It was an early morning.

Sounds of grunting could be heard from a courtyard.

A man stood in the center of the yard, swinging a wooden pole ferociously but also with grace and precision. He had a robust body with rippling abs which showed years of dedication. He had a fairly handsome face which was further accentuated by his jet black hair and large brown eyes.

“Relic, come have breakfast with us.”

A man’s voice suddenly rang throughout the yard.

Upon hearing this, Relic stopped his training and proceeded towards a small but quaint building.

“Teacher, little Ren, good morning.” He greeted the two people sitting around a table of food.

After Relic left the Thunder Storm Sect, he walked for 10 days until he reached Kubo’s residence. When he arrived he begged Kubo to take him as a student. He was prepared to do anything it took in order to find a way to repair his dantian.

Kubo had initially wanted to deny Relic’s request but he saw his resolute eyes. It was the look of a desperate man who would go through any lengths to achieve their goals. It reminded Kubo of a time long past, when he himself carried those same very eyes.

Thus, Kubo relented and took Relic as a student. There they spent 3 years getting to know each other and helping the sick, wherever they came from.

The three gave quick thanks for the food and began to pick the variety of food that was set out.

“Uncle Liu, why must you always train so early, I always end up waking up early because of your grunting. A defined woman like my-self needs all the sleep I can get so that I will one day marry a martial hero of legends!” As she spoke her hair flowed effortlessly and her eyes sparkled like a bright sapphire.

“Excuse me, but I believe just three days ago, little Ren was snoring so loudly that people walking on the street thought we had gotten a new exotic animal! Are you sure you didn’t wake yourself up by mistake?” Relic chuckled.

Ren blushed slightly before showing a haughty pout at his response, while her dad only laughed heartily.

The three chatted joyously throughout their meal, and continued till the morning sun reached its peak in the sky.

Suddenly, Kubo countenance turned solemn as he asked Relic a question.

“Are you really leaving today?”

The room was instantly filled with silence.

“Y-yea…” Relic stuttered.

Ren began to visibly shake having heard his answer. Tears welled up in her eyes and she slammed her hand against the table.

“I just don’t get it! Why would you risk your life for someone who tried to kill you! ” .

“Ren! You do not have the right to say such things!” Kubo gave an angry shout at his daughter.

“It just doesn’t make sense! Even if she saved him when he was smaller, she also abandoned him in his time of need. If not for us he would already be dead! Why can’t he just stay here and live as a doctor? He would be able to save thousands of lives!”

“That’s enough!” her father raised his voice.

"....."

“No, It’s fine, I understand where she is coming from” Relic tone was very soft.

“Ren…. Although it is true master had abandoned me 3 years ago, but I do not blame her. Without her I would have died a long time ago and although our time was short, those were the happiest times in my life.” He would never blame his master for what happened because he knew the person who took care of him, guided him, and protected him was real. Although she had changed, nothing could change the memories he shared with his master.

“Fine, go die then, I don’t care!” She dashed out of the building leaving behind drops of tears.

“…”

“Teacher….this is my fault.”

“No, she is too young and she doesn’t have any friends because of our background. Outside of me, you were her only friend. She will definitely miss you….”

“Teacher…”

Relic dropped on the floor and kowtowed three times to Kubo. Although Kubo was not his master, he definitely deserved the respect equal to his master.

“Although you have told me you don’t need any repayment, I promise I’m not human if I never repay the enormous debt I owe to you and your daughter.”

Kubo stayed silent for a few moments before finally giving a sigh.

“Very well, when you get stronger you can come back and repay your debt. I wish you luck on your travels, Relic.”

The two men stood at the gate and waved each other good bye. Relic Liu felt a bit sad that Ren did not see him off, but she was upset at him for something he could not control. He had to get stronger in order to fulfill his promise, and so, he could only leave sorrowfully. He looked back at the residence he had taken up for 3 years. These memories were not one bit less memorable to him than when his master first picked him up.

“I hope I will return soon….”

Time flowed and he would not return for many years

……

60 years later~

“Ah, Sir, you really saved me back there. If it weren’t for you all my valuables and even my life would have been stolen by those bandits!”

At this moment a handsome man with brown eyes and black hair and a local merchant were travelling together in a carriage.

The two met coincidentally on the road as the merchant was being attacked by bandits.

“I know you said that you only needed a ride to Purple Heart city, but are you sure you don’t need anything else? I may only be a local merchant but I do have connections to several powerful families. Perhaps I could introduce you to some of them?”

The merchant had a very favorable impression of this man who had saved him. He knew that he must be an expert as he dealt with the bandits in a split second. If he could be an acquaintance to such a man, the benefits would just be unimaginable!

However, the man simply waved his hand.

“Thank you for your kind intentions but I only wish to travel to the city. I’m merely going to visit someone.”

The merchant was slightly disappointed but there was nothing he could do about it. He changed the subject and began talking to the man about many things. Interestingly, the man seemed to want to talk about things regarding the past few decades. The merchant was in his 40’s and didn’t expect the man to be interested about things he experienced even when he was in his youth.

However, as weird as the subject matter was, the man made him feel comfortable to talk around, and so they talked unceasingly until they reached the city.

They gave their farewells and the two departed. Amazingly, upon bidding farewell, the handsome man disappeared into thin air which made the merchant so shocked he dropped to the ground.

“Truly an expert!” he exclaimed.

The brown eyed man quickly found himself upon an unkempt courtyard. The grass was dead and nothing but brown patches could be seen. The buildings showed signs of decay and the entire area seemed to be abandoned,

“Teacher, I’m sorry it took me so long to return.”

The man kowtowed towards the abandoned place and left.

This man was obviously Relic who had finally returned from his travels. It has been 60 years since he last been here and he knew that his teacher and his daughter must have left a long time ago.

Sighing, he lept into the air and began to head towards Red Sky city, the location of the Thunder Storm Sect!

At this moment, in a town between Purple Heart City and Red Sky City, a crowd was gathering near a local inn.

Baaaang!

An old woman flew out of the local inn.

“Crazy coot! I told you not to come here again!” A burly man waived his butcher knife as he shouted at the elderly women on the floor.

“B-but I gave y-you the money. It s-s-should be enough for the ch-cheapest glass of alcohol…. ” The women stammered as she retorted

“I won’t accept your dirty money here.”

He threw loose change at the women.

Seeing the coins flying all over she quickly scrambled to pick them up. These coins truly represented her entire wealth. Yet, even though it was all she had, she still chose to spend it on alcohol.

“How sad”

“See children, this is what happens if you don’t study.”

“To see someone fall so low….It’s truly depressing.”

There was a crowd surrounding her. They mocked and ridiculed her as she picked up the loose change around their feet.

Suddenly, a handsome young man walked out of the crowd and stood in front of the old women.

“Oh my goodness, it’s young master Xiu of the Jin clan. What is he doing is this part of town?”

“My, he is so handsome…. Will he look over here?”

The clamors of the group grew louder with the appearance of this prestigious young master.

Jin Xiu bent down to look at the old women.

“So pitiful…. It is my duty as the mayor’s son to help the less fortunate. You like alcohol right?”

He snapped his fingers and 2 guards brought with them four bottles of spirit wine.

“My goodness! He isn’t actually thinking of giving spirit wine is he? Such rare wines are usually only affordable by the higher elites. How could he be thinking of giving that used up wench such expensive wines!? ”

The spectators were all giving their own guesses as to why this young master would be willing to give such rare wine to this poor women.

The look on the old women’s face was one of delight and happiness. It has been so long since anyone has truly helped her or giving her anything to help.

She was just about to thank this young master until she saw a sneer on his face.

“Let her have it!”

The guards uncorked the wines and poured the contents all over the elderly women’s body. The smell was intense and even made some people in the crowd go woozy just from taking a whiff.

Jin Xiu suddenly opened up his palm and a small flame danced around it.

“It is my duty to clear the trash in this town so no UNFORTUNATE soul need lay their eyes on such filth.”

The crowds began to cheer and even the small kids seemed to be excited. Being doused in such heavily concentrated alcohol meant the flames would easily engulf her entire body.

The woman was scared, her body trembled and she lost any function to move. A puddle of yellow liquid expanded beneath her.

Laughter and jeers came loudly from the crowds and even the two guards were not exempt from the laughter.

“Time to end this!”

Jin Xiu was just about to toss the flame when suddenly; he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder. The flame instantly extinguished and Jin Xiu stood there stupidly at what just happened.

It wasn’t just Jin Xiu, everyone is the crowd was shocked at what just happened. A strange man had suddenly just appeared behind young master Jin Xiu without so much as a sound.

The man standing behind Jin Xiu looked towards the old women covered in wine and urine. She had lost consciousness just moments before, presumably from fear.

“Master….”

He walked towards the fainted old women. Her face wrinkled with age and liver spots and scars covered her face. Her hair was all but gone and he mouth was blackening from decay.

Even though she looked like this, he could tell with certainty that this old woman was his master.

Relic didn’t show any emotion. He picked up his master without any magic and with only his bare hands. The liquid dripped onto his clothes but he didn’t seem to care, and even held her tightly. Without further delay he shot to the sky with his master in his arms and headed towards a certain direction.

The crowd of people all breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure exerted by that person scared them witless and made it so that they were incapable of making a sound.

"Heh, maybe that expert wanted to privately torture that old woman." A man suddenly joked

Suddenly a cracking sound was heard.

Everyone looked towards the sound of the cracking to see Jin Xiu still motionless. Cracks suddenly formed all over his body and then it shattered. Bits and pieces of his body littered the floor and everyone immediately screamed.

They all wanted to run away but to their shock, no one was able to go anywhere. It felt like their feet were frozen to the ground.

“I can’t move! Someone get help!”

“My legs, they’re disabled!”

“Mommy, I can’t move!”

The cries of those affected were heard by many. Almost instantly, a larger, denser crowd surrounded the frozen people.

Even the mayor heard the cries and came out to see what happened. Seeing the panicked expressions, he quickly went towards one of the screaming people.

It was a child who could no longer move his arms. Snot was running down his nose and he continued to cry in pain and fright. The freeze was inching up the body of everyone affected.

The mayor sent his Qi into the boy’s body only to have his face become ashen. He immediately distanced himself from the boy and breathed heavily. His hand became cold and numb, and despite what he tried, it only got colder. Without hesitation, he chopped off his own arm and the severed arm which then fell onto the ground, shattering.

“This is impossible, such pure Cold QI!”

The last of the cries sounded out. The people affected were frozen like statues, completely unmoving. Then cracks were formed, and one by one, they shattered.

The entire town was in a panic and frantically ran towards their home. The mayor did not know what to do. Did they somehow provoke a powerful expert? All this time the mayor never once thought about his own son who had been the first to die.