Overthrowing Fate
Xu Min realized that he was gifted with an exceptional talent for cultivation as he was training to become a family guard. His path was set before him but due to the jealousy of man, misfortune befell him. Xu Min found that he could trust no one as he began walking down the path of vengeance in a world where only the strong survived.
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Chapter 0: Prologue
"You scum, why don't you just f*cking die already?!" A cold voice sounded throughout the empty field as a young child dressed in fine clothes kicked a figure lying on the ground. His eyes were gleaming with pleasure as he let his kicks rain down on the boy on the ground who had coiled up, doing his best to protect his face and stomach with his arms.
The overbearing child could not be more than eight years old as his features were still quite effeminate and his voice had no rust of age. His eyes were light brown and a smile adorned his face, making his childish features even more striking; a shocking contrast to the show of brutality he was showing.
Behind the well-dressed boy was a group of children, all of them around the same age. All of these children were giggling and laughing, pointing at the person who was currently being kicked and beaten up as though they found this display of cruelty entertaining.
Blood sprayed from the mouth of the boy lying on the ground as another kick managed to break through the flimsy guard he had made with his arms. A cracking noise sounded loud and clear as a rib broke, resulting in even more blood spraying from his mouth and his already pale skin turned ashen. As the cracking sounds were heard throughout the field, the young boy dressed in fine clothes finally seemed to be satisfied with the beating he had given to the pitiful creature.
"Don't you ever show your face to me again, or I will beat you to death. It is your fault that Father keeps telling me to improve!" With dark eyes filled with hate and anger, the young boy spat on the wounded child before he turned around and beckoned to his entourage to follow him as his laughter rang through the air.
As the young boy and his entourage disappeared into the distance, the other child was still lying on the ground cowering in fear. Tears and mucus kept flowing down his face, his eyes were closed and his ashen face was visibly in pain. This crying, however, did not last long. As soon as the final person vanished into the distance, the wounded boy instantly stopped weeping and his tears vanished with a wipe of his dirty clothes.
His black eyes were filled with anger and hate as he managed to slowly stand up. His lips twisted in an ugly expression as all the remaining blood in his face was drained away; the pain in his ribcage was simply too much for a boy his age. Grinding his teeth, he slowly made his way back home.
This time they have really gone too far, he thought as he grimaced. Every step he took caused a sharp pain to run through his entire body; but in spite of his heavy injuries, his eyes were not clouded by pain, but instead, with anger.
The wounded boy slowly walked in the same direction as the previous group had before, albeit his speed was far inferior to that of the laughing youngsters.
"Little Min!" A gentle and melodious voice rang out as Xu Min walked through the front door into a shabby cabin that he and his sister owned. The exhausted expression on Xu Min's face instantly changed into a small smile as he heard the worried voice, and he gathered some of the last bits of his energy to make himself stand straight.
"Don't worry big sis." With the remainder of his energy, Xu Min moved towards the bed where he slowly laid down because his entire body was tired from walking such a distance with his injuries. His entire body was burning in pain as blood flowed in a steady stream into his mouth, forcing him to swallow it repeatedly, because he did not wish to spit it out and worry his sister even further.
"Was it the young master who injured you again?" His older sister asked with a frown on her beautiful face. Slowly making her way towards the boy, she sat down next to him and gently removed his dirty clothes because she noticed that he was unable to move on his own. Her heart was trembling – the closer she got to her little brother, the more blood-stained his clothes appeared to be, making her previously beautiful bright eyes darken with anger. When she saw a small trail of dried blood in the corner of his mouth, her heart almost stopped.
When she finally managed to remove all the clothes, she let out a low hiss as she saw how blood was gathering on the side of his body where the rib was broken. Her hands instantly withdrew because she knew just how painful it had to have been for this young boy to endure her constant touch while she tugged his clothes off.
"A broken rib?" She asked, her face dark with anger. Without waiting for an answer, Xu Wu instantly ran out the shack and went outside into the dark night, her face filled with determination.
Seeing how his sister had ran out into the night, Xu Min wished that he could stop her. He had a good idea where she was going, but he was incapable of doing anything to stop her. He was left behind in the cabin, cursing his inability to act.
It took around an hour before Xu Wu returned to the cabin. She was gasping for air and her hair was disheveled from running far and fast while her eyes were wide open and alert. She was clutching a herb which Xu Min instantly recognized as the Thousand Jade Flower. This flower with healing abilities was an item grown by the Zhong family, the family which Xu Min and Xu Wu worked for.
To get her hands on one of these plants, it was obvious that Xu Wu had stolen it from the fields, since just one Thousand Jade Flower was worth more money than servant children like them would ever see in their lifetimes.
Stealing a medicinal herb from the fields was punishable by death, so Xu Min's heart started to beat frantically, fearing that at any moment, a guard would come through the door and grab Xu Wu, bring her to the family's main residence, and prosecute her as a thief.
Knowing that his sister went through such lengths for his sake, Xu Min could say nothing about how she had obtained the plant and accepted the congee that she had made for him, which was brewed using every part of the precious medicine.
For the successful and complete refinement of the herb, one needed to be specialized in refining medicinal materials, but neither Xu Wu nor Xu Min knew anything about that, for the two of them were mere servants. While Xu Wu dealt with laundry everyday, Xu Min was being trained to become a family guard.
Both children were sold to the Zhong family at a young age and neither of the children had ever received any pay from their owners. The only thing they could expect was a monthly ration of food and once a year, they would each get a set of clothes and shoes.
Since neither of them knew how to refine the medicinal properties within the Thousand Jade flower, Xu Min ended up eating it raw, mixed within the congee. Although not refined, it's healing properties were not something to look down upon, and sure enough, as soon as Xu Min had eaten the flower, he felt that the pain within his chest subsided somewhat.
Astonished to see that the pain was being eased away, Xu Min managed to send a small smile to his sister. As with every other day in his life, he felt blessed. Even if he was being mistreated by the young master, none of it mattered so long as he had his sister to return home to. His sister was the only person upon this world that Xu Min loved.
As the pain had lessened to a large extent, Xu Min could no longer stay awake. After eating the food, his eyes slowly closed shut as the mentally and physically exhausted boy slipped into a deep sleep.
Seated across from the bed, Xu Wu's eyes narrowed and her beautiful face twisted in anger and indignation. The two of them were sold to the Zhong family when Xu Min was an infant and Xu Wu raised him while working hard for this family. To see her little brother tortured to such an extent, only contempt and hate was left within her eyes.
Sighing deeply, Xu Wu slowly rose from the chair and put the flames within the fireplace out before she too laid down in bed, needing to sleep so that she could work hard the following day.
"The young master seems happy today," One of the servants said as they stepped away from the table, having just served the Zhong main branch their dinner.
Exactly as they had just said, the young master was indeed looking very happy and relieved, a feeling which seemed to be shared by a few other youngsters at the table. Had Xu Min been present, he would have been instantly able to point out these happy children to be the ones who had participated in his beating earlier that day.
Seeing that his son was in such a good mood, the Zhong family leader also smiled. He had only one son and his son was already a Student Warrior by the age of eight. Although he had to rely on medicinal plants and pills to reach this stage, it was still quite a feat, ranking the young master as one of the geniuses of the younger generation.
The Zhong family leader knew very well that when his son was happy, something unfortunate had happened to the servant boy Xu Min.
Xu Min was a rare talent. The boy had reached the ranks of a Student Warrior on his own, never relying on medicinal pills and herbs, unlike what his own son had done. Furthermore, Xu Min had broken through to the Student Warrior rank one day ahead of his "genius" son.
Seeing as Xu Min had broken through to the Student Warrior rank, the young master had instantly started to ask his father for stronger medicinal pills, which his father unconditionally provided for him.
The Zhong family head was, in many ways, grateful for having such a talented child like Xu Min within the young batch of children training to become warriors. He had repeatedly encouraged his own son to work harder so that he would not fall behind – not only in training, but also in tempering his personality.
The young master was the heir to the entire Zhong family. He needed to grow into a strong man who could look after the entire compound and control a wide array of servants and workers alongside his own family one day.
It was imperative that such a privileged person learned how to deal with hardships ever since he was young and the Zhong family leader was very pleased with the way his son was dealing with the issue. By simply trampling on the low ranked servants and outer branch members, he made them understand the differences which were between a main branch heir of the entire clan and anyone else within the Zhong family residence.
Sitting at the main seat within the hall, the Zhong family leader lifted up his arm and spoke with his voice, clear and filled with power, making his words resound throughout the room.
"Yesterday, my son became a Student Warrior!" He started, everyone within the hall nodding their heads enthusiastically. "Everyone, join me in raising our cups to our prosperous future. To have such a genius in the younger generation within our family is truly a blessing!"
Following those words, everyone within the room raised their glasses to the young master, who was filled with pride; his heart beating fast as everyone within the hall was looking at him with admiration in their faces. It was only when he thought about Xu Min for a moment that the feeling turned slightly sour as he knew that that servant boy was indeed more talented than him. However, he quickly forgot that sour feeling as one family member after another called out a cheer for the young boy.
Chapter 0: Prologue
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Chapter 1: Servant Boy
The gentle sound of singing birds could be heard through the rough, broken door as the first rays of sunshine shone through the cracks, waking up both brother and sister.
Although Xu Min ate the Thousand Jade Flower the night before, it was not enough to fully heal the serious wound on his side, and the bruise left behind by the wound was even more colourful this morning than it had been the night before.
Not only was there a bruise on his side, one had spread across his face as well, and one of his eyes was completely closed due to the swelling around it.
Although the bruises looked terrible, Xu Min did not feel a lot of pain, and the majority of his body was in a better condition than it had been in a long time. Seeing the degree to which the herb had helped him, Xu Min finally understood just how the Zhong family managed to maintain their position as the richest family in the city.
Spending no more time thinking about it, Xu Min went on with his daily chores. He went out to pick up some branches which he could use the following evening to keep the fire alive. After finishing the task, he went to the nearby stream where he washed himself. Upon grazing the bruises, Xu Min would grimace from the sharp pain.
Seeing that her brother was doing much better, Xu Wu smiled before she changed her clothes and rushed towards the main house. Unlike her brother, the majority of her work was to deal with the laundry and changing of the beddings at the main house every day. All her work had to be done during the morning and the early noon.
As he saw his sister head off, Xu Min felt immense gratitude towards her. She had raised him from infancy and even now, she treated him as though he was her own child rather than her brother. She was now a beautiful young woman whom many of the male servants were courting, yet Xu Wu showed no interest in anything besides looking after her baby brother.
This in turn, had caused many servants to either try to befriend the young man for the sake of winning Xu Wu's heart, or to threaten him to become more independent so that they had a chance. Seeing that all these servants approached him with ulterior motives, Xu Min had a very hard time trusting anyone, because he never knew the reason behind why they kept approaching him.
This had, in turn, caused Xu Min to become a loner. During the earlier days when most of the servant boys who trained to become Warriors would play along with each other, Xu Min would rather be on his own and spend his time on cultivating more Qi – cultivating to become a Warrior.
After he finished his bath, Xu Min quickly dried himself and found his clothes before he sat down on the riverside, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his lap, before he slowly closed his eyes and started breathing steadily. At first, nothing seemed to be amiss. However, small ripples of energy started to emerge from the body of the young boy followed by a suction force dragging in what seemed to be air from the surroundings.
With each intake of breath, the ordinary air seemed to enter Xu Min's body, and upon exiting, small specs of golden energy could be seen.
The boy seemed very relaxed as the minutes turned into hours, and it wasn't until the sun stood high in the sky before he finally opened his eyes, with golden specks of energy visible in his black eyes. He exhaled deeply before slowly making his way to where his sister had gone hours before.
But unlike Xu Wu, Xu Min went towards the training grounds where all young men of the family, servants and nobility alike, were taught how to cultivate.
The training ground was a large area that was placed behind the Zhong family residence. The Zhong family residence was located at the outskirts of their small town, as it needed quite a lot of space for its many herb fields. In one of these fields, no herbs were planted; instead, it was used by men as a place to train.
"Oh little Min, it looks like the young master got the better of you last night," The voice came from behind him, and as Xu Min turned around, he came face to face with a large and burly man whose face was scarred by fire, making him seem mean and unapproachable.
However, as soon as Xu Min saw the man, a large smile appeared on his face and the young boy jumped into the embrace of the burly looking man, hugging him affectionately as though he was a small child who had just seen his parent after a long time.
"Overseer Tian!" Xu Min said with excited voice as the man returned the hug. However, a worried expression could be seen on the older man's face when he saw the swollen eye and discolored skin.
Releasing a humming sound, the elder managed to release himself from the hug before he gently patted the head of the young boy, sighing once again as he saw the dark bruises that were littered all about the young boy's body.
Following side by side, the grown man and the small boy made their way towards the training grounds where a sea of young children was standing in small groups, chatting and playing while waiting for Overseer Tian to appear.
"Line up!" The Overseer's voice boomed out and all the children immediately took off their shirts before they lined up in front of him. "Today, we will be practising the Shattering Palm technique. First, you need to place your right foot in front of the other, like this," The voice roared out as Overseer Tian started to describe and act out the stance that the children were to learn.
The Overseer's eyes swept across the group of children, hesitating slightly on Xu Min as he saw the bruise on his chest. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to move on to alternately observe every child on the field.
After showing the proper stance, Overseer Tian started walking around, constantly correcting one student after another. His eyes were firm and filled with tenderness while dealing with some kids, but scornful when dealing with others.
Looking around, the eyes of Overseer Tian turned kind as soon as they landed on Xu Min. Although the boy's body was filled with bruises, he worked harder than anyone. Sweat was gushing down his body because he was holding the exact pose that Overseer Tian had taught them earlier.
All the children were working hard, but many of them were on the verge of collapsing; their faces were twisted in pain from enduring in the same position for a long period of time and sweat trickled down in streams from their bodies.
Seeing this, Overseer Tian suddenly stopped and shouted loudly. His voice rang through the fields as every child listening to his voice was filled with amazement, completely forgetting the pain they were in from holding the position.
"Listen you youngsters! You are not just training to become guards, you are training to become Warriors! You are training to become cultivators! Look at the young master and Xu Min – both are already Student Warriors! They are soon going to step into the world of cultivators! They are both going to become real Warriors!"
A smile adorned Overseer Tian's face as he saw how everyone around him focused on himself and the two youngsters. The many black eyes were filled with astonishment as they looked from the young master to Xu Min and from Xu Min back onto Overseer Tian. Smiling like this, the overseer continued with his speech.
"To become a Student Warrior is the first true step to become a real cultivator! After the Student Warriors are the real Warriors! To become a real Warrior, you need to work hard!"
"The Warriors are divided into nine stars: the first three stars are for the early stage warriors, then we have the next three stars for the middle stage warriors and finally, when you all manage to get through these stars, you will finally be capable of becoming an advanced stage warrior much like the Zhong family leader!"
"Train hard and become Student Warriors! When you are a Student Warrior, you need to train more to become a real Warrior, and as a real Warrior, you will bring fame and wealth to your families!"
After hearing these motivating words, every boy in the field was filled with veneration. The two young boys were both eight years old, both of them were only children, but at the same time, both of them were working hard to become Warriors even though neither of them was close to that goal.
Seeing the two young boys work hard, looks of determination filled the eyes of all other children and they gritted their teeth as they attempted to persevere, an act that caused Overseer Tian to smile with satisfaction.
While the young master was taken in by being in the spotlight in front of all his peers, Xu Min paid no attention to anything that was being said, focusing solely on training instead. Overseer Tian was astonished when he looked at the Xu Min's impassiveness and concentration.
The entire air around the boy was filled with golden specks and his entire focus was given to training – nothing else seemed to matter to the young boy. This was what true talent and hard work looked like.
Watching this young boy for some time, Overseer Tian hoped that the young boy would be capable of reaching the rank of a one star Warrior by the time he was twenty years old. Although twelve years seemed to be quite a long time, it was not that long for cultivators.
A Student Warrior was one who had managed to successfully refine the essence of the heavens and the earth, however it was not enough to truly be a warrior. To be a warrior of the first star, one needed to refine a decent amount of Qi, which was why it usually took about twenty years of training to reach the the rank of a first star Warrior.
Because the path to becoming a warrior was quite difficult and strenuous, Warriors were venerated throughout the land. Even one star Warriors were far above the commoners who did not cultivate. The moment one reached the first star Warrior rank, one would have an average lifespan of three hundred years, and as one reached the second star, another hundred years were added and so on. This would continue in a pattern of adding a hundred years of longevity until the ninth star Warrior. Upon reaching that rank, one became unable to die from old age and they were often referred to as immortals.
Sighing, Overseer Tian stopped thinking about when Xu Min would reach the Warrior rank, and looked at the many children who were currently training instead. Although his speech had made them more motivated and determined, many of the students were unable to keep maintaining their stances and gave up one after another. In contrast, Xu Min continued training the exact pose with his eyes full of determination. Only after most of the children gave up did Xu Min finally give in too and allowed his tired body to collapse on the ground.
Looking around, only a few boys who were around three to four years older than him were still standing strong, their teeth gritted with determination since they were dead set on being the last man standing.
Glancing behind him, Xu Min saw how the young master and his friends were looking at him with eyes filled with hate and anger. The young master swept his hand in a cutting-like fashion across his throat as his eyes locked on to Xu Min, telling him that the young boy was in for a world of pain afterwards.
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Chapter 2: Hatred
"Don't idle about!" Overseer Tian's shout boomed over the many voices which were now more focused on chatting than on training. By reflex, everyone quieted down as soon as Overseer Tian raised his voice. If they didn't do so, they were in for a small beating, and unfortunately, even a small beating from an expert like Overseer Tian was bound to hurt a lot, so everyone closed their mouths instantly.
"Start running around the field. Fifty laps and then you can have a short break!" Yelling out the new instructions, Overseer Tian smiled with satisfaction as all the children started running.
Some of these students were already breathing raggedly because their cultivation levels were far too low, but surprisingly, some of the children kept running at a steady pace with only a few drops of sweat falling from their faces.
Leading the group of students was the young master, who managed to run at a decent speed. His complexion appeared relatively energetic and his speed was nice and steady. Behind him ran his entourage of noble young boys, all of whom were sweating noticeably more than the young master.
Behind the entourage was Xu Min. Not even one drop of sweat was visible on his face as he managed to keep up with the speed that the young master set. Seeing how easily Xu Min followed them, Overseer Tian secretly mocked the young master and his friends because Xu Min, a servant boy, was keeping up with them without breaking a sweat.
The sun was high in the sky. Its harsh rays shone down on the children until their bodies started screaming in complaint from the mixture of the harsh sun and the strenuous exercise. More and more sweat started to appear on their faces and bare upper bodies as they kept running, one round after another.
Finally, the young master finished the fifty laps. Exhaustion was visible on his face as he dragged his worn out body towards the shade of a tree, where he sat down gasping for air with his eyes glued onto Xu Min and hate shining in them.
The young master's entourage had long since fallen behind, leaving second place to Xu Min. Seeing how Xu Min even now had only a few drops of sweat falling from his forehead, anger twisted the young master's face as he gritted his teeth. He tore his focus away from the Xu Min, contemplating on how he would get his revenge on him.
Two days ago, Xu Min stepped into the realm of cultivators. He became a Student Warrior and his strength was no longer something to be trifled with. He was slightly younger than the young master, but his cultivation base seemed to be even above those of ten years old and older.
The young master sighed deeply as he remembered how his father had handed another medicinal pill to him last night. It forced him to think that it would have been better if he had that insane cultivation talent himself instead of this young kid from the servant quarters.
Thinking about this sore subject made the young master angry. Currently, he was able to keep up with Xu Min when it came to cultivation due to the many medicinal pills, herbal baths, acupuncture, and various other helpful methods he used to improve his cultivation. The only reason why he was able to use them was due to the fact that he was the oldest son of the Zhong family. He also had outstanding talent compared to others at his age, but despite all this, his talent was dwarfed next to Xu Min's; they couldn't even be compared!
He knew that even his father, the person he looked up to the most, had taken notice of Xu Min's outstanding talent. This was the last straw. The young master could no longer control himself. Anger burst forth, turning his eyes red as he looked over at the boy who was leisurely leaning against a tree. Xu Min appeared nonchalant and unburdened as if he did not just run fifty laps around the field.
Their break was short, and as soon as the final person finished the fiftieth lap, Overseer Tian stepped forward once again, his voice booming out, "You need to learn balance. Put all your weight on your arms and slowly raise your body up, then lower it again. You are not allowed to touch the ground with anything other than your hands! The Student Warriors among you are only allowed to have their fingertips touching the ground!"
Hearing the instructions, all the students sighed deeply, but everyone did exactly as they were told. While the majority held their bodies up with their palms touching the ground, about ten children were supporting their entire weight on their fingertips alone.
"Don't fall down yet!" Yelled Overseer Tian after an hour had passed, as some students could no longer resist and started dropping to the ground utterly exhausted. "Get back up! Keep working hard! Balance and endurance are the keys to success!"
Everyone who heard Overseer Tian would think that his behaviour caused his students to loathe him; however, he was a very well-liked man and someone whom all the students respected.
The reason for this was very simple, Overseer Tian was previously a captain in the Royal Army, where he had legions of soldiers beneath him! He was a man of the world with hundreds of amazing stories and a real Warrior, someone who had seen blood and death. All his students naturally admired him.
The training took most of the afternoon. Xu Min enjoyed the training as always. He liked the feeling of improvement and his dream was to join the army one day, where he could rely on his hard work to make his way up until he could become a general.
A general was a high ranking position in the Royal Army and was considered the utmost pinnacle of cultivators. Anyone who became a general would be showered with riches and prestige, which would make their life much simpler.
Xu Min had no wish to become a general for the sake of fame and glory. No, Xu Min wished to become a general so that he would earn enough money, to provide for him and his older sister. This position and wealth would also ensure that no one would dare to bully either of them ever again.
What Xu Min needed the most right now was a position where he could earn money. With money, it would be possible for the young boy to protect his sister. That was what he learned from the world where even his own parents had to sell him and Xu Wu so they wouldn't starve to death.
These were the thoughts that drove Xu Min and forced him to keep working hard. His eyes gleamed with determination and his breathing quickly changed to follow a specific pattern, which Overseer Tian taught to him. Golden specks surrounded his body as every muscle was pulled taut, soaking in the golden specks Xu Min inhaled.
Xu Min had entered the ideal training stance, becoming one with the world around him. It was an act that was very hard to achieve, but the boy's stubbornness and grand ideas were what pushed him beyond his limits every single day, allowing him to accomplish things that others his age could not achieve.
Overseer Tian's shock changed to astonishment as he saw Xu Min's accomplishment. A flash of pride was shown on his face, because the child had listened to every instruction Overseer Tian had ever given, from which Xu Min greatly benefitted.
While Overseer Tian was feeling proud and amazed by the sudden change, the young master of the Zhong Family felt a sour taste in his mouth as his eyes narrowed slightly and filled with hate once again.
The young master was perfectly well aware of Xu Min's talent and because the boy had no one to back him up, the young master was certain that if he truly wished to kill him, then no one would get in his way.
The only reason that Xu Min was still alive was because the young master did not just wish to kill him. He wished to thoroughly humiliate Xu Min before he finally ended his life. To make him taste the same agony which he felt every morning while he had to look at Xu Min. He wished to break the proud young man, only to let him wallow in self pity and hate. He wanted to break him so hard that he would want to die, but wouldn't have the ability to do so.
While the young master was thinking these thoughts, Xu Min continued to stay on the training ground long after everyone else had finished and gone home. He stayed in his trancelike stance, pushing the limits of his endurance and forcing his fingers to support his weight the whole time. Only when the sun began to set behind the horizon did Xu Min stand up, his fingers numb and his arms filled with a strange prickling feeling.
A large smile was evident on Xu Min's face as he slowly clenched his fists, feeling a sensation of strength rushing through his body.
"Don't start slacking off just because you reached the Student Warrior rank!" A voice said from behind Xu Min. It was Overseer Tian who had been watching him the whole time. He walked up to Xu Min, who still had an expression like he was drunk on his newly acquired power on his face.
"What I taught you was how to strengthen the body and to use specific martial arts; however, to be able to use this strength you need be able to cultivate Qi on your own."
Hearing the same words every single day, Xu Min nodded his head seriously, his eyes shining happily as he knew that Overseer Tian was reminding him for his sake. Xu Min could not help but feel grateful to the older man.
"I promise to work hard!", Xu Min promised with a slight bow, then the young boy rushed back towards his home, where Xu Wu was waiting for him.
It was now evening, which meant it was also time for dinner. Dinner was always congee, which was why it could get repetitive at times, but his sister Xu Wu was very good at cooking so it did not happen too often. She would regularly talk about what the women in the household had done the previous day. Due to this, Xu Min knew much of the gossip about the Zhong family. Although he lived a poor life, the young boy loved to laugh at the many intrigues and masquerades that happened in the family just because they were rich.
Although Xu Min wanted money, he only wanted it for the sake of stabilizing his and his beloved sister's lives, but sadly he knew that this dream was very far away.
Walking towards his home, Xu Min was filled with excitement, wondering what gossip he would hear about today. A smile appeared on his face as he rushed back home.
A short while later, Xu Min frowned slightly and wrinkles appeared on his face as he noticed unexpected smell on his way home. His eyes widened in fear, as he realized which direction this smell was coming from.
It was the pungent scent of smoke from burning wet wood! Xu Min started running very fast, yelling, "FIRE, FIRE!" Xu Min yelled as loudly as he could, straining his lungs as he gasped for air.
The shouts caused the quiet and peaceful Zhong family compound to burst into action as some families started to gather water buckets and others blankets. People from every house appeared and followed Xu Min as he rushed to his home.
After he furiously ran around the last turn, Xu Min nearly stopped in his tracks as he saw the young master and his friends watching the house burn. Scared expressions could be seen on their faces as screams could be heard from inside the house.
As soon as he heard the shrill cry, Xu Min's eyes widened. He accelerated to run as fast as he could, but by the time he got to the front of the house, the house had already been completely swallowed up by the vicious flames.
Jumping into the nearby stream, Xu Min soaked himself from head to toe and rushed into the house, prepared to rescue his only family member at any cost.
Xu Min kicked some burning wood away from the door and ripped it open. He managed to completely shatter its charred remnants by doing so and fearlessly entered into the small shack.
Although it was considered the residence of Xu Min and Xu Wu, it was truly just one room which was used as both kitchen and bedroom. Although the young boy used to wish for a mansion to live in rather than this shack, he was now grateful that everything was gathered in just one room.
Shock filled Xu Min as he saw a figure collapsed on the floor. With a scream of pain, Xu Min managed to drag her out of the cabin. It was not one moment too late, since the shack collapsed behind him in flames.
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Chapter 3: Escape
Sitting on the cold hard ground, Xu Min stared at his sister as she laid in his arms. He then hugged her with all his might, holding her close, not wishing to let her go.
His mind became a mess, since memories of their life together flooded in. He kept replaying the scene from this morning, when he saw his sister the last time, over and over again. A gaping wound appeared in his heart as though it had been ripped out from his body.
No matter how many times Xu Min called out for his sister, nothing happened. Her eyes did not miraculously open. She did not call his name back in response. Her entire body was limp in his arms, making him realize that she would never move again.
Her body had not caught on fire, but the smoke in the cabin made it impossible for her to breathe. In the end, she collapsed onto the ground and succumbed to the smoke which choked her.
Although Xu Min managed to drag her out just in time before the house burned down, he was not fast enough to prevent her death. Even though he applied every last bit of the limited amount of first aid that he knew, nothing changed. She wouldn't wake up.
He realized that everything that he could have done to try to save his sister would be futile. His heart burned with the pain of this searing loss. The world, previously filled with colors and happiness, turned dark and bleak before his sight faded away. Xu Min closed his eyes as he yelled out in pain.
"Big sister," Xu Min sobbed and gently laid her down. He looked around at all the adults who had arrived, cursing them under his breath for just standing there with dumb expressions on their faces and not assisting him earlier.
All of them had long since given up trying to save the small shack from the raging fire. Instead, they all gathered around Xu Min and Xu Wu. A mix of sadness and compassion could be seen in their eyes as they shook their heads in regret.
While he looked at everyone just standing there, anger sprouted in Xu Min's heart, because he simply wished to be left alone with his sister. Why did the fire have to happen to them? He cursed before a sudden thought entered his mind, making him clutch Xu Wu even more tightly than he had before.
"Let her go." A familiar voice sounded from behind him,interrupting Xu Min's thoughts, making him turn around. Hope sprang to life as he saw Overseer Tian striding towards him. Perhaps he knew some sort of martial arts which could bring a dead person to life once more. She had, after all, not been dead for long. A slight smile appeared on Xu Min's tearstained face, but it was a smile of madness.
"It'll be okay sis!" Xu Min said to the lifeless body in his arms. "Overseer Tian can help you." The words of Xu Min were like bolts of lightning to everyone who stood around him, and looks of pity were directed at the poor boy who was still in denial.
Upon hearing the words spoken by Xu Min, a tremor ran through the body of Overseer Tian and a sad expression became visible in his eyes. The older man kneeled down next to Xu Min and his large arms gently held the smaller boy by the shoulders, shaking him lightly.
"Pull yourself together, Xu Min!" he said with a harsh voice, "Tell us what happened here!"
Overseer Tian had known Xu Min for years and he obviously knew Xu Wu. Xu Wu was smart, and although she had never cultivated, she was still considered fairly strong. For her to be unable to leave a burning shack, something definitely had to be out of the ordinary.
"The door was blocked!" Xu Min suddenly said, his voice filled with certainty. How could he have not realised it before? Someone blocked the door before the fire started. It had to be, how else could a conscious Xu Wu succumb to the fire?
Thinking things through, an anger unlike anything he had ever felt before suddenly burned within Xu Min's gut as his eyes landed upon the frightened young master and his entourage, who were standing on the side of the crowd.
At first, he wondered why they were here. Had they seen the fire and rushed over to help? No way! The young master would never be found in these poor areas of the family compound occupied by the servants, unless he was planning something.
As if the young master knew that Xu Min was looking at him, their eyes locked and a horrified expression started to spread on the young master's face. He slowly tried to back away, only to find himself sliding to the ground. Boundless anger rose up within Xu Min. Anger, hate, and murderous intent.
"They did it!" Xu Min yelled while pointing at the young master. Everyone in the crowd turned their eyes in the direction of the pointing finger. An unexpected sight unfolded before them – the young master's face was completely pale as he actually quickly fell to the ground kowtowing in front of the furious Xu Min.
"It was a mistake!" He said with a frantic voice, desperation clear from every move he made. "It should have been you! You should have died, not your sister!"
Hearing that, Xu Min tilted his head slightly and looked down at the unmoving woman in his arms again. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gently touched her skin, that was still warm, but no pulse could be felt. His dear sister, his only family, had left him for good.
And it was all his fault. Xu Min's eyes became red as he wished that he had been the one laying there; he wished that he could trade his life for his sister's, yet no matter how much he wished for it or how much he begged, he knew it was impossible. The only thing that was still possible was to get revenge for Xu Wu's death.
Xu Min gently laid Xu Wu down on the ground and placed her arms over her chest, before he plucked a flower and placed it in her hair, after which he turned away. The anger in his eyes shone brightly into the dark night. The fire that was burning behind him made it seem as if he were a demon beast, ready to slaughter anything in its path.
"That's enough!" Overseer Tian said, as he sensed how Xu Min was about to jump onto the young master, to kill the person who caused Xu Wu's death. Before Xu Min even had the chance to move, Overseer Tian had already placed his arms around the boy, locking him in a tight embrace.
Xu Min's entire body was filled with pure hate. The only reason why he could still stand on his own two feet was due to this hate and the need for revenge. It felt as though Xu Min had turned into an avenger. He had no other purpose in life than to ensure that Xu Wu's death was paid for in blood.
Xu Min was trying his very best to escape from the tight embrace in which he was locked, however, he was still only a Student Warrior and nowhere near strong enough to pull away from Overseer Tian. He was filled with unreasonable hate towards the Overseer who had acted like his parent in the past years.
From far away, bustling sounds could be heard as more people approached. Xu Min narrowed his eyes as he saw that the Zhong family leader was amongst those people. He knew that his chances of realising his revenge had now just plummeted to the ground.
This young master was the only son of Master Zhong and he spoiled him rotten, handing him all the cultivation resources he could have possibly wished for.
Xu Min was not the only one who saw Master Zhong appear. Overseer Tian also noticed the arrival of his master. Upon seeing him, he let go of Xu Min to greet Master Zhong and rushed to the Master's side to explain what had happened.
As soon as Overseer Tian let go of Xu Min, the anger within the young boy exploded, causing him to instantly rush towards the young master. He smashed a clenched fist into the young master's face at full force, causing the spoiled brat to scream out in pain and stumble backwards, blood streaming from a broken nose.
One of the guards immediately rushed to the young master's side, caught Xu Min's shoulder and tore him away from his liege. Xu Min was thrown several meters away, where he got up, only to see the young master hiding behind the guard, which made him grind his teeth in anger.
Master Zhong looked at his son with displeasure as he saw his reaction to the pain. However, as soon as Overseer Tian explained what exactly happened, his face instantly turned brighter and a smile appeared on his face.
"Little Ji, I never thought you had it in you!" He said in a praising voice, causing the young master to be stunned for a moment, shocked to see that he was not being scolded. "To think you actually had it in you to kill someone, father is proud of you!" He continued, his eyes lighting up with surprise and his words causing Xu Min's head to go blank..
To kill an innocent woman who had never cultivated was considered something to be commended for? Hate seeped out of his eyes and Xu Min felt as though he would jump right at Master Zhong, attacking him with his fiercest attack.
Fortunately, Xu Min was aware that he was nowhere near as strong as Master Zhong and his burning desire for revenge told him that he had to endure for now, or else he would fail for sure. Endure! He bore his fingernails into his palms, allowing the pain to flood in, in an attempt to fill the void that appeared in him.
What Xu Min did not expect was that right at this moment, while Xu Min was staring at Master Zhong, the family leader looked at him and a cold flash appeared in his eyes.
"Kill the brother!" He said with a casual voice. The order caused enormous shock amongst many of the people present. Xu Min used that moment of surprise to turn on his heels and run. With a final look at his beloved sister, Xu Min rushed into the thick forest, running through the familiar paths with sure steps.
Xu Min had lived in that shack his entire life, and his mornings were always spent either bathing in the nearby stream, or playing in the forest behind the city. Xu Min could move through these paths with sure steps even in the dead of night, giving him a head start on the many soldiers who were trying to catch up with him.
Back at the still burning cabin, a frown was apparent on the face of Master Zhong. However, it quickly smoothed over as he looked at his son who was still crying from the broken nose.
"Stop being such a wuss!" He scolded his son, with a resigned voice, almost as though he was giving up on him, "Go to the healers and have them patch you up. Everyone prepare a feast! My son has finally become a man! This is a great time to celebrate for anyone who cultivates martial arts!"
"But milord," One of the guards behind him asked in a trembling voice, "The person who died was a personal maid of the third wife. A maid who never cultivated…." Before the man managed to continue, a hand smacked his head with such force that the guard fell to the floor, blood running from all the openings in his face.
Master Zhong looked around at the people present and his eyes promised more pain for those who dared to say anything against him. "No one cares about a mere maid. She died for the sake of teaching my son how to kill, and that is already a noble cause to die for. If anyone ever brings this up again, I will see to it that they are the next person my son trains on."
His voice was ice-cold and seemingly devoid of all feelings. Seeing that no one dared to look at him, Master Zhong snorted contemptuously as he started moving away. "Make sure to prepare a great feast. I will give one gold coin to anyone who can get me the head of that boy."
After saying that, Master Zhong turned around, not even looking at the forest once more, and hummed quietly as he made his way back to the main hall of the Zhong Family Mansion.
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Chapter 4: The Hunt
Within the forest, Xu Min was rushing forward, his feet moving on a familiar track that he usually played on. His head was clear, with only one thought floating through it — survival.
The most important thing for Xu Min was to survive, so that he could return one day. Return to ensure that both the young and old master of the Zhong family died by his hands. But right now, he knew that his chances of survival were slim, since a horde of guards was hot on his trail.
Had this happened just a few days earlier, Xu Min would have been caught already; however, after breaking into the Student Warrior rank, Xu Min was now much faster than he would have ever believed to have become, and he also became able to store Qi within his body.
What assisted him in his escape was not only the small amount of Qi he had been able to gather in the last few days, but also his familiarity with the forest, and the physical strength he had trained to improve.
The guards never needed to enter the forest, and although it was considered safe, it was not a place people would venture into, unless they were poor and tried to harvest edible plants or hunt small critters.
Another thing that slowed the guards down was the elaborate metal armour they were wearing to show off the magnificence of the Zhong family. Unfortunately for them, it was far from helpful while chasing someone in a dense forest. After a few hours of chasing after Xu Min, the final guard gave up and returned to the mansion.
"What do you mean, you can't find him?!" Master Zhong's voice roared throughout the entire hall, as everyone present cowered in fear from what their family leader might do as punishment for failing to complete their mission.
"That boy is not ordinary," Master Zhong said with a low and intimidating voice, "His talent is far above average, so we can't afford to let him go. If we do, it will come back to haunt us. Have someone who knew him sketch up a drawing, issue a bounty of one hundred gold coins, and give it to whomever manages to provide me with his severed head."
Having said this, Master Zhong took a small break to consider what he should do with the ones who failed to capture the boy. With a sigh, he waved his hand, ready to dismiss them.
In the middle of the motion, Master Zhong seemed to have changed his mind, since he opened his eyes once more and said, "Every day, send a team into the forest to see whether or not you can capture him. The same bounty holds true for my guards as well as anyone else. You have to kill him."
Seated beside Master Zhong was the young master. At first, his face had been rigid from fear and regret; however, as the night progressed and he was congratulated on his actions, excitement grew in him and he felt as though he had finally succeeded. Murder was truly the way to becoming stronger.
He was also thrilled that Xu Min left. It didn't matter much to Zhong Ji whether Xu Min was alive or dead anymore. As long as he was gone, it meant that there was no longer anyone of similar age who could overtake him while training or be more skilled than him. Thus, the young boy had a broad smile on his face.
Young master Zhong was not aware why his father was so intent on killing Xu Min, because he saw Xu Min as nothing more than a pest. Although his talent was astonishing, he was nothing but a small boy who was now all alone in the world. He could hardly be called a threat by anyone.
Master Zhong disagreed with him on this point. Allowing for the boy to live would result in a potential thorn in his side, because he had seen the sheer hate and anger burning in the boy's eyes when he escaped into the forest.
Master Zhong felt rather uncomfortable as he mulled over the entire situation, but after shaking his head a little, he decided to return to the banquet he was hosting. With a polite smile on his face, he greeted the family members that were present once more.
At the almost unnoticeable background of the banquet, all the maids who were ordered to pour wine and serve the food did so without smiles on their faces. Instead, most of them even had almost unnoticeable tear stains on their cheeks. They all thought about how their good friend died because of a weak-willed pathetic young master who killed her just because he did not have the guts to face his rival head on.
As he sat on a branch of one of the largest trees in the forest, Xu Min gritted his teeth. His hands were filled with scrapes and his eyes shone with a red hue.
It had been days since Xu Min was chased into the forest by the Zhong family guards and he had long since realized that all the humans in the forest were after him.
On the first day, he had almost gotten caught by a group of mercenaries because he went to them for help, only to hear that they were after a bounty on his head. Since then, Xu Min dreaded sleeping because he feared being found during the night.
Leaving the forest was not easy either, because Xu Min saw that guards were patrolling the vicinity of the forest, ready to catch him whenever he showed himself. With no other options left, Xu Min decided to venture further into the forest and see what kind of landscape was on the other side.
In all the years Xu Min had lived, he had only heard a little information about the other side. The other side was a vast country, unimaginably bigger than the city Xu Min grew up in, a place where every cultivator would venture out to carve out a name for themselves. Stories, which Overseer Tian told about it, were what caused Xu Min to become interested in cultivating in the first place — one day, he would carve his own name into history.
As he thought about his childish dream, Xu Min snorted at himself for being so naïve. Currently, he was wounded, tired, and mentally unstable, but deep within, his survival instinct was still roaring, forcing him to hide day after day.
He had not slept for days and he had finally managed to climb up into a large tree, where he could spot anyone without them noticing him. The branches were all larger than he was and he finally allowed himself to rest a little while sitting leaned against the large tree trunk with his legs crossed.
Xu Min kept swearing at himself for not being strong enough to fight his way into the main house and slay his targets immediately, but he knew that now was not the right time. It was the time to continue cultivating, following the instructions taught to him previously by Overseer Tian. Currently, Xu Min did everything in his ability to stay invisible. To pretend that he was the air, that he was the essence of heavens and earth.
The sky was dark when Xu Min finally fell into a light sleep. Although he slept lightly, his body was still that of an eight year old boy which needed rest, inducing him to sleep throughout the night and the majority of the morning.
When he woke up, Xu Min was shocked when he realized how long he had been asleep. He even felt a tinge of guilt that he could sleep so soundly while his beloved sister could not sleep at all anymore.
Although Xu Min felt a bit guilty, his alertness never faltered. He kept looking at his surroundings, not daring to move even slightly. Because of his vigilance, he noticed yet another group of humans walking through the forest. This time they were led by Overseer Tian, which caused his already wounded heart to hurt even more.
Climbing down the tree silently, Xu Min went as close as he dared to without being noticed, so that he could hear what was being said.
"We are going to enter the forest again tonight," Overseer Tian said with a cold and indifferent voice, "Perhaps I can lure him out if I pretend to be alone. When he appears, shoot him right away. We can't afford to let him keep evading us."
Hearing these words spoken from the one adult whom Xu Min viewed as almost a father, his eyes burned with unshed tears and his heart hardened as he climbed back to the perch that he was previously sitting on.
Xu Min stayed at the top of the tree for days without end, living on nothing but the bark of the tree and the moisture collected on the leaves. In the first few days, Xu Min would cry randomly, but as the hours went by with nothing but his own thoughts, the young boy slowly stopped crying and started thinking about everything that had happened again.
Xu Min was still just an eight year old boy, but while he was living at the top of the tree, his mentality changed. Deep within him, there was a fire fueled by anger, a fire which grew slightly brighter every day. However, no matter how strong this fire burned, it was always suppressed by the need to endure.
The season changed from the warm summer to the chilly autumn and finally, after several months passed by, it was possible for Xu Min to descend from the large tree, seeing that the forest was no longer filled with mercenaries, guards, or other men who wished to hunt down the young boy for the sake of money.
After descending, Xu Min instantly went towards a small stream where he washed himself and his clothes. The months had taken their toll on his body as he was now incredibly scrawny, with his ribs visible through the skin. His body was weaker than it had been ever before and all the muscles he worked hard to build up had lost most of their strength through the long wait and malnourishment.
His eyes, previously filled with childish happiness and naivety, became cold and distant; not even a speck of compassion for this world remained. Instead, they were filled with vigilance as he looked around.
Moving deeper and deeper into the forest, Xu Min quickly passed the furthest point that he had ever been to before. Instead of being filled with happiness and excitement from the new frontier, as he would have been just a few months ago, those childish feelings were nonexistent, long dead and replaced with seriousness and alertness as he observed his surroundings, constantly on guard for humans that could appear.
The further Xu Min went, the more careful he became. He didn't dare to travel on roads made by humans, nor did he wish to follow too many animal trails. In the end, he chose the most difficult way to go through, believing that the path he chose would also be the hardest one to follow.
As Xu Min made his way towards the depths of the forest, he quickly found that although it was considered a safe forest by most, many demon beasts resided in it. However, when those demon beasts encountered the small boy, they quickly lost their interest, since skin and bone alone were not enough of a meal for them.
While he traversed through the forest, Xu Min finally dared to spend time on training once more, making his already slow trip become even more drawn out. He would spend hours each day breathing in and out, creating golden specks of light like Overseer Tian had taught him.
The breathing exercise was not the only training Xu Min did. He trained the stances he had learned during his time in the Zhong Family Compound once again. He remembered every muscle strengthening stance ever showed to him and he would spend hours on those every day.
One day passed another, the seasons came and went. Xu Min slowly made his way through the vast forest, moving at an incredibly slow pace as he focused on rebuilding his strength and cultivation base.
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Chapter 5: The World on the Other Side
One month passed after another as he made his way through the forest. Seasons came and seasons went and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Xu Min spent his time practicing his cultivation according to the instructions he had been given by Overseer Tian and his body quickly regained the healthy state it had been in before.
The long time spent atop the tree waiting for mercenaries and guards to give up hunting him caused Xu Min to lose a lot of weight and his cultivation base dropped below the Student Warrior rank once more. Xu Min showed no signs of regret or despair though. Instead, he now had an iron will and determination that shone from his charcoal-black eyes as he viewed his current state as a new beginning.
Xu Min was all alone. His parents sold him at a young age and his sister was murdered right in front of his eyes. Although he had an amazing talent for cultivation, this young boy had not been capable of saving his only family. Thus, guilt and hate were the two emotions that now drove Xu Min.
The only thing within his mind, that was only suppressed by a small voice of reason that kept telling him to wait and endure, was revenge.
After having trained in the forest for three months, Xu Min had regained his Student Warrior rank and with that, the ability to kill young master Zhong. However, killing young master Zhong was not enough for the young boy. He clenched his teeth as he kept training harder and harder. His goal was to defeat Family Leader Zhong, a full-fledged Warrior.
In this world, strength was what mattered. Everyone was divided into ranks by how strong they were.
The lowest tier were those who did not possess any Qi. They did not even deserve a proper rank and were just commoners. As soon as a person had gathered enough essence from the heavens and the earth, he or she could start refining Qi. Those who reached the point of being able to refine Qi were called Student Warriors. Above that, one would become a proper Warrior, a master of the martial arts.
The Warrior rank was split into stars. Warriors of the first, second and third star were considered early stage Warriors. Warriors of the fourth, fifth and sixth star were considered mid stage warriors, and late stage Warriors were the Warriors of the seventh, eighth and ninth star. Family Leader Zhong was a late stage Warrior and his strength was many thousand times stronger than that of a Student Warrior. This fact caused Xu Min to clench his fists and work even harder to be able to defeat the Zhong Family Leader someday. Even if he had to wait for years, this was an enmity that would never be resolved until one of them was dead.
The step between a Student Warrior and a real Warrior was as great as the difference between the heavens and the earth. A difference that could only be covered after many years of hard work and cultivation. Hard work did not scare the young boy; instead, he welcomed it. He welcomed anything which would keep his mind busy; if not, he feared that he would go insane.
As Xu Min made his way through the forest, he trained three things. The first was his breathing exercises, that allowed him to absorb the essence of the heavens and the earth, which he then refined into Qi.
The second thing he improved was his physical strength. Every day he would train his body with various physical exercises that Overseer Tian had taught him. As the old man had said, "The body is a tool that we rely on to use our inner energy. The stronger the energy, the stronger the tool must be. If you release too much energy, your body cannot withstand it and you will end up breaking yourself."
Although Xu Min still felt a tinge of pain in his heart every time he thought about Overseer Tian, he was perfectly well aware of how much information he was given. He had all the tools necessary for him to become a great cultivator, thanks to the amount of time that Overseer Tian had spent on teaching him.
The final thing which Xu Min trained within the forest was the Shattering Palm Stance. The Shattering Palm was a martial art skill, one of the few which Xu Min had ever seen. Its strength was limitless. It completely depended on how proficient the cultivator was.
The Shattering Palm Stance was a technique that created a massive palm-shaped Qi strike, but since the students who had been taught the stance were not Student Warriors, much less real Warriors, none of them were capable of creating this palm strike from their inner energy. Instead, they were taught the stance itself, along with an explanation of the meridians and points in the body that the Qi needed to travel through to activate.
Having trained the stance for more than a year now, Xu Min finally managed to create a transparent palm the size of his head. Although this seemed like a relatively small palm, it felt like a great success for the young boy.
Approximately two years had gone by when Xu Min finally saw a clearing ahead of him. Great shock filled his face as he saw that the landscape no longer had trees as far as his eyes could see.
Instead, right in front of him was a large field of grass stretching as far as his eyes could see. By now, Xu Min was a Student Warrior with good strength and his body was filled with lean muscles. His shattering palm strike was now strong enough to be a threat to any Student Warrior.
Seeing the open plains in front of him, Xu Min's eyes widened. Although he had gone through a lot and he had matured immensely, he was, after all, only a ten year old boy and seeing the plains in front of him was something he could have never imagined.
He came from a small valley that was hidden between large forests and tall mountains; every bit of soil was used for agriculture, which was a huge difference from what he now saw in front of him. It was a wilderness, but another kind of wilderness than the one he had been in so far.
Although Xu Min was deeply shocked, he only needed to take a deep breath once or twice before he started walking towards the plains, leaving the safety of the forest behind.
Xu Min brought nothing with him when he escaped from the Zhong family residence. Throughout the years, he had managed to hunt down several animals, especially because his skill using the Shattering Palm improved, and he had used their hides to create a small bag to fill with berries, dried meat and other necessities.
Some of the hides were tanned and made into leather and fur clothes for the young boy. The young boy's time in the forest had taught him how to be self-sufficient.
Xu Min was now fully able to live on his own without having to rely on other people. There was one more item in his backpack aside from berries and other food. It was a smaller bag which was filled with all the medicinal herbs that Xu Min had found while traveling in the forest.
Some of the herbs he found were used to increase his cultivation rate, but most of them were packed away because Xu Min knew that he needed money. The easiest way to earn money would be to sell valuables, but the small boy had none of those. This was why he fought off the temptation to use all the healing flowers with beneficial effects on himself.
With determined steps, Xu Min set off towards the horizon, and it did not take long before he saw some large city walls in the distance. The walls alone were so tall that they hid everything behind them perfectly. Smaller villages were spread out near the wall itself. Agriculture appeared once more, causing Xu Min to feel slightly at home.
Xu Min's plan was to enter a city and somehow find a place where he could train himself faster than he had done so far. He had learned to persist, as he knew that he was still far too weak. Because of this, he endured the hate that never fully let go of his heart. As he stared at the massive city many times bigger than Xu Min's hometown, he assumed that there would be teachers of the same or better quality as Overseer Tian.
As he slowly inched closer and closer to the city, Xu Min quickly found that although the city was visible on the horizon, the trip to get there was many times longer than what he expected. The night quickly descended upon him, forcing him to set up camp. He would rather camp outside than go to an inn.
Although he had no money, he was certain that some innkeeper would trade a warm bed and a bowl of stew for one of his medicinal herbs; however, the stew and the bed were something which Xu Min could only dream about as he picked up some dried meat from his bag and started chewing upon it as he looked all around him with alert eyes.
The last two years, Xu Min had done everything he could to avoid humans. During this time, he had not spoken even once, out of fear of attracting someone to his location. His avoidance grew so severe that he even refused to follow animal trails, forcing himself to make his own path through the thickest parts of the forest by relying on his Shattering Palm.
It was fortunate that the forest was a rather safe area and not one of those forests that were overrun with demon beasts, but even so, Xu Min would rather run into a demon beast than a human; he feared that all humans within the forest were there for the sake of killing him.
A slight fear crept into his heart when he thought about entering the city. However, with a determined shake of his head, Xu Min ordered himself to get some rest as he would continue onward the following day. Even if the city was daunting and slightly scary, it was a necessary step towards defeating the Zhong Family Leader.
As he slept, the young boy once more relived the nightmare which happened years before where his sister died in his arms.
As the moon descended and the first rays of sunshine started to shine upon the grassy plains, Xu Min woke up. His cheeks were tear-stained and his heart was beating erratically. Dark eyebags were visible on his face and his fists were clenched so hard that blood was dripping from his palms.
Xu Min sat up, sighing deeply. Although he wished to reach the city early, he did not rush; instead, he entered meditation. As soon as his eyes closed, he descended into a trance-like state and small specks of golden light started surrounding him. Some of these specks were inhaled while others were exhaled.
Seated still in this position in the middle of the plains, Xu Min spent a couple of hours completely in a trance as he absorbed the essence of the heavens and the earth and refined it into Qi in his dantian.
After a couple of hours, Xu Min finally opened his eyes and the golden specks in the air slowly disintegrated, vanishing into nothingness as a satisfied smile appeared on Xu Min's face.
Standing up, Xu Min started to train his body, going through the various muscle training exercises that Overseer Tian had taught him once again. After training his physique for a couple of hours, he finally took a specific stance, closed his eyes, and released the Qi from his dantian throughout his body and allowed it to rush through his meridians. A white colored palm appeared in front of him. With a satisfied smile, Xu Min dismissed the hand before he raised his head, looking at the city in front of him, and slowly started making his way towards the city in the distance.
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Chapter 6: Honghe City
As he made his way towards the city, Xu Min once more confirmed his belief that the city was truly far away. He kept walking for the first half of the day, not taking even one break, but no matter how high the sun stood in the sky nor how scorching hot it felt for someone who had lived in the deep shadows of the forests for two years, he didn't reach the city.
The fur vest he had been wearing quickly ended up within his bag, leaving his upper body bare. The young man continued towards the city with steadfast steps. As he got closer, he suddenly found himself on a dusty road with other people who were also walking towards the city.
At first his entire body was rigid; however, as he walked further, Xu Min came to realize that these people did not even notice him. The majority of them rushed towards the city much like he himself was doing.
The barren land also changed slightly as he got closer and closer. The dry ground transformed into fields. Rice was growing from some of them and corn from others. Medicinal herbs and grain could also be spotted sometimes. There were many plots of land specialized in growing produce; in these fields, humans worked to remove the weeds or water the plants.
Watching these people, Xu Min rushed forward. His head stayed facing down to the ground while he was glancing to the sides and wondered what to do when he reached the city. He wanted to sell the many medicinal herbs that he had collected, but he would need to speak to do so, which was something that he had not done in two years. Just thinking about it caused the young boy to shudder slightly.
While he was wondering what to do, the young boy lifted his head and his eyes widened in surprise. Because he had gotten closer to the city, the horizon was no longer only land as far as the eye could see, which he was used to by now. Something blue spread out behind the city. It was something astonishing that Xu Min remembered his sister telling him about once.
"Listen closely little Min. Far away, even further than the ends of the forest, is a giant blue sea. It is similar to the lakes in the forest, but much bigger." Xu Wu's eyes glittered as she longingly thought about the sight she had seen many years earlier.
"How do you know this, sis?" Xu Min asked curiously, his eyes big and naïve, something that had not been seen in his eyes for years now.
"When we were small, we sailed on that sea on the way here . One day I want to return to the other side and find our family once more."
"I don't like them," Xu Min pouted as he heard his beloved sister speak, "I just want to spend my life together with you. I don't need anyone other than you."
Tears were in his eyes as the young boy reminiscenced about the conversation he had had with his sister years ago. With an angry wipe of his arms, he removed the tears which pressed their way through his eyes.
Red-eyed and determined, Xu Min started to pick up speed as he moved towards the city. He was ready to find a way for him to work and strengthen his body at the same time. But before that, he decided that there was a place he had to see first. He had to see the sea that his sister had dreamt about.
The city walls were taller than anything he had ever seen before. The walls were far bigger than the largest tree he had seen within the forest, but unlike the wild untamed nature of those trees, these walls made of black bricks were the evident work of man.
At the top of the walls, guards were visible. All of them were Warriors, a sight that shocked Xu Min. In his home village, a Warrior was by far a force to be reckoned with; yet here, even before entering the city, the young boy saw more Warriors in one place than he had seen during his entire life until today.
By now, he was part of the steady stream of humans walking towards the city gates. Most people around him were commoners – people who had chosen to make their living by means other than becoming martial art experts. There were also guards, mercenaries, and soldiers; perhaps one of these people would carve their name into history.
Xu Min was trembling slightly as he looked down at the ground, since he had to peek at both sides, constantly on guard against the many people surrounding him. His worst fear was that someone from his hometown was mixed within this massive body of humans pushing their way towards the city gate to get inside just a moment before the others.
If he was noticed, he wouldn't be too easy to deal with. His cultivation base was no longer that of a mere child who had just broken into the Student Warrior rank; instead, he was now at the peak of the Student Warrior rank. He was now ready to break into the rank of a real practitioner.
Although Xu Min only knew one martial art skill, it was a skill he had trained to perfection. Despite that his Qi was still somewhat lacking, he would be able to stand against the majority of the guards sent from the Zhong Family. But if it was a captain or even Overseer Tian who found him, then the young boy was quite unlikely to escape from his grasp.
Having trained alone for two years, no one understood their body as well as Xu Min understood his. He knew his limits along with the best use of his current strength. His knowledge not only extended to his Qi limits, but also the body's condition. Having trained his body physically, he managed to become a person with lean strong muscles. Thinking back at the many guards that he had seen back at the Zhong Family Compound, he knew that his body alone was strong enough to deal with early Student Warriors without any sort of assistance.
When it came to using the Shattering Palm, no one in the entire Student Warrior rank was a match for the young man, which meant that he had confidence in his own ability to stay alive.
Having assured himself that the captains and Overseer Tian were unlikely to be at this city, Xu Min finally dared to lift his head up. As he did, he stopped in his tracks, his jaw falling down as he stared agape at the city gate in front of him.
The gate itself was huge. It was at least twenty meters tall, and to a ten year old boy, this was an astonishing size, making him feel much smaller than usual. His heart started pounding hard from this sight as he was pushed forward by the endless stream of people entering the city.
The city walls were ten meters thick. As soon as he entered the city, he became even more astonished by the town houses and the many busy citizens bustling in the streets. Shops were everywhere, selling anything from shoes to services; anything that you wanted to buy was for sale.
All the sights in the city overwhelmed him as he was nudged further and further into the city. The stream of people led him past several different marketplaces where commoners hoped to sell their goods.
Arriving at one of these marketplaces, the streets that previously had been so busy and bustling were suddenly easier to move on. He also noticed that there were many carts parked with their owners calling out the prices and items they were selling.
Looking around the city, one thing that Xu Min noticed was that he was unable to find any shops that specialized in selling items related to martial arts nor were there any martial art schools in sight. After overcoming his hesitation to speak for the first time in two years, he decided to ask around. The answer he got, was that martial arts were something that only the noble families of the city had the luxury to enjoy. It was not for commoners such as themselves.
Hearing this, the young boy could not help but to feel downcast. Nevertheless, his eyes remained focused because he was certain that he could become strong enough on his own. All he needed was the strength to defeat the Zhong family leader. The young man was unsure of what he wanted for his future after his revenge.
Moving around casually within the city, Xu Min suddenly found himself at the harbor. His eyes widened with surprise as he saw blue water as far as his eyes could see. Ships sailed to and from the docks and large groups of men were loading and unloading cargo on the ships.
Having nothing to do except for adoring the scenery in front of his eyes, the young boy went down to the docks and looked around, wondering if he could be of any help.
He did not want to help because he was a kind person. No, as soon as he had been informed that there were no specific places within the city where they would teach martial arts, Xu Min decided to focus on training his body, sculpting it into the perfect tool.
Physical exercise would also help him to increase his cultivation base. He was, after all, a Student Warrior. Unfortunately, although it was a way to raise one's strength, it was far inferior to absorbing the essence of the heavens and earth and then refining it into Qi.
What Xu Min had discovered during his time within the forest was that if one only trained in one aspect without the other, then it was far inferior to training both physically and mentally simultaneously.
Hearing that there were no schools in the area, the plan of the young boy was to find manual labor to do during the day, and then spend his nights cultivating Qi. That way, a balance would form and he would be able to train throughout the whole day, not wasting any time.
This schedule did not allow for any time to learn martial arts, but this was not a real problem because Xu Min had already perfected the Shattering Palm and he had no other martial art skills at his disposal to train.
Walking down to the harbor, Xu Min found a man who seemed to be an overseer and caught his attention by pulling at his shirt.
"What do you want, boy?" The older man asked with a grumpy voice, "Are you lost from your mummy and daddy? It's dangerous here, you better run along and find some nice people to help you out!"
Hearing that, Xu Min could not help but feel slightly insulted, but none of his emotions showed on his face. Once more the young man overcame his fear of talking and his hoarse voice was heard, "Old man, I'm looking for a job. Do you need more manpower?"
Hearing the young boy ask such a question, the overseer stared at him with disbelief before a deafening laughter escaped from his lips.
"Oi kid, this is no joke. Children like you have nothing to do here! We don't need people to sweep the floor, we need strong men who can lift these crates with one arm. You think you can lift this crate with one arm? I would like to see you try."
Hearing the challenging voice with which the man spoke, a harrumph sounded from the young boy before he went towards one of the crates. With a leisurely expression, the child lifted the crate exactly with one arm and as he walked past the overseer, his eyes could not help but appear to be slightly mocking.
"Where do you want me to put it down?" He asked. This time the overseer looked at him with a wry smile as he scratched his forehead. "Why don't you put it down over there with the other ones." He no longer made fun of the youngster.
Xu Min was a peak Student Warrior. How could it be hard for him to lift such a crate? Although this city was far bigger than the one Xu Min came from and despite there being many more Warriors within this city, the men working at the harbor were far from being Warriors. Real Warriors could obviously find a much better paying job.
Placing the crate with the others, Xu Min went back to the overseer, and not even one drop of sweat was evident on his face. The overseer could do nothing but laugh bitterly at himself while wondering where such a monstrous young boy came from.
"Am I good enough to get the job?" Xu Min asked with bated breath. The job here at the harbor would be perfect for him, and happiness bubbled up inside of his chest as he saw the overseer nodding his head.
"You can start now. Move all those crates to the pile over here. You get paid at the end of each day and you better work damn hard, or I'll fire you."
Nodding his head, Xu Min was excited as he got his first job within Honghe City.
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Chapter 7: Overseer Wang Li
Hearing that the overseer gave the young boy a job, the other workers could not help but sneak a glance towards the young boy who immediately started to move crates like he had been told to.
Although he was young, no one made fun of him, nor did they question why he had wanted the job. They just observed the young man as he moved the crates, one at a time, towards the shoreline part of the harbor. A cart was waiting for them so they could be sent to the shops in the city.
After they saw the young boy working earnestly and how his face was starting to sweat like their own, they felt respect for him. Their respect increased even more when they saw that even after several hours moving crates, the boy continued, sweating hard but showing no signs of giving up.
Seeing this, all the older men who worked at the harbor were greatly surprised. When it came to strength, it seemed as if the boy was equal to them, something they had a hard time accepting. His speed was also very similar to their own, signifying that he was definitely a cultivator.
The other workers were not the only ones watching the young boy. The overseer spent the majority of his day observing the young child. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched and unclenched once in awhile. All this time, his eyes were focused on the boy but also somehow distant, as though he was busy contemplating something important.
The day turned to dusk and the sun set on the other side of the sea. The blue seawater and the blue sky turned purple from the sinking sun. The sight was so breathtakingly beautiful that even Xu Min, whose heart was filled with hatred and vengeance, had to stop to enjoy the beautiful scene.
As Xu Min was observing the beautiful sunset, a new group of workers arrived at the harbor. The voice of the overseer rang through the air, "Everyone gather up! Time to switch shifts. Come and collect your money or I will keep it."
Hearing the voice, laughter could be heard in the harbor as everyone went towards the overseer and gathered up in front of him to accept their pay.
Working at the harbor was a job that could only be done if the workers had a certain amount of strength; however, when these men gained enough strength, they would move on to better paying jobs. This meant that the job as a worker at the harbor was neither really good nor bad.
After waiting for his turn, Xu Min was astonished when he received five copper coins. Although five copper coins was only enough to pay rent for a bed and get one meal at an inn, it was still the first time the young boy had ever earned money with his own hands.
His life at the Zhong Family Compound had been one where he was a servant. Everything he had was given to him, or provided by the family. Since they had paid money to buy him at a young age, Xu Min never saw any sort of payment for his training to become a family guard. Neither had his older sister.
Just as Xu Min was about to walk away, wondering if he should sell some of the plants he had found, he heard the overseer's voice, "Wait. I still need to speak with you kid," He said it in a whisper right next to him. Xu Min instantly stopped in his tracks and obediently stepped aside, waiting for the overseer to finish his job.
The overseer's job was not done yet. As soon as he finished paying the workers at the harbor, he had to spend another half an hour explaining to the new overseer which ships were unloaded already and which ships still needed to be unloaded. He also needed to report what happened during the previous shift.
While the overseer was working, Xu Min stood completely still, waiting for the overseer to return to him. He was in no rush since he had nowhere to return to in this city. All he needed to do was to find an inn and spend the rest of the night cultivating.
"It's good to see you waiting for me," A deep voice sounded. Xu Min was startled, because he had not expected to hear any voice from right behind him. He was a cultivator, how was it possible for him to be taken by surprise like this? Even if the other guy was a Warrior it still should have been possible to detect his movements.
"Now follow me," The overseer said, as he turned around and walked into the dark alleyways leading from the harbor. Seeing this, Xu Min hesitated slightly before he decided to follow the man. It was obvious that the overseer's cultivation base was far above his own and if he had wished to harm him, he would have done so already.
The truth was that Xu Min was curious. He was curious to know what rank this man had achieved and how he could sneak up on him without being noticed.
Walking through one alleyway after another, Xu Min had quickly lost track of where he was and which way they were moving. Even so, the young boy still rushed behind the older overseer, following him to the best of his abilities.
Finally, after moving for half an hour, they arrived at a shabby looking house attached to other similarly looking houses, none of them seemed to be in good condition. Watching the overseer open the creaking door, Xu Min would have guessed that it would fall from its hinges at any moment, but, unexpectedly, it lasted.
Entering the house, he saw that it was not as shabby as on the outside. Inside was a small stove and a bed. Apart from the overseer, no one else seemed to live in the house, but unlike the outside, both the stove and the bed seemed to be well-maintained. At the foot of the bed was a chest with a lock on it; as to what was locked within the chest, Xu Min had no way of knowing.
"Welcome to my home," The overseer said casually as he kicked his boots off and sat down on the bed. "So, tell me, are you a young master who escaped from home?"
Shocked at the question, Xu Min looked at the overseer with an expression of complete and utter disbelief on his face. He looked so lost that the overseer could not help but laugh out loud.
"I guess not," He said while wiping a tear from his eye, "Well, if you want to keep your job, you better tell me your background. I can't afford to have someone noticing you and thinking that we have kidnapped a genius from some noble family."
"I'm not from any noble families, though." Xu Min said with his hoarse voice as he looked at the overseer and contemplated whether or not to tell the truth. Telling the truth would not be a big deal, as long as he made sure not to tell him where he came from; however, there was always a chance that the overseer would start searching for his background. If he found out, who knew, if he would sell Xu Min for the bounty given out by the Zhong family.
"You have to be from a noble family. How else can a kid like you become a peak Student Warrior?"
"My talent is good." Xu Min stated. When it came right down to it, it really was his own talent which brought him this far. He was never given any medicinal herbs or pills like the young master, so he was actually not lying.
"Well, someone taught you how to cultivate. And it was someone who was not a complete idiot either. Looking at you, it's obvious you have been training both your body and your Qi. It is not a bad job you have done, not at all." The overseer said as he kept looking at Xu Min with a penetrating look. It seemed as if he could see the deepest secrets of the young man.
"I'm not a noble runaway," Xu Min finally said, "But I can't tell you where I'm from." Having decided that it was simply too risky to talk about his background, the young boy could only clench his teeth and accept that he needed to find another good manual labor job.
"Alright," The overseer sighed, "My name is Wang Li. You can stay here for now. Since you are only a kid, I can't let you fend for yourself."
He saw that the young boy was very hesitant and unsure. He wished to refuse the offer, but as soon as his eyes locked with Wang Li's, he understood that this was not an offer but an order. He swallowed his objections and nodded obediently.
"My name is Xu Min." He answered honestly, before his eyes became alert because he finally realized his mistake. Telling his real name had never been his intention, yet this man managed to get it out of him without any problems.
Seeing a satisfied smile on Overseer Wang Li's face, Xu Min had the urge to punch him in the face, but instead he moved towards the wall of the house and sat down, leaning against the chilling wooden wall.
As he closed his eyes and he was about to start breathing like Overseer Tian had taught him, he felt something land on his lap. Opening one eye, he saw that a key was lying on his leg.
"Since you will be living here for some time, you better keep this copy," Overseer Wang Li said before he turned towards the stove and started a fire in the hearth.
Taking the key in his hand, Xu Min once more closed his eyes and started breathing as he had been taught. It did not take long before golden specks of light were visible in the air around him, with some entering and others exiting.
Looking at the boy, a brief expression of surprise was visible on the face of Overseer Wang Li before he smirked and murmured to himself, "He truly does have monstrous talent," before he continued focusing on the stove in front of him.
On the stove was a saucepan and within it was a hearty seafood soup filled with the best shellfish and stonefish which he managed to purchase during a small break at work. On the side was some bread which Overseer Wang Li sliced into pieces. He quickly placed it next to the soup on the stove, allowing the bread to heat up slightly.
After he heated the food up, Wang Li did not instantly start eating; instead, he looked at the meditating Xu Min. A smile appeared on his face as he saw the boy constantly absorb and emit those golden specks. Then he sat down on his own bed and started to meditate as well.
The two men, one young and the other old, were seated in meditation for a few hours as both of them absorbed the essence of the heavens and the earth. Their breathing started to sync at some point, resulting in the entire room being filled with golden specks of light. Some of these specks were large while others were small, but they were everywhere within the room.
After a few hours, Xu Min finally opened his eyes. As he did, Wang Li did the exact same thing. Looking around, the young boy was deeply shocked because he had never seen that many golden specks before. But sadly, they soon dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind no traces at all. Sighing deeply, Xu Min heard his stomach growl. A smile appeared on his face though, as he saw Wang Li handing him a bowl of soup and some bread.
"Eat Up," the Overseer said, as he poured another bowl of food for himself.
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Chapter 8: A Hundred Gold Coins
Hesitating slightly, Xu Min looked at the food that had been handed to him. Although he had decided to rely only on himself, his stomach did not seem to agree with him now. It started growling loudly, making the young boy's face turn crimson.
Fortunately, Wang Li showed no signs of reacting to the loud growling sounds of Xu Min's stomach; instead, he kept pouring the warm soup into his mouth and as soon as he had emptied the bowl, he would pour a new serving for himself. He was eating to his heart's content. Looking at Wang Li, one would think that they had found the most comfortable man alive.
Smiling slightly, the young boy placed the bowl to his lips and tried some of the broth, only to realize that the flavor was amazing. He quickly ate in a hurried but satisfying way. It was as though the food was rejuvenating his starved and exhausted body.
"So, kid." Wang Li said after they finished the entire pot of soup, "Are you going to be meditating all night, or do you plan on getting some sleep?"
Looking at the old man with vigilance, Xu Min wondered whether or not it would be possible for anyone to sleep if they were in his situation and responded by moving towards the wall again.
He fell to the floor and quickly sat with his legs crossed and his hands resting in his lap. He closed his eyes and started breathing in the way Overseer Tian had taught him.
Usually, it would take some time for a young boy such as Xu Min to get adjusted to his new surroundings; however, after living in the forest without any proper rest for two years, Xu Min learned how to completely disregard his surroundings and only react to the essence of the heavens and the earth.
While Xu Min was very attentive and alert, he was also aware that it was impossible for him to escape Wang Li's grasp. As long as the older man wished to look after him, the young boy had absolutely no way to go against him. Since this was the case, he decided to use the opportunity that he was seated in a warm room with a roof above his head to cultivate, hoping that at some point he would break through and transcend the Student Warrior rank.
Although this was Xu Min's hope, the young boy was aware that despite the fact that he was cultivating every time he could, he was unfortunately in need of some kind of challenge to push his limits. But he simply had no clue how to challenge himself other than how he had been doing for the past few years.
Every day he challenged his physical limits and transcended them while working hard. Previously this constant cycle was accomplished within the forest; however, from now on he would do so at the city harbor.
More than anything, Xu Min wished to find a teacher who would assist him with his training, but finding a teacher proved to be much harder than he expected. If he spent every day at the docks, the young man found that he would have no time to search for a teacher. His only option was to see whether or not he could form a bond with this Overseer Wang.
It was with mixed feelings that Xu Min reached this conclusion. Mainly because the young boy did not trust the man at all. The fact that he accidentally gave away his real name was also something that bothered him a lot. Were this man to hear about the bounty that was placed on him then Xu Min was certain that his head would be delivered to the Zhong Family on a platter.
But at the same time, although this man was someone Xu Min did not trust, Overseer Wang was clearly an expert ranked far above Xu Min. Seeing someone with such strength caused the young boy to feel veneration and hope at the same time. He was hoping dearly that the overseer would not sell him out, and instead focus on teaching him as a disciple.
These thoughts were floating in his head all night as he cultivated. As the sun rose in the sky, painting the clouds to a beautiful purple color, Xu Min opened his eyes and saw that Overseer Wang was gone. The boy quickly locked the small house before he rushed towards the harbor.
Rushing through the alleyways, the young boy was uncertain which way he should go, but his physique was good, which allowed him to keep running at his highest speed for quite a while. At first, he ran about randomly, but as the scent of the salty seawater and fish reached his nose, the young boy rushed in the direction of the smell. He arrived just at the time the sun was finally visible above the eastern horizon.
Wang Li was already busy working in the docks. Multiple scrolls were open in his hands while he barked out orders. As soon as he saw Xu Min, a smile appeared on his face and he waved the boy towards him.
"Good job at arriving on time. Now go move all those crates with fish to that cart." The Overseer said as he pointed to the crates and the cart.
Hearing the order, the young boy immediately did as he was told without hesitation. Xu Min was hard working. Although he started sweating, he kept working at the same pace, pushing his tired limbs to their limits. He forced his body to overcome its limitations as he constantly trained to improve his strength.
Every time his body was just about to break, it would scream in pain and agony, begging his muscles to stop working; however, when this happened, Xu Min would force himself to remember how his sister died in front of him, and how he was unable to do anything but watch. Watch, as she died. Had he been stronger back then, he should have been able to save her.
While Xu Min was busy focusing on improving his body and working hard, Wang Li was often observing the young boy with a curious gleam in his eye. Throughout the day, the overseer watched the young boy for a long time before he temporarily left his duties at the harbor and found a good friend of his, a beggar.
"Listen up, Xiao San," He said with a smile on his face, "I need you to get me all the information you can about a boy named Xu Min. No matter what you find out about this boy, just tell me. I'll pay a good price."
Having asked the beggar, Wang Li rushed back to the harbor only to see that everyone was still doing their tasks as ordered, none of them slacking off in the slightest.
As the day passed and the sun started to set, Wang Li looked at the boy and gave him one last order, "Put these cases up, go back home, and start cultivating. I'll cook when I return home.
Wang Li could not help but pat the young boy's head while he said that and a gentle smile emerged on his face. To be honest, Wang Li usually disliked kids a lot. He hated all people who were weak-minded and easy to control, yet this boy was clearly willing to do anything to increase his strength, something that both amazed and worried the older man.
Xu Min looked at his benefactor, hesitating slightly because he had to wonder again how big of a risk it was to stay with this older man. As he pondered over this dilemma, he suddenly remembered the delicious food that was cooked for him the day before. Considering that he had eaten nothing at all the whole day and was working the entire time, his judgment was clearly clouded as he slowly walked towards the small house owned by Wang Li.
At first, Xu Min walked slowly towards his destination, but how could someone this motivated to become stronger walk slowly? He quickly increased his pace while he rushed back to the house. He traveled through all the many alleyways he had used in the morning.
Although the trip was longer than when he had followed Wang Li, it was definitely the best way for Xu Min. He could become familiar with the different alleyways he needed to use to get to the docks like this. Xu Min was the kind of person who would rather be safe and spend extra time on something than be sorry and find himself in a troublesome situation.
While Xu Min was running back to the house, Wang Li was standing at the harbor, no longer focused on the workers in front of him. He was instead leaning against a wall, seemingly in wait of someone's arrival.
It did not take long before a poor beggar made his way towards the overseer with a sleek grin on his face.
"Overseer Wang," He greeted, nodding his head yet showing no signs of respect apart from that. "I did as you asked and investigated this kid called Xu Min."
"Xu Min is a fugitive from a small town within the woods. The reward for bringing his head is a hundred gold coins. As to why he is wanted, I could not determine. In spite of that, let's split the reward, fifty-fifty. You kill him, and I will return with his head to the Zhong family who issued the bounty."
Hearing this, Wang Li went quiet for a while, glancing at the beggar to see his expression.
"This information," He asked with a low voice, "have you told anyone else about it?"
Hearing the question, the beggar could not help but snort in contempt. "Who do you think I am?" he asked, slightly upset, "I do not want others to steal my golden goose. Are you interested or not?"
After Wang Li heard these words, a cold gleam flashed through his eyes. Quicker than anyone was able to notice, his hand struck out, entering the chest of the beggar where his hand squeezed tightly around the beggar's heart, turning his heart into pulp.
As Xiao San collapsed to the ground, his face was filled with shock. He had not even had a moment to let out a sound, let alone a scream.
As the man collapsed to the ground, Wang Li had long since vanished. He merged with the dark shadows of the small alleyways and made his way back to the house where the young man was awaiting his arrival.
Wang Li stopped briefly in one of the darkest alleyways where he wiped the blood off his hand with a cloth, which he then tossed away. A hard expression was present on his face, which then slowly turned back to his usual jovial look. As his appearance slowly returned to normal, the Overseer headed towards a marketplace, where he purchased ingredients for dinner.
Returning to the room, Wang Li noticed that Xu Min was seated on the ground. He was in the exact same place as he had been the previous night. A slight chuckle escaped the older man's lips. For some reason, Wang Li took a liking to this young man, and he could not help but feeling curious about what such a young child could have done to be hunted at such a tender age.
Without disturbing the cultivating boy, Wang Li started cooking the food he had purchased. After an hour, Xu Min was unable to cultivate any further because the scent of food reminded his body how hungry it was after a whole day of hard labor, and it interrupted his concentration.
Seeing that Wang Li seemed to be contemplating something while cooking, a feeling of danger surfaced in Xu Min's heart. Instinctively, his eyes looked towards the door as he estimated the necessary time he needed to run away.
However, before he had a chance to make even the slightest movement, Wang Li was in front of the door with a smile on his face.
"So kid, I hear your head is worth a hundred gold coins. Why don't you tell me what you did? Depending on your answer, I might just find myself a hundred gold coins richer."
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Chapter 9: Attempted Escape
Xu Min froze as he heard Overseer Wang's words. His eyes widened and his heart started beating rapidly. Since the door was already blocked, he quickly looked around to search for other exits. There were none and the overseer just stood in front of the door with a sly smile on his face.
"Now now," Wang Li said as he noticed the boy's sudden panic, "I am not so desperately in need of money that I would hand over a boy without hearing his side of the story. But if you lie to me, then I'll make sure that you never speak another word again."
As the overseer threatened Xu Min, the young boy already knew that he had no other choice than to tell the truth. Fleeing would be impossible now, because the only exit was fully covered by the overseer's large figure. His eyes were locked onto the little boy who was currently feeling like a rabbit trapped by a hungry wolf.
Seeing the fear in the young boy's eyes, Wang Li could not help but wonder once more what exactly a child this young could have done to make him worth such an extravagant bounty.
Young eyes locked onto older ones. Both of them were completely silent The atmosphere within the room was so tense that one could cut it with a knife.
Because the only exit was guarded, attempting to escape would be futile and would likely only cause the older man to become angry. He also already said that if Xu Min were to lie, then the young boy would have sealed his fate to be delivered to the Zhong Family.
Thinking all his possible choices through, the young boy sighed deeply – his eyes gleaming with perseverance. He lived to get revenge on the Zhong family. He could not afford to die now.
Nodding his head, Xu Min sat back down on the ground. His black eyes were seemingly as deep as an endless abyss and no emotion was visible other than overwhelming despair.
Seeing his despair, Wang Li once more questioned the past of this young man. To be honest, he had no intention of handing the young boy over for the sake of some petty coin. It was only due to his curiosity, how such a skilled young boy could appear seemingly out of nowhere, that spurred him to pressure the young boy to get information about his background.
Xu Min gritted his teeth as the despair in his black eyes turned to anger, and then to hate. His fists were gripped tightly, and although he had not said anything, Wang Li easily understood that something terrible had happened to make this boy this way. His interest grew even stronger, and the sly smile on his face grew somewhat larger.
"My sister and I were sold when we were children," Xu Min started to explain, and spent the rest of the evening talking about everything that had happened to him.
He did not reveal his background for the sake of confiding in Wang Li nor from the threat made by him. The reason he explained everything down to the tiniest detail was to get some pity from the much older overseer. If the Overseer pitied him, there would be a bigger chance for him to live.
Another reason why he opened up to Wang Li was the hope that Wang Li would get distracted; creating a chance for him to quickly escape from the small house without risking his neck in the process.
The most important thing for Xu Min was not how others viewed him, nor was it honor and pride. In his perspective, survival was the most important thing. As long as he was alive, he would be able to get revenge.
That being said, although this young boy did not feel about honor and pride like most people do, he still had his own code of conduct. As long as he was treated with kindness, he would repay that person in kind. If he was shown respect, he would in turn give respect.
Halfway through his story, Xu Min's face turned exceedingly ugly. He noticed that no matter what he said trying to cause the older man to lose focus and move away from the door was futile.
At the same time, the only change to the elder man's expression was a crooked eyebrow and a twitch in his sly smile. Seeing him like this, the young child felt that his possibilities of garnering pity were limited, and he started to think about his other options for escaping once again.
Xu Min's eyes grew darker and darker as he tried to come up with various escape plans, only to discard them all in the end, because he realized that none of them would work. Hoping to find a weapon of some sort, his mind became frantic as he glanced around the room. Not that he had any experience wielding weapons, but he felt as though his situation would be better with a weapon in hand rather than without.
Unfortunately, no matter where he looked, nothing suitable was in sight. A short time later he finally ended his tale with how he entered the city to look for a master; only to discover that to learn martial arts within the city, he had to be a part of a sect or a great family.
Hearing the whole story, Wang Li started contemplating for a short moment. As soon as his eyes left Xu Min's body, the young boy kicked the ground, and used the explosive force of the kick to dart towards the door as fast as he could.
For a millisecond he even thought that he had succeeded. However, before he had the chance to celebrate, he felt something hook onto the back of his collar.
It happened in the blink of an eye, and by the time Xu Min realized what had happened, he was hanging in the air. His clothes were gripped by a strong hand belonging to Wang Li.
Although he was caught, the young boy refused to give in. He abandoned his vest to wriggle out of Wang Li's grasp and rushed towards the doorway once more.
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on the face of Overseer Wang Li, but it took him just a second to catch Xu Min's leg. Xu Min found himself hanging in the air, his leg held by the older man's strong arm. To lift him with such ease, the man was at least an early stage Warrior.
"No need to rush like this," Wang Li chuckled. With a flick of his hand, the young boy was thrown towards the bed. Colliding against the wall, the young boy could not help but grimace in pain before he fell down onto the bed.
Although Xu Min was in pain, he refused to give in. He forced his body to stand up while he waited to see what the older man would do next.
Seeing that Wang Li did not move, the young boy gritted his teeth and quickly took the Shattering Palm stance that he had trained for such a long time. Xu Min stood up and raised his hand in front of him. The Qi that was roiling inside of him went through his body's meridians in a specific pattern before it started to leak out from the body of the young man, consolidating into a large palm hovering on top of his head. Seeing this translucent palm that appeared above the head of the young Student Warrior suddenly flying toward him, Wang Li was shocked. He couldn't believe that someone who was not a Warrior yet could have the ability to activate such an advanced technique.
Seeing the palm, a genuine smile appeared on Wang Li's face, and with steady steps he strode to meet the translucent palm. His own fist moved to meet it in the middle of the room.
Seeing that Wang Li intended to take the hit head on without using any Qi to protect himself, Xu Min was taken aback. He was certain that even early stage Warriors would need to use some Qi to protect themselves against his Shattering Palm. Could it be that Wang Li was a middle stage Warrior, or perhaps even a peak stage Warrior?
These thoughts worried Xu Min; however, he already started the attack and everything was riding on his success. He was sure that if he failed, it would only take a moment for Wang Li to kill him. The boy would do anything to avoid this outcome. If he managed to escape Overseer Wang Li, then he would have to keep running until he found another city where he could try settling down again.
Thinking back, Xu Min cursed himself for stopping in the first city he came across. He should have continued until he was a good distance away from the Zhong family. However, regretting his actions now would achieve nothing. Instead he poured his entire cultivation base and energy into the palm strike heading towards Wang Li.
The translucent hand was growing more substantial as beads of sweat appeared on the young boy's face. His arm was starting to shake — the shaking was even visible by the naked eye, reflected in the massive palm of Qi.
Two palms, one created by translucent Qi and the other completely bare, collided midair resulting in a resounding boom followed by an intense shock wave. The shock wave caused Xu Min to stumble backwards, blood spraying from his mouth as he collapsed on the ground. The world turned black around him and a bitter taste filled his mouth as he realized he had failed.
Xu Min started coming to his senses but his eyes felt like they were glued shut. His mouth was dry as the treebark that he had lived on in the forest.
His entire body was exhausted with no energy left at all. Although his body was filled with discomfort and pain, the first emotion which the young boy felt was happiness; a happiness that was impossible to describe or convey.. Even if he had been tied down and brought back to the Zhong family, it was still better than being dead.
Forcing his eyes open, Xu Min found that he was laying on a comfortable bed, still in Wang Li's house. The smell of delicious food permeated the room.
The first thing his eyes landed on was Wang Li. There were no marks on his body, nor were there any scratches on his fist after directly colliding with Xu Min's Shattering Palm Strike, a fact that caused the young boy to feel shocked. He was greatly disappointed with his own performance. Although he had mastered this technique, he was still unable to use it to the fullest due to his lack of cultivation. He became astonished because he came to the conclusion that Wang Li was at least a peak stage Warrior, someone capable of fighting against the Zhong family head!
Feeling the gaze directed at him, Wang Li lifted his head, revealing a smile on his weatherbeaten, grim face.
"Well done, waking up so soon!" He complimented the young boy, "It seems you've had a terrible past, but I don't really care about that," He said. "What I do care about, however, is your talent. I've wanted to teach my martial arts to someone else, but I haven't seen anyone who was even close to being worthy of my teaching before."
"You can choose to either become my disciple or go back to those Zhong friends of yours."
At his words, the young boy's mind was in complete disarray, but soon a smile appeared on his face. Becoming Wang Li's disciple and working hard under his care was something that Xu Min knew he was capable of doing.
Seeing the smile on Xu Min's face, Wang Li's lips curled upwards. He poured soup into two bowls and went towards the young child in front of him. "You better make me believe that having you as my disciple is worth more than one hundred coins of gold."
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Chapter 10: Warrior
At first, Xu Min had believed that becoming the disciple of Wang Li was a fortunate event – an event that would help him increase his strength. However, it did not take long before he realized that being Wang Li's disciple was not as great as he had expected.
The first thing that Wang Li had taught the young boy was how to cook food that was as delicious as the food made by the overseer himself.
Having learned how to cook, he was told that it was his job to ensure that their living quarters were always clean; not even one speck of dust was allowed within the room or Xu Min would end up being sold back to the Zhong family. Although it was just a threat, the young boy believed that the old man would really do it.
As soon as the sun rose in the sky, Xu Min had to be at the harbor where he was expected to work as hard as everyone else who worked there. The young boy worked hard every single day. He always gave the task at hand his all and frequently ran from one side of the harbor to the other, sometimes carrying two, or even three crates at once.
This sort of physical training was much more intense than the training he had received at the Zhong family compound. It was even harder than the training that he had given himself during his time in the forest. However, this was a welcome change because the young boy could feel that his muscles were screaming day in and day out. This was proof that he was overcoming hurdles every day, increasing his strength by leaps and bounds when compared to before.
As his body became stronger, his mental training and cultivation became much smoother. Finding someone who would use their external strength to support their internal energy was rare because it was incredibly hard for anyone to go through the physical training that left the body feeling sore and broken. However, as soon as that person sat down and started cultivating, their body would be rejuvenated once more, filling the person with newfound energy and strength.
Seeing the young boy bustling about and working as hard as he could, many of the harbor workers would ask the Overseer why he was making such a poor young boy work so hard. All of them got the same answer: The boy was a peak-rank Student Warrior who was training himself through lifting and moving crates.
Within this world, there were three ranks that one could reach. The first was the rank of a Student Warrior. Student Warriors were people who had become able to refine Qi from the essence of the heavens and the earth. However, since they had too little Qi, they could not truly be considered Warriors. It usually took ten to fifteen years before a Student Warrior would be able to refine enough Qi to transform into a Warrior.
The second rank – the Warrior rank – was split into nine stars. The first three stars were considered the Early Stage, the three middle stars were considered Middle Stage, and the final three stars were considered Advanced Stage.
The majority of all cultivators were either Student Warriors or Early Stage Warriors.
Guards and soldiers were often Middle Stage Warriors. Middle Stage Warriors were not to be taken lightly because they were, without a doubt, a force to be reckoned with.
Advanced Stage Warriors were considered experts. As an Advanced Stage Warrior, one was virtually unrestricted in whatever they wanted to accomplish. Nine-Star Warriors were especially in high demand for everyone.
Above the Warrior rank was only the Emperor rank. Emperors were the pinnacle of the cultivating world, and not many managed to reach this peak. Xu Min had never before seen an Emperor; he had only heard about them from Overseer Tian. But even Overseer Tian did not know much. All he knew was that one had to defy the heavens and ascend to immortality in order to become an Emperor.
Xu Min's dream was to become an Emperor one day. However, his revenge could not wait for him to reach the peak of cultivation. The Zhong family leader was an Advanced Stage Warrior, but he was an Eight-Star Warrior, not a Nine-Star Warrior. The gap in strength between Xu Min and the Zhong family leader was simply as vast as the distance between the heavens and the earth. For now, the young boy had no other hope than to work harder than anyone else to achieve his revenge.
Because Xu Min trained his body to such an extent, his body began showing evidence of his hard labor. His initially lean muscles became bigger proportionately along with his height, which also grew at an astonishing speed. In this way, his body was balanced in terms of strength and size.
Had Xu Min been focusing on the same training curriculum that Overseer Tian had put the Zhong Family guards through, his body would not have been able to achieve this equilibrium. He would had just been solely strengthening his arms and legs, neglecting the other muscles that were just as important .
When Xu Min had first heard that Wang Li would take him in as his personal disciple, the young man expected that he would be immediately learning new martial art skills. However, he was quickly disappointed. He discovered that Wang Li had only required him to do chores around the house and work at the docks. In his spare time, he would be told to cultivate.
Having his life filled with working at the docks alongside cultivating nightly, time quickly flowed by, and before long the ten year old boy turned into a fifteen year old young man.
"Overseer Wang!" Xu Min called out, his eyes filled with delight as he jumped up from his seated position. Around him was a myriad of golden specks of light, all of which quickly dissipated into thin air, removing any traces of what had just transpired.
Looking at the ecstatic young man, Wang Li smiled gently as he guessed what the young man was about to say. He waited patiently to allow his disciple to have the joy of announcing it himself.
"I did it! I managed to become a Warrior!" He exclaimed, his face flushed red, and his eyes filled with delight. During the last five years, the young man had worked tirelessly to constantly train both body and soul; and now he had finally succeeded in becoming a true cultivator.
Being a One-Star Warrior at the age of fifteen would not cause him to be considered as a truly outstanding talent, but it was quicker than the average individual. But how could anyone compare Xu Min with ordinary cultivators?
Although Xu Min was focusing every night on cultivating his internal energy, the majority of his day was spent improving his physical strength, something that the majority of cultivators disregarded because all of them focused mainly on the internal aspect of cultivation.
Because he went through the experience of doing all the chores and working hard at the docks, Xu Min was well aware that Wang Li had intentionally focused on tempering his body and put a secondary focus on cultivating internal Qi. He did not fully understand the logic of Wang Li as to why he had decided to train him in this manner, but he chose not to question Wang Li's reasoning.
Back when Xu Min had first become Wang Li's disciple, the young man found that it was impossible for him to feel the aura coming from the older man, and he quickly guessed that his strength was far superior of his own. Now that he had reached Early Stage Warrior, he could feel a domineering aura coming from his teacher.
The aura was so domineering and overpowering that Xu Min felt completely incapable of going against it.
One had to remember that Wang Li was not using any abilities nor was he intentionally releasing his battle aura; instead, this was just the aura that belonged to the Advanced Stage Warriors, a realm that no one wanted to fight against unless the contender was of the same realm themselves.
"Well done!" Wang Li revealed a rare smile on his weather-beaten face.. He then went towards a bag that he had tossed in a corner of their shared room.
From within the bag, he pulled out two bottles of wine. After looking around the room for some time, he found two cups in which he poured the wine into, then handed one cup to the young man.
"Congratulations on finally joining the ranks of cultivators!" He said, before lifting the cup of wine up to his lips and emptying the cup in one gulp.
Seeing his teacher toast him in such a manner, Xu Min followed with drinking his own glass.His face flushed red as soon as the strong wine entered his mouth. A burning sensation followed as it went down his throat, and his face turned pale with sweat as the liquor ended up in his stomach.
Watching the interesting changes that manifested themselves in his disciple's face, Wang Li ended up letting out loud laughter. Clearly in a great mood, he smiled as he clasped his legs with his hands,.
"Let me see you use that Shattering Palm technique," Wang Li finally said. "You can use it against me. I want to feel just how strong you are now."
Hearing this, Xu Min instantly bowed and complied with the order he had been given. Although he was about to use an ability against his teacher, he did not hesitate. He already knew that although he had become a true warrior, it was impossible for him to truly pose any threat to this teacher of his.
Taking the stance he had performed so many times in the past and forcing Qi to flow out from within his dantian and through his body, it did not take long before pearl-white Qi flowed from his palm, creating a large, seven-meter long palm of Qi.
The palm hovered above the head of Wang Li and with a few quick movements, Xu Min slammed down the palm onto Wang Li's head, only to hear a resounding boom fill the room.
A shockwave erupted outwards and swept the unprepared young man upwards and threw him backwards. He landed heavily against the wall, causing him to taste blood in his mouth.
Swallowing down the blood and standing up on wobbly legs, Xu Min approached his teacher to ensure that he was unhurt. As he neared, he secretly looked at the place where he had aimed at Wang Li, but he quickly was disappointed because the only change he could see was that his teacher's hair was slightly disheveled.
Although disappointment was evident within Xu Min's eyes, an approving expression was seen on Wang Li's face. He nodded his head a couple of times before he once more brought forth the bag from before, and started looking around for items within.
Seeing his teacher acting somewhat differently than normal, Xu Min quickly forgot about the disappointing display of his Shattering Palm technique, and attentively observed his teacher as Wang Li searched through the bag.
Initially, Wang Li had pulled out three scrolls from bag. However, Wang Li did not stop. He searched and searched until he found some other scrolls, followed by a map and a small bag of coins.
"Tempering your body enables it to withstand physical attacks; and at the same time, it also provides you with the capability of using material attacks without relying on your inner strength." Wang Li started speaking formally as a teacher for the first time. As soon as Xu Min heard Wang Li's words, he instantly sat down, staring intently at his teacher. He swallowed every word whole, memorizing them within his mind.
"Being able to rely on your body is something that will make you even stronger than your peers; however, you are currently completely unable to use the strength that you have gathered. I have forged your body well, making it definitely equal to even the bodies of a Two-Star Warrior. However, only you yourself can learn how to use this great weapon that you have polished for the last five years. It is about time for you to go on a trip."
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Chapter 11: Departure from Honghe City
"A trip?" Xu Min furrowed his brows as he pondered over the reason as to why he had to go on a trip. He had done all that had been asked of him, his training was smoothly underway, and he had finally broken into the rank of Warrior. Now, his teacher wanted to throw him out?
"Yes," Wang Li answered straightforwardly. "It is one thing to have a strong body, but unless you obtain experience outside of my protection, you will never be able to become strong and independent," he continued, this was the first time in all the years that Xu Min had lived together with him that he sounded like a true teacher.
"I know that you had previously lived within a forest for two years, but the forest that you lived in was as dangerous as my grandmother's home." Wang Li mocked, "What I want you to do is to enter a forest infested with demon beasts; only then will you understand what true survival is."
"But teacher," Xu Min interrupted, with confusion evident in his expression, "You never taught me how to fight, nor did you teach me any martial arts. How am I supposed to survive in a fight against demon beasts?"
After hearing Xu Min's question, Wang Li snorted and started searching for something in his bag again. After rummaging through the contents for some time, a long sword appeared in his hands, a sword that was clearly far larger than what the bag could possibly contain. Seeing this, Xu Min's eyes grew large.
"Since you are going on a trip, of course this teacher of yours will give you some gifts," Wang Li said magnanimously. "Not only will I give you this weapon, I'll even give you one more martial art skill, since you know that Shattering Palm thing. You should be fine."
Hearing his teacher say as much, Xu Min could do nothing but nod his head in return, and he quickly accepted the sword that was given to him.
The sword was incredibly beautiful. The blade was around ten centimeters wide and half a centimeter broad. The sword was about a meter and a half long. The shaft was made from bone and wrapped in leather.
The blade was incredibly sharp. Just touching it cut Xu Min's finger, making him bleed. What was strange was that Xu Min's blood, upon contact on the sword, disappeared. It was as though the sword was drinking the blood up directly. Suddenly, black runes that Xu Min had never seen before appeared on the sides of the blade.
Staring agape at the sword, Xu Min, who had never used a weapon before, could not help but feel completely flabbergasted as he held the heavy sword in his hand.
Although the sword was heavy, it fit in his hand perfectly. A strong desire to swing the sword and cut down his enemies arose in Xu Min. There was something about the sword that completely enveloped Xu Min, making him feel as though he had found a missing part of himself.
Seeing his reaction, Wang Li snickered. How could this sword be a simple item when it was pulled from his plethora of treasures? What he feared was that the young man in front of him would be incapable of holding himself back and start swinging the weapon inside their small room.
"Teacher, thank you!" Xu Min gave his heartfelt gratitude to his teacher. Although he had never used a weapon before, he already felt as though this sword was a part of his body. Although Xu Min had a lean body, his body was finely tempered through five years of hard work at the harbor, making his body as strong as that a Two-Star Warrior.
"Right," Wang Li was as happy as Xu Min. Initially, he was worried that Xu Min would not be able to use the sword. Sometimes, an enchanted weapon such as the long sword would refuse to be used because of one's lack of affinity with the weapon. However, the weapon had fully accepted the black-haired young man, putting Wang Li at ease.
"The martial art skill that I am giving you is the Radiant Jade Shower." Hearing this, Xu Min's eyes grew large, and a silly grin appeared on his face. He had never heard about this Radiant Jade
Shower before, but the name alone was so astonishing that it made him feel as though it had to be an amazing ability.
"Currently, you have the Shattering Palm for one-on-one fights," Wang Li explained. "However, the Radiant Jade Shower is not a single target skill. As a result of this skill, your Qi will split into thousands upon thousands of small drops of rain that are as hard as jade and shower down upon your enemies. They will wreak massive destruction upon your enemies."
Hearing an explanation of the skill, the young man could not help but be amazed. It would take him a long time to perfectly create and control that many drops of jade.
As Xu Min was deep in thought about this skill, Wang Li once more rummaged through his bag. He whipped out an old scroll of parchment and passed it to the young man in front of him.
"Good thing I taught you how to read," he commented as he tossed the scroll towards Xu Min, who caught it on reflex. Looking at the scroll, Xu Min's hands trembled slightly as he opened it. He slowly rolled out the text that explained the stance and energy flow needed to learn the Radiant Jade Shower.
"Being a One-Star Warrior makes you stronger than the average human within our Qin continent, but amongst cultivators, you are the weakest of the weak." Wang Li warned him. "You are strong enough to deal with weak and young demon beasts, but if you face any thing big, run. Running to preserve your life is not shameful. Dying a silly death, on the other hand, will not enable you to get revenge. So forget about being stubborn and prideful; instead, do everything you can to stay alive."
"Also, make sure that you don't insult cultivators who are stronger than you. Although they normally won't lower themselves to fight anyone weaker than themselves, if you are too arrogant, they certainly will make an exception."
Wang Li had been living alone for a very long time, doing nothing other than his job and drinking quality wine whenever he felt like doing so. His life was easy, especially after having taken in Xu Min. The young man dealt with every chore that needed to be done, and he made sure that Wang Li got food and drink whenever he requested it while still working incredibly hard at his daily duties.
The old man had quickly gotten used to the life with the young boy who was so keen to improve himself on everything he possibly could. He never once complained about the chores he had to do, nor the hard work he was given at the docks.
At first, Wang Li did not expect that he would grow this attached to the young man. Now that they were about to part ways, the older man felt a bit apprehensive for some time, despite him being the perpetrator who ordered Xu Min to venture into the world.
Xu Min was, just like Wang Li, slightly apprehensive. However, his reason for being so was different. He could felt as though his speed in reaching the ranks of a Warrior was due to the help and guidance of Wang Li. To enter the wild and try to train on his own made him worried that he would take the wrong path.
Although he was slightly hesitant, he was filled with excitement. He understood that to temper himself, he would need to go somewhere other than at the docks working at carrying crates. He needed to experience life threatening situations where he could truly unleash his potential: kill or be killed.
"Enough of this," Wang Li stopped with the warnings before he moved towards the fireplace, and for once he sat down and started to peel the potatoes and cut the onions. The old man ended up making the night's dinner. The two of them sat there in silence. Both were somewhat melancholic as they reflected back on the last five years, but both were also excited about what lay ahead for him.
"After I go out traveling, when I return, you won't be able to recognize me," Xu Min said with a sly smile on his face. "I might even have grown stronger than you!" He continued, however, this time it was more jokingly than anything else. He had long since realized that although Wang Li refused to say how strong he was, he was somewhere in the advanced Warrior stage.
The rest of the evening was, for the first time, not spent on cultivating. Instead, Xun Min kept Wang Li company for a cup of wine. The two men spoke about a wide variety of topics ranging from how he had grown from a little brat to a young man to his dreams and aims for his life.
Wang Li did not speak much and listened to Xu Min about his dreams and his goals– dreams he already knew about, but to hear them again after five years, the young boy had not changed. He still wished for nothing more than to destroy the Zhong family, to kill both the young master and the Zhong Family Leader.
Every time Xu Min spoke about the Zhong family, a flame of hatred raged deep inside him. The difference now was that he could speak about the Zhong family without allowing the hate to show on his face. He learned how to keep his rage under control. He now knew what it meant to endure.
As he thought about his sister, the flame of hate would grow, but he was still able to remember the good times he had shared with Xu Wu. He had not blinded himself with hate. Every time he thought about her, he grew even more determined as the ferocity of his personality would increase, and the gaze of his eyes grew increasingly sharper.
Xu Min spent the entire night emptying himself to Wang Li as he told him about both the good and bad experiences that he had throughout his life. He talked about his escape, about his life in the forest, about Overseer Tian, and his training to become a Student Warrior. He talked about Xu Wu and her constant care for him, and how the young master and his friends would torment him.
Eventually, Xu Min told him about how his sister had spoke about the land on the other side of the sea, the land from where he and his sister originated. Hearing this, Wang Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile turned slightly rigid, but Xu Min never noticed. Instead, he carried on with the stories of his life, never once realizing that Wang Li seemed to be deep in thought.
"The sun is rising," Wang Li suddenly noted, his eyes watching the purple sky visible through the open door of their small room.
Hearing his voice, Xu Min went quiet for some time. His eyes adopted a determined look and he nodded his head.
"I won't tell you where to go," Wang Li said with a tired voice that sounded desolate. "Go out and conquer the world on your own. Go wherever your legs take you and experience everything."
"Should you, by chance, ever feel that you need a rest, then come back here. I will always be waiting. I am your teacher after all."
Gratitude welled up inside the heart of Xu Min. With a nod and a final glance around the room in which he had lived for so long, the young black-haired young man stood up and left, not once looking back as he made his way towards the western city gate.
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Chapter 12: West City Gate
Travelling through the city, Xu Min felt as though everything was different from how it used to be. Although everything looked the same, small changes were apparent. The world seemed brighter in front of his eyes because the rising sun colored the sky purple and shined various rays of light down upon the buildings.
The city gate was located in the west area of the city. This was the wealthy area where the majority of the land was owned by various powerful families. This gate was mainly used by the families who went out to practice their martial art skills in the real world because there was a forest filled with demon beasts not too far from the city.
The outside edges of the forest mainly contained low grade demon beasts. Only rank one and two demon beasts would be seen in this area; however, the deeper into the forest one ventured, the stronger the demon beasts became.
Xu Min was well aware of his strength, and his aim was to camp on the outskirts of the forest, where he could focus on tempering his personality, perfecting his Shattering Palm, and learning Radiant Jade Shower.
Arriving in the western part of the city, Xu Min could not help but suck in a breath of air. He had never actually explored Honghe City, he only stayed at the docks and the poorer area where he and Wang Li lived. He never considered the other areas to be worth his time because all his spare energy was spent on cultivating.
Seeing the massive family compounds rise high into the sky made Xu Min aware of what a real successful family was. He had previously thought that the Zhong family was a family far above the others, but now, he saw mansions that were constructed from pure jade and marble, and some even inlaid with pearls. He finally understood that the Zhong family was truly nothing but a small family with merely one Advanced Stage Warrior.
Seeing these families, Xu Min felt relief in his heart. At first, he thought that the Zhong family was immeasurable, a force that he would find extremely hard to fight; however, after seeing the other families, he quickly understood that the Zhong family no longer dominated his mind.
Feeling liberated, a smile adorned this youth's face as he traveled through the final part of the city. His eyes shone with confidence as he saw the west city gate ahead.
As he was about to exit the gate, Xu Min thought back to all the things which he experienced in the past five years. Five years… It had been a whole five years since he arrived at Honghe City. Those five years were spent training hard. As long as the sun shone, he would be working hard at the docks, moving crates to and fro. He constantly challenged his limits of how many he could lift, while at the same time, he increased his speed and efficiency with which he moved the crates.
Each night would be focused solely on cultivating. He would refine the essence of the heavens and the earth into Qi, which allowed him to train the Shattering Palm and increase his rank.
All these years, Xu Min worked incredibly hard, never once complaining about the work he was given, nor about the small chores he had to do at home. Everything was accomplished so that one day he could get his revenge.
Xu Min reaching the one star rank by the age of fifteen was an astonishing feat. It was enough to call him a genius, but it was not unprecedented in Honghe City.
Every major family had at least one or two young masters who would also reach the Warrior rank by the age of fifteen each year; however, they were born into a wealthy family. Their parents and clan would often give them medicinal pills, herbal baths, acupuncture, and various stimulants to allow their cultivation speed to soar.
For someone to become a one star Warrior by himself and not rely on medicinal pills, herbs, and the like was very rarely seen. Such a youth was, without a doubt, a true genius.
As he walked through the west city gate, Xu Min's face had a smile. His heart was beating slightly erratically as he looked around observing his surroundings. When he had entered the city through the east city gate, he still remembered how the road had been filled with farmers and other commoners who were heading to town to sell their harvest.
The west gate was completely different from the east gate. A few caravans were visible. Each caravan belonged to merchants who traveled between the major cities of the continent. A few mercenaries and even fewer entourages that contained guards and what seemed to be young masters of the highly esteemed families within Honghe City were seen on the road leaving the city.
Xu Min was, without a doubt, the most poorly-dressed person of all the people at the west gate. Everyone around him stared at him with puzzled looks. His aura was that of a one star Warrior, but his face was still youthful. No stubble could be seen on the face, it still had the softness of youth.
Looking at the young man, many determined that he was a young master, who, for some reason, enjoyed dressing like a commoner. The rich youngsters in the city each had various hobbies, and seeing one dressing up like a commoner was amongst the least eccentric ones.
Xu Min was excited as he made his way through the gate. His eyes scanned the surroundings, and his smile remained on his face as he saw the desolate landscape in front of him.
In front of him was one large road. Everyone left the city by this road, caravans and mercenaries alike.
The landscape was much like the barren land Xu Min encountered the first time he had left the forest in which he lived for two years. Looking closely, Xu Min noticed the top of a forest far off in the distance. Although he could see the forest, it was clearly quite a distance away. Finding his destination, the young man started walking towards the forest, following the road upon which everyone else also traveled.
It was early morning when he departed from Honghe City. He knew that at this time, Wang Li was currently busy at the docks. He could feel how his body was bursting with unused energy, his body almost screaming with the urge to move.
Grinning broadly, Xu Min could no longer hold back, and with an explosive step, he started running towards the distant forest.
As soon as he started running, a comfortable humming sound spread throughout his body as every muscle was being used. He rushed down the paved road, overtaking one group after another. The explosive speed with which he was running was enough to make the overtaken groups and caravans stop and look up. They were surprised to see a lone figure moving as swiftly as the wind down the road, showing no signs of slowing down.
Xu Min spent five years running around the docks. At first, he carried one crate at a time, but as time went on, he carried two, then three crates. During the last year, he moved up to four crates at once, each weighing around fifty kilograms.
Now that he was running down the paved road and not lifting anything, his movements were filled with strength. His speed was unprecedented amongst his peers. He was as swift as the wind, and his movements were fluid. No sound could be heard, and the majority of the warriors who saw him were incapable of seeing how he moved. All they saw was a blur rushing past them.
Feeling his legs growing tired, Xu Min forced himself to keep running at the same speed as before, squeezing every single drop of energy from his body to his legs to keep his pace up. In the end, he managed to run straight ahead at the same pace he had started at for thirteen hours. By the time he stopped, the sun was setting far off in the distance, setting behind the forest that was much closer now.
Looking around, Xu Min noticed that the further he walked along the road, the more deserted it became. Looking around his surroundings, he saw that some caravans had set up camp a few kilometers away from the road in the barren landscape. Seeing this, Xu Min decided to follow suit and kept walking until he found a suitable location to camp.
What he was looking for was a location with some vegetation. However, the land was barren. Small bushes were seen here and there. He ultimately picked out a location in one of the weatherbeaten bushes.
Getting closer, Xu Min could not help but celebrate as he saw that the bush was bigger than he had expected. He quickly climbed under the branches until he entered the inside of the bush, where he slowly but gently moved the branches away until a small cave was created.
If one were to look at the bush from the outside, it would be impossible to tell that someone was camping inside. Although he had the aura of a one star Warrior, Xu Min knew that someone had to be close to him to feel his aura.
Seated in the bush, Xu Min was satisfied with his shelter. He quickly crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Although he was alone and on his way to the wilderness, he still knew how important cultivation was. Within moments, golden specks of light appeared in the air. Some of the specks were absorbed by the young man who was breathing heavily while others were expelled every time he took a new breath.
The night went by quickly, and no one noticed the young man who was hiding in the bush. As the sun rose in the sky, his closed eyes instantly opened, and Xu Min left the safety of his bush as he returned to the road. He started running once more as swiftly as he could, running quickly towards the forest.
Although Xu Min was running fast, he ended up having to camp in the bushes two more times before he finally reached the outskirts of the forest. Looking around, the young man was deeply taken aback because nothing was how he had imagined it.
This forest was known for its demon beasts, and many families used it as a training ground for their young masters and guards, while mercenaries used it as a way to make money. Xu Min was shocked when he saw that right in front of the forest, there was a small town that seemed to be flourishing with business.
The town had more than one inn, and there were merchants selling everything from food and drinks to weapons and armors.
Apart from merchants and inns, there were smithies, pharmacies, and even a shop that rented out carriages. Looking at all these things, Xu Min could not help but feel slightly numb. The sight was anything but what he expected to see.
Although there was civilization right in front of him, Xu Min quickly decided to move the other way. Even though there was some appeal to the town, the only things that the young man brought with him was his sword that he had in a sheath on his back and a small bag bound around his waist. In the bag were food and drinks; the young man had brought no money with him.
Even back when he worked at the docks, Wang Li never once paid him a salary. The young man never once asked for it. The two of them found a great balance where Wang Li bought everything he needed and Xu Min did all the chores and followed the orders he was given in return.
Seeing a town that required money for him to purchase goods, Xu Min could do nothing but sigh as he turned around and walked in the opposite direction. He preferred to enter the outskirts of the forest somewhere without too many people watching. When everything was said and done, Xu Min was still only a Warrior, and based on his previous experiences, he knew very well that animals were not the only thing to be feared in a forest.
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Chapter 13: Building a Lair
Xu Min skirted around the outskirts of the town for a few days; however, just as he decided on a location, he saw yet another town, much like the previous one that had been established. This city seemed to attract mercenaries and young masters from cities other than Honghe City. As soon as it came into view, Xu Min grumbled slightly as he turned back and moved towards the forest between the two towns.
Standing there, he looked to both sides. Seeing that no one was around him, he finally moved into the forest. Being in a forest somehow caused Xu Min to quickly calm down. Previously, he had been excited and worried about the many men he could come across in the forest, but now that he had finally entered the forest, he felt as though he had returned home.
Walking with stealthy, silent steps, Xu Min ventured further and further into the forest, moving from the areas where the trees were sparse to the wilderness where even the sunlight was blocked by the trees above.
As soon as he made it to the thicker parts of the woods, he instantly stopped, took his sword from off his back, and wielded it in his hand, ready to take on any beast or human that decided to stand in his way.
As Xu Min looked around, his eyes didn't look for a demon beast, nor were they looking for other humans, instead, his eyes were constantly looking at the treetops as he tried to determine the best location to build his stronghold. After travelling through the forest for a few hours, Xu Min finally came across an area that lived up to his expectations.
The trees were tall, growing into the sky. Xu Min quickly sheathed his sword before he climbed to the top of these trees. At the top, the branches and leaves were weaved together, blocking the light from above and the eyes from below. Looking at the trees on which he was currently seated, a satisfied smirk appeared on his face as he started to rearrange the branches. He started to make a small nest-like structure. After finishing his construction of the nest and ensuring that neither anyone from below nor none of the beasts that could fly could see him, Xu Min was finally satisfied.
As soon as he had finished his lair, Xu Min sat down for a moment and took a deep breath before laying the sword by his side. He took one deep breath after another, and the golden specks started to appear in the air around him. After only a few moments, Xu Min managed to enter a deep trance-like meditation.
The sun was setting by the time Xu Min woke up from his meditation, and he quickly stood up, stretching his body that had been sitting still for quite some time as his muscles were slightly sore. Standing up, he picked his sword up and sheathed it on his back before he slowly climbed down the large tree in which he had created his lair. He then decided to go looking for some dinner.
The light was already dim when he started walking around the forest. Even the final rays of sunshine were unable to break through the heavy canopy created by the trees that were close by one another. The tree tops were blocking out even the rays of the rising moon.
Xu Min looked around for a moment; however, he quickly found that within the dense forest, the night descended quickly. As the night descended, sounds of the demon beasts increased, and in the forest, bonfires were lit as mercenaries and young masters stopped their daily hunts to start relaxing.
Seeing this, Xu Min quickly retreated back to his lair. Although he was here to fight demon beasts, he had no wish to fight them during the night as they had the advantage when it came to familiarity with the forest, and their night vision was definitely better than that of a human, even a warrior ranked cultivator did not have as good of a view of the night as a demon beast.
Moving back to his lair, Xu Min picked some dried meat out from his bag along with a bottle of wine that he enjoyed while lying down in his nest.
Xu Min relaxed for a moment while listening to the sounds of the forest. Although the forest he had lived in before had neither as many demon beasts nor as many humans as this one contained, the scent and the feel was exactly like what he had been used to. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by nostalgia as he remembered the forest that had been his world for two years.
While thinking about this, he once again remembered the Zhong family. It was impossible for him to go through a whole night without thinking about the Zhong Family, and for once, his mood turned sour. He sat up, no longer lying down in the nest and relaxing. Instead, he sat up again and started to cultivate, allowing the golden specks to replace the other specks within his body. He became enveloped by a comfortable feeling.
Being at the top of the trees, he was able to see the morning sunshine from his nest, and the pale green light that shone onto the young man caused him to open his eyes as the golden specks in the air instantly dissipating into nothingness.
Seeing the morning green light, a comfortable feeling appeared in Xu Min's heart as he slowly left his lair. When he landed on the ground, he looked up towards the nest, satisfied to see that it was completely impossible for anyone to notice it.
Even though Xu Min was cultivating, his aura was not large enough to reveal his location to any humans or beasts on the ground, just as the demon beasts flying above the forest should be unable to sense him as well.
Satisfied to see that his lair was of range from the others, Xu Min started moving soundlessly through the forest, his keen eyes constantly alert as he expected an attack coming his way at any moment.
His alertness soon paid off as he noticed movements to the side, and by reflex, his hands twisted the sword, allowing it to block the two horns that were aimed straight at his stomach.
The force behind the horns was nothing to look down on, and Xu Min felt that he was tossed backwards as his eyes instantly rested upon the beast in front of him.
The beast was unlike anything Xu Min had ever seen. The body was no larger than one meter tall and it was a meter and a half long. It had a long rat-like tail and its face was like that of a wild hog. He soon noticed that what he had assumed were horns were in fact large tusks.
Seeing the beast, Xu Min's heart skipped a beat. A smile appeared on his face. The beast in front of him was an ordinary Pest Hog. It was a hog species that was as numerous as rats, and they were considered pests as they usually came in large hordes and took over the farmland.
Seeing one of these hogs, Xu Min now understood why the ground between the Honghe City and the forest was barren. Even if they tried to plant crops, it would all be eaten by the Pest Hogs.
It took Xu Min by surprise that he met only one of these beasts; however, he did not allow himself to be too shocked as he lifted his sword with both hands and chopped downwards at the beast.
"Boom!"
A boom sounded out as the sword landed on the ground. The beast had swiftly escaped the sword blow and it was currently charging towards the young man in front of him, its tusks protruded as it's face was lowered slightly.
"Clang!"
Seeing the beast running towards him, Xu Min had moved the sword and once again managed to block the tusks. The contact between the hard tusks and the large sword caused a metallic sound to be heard, followed by Xu Min being sent flying away from the impact.
Although he was being thrown backwards, Xu Min did not fall onto the ground. When he saw the beast assaulting him again, he threw his sword to the side and took up the stance that he had been taught when he was a little boy. Above his head, a big white hand that was neither illusive nor transparent appeared in the air.
The hand was as white as the colour of the Qi within his body. Although Xu Min was tempted to increase the size of the hand, he was perfectly well aware of the dangers in the forest. Using all his power in one attack was very risky.
Another risky thing was that this battle had already gone on long enough, so every human and demon beast in the area would have been able to feel the ripples of their battle or hear the sounds of the collisions.
Seeing this, Xu Min no longer paid attention to defeating the beast with the sword. Instead, the large hand descended from above, the speed much faster than that of the sword, and then suddenly, a squealing sound could be heard, a sound that loudly spread through the forest and put a grimace on Xu Min's face. He quickly picked up the demon core from the head before he rushed away from the ground where he had fought the beast.
Xu Min was still curious as to who might be around, and although he understood the dangers of staying close by, he quickly jumped into the treetops close to his previous location. His disappearance was not a moment too soon as a group of four mercenaries broke through the bushes and entered the very small clearing where the fight had taken place.
The four mercenaries walked around in the clearing, looking at the beast before they shook their heads. The four mercenaries all spoke together, but Xu Min was out of range to hear the words that were being spoken. Soon after, another group burst through the bushes that surrounded the clearing. However, as soon as they laid eyes on the four mercenaries who were already there, the men quickly turned around and escaped into the surroundings.
As to whether they felt inferior when it came to fighting or did not wish to start a brawl over a simple Pest Hog, it was impossible to tell. However, they quickly vanished into the distance, leaving behind no answer for Xu Min.
One of the four mercenaries looked at the Pest Hog and quickly gave it a harsh kick, causing it to fly far away. Looking at this, Xu Min's eyes narrowed, as he determined that the man who kicked the Hog was at least a Two-Star, if not a Three-Star Warrior.
Seeing this, Xu Min hid further up the tree. If the man was a Three-Star Warrior, then he was likely to be much stronger than the usual warriors who were moving around in the outskirts of the forest. It was also likely that he was capable of sensing Xu Min because his spiritual sense was much stronger than that of a warrior of the First or Second Star.
Spiritual Sense was something that grew alongside rank. It was the sense that one could utilize to feel what went on around them, and in their mind, they could even see something as small as an ant. Even Xu Min had this spiritual sense, but because he was a warrior of the First Star, his spiritual sense was limited to twenty meters away around him.
Currently, he was seated in a tree thirty meters up and around fifty meters away from the site. If the third ranked warrior truly wished to find him, it would not be a problem to do so.
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Chapter 14: Unfortunate Encounter
Sitting in the tree, Xu Min felt that his heart was beating more and more erratically; however, he didn't dare to move a muscle.
Having understood that one of the men was a Three-Star Warrior, he was quiet like a mouse as sweat started trickling down his forehead. Looking at the four experts below, he was certain that they were the kind of mercenaries who would attack other cultivators just to steal their possessions. Even someone as weak and poor as Xu Min would be killed for the sake of the possible wealth he had.
It felt like an eternity for Xu Min as he sat in the tree before the four men finally started to move away. Only then did Xu Min dare to breathe a heavy sigh of relief as he retreated back to his lair, leaping from one tree to another.
Although he wished to go down and pick up the Pest Hog's corpse, he did not do so because he feared that someone would boobytrap it. There might have been some more people lurking around, observing the corpse and waiting for an opportune moment to strike.
On the way back to his lair, he managed to grab some fruits growing in the tree tops along with some eggs from certain low-ranked winged demon beasts. Some of them were delicacies known as miniature flying horses.
Arriving back at his nest, he climbed down to the ground where he found a few big stones that he carried back up to the nest. Although these stones were heavy and incapable of being lifted by a Student Warrior, Xu Min had the physical strength of a Second-Star Warrior. He took full advantage of his strength as he carried the heavy stones up to his nest.
As he laid the stones on the floor that he had built from several heavy branches, the floor sunk slightly, but managed to hold the weight of the stones. After a moment, dried branches were placed upon the stones and lit up for a small bonfire. A stone was put inside the fire and the eggs were cracked upon the stone, cooking deliciously under Xu Min's watchful gaze.
The fire was somewhat risky because there was a chance that it would set the rest of the tree on fire; however, Xu Min had some experience in setting up bonfires in the treetops and he knew exactly how to deal with the fire after he had finished cooking. After a short while, he placed more stones on the fire, killing off the flame, and sat down to eat the miniature flying horses eggs and the fruits that he had picked up.
The night was once again spent cultivating; however, as the next day arrived, Xu Min waited before he went into the forest to look for more prey. He took a stance that was unfamiliar to him and, at the same time, closed his eyes to feel his Qi flowing through his body, gathering behind him like a blanket that slowly transformed into small beads of white, slightly translucent arrowheads.
The difficulty of the movements took quite some time for him to get to this stage; however, he tried his very best to remained focused, enabling him to slowly create the thousand arrowheads behind his body. With but a thought, those thousand small arrowheads showered down in the direction that Xu Min had intended.
Succeeding in performing the ability, Xu Min was incredibly exhausted; however, his eyes were glistening with satisfaction. A smile adorned his lips as he slowly leaned back against the big tree trunk where he had built his lair.
He quickly entered a meditative state to replenish his Qi. After an hour, he had fully recovered. Slipping down the tree trunk, Xu Min once more made his way through the outskirts of the forest. As he looked around with alert eyes, his heart beat with excitement because he could not wait to see what would attack him next, whether it was a demon beast or human cultivator.
As he traveled in the outskirts of the forest, Xu Min came across a few groups of people; however, these groups paid no attention to him, and he did nothing but nod to them in recognition. Because he had the physical strength of a Two-Star Warrior and speed that he had diligently trained during his time working at the docks, Xu Min had a feeling of safety. As long as he did not run into a Three-Star Warrior, he should be capable of escaping with his life.
Soon, he found an area where there were no other humans. After a short while, another Pest Hog appeared. This one was slightly smaller than the previous one; however, although it was smaller, it was not necessarily any weaker.
"Boom!" A boom resounded as he drew his sword. With a swift strike, he swung his sword out in front of him, carving a large crack in the ground. However, he missed the Pest Hog because it was swifter than the Pest Hog he had encountered yesterday.
Seeing this, Xu Min knew that the possibilities of being able to defeat it using his sword were slim. He needed to kill the pig quickly or else other people would find his location.
Seeing this, he activated his Shattering Palm once more. As soon as he was about to use it, a young man appeared on the small animal trail, his eyes glistening with excitement. However, he was not looking at the Pest Hog. He was looking at Xu Min instead. His eyes sent a chill through the body of the young, black-haired man as Xu Min felt the killing intent from the bystander.
The killing intent from the man caused the Pest Hog to squeal as it escaped into the vegetation of the forest, leaving Xu Min and the man who clearly enjoyed whatever was happening in front of him.
Looking at the man, Xu Min could easily tell that he was of a higher rank than him. He was most likely a Two-Star Warrior. It was clear that he was no Three-Star Warrior. However, he still looked down on Xu Min because the aura Xu Min had was that of a One-Star Warrior.
"You should never have entered the forest with such weak strength," The man laughed as he flicked his hand and a knife appeared out of nowhere. Looking at this, Xu Min's eyes narrowed slightly before he gripped the handle of the sword with both hands, lifting it in front of him. He calmed down. His eyes never once left the man in front of him.
"Clang!" The sound of metal colliding could be heard as Xu Min's broad sword collided with the other man's knife. The sword managed to push the Two-Star Warrior back. Disbelief was evident in the opponent's eyes as he realized that this One-Star Warrior in front of him was in no way inferior when it came to physical strength.
Xu Min was aware that he did not have much of a choice but to kill the man quickly. This was a battle to the death. Even if he were to escape, the man he was battling was a Two-Star warrior, who was capable of catching up to the young man.
The man's dark eyes grew darker as a chill flashed through them. The smile on his face vanished, and a serious expression was shown. Whether or not this guy had companions, Xu Min did not know, but he had no time to truly care about others as his full focus was laid upon the opponent in front of him.
Both hands gripping hard on his sword, Xu Min took a stance that he was not very familiar with as he knew that his Shattering Palm was nowhere enough to deal with this man.
Standing with the sword in front of him, his feet found the right stance. Without closing his eyes, he felt his Qi rush out behind him, creating a blanket that quickly gathered into multiple white, translucent arrowheads that aimed straight at his opponent.
Unlike the first time, Xu Min had managed to make these arrowheads appear in a few seconds. His opponent did not create any countermeasures. The opponent's eyes glistened with self confidence, and a mocking smile was seen on his face as he too took a stance, his Qi billowing out from behind him, taking the shape of a wolf head before it gathered around his fist.
Seeing the formidable attack of the person in front of him, Xu Min felt a cold shiver run down his spine, but he knew that he had to put everything he had into this attack. The thousands upon thousands of arrowheads suddenly shot through the air at a high speed.
"Woosh," "Woosh," "Woosh!"
The wind was crying with each arrowhead's formidable speed as the thousand arrowheads showered down on the opponent. Following behind these arrowheads was Xu Min. The young man used his physical strength to its limit as he gripped the sword and swung with all his might at the enemy in front of him.
Feeling the translucent arrowheads pierce his body, the young man soon found that this attack was not to be looked down upon simply because it was executed by a One-Star Warrior.
What was even worse was that just as he had realized that the arrowheads were capable of doing some damage to him, he noticed that the sword was coming straight for him and did not manage to fully guard against it. His entire chest was sliced open by the heavy sword.
Xu Min was not satisfied by the result he had produced. The Radiant Jade Shower had injured his opponent, but none of the jade arrowheads had managed to penetrate deeply enough to seriously wound him. Although the opponent's chest was cut open, the biggest danger was only the loss of blood. The wound alone was too shallow to be considered lethal, and Xu Min had run low on energy.
Looking at the wounded man, Xu Min could see the shock and disbelief in his face so he decided to pick this moment to escape. Sheathing his sword on his back, he turned around and ran as quickly as he could, relying solely on the speed of which he was proud, running as far away from the opponent as he could.
The wounded man was left back on the animal trail. His face turned increasingly sour as he picked up his sliced robe and made some makeshift bandages before he looked in the direction Xu Min had fled with hateful eyes.
Shortly after, the wounded man vanished into the thick forest. However, it was in the opposite direction of the one in which Xu Min had run off. The wounded man's face was increasingly ugly to behold, but at the same time, a hint of astonishment remained within his eyes.
Xu Min rushed away as quickly as he could, never once turning around to see whether or not he was being chased. He returned to his lair and patiently waited to see if anyone was chasing him. However, after waiting for a better part of an hour, no one came. His breathing finally returned to normal, and his vigilance became slightly more relaxed, as he could confirm that no one was after him.
Sighing deeply, Xu Min looked at his own hands. He had managed to kill one Pest Hog so far, but he had not managed to gain anything, apart from the one beast core when he had salvaged from the kill. Secondly, he had run into a Two-Star Warrior who was clearly far stronger than he was. Finally, he had expended his energy without being capable of killing his opponent and obtaining anything from the fight.
As he thought more about it, he understood that he had indeed gained something from both battles. He understood that it was important for him to change his way of fighting. He needed to be far more decisive and ruthless. Closing his eyes for a moment, he remembered how Xu Wu died right in front of him, and his eyes turned as cold as the deepest winter. His muscles tightened as he prepared for one more hunt. A hunt that he was certain that he would defeat his opponent.
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Chapter 15: Demonic Golden Collared Wolves
Having understood that it was impossible for him to continue fighting the way he had so far, Xu Min entered the thicker parts of the forest again.
Once again, his eyes were alert. However, they no longer just contained an alertness, but also a coldness that had not been there before. Looking around, the young boy was no longer hoping to quietly find a beast that he could attack and then eat later. No, he wished to find anything that was alive so that he could hone his skills and temper his personality.
Xu Min had lived in a forest before. As he moved through the forest, not a single sound was heard. No leaves were rustling and no branches were snapping. The surroundings were as quiet as if no one was there.
Looking around him, he quickly located a living being somewhere by his right side. The aura had not reached him yet; however, the sound of rustling leaves could be heard in the distance.
Xu Min was incredibly vigilant as he strained his senses to their limits. This was the reason why he managed to located any beast or animal that was moving towards him.
Smiling slightly, the young man felt that the gods were with him as he quickly blended into the dark shadows of the forest. He stood right by the side of a massive oak and allowed his aura to become one with the tree.
Truthfully, Xu Min was not erasing his aura. Everything within the world absorbed essence from the heavens and the earth and created an aura of its own. Because he was a One-Star Warrior, his aura was still incredibly weak. He was capable of masking it with the aura of the tree behind him as he used the forest's aura to hide himself.
This was something Xu Min previously needed to do a lot when he was escaping from the guards back at the Zhong Family. Even after all these years, he still remembered how he had managed to survive. He could sense the iron will in his eyes as they were focused in the direction from where the sounds could be heard.
Although he wished to have an even fight against his opponent, Xu Min had long ago admitted that he was nothing more than a One-Star Warrior. Although he had broken into the ranks of a warrior, he was one of the weakest bottom feeders around.
Xu Min was a One-Star Warrior, but his body was as strong and tough as a Two-Star Warrior. However, his Qi was still weak and it was not even enough to place him around the mid stage One-Star Warriors. Without a doubt, he was in the early stages of being a One-Star Warrior.
Coupled with his experiences from the last couple of days, this was enough to make him understand that he had been lucky to still be alive. What he needed now was to stay alive and defeat the challenges he came across.
After having waited for some time, the rustling sound came closer and closer. After only a few minutes, a small beast appeared in front of Xu Min. It was a winged hare. Although they usually lived within the sky, they sometime came to the ground to find delicacies.
Seeing this, Xu Min ever so slowly unsheathed the sword from his back and gripped it between his hands as he waited for the beast to inch closer. His eyes never once left the beast in front of him. He lifted the sword as to be careful not to hit any branches or any leaves. His movements were slow and precise while being as quiet as the still wind.
Standing so close to the tree had helped Xu Min tremendously. He managed to perfectly conceal his aura as the beast walked right past him.
"Bang!"
A loud bang sounded out from the force of the sword hitting the ground. The sword managed to completely cut the beast into two halves. Guts and intestines fell out from inside the animal.
Seeing the sight, Xu Min was slightly nauseous from the blood and the foul smell. After instantly turning around, he proceeded to quickly remove the beast core. Swift as a bird, he darted away from the location where there was nothing more than the corpse of a demon beast and a long crack in the ground left behind.
Xu Min was incredibly excited as he had managed to succeed in his ambush. However, he was slightly bothered that he had aimed at the body rather than the head. Having cut the intestines and the stomach, the beast was not worth eating. On the bright side, he gained a demon core in the end and had managed to escape without any dangers following from behind.
After escaping the old location, Xu Min once again started to walk through the forest while looking around for targets to improve, He noticed the dwindling daylight and knew that though the forests seemed deserted during the day, the night wouldn't be the same. During the day, the demon beasts were hunted by man. At night, it was the exact opposite.
It was important to be in a group of men or hide somewhere where the beasts could not find him. This was if one wished to persevere through the night.
Thinking about this, Xu Min deserted his old hiding place and ended up climbing up other tall trees around him. This was a new place where he could build a different platform and rest for the night.
He finished building the new platform and not a moment too soon. The howls of Demonic Golden Collared Wolves started to echo through the forest. Having moved from his location, Xu Min clearly felt that he was now in a much more populated location. A wry smile appeared on his face. This was indeed much more dangerous than staying where he was before; however, danger came great benefits. It did not take him long to decide to stay within the area where he was currently located.
Knowing that the Demonic Golden Collared Wolves were unable to climb trees, Xu Min calmly closed his eyes. Once more, he started breathing heavily and entered into a deep trance-like meditation. He spent every night working on advancing his rank.
The following day was much like the previous one. Xu Min spent his time hunting down beasts and he managed to kill quite a few of them. Only a small amount sensed him in time. They managed to depend on their abilities and escaped from the young man who was hiding in the shadows of large and ancient trees.
For the first time since Xu Min entered the forest, Xu Min ate fresh meat. This was meat he had managed to slay himself. As he was thinking about it, the young man's face was filled with pride and satisfaction. He began eating the meat that was burning in front of him on the make-do stove built from heavy stones he had carried up to his nest.
Eating the meat, Xu Min started wondering how it was possible that during the last two days, no humans had made their appearance. So far, he had encountered quite a few beasts. On the first day, lots of humans had been around but now the situation was somewhat different.
Xu Min knew that he was still quite far away from the inner ring of the forest. After realizing this, he believed that the surrounding areas should be infested with both humans and demon beasts alike. Xu Min saw that no other human was cautious of him. Usually, they would only stay away if there was something dangerous. There could be an incredibly strong demon beast or perhaps a group of mercenaries that had taken the area as their territory.
Seeing that this was most likely the situation, Xu Min sat still for quite some time to decide what he was supposed to do. He knew that he had too little strength to deal with a group of mercenaries. If the area belonged to a strong demon beast, Xu Min knew that he would have no chance of defeating it.
Filled with hesitation, a small part of Xu Min was burning with curiosity to see exactly who and where the owners of this small piece of land were.
Having decided to figure out who the owner was, Xu Min started to traverse across the treetops and through the forest. The further in he went, the more deserted the surroundings became.
The location where he had first rested during the night had quite a few demonic beasts with the strength of a One-Star Warrior. To his surprise, he further in he went, the more sparse these demonic beasts had become. He had travelled the last hour without seeing neither a beast nor a human on the way.
As the lack of beasts became more and more obvious, Xu Min slowed his speed down. This was so that he was not rushing into something he could not escape from. Looking around him, there weren't any sounds or movements to reveal that there were living creatures around this area. As he moved closer and closer, he suddenly found a small valley.
This valley was unlike any other he had seen before. The old forest was nothing like it and everything within this forest wasn't remotely similar to this.
The entire valley was covered in fog and the ground was littered with medicinal herbs. With all these herbs, even the fields on the Zhong family residence would be embarrassed if they were compared to this massive find.
Stopping his movements, Xu Min stood on top of an ancient tree and his eyes were fixated on all the flowers. However, all his other senses were stretched to their limits. He was constantly listening and feeling for the sound of the leaves moving, branches cracking, or another person's aura entering his field of vision.
Xu Min stood still on top of the branches for a long time, but no signs of life showed regardless of the time he waited. Eventually, he climbed downwards. His heart was beating erratically and his senses sharpened to heights never seen before.
Entering the valley, he felt how the dense energy of the essence of the heavens and the earth surrounded him. This was a quality that he had never before experienced. His heart squeezed in surprise and astonishment; even though he was not meditating, golden specks of light appeared in front of him and entered his body.
Bending down, Xu Min quickly picked up one herb after another and placed them within his bag. Not sure what to do, he kept picking herbs. Quickly deciding not to be greedy, he disappeared in a flash only after half his bag was filled. He was once more found on top of one of the massive tree tops.
The herbs he had taken were less than a hundredth of the herbs contained within the valley. Although he had vanished, no one had appeared to stop him. No one had appeared to get revenge for the stolen goods.
Seeing this, wild joy filled the young boy as he thought about all the medicinal plants he had within his bag. Xu Min also thought about how those plants would be capable of assisting him in increasing his strength. By relying on these herbs, he hoped that he would be able to advance swiftly. Advancing swiftly was exactly what he wanted to do and without looking back, Xu Min rushed back to the lair he had created the day before.
Sitting in the lair, he picked out of the flowers from the bag and placed them in front of him. One shone more splendidly than the others. No matter how much he looked at these flowers, Xu Min felt completely ecstatic. He only had one problem. He had no idea what types of flowers he had picked or their uses.
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Chapter 16: The Mysterious Valley
Looking at all the flowers in front of him, Xu Min felt his head slightly ache as he realized that he had no idea what these flowers would do to him if were he to eat them.
He knew that some herbs, like the ones the Zhong Family were harvesting, were for healing injuries. The Zhong family also cultivated medicinal herbs that increased the Qi of a warrior. They even allowed the cultivator to become better at absorbing the essence of the heavens and the earth.
Unfortunately, Xu Min knew that most medicinal herbs needed to be refined and mixed with other herbs to produce pills. These medicinal pills were far more potent when it came to both healing and improving cultivation. Although these medicinal plants worked great when combined, they worked terribly when they were eaten alone. Some of them were even poisonous.
This was common knowledge amongst the many servants of the Zhong Family. Xu Min, like most servants, had never even seen a medicinal pill before.
However, what he had seen were the medicinal herbs that were grown by the Zhong Family. These herbs allowed for one to be healed. He remembered one herb perfectly well as Xu Wu had gifted him one on her final night.
Looking at the herbs in front of him, he instantly recognized which one was meant for healing injuries. He sighed deeply as he regretted picking up random flowers instead of just taking one type, the one type he knew well.
His regret did not last long. As he stayed within the treetops, the night was descending. Even though it was the middle of the night once again, no sound was heard. No humans were setting up bonfires and the woods were completely desolate.
As Xu Min's curiosity could not be held back, he decided to go sneaking around the mysterious valley at night. He was excited to find what the valley held for him. If there weren't any beasts or humans were around, he could perhaps even manage to grab a few more herbs.
Xu Min made it to the valley without any problems as he did not encounter any beasts or humans. As he closed in on the valley, his eyes threatened to pop out of his skull from the majestic scenery that laid before him.
Strangely enough, all the medicinal herbs were gently swaying without a breeze. A humming sound was rising from the hordes of shining leaves and petals. In addition, a silvery light rose from the core of the flowers only to gradually fly towards the back of the field filled with flowers.
The fog that enveloped the entire field during the day had now been replaced by the impenetrable endlessness of the silvery light.
Hearing the flowers humming, Xu Min instantly discarded the idea of picking up more flowers. Since he was truly astonished, he stayed to watch the beautiful display of the flowers.
Xu Min felt as though the density of essences of heaven and earth around him was increasing. Once again, the golden specks of light had appeared. They entered his body through various veins and pores and exited through exhalation.
Seeing that he was once more refining Qi without having to enter a trance-like meditation, Xu Min could easily tell that there was something special about this valley. Just because it did not seem to pose any threat towards the young man, he refused to allow his guard to be lowered. One could never know for certain.
Deciding to find out what was going on in this odd valley, Xu Min remained vigilant all night. He waited for the sun to rise so he could enter the valley again and see what was inside.
Looking around, he did not waste his time. Since it was possible for him to cultivate while still being awake, Xu Min spent his time doing as much as possible while observing his surroundings.
Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the unknown entity that sucked in high amounts of silvery light from the flowers was at the end of the valley. He decided against walking on the ground. Instead, he chose to travel through the treetops until he reached the area where the silvery mist moved to.
As soon as the first rays of sunshine broke through the sky, Xu Min was astonished to see how the plants stopped swaying and humming. Instead, they stood up as the moving silvery mist fell down and shrouded all the plants in the fog-like mist that had previously confused the young man. It seemed that the mist and the fog were one in the same. They were actually the essences from the heavens and the earth!
Discovering this, Xu Min was even more curious to see what creature was behind these flowers. He also wonder what ability it had to command so many flowers to give up the essence they had meticulously gathered throughout the day.
Getting ready to explore, Xu Min moved to the outskirts of the valley through one treetop after another. The valley was much larger than what he had expected; however, he did not have to travel far before he saw what was sucking in the essence. He felt astonished just by looking at it.
In front of him was a large tree, a tree that was even more ancient than the ones Xu Min had used previously to hide behind. However, this tree was so large that its aura was not in any way inferior to the aura he had felt from his teacher Wang Li.
Looking at the tree, Xu Min was dumbstruck at first. After thinking the situation through, he slowly understood what was going on.
Every living creature in the world, even the plants, absorbed essence from the heavens and the earth. The more essence one absorbed, the higher cultivation one had.
This was common knowledge for anyone; however, it was very rare that plants managed to cultivate to the point where they had a consciousness. And even if they did, they would not be able to transform into humans just by having a consciousness.
It was much akin to how demon beasts became much more intelligent the higher rank they achieved. What Xu Min could not understand was why this tree was so obsessed with cultivating. To release the same kind of aura as his teacher Wang Li, it was obvious that this tree had reached the Nine-Star Warrior rank, the final destination for cultivators.
Although Xu Min did not understand why the tree was cultivating to such extents, he could not help but feel slight pity towards it. Even so, he had no intention of advancing. He had previously plucked some of the herbs that were in charge of giving the essence of the heavens and the earth to the tree. It was likely that this massive tree was not friendly towards him.
Having come to this conclusion, Xu Min frowned again as he started wondering why there were neither beasts nor humans near this place. Although the tree had a high cultivation base, it was impossible for it to move from the soil which it had been planted many eons ago.
Turning around, Xu Min was about to leave when he noticed that he was no longer alone. Behind him. there was a massive green snake and its eyes were shining as the purest gold. Its tongue slithered with a sly smile apparent on its face.
"Where do you think you are going?" it asked with a slithering voice. Xu Min's heart trembled as he heard the human words coming out of the mouth of the snake. Only Advanced Stage beasts were capable of speech. Only at the very peak of the Advanced Stage beasts could they speak as fluently as this snake. Xu Min felt the danger and uncertainty of his current situation.
Although he truly wished to flee as quickly as possible, he knew that there was no way for him to outrun the snake. The only option he had was to allow the snake to twist its tail around his body and slowly make its way towards the giant tree.
Being next to the giant tree, Xu Min felt fear. He felt more fear than when he was next to the large snake. The snake had no reason to have enmity towards the young man as they had never met before. There was a chance that he would not stoop so low as to kill a weak One-Star Warrior. On the other hand, the tree had a good reason to dislike him, half a bag full of reasons to be precise.
Gritting his teeth, Xu Min cursed his own curiosity. Deep down, he was still fascinated by the large tree and its ability to accept the essence of the heavens and the earth from other flowers. Not to mention, he admired the iron will that was behind such a large tree that had allowed it to prevail this many years. In a way, Xu Min felt great respect but also great pity towards the tree.
Saying nothing, the young boy saw that the tree and the snake seemed to be communicating somehow. And while they were communicating, Xu Min was placed right in front of the large tree trunk. He looked up and saw that it was well over one hundred meters tall, the tallest tree he had ever seen. The trunk was a good twenty meters in diameter and the leaves were almost as long as Xu Min's arms.
Although the young man knew he was in great danger, he was unable to hold back his urges. His hand caressed the large tree in front of him and his eyes filled with wonder. Being this close to the tree, it was easy to tell that he had not overestimated it earlier. The tree was without a doubt as strong as Wang Li when it came to raw power. Unfortunately, it was completely incapable of using all that strength which was just coiling up inside. Seeing this, sadness welled up within Xu Min. For the first time ever, he thanked the gods that he had been born a human. A human had a much easier path when it came to cultivation.
"Don't touch her!" The snake hissed at Xu Min. However, he did not show any signs of attacking and neither did the tree. Suddenly, the snake disappeared with swift movements and into the tree's top. He made its way up with a speed far above that the young boy had ever seen before. His eyes glistened. Although he would regret never getting revenge, he still would feel no remorse if he were to die. He was able to meet a speaking demon beast and a tree that had cultivated at unprecedented heights.
Looking up in the tree top, Xu Min saw that the snake was coming downwards at a speed as fast as before. The snake moved at a speed so swift that even he was unable to truly follow it. Looking at the snake, Xu Min closed his eyes. He expected that he was about to be eaten. Before he managed to do anything, he felt something landing on his shoulder. He first opened one eye and saw that nothing had happened yet. Then, he proceeded to open the other eye.
The world around him seemed the same as he had not been eaten by the large snake. In the corner of his eye, he noticed something moving. Something that caused a shiver to run down his spine.
On Xu Min's shoulder, there was a one-meter-long snake curled up. Its eyes stared at Xu Min with curiosity and its tongue was constantly slithering in and out of its mouth.
"Uhm, excuse me?" Xu Min asked with a meek voice as his eyes were glued onto the snake. "I think you might have dropped something," he continued.
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Chapter 17: Cao Cao
"You, stay quiet!" the larger snake hissed at Xu Min. As the young man was feeling somewhat uncomfortable about having a one-meter-long snake curled atop of his shoulder, the snake looked at him with a very curious gleam in its eyes.
The young man did not dare to disobey the big snake, so he stayed quiet. He constantly felt the snake on his shoulder move about. He investigated everything from his feet and shoes to the insides of his clothes. It even went as far as to personally investigate his skin beneath the clothes. This caused the intimidated and frightened young man to tremble even further as he was scared as to what the snake might do.
The larger snake was casually lying on top of a branch of the tree and it seemed as though the two snakes communicated much as they had before. This was something that took Xu Min by complete surprise. He had never imagined that a tree could communicate.
Although he considered it as communication, he could not help but wonder about how it was done. No words were said, but from time to time the snake would nod or shake its head. Its tongue was constantly slithering and its eyes focused solely on the tree in front of it.
After what seemed like an eternity, anger could be seen in the eyes of the snake. However, it did not take long before the anger was replaced by tenderness and apology. Once more, the conversation seemed to continue.
Xu Min had been standing close to the tree for hours on end. And while he was standing there, the small snake had investigated the young man's entire body. After a while, it had finally found the small bag on his waist where he entered and curled up into it. It only allowing for his face to be visible.
After yet another hour, the snake suddenly made its way down to the young boy. Looking at him, the snake sighed deeply.
"You, human!" he called out. Without wasting time, Xu Min stepped forward. "My son, Cao Cao, has been itching for an adventure for a long, long time," he started while looking at the sleeping snakehead that was visible on the satchel.
"You are to take him with you on your journey,and you are to have personal responsibility over him," the snake continued, "You are to make a blood bond with my adorable son just to give some authority over him. If you ever mistreat him or sell him off, you will soon find yourself dead. I won't need to act as my dear son is strong enough to get rid of someone with the useless rank of a One-Star Warrior."
Hearing this, Xu Min felt a shiver run down his spine. He quickly nodded in reply as he bit his finger and allowed for some blood to drip out.
The large snake suddenly slashed the forehead of the tiny snake. Within moments, the snake woke up and let out an alarmed scream. Seeing the actions of the larger snake, Xu Min's heart grew cold. He previously called the baby snake his dear son. But now he had sliced him, something which could have been done in a much simpler way.
Daring not to say anything, Xu Min stayed quiet as he allowed their blood to mingle. A weird feeling filled the young boy as he felt as though some of his soul was sucked into the beast in his bag. In return, he gained a little bit of the snake's soul.
'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!' A juvenile voice echoed throughout Xu Min's consciousness. It was a voice filled with indignation. It sounded as though the voice came from a ten year old child.
Hearing the voice, Xu Min's eyes widened in surprise and he was stared at the snake lying in his bag. Its eyes were closed.
"Don't cry," the young man said. He had forgotten completely about the large snake and the tree that was right next to him. His entire being was focused on the snake as he could feel the sadness and indignation in the heart of the snake.
Picking up the small snake, Xu Min placed it around his neck and the small snake allowed him to move him exactly as he wished.
As soon as the snake was moved from the purse, Xu Min rummaged through his satchel and quickly found a medicinal herb he recognized. With the herb, he allowed the small snake to sleep in the bag again before he shredded the herb and placed it in the mouth of the meter-long snake.
"Eat this," he said with a tender voice. The situation made him recall how Xu Wu stole herbs to heal him. Now, he had used stolen herbs to heal someone else. Somehow, he could understand how Xu Wu felt during the times that she looked after him. A sad smile was evident on his face as he gently patted Cao Cao's little head after he gave him the herb to eat.
Standing beside him, the tree and the snake were completely surprised. The snake's eyes were filled with utter disbelief; however, it soon changed to laughter. Looking at the large tree, its eyes filled with tenderness as it nodded gently.
"Go out and explore the world with our little Cao Cao," the snake said with a gentle voice. "As long as you have Cao Cao with you, you are welcome inside this valley. But if you ever arrive without him, I can guarantee that you will die an excruciating death."
Nodding, Xu Min had already guessed that returning without the small snake would be suicidal. However, hearing his words still caused him to feel slightly worried.
The small snake had fallen asleep as though the conversation had nothing to do with him. The only thing it felt before going to sleep was that this human, who had given him herbs, was a good person. The little snake was but a child. He instantly felt safe, so he went to sleep as the medicinal herb helped the wound on his forehead heal over.
"Feel free to come here whenever you need to, but don't take too many medicinal herbs," the snake warned. "Although we'll allow you to take a few, you can only fill your satchel twice a year. We need the rest of the flowers to reach the final stage."
Hearing this, Xu Min's eyes grew larger as he understood that he was allowed to take more medicinal herbs. He no longer felt as though he should fear the snake and the tree. With a deep bow, he turned around and picked up multiple healing herbs. Although he picked quite a few of them, he still made sure to not take more than what he could fit in his satchel.
Currently, he was incapable of placing them in the bag as the small snake was in it. He just tucked them into his robe before exiting the mysterious mist-filled valley.
Travelling through the top of the trees, Xu Min quickly found the way back home to the nest he had created earlier. On the way, he had come across another Flying Hare which he executed swiftly. This time he brought the beast with him towards the nest. As he inched towards the nest, he started to hear an uncomfortable amount of rustling leaves. This was not something done by one creature or human. It was clearly done by a whole group or a horde.
As he inched closer, he was suddenly moving much slower. His eyes were alert and his senses stretched to their limits as they observed everything around them. Feeling the change in Xu Min's soul and vigilance, Cao Cao slowly woke up and his eyes stared into the distance. He was just as prepared as the older boy who was trying to stay cautious.
As he slowly moved closer, he noticed that the sounds did not come from the ground. Instead, it came from the nest that Xu Min had created. He soon saw a group of seven men come into the view. He instantly stood and slightly retreated.
Cao Cao's voice sounded out within Xu Min's mind. 'Why retreat?' However, the young man still did not know how to respond to the question in the snake's mind like Cao Cao could speak in his. He did not know how to communicate without needing to open his mouth. Instead, he just shook his head as he retreated.
'Oh right,' a disappointed voice sounded out in his mind. 'You are just a weakling. I could have dealt with the troublemakers if I did not have to nurture the wound on my forehead.'
Hearing the voice, Xu Min almost let out a snort only to stop himself in the final moment. Shaking his head, he started to move away from the location where he had been before. After travelling through the trees for a few more hours, he finally found a place that seemed devoid of humans. He built a small nest for the two of them to stay in. Throughout the stealthy escape, Xu Min had brought the Hare with him. After finally setting up another nest, he found more big stones and started cooking the beast.
As soon as Xu Min had brought the stones into the nest, Cao Cao had been incredibly curious as to what was happening. His eyes twinkled with curiosity as he saw how the beast was being cooked on the stones.
At first, he had only observed the procedures because he had never seen anything like it before. As the meat was getting cooked and the scent filled the air, Cao Cao started salivating. He constantly asked whether or not he was allowed to have a small bite.
Xu Min was quite worried because the scent of the cooked meat could attract the attention of others. When he looked at the small snake, he felt that the snake was in no way as weak as him. He believed that the snake would not fight for the sake of a weak human,but it would indeed fight for the food it was looking at.
Chuckling slightly, Xu Min looked at the snake whose eyes were glued to the meat. He could not help but laugh at the snake. Although he laughed at him, he spent some time looking at the rank of the snake. He was astonished to notice that the aura that it exuded was far stronger than even the Three-Star Warrior he had come across earlier.
Having shared his blood with the beast, something had happened. Xu Min felt as though he too was capable of communicating with the beast without speaking. When trying to do so, he realized that he needed to use another part of his brain he had never used while speaking naturally. It took him some time before he managed to perfect it.
During this time, the young man quickly understood that Cao Cao was getting bored. He had bought himself time by giving the young snake more and more cooked hare meat. This seemed to work perfectly well. After countless mistakes, Xu Min finally understood how to speak using nothing but his will.
Looking at the hare meat that was left, Xu Min could only sigh heavily as he found some dried meat from his satchel and ate it together with a jar of fine wine. It turned out that the entire hare had long since been eaten by the small Cao Cao.
'You aren't that bad,' the snake said with a tired voice as it slithered next to Xu Min. Seeing that the human was seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, he noticed one speck of gold after another appearing out of nowhere. The small snake quickly coiled up on the lap of the young man and closed its eyes contently. Xu Min spent the night cultivating, much like any other night.
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Chapter 18: Flee!
The night went by smoothly. Xu Min spent his time cultivating while Cao Cao slept on his lap. A few times during the night, a few beasts would come close by. Cao Cao would open his eyes and quietly look through the dark night, only to close them as soon as the beasts vanished into the dark forest.
As the sun rose in the sky and rays of sunshine were beginning to shine through the leaves, Xu Min finally opened his eyes, and the golden specks around him vanished. As he stood up, he forgot about the small snake on his lap. It fell to the floor of the nest, and Xu Min instantly bent down to pick him up.
This snake was much stronger than Xu Min. Not only the snake, but also its parent was a being that he did not wish to insult. Thus, as soon as the juvenile snake landed on the ground, Xu Min instantly picked him up, gently patted his jade green head, and apologized mentally.
'Cook me some more meat tonight,' the snake said with a sneaky smile on its face. 'As long as you cook me two beasts, I will forgive you.'
'You'll grow fat,' Xu Min replied. Internally, he wished that he was capable of capturing two beasts. He suddenly stood up and noticed that something was not the way it was supposed to be.
'Cao Cao,' he called out with his internal voice. 'Can you feel anyone close by? I feel as though something is wrong.'
The snake raised its head. As his tongue slithered in and out of his mouth, he looked at their surroundings.
'There are quite a few humans around us,' he finally answered. His face seemed apathetic about their presences. However, Xu Min's heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat appeared on his back.
'How many?' he asked silently. He did not wish to hear the answer, but he knew that he needed to know. He suddenly remembered the numerous mercenaries he had seen the night before at his old nest. He could not help but curse himself for cooking food even though he knew that there wa danger close by.
'They are still looking for us. You can just escape through the treetops the same way you did last night,' Cao Cao said as though he thought it was that easy. Right now, Xu Min knew he had no choice other than to try and escape.
'Let us play a game,' the juvenile voice suddenly rang out, 'I know you want these mercenaries dead, so let us play the game of who can kill the most!'
Hearing that, Xu Min felt like knocking the snake out. Although the snake was strong, it was unlikely that it was strong enough to defeat the mercenaries by itself. The black-haired, young man knew perfectly well that he was incapable of dealing with more than one of even the weakest mercenary.
'Right,' the snake said, as though he had read Xu Min's thoughts. 'I forgot you are so weak. How about I say that the more I kill, the more meat you have to cook for me!'
'Cao Cao, are you certain that you are capable of dealing with these many mercenaries?' Xu Min finally sighed, as he looked at the little snake who laid in his arms. Had it been its father, he had no doubt that it would be able to defeat them. However, he did not think that the little snake could handle these many mercenaries. Unless absolutely necessary, Xu Min decided that he would not start a battle.
Standing up, Xu Min rushed from one branch to another as he traveled across the treetops. Fortunately, none of the mercenaries below had noticed him. For some time, he rushed towards the outskirts of the forest, the only location where he could exit the forest.
As Xu Min went further and further towards the outskirts of forest, the trees became more and more sparse. The distance between the trees increased, making it harder for him to keep travelling on top of the trees until he had to travel on the ground.
What shocked him was that the ground was littered with people. For once, these people paid no attention to each other. Instead, they were in large groups, and seemed to be making their way into the forest, one group at a time.
He was quite curious as to the reason why these many mercenaries entered the forest and started to search like mad men. Xu Min decided to keep to his plan. A few moments later, he left the safety of the large trees. Once more, he started walking towards one of the cities.
Having left the forest, Cao Cao was filled with astonishment as he perched on Xu Min's shoulder. He looked at everything that was happening around him and observed the barren land in front of them.
'There are no trees here!' Cao Cao said with astonishment in his voice. 'Are we going to travel through areas like this? I like this. It's new,' he commented. Xu Min just chuckled and kept walking on the outskirts of the forest. He continued until he reached one of the small mercenary villages.
Seeing the village in front of him, the chuckle grew into a smirk. 'Be careful here,' Xu Min warned the snake on his shoulder, 'This is a village, a home for humans. We need to go in and sell some of the herbs your father allowed me to pick.'
'A village?' the juvenile voice was filled with curiosity. The black-haired youth laughed out loud and shocked a few of the humans who were rushing towards the city.
'Right, just stay on my shoulders, and I'll let you see the entire world,' Xu Min said, laughing. The snake felt how its heart quivered with excitement. Coiling itself around his neck, the two youngsters went into the village. They walked on the main road while looking at shops one after another that had been set up on the side.
On the side, there was an inn with loud and cheerful noises coming out from within. Next to it, there were various shops. Some shops sold street food, while other shops focused on armor and weaponry.
Xu Min was looking everywhere to try to find a pharmacy. Soon enough, he quickly noticed the drooling snake coiled around his neck as it was looking at one food stall after another.
'Just wait a little,' Xu Min laughed. 'I need to sell these flowers first, and then I'll have money to purchase as much food as you want.'
The young man was not used to selling items, and he was not certain that he knew exactly how much medicinal herbs were worth. However, he knew that they were worth quite a lot. They were so much that he should be able to feed the snake until it burst.
Xu Min did not plan on selling all the herbs he had gathered. Even if he sold some, he should still have enough money to fund his trip for another distant forest.
While the black-haired young man had been focused on his plans for the future, he found himself in front of a store where the scent of medicinal herbs wafted out. On top of the door, a big sign with the word 'Pharmacy' was visible.
Smiling, Xu Min stepped in through the door as his eyes shone with excitement. As he moved towards the counter, the snake on his shoulders lifted its head and looked at everything with great curiosity.
Although Xu Min went towards the counter, he gazed around him. He was observing all the medicinal herbs shown around.
Picking up four herbs, Xu Min placed them on the counter. Behind the desk,an elderly man looked at them with an astonished look on his face.
"You picked up all of these from within our Forest of the Snake?" he asked curiously. Just as that man was curious, so was Xu Min when he found that the entire forest was named after a snake.
The elderly man adjusted his glasses slightly. He looked at Xu Min once more, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw the snake which was resting on his shoulders. Saying no more, he took the plants and started observing them.
"These plants are quite old," he started. "Definitely over fifty years old, I would pay twenty gold coins for each of them."
Hearing that, Xu Min's eyes widened. Although he knew that they were worth quite a bit, he had never expected it to be that much. He quickly accepted.
Pausing for a moment, he wondered whether he should say that there were even more herbs. But before he did, he managed to stop himself as he noticed some long glances sent his way by others within the room.
Taking the gold coins, he quickly left the room. The first thing he went towards was a street stall where he purchased food worth one whole gold coin.
Looking at the food, the eyes of the snake widened in amazement. His little tongue slithered constantly as though he could taste the food from the scent alone.
Xu Min smiled as he saw the reaction.Deep within, he was pleased with the fact that the snake would be so easy to manage as long as he had access to food.
The plan was quite simple. This snake demon beast was without a doubt incredibly strong. He was so strong that even Three-Star Warriors would be nothing next to him. Making friends was the most important part for now, something which Xu Min fully understood.
Cao Cao was still only a juvenile. How could Xu Min not know that the older the snake grew, the stronger it would become. His father alone had an aura similar to that of Overseer Wang Li. It was obvious that although it took time for him to grow, it was definitely beneficial for Xu Min to befriend the little snake quickly. If that required him to spend money on food, then so be it.
Extending his hand, Xu Min took one skewer of meat after another and lifted it to the snake. He was coiled around his neck and hummed in happiness. His eyes shone with delight as the food was eaten at a rapid pace.
Seeing this, the black-haired man could not help but chuckle a bit. After feeding all the meat he had bought to the small snake, he looked around the various locations before he decided to head towards the inn. Although he was capable of returning to the forest and make another nest, he quickly decided on getting a room at the inn. He needed to see if he could come across some information about the large number of mercenaries who had appeared out of nowhere. He especially want information about why these men had decided on entering the forest in small groups of people.
Xin Min was walking towards the inn. He noticed that even here, with all the shops selling items such as weapons and armories, a lot of mercenaries were present. They were there even in the typically quiet pharmacy was filled with people who were buying elixirs in bulks.
After looking at the men, he was unable to conceal a frown as he noticed that many of the men in front of him were not mercenaries. They were wearing uniforms or armors adorned with random family emblems. These were not mercenaries, but instead were soldiers. A group of young men were leading these soldiers, the geniuses from the younger generation.
Seeing this many families present, Xu Min could understand that something was going on. However, he was smart enough to not try walking towards any random man on the road to ask what was happening. Instead, he moved towards the inn and entered into the dim light.A smirk appeared on his face as he looked forward to the information he would be able to pick up from the bustling shop.
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Chapter 19: Mysterious Treasure
Entering the dimly lit room, Xu Min needed a moment before his eyes could adjust to the light. As soon as they did, he walked towards the counter where a lovely young lady was cheerfully chatting with some customers within the shop.
When he reached the counter, the woman stopped chatting with them and turned around with a big smile beamed towards Xu Min. As her eyes glanced upon the young man, she quickly determined that he was neither a young master nor a successful mercenary. Although he had the aura of a One-Star Warrior, it was not that uncommon to see one. This was especially true since the town was filled with the geniuses from the new generation. Although she was aware that he was not a rich young master, she sent a half smile his way as she waited to hear what he had to say.
"Excuse me, I'd like to rent a room for the night," Xu Min said straightforwardly while only turning his side towards the woman. This led her to raise an eyebrow in surprise. She was considered a beauty and was used to all the young men who tried to woo her or at least, paid attention to her. Yet, this young man was busy looking at the restaurant guests instead.
At first, this woman had paid no real attention towards the young man. But as she saw that he also didn't pay her any attention, her interest was piqued. She was even more intrigued when she noticed a green snake coiled around his neck. He had beautiful jade-like eyes which stared at her. No matter how she looked at this demon beast, it was impossible to tell what it was thinking. This was the same case when she couldn't figure out why the snake was coiled around the neck of the seemingly poor young man.
Turning his head, Xu Min looked at the woman. As their eyes met, an uncontrollable red colour rose in her cheeks. She hurriedly found a key to one of the rooms to the inn. "Excuse me," she murmured as she traded the key for a gold coin.
Seeing that the young man was paying a whole gold coin for a night at the inn, the woman's eyes widened in surprise. She quickly curtseyed out of respect and gratitude. How could she have known that Xu Min had nothing less than a gold coin? The Pharmacy had paid him solely in gold coins, so the young man had no other option than by paying in gold.
Having received the key, Xu Min quickly made it to the room. He was quite astonished when he discovered that the room was almost as large as the one he had shared with Wang Li back at Honghe City.
'Hey, you there. I would like some more food,' a voice resounded once again within Xu Min's mind. A wry smile appeared on his face. This snake was eating a lot of food; however, Xu Min had already decided to feed the snake all that it could eat. He wanted to befriend the snake, but the young man started to wonder whether or not he had enough money to sustain having the snake. For now, he did what he could to accommodate for it.
Moving downstairs, Xu Min found a small table in the corner of the restaurant. He smirked as he saw how the lady from the counter made her way towards his table. She was ready to take his order.
"I want one of each item on your menu," he started. As he said the words, he could feel the bliss that arose from the snake as he slowly slithered down his arm and coiled up onto the table. Its eyes fastened onto the woman who seemed to understand that the food he wished to eat would be delivered to their table by her.
Alongside the food, Xu Min also ordered some drinks. As he ordered two cups, he wondered how the snake would manage to drink alcohol.
While it took some time for the food to be delivered to their table, the drinks arrived almost as soon as they had been ordered. Xu Min poured himself and the snake a cup each, smiling as he saw the hesitant expression on the snake's face.
'Father always told me not to drink this,' he murmured. However, it was clear that his curiosity was overtaking the warning from his father. After only a few more minutes, the slim snake's tongue entered the drink only to instantly removed again as the snake shook his head, and tears appearing in its eyes. 'It burns! It burns!' the snake cried and Xu Min laughed out loud as the snake was twisting and turning on the table, behaving as though the alcohol had sat him afire.
'That was not fun,' Cao Cao complained as the burning sensation slowly vanished, his beautiful jade like eyes had unshed tears in them. 'I'm sorry.' Xu Min said with his laughter still hiding within. Although he was truly sorry that the snake had had such a reaction, it had still been incredibly fun to watch.
Hearing the snake snorting at him, Xu Min smiled at it and patted the smooth and soft head of the small snake, 'I really am sorry.' he repeated, 'I ordered a lot of food. Perhaps you'll forgive me when you get a lot to eat?'
Hearing that Xu Min had ordered a lot of food, the snake no longer felt as mistreated as it did before, as his mind started swirling around food. Looking at how simple the snake behaved, much like a little kid, Xu Min chuckled as he started observing the other guests at the inn. Every table was filled with people, and three servants were rushing here and there, bringing kegs of ale, or wine, and wine cups to the various guests. Sometimes food would be brought out from the kitchen, but the majority of the guests were just drinking their alcohol while seemingly waiting for something to happen.
It didn't take long before plates of food were taken to Xu Min's table. The massive quantities of food caused the majority of the guests from within the restaurant to look towards his direction. Some narrowed their eyes as they saw the young, poor looking man, but others were a lot more careless and quickly retracted their gazes. Only a few of the men within the room had their eyes focused upon the small green snake. It was seated on the table and happily eating away the many dishes which had been placed around it.
Although some had been very curious about the snake by the young man's side, no one did anything about it. Soon, the chatter within the room returned to the same height that it had been previously. At the counter, one could hear how the various customers were wooing the lady while others were calling out for beer or wine to be brought to their tables.
As the atmosphere returned to the way it had been before, Xu Min finally started straining his ears to their limits. He listened in on every conversation that was being held within the restaurant.
"I heard that the Black Wolves moved their headquarters into the forest itself. It seems that they are planning on making the forest into their own personal space." someone mentioned. Xu Min had finally understood why a lot of mercenaries were within the forest. However, that did not explain why many families had sent out their geniuses alongside many warriors, and not to mention, why other mercenaries were flooding into the forest. While trying to pick up on other conversations, he honed in on anything from a man talking about wedding his daughter to a local mercenary discussing with someone on how to kill a friend of theirs who had been lucky enough to achieve a treasure from within the forest.
After having listened to the conversation within the room for more than an hour, it was shown to be possible for Xu Min to get his hands on some information. The information was given by two customers dressed as soldiers who were discussing their master's plans.
"Having arranged for this many soldiers to set out, we will, without a doubt, find the hidden treasure within the forest," one of the men said in which the other man nodded. "When I heard that they had found an ancient cave filled with the leftovers from a Nine-Star Warrior, I thought it was a joke," the other said with his eyes glistening with greed.
"Although we will enter the cave, we aren't eligible to get any of the treasure anyway," the first man continued. He sighed deeply as he also had a hint of greed within his eyes. "The young master will get all the treasure we find. Although we might get a raise in salary, we won't be getting anything from the cave itself."
Having heard enough, Xu Min looked at the men and noticed that both of them had a key laying on the table in front of them. They were the keys that showed that they were staying at the inn just like Xu Min himself was.
'Eat up,' Xu Min said with a chuckle. The snake had been eating one dish after another with an expression of utter bliss. After the snake had finished the final plate it slithered up Xu Min's arm with an experienced move. It coiled itself around his neck once more. If it were not for their blood bond, Xu Min would have been incredibly uncomfortable by having a snake around his throat.
The two youngsters, man and snake, moved towards their room where they both sat down. Xu Min once more entered a meditative state where the snake coiled up within his lap and looked at the surroundings. From time to time, he grabbed one or two sparks of the golden light.
The night went by quickly. As he woke up the following morning, Xu Min felt much more energetic than he had been previously. Too many mercenaries were entering the forest and he felt that he should enter to see what was going on. However, unlike the majority of the men who had entered, Xu Min had no wish of achieving anything from the cave itself.
Xu Min already had a great weapon that had been granted to him by his teacher, Wang Li. He also had the snake which was far stronger than he himself was. When it came to martial arts, he was learning the Radiant Jade Shower. Currently, he felt as though he had everything he needed. However, he still wished to see the surprises in the cave. At the same time, he wanted to get a better look at the geniuses to measure his own strength against theirs.
Waking up early, Xu Min went down to the restaurant where he ordered a hearty breakfast for both him and Cao Cao. The snake was filled with excitement because it understood that they were going to enter the forest once again.
'Let me kill some of them this time,' Cao Cao said with a childlike excitement. This was something which caused Xu Min to frown a little. Although he was aware that he had to kill humans to stay alive and prove his strength, he still prefered to not kill if it had no reason. If any of the men they came across had any ill intentions, he would be as merciless as the Zhong family leader had been back when he knew that Xu Wu had been killed.
Finishing the food quickly, Xu Min smiled as he picked up Cao Cao and allowed for the snake to coil around his neck once more. The two, man and snake, left the inn and followed the big flood of humans that was making its way into the forest ahead.
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Chapter 20: Immortal Cave
Cao Cao and Xu Min both made their way down the bustling street of the small town. The small snake constantly looked at the numerous street stalls selling food; however, this time Xu Min did not buy anything. He could only do nothing and sigh heavily as he opened his mouth to complain about not getting enough food.
'I'm a snake in the midst of growing into adulthood. How can you not feed me food?!' an indignant voice sounded out from within the head of Xu Min. The only reply it got was a chuckle from the young man. He left the main street and readied himself to follow the mercenaries and guards into the forest in front of him.
'So Cao Cao, you've lived within this forest for a long time right?' Xu Min asked curiously while looking around at the people in front of him. He noticed that none of them knew where they had to move to. Each group was going in different directions, so they hoped that they would be the lucky ones to come across the cave. None of them even knew whether or not there truly was a cave to be found within the forest.
Hearing the question, Cao Cao snorted in contempt as he thought the answer was obvious. 'I'll buy you all the food you want for dinner if you take me to this cave,' Xu Min edged the snake. He was offering the only thing he knew the snake would definitely work for. Only after a few moments did the snake stop contemplating and the previous indignant expression had suddenly changed to excitement.
'I know where the cave is,' the snake said. 'But it doesn't matter because it was emptied long ago.' 'Emptied?' Xu Min asked, feeling slightly disappointed. He truly wished to see a cave which had previously been the lair of an extreme expert. However, here he was being told that there was no such thing. Disappointment was shown on his face.
Seeing the disappointment, Cao Cao felt slightly guilty. Although he was not a big fan of Xu Min yet, he knew that the human had given him a lot of food these last few days. In addition, he had not asked for anything in return. Not only had he given him all the food it had asked for, but he had also started patting the head of the snake, something that it had found incredibly comfortable.
Seeing that he had gained quite a lot, the small snake pouted for a moment before deciding to pay him back even if it was just a little. 'Although it had been emptied long ago, I can still show you where it is,' the small snake said. It was trying to cheer up Xu Min in the only way it knew how to. 'It is empty, but it is still an immortal cave created by a genius expert.'
Hearing these words, Xu Min nodded his head. Although he could not get any of the items, he could still see the cave. Soon after, the snake started to describe the way that they should take. Unlike the other groups, Xu Min was not waiting at random places or looking through every nook and cranny looking for the cave. Instead, he started moving with a certainty that none of the others had, something which brought the attention of many groups to him.
Moving through the forest with a certain confidence caused many smaller groups to follow behind him. This was something that Xu Min did not notice at first as they kept a fair distance between them. As he went further and further into the forest however, he soon felt that there were people behind him when the groups were within his range. He soon stopped and pretended that he too was confused; however, his act didn't cause any of the groups to leave. Instead, Xu Min felt the groups moved closer and closer towards him.
As he felt the groups inching in on him, he knew they had unfriendly intentions. He instantly climbed onto a tree and continued advancing through the treetops.
Having moved into the trees, he caused many of the groups that were following him to stop because they were unable to follow him. Moving with speeds as swift as Xu Min moved in the treetops was something that could only be done by few cultivators. However, many of the cultivators who had followed him were far above him in rank and they managed to follow suit. Although they could not decrease the distance between them and him, they managed to continue following him which caused the young man to feel very worried about his options.
'We can always go to father's lair,' the snake said with a careless voice. However, Xu Min shook his head, 'No, that valley is filled with medicinal plants. If even one of them survives and escapes, they will come back with many experienced experts and harvest them all. They'll bring so many people that even your dad will have problems.'
'This is something we'll have to deal with on our own.' Xu Min said with his eyes dark and his mood sour. He truly wished to visit the cave, but currently, it seemed as though it was not an option for him.
Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face as the cave was exactly where he needed to go. With a single thought, he once more followed the way that was shown to him by the snake.
'I didn't think you wanted to go to the cave anyway,' the snake said, but showed the way towards the cave without complaint. Hastening his speed, Xu Min inched closer to the cave. As he approached it though, he noticed that the people following him were decreasing in numbers. Only a couple were unable to follow him, but the majority still held out. As they went deeper into the forest, the majority continued to remain steady as they used their their full power to keep the weaker Xu Min within their sights.
The wild chase went on for two more hours before they finally arrived at a mountain side. When Xu Min climbed the mountain side, he saw a massive cave right in front of him. As he saw the cave, the others behind him noticed it too. They no longer paid any attention towards Xu Min who kept rushing through the high tree tops and quickly vanished into the forest on the opposite side of the mountain.
Seeing Xu Min escape into the distance, the groups that were following him focused on the cave that they had heard so much about. As soon as they entered, anger filled their eyes and they ordered their swiftest men to locate and capture Xu Min. Nothing was left within the cave and the only thing that could be seen was the furniture made from stone. Not even a scroll of parchment could be found lying in the corners.
Xu Min was not dumb as he knew that the groups would be anything but satisfied with what they had found within the cave. Which was why he quickly made his escape. Moments after he heard the sound of smashing trees and agitated men as he swiftly escaped through the opposite side of the mountain into an area he had never been in before. Xu Min was already far into the middle of the forest and many beasts within this area were dangerous. So far, he had been exceptionally lucky as he had not run into even a single beast. However, he knew that the further he ventured, the more likely he was to run into a beast.
Unfortunately, he had no other option than to keep moving forward. His hope was to keep running across the treetops so that the majority of the beasts on the ground would not notice him as much. After running further ahead, he suddenly noticed the sounds of fighting behind him. As he looked back, he saw demon beasts after demon beasts blocking the road from the pursuers.
Xu Min was not dumb. He instantly understood that something like this had to do with Cao Cao. Now was not the time to ask the snake, but instead it was time to keep moving forward in order to constantly increase the lead he had gained from the men following behind him.
Having moved for a long while, Xu Min finally slowed down. He was unable to notice anyone following behind him. The forest was filled with the sounds of demon beasts, yet none of them were coming close to Xu Min as long as Cao Cao was fastened to his neck.
Xu Min's aura was that of a One-Star Warrior. With Cao Cao coiled up around his neck, Cao Cao's aura overwhelmed his own weak aura. He was really thankful for that.
'Let us return to your father's place,' Xu Min said. His heart was beating quickly as he felt the auras of the strong foes headed towards his way. However, Cao Cao shook his head.
'This forest belongs to my father,' he said with a gleam in his green eyes. 'Do you think anyone within this forest dares to go against me, the only son of my father? Even if I bring in a human, no one will touch you although they might come to see what you look like.'
Hearing this, Xu Min saw how demon beasts after demon beasts appeared in front of him. There were Demonic Golden Collared Wolves, Blood Red Peacocks, Violet Fanged Panthers, Thunderstrike Crown Sparrows, and even Winged Horses.
Looking at these beasts, it was obvious that none of them seemingly had any ill intentions. However. Xu Min felt incredibly nervous as the beasts inched closer. They were looking at him, sniffing him and even touching him. Had Cao Cao not been by his side, it was obvious that he would have been eaten long ago. As they currently had no intentions of harming him, instead, curiosity was shown.
'These beasts have never seen a human before,' Cao Cao said with a laughter as he saw and felt the discomfort in the heart of Xu Min. They were all either late Middle-Stage Warrior Rank or even the Advanced Warrior Rank beasts. All of them were so strong that it would take nothing but a swat of their paws to kill the human. Xu Min had a hard time understanding the potency of their strength.
'This is my place. I always play with these guys when I'm bored. Hey, hey, I saved you! You should buy me a lot of food!' Cao Cao's eyes were shining with happiness.
Seeing that the snake was happy, Xu Min could not keep the feeling of danger from what was around him. Instead, he started laughing out loud as he patted the snake on top of the head.
"Sure," he said out loud as the many beasts looked at him curiously. None of them were capable of speaking the human language. However, they knew that the snake's father, the King of the Forest, was capable of speaking the human tongue. In many ways, Xu Min was as exciting to them as they were to him.
Xu Min knew that he owed Cao Cao a lot. Although the problem had started initially on their trip towards the immortal cave, he knew that it had been him who had wanted to go in the first place. As soon as they were followed by a force much stronger than him, he found that in an emergency, Cao Cao had saved his life. This caused him to land within the inner area of the forest safely.
'I promise to buy anything you want,' Xu Min said quietly. 'But we can't return to the city we came from. We will need to travel through the forest. If we go back, we will be caught by the guys who followed us. Even if you were to bring your friends, we won't be able to manage.'
'That's fine,' Cao Cao said, 'I need to say goodbye to my friends. In the future I will be living in the human world together with you.' His face was all smiles and Xu Min was capable of feeling an excitement bubbling inside of the young snake. Laughing out loud once more, Xu Min moved the snake back onto his neck where it coiled around. They slowly started moving towards the opposite end of the forest. It was time for him and Cao Cao to start venturing into the world on the other side.
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Chapter 21: Attack!
The goodbye was finished much faster than Xu Min had expected. Cao Cao had only said goodbye to the beasts who had arrived moments before they left to look at the human boy. The goodbye was neither lacking in emotion nor was it careless. All it took was a few moments for the small snake to make a few hissing sounds. Afterwards, he told Xu Min that it was time for the two of them to be on their way.
Making their way from the innermost center of the forest, Xu Min took to the treetops and started running in the opposite direction of where they had been before. They ran towards the unknown future.
Making his way towards the outskirts of the forest, the entire trip had only taken a few hours. During these few hours, they had run into various demon beasts. Many of which had such an aura that Xu Min was incapable of even determining their rank. Even though this many demon beasts showed their faces, none of them dared to attack the two youngsters who were rushing through the forest. Seeing this, Xu Min felt eternal gratitude towards the strong King of the Forest.
The further away they got, the more relaxed Xu Min became. The ones who had been hunting him down were no longer on his mind as he knew that he was heading out the other way. He was uncertain about how many had survived as they had followed him into the core areas of the forest. The areas that were filled with beasts that did not show any remorse for attacking humans were not under the protection of Cao Cao.
Xu Min relaxed so much that he only noticed that someone had crept in on him too late. The aura had been withdrawn so well that even the snake around his neck had not sensed anything. This was something that showed exactly how strong the cultivator was.
"He is here!" said a short and strong yell that suddenly rang out from the trees close to Xu Min. The young man was shocked as he saw one of his previous pursuers come out from within the trees close by. He was rushing towards the unsuspecting young man who had narrowed his eyes.
The man who was aiming for him was a Three-Star Warrior. As he came in closer, Xu Min called out a single name, 'Cao Cao!'
Although he could have started battling the man himself, it was impossible for this young man to defeat the Three-Star Warrior on his own. It was much more efficient to call for backup from the snake coiled around his neck.
As soon as his name was called out, Cao Cao instantly slipped down the young man's arm. It leaped from his hand onto the face of the yelling man. He opened his mouth and four incredibly sharp fangs were revealed with white liquid dripping from each of them.
Soon, the snake had reached the man. No matter how swift the Three-Star Warrior might have been, he was far too slow to have blocked the snake. After a few moments, Cao Cao returned to Xu Min's neck as his previous opponent plummeted to the ground. His eyes were open and devoid of all life. As soon as Cao Cao had the chance to bite a human, he would never again see the light of day. The poison was that deadly.
That is to say, there were various ways one could defend against this poison. If the cultivator was of the same rank as Cao Cao, they could use the Qi inside of their bodies to battle the poison and eventually dispel it. However, a Three-Star Warrior was far from being close to this juvenile snake and the result was therefore certain.
'You are too weak!' the snake complained with a bit of self-righteousness. 'I'll leave the Two-Star Warrior down there for you. I even told you where he is hiding, so go and end him!'
After he had heard what Cao Cao said, Xu Min shook his head but said nothing. Since he had been within the forest for some time, Xu Min finally understood exactly how weak he was. Although he was a One-Star Warrior, he had just sat foot in the world of a cultivator. Had he not been so lucky as to have Cao Cao with him, he would have passed away long ago.
Looking down within the thick leaves, Xu Min noticed the warrior that Cao Cao had pointed out to him. As Xu Min looked at this warrior, it was easy to see that he was waiting for the young man to pass by so that he could launch an ambush. Seeing this, his dark eyes grew even darker. A furrow appeared between his eyebrows as a sneer showed itself on his lips.
Having seen that this man was waiting for an ambush, Xu Min decided to return the favor. He slowly gathered the Qi that he had spent years refining into his body before he taking the stance needed for the Radiant Jade Shower. Behind him, thousands of specks of translucent light appeared. As soon as they appeared, they shot towards the warrior in the thick bushes below the ground.
Moments after, the thousand jade-like shards of Qi had shot into the bushes. An agonizing scream could be heard as the man rushed out. Blood poured from his body as countless of small cuts had been made on his skin.
Looking at the man, Xu Min jumped closer to him in the thick tree tops. He hid himself to the best of his ability as he looked down at the man below him. Unsheathing his sword without making a sound, Xu Min stopped right above the Two-Star Warrior. His eyes were fully focused on the man below. His facial expression became frosty.
Counting to ten in his mind, Xu Min finally jumped down from the tall tree. Having borrowed the force of the fall and wielding the sword in his hands. Xu Min quickly arrived in front of the man. He swung the sword with all his might as the muscles on his arms protruded.
The man never had the chance to say a word before his torso had been severed into two parts. As soon as Xu Min landed on the ground, a multitude of experts appeared as they all rushed towards the boy.
"Capture him!"
"He knows where the treasure is!"
"Don't let him get away!"
Suddenly, a wide array of yells could be heard throughout the outskirts of the forest. Many of the men jumped towards the boy who was standing in the middle of the forest.The next man that reached him was cut in half as well.
'Defend yourself, I'll try to deal with as many as I can!' Cao Cao said with a careless voice as he suddenly slithered away from Xu Min. He left him completely alone against three approaching One and Two-Star Warriors.
Looking at the three Warriors, Xu Min's eyes turned cold. He instantly targeted the two One-Star Warriors. Although he was only a One-Star Warrior, Wang Li had spent a lot of time training his body and his physical strength could rival that of a Two-Star Warrior's. This was apparent as he wielded his broad sword with both hands. A straight slash left another Warrior in two piece. His eyes had long since lost their sight of life before his body slumped to the ground.
Seeing how Xu Min had easily removed one of the three Warriors, the two others felt their heads grow numb as they looked at the Two-Star Warrior which had been cut clean in half. At first, they had expected that the attack had been successful because the young man had snuck in on the warrior and used the force of his fall to deliver a devastating cut. After looking at the corpse of the One-Star Warrior which had fallen under his sword, it no longer seemed to be a coincidence. The two Warriors paused their advance and looked cautiously at the young man before they advanced a few steps at a time.
While these two Warriors were advancing slowly, Cao Cao was flying about and attacking one Warrior after another. Anyone who decided to come into the very small clearing ended up dying. After having seen this, the Warriors outside the clearing stayed back. Those that had entered had long since forgotten about capturing the young man. Retreating to stay alive was their main focus.
Everyone apart from the two Warriors in front of Xu Min knew that escape was impossible. For some reason, the snake had done nothing to the two of them. It left them with the hope that they would be able to escape when they caught the young man.
Seeing that capturing Xu Min was their ticket out of the clearing, courage swelled within their bodies. They were Warriors and one of them was even a Two-Star Warrior and the other was a strong One-Star. Defeating and capturing an early stage One-Star Warrior should not be difficult for the two of them.
Seeing the madness appear in the eyes of the two Warriors as they saw their comrades being killed, Xu Min understood that he had only one chance to fight back.The Warriors who were left were all hiding and no backup was available. The two Warriors gave in to their madness and with a loud yell bellowed out from deep within their throats, they rushed towards Xu Min.
Xu Min knew that, although his body was as strong as a Warrior of the second rank, his strength alone was not enough to defeat the two men who were coming his way.
Closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, Xu Min reached within himself, all the way down to his Dantian and to a point where he stored every single scrap of Qi he could find, and inserted it into the broadsword in his hands.
As he opened his eyes, he exhaled. The two Warriors were finally within range. Seeing this, a wry smile appeared on his face. This would either succeed or he would die. As he swung the sword, his face grimaced as he felt how the power inside of him burst forward.
Swinging the sword in front of him, he cleanly sliced the first man in half. The sword was almost impossible to stop. However, the Two-Star Warrior managed to summon his Qi in a protective barrier around himself to keep the sword from killing him. But, the force still knocked him five steps back.
Seeing this, Xu Min could not help but to grit his teeth.The Two-Star Warrior was staying back and was stunned by the fact that he had been forced to retreat by a cultivator weaker than himself. However, here he was forced five steps backwards. His complexion was rather pale which was nothing like it had been before.
Seeing that the man had survived, Xu Min felt despair well up within him. Although he had used every last scrap of Qi he possessed, he had still failed to kill the final Warrior in the group of attackers. He once more wielded his sword, ready to attack, when the man's eyes suddenly bulged outwards as he fell to the ground. His last breath of life left him.
'You weren't too bad,' Cao Cao's voice sounded out within his head. 'But if you want me to acknowledge you as my boss, then you had better start improving at a rapid speed! You only managed to kill three men in the time it took me to kill seventeen. Seventeen! You had better treat me to some good food!'
Xu Min had never before been as happy about the snake's ranting as he was now. He laughed helplessly as he sheathed his sword on his back while the snake coiled around his neck. The man and the snake quickly vanished into the forest and rushed towards the outside of the forest.
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Chapter 22: Ri Chu City
Some warriors had survived the ordeal, but they were the warriors who had not participated in the battle. They were the ones who had been staying away from the clearing as they watched their comrades and friends get executed one after another.
Xu Min paid no attention to those men. He knew that if they were to participate then Cao Cao would have stepped in and stopped them. Although Cao Cao wished for Xu Min to increase his strength, the snake had no interest in seeing him dead. Due to this, he still assisted the weak young man.
'How can you even be called a man when you can't even protect your own life,' Cao Cao muttered as he was coiled around the young man's neck. His eyes were struggling to keep open. After only a few moments did the snake fall into a deep sleep. Snickering, Xu Min looked at the snake. He was fully aware that he too had pushed himself to be able to take care of those seventeen men. And now, he now needed a long sleep.
While the snake was asleep, Xu Min came to the end of the forest. As he looked around, it looked exactly the same to how it had been where he had entered at the opposite side of the forest.
Small towns adorned the landscape here and there. They were selling items needed for the cultivators who entered into the forest. These towns had inns for other groups and pharmacies to buy and sell medicinal herbs and concoctions.
Looking at these towns, Xu Min opted not to enter them. The warriors within the forest were likely to inform their superiors about which direction he was taking. It was highly likely that he would be attacked the moment he were to enter town.
Instead, Xu Min left the area around the forest and decided not to follow the standard roads on his way towards a major city.
No cities were within range of view. By moving parallel to the road, Xu Min only needed to walk for around four days before he could see the massive city walls in the distance again.
All this time Cao Cao had been deeply asleep. He had never once left the position around Xu Min's neck. Although he was sleeping, the young man felt quite relaxed knowing that the snake was with him.
Travelling for an extra few days, Xu Min reached the agricultural area outside the city. As he was finally closing in on the major city, Xu Min once more dared to travel on the roads. As a matter of fact, he did not have any choice other than to follow the main roads. Anything between the roads had turned into rice fields or other kind of agriculture.
Reaching the roads, Xu Min was capable of moving much quicker towards the city. After another three days did he finally arrive at the city gate. This city was the same size as Honghe City which he came from. A special feeling of nostalgia welled up within the young man as he wondered how Overseer Wang Li was doing.
Xu Min knew nothing about the city he had arrived at, but what he did guess was that much like any other city. This place much like any other place accepted gold coins as payment. He quickly entered through the gates, looking for inns anywhere around the entrance to the city.
Many inns were located at the entrance. It was not that rare that travellers came across; however, all these inns looked to be rather run down. Xu Min remembered that he had promised the snake the meal of his lifetime, so he needed a proper place to accommodate them.
Walking through the town, Xu Min caught a hold of the name of the city. The city was named Ri Chu City and unlike Honghe City, this one did not have a harbor. Instead, it was considered one of the larger intersections for travellers and merchants which had allowed for the city to grow to the size it had today.
Moving towards the inner regions of the city and looking for a high class inn, Xu Min's eyes were caught by a pharmacy. Looking at this, the young man tapped his bag and moved inside. He completely ignored the glances given by the citizens around him.
Xu Min wore simple clothes which were the clothes he had gotten from Overseer Wang Li back when he lived at Honghe City. They were clearly the clothes of a worker. For him to enter a high end pharmacy was something which caused much interest on those who walked on the street. However, only a few of the curious citizens entered the store to see what would happen.
Xu Min had long since guessed that these citizens were curious about him. Ignoring them, he went to the desk where a middle-aged woman was standing. Looking at the young man, the woman could not help but frown her nose. She wondered why such a weak person would have entered her esteemed shop.
She did not have to wait long. After a few moments, Xu Min had reached the counter. As soon as he did, he swept his hand across the counter and placed down four herbs he had no clue of what use they had. The moment he placed them down, shock and greed became visible in the woman's eyes. Her expression no longer was loathing, but was extremely welcoming.
"Greetings, my good sir," she said with a gentle and pleasant voice. "Am I correct to believe that you are willing to sell these herbs?" she asked while licking her lips. She tried to moisten them as she felt deeply shocked.
Seeing her expression, a sly smile appeared on Xu Min's face as he shrugged carelessly. The shop itself was filled with customers as they all held their breaths in excitement. For many citizens, this was some of the most exciting thing they had seen in the recent days.
"I am looking to sell," Xu Min said with a slow voice. He was dragging on every word and making the woman wait for the 'but'. The young man did indeed say a 'but' as he continued his sentence.
'I am indeed looking to sell," he repeated, "But, you see these herbs were quite dangerous for me to gain." he continued, "I am only selling them if I am getting a good price. After all, I did risk my life to get them."
Hearing the words, the woman's face turned slightly sour. After only a few moments had she managed to control her facial expression once more. She was all smiles once more as she looked at the herbs.
These herbs were all rare herbs. They were herbs she could sell to the upper families within the city. The woman could use them to invite alchemists or other important people to the city.
Gnashing her teeth, she looked at the young man in front of her who had a wry but indifferent smile on his face. His eyes were curiously scrutinizing the shop as though this had nothing to do with him.
Looking at him, the woman could instantly tell that this young man was perfectly well aware of the value of his herbs. She came to the conclusion of giving a serious offer from the start in case he would get insulted and move to another pharmacy to sell. That was without a doubt something which she could not afford that he did.
Looking at the herbs on the desk, she took one and placed it away from the rest. Pointing at that herb, her soul somewhat trembled as it was the rarest amongst them. After a short break came her offer. "I will offer you one thousand gold coins for this one," she said. Her eyes clearly had a pained expression. "The rest of them I can't pay more than five hundred gold coins for a piece."
Hearing the valuation, Xu Min had to swallow a little as he was caught off guard. He expected that they were worth an amazing sum of money, but this was far above every expectation that he had. He was even more so surprised considering that he had a whole bag stuffed full of the herbs.
Xu Min was not the only one shocked within the shop. The entire shop was still filled with curious citizens. As soon as they heard the value that these herbs were worth, they were all stunned into silence. Some tried to squeeze up towards the counter to see these amazing herbs.
Fortunately enough for Xu Min, no cultivators had entered the pharmacy. Only commoners did which meant that no one would try to steal the herbs from him. As a commoner, one had to be suicidal to battle a One-Star Warrior.
Saying that these commoners were not cultivators was quite the wrong phrase. Everyone throughout their lives cultivated in one way or another. One's body would always change throughout the years by coming into contact with the essence of the heavens and the earth. However, these commoners had not had the time to prioritize cultivation over their chores or every day lives. This resulted in them only becoming Two or Three-Star Warriors throughout their entire lives. Many of them would only be a few hundred years of age before aging and dying.
Although some of them were One-Star Warriors much like Xu Min, none of these men were cultivators. None of them knew about the random martial arts nor did they know about how to use their strength. Considering this, no one wished to participate in a battle against a real cultivator.
Xu Min was still slightly hesitating. The reason he hesitated was not because he was unhappy with the price, but rather because he was truly astonished by it. However, the lady did not know this. After clearing her throat once, she gritted her teeth and spoke once more. "Eleven hundred is the absolute highest price I can pay for this herb," she said. Her heart bled thinking of all the gold coins she would have to spend. At the same time, it was definitely worth it.
The herb was known as a Yearning Sunflower. It was a flower which only grew within the densest areas of a forest where no sunshine would ever reach. On the other hand, the petals looked as though it were a small sun. The taller the stalk was, the older it was. The older the flower was, the more precious it was.
This flower had gotten its name as it would always grow towards the sun. Should the flower succeed in reaching sunlight, it would mutate and become a Lustful Sunflower. This was a flower that never received enough sunlight and always begged for more.
The Yearning Sunflower Xu Min had brought with him today was at least fifty years old as the stalk was quite tall. Selling it to a high ranking eccentric expert or an alchemist would bring in tens of thousands gold coins. If she was unlucky, she could not find a collector interested in the flower. In that case, it was only worth two to three thousand coins. This was why she had sat at such a low buyout price. Before she could sell, she needed to get her hands on the flower first.
Seeing the nervousness in the shopkeeper's face, Xu Min shook his head and nodded vigorously. The price was definitely much better than what he had expected. With great happiness did he wait for the woman to receive the money. She took out clear card made of jade and handed it to the young man who curiously took it to see what it was.
One has to know that Xu Min never really dealt with money before. Back in Honghe City, he had never been paid anything from Overseer Wang Li. The money he had received in the town on the border of Snake's Forest had been given to him in cash.
Now he was handed a clear card made from white jade, his face was filled with questions when he received it. Looking at his confused face, the lady could not help but laugh a little.
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Chapter 23: Jade Card
"This is a White Jade Card," the lady said with a laughter. "Jade Cards can be found in both green and white jade. The Green Jade Cards can hold up to one thousand gold coins while the White Jade Card can hold up to ten thousand gold coins."
"I'm giving you a White Card containing eleven hundred for the Yearning Sunflower and fifteen hundred for the three other herbs," she said. She gestured towards the three herbs at the other side of the counter, "In total, this Jade Card contains two thousand six hundred gold coins."
"All the decent shops within this city accepts Jade Cards as a form of payment so you should be all set now." Having given a short introduction of the Jade Cards, the woman no longer paid any attention towards Xu Min. Instead, she paid her full attention towards the Yearning Sunflower. Her face was filled with smiles and expectations of what she would use it for.
Seeing that the woman no longer paid attention to Xu Min, the young man took the Jade Card and looked at it. No matter how much he stared, it looked exactly like a very plain Jade Card. Had it not been for the customers' reactions within the shop when the woman pulled out the white jade card, Xu Min would have been certain that he was being tricked.
Now that he had seen greed in the men's eyes around him, he quickly stored the card within his robes and left the store. One again, he started hunting down an inn where he could feed the snake a meal that it deserved.
Walking through the streets, Xu Min had soon noticed that he had reached the upper class stores within the city. His appearance was far away from someone who belonged within the town. Everyone stared at him with blatant mockery within their eyes.
Even if he managed to find an inn that sold delicious food for the snake, the young man was quite certain that they would bar him from entering due to his clothes. When a clothing store appeared by the side of the road, Xu Min did not think twice before he entered the shop.
Entering a shop which specialized in clothes was a completely new experience for Xu Min. All his clothes had been previously gifted to him by Wang Li. None of it had been sewn to him, but instead had all been oversized so that he could grow in it.
Xu Min did not mind the clothes being baggy nor did he mind that they were a bit oversized. He did not even care about what others thought of him. However, he did care about keeping the promise he had made. He was perfectly aware that his life had been saved quite a few times by the snake coiled around his neck.
If paying the snake back meant that he had to no longer look like a country bumpkin or a manual worker, then so be it. Although the store was a new experience for him, he still entered. He wore nothing but his clothes and looked like a worker.
The store clerk instantly went towards the young man. His face was frowning and his nose wrinkled. He expected the young man to be have a foul odor. As he came closer, he noticed the young man withdraw a White Jade Card from his clothing. The frown instantly disappeared and his unsightly expression changed to a gentle, kind, and welcoming visage.
"Welcome, my good sir!" the clerk said as he clasped his hands together. Afterwards, he was gesturing for the young man to follow him. "What can we do for you today?" he asked with a gentle voice as he was constantly staring at the White Jade Card in the hands of the customer. The store clerk wondered where this young master had come from.
"I need a set of clothes. I don't want anything gaudy nor do I want anything excessive. Just a set of ordinary clothes of good fabric," Xu Min answered. He was not completely sure what to say or how to convey his intentions.
Although he had money now, he had never had money in his hands before. He was very worried about spending it all and becoming penniless with a snake which seemed to enjoy eating as much as a full grown dragon.
Hearing the description, the man nodded his head for some time. Without wasting any time what so ever, he suddenly returned with a few sets of clothes. One of these sets, Xu Min instantly liked. It was a black shirt with black trousers. Attached to the set was a black robe. The robe was lined with a simple red border and a red belt.
Looking at that set of clothes, Xu Min instantly picked it. The clothes were made from the best materials around. While wearing it, the young man could definitely feel the difference between his previous clothes and this set. It was as though he was wearing clouds as his clothes were light on his body and felt soft and durable.
Sewing the robe to fit Xu Min's size did not take long. As soon as it had been sewn, Xu Min handed over the White Jade Card which the clerk took thirteen gold coins.
Thirteen gold coins was an astronomical amount of money for a set of clothes. However, Xu Min had chosen the best materials they had within the store. Looking at the clothes now, it was definitely worth every coin.
Walking on the street no longer caused anyone to look at him. Although he was still unwashed and weary, the clothes he now wore was enough to make him fit into the upper class of the town.
After having wandered about for another good hour, Xu Min finally started to smell the scent of delicious food. As he followed this scent, he ended in front of a massive building built solely from marble. The windows were open and the scent of food wafted out together with light and cheerful sounds.
Entering this building, Xu Min quickly found that two floors were used as restaurants and the residence area was above this. Walking to the counter, he was flabbergasted to find that almost every table was already filled with customers. As Xu Min entered, quite a few were looking his way. He felt that the majority of the customers inside the shop were cultivators.
Being aware that he was watched, Xu Min went to the counter. With a low voice, he asked for a room in which he could board for a week.
This was a high class inn and even the rooms were much more luxurious than those of smaller inns. As a result, they charged an astonishing twelve silver coins a night. Hearing this, Hui Yue intentionally picked up one gold coin from his bag and handed it to the owner.
Xu Min intentionally chose to use cash. He knew that he was currently being observed. If he was dumb enough to bring out his White Jade Card now, it was highly likely that he would be tailed and killed so that someone could steal his money.
Although one gold coin was a lot, it was not unnatural for travellers to pay a high fee for a good bed, bath, and delicious foods.
Xu Min had also ordered that some plates of food were to be brought to his room. In the end, not many tips were left for the man behind the desk.
Accepting the keys and moving upstairs, Xu Min kept his full attention at the dining room. He knew that there still were a few cultivators who were eyeing him. As long as they did not follow him, he saw no reason to start a fight.
As he entered the room, he could not help but whistle in amazement. This was anything but the plain room he had lived in together with Wang Li. The room itself was a little bigger than the room he had shared with the Overseer for years. It was an suite where the bathroom was located right next to the bedroom. The bathroom had a submerged bath and steam wafted out from the deep water. A look of delight appeared on Xu Min's eyes.
Just as he was about to undress and enter the water, he heard a knocking on his door. The once blissful expression on his face became serious. His body instantly turning vigilant and he slowly made his way to open the door only to realize that it was the food he had ordered.
Plate after plate entered through the door. Before long, the table was filled with delectable and enticing foods. Nodding gratefully, Xu Min closed the door behind the servant who vanished down the stairs. He moved towards the table.
The scent of the food was filling the entire room and Xu Min no longer thought about the warm bath. Instead, he sat down at the table and gently patted the snake's head to rouse it from its deep sleep.
The gentle pats roused the snake with a soft and comfortable touch. Soon, the snake's face lifted slightly and its tongue slithered in the air. Its beautiful green eyes opened, but they initially seemed as though Cao Cao's mind was in a bit of a disarray. After a few moments, the scent of the food caused the snake to close his eyes and inhale strongly.
'You are not a bad human,' the snake said with a blissful smile on its face. It slowly made its way down to the table where he started to slowly eat one plate of food after another. Seeing that Cao Cao was eating quickly, Xu Min could not help allow a laughter to ring out through the rooms they had booked. He quickly sat down at the table and ate the foods together with the snake. He quickly hurried to fill his stomach before everything had vanished.
When all the food had been eaten, a chuckle could be heard from the small snake as it slithered around on the table. It was looking around to ensure that every meal had been eaten. Although he had eaten far more than the size of his body, its stomach was not the slightest bit bulging outwards.
Having rested in the chair for some time, both the snake and the boy went to the bath. They allowed for their sore muscles to rest and removed the dirt that had been growing on their skins.
Although Xu Min was in a hotel and the bed was soft and comfortable, the young man spent no time sleeping. Instead, he sat with his legs crossed on the soft mattress while he cultivated. He was refining the essence of the heavens and the earth which allowed for him to gain more Qi.
Refining the essence from the heavens and the earth was something that took time. Although Xu Min was working hard, he was still only an early stage One-Star Warrior. Having battled within the forest, he had understood how weak he was. His plan was to settle himself within the city until he managed to reach a Two or Three-Star Warrior. To keep travelling in the world filled with cultivators, the weak would be swallowed up by the strong. Forcing himself to become a part of it too was something which wasn't considered bravery. Instead, it was clearly stupidity. Thinking about it like this, Xu Min could not help but wonder why Wang Li had decided to send him away as soon as he managed to reach the One-Star Warrior rank.
Glancing at Cao Cao by his side, Xu Min sighed in envy. The snake was deeply asleep and not bothering with refining essences at all because he was a magical beast. Cultivation for a magical beast was quite different from those of humans. While Xu Min was working hard to increase his rank, Cao Cao automatically grew stronger and stronger just by growing up. He was currently nothing more than a juvenile. However, the strength he would gain by the time he reached adulthood was unknown. Also, no one would know how much food he would be eating.
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Chapter 24: Shopping Time
Early in the morning, the golden specks of lights fluttering around the young man shone in the rays of sunshine. As soon as he stopped his regulated breathing, they all dissipated into thin air. By his side, little Cao Cao was still asleep while coiled up on the soft bed with a satisfied look on its face.
Cao Cao had finally woken up the night before. After looking at the small snake, Xu Min understood that it was still exhausted after having battled many men in the forest. The young man could not help but feel both gratitude and a desire to improve rapidly so that he was strong enough to protect the snake by his side.
Having decided to strengthen himself, Xu Min started stretching his tired muscles before he quickly dressed. Afterwards, he went to the outskirts of the city once more. He exited the large gates and started to run from one gate to another.
The city was massive. At first, Xu Min had planned on running around the entire city. However, as he ran for hours on end without even having completed even a quarter of the way, Xu Min finally decided to only run towards the next gate.
Running in the scorching sun with the snake coiled around his neck, Xu Min pushed himself to his limits. His legs had long since gone numb. Sweat dripped from his body and the only thing that motivated him to keep moving was the constant thoughts of how weak he was. Laughing at himself, he remembered that he wished to take revenge upon the Zhong family leader. However, he was nothing more than an early stage One-Star Warrior.
Gritting his teeth, Xu Min forced himself to keep running every time his body wished to stop. After running at his fastest speed for what felt like an eternity, he finally saw a city gate in the distance.
Witnessing him running all the way to the wall, everyone stared in shock. The sight of the sweat dripping off his body and the sound of panting from inhaling air was enough to make anyone who looked at him to slightly inch away. But the young man did not care. Looking at the sun, he could see that it was the afternoon and was shocked to know that he had managed to run for all these hours straight.
With tired legs and a rumbling stomach, Xu Min went back to the inn. His entrance was even more astonishing than it was the day before. This time, no one assumed that he was rich. Everyone could see that he looked like a poor man who had managed to find enough coins to rent a good room for a short time.
Having people think this way did not bother Xu Min. The more people who expected him to be poor, the more likely he was to be left alone by the other cultivators within the inn and the restaurant.
Xu Min started to make some stretching movements which Overseer Tian had taught him. He slowly relaxed his entire body before he went for a bath to wash all the sweat off his body. At the same time he began washing himself, Cao Cao decided to wake up. With skilled movements, he swam around in the water with as much enjoyment as Xu Min.
After the bath was over, Xu Min once more ordered a massive amount of food. He shared it with the snake and then stood up within the room to take the stance which Wang Li had given him. Standing in position, the young man closed his eyes as thousands of jade white specks of light appeared behind him. At a closer inspection, one could see that these specks of light actually looked like small shards of ice made from white jade. They all hovered there filling up the entire room with specks. As Xu Min opened his eyes, an excited expression was on his face.
Having created this many shards, he was incredibly satisfied with his performance. The sun was getting ready to start its descent behind the city walls. Xu Min looked out to the city at dusk and the streets were still bustling with life. Carts were driving on the busy roads and customers, cultivators, and commoners alike were travelling to and fro within the city.
Xu Min looked at the bustling life down on the street the young man sighed deeply. Having finished the scheduled physical labour of the day, the young man knew it was time for him to start cultivating the Qi within his Dantian cave. Unfortunately, he also knew that even if he had started a few hours earlier, it wouldn't have amounted to much. Cultivating the Battle Qi was something which took an immense amount of time.
The reason why the majority of the so-called geniuses were all from rich families were because they could afford to purchase medicinal herbs, pills, and pastes to enhance their high class martial arts.
Knowing this, Xu Min suddenly felt like hitting his head heavily against something hard. He knew that with the money he currently possessed, he would still be able to purchase some pills. However, they would not be the most expensive and rarest of the pills but would be a great benefit for an early stage One-Star Warrior.
Xu Min looked at the bustling streets once more. He rushed out the door, down the stairs towards the restaurant, and left through the front door with an incredible speeds.
As soon as he had entered the stone roads outside the inn, Xu Min was suddenly and completely uncertain about what to do. He knew what he wanted to do, but how to execute it was not easy. He had no idea as to which kind of shop sold medicinal pills nor did he know anything about which kind of pills he needed to purchase. Every time he thought about how weak he was, Xu Min's eyes glistened with anger and determination. So, he rushed through one street after another as the sunshine slowly became less and less. As his passion grew, the sun began to descend behind the city gates as a chilled air filled the city.
Customers no longer headed out to shop and the majority were on their way home to eat with their families or to finish their work. Even so, Xu Min did not give up and finally, he reached a place called Alluring Treasures Pavilion.
Looking at the place, Xu Min could not think of anywhere else that could sell medicinal herbs or medicines. He saw that customers still entered the shop.
He was relieved that he had been wearing his black set of clothes as he had left the bath. They had made him look less like a penniless manual laborer.
When he came to the front gates, he found that one had to pay an astonishing entrance fee of fifty silvers. Even though the fee was quite extraordinary, multiple people kept flooding into the store. Eventually, Xu Min paid the fee and began to follow the flood of people.
Following the masses, Xu Min and Cao Cao were taken into a massive room filled with people who each were sitting on chairs that were placed in front of a large stage. Seeing this, Xu Min was completely taken aback. He had previously heard about auction houses from Overseer Wang Li, but he had never truly entered one before. As he continued exploring the inside of the house, he was filled with confusion as to what to do.
He had been given a number when he had paid the entrance fee. At first, he had expected that it was the number in which he'd be served. But now, he understood that it was a number used when bidding on an item.
Although Xu Min felt somewhat out of place, he quickly found a seat. As he glanced in every direction with curiosity, he finally experienced what an auction house was like for the first time.
Xu Min was not the only one astonished because little Cao Cao's face was turning from one side to another. He looked at the humans and his surroundings, while feeling the apprehension within the small room. Both the man and snake could not wait for the auction to actually begin.
Although they were impatient, it took about an hour until the doors of the auction house were finally closed. Prior to the start of the auction, guests constantly flooded in through the doors. At last, the light within the room dimmed while the lights at the stage shone with an amazing radiance.
Seeing this, Xu Min was excited and happy. Although he had never been at an auction before, he had heard that exotic and tempting items and high end medicines all appeared there.
Waiting patiently, a woman finally stepped onto the stage. Her body was shrouded in a very tight fitted dress and an elaborate and bejewled crown sat on the woman's hair. She was so incredibly beautiful that both Xu Min and Cao Cao found themselves breathless. Looking at this beautiful woman, Xu Min remembered a sentence his teacher once had told him,
"Women are the cause of many evils. A beautiful woman can cause men to go insane and cities to be destroyed."
Looking at the woman in front of him and at the fevered glances of the surrounding men, Xu Min could not think of any other woman that the phrase could fit as perfectly as it did on her.
Her beautiful hand was slim and displayed a bit of her wrist. Her skin was white like jade and her lips were as red as blood. Her eyes were dark and deep like a phoenix. Her hair appeared to be smooth and beautiful in an elaborate style.
Even Xu Min, who usually felt nothing about women, could not help but feel his heart skipping a beat. Even Cao Cao, the snake around his neck, was mesmerized by the beauty of the woman on the stage.
Just as Xu Min was drawn into her beauty, the red lips opened themselves and a greeting sounded out. Her voice was soft as velvet and comfortable like a warm bed in the cold dark night.
"Welcome to the Alluring Treasure House," the woman started. "Today, we have three extraordinary items on display. To ensure that the good gentlemen have enough money for the items all the way to the end, we will start with these treasured items."
And without further ado, the woman swung her hand and came four cultivators. Each one of them were far higher in rank than Xu Min. This made it impossible for him to determine their strength. Cao Cao whispered, 'Four Seven-Star Warriors!' which took the young man by surprise.
On the table, there was a scroll in a case. The scroll looked like any other, but the way it was guarded clearly showed something different. Xu Min's curiosity prompted him to adjust himself slightly in his seat so he could see the scroll better. Yet no matter how hard he looked at it, it was just an ordinary scroll.
Sighing deeply, Xu Min leaned back against the seat once more as he waited for the explanation from the beautiful woman. He did not have to wait long before a smile broke out on her tempting red lips. A gentle voice rung through the quiet auction house.
"What we have here, good Sirs, is a martial art skill that has been acquired earlier this season from the Ruins of the Immortals." she said. As the ravishing woman paused slightly, a collective gasp of air could be heard within the room. Xu Min was not as interested in the martial art skill as he was for what this Ruins of Immortals could be. He had only glanced once at an Immortals Cave. To see the legendary Ruins of the Immortals would be something he would trade his wealth to see.
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Chapter 25: The Alluring Treasure Pavilion
'I want to go to the ruins.' Cao Cao's voice sounded in Xu Min's mind. The young man could not help but chuckle as he had the exact same thoughts as the small snake around his neck. Petting the snake with adoration, Xu Min could not help but answer, 'We're going to watch the auction for now. Later on, we can use some coins to gather information on these Ruins of the Immortals.'
Hearing this, the snake nodded in agreement as it closed its eyes from being petted by Xu Min.
Looking at the auction house, one guest after another lifted their signs. They were bidding for the martial art scroll. The price quickly surpassed the amount of money Xu Min had, even after counting the White Jade Card. Now, the young man understood that he could be considered a rich young master just from selling the Yearning Sunflower. However, he was still far from being able to hold a candle against the rich families and clans within the Ri Chu City.
Although Xu Min followed, interested in the price of the martial art skill, he still did not have feelings of jealousy towards the ones who could afford it. Instead, he felt excited from thinking about the Ruins of the Immortals. Although he had told Cao Cao they'd find out later, his curiosity was still very strong.
The martial art skill ended up selling for the astonishing amount of three thousand and four hundred gold coins. It was a tremendous amount of money for such an item.
"The first of our three special items this evening was just sold for such an amazing price," the woman said as she, once more, stood at the stage. She caused every man within the room to cough, clear their throats, and rub their eyes. Their eyes and throat had suddenly gone dry from staring at the alluring curves and the beautiful figure.
"I hope you have not spent all your money just yet," the woman continued. She completely ignored the numerous gazes that were glued to her body. Instead, she moved around on the stage which allowed her figure to twist and turn. From doing that, she attracted even more gazes her way. A mischievous smile was playing on her blood red lips as she looked at the men within the room.
"Our next item is incredibly rare," the woman said. She continued as though her movements came from her excitement about the items rather than to draw in more fevered gazes. This convinced the men to try and make her notice them by bidding on the items she was selling.
Once more, four high ranked Warriors came from through the door. This time, Xu Min was completely flabbergasted as he looked at the item up for sale. On the transparent counter, a flower was standing tall. It was a flower which Xu Min knew all too well. It was the Yearning Sunflower he had sold earlier for a whopping eleven hundred gold coins.
Patting his bag by his side, Xu Min put a quick glance into it and noticed that he had two more yearning sunflowers. A grin appeared on his face as the young man leaned back into his chair to ready himself to watch the bidding war with interest. He was very curious to see how much the flower would sell for and not to mention how many bidders would be interested in buying this flower.
"Today we have this astonishingly beautiful Yearning Sunflower," the woman started to describe the flower. "The Yearning Sunflower will turn into a Lustful Sunflower the moment it touches sunshine. This makes it even more rare than its mutated stance. I know that Master Dong Liang is currently searching for a Yearning Sunflower. Anyone who can gift him one of these will be able to invite him over to visit their family or clan. Not only master Dong Liang, but Huang Zhen is also looking for one. To be able to pick and choose between the two grandmasters, one can imagine how important this flower may be."
The woman continued as she walked around the stage. Her eyes glanced over the audience but were shortly stopped on a smirking youngster as he pet a snake coiled around his neck. Seeing this, the young woman could not help but frown slightly. However, she quickly regained her composure and a blinding smile showed on her face as she started the bidding war.
One sign after another was lifted into the air. Voices constantly shouted greater and greater amounts of gold coins. Within a few moments, the price of eleven hundred gold coins Xu Min had sold it for was the calling price for the Yearning Sunflower. It did not stop there, however. Three family leaders were battling it out each other. One after another, each family yelled a higher price than the previous family. It quickly reached three thousand gold coins where it slowed down slightly. The bids now only raised fifty gold coins at a time.
Eventually, one of the families had to opt out and were no longer capable of bidding. Two families stayed competing until eventually one of the men shook his head. He stopped the bids which allowed a tall and lean man with a black beard and long hair to shout out the winning bid of three thousand seven hundred and fifty gold coins.
Hearing the shocking amount of money, Xu Min could not help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. The price was quite higher than what he had expected it to sell for. Yet, it was still quite a bit less than what the woman who had purchased it had hoped to sell it for.
After the first two items had been sold, the woman on the stage once more started to pace around the stage. She was using a lot of flowery and grandiose words to describe the winning families. Anyone could see that her words pleased the families they were spoken about.
"Finally," the woman said with her face growing very mysterious. A smile hung on her face as she was preparing to describe the final item. "This item is the main attraction for tonight. It can clearly rival both the Yearning Sunflower and the Martial Art Skill from the Ruins of the Immortals." The mysterious expression on the woman's face grew further into amusement as though she was finding this entertaining.
"The next item up for sale is a suit of armor which has been given further protection by a runic inscription from our very own Ri Chu City's Lord Zhan Weisheng." As soon as the words had been said, a large tremor ran through the entire room. Everyone seemed to be looking around as though they were searching for someone. Before they had managed to find anyone, the woman on the stage cleared her throat. Instantly calling everyone to order, she commanded the men to once more sit down in the seats. All their eyes were glued onto the woman who nimbly went towards the side where she gestured towards a balcony.
"It is with my great pleasure to also inform you that Lord Zhan Weisheng is also present at our humble auction house." As she spoke, an elderly man rose to his feet and nodded towards the buyers in the filled room.
The major families all stood up and bowed towards the man while the other cultivators and travellers did not show the same sign of respect.
'Do you know who this Lord Zhan Weisheng is?' Cao Cao's voice curiously rang within Xu Min's head. The young man chuckled once more as he petted the curious snake on his neck. 'How can I know?' he asked while laughing. 'I haven't had any time to really learn about this Ri Chu City yet. I'll make sure to figure out all these things later.'
'Hey, are we going to sell some of those flowers that you stole from Mother's garden?' Cao Cao asked curiously. The question caused Xu Min to raise an eyebrow. 'Mother?' he asked curiously. Cao Cao instantly quieted down for a bit. 'Yeah. Father said I had to call the tree, Mother. I really don't know whether or not she is my mother.'
Hearing the voice, it was like a child uncertain about its own heritage. Xu Min could only feel the pain that the snake felt. He too, was also completely uncertain about his heritage.
Xu Min had never before told anything to Cao Cao about his past. However, in the middle of the auction house did the human tell everything to the small snake who listened with wide open eyes.
At the right times, Cao Cao's face showed killing intent. At other times, he showed sadness for the young man's loss. Hearing about the goals which Xu Min had in his life, he did not laugh at how far away he was from his goal. Instead, he agreed that the two of them needed to take revenge together.
'Father decided that you became my boss,' Cao Cao said with a sigh. 'I don't really know why he chose a weakling like you, but you really aren't as bad as I thought you were,' he continued. 'We'll get revenge for your sister and also find out why your parents sent you and your sister away.'
Hearing these kind words, Xu Min could not help but laugh at them. With a gentle hand, he pet the snake once more on the head. He showed his gratitude through actions.
'Back to your earlier question, I think I'm going to see whether or not I can trade a Yearning Sunflower for a few medicinal pills.' Xu Min said with a smile. He was sure that if he brought forward his flower, the auction house would treat him as a great customer.
Having sat still for a couple of hours, nothing worth Xu Min's attention appeared. Herbs and medicinal plants were sold, but plants were not what Xu Min was after. Armour and weapons appeared, but none of them were of any interest either.
Eventually, even captured Demon Beasts appeared within cages to be sold off to cultivators or families. They were either going to be tamed or be used to breed demon beasts for the major families.
Finally, the night drew to a close and the final item had been sold. As soon as the final item had been sold, all the customers who had purchased items went behind the stage into separate rooms. There, they each paid the gold coins they had spent before their items were handed to them.
Having bought nothing, Xu Min followed the stream of people outside the main building. As soon as he came out, he didn't stopped even for a moment before going back into the inn where he got ready to spend the night cultivating.
'I thought we were planning on selling some flowers?' Cao Cao asked curiously on the way home. Xu Min just smiled as he petted the snake's head in an indulgent way. 'Don't worry,' he answered. 'We will go there tomorrow. No rush, no rush. Rushing in now will seem weird.' Xu Min said with a smile. After ordering the usual large portion of food, he sat on the bed where he calmed himself and started to focus on cultivating.
Cao Cao spent the better of half an hour eating quite a large portion of the food. It only left some of the food for Xu Min who could be hungry later. After finishing his portion, the snake moved onto the bed. He was next to the young man where he came to a rest. Cao Cao curled up right next to the young man. Happiness could be seen in his green eyes before he closed them.
Golden specks of light started to shine from both Xu Min and Cao Cao. The specks were both ingested and expelled from the bodies. They soon filled the entire room and both the cultivators were in a deep trance. Neither of them noticed as the hours passed. The moon shone through the clouds while cascading its light down upon the hotel. The rays of moonlight entered the hotel through the windows and illuminated the two friends, man and snake.
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Chapter 26: Pretty Woman
'Let us eat breakfast before going,' Cao Cao said with a smile on his face. The two had just awoken from their trance. Having just opened his eyes, Xu Min was slightly taken aback. He soon laughed heartily at the snake in front of him. It clearly thought about nothing else but when his next meal would be served.
Taking a quick bath and dressing in his best clothes, Xu Min stepped out from the room with a snake coiled around his neck. The two found a table within the restaurant and sat down, waiting for the waitress to notice them.
It did not take long before he was finally noticed. As soon as the food arrived at the table, the snake uncoiled himself and rushed to eat the dishes one after another. Once again, the young man wondered where all the food disappeared off to, as the snake never seemed to be full.
Having finished the food, Xu Min quickly rushed out the door and headed towards the Alluring Treasure Pavilion. His hand gently patted his pouch to ensure that the flowers he was going to sell were still there.
Walking through town, Xu Min saw that shops were slowly opening. Some of the citizens were waking up and bustling about to complete their daily chores. He maneuvered around to escape the traffic of the high volume of the people. His speed swiftly changed as he made his way towards the building he had been at the day before.
Looking at the building in broad daylight, the young man bent his neck back in astonishment. The sun's rays were shining upon the beautiful white jade building. Having seen the building at night, it had been beautiful and lit up by fire but it was nowhere near as stunning as it was right now.
The translucent jade was milky white as the light shone through it. The sunshine reached all the way into the pavilion itself. Rays of light shone onto various tables where, behind each, were workers from the Alluring Treasure Pavilion. They were all looking at various items being put up for sale.
Seeing this, Xu Min frowned slightly. He had wished to sell the Yearning Sunflower. However, if he picked it up at a location like this, it would instantly transform into a Lustful Sunflower. The herb would no longer be worth even half the price as it was before its transformation.
When Xu Win looked around, there were less people crowding at the tables further in the room. One could tell that the further one came in, the rarer the items became. Eventually, no one was present at the tables except for the clerks waiting to appraise the items being brought to them.
Although Xu Min had come to the end, the sunshine still shone through the translucent jade. A sigh was all the young man could muster. Every step that he took, further into the pavilion, more and more people would start glancing at him. Now that he had reached the end, everyone who glanced at him thought that he was either a tourist who knew nothing about their system or some other young master who wished to seem more important than he truly was.
However, this was not the case. Xu Min could do nothing but sigh deeply once more. Just as he was about to turn towards one of the clerks, a woman came walking into the pavilion from the opposite side.
This woman was the stunning beauty from the night before. She was the one who had managed to sell the Yearning Sunflower for an astonishing price. Although Xu Min didn't feel a more deeper attraction to the woman, he still could not help but feel that she might be able to assist him.
It was not only he who recognized her. She too recognized the calm youngster from the previous night. He was the one who had been smirking without being too attracted to her to join the bidding frenzy. Seeing a young man who was capable of not being mesmerized by her was news. Which was why she was feeling slightly indignant and curious at the same time. She instantly started swaggering towards him. She allowed for her alluring hips to move mesmerizingly from side to side. Her luscious lips caused all the clerks around to stare at her, mesmerized. However, Xu Min was still unfazed by the waltzing hips and the beautiful, deep eyes.
Seeing this, the woman did not give up right away. Her confidence was starting to slightly falter as she was not capable of figuring out how to seduce a young man alone.
"Hello there, young friend," she said with her most alluring and melodious voice. The hint of a gentle smile was evident on her face. At the same time, she winked cheekily at the young man and asked, "What brings you here?"
"I have some items I want you to appraise," Xu Min said directly. His voice never shook and his eyes looked straight at the woman's eyes without blinking. He did not show any signs of blushing either. There were no signs of discomfort or reactions to her actions. This was something which caused the woman to almost explode with anger. Meeting a guy who was capable of completely ignoring her benefits was simply too frustrating.
"If you have items to appraise, I am sure these people are capable of helping you," she said. The gentle smile still remained on her lips as she refused to admit defeat.
"I know," Xu Min responded as he looked at the desks. His eyes scanned the surroundings and noticed that many of the clerks were glaring at him. They were clearly dissatisfied with the attention that Xu Min was getting from their local beauty.
"I need somewhere I can display my item. Somewhere with no sunshine," Xu Min said straightforwardly. His words caused the woman to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"Somewhere with no sunshine you said?" the woman continued and Xu Min nodded his head. The beauty asked slowly while her hand slowly tapped her chin. After a few moments, her beautiful face turned into a big smile which beamed towards Xu Min. Any human would feel their hearts beating slightly faster from such a smile.
"Something that cannot take sunshine surely has made me curious," the woman continued. "Please follow me. I have a wonderful room where I can personally make sure to appraise your item for the right price."
"Then I will take you up on the offer," Xu Min said with a gentle smile on his face as he had managed to calm his beating heart. Without further ado, he followed the beautiful woman in front of him. She turned around and walked back the way she had come from.
Following behind the beauty, they left the pavilion and behind it was a large building. It was a the center of the management of the Alluring Treasure Pavilion.
Following the beauty, Xu Min noticed that this building was not created by translucent white jade much like the pavilion itself. Instead, it was build from red stones. Within the many rooms in the hub, the beauty went for a specific one in particular.
"Please enter," she said with an alluring voice. She gladly held the door for the young customer. Her eyes batted at him which caused the young man to sigh deep within.
It was neither that Xu Min did not appreciate the beauty in front of him nor was he unfazed by her behaviour. The reason for his actions was that the young man had often seen that the people around him had become his enemies. His old teacher that he looked up to for years on ends was a prime example. Xu Min simply had no room for other people within his heart. It did not matter how beautiful they were.
Strutting past Xu Min, the woman walked towards a desk where she sat down and gestured for Xu Min to sit across from her. The young man quickly followed her gesture and sat down.
With a gesture of her hand, the windows suddenly were blocked from all light. The room emanated a light glow as only a few candlelights were keeping it lit. This was something which seemed natural because many sellers wished to stay anonymous.
Looking at the woman who was curiously observing him, and with a sigh, the young man opened his bag and with a stealthy move, withdrew one Yearning Sunflower while skillfully hiding the rest of the contents within his bag. He had long since learnt that showing off his wealth was not recommended.
The eyes of the woman instantly widened as she saw the Yearning Sunflower. She was incredibly familiar with the flower as she had sold one just the night before, and knowing the sunflower, she also knew how much it was worth. It was definitely not what she had expected to see the young man withdraw.
Clearing her throat, the young woman sneaked a glance at the young man who had leaned back against the chair. His eyes were calm and a smirk was on his face. Xu Min felt a weird satisfaction for stunning the woman who had done everything in her power to entrance him.
"This is… a Yearning Sunflower?" She said it as a question. But without giving him the time to respond, she picked up the flower in her hands. She looked at it from every angle and in every nook and cranny while her face grew more and more astonished.
"This is indeed a Yearning Sunflower," she said with an amazed sigh. Only after a moment did she finally manage to pick herself back up. Her gaze was shifted back to the young man in front of her and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I assume the Yearning Sunflower from yesterday also appeared from that bag of yours," she said with a gentle and thoughtful voice. "I have a fairly good guess that you have more than this one sunflower, is that correct?"
Without answering, all Xu Min did was shrug. He had no interest in telling this vixen exactly how much wealth and how many sunflowers he had.
"This Yearning Sunflower is all that I have for sale right now," he said. He neither confirmed nor denied her claim. The woman could do nothing but sigh.
"What do you want for this flower? I assume you are not just interested in selling it for some petty coin," she continued. She had seen the entertained look on the youngster's face the night before. It was clear that he was not moved by money so the vixen had no other ideas as to what could move this cold young man in front of her. She had no other option than to ask him directly.
"I am willing to trade it," Xu Min started. He spoke slowly and each word was clearly heard within the dark room. The woman leaned forward in the chair. For some reason, she held her breath while her eyes were glued to the young man in front of her.
"What I need is not beautiful flowers such as this one," Xu Min continued. "What I want is quite simple. I want medicinal pills which are created for the Early Stage Warriors."
Hearing this the woman could not help but frown. "This is it?" She asked feeling anticlimactic. "You are willing to trade a Yearning Sunflower for something as useless as medicinal pills for Early Stage Warriors? You're not even going to ask for some for the Advanced Stage? You should be able to trade the sunflower for one of such pills."
Before she was capable of stopping herself, the words had already come out of her mouth. She realized it was already too late to take back her words. Cursing at herself, the woman swore that she needed to be more on guard when speaking with such a level headed young man.
"I'm not interested in Advanced Stage Warrior pills," he said calmly. His words caused the woman to once more feel relieved. Getting the Yearning Sunflower for cheap pills would be a great accomplishment.
Usually, she managed to get her items cheaper than other appraisals within the store as she was capable of playing on her beauty. In this current transaction, her beauty had no usage whatsoever. She had already accepted that the price she had to pay for this Yearning Sunflower would be extremely high. Who would have known that he was willing to sell it for such a cheap price?
Hearing this, the woman once more became ecstatic. "I'll sell it to you for a box with a hundred medicinal pills of various sort aimed at the Early Stage Warrior rank."
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Chapter 27: Purchase Complete
"A hundred medicinal pills of various sorts? All of them aimed at Early Stage Warriors?" Xu Min frowned as he heard the answer. Although the offer seemed incredibly good and he was truly very excited, he was still uncertain about the "various sorts" that was mentioned. Although he was looking for medicinal pills, he was not looking for the kind that healed injuries. He was looking for the kind that either replenished his internal energy after it was depleted or the kind that helped increase the amount of energy of the heavens and the earth one could absorb and refine.
Seeing how he was frowning, the woman in front of him was taken aback. Most people would have instantly accepted the offer she had made; however, this strange young man was clearly not pleased with the offer she had given. She could not help but curse at herself for her greed.
She had indeed intended to give him medicinal pills that were used for healing or for replenishing energy. However, the more expensive ones that were used to improve cultivation bases were medicines that she had no intention of handing over if she had any way of avoiding it.
The price of the flower was definitely enough to cover a hundred pills of the highest class. The woman wished to get it for the cheapest price but she now regretted it.
Unfortunately, it was obvious that this young man had found a flaw in her offer and the woman was unhappy with herself for having been greedy. Although she was unhappy, the smile on her face had never vanished; her outside appearance never once displayed her true feelings.
"The medicinal pills will obviously be a mixture that will improve your cultivation base and replenish your energy of the heavens and the earth." she said. Her smile grew as she saw that the frown on the young man's face was replaced by a smile. Although she herself was partly feeling sour, she was also excited.
If she had been too greedy, she would without a doubt have lost the whole transaction of the Yearning Sunflower. It was a sale she could not afford to mess up. Thus, she quickly sold the more expensive pills to the young man who now looked satisfied.
"Buying medicinal pills like those would be my greatest pleasure," Xu Min said as his face was filled with a cheeky smile. The woman could not help but feel that although it was a good deal, she had been robbed.
With her beauty, she was used to the seller accepting her bid no matter how bad it was for them. However, this young man had made her question her own beauty; at the same time, pay a fair price for a flower. This was something that she had never experienced before and it made her feel slightly confused as to who this young master could be.
Looking at his clothes, he was obviously from a family with money. But when thinking about all the different families within Ri Chu City, she came to a conclusion that he did not fit into any of them. Could he perhaps be a traveller? But travellers usually wore worn clothes. They would neither be this young nor would they be interested in medicinal pills. They would be interested in hard, cold cash instead.
While the woman was quite curious about the young man, she refused to display any of it on the outside. With a teasing wink, she left the room to pick up the medicinal pills she had agreed to trade for the Yearning Sunflower.
Waiting patiently in the room, Xu Min was growing increasingly impatient as he wished to rush back home and experience just how efficient these medicinal pills were. He knew that these medications were the reason why the young master was capable of keeping up with his cultivation back in his hometown. He, as a servant boy, had only eaten one medicinal herb once before and that was the one his sister had provided for him.
Although he had a bag filled with medicinal herbs, he did not know anything about them or about what kind of effect they would have on him. He was aware that some medicinal plants were even poisonous before they were refined. He had no wish to gamble his life. Trading the flowers for the sake of medicinal pills seemed to be the most efficient way for him to increase his cultivation base.
Having waited for around fifteen minutes, Xu Min looked at the door as the beauty walked through. In her hand was a massive case and within the case were rows of beautiful medicinal of many colours.
Looking at these pills, a gleam of excitement appeared within Xu Min's black eyes that usually never displayed any of his emotions. The young man had long since learnt well how to completely conceal his emotions. What went on within him was one of the reasons for the woman to be completely incapable of reading him.
However, the joy he felt when he accepted the medicinal pills was astonishing. Even he, who usually concealed everything perfectly, was incapable of completely hiding the excitement that was growing within him.
His excitement did not pass by the beautiful woman. She felt quite disatisfied that the thing that caused him to show interest was not her or her beauty, but medicinal pills. In the end, this told her that this young man lived and breathed for the sake of cultivating.
The woman once more glanced at the young man who had handed her the Yearning Sunflower as he accepted the case filled with medicinal pills. As she glanced at him, she looked at the bag by his side. She noticed that it seemed to be filled with items.
She understood that this young man most likely possessed more treasures. So, she came to the conclusion that befriending him was in no way a bad idea even if he was not interested in her beauty. She let go of all her pride and leaned forward while clasping her hands to slightly bow to the young man.
Seeing this, Xu Min was taken aback. He had long since understood that this woman was used to get by on her beauty alone. However, now she had no air of haughtiness or arrogance. Instead, she was incredibly polite.
"My name is Yong Meilin," the woman said as she had bowed to the man. Her face was gentle and her voice bore no sign of the previous haughtiness. "Should you have any more items you wish to sell, then come and tell them that you need to speak with Yong Meilin. I'll make sure to give you favourable prices. When you are in a need to buy anything, call for me and I'll find it for you at the best price."
Hearing the words, Xu Min was taken aback. Since he was shown with respect and friendliness, he returned the gesture. He clasped his hands and bowed slightly. Although he was incapable of trusting humans, he knew how to repay kindness as the woman was being very kind. This relationship could be of great importance for him later on, should he be in need of help to purchase more pills.
"My name is Xu Min," the man introduced himself. Usually the seller would never give away their name and would be anonymous while dealing with a sale. However, Xu Min decided to be friendly instead. His name caused the woman to have a ponderous expression on her face. She was no longer hiding anything.
Her ponderous expression came from the fact that she knew nothing about this young man and that she never heard about a Xu Min before. So the only conclusion that she could draw was that he was indeed a traveller. Either he had travelled to the city recently or he was giving a fake name.
Having greeted one another, Xu Min once more nodded towards the woman. He proceeded to turn around and leave the room. He exited the building and stepped out onto the street. Now that his bag was filled with the case of pills, he rushed back towards the inn.
'How did you do it?' Xu Min asked Cao Cao as they made their way home. The snake was smug as it was coiled around his neck.
'Do what?' He asked with a teasing tone as he was clearly eager to hear Xu Min praising him. The young man did just that as he knew that it would make the snake be in a better mood.
'During this entire time at the Alluring Treasure Pavilion, nobody and not even that woman Meilin noticed that you were coiled around my neck. Are you able to vanish?'
Smiling happily, the snake shook its head. Suddenly, everyone around Xu Min were definitely able to see the snake that was coiled around his neck. The glances sent his way were not few.
'It's Shroud of Shadows,' the snake said, 'I'm a demon beast, and the older I get, the more skills I learn. Demon beasts can't learn martial art skills; what we learn are inborn abilities that we unlock the older we get.'
'I am only around fifty years old, so I only have around five different abilities I can use,' Cao Cao said with a downcast expression. Xu Min was deeply taken aback to know that the childish snake that constantly spoke about food was so much older than he himself.
'So what is this Shroud of Shadows thing?' Xu Min asked curiously. He did not know much about the different demon beasts so all the info he could get was something that for which he was very grateful.
'Shroud of Shadows is more or less a camouflage ability,' Cao Cao said enthusiastically, 'I can become one with any shadow and hide myself so that no one can see me. That is, as long as they are not specialised in the same sort of abilities as I am.'
'So you can hide in any shadow?' Xu Min asked, astonished. He was greatly amazed by the ability to become nothing. It was also an ability that he was capable of using later on.
'Then, can you tell me about your other abilities?' Xu Min asked curiously. Cao Cao shook his head. 'Sorry,' he said with a smirk on his face. 'I might tell you after a scrumptious dinner though!'
Hearing this, Xu Min could not help but laugh at the small snake and nod his head. He had already been given information that he could use later on while encountering demonic beasts in the future.
Arriving at the inn, Xu Min once more ordered a feast to be sent to his room. Before he went up the stairs and sat down on his bed, he finally picked up the box of medicinal pills.
Two-thirds of the pills were all red while one-third were silver. The red pills were meant for increasing his cultivation base. The silver ones were for replenishing his energy if it was low after a fight or even mid-battle.
Xu Min had a pride of his own; however, he was willing to do almost anything as his survival was crucial for him to be capable of taking his revenge. If taking medicinal pills during a battle was needed, then he would definitely be using his pills that way.
After the food arrived in the room, Cao Cao ate all the food he could while Xu Min ate just a small portion as usual. Having eaten, Xu Min sat down on the bed as his eyes focused completely on the box in front of him. An uncontrollable smile adorned his face as he picked up one of the red pills from within the box and slowly placed it in his mouth. He felt how it melted on the tongue and pure energy flooded down his throat.
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Chapter 28: Balancing Energies
Xu Min looked at the box of medicinal pills in front of him. With a hesitating and slow hand, he picked up one of the red pills and slowly placed one inside his mouth. He felt it as it melted on his tongue. An overwhelming amount of pure energy seemed to fill his mouth and slowly flow down his throat. It continued to flow until it had reached the dantian which was just below his navel.
The dantian was the place where one stored the mist-like energy known as Qi. This was the energy that came from refining the essence of the heavens and the earth.
This energy that had just entered Xu Min's body was not refined Qi. Instead, it seemed to be something that allowed for all the pores within his body to increase its absorptivity to suck in the energy of the heavens and the earth. This allowed for a flood of essence to enter his body and float throughout the meridians before it finally became fully refined. The Qi would then settle together with the rest of the energy within the dantian cave.
Xu Min had been an early stage One-Star Warrior by the time he had eaten the first pill. As he ate it, he sat down on the bed, closed his eyes and started to meditate. He wanted to use the effects of the pills to their absolute maximum potential.
Seated like this, Xu Min was astonished. He was filled with veneration for how strong these medications truly were. One pill alone took around seven hours of nonstop cultivation before the effects were to stop working. Xu Min found himself shocked when he felt that his cultivation base had increased to that of the middle stage One-Star Warrior. As soon as he stood up, Xu Min felt rather queasy. His body was bursting with energy but unfortunately, the energy felt as though it was bursting out from his body. The speed that he had absorbed the energy had left his body feeling slightly uncomfortable. Had it not been for the fact that he had the physique of a Two-Star Warrior, he would have been feeling much worse by now.
Pondering about this for a while, Xu Min finally stood up and lifted a hand to the air. His hand expanded and glowed with a pearly white aura. It took up the entire ceiling of the room. By using the energy that was stacking inside of him, it caused the young man to feel much more comfortable. It was as though an overfilled balloon finally managed to let go of some air.
But even though some of the energy had been released, Xu Min still felt uncomfortable. He needed to balance his cultivation stance. However, he was uncertain as to where he should be doing this. Standing within the hotel room, it was obvious that training the two stances he knew would end up destroying the room. This would not allow him to continue his training.
Gritting his teeth, Xu Min made his way down the stairs of the inn. Cao Cao curiously coiled on Xu Min's throat as he found the entire process interesting. Now that Xu Min felt how more and more energy was clashing inside him, his eyes darkened with displeasure.
Only now did he understand that the young master most likely vented to Xu Min as a reason to let go of the extra energy stored within his body.
Running through town, Xu Min hoped to come across a brawl somewhere. However, he was unable to find any and eventually found himself in front of the Alluring Treasure Pavilion. Sighing deeply, he looked at the location once more. He wondered whether or not to ask for assistance, but he quickly decided not to. He did not wish to owe that woman anything so he made his way away from the Alluring Treasure Pavilion. As he was about to leave, he noticed that the building next to the pavilion was lit up and people were flooding in through the open gates.
Looking at the building, Xu Min frowned slightly but he quickly shrugged as he moved towards it. His curiosity piqued as he slipped into the stream of people.
Once more, an entrance fee was required to be paid. This place had the same feeling as the Alluring Treasure Pavilion yet did not looked the same.
This sturdy building was neither as elaborately adorned nor was it filled with powerful guards. Yet, everyone suddenly decided to enter this building much like they had the previous night when they were trying to enter the Alluring Treasure Pavilion.
Paying the entrance fee, Xu Min looked around only to see that the entire building was filled with small arenas. Within these arenas, experts were battling each other. Many different martial art skills were visible throughout the entire building and ripples of energy were constantly distorting the air.
Looking at this place, Xu Min was completely flabbergasted. He was astonished because what he needed the most had appeared right in front of him. After scanning his surroundings, he quickly found a place where he could sign up to participate in the fights. There was another place where he could bet on the ones he thought would win too.
Walking towards the registration counter, Xu Min could not help but see how a beautiful woman was attracting the attention of many men both young and old alike. Having looked at her, he found out that it was Yong Meilin. With a grimace, he hid behind other cultivators who rustled towards the counter to sign up for the battles.
As he reached the counter, Xu Min found that one would only fight depending on the rank he was and each win had a cash prize. The more popular a fighter became, the more they would get paid upon winning. One could only participate in five battles a day. When one reached a hundred consecutive wins, the reigning winner would become a champion and receive special benefits alongside a larger cash prize.
Xu Min was not keen on the cash prize, but was interested in the fact that he could absorb medicinal pills. Afterwards, he could come here and use up the incredible and overwhelming pent-up energy.
"Hello, I'm a One-Star Warrior,' the young man said. His words caused many people around him to stare at him with shocked expressions. He was clearly still very young and his face still had a childish look to it. To hear such a young child say that he was a One-Star Warrior caused great shock as the majority would not reach that rank before the age of thirty. Geniuses would reach it by the age of twenty, but only the geniuses had access to medicinal pills. They were the only ones who had the ability to become Warriors of the First Rank before they turned twenty.
"You are a One-Star Warrior?" the clerk asked doubtfully. But as soon as he saw the young man's nod, he no longer continued asking. Instead, he provided an iron medallion with the number two hundred and seventy one.
"You will find the battle schedule over there," the man said. He pointed towards a wall where there was a list of names which were placed against each other and a small mark saying which one of the many arenas the battle would be held on.
Having accepted the mark, Xu Min instantly went towards the wall which was filled with numbers and arenas. Looking at the wall, there were three men constantly replacing the old numbers with new numbers and writing the winning side on one of the columns to the sides.
Making his way over here, the young man did everything he could to avoid Yong Meilin. Although he had ended last night on friendly terms with the woman, he still had no urge to try and proceed to create a better relationship with her. He was more than satisfied with what he had already seen of the beautiful woman.
Looking at the wall, Xu Min had to wait for some time before his number finally appeared. As he looked at it, he saw that he was up against a combatant who had already won three battles this evening. Seeing this, the young black-haired man felt a tinge of excitement grow inside of him. This sparked an urge to fight and put his life on the line while improving his cultivation base. Although he felt like putting his life on the line, he knew that he could not jeopardize his life for something as small as an arena match.
There were two ways to lose within the arena. One was to lose one's life and die and the other was to forfeit. Should Xu Min be in a situation where he was to die, forfeiting was without a doubt was the dishonorable way he would go. His mindset was much like the majority of the cultivators present.
Walking towards the arena, it became harder and harder to move behind other people to hide from Yong Meilin. She was fortunately quite busy watching the Fifth and Sixth Ranked Warriors do battle.
Having finished one game, the beautiful woman went towards the betting area to collect her winnings. She bet on another game when her eyes were caught by the letters spelling out Xu Min's name. The name rung out through her memory and the figure of a quite young but very mysterious person appeared in her mind. Looking at the arena he was about to fight in, Yong Meilin stared and her eyes narrowed as she instantly recognized the young man clad in black.
"I wish to bet all of this on Xu Min," she said to the broker and handed over all her winnings from the previous rounds. As to why she was certain of his victory she did not know, but from deep inside, it felt as though she was certain that he would not lose.
It was still some time before it was Xu Min's turn to battle. He too narrowed his eyes as he saw how Yong Meilin was on her way towards him. She had ditched her group of men who were all courting her to meet up with the young man. Xu Min could already feel a headache coming his way.
"Master Xu, I never expected to see you around here," Yong Meilin said with her clear and beautiful voice. She reminded Xu Min of a clear summer sky with no clouds in sight. She was as bright as the sun that shone its light upon the world and enlightened all with its warmth.
Xu Min was not the only one who heard the alluring voice. Everyone around him heard it too. Any Warrior of Rank Five or above heard it as their senses sharpened through countless battles and years of training.
Being greeted like this from Yong Meilin caused many of the surrounding men to look at this young Master Xu. They all gave anything but friendly glances towards his way. Even Warriors of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Rank were glaring at him and waited to see how he would respond.
Looking at all of them, Xu Min could not help but snort in contempt. Although Yong Meilin was incredibly beautiful, her personality was still lacking. Xu Min was in a foul mood for having been noticed by her.
"Well if it isn't Lady Yong," he said with a smile plastered on his face. "I never thought I would see you here," he continued. His eyes darkened slightly and his smile changed from a gentle smile to a snicker. "I have to thank you for last night. It truly was exquisite. You took so much time out of your busy schedule just to please me. I've never been as filled with energy as I am now. I only have you to thank for this miraculous transformation within my body."
Every word he said was said with a clear voice; however, he never spoke too loudly. He didn't need to speak loudly as everyone could strain their hearing to hear his words. The words he spoke boomed in the ears of the ultimate experts. Even Yong Meilin was beet red in her face as she heard the words he had spoken. Who would have imagined that he would have said words like these.
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Chapter 29: Punishment
Three of the Five-Star Warriors within the hall stood up and started walking towards Xu Min while everyone around him had stepped backwards. All of their faces were filled with admiration, jealousy, and complete shock.
Yong Meilin was standing there right next to Xu Min. Her intention had just been to tease him, but hearing the words spoken from the young boy, how could she? It would just make what he said even more real. Although he had not lied, he had indeed chosen some wrong words and caused her cheeks to flush even further. Xu Min's intention was to scare her away and currently he seemed to be successful in his endeavour.
It was impossible for her to reject what he had said, so she just stood there next to him with a flushed face and downcast eyes. She dared not to look at anyone around them. Anyone who looked at her would see that she was not rejecting what he said.
"You!" A voice suddenly boomed out from within the hall. A large man stood up from the seats of the champions. These seats were reserved for those who had managed to consecutively win a hundred times. He took large strides towards Xu Min and Yong Meilin. However, just as he was about to touch Xu Min, a green light flashed towards the man and then back to Xu Min's neck.
Two seconds later, a gurgling sound could be heard. The large man had blood and foam falling from his mouth while his hands clutched his neck. Another two seconds went by and the man collapsed on the floor with his eyes open and devoid of all life.
Seeing this, the entire arena was silent. The man was a Four-Star Warrior and had won his hundred battles in the arena. He was known to be the strongest of all the Four-Star Warriors, but here he was dead on the floor. He was seemingly killed by a One-Star Warrior who didn't break a sweat.
'Cheers, Cao Cao,' Xu Min thought. 'I'll make sure to get you all your favourites tonight,'
'No worries,' the snake replied, 'I loved what you said to that woman. She deserves it with the way she swaggered around with those hips of hers. Humph humph, you did well. I am proud of you!'
Hearing this, Xu Min could not help but chuckle. The chuckling seemed a bit odd because he had just killed someone who was far stronger than he himself was.
"You there!" Another yell sounded out; however, this time it was not a Warrior but instead a guard.
"What do you think you are doing? Killing members of this arena without inside is a penalty. This makes it impossible for you to participate in any arena matches for the next month unless someone challenges you!" the man said with a heavy voice. Xu Min rose an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected some kind of punishment; however, he thought that this was too lenient.
"Well… In that case, I have nothing to do here any longer," he sighed as he turned around to get ready to go back to his inn. As he left Yong Meilin's side, a group of cultivators surrounded him. All of them stared at him with jealousy and hate in their eyes as they cracked knuckles, and showed no signs of letting him go.
The experts that had surrounded him were all One-Star and Two-Star Warriors. None of the higher ranked Warriors wished to participate in the battle. The speed of the attack that had killed the Four-Star Warrior had been so swift that they had not even been capable of seeing it. This warned them that they too would die if he could use the same attack once more.
'You know, it's striking me how disliked you really are,' Cao Cao said with a teasing voice. 'Your hometown has given a bounty for killing you. The people we met within the forest were quite keen on killing you. Now, all these guys want to kill you too.'
'Oh f*k it,' Xu Min said back. 'I feed you lots of food so you deal with the highest ranked of them. I'll deal with the lower ranked ones.'
As soon as Xu Min had said the final sentence, he stomped the ground hard. By borrowing the force of the impact, he shot towards the first One-Star Warrior. He grabbed him around the collar and he lifted him up only to smash his head down into the floor. A cracking sound could be heard as the skull caved inwards and blood started to stream on the ground.
As soon as the first person had died, the trance that had been around the remaining cultivators instantly vanished. Soon, they started fighting for their lives.
Xu Min was feeling terrific. He had been filled with pent-up energy from the medicinal pill; however, he was now capable of finally letting it go and used it to sharpen his senses. He jumped away from them all and entered the Radiant Jade Shower Stance. Suddenly, thousands of jade shards appeared behind him. As his hand stretched out and clenched, the numerous shards shot forward with the speed of light. They buried themselves inside the bodies of his opponents and caused multiple wounds.
While they were wounded, Xu Min once more stomped on the ground and shot toward two One-Star Warriors. He caught them around the collar and smashed the two against the ground.
While he was busy dealing with the lower ranked Warriors, a green flash could be seen moving from one of the high ranked expert to the next. Everywhere the green flash went, death would follow. No matter how much the experts of the fifth rank and above tried to catch a glimpse of the green flash, it did not help much.
Soon, everyone who had been there to hold Xu Min back had now died. Now, he looked towards the guard who had been there before. He sighed, "Is it accumulative or can I return within the next month?"
The guard was completely stunned, but he eventually stuttered that one month was all. He could return after then.
Hearing this, Xu Min nodded politely towards the man and winked at Yong Meilin who glared at him. Even though she was glaring, her face had become increasingly hot once more. This made her seem more adorable than ever before.
Suddenly, the woman came to her senses and instantly rushed after the young man who was about to leave the hall. Her face was still red and her breathing was somewhat ragged, but she was still quick in catching up to the young man. She grabbed his hand and dragged him with her out of the arena hall.
As soon as they entered the darkness outside, Xu Min had planned on dragging his hand back. However, he suddenly felt an immense sense of danger and instantly dodged an attack. He saw three experts appearing behind him and Yong Meilin.
'We might be in for some real trouble now,' Cao Cao said with a quiet voice. His body was once more camouflaged against Xu Min's neck. When even the snake said that they were likely to be beaten, it was not a good sign.
Xu Min's face turned grim, his eyes turned dark, and his body became alert. His senses were sharpened as he observed the three men in front of him. Just as he was about to estimate their strength, Yong Meilin waved her hand and four experts appeared from around the area. All of them stood in front of the beautiful woman and Xu Min.
"Oh my, Xiao Lei, Han Shi, and Wu Weisheng, what are the three of you doing here?" Yong Meilin asked with her most alluring voice. Her personality turned back to that of a vixen as her act made Xu Min roll his eyes at her. However, he said nothing and just looked at what was happening around him. He stayed vigilant albeit feeling that the danger had passed.
The four experts that had appeared out of nowhere were clearly protecting Yong Meilin. For some reason that Xu Min was incapable of truly understanding, the woman seemed to protect him for some unknown reason.
Yong Meilin was indeed planning something as her face was adorned by a sly smile. She quickly grabbed Xu Min's hand and glared at the three men in front of her. All three were stunned by this sudden display of affection, even Xu Min was slightly taken aback.
"For what reason are you following behind us and even ambushing my good friend? Had he not jumped to the side, he would have died by now!" Yong Meilin said with an indignant voice.
The three men were all stunned from hearing her words. Everything they saw seemed to make the words spoken by Yong Meilin even easier to be misunderstood.
Many other experts had exited the arena hall and observed what was happening. Xu Min was just following the flow and allowed Yong Meilin to drag him around, hold his hand, and play a worried friend.
The four experts who were protecting Yong Meilin were all glaring at Xu Min. In addition, the entire male body that was standing behind her waited to see what would happen afterwards.
Sighing deeply, Xu Min was about to drag his hand back and get ready to go back to the inn. However, the woman squeezed his hand and held him back. The whole misunderstanding was started by Xu Min himself. So, he decided to see it through as he appeared to be carelessly observing anything happening around him as though it had nothing to do with him.
To be honest, he was quite confident in his ability to survive. Even if Cao Cao was incapable of killing these high ranked experts, the two of them together should be able to run away from the danger. It was highly likely than they would all underestimate him. None of them were capable of understanding how a One-Star Warrior could have the physique of a Two-Star Warrior.
Although he had understood that he could run away, he eventually came to the conclusion that it was not needed. Finally, the crowd vanished and allowed for Xu Min to stand alone with Yong Meilin. The two stared at each other as though they were battling purely on their will alone.
Both of them did not speak for a long time. They just stood there looking at one another. Finally, after a long time, a sigh broke the silence as Yong Meilin finally looked away.
"Come with me to the Alluring Treasure Pavilion and stay with us for a short while," she said with a self-mocking smile. "You will be wanted by a lot of jealous men, so let me help you to a safe location."
Hearing this, Xu Min considered the offer for a moment. He pondered slightly before he nodding his head and accepting the offer. Although he could escape, he had no interest in living on the run anymore. So, he smirked as he followed behind the beautiful woman because he felt the multiple gazes hidden in the shadows directed at him but acted as though he felt nothing. Xu Min vanished within the beautiful Alluring Treasure Pavilion. He was enjoying himself as he was once more looking at the very beautiful woman in front of him.
Staying within this Alluring Treasure Pavilion, Xu Min could only smile. It seemed as though he had found a good location to hide while he increased his cultivation base.
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Chapter 30: The Yong Family
Following behind Yong Meilin, Xu Min looked around at his surroundings. The beautiful woman had dragged him by the hand through the pavilion. They travelled through the building in the back and finally to an area located behind the building. This was an area where a great deal of small houses were situated. All of them had small courtyards outside and guards were patrolling the area.
"This is the humble abode of the Yong Clan," Yong Meilin said as she still held Xu Min by his hand. She led him further into the maze of streets and alleys towards a small one story house where she finally let go of his hand.
"You can stay here for now," she said with her gentle voice. With a flick of her hand, a set of keys appeared from the pouch which hung around her waist. Seeing the curious look on Xu Min's face, Yong Meilin could not help but chuckle slightly. She felt very satisfied with herself for having something that caused the young man to be interested.
Yong Meilin was as old as Xu Min. However, she seemed much more mature as she had grown up within a family of merchants. She had learnt during her childhood that the more mysterious you were, the more attractive you could become and the better you would do. Yet, here was a man who had appeared to be unaffected by her. Somehow, he had triggered an interest from the beautiful woman.
Seeing that Yong Meiling was deep in thought, Xu Min looked at the keys in his hands. He quickly entered the building and found a place where he could sit down and meditate. He had to find a way to let go of all the overflowing energy from when he ate a medicinal pill.
Xu Min was unaware about what determined the capacity of the energy from the medicinal pill he had been absorbed. The energy floated through the meridians and veins within the body. It was the strength of the body that determined how much extra energy it would be able to handle. Someone who had trained his body from the day he was born had a great advantage over the young masters who had never before trained their bodies.
This was also the reason why the young master of the Zhong family had been capable of keeping up with Xu Min. He had undergone the same physical training as the servants to become strong. His body was well nurtured and looked after by the Zhong family.
Having such a strong body and eating medicinal herbs allowed for a stronger effect. This was the same feeling that Xu Min was experiencing now.
Having found the building that was filled with Arenas, Xu Min felt slightly disappointment that he could not go there again for a full month. However, he had already waited this long so enduring for one more month was doable.
Thinking like this, Xu Min sat down on a bed that was inside the house. He closed his eyes as he started cultivating. The snake around his neck slithered down and placed itself within his lap where it once more coiled into a round circle. Its eyelids closed which allowed for the small snake to fall into a deep sleep.
"Little Meilin, I heard some crude gossip about you from the Hall of Champions," an elderly man said as he looked at the beautiful woman who was standing right in front of him.
"Grandpa, it's the young man whom I've relocated over to our own guest wing." she started. Her voice had none of the usual haughtiness or arrogance. Her entire personality was incredibly respectful towards the elder.
"He is the one who has provided both of the Yearning Sunflowers and I am of the impression that he possesses even more legendary herbs. Not only that, he managed to kill the first champion of the Four-Star Warriors without moving. Later on, I was sure the attack he used was the legendary Falling Night Sky."
Hearing these words, the elderly man narrowed his eyes and looked at the girl. He was determining whether or not she was lying. As he saw that she was completely honest with him, the elderly man could not help but sigh.
"The medicinal herbs I can understand. He must have come across a patch of good fortune on his way towards this city. As for killing the first of the fourth champions, he must possess some treasure which allows for him to kill opponents that are stronger than him. However, I imagine that it only works once or twice and that he too must pay a great price in order to use it. As for the Falling Night Sky, I refuse to believe it. It must have been a cheap trick. There is only one person who can execute the Fallen Night Sky and he had died millenias ago."
The man was quiet for some time as he contemplated, "We cannot steal from our customers. Our reputation is clean and we wish to keep it this way. If he truly possesses more of these legendary herbs, then it is indeed beneficial for us to befriend him and get him to sell them through us. Also, he must be quite a talented child to be able to withstand your beauty. I will go and visit him tomorrow."
Having said that, Yong Meilin was very well aware that she was dismissed. With a deep bow, she left the office. Yong Meilin headed towards her own courtyard with mixed feelings swirling around inside of her.
For one, she wished for the young man to stay. She wished to get to know him a bit better and hear what his story was like. She wanted to hear about how the world was on the outside of the city. But at the same time, her pride told her that she was the one who had men dancing to her song. She did not follow other men like a cheap girl would.
While Yong Meilin was filled with mixed emotions, Xu Min was feeling great as he was seated within the room. His eyes closed and golden specks of light surrounded him. They enveloped him in a golden gleam, almost like a blanket.
The young boy was fully absorbed in refining the essence of the heavens and the earth. He was invested in her cultivation so much that he did not show any signs of noticing that the door to the small building had opened. A person stepped inside the room.
Looking around, the elderly man was curious as he sat down on a chair. He quickly noticed that the young man had touched almost nothing within the house. All that he had touched was the bed with which was where he was currently cultivating.
Upon closer inspection, he also noticed the sleeping snake which was asleep on his lap. The small snake instantly gave the elderly man a chill down his spine. His eyes widened in surprise and he no longer stayed within the room to observe the meditating young man. Instead, he instantly rushed outside.
As the older man left the house, Xu Min opened one eye narrowly. A smirk appeared on his face as he gently padded the sleeping snake in his lap. How could someone who has been on high alert the majority of his life not notice when someone enters his room? Even if that someone is a higher ranked warrior, Xu Min will always notice it unless he used special items to conceal his aura.
Ensuring that the old man did not enter once more, Xu Min stayed awake without cultivating for roughly an hour. The only thing he could see was the moonlight cascading down through the window. After the hour had passed, he no longer bothered wasting more time. Once more, he entered the cultivation trance and his body once more became completely relaxed as golden specks of light appeared around him.
"Grandpa? Why did you call for me?" Yong Meilin asked confusedly as she was standing in front of her grandfather within the room once more. She had never before been fetched by a guard from her grandfather in the middle of the night. As to why, this was something she could never imagine.
"This young man is not so ordinary as I thought," the elderly man said with a pondering look upon his face. "He is in possession of a green snake. Green snakes are valuable and all of them are born with the strength of the Third Star. If I am guessing correctly, then this snake is at least a snake of the fourth star. It is obvious that this snake was the cause of the death of the Four-Star Warrior earlier that day."
"But Grandpa, what does this have to do with me?" Yong Meilin asked curiously but the elderly man just shook his head and sighed deeply, "You are the one who has brought him to the Yong family. He is indeed a rare gem. He is already a Warrior of the First Star, but he is not even twenty years of age yet. He even has a green snake with him. Although I am incapable of truly determining what kind of snake he is, it is a great benefit to the young man. He is also likely to have more herbs. Your job is to make him feel comfortable. If you manage to make him fall for you then that would be even better. I have no idea where such a talented youth could have appeared from but we can use him."
Yong Melin was stunned as she heard what her grandfather had said. After a short while, she nodded her head. She was a member of the younger generation of the Yong Clan. It was her responsibility that the Alluring Treasure Pavilion and the Hall of Champions were flourishing. If that meant that she had to spend a lot of time on this mysterious young man, then so be it.
"That was it for tonight. Tomorrow, convince the young man to enter the town with you. We cannot allow for him to leave the city just because he cannot join the Hall of Champions for a month. We need to keep him here in Ri Chu City. I am leaving him to you to take care of," the elderly man finished. He stood up and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The grandfather gave her a small squeeze as a way of wishing her good luck. Before he left the office, there was a stunned and confused young woman who slowly came to her senses left behind.
The only reason that she had invited Xu Min inside was because of his potential. She had seen great potential of both business and cultivation wise when it came to this young boy. After hearing her grandfather's assessment of him, she was still thoroughly shocked.
Looking at the empty office she was standing in, Yong Meilin left the room dazed. Her brain was working in highest gear as she wondered how to change the first hand impression Xu Min had of her.She was thinking how she could con the young man to stay within the Alluring Treasure Pavilion.
Gritting her teeth, she felt as though something dangerous was approaching her from the shadows. A shiver ran down her spine and she looked towards the location where she had left Xu Min. A desire to run over and see how he was doing was pulling at her. Eventually, she forced herself back to her own home. Her heart was clearly affected.
While Yong Meilin was feeling worried, Xu Min was focused fully on cultivation. His eyes closed as he felt the essence of the heavens and the earth enter his body. He was completely unaware of the conversation which had transpired between Yong Meilin and her grandfather.
Although he had noticed the elderly man, Xu Min had no way of knowing who he was. Since he did not know the old man's identity, the young man paid no attention towards him. Moving to the Alluring Treasure Pavilion was definitely done for the sake of protecting him. Xu Min was certain that what truly had made Yong Min assist him was the pouch filled with herbs alongside whatever the ability he had used to kill the Four-Star Warrior.
Knowing that Yong Meilin intended to use him and his abilities, Xu Min saw no reason as to why he should not use her in return. Being under the protection of the Alluring Treasure Pavilion was something which could help him greatly. No one would dare to touch him when he had such a large faction backing him.
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Chapter 31: Visiting at Home
The night was spent peacefully by Xu Min. After the elderly man had snuck into the house, nothing happened to interrupt him. He ended up spending all the night cultivating which was the way he prefered to spend the night.
Someone who did not have a comfortable night was Yong Meilin. She had been pacing around within her room and never once sat down to relax. She was feeling both uncomfortable and excited at the same time. She did not wish to follow the young man and felt even less attractive at the thought of herself being submissive. She behaved like a servant to ensure that he would stay within Ri Chu City.
Although she disliked the idea her grandfather had come up with,and the order he had given her, she was trembling with excitement when she thought about how amazing it would be. She could finally manage to flirt enough with this young man and make him fall for her. He had made her feel uncomfortable so many times and caused her face to flush red in public by announcing that she had pleasured him a previous night. To be able to twist him around her little finger was something she dearly wished to experience.
These two conflicting thoughts of the blow to her dignity and the wish to prevail were constantly at odds with each other. At some point, one of the emotions took over, but was replaced moments after. In the end, she knew that no matter how she felt about the job she had been given, it was something she had to do. An order from her grandfather was impossible to go against, especially since she wished to prove her worth. She wished to take over the Alluring Treasure Pavilion when she grew older.
As Yong Meilin was spending her time constantly uncertain as to what her emotions truly were, her heart kept beating erratically. Eventually, the morning sun shone its rays of sunshine through her window. They called her back from her pondering of the world around her. Back to reality where it didn't matter how she felt about it, she had to do anything in her ability to entrance the young man.
Calmed down, Yong Meilin instantly got herself under control. Her acting skills were first rate. As a servant entered through the door, the young woman looked as calm and collected as usual. Her face was adorned with a beautiful smile and she nodded in a friendly way when her breakfast was brought forward.
Eating the food, every movement was graceful. All servants within the room, even the women, were all mesmerised by her grace and entranced by her beauty. Seeing this, the smile on Yong Mei Lin's face grew ever so slightly. Suddenly however, the face of Xu Min's wry smile appeared in her mind and she could not help but feel irritated. If he had behaved like any other person around her, she would like him much more.
Eating the rest of her food with a somewhat stiff smile on her face, Yong Meilin quickly excused herself as she saw how all the servants left her room. Within her eyes, determination shone as she went towards the cabinet where her lushest clothes were hanging. She picked up a form fitted red robe with a beautiful golden skirt. There was a golden colored embroidery of a phoenix lined around the entire robe. The golden belt fastened it to her body and showed off her alluring curves as well.
Looking at herself in a mirror, a content smile was seen on her face before she moved to another place within her room. With experienced hands, chalk powder was patted all over her face. She applied a red substance on her luscious lips to create a fuller volume. Meilin used a pencil to outline her eyes and accentuate her eyelashes.
The woman was now so stunningly beautiful that cities would go to war over her. With a satisfied smile, she did her hair in an intricate design and made it look like a blooming flower adorned with pearls made from gold.
Glancing once more at the mirror, the woman nodded her head in satisfaction as she left her house. Outside, anyone who saw her would become completely stunned. Every man had feverish eyes when glancing upon her. All the women were filled with jealousy but also an unexplainable worship.
Every glance sent her way boosted her confidence. Soon, the haughty and arrogant air around the beautiful woman returned to how it had been when Xu Min first saw her. As she walked towards the house she had left the young man, every step made her feel better and better. She quickly forgot that the young man had previously managed to completely ignore her charm. She was filled with excitement about how the young man who had caused her such worry would fall for her the moment he saw her.
The smile on her face kept increasing until she finally stood in front of the house she previously lent to the young man. She paused slightly while making her obvious grin into a mesmerising smile. Her beauty and grace shone from every move she made.
Knocking at the courtyard gate, Yong Meilin waited patiently for it to be opened for her but nothing happened. No sound could be heard from within the courtyard and no movements can be seen. After having knocked at the gate for quite a few moments, the graceful air around her started to falter. Her smile turned sour and her beautiful eyes turned dark and filled with anger.
Seeing that there was no response, the woman was both frantic and relieved. She was frantic because her job had been to ensure that the man would stay within Ri Chu City. At the same time, she felt relieved that she would not have to try and attract the young man. She felt as though the task at hand was too difficult. The fact that no one answered her call and the gate didn't open would most likely mean that there would be no one who would be inside.
Yong Meilin stood outside and contemplated for some time. Eventually, she drew out a bundle of keys and picked out one similar to the one she had given Xu Min the previous evening. With a click of the keyhole, the gate slowly swung open which allowed for the beautiful woman to enter through.
Slipping into the courtyard, Yong Meilin looked around frantically. She thought of the anger her grandfather would show when he realised that his valued person had left town without as much as a word to anyone and that she had failed her task. Her heart quivered as she feared that this mistake would cost her the seat of the Director for the Alluring Treasure Pavilion.
The courtyard at first glance looked completely empty; however, Yong Meilin's eyes frantically searched every part of the area. The phoenix-like eyes came to a rest upon a figure in the shadows of a large tree.
This figure was without a doubt Xu Min. His upper body was bare and it glistened with sweat as it rolled from his body. His entire weight was being held on by one finger as the body moved slowly up and down.
The air around him was filled with golden specks of light as he had entered a higher stage of cultivation. He was at a stage where his body was naturally sucking in the essence of the heavens and the earth. Without being seated in a cultivating form, he created these specks of light which entered into his body.
Yong Meilin was completely taken aback as she saw the young man working hard as his body was glistening in his own sweat. The young woman was incapable of moving away her eyes. They just widened in surprise and she was completely engrossed in watching the young man.
As it was early in the morning, the sun was low in the sky as it slowly crept further and further deeper. Yong Meilin only had the energy to move into the shades herself. Her eyes constantly glued to the man in front of her.
At first, Yong Meilin had expected that the reason he was capable of killing that Four-Star Warrior was due to the snake her grandfather had spoken about. She also thought that this boy somehow had managed to stumble across a fortune which were the snake and the legendary herbs.
Now that she looked at the young man, she noticed that every part of his body was filled with lean muscle. Although the sweat was almost raining down on his body, he still prevailed in his training. Without a doubt, he was the hardest worker whom Yong Meilin had ever seen.
Seeing the strength the young man displayed, it was now obvious that he had not used any sort of trick the night before. He had killed multiple cultivators just by grabbing their heads and slamming them against the floor.
As hours went by, the only difference in Xu Min's training was that he switched from one finger to another. He ensured him to do push-ups on every one of his fingers before he finally jumped into the air where he gracefully landed on his legs. He turned towards Yong Meilin and a dazzling smile appeared on his face. The smile caused all the thoughts within the beautiful woman's mind to become foggy as her heart started beating rapidly.
Lifting up his arm, a snake jumped from the tree above which he had been training. The snake climbed from the arm to the neck where it coiled itself around the warm skin. The camouflage skill was once more activated and the snake was no longer visible.
Seeing this, the woman was even more shocked. She finally saw the snake which her grandfather valued highly. In her eyes, the man was far more impressive than the juvenile snake.
"For what reason am I blessed by your presence?" he asked politely as he looked at the beautiful woman in front of her. A cheeky smile was adorning his face as he picked up a washcloth from the ground next to a bowl of water. As though no one was watching, Xu Min started to wash himself and removed the sweat. His actions causing the already stunned Yong Meilin to become even more shocked. Her face became beet red and her eyes were so wide that they almost fell from her skull. Her beautiful mouth constantly opened and closed as she tried to answer the question she had been asked.
"I…. I came to invite you to eat some lunch with me in the Flower Gardens," she finally stuttered. Her eyes were downcast and her face red. She had long since turned her side to him as she dared not watch. She was frightened that he would drop the rest of his clothes at any moment.
Seeing the reaction of the haughty beauty, Xu Min could not help but laugh loudly. His laughter caused the already embarrassed woman to become even more embarrassed and slightly indignant. The time it took for the young man to answer was like an eternity for the poor woman. However, Xu Min eventually smiled at her and answered.
"Sure," he said with a casual voice. "Just give me some time to take a bath and get some clean clothes on."
Without waiting for a reply, Xu Min turned around and went towards the building he had been given by Yong Meilin. Behind him, the beauty spent the time trying to calm herself down and ensure herself that the lunch would be just fine.
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