Within the smithy, Lute was putting the finishing touches upon a pair of gauntlets and boots. However, they were a bit different from the normal pairs that could be found almost anywhere. While they were a common black color and had a dull luster that seemed to absorb the surrounding light, the equipment had an ornate structure.

The gauntlets each had a small hole upon the inside forearm. A curved blade then had a handle which would be inserted into this opening upon the gauntlet, this allowed for a simple flick of the wrist to rotate the blade edge from pointing inside towards the elbow to pointing outwards, extending beyond the arm, ready to pierce and slash.

Both gauntlets had this blade on the inside forearm. When he was making these, Lute had his fists and legs in mind. They were to be the foundation of his fighting style, however he also felt the need for a bladed weapon in a situation where blunt force wasn’t enough and instead a piercing or slashing attack would be most effective.

The added ability to rotate the blades was an afterthought, but it increased the utility so as to prevent the blades from becoming a hindrance that didn’t allow him to punch because they were extended outwards from the wrist.

As for the boots, they had a similar function. On the calves of the boots were blades. Whenever he reverses kicked, bones and muscle would be viciously crushed to a pulp if the blades made contact. These blades were larger and thicker than the ones on the gauntlets. They were heavier, and served no other use except to pulverize whatever they came into contact with.

Today was the day that he finally finished them. At first they were extremely crude, but over these months of nonstop training. He finally made a pair that was usable for actual combat. They weren’t perfect but had the potential for improvement if he found rare metals and other materials; after all, these were only made out of the common materials provided to the disciples.

After he finished polishing his gear, Lute threw them into his spatial ring. Donning his robes, he quickly left the smithy and finished went about the rest of the day the same way he had been for months. However, it was easily noticeable that he was distracted. With great haste, after he finished his final class. Lute hurried to the cave that he typically cultivated in throughout the night.

'Finally, it’s time to learn who they are after all these years.'

Lute withdrew a stack of papers from his spatial ring. He began to thoroughly read through them with great care, he didn't want to miss a single detail.

The more he read, the colder the atmosphere seemed to become. Slaughter Aura began to slowly leak out from Lute's body. Elias had done his part, not only had he found who was behind everything. He also found any organizations they were connected with.

But, what was also able to be felt was sadness. A morose atmosphere had become tangible. If someone were to look at Lute, they would see a single tear rolling down his face.

"I will avenge you Mother; your death will not go unanswered."

According to the reports, his mother had died a mere six months after she was enslaved. She was immediately separated from his sister and forced to work hard labor as a servant within a crime syndicate called the Fallen Kings. Apparently she wasn't working hard enough and was punished so harshly that she died from stress, wounds, and no longer having the will to live.

The Fallen Kings were an underground organization that was based in the capital of the Argenta City, which was situated on the west side of the Crimson Tide Continent.

The west side of the continent was where all of the most powerful sects were. On the east side, there were a few that sects could be considered relatively powerful, but none of them would be able to compare to the west side of the continent.

Lute crumpled the report of his mother. He was furious that there wasn't even a grave; her body was just left to rot in some unknown area of the wilderness. He'd never be able to give her a proper burial. Instead he channeled the sadness he felt in anger, feeding it to his Slaughter Aura.

"Aside from Hell's Brigands who were responsible for the actual kidnapping, I will have another organization to topple, and bring to its knees."

As Lute spoke with conviction, he didn't sound human; instead, it was as if he was a devil that came from the depths of hell itself. He already had a list now. There were two organizations he now had to destroy out of revenge. As he picked up the report on his sister, he was already prepared to add more to the list.

Lute finally calmed down after he read through the report on his sister. He was still furious, but he wasn't outwardly expressing it. His sister, whose name was Vera, wasn't dead. She wasn't a slave either. Apparently, she escaped; how she did it was unknown. But, she was no longer a part of the mortal world. She had become a cultivator. While Lute was still angry, this information was enough to calm him down.

"At least she is safe as far as I know. Who would've thought that she is a prodigy? I happened to be lucky, but she appears to have actual talent since she is already in the Spirit Opening Realm."

Vera had been accepted into a sect, while it wasn't one of the Primordial Sects, it was extremely close to one in power and wealth. The Misty Mountain Sect, a place that only accepted women was where she resided. In order to join, you had to renounce not only men, but also your family.

It was a place of refuge for women who were like Vera that had suffered at the hands of others. This sect was extremely secluded from the world. There was no news about them for the past two thousand years. As for how Elias found out this information, Lute had no clue, but he was thankful none the less.

After learning this information, Lute felt slightly at ease, if Vera was secluded from the rest of the world, then that was fine. Since she already renounced her family, believing that Lute and their parents were dead, it was probably for the best if he didn't let her know he was alive... at least not yet. Once he had the power to crush anyone on the Crimson Tide Continent with ease perhaps that would be when he'd make his presence known to her.

Lute crumpled the report after memorizing the entirety of its contents. He had a devilish glint in his eyes.

'The Fallen Kings and Hell's Brigands, they have such horrendous naming sense. But, who cares, the Hell's Brigands Leader is now at the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm and all of his subordinates are even weaker. If he advanced so quickly in cultivation, he probably is rushing it. This group will be easier to take care of. The real problem will be the Fallen Kings.'

The Fallen Kings had Heavenly Emperors; they were the largest criminal organization on the Crimson Tide Continent, with subordinates everywhere. They would be far harder to subdue.

However Lute now had a goal in set in his sights. Before he left the Crimson Tide Planet, he would destroy these two organizations and make sure that Vera was safe from harm.

As if it was on cue, once he finished going through all of the information. Lute heard the sound of footsteps. Walking in was Elias, he had a grim expression on his face.

The atmosphere was already grim. When Elias walked in, it seemed to make it even heavier.

“Those people tailing you, they were sent by my sister. I haven’t been on good terms with Lena for years. I am the heir to the house, but I know that she has always wanted the position. She is the most ambitious of my siblings and would inherit the house if I were to die.”

Lute narrowed his eyes, politics and scheming for power were things he didn’t enjoy getting involved with, just thinking about it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“So she wants you and Seren to die, allowing her to inherit your positon. As for me, since I am associated with both you and Seren, perhaps she sees me as a threat.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her to think up such things. However, she is cocky; I don’t think she believes you are a threat. Those tails were probably to following you because I was already waiting at the smithy for you.”

Lute had an extremely thin smile, and it never reached his eyes. To be underestimated, that would be a fatal mistake of Lena’s.

“What is it that you have planned? Where are we going a week from now?”

Elias suddenly exuded an aura of killing intent.

“How confident are you against someone at the eight level of the Nascent Qi Realm?”

Lute: “…”

Lute zone out Elias from his perception and pondered upon his own strength. While disparity between levels grew the further along you cultivated. He was already extremely close to the bottleneck of the sixth level of the Nascent Qi Realm. With his arts he was confident. He also had his newly forged gauntlets and boots, while they weren’t Spirit Armaments, they would certainly be able to injure someone even in the Spirit Opening Realm if they didn’t have enough Qi to defend, especially since most cultivators didn’t body temper.

After pondering for a moment, Lute replied. “I could probably take on one or two without worrying for my life.”

Upon hearing this, Elias put on a slightly devilish grin. “Good, this join mission I mentioned, my sister offered protection, which is really going to be an assassination attempt on my life. I have yet to accept. There would be two cultivators at the eighth level of the Nascent Qi Realm. Also Ley and Halsten were volunteered by here; the two of them have stepped into the fifth level of the Nascent Qi Realm. Are you still confident?”

Lute didn’t even hesitate, Ley and Halsten probably wouldn’t even be able to wound him, at the very least, the he would have to run away if he couldn’t win, but he was confident that he wouldn’t lose, his Qi reserves were truly massive now compared to when he was in the Foundational Qi Realm, there was not use even comparing the two of them.

“At the worst I will need to run away” Lute said assuredly.

“Good, one week from now we will embark on a month long mission. I plan to kill Ley and Halsten, and then eventually I will have the elder who supports assassination within the sect’s answer for his crimes. I hope that I won’t have to kill my sister no matter how sour my relationship with her, but if she keeps plotting against me, I might have no choice but to return the favor.”