In a part of Greenforest City, guarded by the Bloody Tiger gangsters, several agitated people could be seen speaking with a burly man who was holding two women in his arms.
"Barry and his men have been murdered," one of them said.
The man they were addressing frowned, visibly enraged.
"Who dares? Did the lord of the city finally grow a spine?" he said, tightening his grip on the two women, who winced in pain.
"According to witnesses, they were killed by two hooded individuals. The guards arrested them and took them to the dungeon," another gangster reported.
"That doesn't mean anything. It could very well be a trap set by the city lord to reduce our numbers. Looks like he needs a lesson," the leader responded with a malicious smile.
"What are you planning, boss?"
"We'll take the city, of course."
"But, boss, if the emperor finds out, we'll be executed. There won't be a place in the entire empire where we can hide from his wrath."
"Do you really think the emperor cares about this city? If he did, would he have let us roam free all this time? He's too busy with the princess. Now is the perfect moment," he said with determination.
He paused and smirked lustfully before adding:
"Besides, once we take the city, you can have all the women you want. But first, you'll have to let me have my share."
The women in his arms trembled in fear as the other gangsters cheered. Taking the city didn't seem too difficult: their leader was a cultivator at the peak of the profound Stage, while the strongest cultivator in the city had only reached the Lower profound Stage. Their enemies wouldn't stand a chance if they struck by surprise.
Meanwhile...
Adam and Selene had arrived in the gang's territory. It spanned about ten buildings where all kinds of vile acts took place.
Selene remained unfazed—she had seen far worse.
Adam, on the other hand, felt the air thick with a nauseating stench that made it hard to breathe. He didn't need to see to know what kinds of atrocities happened there.
"Master, can I fight them?"
Selene was already used to his obsession with training, so she could only roll her eyes.
"Fine, but be careful. There are some Elemental Stage cultivators among them."
Adam nodded and approached the entrance of the main building, guarded by two gangsters.
"Who the h—"
Before he could finish, the guard was knocked out with a single swift strike. His companion met the same fate just seconds later.
Nearby gangsters witnessed this and rushed toward the intruder. Soon, a swarm of them descended upon Adam.
Selene knew it was too much for him, so with a simple wave of her hand, most of the gangsters collapsed, unconscious. Only one remained standing—a cultivator at the Lower Elemental Stage.
Cultivation realms were divided into four sub-stages: lower, middle, upper, and peak. This meant that the remaining gangster had only just taken his first step into cultivation, but even that was enough to make him over ten times stronger than an average mortal.
Adam immediately sensed his opponent's cultivation. Qi swirled around him, a sign that he had some control over it.
The gangster looked around at his fallen comrades but assumed Adam had used some kind of mystical treasure, as he couldn't sense any cultivation from him.
"I don't know what trick you used, but it won't work against me," he said arrogantly.
Adam didn't respond. He simply waited for the gangster to make the first move. Since he couldn't rely on surprise, he had to use a last resort technique he had trained with Selene.
The cultivator mistook Adam's silence for fear and smirked.
"Hahaha! Did you think only mortals would be here? You've come to die!"
With those words, he lunged at Adam.
Adam reacted, and they began exchanging blows. From the start, they were evenly matched, which shocked the bandit.
After a few minutes of fighting, Adam started gaining the upper hand, reading his opponent's movements. The gangster lacked proper training, making his attacks predictable.
The gangster started sweating. This person was too mysterious. How was he fighting him head-on without using cultivation? There were only two explanations: either he possessed a powerful treasure, or he was hiding his real cultivation. He concluded that he had to finish this fight quickly with a surprise attack—otherwise, he might not make it out alive.
Adam noticed his opponent beginning to channel a spiritual technique. He had trained for this moment countless times with Selene. His strategy had always been to force cultivators into using a spiritual technique. In a prolonged fight, a cultivator would inevitably win by replenishing their energy with Qi. But forcing one to use a technique against a mere mortal was one of the greatest humiliations they could suffer.
"You fell for it," Adam thought triumphantly.
"Bloody Tiger Claw!" the gangster roared, infusing his palms with Qi.
But before he could strike, Adam grabbed his wrists, absorbing the Qi from the technique and interrupting it completely.
"Arghhh!" The gangster screamed in agony, coughing up blood as the sudden interruption backfired.
Seizing the opportunity, Adam slipped behind him, wrapped his arms around his neck, and began strangling him. At this cultivation stage, warriors still needed oxygen to survive.
The gangster struggled for a few moments before his body went limp. He would never open his eyes again.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Adam gasped for air, exhausted from the tension and effort. But nothing could dampen his exhilaration. He had just defeated a cultivator as a mere mortal.
Looking back, it was nothing short of a miracle. Eleven years ago, he had been abandoned to die, nearly devoured by wild beasts. Now, he had killed a cultivator with his bare hands… despite being crippled.
Meanwhile, Selene had continued ensuring that no other gangsters—cultivators or mortals—could interfere.
"Congratulations," she said, knowing how important this victory was to him.
"None of this would've been possible without you," Adam replied humbly.
Suddenly, Selene turned her gaze in a specific direction. Following her line of sight, Adam saw a group of thirty cultivators approaching rapidly. Their levels ranged from the Elemental Stage to the profound Stage.
Leading them was a burly, haggard-looking man.
"According to my sources, you two must be the ones the city lord hired to kill my men," the leader said as he got close enough.
He paused before continuing:
"I must admit, it's impressive that you managed to take down so many of my subordinates in such a short time… But they were nothing more than cannon fodder. If you think you're going to survive this, you're dead wrong."