Harry whirled around, awkwardly searching for the source of the voice. Not too far behind him were two men who had snuck up on him. He was so absorbed in his rant that he hadn't heard them coming.

One of them had short red hair, trimmed to the shoulders, with wide and bright eyes. The other had long blonde hair, which fell to the middle of his back, tied in a ponytail. They were older than Harry, but still looked young, perhaps in their early 20's.

Both of them had very feminine looks, with soft and smooth facial features. For a moment, Harry almost thought they were women, but on a second glance, both were definitely men.

His pupils shrank when he tried to sense their cultivation. He couldn't determine their level, though he was sure they were both in the Qi Absorption Realm. But both of them gave off a slight pressure, which made him feel uneasy. At the very least, they were stronger than his former friends at the Swan Sea Sect, despite being so young.

"Hello," he said slowly, making sure to keep his foot on the Natural Essence. If these two people saw he was carrying a Heaven Grade treasure… his life would be over.

"Who were you talking to?" the man with the red hair asked. He was the owner of the high-pitched, cheery voice who had spoken earlier.

"Er… no one. Just talking to myself."

"Are you angry then? You seemed pretty angry back there! Everything ok?"

"I'm fine," Harry said evenly, while assessing the pair of them. The red-hair man was all grins and smiles, with a harmless appearance, while the blonde's face was more impassive, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking.

"Then who were you telling to come out?"

"Ah, that? I… I was trying to summon my Magic Spirit," Harry admitted, not knowing how else to explain his actions. After all, he had foolishly been yelling that out loud.

The two men fixed him with disbelieving stares.

"It doesn't really listen to me," he lamely finished.

"What do you mean it doesn't listen to you?" the blonde-haired man asked. His voice was deeper, and his tone and manners were more refined. And also, more skeptical.

"I mean, when I summon it, it doesn't come out. It's, uh, not very obedient. No matter how many times I call for it, it never comes out," Harry continued. He couldn't exactly tell these two the true nature of his Magic Spirit. Even if he did, they wouldn't believe him, so he just said the first thing to come to mind. Either way, it wasn't a lie.

The blonde man's eyes narrowed, clearly suspicious. But the red-haired man let out a peal of laughter, and clapped his hands.

"That's really funny! I didn't even know Magic Spirits could do that! You're a pretty interesting guy, haha! What's your name?"

"I'm James," Harry lied again, out of habit. He was so used to introducing himself as such that it slipped out, even though he wasn't in the Swan Sea Sect anymore.

"Nice to meet ya, James! I'm – uh, um, er," – the red-haired man looked at the blonde-haired man for help – "wait, what's my name again?" he whispered.

"…"

"…"

"It's Sullivan, you idiot!" the blonde-haired man whispered back.

"Ah right! I'm Sullivan! And that's – er, uh… and what's your name again?"

"Daniel," the blonde-haired man ground out, and glared daggers at his companion, who seemed to oblivious to the death glare.

"Right! We're Sullivan and Daniel!"

"…"

'Those are obviously fake names,' Harry stared at the two of them, wondering if they were just stupid or playing a prank on him.

"They're not fake names!" 'Sullivan' exclaimed after seeing Harry's expression.

Both Harry and the blonde-haired man put their face in their palms.

'As if you couldn't make it any more obvious…'

Sullivan grew flustered, and his face turned red. Even he realized he just gave the whole thing away.

"Oh yeah? So what if they're fake names? You could be using a fake name too! How do we know James is your real name, huh?" the man exclaimed hotly, ending his accusation with a self-satisfied smirk.

'Ah… he admitted it,' Harry was struck speechless.

Though actually… this man managed to guess it correctly. James was indeed a fake name. By some strange coincidence, the three of them were all using aliases.

"Why would he use a fake name?" the blonde-haired man, who definitely wasn't called Daniel, rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go."

"He could be!" Sullivan stubbornly insisted. "Maybe he's like us, and he ran away – "

"Shut up!" Daniel yelled, and clasped his hand over Sullivan's mouth. "Excuse us, we're leaving now."

But just as Daniel was about to drag Sullivan away, Sullivan broke free.

"Hey wait, one more thing! We saw a pretty five-colored light from afar! Was that you?"

'It's over,' Harry groaned. To his regret, he hadn't been subtle at all when refining the Water Qi. Since he hadn't seen anyone else around here, he thought he'd be safe in this desolate area, but he was still spotted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he tried, not knowing how he was supposed to lie his way out of this. But to his surprise…

"Oh, ok then," Sullivan shrugged, and turned around to leave.

'What the – he believed me?' Harry stared at his retreating figure. This guy… was he an idiot?

"He's lying," Daniel spoke up, and grabbed Sullivan's arm. "Besides him, who else is here? That ring we saw must have been his."

"Oh really? Hey, it's not nice to lie!"

"Aren't you lying about your names?" Harry retorted.

"That's – that's different!" Sullivan exclaimed. "I have a good reason to use a fake name! Anyways, bring out the ring again! I wanna see it up close!"

At first, Harry thought Sullivan and Daniel realized his ring was some sort of precious cultivation technique, and wanted it for themselves. But once he saw Sullivan's childish expression, he realized that Sullivan just thought it looked pretty. He had a puppy dog expression on his face, like a child begging his parents for sweets, not like someone who would try to steal it for himself.

"Pleeeeaaaaase?"

'Oh, thank god this guy is an idiot,' Harry sighed in relief.

"Alright," he conceded, realizing Sullivan wouldn't leave him until he was satisfied.

He mentally summoned the Ring of Elements, and behind his back, the bright five-colored glow appeared. It lit up the clearing, and now that Harry wasn't focused on refining Water Qi, he realized just how bright it truly was. He could probably be seen a mile away.

The blue segment of the ring in particular was the brightest, shining much more beautifully than the others. For a moment, the dazzling blue light took his breath away.

Both Daniel and Sullivan stared at it in wonder, also spellbound.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Sullivan gushed. "I wish I could practice that technique, too! Unfortunately, I'm stuck with the boring ones from my clan."

"Well, if there's nothing else, then you two can be going now," Harry said while dispelling the ring.

"Not so fast. What's under your foot?" Daniel cut him off. Obviously, he was the more perceptive of the duo.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, but perhaps too quickly.

"There's something there. What are you hiding from us?" Daniel's eyes narrowed, and he rolled up his sleeves.

'Oh, don't tell me...' Harry groaned.

Strengthening Flesh! Rebirthing Muscle!

The next moment, Daniel was right in front of him, almost like he had teleported. Harry only saw a blur of motion, and at the same time, Harry pushed out with both hands. Their four palms collided in the clearing, sending a force wave of Qi rippling out, smashing everything around apart. Around them, the dry grass and dust were blown away, leaving the two of them in the center of a large, desolate circle.

Both Harry's and Daniel's eyes widened in shock.

In that brief exchange, Harry got a very clear feeling on Daniel's strength. There was no doubt about it – Daniel was stronger than him. In fact, Daniel was even stronger than his former friends at the Swan Sea Sect!

'This guy… he's at the high-level of the Qi Absorption Realm!' Harry thought in surprise. Moreover, Daniel looked like he was just a few years older than himself. He was far younger than those disciples of the Swan Sea Sect. Just who was this guy?

'But, I was actually able to fend him off!' Harry marveled at his own strength. Daniel hadn't used his full strength, so he was able to resist it. But even that was good news – accompanying his entrance to the Qi Absorption Realm, his strength had increased too.

"You – are you really just at the 2nd level of the Qi Absorption Realm?" Daniel asked with a stunned voice.

"Are you really at the high-level?" Harry sneered back. But when he stared into Daniel's face, the anger he felt drained away. That was because he realized…

…up close, this man was extremely pretty!

He was looking into a perfectly shaped face, with a pointed chin, smooth jawline, and high cheekbones. A pair of clear, limpid blue eyes, like two watery jewels, stared back into his own. Rosy red lips framed a set of perfect teeth, and if he dropped the stony face and smiled, then he could capture any woman's heart. Though there was no way this man could compare to the woman trapped in the pillar of ice, Harry felt that Daniel could rival any mortal woman in the empire in terms of beauty.

'What the – don't tell me, did I become gay?' Harry had a momentarily lapse of concentration, and that was all Daniel need to push him aside and triumphantly snatch up the glittering Natural Essence.

"This is" – Daniel's pupils fiercely shrank as he studied the item in his hand – "a high-quality Earth Grade Natural Essence? No, it's just barely the Heaven Grade!"

"Ooohhh! Heaven Grade?" Sullivan bounced over, and took the Natural Essence out of Daniel's hands.

"Wow! It really is Heaven Grade! Who would've thought you'd have such a treasure on you? And it's so pretty, too!" Sullivan held the Natural Essence up to the sky, admiring the way it shined and refracted the sunlight.

"Though from the looks of it, a portion of the Qi has been drained out already," Daniel commented.

'Should I try to fight both of them, or just let them take it?' Harry got up, and prepared himself for round two. He didn't have much confidence in fighting against the pair together, and at the same time, this Natural Essence wasn't useful to him anymore. Perhaps, just letting the two of them take the treasure was the wise move.

"Yeah, looks like it. Water Qi Natural Essences are pretty rare, aren't they? I can't believe we found a Heaven Grade one!"

"Indeed, they're really rare."

'Attack the dumb one first, so I can focus my efforts on Daniel. That definitely wasn't his full strength before, but if I use the Five Element Battle Body, I think I can match him. Then, I'll make a run for it,' Harry quickly came up with a barebones plan. If he was fast, he could do it while they were caught off guard.

Just as he was about to put that plan into motion –

"Anyways, here ya go!" Sullivan tossed the Natural Essence back to Harry.

Harry's brain almost short-circuited.

"Wha – what? You're not going to take this away?" Harry bewilderedly asked.

"No? Why would we do that?" Sullivan frowned back.

He looked into Sullivan's wide, innocent eyes, and to his surprise, didn't find a trace of deceit or hostility in them. And when he looked at Daniel's face, he only saw interest and curiosity, no hostility either.

'Perhaps I'm too jaded,' he sighed. After dealing with people like the New Port Sect and Ivory Fist Clan for so long, he forgot there were still some good people left in this world.

"Never mind. I misjudged you two."

"Oh! You thought we'd steal it from you for cultivation?" Daniel finally connected the dots. "If you're so worried about that, why do you carry it openly? Just put it in a Space Ring."

"I – where am I supposed to get a Space Ring?" Harry wanted to scold these two.

"Why don't you just ask your parents for one?"

"They're dead," Harry muttered. Now he realized, he was dealing with a pair of spoiled rich kids.

"Oh. Sorry," Daniel at least had the courtesy to look ashamed.

"Here, you can take this one!" Sullivan suddenly said, and tossed a small metallic object over to Harry. Harry caught it deftly.

'This… this…' he stared at the gray ring in his hand. His mouth dropped open when he realized what it was.

"Haha, don't look so surprised! I took a couple extra with me before I left home, just in case. You can keep that one."

'It's real? This is actually real? Wait… did he say "a couple extra"? Who just keeps extra Space Rings on them? These two must be a pair of prodigal sons!'

'Spoiled rich kid' wasn't enough to describe Sullivan and Daniel. These two were the perfect representation of prodigal sons!

"Thank you," Harry said gratefully. "And sorry I suspected you earlier of trying to rob me."

"Don't worry, we wouldn't do that! Besides, we can't even use this Natural Essence. I can't refine Water Qi, and Daniel there needs Ice Qi –"

"Shut up!" Daniel yelled again, and slapped his hand over Sullivan's mouth, in a situation oddly reminiscent of earlier.

"Can't you keep your big mouth shut?" he fiercely reprimanded Sullivan.

"Sorry, sorry, just forget I said that, ok?" Sullivan grinned, not looking apologetic at all.

'How did these two survive out here for so long?' Harry stared at the pair dumbly. And how was their cultivation so high? If he had brains like these two, he would have died a long time ago.

"By the way, where am I? Am I in the Scarlet Phoenix Empire?"

Both Sullivan and Daniel fixed him with another strange stare.

"Well, duh! Of course you're in the Scarlet Phoenix Empire! Where else would you be?" Sullivan laughed.

"Er... I'm just kind of lost, that's all. Do you know where the nearest city is?"

"According to our maps, there's a city over there, about half a day's travel," Sullivan pointed towards the west.

"It's called, uh, Something Heart City, I think it was Happy Heart City, maybe? I don't really remember. We're heading somewhere else though – hey, wanna travel with us?"

Sullivan looked towards Harry with a bright, hopeful smile, while Daniel whipped his head around and shot Sullivan a venomous stare.

"What? Come on, it'll be fun! He seems like an interesting guy!" Sullivan pleaded.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Harry said, to which Daniel nodded rapidly.

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't want to bother you –"

"Don't worry! You're not going to bother us!"

"Well, I'm looking for someone. I'm sure you two have other things to do."

"Who ya looking for?"

"A cat… my pet cat. It ran away."

"We can help you with that!" Sullivan grinned.

"Ok, actually, I'm a wanted man. There are some people who want me dead. I don't want to implicate you two into my conflicts."

"Haha, there's no need to worry about that! Daniel and I, we're actually the –"

"SHUT UP!" Daniel yelled so loudly that Harry thought his eardrums would burst. Sullivan immediately shut his mouth.

"We'll be leaving now," Daniel said through gritted teeth, and dragged Sullivan behind him.

"Bye James!" Sullivan cheerfully waved as he was carried off, and Harry waved back, not knowing what else to do.

The rest of the day, and the next morning, passed in gloomy melancholy. The Sun set and rose, and Harry did little other than pace through the plains, wandering in aimless circles.

He fiddled around with the Space Ring, trying to figure out how to use it. He tried rubbing it, shaking it, he even waved his hand like how the Exalted Cat always did, but nothing happened. Finally, he tried to push some Qi into the ring, and to his surprise, a reaction occurred.

The space on top of his ring finger shifted, and an empty cubic box, roughly a meter in each dimension, appeared in his vision. It was translucent, overlaid on top of the existing space, so he could still see his hand and the grass underneath. His eyes widened as he took in the strange sight in front of him.

Harry hesitantly reached into the box. As soon as his hand crossed into the box's boundary, it felt somehow different, in a way he couldn't quite explain. His hand was still there, but simultaneously not there, as if it entered a pocket dimension. But while his hand was in the box, he was able to drop the Natural Essence inside it, and when he pulled his hand out, the Natural Essence stayed inside the Space Ring.

But even the novelty of playing with the Space Ring soon faded away. In the end, Harry gave up pacing through the dry land, and sat down.

He had to accept it. The Exalted Cat wasn't coming.

"It's busy," he consoled himself. "It must be far away, and caught up in something important. I'm on my own."

He cleared a small patch of grass, and scrawled out a message in the dirt. It wouldn't last very long, definitely not past the next time it rained, but he trusted the cat had its methods to track him down.

EC, I was here. – JE.

It was short and simple, but the Exalted Cat would know what it meant.

"Now, where to?" he sighed. He was thinking about this question all day, preparing for the case where the cat didn't show up. All the day long he deliberated, though in the end, he wasn't able to make up his mind. He was a free man now, and with his strength, he could settle down in most areas of the empire and live comfortably. He could go wherever he liked.

Maybe that was why he couldn't decide.

He was torn between two desires. One was revenge, to kill off the entire New Port Sect and the Nott Sacred Clan, to slaughter the Ivory Fist Clan and Alchemist Guild down to their last member. He wanted them to experience the same suffering the Swan Sea Sect had, and he wanted to enact his revenge with his own two hands.

After all, a debt of blood must be paid in blood.

But realistically… he knew his strength was pitifully insufficient for that. If he wanted to realize that dream, he would have to grow much stronger. The best way to do that would be to complete the Nameless Technique.

The second desire was to live quietly, to forget the struggles of the cultivation world, to never provoke a conflict again. A smaller part of him yearned for a peaceful life, one free of fighting and death and betrayal. His whole life, he had never known peace, and he longed to experience it. Life in the cultivation world was just so… tiresome.

A burning desire for revenge, and a yearning desire for peace – he was torn between both extremes.

Though regardless of which choice he made, there were a few constants he couldn't avoid. For example, he needed food and a place to stay.

"To Happy Heart City it is," he decided, and walked in the direction Sullivan had pointed to. Harry could only hope that the oddball's directions were accurate.

Alone Harry headed off, to start the next chapter of his life.