Sore spot:

"Sir, I have about three hundred kilograms of demonic deer meat." A man in his early twenties said in a respectful voice as he took out a large portion of meat from his bag of holding and delivered it to another man.

His eyes were fearful as he looked at the person standing before him. Rigel, who was standing alongside dozens of others, was watching the scene with calm eyes.

The outer sect disciples had to hunt for the meat consumed by the entire sect. Usually, the sect would pay spirit crystals in exchange for the meat collected by the disciples.

However, that wasn't the case in the outer sect. Rigel understood this on his very first day. The outer circle was like a lawless jungle.

A week has passed since Rigel joined the outer sect and every day he was forcefully ordered to hunt for meat in the forests outside the Rio town. Every day was the same and whatever meat he collected would be snatched away by others.

Rigel quietly watched the scene with cold eyes. He had seen similar scenes numerous times in the past week, and he was once again watching it. Three hundred kilogrammes may sound much but actually it wasn't.

A single demonic deer weighs around three hundred kilograms, and the man had only offered a single deer after a day of hunting. That was unacceptable and thus, Maze was punishing him.

Rigel moved his eyes from the man to Maze, who was watching the man kneeling on the ground with a sneer on his face. He then watched the people standing behind Maze with similar sneers on their faces.

The outer sect had more than a single faction. All these factions were led by individuals who were at the peak of the fourth level of Qi condensation and were about to enter the fifth level. Maze was the leader of one such faction.

When these people breakthrough into the fifth level of Qi condensation, they would be able to enter into the inner circle. The boss's position would be given to his best lackey while he would continue to support his henchman after entering the inner circle.

Who would trifle with someone who has connections with the disciples of the inner circle? One should know that fifth level of Qi condensation is nothing like the fourth level.

When one reaches the fifth level of Qi condensation, their spiritual energy increases by leaps and bounds and allows them to bind to weapons and artifacts. Thus, only a fifth level Qi condensation stage expert can use flying swords and various other artifacts.

Such a huge leap in strength is the reason why a fourth level Qi condensation stage experts aren't allowed to enter the inner circle. The difference between them and the others would be too much. Rigel understood much of these facts after joining the sect.

Rigel sighed as he touched his bag of holding and retrieved the two thin books given by the sect. One of the thin books was an abridged Qi condensation stage manual which explained about the intricacies of cultivation. The other was a guide which explained the basics of all levels of Qi condensation stage.

"Bitch, are you playing with me?" Rigel's thoughts were interrupted by the loud roar of Maze. Standing before Maze was a girl in her late teens.

Rigel looked at the girl and once again sighed in his heart. Being a woman within the outer sect meant a lot of things, but freedom wasn't one of them. She not only has to endure humiliation every day but should also guard herself day and night.

The only way to escape that life would be to gain enough strength. People feared and respected those with power regardless of gender. However, if she has poor talent, it would sooner or later lead to one result, her death.

Men weren't too well off either. Rigel had seen more than once, acts of slavery within the outer sect. Even though he had killed people and wouldn't bat an eyelid to torture his enemies, Rigel despised slavery.

Having been a slave for almost all his life, he had experienced the worst aspects of slavery above and beyond anyone's imagination. Thus, Rigel wouldn't and could never tolerate slavery.

The girl soon began to cry as Maze laughed loudly asking for her innocence. Rigel brow furrowed as he listened to Maze. However, he didn't do anything because he was in no position to openly act against him.

Rigel's eyes turned red with anger as he saw the girl. His teeth involuntarily gritted as he thought about his past. If there was something he despised more than slavery, than it was sexual abuse.

Rigel hadn't always been alone and so cut off from society. He once believed in friends and friendship. He still believed in them only now; he wasn't so innocent to simply believe a timely help as an act of friendship.

Most people do everything in a calculated manner. A timely help is nothing but an investment for many, and they will try to reap that reward in their time of need. Unless you are extremely useful to them, they would never dirty their hands for you.

Rigel had time and time again saw the suffering of his friends after being abused by their masters. Above all, he had seen his dearest person assaulted before his very eyes. That had broken his heart and made him the cruel, cold and heartless person he was when Frank found him.

Thus, Rigel despised sexual abuse to his core. As he saw Maze and his lackeys teasing the girl in public his eyes narrowed and killing intent seeped out of his body, but he controlled himself because he knew that even if he interrupted Maze, it wouldn't be able to stop him.

An untimely help would only do more harm than not helping at all. The girl had survived in the sect for years, and she will survive even without Rigel's help. Rigel clenched his fists and took a deep breath and finally managed to control himself.

The next day, Rigel once again set out into the forest. Even though others might think that this job was bothersome and cruel, Rigel didn't think so. Every time he set out into the woods, he would leave a track of dead plants and small animals behind as he practiced on his black fog.

The black fog slowly seeped out of his hands as Rigel bent his body and took a defensive stance. Standing before Rigel was a demonic wolf which was in the first level of Qi condensation.

Although Rigel wasn't even in the first level of Qi condensation, he had enough physical strength to deal with almost all first level Qi condensation stage cultivators and with some luck, he can even win against second level cultivators.

Mortals can't rival cultivators, but even they can strengthen their bodies with pure effort. However, the strength of a fourth level Qi condensation expert was the limit to any mortals strength. No matter how physically gifted a human is, he cannot rival the power of a fifth level Qi condensation stage expert.

Having lived in Gehenna prison, Rigel's physical strength and flexibility were far above that of a first level Qi condensation stage expert. Thus, it is a grave mistake to simply think of Rigel as a someone who wasn't even in Qi condensation stage.

The demonic wolf roared loudly as he faced Rigel. Wolfs were creatures always found in packs. Rigel's face was serious as he faced the demonic wolf. He had to be serious because demonic creatures generally had far more power compared to the cultivators with the same level of cultivation.

Secondly, the wolf was currently calling for help. Even a third level Qi condensation stage expert would be thrown into a rough spot if he was surrounded by a pack of demonic wolfs.

Demonic wolfs had cultivation varying between the first level to the third level of Qi condensation stage. Usually, a pack leader would be at the second level of Qi condensation, but rarely even a third level wolf king can be seen leading a large pack.

Thus, Rigel had to take care of the wolf quickly. He raised his hand and then threw a piece of meat on the floor before running away at high speed. The wolf looked at Rigel confusedly and roared as it followed Rigel.

However as it passed the piece of meat, it stopped in its tracks and smelled it suspiciously. The meat was fresh, and it emitted a sweet aroma which was enticing to any canine.

The wolf raised its head and tried to find Rigel, but it couldn't see him. Demonic creatures being nurtured by natural energy were much more intelligent than their counterparts found in nature.

The wolf did suspect Rigel but after a minute, it still ate the meat out of greed. As it ate, Rigel slowly walked out of bushes. He watched the wolf and smiled lightly. With a calm voice, he said indifferently, "So you ate it after all. This shows that demonic or not, you are still nothing but a wolf."

The wolf watched Rigel with a stunned gaze, but it could no longer move or howl as its muscles were paralyzed by the neurotoxin present in the meat. Rigel had used this method repeatedly to catch a large number of beasts.

He would put some neurotoxin with paralyzing properties and some appetizing aromatic substances into a piece of meat. He would then lure a demonic creature and then throw the meat as bait.

Everything would happen in the same manner. Rigel was always cautious and would never attract the attention of a high-level demonic beast and was thus never caught off guard.

As Rigel slowly collected the corpse of the wolf into his bag, he heard the screams of a woman. Rigel lifted his eyes and stared at a distant mountain valley. Quickly packing the wolf's corpse, he immediately ran towards the source of the voice.

Soon he came upon a valley where he saw Maze and his lackeys laughing loudly as they chained a girl to a tree. Rigel's face turned red with anger; then his face twisted in unbelievable rage as he saw a man at Maze's feet begging him to let go of the girl.

The image of his young-self replaced the begging man in Rigel's eyes. His legs trembled as he jumped into the valley. No matter how indifferent he could act, there was a limit to his patience and at that moment, Maze had touched the sore spot in Rigel's psyche.

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