Ring

"Hey Grandpa, how are you? Please don't scare me!"

In a small, tidy hut at the edge of shadowforge City, in a place called obsidian dragon peaks, there was a slim and good-looking young person, about sixteen years old. He looked worried and upset, at the old man lying on the bed.

"There's a hidden space under the table with a special ring inside. When I brought you home sixteen years ago, you held onto it tightly. I worried you might lose it, so I didn't give it to you back then. But now that you're older, it's time to pass it on," the old man spoke slowly, filled with sorrow and reluctance. "From here on, you'll have to walk your own path. Be cautious and live a good life."

The young person cried out in sadness. His face twisted, and his eyes were wide with pain. They were swollen and red as he lay beside the elder. Tears streamed down like a heavy rain.

The young person cried for a whole hour until his throat felt scratchy and rough. After that, he stood up and straightened out the old man's clothes. He gently placed a blanket over him, making it seem like the old man was just taking his usual nap, not gone forever.

The young person walked up to the old, shabby round table in the room. He reached underneath and, just as he thought, discovered a hidden space. When he opened it, he retrieved a ring from inside.

The ring showed a perfect image of a Divine Dragon. It looked incredibly real, with all the details from its scales to its claws and even its whiskers just like the legendary dragon. The dragon's head was joined with its tail to make a ring shape, and its eyes gave off a soft red glow.

The young person wanted to wear the ring on his finger, but it was too big. No matter which finger he tried, it wouldn't fit. So, he had no choice but to attach the ring to a string and wear it around his neck.

The sad young person left the room, turned back, and knelt in front of the door. He bowed three times with a thud, and his forehead turned really red. He stood up and said firmly, "Grandfather, rest in peace. I promise I'll get revenge for you." While saying this, he wiped away his tears and lit a torch to burn down the little grass house where he'd lived for sixteen years, full of happy memories.

The sun setting looked like it was painted in red, covering the whole sky in a deep, dark red. The young person's heart felt just like this sunset, heavy and painful.

He walked towards shadowforge City with strong steps.

The young person had forgotten what his grandfather had told him before he died. All he could think about now was getting back at raven blackthorn for hurting his grandfather.

"Why does this kid seem so upset? His eyes look really intense!"

"Yeah, usually we say hi when we meet. Why does it feel like he've turned into a whole new person today?" People who knew him talked about it.

He went up to the Blackthorn family's house and yelled really loud, "Hey Raven Blackthorn, come out here!"

Right after he said that, a fancy-looking young man came out with a bunch of people. He was Raven Blackthorn, the son of a powerful leader in one of the three important families in Shadowforge City.

Raven's lips curled into a mean smile as he glanced at the young person and said, "I was curious. Isn't this Griffin Steele, the smart kid from our city? Usually, you're hard to find, so why come out now? Don't want to stay hidden?"

Right after raven spoke, his buddy next to him joined in, making fun of griffin, saying, "You still think you're that clever kid from shadowforge City?"

"And now, you're just a person who hasn't made any progress in three years, stuck at the Ninth Stage of Body Transformation. They call that a waste."

"Do you really think you're a match for our Young Master when it comes to winning a woman? You're asking for trouble!"

Griffin didn't let their teasing bother him. He'd heard so much of it over the past three years that it didn't faze him anymore. He was way past the point where their words could affect him."

Griffin gave Raven a cold, angry look and said, "Usually, I'd put up with the problems you bring, but I never thought you'd actually hurt my grandfather. That's something I can't stand. Today, you'll pay for it!"

Raven laughed, "I've been waiting for this. You really think I won't fight you? I'll show you a lesson today." He puffed up his chest and walked confidently toward Griffin.

When Griffin saw Raven, he got really angry and wanted to hurt him. He made his hands into fists and went straight for Raven. Raven was surprised and quickly put his hands up to defend himself. He was strong too, but not as strong as Griffin because Griffin had been strong for longer. He had only gotten that strong recently.

Griffin became really powerful three years ago, reaching the highest level in Body Transformation. He made money by hunting wild animals, making him much stronger in fights than raven. When they fought, raven got pushed back two steps. As soon as he steadied himself, griffin attacked again, determined to win and yelled, "You're in big trouble!"

Griffin's hand aimed right at raven's head. Because of griffin's strong skills, if it had connected, raven's head would have been smashed into pieces.

Suddenly, a person emerged from the crowd. In an instant, he was right in front of Raven. He raised his hand and hit Griffin hard in the chest. Griffin felt a powerful impact and then he flew back, spitting out blood.

Griffin couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at the person coming towards him. This person had the power to send him flying with just one hand, which meant they were really skilled in the Innate Stage.

"Why hurt my nephew in a simple fight? Do you really want to harm him in front of our Blackthorn family?" The newcomer glared at Griffin with anger.

Griffin got hurt but didn't give up. He stood up, looking really angry. He said, "I didn't expect your blackthorn Family to send people to help during a fighting contest. That's really sneaky."

"What's happening? Why did this kid want to hurt you?" Zade blackthorn questioned, unsure.

Raven quickly told, "One of my workers accidentally bumped into this kid's grandpa. We didn't expect the old man to get so angry and end up hurting him. Sadly, he passed away later in the day, and now this kid wants to get back at me for it."

Zade got serious and said, "If you want to cut grass, make sure to get rid of the roots. So, we can't let this kid go." He motioned for everyone to attack Griffin. Griffin realized he was in big trouble and felt really sorry for acting without thinking. He also blamed himself for not being strong enough to fight back.

Right when Griffin was feeling really down, someone suddenly showed up in front of him. This guy was about the same age as Griffin, but he was twice as big, making him seem like a really big person.

The man stood in front of griffin and shouted: "Stop!"

The crowd of blackthorn Family who originally wanted to rush over all stopped in their tracks when they saw this person. However, raven threatened, "What? When did the matters of our blackthorn Family become the business of your blazehart family? "

Griffin asked with some doubt: "Fatty, why are you here? This is a grudge between me and raven, don't interfere. "

The person who came was griffin's only good friend, the eldest grandson of the three great families of shadowforge City, Xander blazehart. As he was fat, Griffin had always called him Fatty.

"Why am I here? If I didn't come soon, you'll be beaten to death, "Fatty said worriedly.

Fatty looked at zade and smiled, "Uncle Zade, this man is my friend. I wonder if you can let him go on account of our blazehart family?"

"If you can let him go, my blazehart family is willing to give the blazehart family's restaurant in the south of the city to your blackthorn Family. I wonder what you think?"

When zade heard this, he was extremely happy. A trash like Griffin did not pose much of a threat to their blackthorn Family, but a restraunt could actually bring them a large amount of income.

Zade quickly laughed and said, "Since you have come out, nephew, I will give you face today. You can leave with this trash."

The Fatty hurriedly supported the severely injured griffin out of the blackthorn Family. Griffin coughed a few more mouthfuls of blood, as he gave raven a fierce glance. Only then did he unwillingly follow the Fatty out.

No one present noticed that the blood that flowed out from griffin's mouth just happened to fall onto the ring on his neck, and all the blood was completely absorbed by the ring. The red dragon eyes on the ring flickered and released a faint light, and under the cover of the blood, no one noticed this strange scene.

Raven noticed the look in Griffin's eyes before he left, and said worriedly: "We're letting him go just like that?"

"Let him go?" Zade snorted and said: "Whoever offends our blackthorn Family in this shadowforge City, no one will be able to leave alive. Get someone to stand guard outside the city, and once they find this brat, we will immediately get rid of him! I said to let him go, but I didn't say I wouldn't kill him after that. "