*** Ranking system explained a bit in characters page here

"Can I beat them? Jin asked plainly through a mental message. He appeared and sounded calm but beneath his tranquil exterior was a raging volcano waiting to explode. These sickening men that toyed with lives as if it were a game needed to be taught a lesson.

“Depends…” The titan replied cryptically. Inside the titan’s mind he couldn’t decide if he should force the boy to retreat. The three poachers did not look ordinary at all. It’s easy to deduce that they have strong backings. Even if Jin manages to beat them or even kill them, only trouble will follow. However, people don’t grow when everything is handed to them on a silver platter. They’ll only truly grow in the face of real challenges. The titan is willing to throw the dice on this one.

“Hohoho. This peasant dares to glare at me? Woken, Jinha go knock some sense into him.” The young master carrying the bow sneered.

“Yes master Deri.” The guards spoke in unison.

There were two guards beside the fancy clothed youth. They were both slightly older and looked around twenty-five years old. The one named Woken was carrying a large blade while the other was carrying two short daggers.

Peng! In a flash one of the guards closed the distance between the two and hacked down with his large sword. The guards and their young master were all E ranked like Jin. However they did not realize Jin was of the same rank as them.

As the crescent shaped blade arched down at Jin’s shoulder, Jin materialized a coat of armor over his body and threw a punch past the blade. Jin’s steel fist slammed into the guts of Woken while Woken’s blade simultaneously made contact with Jin.

In reality Jin was in the same rank as them so it should not have been as one-sided as what just occurred. If Woken took precaution and utilized his higher ground and weapon, he could have put up a more decent fight. Nevertheless he underestimated Jin so he was propelled up into the air and flipped a few times before landing on the ground.

Woken’s mount ran away terrified as Deri’s cocky expression turned into a confounded look. Deri had always been a proud kid. He was praised by his clan as a prodigy and was given the best resources to train with. Naturally he could not understand how someone almost ten years his junior could exhibit such might.

The remaining guard instantly took out his daggers and shouted out, “Master Deri, please retreat and find Master Rushan. This kid is actually E ranked!”

“Retreat…? Me? Ha, no need, we are also E Ranked. We can take his head. How dare he disrespect our Shion family? He must be using some doping medicine.” Deri hissed with anger. Jinha frowned inside. Although they were both E Ranked, the battle power between them was obviously imbalanced.

“You people are from the Shion Family?” Jin remembered hearing about the Shion family before. It was extremely familiar.

“Which sect or clan are you from? You are too young to be in a mercenary group?” Deri sneered as he saw Jin’s hesitant expression. He thought Jin finally realized his wrongdoings. The Shion family was one of the most influential families around, not even the Lord of the city dares to cause trouble for them without reason.

“This is our Shion Family’s youngest master. If you know what’s good for you and your family, apologize now and maybe we’ll spare your life.” Jinha shouted haughtily as he held two daggers in a combat position. He felt uncertain against his chances against Jin but perhaps they could just use the Shion Family’s background to intimidate him.

“Apologize? I want him groveling and beaten to death.” Deri shouted furiously. What joke was this? How could this trash get away with offending him by just apologizing?

“You guys are the ones that should surrender and apologize for your lives.” Jin heatedly replied. The arrogance displayed by these people who are only a few years older than him disgusted him to the extreme. They showed no disregard for life and acted like they were superior humans. Jin’s battle senses had been sharpened like a blade ever since he met the titan. Although he can’t perform spiritual sense yet, he can tell he was stronger than them by instincts alone.

Not only that they dared threaten his family? Now Jin finally understood what the ancient titan meant when he said Jin should thread the path of cultivation alone carefully. If his identity was revealed then his family’s lives would be in grave danger. However the anger boiling inside him had erupted, any thoughts of running disappeared from Jin’s mind.

Whoosh. A golden arrow ripped through the air in an instant as Deri snapped. How dare a commoner disrespect him like this? This arrow was crafted from special material from foreign countries, he had used it to slay many Rank E beasts.

He watched as the arrow neared Jin with a huge smirk. The bow he used was a Rank D weapon bestowed to him by his great grandfather, the patriarch of the Shion Family. With that the arrow is capable of penetrating a twenty meter thick rock. He almost giggled like a school girl as he watched Jin raised his hands up in an attempt to catch the rumbling arrow.

“Huh?”

There was no impact, no blood drawn. The menacing arrow was caught by Jin singlehandedly. The arrow head was crushed by his fist and he threw the broken arrow on the ground in front of him.

“What kind of Avatar Synthesis is that?” Jinha muttered in horror as Deri stood there dumbfounded.

Of course the pair of surprised aggressors didn’t know what Avatar Jin used. It was because it was not an Avatar. The practice of training oneself to perform elemental attacks had been long lost. Why go through the trouble when you can just get an Avatar of the same attribute?

“Did you not hear? This is the young master of the great Shion Family. The patriarch is equivalent to a lord of a city! We also have Master Rushan who is a Rank D Path Finder right behind us.” Jinha reasoned once again as Jin approached. Seeing as how Jin caught an arrow barehanded, his confidence took another dive.

“What boloney. He’s only a commoner, kill him.” The spoiled heir to the Shion Family impatiently snapped at his servant. His pride was blinding him from his own fear. He was furious that his arrow failed to kill a mere brat who was younger than him. This was a Rank D weapon! Although he can’t bring out its true might, it should have been enough to help him overcome someone in the E rank like him.