Thump!
Levi collapsed on the table, unconscious.
" So the boy finally passed out."
" I didn't expect him to last a full 6 days without food or sleep. His seed of knowledge should be able to grow, as long as he understands what he memorized." Old gray ruffled his head of white hair, a warm smile on his wrinkled face.
Levi slept for the next two days straight like a dead person, not reacting to anything.
"uu...." He slowly opened his eyes and saw a short, gray-haired old man.
The old man silently worked on clothes, on a wooden table with many different tools on it.
Shing!
' Kill!' Levi shouted in his head, as he took the saber from the spacial and slashed out at old gray.
Ting!
" Hmm? You're finally awake boy. I was just about to throw you into the streets." Old gray said jokingly.
The saber hit his neck, but couldn't even break his skin.
Rumble!
Seeing that his attack had no effect, Levi released his blood energy.
A thick plume of blood-colored mist erupted from his body rapidly, making a rumbling sound.
Boom! Levi did not hold back, he compressed all of his blood energy before shooting it at old gray.
" Nice trick! But, I like you boy, so I will give you some advice. You should show respect to those who are stronger than yourself." Old gray said.
He caught the marble-like blood energy, and crushed it with his bare hands, causing it to scatter.
After he spoke, a terrifying pressure erupted from his body, inveloping the entire imperial city.
..
In the castle.
"!!" The king suddenly jumped from his throne, cold sweat drenching his elegant red robes.
..
In the large hall, the three old masters, along with the 3 clan heads stood trembling, looks of terror on their faces.
" W--h" One of them tried to speak, but the pressure made him unable to breathe, much less talk.
..
"!!!!" Levi's face was on the floor in the small tailor's room, the pressure crushing him into the ground.
He wasn't even able to look up, as blood oozed from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth.
Under the terrifying pressure, cold sweat soaked his clothes.
In all of his life, he had never felt true fear.
Not when he was almost killed by the boar, or when he fought the azure clan's people, or when he was eaten by the giant snake, or even when he was almost killed by the two heaven and earth stage experts, he had never felt fear.
But this, the old man in front of him, was a terrifying, fear inducing person.
The tattoo slowly appeared, vibrating as if afraid.
Levi was shook to his very core.
" It could help you preserve your life." Old gray continued, as he restrained the pressure.
The king, the three clans, and every other person in the imperial city felt like they had been released from death's grasp after the pressure disappeared.
Many of the normal citizens had long collapsed from the pressure, while any martial artist who was cultivating at the time spat mouthfuls of blood.
They weren't brave enough to get angry, and in fact were happy that they got to live another day.
" Get up boy. If you are so scared that you can't even lift yourself up, then you should just stop cultivating, you will just die in some unknown place." Old gray looked down at Levi.
Grit!
Levi clenched his teeth tightly, and moved his trembling arm, attempting to push himself up from the ground.
Thump!
His arms shook, causing him to fall back on the ground.
He tried again and again, as blood dripped from his clenched teeth, before he was finally able to stand.
He looked at old gray, fear in his eyes.
But more than fear, respect shone in his eyes.
He was afraid, but the flame of his desire for strength was burning even stronger, along with his battle intent.
" Oh? You want to fight me?" Old gray asked as a smile cracked on his face.
"!" levi flinched.
" Hahaha! You will have to become at least a hundred times stronger before being able to fight me!" Old gray laughed.
" Alright boy, you can leave. Try to understand what you have memorised these past days, and practice often! " Old gray said.
Levi could only nod because his voice wouldn't come out.
As he walked down the street, he saw many people breathing heavily, their faces alternating between pale and red.
He could only watch this scene with desire for now, but he believed that he would be able to acquire that amount of strength, or even more at some point.
The strength to sweep a million-year-old kingdom from existence with just a flip of his hand.
He went back to the inn, shocking the old innkeeper with his beat-up appearance.
' This young master is always cold and disinterested in everything, but after not seeing him for a few days, his expression isn't cold, in fact, he has a raging fire burning in his eyes...' The old innkeeper thought silently.
Levi went up to his room and lay flat on his bed in silence, while blankly looking up at the wooden ceiling.
After a while, a cold expression returned to his face.
But this expression wasn't aggressive, it was calm.
From that experience, he learned something.
Be cold and calm, not cold and arrogant.
And most importantly, Respect the strong!
After collecting his thoughts, he left the inn.
He walked around the city aimlessly, before asking a martial artist for directions to a blacksmith.
Peng! Peng!
He found himself in front of a large building made of wood and metal.
Standing in front of the door, he could feel the heat coming from inside.
" Hmm? What do you need, kid?" After walking in, a large muscular man asked.
The room was not very big, it had a few swords on display on the walls, and a wooden counter with a door beside it.
A light smoky smell lingered in the air.
The man had a white cloth tied around his bald head.
He wore a white robe without sleeves, which was discolored from oil and coal stains.
He just happened to be on a break, but unexpectedly a boy came in.
" I want swords made, a lot." Levi replied coldly.
" Oh? A lot, huh. I don't know if you are just here to cause trouble or what, but even if you weren't, i don't have enough materials to make 'a lot' of swords, mainly metal."
" Lately, most of the iron ore coming from the countries is taken by the armies." The man said.
"..." Levi kept silent.
" If I get the materials, will you make the swords?" Levi asked after a small pause.
" Yeah, you would still have to pay me though." The man replied.
" Where did you say the ore is brought from?" Levi asked.
" Most of it comes from the many countries in the cloud continent."
" For instance, the divine country sends a remarkable amount every year." The man said after some thought, as he wiped the sweat from his face with his hand.
"..." Levi's eyes widened slightly.
His lips lifted into a slight smile, as his slightly long red hair covered his golden eyes.