As Ling Xuan was about to tighten his grip on the knife, a man covered in a black robe and a black mask appeared before him.
Ling Xuan's instincts told him he could trust this mysterious man, but his heart warned him to keep his guard up, especially after the recent incidents with the traitorous guard. Ling Xuan didn't lower his grip on the knife and remained wary of the wounded beast before him. Even though the beast was wounded and blood was flowing, it stood up and was ready to attack once again.
The masked man glanced at Ling Xuan before looking at the tiger with bloodlust. Even though he was wearing a mask, Ling Xuan could make out that the man was smiling. Ling Xuan didn't understand why this man was helping him, nor did he understand the confidence of the masked man, but he silently stared at him as he turned his back.
The masked man began walking towards the tiger and then took out a dagger and began running towards the tiger. The tiger also began running towards the hooded figure. When the two figures were close to each other, the tiger pounced on the figure, and the figure bent down on his knees and slid on the ground. The moment the tiger came perfectly above the figure, he used his dagger to eviscerate it. The tiger fell down on the ground causing lots of dust to fly everywhere along with blood.
Grrrerer… The tiger tried to stand up yet its life had already drained.
"So fast!" Ling Xuan remarked after seeing the battle that took up the span of a mere three seconds. "Is this the power of an Expert Rank?" thought Ling Xuan. He had already seen the might of Jin Guo, who was in the Expert Rank, when he killed Huo Huo, and using that as a reference, he could estimate that the hooded figure in front of him was in that exact same rank.
The figure then turned towards Ling Xuan and started walking in his direction. Seeing this, Ling Xuan suddenly felt a reaction he had never felt before well up within him. His breathing became rapid. His hands were shaking. Snot filled his nose. His eyes became full of tears. Ling Xuan, or Carto Harts, for the first time in his life, experienced the Fear of Death.
As the hooded figure came closer, Ling Xuan's fear heightened even more. "Is this how I die!?" thought Ling Xuan to himself. "No, N-No! I will not die here!" Ling Xuan convinced himself.
"Mercy, Senior! Junior will not even think of this event!" pleaded Ling Xuan as he knelt on the ground. Now the figure was in front of him and sat in front of him.
"Hmm, so why do you think I will kill you, eh?" Chuckling could be heard as the figure said it. Ling Xuan did not answer, thinking that saying it would cause the figure to feel disrespected and kill him.
"Now don't be scared, Junior. I mean no harm to you," said the figure, waving his hands in the air. "Here, take this cloth and wipe your nose. You look quite horrible," said the figure, handing him a small white cloth.
Now Ling Xuan was up close with the figure, and he could see a few details he had originally not noticed. The figure's eyes were a peculiar color of blue. Streaks of white could be seen escaping from the hood of his clothes. The figure's physique was quite contrary to Jin Huo's, which was the bulkiest he had ever seen. In contrast, the physique of this stranger resembled the body of a healthy person in his original world.
"Now that you are okay, take this and leave this place, Junior, for there are creepy things around us that even I fear," the stranger handed him a piece of candy and coldly told him. Ling Xuan was confused. Was this a token of gratitude, or was someone trying to assassinate him again?
"Oh, you don't know what this is?" asked the stranger with amusement, clearly in his tone. "This is condensed sugar. I heard that you kids like eating these, don't you all?" asked the stranger. Realizing he had been fooled, with his face red with shame, he just kept his head down.
"May I ask what your name might be?" asked the masked man. Ling Xuan politely answered, "My name is Ling Xuan, Senior." The masked man smiled cunningly but soon controlled his emotions and left the place after advising Ling Xuan to go to the nearest town at the border and stay there rather than roam in the barren lands all night.
It was already sunset, so Ling Xuan slowly walked toward a small town. Not more than a thousand people could be seen. Ling Xuan came to a small tavern, not too luxurious and not too flashy. It was simple and cheap. He walked into the establishment. There were several people in the lounge, even though it was this late. Even though Ling Xuan was uncomfortable under their curious gazes, he walked towards the counter at a brisk pace. There he made arrangements for his stay. Seeing the lively atmosphere in the lounge, he decided to stay here for a bit and ordered a bowl of stew.
While eating his stew, Ling Xuan overheard the conversations of the other tables. At one of them, a retired soldier was boasting about his experiences. He was proudly retelling the time he marched under the command of an Expert, and how they killed and imprisoned many beasts. The more he listened, the more he was fascinated by cultivation. Hearing this, Ling Xuan thought of the power levels in this world.
This world's cultivation had many techniques and used to have no clear system of power classification. So the people of the Emerald Throne Sect devised one based on various factors such as techniques, cultivation method, battle prowess, etc. The first of these levels was Apprentice.
Ling Xuan and all his cousins were at this level. This level is followed by the Adept level. His loyal guard, Uncle Fu, was at this level. So was the assassin. The next level was Expert level. This was followed by Master and Grandmaster. Grandmasters were so rare that they numbered in the dozens.
His thoughts raced, "Can I ever reach the level of grandmaster in this life? For that matter, can I even reach the level of master? Yes, I can and should reach because this is the only way to survive in this world. The person who is stronger has the right to live in this world; money doesn't account too much here."
Suddenly, the tavern owner disrupted his thoughts, saying, "Young man, you seem to be in deep thought. Eat your food while it's still hot. If it gets cold, it won't taste good. Also, the room is cleaned, so you can move in after eating the stew."
Ling Xuan nodded his head and continued to think about cultivation and this world's martial arts. After the short recollection, Ling Xuan left for his room. The room was not too bad; it was quite comfortable. One side of the wall was stone, and the other three walls surrounding were wood. The room also had a single bed and a foldable table. The room was kept warm by a fire that was to the far right of the bed. This room could satisfy his current needs.
Ling Xuan sat on the bed and thought about his experience with the stranger. "Sigh, I thought just because of my sheer power and advantage, I could kill that tiger, yet arrogance strikes not in sleep but in glory," remarked Ling Xuan despondently. "In this world, there probably are more than a million things that can kill me. So what if I'm a prodigy? That won't save me when another tiger attacks. No, I have to grow stronger. Only through power may I attain happiness," Ling Xuan realized then. "I need power to exist in this world and grow stronger."
Soon, Ling Xuan started practicing the original cultivation method the body owner was used to. Ling Xuan's vision was now clear: all he wanted to achieve in this world was extreme power and authority. "Power, more power! This is not enough!" Ling Xuan's avarice for strength was growing, his eyes had turned red, and his thoughts started becoming more erratic. He wanted to reach the next realm as soon as possible and started cultivating way over his limits. Then suddenly, he became unconscious and collapsed on the bed.