Grant Family, Servant Building on the second floor.
Ace saw those seriously injured and lifeless boys not much older than him. He felt intense ferocity in his heart and really wanted to get justice for them, but alas, he wasn't strong enough.
This was the true face of the cultivation world where strength is supreme.
Ace swallowed the rage and moved forward deep into the 2nd floor. All these doorless rooms were occupied by at least two boys. When they saw Ace with their lifeless eyes, they didn't react at all because almost every day, a new 'sparring partner' would be delivered. So they didn't think about Ace much. He was just another unfortunate one.
Grant's Family captures these boys from the Wastelands.
Wastelands were the lowest-level lands of the entire human continent. Therefore, no one cares if the Grant family treats those wastelandians like slaves.
Elders of the Family personally selected these young boys; if they found something wrong with their identity, they would kill them without any second thought. But in all these peaceful years, they became lazy, and their selection became less meticulous.
Because of it, Ace infiltrated this servant building and became a 'sparing partner.' He found an empty room and sat in a corner.
He closed his eyes and began to ponder over the Dual Shadow Swords technique. He has two years to complete the system mission; in the meantime, he needs to get stronger. He has to reach higher levels in his skills and techniques, especially in Dual Shadow Swords, which was the hardest to master.
The stealth and silent steps were only a hair away from perfection since they were his most important skills. He also needs to level up the True and False eyes. Without this mysterious eye skill, he can't locate the hidden traps or arrays. And, of course, he didn't forget about the final two forms of treasure opening hands. Without it, he wasn't an actual thief.
But in his grand scheme, this time, the most critical skill was Pick-Pocket. When Ace thought of Pick-Pocket, he couldn't help but grin mysteriously.
---
In the evening, Ace opened his closed eyes because he heard the footsteps of three men approaching.
After five minutes, three men stopped outside Ace's room, and one of them exclaimed, "Hmm? Why is there still a person without any injuries here?"
Ace heard this startling voice and finally saw three armored men. They were guards of this servant building who were wasting time when Ace entered the building.
"Hey, little shit, were you hiding last time when we were selecting sparring partners?" The second one condemned sinisterly. His name was Aklam.
"He was lucky to escape our hands last time, but he can't escape this time. Hehe!" Laughed the third one evilly. His name was Luman.
"Little rat, since you're so excellent, you can be the sparring partner of Third Young Miss today, and you have quite a good face, so she will definitely 'treat' you well. Haha," the one who exclaimed first snickered darkly. It was Julo.
"Take him with others. Let's see if you can live to see tomorrow after getting Third Miss 'care'." Ordered Julo to Aklam behind him.
"Let go, little shit." Aklam came to Ace and was going to grab him forcefully, but Ace stood on his own and started to walk toward the other two guards nonchalantly.
"Oh, aren't we full of energy? Let's see if you can still stand after practicing with Third Young Miss." Julo smirked at Ace.
He started to select other sparing partners and stopped paying Ace any more attention.
Ace was one of the ten selected boys. Except for Ace, all of them were wounded and had scars on their faces. One of them was visibly shivering, while another was crying his eyes out.
"Only ten?" A dissatisfied voice sounded from outside the building.
"Head Butler, these ten were the only ones left who could walk properly. Look, we even find a fresh 'piece' for Third Young Miss to play with." Answered Julo respectfully as he pointed his finger at Ace, who seemed impassive. Julo's previous domineering face was replaced with a courteous one.
This person standing outside the servant building has a small and chubby stature. He was a middle-aged man with a short black beard. His name was Kylan Grant, and he was the Head Butler of the Grant family's east district.
Grant's family territory was quite vast, and it was impossible to monitor all the territories of the Family with a small workforce. So, the whole Grant Family territory was divided into four districts: east, west, south, and north.
Each district has one Protector at the peak of the Qi Gates Realm and one Head Butler.
The main Mansion of the Grant family was in the center of all four districts. In the main Mansion lives the family Head and his Family. These four family districts were divided between the elders of the Family.
Head Butler Kylan was here to found new 'sparing partners' for east district young masters. But all the other 'sparing partners' were gravely injured. Because those youngsters didn't hold back at all, they would at least spare their lives if they were in a good mood. But if they were in a bad mood, these wastelandians boys would be beaten to death just to vent their anger.
"New batch isn't here yet?" Asked Head Butler Kylan with evident frustration on his chubby face.
Julo politely answered, "Not yet, head butler, but I assure you it will arrive tomorrow morning."
"Fine, I'll come tomorrow then." Head Butler Kylan sighed helplessly.
"Yes, we will specially select good ones for you, head butler." Aklam thumped his chest while giving a guarantee to the Head butler.
Kylan nodded in satisfaction, then turned toward ten 'dummies' and stated, "You nine will be delivered to other young masters while you, in perfect condition, will follow me."
Kylan took Ace, and the other nine were taken away by other servants who came with him towards the east district of the Grant family. Ace was scanning the surroundings curiously while walking with Butler Kylan.
East district was the biggest district of the Grant family, and people who lived here all held a very high position in the Grant family.
After walking for 5 minutes, Ace spotted a beautiful large house. He saw a beautiful garden with colorful flowers outside. Ace was observing the flowers when an angry yet soft voice sounded, "Kylan, where is my sparring partner!?"
"Boy, it seems your luck is not very good. The Third Young Lady Gracie is angry for some reason." Kylan sniggered darkly while he looked at Ace as if he were a dead man.
As Kylan gloated over Ace's misfortune, the house's closed-door blast opened, and a slender girl, about 5 feet tall with a slender figure, came out.
She was Gracie Grant, the third Young Miss of Grant's Family. She held quite a power in Grant's Family because she was Rylan Grant's niece. She has a remarkably willful personality.
When Kylan saw Gracie was storming towards him with a long face, he quickly grabbed Ace's hand, moved him in front of himself, and promptly said, "Young Miss, look, this is the 'sparring partner' I bought for you today, and he isn't injured at all. He also has quite a face."
Gracie heard Kylan's words. She finally shifted her gaze toward Ace. Even she was stunned for a moment after seeing his handsome face, especially those shining dark blue eyes that gave him an unknown charm. With pale skin and long, inky hair, Ace looked like some young prince.
Gracie had to admit that maybe he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen. She quickly hid her surprised expression and acted like she wasn't moved by this sparring partner at all. However, from Ace's soul sense, how could she escape? He immediately noticed a change in her mood.
"Hmph! What can I do with this little white sheep? He can't even withstand a single strike from me." Gracie snorted and acted like she was still in a bad mood.
Kylan didn't have Ace's soul sense as cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
He quickly said in a panic tone, "Y-young Miss, don't look at his face. He is, after all, from wildness, and his body has to be strong if he wants to survive in wastelands." He was afraid she would want him to become her 'sparring partner' today and hurriedly began explaining about wastelandians.
It was true that if someone wanted to survive in wastelands, one had to become a hunter. One could not live in wastelands comfortably like people in the city.
They have to hunt for food and fight with those wild demonic beasts to live. That's why they have naturally strong bodies. If not for the poor quality of Qi in wastelands and other strange reasons, these wastelandians would've ruled the lands of cities long ago.
Because of this, they didn't have any strong experts, and these strong families captured their youngsters wantonly. Some used them to become stepping stones for their young generation, like the Grant Family, and others used them as high-quality slaves.
It was also a mystery why the wastelandians never had any Qi Foundation Realm Cultivator!