After seeing the change in Ryu’s expression, the masked men knew their cover were blown and they made a straight dash straight at Ryu. In a split second, a dagger was inches from Ryu but suddenly Ryu was yanked back by an invisible force.

Unexpectedly a huge black scythe appeared out of nowhere. It was like a work of art. The details were defined and the beautiful blade is showing the reflection of the moon. Suddenly the men pursing Ryu all dropped to the ground.

At first Ryu didn’t understand what has happened but the masked men has entered the range of his aura so Ryu could discern that they are no longer living. Not a trace of Qi can be found on them.

What on earth happened? Ryu was shaken to his core. It was his first time seeing a person die, four to be precise.

“These men are assassins sent to kill you. If you return then your friends and family will all die one by one.” The hooded man’s voice rang around Ryu. Without a second thought Ryu ran into the woods after the hooded man.

“Wait!” Ryu shouted after him. He had various questions in his mind. After catching sight of the hooded figure, he started moving away. The hooded figure wasn’t utilizing his feet at all, he was gliding on thin air! Ryu was dashing at full speed but he couldn’t close the distance at all.

“Why are you helping me?” Ryu asked as he finally caught up after the hooded figure stopped. Precipitously the hooded man looked backwards and said, “Looks like the annoying pest is coming after all.”

With a wave of his hand suddenly multiple scrolls appeared from thin air around them. The scrolls have odd writings on them that Ryu doesn’t recognize. The mysterious person muttered some foreign chant and suddenly the earth shook and the sky bellowed with thunder.

Ryu who stood there dumb struck passed out from the deafening noise and soul shattering pressure that came out of nowhere. He didn’t even comprehend what was happening. It all happened in a blink of an eye.

“To think there was an Emperor Domain nuisance hiding in town.” The hooded figure said casually.

A bright blue ball of Qi was braving through the summoned thunderstorm. Thunder shot towards it but the blue wall of Qi protected the incoming individual. However, the speed at which it was moving has been dramatically decreased. It was still a kilometer away

“Wudang Sect… It would be troublesome to get tangled with them again.” The hooded figure sighed. He clasped both hands together and muttered another incantation. A huge round circle in black appeared, there were extremely complicated ciphers inside and the circle expended at a fast rate. When the circle finally reached a hundred meters in circumference. A gigantic lizard-like creature slowly walked out. Each step shook the nearby trees and the earth trembled for miles.

“I’ve been searching for someone like you… for a very long time. No one will get in my way!” The hooded man spoke looking at Ryu. He seemed to ignore the incoming pursuer after summoning his beast. A swift movement was made with his hand and Ryu’s body suddenly floated up beside him and the pair started moving further inside the forest.

The person inside the blue ball of Qi turned out to be Jin-Yang’s master. He stopped in his track after seeing this beast approach him.

“A devil hydra!” He exclaimed. This person turned out to be Elder Nathaniel from Wudang Sect. In most sects, there is an outer section, inner section, and core section of disciples. A newcomer would join the outer court at first. Once he or she graduates, that person can attempt at the examination for the inner court disciple. Following the same process, that person can become a core disciple. Elder Nathaniel is an instructor for the outer section disciples.

The hydra shrieked at Nathaniel and a stream of green liquid shot out. The blue defensive Qi blocked it at first but to Nathaniel’s horror, his defensive wall of Qi started melting away.

Truly a legendary beast worthy of his name. It’s already at the Emperor Domain with only three heads, how terrifying would it be once it achieves all nine heads?

Ryu was a good seedling that his disciple accidently chanced upon while on a mission for the Raging Thunder Sect. He noticed Ryu’s aura disappear from his detection so he decided to take a look. Who knew it would lead to this complicated situation, a mysterious expert taking Ryu away was able to cast a Rank 5 spell and summon such a dangerous beast on a whim. Nathaniel drew up another Qi shield and waited for the hydra to make its next moved. However, the hydra took off in another direction.

Suddenly Nathaniel gave up all thoughts of pursuit against the mysterious hooded figure after realizing that the beast is ignoring him and heading towards the town. Nathaniel chased after the hydra an extraordinary battle would follow that would be talked for centuries afterwards.

Ryu woke up after half a day. The mysterious hooded figure finally dropped him on the ground and waited for Ryu to collect himself.

“Boy, I’m going to be honest with you. I need your help. As long as you help me, I will do everything within my power to return the favor.” The hooded person spoke in a gentle tone.

“What do you need help with? As long as it’s not evil or immoral, I’ll help you.” Ryu replied honestly.

“Follow me and you’ll see.” He said in a calm voice. In Ryu’s view, this person is as composed as he is mysterious.

“What should I call you mister?” Ryu asked again.

“You can call me… Alexis.” The mysterious man replied as he dropped his hood, his hair was blond and he looked no more than forty years old. Ryu felt that Alexis was oddly nice to him but he kept it to himself. Also Ryu could not help but wonder why his aura is pitch black.

After a few minutes of walking, a huge flaming moth flying in the sky suddenly let out a shriek and dove down at them. Alexis drew a few symbols with his left hand and suddenly a wall of ice appeared in front of them. The ice radiated extreme chill and was over a meter thick. The moth bounced off the wall of ice and retreated. Ryu knew that if Alexis isn’t protecting him somehow, he would’ve been frozen into a popsicle.

“What should I do to get strong like you?” Ryu asked.

“You have exceptional control over Qi, perhaps you are from a special bloodline since you are already level 15 at such a young age. However, your physical aspect is much lacking and your reaction is only ordinary. It seemed as if you’ve suffered a deadly blow when you were an infant, some of your inner organs are damaged and your bones are fractured in many places. Qi manipulation and long range battle are your best bet at getting stronger. If by chance you get to visit the magic continent, perhaps you can become a mage instead. However, that depends if you have the ability to sense mana.” Alexis said. Ryu was surprised, he guessed Alexis was watching his fights.

“Mana? What’s that?” Ryu asked.

“Qi, mana, spirit power, inner energy, nature’s force, soul power… they are all the same, different continents have different naming. However, their usage of Qi is vastly different for the most part. In Britannica where the majority of the people practice the way of the knight are able to create a soul weapon. This is much stronger than materializing a random object with your Qi, you are creating an object directly connected with your Qi reservoir. If the soul weapon were to be damaged, you cultivation would be too. If it was destroyed then you’ll lose all your cultivation and maybe even die. However a soul weapon is extremely formidable and it will continue to improve as your cultivation increases. In Infernia, the land of everlasting flames, people practice spirit fusion. This allows them to control beasts and even fuse with them.” Alexis spoke with an air of confidence. It’s as if he has been on those continents.

Ryu started to bombard him with questions since he felt no immediate threat at the moment. Alexis answered Ryu’s question as they walked. From their chat, Ryu learned there were a total of twelve continents. The Heaven continent they were on is considered a peaceful one. The Lin Empire he’s in is deemed the weakest but is protected by a scared treasure. Also the Forbidden Forest actually covers the north and east of the border, making it even harder to invade. There used to be a sixth province but because they attempted to conquer the Forbidden Forest and was wiped out by the rebellious monsters instead. The Feng Province has the largest and strongest military might. The Xu Province is the richest and is open to foreign influence. The Toko Province specializes in spears and have three legendary spears that contain mystical powers. The Xu Province also has mystic treasures but most importantly they have the strongest swordsman on the continent living there. Even Alexis describes him as a monster.

The Magic Continent is where one practices magic. Their usage of Qi or mana as they call it is completely unconventional compared the Heaven Continent. They use their mana to lay out a foundation for a spell to unleash a devastating strike. The preparation takes a while though but expert mages can do it instantly. On Britannica there’s also a small fraction of people that practice magic but it’s different from what’s taught at the Magic Continent. These people are wizards. Alexis simply said the difference between a mage from the magic continent and wizards is how they fundamentally channel their power. However, the key point is that people who wield magic are able to create special items like storage rings and sacks.

“Have you ever wonder how the balance of the world is kept?” Alexis asked Ryu.

Ryu shook his head but his eyes were wide open.

“Legend has it that powerful beings without peers fought ages ago and broke the land up into the twelve continents. Each continent at one point or another had the backing of an ascended being, Gods if you will. There was an ancient agreement between these tyrants, they will not interfere with us lower beings if their followers don’t step too far out of line.” Alexis spoke as he watched Ryu’s shocked expression.

“However that’s just a legend, three hundred thousand years ago the Dark Continent invaded over half the continents without consequences from these gods. The rest of the continent allied up to counter this deadly force. In the end a final battle took place on what’s known as the Abyssal Continent. The landscape of the entire continent was turned upside down. In the end the allied forces managed to push the invaders back to the Dark Continent. The Abyssal Continent is now the only continent not ruled by humans, only the strongest monsters live on that wasteland now.”

They’ve been walking for half a day now. During that time they’ve been attacked by petrifying monsters many times but Alexis warded them off easily each time. Ryu wanted to keep asking about the world but he shifted the questions regarding cultivation. Alexis estimates Ryu to be level 14. As to his own cultivation, he simply says he’s above Emperor Domain. An Emperor Domain expert is already someone that can turn heaven and earth upside down. Ryu can’t imagine how disturbingly strong Alexis is.

“The monsters here on out are going to be difficult for me to fend off. If our luck is bad, we might even run into one of the seven kings of the forest. How about this, why don’t you read some martial arts manuals that I’ve collected? This ring will be my gift to you, try putting your Qi into it.” Alexis said in a kind voice. He took out a small blue ring and handed it to Ryu.

Ryu slide it on his finger and injected Qi into it as instructed. Suddenly he could see the contents inside the ring. There were over a dozen manuals stacked inside!

Alexis laughed. “This is a low grade one. Anyone can use it. If you can successfully help me, I will reward you with a personalized storage ring. Its space is ten times bigger and you can bind it to you with your Qi.”

As long as Ryu channeled Qi into the ring, he could look around inside his new storage ring and inspect each manual. To his surprise, they were all Rank 3-4 manuals! Howling Wind Strike, Imperial Ice Prison, Killer Fang, Steel Skin Reinforcement, Golden Lion’s Roar, Spirit Ghost Assault, Inferno Fist, Obliterating Death Blade, Crimson…

Wait what? Inferno Fist? The lost art of our Inferno Fist School is in Alexis’s possession? Ryu was initially suspicious of Alexis but after talking to him for a while, Ryu’s suspicion had slowly gone down. In fact since Ryu is just a kid still, after receiving such a gift his perception of Alexis had sky rocketed but now his suspicions had returned stronger than ever.

Alexis noticed the change in Ryu’s expression but thought it’s because he’s just overwhelmed by his gift. After all, even a lord of the city would die for so many martial art manuals.