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Cassan was the first to react, pulling Jodye’s arm slightly, “Young master, are you certain you want to sell such a precious resource? In a mere few months, you could probably consume this yourself.”
Jodye was slightly touched, Cassan seemed to really be looking out for his well-being. “Do not worry, my only-the-ghosts-know-how-old friend. There are some things at this auction which I must acquire.”
“You…” Cassan fought the urge to flatten this brat into meat paste. “We are here to assist you in this. Must you be so willful?”
Jodye’s face turned serious as he looked Cassan deep his hazel eyes. Those ocean blue eyes staring at himself put Cassan into a slight daze, but he instantly recovered. Jodye spoke in a low but severe tone, “You must both learn to trust in my judgment, or this friendship will be short-lived.”
Cassan was speechless for some reason. He merely retreated half a step, and his face resumed its indifference.
“Young… young master Jupiter do you truly want to auction this item? I can…” Elder Wuhen wanted to shoot his shot as soon as he saw Cassan relent.
However, he was interrupted immediately by Elder Jackel, “WUHEN! Another word and you are absolutely no brother of mine!”
“You…” Elder Wuhen looked seriously annoyed. Why did he have to endure this farce? Of course, since he didn’t have the Sect Master’s permission, he wouldn’t break ties with this man. It might alert their so-called ‘master.’ Wuhen immediately backpedaled as well, “My apologies, brother Jackel. Such temptation is… very hard to resist.”
“Hmph,” Elder Jackel was far from satisfied. How could this senior-disciple40discipleone who accepts the knowledge of and assists in spreading the doctrines of another, taking them as a master. brother of his put personal gain before the clan’s interest? Elder Jackel had every intention to report this to the Patriarch, “Little brother, please. We would love to auction this item for you. The comiss…”
“I’m sorry Elder Jackel, are you confused?” Jodye Trill smiled slyly, “There is no commission on this item, that was the previous agreement. Does the Purple-Sky clan intend to go back on their words?”
“This…” Elder Jackel was stunned. He had indeed said this. What a bother! How could he have known this brat was shrewd to the max? That C-grade combat gear should have been more than what a brat like this was capable of obtaining on his own, much less a Dark Jumble Fruit! This must have been a gift, or perhaps it was found on a corpse! Elder Jackel felt that this damn lucky brat was going to get him killed for missing out on such an item, “Of course not, customer, of course not. We will auction this item for you for…for zero percent commission.”
Elder Jackel was visibly pained when speaking up to here.
“Pfft,” Elder Wuhen couldn’t resist the snicker in his throat.
“In that case, thank you, Elder Jackel.” Jodye Trill replied while looking Elder Jackel deep in the eyes. Actually, Jodye had a lot more items he could sell here. However, he didn’t trust this elder very much, so he decided to end it here.
“You are most welcome, young master,” Elder Jackel would, of course, be cautious and polite when dealing with these formidable strangers. Such characters were bound to be abnormal. He had to bite the blade on this issue. He waved his hand, and the magical barrier faded revealing the building once more. Elder Jackel turned and spoke to not to Vanessa, but to the girl on the right from before, “Tina, escort our guest to the V.I.P. Area backstage and get him registered. The Secret Auction will be held in two days.”
“Yes Elder…” However, before Tina could finish her sentence, Vanessa interjected. “Elder Jackel, as this is my commission the guest and I already have a previous arrangement. Please allow this lowly one to finish her mission and register him.”
“Hmm?” Elder Jackel was startled for a moment. Secret Auctioneers should avoid being seen right? “Do you know what your asking, Vanessa?”
Vanessa nodded resolutely, “This customer is my merit, no? With such a great guest I no longer need to scout for any others at this time.”
“Indeed!” Elder Jackel’s eyes shined. That was right! This wasn’t even his merit, he was thinking too hard before. He had obviously intended on stealing this sale the moment he saw rare items. However, if it were this girl Vanessa who took the fall, the clan would only be slightly disappointed. They would likely still reward her greatly for having caught a big fish. “That’s fine. Be swift, return and finish today’s report.”
“Yes! This way please, young master Jupiter,” Vanessa smiled seductively at Jodye Trill as she sashayed past. Jodye was disgusted and labeled her as a pedophile in his mind. After all, how old was he? Due to this thought, the [Cosmos Revolving Grimoire] suddenly appeared on its own in a purple flash of runic light.
[Name: Joseph Goldwolf][Age: 6 years, 11 months.]
[Status: 110% Health, 5:00 pm]
‘Immortal Sage Path: Scholar Realm, Perfected Sophomore rank, 27 BP.’
‘Titanic Rage Path: Wimpy Man Realm, Level 9, 90BP+.’
‘Heavenly Saint Path: Fledgling Saint Realm, Four Star Revolving Force rank, 26 BP.’
[Guardian 1: Cosmos Devouring Sky Wolf47Cosmos Devouring Sky WolfCombat soul of Jodye Trill. True soul of Sylvester Sylknarius Tricko, heir to the great Sephiroth of Anubis Great World. Consciousness and true form unlocked.]‘Compatibility rating: 5%.’‘Stasis’ [Guardian 2: Mighty God Sky Jackal]
‘Compatibility rating: 2%.’
‘Stasis’
“That is?” Elder Wuhen was startled by the grimoire’s sudden appearance. He had heard of source artifacts in the form of books. They were known to be heavenly, and their owners were all top genius elites! Elder Wuhen made up his mind to thoroughly investigate this boy, and avoid falling out with him at all costs.
Jodye Trill frowned as the [Cosmos Revolving Grimoire] imprinted information into his mind. Why was his source artifact moving outside of his will? How was that even possible?
“I’ll answer you, host!” Trippy’s voice suddenly rings in Jodye’s mind. “Host’s primary Source Artifact is a heavenly grimoire. The heavenly grimoire is perfectly synchronized with the Host’s main soul so the host’s thoughts will influence it directly. Once the host reaches a certain level of strength, the heavenly grimoire will develop full sentience.”
“No s***? That’s amazing!” Jodye Trill was thrilled, and temporarily forgot why he was upset. “What level would I have to reach for that?”
“I cannot answer that host!” Said Trippy. However, a thought suddenly floated to the front of Jodye’s mind.
‘Celestial Mapping Realm.’
Hm?
Jodye Trill wasn’t sure what this ‘Celestial Mapping realm’ meant. It should most likely be a martial sage path cultivation realm. Meanwhile, Vanessa led Jodye and company to register at the secret fair’s backstage. Afterward, they met up with Sigma and Aiken and found lodgings for the night. That night, Jodye Trill sat behind Dessa Chimes wearing nothing but a loincloth. Dessa wore a thin kalasiris that only covered her most private areas, as starlight poured down from above.
Jodye ran two fingers down Dessa’s lower back as he resolved the seal in her origin pool. He was about 83% complete at this point. This speed was due to him using astral essence to slowly temper Dessa’s skin and muscles in the process of refining the cursed fate seal. Jodye planned on letting her cultivate the Titanic Rage Law4Lawthe rules and principles that create, govern, and maintain the energies of the universe. When laws come into harmony they form different systems naturally, with as many functions as the laws in harmony. For laws to enter a state of harmony, they must be compatible and have a proper conduit such as a star, or anything with its own unique Origin source law. With a good enough conduit it is possible to make incompatible laws reach a state of harmony, but in such a scenario there is a high chance of the force turning cancerous. The condensation of law energy produces what is known as Force or Qi.. as soon as he broke through to the Puny Man realm!
At that point, he would be able to share his knowledge of the first stage with others. It was impossible otherwise, for Jodye had already tried once.
“Young Master, what will happen once my seal is gone? Will I practice the same origin technique as you?” asked Dessa Chimes as she turned her pretty little head to face Jodye.
“Indeed… I think that would be for the best currently,” replied Jodye Trill absentmindedly. He had decided to let Dessa train in the Bright Star: Battle Book until they found something more suitable for her. Although Sigma Octanis had been excessive in his kindness, Jodye wouldn’t give his Hand a gift from another lord. He wanted to find his own resources! Perhaps Autumn Saver had its own plans as well, but Jodye didn’t mind. “After a few more nights you’ll be free of this seal. Your cultivation will likely undergo various changes as a result of this.”
“Will I be able to use thunderbolt magic like you?” Dessa Chimes was beginning to get excited. She initially didn’t have any expectations. However, these nightly sessions and conversations with Jodye had awakened her inner curiosity. She was ready to experience what being talented and influential felt like. Her strength was rising noticeably after every night session like this one. She had not only reached the Three-Star Revolving force rank, she even had a total battle power of 20 BP. For a normal Fledging Saint 20 BP was the peak of the realm! Yet, Dessa possessed such strength at merely the mid-stage Revolving Force rank.
Previously, Dessa had spent her entire life under the control of someone else. To finally be living according to her own desires was pulling out her latent potential!
“Well… who knows. We won’t know your potential destiny until you return from the platform,” Jodye Trill was calm and collected as he slowly tempered Dessa’s body with astral essence. He suddenly had an idea and asked Trippy inwardly. “Hey Trippy, is it possible for you to pass the Titanic Rage Law on to Dessa?”
“I’ll answer you, host! This can be accomplished rather easily, what a silly question!” responded Trippy. Jodye was instantly annoyed speechless. So he was the strange one for not knowing? No, this artifact was strange for being so capable! “This artifact spirit is capable of transmitting any of your memories in any format you choose. However, you must have the energy available to facilitate this action, host!”
“Do I have the energy available for such a thing?”
“Host would need 1,000 times your current origin energy to pass the entire Titanic Rage Law to the hero known as Dessa Chimes.” Trippy’s casual response completely flipped Jodye’s mind upside down.
One thousand times?
How useless was that!
“I’ll answer you, host! Trippy can transfer the first two stages as well as the host’s cultivating experience in the first stage for 85% of host’s remaining energy.”
“Fine, we’ll do it like this.” Jodye Trill spoke out loud, drawing Dessa’s attention. “Dessa, I’m going to pass you a body transformation art. This art will be the foundation of our future Titanic Dragon Hall so study it well.”
As Jodye spoke, hieroglyphics comprised of millions of tiny runes formed in the air above his uraeus crown before flying into Dessa’s glabella. Jodye was intrigued by this phenomenon and studied it with his divine awareness. In Dessa’s eyes, this was him concentrated while doing something magical. Dessa closed her eyes and processed this change. After ten full breathes, Dessa opened her eyes. A bright gold light shone from them! “This is amazing, Mr. Jupiter! Can we start tonight?”
“Sure.”
Dessa and Jodye spent the next 24 hours cultivating next to each other, only waking up afterward to eat and then sleep in preparation for the auction the next day! On this morning, Aiken Moon was pacing back and forth outside of Jodye’s room. He was aware that Dessa hadn’t come out of this door in over a day and a night! He had no idea what this animal was doing to his pure Dessa.
Creak.
The door to Jodye’s room opened, and two dazzling youths exited the room. Aiken Moon took a quick glance at Dessa and felt like she appeared to be glowing. The former couldn’t help but grimace. Of course, little did he know that Dessa’s improved looks came from her vitality increasing. This was a direct benefit of cultivating the Titanic Rage Law.
“Hey, Unc! You ready yet? The shows starting soon!” shouted Jodye down the hallway.
However, in return, he was met with silence. Confused, he turned to Aiken, “Hey, where is uncle Sigma and old man Cassan?”
“You mean you don’t know? You didn’t leave with them last night?” asked Aiken Moon puzzled.
“Someone who looked like me left with Unc and Cassan last night?” Jodye was shocked, why would they vanish without notifying anyone?
This smelled like trouble!
“What should we do?” asked Aiken Moon with worry in his voice.
“There’s literally nothing we can do, they abandoned us. The jerks!” The reality was that Sigma had already given Jodye a device that could open up a portal to the secret base #3. Merely, this device required a particular magical gemstone called Emperor Ruby16Emperor Rubygemstone condensed from magic, quintessence, and spatial energies. to activate. Jodye only had two emperor rubies, which in his opinion was just because Uncle Sigma decided to be stingy. In reality, Sigma himself only had a limited amount of these in stock, and this is was one of the reasons they needed to return to their homeland soon. They were low on all their assets!
Of course, this didn’t matter to Jodye Trill, “Fine, we’ll just go to the auction without them then. They’ll miss out on the goods.”
“Mr. Jupiter are you confused? The auction is tomorrow!” said Aiken Moon disdainfully. “No matter how much you enjoy yourself, at least keep up with the important dates!”
“Tomorrow?” Jodye Trill scratched his nose in embarrassment. It hadn’t been a day yet? He chose to ignore Aiken’s insubordinate behavior since he had punched him in the gut earlier.
“How can it be tomorrow? Ms. Vanessa clearly said it should be today,” inquired Dessa Chimes, who was utterly confident how much time had passed while she was alone with Mr. Jupiter.
“Ah! That’s right you two have been cooped up in the room, doing only ghosts and the gods know what!” Aiken Moon spat these words at the duo as if he had tasted something awful. “Well for some reason the auction was put off for another day. It’s to be held tomorrow!”
“So this is the case. How curious,” Jodye couldn’t help but link the disappearance of their elders in the company of this mysterious youth with the auction being delayed. Could be some high-level event is going on behind the scenes? “Well, that means we have an entire day ahead of us right? Let’s go adventure!”
“Adventure?” said the other two in unison.
“Precisely that,” said Jodye as he jumped over the railing and marched out the lodge. Dessa and Aiken exchanged excited looks and followed after him. They were already in the same boat with this little madman anyway.
…
Meanwhile, high in the skies hundreds of kilometers above Black Heart city there was 30-meter long and 15-meter wide platform made of violet and black energies and covered in curse diagrams. If Jodye Trill saw this, he would be astounded! He would never be able to imagine that this planet was so massive, let alone know that people would be at this altitude. On top of the platform were thirteen warriors wearing various armors except for two who wore plain old robes.
“Octanis, you are playing the world’s most dangerous game,” said a robust man with a white serpent tattoo around his left eye. “I will not allow for this farce to continue much longer.”
“If we attack Black Heart city now, how exactly will we benefit from it, Garuda? They are under martial law, and there are currently four commanders who can fight me to a draw in the city. What do you expect to gain from attacking in this scenario?” Sigma Octanis wore a black cloak and stood next to Cassan and a brown skinned young man in a brocade robe with devilishly good looks. Sigma spoke unhurriedly, as if this matter was unrelated to himself, “You may, of course, throw all of our plans away. Merely, I won’t be joining you in this. On the contrary, I will resist you with my full force.”
A cold glint flashed through the eyes of a few of the warriors in attendance. A short and ugly old man with crooked teeth who reeked of death stepped forward with a sneer, “Resist with what force? What will stop this old man from flattening you right now.”
“You may try it, Roger,” spoke the devilish and handsome youth.
“Hmph,” Roger’s countenance turned ugly as he withdrew his aura. He didn’t dare to offend this lunatic demon in a child’s skin. “Since Master Neofrost has spoken I will, of course, consider further.”
“Neofrost, you shouldn’t be too domineering,” said Garuda, his gaze turning cold. “After all, you’re mother, and little sister are still in our custody.”
“You threaten me with them again, and we can all die together,” two icy spears of light seemed to pierce out from the mysterious youth in a silver brocade robe called Neofrost’s eyes.
Garuda suddenly felt chilled, and decided to disengage in conflict with this deadly apparition, “Then when do you suggest we attack? We have already lost Oulan to some mysterious threat, and that is no small loss for my group or the collective picture. You know that time is of the essence! We cannot continue to idle!”
“What if Oulan’s death was to goad you into doing something foolish? He will truly have not died in vain, then,” commented Sigma Octanis with a shrug. He sneered, before chiding Garuda “At any rate, you all do what you want. It’s obvious our opinions hold very little weight in your hearts. Are we pawns to be disposed of whenever you please? Very well. Let me see you dispose of us then.”
“Courting death!” Roger was no longer able to stand the mouth of this Sigma Octanis. His figure blurred and his arms spread his wide as he launched a sudden attack! Curse seals spread out from his fingertips forming a shark diagram. The image within the diagram was like a doodle, but when water concept condensed within the diagram the drawing begin to wriggle and come to life, “Take this!”
Tyrant Shark Curse Art: Petty Diver!
The diagram lit up with purple and cyan light, as a two-meter-long water torpedo that was shaped like a shark and covered in curse marks rapidly launched at Sigma Octanis like an accurate missile. Incantation runes danced into existence in the sky as Sigma Octanis waved his hand. A small silver magic circle condensed in front of him, before transforming into a small sparkling silver ice shield the size of his torso. The mirror kept releasing a frosty yin qi from Sigma’s serenity concept. The water torpedo collided with the ice shield with a ‘splash’ and several ‘tink’ sounds. The water qi was negated entirely, and the remaining curse qi was unable to damage the ice shield.
The two mages attacked so quick that the origin qi phenomena in skies had yet to finish condensing.
“Is this the way you will flatten me?” Sigma Octanis spat in contempt.
As he spoke, more incantation runes entered the ice shield which then broke apart into six dozen rows of silver serene ice shards the length of an adult male’s finger. Every single shard seemed to contain the same amount of strength as the ice shield, and they were all deadly sharp. Roger felt as if there were several sharp blades pointed in his direction, and he could smell the scent of death from the aura surrounding these shards. Sigma waved his hand again, and all of the serene ice shards rapidly stabbed forward like a giant dagger. The launched at crazy speeds before anyone could react.
Roger desperately tried to gather his qi momentum at the last minute as he rapidly drew backward in the sky, leaving curse seals in his wake. However, the giant dagger made of ice shards pierced through Roger’s chest and shredded his heart and lungs into minced meat. Roger coughed up blood and crashed down onto the platform in the sky.
“ROGER! Quickly, give him support! Use this,” Garuda threw an A-grade magic life pill to his subordinate, who immediately rushed over to Roger. Meanwhile, in the sky above Sigma Octanis, five fist-sized spheres of the three-color atmosphere were beginning to form.
Garuda was about to attack in his rage when a bald, middle-aged man wearing red raiments that were covered in a vermillion bird designs suddenly shouted out, “That’s enough!”
Along with this red robed man’s voice came a stifling pressure. Even Sigma found it somewhat troublesome to stand calmly amidst this pressure. This man was dangerously close to becoming a real elite!
“I apologize on behalf of my junior brother, revered one.” Garuda cuffed his fist to show respect first. He was inwardly terrified by Sigma’s origin qi phenomenon and grateful to the man in red for stopping his attack.
“My apologies, revered brother Maat,” responded Sigma Octanis with a slight bow. If Jodye were here to see this, he would be genuinely shocked! For an expert such as Sigma to bow to another would take sincere respect! Sigma indeed respected this man a lot.
Temple Sheppard Erikah Maat was the Temple Sheppard for Vermillion Bird Temple in the Divine Bird Country of the North Ward. He had come to this area mainly through collaboration with Sigma. Therefore, when he saw White Serpent Cove’s Vice Sect Leaders about to lose all decorum and attack, he naturally spoke to cease the hostilities. After all, such an injury couldn’t kill a mage. He was merely severely injured. His cultivation may deviate a bit, but he would live.
“This humble one believes it would be hasty to attack the city at this juncture,” Temple Sheppard Maat declared his stance openly. As a Void Door Realm expert at the Perfected Gold Mage rank and the one with the highest cultivation among them, Temple Sheppard Maat’s words carried the weight of significance. “The Pharaoh King of the South has labeled White Serpent Cove and Black Mettle Guild as members of the unorthodox religion, or dark guilds. You guys, as a subsidiary branch of White Demon Temple, can no longer move so recklessly. It is also more of a risk for us to continue working with you. You must surely understand this point. However, if we wait until the city makes the first move, we can catch them off guard. After all, it is only the two powers I mentioned earlier whom they consider the enemy.”
“Agreed. Even if we remove your two groups from the field, there are still eight of us remaining in this circle, right?” spoke the Neofrost Master. “Pharaoh King Thoth surely doesn’t have us in his eyes, I have no doubt of this. It is his advisors who wish to solidify the position their pieces through war games. Destroy those pieces, and we weaken the imperial advisors.”
“Precisely.”
“I agree with young master Neofrost completely.”
“Obviously the Pharaoh isn’t worried about operation of this scale. White Serpent Cove thinks too highly of themselves.”
“Can they even back it up? Mr. Octanis flattened Vice-Sect Leader Roger Flankz in no time!”
“That should have been the so-called wordless chanting. Truly impressive. This is a skill exclusive to masters.”
The other warriors on the platform all spoke out their opinions, causing Garuda’s face to grimace. Since when had his White Serpent Cove suffered insults like this? If that idiot Oulan Mercy hadn’t gotten himself killed, Garuda wondered how these two-faced cowards would act in front them then. Even if he had suffered an injury, Oulan Mercy’s insects all carried a lethal poison that could threaten those of the Void Door Realm, even gold mage rank experts! In addition to Roger’s proficiency in high-level curse arts, and Garuda’s own Wings of Oblivion, the three Vice-Sect Masters were a combo that was near impossible to defeat under the Void Philosopher realm. With the three of them together, no one here would be able to step out of line.
Unfortunately, Garuda had already received several reports in the last few weeks given by their partners in crime, the Crimson Riders. Oulan Mercy was deader than dead. All his possessions had been stolen as well. However, Garuda knew that the core of Oulan’s properties was still in his secret treasure chamber back at the Cove.
Oulan’s murderer? The only suspect was so laughable that Garuda just didn’t believe it at all. A sophomore rank negus brat played some role in defeating the Vice-Sect Master of White Serpent Cove? This was so laughable that it was an insult. Garuda was infuriated and killed the Crimson Rider scout who made the report by slapping her to death.
Get real!
Of course, if Garuda knew the truth, he would likely pass out from the shock. At any rate, the two remaining Vice-Sect Masters could only watch as their so-called partners all turned their noses up at them. Garuda cursed Oulan’s ancestors secretly before using his voice to quiet down the crowd, “Fine! I get it. We will be ready to strike at the moment they lower their guards to attack!”
“Deal!” The thirteen warriors reached a consensus and concluded their meeting in the sky.
…
Meanwhile, Jodye Trill, Aiken Moon, and Dessa Chimes were scaling buildings and running swiftly and lightly across rooftops. Jodye Trill stopped in the shadow of a building and motioned towards the other two, who immediately stopped at his back. They all hid in the shadows as they awaited Jodye’s next action.
“Time to test how serious you’ve both been taking your ninja training.” Jodye Trill had been using his experience as a spy and assassin to teach stealth and murder to the two youths. He was slowly sharpening these dull blades to become dangerous weapons of his in the future. “You’re going to split up and gather information. I’ll be watching you both the whole time. The one who successfully gains the most Intel, or any important or special intel, will get a special reward.”
“What sort of reward, Mr. Jupiter?” asked Aiken Moon. Aiken actually didn’t believe there was anything Mr. Jupiter could give him that would compare to the sky flame his master had prepared for him, so he utterly didn’t care for a reward. However, he saw Dessa was too timid to ask, so he asked the question that was likely in her heart. Dessa’s eyes had indeed brightened as she looked at Jodye expectantly.
“Not telling,” Jodye Trill winked at Dessa, who seemed to understand something. She hurriedly dashed off like the ghost of a feather. Aiken was shocked by this, and he realized his understanding of this youngster was far too shallow.
‘Perhaps I should probe this Mr. Jupiter further,’ Aiken thought. However, when the young boy of House Moon turned his attention back to the front Jodye too had already vanished. This left him feeling like he had lost something.
Dessa Chimes took to the streets and mingled into the crowd. A sword glyph appeared on the back of her left palm as a hazy and inconsistent voice sounded in her mind. “The Moonchild… seems smitten with you… will you not… be doing anything about this? He may… sow dissension between your master and others.”
“Little Aiken is not like how you think,” said Dessa Chimes under her breath. She knew what Autumn Saver said was right, but she also believed in Aiken’s character and potential. What the boy felt towards her was just infatuation. In Dessa’s opinion, most men were pathetic and weak-willed, quickly enthralled by her looks. In her sixteen years of life, she had already experienced this far too often. How could she not know the way Aiken looked at her?
It was only a bit better than the way every single man on the street was staring at her at this moment. Men were as such, lustful to a fault. Dessa felt rage and disdain in her heart towards this, but she didn’t show it on her face. She only wore a slight smile, as she nodded amiably at anyone who locked eyes with her. This was a habit she had acquired from so many years as a maid.
“Watch out… there’s an approaching party to the left… they speak of you,” Autumn Saver’s voice ring out in Dessa Chimes’ head. She was instantly vigilant, as the galvanized her azure essence pure qi. As a result, Autumn Saver no longer found it so difficult to speak. “A motley crew of warriors at the Fledgling Saint realm. Not only that, but they are only at the revolving force rank. Even if the one in the lead is at the five-star Revolving Force rank, your strength at the three-star Revolving Force rank still surpasses his. Your search is for Intel, yes? Listen to me, and I’ll teach you how to squeeze some information from these dancing clowns.”
Although Dessa Chimes had lower cultivation than these goons, Jodye had already been tempering her flesh, blood, and muscles with astral essence. Her strength was already above her peers at the same level.
“Hey, toots! Where you headed all lonely?” a burly and tall, middle-aged man was approaching from behind Dessa with a group of three other men. The leading burly man had a scraggly beard and wore black leather armor. An enormous iron ruler was seated on his back. “I know of a great place to eat. Why don’t you follow us there?”
“Uhm… I don’t know about that… It seems a little dangerous,” Dessa slowly turned and scanned the entire group with her pretty azure eyes. She spoke in a voice so soft and sweet that it could melt bones. Her sensual temperament visibly lit an evil fire in the loins of these buffoons, making Dessa inwardly sneer. It shouldn’t be this easy, right? Are men truly so stupid?
“Worry not, fair little lady,” harrumphed the man in the lead, “I, Edgar Whitewash, will never allow trouble to befall a maiden in my presence. You will be well taken care of.”
“Yeah, the boss is the strongest around these parts!” chimed one of Edgar’s subordinates.
“Yeah, boss Eddie is way superior to this other riff-raff,” chimed in another.
“Enough, guys, you’ll embarrass me,” Edgar Whitewash smiled wryly before turning back to Dessa. There was actually a dash of red on his cheeks. Dessa was appalled and finally felt that without her treasured sword she may have been easily fooled by a man such as this. He was completely acting! “What is your name, dear miss?”
“My name?” Dessa blanked out for half a second, before generating a name in her mind, “I am Autumn…”
At the other end of the street, Aiken Moon saw Dessa surrounded by goons and immediately grew worried. He wanted to rush over, but logic told him no one would harm Dessa in the middle of such a bustling street. Aiken retreated to the shadows and tailed behind the group as the left. Ten minutes later, Aiken was hiding at the entrance to an alley. Down in the center of this alleyway, Dessa Chimes walked silently behind Edgar while his subordinate goons joked and commentated next to her ear.
Once they were far enough from the street that Edgar couldn’t detect any presence around them, the burly man stopped abruptly. Dessa, who was in a daze as she discussed the plan with Autumn Saver via telepathy, walked right into Edgar’s solid back, which actually made Edgar lose his balance for a step. This shocked Edgar greatly, but after considering it quickly, he just felt he hadn’t steadied himself. After all, this chick was also a Fledgling Saint. She naturally was totally defenseless.
“Hey… what are you doing Mr. Eddie?” Dessa Chimes rubbed her nose confused, “Why did we suddenly stop in this dark alley?”
“Listen, whore,” Edgar’s previous gentlemanly voice instantly became boorish and aggressive. “Either you can strip on your own, and enjoy the best day of your life with the fellas and me, or I find another way to get you in the mood. The choice is yours.”
“That bastard!” Aiken Moon grew enraged and was about to dash into the alley furiously, but he felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder. Looking back in trepidation, he was greeted with a familiar but indifferent gaze, “Mr. Jupiter? Quickly we must…”
“Be silent, and be still,” as Jodye spoke he grabbed Aiken’s shoulders and moved the boy physically away from the alley entrance. “Dess can handle herself. Quit messing around, or she’ll definitely surpass you.”
“This… but…” after hearing Jodye Trill’s words, Aiken was reluctant, but ultimately he decided to move on. After all, would Dessa fall in harm’s way with Mr. Jupiter watching over her? However, how could Aiken know that Jodye merely took a glance to reconfirm the cultivation level of these goons, before turning and walking away?
Back in the alley, Edgar was pressuring Dessa heavy, “Hurry up little bitch, your daddy below is waiting for a kiss.”
“Hehe.”
“Heh”
As Dessa Chimes listened to the vulgar words of these brutes, her entire body was visibly shaking uncontrollably. The four men all wore smug faces, thinking they found another coward to drug into an obedient and fearless kitten. However, Dessa was not shaking from fear. What she felt was excitement.
“So I only have to leave this Mr. Eddie alive, right?” Dessa Chimes seemed to whisper to herself. However, before the others could react to her words, a treasure sword appeared in her left hand. Dessa brought her legs together and raised her sword above her head with one hand. Her battle power burst as she danced with her sword like a fairy in the forest.
Dance of the Autumn Leaves!
Meanwhile, Jodye Trill was casually strolling through the streets of Winter Winds City. He eavesdropped on a myriad of conversations around him by utilizing his divine energy to stretch his psyche perception with a focus on vocal vibrations. By doing this, he was able to maintain his aloof profile, while still investigating thoroughly. This was how he knew where Dessa was headed as well. Jodye was currently looking for some exciting news. Of course, it had to be something that could be accomplished within a day.
However, Jodye’s quest was interrupted when he hard something disturbing.
“What do think they’re going to do to that little girl?” said a pretty young girl wearing a green dress.
“I don’t know, my child, but it is likely as you imagine,” an older woman wearing the same dress replied despondently.
“Oh, if only we could help her,” said the young girl. “I thought this was supposed to be a peaceful territory? How could this happen?”
“This city is indeed heaven when compared with the rest of the South Ward of Pangaea,” explained the older woman. “However, this is still a voodoo state. The practitioners here are all but used to such behavior.”
“What?! No, we must do something,” the young girl cried out.
“Hmph, as if we would even benefit. How naive to run around asking for help. Who would help a stranger to rescue their mother or locate their brother for no reason? She was asking for it,” a middle-aged woman wearing a blue dress said disdainfully.
“She was but a child aunty, not six years it seemed to… me?” however, the young girl’s words trailed off as she noticed a rather handsome young boy with smooth, caramel brown skin walking up to her. “Oh, hello. May I help you, young sir?”
“Can you tell me more about what happened here, big sister?” asked Jodye Trill politely. The girl’s eyes shined as she glanced at this incredibly pretty young man. She had never seen a male with a face so attractive or someone around her age with such a well-toned physique.
“Boy, why should we tell you anything?” spat the middle-aged woman in a blue dress. Jodye Trill simply ignored her and stared at the young lady. This young lady looked to be around nine or ten-years-old. Jodye could tell that this little girl was the ‘M.V.P.’ of this group, he didn’t need to waste words with this repulsive woman in blue. When she saw that she was being ignored the middle-aged woman in blue became incensed, as a gold atmosphere manifested around her, “Brat, do you even understand…”
“That’s enough, Aunt Miran!” commanded the young lady imperiously. The middle-aged woman was startled and quickly turned docile. It was rare for the young miss to become so fierce. Did she recognize this boy? However, Aunt Miran was bound to be disappointed, “This little brother, my name is Bilan Moon. I’m here from overseas, so excuse my aunt for being a bit protective. I wonder what I may call this little brother?”
“I’m Jo…” spoke Jodye Trill, momentarily in a daze. He hadn’t noticed before she said her last name, but this Bilan Moon was a complete doll! She was so cute it hurt Jodye’s eyes a bit.
He had almost said his real name in his dazed state! Jodye wondered, was it really just because she was pretty? Not only that, Jodye was confident that this girl was at least 85% similar to Aiken Moon in appearance. This was simply not a coincidence. Jodye secretly hid a wisp of his divine sense in the girls dress before gently holding Bilan’s soft hand and planting a kiss on the back of her palm before releasing it. This action sent what felt like an electric shock through Bilan Moon, who had never come in such contact with many people since her life began, let alone a male.
“Jodye Trill. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Jodye gathered his thoughts and spoke with the flawless etiquette he was taught by his mother.
The two older women were about to explode in wrath, but Bilan Moon quickly spoke before they could react, “I am charmed young noble Trill. I don’t mind explaining this to you. A beautiful little girl came desperately into the market place not long ago. She was prettier than the most elaborate painting, truly a living art piece…”
Bilan Moon explained to Jodye the ins and outs of the situation. A dirty little girl in tattered clothes had come running down the block asking every warrior she saw for help rescuing her mother. When that didn’t work, she would ask them to just help her find her elder brother. Mostly everyone ignored her, but finally, the little girl approached a leader of one of the notorious street gangs. The leader pretended to know the little girl’s brother and promised to help her find him.
Everyone around knew this gang’s reputation for harming women, but none of them spoke out to warn the child. This was also due to the gang’s reputation, but the one for slaughtering innocents. Jodye was disgusted by their cowardice. This type of thing should not be normalized!
“So you all knew what would happen, but everyone was scared to speak out?” said Jodye Trill glancing at this so-called Aunt Miran, “yet you find yourself to be somehow superior to beasts? Laughable. Even a tiger will protect another tiger’s cub if it needs too. What are you?”
Aunt Miran almost lost it right there, “You little punk, another word out of you and I’ll flay you…ah!”
To Aunt Miran’s horror Jodye Trill’s face was suddenly right before her. How could he be so fast? If he wasn’t a head shorter than herself, then Aunt Miran might have retreated already.
“Do you believe that, if not for young miss Moon and her patron here, you would already be a corpse at my feet?” said Jodye Trill emotionlessly. Ever since he had first slaughtered others in this life, his refined temperament as a ruthless assassin started returning. Aunt Miran fell back three steps unconsciously in the face of this suddenly thick killing intent but didn’t utter a word even after noticing her own actions. She was intimidated! Her, a lofty noble of House Moon, was threatened by a mere Sophmore rank brat.
“Can you tell me where they went with this little girl?” Jodye Trill turned and asked Bilan Moon.
“Sure…” responded Bilan in a slight daze. She secretly wondered if this boy was the so-called brother that the child was looking for. She didn’t see this boy when he moved either. Even the old woman by her side had an intrigued look on her face when observing the child. After finding out which direction the gang took the girl, Jodye Trill immediately set off in that direction. Bilan was shocked and hurried to call out, “Little brother, do be careful! That Vik Saver is a ruthless one, and he’s a warrior with dual path cultivation at the peak of the Essence Formation rank and the initial stage of the Junior Spirit rank!”
Jodye Trill felt warm hearing Bilan’s warning, even though such a level of threat was absolutely nothing to him as far as strength was concerned. He spoke plainly, and unhurried as he disappeared into the alleyways, “Thanks for the advice.”
“Vik Saver, eh?” After walking for a few dozen feet, Jodye sneered. Back in little Oasis Town, before Jodye left “First Hemp, then Autumn, and now Vik. I wonder if there’s some destiny between myself and the Saver Clan? Perhaps I’ll let this one keep his life, then…”
Fifteen minutes later, Jodye was staring at a run-down shack. The young man now wore black raiments while sitting on a tree branch outside of an old abandoned park on the west end of Winter Winds City. He stretched his divine energy and found seven men surrounding a little girl in a semi-circle. The little girl suddenly threw a ball on the ground that released a blinding light.
“Ah! It’s bright!”
“Boss I can’t see!”
“S***, she’s getting away!”
Meanwhile, Jodye Trill’s eyes sparkled. He was unaffected by the light since he was viewing this scene through his divine energy, “Flash bomb! I wonder who made it and how? Probably won’t work that well though, she’s simply too puny to escape quickly enough.”
Sure enough, he was correct.
The little girl bust through the door and tore out of the house at her top speed with tears streaming down her face. However, a shadow shot out of the house in pursuit and cut her off in no time, laughing like a maniac. “Hahaha! This is great, nothing better than a fighter! Run, Little River, run! Hahahaha.”
The little girl was distraught. She appeared to be entirely out of means. Solemness and resolution on a level that made Jodye altogether nervous flashed across this child’s face! Just as she was about to use the technique her brother had shown her to end her life in the worst-case scenario, her actions were halted by the appearance of a boy’s voice.
“You must be the villainous Vik Saver, no? Color me unimpressed. Hemp was at least more intelligent in his methods.”
