milly reaches out her hand but hesitates, and pulls it back slightly. Is this really who she is, who she wants to become? But the duel was to the death...and she lost.

    Marco looks at her outstretched hand with greed and desire. His eyes scan over her body, slightly lingering on her delicate breast. His hand doesn''t move as he waits for her hand to meet his.

    Looking into his scarlet eyes she bites her lip. She takes a breath as she steels her resolve. Her hand takes that last step and grabs his.

    Marco pulls her up and hugs her into his chest. His mouth moves to her ear ¡°This was the first step, for the next step I want you to prove that your will aligns with my own. Your first task is to kill Hilda, she has betrayed me once and cannot be trusted.¡±

    Hearing him shes stunned. She leans her head back and stares up into his eyes, as she does he grabs her chin and places his lips on hers.

    She tries to struggle free from the kiss but is unable to escape his arms.

    Hearing his words Hilda sits up, her eyes trembling slightly.

    Seeing Hilda sit up Marco shoots her a death glare.

    Marco releases Milly from his embrace and turns her towards Hilda.

    He slightly pushes her back.

    ¡°Go¡±

 Chapter 22: Yin&Yang

    Milly stumbles forward, her head turning back with every few steps. Is this really who she wants to become? But there is no way out of this, so she bites her lips and moves forward.

    Marco watches with great interest, curious if she will really do it. Thinking about it, he reaches into his bag and pulls out another stone.

    ¡°Milly catch¡± he throws the stone in his left hand.

    Hearing her name she turns around, just in time to catch the stone. As she holds the stone in her hand, she finally realizes he was serious. Taking a breath she rushes towards Hilda.

    Seeing her run over Hilda is confused. She rises to her feet, ready to greet Milly. Suddenly a foot connects with her stomach, causing her to retreat a few steps and gasp for air.

    Not giving her time to rest she sends a flying knee kick into Hilda¡¯s face, causing Hilda to drop to the ground. Closing her eyes she sends a series of stomps into her chest, ending her life.

    Hilda is only at the 6th gate of Qi gathering, no match for Milly¡¯s 9th gate.

    Marco arrives behind Milly, grabbing her shoulders he spins her around and pulls her into his embrace, her head buried in his chest.

    A smile forms on his face as he looks over at Hilda, the real Hilda.

    Milly has been under an illusion since the beginning of the duel. When he stretched out his hand he completely hid Hilda¡¯s presence and replaced her with an illusion. He wanted to test if Milly really would listen to him and at the same time test Hilda.

    Hilda is well aware of his illusionary powers, so when she saw Milly fighting air she could easily figure it out. One of the reasons he made Milly fight an illusion was to see if Hilda would alert her, which is why he did nothing to her. If she warned Milly he would have known for sure she is hopeless and killed her right then. He further tested her by speaking loud enough for Hilda to hear him when he told Milly to kill her. At that point there was no way for Hilda to know if Milly was still under an illusion, so all she could do was put herself into Marco¡¯s hands.

    This way of using illusions can only be done in the Kamui dimension, while he can make people see things in the real dimension he won''t be able to make it feel like actual combat or make Hilda or himself disappear.

    In the real dimension, the best he can do for now is making his opponent see a copy of him, but once they clash it would become obvious that it''s a fake. But using it to confuse the opponent to see double is possible. That''s assuming he''s facing a Foundation building cultivator or Iron level Demonic beast. For Qi gathering and bronze, he can totally lock them in an illusion.

    Milly begins to cry in his chest. ¡°I killed her¡± sobbing she begins to shake her head ¡°She was my friend and I killed her¡±

    Marco begins rubbing her hair as he whispers in her ear. ¡°It¡¯s ok, it¡¯s ok, you only have to listen to me and I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re ok¡±

    ¡°I just have...to listen to you?¡± She continues to sob, as everything she believed in has constantly been broken.

    Milly has been in the sect since she was 5 years old. All she''s done for practically her whole life is train. She¡¯s never left the sect since, and because it''s a righteous sect she never ran into many problems. Sure there are a few douchebags and arrogant people, but Milly is strong! Those who have higher cultivation than her in the outer court won''t have time to harass her, so this was the first time she''s experienced something like this since she was 5. If she knew she kicked a steel plate that day, she would have been a lot nicer! But it''s too late for regrets now.

    Marco lifts up Milly¡¯s chin, revealing her red eyes and puffy cheeks. He seals her lips with his own, stopping the sobs for a moment.

    Her eyes open wide in shock for a moment, unlike the first time he kissed her, she has now resigned to her fate. She slowly closes her eyes as his tongue invades her mouth.

    Seeing that she didn¡¯t resist this time shows that she''s starting to accept him, just a bit more and she will totally be his. He slowly pulls his mouth away causing her lips to chase his for a moment.

    ¡°Milly¡±

    Due to her fate being in his hands she was unaware of how easily she is being manipulated. She''s just too young and too innocent to properly deal with this, so she fell into his trap. She¡¯s already beginning to enjoy his touch and soft voice. He was what broke her spirit, but also what brought her back, giving her a sense of dependency.

    Hearing her name she opens her baby blue eyes to meet his scarlet ones.

    ¡°Sleep for a bit¡± placing her in an illusion, she collapses into his embrace.

    ¡°Ezra come¡±

    ¡°Chim chryum!!¡± Ezra has been watching this all happen in excitement, glad that it was not her being teased. Hearing her name called she flies down onto his shoulder.

    ¡°Ezra this is my second woman, you are my first so you have to look after her ok?¡±

    ¡°Chrium?!¡± Ezra is stunned at the revelation, but thinking about it, what he said isn''t a lie. She vigorously nods her head as she looks at Milly.

    Marco lays Milly down gently.

    ¡°Stay with her, we will be leaving in a moment.¡±

    ¡°Chrim¡± Ezra nods and flies onto Milly¡¯s stomach. She looks at her exposed breast and compares them with her own, seeing her nipples aren''t even fully protruded she shows a triumphant smile.

    Seeing this Marco shakes his head as he walks over to the scar-faced disciple.

    Hilda has been watching his movements this whole time, unsure of what to think.

    Picking up his bag and sword, he checks what''s inside. Its filled with around 50 low quality stamina pills, some food and water, and around 46 spirit stones.

    Marco takes the pills and sword and puts them into his bag. He then walks over to Hilda.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    Standing in front of her he gazes at her face.

    ¡°Where is Milly¡¯s identification token.¡±

    She doesn''t respond but reaches into the bag around her waist. Its filled with all the things he has left in the dimension, like what''s left of the food and tokens. They had to use the other bags for other things.

    Taking out the token she hands it to Marco. Grabbing the token he sends in some Qi and feels Qi similar to Milly¡¯s. He puts her token into his bag and gives scar faces bag to Hilda.

    ¡°Use those stones to cultivate.¡±

    She grips the bag tight as she bites her teeth. ¡°What will happen to me?¡±

    Marco shakes his head ¡°I don''t know, we will have to see.¡±

    She shakes her head ¡°I don''t have any hope of breaking through to the 7th gate, if you''re going to kill me please do it sooner than later.¡±

    Marco looks at her for a moment before turning and walking back to Milly.

    He scoops her up into his arms. Looking back at Hilda one last time, a portal forms around his right eye. It sucks the three of them in, leaving Hilda the only living person inside.

    A portal opens in his room and Marco appears holding Milly with Ezra riding on top of her. He sets her down on his bed as he looks around the room. The stone in his hand still has some Qi left as he switched it out with Milly after the duel, so he puts it back into his bag.

    The barrel of dirty water is still there, reminding him that he just wanted to raise his Aura, then the scar faced disciple came.

    ¡°Chim ceuim!¡± Ezra begins flying around the room, happy to be back.

    Marco stands in the middle of the room as the portal appears around his eye again, this time ejecting the disciple¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Best to deal with this now¡± placing his hand on the body he activates his intangibility powers, causing the corpse to sink into the floor. Leaving the corpse in the floor he brings his hand back up.

    ¡°How convenient, I have plenty of Aura to supply the stamina drain for Qi now, but the problem is I can''t gather enough Qi to use my most powerful techniques! I need to open more gates¡­¡±

    ¡°Chrim Mrko¡± Ezra lands on his shoulder and pats his face, as she saw he was a little agitated.

    Looking at her causes him to smile. Reaching into his bag he pulls out the 50 stamina pills he just got. He hands one to Ezra before popping one into his mouth.

    She happily begins eating it, but Marco feels nothing.

    Thinking that it was a fluke he eats another pill, but still feels nothing. His brows furrow for a moment before relaxing.

    ¡°I guess bronze cores do nothing for me now? I guess it makes sense, as it explains why stronger beast don¡¯t massacre weaker beasts for their cores.¡± Nodding his head he walks to the desk and places down the container of pills.

    ¡°Ezra these pills are all yours, eat up.¡±

    ¡°Chim!¡± She hops off his shoulder and begins eating the pills.

    Seeing this he walks over to Milly¡¯s side and gently strokes her face.

    He releases her from his illusion, allowing her to wake up. As her eyes stir his lips meet hers.

    She slightly shivers before she realizes what''s going on.

    Sliding onto the bed he holds her in his arms.

    She opens her eyes and realizes she''s back in the normal world.

    Seeing her look around Marco knows it''s time to seal the deal, to make sure she fully falls and becomes his, before she has the chance to realize she is no longer in a world of despair and complete helplessness. The reason he chose to do it here is so she can come to terms that this is her new reality.

    While holding her in his embrace he kisses her again, his tongue invades her mouth. His hand moves up the side of her body before stopping on her breast. As his tongue stirs the inside of her mouth, his fingers try to lure her nipple out from hiding.

    ¡°Uhh¡± a soft moan escapes her lips as her nipple is teased.

    He rips her robe, completely destroying it. Her entire torso is now exposed, all the way down to her navel.

    Seeing that her nipples are sensitive he removes his lips from hers and kisses her cheeks, her neck, her collarbone, the top of her breast, and finally her areola. He kisses her areola three times before his lips lock around her right areola. His tongue parts the slit, licking the nipple hidden inside.

    ¡°Ahhhh uh ahhh¡± her back arches from pleasure as her grip tightens on his robes and bed sheets.

    Due to the stimulation her nipple now slightly protrudes. Using his teeth he lightly bites the end and grinds it a bit as he begins to suck.

    Her body begins to fidget at the sense of slight pain that somehow causes even more pleasure.

    His hand travels down her stomach, slightly playing with her navel before going further south. His hand reaches into what''s left of her robe, arriving at her lower abdomen. His mouth returns to her lips as he lightly rubs her abdomen, slowly advancing lower.

    His hands finally arrive at her vagina, as it rubs the outside he feels a bit of sticky liquid.

    As his hand touches her vagina the stimulation causes her to breathe rapidly. His fingers part her lips and begin stroking her clit, causing her body to spasm.

    Marco abruptly stops, removing his lips and his hands from her body.

    This gives Milly a chance to think about what she was just doing, realizing it wasn''t a dream a dazed look appears on her face. As she opens her eyes, she''s just in time to see Marco finish taking off his clothes.

    Completely naked he gets on his knees and straddles Milly¡¯s chest, his erect penis pointing at her face.

    Shocked, she gets ready to say something, but he suddenly shoves it into her mouth.

    As he shoved his penis into her mouth unexpectedly, her tongue wildly thrashes about in her mouth, giving him waves of pleasure. Grabbing the sides of her head he tilts her chin down and slightly raises her head. Getting her head into position he begins thrusting his hips, his penis traveling up and down her tongue.

    As he thrust his penis into her mouth, he can see the struggle in her eyes.

    ¡°Milly you are mine! For now, and forever!¡± As his hips move he declares in a large voice.

    ¡°I need you! I will not betray you! I will never leave you!¡± He thrust his hips harder causing her to choke slightly.

    He removes his penis from her mouth but a line of saliva still connects them.

    ¡°Huuu¡± Milly gasp for air as he completely removes her robes.

    Stripping off her underwear he grabs her under her knees. Spreading her legs he pushes her knees to the side of her head, bending her like a pretzel. Her round ass sticks out with her legs bent back

    ¡°You are mine¡±

    His penis touches the outside of her vagina, slowly pushing its way in. The fluids from her vagina and saliva lubricate his penis as it pushes its way in. The opening is so tight it''s preventing complete penetration.

    ¡°Milly, give me everything¡± he softly whispers as he puts power into his hips and thrust inside her.

    ¡°AhhHhhh!!¡± Even though she is a cultivator and has dealt with way more intense pain, the pain is still shocking. Qi pours into all 9 of her gates, the head, both chest, both hands, her back, her core, and her feet. Only her groin gate remains.

    As he rips past her hymen blood trickles from the sides of the vagina. Feeling all her gates open he does the same. He fully activates his Aura as he begins thrusting his hips.

    ¡°Ahh¡±

    ¡°Ahhh¡± moans escape their mouths as they lose themselves in pleasure.

    A strange feeling travels through his body as he absorbs Milly¡¯s primordial Yin. Even though a Phoenix is a holy bird of fire it''s actually a creature of pure yin! The reason the Phoenix is constantly surrounded by fire is that solitary Yin cannot give life, isolated Yang cannot foster growth!

    As her virgin Yin is absorbed not only is his Aura strengthening but his very being, his very soul begins to grow! As they are currently connected, a total of 12 ? gates of Qi attacks both their groin gates.

    ¡°Khaaaa!¡± An ancient cry escapes his mouth as their Qi collides, the cry of the Phoenix.

    Milly and Marco¡¯s body erupts in blue flames, healing them so fast they feel no pain from the massive amounts of Qi clashing.

    Every cultivator has hidden injuries in their body from opening gates, these injuries will add up and make things harder for them as they advance. It''s possible to heal some injuries but most will be carried for their entire life.

    As the blue flames burn on Milly¡¯s body all her injuries are healed.

    With one final thrust, Marco absorbs all her primordial Yin causing one final burst of flame. At the same time, both of their groin gates break.

    Marco and Milly climax at the same time their gates break. He thrust as far as he can, releasing everything inside of her, transferring his Primordial Yang. While it won''t have a great effect like her Yin did for him, her body will still benefit.

    Her toes curl and she grabs his wrist as her body quivers. She feels a warm feeling as her insides are filled. Her back arches and electricity shoot up her spine.

    ¡°I''m yours! I''m yours! Ahhhhh¡±

    Pulling out causes semen to ooze from her vagina. He gently lays her legs down as he lies next to her, and pulls her into his chest. He gently rubs her hair as he kisses her forehead.

    ¡°We will be together forever.¡±

 Chapter 23: Why Are You Allowed to Live!?

    Ezra watched the entire scene with bated breath, stunned at how things happened. When she saw his weapon she was glad he didn''t try to use that thing against her. Watching them lay down she continues to eat cores.

    Marco continues to rub Milly¡¯s hair until she falls asleep. He slowly climbs out of the bed as not to awake her. Grabbing a shirt from the pile of clothes he dips it in the water. Using the shirt he gently wipes the blood and semen off her vagina.

    ¡°I will take care of what''s mine¡± cleaning her up, he throws the shirt to the side. A smile forms on his face as he looks at Ezra.

    ¡°But does that mean you can''t take care of me?¡± He points to his penis as he looks at Ezra ¡°Are you not going to clean me up?¡±

    Ezra tilts her head as she looks at his blood and semen covered penis. Confused she looks at Marco¡¯s face.

    ¡°Use your mouth¡±

    Ezra''s eyes go wide for a moment. She flies over to Marco and hovers next to his limp penis. Using her mouth she begins to lick it clean. She drinks blood so this is no problem for her.

    Enjoying her tiny tongue, he watches her lick him clean. After she finishes he begins putting on his clothes. Looking at the sword slash on the back of his robe, and Milly¡¯s robe that he personally tore he frowns.

    ¡°Guess I need to get new robes¡± walking over to Milly he nudges her shoulders.

    She shifts about for a bit before opening her eyes. Her gaze lingers on Marco for a while, neither of them says anything. Looking at the gentle look on his face she begins to accept her fate, and it¡¯s too late to turn back now as she''s already killed Hilda and her body has been taken. Taking a breath she sits up on the bed.

    ¡°What now, what do you want me to do?¡±

    Marco smiles as he rubs her cheeks. ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t do anything to hurt you. For now, we need to get new clothes.¡±

    Milly furrows her brows as she looks at her tattered robes on the floor. ¡°I have extra robes in my room Demon, let''s go there.¡±

    ¡°Ok, After that, I need more robes, where do I get them?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a small store in this district that sells food, clothes, and living supplies.¡±

    ¡°Ok¡± Marco grabs his old solid black robes and hands it to her. ¡°Put this on and let''s go¡±

    Looking at the long black robes in her hand she squints her eyes ¡°If I wear this, and people see us together, what will they think??¡±

    Marco shakes his head ¡°It doesn''t matter what they think, you are mine.¡±

    Hearing his answer she''s slightly stunned. Right, she''s his now, why does it matter what other people think. Rising from the bed she immediately notices the changes in her body.

    She is well aware of the damage to her knees and the rest of her body. Being this young and opening nine gates so fast, how could it not cause harm to her body, no wait¡­

    Suddenly her eyes go wide ¡°Ten gates?! Ten gates!! How?¡± a smile blooms on her face as Qi begins pouring into all ten gates.

    Looking at her joyous expression while standing there in the nude causes him to chuckle ¡°Being my woman isn''t without benefits, right?¡±

    She looks at Marco with the smile still present on her face ¡°Demon, you did this?¡±

    ¡°No, we did this together by joining our bodies. I guess when we were connected we could use each other''s Qi to break through our groin gates for some reason.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn''t the massive amount of Qi shatter our bodies if we did that?¡± A questioning look appears on her face.

    Waving his hand a blue flame appears ¡°When our bodies were connected, your virgin Yin gave a temporary boost to my power, rapidly healing us.¡±

    Her cheeks become rosy as she becomes super excited. For a martial fanatic like her, breaking through and having all her injuries healed, what can be better than that? Plus her body overall feels stronger.

    ¡°I don''t mind if you stay naked forever, but I don''t want other people seeing my woman''s body, so if you don''t put on some clothes we can''t leave¡±

    ¡°Right!¡± She nods her head as she puts on her underwear and his robe.

    The robe is so big on her, the collar hangs on one of her shoulders, the robe drapes to the floor, and her arms are completely hidden.

    ¡°Let''s go!¡± He holds out his right hand, at the same time Ezra flies over and sits on his right shoulder.

    Seeing his outstretched hand she pulls back her sleeves to reveal her small hand and puts it in his.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Interlocking their fingers he holds her small hand. Walking side by side he arrives at the door. Using his left hand he opens the door.

    Walking up the stairs Milly looks around. ¡°Demon, why do you live on the bottom floor?¡±

    ¡°Because the person who was supposed to give me a room attacked me for no reason when I went to get a room¡± looking at her the corner of his lips curls.

    ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for that!¡± She squeezes his hand a little harder.

    ¡°Now that you have all ten gates open, what exactly is the next step?¡±

    ¡°I have to use my Qi to pressure parts of my body, but I have to be careful. If I start off with too much Qi my organs will be crushed before they can adapt and absorb Qi.¡±

    ¡°Ohh, sounds easy enough¡±

    At this time, they start to see other people walking up and down the stairs. Looking at them holding hands, guys send Marco looks of jealousy and furry.

    ¡°Whos that guy holding Milly¡¯s hand!?!¡±

    ¡°Noooo! Not my Milly!¡±

    Even the girls send questioning looks.

    ¡°Does Milly finally have a Dao companion? Isn''t it a bit too soon?¡±

    Milly becomes slightly flustered from all the gazes, but Marco just pulls her along.

    ¡°Normally people just call me a martial freak, usually they don''t gossip about me like this, this is all your fault Demon¡± at this time they arrive at the main hall of the dorm.

    Marco is indifferent to their gazes and words, won''t people always feel jealous of the king?

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind the gazes of peasants, where is your room?¡± Truth be told, Marco¡¯s eyes are constantly shifting about. According to all the novels in his memories, this is when someone will try to steal his woman.

    ¡°Down there¡± pointing at the middle staircase in the right. They begin moving towards the stairs, but at this time they hear a shriek.

    ¡°MILLY HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE!!¡± A high pitched howl comes from the front of the dorm building.

    Marco¡¯s brows furrow as he turns his head. In the front of the hall stands an older woman, around 20-23. She has long brown hair tied up in a messy bun. Her light green eyes stare daggers at Milly. She has a strong nose and thick lips. She is fairly tall, standing at 5¡¯10¡¯¡¯ tall.

    ¡°BECAUSE OF YOU, JONATHAN IS DEAD!!¡± She begins storming through the dorm towards them.

    Looking at Milly¡¯s confused look, it suddenly dawns on Marco. She''s been trapped in his Kamui dimension all night, so she doesn''t know the elder killed hundreds of disciples. His face begins to crumble because he doesn''t know if Hilda told her why she was in there to begin with. If she knew hundreds of disciples died because she didn''t show up, how would she react?

    Milly looks up at him and squints her eyes

    Marco shrugs his shoulders ¡°Elder Jun may or may not have killed a few hundred people last night because you didn¡¯t show up, no big deal.¡±

    Her mouth hangs open a bit, but before she can respond the girl arrives in front of them.

    The female disciple immediately throws a punch, but how can Marco let it hit?

    His left palm reaches out, intercepting the girl''s fist. Drawing a circle with his palm he throws her fist to the side.

    Seeing this causes Ezra to clap her hands, excited my Marco¡¯s prowess

    ¡°Milly fight her!¡± He releases Milly¡¯s hand, wanting to see if she will still listen to him, or if all his work was for nothing.

    Milly takes a deep breath, her eyes burning with resolve. She''s already given herself to him, so why care about what he did. Like he told her before, carry out his justice.

    ¡°If this is your justice, then so be it¡± all ten of her gates erupt with Qi as she throws out a kick.

    The girl recovers from having her fist deflected in time to see the kick. Her forearms come together as she blocks, but the kick still causes her to take a few steps back. Looking at Milly she''s shocked to see she''s opened ten gates now. As she herself has only opened eight gates there is no way to win now that she''s down two gates.

    Milly charges at her and begins throwing out a series of punches. The girl maintains her guard but is unable to block them all and takes a few body shots.

    ¡°Fight! there''s a fight!!¡± a few disciples scream and holler, some running out of the building as they scream.

    Marco and Ezra watch from the side, with his eyes he observes the girls movements. after seeing a few exchanges he can tell she is nothing great.

    landing a punch on the girl¡¯s face Milly throws her off balance, giving her time to launch a kick around her guard.

    taking the kick directly to her lower ribs she flies like a kite with its string cut. The girl tumbles on the ground a few feet, and when she finally stops she throws up a mouthful of blood.

    After kicking the girl Milly doesn''t rest. She chases after the girl and jumps through the air. She tucks in her knees and begins to flip in the air, as she rotates she picks up speed. Suddenly her foot extends as she drops rapidly to the ground ¡°Guillotine Kick!¡± the heel of her foot chops down on the girl''s torso, causing her breast deform from the impact.

    An audible crunch is heard as the girl''s ribs crack, causing many of the spectators to flinch.

    Milly stands up and looks towards Marco.

    Watching Milly perform another technique leaves Marco pleasantly surprised, as he thought her only move was the Hurricane Kick. With his eyes he was able to see every detail of the move and how to perform it, causing him to instantly understand. That move focuses all your Qi into the attacking leg, greatly increasing power but at the same time leaving you vulnerable to attacks. If you''re not 100% sure you can land the move it''s better not to use it.

    Seeing Milly look over a smile forms on his face, his work wasn''t for nothing. Watching her do battle in the large robe was a pleasant surprise. He beckons for her to come back over with his hand.

    As she walks back over Marco suddenly pulls her into his embrace and kisses her. She doesn''t resist but afterward glares at him ¡°Why didn''t you tell me hundreds of people died because you captured me¡± she mumbles to him.

    Marco rubs the side of her face as he looks into her scowling eyes ¡°Because they were insignificant, and their deaths benefited me. It¡¯s not like I hid it from you, but it never crossed my mind nor did I regret it. All those were necessary because it gave me you.¡±

    Milly looks at him, as she¡¯s about to open her mouth a group of people rushes into the dorm.

    ¡°Wheres Milly!?!¡±

    ¡°I don''t care what that bitch looks like! Because of her, my brother is dead so I¡¯m going to fuck up her face!¡±

    ¡°My Dao companion is dead!! So why are you still alive!!¡±

    Seeing this causes Marco to smile, while it wasn''t exactly what he was expecting it''s still something.

    ¡°Go to your room and get all your important stuff, do you have a bag?¡±

    ¡°I have spares in my room¡± Milly looks at the people storming into the dorm. ¡°What about them?¡±

    ¡°You go, I¡¯ll wait here for you to come back.¡± Marco grabs Ezra from his shoulder, and gently touches her cheek with his finger ¡°Go with Milly¡±

    ¡°Chrim chim!¡± She flies out his hand and kisses his cheek, then flies over to Milly.

    Milly grabs her out of the air and holds her to her chest.

    Seeing this Marco begins walking towards the group of people.

    Looking at his departing back she hugs Ezra to her chest.

    ¡°Let''s go, Ezra.¡±

    ¡°Chrum¡±

 Chapter 24: You Need to Come With Us

    Marco¡¯s eyes quickly scan the group as he walks forward, counting 23 people. They range anywhere from having two to nine gates open. The crowd becomes restless, as they scream for Milly¡¯s head. Hearing this causes Marco to frown, how could they want something that''s his?

    ¡°I¡¯M MARCO UCHIHA, ANYONE WHO WANTS MILLY HAS TO FIRST COME THROUGH ME!¡± he loudly yells. Looking at the group of people he thumps his chest with his thumb ¡°She is my woman, anyone who steps forward...shall die.¡±

    The crowd looks at this preposterous man, he has only opened seven gates and he dares look down on this large group of people? Looking at him they see his eyes are full of contempt, like they aren''t even worth grabbing at his feet.

    How dare this¡­boy look down on them. The crowd becomes furious, never in their lives has someone looked down on them this much. Finally, someone breaks the silence.

    ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are!?!¡±

    ¡°Fuck! Let''s get him¡±

    ¡°Let''s Kill him and Milly!!¡±

    As those words leave someone''s mouth it''s like a chain reaction as everyone screams for his death. Driven by the excitement the spectators start cheering for his death, who let him be so arrogant?

    Hearing their jeers Marco shakes his head. Reaching into his bag he grabs his hammer. Holding it in his left hand he looks at the crowd.

    ¡°Come then, the first one to charge shall be the first one to die.¡± tightening the grip on his hammer he smiles at the crowd.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± The first guy yells and begins the charge. Seeing him move two follow, followed by three, then they all begin to charge.

    Looking at them Marco sneers and begins to charge using Vanishing Mist. While he still can''t achieve top speed, he can still move very fast. His eyes shift between his own body as he corrects mistakes and the enemies, his eyes locked in the first one who charged.

    They arrive within striking distance of each other, but who said Marco will play fair? His eyes flicker as he looks at the disciple, sending him into an illusionary world. Using all his available Qi and Aura to the maximum his hammer swings forward.

    The hammer hits the disciples chest so hard it shatters. As the hammer breaks so does the disciple''s chest cavity. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he dies.

    ¡°Tsk¡± Marco doesn''t stop, dropping the handle he rushes at the next target.

    Two people attack him at once, a punch coming from both sides. Since Qi gathering cultivators can''t project Qi from their bodies, combat always ends up in a melee.

    Seeing the fist he does not dodge. He throws out both palms to meet the fist. Intercepting the fist with his palm he deflects one punch up and another down. Using the force he continues to twist his body and spins horizontally in the air. Suddenly his feet fly out, doing the splits mid air as he kicks both men in the face. By the time he lands three more people are launching attacks.

    ¡°Time to get serious¡± his body suddenly disappears, leaving only an after image for the three attacks to land on.

    Using Radiant Ghost he arrives at the back of the attackers. ¡°Hurricane Kick¡± a flurry of fast kicks devastate the backs of the attackers, one kick directly severs one of the disciples'' spine.

    At this point, Marco is surrounded on all sides. Seeing this causes a smile to form on his face. His arms drop to his sides as he begins slowly rotating in place, watching everyone. No one dares make a reckless move after seeing him take out six people instantly.

    ¡°Hahahaha¡± Marco suddenly laughs as he remembers a quote from his memory.

    Looking at the people surrounding him ¡°You want to kill me? You couldn''t even kill my boredom!¡±

    ¡°Fuck! So arrogant!¡±

    ¡°He can''t stop us all at the same time, charge!¡± With that yell, everyone begins to charge at him.

    Seeing them charge at him he holds his hands directly in front of him, palms up. His left foot steps forward into a stance and he bends his knees to lean forward. Bending his waist his left hand drops down to near his foot and his right arm twist behind his back, both palms still facing up.

    ¡°Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms¡± His eyes dart about the approaching crowd. Suddenly he lunches forward like a spinning top, his hands rotate to his left side as he spins. Even though he is spinning, with his eyes he sees everything.

    With his back currently facing a disciple, his palms reach around and hit a disciple in the chest ¡°Two Palms!¡± His body never stops moving as his feet slide along the floor, his waist bends and whips around, dodging a blow to his head. As his upper body rises he throws out two palms hitting two disciples in the chin ¡°Four Palms!¡± Using the force of the strikes he pushes himself back, dodging three swords that were slashing down at him. His eyes dart about as he kicks the ground with his left foot, sending him towards a group of people. Activating Radiant Ghost he arrives in their midst, his palm shoots out like lightning hitting two disciples in the side, one disciple in the gut, and one in the face ¡°Eight Palm!¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    After taking out the four disciples he rushes towards the largest cluster. As he gets near blades rain down on his location. With a slight adjustment, he dodges the blows while his hands twist like snakes as they find their mark. As he runs next to a disciple a palm flies out ¡°Sixteen Palm!¡± After taking out eight more disciples only eight remain.

    Seeing him kill so many disciples without even being touched the last eight turn and run. Seeing this Marco frowns

    ¡°Didn''t I say step forward and die!?!¡± Marco begins chasing after them with Vanishing Mist. As he''s chasing after him his eyes scan them, as some use their movement techniques to run. He¡¯s constantly gaining ground but seeing them he suddenly realizes.

    ¡°So that''s how you do it?¡± A smile forms on his face as he shifts his muscles and distribution of power. Suddenly his body leans forward and vanishes into a blur. The forward momentum is so fast he can''t even change direction, if it wasn''t for his eyes he wouldn''t even be able to see where he was.

    He quickly arrives at one of their backs. Throwing out a palm strike, he shatters his spine.

    Looking at the other seven they begin splitting up, running for different stairs.

    Seeing this Marco frowns ¡°Vanishing Mist can only travel in a straight line and Radiant Ghost can travel in any direction but only in a short burst.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t they be used together?¡± He begins rushing at one of the disciples, arriving at his back he throws out a palm strike. Before his palm hits the disciple''s back a second Marco splits off rushing towards the next disciple. The palm continues to travel forward and hits the disciple, killing him.

    ¡°It works!¡± A smile blooms on his face ¡°I shall call this technique...Body Flicker!¡± Suddenly Marco breaks off into four different directions. It''s not that he''s splitting his body, but that he''s moving so fast he appears to be in multiple locations at once. It¡¯s not an after image but him actually shifting between locations. Right now he can only appear in four places at once.

    With his speed, he quickly makes short work of them.

    Marco looks around the room, the spectators stare at him like a monster. The corner of his lips curl.

    ¡°Are you not entertained?¡±

    Like a thunderclap, those words wake the disciples from their stupor. They begin mumbling to themselves as they shoot glances at Marco.

    Ignoring their gaze he sits on the floor. After doing so he waits for Milly to return. The reason he decided to kill them is one, if he''s going to get in trouble for killing why not kill them all? And two, if he let them get away who knows what they might do in the future? He''d rather deal with the trouble of killing them now than face a problem in the future from their schemes.

    After waiting for a few minutes the first one to arrive wasn''t Milly, but four disciples. These disciples are dressed different from the others, besides their black and golden robes they are wearing a golden sash. On the sash is the words Disciplinary.

    The four disciples look around the room, spotting Marco they approach him slowly. Standing in front of Marco, they begin to wonder how a 7th stage Qi gathering cultivator did all this.

    Looking at the four he notices they are at the 10th level of Qi gathering. With his eyes, he can see that their Qi slightly penetrates their skeletal structure.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡±

    Marco looks at the disciple who asked the question. He is a rather tall fellow with auburn hair. He has droopy eyes and a rather large nose.

    ¡°It was self defense¡± Marco shrugs his shoulder.

    They look around, over 20 disciples dead. The disciple furrows his brow ¡°You need to come with us¡±

    ¡°No¡± Marco shakes his head ¡°I¡¯m waiting for someone¡±

    Another disciple steps forehead ¡°We aren''t asking!¡±

    Marco squints his eyes ¡°Ever come across someone you shouldn''t fuck with? That''s me!¡±

    ¡°Get him!¡±

    ¡°Wait!!¡± The disciple with droopy eyes stops his fellows. ¡°We will wait.¡±

    After a few minutes, Milly and Ezra finally return. Ezra is sitting on top of Milly''s head, and she has changed out Marco''s old black robe for a fresh pair of black and gold. Besides the robe, she now has three bags tied around her waist.

    Standing up when she arrives, he pulls her into his embrace and kisses her. As he does Ezra kisses his forehead.

    She looks around at all the dead bodies, then her vision lands on the Disciplinary disciples.

    ¡°Are we going to be ok?¡±

    Hearing her say we cause his heart to soften. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one can stop us if we want to escape.¡±

    ¡°Will you come with us now?¡±

    ¡°Not yet!¡± Marco grabs Milly¡¯s hand and pulls her to the bodies of disciples. He begins going through their bags, only pulling out spirit stones, pills, and cores if they have them.

    ¡°Remember Ezra, Milly, the first rule of combat is always loot the bodies.¡±

    Seeing him loot right in front of them the disciplinary disciple are flabbergasted and infuriated, but the droopy eyed disciple stops them from interfering

    The disciples who remained to watch are completely shocked seeing this, how thick his skin must be.

    Milly is a little embarrassed seeing this, but this is her life now. At first, she was still a little apprehensive, but he can help her cultivate so what else matters?

    After looting all the bodies he was able to acquire 327 more spirit stones, bringing his total up to 595. As for pills, he was able to find 116 standard stamina pill, 23 intermediate pills, and a body cleansing pill. He couldn''t find any cores. He puts the stones and standard pills into his bag but immediately begins to swallow all 23 intermediate pills to recover his depleted Aura.

    Grabbing Milly''s hand he walks over to the four disciples.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready, let''s go¡±

    The droopy eyed disciple nods his head and begins to head towards the door.

    Following behind them Marco reaches into his bag and pulls out some dried meat. As he begins chewing Ezra flies in front of his face

    ¡°Chimm!¡±

    Marco looks at her for a moment before nodding his head.

    She lands on his shoulder and bites his neck. As she sucks his blood her runes glow.

    Noticing this causes Milly¡¯s brow to raise. ¡°She drinks blood?¡±

    ¡°I guess, I don''t really know much about her or Demonic beasts in general.¡±

    Milly¡¯s mouth hangs open for a moment ¡°How can you have a Demonic beast but know nothing about them. Demon, do you know how many stories I¡¯ve heard of disciples dying as they try and tame demonic beasts?¡±

    Marco shakes his head, if she won''t believe him no point in explaining.

    ¡°Milly, it looks like these guys are infusing Qi into their skeletons. How do you normally differentiate Qi gathering cultivators from Foundation building?¡±

    ¡°For Qi gathering, one can sense Qi gathering into their gates. For Foundation establishment they begin to radiate Qi themselves.¡±

    As they walk Marco begins to think ¡°Milly we entered a special state of cultivation in the bed together, but that only happened because I was absorbing your primordial Yin. I should be able to heal you with my flames if we are connected, but to benefit from each other''s Qi we will need a duel cultivation technique.¡±

    Milly slightly blushes at the mention of being in bed together ¡°Demon talk a little quieter, where are we going to get something like that?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go to the Martial palace later, if they don''t have it I¡¯ll find one myself¡±

    Following the four disciples, they finally arrive in the northern section.

    Looking around he sees hundreds of disciples in arenas and training fields practicing martial arts.

    Marco¡¯s eyes glow as he watches them, copying their forms, techniques, and hard work.

 Chapter 25: Elder Janice

    His eyes flash around the training fields, watches people dueling on the arena. With every second he can feel his understanding of martial arts improving. If he incorporates all their strong points into his palm technique, he feels as though he can take it to another level while reducing its overall cost.

    ¡°Why did you stop moving! let''s go!¡± one of the disciplinary disciples screams back.

    Milly lightly squeezes his hand, waking him from his stupor.

    ¡°I¡¯m ok don''t worry, I was just fascinated watching them all practice.¡± He didn''t dare tell her that his own fighting capabilities just improved another level, she might get so jealous she would bite him to death! She might be tame right now but who in this world of martial arts can truly say they''re not jealous of someone who can improve just by watching other people practice?

    ¡°Chrim!¡± Ezra pats his cheek, thinking that he needs to be comforted.

    Squeezing her hand back he continues to follow the four disciples. After walking for a few minutes he finally sees his destination.

    A large structure that looks like a mausoleum, it has grand staircases leading down into the mountain visible from the outside. The building is engraved with all kinds of carvings giving off a faint glow, obvious that this building has its own formations attached to it.

    Seeing him look at the building Milly opens her mouth. ¡°This is the disciplinary hall, it''s also a jail. Any criminals captured out on missions are brought here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is it really safe to bring them inside of the sect? what if they break out?¡± Marco looks at her with a questioning look.

    ¡°Its ok because the criminals that outer court disciples can catch are no match for Elder Janice, whos in charge of this place, if hundreds somehow manage to break free, hundreds will die.¡±

    ¡°Elder Janice huh, let''s hope she''s not unreasonable.¡±

    The group of seven arrive outside the stairs and begins to descend.

    Seeing them walk down Marco shrugs his shoulders and continues to follow, his hand never leaving Milly¡¯s in case they had to make a quick escape. as they walk down the stairs the light from the outside disappears, replaced by the glowing stones on the wall. soon they stop descending and arrive in a hallway made of stone. As they walk down the hallway they begin to hear screaming.

    ¡°I smell a girl!!¡±

    ¡°There''s a girl in here! come here baby play with me!!!¡±

    ¡°Fuck! let me play with you for a bit I haven''t touched a girl in years!¡±

    Hearing all their shouts Ezra become frightened, she flies into Marco¡¯s robes and hides.

    The walls of the hallway are filled with doors made of bars. Prisoners are reaching out their arms and yelling towards Milly.

    Hearing their calls and perverted faces Marco furrows his brow, how dare they want what¡¯s his? if he wasn''t already in some sort of trouble he¡¯d kill them all.

    Seeing Marco¡¯s upset look Milly feels a bit proud, at least she didn''t give herself to someone who doesn''t care how she''s treated. She squeezes his hand a little harder causing him to look at her.

    ¡°I¡¯m not that weak Demon, just because you were able to take me down doesn''t mean I¡¯m that fragile.¡±

    ¡°Right, how can you carry out my justice if their calls break you.¡± A smile returns to his face as they continue to walk down the hall. Just because Milly is with him now, their relationship is still fragile. He took advantage of her time of desperation and took everything from her when she wasn''t thinking straight. He still needs time to become the most important thing to her.

    At the end of the hallway, there are giant stone double doors. The doors are currently open revealing a grand hall. The hall is filled with rows and rows of pews, and at the front of the hall is a large stone slab.

    A woman in her 30s sits cross legged in the center of the stone slab, waves of visible Qi radiate from her body. She has pale white skin, a stark contrast from her fiery red hair. Small freckles cover her cheeks and spread over her small nose. Her face is further amplified by her small peach colored lips.

    The four disciplinary disciples lead them halfway through the hall before signaling for them to stop. They travel closer to the stone slab before dropping down to a knee.

    The droopy eyed disciple is the first to speak ¡°Elder Janice we have gone to the scene of the report, and have returned with the criminal.¡±

    Janice opens her eyes, as she does it¡¯s like sunflowers are in bloom. The vibrant yellow color gives life to her natural looking face, like adding the final stroke to a master painting.

    ¡°What are their crimes?¡± a voice as sweet as honey leaves her lips, if one would listen too long they would naturally be lulled to sleep.

    ¡°Twenty-four counts of murder, twenty-four counts of looting, resisting arrest, disrespecting a member of the disciplinary hall.¡±

    Hearing all the charges Marco is a little stunned, he only killed 23 people. They didn''t even properly investigate the fact Milly killed one of the people, how shameless can they be?Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Janice''s eyes wander over to Marco and Milly. Her eyes linger on Marcos EMS before turning to Milly.

    ¡°Milly, what are you doing here?¡±

    Marco steps forward ¡°She¡¯s with me¡±

    Janice slowly raises her hand, her middle finger curls down and rest in her thumb. Suddenly she flicks her finger and a bolt of colorless Qi is shots out of her finger.

    Marco watched the whole thing happen When he saw a bit of Qi gather in her finger and the muscles ready to move, he was already in the process of dodging, as he could see where she was aiming.

    His shoulder tilts to the side allowing him to narrowly avoid the attack. The bolt zoomed passed his shoulder punching a hole in the ground.

    ¡°That''s not very nice!¡± Marco points his finger at her face. Even though she is stronger than him, how can he let her bully him?

    She wanted to teach him a lesson for speaking out of turn, but never in her life would she expect at 7th gate Qi gathering cultivator to dodge her attack, even if she wasn''t serious.

    Her eyebrows raise a little as she looks Marco up and down, her gaze lingering on his eyes again.

    ¡°Kid, what clan are you from? what does your eyes do?¡±

    Marco thinks for a moment on how to answer the question.

    Milly is stunned, just when she was prepared to answer the question Marco stepped out, why did he do that? Seeing him dodge that bolt she becomes even more impressed, how talented is he really?

    Thinking for a second Marco opens his mouth ¡°I have no clan! But I will build one of my own in the future. As for my eyes? They let me see the truth of the world clearly!¡± the corners of his lips curl as he answers her question.

    ¡°Oh, you actually have a bloodline ability, which is rare, and an ocular one at that, but you have no clan?¡± A smile forms on her delicate face ¡°How do you plead to the charges brought up against you?¡±

    ¡°Not guilty! I only killed twenty-three people and their loot was rightfully mine!¡±

    ¡°Twenty-four or twenty-three, it makes no difference¡± she shakes her head ¡°You even admit to killing them, your punishment is a year in jail for every disciple you killed¡± she looks at the four disciplinary disciples ¡°You four may leave now.¡±

    ¡°Yes Elder Janice¡± the four stand and bow. They glance at Marco, giving him a smirk before going to a door to the left of the room and exiting.

    Janice watches them leave before turning towards Milly once again. ¡°Milly, what are you doing here?¡±

    Milly glances at Marco, seeing that he''s not doing anything this time she steps forward. ¡°Elder Janice we...are together.¡±

    A smile forms on Marco¡¯s face.

    ¡°Together?¡± Janice looks confused.

    This time Marco proudly declares ¡°She¡¯s my woman!¡±

    A serious look finally appears on her face. She rises to her feet and disappears. When she reappears she''s standing next to Marco, with Milly¡¯s wrist in her palm.

    Marco actually saw everything, his eyes could follow all her movements. But even though his eyes registered the movements his body couldn''t even react. What she just did was very similar to his newly minted body flicker, except she moved so fast she left no trace of her presence. She could kill him without even leaving a trace. He is not upset though, he couldn''t copy her finger flick technique because he can''t project Qi from his body. As for this movement technique? He saw it all.

    ¡°Oh, Milly¡± she shakes her head ¡°You actually gave yourself to this boy? A woman''s virginity is very useful for a lot of techniques and cultivating.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok Elder Janice, I was even able to break through the tenth gate. I¡¯m still pursuing the top of martial arts.¡±

    Marco releases Milly¡¯s hand as he sizes up this Elder ¡°If you''re worried about her cultivation you could give us a dual cultivation technique!¡±

    Janice side eyes Marco ¡°Dual cultivation? how can you dual cultivate when you shall spend the next twenty-three years in prison?¡±

    Marco shakes his head ¡°I will not go to prison.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? says who? I¡¯m in charge here, I make the rules. I don''t know how you tricked Milly but I¡¯ve known her for her entire life and I won''t let you ruin her, she''s a good girl.¡±

    Milly bites her lip slightly, her eyes become more resolute ¡°Elder Janice I¡¯m ok, this is something I¡¯m willing to try. Martial arts is what''s important to me, and Demon can help me get to the top, I think¡±

    The stone in his heart finally drops, it seems like Milly won''t abandon him for no reason. Marco reaches out and grabs her hand again, this time more firmly than ever. He pulls her closer to him, out of the Elder¡¯s grasp.

    ¡°Elder there has to be another way, right? those disciples were blaming what happened last night on Milly and wanted to hurt her, if I let them go who knows what they would do. Plus I had to give a warning to anyone else who had bad intentions.¡±

    Janice sizes the two up, seeing the resolution in their eyes she sighs. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll give you a chance. You have to go on a repentance mission.¡±

    Hearing this Milly¡¯s eyes go wide ¡°Elder why??¡±

    ¡°There''s nothing else I can do Milly, there are too many witnesses to cover this up¡±

    Marco looks at the two ¡°What¡¯s a repentance mission?¡±

    Janice looks at him ¡°It¡¯s a mission all disciples in any court can go on to clear their name. A few days travel from here to the north is a forbidden ground, even Golden core formation cultivators can die there if they are not careful, or their luck is bad. The mission requirements is to survive there for a year, your token will activate once you get to the area and if you leave once, the mission will fail.¡± she pauses for a moment ¡°But not all is bad, If you can survive in the area for the full year you will be admitted as a disciple of the inner court.¡±

    Marco was a little frustrated at first, why not just escape the sect if he had to do some stupid mission. Once he heard he could become a part of the inner court after the mission, he changes his mind. The whole reason he joined this sect was so he could steal all the techniques from the inner court, who knows how long it would take if he just cultivates himself??

    ¡°Ok, when can I go¡± Marco wasn''t really nervous, how dangerous could this place actually be?

    Janice¡¯s eyebrows raise, she never thought he would agree so easily. ¡°You will leave today, give me your token and I will set it for the mission.¡±

    Marco reaches into his bag and pulls out Milly and his token. ¡°Here¡± he hands both tokens over.

    Taking both tokens she looks at Marco and Milly. ¡°Milly, are you going too? you are already at the 10th gate, so if you cultivate diligently for a year you will be able to enter the inner court.¡±

    ¡°Elder Janice I have to go, I need to see with my own eyes, what his justice is.¡±

    Looking into her eyes for a moment she sends a wave of Qi into their tokens before handing it back to each of them. pointing her finger at Marco and Milly¡¯s forehead a line of Qi shoots inside.

    As the Qi hits them a map of how to get to the forbidden grounds appears. The area is called Maju mountain range.

    ¡°If there is anything you two need, get it before you leave the sect today. if you don''t arrive in the mission area in one month the sect will send enforces to kill you boy, Milly since you took this mission voluntarily you can give up and come back anytime.¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry Elder Janice, I won''t fail¡± Milly nods her head.

    Marco looks at the elder ¡°Do you not have a dual cultivation technique?¡±

    She shakes her head ¡°Most females keep their virginity in righteous sects, only demonic sects will have something like that¡±

    ¡°Ok then, Milly lets go.¡± Marco turns around and pulls Milly to leave.

    Elder Janice watches Milly¡¯s back as she leaves ¡°Walter, Angela, Your little girl is all grown up. I tried to keep her safe all these years, but I can''t protect her forever¡± she turns around and flashes back onto the stone slab. As she sits down she closes her eyes.

    ¡°I hope to see you again in a year, Milly.¡±

 Chapter 26: Preparations

    Marco and Milly exit the Disciplinary hall, as they do Ezra flies from his robe.

    ¡°Chim!¡± she spreads her arms a bit as she flies around. She eventually lays down on

    top of Milly¡¯s head.

    seeing this Marco smiles ¡°Milly, is there anything you need before we go?¡±

    Her forehead scrunches together as she thinks for a moment ¡°Nothing I can really think of? What about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to figure out what weapon feels right, I¡¯ve already tried a saber, a sword, and a hammer. None of them really worked for me as they just required brute force, and not let me take full advantage of my excellent vision.¡±

    ¡°Why not try a bow? If your vision is that good, don''t you think a bow would be the best?¡±

    ¡°A bow?¡± Marco¡¯s eyebrow raises. The more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense. He pulls Milly into his embrace and kisses her.

    Milly is starting to become more receptive to his kisses and actually kisses him back.

    ¡°Milly, I have a jade to get a technique from the Martial palace, do you need it?¡±

    ¡°You have an extra one??¡± she becomes visibly excited ¡°I haven''t been able to get a new one since I learned guillotine kick!¡±

    Marco reaches into his bag and gives her the jade. ¡°Let¡¯s head there then!¡±

    With a destination finally in mind, they head for the Martial palace. After walking for a while they finally arrive. Walking inside he sees the same old man.

    ¡°Elder I¡¯m back¡± Marco greets the Elder.

    ¡°Greetings Elder Ulon¡± Milly bows slightly.

    ¡°Chim!¡± Ezra waves her hand.

    ¡°Oh young man back so soon, you¡¯re even with Milly this time.¡± the old man shows a kind smile.

    ¡°Elder I finally have another jade, so I¡¯d like Crescent Moon this time¡± Milly places the jade on the counter, full of excitement.

    The Elder holds up his hand, a glowing ball appears, and it flies to the door on the far left.

    ¡°You know the rules, you get one hour.¡±

    Milly turns towards Marco, unsure of what to say.

    Marco smiles at her confused look ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting out here when you return, study the new technique without worry.¡±

    ¡°Mhm!¡± Milly nods her head and begins to walk off when suddenly she stops. She turns around and pecks him on the lips before rushing into the room with Ezra on her head.

    ¡°Hahaha! did you see that old man?¡± a broad grin appears on his face as she enters the room, this is the first time she¡¯s kissed him of her own accord.

    ¡°Hohoho what it is to be young.¡±

    ¡°Elder I want to ask you, the Elder of this place, one man to another, do you have any dual cultivation techniques?¡± Marco looks at him with hope in his eyes.

    The old man¡¯s eyes actually open a little as he looks at Marco. The corner of his lips curl a little before he actually opens his mouth ¡°Don¡¯t let my old appearance fool you, I was once a young man too. A technique, I have one, and it''s pretty good as well. I snatched it from a fiendish cultivator back in my prime many years ago, but what can you give me for it?¡±

    ¡°Elder I will not lie, I have nothing you would want, but I will make you a promise, I¡¯m about to enter the forbidden grounds for a repentance mission. If I find anything good I¡¯ll bring you something back¡± Marco hits his chest with his fist.

    The elder looks into his eyes that are filled with determination, those scarlet red pupils that seem to carry no fear. ¡°Good! I¡¯ll be waiting¡± the elder holds up his finger and a beam of light shoots into Marco¡¯s head.

    The dual cultivation technique, Incandescent Copulation enters his mind. The technique is broken up into three parts, Duel cultivation, single cultivation, and stealing cultivation. The first part allows two people to benefit from the technique, the second part allows just the user to benefit, and the third part allows the user to literally steal everything from another person through sex.

    The old man looks him in the eye ¡°Don¡¯t fall for temptation, just like I killed the owner of this technique all those years ago, someone will come for you too. Sometimes the easy way out is not the best way.¡±

    ¡°Thanks elder, don''t worry I know what to do. I¡¯ll be back in an hour to pick up Milly and Ezra, I need to buy some things!¡± Marco is thrilled as he exits the Martial palace. According to the information he got, this is a supreme level Earth technique, and he can even perform it now! he doesn''t know how good Earth techniques are, but it has to be better than Mortal.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    After exiting the Martial palace the first place he goes to is the Treasure pavilion.

    Walking inside, one of the attending disciples walks up to him.

    ¡°What can I get for you?¡±

    ¡°I need a few things, I need a bow and two sets of defensive equipment.¡±

    ¡°Range weapons are on the second floor and defensive equipment on the third.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡± Marco nods his head and heads for the stairs.

    Arriving at the second floor he notices that it''s entirely different than the first floor. Because the building is in the shape of a pyramid the second floor is a lot smaller. Instead of all the weapons being hung on the wall, they are instead behind display shelves, and there are a lot less of them. there are even fewer disciples on the second floor trying to buy gear.

    Looking around he sees the sections for bows. As he walks over a disciple comes up to greet him.

    ¡°Anything in particular you are looking for?¡±

    ¡°I want an unranked bow and I need some arrows.¡±

    ¡°This way¡± the disciple leads him to the area with the unranked bows.

    There are all kinds of bows present. They have a short bow, longbows, recurve bows, compound bows, and even crossbows.

    Marco looks at the recurve bows because he finds the designs pleasing to the eye. In particular, a single bow caught his eye. The bow limbs are scarlet red, at the tips are three points going in different directions. The back of the limbs are bladed and can be used for cutting and come to a point. The handle section of the bow is a little ways back from the arch of the bow, allowing for the sharp tips of the limbs to be used for stabbing. The handle section of the bow is a glossy black and he has no idea what the string is made of.

    Marco picks up the bow and tries drawing the string a few times, satisfied he looks at the clerk.

    ¡°How much is this bow?¡±

    ¡°Bows are very cheap, as they aren¡¯t very popular. That bow is 85 spirit stones, and a batch of 100 arrows cost 5 spirit stones.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take this bow and ten batches of arrows.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s 135 spirit stones then¡±

    Marco begins counting out 135 spirit stones, as he does the disciple hands him a bag with all the arrows in them. After counting all the stones out, Marco ties the bag of arrows around his waist, giving him a total of three. He then slings the bow across his back, the string going across his chest. Using all the Qi he has available he pressures the bow, still wanting to try ranking up a treasure himself.

    Settling that, he heads for the third floor.

    The third floor is even smaller than the second. The third floor is surprisingly set up like a clothing store. Different kinds of racks are hanging on the walls and placed around the room, on the racks hang different kinds of armor. They are divided into different sections such as robes, shirts, pants, coats, and even vest. There is also a counter that provides amulets, rings, and bracelets.

    Marco goes to the shirt section, and to his surprise, they are a lot cheaper than weapons. Looking around he is able to find a form fitting black leather shirt for Milly and himself. It appears to be made from some sort of Demonic beast leather and is surprisingly Mortal ranked. He then heads to the section for pants.

    For pants, he picked out a gray pair that was made from the hairs of a Demonic beast that were both sturdy and comfortable to the touch. After getting ones for Milly and himself, he goes towards the robes.

    He never thought robes would be practical for combat but they are surprisingly easy to move in, and if they are made from a strong material, will protect more of the body.

    Looking at the robes he finds a nice pure white robe for himself. The robe is sleeveless and extends down to right below his knees. The robe even comes with a hood. For Milly, he picks out a yellow robe. The collar of the robe is wide and will sit more on her shoulders. The long and baggy sleeves will come down to her wrist, and the robe itself will extend to her ankles.

    Looking at their footwear, he was actually able to find a pair of white cloth shoes. After picking out all the stuff he goes to a clerk to pay.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got all the stuff I want.¡± Marco spreads out all the items on the counter.

    The clerk begins looking at all the items, and after a few seconds quotes a price.

    ¡°All of this will cost 320 spirit stones¡±

    Marco nods and begins the long process of counting stones.

    After paying he loads up all the clothing items into one of his bags.

    Leaving the Treasure pavilion he heads to the residential district. He wants to change his clothes in his room as well as get a book. He walks pretty fast as he''s currently on a time crunch.

    After a few minutes, he arrives back at the dorm. Disciples are surprised to see him walking about so soon after the incident. Whispers fill the air as they stare at him.

    ¡°Didn''t that guy just kill a bunch of people?¡±

    ¡°How is he still walking free?¡±

    ¡°Maybe he killed the disciplinary members and ran?¡±

    Marco ignores them and walks down to his room.

    Arriving in his room Marco changes into his new clothes. The sleeves of his black leather shirt come out of his sleeveless robe and halfway down to his elbow, and his dark gray pants and white shoes go perfectly with his robe as well. Seeing his new look a small smile forms on his face. While he doesn''t know how well these mortal rank clothes will protect him, at least he looks cool. He ties his three bags around his waist and slings his bow over his back.

    Grabbing the book on fire, he puts it in his bag. He then takes 130 spirit stones out of his bag, leaving him with 10.

    Marco opens a portal around his right eye and sends all 130 stones to Hilda¡¯s location in the dimension. He doesn''t know what to do with Hilda, but keeping her locked in the dimension is a waste and expensive.

    Shaking his head he leaves the room. Arriving in the main hallway of the dorm he gets more strange looks than last time, the only people who wear different robes and armor in the sect are those about to go on a difficult mission, where combat and death are likely.

    Marco leaves the dorm and heads back towards the Martial palace. Every disciple he passes gives him a look of respect, they can tell from his dress that he''s going on a difficult mission. Anyone who puts their life on the line for their pursuit of cultivation is worthy of respect to the people of this sect.

    As he arrives outside the Martial palace he sees a very handsome young man surrounded by three girls blocking the entrance. The man has long black hair, light purple eyes, and a feminine looking face. His nose is straight and narrow, and his lips are thin. In the corner of his left eye is a mole.

    The three girls at his side are all very attractive in their own way, worse than Hilda and not even close to the sculpted face of Milly. If he had to compare, they would be three levels lower than Ezra.

    Looking at them only one name comes to Marco¡¯s mind ¡°Ragel¡­¡±

 Chapter 27: Leaving the Sect

    Marco walks towards the stairs of the Martial palace, but the three girls suddenly block his way.

    Marco¡¯s face drops, even when he''s not looking for trouble, it comes find him. He thought it was ridiculous how trouble seemed to follow the characters from anime and novels in his memory, but now he finally understands. If you walk through a grassy field long enough, you will eventually step in shit.

    ¡°The Martial palace is closed right now!¡± One of the girls, a brunette barks at him. She looks back at Rugel for some sort of...confirmation.

    Rugel tucks his long hair behind his ear and smiles at the girl.

    Marco shakes his head ¡°It¡¯s not closed, and I¡¯m going in.¡±

    ¡°If we say it''s closed! Then it¡¯s closed!¡± A girl with dirty blonde hair steps forward, a frown on her face.

    The last girl steps forward at this time ¡°Scram! Who do you think you''re dealing with!?!¡±

    Marco takes a deep breath, trying his best to not kill these people, will the sect let him off again? How can he steal all the treasures and techniques from the inner court to build the foundations of his clan if he''s kicked out?

    ¡°Listen, someone is waiting for me inside, so move aside¡­¡±

    ¡°The only person inside according to my information is Milly, I heard she was in trouble so I¡¯m here to offer her the 4th position in my group.¡±

    Marco¡¯s face darkens as he slowly turns towards the source of the voice.

    ¡°I know who you are boy, don''t think because you beat some trash that you are strong. I''ve had my eye on Milly for a long time, now that she''s in trouble, the time is ripe, and I¡¯m here to harvest.¡± A smug smile appears on his face.

    Marco doesn''t even bother responding. His body splits into four as he executes Body Flicker. He directly kicks all three girls in the stomach and punches Rugel in the face. His body recombines as all four arrive in front of the door, at the same time the three girls and Rugel are blown away.

    Without even looking back he walks into the Martial palace.

    To Marco this was an insignificant matter, with his Iron core and seven gates, what can any normal Qi gathering cultivator do to him? As for the spectators watching? How can this be an insignificant affair, while Rugel is a known playboy, he is still one of the top 30 of the outer court. They just saw him and his harem blown away by one guy, at the same time. While Marco didn''t kill them, how can he go around calling himself one of the 30 now? Wasn''t that guy just at the 7th gate?

    As Marco walks inside the old man smiles at him ¡°Sometimes showing restraint is an even greater punishment to your opponent. Remember, there are far worse things in this world than death.¡±

    Marco listens to every word seriously and commits it to memory. In every anime and novel, isn''t it the wise old men who give the best advice? If he has all these things in his memories he might as well learn from their experiences.

    ¡°Thank you, Elder, I will remember your words¡± Marco nods. As there is still some time left, Marco looks for a place to sit. Not finding anything he just moves to a corner of the room, takes off his bow, and sits on the floor. He keeps the bow in his lap so he can continue to pressure it with his Qi. Reaching into his bag he pulls out the book on fire.

    Seeing his actions peaks the old man¡¯s interest. ¡°Trying to upgrade an Unranked treasure yourself?¡±

    Hearing the old man¡¯s words the corner of Marco¡¯s lips slightly curls, if you weren''t right in front of him you¡¯d never even know they moved.

    ¡°Yes elder, I was told if you pressure an Unranked treasure then it will upgrade to Mortal rank.¡± he tries to be as polite as possible, isn''t this old man a treasure trove of secrets?

    ¡°Oh? You''re not wrong but at the same time, you''re missing the most important part. When a treasure is created, it¡¯s already in its completed form so how can it just upgrade?¡±

    Hearing his words Marco¡¯s brow raises. What the old man said is indeed true, and he has been wondering how a something can just upgrade.

    ¡°Then what am I doing wrong?¡±

    ¡°How can something advance, if it doesn''t even have a destination? Just pressuring it with Qi will make it advance eventually, but into what? If all you want is a Mortal ranked treasure go buy one, but if you want a Mortal rank treasure that is your own, you need a destination. The secret of advancing a treasure is guiding it with your will and giving it what it needs.¡± speaking up to here the old man closes his eyes and goes back to meditating.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    A destination? Will? Marco¡¯s brows scrunch together as he ponders the old man¡¯s words.

    After a while, his brow relaxes as a look of understanding appears on his face. Guide the bow into what he wants it to be? How would he know!?!? He''s never even shot a bow! How does he even do it??

    Looking at the bow he begins to think of a bow that shoots the fastest arrows, so fast that the opponent won''t even know how they died! With that image in mind he continues to pressure the bow, but seeing no physical change he just shrugs his shoulders.

    He opens the book and begins to read.

    Fire, Fire is the beginning, Fire is the end, Fire is life, Fire is death. Men have spent their entire lives chasing the mystery of Fire, but Fire has no end. In the world, Fire is used by both Alchemist and Treasure smiths in their craft, but most will only ever use Mortal Fire. Different Fires exist in this world, and the Fire made by man is the worst. Next comes the fire made by the Earth, Earthly Fire. Some people have been able to harness these flames, store them in their body, borrow their power. Never think that they control this flame, for if they are not careful, it will burn them from the inside. Next is the Flames created by the Heavens, Heavenly Fire. These are living flames and possess a Blaze Spirit, those who have tried to tame this flame? There is no record of such events, but some have trapped these flames at a great cost.

    The book comes to an end, besides listing the types of fire it told him nothing else. He now knows there are types of fire out there, but not where to find them or what they look like.

    He looks at the old man, wondering if he should ask him.

    Shaking his head he looks at the door, it should almost be time. As he thinks so, the door actually opens.

    Milly walks out of the door, carrying a sleeping Ezra in her arms. The look on her face shows pure delight. Looking around she sees Demon in the corner, with a smile on her face she practically skips over.

    Seeing her actions Marco feels a little warm inside, just how much does she like acquiring techniques? If she had his eyes, she''d probably die from happiness.

    ¡°Thanks, Demon, I don''t know how long It would have taken to get another jade.¡± She pauses for a moment, her voice becomes smaller ¡°I guess you do have some good points¡±

    Marco smiles as he looks at his girls, reaching out he takes her hand in his.

    ¡°You will see more, as we spend more time together.¡±

    Marco rises to his feet and slings the bow onto his back. Looking at the old man he nods his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a year, Elder, and I will definitely repay your kindness.¡±

    Waiting for a few seconds he doesn''t get a reply. Looking at Milly he nods towards the door and walks out.

    Outside there are a few disciples watching the entrance to the Martial palace. When they walk out they begin to whisper and point.

    ¡°That''s him, I heard he beat Rugel in a single blow.¡±

    ¡°Before that, I heard he killed a hundred disciples because he didn''t want to be outdone by Elder Jun.¡±

    ¡°How can they let a murderer walk free in the sect?¡±

    ¡°What do you know!?! I heard he''s going on the repentance mission, look he''s even wearing battle gear.¡±

    ¡°Look at his eyes, so cool, so domineering.¡±

    ¡°When did Milly and he get together?¡±

    ¡°Fool! Is there any better match for the Martial freak Milly?¡±

    Hearing their whispers Milly and Marco are a little stunned, are they some kind of sideshow?

    Disregarding the crowd they begin walking towards the exit of the sect.

    Looking at his back causes Milly to faintly smile. ¡°I see you got a bow like I suggested.¡±

    ¡°I haven''t had the time to shoot it yet, but I have a good feeling about it. Do you not use a weapon? I haven''t seen one nor did I find one in your old bag.¡±

    She clenches her tiny fist ¡°My hands and feet are the only weapons I need!¡± due to her vigorous movements Ezra in her other hand wakes up.

    ¡°Chim kru Mrko!¡± she flies out of Milly¡¯s hand and lands on his shoulder.

    He touches her cheek with his finger. ¡°You sure sleep a lot Ezra, for someone who never does much exercise.¡±

    ¡°Kurlmi!¡± she claps her hands together and pats his face.

    ¡°You two seem close¡± Milly watches their interactions.

    Marco just smiles at her statement. ¡°You don''t feel disadvantaged by not having a weapon?¡±

    ¡°Sure I do, all the time, but this is the path I chose to follow.¡±

    As they talk they get closer and closer to the entrance of the Sect. Marco sees the registry building and wonders if Chu is still inside. Walking a little further they arrive at the steps leading down the mountain.

    Marco begins walking down the steps when he suddenly pauses, turning around he realizes Milly isn''t following him.

    Milly¡¯s face is currently full of struggle. Her brows are constantly shifting and a frown appears and disappears from her face.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t left the sect in years, not since my parent died.¡±

    Marco is silent for a moment. ¡°How did your parents die?¡±

    Milly closes her eyes ¡°We were just traveling about, going from town to town. My mother was really beautiful, and because of that, a fiendish cultivator that was in Zhu territory followed us. In the middle of the night when we stopped to rest because I was tired, the cultivator tried to grab my mom. My dad fought him but wasn''t his match, my mom was badly wounded as she tried to save me from a stray strike. My dad gave up his life so we could get away, but when my mom got to the sect she still succumbed to her wounds and died.¡± Tears begin to stream from her closed eyes ¡°I never cursed my own powerlessness more than I did on that day. Why did she have to get hurt to protect me. I spent every moment after that training, to defeat fiendish cultivators, and never feel powerless again. I vowed to carry out justice, to defeat every fiendish cultivator that I see, but then I met you.¡± Opening her eyes she looks at Marco, the sun setting behind her back ¡°You defeated me so easily, told me justice was only for the strong to decide, then you took everything from me. All those years of training wasted, I couldn''t even beat someone with a lower cultivation than my own. I couldn''t even protect what my mom gave her life to save, but if you¡¯ve already taken everything from me, what more do I have to lose? So I¡¯ll see, see what it is you call justice.¡±

    Hearing her story he''s silent for a moment, her words bring a smile to his face. Once again, just like last time, he reaches out his hand.

    This time Milly does not hesitate, her hand reaches out and grabs his.

    The smile on his face turns into a sinister grin. The light of the setting sun reflects in his eyes, making them appear the color of blood.

 Dropped

    I''m not going to spend my whole day writing so people can come leave hate reviews on a FANFICTION because they don''t like anime. Reviews are supposed to be reviews of a novel, not a place you go to a genre of novel you know you hate, to leave hate reviews.

    RRL can force edit my post, forcing me to remove the name completely, yet a user who is reported for leaving biased reviews against an entire genre is fine to run rampant. Glad to see you favor the power of hate and allow it to be posted for all to see, but I write a name and you edit my post. RRL isn''t the site I thought it was, it''s a place that gives unlimited power to those who wish to do harm, not a place for people to share their work. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.