The man looked at her but did not speak, then his eyes locked into Shams who was equally clueless.

Only I knew what that gaze signified, Shams was a free demon beast!

He glanced at Meng Delan and spoke lazily with a hand covering his yawn, "What are you all Body Refinement weaklings doing near a Foundation Establishment free demon beast?"

Hearing that, I started freaking out!

However, I soon got hold of myself and started breathing slowly while just focusing on the man and the donkey.

I was about to form a mind link and talk to Jia but I realized how stupid of an idea that was since it could be sensed.

Hearing what the man said, all of the women looked shocked except for Jia and Cai Yi who were nervously looking at the man.

Meng Delan looked in my direction, but I hurriedly looked away. If there was any conversation between us, then my meaning was clear.

Fortunately, she got the message and did not include me.

"Ah, Sir we had no idea", As soon as she said that she realized how it might have sounded so she hurriedly added, "But trust me it is very docile and gentle. It had even helped free us from some bandits."

The man and donkey both seemed to be intrigued, because their previous lazy and disinterested eyes seemed to sparkle, "Oh? That is indeed interesting! Hahaha.", He finished with a crazed laugh that only made our hearts tighten even more.

When he finished he started to look intensely at Shams and vice versa.

Seeing them like this, I had a terrible feeling. Then when the man seemed to nod with an understanding look, the feeling get even darker.

I knew what was happening, they were talking with each other with either mind link or something similar.

Shit!

Shams was still naive and innocent.

I did not even think if he understood the concept of lying, and worst of all I forgot to explain to him how dangerous humans were outside of the forest and beastmasters and the slave imprints.

Then the man suddenly moved!

An unholy amount of dreadful and destructive wind elements started to gather in what seemed like a tiny tornado in the palm of his hand.

Suddenly! With a wave of his hands, he sent it towards Shams.

I was shocked but also paralyzed not due to fear but reason, there was nothing I could do.

The tornado landed at the bottom of his right side and in the blink of an eye sent him flying into the skies with the intensity of its force. Strangely the women close to Shams were not affected in any way whatsoever.

Just when I thought that he'd be torn apart by the strength of the tornado, I noticed that he was not damaged but merely pushed away though at an alarming speed and reached a very high altitude.

I did not doubt that falling from that height would cripple him if not outright kill him regardless of his strength.

The man had a pious expression on his face as if he just saved the world from its impending doom and spoke, "Alright ladies, although the beast did indeed help you, they are very intelligent much than we give them credit for. God knows what kind of sinister motives he had by trying to go with you.", He spoke with a gentle voice unlike his previous demeanor and finish with a sigh, "Beasts are unpredictable creatures due to the nature of their evil biology, there is nothing that can be done about it. The only way they could be trusted is through taming them just like that one.", He gestured towards me with his chin as he finished speaking.

By that point, I was so mad and humiliated that I knew if I looked at him he'd be able to tell so against every fiber of my being that wanted to stare dagger at this arrogant old man, I put on a clueless expression and looked towards a spider that had its cobwebs on the tree we were sheltered under.

I was even more furious when I saw some women subtly agreeing with him, I did not know if it was just to appease someone stronger and to avoid saying anything to offend him or if they actually believed that.

Meng Delan hurriedly regained her composure and softly spoke, "Thank you, senior, we appreciate the help."

Cai Yi and Jia also had cold expressions on their face.

The man looked around once again, nodded, and left with the donkey who was able to jump for more than a mile with every single step.

Seeing this scene I got hold of my emotions because I knew the severity of the situation and the impracticality of holding into grudges that you could not afford to hold into in the first place, for now at least...

Thankfully, Ashe was already in the beast pouch. She wanted to cultivate and I also noticed that the women were uneasy around her, so I made it seem like she flew back to the forest and hid here there.

Closing my eyes, I could sense that Shams was still alive though I had no idea about his exact status.

I also did not dare to follow him, if there was one thing that man was, it'd be unfathomably deep and mysterious.

Even I was able to reach 900 meters with my map, I could not imagine how further people even stronger than me were able to sense.

I hated how frightened I became every time danger comes knocking, but I also understood that guilt and self-hate over uncontrollable matters was even more impractical because it only lowers one's confidence something that is crucial for staying collected and taking things head-on.

There was nothing, I could do about it, but simply be aware of those patterns at play.

I formed a mind link and spoke to Jia, "Shams is alright, I'll go fetch him when things have settled. For now, Let's just go"

Like how Ice Cream melts on a hot summer day, so was our previously great mood. I was even doubting myself, should I really continue going to Vance city?

Jia clearly had no idea about the strength of the people there due to both her being a foreigner and a Body Refinement nobody who would not be privy to the inner workings of those societies.

Just a strange-looking man on the outskirt of the city was able to grab my whole life and play with it as he wished.

However, thinking that if I go back to the forest I could only grow stronger and level up through killing monsters just like Shams and how it'd break me, I braced myself and soldiered on.

After all of the women got on the bag, I helped the three women to get on my back. It was a bit crowded and uncomfortable, but I could not bring out Ashe with the presence of that man looming over my shoulders like a guillotine.

As I kept on flying south, from time to time I shift my flying trajectory just a bit east as per Jia's instructions.

Apparently, that was where the city was located.

There was also something that bugged me, how the women easily agreed with that man earlier. Sure, I say that I did not expect anything from them, but that was merely an ideal. Expectations arise by themselves with no effort on my part whether I liked it or not, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth not being appreciated even though even in terms of recompensation I got enough, both psychologically and materialistically in the form of meaning and quest rewards.

However, after I thought about it for a while, it made sense. Because from their point of view, the person who saved them was not me, but a beastmaster who used me as his pet which was exactly in alignment with what the old man preached.

Our encounter with that sickly-looking man only fueled my desire for strength, I had enough of taking people's shit and going along with it. I could not wait to enter the dungeon and start grinding those levels and cultivate endlessly.

I closed my eyes and opened the inventory's dark panel in the blackness of my closed eyelids while using my spiritual sense to keep flying.

After I asked Jia about the world's currency I gained new information.

Depending on one's status, there were three currencies available.

The first and the most widely used among the common people were gold, silver, and copper coins.

Then, there were monster crystals that are gained through slaying dungeon monsters.

They are also divided according to the monster's strength Low Body crystals to Mid, High, and Peak, Low Foundation crystals to Mid, High, and Peak, and so on... Core Formation, Spirit Reconstruction, etc...

The monster crystals I had were High Body Crystals.

Lastly, mana stones. I had two sizes of them, though I did not know whether they were Peak and High, or Mid and Low. But I'd find out soon enough.

I also had dozens of weapons, which were also divided just like the monster crystals, because apparently, they do play a big role in creating them. Something about refining monster crystals with precious ores to make magical weapons.

There were three Mid Foundation Establishment great swords, and nine Low Foundation weapons which included two bows, three spears, one machete, and three swords. I also had eight Peak Body weapons, 19 High, and 26 Mid.

The pills were strangely also divided in the same way, I asked her why was everything divided the same way and she briefly explained that both weapons and pills are closely related to monster crystals, but more than that if someone who was High Body Refinement for example used either a pill or a weapon of a higher rank they risk severely injuring themselves, sometimes even to the point of death.

Healing pills were the only exception to the rule thanks to their docile and gentle healing properties they could be used by people in the lower ranks, but even that rule was not absolute.

A Mid Body Refinement person consuming a Mid Core Formation healing pill would simply explode into tiny particles due to the intensity of the energy inside.

There were still all kinds of things on my inventory wines, clothes, some spells that I'd have to check out later, spices, and many other things that I was not able to recognize as of yet.

I was amazed at how rich this bandit leader was!

Hunting bandits would definitely be on my list in the future, I just had to do enough research and not attack the ones who were too formidable and I'd be fine.

As I was rummaging through all of the things in there, I sensed a subtle and familiar life energy in a couple of hundreds of meters in front of me.

Humans! And more than that there were dozens of them.

I hurriedly opened my eyes, I noticed that the sun had already fled and hid beyond the horizon giving the sky a darkish blue color. With my sharp vision, I was able to see what seemed like a caravan made up of dozens of horse-pulled carriages with several people protecting each side.

The road did not look to be well developed, just something that was naturally drawn once it was walked on countless times till no plants were able to grow there.

Unlike its rich and abundant green vicinity filled with thick and diverse plants.

I did not know whether to continue flying or to stop, but after seeing that the women below could no longer sit there any longer and I figured it'd be a good idea to mingle with the humans before entering the city to get a general idea of what they were like.

I looked down only to see a dozen trees huddled up together in the sea of endless plains which looked especially eye-catching, like an oasis in the middle of a desert.

I dove down slowly and hovered for a while waiting for the women to jump off my back and the bag. One by one all of them got out, and they felt relieved for finally touching the ground and seeing fellow humans once again.

I also landed on the ground, but I could not feel any semblance of relief because I sensed that Shams had not moved at all the moment he fell from the sky which was very worrying.