《Shameless Hero》


 Chapter 1 – Be strong, my son

    <header class="entry-header page-header">


    <h1 class="entry-title">Chapter 1 ¨C Be strong, my son</h1>


    </header>


    In a remote land far away from the mass continents and its civilization, lies a village where only a handful knew it existed. It was a village situated on a floated land mass floating in the middle of the ocean. Its land mass was enough for the villagers to be self-sufficient with food and other daily materials.


    ¡°Ye Tian, please take care of these rascals,¡± a village elder shouted.


    ¡°Sure Uncle Bai. I¡¯ll make sure they will come home safe.¡±


    The boy named, Ye Tian, was a handsome teenager who just turned 15 years old. The villagers knew that someday he would become just like his dad, although can be very demon-like, he was an amazing warrior with unparralled combat abilities. He also inherited his mother''s calmness and noble demeanor. Ye Tian was the oldest out of his generation, so he was held responsible of watching over the other rascals while the adults work. He often wondered why all the villagers had some combat abilities, but he was never serious to find out the truth.


    "Big brother, can we play a bit longer, please?"


    ¡°Ye Xue, Ye Chun, it¡¯s getting dark, and all the elders would worry if we don¡¯t come home.¡±


    Ye Tian brought them to the nearby forest for the whole day, where the wild beasts who inhabited the forests were mostly tamed by the villagers. The night was closing in, so Ye Tian gathered everyone to go back to the village. Along the way where they almost arrived just right outside the hidden village, Ye Tian''s hearing was sensitive enough to hear loud noises that sounded like a battle was happening. Without further delay, Ye Tian told everyone to quickly hide inside an underground storage cave that was hidden by layers of branches and leaves.


    After securing the kids inside the cave, Ye Tian hurriedly ran towards the village. What he has been worrying throughout this time, happened in front of his eyes. Masked men came and attacked the village. Although the villagers were vastly outnumbered, they kept fighitng back furiously, killing dozens of the invaders. However, he also saw familiar elders being killed. He took out his dagger, and hastily searched for his parents. He was relieved when he saw his parents were still alive. They were fighting against a group of masked men, many more dead bodies with their mask, lied motionlessly on the ground.


    He ran towards his parents with the intention of helping them, but little did he know there was someone else behind him. The masked man threw his dagger towards Ye Tian¡¯s backThe genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Swoosh!


    But it wasn¡¯t him that got wounded. It was his mother, who pushed Ye Tian aside and got stabbed at the heart, ending up saving Ye Tian''s life.


    Shocked internally, Ye Tian cried out, ¡°Mother!¡±


    Ye Tian¡¯s father also saw the masked man at the same time as his mother did, and threw his swordwith an overpowering force. The sword pieced through the masked man, leaving a huge hole on his body, but the sword arrived too late. The masked man was able to throw the dagger before the sword arrived, killing Ye Tian''s mother.


    ¡°Ye Tian, you must leave and take your sisters far away from here. Do noe ever come back here. Do you hear me? Leave here and live a peaceful life....,¡± Ye Tian''s mothers struggled to say her last words while smiling at him.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re coming with me. We will live together¡­.always!,¡± cried Ye Tian while hugging his mother. His mother¡¯s eyes closed and never opened again.


    Suddenly, Ye Tian felt there someone grabbing him from behind. It was his father. ¡°Son, you must run away and never come back here. Take your sisters and the rest of the kids to a safe place. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Dad, I will fight with you!¡±


    ¡°No, I will make way for you to escape. Listen to me and take care of all the other children, do you understand what I have said to you?,¡± his father said while firmly holding his shoulder.


    With his father forcing his way to create an open path for his son to survive, he received many stab wounds and slashes all over his body. With a last push, his father was finally able to make a clear path for Ye Tian to escape.


    ¡°Go! Be strong, my son.¡± He created a transparent palm strike that pushed Ye Tian¡¯s back further away from the village. Ye Tian felt a little pain on his back. His father was at his last breath looking at Ye Tian¡¯s back. Multiple swords pierced his back, including his left eye that was pierced by a dagger.The last sword that stabbed him was the moment where he could no longer see light.


    ¡°Kill the little kid! Don''t let him escape!¡± one of the bandits yelled.


    Ye Tian kept running without looking back any more. He was afraid that his father was already killed by these invaders.


    ¡°Shriek.¡±


    Ye Tian felt an intense pain and looked down. He saw an arrow piercing him from his back and all the way through the front. He finally turned his head around, searching for the person who shot the arrow. It was another masked man, although slightly different from the rest,who stood near one of the peak hills accompanied by two other bandits by his side. Ye Tian figured he was the leader of the pack.


    Ye Tian kept draggin his feet with blood dripping leaving stains on the ground. After a few meters of struggle, he finally fell to the ground. His eyes were staring at his father¡¯s wounded body before his eyes started closing....

 Chapter 2 – Blue Pearl

    ¡°Ha ha ha¡­.Finally! I have obtained this legendary treasure! Soon, soon¡­..,¡± The masked bandit laughed out loud.


    ¡°Reporting to elder, everyone has been killed with no witnesses alive,¡±one of the bandit said while kneeling to the man who was just laughing.


    The masked bandit¡¯s eyes sparkled and said, ¡± Wonderful, we will go back now. Make sure you burn all the bodies and the whole place like it never existed.¡±


    ¡°Yes Elder!¡±


    The masked elder continue to laugh as he left with the treasure he stole, gripping it tightly. This man was ecstatic. He¡¯s been searching for decades on this legendary treasure that was said to have the power to shake the world of Spirita. Just about five years ago, he found clues that the treasure might be in a nameless village isolated from the continents. It was through sheer luck and determination that he found the existence of this village, which waspurposely hidden to guard something important. He carefully planned everything for this day and finally got his hands on the ultimate treasure!


    The remaining bandits were ordered to clean up the village. Ye Tian¡¯s body was dragged and thrown to a pit filled with dead bodies of the villagers and the bandits who died as well. The bandits started whispering, moving their hands quickly showing different patterns. All of a sudden, a burning flame appeared in the air and it gradually became bigger and hotter. This flame was a spell summoned by the groupd of bandits.


    ¡°Flame void, burn!¡±


    The flame moved towards the bodies, burning slowly the first few seconds until it rapidly increased in intensity and radius that ended up burning the whole village. The heat was so intense, all they could see was a crimson color surrounding the whole area.


    ¡°We should return now. Mission accomplished.¡± The group leader said. After 20 minutes of watching the village being burned, they disappeared from the area.Not even a powerful immortal could survive the flame that took place here.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The village was still burning like an underground hell. Within the wave of the crimson flame, bodies that were once there, no longer existed¡­..except for one! This body belonged to Ye Tian, Who still appeared unharmed and unconscious. Then a spirit the size of a fist came out of his body and looked at Ye Tian momentarily before the spirit went back inside his soul spark. Why was this happening? After several hours, the flame died out leaving a place of void with Ye Tian''s body lying on the ground.


    In the middle of the night, when everything baceme calm and quiet, Ye Tian opened his eyes. Confused and dazed, he was shocked he hadn''t died yet. He checked all over his body, there were blood stains all over his clothes, but the opened wounds were no longer there.


    ¡°What happened? How did I survive?,¡± thought Ye Tian. He tried to recall everything that happened that night but couldn¡¯t figure out anything. Unable to find a single clue, he was angry, sad, and desperate to find someone else alive other than him. How did the bandits find this place?


    Suddenly, he felt a burning sensation within his heart. He used his qi to scan his internal body. Ye Tian, at 15 years old, was considered a phenomenal genius among the cultivators world. He had reached the early stage of the Supreme Dao realm. No record in history have reached the same stage as he did at his age. With time, he would become a legend amongst legendary heroes. A rare genius at his agenwould be at the early stage of the Great Dao realm, which is below the Supreme Dao realm. And below the Great Dao realm was the start of all realms, the Master Dao realm.


    After scanning his internal body with his qi, Ye Tian found a blue pearl within his heart. He tried to extract it, but he realized it already became a part of him. He tried to think how did this object came to into his possession in the first place. He finally came to a conclusion, that it was probably his father that secretly pushed this pearl into his body while he was running away. The pain that he felt from his dad¡¯s palm was most likely the result of this pearl. After connecting this pearl with his father, Ye Tian tried to figure out what this pearl can do. He tried using different spells to activate it, but nothing happened. He tried to connect with it, but there was no response. Every trick he knew turned out to be useless. In the end there was no progress.


    Ye Tian finally opened his eyes, the sun started to rise in this early morning. He looked around and sighed, because he saw nothing but a grazed land. Finally, he remembered his sisters and the other children!


    He became extremely worried that they have shared the same fate as the rest of the elders. He quickly got up and ran towards the hidden underground area. Before he left, he took a final look at the place thatwas once belonged to his home, droppping to his knees and bowing countless times. Each bow was to respect and remember each member of the village, especially his parents!

 Chapter 3 – Our parents won’t be coming back

    After finishing his last bow, Ye Tian hurriedly ran towards the secret underground cave while whispering to himself, ¡°please be alive, please be alive¡­¡± A glimmer of hope was still there when he saw the children lying on the ground. A smile was seen on his face after finding out that all the children were still sleeping. None of them were harmed, which also meant the bandits didn¡¯t know this place nor the kids existed.


    Ye Chun was the first one that woke up and said to his brother, ¡°brother, what happened at the village. The noises lasted for so long. Did something bad happened?¡±


    The voice of Ye Chun woke all the other children. When the saw Ye Tian finally came back, they asked similar questions.


    "Everything is alright, the rest of the elders went to do something important and they won¡¯t return for a while. But Don¡¯t worry, they told me to take you guys to see the outside world to gain experience. You will see a lot more people during our journey, and some of the buildings you will see are as enormous as the whole village. You will also find some beasts that you¡¯ve never seen before. This will be an eye opening adventure for you all.¡±


    Ye Tian didn''t want them to worry about what really happened to the village. If he did, it would scare the rest of the kids and eventually affect their future. If he could, he would keep this secret all the way to his grave. For now, he needed to find a way to take care of them. The children have always relied on Ye Tian. He was their big brother they all respected and admired. Some were younger by a couple of years and the youngest of them all was his youngest sister with a 10 years difference.


    ¡°Come on everyone, we should get going right now. We can''t go back to the village, because the elders have already set up an array that hides the village from everyone else, so we won¡¯t be able to enter the array,¡± Ye Tian explained.


    Within the floating land, there was a waterfall deep inside the forest. It looked very ordinary surrounded by green lush and beautiful dragonflies. Whn they arrived, Ye Tian walked towards the waterfall, and went through the waterfall. Behind the waterfall, there was a little cave. Everyone followed him inside the cave where they saw an altar that allowed to teleport people to the outside world. The kids have heard of it, but have never seen it unlike Ye Tian, who followed the elders a few times to the outside world. Ye Tian started drawing a certain formation that made the altar glow brightly.


    Ye Tian said, ¡°Little rascals, let¡¯s go see what the outside world can offer!¡±


    Everyone was excited and without thinking any further, they went through the altar one by one. Somewhere in the outside world within a quiet mountain, there was a cave. A bright light came out of the cave, in which Ye Tian and the gang came out of this cave. Apparently this cave was set up as the other altar that would connect it to their village.


    Ye Tian took out a map from his bag. This bag was stored within the underground storage cave that had many essentials for the villagers if the were to visit the outside world. By looking at the map, He determined that they were now at the Star Empire and this mountain was a day away from the capital.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Star empire was perhaps the strongest entity known to this world. Their domination controlled half of the Forest continent, with other smaller empire and kingdoms controlling the other half. This world has 13 continents divided by massive oceans. Some of the continents floated while others were stuck with the gravity.


    Ye Tian and the rest continued to walk down the mountain. Many of the children were very curious as they kept looking around trying to identify anything they haven¡¯t seen before. By evening, they arrived at a small town down the mountain. This town wasn¡¯t anything special. There were mostly bars and inns for travelers to use. Ye Tian saw a travelling group and asked them, ¡°Excuse me elder, is this group heading to the capital?¡±


    The elder said, ¡°Yes we are, but we¡¯re waiting for other people before we leave.¡±


    ¡°If elder and the group are going to the capital, can my siblings and I join the group? I have some zoids to cover the expenses.¡±


    Zoids are the currency used in this world. The elder worriedly said, ¡°where are your parents?¡±


    Ye Tian responded, ¡°Our parents won¡¯t be coming back home for a year, I was intstructed to reach the capital and not to wait for them. Don¡¯t worry elder, we have some relatives expecting us in the capital.¡±


    The elder couldn¡¯t say no and there were still plenty of space left in the back wagons. ¡°Alright, but we¡¯re not responsible if anything happens along the way. Do you understand?¡± replied the elder.


    ¡°Yes elder, we will take care of ourselves and won¡¯t cause you any trouble,¡± Ye Tian concluded.


    Ye Tian chose a wagon that was big enough and yet that had fewest people. He wanted the safest situation. After waiting for a while, the whole traveling group started moving on their way to the capital. The group set a break stop after three quarters of the way to get some rest. Fortunately, there were no bandits around the area because they were near the capital, and there werealso patrolling guards hiding to provide further security to its capital borders.


    Ye Tian, grabbed some food from his interspatial pouch. This pouch was very common and unworthy for attention. He handed the food out to the rest of the children. One of the children asked, ¡°Big brother, where are the beasts?¡± Another also asked, ¡°How much longer till we arrive the capital?¡± They were all excited to see anything new to them. One of the traveler that had worn a unique outfit than the rest and had a pet beast that was as big as a wagon caught the kids attention. Good thing was the beast was a herbivore and passive, otherwise, the kids wouldn''t date to get close to the beast.


    ¡°By tomorrow, we should arrive. But eat first and get a good sleep. Tomorrow you will have enough energy to exhaust when you see the capital¡± Ye Tian responded. The children were actually tired but still excited. Throughout the whole day, they were scanning their surroundings nonstop.


    The night became quiet when everyone was asleep. Ye Tian was still awake but had his eyes closed. He felt a slight stinging pain within his heart again.


    He grabbed his chest and many thoughts came into his mind.


    ¡°What is this pearl?¡±


    ¡°Why did father put this inside me?¡±


    ¡°Who were those people? Why did they have to kill everyone?¡±


    ¡°I need to find out the truth even if it cost me my life!¡± Ye Tian was squeezing his fist so tightly that blood started dripping to the ground. That night...... he could never forget. It was a scar that will remain within his heart throughout his lifetime. Tears fell upon his eyes, but those eyes also showed hints of vengeance!

 Chapter 4 – Destiny City

    ¡°Big brother, the place that we¡¯re going...what is it called?¡± Ye Xue asked with great curiosity.


    ¡°Destiny City. It¡¯s the capital of the Star Empire and it has over 100,000 years of history. In fact, compared to other kingdoms and empires, it''s one of the oldest that still stands,¡± Ye Tian responded while holding her hand.


    Morning have already arrived with all the travelers packing up to resume their journey to the capital. However, there was a heavy fog that they have to go through.


    ¡°Everyone, because of the fog, we¡¯ve decided to travel a bit slower to be cautious. We will arrive at the capital by past noon,¡± The leader of the traveling pack announced.


    The children began with vivid reactions when the travel resumed in the morning, but along they way, they exhausted so much of their energy that they had to take a nap. It was noontime,only Ye Tian and a few adults were still awake inside the wagon. The wagon they chose was the biggest one that could hold around 50 people. A slightly aged mansitting across from Ye Tian told him, ¡°Young man, it must be tough for you to take care of these children by yourself. If you¡¯re having trouble, there are a few foster homes in the capital. Their fate will decide their future¡­¡±


    Ye Tian was a bit worried. How did this elder find out that they¡¯re homeless? Or was it just a guess? Whatever the case, he forced his facial expression to become relaxed and laughed, ¡°Elder you¡¯re mistaken. We have relatives that are waiting for us in the capital. You should not worry about us.¡±


    The elder looked at Ye Tian for a moment without saying anything else. Ye Tian stared back at him with a harmless smile.


    ¡°¡­¡­hmmm very well. I cannot interfere other people¡¯s affairs. But if what you said is true, then that is for the best. Please excuse my nosiness. I have some wine I brought from back home. How about we drink together?¡±


    ¡°I would be grateful, elder.¡± Ye Tian responded. He never drank wine before in his life. But a cup or two should not affect him anyway.Besides, using his cultivation, he could release all the toxic that would harm him.


    ¡°People call me Old Jin. May I ask the name of this young hero?¡±


    ¡°Elder Jin, I¡¯m Ye Tian, but I¡¯m no hero,¡± Ye Tian laughed.


    ¡°Hahaha my mistake. I would¡¯ve thought you were a hero based on yourcultivation,¡± Old Jin said.


    Ye Tian became cautious. How did the old man find out about his cultivation? Can he be a cultivator too?


    ¡°Ye Tian, please do not misunderstand me. It¡¯s just your aura exudes heroic nobility. How about this¡­I believed this was fate to have us meet together and have a drink. How about we drink another cup to seal our friendship?¡± Old Jin proposed.


    ¡°That would be an honor. Elder Jin, you will be my first friend when we¡¯ve arrived at the capital.¡± Ye Tian drank another cup respectfully.


    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s great to meet new friends. Ye Tian, if you have the time to talk again, please come to the Star Guardian school. I work there, so you can come and ask anyone for my name. Show them this pendant, and this shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Ye Tian accepted the pendant and replied, ¡°Elder Jin, I will be glad to meet with you again¡­..but this pendant, I cannot accept¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a common pendant, it¡¯s nothing of value. Everyone has one in the school so think nothing of it,¡± Elder Jin interfered.


    Ye Tian thought about it further until he finally accepted it.


    ¡°Very well, Elder Jin, I will humbly accept this pendant. To meet with you again will be a pleasant experience.¡±


    By the time they sealed their friendship, the wagon stopped.


    ¡°Everyone, we have arrived at Destiny city. The headquarters ahead of you will be a place to seek information about the city.¡± the leader announced


    The children woke up quickly after hearing that they''ve reached the capital. They have only heard ¡°We¡¯ve arrived,¡± but that was enough for them to jump out of the wagon and looked around like crazy sheeps.


    What they saw gave them a feeling of shock and awe. The city walls were as huge as a mythical giant from the old tales they''ve heard. They saw people riding on flying beasts. Looking to their left, they could see the endless emerald ocean filled with all sorts of water beasts, commercial ships, and battle ships. Some of the ships could evenfly around the city! The childrenwould never know how big it was because they were looking from the distance, but they would be surprised at how massive some of the ships were. Some of them could even fill in everyone from the village.


    While the children were in awe, the ocean waves started to rise bigger and bigger.


    Booooom!


    A flying beast erupted from the ocean flying its way towards the sky. The flying beast was stunningly beautiful, which similarly looked like an Eastern phoenix. The body and the head were white in color, but the wings were surrounded by purple flames!


    Looking at such an intimidating beast, Ye Xue became scared, and started to grip Ye Tian¡¯s clothes tightly. Ye Tian stroke her head and said, ¡°Little Xue, do not be afraid. Although this beast is very powerful, they are known to be benevolent They never hurt any good people and they definitely don¡¯t eat people.¡±


    Ye Xue was a little relieved but still couldn¡¯t let go of Ye Tian. Ye Chun could only laugh at her little sister. Althout Ye chun was several younger than Ye Tian, she was old enough to have read some book and have seen imgaes of this legendary beast. But now she was excited to finally see one with her own eyes.


    After the phoenix came out of the ocean, the waves didn''t stop, instead the parts of the ocean started splitting all the way to the shipping port. Only the ones closest to the port were able to see this amazing change. Between the splitting ocean, there were two elders, a man and a woman, and a beautiful young girl that accompanied them. She was about the same age as Ye Tian, and exuded a royal aura that would charm all boys to kneel to their feet.


    The two elders and the young girl flew out of the splitting ocean and continued flying to the center of the city. The young girl had a flying cloud beneath her feet that was summoned by one of the elder. This cloud allowed the young girl to fly alongside them, otherwise, her limited cultivation was not enought to perform such incredible act. After they flew out, the ocean resumed to merge back slowly without harming anyone or anything nearby.


    Ye Tian and the rest couldn¡¯t see who they were, but they could see the eastern phoenix.


    ¡°Elder Jin, till we meet again! And thank you for the wonderful wine.¡± Ye Tian cupped his hands towards Elder Jin.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I''ll be looking forward to it. Oh, I still have some extra wine. i will give you one as a departing gift.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, elder Jin.¡± They both cupped their hands and bowed slightly to each other.


    Ye Tian, Finally looked ahead towards the city with the rest of the children holding hands tightly together. This was their first trip. Nervousness, excitement, and many other emotions were felt, but being besides someone similar gave them a sense of warmth and ease.


    ¡°Destiny City¡­.please show me a path¡­¡± Ye Tian murmured to himself.

 Chapter 5 – New Home

    While Ye Tian and the rest headed to the headquarters to gather some information, Old Jin was looking at him from a far distance, high up in the sky where no one could see. Many people knew him as Old Jin in the Star Guardian school, but very few knew what his true cultivation was at.


    ¡°A monstrous genius! Such a profound cultivation at such a young age. I¡¯ve never seen anyone like him. Not even the legendary heroes recorded in the book of immortals had achieved the supreme dao realm at such an age. The youngest in history was at the age of 23! I should inform Leader Xue Long about this boy. He could help a great deal in the near future for the Star empire!¡±


    In a blink of an eye, Old Jin quickly disappeared from the scene.


    At the headquarter, Ye Tian went to the visitor receptionist to ask for some information about the city. When he returned, a youth that was a couple of years older than him approached him.


    ¡°My friend, I can tell you¡¯re new here. I got this city map I can sell you for 50 zoids. You will find it very valuable.¡±


    Ye Tian quickly declined. Anyone could purchase a map for 20 zoids!


    ¡°Hahaha, I know what you¡¯re thinking friend, this map I¡¯m selling is no ordinary map. I¡¯ve worked on this map throughout my life. If you want to find a black market, the government headquarters, the noble residences, the cheapest inns, and the best neighborhoods in town, it¡¯s all in this map. I also circled areas that you should be cautious around. You can even take a look at it briefly to prove I¡¯m not fooling you,¡± the other youth offered.


    Ye Tian decided to take a look at it, and quickly found out that this map was definitely different and had much more information than the ordinary map he looked at near the receptionist store. ¡°Senior brother, this map is too expensive. How about 40 zoids?,¡± Ye Tian asked.


    The older youth frowned and countered, ¡°45 zoids. I normally offer others for 55 zoids, but I had a good feeling from you so I lowered my price. I can¡¯t go any lower than this. How about it?¡±


    After thinking about it for a bit, Ye Tian accepted the offer. He thought this map would help him a great deal in the future considering he was new here and didn''t want to get into trouble at the very beginning. In the past, he went his father or other elders from the village to the outside world. Although he still didn''t understand a lot of things, he was very aware that many places in the outside world were much more vicious.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, friend?¡± The older youth asked.


    ¡°Ye Tian¡±


    ¡°Alright Ye Tian, good doing business with you. I¡¯m Ma Qian, if you ever need information about anything, I¡¯m your best guy guaranteed! Remember to never go around those areas I marked with caution. Trouble will get you in deeper shit than you can ever imagine,¡± Ma Qian warned with a gloomy face. It seemed he had experienced some trouble in the past.


    ¡°I will heed your warning.¡± Ye Tian clasped his hands. Ye Tian thought something bad must have happened to himin the past to know of such trouble. He continued to study the new map. He was amazed on how detailed the map was and how much information it had, including prices in different stores or inns, people of power in each area, and even places where the beautiful ladies tend to wander around.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He finally chose an area and brought the rest of the children to a recent abandoned area. After negotiating with the land owner, he finally rented a place where it was spacious enough for them to live together. Ye Tian was thankful the underground storage at his village had enough zoids to cover his expenses for the first few years. The land owner was dissatisfied but still gave the key to Ye Tian. The house was small and dusty like it had been abandoned for decades, but it had a complete set of kitchen and rooms for them to sleep in.


    ¡°Little brothers and sister,s this will be our new home. It¡¯s small and it needs to be cleaned up, but this is how many people live in the outside world. We need to learn and be humble."


    ¡°Yes, big brother,¡± the rest of the children replied. The children grew up with minimal necessities in the village, so there wasn¡¯t a big difference to their current living conditions, except that it was smaller and bound to be more crowded.


    Ye Tian assigned Ye Chun to delegate work among the children to tidy up and maintain the house. Although it was in the evening, Ye Tian decided to go out and explore the city to gain more familiarity. But most importantly, he needed to find a job! He saw some wanted signs for soldiers to serve some big family clans, but he decided not to. Although he was not the most powerful, he didn¡¯t want anyone to know his high cultivation. It would create unwanted trouble!


    After looking around throughout the evening, Ye Tian finally found a job at a medicine shop called the "Internal Healing Garden." This job would give him a steady income while having the opportunity to learn on how to make some potions. He was happy that one problem is solved, but on his way back to his home, a gang full of youths not much older than Ye Tian tried to stir up some trouble. One of them said, ¡°This boy looks pretty rich, let¡¯s help him out a bit.¡± The others only smiled like a prey had been found.


    Ye Tian saw them coming towards him and cupped his hands.


    ¡°Kid, let me borrow some money. I promise to pay you back. Here is an IOU note with my signature on it,¡± the leader said.


    Meanwhile the rest of the crew were reaching all over the pockets of Ye Tian¡¯s clothes. Ye Tian hurriedly said, "Seniors, I come from a humble background so I do not have much money.¡±


    The leader responded, ¡°Psss, just a broke ass boy, beat him.¡±


    Ye Tian was beaten, but he never fought back. He could¡¯ve easily beaten the group but he didn¡¯t want to bring any future trouble. He walked back home with bruises and blood stains on his clothes. It was already late at night. The rest of the kids should¡¯ve slept by this time. He purposely waited to come home this late to avoid worrying others. Except Ye Chun was still awake and was waiting for him. When she saw him, she broke into tears.


    ¡°Big brother, what happened? Are you okay? Let me take care of those wounds,¡± Ye Chun cried.


    Ye Tian responded, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just a bunch of hoodlums that got nothing better to do. With my cultivation, it didn¡¯t really hurt me. They were much weaker than I am. But never mind that, I have good news. I got a job!¡±


    Telling her this news would lessen Ye Chun¡¯s worry. Ye Chun still had teardrops, but was also happy of the good news.


    ¡°Brother, please eat up. You¡¯ve haven''t eaten all day. You must be hungry,¡± Ye Chun grabbed a plate of food that she saved for him.


    ¡°Alright, go to sleep now. Tomorrow is the first day of my job,¡± Ye Tian concluded.


    Over the past two weeks, Ye Tian worked from morning till late in the evening. Meanwhile, Ye Chun and another child near her age went to the market to buy some groceries, because they were responsible to cook for the rest of the family.


    Everything went without a hitch, until one day.....

 Chapter 6 – Internal Healing Garden

    Ye Tian¡¯s younger sister, Ye Chun, although only a child, everyone knew she would become an astonishing beautiful lady when she grows up. The fact that Ye chun has been going to the market everyday, she¡¯s gotten the attention of several noble boys vying for her. Needless to say, these boys were rotten and spoiled children, two of the worst combinations. They felt entitled to everything they fancy.


    One day, one of the noble named Xi Gan, brought his clansmen to kidnap Ye Chun for the purpose of marrying her in the future. Ye Tian found out about this when one of the child that always accompanied Ye Chun, ran over to his work place and told him about the situation.In a lawful city such as Destiny City, how can they let people kidnap girls out of the blue? Ye Tian was furious while running towards the scene.


    ¡°Stop, what aredoing? Kidnapping is a crime and please let go of my sister,¡± Ye Tian yelled.


    ¡°Hahaha,brother, Ye chun has agreed to accompany me to become my fiancee. Why would I kidnap her?¡± young master Xi responded.


    It was obvious that Ye Chun was being kidnapped with her mouth sealed and eyes blindfolded. Deep inside, Ye Tian was angry, but at the same time, he wanted to resolve this matter in most peaceful way. He tried to calm himself and said, ¡°Young master, as her guardian and older brother, it is my duty to hear what she has to say first. If she wishes to go with you, I need to hear that from her. Please release her right away and let us discuss this appropriately,¡± Ye Tian proposed.


    ¡°How dare you! Do you know who I am? Why would I lie to you? If you weren¡¯t her brother I would¡¯ve killed you. But I''m a fair man, I will let this offense go. Come on guys, let¡¯s go back,¡± young master Xi said.


    The boy and his clansmen prepared to return, carrying Ye Chun on their backs. Ye Tian was extremely furious at this point. In order to save his sister, he had to risk on exposing his cultivation. Like lighting striking the ground, he dashed forward towards the clansmen.


    BOOOmm!


    The two clansmen that were carrying Ye Chun flew a few meters away before falling on the ground unconsciously. No one else could even react as fast as ye Tian, so he immediately grabbed Ye Chun away and retreated backward to his original position.


    Two other clansmen, who were actually in the mid form of supreme dao realm reacted quicker than the rest. Just when Ye Tian was dashing backward, the other quickly turned around and dashed towards Ye Tian, preparing to strike viciously. Before they arrived, Ye Tian stomped on the ground, allowing a mass of dirt to erect a wall, which temporarily stopped the two clansmen.


    ¡°Go back home now,¡± Ye Tian said to Ye Chun. He also gave her the pendant that Old Jin gave him. ¡°If I don¡¯t show up, don¡¯t search for me. Find the Star Guardian school and give this pendant and seek a person named, ¡°Elder Jin.¡±


    Ye Chun did not want to leave.


    ¡°GO NOW!,¡± Ye Tian yelled. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    She hesitantly left. She knew her brother was very strong for his age, so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    ¡°Stop her,¡± the boy yelled. Just as the two clansmen prepared to retrieve Ye Chun, Ye Tian blocked them and a furious battle ensued between the three of them. One against two that has a higher cultivation! Ye Tian''s arm was fractured trying to block the impact of a hammer held by one of the clansmen. He withheld the pain, regained his balance, and took a powerful step forward while preparing a punch in one motion.Ye Tian didn''t carry any weapons, but there was a glowing halo ring surrounding Ye Tian''s fist that kept rotating faster and faster.


    The punch directly hit his opponent¡¯s chest with a devastating loud impact, heavily injuring his opponent that was coughing up a huge amount of blood after the hit. The other clansmen successfuly striked Ye Tian¡¯s rib cage at the same time he hit one of the clasnmen, then quickly retreated as far as possible after getting a slight glanced of his colleagues''s outcome. The strength Ye Tian showedwas far stronger than what his realm of cultivation suggested.


    The battle happened in only a few breaths, by there was a 10 meters distance separation after the clash. The other two clansmen did not want to continue further after seeing Ye Tian¡¯s abnormal strength, even though they had a higher cultivation. They knew they needed more reinforcements to deal with him.


    ¡°Young master, let''s go back for now. We''ll deal with him later on.¡± one of the clansmen proposed, while staring seriously towards the boy. The boy was angry, but he knew they couldn¡¯t win, and barked at Ye Tian, ¡°You bastard, I will make you pay with your life. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Before Ye Tian returned to his work, he had to check out if Ye Chun returned home safely, and fortunately she did. The medicine shop he worked at the past couple of weeks was called Internal Healing Garden. His injuries were fairly serious but he only needed some time to recover.


    For now, he had to think of a way to resolve the conflict with the Xi clan. The master of the medicine shop saw Ye Tian came back and tended to his wounds. She was considered a saint regarded by the workers, because she treated everyone with kindness. Ye Tian had no other choice to ask this master, something that has been worrying him.


    ¡°Elder master Fan, I''m in need of your help badly. I hope you can consider this issue and I will do anything you ask me.¡± Ye Tian told the truth of what happened to him and his sister. Master Fan sighed but was not surprised when she heard this. Many nobles have committed many crimes throughout the city and were able to get away with it. She didn¡¯t hesitate to accept Ye Tian¡¯s request, which was to take care of Ye Chun and Ye Xue for the time being.


    ¡°Ye Tian, do not worry about your sisters. I might not be powerful but I have some strong backings and most nobles won¡¯t dare cause trouble with our Internal Healing Garden shop. Hurry back to your home and bring your sisters here,¡± Master Fan responded with such calmness.


    ¡°Thank you elder master Fan. I¡¯m very thankful for your help and I will do anything if ask me to,¡± Ye Tian gladly replied.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, just go back and hurry,¡± she said quickly.


    Ye Tian hurriedly went back to his home with all his might, and within a short amount of tim, he was able to bring his sisters safely to Internal healing Garden. He was relieved that they would be much safer here than anywhere else condiering the master of the medicine shop and the workers were all nice and helpful people.


    Of course, the Xi clan had someone following Ye Tian and spied on him. When the young master Xi heard of the current situation, he smashed his cup of tea and beat one his servants. Now that Ye Chun is far out of his reach, he can only get his revenge on Ye Tian.


    ¡°Ye Tian, I will make sure you live a living hell from now on. Just you watch.....,¡± young master Xi whispered showing a devilish smile.

 Chapter 7 – Covered In Blood

    The following few days, Ye Tian learned and made some healing potions. He was getting prepared for the worst situation after getting an altercation with the Xi clan. He didn¡¯t even come home in fear that the Xi clan would harm the other children. The children were intelligent and resourceful people from the past experience they received in the village. Ye Tian gave them most of the zoids he had to manage themselves for the time being.


    However, a few days later, The Xi clan started to harrass the children, most were being beaten one by one. Whenone of the workers from the medicine shop learned of this, they¡¯ve informed Ye Tian about the news. Elder master Fan offered to help him but Ye Tian kindly refused the offer. Elder Fan did more than enough to protect his sisters and also gave him a job. He didn''t want to take any more advantage of Master Fan.


    Ye Tian ran quickly and arrived near his home within a few minutes. Within the distance, Ye Tian could see some of the Xi clansmen and young master Xi. Ye Tian couldn¡¯t bother negotiating with them any longer and decided to attack first! This was an all out battle.


    His first target was the young master! Dashing forward, he gathered his inner qi and hit one of the clansmen with a fist.


    Bam!


    It was actually one of the Middle Supreme Dao realm fighter that had battled Ye Tian the other day. The impact threw the clansmen to the ground, but he wasn¡¯t as seriously injured as he was supposed to be! Within the shredded robe of the clansmen, a silver armor could be seen that was protecting him from the majority of the impact.Although the impact lessened with the protection of the armor, the clansmen was still spilling lots of blood.


    With the first hit, Ye Tian got everyone''s attention. The rest started chasing him, but Ye Tian retreated quicker, running away to another direction. His plan was to have all the clansmen target him and leave the children alone from further harm. A couple of the clansmen that were able to catch up with Ye Tian were actually cultivators at the early infinite Dao realm! This was one full realm higher than Ye Tian''s. However, what shocked many people wasn''t the infinite dao fighters, it wasYe Tian who could battle these two into a stalemateas they kept clashing from one place to another place. Although Ye Tian defended many of their attacks,he was getting exhausted. The battle was already quite a distance from his home, so Ye Tian didn¡¯t bother running away further. He was prepared to fight to the end!


    ¡°Aaargh,¡± one of the fighter screamed. Ye Tian took the hit to his rib cage, but at the same time, one of his arm locked in with the other fighter¡¯s arm. With a burst of strength shown by Ye Tian, he broke the fighter''s forearm. The fighter trid to get his arm away from Ye Tian''s locking grip, but it felt like his arm was stuck in a solid diamond.


    Meanwhile, the other fighter landed a heavy kick from the back. Ye Tian was hit from both sides. He fell and slid to the ground for a few meters, but quickly got up, countering the fighter with the broken arm. The other fighter saw this early and prepared to block Ye Tian¡¯s attack, but it was a feint!


    Ye Tian¡¯s original aim was the uninjured fighter, and the attack from Ye Tian this time was a combination attack that he learned while cultivating in the village. The first attack was a punch towards the injured fighter, but when the other fighter got close to Ye Tian, he quickly changed form with a forward elbow towards the fighter¡¯s rib, then a flying uppercut knee that landed between the neck and chest area of the fighter. The fighter reacted too later and continued receiving Ye Tian''s combination blow. As Ye Tian was in the air with the fighter, he was already preparing his strongest attack from the combination attack. This final attack was another fist, but accompanied with tremendous energy that was revolving around his arm. Everyone around could felt the massive energy, especially the infinite dao real cultivators!A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Wham!


    Just as Ye Tian was about to strike, he got hit by an internal energy slash that was unleashed by the first injured fighter. The energy hit injured Ye Tian¡¯s internal system into chaos. Hesmashed intoone of the nearby walls. By this time, the rest of the clansmen catched up to them. One of the infinite dao fighter yelled, ¡°He¡¯s already injured, kill him! This is our best chance.¡± They listened to his command, unleashing an array of physical and internal energy attack. Although they were weaker than Ye Tian, multiple hits that landed were still effective.


    Unable to defend and almost unconscious, Ye Tian was dragged all the way to the city centre where many people usually gathered. This was a way to humiliate him. Bloodied and half-unconscious, Ye Tian¡¯s eyes were half open, but if anyone could see, his eyes appeared soulless. When they arrived, the guards that were holding him raised him up in the air. Suddenly, the young master finally appeared, unleashing a double fist attack. The young master Xi wore mysterious gloves that could enhanced his strength considerably, giving him enough strenght to smash Ye Tian towards the elevated platform. His head fell back as his head was outside of the platform.


    He almost fell unconscious, but his eyes suddenly opened wider, staring at several figures a distance away from him. ALthough blood was covering part of his vision, he could still see with some clarity. The elders were speaking to each other about some matters unknown to most. Several elders glanced back at Ye Tian after noticing his glare, but didn¡¯t give a damn care to see how bloodied he was. Only a few couple elders frowned seeing Ye Tian, but did not interfere. After a few moments, they all left the scene.


    Everyone at the scene was scared after seeing Ye Tian covered in blood,almost at the doorstep of death, but they also found some of the Xi clansmen were heavily injured. It wasn¡¯t a fair fight, but they knew The Xi clan suffered some setbacks just from one man. The Xi clan did not continue further and went back after they saw the elders. Those elders must have been someone powerful and important in the capital city to make the Xi clan return without a word.


    Evening fell, Rain started to fall. Ye Tian was still at the same position for past fewhours, but those eyes of his were shaking. He could¡¯ve moved about an hour ago, but he chose to be lifeless. Only his eyes were thinking of something. One of the children, named Ye Qing, was a bit hurt but he still followed Ye Tian throughout the battle. When almost everyone around the scene were gone, he ran towards Ye Tian, giving him some antidote and healing medicine for Ye Tian to absorb.


    ¡°Big brother, please stay alive. This is all our fault because we are too weak to defend ourselves,¡± the boy cried. He stayed nearYe Tian throughout the whole time quietly before speaking out.


    However, Ye Tian came to his senses and told Song Qing, ¡°Litt¡­le bro, ¡­leave and go back¡­¡±


    ¡°But Big bro, I need to carry youto the Internal Healing Garden to have them take care of your wounds.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I will survive¡­.I;m not dead yet. Go back home and take care of the others. You¡¯re the oldest in that place now, okay?¡±


    ¡°Big bro¡­¡±


    ¡°Go¡­,¡± Ye Tian smiled at him.


    Song Qing finally left before giving him all the medicine he had. His fist was closed tightly as he ran with anger.


    Moments later when the rain started falling heavily, Ye Tian finally moved. He sat up for a moment, before using a huge amount of energy that he had left to stand up and started walking lifelessly towards an unknown direction.....

 Chapter 8 – She Whispered

    Ye Tian was holding onto his broken ribcage while waking soulessly. Where he intended to go, no one knew, not even himself. One thing that kept him draggin his feet, was the fact that something caused him to be in a world of his own, thinking intensely about something only he probably knw about.His blood didn''t stop, it continued to drip leaving a trail of blood wherever he passed by.


    Bummm!


    Just at the corner of the intersection of a small street, Ye Tian bumped into someone. The fact that he never looked ahead wherever he was going was only the partial cause of this. The specific area was indeed a place where blindsided could occur for anyone. Who he bumbed into, he wouldn''t know, but looking up ahead momentarily, he could see the most mesmerizing young woman he''s ever seen. She also seemed to be around the same age as Ye Tian. Her beautiful face matched with the white gown she wore, embroidered with purple patterns of flames. A sheet of cloth was covering her head form the rain.


    The young woman stepped a few steps backwards caused by the impact, whilelooking at Ye Tian. She could clearly seeYe Tian was bloodied and obviously in a really bad condition. Ye Tian just looked at her for a breath of time without apologizing before continuing walking ahead soullessly. Just as he was about to walk past her, the young woman¡¯s interspatial ring blinked a few times. Some items came out of the ring whereshe whispereda little spell that caused the items to fly and stick onto Ye Tian''s back.Ye Tian was throughouly distracted the whole time without noticing something was on his back as he continued limping forward.


    The young woman stared at Ye Tian¡¯s back with sorrowful eyes. It almost seemed like she knew what happened. She did not know why she kept staring at him, but the moment Ye Tian disappeared, the young woman also closed her eyes for a moment before walking again towards the opposite direction.


    Ye Tian did not go back to Internal Healing Garden or to his home. Along the way, he found a shelter where he sat down with his head down. It was not until the next morning where he finally raised his head. His eyes was burning filled with determination, it almost felt like he gained enlightenment on the road he should walk next. Although he was walking soullessly after the humiliation the Xi clan gave him, he had a lot on his mind, such as the battle that happened in the village, his father and mother dying in front of him, the children, and his sisters. He foundsome solutions to some of his problems but not all of them. This frustration was not something he could solve with ease, but he knew he needed to initate his plan soon.


    PLOPPP!


    Something fell. He searched around and found there were some nice looking stuff behind him. He didn¡¯t bother to look at it further and put all the stuff inside his interspatial ring. The little spell whispered by that young lady eventually worned off, causing the items to drop.


    In the morning, the market was bustling with plenty of vendors and buyers. The market was big and it would take a few hours to see through all the stores. Ye Tian was able to buy some scrolls and ingredients along the way. He found a little street that was mostly empty, which he thought would be one of the exit areas from the market. He went through the little street and saw something eye-catching. It was a sign that wrote ¡°Forgetfulness Potion.¡± He pondered for a while and asked the vendor lady if this potion is the real deal.


    ¡°Try it yourself if you don¡¯t believe me,¡± the vendor lady smiled wickedly.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°How can you guarantee that this potion work without trying it myself?¡±


    ¡°Try it on somebody else.¡± the lady shrugged.


    Ye Tian was a bit indecisive and was about to leave, until the lady spoke again.


    ¡°The potion effects last for 10 years. After that it¡¯s up to the person whether he can remember anything or not. But I guarantee when the person takes this potion, they won¡¯t remember a thing. In fact, this potion is powerful enough to alter someone''s memories. If it doesn¡¯t work, come back here and I will offer you my most valuable treasure for free,¡± the old lady offered.


    ¡°What¡¯s your most valuable treasure?,¡± Ye Tian countered with some intrigued now. Free stuff was always intriguing.


    ¡°A sword. A long time ago, a demon held this sword, massacaring hundreds of thousands of people in a war, and those who had died by this sword, their souls would be refined to enhance the sword. With the boost in strength, it could probably kill an immortal by now,¡± the old lady proudly said.


    However, Ye Tian wasn''t interested in a blood-sucking weapon, fearing that someday he would also become a blood-sucking demon if he couldn''t control the sword.


    ¡°How about I choose for myself?,¡± Ye Tian offered.


    ¡°Go ahead and choose. You don¡¯t know what¡¯s good in front of your eyes,¡± the lady complained.


    Ye Tian carefully scanned throughout the store and found a black outfit. He asked, ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Not too sure, but my ancestors told me a legendary thief wore this before he was killed. I assumed it¡¯s something really good, but nobody has figured out what exactly this outfit does.¡±


    Ye Tian always had a really sharp instinct, and he felt this outfit could be a great help to him someday. He decided to gamble not afraid of choosing the wrong stuff.


    ¡°I choose this outfit.¡± Ye Tian said.


    ¡°Hahaha, that outfit has been with my ancestors and nobody could figure out what it does. I think it¡¯s just a regular outfit. Whatever, I can give that to you now as long as you pay for these potions.¡±


    Ye Tian glady acceptd the offer and left. With Ye Tian already in a far distance, the oldy lady quietly whispered, ¡°The person who uses this potion on someone else, then that person will be cursed throughout his life! Hehehe.¡±


    After exiting the market area, Ye Tian traveled throught many areas. He was observing the people, the buildings, and the conditions of each area and marked a few dots in his map. He did this throughout the whole day until late evening. The map now had several dots but what was it for?


    Ye Tian went back to the shelter to draw up his plan. He needed to execute the plan as soon as possible before trouble comes again. He knew that young master Xi wouldn¡¯t let this issue go. A spoiled brat always gets his way and won¡¯t stop at anything to achieve his goals. This was the first lesson he learned after coming out to the real word without the villagers protection.


    Ye Tian also created some healing potion and a couple of poison from the ingredients he bought earlier. He took one of the healing potion before he resumed to cultivating.


    Some time passed by, Ye Tian finally remembered the stuff he stored inside his storage ring earlier and took it out. It turned out that these "stuffs" were actually high grade healing potion! He tried to remember where he got this from, but only an image of a young woman appeared in his mind. He concluded that these potions came from her, but unfortunately he never got a clear look of the young woman¡¯s face. Nevertheless, he was thankful that there were still kind-hearted people in this city. He reminded himself that if they were to meet again, he would return these potions and thank her for her generosity.


    The healing potion worked overtime and improved Ye Tian¡¯s condition to 90%. Only the broken rib cage needed some time to heal. He could¡¯ve used the high grade healing potion, but he decided not to use it in case of emergency. His eyes shined with signs of hope as tomorrow would be the day his plan would be initiated!

 Chapter 9 – Forgetful Potion

    The next morning, Ye Tian used his qi to scan his whole body, before leaving the shack. His appearance looked much brighter now, grabbing that little hope he still had.


    ¡°Most of it¡¯s healed¡­not too bad.¡±


    Ye Tian finally headed home where he saw the rest of the children were still sleeping. He decided to go to the kitchen and cook some breakfast, since it¡¯s been a while since he came home, plus the fact that he¡¯s never had a chance to take care of the kids ever since he''s arrived at the capital. The children have suffered a bit, and it saddened Ye Tian because he couldn''t do anything about it. One of the children, named Chen Hua, who usually cooked along with Ye Chun, woke up because she became the primary cook ever since Ye Chun left. Seeing Ye Tian, Chen Hua was delighted and said, ¡°BIG BROTHER!.¡±


    The loud sound woke everyone upthat led to the rest of the children to wake up in excitement, surrounding Ye Tian in the small kitchen.


    ¡°Alright rascals, go back and prepare the plates. Today I¡¯m cooking for you all,¡± Ye Tian said.


    ¡°Do you need help big bro?¡± one of them asked.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m almost done. Sit down and relax everyone. Today you¡¯re going to taste my special dish!,¡± Ye Tian responded.


    Ye Tian finally finished cooking and served them the food while the tea was still brewing. This was one of the very few times they got to eat together and discussed what had happened over the past few days. Most of the kids that were beaten recovered as they were mostly minor injuries. A few had more injuries but wasn¡¯t too serious. Ye Tian handed each of them healing potions that he concocted a day earlier.


    ¡°Big brother, did you beat that stupid kid who tried to kidnap Big sister Ye Chun?¡± one of them asked.


    ¡°Unfortunately not, but I did give them some serious blow. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re still thinking of me,¡± Ye Tian replied.


    ¡°We should report this to the city guards, so they don¡¯t trouble big bro anymore,¡± another proposed.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not necessary. Everything will be fine.¡± Ye Tian replied while heading to the kitchen. A short while later, he came back with a teapot and started pouring the drinks for the children.


    ¡°Drink up. This is a really good tea I found,¡± Ye Tian instructed.


    The kids finished the drinks and continued asking so many questions, where Ye Tian almost got a headache from all the noises.


    ¡°Big bro, when all the village elders come¡­¡­¡± one of them said, but his eyes became sleepy. It wasn''t until a few breaths later, the child really did fall asleep.


    ¡°Yeah big bro, I can¡¯t wait for the rest of the villagers¡­..¡± another said before falling asleep as well.


    One by one, the children soon all fell asleep.


    ¡°It seems this forgetful potion is working. I have only one day to get this done before they wake up again.¡±


    He took out his map, analyzing which routes are the most efficient, before carrying one of the kids on his shoulder. He moved quickly to the spotted map, before arriving in front of a large residential manor that was surrounded by a nice neighborhood.Obviosuly, the family that lives here are doing quite well for themselves.


    Ye Tiansneaked inside one of the manor¡¯s garden and arrived at one of the main living doors where no one was around. He knocked the door loudly before gently laying the child onto the ground with a blanket sheet around him. As soon as he did that, he quickly left the manor into a distant area. The door opened, where an old grandpa with a few guards appeared. One of the guards saw the sleeping child with a letter held in his hand. Handing the letter to the old grandpa, he read the letter and sighed. He instructed the guards to bring the child in with care.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Not far away from the manor, hiding behind a huge tree, Ye Tian saw the scene that gave him a great sense of relief. But he couldn''t waste so much time there. This was just only the beginning of his plan. He returned home before doing the same thing again, delivering another kid at another area that was marked in his map. It took him from early morning to mid afternoon until he finally delivered the final child to its final home. Ye Tian was livid with much happiness as all the family residences had accepted all the children that was brought in front of their doors.


    The map he bought from Ma Qian had a lot of useful information about the current influential families in this city and their reputation. This allowed Ye Tian to plan and observed all the potential residences to ensure the children he delivered would be in a good place. Ye Tian finally smiled but in his heart, he was also heartbroken.


    Their village was destroyed. Only he knew all the villagers were killed, but he was too young and too weak to do anything about it. To make it worse, the capital haven''t been smooth sailing either for him or his siblings. Only trouble and suffering will be in their future if they were to accompany Ye Tian the whole time. Such a harsh life would cause the children to live without a bright future. Giving them away to honest and wealthy families would give them a better life, and most important of all¡­.Peace!


    ¡°I hope 10 years from now, they won¡¯t remember anything about the existence of the village or myself¡­..it¡¯s better this way,¡± Ye Tian murmuredto himself while gripping his hands tightly.


    This plan would change the children''s destiny for good! But his plan wasn''t finished yet.


    Ye quickly moved towards Internal Healing Garden where he met his two younger sisters. He told them that he wanted to take them out to eat at a nice restaurant for not being with them recently.


    Ye Tian said, ¡°Order anything you want! This is your brothers treat.¡±


    ¡°Really big brother?¡± Ye Xue asked eagerly. Ye Tian nodded as an approval.


    ¡°Where are the others? Ye Chun asked.


    ¡°I took them out to eat this morning, so they¡¯re at home safe and sound now. I got a good friend that will be watching for them from now on,¡± Ye Tian replied. While Ye Tian didn¡¯t tell the truth, it wasn¡¯t a lie from the truth.


    ¡°Big broooooo, where have you been the past few days?¡± Ye Xue asked again while munching on her food.


    ¡°I¡¯ve met a new friend that helped me earn some extra zoids, so today is my day off to treat you all. By the way how has Master Elder Fan and the others treated you?¡± Ye Tian curiously asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been great big brother, Elder Fan is very nice, the others are also taking good care of us. They treat us well. We also help around the place to lessen our burden of living there¡± Ye Chun responded excitedly.


    ¡°Hahaha that¡¯s great to hear¡­.wait here, let me get some drinks for us to drink. What do you guys want to drink?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Fruit Juiceeeee,¡± Ye Xue responded quickly.


    ¡°Tea will be fine brother,¡± Ye Chun also replied.


    ¡°Alright, wait a moment,¡± Ye Tian said as he left the table. 10 minutes later, he came back with the drinks.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting too crowded here, how about we walk around the city while drinking this?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Ye Tian and the younger sisters walked for about 15 minutes until they arrived at a small abandoned street. The sisters were really happy that they finally got to spend some precious time with their big brother. In fact, ever since they arrived at the capital, they rarely met due to some bad circumstances.


    ¡°¡±Big Bro, when are you coming back to Internal Healing Garden?¡± Ye Chun asked.


    ¡°Yeahhh big bro, when are you¡­¡­.¡± Ye Xue also curiously asked.


    Suddenly, she started walking wobbly before falling asleep. Before she fell to the ground, Ye Tian reacted quickly to catch her before carrying her to an abandoned shelter.


    ¡°Little sister, are you okay? what¡­¡­,¡± Ye Chun asked frantically while following Ye Tian.


    Just after a couple of minutes after Ye Xue fainted, Ye Chun started feeling a bit woozy as well, but she couldn''t resist the effects of the sleepiness. Ye Tian quickly catched her with his other hand, laying both of them down gently on a padded straws. Ye Tian looked outside to see if there were any witnesses, fortunately, his plan was going as planned without anyone around the scene.


    As he was about to wrap some blankets around them, Ye Xue''s hand moved a bit, gripping Ye Tian''s hand. It made him awful that he had to do this. It felt like sharp needles were always stabbing his heart, which caused him to think again if he made the right choice.


    Should Ye Tian abandon the plan or to follow through?

 Chapter 10 – The Sin Of A Brother

    Ye Tian thought about it over and over again, but the only conclusion he came up withwould be "suffering" if his sisters continued to live with him. He gently removed Ye Xue¡¯s hand, covering both his sisters with warm blankets. Without further hesitation, he disappeared, carrying both his sisters quickly to another place.


    By the time he arrived, they were facing a mansion filled with multiple gardens, connected by channels of small water canals thatwere flowing throughout the whole residenceuntil the end of the main residence wall where it fell like a mini waterfall. Within the walls, there were emblems of the word¡°Xue" on all four sides of the residence. This mansion belonged to the Xue family. Ye Tian knew this family was among the most powerful family with a very strong backing, like elder Jin and the Star Guardian School. The history of the Xue family were decorated by powerful heroes, prime ministers, commanders, and philanthropist. In the Star Empire, the Xue family were known to be a righteous, kind, and a powerful family throughout history, which other respected families admired upon.


    There were guards that walked around the mansion around the clock. But Ye Tian was able to find a little loophole that he could use to enter the mansion without notice. Using all of his focus, speed, and senses, he infiltrated the mansion like a water snake, arriving at the rear garden. Inside the garden appeard a small pavilion within the surrounded pond. Ye Tian carefullylaid his sisters within the pavilion accompanied by two letters on between their hands.


    ¡°I need to leave immediately.¡± Ye Tian whispered like a huge stone was just relieved from his back.


    Before he left, he recalled all thememories he had with his sisters, parents, the other children, and the rest of the villagers. Ye Xue was the youngest, being 10 years younger than him, and she always loved to follow him around everywhere he goes. Ye Chun was three years younger than him, and always helped her mom to do the daily chores. She loved to read and had some interest in cultivating. Although their family did not live in luxury, they were all happy when they were together. Ye Tian understood his father was among the five elders because of his strength and tactical ability. His mother was also one of the elders who was kind and calm, especially in tough situations. Both were respected and loved by all the villagers.


    After having these flashbacks, tears were coming out of his eyes. Everything he had was gone in one night. The road ahead of him will be tough, so he did not want his sisters or the other children to get involved in this secret matter. He had chosen a road where it could lead to death if he is not careful. Wiping off his tears, he quickly urged himself to leave, Just when he almost crossed the edge of the garden, he heard a voice!


    ¡°Young man, what is the purpose of you being here?¡± a middle-aged man said. His voice had a sound effct that could even penetrate inside his body.


    Ye Tian knew this man was very powerful, so he didn''t bother to escape, and instead turned around and bowed.


    ¡°Greetings to elder. I come with no intention of harm. I only wish to request for your help. My sisters are sleeping within your pavilion and because of my lack of ability, I¡¯m unable to take care of them.¡± Ye Tian decided to tell the truth because he knew the man was already gazing at the pavilion, so he knew there were two young girls sleeping there.


    The old man did not look at Ye Tian, but instead kept staring at the pavilion. His smile appeared kind but also had a touch of disappointment within it.


    ¡°Young man, how old are you? And how old are your sisters?¡± the old man asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m 15 years young, elder. My sister, Ye Chun, is 12 years young, and my youngest sister, Ye Xue, is 5 years....still a baby¡± Ye Tian responded without looking up.


    ¡°Why do you think you lack ability?¡± the old man finally looked towards Ye Tian.


    ¡°¡­.I¡¯m too weak¡­and the road ahead of me is something that I will never allow my sisters to experience.¡± Ye Tian responded with a sad guilt.


    ¡°Your parents?¡±


    ¡°Killed.¡±


    The old man felt bad when he heard the answer, but Ye Tian didn''t notice it. Whatever the man was thinking, Ye Tian couldn''t even even a single clue from it.


    Thinking that the old man might reject his sisters staying here, Ye Tian quickly kneeled to his knees, and said, ¡±Elder, the Xue family are known to be kind and righteous. My sisters have a pure heart. Even though they can be a bit mischievous, they are not troublemakers....that I can assure you. Someday, when they grow up, I¡¯m confident they can help the Xue family in the city¡¯s affairs. I¡¯m begging you to accept them like they¡¯re your own family.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Ye Tian at this point couldn¡¯t care about his pride or dignity. This was his final act of the plan and it needed to succeed!


    Near the opposite of the garden where a lavender treee flourished, stood a beautiful figure. It was the young woman Ye Tian bumped into! It appeared that she had been here the whole time but she never moved, continuing to hear their conversation. Ye Tian didn¡¯t realize she was there because he was wholeheartedly focusing on the old man and the issue with his sisters.


    ¡°Revenge?¡± the old man asked.


    ¡°¡­.I¡¯m not too sure myself. At this point I can¡¯t continue to live ignorantly without finding the reason. Besides, ever since I''ve arrived at the capital, trouble has always followed me,¡± Ye Tian honestly replied.


    The old man kept staring at him trying to find out if he was telling the truth or not. He sighed, then said, ¡°The Xue family will take care of your sisters. You do not have to worry about them. I can guarantee you that. How about you enroll in the Star Guardian School? I have some acquaintances there,¡± the old man promised while also trying to convince Ye Tian to stay. This would at least change the dark road he would be stepping upon.


    ¡°I thank you for your kindness and will remember this even in my death. As for me¡­.I respectfully have to decline your offer. I just can¡¯t¡­.¡± Ye Tian said with a shaky voice.


    ¡°Very well, it is your choice and I cannot force you to do something else,¡± the old man said quickly. He realize that Ye Tian¡¯s heart right is now is set for answers even if it would cost him his life.


    ¡°Elder. I apologize for not asking you your name. May I ask for this elder¡¯s name?¡± Ye Tian asked politely while cupping his hand.


    ¡°You can just call me elder Xue Long,¡± the old man said.


    Ye Tian was shocked. Never did he imagine that he would¡¯ve met the patriarch of the Xue family. He hurriedly said, ¡°Patriarch Xue, forgive my rudeness.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, not a big deal. I don¡¯t care for such trivial matters,¡± Xue Long replied.


    ¡°Patriarch Xue, I again want to thank your kindness and understanding. I believe my sisters will be in good care in your family¡¯s hand, so I do not fear of them getting mistreated in any way. If I may ask for a last request¡­¡­.I¡¯ve given my sisters the forgotten potion, and in 10 years they might or might not remember, but I request that you never tell them of this matter or of my existence,¡± Ye Tianshamefully explained. Every word that came out of his mouth, his body trembed. He knew what he did was despicable, but couldn''t think of a better idea.


    Xue Long frowned angrily, but he was still calm on the outside. Then he asked, ¡°Is this what you really want?¡±


    ¡°Yes, patriarch Xue,¡± Ye Tian looked at him with fiery eyes.


    ¡°Life¡­..is such¡­¡­very well, you can leave this mansion by going through the opposite of where you are at. I have already informed the guards, and they will not touch you,¡± Xue Long concluded.


    Ye Tian cupped his hand again, and bowed deeply for 10 breaths of time, before leaving towards the opposite direction.Xue Long already arrived at the pavilion with just a step or two, preparing to carry the kids to his home.


    As Ye Tian was about to past by the lavender tree, he noticed a beautiful young woman within one meter away from him. He looked at her briedly before bowing his head towards her. She bowed back.


    Ye Tian did not realize who she was, but she knew Ye Tian was the same man that she bumped into on that rainy day!


    Ye Tian continued walking further as his figure started disappearing. The young woman then walked towards the pavilion, then greeted patriarch Xue, ¡°Father.¡±


    Xue long smiled and said, ¡°Mei Er, do you mind having two younger sisters around this place from now on?¡±


    That was the young woman¡¯s name, Xue Mei.


    ¡°Father, you know I¡¯ve always wanted younger siblings, and I¡¯m sure elder brother would be excited to have them as well,¡± Xue Mei giggled.


    ¡°Good, good, the more the merrier,¡± Xue Long said, but he was still staring at the disappearing figure of Ye Tian. Xue Mei understood there was some disappointed shown on his face, and asked, ¡°Father, that young man¡­.what¡¯s his name? He must be the brother of these two young girls, right?


    Xue Long nodded, then said, ¡°this young man¡­..he¡¯s a true genius.¡±


    Xue Mei reminded his father again, ¡°Father, there are many geniuses within this world, so of course it wouldn¡¯t be surprising to see one here.¡±


    ¡°Mei Er, were you able to see his cultivation?¡± Xue Long asked with sparkling eyes.


    ¡°No, apparently ever since the beginning, I couldn¡¯t see through his cultivation, Does he have have some method to conceal his cultivation?¡± Xue Mei asked curiously.


    Xue Long responded, ¡°Geeezzz¡­..such a shame¡­.the reason you couldn¡¯t see through his cultivation was because he has reached the Supreme Dao Realm!¡±


    Xue Mei was shocked. No one in history ever came close to such realm at such an age. The earliest that reached the supreme dao realm was at age 25. Xue mei asked again, ¡°Are you sure father? he¡¯smost likely the same age as me¡­.¡±


    Xue Long was saddened and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. Elder Jin told me about his encounter with this young man. His name is Ye Tian!¡±

 Chapter 11 – Ma Qian

    Ye Tian finally left the Xue Mansion, but never left the his eyesight from it. Within a distance at a nearby tree, Ye Tian was standing on one of the branches with tears in his eyes. He could never forgive himself for what he has done, but what other did he have? He stood there like a shadow until midnight. By that time he went back to his home. He looked around, no one else was there. It used to be the children, his sisters and himself living here with some sense of peace, but now it¡¯s only himself. He tried to sleep but he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about past memories. He laid on the floor and watched the white moon with a gradient blue color. The stars were shining bright white with a few of them reflecting different colors.


    He kept staring until the sun started rising. He realized he didn¡¯t sleep all through this while and decided to think what he was going to do next. In the early morning, he went back to Internal Healing Garden to inform elder Master Fan on the whereabouts of his sisters to not cause any worry. Elder Fan wasn¡¯t angry as that was probably the best choice, giving the girls a safer and brighter future. She asked Ye Tian if he wishes to continue working here, but Ye Tian respectfully decline.


    ¡°If you decide to change your mind, you are always welcome here. I will give you some more scrolls and ingredients to concoct more advanced potions before you leave. You¡¯re an intelligent young man, so I have no worried you can learn it without trouble,¡± Elder Fan said.


    ¡°Thank you elder master Fan. You are the first to have given me help when I came to this capital city, and I will never forget what you and the others have done. Someday, I will repay the debts back,¡± Ye Tian replied while cupping his hand and bowing to elder Fan and the rest of the elders within the shop.


    He left and looked at his map. Now he was planning to meet Ma Qian to get more information from him. He arrived at Pretty Flowers Inn, but he was frowning. This inn is actually a brothel and a very crowded one. The moment he went inside, a beautiful lady with such enticing lips wrapped around him and asked what kind of service he wants. But Ye Tian held his breath and told her that he was looking for a friend. As soon as the name came up, the lady suddenly yelled out, ¡°Hey Rascal, someone is looking for you!¡±


    The beautiful lady smiled at Ye Tian and left gracefully. A few moments later, A figure jumped out from the second floor and landed right in front of Ye Tian. ¡°Ye Tian, it¡¯s been a while, what do you need?¡±


    ¡°Ma Qian, why are you living here? Do you¡­..do it everyday?¡± Ye Tian whispered.


    ¡°Hahaha my friend, I was raised by my Aunt and she¡¯s been working here ever since I could open my eyes. All these ladies are like my sisters and aunties,¡± Ma Qian replied while patting Ye Tian¡¯s back.


    ¡°I see¡­..¡± Ye Tian said.


    ¡°Ye Tian, how useful did you find my map?¡± Ma Qian asked.


    ¡°Very useful. I must thank you for that,¡± Ye Tian responded.


    ¡°Ye Tian, this is not just some whorehouse. Why do you think my map is filled with so much information?¡±


    Ye Tian wondered on this question for a bit, but Ma Qian whispered to him, ¡°this place is also an intelligence gathering. You can pretty much find any information that¡¯s happening around the city, even some of the secret ones. A lot of important figures and nobles come here for pleasure, but don¡¯t underestimate any of ladies working here. Every men that have come inside here have fallen deep within their trap. These ladies are very intelligent and crafty women.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Ma Qian was smiling at him, like he was part of the crew. Ye Tian could only smile back. This is not the kind of place he wants to be in right now.


    ¡°Can we talk somewhere private?¡± Ye Tian asked. ¡°Right, we can go to my room, but it¡¯s a bit busy right now,¡± Ma Qian answered. He had a devilish smile on his face. He didn¡¯t want to tell Ye Tian that there were some guest doing some love-making in his room due to the full occupation. Even he was kicked out of his room by his aunt and hung around the second floor. He knew Ye Tian was too innocent and wanted to give Ye Tian ¡°a first sight¡± of what love is. Ye Tian knew something was off when he saw that wicked face of Ma Qian.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go outside and talk then,¡± Ye Tian replied. Ma Qian was a bit disappointed.


    They went out to a tea shop where rooms were divided for privacy. Ye Tian asked, ¡°Is there a way you can identify the important figures in the city?¡¯ Ma Qian took out a box, and some type of illusory sand hanging above the box. Then a small bird also came out of the box and started chirping on the sand so quickly a face appeared.


    ¡°This is the current emperor of Star Empire,¡± Ma Qian introduced. Then he went on, ¡°this is the current prime minister, this is the foreign minister, this is the head of the Jin clan¡­.¡±. As Ma Qian kept introducing new figures, the bird was able to keep up and illustrate different figures swiftly. This went on for a while and Ye Tian started remembering the important figures in his head. The higher cultivation realm, the easier it is to memorize things. At Ye Tian¡¯s current realm, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem memorizing hundreds of figures within a small period of time.


    While Ma Qian was introducing all the important figures, he was also paying attention to Ye Tian¡¯s reaction¡­.but there wasn¡¯t even a small reaction coming from him. Ye Tian kept a straight face and Ma Qian couldn¡¯t figure it out, so he asked, ¡°Are you looking for someone in particular?¡± Ye Tian replied, ¡°No, I just need to know these figures for convenience only. Besides, I don¡¯t want to offend anyone powerful. That¡¯s asking for trouble I can¡¯t handle.¡±


    Ye Tian continued, ¡°Can you tell me the relationships among these figures with other clans or sect in this empire?¡±


    Ma Qian started explaining all the relationship each figure has, and who their enemies are. Ma Qian was like an encyclopedia. He knew every place, every one, every faction, and every issues the city is currently facing. Ye Tian quite admired such person, and he also knew Ma Qian had a pretty good cultivation at the mid stage of the great dao realm besides being a few years older. He could be considered as talented as any geniuses there are within this empire. And considering Ma Qian has no powerful clans or figures backing him, Ye Tian wondered what kind of cultivation technique he was using.


    After introducing everyone, Ma Qian had some sweat on his forehead. Ye Tian then poured some wine for Ma Qian and said, ¡°Come let¡¯s drink, Thank you for your help today.¡± Ye Tian only drank tea and while he was sipping on his tea, he could see Ma Qian¡¯s slightly gloomy face. Ma Qian worked very hard in introducing everything to Ye Tian, and he was expecting some kind of monetary payment for his phenomenal service, but things didn¡¯t turn out as he expected. He didn¡¯t want to make a big deal out of it since Ye Tian was still relatively new in the capital and he just made a new decent friend, which was rare in this capital.


    They both drank and continued their conversation. After they finished, the left and stroll around the city where Ma Qian was explaining every place they went through like a tour guide. He was also able to sell some of his maps and other things while talking with Ye Tian. Ye Tian thought this guy will someday become a great merchant.


    Just when things are going well, Ye Tian and Ma Qian both revealed a dark expression. What was in front of them to make them act this way?

 Chapter 12 – Water Sword

    ¡°Well, well, well. If it isn¡¯t the whore¡¯s son and this other bastard that tricked some of my clansmen into trouble¡± young master Xi said loudly.


    ¡°Hahaha brother Xi, don¡¯t mind these low-life insects,¡± another young master said laughingly. This young master was the young master of the Sun clan. He went up to Ma Qian and grabbed the map Ma Qian was selling. He never even thought Ma Qian¡¯s map were any good. He looked at it and was pleasantly surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep one for now.¡± young master Sun said, and turned around.


    ¡°It¡¯s 60 zoids,¡± Ma Qian said.


    ¡°What? this is the penalty fee for selling at my territory without permission,¡± young master Sun countered.


    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense, everyone knows you lost this territory to the Zhao clan. It¡¯s been three years ever since that happened and your family no longer have influence in this place,¡± Ma Qian replied.


    Young master Xi and Sun looked at each other and smiled, then looked at their clansmen and said, ¡°Beat them.¡±


    A wave of warriors dashed forward and attacked both Ye Tian and Ma Qian. But someone was much quicker to act. Right when young master Xi said his words, Ye Tian disappeared from his spot, and landed right behind the young master Xi!


    ¡°Move another inch, and I¡¯ll break his neck,¡± Ye Tian yelled while his arms already had a firm grip on the young master¡¯s neck. Everyone stopped while Ma Qian stood in front of Ye Tian. He praised Ye Tian¡¯s quick thinking, otherwise, they would¡¯ve been in big trouble. Now it was him to act to support Ye Tian. They¡¯re in this together!


    ¡°If you harm the young master in any way, the Xi clan will definitely kill you!¡± said one of the clansmen.


    ¡°Right now, your young master¡¯s life is in my hands. I couldn¡¯t care less what they could do to me. Every time I meet this kid, he¡¯s always making trouble for me. I will release him when we¡¯re within the safe distance.I wish neither sides to be hurt, but if you follow us, don¡¯t blame me if your young master is hurt¡± Ye Tian replied.


    Ye Tian and Ma Qian started leaving while watching cautiously. The other young master and the rest of the clansmen didn¡¯t dare to make a move. Ye Tian and Ma Qian were able to escape about 50 miles from the conflict, and arrived a relatively secluded place near the border of the city. Ma Qian took out an item that flew off into the sky with red sparks and illustrated something like a flag. This was a signal of where the clansmen can find their young master.


    ¡°As promised, we¡¯re letting you go. I hope you will never bother us again in the future,¡± Ye Tian said and released the young master.


    They left the vicinity, while young master Xi was left there alone with rage in his eyes. No one ever dared to kidnap him and threaten him. Ye Tian and Ma Qian was already gone, but in a short while the Xi clansmen and Sun clansmen arrived.


    ¡°Are you alright, young master?¡±


    ¡°Kill them, kill them! I want them dead, young master Xi yelled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry young master, we have a few people that were following them and left some trails that we can follow. We¡¯ll catch up in no time,¡± young master Sun said.


    While Ye Tian and Ma Qian moved towards one direction, Ye Tian said, ¡°We¡¯re being followed.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Ma Qian asked frantically.


    ¡°Just trust me, I can sense them. We need to find a way out of this now. You got any idea?¡± Ye Tian countered.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°¡­..how about we move towards the forest. We should be able to escape with all the beast around there.¡± Ma Qian gave a suggestion.


    Ye Tian just nodded, and they continued moving towards the forest quickly. Before they got close to the forest, a flying sword moved so quickly aiming at Ma Qian¡¯s neck. Ye Tian knew this sword was controlled by an infinite dao realm warrior. There was no way Ma Qian could evade such attack nor can sense the attack. Ye Tian released an attack . It was also a sword but it wasn¡¯t a typical sword, it was a water sword attack. Ye Tian could control a water element. Throughout history, very few rare cases could control some type of nature element. It was extremely difficult, because not only does the cultivators need to understand the nature, but their hearts must also be pure to be approved by that nature.


    The water sword attack blocked the other sword and both swords were retrieved by their original owner. The infinite dao warrior flicked his eyes in disapproval. He never thought his attack could be blocked by some youngsters. Ye Tian and Ma Qian continued to ran and finally entered the forest. In a short while, the rest of the clansmen also entered the forest.


    ¡°I will reward anyone who brings me their head 50,000 zoids each,¡± young Xi claimed. A nice sum of amount that could purchase a pretty nice property within the city plus other precious cultivating items. Both the Xi and Sun clansmen were overjoyed, and started searching in different directions earnestly. It took a while, but someone finally screamed in pain.


    Ye Tian and Ma Qian were coordinating with each other and hiding near the bushes for ambush. Ye Tian landed in front of the clansmen, while Ma Qian punched the clansmen spine leaving him handicapped for life. They quickly left the area while some of the other clansmen arrived in anger. This went on for an hour or so, where a few painful screams were heard in different directions.


    ¡°Everyone surround this side of the forest while the supreme dao cultivators come with me,¡± the infinite dao cultivator from the Xi clan said. Besides them, another infinite Dao realm cultivator from the Sun clan also followed along young master Sun and Young Master Xi. They kept moving deeper into the forest while hearing wild beasts roaring with different echoes.


    With the group in close formation, Ye Tian and Ma Qian¡¯s ambush will no longer be effective. They continued to move deeper within the forest. Suddenly a flying wild beast flew down like lightning and aimed at Ma Qian. His cultivation was the lowest out of the two and has the best chance of succeeding. Although this time, Ma Qian was fully aware, defending from the wild beast could also injure him seriously. Ye Tian threw another water attack shaped like an arrow. The arrow struck the wild beast¡¯s feet and screamed in some pain. The sound was loud enough for the group to hear. They started to speed up their pace towards the location of the sound. As the wild beast and Ye Tian continued battling, within 10 breaths of time, the group have arrived. All of the supreme dao clansmen started attacking, but the wild beast was confused and started attacking them as well. The battle continue as Ma Qian was battling the wild beast and Ye Tian was battling the clansmen.


    The infinite dao warriors flinched as they were surprised Ye Tian could hold of these clansmen of the same cultivation. They have heard of how strong Ye Tian was, but could never believe it until they saw it with their own eyes. They looked at each other and nodded. Inside their mind, they agreed that they couldn¡¯t let Ye Tian live, otherwise he would become an unstoppable figure in the future. The infinite dao warrior from the Sun clan threw a flying sword, while the other cultivator from the Xi clan closed in on Ye Tian with daggers. A combination of long range and close range combat.


    Ye Tian threw another water sword attack to block the flying sword, but couldn¡¯t block the dagger that cut his arm. Ma Qian saw this, and finally revealed his move. Multiple vines came from the ground and formed a wall to block the infinite dao warriors from coming closer to Ye Tian. But the young master Xi dashed from another angle and was able to land a severe punch to Ye Tian¡¯s chest. This special glove of young master Xi¡¯s is quite the treasure!


    Meanwhile, young master Sun distracted Ma Qian from interfering by using his spear to make swirling attacks. Ma Qian¡¯s vines formed a shield in front of him just in time and held the spear from moving further. The spear got stuck halfway where Ma Qian was able to split the head spear from it¡¯s main body, and then threw a palm force towards the remaining spear body aimed at the young master.


    The spear was a distraction, because the vines started reforming again and like a rocket aimed at the young master. Bam! The vines hit young master Sun like a hammer and he flew backwards and crashed into a nearby tree. But the vines kept moving with him and spread out like a web of net and entrapped the young master with the tree. Young master Sun was unconscious from the violent impact. Ma Qian was focusing on young master Sun and the flying beast, but he didn¡¯r realize a sword was already flying at him with lightning speed. Ma Qian tried to gather more vines from the ground but it was too late. The sword stabbed Ma Qian¡¯s shoulder and the speed of the impact made him crash the ground and kept sliding almost falling from the foggy cliff!


    What will happen to Ye Tian and Ma Qian?

 Chapter 13 – The Cliff of No Return

    When Ye Tian suffered from the violent punch, the Xi infinite dao warrior closed in again and stabbed at Ye Tian¡¯s neck, but Ye Tian flipped backward with one of his feet forming another arrow water attack that blocked the dagger. At this moment, the infinite dao warrior whispered a spell and threw another dagger that transformed into a spinning machete aiming at Ye Tian¡¯s head. Meanwhile, young master Xi continued his attacks and landed another blow on Ye Tian¡¯s ribcage. Seeing both attacks, Ye Tian took the blow but pulled young master Xi¡¯s arm closer to him, and grabbed his body to block the spinning machete. As soon as the infinite dao warrior saw this he directed the machete outward and avoided the young master.


    Ye Tian then formed a fire element in hand and swung his arm across that caused a wall of white flames that separated them from the other clansmen. Ye Tian and Ma Qian was trapped near the end of the cliff, but this time with young master Xi as hostage again. the young master couldn¡¯t face this situation again, and with a dagger hidden near his sleeves, he elbowed Ye Tian and directed the dagger piercing through Ye Tian¡¯s stomach. Ye Tian¡¯s eyes showed shock and anger while falling of the cliff, but with the young masters back in front of him, he aimed a palm attack at young master Xi¡¯s bone marrow.


    ¡°Aaahhhhhhh¡±


    Everyone could hear an extremely painful scream. The impact to the bone marrow caused young master Xi to be crippled for life!


    Meanwhile, Ma Qian, saw Ye Tian falling off and tried to extend huge wind blew that cause him to fall off balance and fell from the cliff as well. This cliff was extremely foggy and there was a rumor that says anyone that falls of this cliff has never returned. Both were falling off, and Ye Tian was falling unconscious but he had a regretful smile knowing that he still didn¡¯t know who killed his parents and the other elders. Ma Qian was extremely furious as he was falling. How the hell did things end up this way? He still wanted to conquer more women!


    No one in the capital realized that deep below the cliff there is a whirlpool array! Throughout this time nobody bothered to investigate the cliff due to various stories spread around overtime. It doesn¡¯t matter which version the story came from, because all of them had the same storyline ¨C The cliff of no return!


    Within several breaths, Ye Tian already fell unconscious and Ma Qian was also getting sleepy due to the loss of blood. However, he held on and was able to see just a bit of the whirlpool before falling unconscious as well. They fell inside the whirlpool array and disappeared. But a few moments later, they appeared out of the sea! The current swept them a secluded onshore. No one near lived there for whatever reason.


    By nighttime, Ma Qian woked up and struggled to see his surroundings. He saw Ye Tian was within a distance near a huge rock. But before that, he had to focus on healing his wounds. He took out two potions, where he applied one of them on his shoulder. In a couple of breaths, the open wound started closing at a rapid pace. He felt a bit of pain when the wound was closing up. After that, he took another crystal potion and inserted into his chest without any trouble. The crystal potion was a healing potion, and once it went inside Ma Qian¡¯s chest, the crystal transformed into a melted liquid and spread throughout different channels of his body. Ma QIan felt a lot better, but still needed the rest of potion to work overtime. He got up and walked towards Ye Tian, who was still unconscious and was seriously wounded.


    Ma Qian carried him below a tree and spread the potion quickly that closed Ye Tian¡¯s wounds. Ye Tian groaned a bit, which means he was still alive. Ma Qian was relieved. Once the wound all closed up, he hesitantly took out a high-grade crystal potion. It was his only one and for emergency use only¡­.specifically for himself! However, Ma Qian didn¡¯t have any other choice and inserted the healing potion inside Ye Tian¡¯s chest. He was hoping that in the near future, Ye Tian would repay two high-grade healing potions as long as he told him that he used two to recover him. This time the glow was brighter and worked amazingly well. The pain that Ye Tian showed on his face throughout this time disappeared gradually.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    After that was taken care of, Ma Qian tried to scan the nearby areas. It was dark and all he knew was that on one side was the sea, and on the other side there was a beach. He couldn¡¯t find anything more and decided to rest until morning. He set up multiple arrays that included a sensoring array and a defensive array surrounding both of them. This could give them some type of warning if there are any intruders whether they are beasts or humans. Now they are able to sleep with some peace of mind.


    While they were both asleep, Ye Tian entered what seems to be like another dimension, which he thought was a dream. The dimension was small and it looked more like a cave with and emerald pond. He looked around and what shocked him was he saw an old man. This old man had white hair, white silky robe, and a white beard. He was a bit on the chubby side, but he was as calm as water while roasting something near the fireplace. He also looked at Ye Tian with a surprising look, but smiled at him and signaled to have a seat. Ye Tian walked towards the old man cautiously, but eventually had a conversation¡­.


    Morning arrived and Ye Tian was the first one to wake up. He looked around and thought he was already in heaven, and had many regrets. His heart was filled with rage and vengeance. If he could¡¯ve done things differently before, he definitely would, like killing the young master Xi instead of leaving him. This event had changed his personality significantly. He realized the people in the outside world was a lot different than people in the village. The outside world was cruel and being nice or diplomatic without a powerful background would be useless.


    He looked around and realized that this might not be heaven. He looked at the places where he was previously wounded and found it was healed with barely visible scars on his chest. He also saw Ma Qian beside him still sleeping, but he knew it was because of him that he was still alive. Although he wanted to thank him, he thought it wouldn¡¯t do any good. His personality has changed 180 degrees! He reminded himself not to be kind or passive anymore. He¡¯s alive and alone, he wanted to survive and get vengeance to all those that have hurt him. He looked at Ma Qian a bit longer. He was still sleeping while sucking on his thumb like a little baby. So childish, Ye Tian thought. He also thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt to travel with Ma Qian, because he remembered how Ma Qian tried to save him while falling off the cliff.


    ¡°Pretty good morals and loyalty¡­.not bad,¡± Ye Tian thought to himself.


    Ye Tian waited for half an hour, but Ma Qian was still sleeping. He was a bit pissed off. He found a couple of leaves and crumbled it into a ball, then stuck if inside Ma Qian¡¯s nostrils. Several breaths later, Ma Qian¡¯s face was blushing red and inhaled as much air as he could from his mouth. Before, he was sucking on this thumb but due to the lack of oxygen, he instinctively pulled out his thumb to get some oxygen inside his body. By now, he was breathing heavily. What happened? Then he realized two balls were stuck inside his nostrils. He released some inner energy that pushed the balls out of his nostrils. He could only conclude someone did this, and Ye Tian was the only one with him, but Ye Tian pretended to be ignorant.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake. You know where we are?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    Ma Qian was still staring at him viciously, but whispered, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Pssss, you know how we survived,¡± Ye Tian countered.


    ¡°I saw an array within the whirlpool when we fell off the cliff. So I would assume we were transported to this place.¡± Ma Qian said.


    Ye Tian thought about it carefully, and didn¡¯t say anything else. Meanwhile Ma Qian was still staring at Ye Tian. Inside Ma Qian¡¯s heart, he said ¡°How shameless! Not even a thank you. I even gave you my one and only high=grade potion. I better tell him to return two of those potions back to me.!¡±


    ¡°Ye Tian, since you¡¯re healed up, I have to tell you that I had to use my last two high-grade¡­¡± Ma Qian said.


    But Ye Tian quickly countered, ¡°We better go now and find out where we are. The sooner the better.¡± He stood up quickly and ran off. Ye Tian saved himself this time from a debt.


    Ma Qian didn¡¯t get to finish what he wanted to say and was shocked. He whispered, ¡°What the hell? My high-grade potions.¡± He looked at Ye Tian¡¯s back, and what he saw was a different person than before!

 Chapter 14 – Tian Ren

    Ye Tian and Ma Qian both left the shore and explored deeper within the adjacent forest. They walked for quite a while but there was nothing but the forest until they found a river. There were still stains of blood on their body and clothes, so they decided to freshen up. They took off their clothes, Ye Tian was a bit pissed off that Ma Qian was so close to him while naked. He was already in a bad mood from the endless walk, and had an idea! Water from the river started gathering around him and formed a little tornado below his feet. Suddenly the tornado below his feet lifted Ye Tian high up in the sky!


    When Ma Qian saw this, he thought Ye Tian had a very rare ability controlling nature elements of water. He also seems to recall Ye Tian could control fire. A True genius! He also couldn¡¯t detect Ye Tian¡¯s cultivation. Meanwhile Ye Tian was lifted high up in the sky, he was finally able to see a small city north of where they are. He controlled the tornado to carry him below.


    Ma Qian was looking at the sky, but suddenly the only thing he could see were two shapes rapidly approaching him and is getting bigger. It was round and wrinkly as it got closer and bigger. When Ma Qian finally realized what it was, he was horrified. Just at this time, Ye Tian landed in front of him and saw his awkward face, but he didn¡¯t think any further and continued to clean himself.


    Ma Qian was still frozen for a while until he came back to reality. He quickly clean himself and get a new set of blue grey robes. ¡°Why the fu$k did I have to see his bal¡­,¡± Ma Qian whispered to himself and almost threw up. He didn¡¯t want to think about this any further but the flashbacks kept coming to him again and again. Ye Tian was still taking his time cleaning himself up and did not finish until a while later. Ye Tian wore a new set of blue robe.


    ¡°I found a small city nearby. We¡¯ll reach the place in two hours. Let¡¯s go,¡± Ye Tian said. Along the way the met a few wild beast. Some were more powerful than Ma Qian, but Ye Tian was able to handle them. The ones they have killed, they took out all the monster cores hidden inside their forehead. The monster cores could be used to progress their cultivation. The stronger the monsters are, the more benefits they will provide for cultivators. By the time they got out of the forest, they have killed 4 supreme dao monsters, and 6 great dao monsters. Ye Tian was thinking of giving one of the supreme dao cores to Ma Qian, so that he can become stronger faster. Ma Qian would be a bigger help in future battles to come. However, after thinking it over, he whispered, ¡°Fu$k that.¡± Ye Tian decided not to give one to Ma Qian. He also needed to become stronger¡­..the faster the better. This is a new journey and a second chance at life!


    Before they departed, Ma Qian took out a huge turtle beast that he was able to tame a while ago. ¡°Let¡¯s ride this to the city¡± Ma Qian said. Ye Tian nodded.


    As they rode with the turtle beast, Ye Tian recalled about what had happened last night when he entered another dimension.


    ¡°My name is Tian Ren. What is your name young man?¡± the old man asked.


    ¡°Ye Tian. Elder, what is this place?¡± Ye Tian countered.


    ¡°This place? It¡¯s a special kind of dimension that only I can enter and now it seems you are the second one. How did you get in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure¡­..,¡± Ye Tian murmured.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Perhaps did someone gave you the a little pearl?¡± Tian Ren asked.


    ¡°¡­.Yes, my father did¡­.is this why I can enter this dimension?¡± Ye Tian replied.


    Tian Ren nodded and asked, ¡°If your father put that pearl inside you, then that would mean something happened with the Ye clan?¡±


    Ye Tian kept quiet. Only he knew what had happened. He couldn¡¯t trust this old man yet.


    Tian Ren sighed and strongly said, ¡°Young Ye, the pearl that you have, you must keep it safe at all cost. The Ye clan have been protecting this pearl for a very long time. Longer than some of the empires that have existed today. If someone tries to use it for selfish reasons, the world will be in chaos.¡±


    Ye Tian still kept quiet and was thinking on how this old man knew about the Ye clan. It seems this old man knew about this pearl more than himself. Ye Tian finally asked, ¡°how do you know if this pearl can create chaos?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯m like the spirit of the pearl. I¡¯ve seen many have used it for good and bad. I¡¯ve seen civilizations wiped out and some flourished. This pearl was not meant for people to build civilizations, so it was finally given to someone who could protect this heavenly treasure from any further abuse,¡± Tian Ren replied.


    ¡°But¡­.I¡¯m still too weak¡­.there is no way I can protect it once a powerful cultivator knows about this pearl,¡± Ye Tian gloomily said.


    ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry. This pearl is integrated with your heart. If you call upon it, a heavenly divine beast will come out and help you. At the least, it will help you escape for sure,¡± Tian Ren confidently said.


    ¡°How do I call upon it?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    Tian Ren got up and walk towards him. He lifts his finger and gently touches Ye Tian¡¯s forehead. Ye Tian¡¯s body shakes a bit but nothing harmful. This was a sacred method to transfer knowledge unto another. A divine technique that no one knew except Tian Ren. Ye Tian opens his eyes with satisfaction, but also asked, ¡°Can you teach me how to use this transfer technique?¡±


    Tian Ren thought a bit and approved it. His face slowly gets closer to Ye Tian to the point of almost being kissed! Ye Tian rolls backward, and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ye Tian felt a tingling chill when his face got close to Tian Ren.


    ¡°Relax, I can¡¯t transfer the knowledge using the previous technique. If you want to know how, your forehead needs to touch with mine!¡± Tian Ren grudgingly replied. Who the hell does this kid think I am. I¡¯m no pervert, little brat!


    ¡°..Fi..Fine,¡± Ye Tian agreed. Tian Ren moves forward and touches Ye Tian¡¯s forehead with his. Meanwhile, Ye Tian felt disgusted. Good thing no one else is seeing this.


    As their forehead touches, a glow appears with strings of light going inside Ye Tian¡¯s head. It took about several breaths, which was long enough for Ye Tian to smell the old man¡¯s heavy breath. As soon as it was over, Ye Tian moved back quickly and started hugging himself a bit. He felt like he had been abused. Tian Ren saw this and was a bit angry, but he sympathized with Ye Tian. After all, Ye Tian is now the sole protector of the pearl.


    ¡°Ye Tian, come visit me when you have problems. Maybe I can help you,¡± Tian Ren said, then walked back to his original position. While he turned around, his face was also blushing. He has lived for a very long time since ancient times, and he has never been so close to another except his wife. Ye Tian and Tian Ren couldn¡¯t looked at each other but the feeling they had felt a bit like adultery!


    With the inherited knowledge, Ye Tian left the dimension and opened his eyes. He could see they¡¯re now within a closing distance from the city. Ma Qian said, ¡°We should walk from here. This turtle is too big to go inside the city.¡±


    Ye Tian nodded. From the distance, they could see the city was situated on top of a huge hill surrounded by rivers. It almost seems the city was built to become a fortress ready for war.


    What will happen inside the city?

 Chapter 15 – United Temples City

    Ye Tian and Ma Qian entered the city after passing through the main gate. It was quite the bustling city with plenty of stores, restaurants, and guards patrolling the city, but Ma Qian was wondering why the city was called United Temples. He couldn¡¯t even see any temples around him.


    ¡°This city must have a deeper history behind it,¡± Ma Qian said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Ye Tian replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s called United Temples city but we haven¡¯t seen any temples¡­¡± Ma Qian countered.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll find out sooner or later. We first need to find an inn and some information about this city and where we are,¡± Ye Tian said.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s get going then,¡± ma Qian agreed.


    Once they found an inn, they asked some of the servants for a map and other information they could find. They couldn¡¯t directly ask them which empire or kingdom are they at. That would sound stupid. After talking with several of the servants and guests, they found out they are located in the Shui Kingdom of the Nirvana Continent, which was millions of miles away from the Forest continent. The Nirvana continent was also a bit isolated from the other continents due to the long distance apart.


    ¡°I need to make my own map of this city. I¡¯ll be back before night,¡± Ma Qian said.


    ¡°Good idea. We¡¯ll meet tonight then,¡± Ye Qian replied knowing that Ma Qian was one of the best if not the best in map-making.


    Ye Tian went out to explore the city a bit. He wanted to join a bounty hunter guild to earn some income, and most importantly, to find any clues of the bandits that destroyed his village. Dawn arrived, and Ye Tian went back to the inn to meet Ma Qian according to the agreed time. But he did not expect that he had to wait, and wait, and wait until midnight! He didn¡¯t even get to eat dinner! Ye Tian was a bit worried, so he came out in search of Ma Qian. He tried to check the brothels first, because he thought Ma Qian was a sex addict, but Ma Qian wasn¡¯t there. There weren¡¯t a lot of stores opened by this late night, but he checked the ones with lights ons, but Ma Qian was also never there. Ye Tian frowned, and thought ¡°Maybe he got beaten up,¡± so he checked the small alleyways that he could find, but was not there either.


    Suddenly, Ye Tian could hear a faint of someone crying below the bridge he was crossing. Using his lantern, he followed the crying voice and saw a black figure sitting with his head down while sniffing a bit. Ye Tian asked, ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± When the black figure saw the speck of light and a shadow of the person, he knew someone was coming. The black figure quickly wiped his tears and tried not to make a sound. Ye Tian kept getting closer, and the black figure stood up and answered, ¡°I¡­.I¡¯m..snifff¡­alright.¡±


    Ye Tian replied, ¡°Do you need hel¡­¡­¡± Before he completed his sentence, he saw the face of the black figure. The face was full of dirt, sweat, and stains of tears with watery eyes. Never did he imagine the black figure was Ma Qian! ¡°Ma Qian¡­.what happened,¡± Ye Tian asked in a low tone of voice. ¡°Nothing¡­nothing happened. I was just remembering old times. Sorry, I lost track of time and didn¡¯t meet you in time. Let¡¯s go back now,¡± Ma Qian replied and started walking out. Ye Tian followed behind Ma Qian, and wanted to ask him some questions, but he restrained.


    As they walked back towards the inn, Ye Tian realized they went in circles a couple of times. Ma Qian was leading the way, and Ye Tian quietly followed behind him throughout this time. When Ma Qian was about to turn to left, Ye Tian quickly said, ¡°turn right, it¡¯s a shortcut. Another time, ¡°keep going straight, we¡¯ll arrive at the inn soon.¡± By this time, Ye Tian was already walking beside him slightly ahead of Ma Qian. Ye Tian kept glancing at him at different times while Ma Qian feigned ignorance. They finally arrived and went inside their room.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Ye Tian stares at Ma Qian and asks, ¡°Were you able to complete the map of this city?¡±


    ¡°Most of it is completed. The information will be added later on as we find out more of the city,¡± Ma Qian proudly says.


    ¡°Good. When did you finish the map?¡± Ye Tian asks again.


    ¡°By the time the sun was setting I was able to complete all of the important parts. Before night arrived, I left¡­,¡± Ma Qian stops quickly and realizes something was wrong. He then says, ¡°I¡¯m tired now, let¡¯s get some sleep.¡±


    Ye Tian sees Ma Qian laying on his bed and starts sleeping with his side back in front of him. ¡°Pssss¡­.,¡± Ye Tian whispers and figures out something.


    Who would¡¯ve thought Ma Qian, one of the best map makers in this world, was hopeless with directions! Since the sunset till midnight, he was lost trying to get back to the inn.


    Ma Qian pretends to sleep, but he was griping both of his hands. He didn¡¯t want Ye Tian to know of this flaw he has that is so embarrassing. Ye Tian stares at Ma Qian¡¯s back for quite a while until he blows out the light. They both begin sleeping.


    In the next morning, they both woke up almost at the same time and their stomach was growling like a baby beast was roaring. They were both extremely hungry, because they hadn¡¯t had dinner last night. They went downstairs where the inn had some tables to serve food.


    They both ate quickly. Multiple plates emptied out within a blink of an eye. Ye Tian was still annoyed but he wanted an answer from Ma Qian, so he asked, ¡°Hey, were you always like this?¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Ma Qian replied while stuffing his food.


    ¡°No sense of direction,¡± Ye Tian said simply.


    Ma Qian shook a little but ignored to answer Ye Tian¡¯s question and continued to eat. Sensing this, Ye Tian said, ¡°Hmmph, next time you complete your map, I will go with you.¡±


    Ma Qian felt a bit annoyed and angry. He knew he couldn¡¯t keep it a secret anymore. After all only the ladies from the brothel knew of his sense of direction from past events. When Ma Qian was a child, he loved to draw maps, but one day he got lost and his Auntie was so worried, he asked all the ladies to go out and search for him. Luckily, one of the ladies found him crying near a little lake.


    ¡°Screw you. I¡¯m the best map maker in this world. So what if I get lost once in a while¡­okay sometimes¡­.all the time alright. Screw you litttle punk,¡± Ma Qian furiously said, then quickly went back to the room. Ye Tian was shocked. It wasn¡¯t that serious, why did he have to get so mad? Ye Tian was even more shocked when he realized Ma Qian did not pay his bill! ¡°I was going to return the high-grade potion to him, but screw that,¡± Ye Tian whispered.


    After he finished eating, he went back inside the room.


    ¡°Ma Qian, we¡¯re both in the situation and I don¡¯t have a lot of zoids left. I went to look around yesterday and I found a guild that pays for completed missions. I think this is a good way to earn some zoids while traveling. What do you think?¡± Ye Tian proposed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I¡¯ve also thought about making copies of the map I created. I¡¯m certain some will be interested in buying my maps,¡± Ma Qian added.


    They both agreed and departed for the guild Ye Tian mentioned earlier. They arrived at a place where the tallest building stood inside this city. It looked like a pagoda that was 10 stories high. There were guards outside the building inspecting incomers. The place was bustling with a bunch of people coming in and out. A huge stone board was hanging, with the name ¡°Global Alliance Guild.¡± It¡¯s the biggest guild created by all the empires and kingdoms agreeing to the treaty to complete missions from all over the world. The global alliance guild have branches all over the world with one of them located in the United Temples City.


    What kind of missions can Ye Tian and Ma Qian do?

 Chapter 16 – You Will Be Given A Rank

    Inside the building, they were no stairs and the mid-area were hollowed out with special air energy. This area was a place where people can move up and down the floors without the stairs. The air current inside the array moves according to each person¡¯s will to ascend or descend. On the right side of the building is the registration area. Very few people were there while on the left side were places to inspect and collect the rewards.


    ¡°Hi boys, you want to register as a bounty hunter, assassin, or a bodyguard?¡± an alluring lady asked. She had the pinkest lips, auburn hair, firm bosoms, and wore glasses. Ma Qian was already captivated and the young lady knew that and winked at him for fun.


    ¡°Hello, we¡¯d like to know on how to register as a bounty hunter. Are there any fees and requirements involved?¡± Ye Tian asked politely.


    ¡°There are no fees, but we do need to you to sign a contract. Besides that, you¡¯ve already fulfilled the prerequisites of having a minimal of the great dao realm cultivation.¡± the alluring lady said with a flirtatious look to Ye Tian. Ye Tian blushed a bit while Ma Qian rolled his eyes. This kid is still a virgin and you¡¯re a cougar! The young lady was exceptionally pretty and looked rebellious, and was actually quite talkative.


    ¡°Alright where do I sign the contract? Also¡­.can we become two professionals at once, like being a bounty hunter and an assassin?¡± Ye Tian asked but near the end, his voice almost sounded like a whisper.


    The alluring lady was shocked, but scanned Ye Tian¡¯s cultivation and felt even more shocked.


    ¡°The minimal cultivation to become an assassin is to be at least in the supreme dao realm. You¡¯re qualified to become an assassin but are you sure you want to become one. The pay is higher but it¡¯s also much more dangerous,¡± the young lady warned.


    ¡°Miss, I understand. I will not pick out any assassin mission right away. It¡¯s just for future purpose in case I decide to do one¡± Ye Tian replied.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s none of my business any way. Hey! Are you going to sign this bounty hunter contract or not?¡± the young lady stared at Ma Qian. Once Ma Qian heard Ye Tian was a supreme dao cultivator and wanted to become an assassin, he was shocked and speechless. Throughout this whole time, he didn¡¯t even make a move and swallowed his saliva. But Ma Qian came to his senses, and also said, ¡°I also want to register for the assassin program.¡±


    ¡°Hmmppphh, damn kid! You¡¯re too weak,¡± the young lady quickly rejected. After all she was able to scan the cultivation of Ye Tian and Ma Qian¡¯s. That also means her cultivation is also quite high. Ma Qian felt disgusted. He knew he was pretty damn strong for his age. It¡¯s just Ye Tian is a bit of a monster.


    ¡°By the way, my name is Wang Rong. I will officially become your representative and helper when you missions arrived. Also before you do any missions, we need to test each person on combat ability, intelligence, and resilience. Each of you will be given a rank as a bounty hunter or an assassin. The highest rank is SS, after that is the S rank, A rank, B rank, and C rank being the lowest. Your rank will not be announced publicly, but sometimes the guild will offer you special missions if you rank high,¡± Wang Rong explained.


    After Ye Tian and Ma Qian signed the contracts, they left to the testing ground led by Wang Rong. They arrived at the mid-area where they were carried by the air current to the underground level. The underground floor had multiple gates with different color symbols.


    ¡°Alright, the green symbol is for the bounty hunter exam, little child you can enter, ¡± Wang Rong smiled to Ma Qian. Ma Qian was pissed but he knew he couldn¡¯t do anything to her. For the first time, Ma Qian¡¯s heart was irritated. He didn¡¯t know what this feeling was, but he was set on one goal ¨C to lay in the same bed as Wang Rong!


    ¡°As for you Ye Tian, you need to enter the gate of the black symbol. Your bounty hunter and assassin test will be tested simultaneously within the exam. Both of you listen up, when you enter you will be transported to another small world. You need to stay for 4 hours. What you do, how you do it, where you do it, when you do it, it doesn¡¯t matter. Your performance will be evaluated by the judges monitoring your exam. Now go!¡± Wang Rong warned.


    Both entered their respective gates. Ma Qian landed in an unfamiliar world. He looks at his surroundings and sees a city. Suddenly a little windows pops up in front of him with the words, ¡°Catch the serial rapist.¡± Ma Qian concludes that this must be the mission, but there¡¯s no picture or other info provided.


    Ma Qian frowned, and said, ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m gonna get lost again and I won¡¯t be able to pass this test.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Suddenly, he hears a voice of a woman yelling. Ma Qian unleashes his vines. If the vine can still hear the voice, the vine can find out the location through the underground networks of other vines.


    ¡°Found her!¡± Ma Qian happily said. This was a lucky opportunity given his lack of sense of direction.


    Ma Qian jumps forward while the vines erupt in places where he landed. The vines push Ma Qian¡¯s feet like a spring trampoline giving him an extra boost in covering the distance within a short period of time. As he jumps from one place to another, he can finally see another of his vine within a distance pointing at one direction


    Ma Qian smiles and quickly arrives at the scene. It¡¯s a small abandoned mine. The perfect place for predators to commit a crime with no one near the scene. Ma Qian checks the ground again by communicating with his vines. He dashes inside the mining cave and within several breaths he can see a woman in disarray laying on the ground while another man taking his robe off. Ma Qian quickly uses his vines to attack the man but a shield array blocks the vines from entering. The man hears the impact of the sound and says, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°Your Mom, bitch!¡± Ma Qian yelled.


    ¡°Hahaha, screw off kid! Or do you want to see what I would do to her?,¡± the man laughed.


    Ma Qian uses another vine attack, but this time it¡¯s one of his most powerful attack. The vines form a spear-like shape and attacks as it twists continually. The shield array shakes far bigger this time from the impact, but is still withholding the vine attack.


    ¡°Kid, this spell I¡¯ve set up can only be broken by a supreme dao cultivator. You can¡¯t break it,¡± the man laughed again.


    Ma Qian smirks, and said, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to attack directly, but there is another way.¡± Ma Qian palms the ground while Ma Qian¡¯s robes and hair flutter from the impact.


    Rumble , rumbke, crackkk, twirppp!


    Ma Qian¡¯s vines erupt from the ground and ties up the man¡¯s feet, then the hands.


    ¡°Release the spell, and I¡¯ll let you live¡± Ma Qian said firmly.


    The man is tied up, but he closes his eyes for a moment before opening again and stares directly at Ma Qian. Ma Qian is also staring at the man, but for whatever reason, he sees his vines retreating. A few breaths later, the vines erupt from the ground again, but now the vines are tying up Ma Qian¡¯s feet and hands. The man is smiling devilishly and whispers again. Another vine climbs and twirls Ma Qian¡¯s neck and gripping it tighter and tighter.


    Ma Qian panics. His vines martial dao are among the rarest martial dao and has to have extreme affinity with mother earth. What are the chances that he meets another cultivator who can use vines as well? Ma Qian is still struggling, but the vines starts becoming transparent!


    ¡°Transparent¡­why?¡±Ma Qian tried to work his brain as fast as possible.He finally figured it out. Although he was tied up, he didn¡¯t feel pain but rather the thought of suffocation.


    Ma Qian yells out a martial technique that shocks his internal body and mind in a heartbeat. This technique allows Ma Qian to regain his senses.


    He sees the vines that are tying him up disappear bit by bit. Instead, he still sees the vines tying up the man with a bloody head. He then sees the woman behind the man is holding a rock. Ma Qian figured out that the woman threw the rock at the man¡¯s head, which disrupted the man¡¯s hallucination spell. Ma Qian felt embarrassed that it was the woman that ended up saving him instead!


    Ma Qian waves his hand like a chopping motion. One of his vines quickly rises and forms a small blade.


    Whippp! ¡°Aaaargghhhhhh,¡± the man yelled.


    The blade actually chopped of the man¡¯s penis. The woman yelled as well and fainted right away after witnessing this horrible scene.


    Suddenly the scene around him started twisting, and Ma Qian got sucked back into an array. By the time he opened his eyes, he was back at the guild¡¯s underground place. Then, a book flew in front of him and turned to the first page. The page magically wrote ¡°Ma Qian, Bounty Hunter ¨C Rank S.¡±


    Ma Qian was ecstatic. He was hoping for an A rank, but when he was inside the different world, he felt his hope was shattered by trying to find the rapist with his lack of sense of direction. Wang Rong was not a bit surprised. Somehow, she expected this rank. After all, Ma Qian was already at the mid-stage of the great realm almost near the peak realm. Very few people his age was able to achieve this. Only the talented individual or noble figures with powerful backgrounds that can provide an abundant of resources to support the person can achieve such level.


    Wang Rong then stared at the judges, and said, ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    The judges nodded. Before they made their evaluation of Ma Qian, they were talking to each other about the circumstance.


    ¡°His vines martial dao are extremely rare, and has exceptional offense and defense,¡± One judge said.


    ¡°He uses it well. His sense of direction must be very keen as well. He was able to find the rapist in a short period of time,¡± another judge said.


    ¡°Even though he struggles a bit against the hallucination, he still overcame it. He¡¯s also resourceful in using unorthodox techniques in his battles,¡± the last judge said.


    Ma Qian was happy¡­.and lucky! Nevertheless, he stared at Wang Rong. She sensed the meaning of the stare, ¡°Babe, you¡¯re missing out on this precious gem! I can satisfy your thirst and you better believe it!¡± Wang Rong snorted and ignored Ma Qian, then looked at the gate where Ye Tian entered. Ma Qian wasn¡¯t offended, after all, he¡¯s a handsome young man with much more sexual experience after living at the brothel his whole life. Flirting takes some time and investment.


    Can Ye Tian pass the exam?

 Chapter 17 – Outside Palace

    Ye Tian was inside a different world than Ma Qian¡¯s. He was on top of a a tower looking at the surrounding city below him. A window suddenly appeared, ¡°Kill the Emperor!¡± Once he read this, Ye Tian knew that this was his mission, and an extremely difficult one to complete. He was thinking of a way to complete the exam effectively. The assassination world was cruel, dark, violent, and filled with tragic endings. The emperor resided in his palace guarded by many soldiers. Ye Tian knew spending too much time for a perfect plan is impossible. He chose a direct method instead.


    Ye Tian cannot fly given his cultivation, but he can glide. He jumps into the air and descends from the peak of the tower. While descending, his body¡¯s spinning gracefully.


    Phewwwwww.


    Using the flow of the air and the timing, he opens his eyes and creates a small turbulence that sparked his feet. He then starts gliding in the sky while scanning the buildings around the city. He finds his target and starts descending quickly and lands on top of a building.


    The building was a brothel. A smart choice because most visitors tend to be nobles and officials. Ye Tian listened to the conversations going on in different rooms. When he heard a conversation related to the empire, he made his move. He sneaked inside the room after a lady left. He dashed forward like a raven and stabbed a dagger on a man¡¯s neck. The man¡¯s neck was bleeding but it was because the dagger only stabbed the skin.


    ¡°Who are you? I¡¯ll give you anything you want, but just let me live and I won¡¯t ever say anything about this event¡± the man said.


    ¡°I have several questions I need you to answer. If I sense you¡¯re lying , you won¡¯t see another day,¡± Ye Tian said.


    The man nodded.


    ¡°Are you an official?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Have you met the emperor?¡±


    ¡°Not face to face. I¡¯ve only seen him during a ceremony and I was far away from him due to the crowded guests.¡±


    ¡°Did you see his face clearly?¡±


    ¡°Not really, he was a bit fat and pale skin.¡±


    ¡°How do you get inside the palace?¡±


    ¡°That¡­..I work at the outer palace and that¡¯s the only place I can get in.¡±


    Baammm.


    Ye Tian knocked him out, tied him up and hid him on top of the roof. He then focused on his hearing senses again. He found another target. This new target of his was brash, wild and a bit drunk. ¡°My father is a general of this empire. I can destroy this building with one word.¡± the young master yelled. ¡°Young master, we will leave you inside the room alone before you come to your senses. We care for the safety of our women and our guest, so please understand, ¡± Ye Tian heard.


    As soon as the host and the ladies left, Ye Tian sneaks inside the room from the outside window. Like an eagle clawing his prey, Ye Tian dashes like a phantom and appears behind the young man, then quickly stabs the man¡¯s critical points with his fingers. Simultaneously, Ye Tian¡¯s other hand has a dagger inserted halfway inside the man¡¯s mouth as the man was about to yell out.


    ¡°This dagger will stab your throat if you even squeak a noise,¡± Ye Tian warned, then continued, ¡°I need information. If you lie, you¡¯re dead and your general dad won¡¯t be able to save you if you screw up.¡±


    The man¡¯s body couldn¡¯t move due to Ye Tian stabbing his body points. But he could still speak and said, ¡°What do you want? If you kill me, you won¡¯t get away with this. My dad is the ¡­¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Wham.


    Ye Tian slaps his face violently after withdrawing his dagger. Then he uses one of his hand to seal the man¡¯s mouth, and the other hand to stab the man¡¯s left arm.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhh.¡± The young man tried to yell in pain, but the noise was minimized due to Ye Tian sealing his mouth. After experiencing the past events with the nobles from the capital, he gained a passionate hatred towards these people. These nobles only care about themselves, break the laws, and treat other people¡¯s lives like an ant. There was no use trying to be diplomatic with them.


    ¡°I will gouge out your eyes, cut you tongue, cut off your dick and eventually your head if you don¡¯t listen and answer my questions,¡± Ye Tian said seriously. The young man had tears but nodded. He was scared shitless.


    ¡°Have you met the emperor?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Ye¡­.yes!¡±


    ¡°What does he look like?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s fat, pale, a bit on the ugly side but very crafty.¡±


    ¡°Where does he reside?¡±


    ¡°Inside the inner palace.¡±


    ¡°How do you get in?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    Whammm. Ye Tian kicked his balls while covering the man¡¯s mouth again. The man never felt such pain in his life.


    ¡°your father is a general, don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t get in.¡± Ye Tian said and was about to stab the man¡¯s throat. The young man was in a panic mode.


    ¡°I have a medal! This will allow you to go inside the inner palace as long as you use my name to represent me. Please don¡¯t kill me,¡± the young man begged.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Ji Feng,¡± the young man said.


    ¡°Do you have a map of the inner palace? And where does the emperor usually reside?¡± Ye Tian asked again.


    ¡°I do. It¡¯s in my inter spatial ring. He¡¯s usually at his room with a bunch of concubines,¡± Ji Feng said, then opened his inter spatial ring and gave the map to Ye Tian.


    SLITTTTT.


    Ye Tian stabbed Ji Feng¡¯s throat and ended his life. This was cruel but this was the assassin way of leaving no witness behind. He then used his flames and burned his body to ashes before leaving the scene.


    At the rooftop, Ye Tian is with the unconscious man. He slaps the man in the face to try to wake him up. No response. He slaps again on the other side of the cheek, but still no response. Ye Tian frowns, and suddenly lifts his feet and steps on the man¡¯s crouch¡­..and yet no response. ¡°What the hell? Is this man an eunuch?¡± Ye tian murmurs. His last idea is a bit despicable, but he has no other choice. Yellow rain starts dripping on the man¡¯s face. The night is dark and the air is cool as a breeze. The man starts licking his lips tasting the rain, then opens his eyes. What he sees above him will remain a scar in his life. Ye Tian peed on his face!


    ¡°Good you¡¯re awake. Now take me to the outside palace. You need to explain all the procedures, and if you make any moves that makes the soldiers on guard, I will kill you on the spot. Do you understand?¡± Ye Tian says without any shame on what he just did.


    ¡°You..you¡­kill me now. I¡¯ve never been so violated like this before. I hope you die a horrible death!¡± the man angrily said.


    Ye Tian ignites a fire in his hand and with a wiping motion, the fire shoots at the man¡¯s crouch! Again!


    ¡°Ahhhhh, no my¡­¡­,¡± the man said with great panic and tried to beat his own crouch to extinguish the fire, but was of no use. He tried to roll around but was still of no use.


    The man then sees there is an element of water in Ye Tian¡¯s hand. Ye Tian smiles at him. ¡°I can help you, but you need to become my little puppet.¡± That was the meaning of the expression the man saw on Ye Tian¡¯s smile.


    ¡°Okay, okay¡­.put it out, put it out now..please!¡± the man begged.


    Ye Tian shoots a water bomb towards the man¡¯s crouch. The fire is gone, but suddenly, a little flame revived. Ye Tian acts quickly and stomps on the man¡¯s crouch again with his feet.


    ¡°There, it¡¯s all gone. Happy?¡± Ye Tian said shamelessly. The man was in great pain. He¡¯d be lucky if his best friend can ever get up again. His mood was very depressing. Hope was all lost for this man.


    Ye Tian sealed the man¡¯s mouth and carried him to a secluded place before releasing the sealing spell again. The man stared at Ye Tian for a while. It was the look of vengeance! But Ye Tian ignored it, and said, ¡°Speak now!¡±


    The man started to explain how the outside palace works. He didn¡¯t care if Ye Tian wanted to kill somebody even if it was the emperor. There were many hyenas within the ruling empire. Everybody was in it for themselves and hope others will fall miserably.


    With an impossible mission, how can Ye Tian achieve this test alone?

 Chapter 18 – Blood drips on the ground

    According to the plan, Ye Tian will act as an assistant with the man. This will bypass the security check. A little while later, they arrived at the security point in front of the palace gate. The soldier looked at the man, and said, ¡°Official Ji Feng, who is this besides you?¡±


    ¡°This is my assistant. I¡¯ve already submitted the application and has already been approved by the Labor department,¡± the man said casually.


    The guard looked at Ye Tian, while Ye Tian just smiled, and said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you sir, I will be in you care from now on.¡±


    The man just rolled his eyes. What a devil this guy is.


    ¡°Alright, you guys can go ahead.¡± the guard said approvingly. Guards always love it when someone sucks up to them.


    Ye Tian and the man went inside and walked towards the man¡¯s office. Ye Tian scanned and looked around to confirm that the map he got from the noble was accurate. He was also trying to figure out an escape rout in case things goes terribly wrong. Once inside the office, the man explained to him where the gate of the inner palace is.


    Whackkk!


    Ye Tian knocked him out again and gave him a bit of the forgetful potion. He had a bit left, but he had been figuring out the ingredients from the few experiments he initiated. He was very close to figuring out the properties of the potion. This will become helpful for his future battles. Also, since the man actually never tried to lie to him and did what he was supposed to do, Ye Tian didn¡¯t want to kill him. After all, he felt a bit sorry on what he had done to the man¡¯s crouch. The status of the crouch was unknown.


    Ye Tian left the room and walked towards the inner palace gate, where he met other security guards. Ye Tian took out the medalthat he took from the noble, and said, ¡°I¡¯m a servant of young master Ji Feng, the son of the great general Ji Long. I¡¯m here on orders to retrieve a few things from the general¡¯s office.¡± Ye Tian explained.


    The guard instructed the hawk to scan the medal. The hawk was trained to scan what was real or fake among the medals. The hawk roared, and the guard said, ¡°Ok, you have 20 minutes to do what you need to do. That¡¯s the rules. If you don¡¯t come back, we will kill you at all cost!¡±


    ¡°I understand captain!¡± Ye Tian replied. Ye Tian felt a bit relieved. He thought the hawk¡¯s roar was a sign of warning but was instead a sign of approval. He saluted the captain and continued to walk inside the inner palace. After he entered the inner palace, the gate closed again and no one from outside can see anything inside the inner palace. Ye Tian scanned around and concluded that no was around the area. He dashed forward like a phantom and went towards a route that he remembered from the map. He finally arrived near the distance of a grand room. Palace guards were standing in front, while the room was bright and Ye Tian could hear the voice of a man and several women.


    Ye Tian walked towards the guards with his head down. ¡°Good evening friends. I have a message for the emperor from general Ji Long. Please take a look at the letter¡¯s symbol.¡± The symbol was a a sign very few people within the empire had. It was meant to be used for secret intelligence. The two guards checked the symbol and said, ¡°Who are you? Why this late?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a new servant of general Ji Long. I was ordered to send this urgent message to the emperor without any delay. My profile has been checked by the outside palace guards and by the the captain that¡¯s guarding the inner palace gates. Please friends. I¡¯m just a humble servant trying to send this message. This might be very crucial to the empire¡¯s safe being.¡± Ye Tian said urgently.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The guards looked at each. They knew they would screw up if this information that concerns the safety of the empire had never arrived at the emperor¡¯s hands. They both nodded, and one of them warned, ¡°Go, but you must leave any weapons you have here.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Ye Tian replied, and took out his dagger and handed it to the guards. He then walked past the guards. As soon as the guards turned around to continue guarding, Ye Tian made a sneak attack.


    Ye Tian releases two water snakes and twirls its way towards the guards. The water snakes disperse and attack the guards¡¯ mouths, nostrils, and ears within a blink of an eye. Ye Tian then dashes forward with two palm attacks that hit the guards back, specifically the spine area. No one could hear anything except for Ye Tian and the two guards. The sound of cracks, fractures, and the sound of a yelling pain was subjugated by the water snakes.


    The guards fell with their eyes bulging out. Ye Tian hid their bodies in a well. He then set up an array surrounding the grand palace room as quietly and as quickly as possible.


    ¡°Okay, the array is set up. No one can from the outside can hear anything happening inside this room.¡± Ye Tian says to himself.


    Ye Tian was getting prepared for a swift and deadly attack aimed at the emperor.


    From the distance, his eyes saw the shape of a fat figure, then throws his dagger joined by a water snake surrounding it. The dagger pierces the door and continues towards the emperor¡¯s throat. Ye Tian also dashes inside the room following closely behind the dagger. The concubines react in time and tries to block the attack, but the water snake splits into two and attack the two concubines first. The water snakes pushes them away from the emperor while the concubines are busy blocking the attack. The dagger continues toward the emperor, but another concubine comes to the rescue and blocks the dagger.


    Ye Tian was surprised at this scene. He underestimated the concubines. He never knew the concubines were actually bodyguards as well.


    The last concubine jumps in and clashes with Ye Tian. Boom. Boom. Booom. In a few breaths, the clash happens several times before separating. The concubine i sbleeding from the mouth and her arm. But Ye Tian continues to dash towards the emperor and combines his hands together like holding a sword. Water elements appear again in his hands, but this time in a form of a blade. Ye Tian makes a slashing motion downward, and a water blade shoots forward like an arching beam.


    ¡°Aahhhh.¡± One of the concubines that just blocked the dagger tries to defend the water blade but cuts her arm off, and the force continues and slashes the emperor¡¯s body.


    ¡°Aaarrghhh.¡± the emperor yells. The emperor¡¯s chest rips but a golden armor is behind the silky robe and ends up saving the emperor¡¯s life. The emperor crashes to the ground. The concubines and the emperor look at Ye Tian with fear. They knew Ye Tian is at the same dao realm as them, and yet, their strength are so far apart.


    Suddenly, the array Ye Tian set up a while ago disappears, destroyed by the first two concubines. While the the other two were battling Ye Tian, The first two knew there was an array set up that isolated the noises. Otherwise, there would¡¯ve been guards by now. They searched for the weak point and was able to destroy it. Now everyone outside can hear!


    Ye Tian ignores the situation and dashes forward again towards the emperor. He is the closest to the emperor. Ye Tian whispers and creates another water dao. Five water pikes appear instantly and starts rotating in front of him.¡±Go!¡± Ye Tian yells. The water pikes shoots one after another. Two each from side to side stabs the emperor in different places, but the emperor is able to focus on blocking the attacks, then suddenly,¡±Shriekkk!¡± The last water pike pierces through the emperor¡¯s forehead.! The other pikes were able to distract the emperor.


    Blood drips on the ground¡­¡­eyes bulging staring at Ye Tian, then the emperor kneels to the ground grimly. He¡¯s dead!


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± the concubines yelled. ¡°Kill him!¡± By this time many guards have already arrived.


    The guards attack Ye Tian but he¡¯s able to swiftly evade the attacks every time and counter every single one. He jumps left, back, dashes forward and sideways. For every step he lands on the ground, he counters and kills every guard that attacks him with great decisiveness. Within several breaths 8 have already died. But more guards came as a second wave.


    Ye Tian continues to evade, counter, and kill the guards one after another. He¡¯s also able to evade the concubines attack but ignores countering them. More guards came. This is the 3rd wave with about 30 guards surrounding Ye Tian!


    Can he come out alive? Or will he fail the exam?

 Chapter 19 – SS Rank!

    Ye Tian was running out of energy, and he already had several wounds from the close encounters when the concubines made sneak attacks while he was battling the rest of the guards. He knew he was running out of options and could only think of one way to escape this scene. It was a martial skill he developed with his dad as guidance during their practice battles. Ye Tian named it ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Wrath!¡±


    Many of the guards, including some of the concubines, have surrounded Ye Tian and are now within a spear distance from him. A spear is thrown at Ye Tian, but he leaps with a black flip high off the ground. His eyes are closed, and small flames begin to twirl around him. While in the air, Ye Tian uses another technique to leap higher into the air while twisting. At the peak, he opens his eyes and huge flames surround him . Those below who can see the flames saw the flames shaped like a flying phoenix.


    ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Wrath!¡±


    Ye Tian descends like a falling asteroid with the phoenix flames supporting him.


    ¡°BOOOMMMMMM!


    The ground cracks, flames start spreading on a wider scale engulfing and suffocating many of the guards and a few of the concubines.


    ¡°Arrrgh.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh.¡±


    :Help me!¡±


    ¡°Nooooo¡±


    Within the chaos, a shadow quickly leaps away to the roof and away from the scene. It¡¯s Ye Tian, and he continues to dash further and further away using the escape route he created. Many guards from the outer palace start coming inside to see what was going on while Ye Tian sneaks away stealthily all the way to the outer palace. On the way back, he knocks out one of the guards and strips his armors. He wears the armors and appears like one of the guards and continue to walk towards the outside palace gate.He arrives at the scene only to see everything is in chaos. Most of the guards that were guarding this security check point have ran inside. The chaos helps him escape from the scene.


    While running further away from the palace, a whirlpool suddenly appeared and sucked him in. Several moments later, Ye Tian arrived at the underground testing ground. Wang Rong looked at Ye Tian pretty pleased. Ye Tian had suffered some wounds but they were not life threatening, which meant the exam have gone pretty smoothly. Wang Rong looked at the judges, but the judges were still discussing on the matter, which caused Wang Rong to frown. How unusual.


    ¡°Ye Tian, go tend to your wounds, and rest in that area until you get your results.¡± Wang Rond said. Ye Tian nodded and took a seat and focused on healing his injuries.


    Meanwhile somewhere inside the building with the judges on sight.


    ¡°This young man, Ye Tian, where did he come from? From which noble did he hail from?¡± One judge asked with a trembling face.


    ¡°His martial dao are unparalleled¡­.to be accepted by the water and fire element¡­¡­born to have a great destiny,¡± another judge whispered.


    ¡°What rank should we give him? There has only been one SS rank throughout history. If we give another, many would be shocked and would question our ability to judge future exams,¡± the last judge proclaimed.


    ¡°Yes, but you saw him with your own eyes and senses. He¡¯s only 15, and he¡¯s already at the supreme dao realm! He¡¯s definitely above the S rank!¡± another judge countered.


    ¡°I agree. And besides, he¡¯s the only one who was able to kill the emperor! Not to mention a bunch of other guards along the way. Passing the exam doesn¡¯t require the death of the emperor, but it¡¯s the performance and combat ability that we look for,¡± the other judge agreed.


    ¡°¡­..Should we ask the chairman before we announced the grade?¡± the last judge asked with a worried face.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    After a couple of breaths, another voice appeared followed by a figure from the shadows. A middle-aged man with strands of white hair, wearing a red jacket, leg and arm armors, and black boots. Behind his back were two swords with a terrifying aura that could slice a castle in half. He came forward where the light was visible.


    ¡°Chairman!¡± the judges said and saluted him.


    The chairman nodded, and said, ¡°Elders, didn¡¯t I tell you just recently to call me by my usual name, Bao Zi. You are my seniors and I won¡¯t forget that.¡± The judges could only smile. They were already old and weaker than this junior. Besides the name, Bao Zi, is a bit unusual because it literally means bread.


    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve watched the exam. We should give this boy an SS rank! I will handle any complaints from the others,¡± Bao Zi concluded.


    ¡°But Chairman Bao Zi, if this boy doesn¡¯t have a background, someone will eventually kill him in fear of his limitless potential,¡± one elder worriedly said since he was truly concerned for Ye Tian.


    ¡°Why do you think he deserves an SS rank?¡± another elder curiously asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? You¡¯ve already mentioned it before. But there is one other thing that stood out to me the most. I have battled many strong warriors throughout my life. Some had extraordinary offense, and some had amazing defense, while some had a very powerful martial skill. This boy has something that no one has,¡± Bao Zi explained.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Bao Zi waited for a moment, then said seriously, ¡°Innate Counter!¡±


    ¡°Innate Counter? What do you mean?¡± all the judges were puzzled.


    ¡°His ability to counter quickly, decisively, and viciously terrifies me! Did you guys not see how he countered the guards and the concubines every time they attacked him, and all of them turned out either dead or seriously injured with just one counter?¡± Bao Zi said while his hands trembled.


    The judges thought about it deeply for a while trying to recount Ye Tian¡¯s battle and comparing their own personal experiences. They finally agreed in unison, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I have definitely overlooked this part. It¡¯s one of the basic foundations that no one has truly mastered!¡± one judge said.


    ¡°Yes, all the martial skills in this world belongs to offensive skills or defensive skills, but I¡¯ve never seen or heard of a counter skills,¡± another judge concluded.


    ¡°Then, do we all agree Ye Tian is the sole SS rank alive?¡± the last judge said and was ready to make submit the results.


    ¡°Elder, before you announce the rank, we need to make a few changes to ensure the safety of Ye Tian,¡± Bao Zi proposed.


    The judges nodded and they talked over on what changes could be made.


    Meanwhile, Ye Tian, Wang Rong, and Ma Qian were sitting in the rest area. They were the only ones at the testing ground for the moment. Wang Rong was annoyed because the results has been taking so long. Ma Qian was praying that Ye Tian would get below an S Rank, although he knew this was almost impossible. Friendly jealousy! Ye Tian continued to focus on healing and is almost healed completely.


    A book suddenly flies in front of Ye Tian. Ye Tian opens his eyes with curiosity. The book opens to the first page and starts writing, ¡°Ye Tian ¨C SS Rank Assassin/Bounty Hunter.¡±


    Wang Rong looked with her jaws dropped. Her heartbeat went wild. Then she looked at Ma Qian only to feel disdain, then looks back at Ye Tian. This went on for a bit. Ma Qian, on the other hand, felt some joy and disappointment. He really did feel happy that Ye Tian got the SS rank, but was also sad that he was on a lower level than him. What made it worse was Wang Rong! Looking at him and Ye Tian back and forth, but her expressions when looking at the two were so vastly different.


    ¡°Ye Tian, the next time you opened this book, your rank will only be shown as an S rank. This is done for safety reasons,¡± a judge said without appearing. Ma Qian¡¯s face looked like he just gained hope and almost had a smile. But then¡­


    ¡°However, you¡¯re still an SS rank and the only one that exists. Besides you, your friend, Wang Rong, and the judges, no else knows. We highly suggest that you keep this a secret for your own safety. You may now leave and take the book with you,¡± the elder concluded.


    Ma Qian¡¯s face became gloomy again. All hope was lost. But he still admired Ye Tian.


    ¡°I understand elder. Please be at ease. I¡¯m not a talkative person anyway,¡± Ye Tian replied while cupping his hand.


    ¡°Come let¡¯s go outside now, and you can start choosing your missions,¡± Wang Rong said after stabilizing her heartbeat. She looked at Ye Tian and nodded as a form of approval, then looked at Ma Qian with a faceless expression. Ma Qian took out his book and was about to point his S rank, which was considered top of the creme, but before he was able to , Wang Rong turned around and headed outside. Ma Qian almost screamed and needed to let off steam! Never had an S rank be treated like someone unworthy like he was treated by Wang Rong. All three of then went outside towards the mission centre.


    What missions will they choose for their first mission?

 Chapter 20 – 100 bounty missions

    ¡°In every branch of this guild, no matter where you are, you can accept missions and submit your completed missions. The rewards will also be provided at the location you wish to collect it from. Also the missions are ranked based on the difficulty with 5 stars being the highest. You can also accept as many missions as you want; however, your record will also be exposed. For example if you took 20 missions and only have completed 2 missions, that will show in our public records. Sometimes our clients need someone reliable based on your performance. But your personal profile will never be exposed,¡± Wang Rong explained.


    Ye Tian and Ma Qian looked at some of the bounty missions. Ma Qian wanted to accept all of them even the five stars missions, but he really did restrained and waited for Ye Tian to respond. Ye Tian kept looking and chose only two, then he told Ma Qian to choose other missions for them. Ye Tian then continued to walk to another place to look at the assassins mission. Every mission had details of the prize reward, the current news, the results from previous hunters that have accepted the mission, and other detailed reports that might be beneficial to the takers. Apparently, assassin missions are so dangerous, they have a high degree of failures.


    Ye Tian kept reading the different missions for the whole day! Ma Qian have already accepted several missions and waited, waited, then waited more. Wang Rong did not want to disturb Ye Tian, so she chose to go back to her stationery. Ma Qian feeling bored, followed Wang Rong. He was on a mission to conquer her!


    Ye Tian frowned once in a while when he saw a few of the missions, but he continued looking at all the mission available currently. He raised his head and took a deep breath. Then, at the corner of his eye, he could see Ma Qian talking with Wang Rong, while thrusting his body! What the hell was he doing? Wang Rong continued to ignore Ma Qian, but Ma Qian was very persistent. After all he had nothing else to do. Ye Tian did not want to see more disgusting acts from Ma Qian and continued reading the missions. Night arrived, Ye Tian finally finished reading all of them. He walked towards Wang Rong. Her eyes were already dark and soulless from looking at Ma Qian. Meanwhile, Ma Qian¡¯s eyes were also looking like a zombie, but this time his body was moving differently¡­..he was actually slow grinding while smiling!


    At this point in time, this world had just experienced a new invention by Ma Qian ¨C the grinding move!


    Ye Tian despised Ma Qian¡¯s behavior, but continued towards Wang Rong and said, ¡°I would like to accept these missions, Ms. Wang Rong.¡±


    ¡°Ye Tian, this is no cakewalk. I should warn you that assassin missions only have a 22% chance of succeeding. Countless people have already died doing these types of mission. Are you sure?¡± Wang Rong asked seriously with a look of disappointment. She didn¡¯t want him to accept these dangerous missions yet until he becomes more powerful. He¡¯s the only SS rank in this world, and his future would be heaven defying!


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve thought about it very carefully. I know this will be difficult, but once I become more powerful I will take the missions seriously. I¡¯m only accepting these mission, so that I can get some lead on the way,¡± Ye Tian replied.


    ¡°Alright, good. Remember your future is brighter than that perverted friend of yours,¡± Wang Rong said with a disgusted face. Ma Qian was definitely tired, and his movements have changed from grinding to a very subtle unknown movements. He was in his own world by now.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Wang Rong approved all of the missions. It was rare that she approved these missions, not to mention that Ye Tian wanted to accept 10 assassin missions and two bounty missions! After approving the missions and registering it to the mission, she handed Ye Tian¡¯s book back. The pages on the book have already listed the missions that he has accepted.


    ¡°Here. Insert this into your mind. There will be no pain. From now on, we can telepathically communicate as long as were are less than 200 miles away. I¡¯m always stationed in different branches every 3 months. So come by if you need more information,¡± Wang Rong concluded, while handing Ye Tian a small thin yellow crystal.


    ¡°Alright, Ms. Wang Rong. I will contact you when the time comes,¡± Ye Tian replied before leaving. He grabbed Ma Qian¡¯s robe and dragged him out of the building.


    Somewhere on the first floor, a bright glint appeared from one of the tables inside the building. An old lady was writing on a scroll while looking at Ma Qian. After she was done, she submitted the scroll to the mission registration. Another staff accepted the scroll and opened up the scroll to verify and evaluate the difficulty of the mission. On the scroll, it said, ¡°Kidnap this man alive and send him to me. Do not harm him!¡± Below these words, there was a close up illustration of his face, and another illustration of him ¡°grinding.¡± The staff looked at the old lady who was licking her lips, then said, ¡°Your request has been registered. It will take a few hours before the mission will be announced in the public records.¡± The old lady nodded, turned around and laughed quietly. No one could hear it unless you were so close to her.


    As Ye Tian and Ma Qian walked back towards the inn, Ye Tian asked, ¡°How many missions did you accept?¡±


    Ma Qian said, ¡± go take a look at your book.¡±


    Ye Tian took out his book and turned to the first few pages, then another, then another¡­..WTF! This Ma Qian accepted over 100 bounty missions! As long as the missions were registered with the bounty hunter¡¯s names, the mission would appear in their books automatically regardless if another bounty hunter¡¯s book was not physically there with the person who accepted it. As long as there was a mutual approval, partnerships or groups can join the mission.


    Ye Tian did not want to look at Ma Qian any further. The guy was a retarded map-maker. Ye Tian would be shocked even more if he knew that Ma Qian never read the other 98 missions he had accepted. The first two mission he read got him sleepy, so he told Wang Rong that they wanted to do the first 100 pages of the mission!


    Wang Rong was of course irritated and said to Ma Qian, ¡°If Ye Tian wasn¡¯t with you, I would¡¯ve never approved these requests.¡±


    ¡°If Ye Tian wasn¡¯t with me, I would¡¯ve yelled ¡°Childddd MOLESSSSTERRRRR¡± at you,¡± Ma Qian responded calmly.


    For the first time, Ma Qian got back at Wang Rong, and she could not counter him!


    Back at the inn, Ye Tian and Ma Qian discussed on which missions that they should take first. The missions needed to be relatively easy and close to the city they are at right now. They needed to earn money as soon as possible. After choosing a few, they went to eat. Ma Qian was pretty useful because he has exceptional hearing skills that he developed at the brothel. He could gather information based on the conversations flowing around him and he could remember all of those conversations with great detail. This information would be included when he would create his new map of the city.


    As they were about to go to bed, Ye Tian said, ¡°Ma Qian, tomorrow we will go up the hill and finish your map. This will help us to do our missions later on.¡±


    Ma Qian nodded as an agreement, as he cuddled his pillows.


    Both of them were excited for the upcoming days. They became bounty hunters to earn some zoids, and are about to do a mission!

 Chapter 21 – Xiang Jiao

    In the early morning, Ye Tian and Ma Qian prepared themselves to go towards the hill to finish Ma Qian¡¯s map. Ye Tian had to accompany him, otherwise, he would¡¯ve explored the city and try to gather more information. Ma Qian was certainly happy, because this time he knew he wouldn¡¯t get lost. However he never showed a thankful expression towards Ye Tian.


    At the hill, there were a few people that were training or hunting weaker wild beasts. Ma Qian got busy right away trying to complete his map and include the information that he has gathered the past few days in the city. Ye Tian, meanwhile cultivated silently within a short distance from him.


    Noontime arrived. Ma Qian just finished completing this city¡¯s map. On their way back to the city, they met a bunch of lowlife bandits. They could¡¯ve beaten the gang to a pulp, but decided to run away to avoid further trouble. Unfortunately, they ran for a while trying to get rid of the bandits, they ended up inside a jungle, which they have never seen before. They decided to explore while trying to get out of the jungle.


    After an hour or so, they came out of the jungle, but they saw a massive waterfall¡­¡­and a floating temple! This was the first temple they saw within the proximity of the city. But the problem was they couldn¡¯t reach the temple unless they could fly. They looked down below and realized there was a person meditating on top of a rock. Ye Tian and Ma Qian looked at each other and agreed to go down below and meet that person.


    Ye Tian dove and was about to glide from side to side, but Ma Qian followed and flew towards Ye Tian¡¯s back.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Ye Tian said in a panic. They were descending rapidly.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you fly?¡± Ma Qian asked naively.


    ¡°Fukkkkk nrrrgghhhh,¡± Ye Tian yelled. Before he was able to finish what he was saying, they fell into the water. Luckily, the water pond was deep and wide.


    ¡°Idioootttt! You could¡¯ve got us killed!¡± Ye Tian yelled at Ma Qian. This was the first time he was really pissed at Ma Qian, but he couldn¡¯t see where Ma Qian was. Ye Tian thought he might¡¯ve drowned, so he dove back inside the water to search for him. A few seconds later, Ma Qian came up and jumped into the air while inhaling as much air as he could. He was lacking oxygen, but what¡¯s worse he was lacking any clothes on! He was almost naked and only had his small underwear left. It was thin, silky pink, and looked more like a g-string!


    Ye Tian finally came up and the first thing he saw was Ma Qian¡¯s butt cheeks. Such a horrible sight. Things have been going awful lately for Ye Tian. He ignored Ma Qian and saw the person meditating on top of the rock. This was the same person they saw from above the waterfall cliff. He looked slightly older than Ye Tian, but younger than Ma Qian. He wore a monk robe, bright skin, plenty of hair with sideburns, and a huge braided ponytail that almost touched the floor. The braided ponytail was so thick, it could literally hit someone and severely injure them. White circle dots were tattooed on his forehead that resembled a smiling arch. Despite the noises Ye Tian and Ma Qian made, this man was still in a serene state without opening his eyes.


    Ma Qian walked up to the man, and said, ¡°Hey buddy, what¡¯s up?¡±


    No response.


    ¡°I¡¯m Ma Qian and this is Ye Tian, can we ask you some questions?¡±


    Still no response. Ma Qian felt irritated and went closer to him to the point where his crouch was at the same eye level as the man sitting on the rock.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Hey buddy, we¡¯re not here looking for trouble. We just need your help to find a way to get out.¡±


    No response again. The man wasn¡¯t disturb with Ma Qian¡¯s behavior.


    Ye Tian used his turn, and said, ¡°Sir, we apologize if we have disturb you in any way. We will be on our way then.¡±


    Ye Tian pushes Ma Qian along and were about to leave until they heard a powerful an ancient voice. The voice seems like it was coming from the floating temple.


    ¡°Jiao Er,¡± the voice calmly said.


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± the man on top of the rock said.


    ¡°Jiao Er!¡± the voice said again.


    ¡°Suck my¡­..¡± the man responded.


    Baammmmm!


    The man that was on top of the rock got smacked into oblivion by a gigantic transparent hand. He crashed and slided on the surface of the water until he slammed into another huge rock.


    Ye Tian and Ma Qian were shocked, confused, and scared. Such a filthy mouth from the man who seemed so pure and monk-like. They felt the gigantic hand could crush them into a pulp easily. They kept quiet and stood there motionlessly.


    ¡°Jiao Er, you are fated with these two young men. Your destiny intertwines with theirs. It¡¯s time for you to leave this place and go on a journey with them,¡± the voice continued to say calmly.


    Meanwhile, the man struggled to stand up and was wiping his mouth from the blood. He then stared at Ye Tian and Ma Qian for several breaths. Ma Qian kind of struggled but Ye Tian didn¡¯t feel enough pressure coming from the man. The man figured Ma Qian was at the same cultivation as him, and as for Ye Tian, he still had his doubts. He then looked up at the floating temple and said, ¡°Master, is what you say true?¡±


    Then a gigantic bracelet bead flew towards the man. ¡°Jiao Er, this artifact belonged to you ever since I found you as a baby. Only you could use this to its maximum potential. I believe whoever left you also purposely left this artifact to help you escape from any dangers you might face. It is also something that you can use to save people from the outside world. Go and explore the world. You are bound to do great things in this world,¡± the voice replied like a fortune teller.


    ¡°Master. I want to stay here. I don¡¯t like greatness. I like being mediocre,¡± the man tried to say convincingly.


    ¡°NO!!!¡± the voice immediately yelled. Meanwhile the transparent hand transformed into a fist that was waiting to crush the man, but it stayed floating above.


    ¡°Why?¡± the man asked again.


    No response. Everything was quiet. This kept going on for a couple of hours, until the man gave up. He bowed towards the source of the voice and walked towards Ye Tian and Ma Qian, then said, ¡°I¡¯m Xiang Jiao. Let¡¯s go.¡± Ye Tian didn¡¯t mind another company even if he was a bit of a weirdo. Ma Qian, on the other hand, could only think of Xiang Jiao¡¯s name. Does his name literally means banana?


    The transparent hand lifted them to the the top of the waterfall cliff. As they left, Xiang Jiao was following behind them quietly with his hands palmed together like he was praying. The bracelet bead that was also floating suddenly flew to Xiang Jiao¡¯s back. The bracelet bead was actually half the size of him and never touched him. It continued floating 6 inches away from his back rotating slowly. Ye Tian and Ma Qian looked back and did not know what to think of this bead. Such a gigantic bead floating on his back¡­.it felt like an ultimate weapon.


    As their figure disappeared, a bunch of monks of all ages appeared from the floating temple.


    ¡°The devil has left. We¡¯re finally able to live at peace!¡± one monk exclaimed.


    ¡°Yeah, that kid is crazy. He¡¯s like a time bomb waiting to explode,¡± one elder said.


    ¡°Everyone go back to your area and continue cultivating,¡± the familiar voice said. Everyone kept quiet and went back to their original places.


    The ancient voice whispered, ¡°Jiao Er¡­¡­please forgive me. I had to kick you out. Everyone was scared of you. Sometimes¡­.you have the urge to be violent that you¡¯ve beaten half of the disciples and most of the elders. I don¡¯t know how your destiny will be¡­.I¡¯m no fortune teller¡­.¡±


    ¡°but I hope you will find out where you came from¡­..¡±


    After being exiled by his master, will Xiang Jiao share the same fate as Ye Tian and Ma Qian?

 Chapter 22 – First mission completed!

    Although he was a man of few words, Xiang Jiao guided them out of the jungle.


    ¡°Left.¡±


    ¡°Straight¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    That¡¯s all he said throughout the journey, and they followed his instructions. They finally got out of the jungle and arrived into a familiar area. Ye Tian said, ¡°Okay, since we¡¯re near the city, Xiang Jiao, I don¡¯t really know what your plan is, but if you want to come along with us, you are more than welcome. However, we¡¯re currently is need of zoids, so we¡¯re planning to do bounty missions to earn our living. If you¡¯re sticking with us, then we need you to register as a bounty hunter as well.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Xiang Jiao responded.


    All three went to the guild alliance center to get Xiang Jiao registered and tested. Wang Rong guided him since he was a part of Ye Tian¡¯s party. A few hours later, Xiang Jiao came out of the exam with his usual monk posture. Ma Qian grabbed Xiang Jiao¡¯s book and looked at his rank. ¡°Xiang Jiao ¨C S Rank Bounty Hunter.¡± Ma Qian was disappointed once again. He was hoping that Xiang Jiao was bit less talented than him. Why are there so many geniuses popping up everywhere now?


    ¡°Ma Qian, you can keep my book,¡± Xiang Jiao said and walked away. He didn¡¯t want to bother carrying such things anyway. Ma Qian turned out to be the squire of the group, but he didn¡¯t realized it.


    Back inside the inn, they strategized on how they could use each others strengths to complete some of the missions most effectively. They could actually complete three missions if things goes well for tomorrow. As they finished strategizing, Xiang Jiao suddenly asked Ma Qian, ¡°Are you gay?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Are you gay, homosexual. Do you like boys?¡± Xiang Jiao asked again, but this time with more clarity.


    ¡°Hell no! Why would you think that?¡± Ma Qian responded angrily.


    Xiang Jiao only nodded and did not respond any further. Ma Qian was furious. He didn¡¯t want any misunderstandings and he wanted to be clear that he is 1000% straight as a wolf. Seeing that a conflict was about to start, Ye Tian sighed and said, ¡°Ma Qian relax. It¡¯s just a misunderstanding. Xiang Jiao kept seeing you grinding at Wang Rong during the exam. But there was another man besides her and it looked like you were grinding at him instead of Wang Rong.¡±


    Ma Qian felt embarrassed. He did remember there was a man close to Wang Rong, but he continued to ignore that man. How would that man have felt seeing Ma Qian grinding constantly, and it seemed like the target was him? Now that he thought over it, it was reasonable that Xiang Jiao thought of him like that. Ma Qian did not want to think any further embarrassing stuff he has done. Ignorance is bliss!


    ¡°I¡¯m not gay! There are three things that I admire the most ¨C Zoids, Women, ¡­..and more beautiful women!¡± Ma Qian emphasized before going to bed. Everyone begin to sleep in preparation for tomorrow¡¯s mission.


    Morning arrived, and everyone was set and ready for the big day. All the missions they chose were to kill specific wild beast that are in the supreme dao realm cultivation, except for the last one which was at the infinite dao realm. With the team as a support and Ye Tian doing the heavy load, it should be relatively easy to complete these missions.


    Inside the forest, the team decided to first target the infinite dao beast. They laid out traps and and secured a couple of places to escape in case things didn¡¯t go as planned. Ma Qian became the bait of the team. What luck? His vines have high defensive ability and can at least temporarily save him from a crisis. Ma Qian had a very gloomy face. After all, how the hell can he face an infinite dao beast when he can¡¯t even beat a supreme dao beast?This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Ma Qian walked slowly without the vines. The vines would prevent the beast from biting the bait. ¡°Ma Qian, walk faster, you coward!¡± Ye Tian whispered angrily while hiding high up above the tree, while Xiang Jiao was hiding in another place. ¡°Screw you, you do it then!¡± Ma Qian responded quickly. A few minutes have passed, only to see Ma Qian walking baby steps one inch at a time like a geisha.


    He knew this was ridiculous but he was scared and nervous. After a few minutes, Ma Qian gathered up his courage and started walking normally deeper towards where the beast resides. For the next 10 minutes, Ma Qian kept on walking. Everything was as quiet as a cemetery. No other beasts was around the area, because they knew the territory was exclusive controlled by this powerful beast. Ye Tian continued surveying the scene ahead of him while Xiang Jiao was seen writing his name on a tree branch with a stone. He felt Ma Qian was some kind of gay devil, which was against his beliefs, and that kind of irritated him while on this mission.


    ¡°Helppppp meeeee!¡± Ma Qian yells while jumping like a trampoline by summoning his vines to help him escape faster. Ye Tian sees Ma Qian running back and this is the time for him to act according to plan. Ma Qian passes by Ye Tian, who¡¯s hiding on top of the tree, then stops at a certain location, turns around, and starts whispering a spell. The moment the infinite wild beast almost passes by Ye Tian, Ye Tian transforms into a water dragon and dives towards the wild beast. The wild beast senses danger but is too late to react. The water dragon opens his jaws and bites deeply into the infinite beast¡¯s neck, while the beast struggles wildly until the water dragon lost the grip and crashes to the ground. While Ye Tian¡¯s water dragon is biting the beast, Xiang Jiao starts activating his massive beads and starts rotating around his body. One bead flies near the beast and starts releasing sleeping gas. Another bead flies near the beast and transforms into multiple needles and pierces the beast¡¯s vital areas. Then another bead flies near the beast, transforms into a gigantic pole, then continually bashes the beast¡¯s head. His attacks won¡¯t be enough to severely injure the beast, but it¡¯s enough to distract, delay, and cause a few wounds. The remaining beads continue to revolve around Xiang Jiao while everything else is happening.


    Ma Qian raises his hands and his vines start to tie up the 3 legs of the beast. The vines forms like a rope but with the addition of curved spikes. As the vines twist around the beast¡¯s legs, the spikes are able to cut and pierce the skin. The spikes has another special ability ¨C poison! Anything the vines pierce will also be poisoned. But one of the beast¡¯s legs is able to escape and whips a sonic beam towards Ma Qian. Ma Qian surrounds himself with vines that acts like a capsule shield. The beam crashes into the vines, but Ma Qian¡¯s capsule shield can¡¯t take further impact and flies backward until he crashes into another tree.


    Ye Tian, from the distance, unleashes the water dragon again and bites the beast¡¯s jaw to avoid the beast from opening his massive jaws. Ye Tian then quickly dashes and takes out a black sword, and stabs the beast¡¯s forehead with lightning speed. The beast¡¯s roars become quieter and quieter after 30 seconds. The pierced forehead on the beast starts shining as it opens wider. Inside the forehead is the monster core. Once it¡¯s taken out, the beast can no longer live. Ye Tian grabs the monster core and pulls it out of the beast¡¯s forehead and moves back quickly, before it unleashes a red poison from the beast¡¯s body. The beast falls to the ground heavily and no sign of life is left after the monster core was pulled out.


    Xiang Jiao wasn¡¯t injured. Ye Tian was slightly injured, but Ma Qian took the heavy blow as his head was bleeding. Poor him. As they looked at the lifeless infinite dao beast, they were happy to have completed their first mission. The three legged beast had a racoon-like head where the jaws could open wider than the head. The body was about 6 meters long and had lots of white and golden furs. The eyes were golden colored and shaped like a pentagon. All of these, if extracted, would be given a nice amount of zoids if they were to be returned in good condition.


    Ye Tian activated his storage ring and the body of the beast was sucked into the ring. He looked at Xiang Jiao and saw he wasn¡¯t injured. Then he looked at Ma Qian sitting on the ground lying on the tree he crashed to. Ma Qian gave him a thumbs up, and then fainted¡­..Ye Tian felt a bit relieved, although he was injured, half a day of rest and a healing potion would do the trick. He took out a mini crystal in which he inserted into Ma Qian¡¯s body. This was a healing potion to help Ma Qian recover faster. He then said to Xiang Jiao, ¡°Xiang Jiao, can you carry him while we do the next mission. I think I¡¯ll be able to handle the supreme dao beast alone, but please continue to support me at a distance while guarding Ma Qian.¡±


    Xiang Jiao nodded. After all his job was pretty easy. He had nothing to complain when Ye Tian will be doing the whole dirty work. They moved to another place in the forest while Xiang Jiao was seen dragging Ma Qian on the ground by the foot, not carrying!


    First mission completed!

 Chapter 23 – Pigopotomaus!

    For the next couple of missions, Ye Tian was able to reign supreme over the other beasts he fought against. Xiang Jiao didn¡¯t look interested, but he had already laid out trap arrays and was ready to support throughout the whole time Ye Tian was fighting. During this time, Xiang Jiao realized that Ye Tian was stronger than him¡­.by quite a bit. Strong and yet humble, Xiang Jiao thought when he looked at Ye Tian. But when he looked at Ma Qian, he could only think of one thing ¨C gay! It¡¯s not that he had a problem with this, but he grew up in a temple and there were no intimate relationships among girls and guys. This was just something he¡¯s not used to. He has read a couple of books that mentioned lovers between man and a woman were the norm, and lovers between men and another men or women with another women were more of a rare occurrences. Xiang Jiao thought deeply¡­..which one would he have chose if he was in a similar situation ¨C being intimate with a man or a woman?


    Ma Qian regained his consciousness, only to see a slightly sharp and angular object just a few inches away from the front of his eyes. His vision was blurry, but by the time his vision became clearer, the sharp object have already descended quite a bit.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± Xiang Jiao said. He was still thinking about those intimate books he came across, which released something that he had never experienced before. He always thought that little snake below him was always dead. Never did he thought it could become bigger. He felt a bit happy inside, which turned his mood more positively. Since Ma Qian couldn¡¯t see clearly, he didn¡¯t think anything of it. Ma Qian asked, ¡°Are we able to finish the other two missions?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ye Tian is taking care of it. We¡¯re actually on our last mission and he should be done in a few moments,¡± Xiang Jiao replied while watching the battle cautiously. Ma Qian got up as he watched Ye Tian battle. He was getting prepared to summon his vines to support Ye Tian, but a few breaths later, a painful sound was heard.


    ¡°Auuuurrgg, aurgrhhh, aurrghgh.¡±


    The sound came from the beast. She was on her last breath staring at Ye Tian with so much hatred. A little while later, she fell to the ground without moving ever again. Ye Tian collected the monster core and put the body inside the storage ring. Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian walked towards him, and said, ¡°Great job!¡±


    ¡°No big deal, the first mission was the most difficult one and I couldn¡¯t have done it without your help,¡± Ye Tian responded. Although he felt a bit annoyed that he had to do all the heavy work, he understood the others were weaker than him.


    Now it was time to head back towards the city, so they can collect their first rewards from the guild centre. Things went smoothly for a few miles until they felt the ground shaking. It felt like a giant was approaching them. Ma Qian communicated with his vines from the underground, shocked to the bones.


    ¡°Shit¡­run now! a wild beast much stronger than an infinite dao realm is coming towards us,¡± Ma Qian warned quickly. The group ran as quickly as they could. They needed to get out of the forest, because most often wild beasts won¡¯t come out of the forest. The forest provided a better environment for the wild beasts to cultivate and nurture than the outside world.


    They kept running but the beast was getting closer and closer! They knew they couldn¡¯t make it out of the forest in time, so they started to prepare their strongest attacks and took out some life-saving artifacts.


    A new battle begins, but this time their life is on the line!


    Ma Qian summons all the vines he could muster and merge it into one incredibly strong circular shield with curved spikes around it. Xiang Jiao summons his beads. The beads from his back begin to separate into two bracelets and surround Xiang Jiao¡¯s forearms. The bracelet beads start to spin rapidly looking like a glowing halo. Ye Tian summons a flame wall and water swords appear floating in the air waiting to strike their target. The beast continues to head towards Ye Tian¡¯s group.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The beast had the face of a black bull with two horns on the forehead and another curved horn on the chin area. His body was shaped like a white snake measuring at 10 meters long with a tail that¡¯s shaped like a black scythe. Beneath the body, there were several mouths ready to eat its prey! This beast was recorded as the ¡°King Earth Bull,¡± with a similar cultivation at the peak of the infinite dao realm.


    The beast charges forward and passes through the fire with minimal burn injuries to his body. Xiang Jiao dashes forward bravely while his halo beads are spinning like crazy. The spinning halo has a screeching-like sound to the ears. Xiang Jiao¡¯s beads are gathering massive energy power until he was close to the beast, then punches forward 10 meters away from the beast. Halo beams start shooting out and hits the eyes of the beast.


    ¡°Roarrrr.¡±


    The beast feels the pain and uses his forehead horns to stab at Xiang Jiao, but luckily Ma Qian arrives in front of Xiang Jiao with his vine shields and blocks the horns. The vine shield disintegrates from the heavy impact. Both Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian flies backward heavily, but Ma Qian is already whispering where his vine shield reforms and starts spinning. The vine shield spins, shoots forward, and cuts one of the forehead horns in half and gets stuck cutting halfway at the other horn. Ye Tian showers the beast with his water swords like a falling stars.


    Boom. Baam. Boom¡­booom¡­..bammm¡­booomm.


    Some of the water swords are deflected and explodes to the ground. A few of them is able to cut deep skins on the beast¡¯s body and face. Although the beast is cut and is injured, it is too powerful. Ye Tian then unleashes the water dragon and bites into one of the legs while Xiang Jiao dashes forward again protected by Ma Qian¡¯s vines. This time Xiang Jiao punches the beast¡¯s forehead. As it touches, the halo beads makes a unique trembling sound.


    WHimm¡­.whimmmmmm¡­¡­¡­..KABOOMMMMMM!


    The energy unleashes like a nuclear impact. The ground shakes, the beast feels his mind is about to explode from the immense pressure of the halo beam, then crashes to the ground violently. However, the beast tries to counter with a tail swipe but Xiang Jiao uses his other arm where the halo beads makes another pressuring sound that pushes him off away from the beast like a rocket. The halo beads has multiple functions, with one of them giving Xiang Jiao a temporary speed boost towards any direction.


    The beast summons his scythe tail and almost cuts the water dragon in half. But the water dragon reacts quickly in time and releases his bite, but snaps at the incoming scythe tail. However, the current motion causes the water dragon to be off balance and crashes to another area.


    All three are out of energy because they have spent all their energy defending for their lives, but it was not enough.


    The beast stands up again after recovering from the dizziness and targets Ye Tian. Ma Qian unleashes a web of vines but the beast breaks through it. Xiang Jiao pounds the ground and the earth erects a spiked wall, but the beast is able to break through again. Ye Tian is on one knee and knows he has nothing to counter, but he remembers the time he met Tian Ren from the other dimension.


    ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry. This pearl is integrated with your heart. If you call upon it, a heavenly divine beast will come out and help you. At the least, it will help you escape for sure,¡± Tian Ren confidently said.


    Ye Tian, closes his eyes and calls upon the divine beast from his heart. The sky suddenly turns white, and lightning starts appearing. The clouds starts rotating like a whirlpool and forms a word, ¡°Heavenly Beast.¡± A huge purple lightning pierces through the cloudy word and strikes the ground.


    Sparks flow through the air current, and a heavy mist is surrounding a small area. Vr¡­¡­..VRoommmmmm!


    Unable to see clearly through the mist and sparks. A shadow of a gigantic Liger appears with a massive body, muscular legs and arms, tail of a dragon!


    Snoorrrkkkkkkkkkk!


    The beast walks outside the the foggy area. Now everyone can see the beast!


    Ye Tian looks speechless. Xiang Jiao feels helpless. Ma Qian¡¯s eyes are felt with extreme intense.


    As the beast started to walk into visibility, the head appeared like a white-colored pig. Next appeared the body, which looked like a miniature version of a hippopotamus but with small wings. Then a small tail appeared that kept twirling like a helicopter. This beast walked slowly forward like he was the king! The aura that was supposed to be like a divine beast was not there.


    ¡°Snorrkkkkkk, hufff, hufff.¡±


    This heavenly divine beast, the heavens call him, ¡°Pigopotomaus!¡±

 Chapter 24 -Bad Boy

    ¡°Snorkkkkkk¡±


    The divine beast looked at Ye Tian. He knew Ye Tian was his master right away. He wanted to say, ¡°Damn, this kid is just a weakling. How can I, a divine beast, be summoned for stupid stuff like this! The heavens must be desperate¡­.oh well, I¡¯ll just get rid of that weakling beast so I can go back to sleep again.¡±


    Note: I will call the divine beast as PIPO.


    The wild beast stands there not knowing what to do. He can¡¯t figure out if this Pipo is stronger than him or not. However, at this moment Pipo disappears from his original place. Everyone can feel the air vibrations. Suddenly, Pipo reappears at the side of the wild beast with his tail transforming into a huge flail that is three times bigger than his own figure! The flail pulverizes the wild beast and he crashes to the ground violently, but not before the wild beast swinging his scythe tail towards. The tail smashes Pipo into another tree.


    ¡°Snirrrkkkkk. I¡¯m a bit rusty¡­.my senses and instinct are like those retarded boys over there. I need to regain my original powers back as quickly as possible,¡± Pipo concluded.


    Pipo becomes more serious and takes a first step before disappearing again. Half a breath later, he appears at the same spot and hammers the same spot again. The wild beast retaliates in pain, then swings his scythe tail trying to stab Pipo, but Pipo vanishes again, and the tail swings nothing but air. The momentum of the tail ends up stabbing his own rib cage. Pipo reappears on the other side with his tail transforming into three spears, then quickly stabs the wild beast but it¡¯s only able to pierce slightly deeper than the beast¡¯s thick skin.


    WHAMMM.


    The wild beast kicks Pipo to the side. Pipo flies away smashing multiple trees along the way. He hasn¡¯t fought for a very long time¡­.. probably since ancient times. His strength, speed, instinct, and senses are currently dull, and he needs to fight more battles to regain his original power.


    ¡°Fudge! This pig is useless,¡± Ye Tian and the others thought in their minds. Ever since the battle started with the pig and the wild beast, the others tried to follow closely behind Pipo. When Pipo gets slammed to the ground, they follow behind him quietly. After all, that pig was their last hope to survive¡­¡­and their first line of defense!


    Pipo furiously regains his balance and disappears again. A breath later, Pipo can be seen in the sky flipping while his tail has formed into an enormous blazing hammer. On the bottom of that hammer, there was a glowing circle with the ancient word ¡°Hell Crush.¡±


    BOOOOMMM.


    The blazing attack hammers down onto the wild beast with such immense strength that the impact causes the ground to rumble and the surrounding air to become chaotic.


    ¡°Shriiekkekkkkk¡­¡­¡­¡±


    The wild beast was smashed into a meat pulp, and rested for eternity. The nearby areas sank deeper into the ground and became abnormally hot. After the battle was over, Pipo looked at Ye Tian, Xiang Jiao, then Ma Qian as he was evaluating each individual. Pipo¡¯s eyes rolled in disappointment, then jumped towards the sky and disappeared magically¡­.although, he only jumped three inches off the ground. His body was too heavy!


    ¡°Was that thing your pet?¡± Ma Qian asked, while Xiang Jiao looked at him as well.


    No response. Inside Ye Tian¡¯s mind, he felt embarrassed, furious, and shocked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get the monster core. We can use this to enhance our cultivation,¡± Ye Tian said while ignoring to answer the question. Luckily, the head wasn¡¯t smashed like the body was. The remaining of the body could also be sold for a bargain.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The three missions they¡¯ve selected were all completed. By luck, good or bad, another bonus was that they were able to obtain the monster core of the peak infinite dao realm. With their current cultivation, they could use this massive energy core to increase their cultivation. They went back to the guild branch. On the way, they all kept quiet not knowing what to say. They could only see Ye Tian was in a bad mood.


    ¡°Not bad. Three bounty missions completed. Two three stars and one four star missions. Wait¡­.what? you also killed a peak infinite dao beast?¡± Wang Rong asked.


    The party already arrived and headed directly to the guild branch to collect their rewards.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I killed that little beast. No biggie,¡± Ma Qian tried to impress her.


    ¡°Ms. Wang Rong, we just got lucky. Someone else killed it and left the body there,¡± Xiang Jiao told the truth.


    Wang Rong glanced at Ye Tian for an answer, only to see Ye Tian nodded without speaking a word. Wang Rong felt something was odd with Ye Tian. He was usually very well-mannered, so she didn¡¯t want to ask any further.


    ¡°Alright, here¡¯s 50,000 zoids for the missions you¡¯ve completed. And another 20,000 zoids for the peak infinite dao beast. It¡¯s unfortunate¡­.if it was still in good condition, it could¡¯ve gotten around 60,000-80,000 zoids. This is your card and all your zoids are stored in here. You can use it to make transactions throughout this world,¡± Wang Rong explained and gave them the card.


    She continued, ¡°By the way, we sell armors, weapons, martial scrolls, potions, and other stuff that you might need for future missions. Just go to the second to fourth floor. You¡¯ll find some interesting stuff.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Wang Rong, may I exchange 1,000 zoids in physical form. You can subtract it from the card,¡± Xiang Jiao asked.


    Wang Rong gave Xiang Jiao 1,000 zoids. The zoids looked like bright diamonds with holes in the middle, and there were 10 of them, each equaling 100 zoids. Xiang Jiao then took out a golden string and inserted it between the zoids. Now all the zoids are hung on the string, where Xiang Jiao hung it on his neck¡­.Bling, Bling!


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to the inn. If you guys want to look at the upper floors, make sure you leave 40,000 zoids on the card,¡± Ye Tian said, and left the building.


    Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao decided to go up to the second floor before Ma Qian left a love letter to Wang Rong. On the second floor, there were security guards checking their identity, because all the items here were exclusively for guild members and a few special guest with powerful backgrounds. Xiang Jiao had to split his massive beads into arm and ankle bracelets.


    The second floor sold armors and weapons. As they passed by different people and vendors, Xiang Jiao got their attention with the bling bling hanging on his neck. Everyone thought, was he someone famous? Meanwhile, Ma Qian was looking for some armors he needed badly after getting beaten unconscious inside the forest.


    ¡°How much is this?¡±


    ¡°10,000 zoids.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you crazy. Do you think we look like fools?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do actually.¡±


    Ma Qian became furious, but luckily Xiang Jiao took a chance in negotiating. ¡°Lady butterfly, my friend and I are in need of some armors. My friend looks dumb, but he¡¯s a righteous person. As for me¡­..it is true that I¡¯m lacking. I have been living in the temple all my life and have never experienced the outside world until these past few days. And in these past few days, only you resemble the purple butterfly that I¡¯ve been fond of during my temple days,¡± Xiang Jiao said with a bashful cheek while scratching his head. Ma Qian was speechless. He never thought this monk had a natural way of enticing others, and most important of all he felt wronged to be accused of being dumb.


    People¡¯s first impression of Xiang Jiao was that he looked intimidating with the long braided pony tail and the forehead mark he had. But he had always negate that impression while walking with his head down and his hands palmed together like a peaceful monk.


    ¡°Oh Sirrr, I was mistaken. I did not mean to insult you. When I looked at you, I knew you were a righteous person. What I said earlier, was towards that other man¡± the lady said. She was enamored by Xiang Jiao¡¯s humble words and uniquely handsome looks after getting a close look at him. Monks were usually bald, but not Xiang Jiao. He certainly carried a different aura with that intimidating hair and sharp facial features. If he wasn¡¯t wearing a robe monk, many people would¡¯ve assumed he was a powerful warrior that was from a high noble birth.


    Many would say he¡¯s like the bad boy version of a monk. Peaceful yet violent. Quiet yet rebellious. Shy yet quite the charmer. You just don¡¯t know what you¡¯re going to get with this guy!

 Chapter 25 – Heaven’s Call

    The lady was enamored with Xiang Jiao¡¯s words, but when Xiang Jiao tried to lower the price, the lady unexpectedly refused to yield.


    Xiang Jiao sighed, palmed his hands together, lowered his head, turned around, then whispered, ¡°¡­..Bitch¡±


    Luckily, the lady couldn¡¯t hear clearly, but Ma Qian did and could only smile. He¡¯s never met anyone like Xiang Jiao in his life. Ma Qian tried again to negotiate but the lady was like a pro. They had no choice to leave the store and looked for other alternatives. After going to a few places, they were able to find another vendor that were selling some armors crafted with special spells on it. Another negotiation war ensued. Who won doesn¡¯t matter, but both parties had sweats all over their faces and a very dark aura surrounding them after the transaction was completed.


    They continued to check the other floors. Meanwhile, at a local library, Ye Tian had an extremely unsightly look and was eager to look for answers. He looked at the different books he could get his hands on trying to find any clues on any of the divine beasts that have been recorded throughout history, but he could found nothing on that pig!. He went back to the inn and still felt irritated until he thought of something. He went to his bed, then started cultivating. Several breaths later, his consciousness flew into another dimension where he met the pudgy old man. Ye Tian walked up to him at a fast pace.


    ¡°Ahhh, Ye Tian! Didn¡¯t you believe me? The divine beast was great, wasn¡¯t it,¡± Tian Ren said while giving a welcoming posture.


    ¡°Great, my ass!¡± Ye Tian replied hurriedly.


    WHAMMM!


    Ye Tian started beating the pudgy old man! A shocking and anger look could be seen on Tian Ren¡¯s face. Tian Ren started fighting back.


    BAM¡­BOOOMM


    ¡°Ahhhh¡±


    ¡°Urghhhh.¡±


    ¡°You, piece of shit liar.¡± WHAMMMM.


    ¡°You¡­..you¡­ungrateful kid. I never lied to you¡­.¡± BAMMM!


    This was an all out brawl! Nothing fancy. No magic or skills were involved. Only punches, biting, hair pulling, kicking, elbowing, and head butting were used. This went on for quiet a long time until they were starting to get tired.


    Meanwhile at the guild. Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian were negotiating with other vendors intensively.


    ¡°7,000 each. We buy 3 for a total of 21,000 zoids,¡± Ma Qian offered.


    ¡°No can do. 10,000 each,¡± the vendor replied.


    ¡°Look, this scroll is missing some parts. Lower the price and we¡¯ll buy it.¡± Xiang Jiao said.


    Before they went to this vendor, they came up with a plan. The plan was for Ma Qian to distract the vendor, while Xiang Jiao pretended to check out the scrolls. He was actually trying to memorize all of it without paying. On another occasion, Xiang Jiao distracted another vendor, while Ma Qian ripped a part of the scroll that he memorized, then told the vendor that the scroll was damaged.


    After a few hours of shopping, Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao went back to the inn and arrived at their room. They bought a lot of stuff. Armors, weapons, potions, and some scrolls could be seen from their collection. They were in a happy mood after all the negotiating they did¡­..they were also kicked out of the building for interfering with some of the vendor¡¯s customers who wanted to purchase the same thing they did. Some of the customers were willing to pay the asking price, but not them. So they acted despicably again until the vendor got sick of it and sold the items for a bargain. Eventually, some of the victims, or vendors, complained to the guild of these two gangsters.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    As they laid down their shopping collection, they wanted to let Ye Tian know about it, but he was seen sitting cross-legged while cultivating. They took a closer look at Ye Tian, because they didn¡¯t believe what was going on with Ye Tian. They saw Ye Tian¡¯s nose started bleeding, and a bruise started appearing on one of his eyes! Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian looked at each other dumbfounded. Xiang Jiao started tapping Ye Tian, but there was no response. Ma Qian started shaking him lightly, but there was still no response. Xiang Jiao checked his pulse, so they knew Ye Tian was still alive. Then Xiang Jiao slapped Ye Tian on the face lightly, and there was still no response. Ma Qian slapped harder, and still no response! Xiang Jiao suddenly thought of an idea.


    ¡°Let us use this opportunity to practice some of the new skills we just bought!¡± Xiang Jiao said. He selected one of the scrolls he bought earlier. He read the scrolls for a few moments, then shook his head after understanding the main principle of it. He walked in front of Ye Tian, closed his eyes, focused on his technique, and then¡­..


    Bammmm!


    Xiang Jiao punched Ye Tian¡¯s body! He was practicing his new skill and his target was Ye Tian! Ma Qian also read one of the scrolls. After understanding the basics, he also practiced his new skill with Ye Tian being the target. They took turns for a while until they felt it was enough, but it was more likely that they could see Ye Tian¡¯s mouth was coughing up blood like crazy. Meanwhile, Ye Tian was almost done fighting with Tian Ren. After the fight, Ye Tian stared at Tian Ren. Both were bleeding from their noses, bruises showed on their bodies. Tian Ren was holding his face like he had been wrongly beaten.


    ¡°You little rascal. Why did you beat me? Didn¡¯t my divine beast saved you from danger?¡± Tian Ren repeatedly asked. He knew the divine beast had been summoned and battled another beast saving Ye Tian and the others from danger.


    ¡°It¡¯s a damn fat pig! How can that be a divine beast¡± Ye Tian replied furiously.


    ¡°So what if it¡¯s a pig. Besides, he¡¯s a pigopotamaus! Don¡¯t underestimate him. I¡¯ve groomed him since he was born and he could even kill immortal dao cultivators!¡± Tian Ren said proudly.


    ¡°Bullshit! He could barely fight against that infinite dao beast!¡± Ye Tian yelled back.


    ¡°He¡¯s a bit rusty¡­..he just needs more battles to regain his natural powers,¡± Tian Ren said with a guilty face. He did see the battle and saw the pig was struggling a bit even though he was in another dimension.


    ¡°Forget about that fat pig. I want to ask you what other special powers can this pearl in my heart do¡± Ye Tian quickly changed the subject.


    Tian Ren tried to recall what the pearl can do. After all, no one have used it in a very, very long time.


    ¡°There is one other skill, but you need to be at least in the peak of supreme dao realm to use the skill. You also need the wooden sword you have with you in order to summon the skill. It¡¯s called ¡°Heaven¡¯s Call.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate it. If you know how to use it, it can destroy cities, civilizations, or anyone in the planet. As long as you direct it to kill a specific target, then it will only aim for that specific target without harming anything else. Otherwise, it can also be used as a wide area attack with the same devastating results.¡±


    After Tian Ren explained, he handed a jade slip to Ye Tian. That slip was the secrets to learn the skill.


    ¡°Another question, why is it after this pearl was integrated with my heart, my cultivation progress have been slowed down significantly?¡± Ye Tian curiously asked. He¡¯s been cultivating with some of the monster cores he had, but the increases weren¡¯t even detectable.


    ¡°When you almost died in your village, the only way to save you was with that pearl. Besides healing your severe wounds, the pearl activated and protected you from the extreme flames. Since the pearl have integrated with your heart, you can no longer cultivate above the supreme dao realm¡­..also¡­¡­also¡­.you only have 10 years left to live.¡± Tian Ren said but near the end, his tone of voice was almost like a whisper.


    ¡°WHAT!!!!!¡± Ye Tian yelled. He was ready to attack Tian Ren again.


    ¡°You can still reach the peak of the supreme dao realm. Relax. I can teach you how to fight against infinite, heavenly, or even immortal dao fighters. I¡¯m the great Tian Ren! When there¡¯s an obstacle, Tian Ren can always find a way out!¡± Tian Ren proudly said while thumping his chest.


    Instantly, Ye Tian stood up in a form of torpedo with his feet aiming to kill Tian Ren at lightning speed!


    Kaboom!


    Tian Ren smashed into one of the walls instantly. Ye Tian was no longer interested in even looking at Tian Ren. He left the dimension.


    As he was about to leave, Tian Ren furiously yelled.


    ¡°You¡­you¡­.you¡¯re even more despicable than your ancestor. I¡¯ve never thought that I would meet someone more shameless than your first Patriarch, but you¡¯re the worst¡­BY FAR!!!!

 Chapter 26 – Steps To The Heaven

    Ye Tian looked back at Tian Ren before leaving the dimension. Everyone knew who the first patriarch was in the village. He was the founder of the clan, but no one knew what he was like in terms of personality and behavior. When Tian Ren mentioned about the first patriarch, it was bit shocking and puzzling to Ye Tian, because even the village had very little information about him.


    The moment Ye Tian regained his consciousness, he opened his eyes, but he felt painfully miserable. He knew he had some bruises from fighting with Ye Tian, but why the extra bruises that he didn¡¯t recall? His face was swollen and his body was aching in more areas than he suffered at the other dimension. He looked around the room, only to see Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian who was already sleeping peacefully. Ye Tian thought, ¡°Did they do this to me?¡± This was his instinct but he had no prove!


    He didn¡¯t want to think of this matter right now. He was trying to recall what Tian Ren said to him about his cultivation and the first patriarch.


    Inside the special dimension, Pipo appeared in front of Tian Ren. In that moment, Tian Ren kicked him right away with a giant transparent foot made of clouds.


    ¡°Snorkkk.¡±


    ¡°What was that for master? That hurts,¡± Pipo said.


    Tian Ren was still holding his face softly while staring vehemently at Pipo. Pipo knew he did something bad, but didn¡¯t know exactly what he did that made his master mad.


    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve gotta admit, that Ye Tian kid is pretty good¡­..even better than that Ye Pa (Scaredy Leaf) punk. Wait¡­.Ye¡­Ye¡­¡­are they related?¡± Pipo curiously asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s his descendant, but this one¡­.this one is much more troublesome than the first one!¡± Tian Ren sighed.


    ¡°Snorkkk, snorkkkk, he ain¡¯t bad. He¡¯s weak right now, but him and his friends are actually strong if they fight against the same level cultivators. They could even hold for quite a long time against that infinite dao beast, not bad¡­not bad at all¡± Pipo replied.


    ¡°I¡¯ve given the Ye clan some of the best martial skills this world can offer, so that they can protect some of the heaven¡¯s treasures from being used for evil purposes. I gave Ye Pa these treasures, because I thought no one could ever take it away from him or his clan. The Ye clan possess a very rare bloodline that enables them to be supreme in different types of battles. Furthermore, they have a very strong comprehension that enables them to be superior in learning any martial dao. But I asked them to protect these treasures was because they were unparalleled in craftiness and shamelessness. They¡¯ve never killed innocent people, but they somehow always get what they want,¡± Tian Ren explained after recalling the first time he met Ye Pa! He got tricked a few times by Ye Pa. How can that happen?


    Tian Ren continued to sighed, ¡°One of the immortal treasure have been stolen by someone. I¡¯m afraid if they knew about this pearl treasure, then Ye Tian would be in real danger¡­¡­It¡¯s a shame, he¡¯s only at the supreme dao realm. If he was at the Immortal or even the heavenly dao realm, I wouldn¡¯t be too worried. That Ye Pa was already at the immortal dao realm when this pearl merged with him. He was the sole reason that some ancient civilizations and families have still survived till today from that apocalyptic battle¡­.¡±


    In the real world, Ye Tian was thinking about the first patriarch. Was he really shameless? He thought carefully and recalled that his parents and other clansmen were indeed a bit shameless when they were dealing with outsiders during the few journey he went with his parents or other elders. ¡°Maybe what that old fart said was kind of true,¡± Ye Tian thought. He wanted to ask Tian Ren about the first patriarch, but this wasn¡¯t the most appropriate time after their epic battle. Ye Tian took out the jade slip to see if he can gain some insight on this skill called, ¡°Heaven¡¯s Call.¡± He still couldn¡¯t accept the fact that he would be stuck in the supreme dao realm for the remaining part of his life, which is only 10 years left! He needed to find out who masterminded the massacre of his village before time runs out, and this ¡°Heaven¡¯s Call¡± skill might be his ultimate weapon!If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    As he was falling asleep, he murmured, ¡°In 10 years¡­10¡­.10 years.¡±


    Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian was pretending to sleep, so they heard Ye Tian murmuring these words. They tried to decipher the meaning of this, but couldn¡¯t. However, they knew this was something extremely important, especially to Ye Tian.


    The next morning, Ye Tian woke up only to see stuff all over the floor and on the tables. Ma Qian was polishing his armor. Xiang Jiao was reading his scrolls.


    ¡°How much did you guys spent?¡± Ye Tian worriedly asked.


    Ma Qian ignored the question, then said, ¡°Ye Tian, we bought an armor for you.¡±


    Xiang Jiao added, ¡°And some martial skill scrolls.¡±


    ¡°How much?¡± Ye Tian didn¡¯t care and asked again.


    ¡°Look, this armor is so nice. This is the best one we got for you. It increases your strength by 30%,¡± Ma Qian continued explaining.


    ¡°HOW MUCH!?¡± Ye Tian asked like he was yelling.


    Xiang Jiao threw the card at Ye Tian. Ye Tian slipped his conscious into the card and went into a rage.


    ¡°How the hell did you guys spend 75,000 zoids on these craps! We only got 5,000 left for our next journey. Are you guys dumb or stupid?¡± Ye Tian yelled.


    Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao were both quiet. They recalled a similar experience when their auntie or master told them off like a little kid who just got in trouble except this time they were told off by someone younger than them.


    Ma Qian didn¡¯t want to say anything further. He knew he was guilty of overspending and he had no control of his spending habits. But Xiang Jiao tried to respond, ¡°Ye Tian, this will help¡­.¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Ye Tian instantly interfered. For whatever reason, Xiang Jiao kept quiet. He was usually the type of person to retaliate, but after witnessing Ye Tian¡¯s combat ability, he knew only he would be the one on the ground if they were to fight. There was a sense of fear, but also respect and admiration for Ye Tian.


    ¡°Let me see what you guys bought!¡± Ye Tian continued.


    They all gave him all the things they bought while Ye Tian calculated all the prices. After calculating everything in hand, the total didn¡¯t match with all the accumulated products. Ye Tian stared both of them viciously.


    ¡°It¡¯s missing something. The calculations don¡¯t match,¡± Ye Tian explained.


    He continued to stare at them sternly until someone gave in. Xiang Jiao handed a scroll from his sleeves to Ye Tian. Ye Tian took a look at the scroll, then kept looking at Xiang Jiao. Xiang Jiao just closed his eyes to ignore Ye Tian¡¯s continuous glares. After some time, Ye Tian gave the scroll back to Xiang Jiao.


    Ma Qian tried to sneak in one of the scrolls that was laid out on the floor to one of his sleeves, but Ye Tian caught him on the act.


    ¡°Why does he get to keep one and I don¡¯t,¡± Ma Qian childishly asked.


    Ye Tian didn¡¯t respond. He took a careful look at some of the stuff they bought . He was more interested in the martial skill scrolls. One that caught his attention was a martial skill scroll called, ¡°Steps To The Heaven.¡± This skill provided a compounded boost in strength, speed, and power for every step they take. The first step provided a 5% increase in overall ability, 10% for the next step, 15% for the third step, 20% for the fourth step, 25% for the fifth step, 30% for the sixth step, 50% for the seventh step, and unknown for the eight step. For the second step and onward, the increase would be more than 15%! For a cultivator to master and utilize these 8 steps, each step requires the individual to gain enlightenment in their dao. It has to be a profound enlightenment for each step. Ye Tian wondered about the eight step as it was unknown. That means no one has mastered the eight step.


    Ma Qian collected his armor and other scrolls after being approved by the team. He then left the room to sell his maps. After he left, Xiang Jiao followed suit, but before going out of the room, he said to Ye Tian, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Ye Tian looked at Xiang Jiao¡¯s back as he disappeared. What the hell is wrong with this guy, Ye Tian thought. The scroll that he gave back to Xiang Jiao wasn¡¯t actually a martial dao skill, but it had paintings of naked men and women, something similar to the Karma Sutra!

 Chapter 27 – All These Guys Are Flirting With Me

    For the next few days, Ma Qian sold some of his copied maps to earn some side money. Xiang Jiao was also able to make some money by sitting in the center of the city with a bowl hoping for by-passers to donate some money to him. Of course, he stored his bling bling away before doing this. They knew they screwed up with their uncontrollable shopping habits. Making extra money on the side would help the group to go on with their next journey, whichever road that might take them to.


    The world was vast and traveling from one continent to another would take a lifetime if the person did not use any flying ships, transportation altars, or cloud streams. The first two required a hefty sum of zoids, which only left the group with the last choice. They needed to move to the capital Kingdom of Shui, which was about a day away from United Temples City.


    As they left the city riding the huge turtle, they were also hunting for other smaller wild beasts to use to travel the cloud stream. When they found easy preys, they would use it as bait to prey on bigger targets. Fortune was on their side that day when they were able to capture 5 white falcons while crossing the wild desert. The falcons were considered pretty huge at 6 meters long and 8 meters wide of their wings were spread out. They were known to be fast and very mobile in air combat. Most of the falcons had grey-colored eye spots accompanied with other grey spots found in different areas of their body. Their legs were similar to a tigers legs that would enable them to take long strides on the ground.


    Capturing these falcons caused the group a heavy price. What they thought were easy prey didn¡¯t turn out to be easy at all! All of them were bandaged heavily. Ma Qian had half of his hair shaved after escaping the claws of the falcons. Ye Tian had his face brutally beaten. Xiang Jiao had it worse, he broke many parts of his body after falling from such great heights trying to capture one of the falcons that were flying. Fortunately, they found a small oasis where they decided to postpone their journey until they recovered. Ma Qian was designated to hunt some wild animals for food. While he was hunting for food, he heard a singing voice. He decided to take a look as the voice was very very feminine and captivating. As he was passing by, there was a pond behind one of the bushes. He could see the back of a naked figure with soft shiny skin, silky smooth black hair, firm butt cheeks, with a flawless curvy back. Ma Qian gulped and decided this would be a good opportunity for Ye Tian to see his first naked woman. He hurriedly went back.


    ¡°Hey, virgin boy! Come, you¡¯re gonna love this¡­.naked woman¡­..beautiful naked woman!¡± Ma Qian said directing his words to Ye Tian, but both Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao looked at him when he said ¡°Virgin boy.¡± Ma Qian felt their stares, then rephrased his words, ¡°Okay, virgin boys.¡± Ma Qian had to drag Ye Tian, while Xiang Jiao voluntarily went.


    They arrived at the scene. The alluring singing voice caused them to weaken while they continued watching the back of the figure. Suddenly, someone made a sound, which caused the nude figure to turn around and screamed.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh.¡±


    ¡°Arrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.¡±


    However, what the group saw also made them screamed, then turned around to flee like a bunch of herds. The nude figure almost ran, but since he saw the others running, he decided to stay. The bottom part was censored.


    ¡°You piece of shit, we¡¯re not like you! We don¡¯t care if you¡¯re like that but don¡¯t drag us into this hobby of yours. You couldn¡¯t even tell the difference between a man and a woman. You¡¯re a damn fudging virgin too!¡± Xiang Jiao furiously yelled at Ma Qian.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Look, I didn¡¯t know. Besides, you didn¡¯t know either until he turned around. His back was like a woman¡¯s back!¡± Ma Qian guiltily replied.


    Ye Tian didn¡¯t even say anything. He covered his eyes with his hands while running away. He was almost in tears. The first naked figure he saw was a man! Ever since he met Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao, life has been pretty awful. He opened his eyes and stared at Ma Qian viciously with killing intent. Ma Qian felt Ye Tian¡¯s glare and Xiang Jiao¡¯s. He knew he was in deep shit this time. He wanted to sleep, but throughout the night, Ma Qian could only feel the death stares of Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao. Somehow Ma Qian could finally relax after seeing the other two falling asleep. A few moments later, he also fell asleep.


    Everything was quiet except Ye Tian suddenly opened his eyes. He stared at Ma Qian, then took out a sandy powder. He walked towards Ma Qian, then poured the powder all over his body. Ma Qian was so tired, he couldn¡¯t feel anything. Ye Tian went back to sleep feeling a bit relieved. A few moments later, Xiang Jiao woke up¡­¡­he then stood up and walked towards Ma Qian. A bead flew in front of him. He whispered a spell where the the bead opened up dropping a drop of liquid on Ma Qian¡¯s forehead. A spell craft emerged on Ma Qian¡¯s forehead, but Ma Qian couldn¡¯t feel anything. Xiang Jiao smiled, then went back to sleep just like Ye Tian did. All three can be seen smiling as they were sleeping comfortably while trying to forget this horrible night caused by Ma Qian.


    By the next day, everyone¡¯s wounds were all healed up. They prepared to continue to travel to the capital with their turtle. Ma Qian felt a bit itchy on his chest, but later on the itchiness spread out to all over his body. He was scratching everywhere leaving red scratch marks all over his chest and back.


    ¡°Hey, how come you guys aren¡¯t itchy and I am?¡± Ma Qian confusedly asked.


    ¡°Maybe you haven¡¯t taken a shower¡­..¡± Ye Tian replied while studying his scrolls.


    Throughout the journey, only endless itchiness almost caused Ma Qian to go insane. Rolling over here and there, and even using his knife to scratch some areas. Thin cuts with dots of bloods were coming out slowly. Luckily, they arrived at the capital and rented a room at the nearest inn. Ma Qian quickly went to the hot springs and cleaned up his wounds. By then, all that itchy powder Ye Tian poured on him have been washed off. He felt relieved, but he still didn¡¯t know why he was the only one that was itchy throughout the whole journey.


    ¡°Hey, are you coming with us? We¡¯re gonna take a look around before we leave for the cloud stream,¡± Ye Tian asked while looking at Ma Qian half naked. After the nightmarish incident from the day before, he didn¡¯t think it could get any worse than that.


    ¡°Yeah, let me get dressed up first,¡± Ma Qian replied.


    They explored the capital to gain some new information. They also went to the guild center to check for other new missions. But somehow along the way, Ma Qian attracted many men flirting with him while his forehead had a little glow mark that was similar to what Xiang Jiao used on him the day before. Some touched him softly, some even smacked his butt that caused him to beat some of the guys furiously.


    ¡°What the hell is going on? First I felt really itchy, then all these guys are flirting with me¡­¡­¡± Ma Qian murmured. He realized that throughout the whole time, he was in front of the gang. It was usually Ye Tian in front. Even more surprising was that they were always on the far side of the road with a devilish smile whenever there were guys flirting with him! He didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of curse he had, but he knew that Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao were definitely the perpetrators!


    He pushed some of the guys that were close to him and ran away while saying, ¡°You bastards, what did you guys do to me?¡±


    Nevertheless, he was still chased by some dudes that were big, small, rough, or gentle in stature. Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao felt a sense of happiness in their heart, but they still followed closely behind.

 Chapter 28 – Lin Yang, The Fallen Noble

    The chase went until the next morning when the spell on his forehead started to wane. Ma Qian was deadly exhausted with all that running until he saw a young man kneeling and kowtowing towards a recently burned house. The house was actually a mansion, but everything turned into nothing but ash. Just what happened?


    ¡°Father, when it was time for me to support you, I didn¡¯t believe you. When others said you were a bad and tempered person, I believed them without investigating the facts. I was naive¡­..I was immature¡­.and I was stupid. The day that I could no longer see you was the day I realized how much you have given me¡­.how much you have sacrificed for the family¡­..and how much you continued providing for the family without the support or trust of the the family. Father, I realized how sad you were. I realized the pain of betrayal you¡¯ve carried after helping those ungrateful people,¡± the young man said while crying in tears. He was recalling his memories, the good and the bad.


    He continued, ¡°If I could change back the time I would¡­¡­, I would have done things differently but the heavens will never allow this. I have always wanted to help you, but my ignorance and the distrust that I had for you have only made you suffer all this time. I saw your aged face disappointed in me, and yet I still sensed the care you have for me. I saw your angry face, but you have always pardon my mistakes.¡±


    ¡°At one point, I looked down on you, believing what others had said about you. I believed I could fly on my own and proved to you when I come back stronger. But¡­.I realized that it was too late¡­..I realized that behind the scenes, you¡¯ve made great sacrifices for the family.¡±


    ¡°These regrets¡­.I wished for you to give me another chance, but what good is it for if you¡¯re no longer here by my side. This heavy sin, I will carry and embrace it all my life as a reminder of how great of a father you were to me and how great of a person you are to others. I will change¡­..I believe in good karma¡­..I will make it happen¡­¡­I will make sure when you are reincarnated, you will be loved by your parents, your siblings, your wife, and your children! For now, I wish for you to let go of that burden and pain, and I will endure all of that while living in this world. I, at least, owe you that commitment. I wish for you to rest peacefully without further suffering. I want to see you joyfully smile looking ahead at the heavens!¡±


    The young man bowed ten times slowly while on his knees. The last bow was an eternal bow of gratefulness. At this moment, the wind blew slightly. Somewhere in the sky, two ancient eyes looked down on the young man with tears. They were tears of worry, regret, forgiveness, and undying love. An old voice could be heard, ¡°Take care, my child¡­.¡± The echo of that voice was carried by the slight wind all the way to the place where the young man was bowing.


    Within the burned areas, a baby flower bloomed, a miracle unaffected by the flames. A fallen leaf swayed from left to right until it fell on the young man¡¯s hand. The sun shone brighter within that area as it was giving more energy than usual. Approval¡­.this was an approval by the ancient eyes that disappeared a moment ago. The young man felt a tremor throughout his body as he looked at his surroundings with watery eyes. He smiled because he could feel this was a parting gift message from his father!


    Within a short distance Ma Qian clasped his hands and bowed towards the burned house. And a distance away from him, Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao also clasped their hands and bowed towards the same area. They have heard everything the young man have said, and even they could feel the genuine feeling he had for his father. Ye Tian could feel the young man¡¯s pain after having similar experiences.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The young man continued kneeling there without a sound while recalling memories of his father. Ma Qian and the others decided to walk up to him to try to console the young man. After all, they all share something in common ¨C No parents.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Ma Qian initiated the conversation.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright. Thank you for asking,¡± the young man replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m Ma Qian, this is Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao,¡± Ma Qian replied back.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all. I¡¯m Lin Yang,¡± the young man said while he cupped his hands towards them. Lin Yang had a noble and handsome face, shoulder-length smooth black hair, and wore a v-shaped collar silver robe that showed his muscular figure. The robe was cut off at the arms where it showed Lin Yang¡¯s well defined muscular arm. He was as tall as Ye Tian, but unlike Ye Tian¡¯s messy hair, his hair was kept neatly.


    ¡°Brother Lin Yang, we are not sure how long you¡¯ve been kneeling there for, but perhaps your pray have been answered. If that is the case, would you like to have some breakfast with us? This will be our treat,¡± Ye Tian asked politely.


    ¡°Brother Ye Tian, I will have to apologize and decline your offer. I have promised to kneel here until tomorrow morning,¡± Lin Yang replied with a disappointed face. ¡°This is my way of ¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°It is fine, We understand and we respect your decision.¡± Ye Tian said.


    ¡°When I had nothing to lose, I had everything. When I stopped being who I am, I found myself,¡± Xiang Jiao solemnly spoke filled with a touch of wisdom.


    Lin Yang looked at Xiang Jiao then cupped his hands again. He repeatedly whispered what Xiang Jiao had said as if he only understood half of the meaning but not the whole meaning. Ye Tian and Ma Qian were speechless when they heard the words coming out of Xiang Jiao¡¯s mouth. It was so unexpected after traveling with him for the past week or so. Just who is this guy?, they all thought.


    ¡°Lin Yang, we won¡¯t disturb you any further. We¡¯ll come back again tomorrow morning and we will invite you again for breakfast,¡± Ye Tian concluded after gaining his senses from Xiang Jiao¡¯s spoken piece of wisdom.


    As they explored the city, they overheard gossiping rumors about Lin Yang.


    ¡°Did you hear? The Lin family was killed by 5 other family clans. How horrible! They were such a good and a righteous family,¡± one pedestrian said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet those five family clans were behind that fire after they distracted some of the Lin¡¯s family strongest fighters,¡± another said.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a real shame. Only the son have survived. He should leave before they kill him as well,¡± an elder sighed.


    ¡°Lin Yang, the fallen noble!¡± another old man sadly whispered.


    Ye Tian interrupted one of the elders walking by, and asked him, ¡°Pardon elders, may I ask why the 5 family clans are trying to destroy the Lin family?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. Probably because the Lin family controlled many of the markets and they were also influential on the capital¡¯s ruling. They were loved and respected by the people and hated by the other major powers,¡± the elder expressed his assumption.


    Ye Tian wondered if they should help Lin Yang or not. He might be in grave danger, considering that he¡¯s all alone now. But Xiang Jiao said, ¡°Let destiny fall unto place.¡±


    ¡°Hmpppph, screw destiny! Look how I turned out after waiting for my destiny!¡± Ma Qian replied grudgingly.


    ¡°Destiny does not apply to dickheads like you¡­¡± Xiang Jiao replied calmly while still walking with his palms together.


    A killing intent rose up, but Ye Tian was able to calm Ma Qian down.


    ¡°If we happen to meet him again by chance, then let¡¯s help him. If we don¡¯t meet him, then there is nothing we can do,¡± Ye Tian disappointingly concluded.

 Chapter 29 – Conspiracy Against The Throne

    Ye Tian and the others went out to check out the site of the cloud streams, and then bought their traveling tickets. This will allow them to use the streams to travel to another continent. The day went by in peace with no news of Lin Yang in danger¡­.. until midnight arrived.


    Ye Tian and the crew were about to go back to the inn until they saw a bright burning flame far in the distance. They could hear yells and screams, and weapons clashing against each other. They saw some people with black masks running towards the same direction of the noise. Ye Tian and the others instincts felt that Lin Yang was in the middle of that current chaos. They tried to ignore it, but they couldn¡¯t resist. After all, they were righteous people, at least that was they thought of themselves.


    They jumped seamlessly from building to another building towards the chaotic area. When they arrived, they heard Lin Yang¡¯s familiar voice and another elderly voice.


    ¡°Lin Yang, give us that box. We will let you live. I will tell the King to pardon you for your family¡¯s conspiracy against the throne¡± a black masked man said.


    ¡°Hahaha, Conspiracy? Everyone knows it was you and the 5 family clans that planned all of this. I never thought even the King would even bite the hands that fed them!¡± Lin Yang replied feeling the pain of betrayal.


    ¡°Kid, do you want to die?¡± the man continued asking.


    ¡°Devil Ming, you think you can fool me wearing that mask. I respected you as an elder, but I will never call you an elder ever again! Even if you got the box, you would kill me. I will never believe your shit again,¡± Lin Yang furiously responded.


    ¡°Kill him. We¡¯ll eventually find the box,¡± the masked man said to all the other masked troops.


    One masked soldier charges at Lin Yang, but he stands there with a calm exposure while holding his sword with both hands. The man stabs at Lin Yang, but he dodges leaving a mirror image of himself, then slides pass the masked man. The man made no movement, but blood is dripping until it burst. The man¡¯s head suddenly slips and falls to the ground.


    Ye Tian and the others watched shockingly. They only saw a phantom image of what happened. Everything went by so quickly and in one move, Lin Yang was able to cut off the man¡¯s head easily.


    Three other guys charges in, but before they¡¯re able to come close to Lin Yang, he slashes upwards and a transparent shield erects as high as 10 feet! The men¡¯s swords tries to penetrate the shield but Lin Yang vanishes and reappears to the side. He dashes again like a phantom and slashes!


    ¡°Aarrrrgh¡±


    Blood spurts out on all three of the men¡¯s back, and falls to the ground. Immediately, all the masks men charge forward. But Ye Tian and the others arrive beside Lin Yang before they are able to react. Ye Tian summons his flames like a dragon shield swirling around the masks man. One of Xiang Jiao¡¯s bead flies towards the men and starts releasing mists. Ma Qian closes his eyes and starts making arm motions. He¡¯s a bit of a distance away from the masked men but he punches straight. A void appears among the mists, then a closed fist comes out of the void at an extreme speed, and then punches one of the masked man. Ma Qian punches through the air again and again, and voids keep appearing in different places.


    ¡°Ahhhh.¡¯


    ¡°Uurrghh.¡±


    ¡°What is th¡­..arrrghh.¡±


    With a heavy mist and a wall of flames, the masked men couldn¡¯t get out nor figure out who was punching them. Ma Qian felt so ecstatic, because he was starting to get the hang of it. At first, his summoning was slow, but it got a bit faster as time went by. He was punching and kicking. He knew every punch and kick connected even though he didn¡¯t have great accuracy. That would still take some time to practice. Some of the masked men were kicked in the balls, some were poked in the eyes, and some were ruthlessly punched again and again.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­.haha¡­.hahaha.¡±


    Ma Qian¡¯s eyes were getting redder by the minute and his face showed a berserk mode while smiling. He was getting too excited with the new skill he just learned. About 90% of the masked crew were trapped in wall of fire. The leaders of the masked men who were outside of the ring of flames, witnessed what was happening in front of them, was furious.


    ¡°Kill them all¡± the commander of the masked crew yelled. Five charged towards Lin Yang¡¯s team. Ma Qian didn¡¯t realize they were coming until Ye Tian smacked him in the face.


    ¡°Oucchh, what was that for?¡± Ma Qian angrily asked.


    ¡°Look!¡± Ye Tian replied while pointing ahead of them.


    ¡°Each gets one, the lucky one gets two,¡± Ye Tian continued while smirking. He saw two figures were actually heading for Lin Yang, but then one of them pointed towards Ye Tian.


    ¡°Fudge¡­damn bastards¡± Ye Tian furiously thought to himself. Now he has two opponents to fight against and this was supposed to be Lin Yang¡¯s battle to fight!


    Everyone except Ye Tian went on the offense rather than waiting for them to come.


    Boomm. Baamm. Kaboom!


    Ye Tian tries to execute the first step of the ¡°Steps to the heaven¡± martial skill but fails to execute because he¡¯s still lacking the full comprehension of the first step. Instead, he summons water blades on both of his arms to block the incoming attacks. Ye Tian counters quickly with one of his blade slicing one of the opponent¡¯s legs, then smashes his knees upward at the opponent¡¯s face. Another sword comes at him, but he dodges again and counters with a stab at one of the man¡¯s knee. He then punches the man¡¯s chest. The man is still standing there while holding his sword high up above about to strike Ye Tian down, but blood spurts out from his mouth and ears. This punch is no ordinary punch, it is actually filled with special qi that destroys the internal qi of the victim.


    Xiang Jiao summons four beads. One bead transforms into a metallic shield, another transforms into a metallic spear. The other two beads are floating around his opponent without any changes. His opponent, confused about the beads floating around him, focuses on them instead. While the two beads are distracting the opponent, Xiang Jiao dashes forward and stabs at the man. A bloody cut appears on the man¡¯s right shoulder as the man retreats, but Xiang Jiao continues to dash forward and uses his shield to slam on the man¡¯s body. The man¡¯s body flies further backward.


    ¡°Activate,¡± Xiang Jiao said.


    The two beads lock in on the man until a visible spherical array appeared. Out of nowhere, multiple lightning strikes the man. The man screams wildly until he loses consciousness.


    Ma Qian summons his vines and starts whipping his opponent like an octopus. The man can¡¯t handle all the hits and angrily throws a dagger at Ma Qian. Ma Qian barely dodges the dagger, as there was a slight cut shown on his arm.


    Lin Yang is exchanging sword attacks with the masked man he was talking earlier. They look equally match but Lin Yang was losing ground slowly.


    ¡°Give me the box!,¡± the masked man said.


    ¡°In your dreams, asshole!,¡± Lin Yang replied.


    Shriiikkkk! Booommm. Bammm!


    Lin Yang got stabbed on his stomach, then was punched on the chest. To make matters worse, the man kicked him on the same chest area. Lin Yang spitted blood while intensely looking at the masked man.


    ¡°Devil Ming, even if you kill me, you will never find the box,¡± Lin Yang smilingly said.


    ¡°You punk, this time you I will send you to your family¡¯s grave and pee all over it,¡± the masked man said.


    Losing his patience, he jumps forward with a sword pointing at Lin Yang. A Phantom Hyena appears behind his back. This was the masked man¡¯s totem ¨C the black hyena. The phantom hyena opens his massive jaws trying to bite Lin Yang in half.


    But Lin Yang appears calm again. he closes his eyes until he whispers, ¡°Sky Ascension!¡±


    Lin Yang opens his eyes, leans forward, like a traveling wind, he dashes forward while slashing at the phantom image. He continues to slash forward with his sword. The masked man is hit and floats slightly in the air from the impact. Lin Yang closes in again, then slashes diagonally upward on the man¡¯s body. The man¡¯s body is hit again and floats higher in pain. Lin Yang slashes upward again, and again, until he was 25 feet above the ground along with the masked man. The masked man shows eyes of fear because he is unable to see Lin Yang¡¯s lightning phantom attacks. At the peak of their elevation, Lin Yang unleashes a downward stab and pierces the man¡¯s chest with incredible strength. The downward momentum is so fast, it resembles a lightning striking the ground¡±


    A whispering sound could be heard from Lin Yang.


    ¡°Soon....I will come for the rest of you!¡±

 Chapter 30 -I’m Going To Beat You If You Ever Come Back Here!

    After Lin Yang said those final words, he fainted to the ground after successfully killing the leader of the masked men. The sun already started to rise when the battle was finished, and soldiers could be heard coming to the scene. Ye Tian quickly carried Lin Yang on his shoulders, then yelled to the others, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Xiang Jiao and Ma Qian followed behind. Except for the leaders of the masked men, the others have survived but were severely injure. They had no hope of fighting back or pursuing Ye Tian and the others at their current situation.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving the capital right now,¡± Ye Tian informed the rest.


    They ran as fast as possible until they arrived at the site of the cloud stream. There were actually multiple streams that went into different direction. They quickly summoned their falcons while showing their tickets to the guards.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re missing an extra ticket,¡± one of the guard said while he was about to chase them.


    ¡°This body is just a fake doll for that pervert right there,¡± Ye Tian responded while running and pointing at Ma Qian.


    ¡°Suck it!¡± Ma Qian said looking at the guard.


    ¡°WTF bro¡­¡­.I was just asking¡­¡± the guard murmured. The guards actually realized that the ¡°doll¡± was actually Lin Yang. They knew what has been happening the past few days, but most importantly, they felt bad for the Lin family. Many of the guards considered the Lin family to be one of the few honest and righteous family in this capital, and they had a suspicion that the story about them conspiring against the throne is just another wicked plan by the other families. They couldn¡¯t do anything about it due to their low status, but at least they could help the young Lin Yang escape from this mess.


    They went so fast riding their falcons, the guards acted like they couldn¡¯t stop them quickly enough. The cloud streams allowed traveling through the sky at an amazing speed with little effort. The falcons only needed to spread their wings for balance, and the cloud stream will carry them all the way to their destination without any hard work involved.


    Ye Tian and the crew were finally safe for now. He took some healing crystals to help Lin Yang recover. He was running out of healing crystals and didn¡¯t get to resupply while he was in the city. His zoids was also running low and now he felt incredible pain because he had to give some healing crystals to Lin Yang. This noble better have some treasures in his storage ring, Ye Tian thought. He tried to resist his temptation but couldn¡¯t, and ended up body searching Lin Yang in search of any valuables he might have as a security payment. Unfortunately, Lin Yang had nothing on him.


    During the journey, Ye Tian was in a world of his own. He was thinking about how those masks and uniforms were quite similar to the ones the bandits wore in his village. Was there a connection to this? He planned to take a more careful investigation on the available missions when he gets to the next branch of the guild center. Besides that, he was studying the ¡°Steps to the heaven¡± to see if he could make any progress on his comprehension of this martial skill. He went to the special dimension to ask Tian Ren if he had any clues on how to master this martial skill.


    ¡°Pudge! Have you seen this martial skill before,¡± Ye Tian asked while throwing the scroll to Tian Ren.


    ¡°My name is Tian Ren! You should actually call me Elder!,¡± Tian Ren replied angrily.


    ¡°Whatever, do you know it or not,¡± Ye Tian brushed it off.


    Tian Ren checked the scroll and his face showed a bit of a surprise.


    ¡°I would never thought you¡¯d find this skill scroll¡­.¡± Tian Ren laughingly said.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Do you know how it works?¡± Ye Tian asked curiously in hopes of getting some hints from the pudgy old man.


    ¡°Of course I do. I invented this skill when I was younger!¡± Tian Ren laughed.


    ¡°Stop bullshitting! You can¡¯t even take a beating from me,¡± Ye Tian shrugged.


    ¡°You! Look who¡¯s talking. I beat you to a pulp kid!¡± Tian Ren quickly countered.


    ¡°You wanna go again, huh, old pudge?¡± Ye Tian stood up preparing for another brawl.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± Tian Ren stood up as well. Now they were face to face but only their bodies were pushing each other to gain some type of edge.


    ¡°What, you want some? huh, huh¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. You hit me, I will beat the crap out of you¡±


    ¡°You do it first. Come on, throw the first punch. I dare You!¡±


    ¡°What? What?¡±


    All these trash talks didn¡¯t lead to anywhere. Their bodies just kept pushing each other while daring each other to make the first move. However, their temper calmed considerably after a few moments.


    ¡°How do you gain the first enlightenment? Do I need to make any sacrifices right now in order to use this skill?¡± Ye Tian seriously asked. If he had to sacrifice something, the image of Ma Qian and Lin Yang came up for some reason. Otherwise, using this skill would not be worth it to make some serious sacrifices in the future.


    ¡°No. As long as you understand the flow of life, you will eventually understand the first seven steps. Sadness, happiness, fear, resilience, will, kindness, hatred¡­.each individual possess these emotions. It¡¯s up to the individual to understand and embrace these feelings. The more you understand, the easier it is for you to master the first seven steps,¡± Tian Ren explained.


    ¡°Then what about the 8th step?¡± Ye Tian curiously asked again.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know the 8th step yet! Now go. I want to take a rest,¡± Tian Ren replied while seriously staring at him.


    Ye Tian didn¡¯t leave but he actually sat down thinking deeply about Tian Ren just mentioned.


    ¡°Happiness¡­..happiness¡­..happiness,¡± Ye Tian kept murmuring to himself. Tian Ren looked at him and thought he was going insane. He sighed, then laid down to sleep.


    Ye Tian stood up while raising his head with a smile, then blurted out, ¡°I got it!¡±


    He closed his eyes summoning a new type of energy that was revolving around his right hand.


    Ye Tian vanishes and reappears in front of Tian Ren. He then punches Tian Ren¡¯s face like the might of an asteroid! The air vibrates within the surrounding areas due to the impact. Tian Ren flies backward quickly crashing deep inside the wall until crumbles of rock pile on top of him.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­.happiness¡­.I¡¯ve mastered my first step!¡± Ye Tian proclaimed loudly with his eyes blazing like the stars. He turned around and disappeared from the dimension!


    ¡°You¡­you¡­.you punk.I¡¯m going to beat you if you ever come back here!¡± Tian Ren yelled furiously while still laying on the ground. He was softly holding his bloodied and swollen face from Ye Tian¡¯s punch. Since ancient times, he had never reach such a high level of anger until now, and he had never been treated so badly like Ye Tian did to him!


    Meanwhile, Ye Tian opened his eyes and smiled. ¡°The first step¡­.I¡¯ve done it and it felt so good!¡± Just a moment ago, he realized that beating Tian Ren gave him a sense of great satisfaction and happiness that he¡¯s never experienced since he came out of the village. He knew the old pudge was strong. That¡¯s why he dared to experiment this technique on him. His theory turned out to be correct. Besides, the punch wouldn¡¯t be able to seriously injure Tian Ren. Ye Tian was confident of that. If the old pudge had been living since the ancient times, then Ye Tian knew Tian Ren would be incredibly strong and had to be craftier than other legendary figures if he is still living in this current era.


    Ye Tian continued to focus on studying ¡°Heaven¡¯s Call,¡± while cultivating. Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao, on the other hand, was ecstatic to see how fast and wide the cloud streams traveled. To them, they didn¡¯t understand how these streams could exist in the first place. They could see below them were some barren lands, some fertile lands, snowy mountains, and pristine lakes along the way. What gave them the most jaw-dropping effect was the color of the yellow ocean with huge underwater sea beasts jumping out of the water and diving back again.


    Lin Yang was still unconscious and it would take some time for them to arrive at the Bravia continent. The rest decided to use their time to continue to cultivate and gain more familiarity with their new skills. With a new member joining the gang, how will Lin Yang, the fallen noble, react to this crew¡¯s behavior, their unique personality, and this financially broke ass brigade?

 Chapter 31 – Dancing Around

    After nearly a day of traveling the cloud stream, the stream started slowing down significantly. At the end of the stream laid a platform for visitors. The falcons flew of out of the stream and landed on the platform smoothly. The movement of the falcons caused everyone to wake up. They saw a big sign that says, ¡°Welcome to the Min Grasslands.¡±


    Ye Tian and the others looked at a map posted on the platform. They frowned after they realized where they landed.


    ¡°Crap, we used the wrong stream. This Min grassland is a small town that should be at the Aurora Continent. If we travel north, we should arrive at the Min Kingdom,¡± Ye Tian concluded after pointing the map with his fingers. They don¡¯t have enough money to pay tickets to use another stream. They decided to wait for Lin Yang to regain consciousness, so that they can complete some missions to earn some money. They withdrew the falcons to the storage ring before Ma Qian summoned his turtle . The falcons have been flying on the stream without any sleep for almost a day, so they needed the rest. The convenience of Ma Qian¡¯s huge turtle is that it can be used to travel on the ground without losing too much time even though the falcons are faster.


    The turtle traveled almost half a day until the sun was setting. Lin Yang finally regained his consciousness a couple of hours ago and focused on healing faster. While they were traveling , everyone could see the multiple hills covering a part of the sun. On one top of the hill, they could see multiple figures dancing around the endless yellow grasslands. Add to the shredded luminous grasses swaying in the air from left to right caused by the slight wind made the scenery look even more breathtaking! As Ye Tian and the others got closer, they could see the dancing figures were all women.


    One of them was wearing a navy blue headband decorated with silver ornaments all around. The sides were actually a bit longer hanging all the way to her cheeks. She was wearing black tight pants that were covered by an overall navy blue dress designed with mysterious embroidements. As she twirled around, the moment Xiang Jiao and the others exactly passed by each other, Xiang Jiao and the woman were looking at each other. It felt like an endless moment between them until they looked away from each other.


    Ye Tian¡¯s senses were much sharper than the others, so he could tell there was something going on with these two. Ma Qian and Lin Yang didn¡¯t notice anything unusual since they were mesmerized by the other women dancing on the fields. They passed by the area and about half an hour later, they arrived at the gate of the Min Kingdom. After getting through the security guards, they found out that many of the inns were charging inflated prices to newcomers. They also found out that Lin Yang didn¡¯t have much money in his storage ring. They couldn¡¯t rent out a room nor could they find an abandoned house; therefore, they decided to leave the capital to stay at the nearby villages. But to their luck, even the villages were fully occupied and had no way to receive anyone. Finally, they found a place to stay but the place was a dusty cave. It was moderately big and cool. All they had to do was get rid of the dust and the small beasts that were living there. It didn¡¯t take them long to clean up the cave.


    The gang knew they would be here for quite a bit, so a permanent fireplace was created by Xiang Jiao. Lin Yang made some straw beds while Ye Tian went with Ma Qian to collect some information at the local brothel. Ye Tian didn¡¯t really want to go, but he knew Ma Qian would never make it back the same night, and he didn¡¯t want to tell anyone yet about Ma Qian¡¯s sense of direction.


    Inside the cave, Xiang Jiao and Lin Yang were awkwardly quiet, after all, they barely knew each other, and out of the whole group, it was most likely that Ma Qian or Ye Tian that would initiate a conversation. Soon enough, Ye Tian and Ma Qian came back to the cave, which gave the others a sense of relieve.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    They were all sitting near the fireplace. Ye Tian told Lin Yang about their situation, which he did not have a problem with the group¡¯s situation. He was still living. Everything is better than death. He also agreed that he should register for the bounty hunter exam tomorrow in order to help with the more difficult missions together. The higher the difficulty, the better the rewards.


    ¡°Lin Yang, I¡¯m curious about those masked men that were chasing you. Who were they?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re all part of the five families that have been in conflict with my family since past generations. My family wanted to distribute more power to the citizens of the kingdom, but the other families opposed the idea. In many cases, they have always opposed any suggestion we have made towards the king. There was a rumor that there was an even stronger backer behind these five families, and this backer is most likely an outsider,¡± Lin Yang explained.


    Ye Tian frowned a bit, then asked, ¡°Does this mean that this outsider wanted that box of yours? What does it do anyway?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­.. but this box have been a legacy treasure passed down since the founder of the family. It was not supposed to be known to outsiders, but I don¡¯t know how they found out¡­..¡± Lin Yang answered while thinking of this mystery.


    ¡°Then, it should be a strong treasure that you can use¡­¡± Ma Qian said.


    ¡°Haha¡­.I¡¯m not even sure how this box works. In my family¡¯s record books, only the founder was able to use it. Ever since then, no one else has been able to use it, but the founder left a note, ¡®If one desperate day arrives, the Lin bloodline will be able to activate the box.¡± Lin Yang concluded.


    Xiang Jiao, on the other hand, was not interested in their conversation. He had his body turned the opposite direction lying on the straw beds while happily looking at the Karma Sutra scroll!


    After their conversation, The crew decided to plan for tomorrow. Ye Tian will go with Lin Yang to the guild centre, while Xiang Jiao had to accompany Ma Qian to create his map. Of course, Ye Tian had to whisper to Xiang Jiao about Ma Qian¡¯s problem. Xiang Jiao only had a devilish smile when he heard it, but Ye Tian had to warn him not to mess around on the first day because they needed money fast or they go on a hunger marathon.


    The night was still early, so everyone cultivated and studied deeper into their martial scrolls. Only Lin Yang was focused on healing. Ye Tian, while studying the ¡°steps to the heavens,¡± was murmuring ¡°seperation, seperation¡­.seperation.¡± He could only think of the day he left his younger sisters to the Xue clan, and the other village kids to other families. The second step required him to remember the things he valued the most, but to also let it go. This was something he had trouble doing. How could he forget his younger sisters and brothers?


    Ma Qian was practicing his ¡°Void Break¡± on the cave walls. He was testing out if his vines could also be used with this skill. As he was practicing diligently, he felt a devilish aura behind him, but he thought nothing of it since the other party members were in the cave. How can a demon be inside the cave without the others knowing about it? But a few breaths later, the aura became more devilish to the point where it made Ma Qian sweat. As curious as he was, he decided to turn his face around to look if anything was behind him.


    ¡°Aaahhhhhh!¡±


    Ma Qian felt horrified at this instant and screamed like a little girl. His arms were shaking to the core.


    A gigantic phantom image of a demon was about to swallow him, but then it suddenly stopped and retreated. As it retreated, the image became smaller and smaller until Ma Qian could see it the image was returning to Xiang Jiao.


    ¡°Fuck you A-hole!¡± Ma Qian yelled at him, while sitting on the ground awkwardly. Sweats were visible all over his body and face. He wanted to retaliate badly but his body felt so numb, he wasn¡¯t able to move an inch.


    Xiang Jiao didn¡¯t respond, because he was still focusing on the skill he just practiced executing. Lin Yang was the most surprised out of all of them, because Xiang Jiao was using Ma Qian as his target practice! He didn¡¯t know what to think of this, because he¡¯s never seen a monk that was so randomly aggressive in nature, yet calm at the same time.

 Chapter 32 – I accept!

    The next morning, Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao left early in the morning toward the tallest hill they could find. Lin Yang have recovered around 90% by now, add to his late great dao realm cultivation, he should be able to handle the exam fairly easily. Ye Tian accompanied Lin Yang to the guild for the bounty hunter exam. Coincidentally, Wang Rong was actually working there, which made it convenient for them. While Lin Yang went on to take the exam, Ye Tian reviewed all the available missions the guild posted for both assassins and bounty hunters. He also asked Wang Rong if there were any new missions recently. Wang Rong had always favored Ye Tian not because she was attracted to him, but she felt something special about Ye Tian that she had not discovered from all the other boys she met throughout her life. But she also had to admit that Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao were also special in their own unique ways. Even the newcomer, Lin Yang, had caught Wang Rong¡¯s attention. All they boys were all talented and much stronger than they looked.


    Ye Tian carefully reviewed at each mission in details. He frowned a few times during his review. At other times, he was in a very deep though, almost seemed like he was trying to solve a huge mystery. He even asked Wang Rong if she had heard of those masked men he saw in the Shui Kingdom. Wang Rong said that there were something similar described in some assassin missions, but because it¡¯s never been solved, it has been stored in another book. Wang Rong fetched the dusty book to let Ye Tian look at it. Ye Tian focused heavily on the content of the book where even outside noises could not even disturb him even a bit. He continued reading the missions from the dusty book, then he walked towards the normal navigation system that would reveal the rest of the assassin missions. He would walk back and forth, which caused Wang Rong a headache. She even felt that Ye Tian had some kind of obsession with these missions, especially the ones from the book.


    Luckily, after these few hours, Lin Yang finally came back from the examination. It was another examiner who accompanied him and handed the book to Wang Rong for approval. Wang Rong took a look at Lin Yang¡¯s book feeling a bit of surprise, and yet not as surprising as before. ¡°Lin Yang ¨C S Rank Bounty Hunter.¡± Wang Rong wondered why Ye Tian can always find someone very talented recruited into his group. It¡¯s really rare to see such a group of young talents together. Furthermore, all of his friends aren¡¯t even from powerful family backgrounds, with the exception of Lin Yang, but even his status has changed just recently. Ye Tian wasn¡¯t interested in Lin Yang¡¯s rank. Based on what he¡¯s seen, he knew more or less that Lin Yang would be an S rank. He was more interested in getting Lin Yang to become a part of his zoids revenue schemes.


    ¡°Lin Yang, go look at the missions you think we can do,¡± Ye Tian said to Lin Yang, in which he obliged.


    ¡°Ms. Wang Rong, I have decided to accept these missions. I know it¡¯s a bit excessive but I wonder if you can help me out,¡± Lin Yang explained.


    ¡°Hmmmm, this is going to be hard¡­¡­Why do you want to accept so many of these?¡± Wang Rong was puzzled.


    ¡°This¡­¡­¡± Ye Tian whispered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to convince the elders of the guild. Wait here for a moment,¡± Wang Rong replied sensing that Ye Tian had his good reasons for it.


    After an hour of waiting, a couple of elders showed up with Wang Rong. These elders were actually the same as the ones that tested him during his examination. Why were they all here? Did they also have an important mission to do?If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Young man, why do you feel the need to accept so many missions? I see you¡¯ve completed three missions that are quite difficult, which is impressive considering your cultivation base.¡± One of the elder asked curiously. There was no response from Ye Tian as he was looking down, thinking deeply on how to respond convincingly.


    ¡°This¡­¡­Elders, I apologize that I cannot explain to you right now as I have my own purpose, but I can guarantee you this¡­.if you approve on whatever missions I have accepted and will continue to approve the missions that I accept in the future, I swear on my life that I can accomplish all of it within 10 years! If not, then mark my word, I will become a slave for the guild for the rest of my life!¡± Ye Tian finally responded with such assurance.


    Wang Rong, Lin Yang, and the elders were shocked to the bones when they heard what Ye Tian said. Lin Yang frowned a bit. He was thankful that Ye Tian and the others saved his life, but to be a slave¡­¡­The elders, on the other hand, discussed further in private.


    After a decision was made, one of the elders offered, ¡°Ye Tian , this will be difficult for us to bypass, but it¡¯s still doable. However, we would want to make a different deal with you. We¡¯re not a guild that enjoys any form of slavery. But if you don¡¯t complete all of those missions by the time 10 years have ended, we want you to work and fight for us for 100 years when that time comes. Our guild is also investigating on something that we can¡¯t inform you right now, but the elders and I have faith that you will someday become a very powerful helper, and your strength would be a great aid for us in the future. How about it?¡±


    ¡°I accept!¡± Ye Tian said while clasping his hands and bowing to the elders. But within a short distance away from them, Lin Yang was about to raise his hand to object but no one was paying attention to him. Lin Yang sighed as it only took one day for him to fall from a high and respected nobility to an insignificant figure. He wanted to cry, but all those tears were already gone when he cried for his father.


    The elders smiled since this opportunity would enable them to recruit Ye Tian and his friends. They¡¯ve seen each of the gang¡¯s profile and their examination performances. Each of them were supremely talented, even among other S ranks, the gang were the top elites of the S rank members. Their talent, ability, and character have impressed all the elders and even the chairman! Ye Tian was also happy, after all, he was the one who had nothing to lose! If he can¡¯t complete all those missions in 10 years, who cares! He will die eventually due to the that little mysterious pearl in his heart. Throughout this negotiation, he never thought about the others opinions on this matter. If they didn¡¯t ask, then he wouldn¡¯t tell them about it and continue pretending to be stupid.


    After all the contracts were signed, evening arrived. Ye Tian and Lin Yang headed to the brothel where they agreed to meet Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao. Lin Yang was nervous since he never went to a brothel, then he thought about Xiang Jiao who¡¯s a monk! How would Xiang Jiao respond to this situation?


    In a small table were 4 young men drinking wine, but it was actually water that they brought with them. They couldn¡¯t afford the wine, and as long as they didn¡¯t get caught, they would keep doing it. Lin Yang was blushing immensely while pretending to sip on his cup of wine. Ma Qian was flirting with the ladies of the house. As for whether he had any success or not, that¡¯s still unknown, but the ladies appeared to enjoy his company. Ye Tian looked at Xiang Jiao confusingly, because Xiang Jiao had his eyes wide opened since he came in the brothel. Usually, he was the one closing his eyes with his head down like a typical monk.


    The night went on until Xiang Jiao really paid attention to one woman in the corner. They were both looking at each other passionately without an exchange of word. This was the same woman as the one he saw when he passed by those grassland hills!


    Was this love at first sight or was this another trouble at first sight?

 Chapter 33 – Yes, I Will Marry You!

    Although Xiang Jiao had quite the aggressive personality, he didn¡¯t dare to walk up to the young woman to strike a conversation. He didn¡¯t really know what to say due to his inexperience. All he knew were the karma sutra if that opportunity arises.


    ¡°ahemmmm, do you like her?¡± Ye Tian asked in a whispering voice.


    ¡°Maybe¡­.¡± Xiang Jiao replied simply while continuing to stare at her.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a monk? You¡¯re not supposed to have these type of feelings between a man and a woman,¡± Ye Tian countered.


    ¡°So what? I can retire being a monk when I want to,¡± Xiang Jiao responded. This time he was more sure of his feelings. His eyes were sparkling feeling more determined to court her.


    ¡°Ask that gay man to help me out,¡± he continued.


    ¡°Who?¡­.Oh him¡­.you know he¡¯s not really gay, right? Why don¡¯t you ask him yourself?¡± Ye Tian replied.


    ¡°¡­..Because you are my first and true friend in my life,¡± Xiang Jiao said seriously while looking at Ye Tian.


    Ye Tian was speechless. He would never believe the crap coming out of Xiang Jiao¡¯s mouth. He didn¡¯t feel honored either when Xiang Jiao said he was his friend, it was more like being used. But for whatever reason, he would do this favor for Xiang Jiao.


    ¡°Make a deal with me first. If you successfully court her, I will rent the best room for you, but if you lose, you have to forfeit this month¡¯s share of income. How about it?¡± Ye Tian offered.


    ¡°¡­¡­deal. But I won¡¯t sleep with her the first time. If she agrees to be my lover, then that is considered successful. Is that clear?¡± Xiang Jiao countered.


    Ye Tian just nodded. He was hoping Xiang Jiao would fail so that he could have more zoids to spend later on. He walked up to Ma Qian, but he whispered to him that he was supposed to sabotage Xiang Jiao¡¯s chances. Ma Qian happily agreed. This was his chance to take revenge from what happened last night. Ma Qian gave Xiang Jiao some ¡°tips¡± on how to court the woman. After listening to Ma Qian, Xiang Jiao started walking towards the woman. Every step he took, their eyes never looked away from each other. This was intense passion! At this moment, Xiang Jiao was already in front of the woman. She was strikingly beautiful, even with her headband ornaments covering a part of her face. Her white silky skin, phoenix eyes, pink lips, and flawless figure mesmerized not only Xiang Jiao, but the other men in the room.


    ¡°My beautiful¡­..¡± Xiang Jiao was about to start his pick up line.


    ¡°Yes, I will,¡± the beautiful woman interrupted him right away.


    ¡°¡­..You will what?¡± Xiang Jiao was kind of panicking since his pick up line was interrupted.


    ¡°Yes, I will marry you!,¡± the woman bluntly replied while smiling.


    ¡°Huhhh?¡±


    ¡°I said I will marry you!¡±


    ¡°But¡­but¡­.I¡¯m only giving a pick up¡­..¡±


    ¡°Before you pick me up from my home, I will introduce my parents to you¡±


    ¡°What?¡­.wait¡­.¡±


    The beautiful woman got closer and suddenly kissed Xiang Jiao on his lips! Xiang Jiao¡¯s little friend felt aroused the moment their lips touched each other. This was their first kiss!Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    But Xiang Jiao¡¯s mind was also utterly confused. How did it come to this? Was the pick up line so amazing that he didn¡¯t need to say all of it completely. If that was the case, then he had a new opinion of Ma Qian. At the table, Ye Tian and the others were attentively looking at the scene. Ye Tian was depressed. How did Xiang Jiao pull it off?


    ¡°Ma Qian, didn¡¯t I tell you to sabotage his chances? Why the hell did he get a kiss?¡± Ye Tian cursed at Ma Qian.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­..I mean I gave him the worst pick up lines that would even encounter a few slaps from the women. I know because I¡¯ve tried it before and it works all the time! This is¡­¡­¡± Ma Qian tried to explain with a puzzled look on his face.


    ¡°Tscccchh, useless¡­..¡± Ye Tian said grudgingly.


    Lin Yang was the most shocked of them all. He¡¯s only met them a couple of days ago, but he would have never thought that the monk would be the first to have a girlfriend out of all of them. ¡°What kind of joke is God playing with us? Has the world really gone upside down,¡± Lin Yang wondered to himself.


    Ye Tian and the others walked up towards them to offer their congratulations.


    ¡°Hello, my name is Ye Tian. I¡¯m Xiang Jiao¡¯s friend. This noble looking guy is Lin Yang, and this is Ma Qian, wanted for harassing naked men,¡± Ye Tian politely introduced the others except for Ma Qian, who made lose a big bet.


    ¡°Hehehe, Ye Tian is mistaken. I¡¯m Ma Qian, a wandering noble from the Star Empire,¡± Ma Qian quickly butt in once he heard what Ye Tian said.


    ¡°Hello, it is nice to meet you all. My name is Sun Mei¡­.the future wife of Xiang Jiao. I will be in your care future brother-in-laws,¡± the beautiful young woman replied elegantly with a blushing voice.


    Ye Tian and the others were shocked. They thought that Xiang Jiao and Sun Mei only kissed each other, but marriage? This Xiang Jiao guy was aggressive to the core! They all glared at Xiang Jiao while replying, ¡°Of course¡­.of course!¡±


    Xiang Jiao at this point ignored all the glares. He was worried about the current situation. Marriage? He¡¯s only heard bad things about it except the honeymoon part. He tried to think of a way to get out of this situation, but he didn¡¯t know how. He stared at Ma Qian while moving his lips subtly. Ma Qian thought he could decipher what he was saying. It was ¡°Help me.¡± Ma Qian nodded, then said to Sun Mei, ¡°Sister Sun Mei, as our sister-in-law, we will definitely protect you. Xiang Jiao is a man of few words, but he can unexpectedly surprise you at times. You will never regret having him as your husband and the future father of your child!¡±


    Once Xiang Jiao heard this, he was about to kill Ma Qian. His ¡°help me¡± plead was to help him get out of the situation, not to put a firm hold on the marriage proposal! Ma Qian couldn¡¯t feel the threat. He was acting all innocent, because he actually tried to put in good words to help Xiang Jiao. Never did he thought that he would misunderstand the words, ¡°Help Me.¡± However, Ye Tian and Lin Yang could sense it. Ye Tian smiled, because more frictions between the two would lessen the pain of his loss. Lin Yang kept quiet as he felt he wasn¡¯t to interfere on such matter as a newcomer to the group.


    ¡°Ye Tian, help me get out of this situation and I will forfeit one year of my share!¡± Xiang Jiao whispered to Ye Tian.


    ¡°10 years!¡± Ye Tian countered.


    ¡°What?¡­..Grrrrr, okay fine just get me out of this,¡± Xiang Jiao grudgingly replied.


    ¡°Sister Sun Mei, I¡¯m sorry to pry to your relationship, but do you know that Xiang Jiao is a monk?¡± Ye Tian interfered to help Xiang Jiao get out of this situation.


    ¡°Well¡­..I had a feeling that he was, but there is nothing I can do about it anymore,¡± Sun Mei replied calmly.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah it doesn¡¯t matter if he is a monk or not. It¡¯s all about love. Sister Sun Mei and brother Xiang Jiao are meant to be together. Why do you say such things, Ye Tian!¡± Ma Qian quickly countered. He thought Ye Tian was careless. This would hurt Xiang Jiao badly if they split apart. Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao was fumed with anger. The retard didn¡¯t know what the hell was going on!


    ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯m sorry sister Sun Mei. It¡¯s just that you are aware that a monk cannot get married, right?¡± Ye Tian quickly quickly replied back.


    ¡°This¡­..it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. While I was dancing a ritual, the moment our eyes were set on each other when he passed by the hills, it is my tribe¡¯s legend that we are destined to get married,¡± Sun Mei replied confidently.


    ¡°Yeah, see love overcomes everything else. Ye Tian, I think you¡¯re a bit drunk, you should take a rest. Sister Mei, please excuse us for a bit. We will leave you with Xiang Jiao to discuss your plans together¡± Ma Qian said with different tones towards Ye Tian and Sun Mei.


    Ma Qian was about to drag Ye Tian away, but Lin Yang frowned and suddenly raised his arm to block Ma Qian. Unlike Ma Qian, he understood what Ye Tian was trying to do.


    ¡°You¡­.¡± Ma Qian angrily said to Lin Yang.


    ¡°Ma Qian, please forgive my offense. I hope you won¡¯t misunderstand me,¡± Lin Yang said. He then quickly dragged Ma Qian towards the exit of the brothel.


    Ma Qian was furious. He wanted to kick Lin Yang¡¯s ass so badly. Will this misunderstanding be resolved peacefully?

 Chapter 34 – I’m Sorry…..

    "Lin Yang, if you don''t let go of me, I''m gonna kick your ass!" Ma Qian angrily said.


    "Ma Qian, please calm down and watch from the side. I think you misunderstood what Xiang Jiao wanted," Lin Yang explained carefully.


    "I didn''t misunderstood anything! Can''t you see for yourself that they are in love," Ma Qian countered.


    By this time, they were a bit of a distance away from the couple. Sun Mei also felt something strange with Xiang Jiao. He was quiet throughout the whole time. She looked at him, in which Ye Tian took a few steps backward. He could no longer interfere with this matter.


    "Xiang Jiao, do you not want to marry me?" Sun Mei asked curiously. A look of disappointment was on her face.


    There was no response from Xiang Jiao.


    "Just tell me the truth, and I won''t disturb you any further," Sun Mei continued.


    ".....Sun Mei......I don''t know what marriage is like. I only wanted to ask you to be my lover," Xiang Jiao finally explained.


    "So does that mean you don''t want to marry me in the future?" Sun Mei asked back. This time a touch of sadness was shown on her watery eyes, but she tried to hide it.


    "Sun Mei.....I don''t know. This is something that I don''t understand," Xiang Jiao responded nervously.


    "Yes or no...there are only two answers, now you tell me your answer," Sun Mei replied.


    "........." Xiang Jiao couldn''t answer. He had never experience anything like this before. This is the toughest spot he''s been in, and for the first time in his life, he felt a bit of regret and guilt from his careless actions.


    "I would take that as a no then......" Sun Mei hesitatingly said. She continued to wait for an answer, while her body was trembling as she was about to break in tears, but she did want to show it in front of anyone. She quickly left the brothel.


    "Sun Mei.....I didn''t say....where are you going?" Xiang Jiao responded too late while Sun Mei already left. He stood there silently not knowing what to do. Ye Tian and the others also stood there until Ye Tian said, "Let''s go home. Xiang Jiao, there will be tomorrow to explain to her."


    As they headed back to their cave home, a shadowy figure appeared with a hood on. As they passed by each other, the figure said, "I hope you won''t regret what you just did. Now, she will forever suffer for your irresponsibility." They clearly heard every word and they knew it was directly meant for Xiang Jiao. The stranger quickly disappeared. Xiang Jiao frowned as this added more fire to the concerns he was already having.


    "Suffer? What do you mean?" Xiang Jiao wanted to ask but he knew the figure already left and could only wonder about this meaning.


    They continued to walk back to the cave. Before everyone went in, Ma Qian stopped Xiang Jiao and seriously said, "Xiang Jiao, I have lived with all types of women throughout my life, and what I can assure you is that women are very emotional beings and will do careless things when they are at their most vulnerable times. Some are strong and some are weak, but love is something that hurts them the most and might scar them for a lifetime. The sooner you expressed your honest feelings toward Sun Mei, the better!"


    Ye Tian and Lin Yang nodded even though they didn''t know if that was the right thing to do or not, they just wanted to pretend that they had some experience with relationships. Xiang Jiao stood there while looking down, gripping his fist tightly, until a while later, he finally reacted. Xiang Jiao left the area quickly and ran towards the hill where he first saw Sun Mei. Once he arrived at the same area where she once stood and danced, no one was around. Xiang Jiao looked around only to see fireflies floating around the area. He summoned his falcon to see if he could find Sun Mei from above. He flew in circles to the point where he strangled the screaming falcon to go faster.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    He flew to nearby areas searching desperately for anyone, until he finally saw a very small figure standing near the edge of the waterfall cliff. He couldn''t see who it was, but his heart was telling him that it was definitely Sun Mei. He yelled, "Sun Mei!"


    But it''s too late, the figure starts falling with her back facing towards the ground. She is smiling, but within that smile are endless tears flowing from her eyes. This woman is indeed Sun Mei. She sees a flying wild beast with another figure on the back. She also couldn''t see clearly, but here instinct tells her that it''s definitely Xiang Jiao. She decided to wave goodbye as this will be the last time she could do so.


    Seeing her falling, Xiang Jiao immediately whips the falcon to descend at his greatest speed. The falcon descends like a falling asteroid towards Sun Mei, screaming, "Roaaakkkkkk." Intense pain and regret fills Xiang Jiao''s mind and heart. "Why? Why does she have to commit suicide? Just because of me?"


    The falcon''s descent is lightning quick, but there is not enough time to catch up to Sun Mei. Xiang Jiao quickly jumps down pushing off from the falcon boosting his speed of descent. Unable to reach Sun Mei, his heart beats wildly, suddenly, his gigantic beads (I will call it Nirvana Ring from now on) behind his shoulder suddenly spins intensively illuminating a glowing halo beam. Between the nirvana ring, a word "Time" emerges.


    Ringgggggg!


    At this instant, the surrounding area freezes and the the time stops. The waterfall freezes like an iceberg. Sun Mei is no longer descending. Xiang Jiao realizes what is happening, but he didn''t know why this was happening. Only he is the one that can move and is still descending at a fast speed. His mind at this point is not concern with this strange occurrence, only images of Sun Mei is the only thing on his mind. Xiang Jiao gets closer and closer to Sun Mei. By this time, they are only a reaching hands apart from each other, but the surrounding area changes again. Everything is moving again, including Sun Mei!


    "Xiang Jiao," Sun Mei calmly says. It already seems like she has accepted her fate.


    Xiang Jiao extends his arm trying to reach her but with no success. He''s about to go crazy, but suddenly, another strange mystery appears. Xiang Jiao''s forehead mark starts glowing for the first time! The mark is in the process of changing shape until it resembles a swirling flower.


    Up high in the sky, a huge hand that seems to be made out of clouds, starts falling even faster than the falcon or Xiang Jiao. In one breath, the hand already reaches the waterfall. In a quarter of a breath later, the hand has already appeared behind Ma Qian. The hand gently pushes Xiang Jiao''s back to descend faster until he is able to grab Sun Mei. He pulls her towards him with all his might and hugs her tightly, then says, "I''m sorry.....in our next life, I will ask you to marry me a million times over until you accept me." Sun Mei embraces Xiang Jiao''s hugs and her tears are flowing even faster now after hearing what Xiang Jiao said to her. Both are in tears, but they were tears of happiness and relieve. They have accepted that their life will stop soon and can only ignore everything but them being together again.


    Meanwhile, the gigantic hand that is pushing Xiang Jiao, finally catches up and surrounds the couple. The hand transforms into a punching fist while surrounding the couple safely between the gap of the fist, then continues to descend at a rapid rate.


    KABOOOMMMMMM!


    Anyone that was near the scene would be incredibly shock to witness this shocking event. As the punch hit the ground, A shock wave traveled half a mile radius where it shattered everything in its way into oblivion. The water evaporated into mist. The soil, rocks, and nearby trees, turned into dust. The land that was impacted shrank 10 feet below ground. Nearby animals were roaring as the impact and the sound frightened them like a king of monster has arrived.


    Although the impact have destroyed the nearby surroundings, Xiang Jiao and Sun Mei were perfectly safe. They thought they would die until the hand lifted and opened up. All they saw was darkness. No waterfall, no trees, no rocks, no grass, or anything else. They then saw the hand started disappearing until they could see that behind the hand, was a huge land pit.


    The embracing couple only knew that the gigantic hand was the one that saved them and was also most likely to be the cause of this. They had to get out of the area before trouble comes. The falcon dove towards them. Xiang Jiao grabbed Sun Mei by the waist and leapt on the falcon''s back. The falcon quickly flew out of the area and disappeared into the distant land.


    Xiang Jiao and Sun Mei were seen holding hands but their bodies were apart from each other. This was an awkward time for them after surviving from a near tragedy. Each of them wanted to tell something to each other , but they didn''t know how to. How will they resolve this?

 Chapter 35 -Drinking And Dancing

    Somewhere far away from the area from the destructive place lies a pond with only fireflies flying around. Xiang Jiao and Sun Mei landed on this spot, but they were in a very complicated situation. The fact that Sun Mei almost committed suicide and Xiang Jiao never thought his actions could cause someone to have done such a thing would lead to this situation. Add to the fact that they both almost died from falling off the deep waterfall was inexplicable.


    ¡°Sun¡­.¡±


    ¡°Xiang Jiao¡±


    ¡°You speak first Sun Mei.¡±


    ¡°Xiang Jiao, I don¡¯t want you to think I¡¯m crazy. It¡¯s just this is the tradition of my tribe. If any woman is rejected, they would have to forfeit their life in order to experience a better fortune in their next life.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­although I don¡¯t agree on such traditions, I understand your concern. My actions have led you to a humiliating misfortune, and because of that I will apologize for my carelessness,¡± Xiang Jiao responded.


    ¡°¡­.I cannot go back to the village¡­..¡± Sun Mei replied. She wanted to say more but she just couldn¡¯t find the courage to do so.


    ¡°Sun Mei, I have thought about us very carefully. My experiences in the outside world is very limited; thus, I do not know the customs and traditions of the different tribes, kingdoms, or empires. I have only heard what love is like from the books I¡¯ve read, and I was very curious about it, but it was completely different than what I¡¯ve experienced with you. I cannot explain the feeling I had when I couldn¡¯t find you or when we were falling together. I really don¡¯t know if this was love or something else¡­¡­.I also do not fully understand what marriage is. But let me assure you that if you give me some time, I will keep my promise to marry you!¡± Xiang Jiao said with great confidence this time while his eyes were passionately staring at Sun Mei¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°¡­.Are you sure?¡­¡­I don¡¯t want to force you¡­..¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m sure or not. What matters is I will keep my word. Whatever our situation is, we will need to discuss with each other first if we want to know what is it we seek for our future before doing something unnecessary,¡± Xiang Jiao concluded.


    ¡°¡­O¡­Okay¡± Sum Mei blushed while looking down.


    ¡°For now, how can we get you back to the village?¡±


    ¡°This¡­..you will have to meet my parents to make a promise to our marriage¡­.but we don¡¯t have to get married right away¡±


    ¡°Good. We will go back to your tribe together and I will make the marriage announcement to your parents and to the whole tribe,¡± Xiang Jiao confidently said.


    Xiang Jiao summoned his falcon and carried Sun Mei to the top. The falcon took off and flew high in the sky. Xiang Jiao and Sun Mei were holding hand while looking at the bright stars and the surrounding scenery as they passed by the different terrains.


    ¡°It¡¯s there below,¡± Sun Mei said.


    The area where she pointed was quite isolated. They flew deeper into the area where a deep ravine appeared. The falcon started to glide slowly waiting for Xiang Jiao¡¯s instructions. The homes Xiang Jiao saw were quite extraordinary as it was built within the cliffs of the ravine instead of the common houses you see in the cities. There were hundreds of homes built from the bottom of the cliff all the way to the top of the cliff supported by a network of bridges and stairs connecting across each other¡¯s homes. Each home were lit with a lantern where the fairies were living inside, which made the whole ravine bright and lively.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    The falcon landed below the ravine, where there were Sun Mei¡¯s tribesmen hanging around.


    ¡°Sun Mei, you¡¯re back,¡± a young woman said. She looked to be the same age as Sun Mei, wore the same type of clothing as her but with a different color, and her face seemed to express a smile of relieved.


    ¡°Zhao Nu, Thank you!¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me. We¡¯re best friends.¡±


    Hearing the young woman¡¯s voice, Xiang Jiao concluded that this was the same person that whispered to him about Sun Mei when they were on their way back to the cave. Xiang Jiao also expressed his thanks to Zhao Nu. Without her help, Sun Mei would¡¯ve never come back to this place. Sun Mei and Zhao Nu were in front walking and whispering, while Xiang Jiao was following behind. They were on their way to Sun Mei¡¯s home.


    When they arrived, Sun Mei had introduced Xiang Jiao to her parents. Apparently, Sun Mei was the daughter of the tribe¡¯s leader. This was a special night where Xiang Jiao had made a promise to Sun Mei, her parents, and the other present tribesmen, that he was willing to marry her. Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t any objections as the tribe¡¯s traditions were strange in the first place. Sun Mei¡¯s parents happily approved of their future marriage. Xiang Jiao also explained that he cannot marry her now as he was going on a journey to find his own family, but in 10 years, he promised that he will come back to marry Sun Mei. By the time Xiang Jiao comes back, Sun Mei would be at the prime of her life to get married.


    The night went on with customary celebrations with the whole tribe celebrating, dancing, and getting drunk. The Ravine was much livelier by now as the fairies could glow in different colors celebrating together with the tribesmen. It seemed that the fairies were living happily together with the tribesmen instead of being forced there.


    Xiang Jiao was blushing as he couldn¡¯t dance, but many of the tribesmen dragged him to the center and taught him how to dance. As he got a bit more drunk, his dancing became more wild and perverted. In fact, he actually copied what he saw when Ma Qian was grinding in front of Wang Rong. He was even crotch grabbing! The parents was obviously unfamiliar with this type of dancing, so they continued celebrating, but deep in their hearts they felt extremely uncomfortable when they say Xiang Jiao¡¯s wild dances. If the crew saw this, they would never believe how wild Xiang Jiao could be. However, this special night will never be remembered by Xiang Jiao, because this was his first time drinking and dancing with Sun Mei and the other tribesmen.


    Even the fairies were performing some type of show to show their blessing to Sun Mei and Xiang Jiao.


    ¡°Xiang Jiao, my dear, you need to go back to your friends now. You can¡¯t stay here for the night as it is forbidden to our tradition,¡± Sun Mei was blushing while whispering to Xiang Jiao.


    ¡°What?¡­.I still wanna drink, dance, and kiss¡­¡­¡±Xiang Jiao replied. He was already drunk, so there was no point explaining things to him.


    ¡°Let me help¡­¡± one of the man said.


    Bammmm.


    Xiang Jiao laid on the ground quietly. He got knocked out by the man¡¯s punch. The man carried him to the falcon and told the falcon to go back. Somehow, the falcon understood and flew off.


    ¡°Uncle, you could¡¯ve done it in a harmless way instead of punching him,¡± Sun Mei angrily said but understood that it wasn¡¯t too excessive.


    ¡°Haha, my niece. The first thing to being a man is to take a punch!¡± the man countered.


    The falcon flew off until it reached the cave, then made a sound, ¡°Roarkkkk, roarrkkkk.¡±


    The crew was already sleeping at this point in time, but the falcon¡¯s moaning woke them up. Angered by the noise, they came out angrily and started beating the falcon!


    ¡°Arkkkkk,Arrkkkk,¡± the falcon screamed in pain. He was trying to help but ended up being beaten by this crew. He was extremely angry, but he was powerless against three other people. A while later, they stopped the beating after the falcon was summoned back to the storage ring. They were about to go back to the cave, but they finally saw Xiang Jiao laying on the ground. They carried him back inside the cave, only to see Xiang Jiao had a bleeding face. Lin Yang wanted to wipe out the bleeding, but Ye Tian stopped him immediately while staring at him viciously.


    Lin Yang felt the stare, but he didn¡¯t know what he did wrong. Ye Tian¡¯s aura was increasing slowly. Lin Yang also noticed Ma Qian¡¯s aura was increasing slowly. Lin Yang was startled they were acting so agressively, so he prepared to defend himself in case things go really bad. Just what happened? Why did the situation become like this?

 Chapter 36 – Show Your Loyalty

    Lin Yang was retreating step by step while Ye Tian was moving forward slowly towards him. Lin Yang felt frightened having to fight Ye Tian. Ever since he regained consciousness, he tried to remember what happened during the battle. He realized that Ye Tian actually beat two supreme dao cultivators, while he was barely alive after defeating devil Ming, who was at the early supreme dao realm as well. Lin Yang thought he was quite the fighter, but Ye Tian was on a completely different level than he was! He suspected that Ye Tian was also already at the supreme dao realm, but that would mean he would be the youngest ever to reach this realm! Was he a genius or a monster?


    The air slightly vibrated, Ye Tian took his first step forward, then punched the air. Boom! A small crack appeared within the air! Lin Yang was about to close his eyes and accept the punishment without retaliation, but luckily, he realized he wasn¡¯t the target as Ye Tian didn¡¯t stop there and passed by him. He took his second step and punched again, but this time it was at Xiang Jiao!


    Puttttt!


    The sound wasn¡¯t as loud as the first one. The air did not crack or vibrate either. The sound sounded similar to a regular punch.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± Ye Tian disappointingly whispered.


    His second step to the heavens failed! He wanted to succeed in the second enlightenment ¡°separation,¡± but at the last moment, his mind had images of his younger sisters and the other children. These were family members he couldn¡¯t let go.


    ¡°Move!¡±


    Ma Qian yelled. He was practicing his new skill again but this time he tweaked it a bit. He called upon the voids near Xiang Jiao while simultaneously trying to summon his vines come out of the void and whip Xiang Jiao, but it didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°Why? This has to work¡­.I just need more time,¡± Ma Qian grumpily explained.


    Noticing that Ma Qian¡¯s new skill didn¡¯t work, Ye Tian dashed forward and started punching Xiang Jiao with different combinations. Ma Qian¡¯s eyebrows moved slightly. He also didn¡¯t want to lose this opportunity, as he also started attacking Xiang Jiao with a combination of punches and little vines. Both of them were unleashing their anger at Xiang Jiao, except Lin Yang. He just stood there confused and shocked to the core. He yelled, ¡°Why are you doing this!¡±


    Both Ye Tian and Ma Qian stopped only to look back at Lin Yang.


    ¡°Practice is crucial to improvement.¡±


    ¡°If you are part of the team, then show your loyalty!¡±


    After saying these words of wisdom, they resumed to beat Xiang Jiao with new combinations. Lin Yang was put on the spot for the first time after joining them. He wanted to prove to that he was loyal to the group, but he was a swordsman! If he took out his sword and slash Xiang Jiao, only death awaits him. Ye Tian noticed Lin Yang¡¯s face was clueless, so he decided to give him some hint.


    Wham!


    Ye Tian slapped Xiang Jiao¡¯s face.


    Bam!


    Ma Qian headbutted Xiang Jiao¡¯s chest. He also tried to give Lin Yang a hint.


    ¡°Be creative!¡± both yelled to Lin Yang.


    Ling Yang caught the hint quickly, because he was actually one of the smartest among the group. He closed his eyes imagining there was a sword on his hand.


    ¡°Shreekkk.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Lin Yang, in his mind, was slashing Xiang Jiao, but in fact he was scratching him using a claw fist.


    Ye Tian and Ma Qian stopped and took a step backward. They were quite scared, because Lin Yang¡¯s attack was even more vicious than theirs! Lin Yang continued imagining slashing Xiang Jiao. Scratch marks started appearing on Xiang Jiao¡¯s body and face. Small amount of blood started coming out.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Ye Tian yelled.


    Lin Yang was already in a different zone, but when he heard Ye Tian yelling, he stopped, then opened his eyes. His breathing was heavy and his hand was trembling.


    ¡°Oh, shit¡­.¡± Lin Yang murmured.


    Xiang Jiao not only have bruises and bumps, blood also started seeping out from his body and face. Lin Yang tried to look at Ye Tian and Ma Qian, but they weren¡¯t there! He looked around, only to see they were already on the bed pretending to sleep. Lin Yang felt betrayed at this moment. They wanted him to take sole responsibility if anything happened to Xiang Jiao. He thought what kind of situation has he got himself into!


    Lin Yang finally calmed down after a few minutes. He didn¡¯t want to waste his healing potion, so all he did was wiped out all the blood off of Xiang Jiao until it stopped bleeding. He then carried Xiang Jiao near the fireplace instead of the bed. He thought that would be the best choice to get rid of Xiang Jiao¡¯s suspicion. If he carried him to the bed, then Xiang Jiao would think they were the ones who did this to him. But if he was left near the fireplace, there is a possibility that he might have come home and fell near the fire place without the others knowing. Lin Yang was hoping that Xiang Jiao would think the wounds he received were from the events prior to coming back to the cave. This was the ideal scenario and Lin Yang¡¯s hope.


    Th next morning, Lin Yang was the first to wake up. Actually he couldn¡¯t sleep, because he was still worried of what had happened last night. His eyes showed signs of redness, his face looked tired and aged, but he was alertly surveying Xiang Jiao. Xiang Jiao woke up, but he felt extremely awful. The pain throughout his body was unbearable. His eyes swollen,and could barely see his surroundings, but he realized he was back inside the cave. He tried to remember what happened at the celebration, and how did he come back.


    ¡°Aaargggghhh.¡±


    Xiang Jiao tried to stand up but his pain was so unbearable, he had to sit back down. After hearing the noise, Lin Yang pretended that he just woke up, then looked at Xiang Jiao. His eyes became bigger as he approached Xiang Jiao.


    ¡°Xiang Jiao, what happened to you? Did another gang beat you?¡± Lin Yang ignorantly asked.


    ¡°¡­What do you mean?¡± Xiang Jiao replied while staring sternly at Lin Yang.


    Lin Yang thought to himself, ¡°did Xiang Jiao remember everything, including what I did to him?¡± He was a bit worried, because Xiang Jiao¡¯s expression was an expression of suspicion.


    ¡°Your face, your body, oh my god, what just happened,¡± Lin Yang replied with a sense of urgency. He wanted to take a gamble with this.


    Every area Xiang Jiao touched, there was some pain. He felt really sore, even worse than when he and Ma Qian beat Ye Tian.


    ¡°Where did you go last night?¡± Lin Yang continued to ask. In the meantime, the other two who was already awake and listened to the conversation, started waking up. Since they were all in this together, they knew where Lin Yang wanted to go with this, so they decided to lend some support.


    ¡°Xiang Jiao, were you able to meet Sun Mei?¡± Ye Tian also asked.


    ¡°What happened to you? Who did this to you? We should get revenge!¡± Ma Qian added with a serious tone.


    Xiang Jiao did not respond as he tried to carefully recall the events on the previous night. He then said, ¡°I did find Sun Mei¡­..we¡¯re engaged.¡±


    ¡°Really? So you¡¯re getting married? When,¡± Ma Qian curiously asked.


    ¡°In 10 years, I will marry her¡­¡±


    ¡°I visited her home, we had a celebration for our engagement, then I started drinking¡­.after that¡­.. everything got blurry, my mind was not clear,¡± Ma Qian explained, but he couldn¡¯t find out why he was in so much pain.


    ¡°Then it probably means you got these injuries from the celebration¡­.or you were on your way home,¡± Lin Yang convincingly said.


    ¡°You might be right¡­..but I need to figure out a way to remember that night,¡± Xiang Jiao sighed.


    ¡°Well since you¡¯re injured, we can¡¯t complete any missions. Ma Qian can you make the map of this kingdom today?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    Ma Qian nodded, but he also glared at Ye Tian hinting for him to accompany him. However, Ye Tian whispered to Lin Yang about something, in which Lin Yang nodded.


    ¡°Lin Yang will go with you. I will need to study some scrolls to make some potions,¡± Ye Tian concluded.


    Ma Qian was feeling angry because of Ye Tian. What was the point of him whispering to Lin Yang about his secret if he keeps telling everyone? By now everyone knew he had no sense of direction!

 Chapter 37 – In 10 Years

    Lin Yang was in fact happy that he was accompanying Ma Qian instead of Xiang Jiao. They were both happy as they could talk more often to each other. In the meantime, Ye Tian took out some of the ingredients he still had leftover to focuc on finding a breakthrough in concocting the forgetful potion. This would come in handy, such as after beating some of his friends or anyone else for that matter. He also took out the outfit he received from the vendor lady he made a deal with. Apparently this outfit was worn by a famous thief a long time ago, so Ye Tian assumed that there might be something special about this outfit. Xiang Jiao was on his bedside. He could barely move, and he was still thinking about the celebration. If those tribesmen did put him in this state, then he would get absolute revenge on them¡­.or at least to the future generations. Revenge is sweet and satisfying, he thought.


    This day was quite strange, since this time it was Xiang Jiao who took the initiative to ask some personal questions to Ye Tian. Though his way of asking seemed more like interrogation.


    ¡°Ye Tian, where did you come from?¡±


    ¡°A small village.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­..interesting. Your cultivation and your martial dao¡­.who taught you?¡±


    ¡°My father and mother.¡±


    ¡°Are they someone famous in the martial world.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you have a family. I¡¯ve never met my family.¡±


    Xiang Jiao was frowning. Ye Tian¡¯s answer was short and sweet. He was still busy experimenting while answering Xiang Jiao¡¯s questions. But Ye Tian stopped for a moment recalling the time he has spent with his parents but are no longer living in this world.


    ¡°Can I ask you a personal question?¡± Xiang Jiao continued asking.


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep murmuring ¡°10 years¡± when you¡¯re sleeping?


    Ye Tian was startled for a few seconds. First, the question is related to his life. The second, he didn¡¯t even know he was doing that in his sleep. He¡¯s guessing the rest also knew about it.


    ¡°I want to get rich in 10 years,¡± Ye Tian simply answered. This was of course a big lie and besides, it was no one else¡¯s concern.


    ¡°Is that true? Haha¡­cough¡­.cough¡­.For some reason, my instinct tells me you¡¯re lying. Someday, I will find out.¡±


    ¡°Believe what you want,¡± Ye Tian shortly replied without arguing back while still continuing to experiment with his potion.


    ¡°You know, I thought you would be more talkative than me¡­¡­what a shame,¡± Xiang Jiao sighed without disturbing Ye Tian again. Now he was focused on one of his scrolls, the karma sutra! Instead of practicing his new skill, he thought it would be a waste of time. He already understood the principles of it, in fact, he did successfully execute the skill on Ma Qian on the previous night. All he needed was more targets to practice to get the hang of it, but he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to do it on Ye Tian. His injuries would get far worse than what he already had. Bully the weak, leave the strong alone! That was Xiang Jiao¡¯s way of doing things.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    When Ye Tian heard that, he rolled his eyes, and thought to himself, ¡°WTF? You barely speak punk! Everyone knows that.¡± With a new grudge, Ye Tian continued to experiment on his potions.


    Lin Yang and Ma Qian were quite compatible as they talked often without a worry. Ma Qian explained how he met Ye Tian for the first time, then how they ended up at another continent after battling to the death with a couple of the family clans. He continued to explain how they also met Xiang Jiao during their travels, and why he is following them. To this day, no one really knows why even though Xiang Jiao¡¯s master told him their destinies were connected somehow. But neither minded his company, after all, he¡¯s a strong fighter even though he can be crazy at times. However, there was one thing they totally agreed upon, that was Ye Tian¡¯s battle prowess.


    Ma Qian praised how Ye Tian was able to equally battle infinite dao fighters up to the extend where he could even injure them seriously. Ma Qian really admired Ye Tian in some ways and looked up to him as the leader of the pack even though he was younger than him. Lin Yang also begin to admire Ye Tian after he heard Ma Qian¡¯s stories. Based on the how many days they¡¯ve known each other, he considered Ye Tian to be a righteous and honest individual, which was quite rare among the younger generations. He also wondered why Ye Tian was not as famous as other geniuses in this world, after all, he believed Ye Tian to be the most supreme out of all the geniuses.


    Lin Yang and Ma Qian were like two girls gossiping about Xiang Jiao and Ye Tian¡¯s backgrounds. They kept on talking and talking effortlessly. No one could really stop them even if some wanted to. By this time, they¡¯ve already reached the highest hill. Ma Qian started drawing the city¡¯s map but he also kept talking with Lin Yang without affecting his work.


    By mid afternoon, Ye Tian was ecstatic, because he finally made a breakthrough on the forgetful potion. With the remaining ingredients he had left, he was only able to produce three forgetful potions. It was a matter of time to test it out on someone easy to deal with. An image of Ma Qian was his first thought, but Ye Tian only wryly smiled. He didn¡¯t know why Ma Qian was always the victim of many mishaps. In fact, he thought Ma Qian was no pushover either if he battled other geniuses in the same realm. Ma Qian was also the oldest of this group, but somehow, he became the least respected among the group. Of course, Ye Tian wasn¡¯t going to use this on Ma Qian unless if he was desperate.


    By evening, Ma Qian already finished the map, then immediately went to the brothel to gather more information with Lin Yang. Ma Qian actually made a deal with some of the ladies of the house to become his informants. This was all due to his sweet charms he¡¯s build overtime and the familiarity on how the brothel actually works in secret. If it was another person, they would have a difficult time to make this special deal. After having a couple of encounters, the ladies of the house treated Ma Qian like their own, in other words, a part-time whore. Ma Qian knew the secrets and concerns of the brothel. He also wanted to build a network of information with the brothels from all over the world. He had a good reason in doing this. One was because he grew up in this type of environment. The second, he wanted to protect the ladies from harm, and if they were to escape somewhere else, the network would help the victim to a safe place. The third, the network would provide him a massive amount of information that other intelligence organizations could not compare with. This is vital to him and his group.


    Ma Qian also found out about some noble family that were offering a generous salary to become their bodyguards. He wondered if being a bodyguard could help him expand his connections among the noble and political families of this world, so someday he might give it a try. Ambitions and dreams were running high at this point, which made Ma Qian more excited than ever¡­.until Lin Yang disturbed him back into reality. Ma Qian got depressed again after realizing that currently they¡¯re also in a dire situation having forced to live in a cave outside the city.


    Being poor was much worse than becoming sad. Nothing ever works when you¡¯re on the wrong end of the stick¡­.

 Chapter 38 – Rock, Paper, Scissors

    After Ma Qian made asecret agreement with the ladies of the house, he hung out for a little longer to gather more information. Lin Yang, on the other hand, was too innocent. This is the second time he¡¯s been here, but he¡¯s still blushing whenever he sees the beautiful ladies. Every single time a young lady of the house made eye contact with Lin Yang, he instantly looked down not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Lin Yang, I can ask one of the ladies to help you out, how about it?¡± Ma Qian said. While he was gathering information, he was still able to pay close attention to Lin Yang¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°Really¡­.no¡­no¡­I can¡¯t do this,¡± Lin Yang replied curiously.


    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee, but there is a good chance that I can make it happen. Why? Don¡¯t you want to experience it?¡± Ma Qian devilishly replied.


    ¡°No. This¡­.this is not right¡­it¡¯s inappropriate and despicable to do such things to women,¡± Lin Yang countered with a sense of moral conduct. Although he didn¡¯t believe himself to be a great gentleman, he did take love and marriage a serious matter that would impact him throughout his life. That¡¯s why he never tried to fool around with women that he has no feelings for.


    ¡°Tschhhh¡­.Pussy!¡± Ma Qian said. Now he wants to dare Lin Yang into his scheme.


    ¡°What! No, I¡¯m not scared, it¡¯s just¡­¡±


    ¡°Just what?¡±


    ¡°I believe¡­..I believe in true love and matters such as this violates my principles.¡±


    ¡°Love? You don¡¯t think you can fall in love with one of the lady of the house?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I just believe that a man has to get to know the woman first before you know¡­.¡±


    ¡°A real man needs to satisfy his thirst!¡±


    ¡°That is a man that has no control over himself. Temptation will be his downfall!¡± Lin Yang angrily countered.


    Ma Qian was speechless. That would imply he was a despicable man who couldn¡¯t control his desires. His mood changed drastically from then on, so he decided to focus on gathering more information rather than helping Lin Yang. He had no more desire to talk to Lin Yang. A while later, they returned to the cave. Ma Qian never spoke a word again. Lin Yang didn¡¯t know how he offended Ma Qian. He felt disappointed that their relationship quickly crumbled after a wonderful beginning.


    It was still early in the night, Ma Qian finally completed his final draft of the map and started making copies to sell in the future. Ye Tian could only admire him. The way Ma Qian was able to create a map, it would create a high value for its customers. He also did it with so much ease, which others assumed that it was an innate skill that he possessed since he was born.


    Lin Yang feeling bored decided to ask some questions to Ye Tian.


    ¡°Ye Tian, where did you come from?¡±


    ¡°A small village.¡± The one that answered wasn¡¯t Ye Tian, but Xiang Jiao. He was still laying on the bed, but he could still speak clearly.


    Lin Yang looked at Ye Tian only to see him nod as the answer was a fact. He continued asking, ¡°Who taught you on your martial dao and skills?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Father.¡± It was Xiang Jiao again that answered. Ye Tian nodded again.


    ¡°Do you have siblings?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s our plan?¡±


    ¡°How come you don¡¯t attend a famous sect or school? Wouldn¡¯t that provide the best resources, after all, you¡¯re far stronger than anyone your age, so have you decided to continue with this journey?¡±


    Every single time Lin Yang asked Ye Tian a question, it was Xiang Jiao who immediately answered for him. Everyone felt a bit annoyed inside. Why was Xiang Jiao so talkative today? This was in everybody¡¯s mind. Only Xiang Jiao knew the reason¡­..that is he was bored as hell having forced to lie on the bed the whole day. Memorizing was his forte, whether it was Buddha scripts, martial scrolls, or anything else, he could memorize everything quickly and easily. He was bored, because he already memorized every pictures of the karma sutra, and now he had nothing to read! But of course, he didn¡¯t bother to tell this to anyone. Nevertheless, the team got to know a bit more of each other after this night.


    Afterwards, the rest of the team reviewed the new map of the city that Ma Qian just created. They all planned on completing another difficult mission tomorrow in order to obtain higher rewards, that way, they can stay somewhere nice instead of this primitive shit hole cave. This time, they were much more ambitious than before because now they have four strong fighters.


    Their mission was to obtain a treasure called ¡°the eyes of the treasure fox¡± from an ancient ruin that was filled with unknown wild beasts and traps. This was a very difficult mission even for infinite dao cultivators, but Ye Tian and the crew believed they could get the job done. They drafted a hypothesis on a formation battle that would balance their strengths and weaknesses.


    The next morning, everyone were in top condition, even Xiang Jiao had recovered the sore pains he felt the day before. They summoned the falcons, but one of the falcons appeared to be in bad shape. This was the same falcon that was beaten by the crew when Xiang Jiao was drunk. The crew still had some grudge when they saw this same falcon, so they summoned another one and stored the injured one to continue to recover on its own. They flew off towards the east for several hours until they reached a flat desert.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird, according to the mission, it should be around here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no sign of a ruin. It¡¯s just a desert.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm, maybe we should go down to explore more closely. Be careful of the desert beast.¡±


    Everyone went down and searched for any clues. It took them almost an hour until Ye Tian bumped into an invisible wall. Ye Tian assumed that this wall was activated by a spirit of formation. He used his spirit power to check if he could deactivate the spirit formation, but he couldn¡¯t do it. He called the others to come by to see if they had a better chance of breaking through this spirit formation. Luckily, Ma Qian was quite knowledgeable on spirit formations. He had a knack of understanding the foundations of different spirit formations, an ability that he often compared with drawing a city map. Every city was different in its terrain, road systems, and overall network that connected to its center core. A great spiritist needed to have a high understanding on how each intricacies were related to the center core, that¡¯s why Ma Qian was able to understand both map making and spirit formations easily.


    Ma Qian¡¯s spirit power was actually stronger than Ye Tian, as he gathered different formation to counter the wall formation. After 10 minutes, Ma Qian broke through the spirit formation where the wall started to become visible. Once Lin Yang touched it, the wall broke apart and fell to ashes. Within the wall, there was a tube that went deep down to an unknown palace, but no one wanted to go first when they saw this. Who knows where the tube would lead to?


    ¡°Rock, paper, scissors¡­whoever loses goes first.¡±


    While Ye Tian was saying this, Lin Yang was still looking at the tube. This was also the time where Ye Tian showed a gesture of rock to signal the others, in which they all nodded. Lin Yang looked back to face them and nodded as well.


    ¡°Shit¡­..¡± Lin Yang cursed after he lost the game. The others only smiled due to Lin Yang¡¯s naivety. He took out his sword to prepare for the worst and dove in the tube. After a few seconds, no noise was heard. They played the game again where Ma Qian lost this time. He grudgingly stared at the others then dove in as well. But after a second, Ma Qian started screaming like a little girl! Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao looked at each other as they were about to leave the area.


    What just happened? Were they in danger? Did Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao decided to abandon the others?

 Chapter 39 – Civilization Underground

    Almost a second after Ma Qian¡¯s scream, the others heard Lin Yang¡¯s voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay here, you guys can dive in.¡±


    Hearing Lin Yang¡¯s voice gave them a sense of assurance. They dove into the tube one after another. When everyone landed, all they could see in front of them was a land of desert again, but this one had an oasis within the visible distance. There was still a sky, the sun, some living beasts, the ecosystem looked just like the outside world.


    ¡°Is this some type of dimension that we went into, ¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°No, if we were in it, I should be able to sense some type of spirit formation. We¡¯re still in the real world,¡± Ma Qian quickly countered.


    ¡°How about we go to the oasis. We might find some clues.¡±


    All nodded and walked towards the oasis. Once they arrived, all they could see was a regular oasis. They couldn¡¯t find any clues on the treasure they were looking for. Was this bad information? It couldn¡¯t be since there was a tube sending them here. That was at least the first clue that there was something here.


    ¡°Wait, I sense another spirit formation.¡± Ma Qian quickly warned. He closed his eyes while trying to sense where the spirit formation came from. He suddenly opened his eyes, and said, ¡°It¡¯s below this oasis¡­..I don¡¯t know what¡¯s below there, but you all need to guard me while I try to open the formation.¡±


    Everyone agreed. They dove inside until they have reached the lowest ground. Ye Tian and the others created a a triangle formation to guard Ma Qian. There were five boulders in a straight line, which was the place Ma Qian sensed the formation. He started forming his own formation to find the access core, because he believed these boulders was actually a huge gate that would lead them closer to the treasure.


    This took a lot longer than Ma Qian thought, but he was finally able to break through after three hours of intense focus. He¡¯s been doing the heavy work ever since they¡¯ve arrived at the this so called ruin.


    BRRRRRRRRR. Boom.


    A whirlpool was formed that sucked away all the water surrounding them. The boulders split in half and continued separating away from each other. An entrance was opening up while a flash of light went into Ma Qian. His body shook a bit until he opened his eyes again. He went inside the gate, in which the others followed one after another.


    It was multiple tubes that were sending them further down. Once they got out, it was a whole completely environment than before. Now, they were surrounded by lush forest with the same sky and sun that they would see in the outside world.


    ¡°This ruin is incredible. It¡¯s almost like a huge underground fortress that¡¯s 50 levels deep and the area is almost as big as a city. Such a massive structure. It would¡¯ve taken several generations to build something like this,¡± Ma Qian explained. That flash of light that entered him was actually an outlay of the whole fortress. It wasn¡¯t detailed but it explained the different levels available inside this fortress. Some levels were residential areas, other levels were a marketplace or a farm, another level was a military base, and one of the deepest level was actually the government center.


    In order to find the treasure, they had to search every level one by one. Fortunately, the tube to send them below was easily accessible without needing to create additional spirit formation. The first 5 levels were military bases, sects, or martial schools surrounded by mountains and lakes. They encountered some wild beasts but they were only at the master or great dao realm, which never put the crew in any danger. They were able to find some really powerful weapons and armors that could withstand supreme or infinite dao attacks. They¡¯ve also collected several martial scrolls and potion scrolls where a few of them didn¡¯t exist in the outside world, at least probably since the ancient times. Ye Tian and the others were very happy at this point in time, they could at least sell some of the ones they don¡¯t need for a pretty good price in the market.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    They proceeded to the lower levels where they saw commercial buildings and marketplaces filled most of the area. However, there was nothing they could find of value.


    ¡°I think this fortress used to be an ancient civilization. I¡¯ve read many books on some of the ancient civilizations that existed, but I¡¯ve never heard of this one,¡± Lin Yang said to the others.


    ¡°But why did they build their civilization underground? It doesn¡¯t make sense even if the outside is a desert. They could always build canals to create multiple channels of water. They could also create some powerful spirit formation to create a much more livable environment, just like they did here,¡± Ma Qian replied with great curiosity.


    ¡°War,¡± Ye Tian simply replied.


    Everyone thought about it deeper.


    ¡°How they built this fortress, it gave them some form of protection if some other power were to attack them without notice. Also the military bases and the sects were the first form of defense,¡± Ye Tian continued explaining his theory.


    ¡°That makes some sense¡­..but which power would be bold enough to attack them with so many layers of defense?¡± Lin Yang whispered.


    Ye Tian and the others proceeded to the lower levels, this time the place is much more serene filled with gardens, manors, ponds, lakes, and other residential houses. One of the level was filled with a slum neighborhood, the other levels were filled with middle-class neighborhoods, and there was one other level that was filled with mansions and palaces. After they checked out the slum neighborhoods, they explored the mid-class residences separately because they didn¡¯t find any monsters or any dangers from this level.


    Ma Qian found a house he found quite unique than others. It was slightly bigger than the rest, but the walls and columns were exquisitely designed with colorful sparrows. He inspected the hall, then suddenly a transparent figure passed by the hall into another room.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Ma Qian nervously said.


    There was no response, but he knew he saw something passing by in the corner of his eye. Whether it was just his imagination or not, he was on full alert. He checked another room, and again a transparent figure passed by to another room. This time he was able to see a bit more clearly, then started chasing after the figure. From one room to the next, Ma Qian was chasing after the transparent figure until he came into another room. The past tenant of this room was obviously a woman. He could still smell the remaining sweet fragrance inside the room, evidence of withered flowers lying on the table, and jewelries hanging on the wall. The most shocking thing was there was a small but beautiful white sparrow with spotted crimson wings. The sparrow was looking at Ma Qian until it flew away outside. Ma Qian followed suit until he saw the sparrow transformed into the transparent figure, landing on top of the floating flower that in the middle of the pond.


    Ma Qian stopped right outside the pond, but he was able to see the transparent figure very clearly. It was a beautiful young woman who seemed to be the same age as Ma Qian. Ma Qian has seen many beautiful women in his life, but this one made his heart beat faster than ever. She wasn¡¯t the most beautiful or elegant, but to Ma Qian the young woman in front of her was the most breathtaking woman he has seen. She was was wearing a nicely fit silky white robe that outlined her slightly curvy body with a ribbon on her waist. Her gradient colored crimson sleeves had small sparrow embroidered designs. Her platinum white hair were flowing all the way to her waist area. There was a red symbol on her forehead that says, ¡°Sparrow.¡±


    Ma Qian was currently in a world of his own. He was totally stunned by this woman in front of her that seemed to be so real, and yet not real. Ma Qian noticed the eyes of the woman expressed a mixture of sadness and surprise. Nevertheless, he curled one of his fist and placed it on his chest, and then bowed to the young woman. This was a gentleman¡¯s way to introduce oneself to a woman. The woman covered her mouth with both of her little hands, then spread her hands like she was blowing a kiss.


    Ma Qian did not know what her actions meant. Usually, the woman would cross her arms between her shoulders, then bow to respond a man¡¯s bow. Was her action hold the same meaning as Ma Qian¡¯s bow or did it have a different meaning? Regardless of the meaning, why was the woman living here alone? Or are there more people living in this fortress that Ye Tian and the others did not know about?

 Chapter 40 – We Lost The War

    ¡°My name is Ma Qian. How should I address this beautiful lady?¡± Ma Qian introduced himself.


    There was no response, only the young woman kept staring at him. Ma Qian felt a tremble in his soul, because the young woman was actually scanning his cultivation.


    ¡°You must be an outsider, how did you come in?¡± the young woman asked.


    ¡°Are¡­..are you a ghost or are you for real?¡± Ma Qian ignored the question and asked something else. He wanted to ask this question ever since he saw her, but couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. The young woman could only smile.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± the young woman responded but showed a devilish smile in return.


    ¡°Ghosttttt!¡± Ma Qian yelled in response. He already turned around and ran as fast as he could without looking back. He continued yelling, ¡°Ye Tian, monk, Lin Yang help me!¡±


    The young woman was shocked. She had never seen such a coward before. She didn¡¯t want to lose this lifetime opportunity, so she could only wryly smile as this was the first visitor she has met after a very long time. She started chasing him, then yelled, ¡°Wait!¡±


    ¡°Screw you!¡± Ma Qian ignored her and continued running like hell.


    The young woman started moving her hand forming a spirit formation.


    Boom!


    The spirit formation trapped Ma Qian inside in the shape of a dome. Ma Qian tried to use his own spirit formation to break through but it was far more complex than anything he had ever seen. He¡¯s read many books on spirit formation and practiced it often. If he displayed his skills to the world, he would already be considered among the top tiers of spirit breakers.


    ¡°You can have my virginity but not my life!¡± Ma Qian pleaded. Of course, he wasn¡¯t a virgin anymore. Those older sisters had ¡°helped¡± him in the brothel he was living in with his Aunt.


    The young woman frowned. Her temper increasingly became worse. She judged Ma Qian to be a no good person, but she didn¡¯t really have a choice at this point in time.


    ¡°I need your help¡­¡± the young woman said to Ma Qian, who was still using different formations to break through the dome formation.


    ¡°Ye Tian help me! What? You want me to make a map? That¡¯s easy. What? you want my virginity. Fine, it¡¯s a done deal! Stupid monk, where are you?¡± Ma Qian kept on yelling trying to buy as much time as he could. He didn¡¯t realize that the formation he was in actually trapped any noises inside, so no one could hear from the outside except the young woman.


    ¡°Listen to what I have to say first, you little imbecile!¡± the young woman furiously yelled.


    Of course, Ma Qian was ignoring anything she said, because he was yelling at the same time. A thought came to his mind.


    ¡°If I can¡¯t get out, then let me see if you can,¡± Ma Qian whispered.


    He started chanting some words while moving his hands quickly. Boom! A pyramid spirit formation appeared and trapped the young woman inside!


    ¡°Hmmmm, pretty clever! I thought you were just a dimwit,¡± the young woman smiled. Although she was inside Ma Qian¡¯s spirit formation, she did not panic. She started moving her hands quickly to break the spirit formation, but after a minute or so , she couldn¡¯t break through. She vehemently stared at Ma Qian, who she greatly underestimated.


    Ma Qian knew the young woman¡¯s spirit formation was very powerful and her understanding of spirit formations was much higher than his.


    Two minutes later, the young woman still couldn¡¯t break through. Three minutes, four minutes, five, six, seven , ten, fifteen minutes! The reason she couldn¡¯t break through was because Ma Qian was also changing the spirit formation every time she got close to breaking through. Ma Qian knew that sooner or later, she would break through, he was just buying some time until the others got here. But he was also in awe because of the speed the young woman was able to break through his own formations.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Suddenly the young woman stopped. She continued to stare at Ma Qian, but suddenly said something.


    ¡°Stop this childish game. You know I can break it sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°You fool! I¡¯m way too good for you. Ye Tian help me!¡± Ma Qian pretended to be confident, then screamed again for help.


    ¡°You idiot!¡­¡­They can¡¯t hear you!¡±


    ¡°You think you¡¯re good. I¡¯m pretty damn good too. Hahaha¡­.Lin Yang dammit¡± Ma Qian continued speaking nonsense.


    They were both acting childish. Since they were inside each other¡¯s spirit formation, no one outside could hear what they were saying. To make it worse, they couldn¡¯t even hear each other because their formation was shielding the noises inside. Fortunately, the young woman noticed this much earlier, then started pointing at the formation to Ma Qian while holding her ear. Ma Qian wasn¡¯t a fool, he also realized it after the young woman gave some hint.


    They both dispelled the sound barrier but the formation was still there.


    ¡°Ma Qian, listen first! I¡¯m not here to kill you. I need your help,¡± the young woman straightforwardly said before Ma Qian starts yelling again.


    There was no response from Ma Qian.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a ghost, but I¡¯m not real either. Let me explain,¡± the young woman continued to speak because there was no response from Ma Qian.


    ¡°You¡¯re a demon!¡± Ma Qian almost started to scream again, but the young woman quickly yelled, ¡°No, I¡¯m not idiot! Listen first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a¡­.. spirit. I once lived in this city but our kingdom had a war against an empire and several other kingdoms. As you can see, we lost the war. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t see anyone else living here. Before my body was gone, I split my soul into two soul sparks, one went inside into one of our sparrows, our family¡¯s symbol. The other tried to flee into an altar but it was caught by one of our enemies. I don¡¯t know where it is but I can still sense it still exist within this city. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve been here, but I can¡¯t leave here without the other soul merging with me. This is where I need your help in finding my other soul spark.¡±


    Ma Qian was still quiet, which sparked the young woman¡¯s anger.


    ¡°Hey, did you listen to me or what?¡± the young woman spoke again impatiently, this time her hands were on her waist.


    Ma Qian was still looking around to see if any of his friends already came or not. He was still trying to buy some time by not answering her. He had another idea, so he started making hand gestures to the young woman. The young woman of course didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, speak up,¡± she said.


    Nevertheless, Ma Qian continued to make hand gestures pretending that he couldn¡¯t speak. The young woman was now extremely angry.


    ¡°You idiot, you just yelled out to your friends. Don¡¯t pretend. You¡¯re the worst person I¡¯ve ever met, even your mom would be ashamed of you,¡± she countered back with the intention to rile him up.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t mention about my mom, little girl! You don¡¯t know me!,¡± Ma Qian angrily replied. He fell both for her trap and his own recent trap on pretending not to speak. The young woman finally smiled, now they¡¯re getting somewhere after so many delays by Ma Qian.


    ¡°Did you hear my story or not? Can you help me? If you can, I will help you obtain some ancient lost arts and treasures,¡± the young woman asked again.


    ¡°I did hear it, but I don¡¯t believe it. Besides, I¡¯m not interested in ancient treasures or arts. I¡¯m already rich, so goodbye,¡± Ma Qian replied and started turning back.


    ¡°Wait! Tell me what do you want then?¡± she asked with a sense of desperation. Ma Qian stopped his footsteps, then turned back to look at her with a devious look.


    ¡°Hmmm, that¡¯s a hard one. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t accept my demands.¡±


    ¡°Say it first, then I¡¯ll consider it. I can probably offer you things that most people can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Fine then. I want all the ancient treasures and art, I also need something that could significantly increase my cultivation, and¡­¡­I want a kiss¡­¡±


    The young woman could only frown by Ma Qian¡¯s demands, especially the last request.


    ¡°I can get you everything but the kiss.¡±


    ¡°No can do, every single one has to be accepted. If not, goodbye then.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine¡­..but only on the cheek.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­okay deal. Give me the kiss first as a down payment, then I¡¯ll believe you.¡±


    The young woman could only sigh. She was finally able to make a deal with him at a price of a kiss on the cheek. She thought to herself that it¡¯s not a big deal. For the price of freedom, it¡¯s worth it. She closed in on Ma Qian until she was a few inches away from him. She moved forward intending to kiss him on the cheek. Her breathing became unusually unstable.


    *Smooooochhhhh*


    Ma Qian turned his face quickly where his lips actually touched the young woman¡¯s lips. It was not just a kiss, Ma Qian¡¯s kiss had a little bit of suction power that was sucking lightly on her lips. Such a despicable person. He never believed any of her words to begin with, and he also believed that he was going to die, so he might as well get something out of it, even if it came from a beautiful demon or a ghost! Don¡¯t die with every regret hanging on your mind to the very last minute, die with the fewest regret¡­


    Baam!!!!


    Ma Qian crashed to the floor violently by the young woman¡¯s twin palm. Her aura grew like a wild devil with the intent to kill without mercy.


    What will happen to Ma Qian after his despicable act?

 Chapter 41 – A Tattoo Of A Frog

    Ma Qian was knocked out cold, but before he could go to the netherworld, the young woman healed him by using some healing spirit formations. This was unheard of in the real word, because there was no one capable of doing such things, nor was there any record that said it was possible. This young woman had ancient spirit formations that others would kill to obtain.


    15 minutes later, Ma Qian regained his consciousness, he could see a pretty young woman in front of him. He thought he was already in heaven, but a few words from the young woman made him realized he wasn¡¯t dead yet.


    ¡°Disgraceful man, stand up,¡± the young woman said.


    ¡°You¡¯re the disgraceful one¡­.to kiss me on the lips without permission¡­.shameless!¡± Ma Qian quickly talked back.


    The young woman could only roll her eyes. She didn¡¯t want to argue with this hopeless man in front of him.


    ¡°Listen, you will help me to get my other soul spark, then I will let you go. Now go and search for it,¡± the young woman explained before transforming into a sparrow that was forcfully tattooed on Ma Qian¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Ahhh, what is this? Get this thing off of me,¡± Ma Qian yelled out in a panicked.


    ¡°Shut up! This is the only way I can lead you to my other soul spark,¡± the young woman said. Even though she had turned into a tattooed sparrow on Ma Qian¡¯s arm, they could still communicate to each other.


    Ma Qian, on the other hand, was depressed. He went out to look for treasures in this mission, instead he got a sparrow tattoo. At least he should¡¯ve got a dragon or a tiger tattoo or something more ferocious instead of this little puny bird, he thought to himself. Within the group, he didn¡¯t outshine another, he was not weaker than others nor was he stronger than the others. But the rest possessed something special about them. Xiang Jiao was a monk that had an intimidating hair and a huge nirvana ring on his back. Lin Yang exuded an aura of nobility and was quite the handsome man. Ma Qian, himself, had above average looks but that was it! As for Ye Tian, the first time he met him, he felt Ye Tian was a prince or at least an extremely high nobility, but nowadays, Ye Tian looked more like a homeless person with that plain and ragged robes and somewhat messy hair. Not to mention in terms of battle strength, no one could beat Ye Tian. Now Ma Qian could stand out from the rest, but not they way where it would make him proud.


    ¡°We need to get to get back to the pond first, I¡¯ve got something for you,¡±


    ¡°What? Wait¡­.I don¡¯t even know your name.¡±


    ¡°Fang Meng.¡±


    ¡°Fang Meng¡­Fang Meng¡­what a nice name.¡±


    ¡°Shut up and go now.¡±


    After they arrived at the pond, Fang Meng instructed him to leap at the floating flower. Once he landed on the floating flower, Fang Meng whispered an ancient language.


    Swoooppp.


    The surface of the floating flower separated into two. Beneath the floating flower was actually a tube that connected to the lower levels. While falling, Ma Qian was in a panic and screamed like a girl again. He thought he would end up in a death pit, but he actually landed on another level filled with beautiful mansions and lakes. This level was for the upper classes or for the powerful nobility, which apparently the Fang family also resided in.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Ma Qian walked out only to see the tube he just came out of was actually built inside a huge tree, this must have been a secret tube. In front of him was a mansion decorated with sparrows and a beautiful garden, but there was no door to be seen.


    ¡°Is this your home? How do we get in? What do you want to get anyway?¡± Ma Qian annoyingly asked questions one after another.


    ¡°See that little waterfall right there? Enter it, then turn left, then turn right, keep going until you see a dead end¡± Fang Meng casually said.


    Ma Qian did as he was instructed. Once he entered the waterfall, he appeared at a huge grand hall of the mansion. He was mesmerized by the scale and rare materials decorating this mansion. Every place he passed by , the walls were decorated by different plants and flowers he had never seen before, which enticed him to pull out all those rare plants and flowers into his storage ring. He saw Ye Tian was experimenting with some alchemy, and these rare herbs might help him create more powerful potions. Fang Meng cringed when she saw Ma Qian happily razing everything he saw, but she could only sigh since no one else will likely use them. Once they arrived at the dead end, Fang Meng whispered another ancient language. Suddenly, the floor started beaming with endless light, Ma Qian¡¯s figure started to disappear, only to reappear at another secret room. The room had 5 huge statues depicting warriors with heads of wild beasts. These statues gave off a noble and a terrifying aura that could kill immortal cultivators with just their glare.


    Fang Meng flew out and turned into sparrow again flying towards some of the statues. She whispered more ancient languages, in which one of the statue moved by nodding in approval. The statue then turned to look at Ma Qian.


    ¡°Ma Qian come here.¡±


    The moment Ma Qian walked over, one of the eye of the statue glowed brightly, When the brightness dimmed, Ma Qian felt a sting of burnt skin on his arm. He was horrified again when he looked at this arm. This time there was a tattoo of a frog! A tattoo of a sparrow on his right arm, and a tattoo of a frog on his left arm!


    ¡°Ahh, what did you do to me?¡± Ma Qian yelled out. He was really depressed now. He could only imagine by this time, he¡¯ll be the absolute clown in the group.


    ¡°Relax, it¡¯s a treasure. This will help you in your battle against more powerful foes. All you need to do is summon his name and he will come and help you.¡±


    ¡°Fuck that, why can¡¯t that tiger statue help me¡­.or that wolf¡­..or that bear.¡±


    ¡°¡­..I did try, but none of them were willing to help you except uncle frog,¡± Fang Meng replied with a sense of disappointment. Ma Qian became gloomy after hearing this. Those statues must be blinded by ignorance not to see that he himself was quite the genius.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ma Qian, uncle frog in not weaker than any of them,¡± Fang Meng continued. She wanted to brighten him up after seeing that gloomy face of his.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    As they came out of the mansion, they could see Ye Tian and the others arrived by using the same tube as Ma Qian did. This surprised Ma Qian and Fang Meng.


    ¡°How did you know there was a tube here?¡± Ma Qian asked curiously.


    ¡°We¡¯re not like you. We¡¯re geniuses.¡± Ye Tian replied casually while looking around to see if there were any treasures they could take. Of course, the truth was that Ye Tian actually had an abnormally high capability. Before any of them descended to this level, he actually sensed that there was a spirit formation far away from him. He went to find the others before coming to the place where Ma Qian was actually battling Fang Meng. In fact, they actually arrived a lot earlier, but they only hid to scout Fang Meng¡¯ s ability. Her extremely powerful spirit formations made the others hesitated to come out, so they continued to stay low and followed Ma Qian quietly.


    Not wanting to answer anymore of Ma Qian¡¯s questions, everyone else ignored him and started separating again to different places for more rampaging activities. A little while later, the whole gang rejoined at one of the tubes. They found some worthy items but nothing significant; thus, they decided to descend further to the lower levels. The next level they found another military base along with other sects, but the place here was much worse off than the other levels. Every level they¡¯ve explored to had some type of damage caused by the invasion war, but this level had a feeling of an apocalypse. A long time ago, an extremely deadly battle must have happened here that transformed the whole terrain to become a lifeless desert¡­.

 Chapter 42 – Soul Spark

    The terrain on this level resembled an apocalyptic city that transformed intoa sand dune overtime, leaving only decapitated buildings that were about to fall apart anytime. Fang Meng sensed that her other soul spark was around this area. Everyone decided to explore the area if there were anything left of value to be collected, even the smallest treasures or magical items can be sold for a considerable price. The group was that desperate for some zoids. But ever since they''ve arrived at this level, they were on high alert due to the ominous feelingfrom this place even though everything they saw was lifeless and quiet.


    The crew checked the military base, but there was nothing of value. They arrived at different sects, but still nothing of value could be collected.


    Baam!


    ¡°Roar¡±


    Ye Tian was seen jumping quickly from place to place barely escaping the beast that was hiding below one of the sects. Ye Tian had summon his law of water to form a body armor, while crimson flames were ignited on his hands and feet. He really looked like a God of war while floating slowly back to the ground.


    Part of the beast came out, once it was seen clearly, it was actually a massive python that could cover a tower. Ye Tian seemed to sense a place that was extremely beneficial for cultivating. It was most likely a dragon vein filled with an abundance of rich and unlimited energy, which was why the python created this nest for his resting place.


    The python relentlessly attacked Ye Tian again and again, he was cut and wounded in some places, even his armor cracked. Lin Yang slashed a wall barrier to protect Ye Tian, while Ma Qian summoned his vines to retrieve the wounded Ye Tian to a distant place. Xiang Jiao initiated a lightning attack to distract the python. His nirvana ring formed into two rotating bracelet rings. Xiang Jiao, at this moment, was already within a striking distance from the python¡¯s blind area. His glowing bracelets were spinning even faster than before as he initiated a double punch towards the python¡¯s body.


    Kaboom!


    Xiang Jiao retreated quickly by flipping sideways to the distance. His bracelets reformed into the nirvana ring again, but this time Xiang Jiao whispered something while closing his eyes. The nirvana ring spun faster and faster until it showed a red color. He opened his eyes and entered through the nirvana ring. What came out was multiple copies of Xiang Jiao dashing towards the python in different directions striking vicious hits and piercing fists.


    Screeeeeeeeecccccchhhhhhhh!


    The python felt a bit dizzy and pain from the attacks, but it was able to wipe out the copies in no time. Only a high ranked beast, such as a peak infinite or immortal beast could easily tell they were copies. Suddenly another python head flew above and started attacking Xiang Jiao. The python was actually a double-headed python!


    Ma Qian had his vines to quickly pull Xiang Jiao away. Lin Yang came slashing again, this time, he aimed for the eyes.


    Roar!


    The snake shrieked in pain. One of the eyes was slashed by Lin Yang, but Lin Yang wasn¡¯t stopping or retreating, he jumped to neck area, while in the air, he shouted, ¡°sword dance.¡± Lin Yang started spinning while slashing at the same spot over and over again, until deep wounds could be seen. His swordsmanship was so elegantly executed, it felt like he was dancing. The other python spit out a venom towards Lin Yang, but he blocked it just in time by erecting another shield. However, the shield soon melted into nothingness.


    Lin Yang already retreated before the shield completely melted. High up above in the sky, a dragon was falling rapidly with a screeching sound ready to bite and tear the blinded python¡¯s head.


    Snap!


    Inside the water dragon was Ye Tian, who pinned one of the python¡¯s head into the ground with the help of the water dragon. The python was unable to open his jaws. Ye Tian, who was so close to to its forehead, stabbed the forehead while whispering a mantra. His eyes became silver, the water sword that was stabbed into the python¡¯s forehead penetrated the monster core, but what was more amazing was the monster core wasn¡¯t destroyed the instant the sword penetrated it. The water sword turned into a bloody red color with a devilish aura.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Ye Tian was actually sucking the energy out of the monster core by using his water sword to transfer the energy into him. What type of demonic skill is this? The python was shaking and screaming violently but it still couldn¡¯t move. The other headed python tried to save it¡¯s companion, but Ma Qian yelled out, ¡°Thousand Strikes!¡± It was a skill in which Ma Qian summoned dozens of long vines and starts hammering away violently against its target. However, the python whipped its tail and destroyed all the vines, but it continued forward aiming for the dragon.


    Ma Qian was quick to act and created multiple layers of vine shields to protect the water dragon. Ye Tian was inside looking devilish, but Ma Qian and the others knew he couldn¡¯t be disturbed at this point. Xiang Jiao tried to summon the hand that had helped him before, but he didn¡¯t know how.


    Meanwhile, massive energy was being sucked into Ye Tian¡¯s dantian, even the others could feel its massive energy that was leaking out. The others had no time to question Ye Tian¡¯s demon-like skill, because it has another python head that they needed to kill. Suddenly the water dragon started disappearing, instead Ye Tian transformed into a crimson flame dragon and dug out the python¡¯s forehead with its water blade formed on his arm. The python was already dead, it¡¯s skin toughness was already weaken to a significant degree. Ye Tian quickly entered.


    Boom!


    ¡°Flame Hurricane¡±


    Ye Tian¡¯s crimson flame increased to an extremely high degree, where some parts of the python¡¯s body was torn due to the ignition of the flame. As a flame dragon, he twirled through the insides of the python, while his water blades were tearing everything it passed by. From the outside, the dead python¡¯s head begin to explode into pieces, then the neck exploded, then the body exploded, but it didn¡¯t stop there. The other python that was still alive felt incredible pain from the inside.


    ¡°Screeechhhhh.¡±


    A crimson light appeared to be glowing on the python¡¯s body. Boom! The body exploded, a short while later, the neck exploded, and before the head exploded, all the python could do was scream in anguish. Kaboom! The head exploded and torn into pieces. The python was so massive, it allowed Ye Tian to move effortlessly from the body of the dead python towards the other body that was still alive. Everywhere he passed by, everything was blown or teared into pieces leaving nothing behind but the monster core.


    ¡°Law of fire and water¡­.¡± Fang Meng murmured while staring at Ye Tian very seriously. As ancient as she was, she knew this was extremely rare to possess two laws, and it was the hardest laws to master. In fact, only one other person was recorded to possess two laws and he lived in the primordial era. No one knew where this legendary figure went, but many assume he became a god.


    Ye Tian was floating up in the sky while descending slowly, but he appeared like a blazing sun that could melt everything in his way. His eyes were wide opened, his facial expression was downright dominant and yearning to kill more. No one ever expected that he had this kind of oppressive aura where even infinite dao cultivators would have to be really cautious against him. No one also knew that the reason he snapped and exuded a war god aura, was because ever since he was a child he had always been scared of snakes. Nightmares upon nightmares from past incidents caused him to have no mercy on any snakes.


    Once Ye Tian landed, no one was brave enough to speak. He was holding the monster core, which had a very unique color and aura than the rest. He threw it to Ma Qian, and said, ¡°This is probably what your friend is looking for.¡± Fang Meng was surprised as she never expected that Ye Tian could sense her. Since she was found out, she jumped out and turned into a transparent young woman.


    ¡°Thank you¡­..¡± Fang Meng said to Ye Tian. She has been waiting for this day to reunite her soul sparks after so long. She created a triangular spirit formation on the monster core. Three cracks appeared.


    ¡°I can transfer the qi energy to three people, who should I give it to?¡± Fang Meng simply said.


    ¡°Just give it to them, I don¡¯t need it.¡± Ye Tian quickly replied than retreated a few steps back.


    The monster core separated into three parts within the spirit formation, then sucked out the energy and transferred it to Ma Qian, Lin Yang, and Xiang Jiao. A blue soul spark could be seen once the monster core separated. Fang Meng whispered something, which the soul spark flew inside Fang Meng. Fang Meng was glowing much brighter than before. Her figure is still transparent, but it was much brighter than before. She was very happy at this moment, then mentioned to the group that there are bigger treasures in the lower levels.


    ¡°The higher treasure you seek, the higher danger there is. Do you still want to seek more?¡±

 Chapter 43 – Ancient Hero

    The whole crew nodded. They didn¡¯t really have a choice. All of them were unemployed, they all came from either low or unknown backgrounds, and they had no more zoids, which forced them to live inside the cave instead in the city. Fang Meng thought these guys must be fearless or dumb, but whatever the case, she was still very impressed with their combat strength and teamwork, including the idiot she would be stuck with.


    The went further down to the lower levels until they found a forest. Fang Meng mentioned this forest was untouched during the war for unknown reason, so if they ever needed monster cores, this is the perfect place to get it. But she also warned not to go to deep, because some of the wild beast were at the immortal realm level.


    The crew did spend some time on obtaining some monster cores, but Ye Tian was more interested in the herbs and plants that he¡¯s never seen before. Everywhere he passed by he collected these rare living, and looking down from above, one could see one path of the forest became bald. Fortunately, Ye Tian found some storage rings prior to coming to this forest, that¡¯s why he could collect mountains of herbs and plants.


    ¡°Ye Tian, how come you¡¯re not interested in these monster cores. They will help you further with the huge cultivation you already have,¡± Lin Yang curiously asked.


    ¡°These supreme dao monster cores won¡¯t help me a bit. It has to be infinite or higher.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh, then you must have gained a lot by sucking that monster core from the python.¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t mastered the skill yet, that¡¯s why you were able to sense a lot of energy leaking out. At most, I was able to gain 10% of that energy, the rest leaked out.¡±


    ¡°¡­.That¡¯s a shame, but what do you call that skill?¡±


    ¡°Forbidden Cult.¡±


    ¡°What? Forbidden Cult! Where did you learn it?¡± Fang Meng finally jumped out and asked with shock.


    ¡°My father taught it to me, but he said never to use it unless if it¡¯s necessary.¡±


    ¡°What family are you from? Which clan?¡±


    ¡°My family is not famous. We¡¯re just from a small isolated village.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­..I¡¯ve heard stories or legends from my grandfather. He said there was an ancient hero who had such tyrannical power, even other powerful experts and ancient empires feared him. In fact, this hero was the one that saved this world from an apocalypse during the ancient war against the demons. One of his famous demonic ability enabled him to suck out the demon¡¯s core energy and transformed it into a destructive attack. Some divisions of the demon army and some of their cities were wiped out from this destructive ability. Even the demons feared his ability. There were other human clans that betrayed their own to join the demons for selfish greed. ¡±


    ¡°But fortunately, this hero led his generals, some other human clans, and other ancient races in defeating the demons. But after that devastating war, they all disappeared. Some said they all died like some of the ancient civilizations that perished after the ancient war, but some didn¡¯t believe it. It¡¯s a shame, no one knew their names¡­..¡± Fang Meng explained with a touch of sadness. Everyone could tell she really admired these heroes from the ancient times even though this story might be a myth, but deep inside her, she truly believed these heroes existed.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Fang Meng angrily asked at Xiang Jiao.


    ¡°Just wanted to see if you were real or not,¡± Xiang Jiao replied calmly. He resumed to his monk-like behavior thereafter. But just a moment ago, due to his curiosity, he touched Fang Meng¡¯s cheeks with his finger.


    ¡°If we¡¯re done here, I think we can get a battle aircraft from one of the government facilities in the lower level.¡± Fang Meng continued to explain but she still felt annoyed at Xiang Jiao.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Sounds good, but we also need to find something from this place. It¡¯s called ¡®the eyes of the treasure fox.¡¯ Have you heard of it?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Yes, they were one of races that lived here, but just like its name, they were targeted frequently due to their ability to become a random treasure when you obtain their eyes. I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯ve survived till this day¡­.¡± Fang Meng worriedly replied.


    After passing several levels, they¡¯ve arrived at the governing city. It¡¯s a level where all the governing departments operated during the past, however, many of the buildings have been destroyed from the war. That did not stop them to explore the place, especially having the chance to obtain a battle aircraft!


    ¡°We should split up into two teams and search for anything of value. Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao, you guys go west, Lin Yang and I will go east,¡± Ye Tian ordered.


    They looked around for a few hours, but could only find some historical records of this civilization and the family clans that lived here.


    ¡°Roarrrrrr.¡±


    A wild beast appeared out of the sky and attacked Ye Tian and Lin Yang.


    Boom!


    They barely escaped the punch that left a pit on the ground. This wild beast appeared similar to a 10 feet yellow gorilla with black wings and bulky muscles.


    Kaboom! Boom! Boom!


    Ye Tian and Lin Yang had to retreat as far away as they could, because the gorilla¡¯s strength was too powerful for them to withstand. Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao arrived a short while later, but there was no way that the whole team could even go against an immortal dao beast.


    ¡°The winged ape! It¡¯s still alive. Be careful, this beast is very strong comparable to an immortal dao cultivator. They were part of the invaders that we struggled to defend against,¡± Fang quickly warned after jumping out to the scene. She continued, ¡± Ma Qian call uncle frog to help, now!¡±


    ¡°Uncle frog! Please come out and help us!¡± Ma Qian simply yelled out.


    Woof!


    High up in the sky, a gigantic armored frog was rapidly descending straight down, aiming for the winged aped with his two curved blades held on his hands.


    Swingggggg!


    The ape winged blocked the blades with his steel trident, but the impact of the clash caused the nearby buildings to be split into multiple sections. Both were at immortal dao realm, so the team had to stay away from the battle, otherwise, one hit from them could cause their lives! However Ye Tian, was nowhere to be seen.


    The battle continued, but buildings after buildings were destroyed into pieces wherever the battle went.


    ¡°There! Over there! inside the hill, there should be a battle aircraft.¡± Fang Meng communicated with Ma Qian.


    There were buildings among the hills, but part of them were destroyed so bad, it exposed some secret underground base.


    ¡°Ye Tian, we found a battle aircraft on one of the destroyed hills,¡± Lin Yang shouted. They expected to meet Ye Tian there, but they didn¡¯t realize Ye Tian was already on his way there. Before Fang Meng found out, Ye Tian was surveying the whole terrain and found that underground base. That curiosity led him towards that place. When Ma Qian and the others arrived inside the underground base, Ye Tian was already seen near an aircraft.


    ¡°How do we get this aircraft to fly us out of here?¡± Ye Tian yelled. He was really asking Fang Meng since he doubted the others would know how it works.


    ¡°You need monster cores to start the aircraft. The higher monster cores the better speed it will get.¡± Fang Meng replied.


    ¡°Okay we need to go now. We can¡¯t stay here any longer.¡±


    ¡°But what about the mission?¡±


    ¡°Abandon the mission for now. Until we get stronger, we can come back to this place.¡±


    The base was shaking due to the battle outside. A lot of the buildings turned into ashes, parts of the terrain were cut deep, and other parts were burning.


    ¡°I put some monster cores in, why is it not starting?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°You need to put 50 infinite or 150 supreme dao monster cores to activate it,¡± Fang Meng replied.


    ¡°What? That¡¯s almost our whole collection we got from this place!¡±


    ¡°You want to keep the monster cores or you want to leave this place alive?¡±


    ¡°Grrrrr¡­¡­bitch¡± Ye Tian thought to himself.


    Once all the monster cores were used, the aircraft started to elevate.


    ¡°Use your mind to navigate where you want to go,¡± Fang Meng said.


    Vrooommm!


    With a burst of energy, the aircraft flew high up in the sky. There was another passage that connected this level all the way to the outside without using the multiple tubes.


    Uncle frog was still seen battling the winged ape, but he was on the losing end gradually. Both were immortal dao beasts, but the winged ape seemed to have a slightly higher cultivation that reached the intermediate realm. Can the crew escape safely from this place?

 Chapter 44 – 8 Heroes

    As the aircraft flew up to its maximum speed, Ma Qian was able to summon back uncle frog, however, the winged ape relentlessly followed them, intending to leave no one alive.


    ¡°Roarrrr¡±


    The winged ape¡¯s scream awaken the other sleeping wild beasts from multiple levels. Most were supreme dao beast, but a few others were immortal dao beast comparable to the winged ape that alsonstarted to chase after the aircraft.


    Vroommm!


    The aircraft finally flew out of the fortress, but there were many other wild beasts still following them, especially the winged ape who got closed the distance by a few meters. Just when he was about to throw his trident towards the aircraft, the ground shook immensely. A humongous towering hand cam out from the grounf and reached out high in the sky grabbing all the wild beast, including the winged ape, back inside the fortress.


    ¡°Shriieekkkk!¡± All the beast bellowed in pain unable to defend nor escape from the towering hand. Soon after, the ground no longer shook, everything looked like what it was before. Before the hand completely withdrew back to the underground, an eye opened up staring at the aircraft for a moment until it retreated back to the underground permanently.


    Fang Meng jumped out then looked at the scene with sadness in her eyes. Only she could felt the eye was glaring at her as if it was they eyes of her family and friends saying farewell to her. Today, she could finally leave this place after an unknown amount of years, it could¡¯ve been 10,000 years, 50,000 years, 100,000 years, or more, but no one really knows but herself.


    ¡°Father, mother, brothers, sisters, Uncles, Aunties, elders, and friends¡­..when you are reincarnated in your next life, let peace and happiness find your soul,¡± Fang Meng prayed quietly. Even though, she still looked like a ghost with her transparent figure, everyone could see she was shaking and crying with all her heart. She was alone in the fortress, her anger, sadness, and loneliness have been building up since that chaotic war.


    ¡°You are free now. You can search for your own happiness,¡± Ma Qian said reservedly.


    The aircraft wasn¡¯t huge, in fact, it could only carry around 10 people. Inside the aircraft, the vibe was quiet and depressive. It was not only because Fang Meng finally gained her freedom, but they lost pretty much all the valuable monster cores to start this damn aircraft. The tiny aircraft was extremely quick that they¡¯ve reached the cave within half an hour.


    Before they went out of the aircraft, Ye Tian told everyone that they should not use this aircraft unless if it was for extreme emergencies. They could not afford on how easily the aircraft was burning their monster cores.


    Inside the cave, the team got busy renovating the cave. They didn¡¯t just raid monster cores, armors, weapons, scrolls, and other treasure, they also grabbed luxury items from the residential palaces they explored through, especially from Fang Meng¡¯s mansion. Beds, lanterns, sofas, statues, rugs, and other decorations they fancied were robbed by them. When Fang Meng looked at all the familiar items, she almost went into a rage, but she chose not to throw a tantrum because these items would only stay in dust if they were to stay inside her mansion. Besides, seeing them living in a cave tells her that the boys were living in hard times, adding more conflict just makes it worse.


    The cave was filled with shiny statues, jades, and lanterns. Their bed was as comfy and soft as a royal family¡¯s bed. Even though they were dirt poor, they still could find a way to live like kings.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Lin Yang finally asked Fang Meng nicely if she could tell more about her fortress home and the ancient heroes that she previously mentioned. She happily obliged while the whole team surrounded her like a bunch of kids ready for a fairy tale story.


    ¡°The whole fortress consist of our Han civilization that dated back as far as 1,000,000 years ago. Our founders built the fortress because we were always in war with one of the ancient Jin empire at that time. Although hundreds of millions of people lived underground, we were a a strong and prosperous civilization known throughout different parts of the world. Everyone was welcome to enter and do business except the people that came from the Jin empire. In the beginning we started fighting each other for thousands of years, but eventually we signed a peace treaty.¡±


    ¡°However¡­¡­.400,000 years later, they broke the treaty and invaded us along with three other kingdoms to help them. We lost the war, but the Jin empire and the other kingdoms no longer exist. At least that¡¯s what I assumed because we killed all their strongest warriors, including their reserved ancestors, patriarchs, matriarchs, and the rest of the elders. They thought our fortress was just a huge unmovable fortress stuck underground, but, our ancestors, before they died, activated the fortress¡¯s true form. Our fortress was actually a giant humanoid, who woke up and crushed all our remaining enemies, none escaped, some were stuck inside the fortress until they died from old age or severe injuries.¡±


    ¡°That war was the first time our civilization saw our giant humanoid awaken and moved. The second time¡­¡­was just now when the hand reached out and crushed the wild beasts that were chasing us.¡±


    Fang Meng sighed considerably. Telling a sad story that involved the destruction of her home and death of her family and friends was a very hard thing to do. The recollections of her memory caused her to burst in tears again.


    Ma Qian gave her a handkerchief, but when Fang Meng saw it, she almost took out a small dagger to stab him but did not in the end. This handkerchief was actually a small undergarment that she used to wear, and now , Ma Qian had taken it! Ma Qian wouldn¡¯t possibly imagine that this was an undergarment, after all, the people back then had different ways of wearing their clothes. He was innocent and he only tried to help Fang Meng relieve her sorrow in any way he can.


    ¡°Which concludes to the legendary ancient heroes. A legend said this giant humanoid was actually given to guard our race by one of the ancient heroes as a reward for helping them fight the ancient war. We can¡¯t prove this, but only the ancestors knew about it but they have always kept quiet about it.¡±


    ¡°During the ancient war against the demons, 8 heroes appeared out of nowhere. They were far stronger than the others. Some people said they have the strongest bloodline, some said they were the heaven¡¯s children, but either way, no one dared to question their commands. Among the 8 heroes, there was an unspoken leader, no one knew his name but we called him ¡°War God.¡± The way he could dominate and kill the demons, along with his destructive ability created fear among every race. Legend has it during the war, he completely annihilated ancient kingdoms and races leaving nothing alive. He is the only one that can control and possess this heaven-defying ability, which some people say could even slay the gods! There were rumors that even though he was insanely powerful, his tactics were also shameless. He would even fool his own side to get what he wants. But I certainly don¡¯t believe this.¡±


    ¡°The other 7 heroes were called the 7 saint generals. Besides the war god, they were the strongest. Each general had rare abilities that could wipe out divisions of the demon army. During one of the battles, they infiltrated the demon territory and wiped out most of the traitorous human clans during the war. It¡¯s a shame, a few got away due to the overwhelming demon army surrounding the generals. After the victorious war, they disappeared without any trace. They were very secretive people, no one knew which family clan or place they came from, but everyone knew they did not come from any of the powerful family clans.¡±


    Fang Meng¡¯s eyes were shining brightly while telling this legendary tale as if she wanted to find out who those ancient heroes really were, and if their blood lineage still lived on until today. Her new freedom gave her a sense of a new goal¡­.she wanted to explor ethe traces of thoseancient heroes along with finding more informartion about the ancient war, and she believed that only she had the extensive knowledge to solve this ancient mystery that has fooled the entire world for over a million years!

 Chapter 45 – Ghost Thief

    Theancient war and the 8 heroes, as well as the history of Fang Meng''s civilization made everyone interested. Some of them almost fell asleep not because it was boring, but it felt like a bedtime story. Following the story, Ye Tian finally asked the most important question.


    ¡°Fang Meng, how old are you? How can you still be alive?¡±


    ¡°What era are we in?¡±


    ¡°Have your heard of the star empire?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have.¡±


    ¡°Well they still exist. In fact, they¡¯re believed to be the strongest. How about the min kingdom, the immortal shield sect, Saint empire?¡±


    ¡°No, never heard of them. When did they start?¡±


    ¡°The oldest is the immortal shield sect that was founded by their patriarch about 350,000 years ago.¡±


    ¡°They probably didn¡¯t exist when I was still living.¡±


    ¡°Oh yuck! I kissed a fudging granny!¡± Ma Qian yelled out in disgust. He tried to wash his mouth after realizing this.


    Fang Meng glared with killing intent at Ma Qian.


    ¡°You idiot, I might be have lived a long time ago, but my body stopped aging when I was 17 years old. That was the time when I split my soul spark to survive.¡± Fang Meng retaliated using direct verbal insults. Why does Ma Qian always rile her up, she had always wondered about this matter ever since they met.


    ¡°So how did you survive living through all those eras?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Splitting a soul spark is an extremely rare ability that I had. Not even my family members had it. Splitting the soul spark allowed one¡¯s soul to wander without a physical body through countless times. However if it was apart from each other, they can¡¯t be too far away from one another, otherwise, they would perish. That¡¯s why I was stuck in the fortress ever since the war ended,¡± Fang Meng answered honestly of her rare ability. The soul spark does not affect cultivation but it allows a unique way of surviving throughout the ages as long as the soul sparks are unharmed.


    ¡°Can you regain your body to a normal one?¡± Ma Qian curiously asked.


    ¡°This¡­.I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve read many historical books but nothing is mentioned about such solution because only two or three cases throughout history had this type of ability,¡± Fang Meng replied.


    ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°I was hoping I could stay with you guys a bit longer until I figure it out. I can only stay as a sparrow for a limited time, so I still need Ma Qian¡¯s body as an avatar,¡± Fang Meng replied while staring at Ma Qian.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. But as you can tell, we don¡¯t have much here and we¡¯re dead broke, so as long as you can live with that, then you can do whatever you want,¡± Ye Tian straightforwardly replied. He didn¡¯t even ask Ma Qian¡¯s opinion on this matter as if his body had already become a property. Ma Qian could only sigh at the thought of provoking Ye Tian, his recent battle performance have left him in awe more and more. He was pissed because he felt useless at this point, however, he recalled that Fang Meng is a very powerful spirit breaker.


    ¡°Fang Meng, your spirit formation¡­¡­can you teach me?¡± Ma Qian shyly asked.


    ¡°As you are helping me to become my avatar, I can at least help you with that. Your skills are not bad at all,¡± Fang Meng laughed. She already planned to teach him ancient spirit formations because she felt Ma Qian was really superb with his spirit formations. Even when she lived during her era, she¡¯s never met someone her age, including her, that could match up to Ma Qian¡¯s knowledge and ability. Probably only the elders or masters of her generation could match up to him, however, because she had been studying spirit formations for hundreds of thousands of years, no one at this point would be even close to her knowledge and skills. Ma Qian became ecstatic after hearing her.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The team took out all the treasures they raided from the ruin fortress. Some were distributed to themselves while some of them would be sold to the market or at an auction site.


    Before the night concluded, Ye Tian took out the outfit that was worn by a legendary thief and asked Fang Meng if she had some information on this outfit.


    ¡°Hmmm, this looks quite familiar but I¡¯m not too sure about it either. I may have seen something similar to one of the illustrations that I saw from the historical books,¡± Fang Meng explained.


    ¡°The vendor lady said this was an outfit worn by a legendary thief a long time ago, but I¡¯m not sure the specific era.¡±


    ¡°I remember there was a legendary thief who could rob anything out of the daylight and never got caught once. People called him the ¡°Ghost Thief,¡± because he could disappear whenever he wanted to. This thief would actually announced ahead of time which treasure he would rob and what day he would rob that treasure, but still, no one could stop him from taking it.¡±


    ¡°Some people said he could teleport, while some said he could change faces, while some others believed he could become invisible. Whatever the case was, we knew his cultivation wasn¡¯t high so we believed he had a treasure that could help him rob other treasures easily.¡±


    Ye Tian thought about it further. That would make some sense if this thief didn¡¯t have a high cultivation, but the problem at this moment is how to activate it in order to find out its true ability. He got frustrated after trying to figure it out for a while, so he didn¡¯t bother any longer. He started wearing the outfit as part of his interior clothing, then try to figure it out from there as time goes by.


    The next morning, the sun was still rising as they flew with their falcons towards the capital. On the way to the capital, they saw a figure sitting on top of the hill. This person had a similar vibe as Sun Mei with the same type of clothes, ornament hats, and demeanor.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look in the eye, don¡¯t look in the eye!¡± Xiang Jiao yelled out in fear of the same events that happened to him recently.


    The figure could be seen turning its head staring at them. No one tried to dare look at the person, but several mosquitoes flew around Ye Tian¡¯s face. He tried to withstand the itchiness but eventually couldn¡¯t, as he shook his face from left to right. Unfortunately his eyes met with the person¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ye Tian yelled out. Everyone else sighed. Life can be so unexpectedly sad.


    The person actually had sensitive hearing as she could hear everything they said. She frowned in anger.


    ¡°Why the fuck are you cussing at me bitch? What? You think you guys are way too good looking to look at me? Dream on man-whores!¡±


    The person yelled out in response to Ye Tian. Everyone was surprised including Fang Meng, not just because this woman had a sharp and abusive tongue, but the voice also sounded very deep similar to a real man¡¯s voice!


    Ye Tian felt offended. Sure, he was a bit disrespectful due to frustration, but this woman¡¯s words were too excessive where every word felt like a stab in the heart. Even if it was a woman, Ye Tian would give this person a lesson. He no longer cared about being a gentleman, he only cared about getting his way with his remaining years.


    The group flew down towards the person, but the person started running away quickly as she summoned a beast similar to an Aries (look up astrology) with multiple curved horns. The beast was really fast as every step seemed like a jump that could cover a long distance quickly. However, the falcons were a bit faster finally catching up with the aries. The whole team jumped out and attacked the woman with no regards of being fair or merciful.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! Arrghhh¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    ¡°Screw your mom, whore!¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Arghhh, you heard me fuckface! Your mom can such my¡­¡±


    Boom!


    Before the woman could finish, she was hit in the face and fell to the ground surrounded by the whole gang ready for more beat down.


    ¡°Screw you guys, ganging up on me? How about one on one punkass?¡± the girl yelled out in anger.


    The whole gang could only look at each other in shock as more surprises appeared in front of them.


    ¡°Come on! I dare you! One on one, bitches! What? You got no balls¡­.that¡¯s what I thought¡­¡± the girl snorted as she prepared to escape the scene again.

 Chapter 46 – Song Han

    ¡°Stop!¡± Ye Tian said.


    The young woman stopped, turning around to glare at them again with much grievance than ever before. Her face was a bit bloody and bruised due to the beating but she wasn¡¯t hurt seriously. Luckily, the ornament hat she was wearing was covering part of her face, hiding her true appearance. Her body was surprisingly bigger than Ye Tian and the others, but she wasn¡¯t fat, rather bulky and quite muscular in all parts of her body from the legs to the arms. Even her chest area was quite thick but the shape was a bit awkward.


    Xiang Jiao suddenly dashed forward and made a grabbing claw that grabbed the woman¡¯s chest. She didn¡¯t have the time to react to such unexpected move.


    ¡°Ahhh, you perverted A-hole, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± the girl retaliated by slapping Xiang Jiao¡¯s hand. But Xiang Jiao used his other harm to knock out the girl¡¯s ornament hat.


    Clappp!


    Xiang Jiao frowned and said, ¡°As I thought you¡¯re a man¡­..disgusting¡­..¡±


    ¡°Screw you! What does that say about you dumbass!¡± the girl who turned out to be a man spoke back in retaliation.


    Everyone became a bit disgusted with this outcome. They should¡¯ve known sooner that this filthy mouth, whose voice that sounded manly and husky, should¡¯ve belonged to a man, but they carelessly ignored this part. His face was even more mature than the rest, featuring a rough facial hair and thick wavy black hair that flowed freely in the air. His facial features and muscular body would define the prototype of what a warrior should look like.


    (This is an image of Zhang Fei from the three kingdoms, but I imagine Song Han to be comparable with)


    ¡°Pschhh, what do you guys want from me now? I can¡¯t believe a perverted monk touched my breast!¡±


    ¡°Not breast¡­..those are man titties¡­.¡± Xiang Jiao countered with disdain. He was praying at the same time feeling that he just committed a sin.


    Suddenly a group arrived and yelled out.


    ¡°It¡¯s him, that cross-dressing thief! Catch him and kill him!¡±


    ¡°Shit, you guys happy now? Huh, huh. Now my cover is blown because of you bitches!¡± the man cried as he started to run away.


    With the group traveling with a small airship, they were able to catch up with the cross-dressing man riding his aries. Ten fighters jumped out of the ship and started attacking the man, but he was extremely quick evading everyone¡¯s attack. Even though it was 10 versus one man, the battle was a stalemate. Some even tried to lay out a trap, but the man¡¯s maneuvering ability was lightning fast with no equals who are at same realm as his. This speed and quick evasive maneuvers caught Ye Tian¡¯s attention. This man was also at the late stage of the great dao realm, but even his speed has surpassed Ye Tian¡¯s.


    Another scene caught everyone by surprised when three fighters tried to sneak attack from his back. When the man turned around, he screamed.


    ¡°Fuck off!¡±


    That scream pierced through the ears and noses of the three fighters, which caused them to bleed heavily. It was a sound wave attack that could stun opponents and create chaos within their internal qi. Even their weapons shattered due to the piercing sound. The rest of the group started backing off feeling danger was much higher than they expected.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Hmmpphh, let me handle him and cut him into pieces,¡± an old man said.


    The old man dashed forward holding a curved saber slashing at the cross-dresser, but he avoided the slash and countered with another sound wave attack.


    ¡°Suck it!¡±


    Every time the cross-dresser cussed while screaming, it released a sound wave attack, however, every sound wave attack were either reflected into another direction or evaded. The old man waved his hand, an image of a black wolf appeared above him striking the cross-dresser with his claws. The old man followed behind the wolf with his spear ready to strike at any moment.


    Boom!


    The wolf crashed to the ground from the sound wave attack but the cross-dresser¡¯s left eye was wounded due to the claws of the strike. Instantly, the old man thrust his spear which successfully slashed the cross-dresser¡¯s leg. The cross-dresser quickly retreated. A distance of 20 meters were between them. The cross-dresser had his left eye closed due to the bleeding, his legs were wounded, and he was breathing heavily after pulling multiple sound wave attacks. He was fighting a losing battle against a peak supreme dao fighter.


    ¡°You shameless rat! How dare you kill the son of the Jian heir. You got any last words to say before I chopped you to pieces, hahaha,¡± the old man laughed.


    ¡°Old devil, you can frame me all you want, but everyone knows you killed him. Today, I might be killed, but today will also be the day where I cripple you until everyone can step all over you, hehehe,¡± the cross-dresser replied unusually calm.


    ¡°Shut up! No one would believe you.¡±


    Both of them clashed multiple times. Bang. Boom. Boom. Bang. Suddenly a spear was cut deep into the cross-dresser¡¯s side rib cage, but he also held the spear tightly.


    ¡°Let go, rat!¡± the old man yelled out. He tried to withdraw his spear but he couldn¡¯t even move an inch of it. The old man underestimated the brute strength the cross-dresser had even after all the wounds inflicted on him.


    The cross-dresser did not speak. He only smiled devilishly and held the old man tightly with his other hand. A small spherical ball started appearing from his mouth possessing a monstrous energy as it got bigger and bigger.


    The old man was terrified seeing something so deadly close to him. He knew if this ball hit him, he would be dead. He quickly took out a life protecting treasure. The treasure transformed into a word ¡°amnesty¡± at the same moment the cross-dresser blew the sphere towards the old man.


    Kaboom!


    Chaotic energy surrounding them ensued. The old man crashed to the ground but he was still moving as he barely survived the attack. The cross-dresser crashed to the ground much more violently unable to block the treasure¡¯s attack. He was bleeding all over but his eyes were still open viciously staring at the old man like a devil.


    The remaining group knew this was a chance to finish him, so they started dashing forward to attack the cross-dresser. The old man also dashed forward for the kill, however, Ye Tian appeared in front of him to block his way. Xiang Jiao and the others battled the other men.


    Boom. Baam! Wham!


    ¡°Arrghh.¡±


    Several of the men from the remaining group fell to the ground and became unconscious after taking hits from Xiang Jiao and the others. It was only the old man left against Ye Tian.


    ¡°Who are you? Scram before I kill you!¡± the old man furiously screamed.


    ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to kill me and you¡¯re too weak to kill me,¡± Ye Tian simply replied. However, deep inside he was extremely angry, his eyes had the same devilish stare as the cross-dresser intending to kill at all cost. Ever since he came to the outside world, he¡¯s encountered too many despicable and greedy people who would scheme to obtain their own greedy desires.


    ¡°Hmmppp, don¡¯t be cocky kid!¡± the old man scorned. He moved forward quickly slashing towards Ye Tian.


    Ye Tian didn¡¯t even move or evade as the slash came at him. The old man¡¯s eyes popped out because Ye Tian blocked his attack with just brute strength and didn¡¯t let go of the spear. Ye Tian then palmed his other hand holding the old man¡¯s head tightly. Flames ignited burning the old man¡¯s hair, then slowly burning his entire face until flames covered his whole entire body.


    ¡°Arrghhh!¡±


    The old man was slowly burning, he couldn¡¯t escape from Ye Tian¡¯s grasp. Ye Tian purposely made the flames hot enough to burn slowly instead of exploding the old man. A slow and painful death was suitable for scheming people like the old man nor was mercy given. Within a few minutes, the old man had turned into a charcoal barely hanging to life.


    Ye Tian threw the old man to the ground, then turned his head staring at the cross-dresser while his flames were still revolving around him comparable to a mighty emperor ready to burn everything in his way.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    The cross-dresser continued to stare back at Ye Tian but he replied with a respectful tone that seemed like he was submitting to Ye Tian.


    ¡°Song Han.¡±

 Chapter 47 – Phantom Empire

    Unfamiliar with Ye Tian or his intentions, Song Han didn¡¯t know if he could make it alive or not, but with broken bones, damaged nerves, and a single vision to rely on just made his survival rate very slim at this point.


    ¡°Song Han, join us! We need people with your ability and talent. Whoever comes after you, we¡¯ll protect each other,¡± Ye Tian asked. He was determined to have Song Han join the gang, because his combat abilities were on par with the others, not to mention that Song Han reminded him ofa very similar situation a few months ago where he had to clash with some noble clans of the Star Empire.


    ¡°¡­.What do I get in return?¡± Song Han calmly asked back. Never did he thought this would''ve happened at this moment. He really did thought he was going to die soon. With the proposal of an alliance, he needed to know the details of this partnership based on what benefits he can gain from this alliance.


    ¡°Just tell me what you want? We don¡¯t have much and we probably can¡¯t offer anything close to what the noble families can offer you. We¡¯re not righteous nor are we bad people, but anyone that intends to harm us, we¡¯ll pay them back 100 times,¡± Ye Tian straightforwardly replied. He had no interest in negotiating but only wanted tolure in Song Han as direct as possible with no hidden agenda.


    ¡°I want a mansion¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I want 2,000,000 zoids.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have it.¡±


    ¡°Weapons or armors at the infinite dao realm.¡±


    ¡°We only have supreme dao weapons and armors, but I can offer you martial scrolls¡­.ancient martial skills that you¡¯re not allowed to pass to anyone else.¡±


    Song Han was intrigued by the word ancient skills. He couldn¡¯t sell these scrolls, but if he learned the skill it would give him a powerful hidden skill to rely on at crucial times. Ye Tian could see Song Han started being intrigued by his offer, so he continued explaining his offer.


    ¡°Besides, your combat abilities focus heavily on distance attacks. I have a martial scroll skill that would significantly increase your close combat skills. If you learn this skill, you would have a much better chance of escaping. If you have learned this skill prior to this battle, you could¡¯ve beaten that old devil.¡±


    Ye Tian was smiling now, feeling that Song Han was almost about to bite the candy.


    ¡°If this partnership doesn¡¯t work out, what then?¡± Song Han asked.


    ¡°You can do whatever you want. I don¡¯t require you to sign a soul contract to join us nor to leave us. If you help us, we will help you. If you decide to leave, as long as you don¡¯t harm us, we won¡¯t bother you. So¡­.what¡¯s your decision?¡± Ye Tian replied.


    ¡°I accept your offer, but let me see the martial scroll first.¡±


    It took him a while before making his final decision, but Song Han finally accepted the offer. Ye Tian handed him the ancient martial scroll called ¡°Phantom Empire.¡± Song Han was livid after reading the scroll, because this skill was truly a one of its kind, incomparable to any high-grade martial skills. Immortal dao or Heaven dao cultivators don¡¯t even have such martial skills in their arsenal. This ancient martial skills allowed the user to use gravity freely in any direction the user wishes to control as long as the opponent was within the 50 meters domain. However, the difficulty of learning this skill was enormous as it required a true understanding of the law of gravity, which no one has mastered in this era. Nevertheless, Song Han was still happy he could learn a lost ancient skill that would enhance his combat strength significantly.Stolen story; please report.


    Ye Tian introduced everyone, including Fang Meng, who jumped out to greet him. To everyone''s surprise, he had no reaction when Fang Meng appeared out of nowhere looking like a ghost, but he still was wary of that perverted monk, Xiang Jiao. Ye Tian explained that they were heading to the capital to sell some of the treasures they found from the ancient fortress ruins. Ye Tian also suggested to have Song Han take the bounty hunter exam along the way, but Song Han was already a bounty hunter with an S rank. All they needed to do was to register Song Han as part of the team, so that every mission would be listed in his book as well.


    After introducing each other briefly, everyone was shocked that Song Han was actually only sixteen years old. Everyone assumed that he was around his 20¡¯s because he really looked like a grown muscular man with a rough facial beard. Song Han was quite the early boomer physically, but he was obviously the most annoying and the most immature out of the bunch. Along the way to the capital, he kept talking on and on even if his injuries weren¡¯t completely healed yet. Ye Tian wanted to shut him up, but he thought that wouldn¡¯t be a good idea if they started fighting on the first day the partnership was formed.


    When they arrived at the guild, Ye Tian met with Wang Rong and had Song Han registered with the team, which was a very quick and easy process. Wang Rong wanted to discuss about something else, advising him to sell their treasures through the guilds bazaar marketplace in the upcoming days. The guild was preparing an annual event where many cultivators and family nobles would come to look at some priceless treasures that will be available during this bazaar event. She suggested to sell a few of the treasures at an auction site that would earn quite a bit of money. Ye Tian agreed to participate with the annual bazaar, so he invited Wang Rong to their place for further consultation on which treasure they should put on the auction site. Before they left, Wang Rong whispered something to Ye Tian.


    ¡°Are you sure you want him on your team?¡± Wang Rong knew of Song Han prior to this meeting, and at one time, she even recalled of almost beating him due to his annoying behavior.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s too late to regret.¡± Ye Tian could only bitterly smile.


    That same night Wang Rong arrivd at their place. She was shocked that they were living inside a cave, but she was even more shocked that inside the cave were decorated with such luxury materials. Song Han, as a new member of the group, was seen decorating his own space. Xiang Jiao, Ma Qian, and Lin Yang were seen having pillow fights. Ye Tian, on the other hand, was seen carrying an outfit where he would pose in different forms and yell out a bunch of silly words.


    What a bunch of weirdos, Wang Rong thought to herself.


    Seeing the arrival of Wang Rong, Ye Tian invited her to a golden luxury sofa near the fireplace. Wang Rong must have assumed that they were really rich, but she didn¡¯t know the truth of the matter. Ye Tian suddenly took out a couple storage rings and released everything that was inside. Golden armors, Jaded weapons, Platinum helmets and guards, precious stones, and even sex toys were part of the pile. Wang Rong was speechless that they had so much treasures, thinking that they must have robbed a kingdom recently.


    ¡°Ms. Wang Rong, please appraise these treasures for us. As long as you can help us, we will definitely share our profit with you,¡± Ye Tian simply said.


    It took a few hours to appraise everything. Ma Qian was seen drawing something. If Wang Rong saw it, she would either blush or retaliate because the picture Ma Qian was drawing was actually her. Xiang Jiao could see Ma Qian¡¯s drawing and shook his head in disgust. Lin Yang, on the other hand, had an extremely gloomy face as if he was about to commit suicide, because Song Han kept bothering him with questions after questions.


    ¡°This black sword, glass armor, and silver stone¡­..I¡¯ve never seen this before. Is it okay to bring this with me, so I can have the elders appraise this more carefully? The rest can be sold in the marketplace. If you have trouble selling it, the guild can sell it for you, but the fees are higher,¡± Wang Rong explained.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll come by in a couple of days to hear your news,¡± Ye Tian approved.


    Before Wang Rong left, Lin Yang asked her about the Cen family. In the previous days, he saw a poster listed that said the Cen family was looking for some bodyguards and the rewards were quiet high. Being naive in this new kingdom, Lin Yang took the bait and worked for the Cen family for the past few days. After hearing his story, Wang Rong frowned a bit, but only said this.


    ¡°Although the Cen family are not the most despicable people, on the outside, they looked like righteous people, but once you get to know them, you might change your mind.¡±

 Chapter 48 – Don’t Keep Talking Big

    There were still a couple of days left until the bazaar event. The following day, Ye Tian continued his ¡®practice session¡¯ with Ma Qian and Song Han, because they still didn¡¯t recognize who Ye Tian was. Lin Yang continued to work till late at night, and Xiang Jiao was seen cultivating while cautiously staring at Ye Tian from time to time. Extreme hatred ran deep among Ma Qian and Song Han until they got knocked out again. They had no idea why they had to have this practice session, it''s more like getting bullied and beaten every single time they fought! Later that night, Lin Yang finally came home, tired and confused.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°¡­.Not to sure. For some reason, I don¡¯t feel as good as I did when I started working for the family. It¡¯s weird¡­.¡± Lin Yang couldn¡¯tanswer clearly. Even he couldn''t figure out what''s wrong with him.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Ms. Wang Rong. You might have a better idea.¡±


    ¡°You might be right. I¡¯ll go there when I have the time. By the way, why are these two always sleeping?¡±


    Ye Tian did not respond but could only smile devilishly, because he didn¡¯t want to tell the truth until the experiment wasover. Xiang Jiao was on full alert focusing on his hearing, first he wanted to find out why those idiots were acting weirdly these past couple of days; second, he feared that the next person would be him being beaten. In the end, he still couldn¡¯t find any clues.


    The next morning, Ye Tian was preparing to continue his ¡®beating marathon¡¯ untilMa Qian said something after he woke up.


    ¡°Ye Tian, what happened last night? Why am I so bruised up? I can¡¯t remember¡­¡± Ma Qian asked.


    Ashort while later, Song Han also woke up and asked the same thing. They both touched their faces and bodies, each touch feltlike a stinging pain from a bee.


    ¡°You remember me? Tschhhh¡­. You guys were fighting against each other.¡±


    With the potion effect finaly worn off,his mood became dark and depressing again after the short-lived fun he had the past couple of days. His version of the forgetful potion only lasted two days. He needed to extend the duration of the potion to be really useful when the time is necessary to use it. With a new idea on his mind, the rare herbs he recently collected from the ancient fortress ruin might help in concocting stronger potions in the future, so he started experimenting again ignoring the rest of group.


    Xiang Jiao, on the other hand, finally concluded that the potion was related to the memory loss of those idiots but he wasn¡¯t 100% sure. If his guess was true, then he would be extremely disappointed at a loss opportunity to beat them. It would be one of the rare times he could only shake his head for being too passive the past couple of days. Unfortunately, Ma Qian and Song Han looked at each other with a new hatred flowing in their blood, but they didn¡¯t dare to provoke each other at this moment.


    Ling Yang continued his work as a bodyguard although there really was no protection needed. He was with Pi Pi at one of the family¡¯s business stronghold. Pi Pi had introduced one of her managers named, Li On, a young man similar to his age who never withdrew his shady smile. Lin Yang was glad to befriend such a young man who had great ambitions to become a rich man someday. Pi Pi asked Lin Yang to help Li On with one of the projects instead of doing bodyguard duties. He was excited because he had some experiences in doing business for his family back then.


    ¡°Li On, how did you meet Pi Pi?¡±


    ¡°Our father knew each other since they were children, so I started working here as a manager.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you became a manager right away without any experience?¡±


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m confident in my abilities. By the way, can you get this done by the evening? I need to get somethings done first.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hmm ok, but are you sure you don¡¯t want to use the team¡¯s suggestion? It¡¯s been proven to work before.¡±


    ¡°No, this one will work also.¡±


    Lin Yang didn¡¯t mind getting told what to do. He wasn¡¯t as cocky as he was before when he had everything. He had to work late at night again, but not because of bodyguard duties. Along the way, he met Pi Pi again with Li On sitting besides her.


    ¡°Lin Yang, what is your goal in life? What do you want to do?¡± Pipi asked.


    ¡°That¡­I¡¯m not too sure myself. Although zoids can help me with my financial problems, I¡¯m more focused on being happy.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have big ambitions, then you will never become a great man,¡± Pi Pi gave a word of advice.


    ¡°Hahaha, you might be right¡­..¡± Lin Yang replied. He didn¡¯t really know what to say with such philosophical questions about life and success.


    The night ended with Lin Yang thinking deeply about his future and life, how motivation and ambition can lead to success. He felt ashamed that there were people as young as him who had much higher ambitions than him.


    The next day, Ma Qian and Song Han were ordered to set up a stall at the bazaar. With Song Han, who could seamlessly talk forever, the crew believed there was no way they would be on the losing side of the negotiation. They had already chose on which armors and weapons that they would sell at this bazaar, including the old armors Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao bought recently with all the zoids they spent carelessly from the rewards of their first few missions. The armors they wore now was far superior, accompanied with additional affects, such as hiding one¡¯s cultivation base, or increasing one¡¯s defense that could withstand a hit from a peak infinite dao fighter.


    Lin Yang came back to work as usual, but he arrived at an awkward time where Pi Pi was criticized by her parents.


    ¡°How could you lose all that money. If you don¡¯t have the talent for business, don¡¯t keep talking big and keep making promises that you can¡¯t deliver.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault dad, my assistants were useless, and these partners of ours never agree to my suggestions.¡±


    ¡°Next time, have your younger brother to help you.¡±


    The parents sighed. They didn¡¯t want to criticize her too much because only they knew that despite her confident and talkative behavior, their own daughter had a low self-esteem. No one wanted to look like a fool, and afraid of being suspected as one, she would talk often and take the opportunity to impress others.


    ¡°Miss Pi Pi, are you alright,¡± Lin Yang asked. He tried to console her as she appeared stressful with her current responsibilities. Just at this time, Li On also appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°Oh, Lin Yang, just the person I wanted to speak with. Have you thought about your goals?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯ve thought about it, but haven¡¯t conclude anything yet. Like I previously mentioned, zoids are important but not the most important for me. I want to live a happy life and if that means I have not achieved more than others, I¡¯m okay with it.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m only trying to help you. It¡¯s your life,¡± she said looking disappointed. Li On, on the hand, still had that shady smile on his face.


    ¡°Sister, how about we have him help us with one of our projects,¡± Li on said to Pi Pi. He regarded her as a sister although there is no blood relation between them.


    ¡°How about you? What¡¯s your goal?¡± Lin Yang suddenly asked.


    ¡°Mine? My goal is to help my dad and mom, so that they can retire well,¡± Pi Pi replied.


    ¡°And how are you going to do that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Do you have any ideas? I¡¯m trying to get my partners to listen to me but they never agree with my suggestions.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess it takes some time for them to acknowledge you. Have you proposed your plan to them in details and provide some solutions to their concerns?¡±


    ¡°No, I just know the goal. I have my assistants and managers come up with the plan.¡±


    ¡°I think you should get more involved with the plans. Give them more ideas on what your vision is like so they can understand how to come up with a better plan.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t agree, their job is to get things done. No excuses. But every time they come up with a plan, I¡¯m disappointed with their lack of ability and results.¡±


    Lin Yang had no more words to say. He didn¡¯t want to get involved in such matter as the new guy in the block. Meanwhile, he could see Li On was still smiling and giving Pi Pi a boost of confidence through his way of talking. Lin Yang left the scene and continued doing his job by himself. For whatever reason, he started becoming uncomfortable, especially having Li On and Pi Pi asking him questions about life and ambitions, and in many ways, he could sense that they were mocking him at times.

 Chapter 49 – The Bazaar

    The first day of the bazaar immediately heated up with Song Han and Ma Qian almost getting into fights with the customers. Song Han was by far the worst with his lack of negotiation skills, but makes it up with his ability to bullshit.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy setting up prices this high.¡± one customer said.


    ¡°What? Screw you cheap ass! This golden armor cost more than your pitiful life,¡± Song Han retaliated.


    ¡°All of our items have been appraised by the guild, and the quality of most of our products are rated four out of five stars,¡± Ma Qian explained with a more diplomatic tone, giving customers more assurance to the credibility of their products.


    ¡°Pschhhh, your asking price is too high!¡±


    ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll offer you 199,999 zoids.¡±


    ¡°What? You only gave me a one zoid discount, cheapskate.¡±


    ¡°Suck it whore! If you want to wear an amazing armor, you need to be amazing yourself. Go back and suck on your dad¡¯s titties or¡­..Man up and pay up!¡±


    Song Han was truly excessive with his words never backing down from any negotiation. His way of negotiation was a double-edge sword. Some customers would give in and pay, other times he would be making enemies without realizing it. Ma Qian was a bit more passive with his approach, but from time to time, excitement got the better of him which intensified the situation at times in dealing with tough customers.


    An elder of the guild who was in charge of the bazaar, stood behind the scene shaking his head at these two new young vendors that he¡¯s never seen before.


    ¡°Wang Rong, do you know these two?¡±


    ¡°Yes elder, they are within the same group with Ye Tian.


    ¡°Ye Tian! Really?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I¡¯ve registered both of them personally. Although their behavior are a bit excessive, their talents are among the best I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm, for every family clan, there are always a few members that most people are embarrassed to have,¡± the elder sighed. No family is perfect. There is always that black sheep, or an outcast, or a bad apple within every family clan or sects that he has seen.


    By now, most of the important elders of the guild knew who Ye Tian was, who became the only SS rank member in this era. His identity was only disclosed totrusted and loyal members of the guild. And the fact that Ye Tian was evaluated by the chief and the grand elders made it more acceptable for the other elders. No one would doubt their judgment. After watching a recorded film of his exam, they genuinely admitted that Ye Tian''s skills were like in the legends told in every tales. Even some of the grand elders have watched all the films of his companions, such as Xiang Jiao, Ma Qian, and Lin Yang, nodding in approval of their amazing talents and abilities. They felt Ye Tian¡¯s group would become a very powerful force, and hopefully a powerful ally in the near future.


    Back at the bazaar, Song Han finally met his match during a negotiation. The customer rarely cursed, but his responses were so unique, it put Song Han on the edge constantly. Both were sweating like crazy after a heated negotiation with neither giving up their offer. The problem eventually couldn¡¯t be solved because their negotiation jumped from one topic to another and never came back to the original negotiation.


    ¡°You hairy bastard. If you weren¡¯t so hairy I would¡¯ve introduced you to some women¡­. Or maybe you like men better?¡± the customer argued.


    ¡°What? Just because I like both doesn¡¯t mean shit. Pschhhh¡­..Unlike YOUUUUU, I don¡¯t discriminate!¡±


    ¡°heh,¡± the customer snorted.


    ¡°hehhhh,¡± Song Han countered with a longer-lasting snort.


    ¡°hehhhhhhhh.¡±


    ¡°hehhhhhhhhhhhhhh.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°hehhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHH¡±


    ¡®HEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,¡± Song Han gave it his all with his last snor. His entire face turned red, lacking oxygen from his last snort, and desperately grasping for another breath.


    The customer leaned on one of the tables, sweat was dripping all over his face with the look of shame. He finally couldn¡¯t outdo such a childish act, as he quickly left the scene in embarrassment. After winning the battle, Song Han was quite proud of himself even though he was breathing really hard. Ma Qian didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to him as he was busy negotiating prices with other customers.


    ¡°I will give you a fair price, 95,000,¡± Ma Qian whispered to one of the customers.


    ¡°Too expensive, how about 70,000?¡±


    ¡°What? You crazy? I won¡¯t have anything to eat if I sell it to you at this price.¡±


    The customer was about to leave until Ma Qian made another offer again, showing a face of that look defeated.


    ¡°Okay, okay fine, 90,000. That¡¯s the lowest I can go.¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    Ma Qian lost 5,000 but the estimated value by the appraiser was actually at 80,000 zoids. Ripping people off gave Ma Qian a sense of joy considering that he had to be with Song Han the whole day. They still planned on beating each other, as this was on their revenge to-do list instigated by Ye Tian. The first night of the bazaar ended lively, especially for Song Han and Ma Qian. They ended up sellingquite a few treasures, but they had to give the zoids card to the guild until the bazaar endedfor safekeeping and to audit all the transactions.


    Back inside the cave, everyone was surprised when Xiang Jiao asked Ye Tian for a practice session, in which only he could attack and Ye Tian could never counter him back. Using his newly learned skill, an image of a huge demon appeared above Xiang Jiao roaring towards Ye Tian, but it easily was blown away by Ye Tian¡¯s aura. However, when the head of the demon was destroyed, another image of a crimson chain appeared. It has been hiding within the demon''s head, ready to strike at any moment. Although Ye Tian was surprised by the hidden attack, he quickly retreated. The chain didn¡¯t stop after its first attack missed its target, instead, continuing to chase after Ye Tian.


    Suddenly, twin water dragons appeared, surrounding Ye Tian''s fist as it moved to strike back at the chain.


    ¡°Invade.¡±


    The twin dragons started eating the chain rapidly until it nearly reached the summoner of the chain, Xiang Jiao, before disappearing into thin air. The destruction of th demons head and the crimson chain affected Xiang Jiao''s Qi, causing him to spit out blood. Although he lost, it gave him some useful insights. He knew he still needed to strengthen the demon''s image attack that could viciously penetrate the opponent¡¯s defensive layers. His hidden chains also needed to strike faster when the demon image can no longer do further damage. He went back to his cultivating pose, recalling every detail of what had happened during the practice session that could further his insights to this new skill he learned.


    Wang Rong visited the cave that night. She told Ye Tian that there will be a huge competition at the peak of the legendary mountain near the Min kingdom. Many of the noble families and famous sects will come from all over the world to seek experience, where the winner could take an extremely rare magical treasure. The competition was held every 100 years with the winner taking a priceless treasure, that''s why most people called this mountain the ¡°treasure mountain.¡±


    ¡°Ye Tian, since this competition has a limit age of 25 and under, I think you guys will have a good chance of winning the magical treasure. Even though we don''t know what kind of magical treasure it will offer, past winners have considered their treasure as a life-changing experienced that will benefit their cultivation greatly.


    ¡°Who controls the mountain?¡±


    ¡°This¡­we don¡¯t know. We assumed it¡¯s a mysterious existence. Even past winners have never met its owner. Whenever the event is coming soon, invitation cards are sent throughout the world to powerful families, sects, kingdoms, and empires.¡±


    ¡°If the treasures are so heaven-defying, why didn¡¯t powerful figures and their kingdoms tried to control the mountain instead?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, severa armiesl have tried to invade the mountain¡­¡­ but all of them were wiped out.¡±


    ¡°When does it start?¡±


    ¡°A couple of days after the bazaar event, I will bring you there if you¡¯re interested.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm, alright I¡¯ll let you know when the time comes.¡±


    Before Wang Rong left, Lin Yang came home just in time to ask her about the Cen family.


    ¡°Ms. Wang Rong, I did not quite understand what you mean back then about the Cen family.¡±


    ¡°Lin Yang, I have only heard things about them from my colleagues. One thing for certain is that the family has a very high turnover rate. Many of their bodyguards or employees ended up quitting for various reasons. Just be more cautious.¡±


    After Wang Rong left, Ma Qian told Lin Yang to relax.


    ¡°Lin Yang, just quit man. We¡¯re going to make lots of zoids from selling these treasures at the bazaar. We¡¯ve already sold quite a few in the first day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to give it a couple more days just to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Pschhh, just trying to help you out. You look like crap ever since you started working for that family.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, look who¡¯s talking. You didn¡¯t fare any better getting your ass kicked.¡±


    ¡°You¡­. damn punk! I was just trying to help, you baby face brat!¡±

 Chapter 50 – I Don’t Know

    The second day of the bazaarbecame even livelier with Song Han and Ma Qian becoming the center of attention due their childish negotiations. Few friends were made over the short period of time while more enemies were established. These hot-blooded young men really didn¡¯t know when to tone it down a little, especially Song Han, who would curse people to death.


    Lin Yang went to work, although hesitatingly, at one of the Cen¡¯s business warehouse, but this would be the second time where he would arrive seeing Pi Pi being criticized again by her parents.


    ¡°How could you just send money without confirming who they really are! You¡¯re such a fool. This is the fourth time a stranger fooled you into transferring money.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault mom! My assistants only told me someone needed our payment.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and they advised you to wait a bit further for confirmation.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­why are you always blaming me? I¡¯m always trying my hardest. Your golden son who¡¯s supposed to help me, only sits there quietly and plays all the time without any responsibilities.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about your brother. We¡¯re talking about you. We¡¯ve already told you, if you have too much pressure then we¡¯ll put you somewhere easier. I gave you an important position because you said you could do it. I even gave you veteran assistants and managers to advice you with the business dealings, but you always find a way to screw it up.¡±


    Pi Pi couldn¡¯t stand listening any further, feeling hurt and unfairly blamed, she hurriedly left with Lin Yang following her to keep her company.


    ¡°Lin Yang, can you help me look at these reports and tell me what you think about it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have an accountant to look at your reports?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I want you to look at it also, so that you can learn it.¡±


    Lin Yang was frowning a bit. He was confused on why he ended up doing a job that was completely different than a bodyguard position, and to make it worse, he has been working till late at night. Li On came by just in time again to meet Pi Pi.


    ¡°Sister, I have good news. We can definitely make this business happen. You just need to ask your dad for the connection, and we have a good chance of getting a new contract.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask my dad about it later on.¡±


    Li On left with the usual smile on his face. Just when Lin Yang was about to leave as well, Pi Pi stopped him to ask more questions.


    ¡°Lin Yang, what do you think about Li On.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, young and ambitious.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but a bit too ambitious I think.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°¡­..Some of the methods he uses are too shrewd, and it seems like he only needs me because of my dad¡¯s connections.¡±


    ¡°Well, based on my own observation and personal experience, he¡¯s using you and your dad¡¯s connections to get what he wants. I don¡¯t see him loyal to your family or anyone else for that matter. ¡±


    ¡°Well¡­you¡¯re right but there is nothing I can do about it.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­.I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve admitted that he is using you. Your own brother said the same thing, but I don¡¯t understand why you guys are not doing anything about it. The guy has too many schemes. When you continue to play with fire, eventually you¡¯ll get burned.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve recently gave him a 30% share on one of our business initiatives. It used to be 15%. There was another guy, his friend, who owned the other 15% because he was the one who proposed this business idea in the first place, and he knows the inside and out of the business. My brother was suppose to manage this business with them, but some disagreements happened. The other guy said my brother was not contributing anything to the business. Using this perfect chance of conflict, Li On said this guy has been using part of our assets for leisure.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Li On doing the same thing? So how did he gain 30% share?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­yes, he¡¯s using our assets as well. I don¡¯t know¡­¡­.the other guy agreed to leave the business, so Li On demanded 30% since he learned some of the business operations overtime, but he''s still not as skilled as his friend''s. My brother, to no one¡¯s surprise, also didn¡¯t bother to learn about the business.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you mean Li On can get contracts with other businesses?¡±


    ¡°No, the business still depends on my dad¡¯s connection for these new contracts.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you give him 30% share? You could¡¯ve just hired a new manager to manage the business since it still relies on your dad¡¯s connections.¡±


    ¡°¡­.I don¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. So¡­¡­you should learn this report so you can help me.¡±


    Answering Lin Yang''s questions made Pi Pi uncomfortable, because it felt like an interrogation. She was used to having her assistants sucking up to her and boosting her ego. Lin Yang was also perplexed with the way she and her brother managed things. He thought to himself to stay one more day to decide whether he should continue working here or not. He didn¡¯t want to be used and become a scapegoat for her mistakes later on.


    That night, Pi Pi¡¯s younger brother asked Lin Yang to stay late to help out again, but this time it was suggested by Li On, which pissed him off even more. Nevertheless, he worked late again.


    The next morning would turn out to be the most exciting and the last day of the bazaar. By now, everyone knew how notorious Song Han and Ma Qian was, some wanted to challenge them for fun, and others could only negotiate helplessly, giving up on the treasure items. A rare occurence happened where Song Han nor Ma Qian was not the instigator of the conflict. One elder, who came from a noble family, wanted to force them to sell one of the weapons at a really low price for his young master.


    ¡°No can do, I can¡¯t sell this weapon to you,¡± Ma Qian said.


    ¡°Young brat, this should be an honor for you to have the Zhao family to purchase this weapon from you. You have no idea the connections we have all over the kingdom. I¡¯m taking this and this is what you will receive. This is for your own good!¡± the elder said.


    ¡°No! You might as well steal it from me. I¡¯ve never seen such an elder that is as despicable as you. I won¡¯ t sell this unless you¡¯re willing to pay 140,000 zoids. That¡¯s a very fair price. You can even ask the appraiser.¡±


    ¡°Kid! You¡¯re asking for trouble. I¡¯m going to give you an advise so you can live longer. You better accept the Zhao family¡¯s proposal, otherwise, you never know what will happen to you in the future.¡±


    The elder tried to grab the weapon even without paying this time, but Ma Qian held the elder¡¯s hand firmly without letting go. Song Han took the weapon away to avoid any further negotiations. He really tried his hardest from controlling his filthy mouth, because Ye Tian had warned him to be more careful the night before.


    Boom!


    The elder and the rest of the family, including the young master who was smirking arrogantly, increased their aura in an effort to intimidate Ma Qian and Song Han, but to their surprise, neither backed down. A fight was about to break out until Wang Rong came just in time to stop this conflict.


    ¡°Zhao family, please remember this is the bazaar held by the alliance guild. If anyone of you causes a big scene, you already know what will happen to you all,¡± Wang Rong sternly warned.


    ¡°Pscchhh, you¡¯re lucky this time kid,¡± the elder said, then walked off with the other family members.


    ¡°Thanks for the help, Wang Rong!¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks. I wasn¡¯t trying to protect any of you. It¡¯s just that family is known to be a bit excessive with their behavior. Be more careful of them from now on. They¡¯ll keep an eye on you.¡±


    After this event, the bazaar ended smoothly. Ma Qian and Song Han returned to their cave in a great mood, becausethey made quite a bit of zoids at the bazaar, and couldn¡¯t wait to spend some of it as a reward of their hard work. Lin Yang, on the other hand, came home with a bad mood again, which was even worse than the previous day.

 Chapter 51 – Restless Night

    The next morning, Ye Tian warned the rest of the gang on not spendingtoo much before giving them the zoids card. He didn''t join because he was too distracted on figuring out the thief outfit, not to mention, the lack of progress to mastering the second step of the ¡®steps to the heaven'' also caused him a headache.


    Lin Yang was also the other person that went back to work, unwillingly, where he met Pi Pi and Li On in the early morning. They invited him to have breakfast along with her parents and her younger brother. Lin Yang thought this might be a change for the better.


    ¡°Lin Yang, how old are you?¡±


    ¡°17 Sir Cen.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s working with my daughter and son? Are you learning a lot?¡±


    Before Lin Yang got to respond, Li On was the one that interfered and answered.


    ¡°He¡¯s definitely learning a lot. In no time, he¡¯ll become a capable man,¡± Li On replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Help him so he can learn. You also need to learn and pray in order to become a better person,¡± Sir Cen said.


    ¡°Of course, I pray every day. Don¡¯t worry about it, your children and I are learning together so we will show results in no time.¡±


    Lin Yang kept quiet until breakfast was over. This time Pi Pi asked him to come over to her office, where Li On tagged along as well.


    ¡°Lin Yang, we have a new business recently that is opened nearby. Can you go over there and Li On will give you the details.¡±


    Lin Yang nodded. A little conflict occurred when Lin Yang did things a bit differently than instructed but his method had better results, however, Li On told him to stick with the instructions he gave him. Although it was a minor argument, Li On seemed to be annoyed with Lin Yang not following his directions. A short while later, he left the place to somewhere else. When Li On came back, he brought along Pi Pi¡¯s younger brother, who told Lin Yang to make a better effort in listening to Li On. Apparently, Li On was complaining about how Lin Yang was not following his instructions. Lin Yang explained the minor mistake, and even though the younger brother agreed with Lin Yang¡¯s method, he still showed indecisiveness in the presence of Li On.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t stop there asPi Pi came later on to lecture him onhow he should learn from Li On. Lin Yang said he has been following the instructions, except for that one time. Despite the ranting, he continued to work stubbornly for the rest of the day until one of the colleagues told him that he just saw a journal book written by Pi Pi that claimed Lin Yang needed to be more responsible and independent.


    This time, Lin Yang became so furious, he quit the job, leaving the area as quickly as possible. After all this time, he felt like he was being used by an arrogant woman who relied on her dad to hold an important position and for opportunities that she felt entitled to have, and yet till this day, only losses occurred under her management. The younger brother, on the other hand, continued to play around while ignoring to solve any problems. To make it worse, another egotistical person took advantage of their inability, instead manipulating and scheming behind the scenes. Lin Yang had no desire to work for such selfish people. With some business experience that he has had, he knew that if their father was no longer in this world, the family¡¯s business would crumble quickly since the daughter and son duo have never showed any capability or results. Eventually, if the didn''t wise up, they would be eaten by the same person who¡¯s scheming behind the scenes.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Lin Yang decided to stroll around the capital to let off some steam, coincidentally, he met Ma Qian and the others. Lin Yang¡¯s mood quickly improved as he tagged along with the others to the spa, message parlor, fancy lunch, and other luxury products they could enjoy. Even Xiang Jiao, who just bought a sunglasses, never thought he could enjoy all the amenities that zoids could offer at this point. They were living the high life where the very few elites could only afford, and it was the perfect situation to relieve Lin Yang¡¯s stress.


    Only Ye Tian wasn¡¯t part of the group as he had to meet with Wang Rong and the elders to discuss further on the treasured items that would be transferred to Destiny city of the Star Empire. The appraisal of one of the identified treasure took much longer than expected when they couldn¡¯t determine the starting price it would start with at the auction. Later on, Wang Rong provided more details on the upcoming event that is commonly known as the ¡°Treasure Mountain¡± due to its reputation on giving out magical treasures every decade or so. Ye Tian was still indecisive with this event. Considering that the group just made a lot of money from selling those treasures at the bazaar, he wanted to focus on solving the mystery of the masked men.


    Later that night back inside the cave, Ma Qian and the others came home carrying a bunch of luxury items from their shopping spree. Ye Tian already came home before them, but when he saw the items that they were carrying, he had a really bad feeling about it.


    ¡°Come, let me see the zoids card,¡± Ye Tian asked hurriedly.


    ¡°Ye Tian, look! We got you some really nice stuff! When you¡¯re bored, or when you¡¯re sick, I¡¯m sure this is going to entertain you,¡± Ma Qian replied but he ignored Ye Tian¡¯s question.


    ¡°Let me see the zoids card!¡± Ye Tian sternly stared at him.


    ¡°Ye Tian, look at these silky golden robe we bought for you. Man, you¡¯re going to look like a real prince! See that hole on the side of your clothes, and look, those pants of yours are almost teared up. We thought about you so much that we bought you so many really nice clothes, and it was on sale!¡± This time Song Han tried to help out using what he does best, his mouth.


    ¡°What you don¡¯t understand me? Am I speaking another language? I ask you to give me the zoids card,¡± Ye Tian kept on asking. He didn¡¯t care whether his clothes were ripped or not. He couldn¡¯t care less if he had to go naked, such trivial matters were of no importance to him.


    Ma Qian stared at Xiang Jiao and the rest, but every single one of them looked down and pretended to do their own things. Eventually, he took out the zoids card and handed it to Ye Tian.


    ¡°What, again? Fuck my life¡­..no I wanna fuck your life! Are you guys stupid or dumb? Lin Yang, I thought I told you to watch over them carefully. From now on, you all will be my slave for the next 10 years without pay!¡± Ye Tian yelled angrily.


    Everyone else did not talk back . They knew they fucked up again, especially Ma Qian and Xiang Jiao. They were never taught some financial skills, in contrast with Lin Yang. For the rest of the night, Ye Tian lectured them through cursing and insulting their intelligence, and nobody dared to retaliate as they sat in their corners waiting to be punished.


    The bazaar event made them quite rich, enough to survive for decades comfortably. They made 8,000,000 zoids, but the crew spent 7,850,000 within one day, mostly on useless stuff. When zoids were in front of them, their mind acted like a brain dead unable to think about anything but to spend till they drop. This was the kind of life they all wanted after suffering from living the poor life.


    Before the night ended, Ye Tian hurriedly ran to meet Wang Rong to tell her that the team will join the ¡°Treasure Mountain¡± event. Fortunately, she still had time to register all of them before the event begin, which was the next morning.


    Throughout the night, one person was unable to sleep due to anger, the others were unable to sleep due to the fear that the angry person would snap at any moment and beat the hell out of them. This night became a restless night for all of the crew, in which they all wished to have amnesia the next morning.

 Chapter 52 – Treasure Mountain

    It was early in the morning, everyone had to wake up in preparation of the upcoming event. The previous night turned out to be a restless night for all of them, which led to bloodshot eyes accompanied by a heavy eye bag beneath it. A tired and unhealthy look were noticeable on their faces as if a ghost were stuck behind them. Nevertheless, everyone wore their armor in preparation of a new battle that is soon to happen. Forced by Ye Tian, they didn¡¯t really have any other choice. This was the only way to make up for their uncontrollable shopping spree that led to near bankruptcy again.


    Song Han was given a new falcon along with other armors and weapons given as a new member of the team. Highly valued armors, if worn, used an ancient technology that would appear as similar as their skin tone, integrating flawlessly with its owner. Even though an ancient armor was given, Song Han still wore another layer of a woman¡¯s outfit, barely fitted that revealed blocky figures of his body instead of curvy.


    ¡°Why are you wearing woman¡¯s clothes again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got no choice¡­.I¡¯ve beaten quite a few young masters from the noble families, hehehe¡±


    Shortly after, they flew towards the treasure mountain. Along the way they saw airships, big and small, flying towards the same direction. Flying beast were also seen in masses, ridden by other cultivators, flying towards the same direction. A black aircraft was seen with the word ¡°Zhao¡± emblem on the aircraft. Many other aircrafts also had their own emblems represented by either family clans, sects, or empires.


    At one point, a huge white battle aircraft, layered by purple colored patterns that resembled a phoenix was seen dominating the sky with other flying beasts surrounding them. Although there was no emblem shown on this aircraft, its sheer size and magnificence outshined the other aircrafts that led to many travelers in front of them to give way.


    Another huge aircraft was seenfrom a different direction, shining its silver platinum silver color with its ancient patterns. Not a single word could be seen on the aircraft that would possinly reveal their origins,but there was a symbol of a tree leaf right on the front of the aircraft spearing its way through the skies. Smaller surrounding aircrafts that flew around this aircraft were actually protectors of what seemed to be a very important and powerful faction in this world.


    Ye Tian wanted to take out his aircraft, but eventually didn¡¯t after thinking about the consumption of monster cores it needed that had emptied out his savings. By the time they arrived at the bottom of the treasure mountain, countless people already arrived, coming from different families and sects from different continents. This was a major rare event that was held every 100 years, so no one wanted to miss the opportunity to obtain a priceless magical treasure. Even from a very far distance, one could already see the visibility of the mountain from the rest of the landscape. It was a gigantic mountain where parts of it were experiencing snowstorms, while other parts were flowing with magma, and other few parts were as ordinary as other mountains. Multiple red veins could be seen from the ground base extending all the way up to the peak of the mountain.


    ¡°Oh Ye Tian, you finally came. Come to my camp, let me explain to you the 10 stratospheres of this treasure mountain. To win, you need to reach the peak of the mountain. Only a few strong fighters were able to reach such heights. Just think of this mountain as having 10 levels. The first 3 levels, you will experience extreme gravity force that will always pull you back to the base of this mountain. The next three levels have illusionary effects. Each individual will experience different types of illusions.¡±


    ¡°The next three level is called ¡®the battlefield level.¡¯ Just like how it sounds, you¡¯re fighting your way to the top against other competitors. It¡¯s important for you all to have great teamwork. You¡¯ll find out later that many sect, families, and empires will send out all their young cultivators, but their true purpose is to help their chosen one to reach the peak.¡±


    ¡°The last level is a bit more mysterious. Past winners were told not to say anything, otherwise, they would die the instant they expose anything. The last level will be entirely up to you. You have to figure out how to reach the peak yourself. Oh, by the way, killing is not allowed anywhere on this mountain¡­.this is the absolute rule from the ruler of this mountain. The moment you kill someone, you will also get killed. From past incidents till now, no one has been able to get away with killing even if they had life-saving treasures with them.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°When one of the volcano erupts, that means the event have started, so prepare everything you need right now.¡±


    Fang Meng had Ma Qian explained to the rest of the team a specific battle formation that could help them during this journey. It was an ancient battle formation that was effectively used against bigger numbers. Fortunately, Ye Tian and the rest quickly understood its principle, but they had no place to practice it. Only time could tell whether they could execute the formation effectively or not.


    Boom!


    Hearing the sound of erupted volcanoes, a force field appeared right at the border of the mountain reaching all the way to the sky. This force field only allowed cultivators at the age of 25 and under to enter, otherwise, older cultivators would turn to ash immediately. Many families and sects started entering, while some others chose to wait a bit later to enter.


    Ye Tian stared at his gang disgustingly like they were some convicted criminals. He still couldn¡¯t let go of what had happened last night. He got robbed twice by his own comrades!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! If you give up easily, I will make sure you will live a horrible life for the rest of your life!¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on¡­.. It¡¯s just zoids man!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Zoids are the extension of my life! For you to take those zoids away from me is like losing parts of my body. How dare you to be so ignorantly shameful.¡±


    The rest could only follow quietly behind Ye Tian as if they became his servants beginning today. Lin Yang could only sigh sadly, one day he was living the high life, the next day he was living a shitty life. Not even a month had passed by, but he has experienced this twice already!


    The moment they entered the force field, an open snow field filled the entire scene. Snows were falling as small as an ant and as big as a boulder crashing to the ground heavily. Trees were abnormal shaped with bones hanging on the branches. Some areas had a sinkhole that was spitting out acid. This was the first stratosphere of the treasure mountain, and some could already feel the heavy gravity pulling them back outside.


    Ye Tian and the rest didn¡¯t feel the gravity force was an obstacle to them on the first stratosphere. In fact, this was a perfect opportunity for Song Han to dive deeper into the law of gravity that would help him gain enlightenment. Climbing up the mountain, they could see some cultivators were crushed by mammoths, and some others were eaten by carnivorous plants. They deserved to die, because alll of them instigated the native inhabitants to fight back. But the moment they died in that place, they didn¡¯t really die, instead, they reappeared at the base of the treasure mountain just right outside the force field.


    The gravity got stronger as they reached the 3rd level. Song Han asked them to stop temporarily while he isolated himself in cultivation mode, hoping to gain an inch of enlightenment into the law of gravity. It only took a few hours until Song Han opened his glittering eyes as if he just made a big progress. As they continued their journey towards the 4<sup>th</sup> stratosphere, Song Han tried out the gravity skill that pushed him upwards. The opposite forces clashing together turned out to work better than expected since it didn¡¯t require him to exert as much strength as the others to reach the next level . However, he never told anyone of his recent progress, instead he pretended to be suffering as the rest of them, continuing to climb up ahead. Ye Tian, on the other hand, had a cultivation that was one realm higher than theirs; thus, the gravity didn¡¯t affect him that much since the very beginning.


    Not far away from them was a group of young cultivators, where a few were carrying a banner that had an appearance of a snow tiger. Hundreds of young cultivators were surrounding each individual, three of them to be exact, but only several young cultivators were seen surrounding the fourth individual. This small group was at the very far end of the primary group. While other groups were demanding and arrogant, the small group were quiet and reserved. The leader was a young tall man with very short black hair. He had a glowing cheek but a shy demeanor. He also looked weaker than most of the cultivators from the rest of the group. Even though he looked weak, he caught Ye Tian¡¯s interest as their eyes gazed each other briefly. The leader smiled genuinely towards Ye Tian while he smiled back in return.


    Song Han also smiled widely at this young man, showing his teeth. His smile was also returned with the same friendly smile the tall young man gave towards Ye Tian. Ye Tian looked at Song Han in disgust.


    ¡°Dumb ass! The people I hate the most in this world are people who copy after me.¡±

 Chapter 53 – Teach Song Han A Lesson

    On the 3rd stratoshere, the gravity force multiplied, leaving only 40% of the cultivators that made it all the way to the 4th stratosphere. Of course, Ye Tian and the gang were more than capable, arriving at the 4th stratosphere without excessive effort. As they were informed by Wang Rong, the next few stratospheres would be illusionary battles against the unknow Afraid to go insane or out of control, many cultivators ended up taking some medicines to calm their mind in preparation for this stage, but Ye Tian and the others had none to use.


    ¡°Ahhhh.¡±


    However, some were already affected by the illusions, taking their medicine too late, that caused them to start whaling on their own group. Others would run astray far away from the pack as if they went insane. Some of the more rare ones were cultivators who ended up groping and kissing each other in broad daylight. Men and women became attracted to each other, while a few others were interested in their own sex. No one really bothered to care since they had to focus on overcoming their own illusions.


    Luckily, Fang Meng taught Ma Qian a spirit formation that would block the illusions from affecting the group, hence, they were able to ascend all the way to the 6th stratosphere quicker than other groups. However, the illusionary effects on this level became exponentially stronger than the previous levels, proving that anyone that wanted to leave the 6th stratosphere required a resilient mind.


    As it turned out, the worst situation occured for Ye Tian''s group as they had to overcome the strongest illusionary effects.If a person was affected from the 4th or 5th stratosphere, the illusions would be several times weaker than the 6th stratosphere. What turned out to be a good strategy in the beginning became the worst strategy for Ye Tian¡¯s group.


    Lin Yang became the first to be affected as he took out his sword in preparation of what he thought to be a battle. What he saw in front of him was a familiar battle scene that he recently experienced, but within his illusions, the people he was fighting against was his family! Heended up fighting for the enemy, where he had to fight his own family members, especially his caring father!


    Another scene played out, this time, Ma Qian was at the brothel defending the ladies of the house, including his Aunt, from an army of despicable nobles and corrupted officials. Bloody and tired, he kept fighting back relentlessly with nowhere else to go.


    Ye Tian, on the other hand, was in a situation where his younger sisters didn¡¯t recognize him anymore, instead, attacking him viciously as if they were mortal enemied.A Xue family protector joined hands with the sisters a short while later. The worst scenario happened when a group of masked men suddenly came to help the sisters in killing him. Was the Xue family a part of the conspiracy? Did he made a grave mistake by asking the Xue family to adapt his younger sisters?


    ¡°Ye Chun, Ye Xue, it¡¯s me, big brother! Stop this. I will never try to hurt any of you. Who are these other people?¡±


    ¡°Who are you? We don¡¯t know you! We only know you are the enemy of the Xue family! Die!¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re mistaken! I was the one that brought you to the Xue family, and I know the Xue family are righteous people!¡±


    ¡°The Xue family is definitely righteous, but you are not!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m not righteous, nor have I been a good brother to you. What I¡¯ve done will never be forgiven, but I wanted you all to live a happy life. I never wanted either of you to be dragged into a bloody road that I have taken. But as your big brother, I¡¯m responsible for my own sins, but I also know that I will never allow my own sisters to hurt the innocent by being ignorant and blind to the truth! This is not how our parents taught us!¡±


    Ye Tian was no longer afraid of fighting back, as he burst forward, stabbing one of the masked men¡¯s forehead. The body vaporized into thin air, revealing a tiny devilish creature that tried to escape, but Ye Tian caught it with his hands and squeezed it until it burst into pieces. Another masked man followed the same fate, leaving the youngers sister to continue attacking him. Ye Tian never fought back, afraid of hurting them, which resulted to some wounds. While he struggled to think another way out of this situation, suddenly, he could hear an echoing voice, whispering to him. It was not only Ye Tian who could hear this voice, but the rest of the gang as well.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Truth, onthe other hand, are painful, and have no regard to anyone¡¯s comfort. It can shatter worlds or build a new one. Great and extraordinary courage is needed to hear the truth while lies require nothing big or small.¡±


    What was done was done, accepting the truth and moving forward was the sliver of hope of changing one''s path to freedom. Ye Tian no longer hesitated as he opened his eyes filled with new wisdom.


    ¡°Burn! You treacherous creatures.¡±


    The sisters screamed in pain from the intense burning, but that was just a disguise, as the small creatures were the ones who controlled the illusions. The small creatures ended up burning to ashes, unable to escape from the flames of death. The protector was the only one left who had considerable strength over Ye Tian, but Ye Tian dashed forward, confronting the protector with a very calm demeanor.


    Ye Tian appeared like a burning god surrounded by crimson flames. He took his first step, this was the first step to the heavens skill, unleashing a fist that shattered through the protector¡¯s sword while continuing to plunge forward aiming at the head, but it was blocked by the protector''s arms, crushing half of his bones. Without stopping, Ye Tian initiated the second step unleashing another fist where his flames grew brighter and wild, his speed became faster, his attack became stronger than ever that successfully drilled through the protector¡¯s chest area while grabbing the small devilish creature and crushing him into nonexistence.


    A few breaths passed until Ye Tian woke up from the illusions, looking at the grass field surrounded by beautiful flowers and a flowing river. He looked around only to see everyone else overcame their illusions much earlier than he did, as he was the last one to regain his senses back. Everyone was seen to be cultivating except for Song Han.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally back,¡± Xiang Jiao said.


    ¡°Yeah¡­.how long has it been?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Three days. Most have regained their consciousness on the second day.¡±


    ¡°¡­.Thanks.¡±


    Ye Tian spoke those words because the voice he heard during the illusion was actually Xiang Jiao¡¯s voice! This crazy monk, under unexpected curcumstances, could speak out a touch of great wisdom during crucial times. It was also the trigger to overcoming Ye Tian¡¯s second step to the heavens skill ¨C separation.


    ¡°Lalalalala¡­..lalalala¡­..LALALA!¡±


    Ye Tian looked into the distance towards the nearby river, he could see Song Han taking a shower while singing loudly without a care in the world as if he didn¡¯t care whether there were other people nearby or not. In fact, there were other groups who have rested near the river, and they could only stare at Song Han with disgust because the moment he took off his woman¡¯s outfit, he instantly shattered many of the boys fantasies. Even after knowing that he was being stared at, he tried to make a bigger play out of this opportunity.


    ¡°Lalalalalaaaaaaaa¡­¡­Whooooooooo!¡±


    Song Han was dancing in a circular motion, splashing water made the effect even more dramatic. He pretended to dance like how a woman would dance with gentle hand gestures and a bashful face. To top it off, he spun many times while spreading his arm in a carefree motion that caused his little worm to peek out of the bush due to the spinning momentum.


    Some boys threw up, some girls had a bashful smile, others boys and girls hid their drools. Many were angry from Song Han¡¯s childish act.


    ¡°You! Dress up right now! Have you no shame?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still showering¡­..lalalala¡­¡­.this is true freedom!¡±


    Song Han replied without a care, then pecked his chest multiple times to ensure the others could see it. This, however, finally instigated others to jump out and attacked Song Han. There were plenty of people who wanted to beat him previously, but who would want to beat a naked man? Now, they really had no choice but to teach Song Han a lesson.


    ¡°Ahhh, you piece of shit!¡±


    Boom!


    ¡°Bitch¡±


    ¡°Aarrgh¡±


    Bam!


    ¡°No, not there, Aooooooo¡­..¡±


    Lin Yang wanted to help Song Han, but Ye Tian stopped him from doing so. And so, the beating went on for a bit until everyone stopped and returned to their own base camp.


    Song Han was seeing lying down, bruised up and bloodied all over his face and body. There were even teeth marks on his nipple area and near the thighs. But he was not the only one bruised up, there were dozens of others who attacked him that were as injured as he was. This unexpected result caused others to think twice of attacking him from now on, some even feared his ferocity and unwillingness to back down.


    Song Han got up in anger walking towards Ye Tian.


    ¡°You bastard! You lied to me! You broke our agreement!¡±


    ¡°We never broke our agreement. We said we will help you if someone else tried to instigate something, but in this case, you were the one asking for trouble,¡± Ye Tian replied while playing with some rocks that he was about to throw at Song Han when he was dancing around.


    ¡°Screw you bitches! The meaning of our agreement is too broad. I hate you guys¡­.you played me!¡±

 Chapter 54 – If You Want War, We Will Give You War!

    ¡°Song Han, shut up and sit down.¡±


    ¡°No, make me!¡±


    Boom!


    Ye Tian and the others jumped at Song Han and started beating him again. It only took a few breaths to submit Song Han into a quiet slave, which was far faster than the earlier group that attacked him, shocking the nearby groups.


    Beside the tall man from the small group earlier, a young cultivator whispered something to him.


    ¡°Young lord Min Hao, we should recruit them. They are strong and could help you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Brother Chu, we cannot scheme nor do we have the power to recruit them as much as I want to befriend them. Only destiny could tell¡­.¡± Min Hao explained. His eyes were pondering at Ye Tian''s group,knowing that these people were very special. Although the other groups admitted that Song Han was strong, they didn¡¯t bother to recruit Song Han or anyone else from Ye Tian¡¯s group. They never believed they were inferior in any way, plus the overwhelming numbers they had it made it even more convincing.


    Although Song Han was bruised up, a little healing potion healed most of his injuries in no time. A beautiful night ensued, filled with green and red northern lights glowing in the sky. Everyone who had passed the illusionary stage rested for the night, enjoying the night scenery. This time, only a quarter of those who passed the first 3 stratospheres, succeeded in coming out of their own illusion battles. The failure rates were increasing significantly on every level, leaving only the elites of the original group to fight the rest of the battle.


    Although the night was filled with beautiful northern lights, deep inside everyone¡¯s hearts, many were nervous, because tomorrow would be the day the true battle begins against other cultivators. This was a test of who has the superior combat skills among the elites of this generation.


    The next morning, everyone headed to the next stratosphere, cautiouslyscouting at the other group¡¯s movements in fear of a sneak attack.


    ¡°Min Hao, you¡¯ve reached the seventh stratosphere. That should be enough for you, now go back!¡± a young man said.


    ¡°Brother Min Bei, I still wish to continue on this journey. I have not held the group back in any way. If you feel that is the case, then I will separate from the main group to avoid being a liability¡± Min Hao replied respectfully.


    ¡°Hahaha Min Hao, your cultivation is too low. You¡¯re probably the weakest among our group. Don¡¯t dream too big, you will fall harder when you try to overreach your ability,¡± another young man interfered.


    ¡°Brother Min Dong, while it is true that I might be the weakest in terms of cultivation, I still wish to test my limits. Since brother Min Bei and brother Min Dong do not wish to see me in the same group, I will take my friends to a different path,¡± Min Hao responded.


    ¡°No! You will go back now!¡±


    ¡°May I ask the reason why you want me to go back so soon?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t question me, son of a traitor! Go back now!¡±


    ¡°Brother Min Bei, brother Min Dong, since we have different opinions, I will no longer bother you and use a different road instead. Thank you.¡±


    Boom! Kaboom!


    Both the young men who opposed Min Hao, attacked him with a vicious agenda. Min Hao¡¯s friends tried to intervene, but Min Hao stopped them from interfering. Unable to defend the attacks of two peak great dao realm fighters, Min Hao crashed to the ground with a bloody mouth.


    ¡°This is your warning, if you take another step, I won¡¯t hesitate to beat you again,¡± Min Bei warned.


    ¡°You should thank Prince Min Bei for being considerate,¡± a man yelled out from the crowd, who seemed to be one of Min Bei¡¯s followers.


    Min Hao got up, but kept quiet, instead he took a step forward again.


    Boom! Bam! Boom!


    Min Hao was covering his head with his arms, trying to defend against the two princes was an impossible task that left him wounded far than before. They were scheming to kill him or at least cripple him from the continuous attack aimed at the head.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°You traitor! Go back! You don¡¯t deserve to be near our princes. A trash like you can never reach the talents of our young princes,¡± another woman yelled out.


    Blood fell all over his face, his forearm broken from the countless attacks, nevertheless, he struggled himself to get up and walk another step forward, determined to walk his own path.


    ¡°Brother Min Bei, brother Min Dong, I do not wish to seek trouble. I only want to test my limits. My friends and I have never relied or bothered you throughout this journey. We can go our own separate ways,¡± Min Hao said, still in a respectful tone.


    Boom! Bam! Wham!


    ¡°Aargh!¡±


    A bunch of young cultivators within the prince¡¯s group dashed forward planning to attack Min Hao, but his friends countered their strikes that left some of the attackers screaming in pain. Although Min Hao''s group were few in numbers, they were superior quality-wise with peak great dao cultivators supporting him.


    ¡°Prince Min Bei, Prince Min Dong¡­.please stop this. Min Hao is also your brother and a prince of the Min Kingdom. He has every right to go to wherever he pleases. We¡¯re not bothering you nor are we a threat to you, look at the other groups that are climbing ahead of us. Shouldn¡¯t you be worried about that instead?¡± a friend of Min Hao calmly said. Although they were vastly outnumbered, they still did not fear in continuing to protect Min Hao.


    ¡°Bai Tu, a son of a traitor is not brother of mine. You¡¯re overstepping your boundaries for such an ordinary noble such as yourself. This is our final warning, go back or we will cripple you!¡±


    Amongst the crowds witnessing this scene, were Ye Tian''s gang standing aside while watching these despicable brothers bullying another. Deep inside their hearts, they wanted to tear apart these so called princes, whom obviously had evil intentions against Min Hao, forcing them to go back for unknown reasons.


    ¡°Brother Min Bei, brother Min Dong, we will bother you no longer. It is pointless for us to be fighting against each other while others are taking advantage of this opportunity to race ahead of us. We will go our own separate ways from now on,¡± Min Hao explained, walking into a different direction.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to cripple you!,¡± Min Dong yelled out.


    Clash! Boom! Boom!


    Although outnumbered, Min Hao and his friends continued to defend themselves, but their defenses were soon to be torn down by the vast numbers of their opponents. Just when Min Dong was almost about to land a vicious sneak attack on Min Hao, a shadowy figure appeared lightning quick, bashing Min Dong to the ground violently.


    ¡°Arrghhhh.¡±


    Massive blood sprayed out from Min Dong as he struggled to stand back up.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there? Who dares to hit Prince Min Dong? Leave your head here or we will kill the rest of your family.¡± a young man from the crowd said.


    ¡°Stop talking big. I¡¯m right here. If you want my head, come at me!¡± the shadowy figure was actually Ye Tian, who stood there with no intention of escaping, instead, staring seriously at the boy who just spoke out.


    Min Bei and Min Dong looked at Ye Tian cautiously trying to find the right opportunity to attack him. Ye Tian was smiling because the man who just called him out never stepped forward. It was only a coward who tried to suck up to the princes when the opportunity arose.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± someone yelled out, it was the same man who was hiding from the crowd.


    Before the group had time to make their first move, Ye Tian¡¯s group went on a massacre spree, causing many to be bloodily wounded. Xiang Jiao focused on locking on that coward, quickly moving towards him, bashing his head and breaking his bones to pieces that left the man crippled.


    Bam! Wham!


    ¡°Arrgghh¡±


    ¡°Ahhhh, don¡¯t kill me! You¡¯re not allowed to kill people here.¡±


    Kaboom!


    ¡°Kill them all,¡± Min Bei yelled in frustration. He didn''t care any longer if he broke the rules or not.


    The battle intensified immensely. Even though they were greatly outnumbered, Ye Tian and the gang never retreated. They continued to inflict heavy damage against their opponents ignoring their own wounds.


    ¡°We must help him,¡± Min Hao said. His friends agreed and joined the fight.


    It didn''t take long until the ground and even the grass fields were stained with the color of blood. A chaotic battle ensued where screams of horror and pain were heard frequently. The bystanders from different factions could only stood there, unwilling to join the battle, even though they knew Ye Tian''s group were actually winning convincingly.


    Blood leaked out on Ye Tian¡¯s faces and the others, but there were no sign of tiredness or severe pain. The more people they injured, the more excited they got.


    ¡°Who are you? This is none of your business. If you leave now, we will forget this ever happened. We only want Min Hao and his group, because they¡¯ve betrayed us!¡± Min Dong said trying to convince the other crowds who were watching.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know who I am. Why don¡¯t you get the fuck out of here! If I wanted to kill you, I would¡¯ve done it a long time ago,¡± Ma Qian yelled out.


    ¡°You! You think you can beat us all? Who do you think you are? Even if we can¡¯t kill you here, we will eventually kill you once this is over,¡± Min Bei angrily said.


    Ye Tian and the others only smiled devilishly, until Ye Tian spoke up. In just a short amount of time, they have injured a vast number of people in a very dominant performance. Stained by his opponents blood, what he was about to shout not only would convince many of the bystanders to believe what he meant, his unparalleled strength was already convincing enough that made people''s hearts to shutter in fear.


    ¡°If you want war,we will give you war!¡±

 Chapter 55 – Xue Family

    Unfortunately for the Min princes, their arroganceand the sheer numbers of their group blinded them to think they could still end up as victors in this battle.


    ¡°Go! Cripple them!¡±


    With a bunch of great dao cultivators as opponents, Ye Tian and the gang were actually enjoying the battle, pulverizing their enemies without the risk of a life and death situation. It felt more like a practice session where target practices were everywhere that would allow them to improve their martial skills. Although from time to time, they were hit due to the vast numbers surrounding them, they would return the attack tenfold. After about an hour, the ground was painted with the color of blood where many cultivators were lying on the ground in extreme pain. Very few were able to stand, Min Bei and Min Dong were among the few that could, because Ye Tian wanted to save the best for last.


    ¡°Do you still want to continue?¡± Ye Tian asked.


    ¡°Fuck off!¡±


    Both Min Bei and Min Dong quickly took out magical items that exuded a powerful killing intent!


    ¡°That¡¯s the Punishment scroll and the tiger king! They¡¯re magical items that could kill supreme dao warriors.¡±


    ¡°To be a prince of a kingdom¡­.so lucky¡­..they have some magical treasures that could protect their lives and also cheat at the same time.¡±


    The bystanders could immediately recognize these magical items, famous for its killing aura aura that exceeded the strength of a great dao weapon.


    The punishment scroll transformed into a Scythe striking down on Ye Tian, while the tiger king was a magical beast at the supreme dao realm, roaring its way to tear Ye Tian apart. Unwilling to wait, Ye Tian made his first move, summoning a water sabre that slashed upward with the intent to split the scythe in half.


    Woosh!


    Ye Tian¡¯s saber sliced through the scythe easily, then quickly swung his saber again, blocking the tiger¡¯s jaws that would''ve chump down on him. Another water sabre appeared between Ye Tian¡¯s hands as he quickly slashed downwards, decapitating the tiger king¡¯s head in one blow. Bystanders were in awe! Not only could Ye Tian defend these two magical items simultaneously, but could also destroy them within a few strikes.


    Ye Tian wasn¡¯t done yet as he dashed forward towards the Min princes with phantom speed.


    Bam!


    Before they realized it, unable to see the speed of Ye Tian, they felt something extremely tight grabbing their heads, slamming them into the ground violently that resulted in a small pit.


    ¡°Let us go! You¡¯re not allowed to kill here! We¡¯re going to kill you when we get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and how are you going to do that? With your own capability? Or using your kingdom¡¯s protectors?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..¡±


    Even though Ye Tian bashed them to the ground, he never intended to kill them from the start. Just at this moment, Min Hao walked up, respectfully clasping his hand towards Ye Tian.


    ¡°Friend, thank you for helping us. I might be crossing my boundaries, but could you please let my brothers go this one time?¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to let them go when you know they want to cripple you?¡±


    ¡°Friend¡­..I¡¯m used to their ways of trickery. Even if they¡¯ve tried to cripple me, they are still my brothers. If you cripple them now, even I can¡¯t stop the Min kngdom¡¯s forces from hunting you.¡±


    ¡°Then what happens the next time if they try to cripple you again?¡±


    ¡°So let it be, friend. I can only blame myself for being too weak. But if you let them go, I will notify the elders to ensure that the Min forces won¡¯t hunt you down for this event.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Even though Ye Tian disagreed with in Hao''s methods, killing them here would definitely create a a life-threatening trouble for him and his friends. Releasing them would at least avoid some setbacks. While he continued to glare at Min Hao, he eventually threw the two princes to the ground before leaving th battle scene. With the conflict in conclusion, it led to some of the bystanders to gossip about the origins of Ye Tian and the others.


    ¡°They must be the chosen from powerful sects or families, otherwise, they can¡¯t be this strong.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. I¡¯ve seen some chosen disciples from strong sects, and none of them could come close to these guys¡­..too scary.¡±


    ¡°I agree, I¡¯ve even battled a chosen before. Even though I lost, I still sense these guys are even much stronger than the chosen I sparred against.¡±


    Even though Ye Tian¡¯s group already disappeared, the others were still talking about them. Min Hao could only sigh while looking at his brothers before separating from them with his small group. The princes, who were still on the ground, viciously glared at Min Hao heading into the distance, scheming for their next revenge the next time they would meet.


    Meanwhile skirmishes occurred in different places between different groups, however the stronggroups were left alone. None dared to start a fight against these few groups, one of them was a group with a ¡°Xue¡± character embroidered on their robes, another had a ¡°Sima¡± banner carried out by some of the disciples. These groups were considered the most powerful, often called the geniuses of the upcoming generation that would someday become influential figures. Up ahead at the 8th stratosphere, the first group that arrived was actually a mysterious small group. They carried no banners, nor were there characters or symbols embroidered on their clothes, but they easily passed through the previous stratospheres almost seamlessly without anyone noticing them. Even if they did, the group exuded an aura of mysteriousness, purposely hiding their faces with hats and headscarfs that would cover most of their appearance.


    ¡°Older sister, are we here to recruit more people? Or are we aiming for the magical treasure?¡± one of the young man said.


    ¡°No, Uncle told us to come just in case we find those descendants. Uncle should¡¯ve arrived at the Divine Prophet¡¯s home to seek advice. Make sure not to stand out.¡±


    ¡°Ohhhhhhh, big sis, I¡¯m no troublemaker. It¡¯s just we haven¡¯t seen that bloodline for a while now. I¡¯m afraid¡­.¡±


    ¡°Hushhhh, don¡¯t you dare speak another word about it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­sorry.¡±


    The moment they disappeared from the 8th stratosphere, three groups arrived running side by side, with Ye Tian¡¯s group in the middle of the pack. Ye Tian¡¯s group were well aware that the other two groups were in collusion to attack them.


    Boom! Boom! Kaboom!


    Song Han and Ma Qian made the first move with wide-array attacks where Song Han¡¯s sound wave attack blasted several cultivators, and Ma Qian¡¯s massive vines erupted from the ground , holding many cultivators in place. Meanwhile, Xiang Jiao¡¯s nirvana ring split into two rings floating on each of his side as he punched outwards towards the ring.


    Screechhhhh!


    Responding to Xiang Jiao''s punches, the ring quickly rotated, blasting two beams towards the other two groups where it only left behind tracks of destruction. Only three people from Ye Tian¡¯s group initiated the attack, yet over half of their opponents were either screaming in pain or fell unconscious. Ye Tian had a wicked smile while staring at their leaders.


    ¡°Come if you dare!¡±


    Never did these leaders thought their group could be wiped out with just a few moves. They were overpowered, but what made them more furious was that one of them agreed to help the two princes of the Min Kingdom in exchange of some treasures, while the other had a secret grudge against Ye Tian''s group while carrying the "Zhao" banner. What a mistake that was. With the leaders admitting defeat, Ye Tian¡¯s group moved on towards the 9th stratosphere. The 8th stratosphere was already 50,000 meters above the ground, where the heavenly qi was scarce.


    At the peak of the 8th stratosphere, Ye Tian met several groups battling each other. Two groups were attacking one group, which happened to be the Xue family! The battle continued all the way to the ninth stratosphere without any interference from Ye Tian or the very few groups that were able to make it to the ninth stratosphere. There were seven remaining groups by now, each with only a dozen or less members from their original numbers. These were the strongest of the strongest who were able to make it to the 9th stratosphere.


    The remaining groups that stood at the ninth stratotsphere were the Xing Empire, White Moon Sect, the unknown mysterious group that arrived first, and Ye Tian¡¯s group. Not far from them were the Xue family fighting against the Sima family and the True Gods sect.


    Although they were battling with no clear victor, a group of masked men came out of nowhere to join the attack against the Xue family. Ye Tian¡¯s eyes shook wildly. His heart, filled with anger, was wildly beating inconsistently. This is the third time he saw a group of masked men and every single time they appeared, they killed people! Ye Tian was gripping his hands so tightly, a sip of blood came out of his flesh. What made his blood boil to insanity was that these masked men resembled the same group that massacred his village, wearing the same masks and outfit!


    Can Ye Tian finally find out who these people are? Why did they appear here out of the blue? And who¡¯s the mastermind that has been instigating all these recent events, creating chaos wherever they appear?

 Chapter 56 - Trap

    With the sudden appearance of the masked men, Ye Tian decide to engage in battle in search for answers. Within the chaos of the battle, he was able to recognize Xue Mei, the daughter of the Xue family, who''s also the new foster family of his younger sisters. He had to help no matter what the situation was. On the other hand, the mysterious group that arrived the earliest stood within the shadows watching the chaotic battle.


    "Sister Mei, leave this place. They''ve been planning this from the start and they won''t allow us to escape alive....I''m sure of it."


    "No, we will leave together no matter what!"


    Meanwhile, in another land far away from this place, a middle-aged man that was holding a spear, kneeled in front of a small and plainless cabin.


    "Divine prophet, I''ve come to humbly ask for your prophecy in search of the divine talent." the middle-aged man asked respectfully while never raising his head.


    "Haha...little Mo, you''ve grown quite a bit since I''ve last seen you. The pond has been reacting abnormally these past few days. Be patient little Mo."


    "Yes, divine prophet."


    After waiting for a whole day, an azure pond could be seen floating in the sky, but what made it more amazing was that it seemed to be hanging upside-down. Suddenly, the water rippled making huge waves until it formed a character "Guardian," which it continued to beam towards the ground. The waves of water splattering in nearby areas caused the plants, trees, and flowers to grow more exquisite than ever before. Half a day passed, where little Mo continued to kneel down, unwilling to move because he was shaken from the prophecy. But another event caused him to freeze in shock.


    The floating pond started to ripple more violently than before, creating tsunamis clashing with one another, until it formed the word "Conqueror," bursting towards the ground. The impact caused the nearby lands to tremble 10 times, shaking even the hearts of little Mo and the divine prophet.


    Trembling with fear and excitement, little Mo''s eyes were wide opened, unwilling to forget the scene taking place in front of him.


    "Divine prophet, please excuse my offense....I need to tell grandma about this matter."


    "Unn, go this is an important matter.....it seems the future is more unclear...."


    After bowing to the divine prophet, little Mo quickly left until he reached outside of the forest. Immediately, he took out a rusty mirror pointing it towards the sky, where an image was projected from the rusty mirror. Back at the treasure mountain, the mysterious group saw the projected image high up in the sky, revealing a crimson star in the middle surrounded by white moons. Their eyes sparkled with hope, but the other groups could only frown, unable to determine the meaning of this projected image. It only lasted for several breaths, but very few people knew the meaning of this event.


    A woman within the mysterious group also took out a small mirror, reflecting it towards each cultivators in sight. The lack of reaction from the small mirror caused the woman to be confused. She scanned each cultivator again to make sure nothing was wrong, but the small mirror still didn''t show any reaction.


    "Big sis, what happened? Are they among them?"


    "I don''t know. There is no reaction from the mirror....could Uncle have been mistaken?"


    "You know Uncle don''t like to exaggerate things..."


    "I scanned all of them twice, but nothing happened. For the time being, let''s continue to monitor the fighters in front of us. If you sensed something, tell us."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Somewhere deep inside the treasure mountain, unknown to the rest, appeared a flaming wolf and a gigantic boulder floating around the magma pool.


    "Hmppphhh! They dare to put on a spirit formation in my territory! I will kill all of them! This is what you get trying to play behind my back....hehehe," the boulder spoke.


    "Do you want me to kill these trespassers, master?" the flaming dog replied.


    "No, just a bunch of idiots that will die in a few seconds," the boulder said.


    Somewhere around the treasure mountain, a group of masked men were seen to form spirit formations on the terrain of the ninth stratosphere.


    Kaboom!


    "Aarrrghhhh!"


    Suddenly, massive boulders descended from the sky pulverizing the masked men. Those who barely escaped the massacre, felt another tragic sensation, when a sinkhole suddenly appeared out of nowhere sucking them inside forcefully. Screaming voices of pain could be heard when the remaining masked-men fell into a pool of magma after falling from the sinkhole. It only took a few breaths of time until the cries quieted down.


    Resuming the battle happening outside, the Xue family, who were already surrounded like a pack of sheeps, were still holding strong. With Ye Tian''s group breaking through the enemy''s trap formation, the Xue family were able to react quickly and retreated outside the formation, joining Ye Tian''s group side by side.


    "Thank you for your help, friend," a young man from the Xue family said.


    "Don''t mention it. We''re not helping you. We only want the masked-men," Ye Tian directly replied.


    "It''s you!," Xue Mei said after finally recognizing Ye Tian.


    "The one and only." Ye Tian replied with a smile.


    It has only been a few months since they''ve met each other, and although they''ve encountered each other twice before this event, Ye Tian and Xue Mei could immediately recognize each other. In Ye Tian''s mind, he would never forget the faces of the Xue family who adapted his sisters. In Xue Mei''s mind, she could still remember when they bumped into each other. The scene of Ye Tian limping while blood continuing to drip made the sorrowful event unforgettable for her. To top it off, after finding out Ye Tian''s true cultivation realm, it shocked her to the extreme revealing a new sense of respect and admiration. Everyone thought she was a genius competing for the number one spot in her generation, but where would the standing be if a genius is compared to a monster like Ye Tian?


    "Why are the masked men after you?" Ye Tian continued.


    "We don''t know. They suddenly appeared and joined hands with our rivals, but we didn''t know they were seriously trying to kill us."


    "Sima family and the True Gods sect....why are you trying to kill us? Aren''t you afraid that you will be killed by the master of this mountain?" another Xue cultivator asked.


    "Hahaha, we have our own ways of getting away with it. The bigger question is you, why are you helping the Xue family. I advice you not to interfere unless you want to be killed as well," a leader from the True God sect said while viciously staring at Ye Tian. The leader purposely released a heavy killing aura, intending to intimidate Ye Tian.


    "Me? You don''t need to mind me. You can kill them if you want, but I want those masked-men in return," Ye Tian calmly replied.


    "Hahaha...what a joke! I''ve never seen you and never heard of you, obviously you''re just a trash trying to gain favors with the Xue family," another man said. This time it was the leader from the Sima family.


    "You don''t need to know who I am, but you need to know that I''m more than capable of killing you!" Ye Tian replied confidently revealing a wicked smile.


    "Tschhh....kill all of them! Leave no one alive!"the Sima leader yelled out.


    "Wait! Qi Mo, you''re a true god sect. I never thought you would join hands with the Sima family...but why?" Xue Mei said.


    "Xue Mei, your family and your father are too arrogant, always getting in our way. It''s time to show you all that you will face heavy consequences for going against us every time," Qi Mo replied.


    "You know the Sima family schemes often to have the throne, and they''ve killed so many people that opposes them. Although the true god sect is not happy with the current emperor, the sect has never gone to such extreme as killing the innocents," Xue Mei explained.


    "Times have changed, we''re sick of the current regime. In order to make some drastic changes, we need to get rid of some people. Everyone don''t waste any more time. Kill them all!" Qi Mo replied.


    Even though Ye Tian have decided to join the fray supported by an unspoken alliance with the Xue family, half of the Xue family were heavily injured. At this point, they could barely defend themselves. How will they escape from this trap when their opponents have three times as much fighting force in this battle?

 Chapter 57 - Two elements

    Unwilling to put themselves in a defensive position, Ye Tian''s group made the first move giving them a chance to cripple the opponent''s vast numbers.


    "Suck it!"


    "Fuck it!"


    "Lick it"


    Song Han released multiple sound-wave attacks repeatedly, focusing on the Sima group. The overpowering strength of Song Han''s attack caused major injuries to many of the Sima''s group. Those who were able to block it had their arms painfully burnt, and some had their arms broken from the deadly impact. Xiang Jiao didn''t wait either as he separated his nirvana ring into single beads, directing some of them towards the true god sect''s group. Each bead had different functions, where one of the bead released a gas full of mist, while another bead released a piercing sound attack, causing his opponents to bleed in the ears. Ma Qian took it a bit further than the other two (actually he lost control due to excitement) unleashing hundreds of punches and kicks by creating temporary voids within the battle.


    "Aahhhh! Get your filthy hands off of me."


    Those who screamed in shock were actually the remaining female cultivators. Within the mist created by Xiang Jiao, Ma Qian took the opportunity to squeeze their bosoms and pinched their butts. Ye Tian, on the other hand, had ignored the leaders of the Sima clan and the true god sect, instead dashed forward towards the masked men.


    "Hahaha, you fool! Such arrogance."


    "Trying to beat all of us with just you....truly an idiot."


    To their surprise, Ye Tian had already passed by them and appeared in front of the masked-men. A huge axe striked down on Ye Tian, while not far away from the axe, a group of poisonous snakes also flew towards him. Gathering his hands together, a sword water was formed that immediately sliced through the axe so effortlessly. Ye Tian spun his body and landed a powerful elbow towards his opponent''s abdomen, causing his opponent to fly several meters away while spurting out blood in the air. The poisonous snakes had already arrived in front of Ye Tian, but he quickly manipulated his swords to spin in circular motion, blocking the snakes from advancing further. It didn''t stop there as Ye Tian summoned a small water-dagger, where he immediately threw it towards the snake summoner, successfully stabbing his shoulder.


    Two other masked-men joined in to help their comrades, but they met the same fate as Ye Tian was too quick, easily evading their attacks and countering it with his own attack.


    "Leave this to us!"


    Another masked man who didn''t get involve spoke out. Beside him was another fighter. Their mature voice convinced the crowds to conclude these people were nearing the limit age of 25 years old. Both also seemed to be the strongest of the group, confidently unleashing a different aura than the rest with a devilish smile showed on their face.


    "Early supreme dao realm!" some of the bystanders shouted in surprise.


    "You had your chance of not getting involved. By the time we end this, you''ll regret what you did...hahaha," one of the supreme dao fighter said.


    Ye Tian calmly smiled at them, but his eyes also showed a beast that just found his prey. He took one step before suddenly appearing in front of the fighter, punching the opponent''s face. The other fighter, shocked that he couldn''t see Ye Tian''s speed, slashed his long claws towards Ye Tian. Unfortunately, Ye Tian was too quick; Using his phantom speed, he quickly moved behind the fighter he just punched, then kicked him towards the clawed fighter. Blindsided by the flying body, Ye Tian sneakily followed behind the flying body, and upon close encounter with the clawed fighter he threw another punch at the back of the flying body. The punch didn''t look anything special, butsomehow both of the fighters felt immense pain on their qi that led them crashing to the ground.


    "How can this be? He''s also in the supreme dao realm, but why is he much stronger than us?" one of the injured fighter said while wiping blood from his mouth.


    "Brother, should we use the pill?"


    "....I don''t think we have any other choice. If we fail to kill the Xue family, then we''ll end up dead as well. Even the Sima family and the true god sect are struggling fighting against those other guys."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    After eating a red pill, both of their auras slowly continued to grow all the way to the middle stage.....and then the peak stage of the supreme dao realm! They were screaming in pain as their cultivation became wildly unstable, but that didn''t stop them from continuing to increase their cultivation base.


    Boom!


    It only lasted a few breaths, but their aura had changed into something much more powerful than before, and much more stable than previously. The burst in their aura had led these fighters to reach the early Infinite Dao realm! After increasing their cultivation one full realm higher, they exuded a new gain of confidence, leaving Ye Tian to frown seriously. If such a pill could significantly increase one''s cultivation, why haven''t he heard of this and why have the rest not used it yet? Ye Tian though to himself that there must be a setback after taking this pill.


    "This is impossible," one of the bystanders said.


    "Infinite dao realm! This....is not right!" another said.


    "It''s time for you all to die!," one of the infinite dao fighter yelled.


    "My slaves! I will handle these two, you take care of the rest.....If I die, then run for your life!" Ye Tian yelled out a rare instruction towards his group. Surprisingly, none of his group talked back. Only the Xue family and the bystanders were a bit puzzled on why Ye Tian would call his friends "slaves."


    Ye Tian didn''t bother hiding his true realm any further. This was the first time he had to take it seriously considering that he had to face two infinite dao fighters in a life and death battle. Two elements slowly appeared swirling around Ye Tian, where one element formed a water dragon, the other element formed a flame dragon.


    "Law of Fire and Law of Water!" Xue Mei whispered to herself repeatedly. She was too shocked to see what was happening, in fact, many others had inconceivable expressions on their faces. Mastering one law was already very difficult, not to mention two, it was an extremely rare occurrence throughout history. What made others in absolute envy was that Ye Tian did not just master any ordinary laws, he comprehended laws that were known to be the most difficult and mysterious laws, which no one has mastered in history!


    "This is too crazy! Everyone is cheating!" a bystander said.


    "Life is unfair...." another one sighed.


    The mysterious group never spoke a word as they continued to watch the battle, but some were trembling while others could be seen with glittering eyes after seeing such a miracle.


    Ye Tian didn''t wait for them to attack, transforming into both a water dragon and a crimson dragon piercing their way towards both opponents.


    "Roar!"


    Each elemental dragon attacked, separating both fighters away from each other. The water dragon roared its way, opening its jaws towards the opponent''s head, but it was blocked by the machetes held by one of the fighter. When the fighter felt some relieve blocking the water dragon, Ye Tian suddenly came out of the dragon, carrying a dagger and quickly stabbed his opponent. Unfortunately, the opponent reacted quickly enough to slightly move his head, causing the dagger to be stabbed on of his left eye instead of his forehead. With the other fighter was distracted by the other elemental dragon, Ye Tian continuously used a variety of combination to slash his opponent even though he also received multiple cuts from his opponent.


    Seeing that his comrade was barely hanging on defending Ye Tian''s attacks, the other fighter yelled out, " Come out!."


    A huge cobra came and repeatedly clashed against the flame dragon. While using this distraction, the other fighter dashed towards Ye Tian swinging his sharp claws aiming for Ye Tian''s neck. Ye Tian summoned a water shield to block the claws, but it wasn''t strong enough as the claws pierced through the shield, and continued to slightly pierce Ye Tian''s right arm. Ye Tian quickly retreated, summoning back his elemental dragons to swirl around him.


    Boom! Bam! Bam! Boom!


    The battle continued a clear winner as Ye Tian clashed hundreds of times against the two fighters, using different diversions of the twin dragons to attack his opponents and defend himself . Ye Tian was sometimes successful in wounding his opponents, because no one knew which dragon held the real body of Ye Tian. Sometimes, he would incorporate himself within the crimson dragon, and other times he would incorporate within the water dragon, attacking relentlessly when his opponents gave away an opening.


    Clash!


    All three crashed to the ground violently, revealing heavy wounds on their bodies. Ye Tian was covered with cuts and stabs as blood continued to drip to the ground from the open wounds he had all over his body and face. His opponents didn''t fare any better. One of them had his arm cut off by Ye Tian, while the other had his eye stabbed. There was no conclusion to this battle as both sides fought into a stalemate, but everyone nearby, including the people fighting, felt a monstrous fear they''ve never felt before; that monstrous fear they felt was Ye Tian!


    Ye Tian was still in a very bad state, but that didn''t his domineering appearance to cause everyone a sense of calamity. Flames of destruction were swirling around him, while a chain of water bladed molded around the edges of his arms that made it look like he had wings sharp enough to pierce through the heavens!


    "....Monster....." one of them blurted out while watching the battle. Many felt the same way after seeing such a domineering scene.

 Chapter 58 - Ignite!

    Meanwhile somwhere deep within the treasure mountain, the gigantic boulder spoke out in amazement.


    "Oh....two laws?"


    "Master, who''s the kid?"


    "I don''t know, but why am I feeling such uneasiness ever since the competition began.....It''s been a while since I''ve felt like this."


    "Yeah, that kid is good. Those other slaves are also pretty good. I know you want to leave them with some benefits, but as for the rest, can I eat them, master?"


    "Fool, no killing is allowed. I already told you that. Hmmm....I need to focus on my senses."


    That uneasiness led the boulder to be deep in thoughts, extending his senses to the extreme that swept through each cultivators within the battle without them noticing it. While Ye Tian was battling the two infinite fighters to a stalemate, Xiang Jiao and the rest were gaining momentum in their battle against the remaining groups.


    "Dadoom....dadoom....dadoom...DADOOM.....dadoom..."


    Suddenly, the boulder opened his eyes in extreme shock.


    "It can''t be! These brats are......"


    "Master? What happened? What happened? Tell me!"


    "Shut up!"


    The lively boulder continued to earnestly stare the battle scene. His eyes could be seen slightly trembling, revealing a sense of nervousness, worry, fear, and joy!


    Taking advantage of a new formation battle that was recently taught by Fang Meng, the rest quickly adapted its intricacies that gave gradually gave them the upper hand. Before, Xiang Jiao and the rest accidentally hit each other due to the lack of understanding of the battle formation. After going through hundreds of clashes, they quickly performed better, even though injured by their own comrades, crushing each and every member of the remaining group. Blood splattered all over the floor, many cultivators from the three main groups were lying down in severe pain or they were unconscious. For Ma Qian and the crew, fighting against a few opponents that possess the same realm as them weren''t that difficult to begin with. But with the new battle formation, it became easier for them to defeat opponents that heavily outnumbered them.


    Although Ma Qian and the rest were a bit retarded when it came to managing zoids, their battle instincts and comprehension were supreme over others. With their battle ending with a victory, they hurriedly move with the intent to help Ye Tian. But never would they have thought that a serious and short glare from Ye Tian stopped them from helping him. That subtle glare meant "This is my battle!"


    "....This is ridiculous...why can''t we beat him?"


    "He probably ate a pill that would increase his cultivation to the infinite dao realm without anyone noticing it.....This must be it."


    Both of the fighters were confused and had to make excuses to avoid further embarrassment.


    "Both of you are wrong.... I''m just too good," Ye Tian smiled bashfully. Even though he was heavily injured, this battle had given him a very intense excitement that he never felt before.


    "Die!"


    Both of the fighters threw out magical items, one was a huge hammer, while another was a scroll that had a word, called "Curse." Once the scroll activated, the word "Curse" blinked a few times before rushing inside Ye Tian''s body. Black-tattooed marks started to spread throughout Ye Tian''s body and face, creating chaos by eating up his muscles and sucking his core qi. The excruciating pain ye Tian felt left him distracted and was crushed to the ground by the flying hammer.


    Everything became quiet with the hammer still stuck in the ground, appearing like a landmark.


    "Kaboom."


    Red lines increasingly started to appear on the hammer, and with only a few breaths later, the hammer exploded into pieces. Crimson flames came out of that depression area bursting brighter than ever before. The crimson flames were outright forceful that led to the expulsion of the black-tattooed marks on Ye Tian''s body, putting him back in normal condition. The two fighters didn''t wait to see such a shocking scenery as they dashed forward striking their weapons with full power.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Ye Tian''s eyes were closed, but the moment their weapons were an inch away to stabbing him, he suddenly vanished from his spot the moment he opened his eyes. Two daggers were firmly stabbed on one of the fighter''s side rib-cage, pulling him away from the the other fighter. Simultaneously, Ye Tian summoned a circular of floating water daggers, pointing it towards the other fighter.


    Whooshh!


    With the other fighter being distracted by the floating daggers, Ye Tian continued his onslaught against the fighter he just stabbed. His attacks were vicious, dominating, and oppressive. Blood spurted out multiple times from the fighter as he crashed to the ground. The crowd have never felt such a combat style that was so oppressive as Ye Tian''s, fearless of death.


    Xiang Jiao and the rest wanted to take this opportunity to attack the distracted fighter, but there was some invisible shield blocking them from entering further. Previously, somewhere during the battle, one of the fighter had taken out another magical item that established a prison-like domain that would block everyone else from entering. Xiang Jiao continued attacking the shield with full force, but only cracks were shown on the shield. To easily defend the combination power of Xiang Jiao and the rest of the group meant that this magical item had to be at the supreme dao realm or nearing the infinite dao realm.


    With the fallen fighter, Ye Tian grabbed his head in search for answers.


    "Who are you guys?"


    "People the you can never offend!" said the masked men.


    Ye Tian bashed the fighter''s head against the ground, cracking the ground from the brute force.


    "Who''s behind all of this?"


    But the masked me did not answer.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    Everyone was shocked with the scene they saw. Ye Tian repeatedly headbutted the fighter violently, splitting the mask of the fallen fighter. Not only was the mask shattered, the continuous brutal bashing caused a depression pit to form. Although the face of the fighter was revealed, Ye Tian didn''t care because he didn''t know who he was,in fact, nobody else did, not even the Sima clan or the true god sect. However, one person had a strange reaction. Xue Mei''s phoenix-like eyes focused in as strong as a dagger, but her face reacted so subtly, no one could notice such subtle reaction.


    With blood pouring all over Ye Tian''s face as if a demon took control of his soul, the fallen fighter that feinted unconsciousness suddenly grabbed Ye Tian''s legs securely.


    "Number 1, kill him!"


    Just in time, the other fighter broke through the formation of daggers, dashing forward at great speed edging his claws towards Ye Tian. Ye Tian didn''t try to shake off the fallen fighter. His qi was nearly empty. He was exhausted from the life and death battle, and the wounds he felt started to be unbearably painful.


    Sphlllt!


    The masked man was ecstatic, because the claws successfully pierced inside Ye Tian''s stomach. Ye Tian hardly felt the pain as he grabbed the masked fighter''s arm tightly. His expression very serene yet the moment he stared at the clawed fighter, a devilish smile arose. Suddenly, an overflowing rage and power overcame the calmness as Ye Tian shouted. This was his last move!


    "Ignite!"


    A dim light from the ground appeared, surrounding him and the other two masked-men in a circular patters. Likewise, up in they sky, another dim light illuminated the same location that was on the ground. What begin a dim light turned into a blazing light brilliant enough to illuminate the whole treasure mountain. Both of the the fighters felt a calamity, sensing the smell of death, tried to escape from Ye Tian''s grasp, but they were still securely held by Ye Tian.


    A screeching sound could be heard, amplifying its sound quickly to be heard far and wide where even outsiders from the base of the mountain could hear the thrilling sound. Not only could the sound be heard, they could see waves of flames vividly blazing across the sky. The crimson color was so intense, even the cultivators nearby the battle scene could no see through the crimson flames surrounding Ye Tian and the other two fighters. The screeching noise also caused a lot of pain for the nearby cultivators.


    "Ahhhhhh! Help m......."


    "Arrrggghhhh!"


    Both fighters screamed loudly, unable to handle the extreme heat and pain that crawled all over their skin and bones. The crimson flame that was illuminating they sky lasted for a few breaths of time, but everyone even as far as the capital of the Min Kingdom could see the blazing flame conquering the sky.


    Deep inside the mountain, the gigantic boulder was shaken to the core.


    "This boy....."


    "Master, you should open the forest of sanctuary for these guys. They deserve those magical treasures you''ve saved up."


    "........."


    The gigantic boulder did not respond. He was still staring at the scene above, unable to calm his emotions.


    By the time the crimson flames disappeared, two bodies laid on the ground unconsciously; flesh wounds appeared all over their bodies from the intense burn. Another charcoal-like figure stood there like a statue, completely motionless revealing very little sign of qi or life left within the char-coaled body. The blood dried out from the crimson flames. The pain that was barely felt in the beginning started rushing in like an endless wave, but his eyes were still wide open, resembling a fearless dragon looking down on earth from the sky.


    The Xue family, the mysterious group, Xiang Jiao''s group, and other cultivators nearby felt a mixture of emotions. Some felt extreme fear, others felt in awe with glittering eyes, several felt a new sense of admiration, and a few felt a joy of relief. One of them who felt relief was Xue Mei, who usually had a noble and calm demeanor, ignited a new emotion she never felt before within her heart and soul.


    The figure who still stood as strong as an ancient mountain, unshakable from any natural disasters, and in the years to come, many will know him as the man who''s flames could blaze the sky - Ye Tian!

 Chapter 59 - Burning Phoenix

    Unknown to the rest, who just witnessed such an unbelievable battle, Ye Tian was actually on the verge of death. The light within his soul spark dimmed to the point where it could extinguish any time. His blood was flowing slower with every breath he took. His hearing dulled until he could only hear the sound of echos that seemed to be delayed one after another, and his eyes started becoming blurry. The only thing he could see clearly was an endless tunnel with a pinch o f light at the far end. His heart beat slowed down until it could only be heard every few seconds, then tens of seconds, then until it was only faintly beating once per minute.


    On the verge of death, Ye Tian wasn''t scared of dying nor did he feel any anger or resentment. He only questioned himself about things he cared about.


    "Am I a failure?"


    "Did I let everyone from the village down?"


    "Will my sisters live peacefully with the Xue family?"


    "Can the others survive and escape from this place?"


    These thoughts could only revolve within Ye Tian''s mind. He forced himself to smile, but within there was a sense of deep regret.


    Xiang Jiao fused high-grade potions into his chest, but there was no glow, which was a sign of healing, that exuded from his body. Worried that the high-grade potion wasn''t enough, Fang Meng instructed Ma Qian to form a healing spirit formation. Lin Yang and the rest tried a different method where they transferred their own Qi towards Ye Tian in hopes of a reaction, however, not a single change occurred.


    Ye Tian''s soulless state lasted for half an hour before the blue pearl started blinking a few times.


    "Dum.....dum.....dadum...dadumm."


    "Oh........." deep inside the treasure mountain, the gigantic boulder finally spoke even though it was just a single word.


    "Out of all places.....," he continued.


    Ye Tian''s soul spark begun to spin slowly churning out red strings of blood until it continued to spin rapidly. His heart started beating faster, his blood started to circulate even faster that caused Ye Tian to recover slowly. Even his stab wounds and openings were recovering rapidly, replacing it with new skin and flesh. It wasn''t until Ye Tian''s body showed signs of glow, a magical item was thrown out in the air towards Ye Tian.


    The magical item quickly fused with Ye Tian''s body, passing through different areas until it reached the center of the soul spark, where the blue pearl resided. What came out of that magical item was a burning phoenix spirit that spun around Ye Tian''s soul spark before merging itself with the soul spark. Once it merged, the burning phoenix transformed into a drop of the ancient phoenix''s blood, causing his soul spark to illuminate like a raging fire. The single drop was enough to merge with Ye Tian''s blood, causing a change in the color of his own blood. The merge increased the speed of his blood circulation, which in turn sped up his healing process.


    That magical item was actually thrown out by Xue Mei. No one knew what its effects was except for the Xue core family, but Ye Tian''s crew could sense that this precious magical item was something that would benefit Ye Tian instead of endangering his life. For that reason, they had a new appreciation towards Xue Mei.


    However, the remaining groups did not bother to stay further, taking advantage of Ye Tian''s immobility at this point. After reaching the border of the ninth stratosphere, many found out none of them could pass through. The quick-thinkers frowned as they realized why the last three stratospheres was called the "Battlefield" level. Everyone had to battle each other, until one clear winner stands on top. Hence, the winner could pass through the border of the ninth stratosphere and enter the peak stratosphere.


    The elite groups from different sects, clans, and empires battled one another until a few left were standing. Those that have lost had been teleported back to the base of the mountain.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    It took about another half an hour, before Ye Tian opened his eyes, fully recovered after climbing back to life. He could see, besides his group, the Xue family and the mysterious group still stood there. After introducing each other, the group found out that the Xue family had members from the Star Alliance school that were related to old man Ji, who Ye Tian met during his journey to Destiny City. From this affiliation, many could realize that the Star alliance school were allied with the Xue family.


    Without further delay, everyone continued to proceed, but Ye Tian and Xue Mei stayed behind temporarily. Before Ye Tian was about to leave, he asked something to Xue Mei.


    "Lady Xue....How are they doing?"


    "Better than I expected. They haven''t even mention you ever since you left."


    "....hehe....I guess it''s supposed to be like that then. That magical item, what was it? How can I repay you?"


    "It''s nothing of high value. I wouldn''t throw away precious items to a person I barely know."


    "Well, I guess you''re right. But I still owe you this debt. How about I give you these in return."


    Ye Tian had mixed emotions - he was heartbroken after hearing that his sisters seemed to forgot about him, the other was a feeling of relieve that his sisters would be in good hands of the Xue family. Ye Tian handed out a martial scroll that he got from Fang Meng''s place. In fact, he handed out three martial scrolls, one for Xue Mei, and the other two were for his younger sisters. When Xue Mei looked at one of the martial scroll, her phoenix eyes widened to a shocking state.


    "How.....how did you get this?"


    Ye Tian only smiled playfully and told her not to tell anyone else, even his younger sisters, that these precious ancient martial scrolls came from him. Having no desire to discuss further, Ye Tian moved towards his group. Xue Mei stood there for a moment, only to see Ye Tian''s back within the setting sun. She didn''t really know why she gave that precious magical item to Ye Tian that was exclusively for the Xue family members with the highest talent. If her father had heard of this, even he would''ve gone mad. But the three martial scrolls she received were also precious items that could benefit the younger generations of the Xue family.


    With the arrival of Ye Tian''s group, the remaining elite members from various groups were easily wiped out, only leaving the Xue family and the mysterious group left. The Xue family had no intention to go further after seeing the combat prowess of Ye Tian''s group. They knew they would lose even if they had twice the numbers. But the primary reason was that they were wary of the mysterious group, and should Ye Tian''s group in need of help, they were more than willing to do so to kindly repay the debt.


    The woman from the mysterious group could sense the Xue family''s defensive stance. She clasped her hands and bowed to the Xue family, signaling that they weren''t here to fight. She then turned to Ye Tian, and threw out a pendant with the symbol of a leaf on it.


    "Friend, my name is Xu Yi, we wish to invite you and your friends to visit our place when you have the time. This pendant is a map to get you to our place. You can also show the guards this pendant when you have arrived. They will know where to take you."


    After Ye Tian scanned the pendant, indeed, a map was included followed with detailed instructions on the directions of the place. Ye Tian clasped his hands towards Xu Yi.


    "Lady Xu Yi, my name is Ye Tian. Thank you for your invitation. I will definitely come to your place someday."


    The rest of the mysterious group also clasped hands towards Ye Tian''s group, then disappeared forfeiting the competition, which probably wasn''t their objective to begin with. Only the Xue family were left.


    "Brother Ye Tian, if you have the time to come to destiny city, please come to the star alliance school. I can show you around the city. If you''d like to join us, there is no doubt our patriarch will accept you all as his personal disciples," one of the members said.


    "Thank you. I will come to look for you if we come there."


    "Sister Mei, we should leave now and report this to our elders."


    The Xue family bowed in respect. Xue Mei and Ye Tian stared at each other for a brief moment, but it seemed like it lasted for a lifetime. The mysteriousness of Ye Tian intrigued Xue Mei. On the other hand, Ye Tian would always be grateful towards the Xue family. Without any further delay, the Xue family quickly forfeited the competition and disappeared.


    "My slaves, even though I''m the strongest, I will offer you all a fair chance. You have two choices. We can battle it out or play rock, paper, scissors."


    "Screw you Ye Tian! We ain''t that dumb!"


    Suddenly, a golden gate appeared in front of them embedded with the character "Sanctuary" on it. A light of rainbows seeped out once the gate opened along with an ancient voice.


    "My young friends, today I will make an exception. I will allow all of you to enter. Whatever you find inside will be yours."


    Will this gate lead to an abundance of treasures or an abundance of traps?

 Chapter 60 - You Pervert!

    Even though the sanctuary gate had opened, Ye Tian and his group didn''t immediately accept the invitation, in fact, they hesitatingly stood there for a long time until the voice spoke out again.


    "Come on little brats! I ain''t got all time. If I wanted to kill you all, it would''ve been as easy as me taking a shit. Go inside now!"


    This time, the voice that spoke out wasn''t as amiable as it sounded when they first heard it. It was obvious that the ruler of this mountain must be some crazy old man who had a short fuse. Without further delay, they quickly entered the gate, only to appear in a new land filled with lush forest that were occupied by exotic beasts and other creatures they''ve never seen before. A hidden land where the purity of its nature had been maintained since the ancient ages without the stains of humans or demons.


    With this holy land appearing right in front of them, there was no time for any regrets. Ye Tian and the rest of the group didn''t take a long time to see such beautiful scenery, they were here to explore rare and precious magical treasures! And it didn''t take long for them to get right into business as patches of some areas were already razed into baldness. Everything they saw, they stored it in their ring, leaving not a single dirt behind. If anyone saw what they were doing, it felt like the land was just raped by not just a group of thieves, but by a group of kings of thieves.


    "Master, master! Look at what they''re doing. They''re taking everything!"


    "It''s alright. As long as they don''t take the roots, they will grow back."


    Even though the talking boulder responded calmly, their actions caused a raging spark within his heart and he was eager to beat the hell out of those rascals. He continued monitoring them quietly, because he felt there were something different about this group based on the previous battles. Ever since the ruler of this mountain created this event ages ago, no cultivator, not even past winners, had caught his attention. He never thought that an individual could give him an adrenaline rush, but today, that hopeless thinking had been turned upside down by Ye Tian and the others.


    After walking thought the forest for several miles, the gang felt a slight sense of worry because they haven''t encountered magical treasures. Many of the wild beasts they came across were small and not too dangerous. Song Han and Ma Qian were even playful enough to pet some of them. They even tried to store a few of the beast they fancied inside their storage ring, but the familiar voice furiously barked at them on not to take any of the creatures with them.


    After walking further though the forest, they finally saw a different scenery. Multiple huge stone pillars that were as high as a mountain could be seen along with colorful butterflies flying around the stone pillars. The pillars were covered with countless flowers and plants that made it more lush and vibrant. In some areas of the pillars, small holes could be seen that would allow the butterflies to go in and out as they please, because inside the pillar were the homes of the butterflies that was purposely built to protect them from other preys.


    Curiosity seeped within their hearts as they got closer to the one of the stone pillars, but the closer they got the sleepier they became.


    Bloop!


    Unable to fight off the drowsiness, everyone suddenly flopped to the ground, falling asleep. An crowd of butterflies flew above them, leaving behind a trail of mist wherever they flew.


    Poof!


    The crowd of butterflies continued to fly around them until a golden light appeared after they start merging together. Once the golden light disappeared, a young woman stood there with a mischievous smile on her face. The flawless transformation uncovered an appearance of a 15 year old girl with huge and tender bosom. Her black silky hair was bundled up with a long red hairpin that matched with her red dress. Although, she was pretty, she had the look of a mischievous young noble looking to create trouble.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The moment she turned into a human, she carried a thin painting brush in her hand. With the rest of the group sleeping on the ground peacefully, the young woman''s lips started to grin widely. Her beautiful silver eyes were shining brightly as if new dolls appeared in front of her. She playfully walked towards the group and started drawing on their faces while singing a little tune. One person caught her attention, that was Song Han. His facial hair and rough features contradict with the noble-like features of the others. The young woman started playing around with Song Han''s facial hair, and even plucked a few of his facial hair.


    One hair plucked, another hair plucked.....the excitement caused her to start plucking a few more here and there, then rearranging the plucked hair into Song Han''s thick eyebrows. Time flew by quickly, but the young woman was so captivated by Song Han''s facial hair, all of it was now gone and were rearranged into his eyebrows or nose hair. The sweet dreams Song Han was having became a painful and restless awakening, as he pushed the young woman off of him the moment he opened his eyes. He wanted to scream in pain, because marks of redness and puny dots of blood could be seen at the same area where his facial hair used to be.


    "Everyone wake up! A murderer!"


    Song Han yelled out painfully and repeatedly! To endure he was heard, hee didn''t just yell out those words, he stepped on each of their bodies to ensure they would wake up painfully as he did.


    "Urrghh..."


    The rest started waking up, their hands touching their chest area where a stinging pain could be felt. The moment their senses were clear enough to hear the word murderer, they quickly stood up in full alert. However, all they could see was a young lady with her hands behind her back while whistling a tune.


    Unable to believe what Song Han just said, they looked at each other while laughing mockingly. Everyone''s faces had drawings of a poop, whiskers, or the word "stupid" on their faces but none of them knew they also had similar drawings drawn on their own face. It took some time until they realized that they''ve been duped by someone else, and the only person they could think of was Song Han! Unfortunately, Song Han received the worst prank out of all of them. His eyebrows were now as think as a stick reaching outwards beyond his face structure while his nostrils had strings of hair hanging all the way to his chin.


    "It''s her! Not me!" Song Han yelled out furiously. He was pissed that even his allies thought of him as the criminal.


    The young woman knew that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn''t be able to escape from her mischievous act. She slowly retreated backwards as Ye Tian and the others argued, but luck wasn''t on her side this time, as the rest of the group quickly locked on to her.


    "Catch her!"


    They weren''t despicable enough to seriously wound a young pretty lady, so they tried to catch her instead until they figure out what to do with her.


    Slap!


    "Wait..."


    "No...."


    To the young woman''s shocking expression, she did get beaten, although not too rough. Her swollen eyes proved to be the evidence of all this.


    "You shameless bastards! You said only to catch me, not beat me!" the young woman angrily screamed.


    "I did not hit you, he did."


    "I did not do it, he did."


    "No, I never even touched her. You did!"


    "What? I never even moved a step forward! You guys are too despicable!"


    No one wanted to admit it, which made the young woman even more enraged.


    "You.....you filthy bastards. Who was the one who groped my breast? Ahhhhhhhh."


    "I did not!" Everyone replied seriously, except for Song Han who kept quiet.


    "You pervert! So who was the one who beat me?"


    "........"


    No one replied and looked elsewhere. Sensing that the young woman was about to erupt, they needed to think of a perfect scapegoat who was already guilty of a perverted act! Everyone vehemently stared at Song Han.


    "Song Han, you rapist! I never thought you would beat such an innocent and pretty young woman."


    "Yeah you bastard, go apologize to her now!"


    "Young Miss, we will make sure that Song Han will pay for his crimes! How do you want him to be punished?"


    "You bastards. We were all in this togeth....!" Song Han cried foul.


    Before Song Han could finish his sentence, everyone started beating on Song Han forcefully before he could do further damage to the rest of the group. The pretty young woman also took action, bringing out her lethal whip that caused everyone to think she wasn''t as innocent as she appeared to be!

 Chapter 61 - Spirit Butterfly

    The outrageous beating of Song Han emanated a feeling of excitement by the young woman. The more she whipped him, the more berserk aura came out of her. She had to be stopped or else Song Han would''ve gotten seriously beaten without any form of justice, and fortunately, Lin Yang stopped her from getting out of control. Awaken from her berserk-like state of mind, she felt a bit guilty after seeing Song Han sorrily beaten. That feeling of guiltiness led the young woman to transform her human form back into a butterfly, where she continued to fly above Song Han, showering some mysterious dust all over him.


    "Hey, what are you doing to him?"


    "Relax, I''m just healing him."


    The squeaky voice coming out of the red butterfly shocked everyone. First of all they''ve never seen anyone who could transform into another being. Second, they had never thought they would meet a talking butterfly in their lifetime. In just a short while later, Song Han''s body glowed with a healthier shine, clearing away his bruises and small wounds. Throughout their adventures, the group had shown disdain on Song Han''s behavior, but they truly felt relieved once Song Han started to heal. Was this their true feelings for Song Han?


    "Hey, wake up!" the young woman spoke out in butterfly form.


    Song Han''s eyes gradually opened, only to see the red butterfly transforming back into the young woman. His eyes gradually focused, revealing not even a bit of surprise unlike the others.


    "Are you a butterfly or a human?" Song Han curiously asked.


    "I''m neither, you knucklehead!"


    "You''re lying, you stinky butter....human!"


    "Pschh, If I was a butterfly, then I wouldn''t be able to transform into a human. If I was a human, I wouldn''t be able to transform into a butterfly. Gosh, that was so obvious!"


    "Bullshit! Then what are you?"


    "I''m a spirit butterfly!"


    "What the hell is that?"


    "It''s an ancient spirit, dumbass!"


    No one in the group knew such thing existed; thus, the shock revealed their retarded reactions. However, Ye Tian was the only one who still acted normally. He had heard from his dad that spirits from the royal bloodline were an ancient race that could transform into a human. They were also one of the natural alliance race that had lived in harmony with the humans since ancient times, but no one knew where they live ever since the ancient times.


    "Well whatever, come with me. I''ll show you some goodies if you are capable."


    The young woman spoke again, this time, offering them an unknown temptation. The others still had doubts in their mind. This woman was too mysterious and very mischievous. Surprisingly, Ye Tian accepted the offer.


    "Let''s go follow her!"


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, she can be trusted according to the story I''ve heard."


    Ye Tian did recall his dad saying that spirit butterflies, although tricky by nature, were a righteous race in their ways of living. Even if this story wasn''t true, Ye Tian had faith in his father''s words, so he decided to follow her. The young woman, on the other hand, had sensed Ye Tian might have figured out something about her, but what shocked her the most was Song Han. Even after the beating, Song Han didn''t hold a grudge against her. He actually took the lead in not just following her, but walking beside her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "Hey, why do you live here? Are you trapped?" Song Han initiated the conversation.


    "Because I want to.....anyways are you half gorilla and half human?"


    "Of course not you foolish spirit woman!"


    "It''s spirit butterfly!"


    "Yeah, yeah, whatever."


    Walking side by side, they kept teasing each other, but none of them stopped arguing. Following behind them, the rest of the crew could only think of how much of a perfect match they are.


    "Uncle! This guy is so dumb. Is the outside world full of people like him?" the young woman yelled out.


    ".......Hmmmm."


    A voice could be heard, it was the same voice that guided them to this hidden land, expressing what seems to be a nod of approval. Does that mean the ruler of this treasure mountain was also a spirit butterfly?


    Going through the forest seemed like an eternity, but the couple in front continued to engage in a lively conversation, which became a form of entertainment for the others. It felt like a push and pull flirtation, yet childish at the same time.


    "Uncle! I can tell this guy is such a mischievous troublemaker, hehehe."


    "........both of you are......." the ancient voice whispered, but it was still heard by eveyone.


    "What?.....No way........you''re crazy......this retard........I''m way smarter......."


    A slight slip of tongue by the mysterious ancient voice caused the couple to viciously bark, clearly expressing their protest on such ridiculous claims.


    "Shut up!"


    Unable to hear their rants any longer, the mysterious voice spoke out in anger for the first time. It wasn''t long until they arrived in front of multiple volcanoes with each possessing a pond at the peak.


    "Listen up, it''s up to destiny if the pond chooses you or not. Staying inside the pond will increase your cultivation significantly. You might even gain some other form of enlightenment if you''re lucky. Now, go and seek out the pond''s calling. If you can''t hear the calling, that''s too bad for you, hehehe," the voice spoke out in a serious tone until he gave a little wicked laugh.


    Ye Tian felt very excited for the first time in a while. Compared to strengthening one''s cultivation, magical treasures were no longer treated as a special occurrence. Increasing cultivation was no longer easy for him, in fact, ever since the blue pearl had merged with his heart, any further increase in his cultivation would become a lot harder than even a cultivator with average talent. The possibility of closing the gap between them and Ye Tian had made Xiang Jiao and the rest to feel the same type of excitement, especially if their progress would outpace his by using the mysterious powers of the pond.


    Everyone stood patiently, closing their eyes, which gave them a sense of peace caused by the serene environment, until Xiang Jiao walked into one direction. Then, Lin Yang was the next to walk in another direction, then Ma Qian, then Song Han and then the young woman walked in their respective ways. The calling they felt caused them to move involuntarily towards the origin of the voice they had heard. Unfortunately, Ye Tian didn''t sense any calling. He tried his best to focus on his senses, but nothing happened. Was he bound to be the unlucky one?


    While everyone got further away, Ye Tian could only stand there helplessly. The extra strength he wanted in such a rare opportunity seemed to not be destined for him. A feeling of disappointment and helplessness rose up within his heart, until he heard something.


    dadup......dadup.....Dadup.....Dadup.


    He finally felt a calling rising up from his blood, a calling that got stronger with every breath he took, causing his blood to wildly boil within his meridians. He thought to himself if everyone felt something similar to what he was experiencing, because the stronger the calling became, the more pain he felt from the wild reaction of his blood. The pain had almost caused him to fall into half consciousness as he continued to forcefully walk towards the calling voice. What appeared in front of him was a serene pond filled with a twist of white and crimson water, perfectly moving in tandem with each other rather than fusing together.


    Meanwhile the others arrived in front of their own pond, but the colors they saw were unlike Ye Tian''s. Their ponds were filled with a rich emerald color. It took only a moment where they stood in front of the pond, until everyone started to walk above the pond towards the center without sinking! Such an unbelievable sight would cause a heart attack for some people, because only the true immortals could do something like this, but somehow Ye Tian and the others could walk effortlessly across the pond.


    The moment they arrived at the center of pond, they started sinking deep within the pond where no light could be seen. Not a single one showed signs of panic, because they were already in a mysterious state where they could sense everything even with their eyes closed. With everyone sinking below the pond, the scenery outside became very quiet. Suddenly, the pond started slowly twirling until it formed into a typhoon where it rapidly reached towards the sky. Within those typhoons, Ye Tian and the others were in cultivation pose, unaware of what was going on outside.


    The inhabitant beasts living in this hidden land stared endlessly toward the swirling typhoons, undisturbed by any other events as if those typhoons were divine beings that deserved their full attention.

 Chapter 62 - The Crimson Star

    With a surging momentum, the typhoon''s existence continued to develop, piercing their way through the skies. Even people from the far regions were distracted by such phenomenon; however, there were some youngsters that were unaffected of what was happening outside, such as Ye Tian and the others whom were calmly cultivating, hoping to find that silver lining that could fruitfully increased their cultivation base within a short period of time.


    Dadum...Dadum....Dadum!


    The quickest to break thoughwas Xiang Jiao! His cultivation base increased to the peak stage! A short while later, his cultivation base had revolutionalized into the supreme dao realm! He could feel his blood circulating faster than ever before; his bones and muscles were painfully tearing apart only to be regenerated into a stronger foundation base; his channel meridians expanding slowly; his sea of consciousness trembling as if it wanted to explode; and the most shocking thing was that he was acquiring mysterious flashing images that he had never seen before. It wasn''t so long ago he experienced a similar state of awakening, although briefly, when he fell into despair trying to save Sun Mei from falling into her death. Although that brief awakening only lasted for a single breath, he remembered it clearly but he wasn''t sure what it truly was.


    It didn''t take long for the others to experience the same thing Xiang Jiao was going through. The only exception was Ye Tian who continued to calmly chase for his opportunity.


    Swirl!


    The typhoons unexpectedly moved, extending their wrath further towards the solar space that even shocked the ruler of this mountain. Somewhere beneath the mountain, the big boulder''s eyes were bulging out, shaken from the sudden development. The flame wolf excitedly jumped up and down while continuously looking back and forth towards his master and the typhoons that were swirling through the skies.


    ".....I can''t believe this! Why are they all...." the big boulder murmured to himself, unable to explain the turn of event, but deep inside he knew what was going on, it''s just he never expected this to ever happen in a million years!


    Ye Tian could sense what was happening to the others. Unwilling to give up, he made his strongest effort yet, determind in finding that opportunity of a lifetime. An hour passed, yet Ye Tian couldn''t sense anything magical that would change his cultivation. His confidence started to wane as time went by. Memories took over his mind, recalling the bitter struggle of his parents and the rest of the elders on that day of the massacre. A wave of different emotions came over him along with other memories he experienced.


    He remembered when his parents were carrying him playfully when he was just a child. He remembered getting angry with his father, who purposely left him isolated inside a forest for a whole week of training. He remembered his younger sisters always grabbing his arms wherever he went. He remembered the celebrations of many happy events that had happened in the village. He remembered he often had to hunt and roast a wild boar when the kids started fighting each other.


    These memories will always be within his heart, but the people will no longer be with him. This feeling had caused him to experience wild and powerful emotions that almost led him astray within his sea of consciousness. However, somewhere deep within his heart, a burning sensation began to illuminate over the shadows of uncertainty in his heart. This sensation he felt was his infinite will to never give up like an unbreakable fortress.


    He had already peacefully accepted the 10 year limit he has in his remaining life, but he needed to find a way to break the chains of fate when that opportunity was in front of him! He needed to find answers!


    "I am Ye Tian, the clan of Ye runs in my blood! The hope of the clan lies on my shoulder. The people you took away from me, I will make sure you pay for it even if I have to shatter heaven and hell!"


    Ye Tian roared powerfully, like how an emperor dragon would after conquering his opponents from a chaotic war.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Dadum...Dadum...DaDum....DADUM!


    The beating in Ye Tian''s heart became louder, echoing through every channels of his body as if it was communicating with every single living cell that was within him. The changes that were occurring inside his body were different than what the others were experiencing. Minor changes were developing with his bones, meridians, and muscles, yet he was feeling excruciating pain. His blood was boiling so wild, the color even slightly changed to a richer and clearer crimson colour. Those strands of phoenix blood that were flowing within him were somehow gobbled up by Ye Tian''s blood, but in reality, it seamlessly fused with his blood.


    The color of his crimson blood matched with the crimson color of the typhoon that was swirling around him. Piercing dominantly towards the sky, his typhoon appeared chaotic in contrast to the calm nature of the typhoons that were swirling around the others. Another unexpected event occurred as the moons surrounding the world of Spirita started to move, aligning themselves with the typhoons swirling below. The moon''s energy could be felt to be increasing in strength, and the light could be seen to be more luminous. This incredible change had a huge impact, expanding their influence throughout the continents and seas of Spirita. Every cultivator, beast, and other living beings could feel the divine energy and transcendent light traveling through the different places of the Spirita world where even the earth and seas were excitedly reacting to its divine nature.


    Everyone who saw and felt this phenomenon would forever remember this, and thought nothing could top this until they saw a star....a glowing crimson star that gave off a feeling of overbearing dominance and unparalleled will towards every living beings living in the world of Spirita. The crimson star, even though it looked small from the distance, was actually big enough to crush other worlds. It continued to move slowly toward the moons until it suddenly stopped above the crimson typhoon that was swirling around Ye Tian.


    Shriikkkk!


    Suddenly the glimmering crimson star spat out a bright energy, where along the way, it transformed into a miniature star that was as small as a baby''s palm, followed by golden strands of light. The miniature star meteorically descended at lightning speed, until it entered Ye Tian''s forehead. No one could even see its speed, not even the great immortals or the hidden heroes who were cautiously watching the current phenomenon. Such an overwhelming energy caused Ye Tian to shriek in pain, almost losing control of his mind with every breath he took. Every second was crucial, because a slight lost of focus within his mind would lead to a crippled life or even death.


    The golden strands never entered Ye Tian''s body, instead they split off merging themselves within the swirling typhoon where some transformed into golden characters while others formed a picturesque frame. Even though he had his eyes closed, Ye Tian could sense these golden strands. Every time he used his senses to touch a character, a flow of knowledge were revealed. Although the knowledge was given, he still couldn''t understand the true meaning of some of the more mysterious characters. When he used his senses to touch the picturesque frames, random scenes flowed within his mind. Some of the scenes he saw were similar to the story of what Fang Meng had told him - the ancient heroes, the ancient war with the demons, and her own civilization.


    Meanwhile, the moons that aligned itself with Xiang Jiao and the others continued to flicker brightly. The purpose of the typhoons were to become a mechanism, in which it would allow Xiang Jiao and the others to absorb massive amounts of energy from their chosen moons, even if it was far away.


    Ye Tian''s face continued to show signs of struggle. If anyone entered his realm of tornado, they could clearly hear a heart thumping rapidly until it slowed down to nonexistence.


    Shrieekkkk!


    A piercing sound could be heard when Ye Tian''s eyes finally opened. Within the pupil of his eyes, a transparent pattern of a star were branded within each of his iris. The tornado that radiated an aura of dominance eventually disappeared within thin air, returning itself into the pond. The fated crimson star slowly retreated once that connection separated, where its vibrant color started to dim darker.


    "Shit......" the big boulder whispered to himself while trembling. He had lived for a very long time, perhaps since the ancient times, but he had never felt this way in a very, very long time.


    While Ye Tian was feeling a wide array of emotions, the big boulder also experienced an overwhelming amount of emotions that led him to encounter some flashbacks of when he was younger. Some were positive emotions, most were negative, and yet a little smile appeared on his face. The flaming dog stared at his master, unable to decipher what this little smile meant. Every time he asked his master about his youth, inexplicable anger arose within his master''s heart whenever he mentioned that "monster," and yet his master continued to excitedly talk about the stories of the past, especially when he was in human form traveling with other humans and other races, whom he would later on call his "big brothers and sisters."

 Chapter 63 - Blood Awakening

    While the pond returned to its original state, Ye Tian continued to stay within the serene pond, isolating himself yet again from the outside world. The images and characters swirling within the typhoon had made a profound impact on him. Even though, those flashing images and information flowed for a second, they would all remain in Ye Tian''s memory permanently. The biggest benefit he obtained was an ancient insight, called the "Elemental Intent." In the cultivation world, "martial intent" and "sword intent" were the most recognized insights many cultivators strive for; however, the concept of "elemental intent" had never roamed across the world. Therefore, this insight had been lost since the ancient times until Ye Tian had gained some knowledge about it.


    Grasping "elemental intent" was much harder than expected for Ye Tian even with his high comprehension ability. Losing track of time, Ye Tian didn''t realized he''d been inside the pond for a few days, but he had gained partial insight from those few days of isolation.


    "Beyond creating, shaping, and manipulating, there is a power that could exponentially enhanced an individual''s strength through elemental ability. This mysterious power, according to the ancient primal scrolls, were used in battle between gods and demons. During those primordial times, they called this power, "Elemental intent." The stronger the elemental intent was, the more invisible the attacked appeared. The deeper understanding the individual has over his/her own elemental intent, the more visionary and ingenious his/her skills would become.


    Ye Tian knew he could create, shape, and manipulate his dual elements of fire and water, but there were times he felt the power was lacking against cultivators of a higher realm. The possibility of enhancing his own elemental powers through "elemental intent" would offset the limits of his cultivation, and he would possess enough power to withstand attacks from cultivators of higher realms.


    Meanwhile, the other typhoons surrounding Ma Qian and the rest continued to swirl around, unaffected by the retreat of the crimson stars. The continuous absorption of transferred energy from their fated moons, slowly increased their cultivation base. An hour passed, a full noon passed, a whole day passed, two days passed until a bang could be heard.


    "Boom!"


    The young woman opened her eyes, a smile showed on her face, because the absorption of energy had increased her cultivation to the mid-stage of the supreme dao realm. A few hours later, Lin Yang had awakened, and he was astonished that his cultivation base had also increased to the mid-stageof the supreme dao realm. Song Han became the next person to reach the supreme dao realm, but at the late-stage! He had gained the most out of the three. Later on, Ma Qian had also opened his eyes feeling a sensation of bliss as he hadalso reached the late-stage of the supreme dao realm! Xiang Jiao also awakened nearly the same time, his expression lacking visibly, but deep inside his heart, he felt the same way Ma Qian felt. He also reached the late-stage of the supreme dao realm!


    Although Lin Yang had only reached the mid-stage of the supreme dao realm, he had obtained another benefit that others did not obtained. This benefit of enlightenment would cause the world to call him the "Sword Saint" in the years to come. What Lin Yang had learned was also a lost ancient art, called "Sword Soul." Throughout history, very people were able to master such skill due to its extreme difficulty. Many heroes have spent tens of thousands of years to master this ancient skill, only to fail and go insane, because it had destroyed one''s soul.


    Everyone were excited with the significant increase in their cultivation, putting themselves in a new realm at such a young age. Ye Tian was the first to do it at age 15, but no one else in history had reached the supreme dao realm before they turned 25 years old, and even then, it was a single genius that appeared a long time ago. Now, another history had been made with Xiang Jiao and the gang reaching the supreme dao realm before they had turned 18 years old. Powerful sects, empires, and clans would use all their resources to recruit and nurture unparalleled geniuses.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Besides Ye Tian having such strange expressions, Xiang Jiao was the other individual who had similar expressions. He was thinking of past events, such as the gigantic hand that appeared and annihilated the waterfall and its surrounding areas into ashes, or the strange event where time had suddenly "froze" briefly. Xiang Jiao knew these were somehow related to him, and after looking at the flashing images, it made him even more confident that he could awaken these divine skills. Such divine skills weren''t for ordinary people, so Xiang Jiao seriously thought to himself, "where was he really from?"; "Did his master lie to him?"; "Where was his family?"; "Could he be a crown prince or an exiled prince of some powerful empire?"; "If he was a prince, then he''s missing out big time!"


    What started to be a calm pondering gradually turned out to become a more furious pondering. A tear drop could be seen falling from Xiang Jiao''s eyes, but he was determined to find out his true background, otherwise, he''d still be stuck reading boring scrolls after scrolls. There was only one scroll he valued, and that was the Karma Sutra scroll. Cultivation enhancement? Screw that! He felt that he was wronged by someone else if he really was a prince, and he had even envisioned that someone had to pay for a lifetime for putting him in this situation!


    Ma Qian, Song Han, and the young woman also saw the flashing images. They had some suspicions that these images were related to them somehow, but at this point, they were too ecstatic with their new cultivation realm. Besides, even if those flashing images were ignored, they would forever be inside their memories.


    Ye Tian already finished gaining the benefits, but he continued to stay within the pond. The others finished a day after, walking out arrogantly in search of Ye Tian. When they finally realized Ye Tian was still inside the pond, they thought Ye Tian was still waiting for that calling. Although they felt some joy towards Ye Tian''s lack of success, they were also a bit puzzled on why he didn''t received any benefits. After all, in terms of talent, Ye Tian was more talented than anyone else in the world, and in the future, he would also shock the world as well. Of course, the others were also confident in their cultivation, even prior to the benefits of the treasure mountain, but they were hoping that they would be shocking the world together in the years to come.


    When Ye Tian came out of the pond, he looked exhausted, but they all realized that he did gain some benefit, although very little compared to the rest. Ye Tian increased his cultivation to the mid-stage of the supreme dao realm, but others could perceive something even more overwhelming about his presence. His glare had a covertly devastating effect that could put other cultivators in high alert. His aura transformed into something oppressive that could suffocate others. It was as if a blood awakening had occurred revitalizing Ye Tian to newer heights of mysteriousness.


    Such a turnout demoralized the gang after gaining a bit of confidence from their fruitful cultivation increase. Some were at the mid-stage, while others had even reached the late-stage of the supreme dao realm, but compared to Ye Tian, they could sense a destructive power within him; however, it was elusive enough that no ordinary figures could detect such a feeling. The only reason why Xiang Jiao and the rest could feel this destructive power was because their senses were far superior, comparable to infinite dao cultivators.


    "Ye Tian, I can sense a destructive power or aura within you....did you possess this before, or did you benefit this power from the pond?"


    Xiang Jiao, who rarely talked, didn''t beat around the bush as he asked directly.


    "I never felt something like this before, but for whatever reason, I felt it was a natural part of me...." Ye Tian replied with some certainty.


    "Do you know what it does?"


    "No, I have to figure it out later on. By the way did you guys also see flashing images?"


    "I did, but I''m not sure if it was the same you had. I saw that ancient war, and those ancient heroes. I even saw certain things that would allow me to gain enlightenment if I focus a bit more on it in the future," Lin Yang said.


    Everyone nodded, seeming to agree that the flashing images they all saw were the same.


    "Little brats! It''s time for you all to go out!" the ancient voice hastily spoke out as if he was trying to kick them out as soon as possible.

 Chapter 64 - A Sense of Yearning

    "But what about our magical treasures? Didn''t you say there were magical treasures here?" Song Han fearlessly asked.


    "The benefits you have gained from the pond is far more valuable than the magical treasures I have given over the past. Don''t be too greedy!"


    "Ahemmm....also.....Tang Tang.....you need to leave and explore the world. Your temper is too abrupt. Besides, I have promised your mother that by the time you''ve reached the supreme dao realm, you need to experience the outside world."


    The ancient voice spoke in a soft and cautious tone, especially when he was talking towards the young woman, Tang Tang. Such a weird change in his tone of voice caused the others to think that Tang Tang was probably a girl from a special background, or her mother was a very close acquaintance ofthis ancient voice.


    "What? No way! I like it here......and I realized there are some idiots from the outside world that would make me insane!" Tang Tang clearly yelled her dissatisfaction while looking at Song Han.


    At this point in time, Song Han was actually scratching his butt, which made him look even worse. But after seeing Tang Tang looking at him, he clearly understood that "idiot'' was meant for him. An idea suddenly came into Song Han''s thought.


    "Sad.....so sad. Why are some people so heartless. All I ever wanted was a stable life, a perfect girlfriend with big boobs and a firm butt, enough money to support myself and the rest of my loved ones," Song Han pretended to cry while leaning his head on Lin Yang''s shoulder. Lin Yangpatted him in the back in an effort to console Song Han, but obviously he was just being used!


    "You......" Tang Tang became speechless. She never thought that idiot could scheme and act so pitiful, especially in front of the ancient voice. Feeling embarrassed and outwitted, she wanted to kill Song Han at this moment; however, Song Han didn''t event stop there. He continued to surprise others by kneeling down, flaying his arm to make it more dramatic, heavy tear drops falling from his eyes and snorts falling from his nose.


    "Immortal ancestor, sob..sob...sob, I will always be grateful for this great opportunity you have given us, but even if my cultivation increases, I''m still no immortal! The world outside is crueler than ever before. I have almost died several times from those greedy cultivators and those noble bastards! I came here to Treasure mountain to seek the widely-known magical treasure that would change the cultivator''s life for the better. Now, you''re asking me to leave without a magical treasure? How can I defend myself from the cruel world outside.... and this young woman.... she seems to hate me without justified reasons!"


    The big boulder had a big frown in his face. He was also shocked that Song Han could play such a scheming game. He''s lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and to give in easily against a 17 year old boy? There was no way he could accept such results. That big frown of his turned into a little smirk as an idea came into his mind.


    "Young brat! What you said made sense. However, I can''t give each of you a magical treasure. That would be against the rules I have created for hundreds of millenniums. Your sense of duty to care for others have affected me greatly; therefore, I will give you one magical treasure that would definitely help you."


    "Pop!"


    Suddenly, something fell from mid-air that floated in front of everyone. It was a reddish bamboo cane that exuded a mysterious aura. Its aura wasn''t overwhelmingly powerful, but everyone could sense a bottomless sensation from it. Song Han tried to grab it, thinking that it was his, but the bamboo cane evaded the hands of Song Han while continuing to float.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "This magical treasure is called ''executioner.'' It''s a sword sharp enough to split the mountains, but it also has another deadly feature. It can be used to snipe others from the distance. If you can create an extremely dense Qi but still weightless, you can use this Qi as an ammo. I''ve never given this out, because the past winners were not qualified to hold this ancient weapon; however, I believe one of you have the destiny to own this treasure. The ''executioner'' will choose its own master, so if you''re lucky, you can leave with this magical treasure," the ancient voice explained.


    Song Han took the first step again by reaching his hands to grab the bamboo cane, but the moment he got really close to it, it released an electric shock that resulted Song Han to dejectedly retreat his hands. Ma Qian came up next, but failed as well. Tang Tang also took a chance, but the result was the same. It wasn''t until Lin Yang who slowly extended his arms to grab the bamboo cane, and became the destined person to own this magical treasure. As a swordsman, he was ecstatic that the bamboo cane had chosen him to wield its legacy.


    "Fuck! This lucky bastard!"


    This was the thought of Song Han, who made the greatest effort in pleading forhis request of a magical treasure. All that hard effort was painlessly rewarded to another person. These were also the thought of Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao, who never even got a chance to tame the bamboo cane. Everyone except Lin Yang were sulking from the outcome. Although they were happy with increased cultivation, who wouldn''t want an extremely rare and ancient magical treasure? It seemed that the biggest beneficiary from this adventure was Lin Yang.


    "This event has concluded. I will no longer give out any other magical treasures. You will be transported near the Min Kingdom. Don''t die too soon, hahahahaha," the ancient voice laughed with joy.


    "WTF...."


    Everyone else were cursing within, because they didn''t like the last part of what the ancient voice said. It was like a bad omen. They had no background, they were poor, and during this expedition they had created many enemies, so of course they were worried on what would happen if the others contestants saw them.


    High up in the sky, a giant cauldron quickly fell upside down that trapped everyone inside. It spun rapidly, distorting the nearby air until it disappeared, taking everyone else with it. After the cauldron disappeared, a red-haired bearded old man appeared with a flaming wolf by his side. He looked frail, but there was a sense of dread if anyone were close to him.


    "It seems the guardian moons and the crimson star have awaken....." the old man murmured while looking upon the place where everyone had just disappeared. His eyes showed a touch of sadness and fear, but it was also glittering with a subtle hope. This red-haired bearded old man was actually the big boulder that was residing deep within the magma of this mountain.


    Below the capital city of the Min Kingdom, there was an isolated underground base that was pitch dark with no one around.


    "Shrkkkkkkkk!"


    Within the pitch dark underground base, distorted light appeared surrounded with electricity. It only took a couple of breaths until the red cauldron appeared, spinning within that distorted light. Once it stopped, it floated high up in the air, revealing Ye Tian and the others. The giant cauldron that was floating, suddenly shrank to the size of a foot and flew towards Ye Tian.


    Once the cauldron was held by Ye Tian, he could see a work of art crafted within the cauldron. There were several figures - a man, his wife, and his son. Besides them was a happy magma boulder with short legs and short arms that walking in parallel besides them. On the right and left side of the family, there were other families, old and young, man and woman, boy and girl, walking unitedly. The moment he touched the crafted art with his fingers, Ye Tian felt a sense of yearning and wistful. Strangely, the others were also drawn by the transcendental art, placing their hands on the red cauldron that led to the same type of emotions that Ye Tian was feeling. An array of complex feelings were going through each individual where each emotion could be felt interlacing with one another. Time appeared to be frozen when everyone''s hands were placed on the red cauldron, where its glowing existence illuminated the pitch dark underground base as if they were in the middle of the starry skies.


    Strangely, the moment they placed their hands on the red cauldron, bits of memories of each other''s past could be seen. While it only lasted for a brief second, limitless memoried traveled through their minds.