"Why are you interested in that boy?" Demrah questioned while watching Fang Xuan's figure disappear into the distance.
She knew that he had a soft spot for children, but it was surprising that he had given a stranger not only a body cultivation technique but also a sect emblem.
A sect emblem wasn't something given away lightly. It symbolized that Fang Xuan was being recognized as a half-disciple, an acknowledgment of his potential.
Asaad looked straight, his expression serious as memories started to surfaced.
"Do you know why they picked me to scout this continent?"
His voice was calm, but there was something heavy behind his words.
"Because you're strong?"
"No," Asaad shook his head. "It's because I came from this place. I know what it's like to be discriminated. My mother hid me and my siblings to protect us, but when we tried to escape, I was the only one who survived." He sighed deeply, the memory still haunting him to this day.
"So, you see yourself in him?" Demrah asked, shaking her head.
She couldn't believe how soft-hearted he was, but at the same time, she found herself admiring this side of him.
"Maybe," he said with a small smile, then turned and walked away.
Two hours later, Fang Xuan found a large tree to rest under.
Asaad had given him some rations and a makeshift map, showing the way to his old town. It was a risky move, but he knew he had no choice if he wanted to get his revenge on the people responsible for his mother's death.
'I might not be strong enough to defeat Qi cultivators yet, but I can definitely kill Dong Huiqing,' he thought, gripping the map tightly.
'But first, I need to figure out what to do with my skin,'
Looking down at his jet-black skin, Fang Xuan realized it made him stand out too much.
If he wanted to move around without being noticed, he needed to find a way to blend in quickly.
While he was thinking about it, a sudden itch spread across his skin.
He scratched at it, confused, until he noticed something strange—his jet-black skin was slowly fading, returning to its normal color.
'This is it!' he exclaimed, his eyes widening in excitement.
'Maybe I can do more things with this black things? '
To his surprise, his clothing shifted at his will, transforming into a dark robe that concealed his face.
Now, the only issue left was his eyes.
The moment he thought about it, his eyes started to itch too.
He quickly searched through his bag, remembering the small hand mirror he had taken from his mother's things before escaping.
Holding it up, he stared at his reflection.
"My eyes and hair are black now!" he whispered in disbelief, the realization sinking in that he actually had the ability to change appearance.
The change was limited to his skin color, but it was enough to make him almost unrecognizable, especially now that he was much taller and fitter.
'What was that thing I absorbed? It's too powerful!'
He began to wander again why her mother did not used it when she got crippled , with this magical item, there was no way that it could not heal her meridians .
'Speaking of meridians…' he remembered what Asaad told him.
His meridians were blocked, which was why he kept throwing up blood when he tried to practice his breathing techniques.
Asaad had also explained that breathing techniques help cultivators draw energy from the air into their bodies and move it around.
But if someone's meridians were blocked, the energy couldn't flow and would even cause a backslash.
The thickness of the meridians also affected how quickly someone could get stronger.
People with wider meridians could improve faster, while those with narrower ones couldn't progress as quickly and needed more resources to help them.
'Breathing techniques are impossible for now, so I can only focus on training my body.'
He pulled out the body cultivation technique and began flipping through the pages.