6 The Curtains Fall

The spectating outer disciples gasped as they watched on how Carmine's aura was climbing sharply.

The battle was full of ups and downs, which drew the people in. They couldn't hide their surprise when Carmine suddenly rose in power and reversed his fate.

The most surprised person undoubtedly had to be Ren, however. 'He's broken through and has entered the berserk state, why is he still going to die?' He couldn't understand.

It could be that Dorian was hiding a secret trump card, but he should have drawn it by now since the battle was so fierce.

'Something's wrong.' Frowning, Ren remained rooted to his spot, observing the battle and contemplating at the same time. Seeing how Dorian was being beaten black and blue, the confusion in his heart grew even more.

''Fatty, the pill's effect won't disappear so soon, right?'' He asked suspiciously.

''Of course not.'' Fatty replied annoyedly as if he was asked something stupid. He continued staring at the battle excitedly.

Meanwhile, the arena was dyed red in contestants' blood, but the battle was still raging on.

Dorian puked mouthful of blood as his body was flung like a kite. Carmine had become too powerful for him to contend against. He wouldn't last long under the opposition's unrelenting barrage of sharp swordsmanship.

Suddenly, as Carmine was about to throw another attack, a piercing shriek rang from the crowd, disrupting the flow of battle. ''Stay your hand, or you will regret it!''

Carmine's expression changed as he recognized Avi's voice. Turning his head, his expression changed. ''YOUR DARE?!'' With reddened eyes and trembling body, he howled, his rage exploding upon seeing his beloved tearfully looking at him, while dagger was pushed against her neck.

After shouting, he dashed from the arena, but the thin elderly man blocked his path. ''The battle's not over yet.'' He said calmly.

''Get out of my way!'' Carmine shouted as he hacked at the elder with all his might.

*Clang!

The elder blocked his hack with two fingers and pushed him back. ''Rules are rules. Only one of you walks out of here alive.'' He said coldly.

''Will you protect her for me then?'' Carmine asked with gritted teeth.

''Humph, a mere servant disciple, I have no obligation to protect anyone.'' The elder snorted at him in disdain.

Avi laughed gratingly, watching the scene.

In the crowd, Ren's expression changed. He had the feeling this fight was connected with the previous battle, but seeing Avi involved, he was now sure.

'She's so shameless! No wonder he's going to die even with all the advantage he has.' Ren realized.

He coldly looked at Avi, who was laughing like a lunatic, seeing victory in sight. She appeared to have gone crazy from delight, not caring about her image anymore.

'I won't let you have your way.' Ren abruptly made a decision and swiftly disappeared into the crowd. Ren didn't plan to reveal himself so early but now was the best opportunity. In one fell swoop, he would crush his enemies here and now, until there was nothing left of them!

''Everyone, save her and I'll owe you with my life,'' Carmine shouted, alerting all the people who were on his side and other spectators.

''If someone dares to move, I can't guarantee my hand won't slip.'' The man who held Sara hostage laughed brazenly. A small cut appeared on Sara's neck as the sharp dagger edge was pushed against her neck.

Krull and few others had to stop in their tracks. They were powerful, but they couldn't save someone from so long a distance. They had to at least get near first, but even then, they didn't have confidence in success, so they hesitated.

The crowd watched the drama unfold with interest. Some protested while others didn't care, but nobody moved. If they did and were unable to save her, they would be blamed. They couldn't guarantee victory, so people began to waver.

Meanwhile, Dorian sprung up and pounced at unguarded Carmine with his giant body. Carmine spat a mouthful of blood as few punches landed on his face. His nose was crushed and his teeth were knocked out of his mouth.

The people who had intentions of helping Carmine's side hesitated even more. Helping his party while he died was courting death.

So what if he broke through? Dorian, who had established his might long ago was a lot scarier to them. Also, in their opinion, Carmine's strength was only better than Dorian's because it was boosted with the pill.

The decision wasn't hard to make. The people decided to stay their hands...but not everyone had similar thoughts.

Suddenly, an ordinary stone came whistling from nowhere.

*Bam!

The dull thumping sound similar to watermelon being squashed rang.

The man who held Sara hostage had his skull crushed by the flying stone. His corpse lifelessly plopped on the ground.

Silence...

Everyone drew cold breaths, secretly admiring the courage of the person who had the guts to interfere in such a situation.

The victim was hit from the blind spot, right from behind. That's why, before he could catch wind of something wrong, he was swiftly taken out.

The crowd was interested in the courageous fellow who broke the equilibrium.

Turning their heads, everyone's expressions turned weird.

...Nobody could recognize this person.

''You...!'' Avi pointed her trembling finger at Ren, unable to utter a word in shock.

''B, bro?!'' Fatty exclaimed in disbelief from the side, watching how Ren emerged from the crowd with an unusual confident look on his face.

''I, impossible!!!'' Avi screeched disbelievingly. ''How could you have reached the first stage of Qi Condensation?!''

Ren smiled in response while kicking the corpse away with his leg. Ignoring the hysterical woman, he turned his head to the arena.

''Hey there, I'll be protecting your chick. Don't hold back, you can go all out. Beat the shit out of him!'' Ren cheered Carmine loudly as he positioned himself in front of Sara, not minding Avi's poisonous gaze.

''Whoa, look, there's another fight!''

''What's going on, after all?''

The people gave way to the opposing parties and chattered.

Avi's expression was twisted as Ren finally turned his head to him with a wide smile on his face. ''You look awful.'' Ren casually commented.

''Little dog, you dare go against me? Seems I've not beaten you enough! So what if you've reached the first stage with your dogshit luck? You're still nothing to me. Blocking my path? Little doggy, you're still not qualified.'' Screeching, Avi dashed at Ren, whose cold piercing gaze was directed at her.

''Oh, is that so?'' Ren said in a low voice.

...

If it was the day before, he wouldn't have dared be so brazen but now, he had nothing to fear.

It happened yesterday, right after realizing something important.

From the previous encounters, Ren learned bits and pieces of the clues, which led him to the bold conclusion. 'Can these colors I'm seeing have something to do with destiny?' As soon as this thought invaded his mind, his brain seemed to have unlocked something.

Another change happened to him, he was sure, but the change wasn't apparent in any way.

He only hypothesized that this obscure new change had to have something to do with his realization. He guessed he somehow got it right.

This led him to overthink about his new finding and then, he examined himself, searching for the new change. Unfortunately, he was disappointed. Only later that night, in his cell did the change occur.

When he fell asleep, he had a strange dream. Soon, he realized, that this dream was kind of special. Everything felt too real to be a dream, and he was as sober as any other day in his life. He was even able to feel pain, which made him doubt he was in a dream even more.

Ren recalled what he was doing before getting here. He was meditating in his cell when he must have fallen asleep and appeared in this strange land, where everything felt real.

He felt a little fearful of the unknown, but he calmed himself through linking his situation with the new 'change' that should have happened to him.

Ren decided to explore this unknown land. There was nothing else to do here, anyway.

''How peculiar.'' Ren stepped on the soft, floating black clouds as he sensed his surroundings. The place was absent from heaven and earth energy, yet he was still able to survive. It was really strange.

The surrounding space was pitch black darkness, but the path ahead of him wasn't as empty as the sky.

There were black gates seemingly made out of pitch black iron lying in his path. On top of the gates, a large plaque was plastered rather awkwardly. With big letters, it read - Destiny Dreamscape...

''Destiny dreamscape? Is this the name of this place?'' Ren felt curious and vigilant.

Suddenly, after finishing reading the title, his mind was flooded with foreign knowledge.

A few seconds later, Ren's eyes lit up in realization. ''I see...I have actually become one of the destiny cultivators, the devourer of destinies, and this place is...Destiny Dreamscape, the neverland of destiny inheritance, the frozen realm in the middle of nowhere...''

Ren took in a deep breath, still unable to fully process everything. He once again pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

His guesses about the meaning of colorful auras around people were correct. Now only that, but a mysterious flow of knowledge which emerged in his head made him aware of many new things, but at the same time, rose even more questions in his head.

''I can figure everything out later. What I need to do now is to get the inheritance!'' He spoke to himself excitedly.

He approached the gates with confident strides. He knew what was coming, so he had nothing to fear, instead, he was excited...

Upon coming close to the doors, they opened up on their own with grating sounds, revealing the path ahead, which led to the small white room made out of moving white clouds.

Upon entering the room, Ren's attention was quickly drawn by the strange machine lying in the middle of the room. He had never seen such a machine before, but as per the instruction from the memory, he knew what purpose it served.

Ren curiously observed the machine for a while, secretly complimenting its design. When he had enough, he stood in front of it and closed his eyes, attempting to regulate his breathing.

After preparing himself, he threw a full power punch at the large, soft red button, which cushioned his attack.

''13'' Number appeared on the blank white screen on top of the machine.

''I can exchange for spirit stones with these points. With such a small fortune, I won't have to care about the shortage of cultivation resources for a while.'' Ren laughed happily as he exchanged for 3 low-grade and 1 mid-grade spirit stones.

Without further ado, he sat down on the cloudy ground and surrounded himself with the spirit stones after admiring them for a while. Closing his eyes, he started cultivating.

The time was almost frozen in this Neverland. He also didn't require any form of sustenance to live.

He could just sit down and cultivate with the spirit stones right there and now. Nobody would disturb him.

''If only there was heaven and earth energy here...'' Ren lamented in his heart, but quickly dismissed the unrealistic thought.

As soon as he ran out of spirit stones, he wouldn't be able to continue cultivating, but it was fine as well. Spirit stones were incredibly valuable resources for cultivators. He previously never imagined to get his hands on low-grade spirit stone so soon, not to mention the mid-grade one.

Ren felt like he was dreaming, and technically he was, but not really...

Ren started cultivating. Slowly, the low-grade spirit stones in his hands lost their luster.

There was no need to keep track of time, so he calmly proceeded with his dull practice. It was a must for the cultivator to be able to cope with loneliness in order to achieve greatness. Sometimes, they would have to spend years in closed-door training. If their will wasn't firm enough, their path wouldn't be very long.

Of course, willpower was only one aspect cultivator had to possess...

Ren didn't have trouble concentrating. If anything, he only felt happy as he felt changes brought to his body. He fell in love with the process of experiencing slow, yet definite growth.

He had to live in stagnation for a long time, yearning to start cultivating one day. Now he was like a starved wolf, who was able to taste the flavor of raw flesh after years of hunger. Gradually, the pure Qi was transferred from the spirit stones to his body.

Unfortunately, almost eighty percent of the energy dispersed, but it couldn't be helped. It was already good enough to be able to attract and refine a fifth of the energy contained in the crystalized essence Qi.

The time flew. The vibrant luster on spirit stones gradually dimmed. Ren looked at the low-grade spirit stones, which now looked like ordinary pieces of stones with regretful eyes.

''Sigh...My talent's pretty damn low, isn't it?'' Ren lamented. With his greater perception, he would be able to sense more heaven and earth energy and increase his speed of cultivation, but due to his low talent, he would still require more time and resources just to reach the same level as others.

This wasn't enough to lower his spirit, however. If anything, he only welcomed more challenges.

After using up the low-grade ones, Ren grabbed the mid-grade one. His look changed, feeling the raging compressed energy in the blue half-transparent stone in his hands.

''Indeed, mid-grade spirit stone is formidable.'' The energy in mid-grade spirit stone was 10-30 times more than in low-grade one. The energy contained was also purer. Even a person with low talent could cultivate fast and build a great foundation with mid-grade spirit stones at their disposal, but not to mention low talented disciples, even Houtian realm experts would have limited stockpile of it.

Mid-grade spirit stones were several times scarcer natural resource than low-grade ones. Their value was conservatively 50-100 times more than low-grade spirit stones, but people wouldn't necessarily be willing to part with mid-grade spirit stone for 100 low-grade ones. The pure energy contained inside made it incredibly valuable as the degree of Qi purity in one's body was a must for every cultivator.

Everybody wanted to build a solid foundation to be able to advance further on their martial path and it was only achievable by purifying one's Qi or absorbing already pure Qi from mid-grade spirit stones. Using spirit stones also greatly decreased the time required for cultivation. As for the value of time for cultivators, it needn't be explained.

To be able to exchange a mid-grade spirit stone for 10 points from the machine, which equaled 10 low-grade ones was an incredible bargain...

Ren continued cultivating, using up the mid-grade spirit stone, which even Houtian realm experts reluctantly used in the sect.

The pure energy in his body was slowly being built up until it reached the breaking point.

''This feeling of fullness...have I reached the minor bottleneck?'' Ren thought excitedly. There was still 80% energy left in the mid-grade spirit stone in his hands. It would be more than enough to aid in his first ever breakthrough.

Ren calmed his excited heart by regulating his breathing and washing his mind away from distractions, aiming to breakthrough.

Ren felt like a jug full of wine, which was about to spill out may a drop more be added to it, but he still pumped more pure Qi in his body, increasing the energy density.

He could have broken through any time by now, but he didn't. Ren's ambitions weren't low. Even if he was being wasteful with the rare resource he possessed this time, he didn't back away. His goal was to compress scattered Qi into pure Qi in his body, so he would have a firm foundation and be superior to the others on the same level.

The brimming energy in his body finally reached saturation. The surrounding dispersed Qi in the room was rapidly drawn in his direction and merged with his body which acted like a black hole.

*Boom!

The powerful energy shockwave burst from his body.

''Ha, hahahahaha~ I broke through! I actually broke through! The first stage of Qi Condensation! I'm no longer a mortal. I'm truly a cultivator now!'' Ren jumped up in happiness while excitedly feeling the changes in his body. It was rare for the usually stone-faced Ren to show such sincere happiness, but he was simply too excited.

He finally set half a foot on the endless path of cultivation. He even possessed superior strength than the most others on the same level, even if he didn't know any skills yet.

''But I'm still at the bottom, aren't I?'' The negative thought disrupted his burst of happiness, which was followed by more. He needed more resources than others if he wanted to maintain his superiority, which wasn't easy. His talent was low in the first place and he might be aiming too high, but...

''I won't give up! This is the path I've chosen. There's no way I can be fine with being mediocre. I'd rather die than be lower than others!''

After calming down, he sat down to stabilize his cultivation. The sharp rise in his ability needed adapting in order to be able to fully display and control his strength.

There was still 10-20% energy left in the spirit stone. He used it to stabilize his strength and also increased his cultivation a little bit more, following which, he stood up.

''With this, I'm done with this room.'' He decided to step into another room, but suddenly, he halted. ''Oh, right, why didn't I think of this?''

He returned to the machine and stood in front of it. He threw a full power punch at the red button.

''41...'' A red number was displayed on top of the machine.

''Good god, my power more than tripled in all aspects. I'm a superhuman now! Though...it's only a start.'' Ren nodded to himself and left to another room with satisfaction.

He was unable to exchange for more spirit stones from the machine, as it was only a one-time thing, but he wasn't disappointed. Many other good things were waiting for him here.

Another room was as he was informed previously - a test of luck.

There were 5 large blue chests lying in front of him.

''Blue...yeah, this is the 'blue inheritance.' Regretfully, I can only get another inheritance when I reach another level in my aura, which is green.''

The blue color on the chests signified the level of his current fate wheel.

The requirements to become a destiny cultivator was to be a deprived person with 'gray' fate wheel, and an unaccepting will that wished to defy one's fate...which would qualify them to become destiny cultivators and the inheritors of the destiny power.

After reaching the 'blue' fate wheel and realizing the meaning of 'the colors,' on their next sleep, they would be brought here to take 'blue' inheritance.

Achieving every new color was going to bring the cultivator in this realm to take another level inheritance.

Ren wasn't the only destiny cultivator, but they were scarce in numbers. Their death rate was also high, as they had to constantly kill people who were born with golden spoons in their mouth to devour their destiny. It was truly a suicidal path that defied the heavens' will.

All this unbelievable information was stuffed in Ren's head as soon as he came. He had to accept these things and move on. There was no use asking more questions until he qualified with his power.

''Out of five chests, 1 is supposed to be empty, 3 should contain average level treasure and the last one...is a jackpot.''

There was no point in overthinking here. The chests looked identical. If he was lucky, he was gonna get something good, if not, he could only blame his luck.

''I can't be that unlucky, can I?'' Ren muttered as he chose his target.

At random, Ren approached the second chest from the left and clicked on the circular button drawn on it.

Immediately, the other chests disappeared while the lid of the one he chose opened up.

Noticing the interior of the chest, Ren was stunned.

There was a golden silken inlaying in the chest, which only meant one thing.

''I actually...won a jackpot? What?! Since when was my luck so good? Haha~'' Ren felt bewildered and exhilarated at the same time. After recovering from his surprise, he fiddled his hands inside the chest and filed up the treasures one by one outside.

''3 scrolls, a ring, a sword, and a vial of strange liquid.'' The number of treasures was surprisingly low for a jackpot, but this didn't make Ren any less excited.

These treasures now belonged to him, and by the feel they exuded, they weren't ordinary treasures. How could Ren be dissatisfied in any way?

Ren began trying to figure out their uses. After thoroughly going through them all, he couldn't help but take in a cold breath, his body trembling in excitement.

''This...even the sect elders might get greedy over these if they found out. I definitely can't let them know of my possessions.'' Ren was aware, for a weak person to possess treasures was a crime.

''Fortunately, the ring isn't too flashy and contains some space. I can probably get away with it if I'm careful.''

The treasures he had obtained were modified according to his needs. If not for that, he would be robbed and silenced as soon as he returned from the dreamscape to the real world. In fact, he felt these treasures were born just for him as they served to fill his deficiencies.

''Especially that sword, it's gonna be my trump card. I'm only going to take this out when my life is truly in danger.''

The sword was a low-earth grade treasure! Even some elders didn't have earth grade weapons in the sect.

Ren admired the sword in his hands. Its handle was dark with a transparent black crystal gem embedded in the middle. The pure white blade boasted incredible sharpness and reflected light. It gave a solid and domineering feeling but was very lightweight.

''Vacuum Cleaver, so this is the name of the sword. It's indeed extraordinary.'' Ren read the tiny engravings on the blade and waved it around to test it out. The grip felt comfortable. Ren wielded it with ease and felt childish excitement and closeness with the sword. It was very compatible with him.

After the sword, Ren checked the ring. After wearing it for a while, he realized, the value of the ring far exceeded that of his sword!

The ring was only High-Human grade, but it possessed absolutely precious property. Ren decided to call it 'the ring of conversion.' Through observation of his body, Ren experienced and perceived the 'movement' of Qi in his body after wearing the ring. The Qi incredibly slowly, but surely was decreasing, but instead, compacting and merging, becoming more ''solid'' and purified.

All he needed was just wear the ring and even if he absorbed turbid Qi excessively, it would be purified. The only downside was time. At the rate of its operation, it was going to take a considerable amount of time to show the difference, and it would surely be unable to keep up when his realm and the amount of Qi in his body increased.

''This is probably the most precious treasure a cultivator could possess in the early stages!''

The chances of him keeping up with his ambitions slightly increased with this ring...

The benefits from the jackpot blue chest didn't end there.

Ren checked the vial next, which surprisingly came with a piece of paper, which described its use.

''Body Tempering Liquid, it's actually a low-earth grade concoction...this...'' Ren was lost for words.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to use it immediately. There were no side effects, only pain, which he was already used to.

The time was also flowing incredibly slowly in this realm, so there was nothing to worry about. Ren endured the waves of pain after draining the vial in one gulp and felt the changes brought to his body. At first, the pain was unbearable, but his body underwent immediate changes soon after, which increased the tenacity of his body, so he was able to endure the whole process.

After an unknown period of time, the effect wore out.

*Crackle

An explosive strength erupted from just clenching his fists.

He felt his strength had grown beyond belief. With his monstrous perception, he checked his body and realized the changes were on a fundamental level. His bones were compressed and sturdier. Every fiber of his muscle had turned incredibly tenacious and vigorous.

Ren felt he could choke a demonic beast with his bare hands.

''My body's endurance is comparable to low-human grade defensive treasure. How formidable...'' Ren exclaimed as he waved the Vacuum Cleaver around, which weighed as light as a feather to him. Every slash was followed by the whistle, which was the sword's effect. The faster it was swung and the more strength one put in it, the more the edge of the blade compressed the air and exploded it, adding destructive piercing power to the attack.

His strength and endurance had shot up!

''With so much stamina, I'll be able to endure long battles. I should be able to take powerful attacks too, and my strength...it's at least twice or thrice as much as what it used to be!''

Having so much free time, Ren practiced with the sword and adapted to his current power. The previous and current him were simply incomparable. His attributes rose several times over, but cumulative power wasn't just 5+5, but multiplicative. He could probably beat up dozens of previous him without exerting much at all.

Most importantly, he was gaining the strength to face and eliminate his enemies. His hatred for his enemies was off the charts, but now that he became stronger, the urgency to deal with them disappeared.

With the expansion of his worldview, he became calmer and more calculative.

''Once, I could only look up to them, but they're just small fries, in the end. There's no need for me to go all out and mindlessly chase them down. The opportunity will show itself.''

The grievances in his heart needed an outlet. The unfinished job needed a conclusion, but playing cat and mouse for a while was also fine in Ren's opinion since the other side could no longer threaten him anymore. Besides, killing wasn't always the best solution. He'd rather keep his enemies alive and make them experience a living hell.

''I shouldn't waste too much time on enemies, but I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so it's better to play safe and slow.''

Ren thought over how to deal with his enemies several times over, what expressions they would make and how they would react, but soon, he thought he was lowering himself to attach too much importance to small fries.

The psychological mark they had left on him was slowly fading. With power came confidence. Ren's heart was slowly healing, but he wasn't going to act like a saint and let things go. Life had taught him a harsh lesson.

''It's kill or be killed. Answer a slap with a kick, return 1 silver as 10 golds. That's the way to go, hahaha...''

After overthinking about other useless things, Ren continued from where he left off. There were still 3 unknown scrolls waiting for him to open.

''Intermediate Cultivation technique!'' Ren's eyes lit up. He thanked the designer of this realm a hundred times, as somehow, everything he wished for was one by one handed out to him. He even felt somewhat scared.

''Huu~ Yosh! Let's try this!'' Ren operated as the manual suggested and connected the five meridians, creating a certain pattern, which, upon forming gave him a wonderful feeling.

''This...'' His body started absorbing the leftover Qi from the room, which dispersed from the spirit stones when he was cultivating.

Unexpectedly, the absorption rate was several times slower than if he cultivated with basic cultivation technique, but did this mean his cultivation manual was trash? Far from it.

''It actually lets me passively absorb Qi 24/7 without me having to even do anything...I just hope I won't become lazy.'' Ren felt funny, but a bit lost too.

The realm gave out things that would benefit him the most, but this manual just prompted him to become lazy. It just didn't make any sense. The memory he received clearly stated why he was chosen as a Destiny Cultivator - for his will and determination. If things turned easier for him, wouldn't he lose the qualities he was chosen for?

''Is this some kind of test?'' Ren pondered long and hard. ''Hmm, that's most likely it, but it doesn't matter to me. I wasn't gonna slack, either way. I can't afford that, besides, I already received so much benefit. I'd truly be a sinner if I just let them go to waste.'' Shrugging, Ren opened up the second scroll, rapidly reading the contents.

''Fuck...it's actually a Spirit Art...Why am I not surprised anymore?'' Ren exclaimed helplessly.

Actually, he didn't know about spirit arts until coming here.

The spirit arts were like a set of martial skills, but unlike normal martial skills, their power grew along with the cultivator. Spirit arts weren't graded, or Ren just didn't know about it, but one thing was definite - With the help of spirit arts, he was going to become unrivaled at his level, at the very least.

''Gravity Spirit arts, oh sweet!'' The more Ren dug into the contents of the manual, the more Ren realized the value of this scroll. Not to mention Houtian, even several realms higher seniors he hadn't even seen or heard of could probably eat each other to get this thing.

''Ahh, it looks so hard though, I'm gonna have to spend a shit ton of time on this...Perfect!'' Grinning, Ren immediately started practicing. If he mastered the skills written in the spiritual arts, he believed he would become an invincible master! This set of spirit arts had the potential to be used for mobility, control, attack, defense, basically everything! It was truly a treasure among treasures.

The time flowed slowly but wasn't completely frozen. He could spare at least a year of practice without needing food or getting old, so Ren just set his mind on practicing spirit arts in the small room. Meanwhile, the Qi scattered across the room was slowly absorbed by him passively.

An unknown amount of days later...

''Why is this so damn hard?!'' Ren was almost going crazy. After so long, he couldn't even perform the most basic spirit technique - Wall Walk.

''I'm doing everything according to the manual. The distribution of Qi in my leg meridians should be perfect. I've basically mirrored the whole thing, so why? Could my cultivation be too low? Ah, what a pain! Away it goes...for now...'' Ren 'gently' threw the scroll in his ring of conversion.

''The last one, what's it gonna be?''

The first thing he noticed was that the last scroll wasn't a martial skill, which soured his mood, but as he read on further, his eyebrows were raised.

''''High-Human grade breathing technique, 'Reverse Flow,' turns Qi volatile, increasing its destructive power...How is this a freaking High-Human grade skill? Isn't this going to increase my raw destructive force of Qi by at least 30-40%? Hmm, good stuff! A jackpot is a jackpot, after all.''

Fortunately, Reverse Flow wasn't that hard to master. Using it made him very uncomfortable, though. He couldn't use it for long either. ''But it's still all good.''

Ren continued exploring the dreamscape. There were 5 floors to explore in total.

On the third floor, was another test of luck, - lucky wheel.

''That's Destiny inheritance for you. What else did I expect?'' Joking, Ren rolled the wheel with a smile.

''50 000 gold coins...why the heck would I need mortal currency in the sect?!'' With darkened face Ren watched the golden coins pile up with pleasant jingling sounds.

There were so many good things he could have won, but somehow, he got the second worst from the list.

''Oh well, they might come in handy some time.'' Not minding it too much, Ren kept away the coins and left for the 4th floor.

The 4th floor was designed as a queerly quiet arena. The arena was very large and the seats surrounding the ring were empty. The sky was filled with crimson clouds, lazily moving across the horizon.

It wasn't hard to guess what the test was about.

A formidable looking figure dressed in dark blue armor appeared on the arena right across him.

''Come!'' Ren drew his sword, preparing for the battle. His combat experience was close to zero, which was why he was anticipating the battle.

The figure slowly approached him. His whole body and face were covered in armor. Not even eyes could be seen. The massive greatsword with rounded tip was intimidatingly dragged across the arena with grating sounds, leaving mark on the finely powdered sand scattered across the floor.

Squinting his eyes, Ren lowered his stance and observed his approaching opponent. When in range, he cast his senses on the opposition.

''What...?'' Ren was shocked as he was unable to gauge the opponent's cultivation.

That could mean 3 things.

1: His opponent's cultivation was so much higher than his, which is why he was unable to sense it.

2: The enemy's Qi was much purer than his, which obstructed his assessment.

3: The other side didn't have a cultivation at all and was merely a mortal.

''I can only find out in battle.'' Saying this, Ren no longer waited for the opponent and dashed towards the enemy.

...

When the battle ended, Ren remained standing on the spot like a dumb chicken, watching the armored enemy turn into dust after being annihilated by him.

''Just a mortal...he was just a mortal...'' Ren couldn't believe it.

The first exchange ended with him cleanly slicing the enemy's greatsword in half, which made him realize his opponent was merely a mortal.

He was a bit disappointed. He would be basically bullying him with his low-earth grade sword, so he kept it away and fought him barehanded. What followed next was beyond surprising to him. Despite possessing so much physical strength and being 1 realm higher than his enemy, he was unable to have an advantage.

The vast variety of moves the enemy pulled off, coupled with his pure physical strength kept Ren at bay, dodging and coping with the attacks.

After several minutes, Ren was able to grasp how to adapt to the flow of battle, how to synchronize his thinking and body movement and how to predict the enemy's next move from slightest gestures.

In the end, he managed to kill the opponent, but he was left feeling overwhelmed.

He felt he had learned a lot from this exchange - how to calmly face life-threatening danger, how to handle himself in combat, and the most valuable of all - to never underestimate his enemy.

If he wasn't careful, he could be killed. Of course, this realm wouldn't allow him to die, but outside he would be left with only himself to depend on.

After beating the first enemy, the next one appeared. It was the same knight with dark blue armor, but this time, it possessed the cultivation of Qi Condensation 1st stage, some skills, which were several times more effective than casual moves, and the equipment, which appeared the same as the last time but was actually of higher quality.

After a long, tiring battle, Ren came out victorious. Unfortunately, he lost the next challenge.

''Huuuf, in the end, I only passed 2 levels.'' Ren thought dejectedly. With his foundation and weapon, he thought he could beat Qi Condensation 2nd stage experts too, but he failed.

''Maybe he was just too strong, I don't know, but it's safer to assume I still can't overcome the difference in realms.''

The rewards for his result was 3 PP, which was some kind of currency he could exchange for from the shop he was unable to see anywhere.

''How does this work? Should I just pick up something from the list?'' Ren scratched his head as he went through the virtual screen floating in front.

In the end, he ended up not buying anything. ''I wonder if the points will still be there the next time I come here, also, how strong will I be on my next visit?''

The fifth and last floor, he had to face the mimic of himself with 125% attributes. He lost miserably. No rewards...

Ren thought he could have performed better. 'There's no use thinking about it too much. I've got a few very precious things. They'll last me for a good while. I should focus on how to grow fast.' He thought upon exiting the dreamscape and returning to reality, in his prison cell.

Thankfully, everything hadn't been a dream. His power was there and so was the ring along with things kept inside.

...

Back to reality, watching Avi dash at him with intentions to kill, Ren's smile grew colder.

''Die!'' Avi emerged before Ren like a ghost and pierced her exquisite green handled dagger at his chest, aiming right for his heart.

Ren wasn't nervous. Her every movement appeared surprisingly slow to him. With a mocking grin on his face, he caught her hand and twisted it to the side. The dagger dropped on the ground as Avi let out a shocked and painful grunt.

Ren was inwardly surprised how easy it was.

Avi stared down at Ren with disbelief written over her face, as he was held up in the air by the neck.

The onlookers were also dumbfounded.

''Who's this guy?'' Someone asked in shock. They hadn't seen him before. He just popped up and bested an outer disciple. Though Avi wasn't the strongest, she wasn't weak either, as she had reached the 2nd stage of Qi Condensation. She supposedly had few tricks and had the reputation of a viper. How could she be beaten so easily by just a nobody?!

''Dunno...oh hey, he's wearing a servant's clothes...eh?'' Someone exclaimed, which was followed by people shooting Ren puzzled and scrutinizing glances.

After the initial shock, Avi's beautiful face twisted in anger. A knee suddenly approached Ren's face. Ren caught it calmly and applied some pressure with his immense strength.

*Crack

A disturbing sound of kneecap shattering rang, which was followed by Avi's mournful shriek, as her expression twisted in agony.

*Thud

''Who's the dog now? Bark and I might let you go!'' Ren let her go and stared down at her with a shit-eating grin on his face as he watched her squirm on the ground in pain.

The glares of animosity were directed at him from the crowd. No matter what, Avi was their fellow disciple and incredibly beautiful girl at that. No matter how bad her reputation was, guys would always have a soft spot for girls, who were bullied.

Instantly, Ren was labeled a villain in many people's hearts.

''Aren't you going a bit too far? Injuring a fellow disciple, aren't you afraid of consequences?'' Someone spoke up justly.

Ren shrugged. He was too lazy to explain anything to hypocrites. Where were they when he was oppressed? What right did they have to criticize him when they didn't know the story behind it all? None.

While the conflict escalated on Ren's side, the battle was reaching conclusion on the arena.

The feeble looking elder was about to explode from anger. He had secretly thrown a formidable pill to Dorian, but surprisingly, Carmine was on guard against him too and crushed the pill in time, before it reached the enemy's hands.

The elder couldn't directly interfere in battle, yet, if he just stood there, doing nothing, he would have to face the consequences later.

Power boosting pills Dorian took couldn't change the course of the battle. He was seriously injured physically and internally. He couldn't bring out his full power anymore. Meanwhile, Carmine appeared to be possessed by a demon as he executed attack after another. His attack speed wasn't something Dorian could cope with anymore.

''AHH!'' Suddenly, a scream rang from the arena. It sounded like a pig being butchered. Everyone's attention was momentarily drawn.

''You dare?! My master will slaughter you and your family if as much as, AHHH!'' Carmine didn't let him finish his words as he slashed his chest with a flurry of his hands, deforming it into a mess of flesh and blood.

''That's enough! He already gave up!'' The thin elder said with a darkened face. If he allowed an inner court's disciple to die just like that, he would be in big trouble. Dorian's master wouldn't let him off easily.

Carmine's response was merely a grin, which appeared especially savage on his bloodstained face.

''Only one of us can get out of here alive, no?''

The sword flashed.

Dorian's head rolled on the ground, lingering fear and shock written all over his frozen expression. The light in his eyes dimmed.

Dorian's headless corpse slowly fell on its back, no longer moving. The blood sprouting from the neck dyed the ground crimson.

''You...you...'' The elder pointed his trembling finger at Carmine, unable to believe his eyes. Carmine spat saliva mixed with blood on the ground as he shot the elder cold glance and brushed by him calmly.

The elder's chest heaved up and down as he forced himself to put down the flames of wrath.

His authority was challenged and not only that!

He was in big trouble, all because of this brat.

He wanted to kill him so much, but he couldn't just kill a promising outer disciple without a proper reason.

''Good.'' The elder only spat one word filled with animosity. Obviously, he wouldn't let the matter rest.

''Dear!'' Sara cried as she embraced wounded Carmine. ''It's okay now, I'm fine, see, haha~'' He laughed in happiness while consoling her beloved, who appeared to have many things to say, but was bawling her eyes out in his embrace.

The familiar scent of his lover revitalized him, increasing his determination to stand strong. 'Until I have someone to protect, I won't go down!' He promised himself while caressing Sara's smooth hair.

He knew all too well what it meant to be targeted by the elder, but he didn't regret what he did.

Carmine cast Ren curious and grateful glance. If not for his interference, Carmine would be unable to bring out his full power, afraid Avi would harm his lover. He swore in his heart to repay the kindness tenfold.

Unfortunately, Carmine wasn't the only one whose attention was grabbed by Ren. Worse, he wasn't targetted with kind intentions.

''Bastard, I'll teach you a lesson!''

''How can you treat a girl so cruelly? I'm gonna beat you senseless.''

The hotheaded outer disciples were ganging up against him, drawing their weapons.

Ren knew the matter was getting out of hand, but he didn't feel like backing off. Cowering would result in worse consequences, besides, he never intended to back down.

Just as he was preparing to deal with a bunch of outer disciples in order to establish dominance...

''Silence!'' The authoritative voice belonging to the thin, feeble-looking outer court elder, who oversaw the life and death match rang. The outer disciples stopped in their tracks.

Ren shuddered, feeling hawk-like gaze directed at him.

In less than two seconds, the thin elder appeared right in front of him. Ren's heart sank, feeling the unhidden enmity radiating from the elder's eyes.

'If not for this brat sticking his nose, everything would be fine. Now I have to endure Houtian expert's wrath. Hateful!' Ren was right. The elder was fuming and unable to vent his anger, decided to take it out on him.

''Show me your badge!' The thin elder demanded loudly. His tone suggested no room for negotiations.

Frowning, Ren answered. ''I don't have the badge. I'm not an outer disciple, yet.''

Hearing his answer, the thin elder immediately erupted. ''How dare you, a mere servant injure an outer disciple? You deserve a thousand deaths! Enforcement soldiers, drag him and beat him to death!'' He yelled. In response, around a dozen people dressed in similar costumes split from the crowd, approaching Ren.

Ren's expression was ugly as he answered. ''I'm not an outer disciple yet, but now I qualify to be one, do I not?''

''Presumptuous! How dare you talk back to your elder?!'' Yelling, the elder unexpectedly struck Ren's chest.

Ren's eyes contracted, but he was too late to react. The Elder struck a full power blow with his cultivation of Late Stage Qi Condensation.

*Crack

A terrible sound of ribs shattering rang. Under the shocked eyes of spectators, Ren flew through the air, spitting a mouthful of blood and landed harshly.

''B, bro!'' Fatty Ruka exclaimed in panic.

''Ghh!'' Ren's heart turned cold sensing the injuries his body had sustained. His internal organs have shifted and his ribcage was completely deformed out of shape. If he didn't receive some sort of medical aid, he would surely die here and now!

The elder hadn't held back at all! If not for him consuming the low-earth grade potion, which increased his body endurance to the level of Low-Human grade treasure, he would surely have died already. 'I'll fucking pull your bones out if I live, old dog!' Ren swore in his heart.

Seeing his savior in this state, Carmine raged and rushed at the thin elder, his sword glimmering sharply. ''Old goat, what kind of elder do you think you are, treating disciples this way?!''

''Pompous little bastard, drag him away too, lash him three hundred canes.'' The elder slapped Carmine's sword away. The force behind his casual strike threw him a couple of meters away.

''Carmine!'' Sara cried as she tended to her lover. His injuries were already serious, which get even worse now because of the uncontrollable elder.

''Humph.'' Snorting, the thin elder prepared to depart after venting his anger.

The Enforcement soldiers surrounded Carmine and Ren. None of them could bear their punishment in their current state. They were going to die.

'Hehehe, little bastards, you're a hundred years too early to play this old man.' The thin elder cackled in his mind. He was a bit troubled as to how to deal with Carmine, but since he went out of his way and dared to scold and attack him, he had his excuse.

'Though, that kid...hmm, how's he still alive after taking my blow?' The elder's crafty head quickly grasped the suspicious point and weaved his opinions around it. It didn't take him long to become obsessed with the idea. 'That brat must have been a servant disciple, yet he beat that wild girl and even endured my attack. Something's not right here. He must be hiding some kind of secret. Hehe, great, seems I have to make an extra trip to the punishment hall.'

''Stay your hand!'' A sudden howl coming from behind interrupted his thought process.

Turning his head, his eyes contracted as he saw Enforcement Soldiers about to leap and beat up the fat disciple.

''Stop!'' He yelled just in time.

The fatty Ruka courageously stood in front of collapsed Ren and Carmine. He was sweating and panting, unable to hide his nervousness, but his eyes shone with determination.

''If you touch my friends, I'll tell my master!'' Fatty yelled at the top of his lungs.

The thin elder's expression once again contorted. He wanted to spill blood in anger. He knew fatty's identity. The old man who took him in as a disciple was incredibly powerful, someone he absolutely couldn't offend. The esteemed Elder also rarely took in disciples, so he would surely dote on the fatty a lot. What he wanted the least was more trouble.

''Dismissed.'' After a moment of hesitation, the thin elder snorted at the Enforcement soldiers and left without a word.

The crowd looked at fatty with complicated emotions. The majority didn't know his identity, but considering the thin elder's attitude, he wasn't someone they could offend.

Their sense of justice was dispersed in the wind as they no longer dared antagonize Ren, who was in fatty's party.

Ruka's fats quivered as he sighed in relief.

''B, bro, do you hear me? Take this pill.''

''Ah, you too. You were really cool there.''

The fatty panickily tended to the two wounded men. Meanwhile, the crowd slowly dispersed.