Relic sighed and dangled a small coin pouch in front of him. “Hmm, it seems we will need to go for another truffle run.”

“Brother, what are you going to do with all of those?” Hana suddenly asked. She had been trailing behind Relic the entire time and had not once bothered him about what he was doing.

“Oh, right, you probably don’t know this but before I came back, I made most of my living money through making alcohol.”

“You mean like wine?”

“Right, the one I’m specifically making is something I was able to create after many trial and errors. The key ingredients are those Fires and Water lotuses I bought which, aside from tasting good, also helps in curing colds.”

There was also the ability that such a wine was capable of increasing the spiritual energy of those with the affinity to the water and fire Dao, but Relic didn’t think it was important for Hana to know that.

“Wow that Is amazing! I bet you were really rich back then, selling such miraculous wine!”

“Indeed I was!” Relic laughed loudly and patted Hana on her head.

She still felt it a bit weird having her younger brother act like he was older. She pouted slightly before changing the subject.

“Oh, right, since you are from the future can you tell me a bit of your previous life?”

“What’s with the sudden questions?”

“I’m your big sister; of course I would like to know what my little brother has done.”

“Big sister… well you should know that your little brother has already lived over a hundred years!”

“Wah…You’re so old!” She jumped in surprise.

“indeed…” he felt a little down

Relic began slowly narrating his adventures he had embarked back in his youth. He purposefully skipped the destruction of their home town as well as any other parts he thought was unnecessary for her to hear.

Hana seemed to be completely enamoured in Relic’s story. His stories were full of risk and action. Finding priceless treasures and defeating amazing beasts. It was almost like it was a fairy tale.

The seed of adventures within Hana began to sprout and her desire for adventure seemed to increase exponentially.

“Then, can I really become a cultivator?” She asked.

Relic smiled and just as he was about to speak, he countenance shifted completely. His eyes darted to the left as he saw some movements in the shadow.

“(It sure took you a while to notice them. They have been following us since we left that building.)” Jiro sneered. Despite now requiring Relic’s help in helping fix his beast core, Jiro did not show any improvement in his attitude.

Relic had suddenly realised they were near the edge of the mountain, and in an almost empty street.

“(Protect Hana)”

“(Hmph…)”

Jiro stood closely behind Hana and covered Hana under his wing.

Hana felt the sudden shift of mood and saw both Jiro and Relic turn solemn. “Brother, what’s happening?”

“Hana, stay next to Jiro.” He took a few steps forward. “Who are you people?” He spoke to the empty street.

The empty street remained silent but both Jiro and Relic did not let up their guard.

Finally, after a few more moments a deep sigh could be heard.

“Even little kids are able to sense us… It seems my wolf claw gang will need to start training again.” A large robust man was the first to come out. His ugly mug was very distinct, causing even Hana to look on in fright. He carried a large grin and licked his lips when he saw Hana.

“Eh, boss, don’t blame all of us, it was definitely Greg’s fault!” a second voice was heard in the shadows.

“No way! It was definitely Derrek’s. He was the slowest among us.” Another said.

One by one, hardened faced men came out of the shadows and poured onto the streets. They laughed at one another as they made their way through and surrounded the two children and one spirit beast. In total, 20 men had completely surrounded them.

“Tell me kid, how did you find out we were here?” The robust man, who was obviously the leader, asked.

“You are all radiating blood lust. We would be idiots if we didn’t notice.” Relic replied as he continued to monitor their situation.

Although he said that, regular people would probably have not picked up on it. It was only because he had been in so many battles and had developed a kind of sixth sense in sensing blood lust. Of course, it also helped that this group was a bunch of amateurs and was sloppy in their movements.

“You…ha…hahaha… Indeed, it is our fault! But who cares? You are going to die anyways! Of course, if you want to surrender, we won’t make it hard on you.”

The robust man snapped his fingers and the men all took out their weapons. They carried malicious grins on their faces and some of them even had lustful eyes when their gaze fell upon the little girl.

“Err, Boss, that money bags didn’t say anything about the girl, right?”

“Haha, the boy doesn’t look too bad either.”

The leader rolled his eyes and said, “Do what you want but the spirit beast must stay alive.”

“Huzzaah!” Multiple men cheered and raised their swords in the air.

However, before they even realized, Relic had already made his move. A skinny sickly man was standing a few steps in front of the others in a completely relaxed manner. His sword carelessly waved in the air and did not even focus on the little children in front.

Relic dashed towards this man, his right hand tightened and a piercing intent surrounded it.

By the time the skinny man realized Relic was charging towards him, it was already too late. He panicked and tried to slash down his sword but Relic was a step faster and pierced upwards. His hands were like a spear and aimed towards the bottom of the man’s lower jaw.

Puchi!

Relic’s hands pierced the man’s skin and into his flesh. Blood spurted out and the man’s entire body fell into a state of shock. His sword dropped from his hands and landed into Relic’s who then immediately slashed across the man’s neck.

The man’s head dropped and rolled onto the cold dirt ground.

The time taken to kill this man did not even take 3 seconds. The laughter had immediately stopped and what was replaced were bulging eyes and dropped jaws.

“I-impos…” A man tried to speak, however, before he could finish Relic had already kicked the fallen head towards the next person.

The head was sent flying and hit another man’s face.

The man hit staggered a step back and before he could adjust himself, a sword pierced a vital area on his neck and he died instantly.

A wave of fear immediately swept across the men. Relic wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation.

He held nothing back and dashed towards his next person. This time, the men were much more prepared and were battle ready. Yet, they would soon realize that it didn’t even matter. Despite anticipating it, they were much less skilled than the little boy.

Relic was able to easily dodge any of their attacks and would immediately counter attack with a single piercing attack on a vital spot. The men who attacked would immediately drop dead and Relic would move on to the next.

Relic was able to down 3 more men before finally, the leader shouted: “Regroup!”

The men all began to run towards their leader. Their pale faces and shaking legs indicating they were all just about to run away.

“B-boss… w-what are we suppose t-t-to do??” A frightened man asked.

“MERCHANT CORNWELL! YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY US TRIPLE FOR THIS!” The robust leader gritted his teeth.

…

Relic casually kept a calm demeanor as he picked up a second sword for his empty hand. He saw the bandit group whispering with one another but did not seem worried.

“Hana!” He suddenly shouted.

Hana was currently buried in Jiro’s feathers. As soon as she saw Relic make that first gruesome kill, her countenance immediately turned white and she hid herself in Jiro’s body. Her body shook as the image replayed in her mind.

When Hana heard her brother’s voice she turned with tears ready to burst out. Yet, Relic did not seem to care at all.

“You must not turn away!”

“B-but.”

“You must not turn away! The road to immortality is paved with the death of many. The world is filled with evils and you will have no choice but to take a sword against their neck. If you cannot even watch this then you might as well give up on trying being a cultivator!”

Relic turned his back to Hana and spoke to her no more.

Hana felt like something was caught in her throat. She didn’t know how to reply back. She was still just a little girl after all. How could he ask her to witness something so terrible?

…

The bandit group looked at each other and nodded.

“Hey kid, I got to say you really gave us a spook.” The leader was the first to speak. “Our employer didn’t say we would have to deal with such a monster of a kid. However, now that we know what you are capable of, your luck has run out!” He ripped off his shirt to show his bronzed body. He then took out his battle axe which was twice the size of Relic. “My name is Isaac of the Wolf Claw Gang. I’m at the cusp of the Soulless warrior realm, see if you can withstand my blows! ”

Isaac let out a ferocious yell and charged towards Relic. He swung his battle axe over his head and aimed to kill Relic in a single stroke.

Relic was capable of dodging attacks from foundation realm experts, and so the attacks from this man didn’t mean much to him. The axe missed Relic entirely and hit the ground. Chunks of dirt and gravel sprang from the attack and a small dust cloud surrounded the two people.

“Now!” Isaac yelled.

Immediately 5 people dashed in and all aimed their weapons towards Relic.

Geniuses among men… Isaac was once part of an average sect and has seen many times, those who were unfairly born with above average strength or talent. He saw many people who were younger than him soar within the sect while he stayed at the same bottle neck for years.

Unable to take the constant reminder of his mediocrity, he left the sect and became the leader of a small bandit group. Now, while facing Relic, he was not so shocked by Relic’s strength that he was unable to think rationally. No matter how much a genius Relic was he was still a mortal! It was impossible for Relic to defeat all of them by himself!

Sounds of metal clashing sounded inside the dust cloud. Multiple bloody wounds could be seen on Relic’s body. The 5 men were relentless in their attacks and gave Relic little room to breathe. They swung their swords randomly, leaving many openings, but another attack would come before he had a chance to counter it.

Isaac had a slight smile on his face as he saw Relic growing weaker and weaker. The idea of a genius fallen by his hands actually brought him great pleasure. Isaac closed his eyes and began to focus the Qi within his body. Perspiration fell from his forehead as he slowly imbued Qi onto his weapon.

After a few moments, his qi had completely encased over his weapon, making it look incredibly sharp and capable of complete destruction.

“It’s the end… of the line, Kid. Try… to receive… my blow!” He said, panting. He lifted his Axe once more and struck down towards Relic.

Seeing their boss was about to strike, the 5 men immediately began to retreat.

However…

Swish!

One of the men was too slow and Relic slit his ankle.

“Ahhhh!” the man struck tripped and fell onto the ground, screaming. Relic immediately took him by the collar and lifted the man in front of him.

“N-nooo, boss, stop!”

It was too late.

Isaac’s axe came crashing down and split the man in half. It then clashed onto Relic’s two swords. Relic was immediately flung several meters, crashing into the dirt every few feet until his body crashed against a tree. His body fell onto the ground and remained motionless.

“Ha…hahaha, I did it! I took down a genius from this world!” Isaac screamed to the Heavens. A deep sense of accomplishment swept over his entire body and he had completely forgotten about his mission.

He continued to laugh until he saw Relic’s small body slowly arise.