“So it was you!”

Kyril heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned his head around and hurriedly placed the Earth Grade herb into his inner pocket.

Just behind the fallen tree, Alek and Silas appeared and stared at Kyril.

“Boss, I told you it was Kyril who provoked the rumoured beast!” Silas said relieved. If in the end Kyril was not the one who provoked the beast, then Seth would think that he was lying. He could not have that or else he might get punished! If that were to happen, then his relationship with Seth could be damaged and Silas would not have the qualifications to act as he pleased anymore!

Following behind Alek and Silas, Kyril saw two figures walking to the side of the two boys. The one on the left was a bulky man, about the same size as the two guards Kyril saw outside the library, but instead of wearing padded leather armour, the bulky man wore a thick silvery robe that was made from animal fur.

“This man… The previous Kyril suffered a lot of injustices by the hands of this man…” Kyril thought for a moment before shifting his eyes to the smaller figure beside the bulky man.

This smaller figure was Seth. He had a similar face to the bulky man and also wore a similar silver robe. His face displayed a pair of eyes that looked at the world with a gaze which held everything as beneath him. Below the eyes, Seth let out a contemptuous smirk that showed an overflowing amount of arrogance.

“Heh, so it really was that cripple who provoked the beast,” Seth sneered, “Looks like you were lucky this time,” Seth said as he looked at Alek and Silas.

“This boy should be who Alek and Silas refer to as ‘boss,’ Kyril thought, “judging from the similarities in appearance, this boy should be that bulky man's son…”

Kyril thought back to when he overheard Alek and Silas referring to their boss when trying to hoard all the herbs from Kyril.

“It also seems that this pair of father and son both hold grudges against me…” thought Kyril as he scanned the pair, “moreover, from their expensive looking robes, they appear to be quite wealthy. Dealing with them might become quite troublesome…”

Seth threw his gaze at Kyril and said sarcastically, “Heh… It looks like that rumoured beast let you off quite easily.”

Seth looked at the blood drenched body of Kyril. The smile on his face widened.

“Yes. Quite easily…”

But to this, Kyril only let out his own mocking smile and signalled his hand to the Black Wolf’s body a few metres away from them.

Seth stared at the Black Wolf’s carcass in shock. The two boys beside him held similar expressions, except that their jaws seemed to have lost all its bones and just hung down by the skin.

“You… You… How can this be?” Seth said with eyes wide open, “Impossible! A cripple like you couldn't possibly defeat a Black Wolf!”

Seth could not believe that Kyril managed to kill the Black Wolf with his crippled body. Even a Practitioner like himself would have a hard time dealing with a Black Wolf. They were just too fiercesome!

But what Seth didn’t know was that Kyril did not fight the Black Wolf head on, if he did this then Kyril would have surely lost! The only reason Kyril defeated the Black wolf was that he managed to take it by surprise! However, Kyril did not bother explaining the methods he used to Seth. To Kyril, Seth was just one of the many obstacles preventing him from achieving his goal. Against people like that, Kyril felt that it was a waste of energy to argue against them.

While Seth was still shocked, the bulky man beside him had recovered.

“Why would a Black Wolf appear away from the deeper parts of the Grassy Mountains…” the bulky man thought and then transferred his eyes onto Kyril, “Could it be that there was something in this area?”

The bulky man found it odd that a Black Wolf would come away into the outskirts of the Grassy Mountains. Usually, Black Wolves reside deeper in the Grassy Mountains as a pack. Only something of major attraction would cause wild or magical beasts to come away from their territory.

While the bulky man was staring at Kyril, Kyril immediately felt that something was wrong. From his inner pocket, Kyril felt streams of an invisible force coming out from the herb which began twirling around his body.

“Crap. Is the Martial Essence leaking out?”

Although Kyril didn't know what exactly was going on, he had a vague idea.

With each stream of invisible force that twirled around Kyril's body, a sinister light twinkled in his eyes followed by greed.

“Boy,” the bulky man said in a cold voice, “hand it over.”

The bulky man set his eyes firmly on Kyril’s body.

Hearing this, Kyril’s forehead creased.

“So he did find out…”

“Boy, no use trying to hide it. A cripple like you may not know it, but to us Practitioners, we can clearly feel that there’s an abundance of Martial Essence around your body. Since it’s impossible for you to cultivate then the only other explanation is that you’re holding onto some treasure!”

Hearing this, Alek and Silas’ eyes filled with greed, but when they looked at the bulky man, they could only shrink back.

“Father, is this true? There’s a treasure on his body?” Seth asked while rubbing his palms together and locked his eyes on to Kyril's body.

“Of course it’s true! Do you think that I could possibly make a mistake! With a cultivation base like mine, I can clearly feel the Martial Essence from Kyril’s body. Unless he’s holding onto a treasure, how could there be such pure Martial Essence around his body!” the bulky man said, “now boy, hand it over or I’ll have to take it myself!”

However before anything happened, a large number of almost thirty men rushed around Kyril and the bulky man. These men all carried swords and axes, and wore similar clothing of leather armour or cloth robes.

“Shit…” the bulky man cursed softly as he looked at the men, “obtaining the treasure on Kyril’s body is going to become troublesome…”

The men looked wide eyed at the Black Wolf’s carcass and then at Kyril’s body.

“This…” one of the men muttered and looked at the bulky man, “...did senior Garren defeat that Black Wolf?”

“Hmph,” the bulky man looked at the man with disdain, “do you think that I, Garren Kairo, would bother with such a trivial Wild Beast?”

The cold response of Garren made the man’s face twitch, but he said nothing of it. This man called Garren Kairo was someone he could not offend!

On the other hand, the rest of the men fell into shock when they heard Garren’s response.

“Then does this means that Kyril defeated the Black Wolf?” another man said aloud.

“No chance! He’s a cripple! How can a cripple defeat a Black Wolf!”

“But… Then who defeated it?” one man said hesitatingly, “Senior Garren said he didn’t do it…”

The men quietened. A cripple defeating a Black Wolf? They have never heard of it!

Could he really have killed the Black Wolf?” a man started muttering to themselves.

The men looked at Kyril with wide eyes. If they widened their eyes any further, their eyeballs might just roll off!

One should know that without cultivation, then the person would have the strength of an ant! If it weren’t for Garren confirming the men’s suspicions, then they would only laugh at Kyril if he claimed to kill the Black Wolf. Among the Wild Beasts, Black Wolves were among the strongest due to their tail! With a swing of its tail, it would be able to cause trees to come crashing down!

“Wait!” one of the men shouted, interrupting the other men. “Do you feel that? There’s Martial Essence coming out from the cripple’s body!”

As that was said, silence immediately dawned onto the surroundings once again. The men focused their senses on Kyril and like the man said, there was indeed Martial Essence around Kyril's body.

“Heavens! What is happening today! First he unexpectedly kills a Black Wolf and now Martial Essence is gathering around him. Could it be that today is the day he can start cultivating!” shouted one man.

“That’s impossible! Even the doctors who the Town Head hired couldn't find a cure for him, how can he fix his crippled body so easily!” another man retorted.

“Then how can their be Martial Essence around his body…?” the men fell into confusion.

“...! It might be a treasure!” blurted out a man.

Hearing this, Garren’s face changed.

“This idiot! Now everyone knows about the treasure!”

Out from Garren’s body, a pressure started pressing down on all the men, causing the other men’s face to harden.

“That boy's treasure is mine. If anyone wants it, then they'll be making me their enemy.”

Garden swept his eyes across the men. A slight killing intent emanated from his body. He could not let anyone else take the treasure.

“Your treasure?” Kyril who had been watching the events unfold, said, “let me ask you, was it you who killed this Black Wolf? Was it you who found this treasure? Since it wasn’t you, then it doesn’t belong to you!”

Kyril shouted sharply at Garren.

“Hmph. What of it! What does a powerless cripple like you know?” Garren sneered.

“Hahaha!” Kyril laughed out loud.

“Garren, since you to want to steal from me, then I'll play with you!” Kyril thought.

Turning his head towards the men, Kyril shouted, “Men! Am I or am I not powerless against this man called Garren!”

Kyril's voice echoed throughout the Grassy Mountains. The questions he asked had dumbfounded the men.

“What sort of stupid question is this cripple spouting? Of course he's powerless! Has he lost his mind?” all of the men thought.

Seeing the men look at him as if he was as dumb as a rock, Kyril continued, “I shall take your silence as a yes!”

Kyril walked to the middle, where every man could see him.

“Then I shall ask another question!”

To the men, even though they thought that this cripple had turned insane, they could not help but feel some charisma in the way he spoke.

“Are you or are you not powerless against this man called Garren!”

Once again, the men were rendered speechless. But out of these men, some had realised what Kyril was trying to say.

“What bullshit are you saying you cripple! Of course these flies can't compare to my father!” Seth exploded.

But when Garren heard his son, his face formed a mountain range! Creases and crumples appeared all over his face as he looked at Seth!

Seth saw this and was somewhat perplexed.

“What's wrong? What I've said is true!” Seth thought and took a few steps back.

“Hahaha!” Kyril laughed once more, “so you men are powerless as well! That makes us both powerless!”

More men started realising what Kyril was doing. Some of the men showed amused smiles while some of them stared at Kyril with raised eyebrows.

Ignoring the reactions, Kyril continued, “Then since we're both powerless and Garren is trying to rob me, who says that Garren will not steal from you!”

Bang!

All the men now understood Kyril's point and some even began looking at Garren with distant eyes, as if he was a person who was one thousand kilometres away! But when they looked at Kyril, he seemed like a child who played with words like an old man! Only one word about this child appeared in their minds. Cunning!

At this point, Seth finally realised what he had done. His face turned red and the pupils within his pair of eyes looked at Kyril as if trying to pierce his heart.

Kyril saw this and simply laughed at it. Towards Seth, Kyril showed a tranquil face.

“This is a world where the powerful eats the strong! There is no place for the weak in this world,” Kyril's tone turned severe as he continued to look at Seth, “but even if I am weak, I will not be eaten! Even if the Heavens want me dead, I will make the Heavens fall!”

It was as if Kyril had been possessed by a God. Such a domineering tone had actually been said by a mere twelve year old child and even a cripple at that!

The surrounding men looked at Kyril with a mixture of faces. Some men looked at Kyril with a hint of respect. The words Kyril spoke were words these men would never dare to say in their entire lives! However some other men thought that Kyril's words were as empty as a bag of air, spoken to hide that he was actually frightened of Garren.

“Hahahaha! Such bold words!” a man’s voice boomed throughout the air, “but… I like it!”

- END -

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