Crescents

With Elder Maxim's permission, the three readied themselves and left the sect without notifying anyone else. They didn't want to attract unnecessary attention onto them.

It was a surreal feeling considering this time, they would only have each other to rely on and things could get dangerous for them. But nonetheless, they were extremely excited at the prospect of going on an adventure.

The first target in mind was the Chaotic Forest. Compared to the other two Forbidden Lands, the Chaotic Forest was closer and in the same continent they were in.

They had to traverse a large distance, through a few cities to reach the Forbidden Land which would take some considerate amount of time.

The first city they had to go through was the Styro City, an ordinary city with nothing to particularly note as deem worthy.

The journey was smooth and it didn't take long for them to reach Styro City. They stopped by an inn and relaxed for a bit. The three ordered simple food and were discussing their future plans. And, at the same time, keeping an ear out for potential news.

"It would take a day to reach Kavuul City." Ray said while inspecting the map in his hands.

"Must be pretty far." Ash said with a mouthful.

"One down, three more cities to go." Bryan cracked his knuckles.

"If we only had a speedy transport to take us to the Chaotic Forest…" Ash stirred his soup.

The inn quietened down a bit when they heard the latter part of Ash's statement. Ash didn't bother to lower his voice so everyone in the inn could hear what he had said in a crisp and clear voice.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"This is my first time seeing someone go to their deaths!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

A scar-faced man who was sitting on a table beside them laughed out loud in a mocking tone. The other customers didn't say anything because they didn't care as much as the scar-faced man. Maybe, he was bored and decided to have some fun.

Ray suddenly said in a low voice, "He's not even in the Natal Realm."

Ash chuckled and ignored the scar-faced man. Meanwhile, Bryan shifted his sight towards the scar-faced man and a ferocious aura started to bubble up around his body.

The scar-faced man didn't notice a thing and continued laughing for a while. He wiped his mouth and insulted them, "You delicate kids need to go back up to your mother's womb! HAHAH-"

"AAUGH!"

*BAM*

The scar-faced who was talking smack a few seconds ago was now face-planted onto the ground unconscious. Bryan stood right above him and shook his fist. He chuckled and went back to his seat.

"What an idiot." Ash mocked.

The other customers were shocked and were secretly glad that they didn't join the scar-faced man antics. They looked at the three young men in a new light. To be this strong at a young age, they must have hailed from a powerful force.

The innkeeper approached their table with a table cloth and said with a jolly voice, uncaring of the scar-faced man's condition, "That'd be 2 Bronze Crescents, young'uns!"

Ash had a confused look on his face, "Crescents?"

Upon hearing this, the innkeeper couldn't help but have an unsightly face. He still calmly spoke and pointed at the table, "To pay for the meal…"

Ray naturally understood and said, "We don't have Crescents but I wonder if this is fine."

He pulled out a brown-colour gem and showed it to the innkeeper. The innkeeper was shocked and stuttered.

"T-T-That i-is…"

"I wonder if an Earth-Grade Natural Gem is enough to cover our expenses?" Ray asked with a smile.

The innkeeper coughed lightly in embarrassment and said, "That is more than enough. Wait for me and I'll give you the change."

The innkeeper instantly grabbed the Earth-Grade Natural Gem and went to the back of the inn.

Not to mention the innkeeper, even the other customers had their eyes wide open and wisps of greed sprouted in their hearts.

It had to be said that Natural Gems are highly coveted by the people of this world, be it mortals and cultivators alike, since they have a chance to break the shackles of being a mortal and ascend into immortality.

Of course, how could this be easy. It is highly unlikely if one doesn't have the required talent and it is equally painful if one doesn't have the required wealth to buy the necessary resources to cultivate.

The innkeeper quickly came back with a small pouch full of change and handed it to the three.

"Here's the change of 48 Bronze Crescents."

Bryan rustled the bag and they could hear the sound of the crescents jingling. He opened the bag and counted exactly 48 Bronze Crescents.

They were weird to look at since they were ironically in the shape of a crescent but bronze-coloured.

"Thank you, innkeeper!" Ray thanked the man and the three left the inn shortly after.

The moment the three young men left, the other customers couldn't handle it anymore and approached the innkeeper with evil intentions.

The innkeeper stood behind the counter with a calm expression and waited for them.

"Haha! Innkeeper, how about you give us the Natural Gem for safe-keeping?"

"No, give it to me and I guarantee I'll repay this favour in the future."

"Shut up! Who would want your favour? Give it to me and I'll give you money in return!"

"How about it, Innkeeper?"

*Ring*

The inn's backdoor opened and a tall dark-man walked out with an intimidating aura. There was a broadsword hanging on the back of the tall man as he walked in front of the greedy customers.

"Do you all want to die?" The tall man threatened with a bloodthirsty smile.

The customers were shit-scared and immediately scurried away from the man. Without wasting a single second, they gathered their belongings and disappeared from the tall man's eyes.

"The rich bags left a minute ago. You need to catch up to them." The innkeeper reminded the tall man.

"Haha, don't worry. This will be easy!" The tall man chuckled gratingly.

"Oh right!"

"Hm?"

"Throw that man out on the streets." The innkeeper pointed at the passed-out scar-faced man.

Meanwhile, Ray, Bryan and Ash were still in the city, enjoying the scenery and surprisingly, the calm atmosphere.

"So, one Earth-Grade Natural Gem is sold for 50 Bronze Crescents…" Ray noted it in his mind.

"System, can you give us some details about the currency?" Ash asked the system.

[Ding]

[The currencies in Planet Verna are created in five forms of Crescents.

Bronze Crescent, Silver Crescent, Gold Crescent, Platinum Crescent, and Diamond Crescent.]

[1 Bronze Crescent is equivalent to one unit.

1 Silver Crescent – 10 Bronze Crescents

1 Gold Crescent – 10 Silver Crescents

1 Platinum Crescent – 10 Gold Crescents

1 Diamond Crescents – 10 Platinum Crescents]

"The currency appears to be basic enough." Ray commented.

"Yeah, but they can't compare to Natural Gems. Even the lowest grade gives you a lot of Crescents, so imagine what a Crown-Grade Natural Gem amounts to." Bryan said.

"True, it would be a lot but no one in their right mind would exchange a Crown-Grade Natural Gem for some Crescents…" Ray replied.

"Alright, I'm already bored with this city. Should we hurry up to the next one?" Ash didn't find anything interesting in the city and wanted to go to the next city in their plan.

Ash hoped there would be something unique in Kavuul City as long as it cures his boredom in the long journey ahead of them.

With same thoughts in mind, the three left the city and continued their journey.

They were speeding through a broad path at a normal pace when suddenly, they were forced to stop.

Ahead of them were a group of 6 men with bandana masks on their face. They blocked the path in such a way that to go past them, the oncoming people had to use force.

The same tall dark man that was last seen in the inn was standing at the forefront of the group, indicating that he was the leader of the bunch.

*Sigh*

"What do you idiots want?" Ash asked without fear. Meanwhile, Ray was keeping a close watch on his surroundings.

"Hahaha…" The tall dark man chuckled ominously.

"Everything you have including…"

"YOUR LIFE!"

*Twang*

Four arrows shot out from the surrounding trees, aimed directly at the trios' hearts.

With quick reflexes, Ray and Ash jumped out of the arrow's line of shot.

*Snap*

Bryan, instead, caught two arrows and snapped them in half.

"It's time, guys. We have to prepare ourselves…" Bryan reminded the other two and especially, himself.

A grim aura surrounded the trio because they knew at least one of the outcomes of this battle.

"The leader is at the Shattering Sea Realm." Ray informed the other two.

"What about the rest?" Ash asked.

"Three of them are at the Natal Realm and the rest are at the Mortal Cleansing Realm." Ray answered.

*Swoosh*

Ash quickly retaliated and dashed forwards to the men beside him in the trees. It was important to take out the hidden ones.

Bryan too, sprinted to his side with the intention of taking out the other two hidden enemy.

*Crackle*

The sound of thunder reverberated from the Ray's body as he unfurled a pair of Lightning Wings on his back, floating in the sky with a flap of his wings.

The tall man didn't want to dilly-dally and launched himself at a speed comparable to Ray's. The enemy took out his broadsword and slashed at Ray who nimbly avoided, creating a distance between them both.

"You five, split up and go after the other two. I'll handle him!" The tall man hurled out orders and stared at Ray with a bloodthirsty smile.

*Swoosh*

Three of them went in Bryan's direction and the other two naturally made their way towards Ash.

"You are going to die!"

The tall man horizontally threw his broadsword at an incredible speed. Ray barely dodged the attack but this was an opportunity for him.

*Boom*

He took off with an astonishing speed towards the tall man. The tall man was slightly surprised but a smirk appeared on his face.

Ray immediately felt his entire body trickle with danger as he hurriedly rolled to the side.

*Swish*

The broadsword came back with double the force and speed, as if like a boomerang. The tall man lifted his hand and caught the broadsword with ease.

"Heh, you can't and won't be able to do anything!"

The tall man lifted his sword and hacked down on to the ground, sending a massive sword wave towards Ray.

This time, the tall man didn't give enough time for Ray to recover. Ray gritted his teeth and a bronze-sheen covered his body before the sword wave smashed into his body, sending him flying into the trees.

"Fuck!" Ray activated his Trinal Coat at the last moment and mitigated some of the sword wave's damage but he still had to brunt the power of a Shattering Sea Realm cultivator.

Ray chuckled and thought, 'As I thought, it isn't easy to fight a Shattering Sea Realm cultivator.'

*Swish*

Ray quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the sword slash and flew back into the sky.

"I can't be complacent." Ray muttered and narrowed his eyes with full focus.

"Time to use my full speed…"

*Rumble*

A soft thunder echoed in the winds before Ray disappeared from the tall man's sight. The tall man quickly held the broadsword in front of him in a defensive stance and was on alert.

Not even a second had passed before Ray delivered a powerful side-kick at the back of the tall man's head, amplified with his immense speed.

*Boom*

The tall man sensed it but was slightly slow to respond as his head took in the full impact of Ray's kick. He skidded a few metres and knelt on the ground, clutching his head in pain.

Despite being a whole cultivation realm above Ray, his head was still a weak spot.

"Aargh!"

The tall man immediately stood up and stared at Ray with rage-filled eyes.

"That…won't happen again!"