《The Lone Devil》


 The First – A Change

    The First ¨C A Change


    ¡°Keep it down or I¡¯ll slit your throat!¡± A two meter tall man towers over my slumped form as he kicks me in the ribs, slamming my body against the wall. Pain exploded from my side, spreading throughout my body. In fear, I try to control my sobs. My voice hushed down a note but the tears won¡¯t stop falling.


    ¡°If I hear any more noise from you, you better be prepared to say your prayers, child!¡± The two meter tall man with the body of a weightlifter threatens me yet again and I hurriedly covered my mouth with my own hands, hoping to stop the uncontrollable sobs from my throat.


    The man clicked his tongue and sneered indignantly at me, but he left soon after that.


    I was left alone. This thought haunted me for some time. It made me afraid and anxious.


    Hoping to distract myself, I looked around me. Walls, ceiling, and floor made of wood surrounded me as if in a cage. A door stares back at me when I look forward. The only form of ventilation was a window with steel bars.


    The feelings that I tried so hard to stop suddenly came flowing once more. My face felt numb and I couldn¡¯t control my own tears. My throat felt deprived of oxygen and I hurriedly cover my mouth, remembering what the man had said.


    Blisters and wounds covered my body and tattered clothes protected me. My face was stained with tears and blood. And I just felt so lonely . . . afraid . . . and empty.


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    Grunting from the pain in my ribs, I slowly moved to lie on the cold floor. I curled my trembling body into a ball, hoping to shield myself¡ªmy heart from the pain and fear.


    And somehow, as I desperately tried to protect my heart, all the different emotions that plagued me disappeared. What was left was a feeling as deep and ancient as life itself. A single feeling controlled me and stilled my mind. It calmed my shaking body and appeased my soul. It gave me a sense of importance and a goal.


    Somehow, the shell of a kind, gentle child was slowly breaking apart, giving way to the birth of the flesh. The spirit was slowly transformed and strengthened. And a deadly light flashed in the eyes.


    That¡¯s right. Revenge. Anger. Hatred.


    Kill them! Torture those bastards! Murder their children! Make them pay for what they did to you. Let them know that there are things in this world that are more taunting and scarier than death.


    That¡¯s right.


    For stealing my life, I will destroy theirs.


    For inflicting pain on my fragile body, I will deliver thunderous blows on them that they will never forget.


    For killing the people I loved, I will murder their entire household.


    And lastly, for turning me into a monster, I will make them know fear.

 The Second – Arachnid

    The Second ¨C Arachnid


    ¡°Hey, have you heard? There¡¯s a rumor flying around about a band of thieves.¡±


    ¡°Huh? There are a lot of thieves. What makes this group special?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s what I asked. Apparently, their leader is a Diamond General.¡±


    ¡°What? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And what¡¯s more, their group is made up of Generals and Apprentices.¡±


    ¡°. . . Woah. What a strong group.¡±


    This band of thieves, Arachnid, was led by CrawlingMan who ranks as a Diamond General. Thanks to this, CrawlingMan was able to defeat two Silver Generals and fifty Apprentices ranging from Bronze to Diamond rank. They all became his subordinates.


    CrawlingMan desired the life of the wealthy. He was born in a family that earned just enough for their daily needs. But in school, he learned of the existence of hierarchy and realized he was at the bottom. He was devastated at how the wealthy would treat him like trash. Thus, he swore to himself that he would train to be the strongest. Naturally, when you are strong, you don¡¯t need to work for money; it comes to you.


    His first victim was a village to the south. When he tasted the fruits of his labor, he was addicted. ¡°Ah! This is it. This is the life I wanted.¡±


    CrawlingMan was overjoyed. Oh, what a wonderful life it is where maids tend to your every need, and servants obey your every order; not to mention, a whole fighting group is at your command. It would have been better if he could share this feeling with his family, but alas! They were long dead; murdered at the hands of the wealthy.


    It was their fault for being weak, he thought to himself. That''s why CrawlingMan would always prioritize his training. In order to live, he must be strong; strong enough to dominate his enemies and protect what is his.


    However, as fate would have it, an obstacle blocked his way to power.


    It happened on a night of the new moon. CrawlingMan led his group Arachnid for another raid. Their target was an unremarkable village with a population of more than a hundred. When CrawlingMan decided on his target, he sent out a subordinate to recon. The subordinate reported a surprising discovery. There were only two or three practitioners in the village, all in the Apprentice rank.


    The heavens are siding with me!


    CrawlingMan was elated. After amassing wealth for several years, with the addition of the unremarkable village, he would soon be able to own land equal to a small duchy. Soon, he would be known as the Diamond General, Duke CrawlingMan.


    ¡°Prepare yourselves, my men. I expect that by tomorrow, that puny village would be under my control.¡± CrawlingMan bared his teeth and raised the moral of his group.


    Night.


    ¡°Kuhahaha! Attack!¡±


    ¡°Uraaaaaaaaaa!¡±


    Thunderous footsteps sounded as more than fifty men charged to the unsuspecting village six hundred meters to their north. Had it been a normal human army of fifty, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to make vibrations in the ground with merely the strength of their legs. However, this was an army of practitioners capable of breaking a boulder down to tiny pieces. With speed faster than average humans, this group of fifty soon reached the gates of the village. Slashing and hacking, they toppled over the wooden gate with their weapons and charged through. Meanwhile, CrawlingMan was at the back of the group, leisurely strolling through the village. It would appear that he now treated this village like his own and forbade his men from destroying the houses too much. They only needed to capture the villagers and kill the practitioners.


    Heh. Those weaklings never knew what hit them. CrawlingMan ordered his men to bring the reported practitioners to him while he waited at the center of the village.


    Soon, the whole village was gathered at the center, kneeling on the ground for mercy. Somehow, it made CrawlingMan feel powerful. The lives of these hundred people were at the tips of his fingers.


    ¡°Ugh. You bastards!¡±


    ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    Two voices screamed in anger as they were manhandled to him.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll handle them,¡± CrawlingMan said with a wicked smile as he proceeded to stand in front of the two practitioners. One was dressed in light clothing and the other was dressed in low level armor. Tsk. Beginners, he thought in disdain. As the leader, there was no need for him to deal with these two. One of the two Silver Generals under him was enough. But he thought it was necessary to show his power to his people so that they wouldn¡¯t think of rebelling in the future.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that you are aware of your impending doom. But I can be merciful this time. Think of it as a parting gift. I¡¯ll stand here and allow you to attack me for sixty seconds. Go ahead and attack me together, it¡¯s not like that¡¯ll make any difference.¡± The members of Arachnid snickered at his obvious taunt. It was inevitable; he was a Diamond General and the two were only Apprentices. They don¡¯t stand a chance.


    The two were furious. Such blatant insults! No one among those on the path to power would tolerate such insolence. But they couldn¡¯t do anything about it for the difference between them was indeed that big.


    ¡°Grr. I refuse to bow down to you!¡±


    ¡°I prefer to die!¡±


    Shouting their battle cries, the two decided to go all out and attack.


    CrawlingMan, with a height of two and a half meters towered over the two. Dressed in bronze armor, his muscles bulged at the arms and legs. And with a disdainful glare and a mocking grin, he was the epitome of a tyrant.


    The one with the light clothes and thick eyebrows unsheathed his sword. He attacked first and slashed towards his opponent but he was repelled. He couldn¡¯t even scratch the man¡¯s bronze armor.


    The other with the low level armor and a mustache positioned his spear and thrust it to the weak point of the bronze armor. He was a level faster than the man with the thick eyebrows and because he attacked later, both of their attacks landed at the same time. The other wasn¡¯t able to injure him but he was able to.


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    Jumping back, the man with the mustache displayed a smirk. He was able to wound the leader on the elbows.


    ¡°You are courting death!¡± A threatening aura covered the center of the village as CrawlingMan¡¯s blood dripped down his arm. He was furious; he didn¡¯t think they could even injure him. ¡°It seems that even weaklings like you can think once in a while.¡±


    Enraged, he proceeded to attack the one with the mustache. Faster than the two of them could react, he sent a fist towards his head with a strength that could pulverize a rock.


    The man with the mustache was scared silly. His fear prevented him from moving. He could only watch as that fist came closer and closer. His eyes widened; he knew he was going to die.


    The man with a sword wanted to save him but what can he do? If a General fought him seriously, there was no way he could fight back. And his opponent was at the peak of Generals; he was a Diamond rank. He could only curse him to death.


    Even the villagers felt sorry for the man with the mustache. He and the man with the sword were outsiders who happened to stay at their village for some rest. And now, they were on their way to eternal rest.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Suddenly, a gentle voice echoed through the whole village.


    CrawlingMan ignored it and poured his strength to shatter the body of the man before him. But amazingly, he couldn¡¯t move. His fist was almost there, just touching the tip of the man¡¯s nose but that was it. He mustered all his strength but he couldn¡¯t push any further.


    Wh-what¡¯s happening?!, CrawlingMan thought in panic. Alarm bells started ringing in his mind.


    Footsteps slowly sounded in the silence. And soon, a figure in black cloak appeared in his vision. Standing against the light of the moon, the figure¡¯s head was covered with a hood. The only thing CrawlingMan could see was striking sky blue eyes. In any day, it would¡¯ve caught the admiration of many but on this night, those eyes were mercilessly cold.


    Curses! Even my voice is not working. An expert. If I had known there was an expert among them, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to raid this village!


    Such were the thoughts of CrawlingMan.


    There were unspoken rules in this world of practitioners. If an individual stood before you and you couldn¡¯t sense his aura even with your eyes open, then that individual is either an expert or possesses a unique treasure that could hide his aura.


    Naturally, as one grows stronger, the body releases an aura unique to him alone that corresponds to his strength. When an expert wishes to, he can hide his aura and those weaker than him could not sense it no matter how hard they try.


    This scene was an example of that.


    The cloaked man waved his hand and the power that froze CrawlingMan vanished. Hurriedly, he retracted his arm and knelt on the ground.


    ¡°My humble apologies, senior. This junior was foolish and didn¡¯t believe senior would be amidst the group of villagers.¡± CrawlingMan hurriedly tried to appease the expert and win his favor. If everything works out, the expert would peacefully leave and he could resume with the raid.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Yes. This junior is named CrawlingMan. It is my pleasure to be of your acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Mm. CrawlingMan, immediately leave this village or die by my hand.¡±


    CrawlingMan¡¯s face instantly turned ugly. This was what he didn¡¯t want to happen. ¡°Senior, if you would reconsider¡ª¡±


    ¡°Enough. I have already given you a choice to live. Decide now.¡±


    CrawlingMan clenched his teeth. Be it pride or something else he didn¡¯t know but he somehow felt indignant. He stood up in a flash and attacked the cloaked man. Unsheathing his sword midway, he mustered all his strength for a one-hit attack.


    The chances of an expert staying at an unremarkable small village were close to zero. Such high and mighty people looked down on everyone. They wouldn¡¯t bat an eye even if a kingdom was burnt to ashes. The things that could move these prideful beings were few in their number. Thus, this expert covered in cloak could only be someone with a unique treasure¡ªpowerful enough to freeze even the likes of a Diamond General.


    In actuality, he might even be weaker than me. This was the only conclusion CrawlingMan could come to. He refuses to believe that the mighty experts would come to such a village.


    And in reality, CrawlingMan could not be blamed for coming to such a conclusion. But in his anger, he has forgotten something. The experts were indeed prideful but aside from that, they were also eccentric and had weird tendencies. He had eliminated the thought that one of them could possibly be bored and decided to pose as a normal villager.


    And this mistake determined CrawlingMan¡¯s fate.


    With a power that could pulverize boulders, CrawlingMan slashed his sword horizontally on the cloaked man¡¯s neck. Decapitation was the quickest way to kill a practitioner. Seeing that his attack landed, CrawlingMan was overjoyed.


    But the strangest thing was, the cloaked man didn¡¯t move an inch and the slash mark through his neck was nowhere to be seen. Instead, CrawlingMan saw something flash on the split second that he sliced through the cloaked man¡¯s neck.


    Drip. Drip.


    ¡°Leader!¡±


    The widened eyes and fearful expressions of his men confused him. When he proceeded to speak, he found that he couldn¡¯t. When he looked down, blood decorated his bronze armor. As he lifted his head to look at the cloaked man, his consciousness left him. His head fell to the ground, detached from the rest of his body.

 The Third – Mission

    The Third ¨C  Mission


    Rumors of an expert appearing in an unremarkable village and of his heroic acts spread through different cities. A figure cloaked in black and his stunning sky blue eyes.


    Soon, different practitioners set out for this village in hopes of meeting the said expert. Unfortunately, by the time any of these practitioners arrived, the expert had already left. He had terrified the rest of the members of Arachnid so much that they were forced to submit and lower their heads. He had also made it so that they wouldn¡¯t attack the village in the future. The group naturally disbanded in the course of time.


    After several weeks, the rumors died down. The people weren¡¯t so overjoyed since in this world of combat, experts were as numerous as the stars in the sky. Some of their deeds would be intentionally spread to the common people to encourage them to keep training. But it wasn¡¯t so often that the people would get used to it. After all, experts had infinite lifespan and could be considered immortals. The normal citizens on the other hand, would reach to an average of ninety years in their life.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    In a land to the north, in a city called Northwing, a young man was browsing through the different shops.


    ¡°Ayo, young man! How about some armor? You could use some.¡±


    ¡°Young man, try out these pills. I¡¯ve got a variety of them.¡±


    Different merchants called out to him in hopes that he may have some money to spare on items. However, this young man simply smiled to the merchants and left for the next street. He entered a simple shop with little to no decorations and headed for the counter.


    ¡°Yes, what can I do for you, sir?¡± A woman professionally greeted him. She looked around thirty or so but the young man¡¯s thoughts came to a stop. Some practitioners are capable of altering their features, and all experts are capable of completely changing their appearance. So there is no way to be certain of someone¡¯s age unless you personally ask and they decide to tell you the truth.


    Clearing his throat, the young man replied, ¡°Do you have any [Snake¡¯s Poison] in stock?¡±


    The woman frowned. ¡°My apologies, sir. That item is sold on big cities unlike here. What¡¯s more, [Snake¡¯s Poison] can only be extracted from a Six-Headed Silver Snake. It is very dangerous and requires Diamond Generals to subdue them. Our shop is unable to procure such a precious item.¡±


    The young man sighed. ¡°Is that so? Then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± With a heavy heart, he exited the store and looked up at the sky. This was the eleventh city he has visited in hopes of acquiring the [Snake¡¯s Poison]. But it seems they are only available in heavily populated cities where he could not even step into. However, no matter what, he must get his hands on a bottle of it.


    ¡°What should I do?¡± he muttered to himself in anxiety. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste any more time. . . It can¡¯t be helped. I suppose I need to visit the Guild.¡±


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Welcome to Northwing¡¯s Guild! Is there anything you need?¡± A frail-looking young man greeted him. He was dressed in light bronze armor and the emblem of the guild was present at his breast pocket.


    The young man nodded. ¡°Are there any subjugation requests for Six-Headed Silver Snakes?¡±


    ¡°Please wait a moment. I will search through the Guild¡¯s records.¡± The frail-looking young man brought out a thick book as wide as a small table and scanned through it using a formation array. ¡°There are currently no requests to subjugate the five-rank Six-Headed Silver Snake.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. Not even one?¡± Agitated, the young man fervently questioned the man in front of him who held a thick book in his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll take anything as long as I can encounter a Six-Headed Silver Snake. Please, won¡¯t you search once more?¡±


    The frail-looking young man stared at his costumer and slowly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try once more.¡±


    The wait was killing the young man. This was very important for him. If he couldn¡¯t acquire a bottle of [Snake¡¯s Poison], then. . .


    ¡°Unfortunately, there are no such requests . . .¡±


    The young man frowned, panic showed on his expression.


    ¡°However,¡± the young man perked up, ¡°there is a request to accompany and guard some people through the Armayan Cave.¡±


    ¡°What use would that be?¡± the young man frowned.


    ¡°The Armayan Cave is known to house a lot of strong monsters including the Six-Headed Silver Snake. However, it is rare to encounter one as such snakes prefer to hide themselves and seldom are they seen above ground.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take that!¡± The young man was overjoyed. Even if the chances were rare, it was already worth it for him. At the very least, he just has to leave the team when they arrive at the cave.


    ¡°Very well. Please show me your identification card.¡± The frail-looking young man held out a hand and received the card.


    ¡°Hack Beta, Gold Master. Body guarding request through Armayan Cave, approved. Job description: Guard the client until he safely arrives to PotHold City. Requesting practitioners of at least the General level. Route: from Northwing City to Ginyan Forest, into the Armayan Cave, through Scattered Village, then to PotHold City. Assembly date is three days from now and the place to meet is at the entrance of the Guild. The reward after the completion of this request will naturally be collected at the Guild in PotHold City. Simply present your identification card and receive your reward.¡±


    ¡°Right. Thanks.¡± The young man¡ªHack, as his identification card states, nodded with a smile. He then proceeded to leave.


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    ¡°I pray that you may accomplish this request safely,¡± with a respectful bow, the frail-looking young man sent him off.


    After he successfully left the guild, Hack let out a sigh. ¡°Good thing my identity wasn¡¯t revealed. Quickly, I should leave before anyone starts making assumptions.¡±


    Thus, Hack hastened his steps and left for a place to eat. He entered a simple building with a shabby-looking sign that says, ¡°The Bears¡¯ Inn¡±.


    Inhaling the appetizing smell, he was quite surprised as he walked in. ¡°Not bad. There¡¯s actually this many people here.¡± As he muttered to himself, he looked for a table and sat down.


    ¡°Welcome to The Bears¡¯ Inn, dearest sir. What would you like to order?¡± A lovely lady with braided hair approached him with a smile.


    Hack smiled back. ¡°What would you recommend, miss?¡±


    ¡°I recommend our specialty, Bear¡¯s Jar! We have received great response from first-time customers with this meal, sir.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. What a peculiar name, he thought. ¡°All right then, I¡¯ll have that.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Is there anything else, sir?¡±


    "Hmm. Oh. That''s right, is there any vacant room in here? I would like to stay for three nights."


    The lady with a braided hair chuckled. ¡°We most certainly do, sir. However, we have a separate counter for those who would like to use our inn. Feel free to approach the man at the desk.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Thanks.¡±


    With a smile, the lady left to take care of his order.


    Is it common knowledge for practitioners?, Hack thought. In that case, he really needs to familiarize himself with the ways of common practitioners.


    After he ate and got himself a room, he immediately decided to spend the rest of the time in there.


    ¡°Three days from now, huh?¡± Hack was lying on the bed and his eyes were closed. He quietly muttered to himself.


    The wind blew through the open window and ruffled his chestnut hair. The gentle touch of the wind slowly lulled him to sleep.


    ¡°No matter what, I will definitely acquire that [Snake¡¯s Poison]. . . For Father . . .¡± and then, he gave control to his subconscious.


    Three days later. At the entrance of Northwing¡¯s Guild.


    When Hack arrived, he saw that there were also eight people waiting by the entrance. He wanted to ascertain if there were potential spies among them but because the client wasn¡¯t there yet, he decided to check them out later.


    About an hour later.


    ¡°Greetings, everyone.¡± What spoke to the group of practitioners by the entrance was a gentle old man with an amiable smile. The muscular man beside him who introduced himself as the guild¡¯s officer called out and gathered this group of practitioners. By now, there were fourteen people in the group including the old man.


    ¡°I am your client for this request. My name is Lomin. I hope that we all reach PotHold City safely.¡± The amiable old man slightly bowed and introduced himself.


    After that, the muscular man spoke. ¡°As I have said earlier, I am an officer of the guild, Loro. I am here to take charge of this body guarding request. Initially, our task is to safeguard this gentleman until he reaches PotHold City. Therefore, our utmost priority is to keep him safe until the destination. Now, let me affirm the members of this group.¡±


    The muscular man came to the practitioners individually to affirm their identities. Once this was settled, the whole group, led by Loro headed to the city gates.


    After two hours of walking, they entered Ginyan forest. Encompassing a circumference of around four miles, the Ginyan forest was a fairly large woodland in the Sky Continent. It was a garden of beasts where verdant fields abounded. Mountains soared high into the sky and trees dotted the land. But despite the beautiful scenery, travelers must beware the beasts. If one is not careful enough, he just might become a beast¡¯s supper.


    Through the length of the trip, Hack observed the people he traveled with. The client himself seemed like a harmless old man. The guild officer, Loro, on the other hand was emitting a valiant aura. His muscles bulged and his steps were firm as he stepped on the ground. On his back was a sheathed war blade that was in proportion to his muscular build. Aside from the two of them, Hack also observed the rest of his group; eleven people. Among them, only three people caught his eye. One was a slim, handsome man with a sword on his waist. Another was a bearded man with bronze armor. The last was an elegant lady who kept to herself.


    While he was thinking this, he suddenly noticed a hooded figure that was walking quite a distance from him. From the start of the journey, this man was quite peculiar; he didn¡¯t speak a word to anyone and strayed at the back of the group. Hack couldn¡¯t see his face too well either, but he was certain that the figure was male.


    As if the hooded man could read his thoughts, he turned to glance at Hack for a moment and didn¡¯t pay him any more attention. However, that moment allowed Hack to observe his facial features. After all, as a practitioner who was at the Master level, his memory was already quite good. The hooded figure turned out to be a young man. His nose was tall and perfectly arched. His dull blue eyes shone with a flash of something and quickly disappeared. Despite the bored look in his eyes, they seemed to be masking a chilling aura, enough to frighten other people away. The only unpleasant thing was that his mouth was curled into an ugly frown.


    This guy must be a hidden expert or a spoiled young master, Hack thought.


    However, the chances of a hidden expert accepting a request as tedious as this don¡¯t seem to be too high. After all, they are prideful people. They would only accept missions that match their strength. So, Hack decided that this should be a spoiled young master who wanted to try his luck outside his mansion. He disregarded any further observations from him.

 The Fourth – Arrogant Fool

    The Fourth ¨C  Arrogant Fool


    A while later, the group could inhale something like urine, except that it was more unpleasant than a human¡¯s.


    ¡°Everyone, be cautious. We should be entering a beast¡¯s abode,¡± Loro said as he focused on his senses.


    The whole group was on alert. Despite the fact that the Ginyan Forest housed low-ranked monsters, there was also a possibility that there were hidden monsters who wielded strength that could wipe out an army of Generals. Therefore, they couldn¡¯t be too carefree.


    *Roar!*


    Just then, a roar sounded out from the middle of the forest. It was followed by rumbling footsteps that were heading towards their direction.


    ¡°Great. We have a huge enemy ahead!¡± Loro grunted.


    As everyone unsheathed their weapons and surrounded the client in a protective circle, a voice lazily called out.


    ¡°That should be a Giant Gold Ant. Based on the stench of urine in the surroundings and the furious roar earlier this should be a part of its territory. As a beast belonging to the race of Ant King, it is very territorial and can go berserk once enraged. It should be a four-rank beast.¡±


    When everyone turned to look, the one who spoke was the peculiar hooded figure.


    Hack¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Just based on little information, he was able to deduce all that?


    Hmm. So he¡¯s either a hidden expert or a spoiled young master with some knowledge. Either way, his presence should be advantageous to the group.


    ¡°Hmph. The empty bark of a scared dog. Just how hollow is your bark?¡± The slim, handsome man with a sword on his waist remarked indignantly.


    The rest of the group remained silent. They didn¡¯t know the hooded man¡¯s identity so they didn¡¯t dare to offend him. That was how they normally behaved; they didn¡¯t dare talk back to anyone whose background they couldn¡¯t confirm.


    As for the slim, handsome man, his identity should be quite high if he dared to just look down on any stranger.


    With a shrug, the hooded man revealed a light smile. ¡°Whether you believe me or not is none of my concern. I merely wanted to inform.¡±


    The slim and handsome man snorted and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll have you know, I am the son of Grandia City¡¯s Castle Lord. My name is Kyle Grandia. You better remember it!¡± He puffed his chest proudly with a mighty aura.


    The surrounding people were mostly shocked awake. Grandia City was one of the top six cities in the Sky Continent. It was a majestic city with tons of experts as its citizens. There was also a rule that only the visitors who are Master rank and above are allowed to stay at the city. Those ranked below the cut off line can visit during the day but when night falls, they have to leave or they would be subjected to disciplinary punishment. Naturally, this rule does not apply to the citizens but every two years, they would host a competition for the young ones where the bottom ten would be sent out of the city to fend on their own. Those who are thrown out can only return after they reach at least the Master rank.


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    It was a prime example for a world where only the strong survives. Of course, despite the cruel rules, many are attracted to visit the city because it houses lots of beautiful spots for sightseeing and entertainment. Not to mention that the City Castle houses a terrifying figure in the martial path. The Caste Lord is said to be at the pinnacle of the Grandmaster rank.


    In this continent, practitioners are divided into different ranks: Apprentice, General, Master, and Grandmaster. These are further divided into sub ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Diamond.


    Being at the pinnacle of the Grandmaster rank meant that the Castle Lord would be at the Diamond Grandmaster stage.


    Good heavens! The surrounding people couldn¡¯t help their hearts from trembling in fear.


    In a world where cultivating reigns, it doesn¡¯t also equate to lots of experts. Cultivating was a very difficult task. Ordinary practitioners would need at least six years to advance in rank from Bronze Apprentice to Silver Apprentice. Excellent practitioners would require at least four years advancing. Geniuses, on the other hand, would need at least two years. Furthermore, almost everyone can only start cultivating when they reach ten years old, when their bodies are firm and can handle absorbing the Energy of the Earth.


    Actually, a practitioner can only advance in rank when they have absorbed enough Energy of the Earth and turned them into his own. But because of the shortage of resources, only those who have a formidable background can steadily increase their ranks; others can only hope to get their hands on some resources before they can resume their cultivation.


    This was why they were shocked. It was because of the astonishing power that the Grandia Clan holds. Another reason is because of the frightening number of supreme experts under their control.


    The hooded man raised an eyebrow in reply. With a gaze containing nothing but laziness, he stared at Kyle.


    This action astonished the surrounding people. To do such a thing, this hooded figure was either someone with a powerful background equal to the Grandias, or an arrogant fool who has seen nothing of the world. Of course, there was also the possibility of him being a supreme expert who is not tied down by human rules. But they disregarded that because it was highly unlikely.


    Kyle sneered at him. If it weren¡¯t for the arriving dilemma, he would have already beaten this fool to death. With a snort, he turned his head and focused his attention at the rumbling noise. The origin of the noise seems to be about a few hundred meters away from them now.


    With a smirk, he thought to himself, I¡¯ll see if you can back your arrogant words. Hmph. A Giant Gold Ant. No one would know if you were to be accidentally killed by the beast, right?