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Owl moved forward and grabbed the brick while the seller happily packed his things. Since he made such a fortune, he would be able to go buy his pills now. As for Owl, he was rather happy about it. Something he might have taken years to find in the wild was so easy to get once he entered society. This was the benefits of living in communities.

Jung-Su wondered why he bought this brick. This was just a brick containing the properties of one element. What was the point of getting that? What did he even use to buy it to make the seller so quick to agree to the deal? He looked at his brother owl and wondered if the beast was actually wealthy. He couldn't help his curiosity and ended up directly asking: "Brother Owl, are you actually wealthy?"

He hoped he was. Being wealthy meant being capable of rapid growth in the cultivation world. He had remained at his low stage precisely because he was poor, due to not having background. If his brother owl was wealthy, the future was bright.

Owl answered him negatively though: "I am not. Compared to you, maybe, but that is nothing compared to what I used to have before I was sealed"

He eloquently spoke bullshit that sounded truthful. The kid believed and that was the only thing that mattered. That being said, his wealth was his own, he wouldn't give even the crumbs to anyone. This kid was only a tool for him to get access to human society. With no longer any reasons to remain in the market, he told the kid it was time to leave. It disappointed Jung-Su greatly but what could he do? Maybe, there wasn't any legendary sword today?

As they were exiting the marketplace, they ended up stumbling across the group of bullies. The cliché event was happening right in front of a chuckling Owl. He expected as much from young villains. They tried to beat someone to death only for him to pop up again alive the next day. It would have been surprising if they didn't come meet him. He was actually worried yesterday that they didn't show up.

Turned out they finally showed themselves. This would be fun…

…

Wu Sunghyon was a disciple from the Serene Summer Sect. He was well-known in the outer court for being quite the bully, making use of his 5th stage power to rule over weaker disciples. He spent most of his time fooling around with his clique yet never lacked resources. Because he was stronger and could force the weaker students to give him their things. It was easy too and no one could complain.

As long as he gave a few pills to the elders, they turned a blind eye. They needed resources too and the sect wasn't that wealthy. Turning a blind eye to a few random weak disciples being bullied in exchange for benefits? They were more than willing to do so. As such, his rule was stable. Of course, it was as long as he didn't go mess with the stronger outer disciples. After all, everyone that had yet to reach the 20th stage was in the outer court, there were many stronger than him.

He was smart enough to understand that he could mess with some and not with some others. And from there, he made quite the killing in profits. He was swimming in an abundance of spiritual pills. Though he shared them with his clique, three 5th stage bros from his hometown. They enjoyed themselves day and night, even going so far as to give pills to some female disciples in exchange for a few nightly favors. Needless to say, they had the good life at the bottom.

But everything was fragile. And it nearly crumbled when one of the weak motherfuckers went to tattle on them. This time, they had to pay quite a heavier price than usual to the greedy elder. Angered, he had no choice but to act, to make sure the fucker wouldn't screw up his business again. He took him out to the woods and with his clique, they beat him up to death after stealing everything he had left. Which was no more than a single medicinal pill. They left him to die and moved on to go enjoy themselves as usual.

They got very surprised to learn the next day that the kid not only came back alive but in good health and with a spiritual beast tamed to boot. It was a flying type at the fourth stage too! He got greedy again. He wanted the beast for himself.

Unfortunately, he had to attend to the monthly obligatory mission the next day. Every outer disciple had to take at least one mission every month if they didn't want to be sent away. It was that time of the month for him. The fucker would live for one more day…

He was surprised the next morning when he learnt the fucker went to the marketplace. This wasn't the kind of location a poor chap like him should be going to. Anyways, they had business together so, he woke up his clique and they moved out. They would still a spiritual beast today!

They reached the entrance to the market place and decided to wait there. It would be too hard to find the kid through all those stands. Easier to wait for him to leave. As he waited, he wondered if he would need to accompany him to the forest again. A little trip outside wouldn't hurt. Not him at least. He was grinning foolishly at the thought.

And after some time passed, the kid exited. He recognized him easily. It was only a day ago that he beat him up to death's door. Next to him was a one-meter-tall owl walking along with its little birdy legs. He found it quite comical and cute. His greed grew even more. With this little beast, the girls would fawn over him even more.

He gestured for his brothers and they moved to block the kid's way. He seemed ready to run for a moment before he smiled at him. Was this fucker insane? What gave him the confidence?

He said: "Brother, it's great to meet you again, I thought we lost you forever back in the woods. We're so relieved you're alright!"

His goal was to enrage him as well as bring back the fear he must have felt back then. Intimidating the target first was always the right choice. However, the kid in front of him didn't seem to mind. He stood tall with his back straight, arms behind his back and seemed to look at him with contempt. How long had it been since someone dared look at him this way? He was furious. He coldly spoke: "Brother, you seem to have had a lucky encounter in the woods back then. How about sharing with your friends here?"

The kid's state remained unchanged. As if he was fearless. Even if he had a breakthrough, he would be no match so where did his confidence come from? The 4th stage beast? It wouldn't be enough either! So, from where?!

Regardless, it was a fact that this weak bitch was laughing at him with his eyes. He activated his Domain to intimidate the kid further. He noticed that even though he remained standing without a change, he was slightly trembling. That made him chuckle. So, that's what it was. This kid was only putting up a brave front out of pride!

He needed to break him further.

He spoke coldly once more: "How about we go stroll in the woods again, brother? Come help us tame a beast of our own, yeah?"

He tried to take a step forward and grab the kid by the shoulders only to realize he couldn't move. Except for his head, he couldn't move anything. He looked back at his brothers only to see that they were panicking. They were likely in a similar state.

Then, he saw the kid approach him with steady steps. He might be unable to move but he wouldn't let anyone trample on him. He glared at the kid and threatened him with expert language. But the kid moved closer until he was only a meter away from him.

…

Jung-Su was scared but brave. Brother Owl kept reassuring him until he told him he had frozen the bullies with his own spiritual energy. The Domain technique could indeed exercise pressure on others but to physically lock him… One had to be far stronger than the opponent and have a very high mastery of the technique. It wasn't something any outer disciples should have been capable of.

Brother Owl told him to walk closer to the bully. He did. And even though the older teenager was threatening him, he didn't move. It felt like watching a scared dog barking…

Then, he heard his brother Owl say something unexpected: "Crush his balls"