"You arrogant little dog!"
He is about to give the man the beating of his life but Xu Xena is there to stop him.
"Stop! Can't you see the adults are talking?!" Xu Xena interjected.
Gu Ryu was rendered speechless. Feeling wronged, he glared at the man who had died a million times already inside his head.
"Uhm. Regarding our question---" Xu Xena was interrupted.
"Isn't it a common courtesy to state your name first before stating your purpose?"
Xu Xena knew she heard knuckles crackling beside her but completely ignored them.
"Of course. Our apologies. My name is Xu Xena and this is Gu Ryu. We were on a mission to find siblings around this height."
It seemed the siblings came from a powerful family to cause cultivators to hunt them.
"No. I don't. You may now leave." Akira simply responded and returned to his nap.
Though fear crept into her heart, her pride as a cultivator was hurt. The man didn't even hesitate or consider it for a moment, he simply denied it outright.
This simple exchange of conversation snapped something in Gu Ryu.
Gu Ryu's rage exploded. He took a step and the moment his feet landed on the ground, he was already in front of Akira who still had his eyes closed.
"You ask for it! Now, die!" Gu Ryu shouted, full of hatred.
A ball of fire that can burn anything it touches within a second engulfed Akira.
"Crap!..." Xu Xena was second late from stopping Gu Ryu.
Xu Xena eyed Gu Ryu laughing his heart out.
Whilst he laughed he sensed something was missing.
He looked at Xu Xena whose face loomed.
"Are you okay?" Gu Ryu asked.
Instead of words, his face was bent when Xu Xena unexpectedly hit him with her fists brimmed with Spiritual Qi.
He was blasted away from his spot creating a majestic curve trail in the sky.
The outburst wave of the punch was enough for the raging fire to dissipate.
Xu Xena's eyeballs almost popped out from their sockets, not because the man was still in his previous position, eyes closed and unburnt but on the account of her fear being realized.
Xu Xena jolted when Akira opened his eyelids.
"That's not a nice way of meeting a stranger the first time." Akira coldly muttered with his apathetic gaze.
Trembling, Xu Xena bowed her head and asked for forgiveness. "I apologize! Please, spare me. I-I tried to persuade him not to act recklessly!"
Totally ignoring her plea, Akira asked in return with his still cold tone and unbothered temperament. "Why were you looking for the sibling?"
Xu Xena immediately understood the underlying meaning behind the question.
Would I lie? Would I be killed if I did?
"Speak. Time waits for no one."
Xu Xena jolted at the sudden change in Akira's tone.
With her eyes closed, she says, "I-I, no! We were hired by the Head of the Jie Family to… look for the sibling, the remaining survivors of the rival family."
Many scenarios played in circles inside her head. She and Gu Ryu were under a binding contract. Revealing their mission to outsiders would cost them their lives if the Jie Family learned of it.
But under this man's gaze, Xu Xena was left with no choice but to compromise. She just hoped that the Jie Family wouldn't learn anything of what had been transcribed today.
Akira arches his left brow. "To what end? Murder?"
Akira's face loomed for a second.
Xu Xena's sharp eyes noticed it and she was thrown into the scale of life and death.
Her body pumped adrenaline when she saw the sudden change of expression on the man's face.
Forget about running. A powerful cultivator can outrun those below their realm.
There was no use in lying so Xu Xena just meekly nodded her head.
"I-I, really am sorry! We were only tasked to find and bring them to the Jie Family, whatever comes next is beyond our concern! Please, spare us. I was deeply indebted to the Tower and the Jie Family has a connection with them. I was forced to agree to the terms…It's only the way out of debt. I won't tell a soul the sibling happened to pass by…"
Xu Xena began spouting the motivation behind the binding contract with the Jie Family. It bothered her to look for the kids but it was her life at stake…
This world is cruel. She has known it since she was young.
She grew up in a harsh neighborhood. Poverty and hunger were their everyday struggles.
Despite the challenges, she was determined to make something of herself.
The unfair treatment of the powerful made her angry but it also fueled her determination to make a difference.
Fate had granted her wish when she awakened her capability to be a cultivator only to be disappointed in the end.
For all that, under the hand of many powerful cultivators, she was just a puppet at their disposal.
Meanwhile, Akira had long returned to his usual temperament after hearing the Tower.
"What caused the Jie Family to exterminate the kids' family?"
Xu Xena saw a glimpse of hope when she was asked a question.
"The Jie and Zhang families have a long history of business rivalry, and they are so wealthy that they can afford to employ cultivators below the Golden Core Realm. The rivalry began with talks and skirmishes but escalated to an all-out war five years ago when they started assassinating family members. This left only two children as the survivors of the Zhang family."
Akira listened attentively and found nothing related to the Tower.
"What was the tower connection with it?"
Xu Xena hesitated at first.
"I really don't know. There were just rumors the Tower has a strong tie with both families, that's all I know."
Akira just stares at the nervous Xu Xena.
"Go fetch your friend and bring him over."
Xu Xena was relieved and submissively fetched Gu Ryu.
She saw Gu Ryu massage his swelling cheeks.
"Ow. Ow. That hurt…"
"Come over here. Quickly!"
Gu Ryu clicked his tongue. The indignation doubled as the woman she liked treated him like some naughty kid.
Gu Ryu sighed and trailed the path toward her.
"Why did you have to punch me?"
Xu Xena's lips twitched. "It is because of you we are held as prisoners!"
"What?!" Gu Ryu exclaimed. "Who would dare to hold us as prisoners? Did they have a death wish?!"
"You fool!" Xu Xena smacks Gu Ryu's head.
Feeling wronged, he glared at her. "You don't have to smack my head!!!"
"I told you not to act recklessly. The guy you tried to toast is a powerful cultivator and he's waiting there for us!"
Gu Ryu felt his stomach turning up.
"T-the…t-the man earlier is a powerful c-c-cultivator?!"
Xu Xena just glared at him.
Gu Ryu fixed his posture. "Please, plow my face once more!"
Xu Xena just rolled her eyes. "Shut it. Let's go. We shouldn't let him wait longer."
Xu Xena didn't wait for Gu Ryu's response and turned around.
She had already thrown all the thoughts of escaping. It is because they were trapped. Her master once told her a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator can move mountains and turn a beginner cultivator to dust.
That guy who acts like an ordinary person wanted to kill them with a snap of his finger, there is no way they can stop him or run away from him. Their steps though light, reach far.
Xu Xena and Gu Ryu found Akira in the place where the former last saw him.
"Senior. We're here."
Xu Xena started. Nervously.
Her elbow urged Gu Ryu on the side.
The latter took a deep breath while under Akira's gaze.
"Senior. I apologize for my action earlier!" Gu Ryu started and groveled on the ground.
"Your behavior demands punishment. You could have crisp someone to their death." Akira coldly retorted with his usual indifferent expression.
His words, though calm and cold, robbed of particular emotion still struck Gu Ryu.
His words carry malice. Not malice that could harm them physically but mentally.
Gu Ryu clenched his fists. Remorseful of his past actions.
"Senior is right. I will bear the punishment alone and atone for my childish behavior."
"You'll be punished in due time but what do you know about the Zhang and Jie Family?"
Gu Ryu hesitates. They were employed by the Jie Family, a powerful and rich family in the nation. Breaching the contract can cost his life.
However, when he senses Xu Xena's piercing glare, he takes a deep breath and tells what he knows.
As far as he was concerned, as long as the Jie Family didn't learn about the slight betrayal, they wouldn't activate the contract binding his life to kill him.
"The Jie Family and the Zhang Family have a long history of rivalry that escalated into a bloody massacre. Both families have a mine of low-grade spirit stones, making them the main producers of spirit stones in the area. Despite being ordinary people, their direct relationship with the Tower has made them an influential family, and powerful cultivators and sects wouldn't normally interfere with their mine."
"No one knew how long their relationship with the tower had been. However, there were rumors, that to keep their relationship with the Tower, they must offer a large sum of Spirit Stones."
"Due to the extended excavation of the Spirit Stone Mine, both Families are struggling to maintain a consistent supply of their offerings to the Tower, leading to a massacre. It is unfortunate that the Zhang Family not only lost their mine but also their legacy."
Akira frowned.
"Legacy?" He mumbled.
What could an ordinary family possibly leave as a legacy? In the world of cultivation? Their stature was only made possible due to the Tower's influence and unrivaled authority.
Gu Ryu heard Akira and thought it was a question that needed to be answered.
"Yes. A treasure of some kind. An heirloom that was passed down from generation to generation."
An heirloom? Was this general knowledge?
Akira fixed his gaze on Gu Ryu, wanting to ask him how this type of information could be considered general knowledge.
Xu Xena was there to beat him on the question.
"How did you know all of this?"
The question startled Gu Ryu.
Gu Ryu quickly convinces Xu Xena not to tell anyone about the legacy. Xu Xena rolls her eyes in response, while Akira is lost in thought.
Akira's fascination with the Tower grows.
The brand printed on the opaque container seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite remember where he had seen it before.
Everything is bits and pieces.
The intensified bickering between the two gradually halted due to the sudden disturbance.
"Stop." He coldly muttered.
The two, whose foreheads were now touching each other immediately reprimanded themselves upon hearing his cold voice.
Akira looked up and saw a massive tornado forming in the distance. The sight was both terrifying and mesmerizing.
The tornado showcased its destructive force.
Akira knew this was not formed naturally.
There were definitely cultivators fighting in the area.
"To which sect do both of you belong?" He asked ignoring the disturbance created by the tornado.
Xu Xena and Gu Ryu shook their heads without hesitation.
"We dislike being confined and would prefer to travel the world. We resent being controlled by elders and genius disciples." Xu Xena explained.
Akira sneered inside.
He stood and turned around.
"From this day forth, you should learn to embrace the idea of someone running the show in your life. If you don't like it, blame your foolish impulses and past actions.
He glanced back and said, "Follow me." Leaving the two in bewilderment.
His heading was toward the First Floor of the Dungeon.
Wukong's demand to vacate the First Floor is up.
Fortunately, the arrival of these two cultivators solved one of his debts to Wukong.
The two look at each other.
Their faces show disgust at the idea of being confined.
They turn their head around deep in the forest as their expression speaks volumes of escaping.
But these thoughts are only for naught for they know the repercussions of defying the order of their captor.
Gu Ryu and Xu Xena were left with no choice but to trudge the path Akira trailed, their hearts heavy with worry unaware of what the future was in store for them.