Gratitude

"Two tall mean-looking boys came and dragged her by the hair…" Katie mumbled, pointing toward a tall oak tree. "The two of them took her in that direction."

"Tylem, I don't think you should go…" Katie urged, muffling, "Onel is very scary."

Tylem clenched his teeth without responding to Katie. The bet was not over, but he didn't give a damn.

Katie had confirmed his suspicions. Tylem possessed a sharp intuition. This wasn't just because he was a cultivator; instead, he was forced to hone his mind every day as he was skeptical about everything in his first life.

In this world full of evil, he had been all alone, after all.

Later upon hearing about his unique heart cancer, he had thought that life wasn't worth living anymore, so he stopped being skeptical.

Hearing about past events was different from firsthand knowledge of the harassment that was about to occur. Tylem's mind returned to the memories of his past. In those dreaded moments of his childhood, when he was being abused, he had, at all times, wished for someone, anyone, to extend a helping hand to him.

But it had never come.

In the face of his little sister's wellbeing, his pride was worth jack shit. If he was disqualified, so what if he had to kneel in front of some children?

[I hope that Kaden doesn't mind.]

Tylem opened his eyes with a determined gaze.

Like this, Tylem disappeared like a shadow in the sun, shocking all of the spectators who were still looking forward to the closure of the game and bet.

Kaden was stumbling through the crowd, and he had overheard Tylem's question. Knowing about the relationship he had with Lynne, he wasn't surprised.

Instead, Kaden was touched. Smiling, he followed the direction that Tylem had disappeared in, "Bro, I'm glad that we think the same."

Like Tylem, he, too, would never abandon his friends and family during tough times.

Seeing that the two main characters of the bet had disappeared without a word, all of the onlookers were dazed, including Arian and Martin.

"This… the two of them just left?" Martin carefully stated.

"Just like that?" Arian was also confused.

"Does this mean we won?" Stroking his chin, Martin joked.

"Idiot." Punching his friend's arm, Arian snickered.

"Ow." Martin rubbed his arm, smiling, "I was just joking. I'm not that shameless."

"We can just hold off on the game for now and continue it, if need be, another time." Looking at the untouched ball which bounced on the concrete without an owner, Martin reflected on his actions.

This time, Martin learned that the sky was the ceiling; there would forever be someone greater. To be honest, he was also excited after seeing Tylem's skills.

It was the pure, hotblooded respect that youths had for talents seen once in a generation.

Martin sighed, "Man, just what were we doing. We acted like imbeciles back there."

Chuckling, Arian slapped Martin's back, "Yeah, I guess wanting to join Onel blinded us. Let's just move on from that. We can explain it to our families that we failed."

"We're just children." Martin nodded. "There's no reason for us to carry out their plans."

Back in the cafeteria, Martin and Arian had wanted to look cool and powerful in front of Loki and the Onel society behind him, unwilling to appear weak.

This desire to impress had contributed to the current situation.

Sometimes, the great pressure from one's family could ruin a child.

Luckily, it wasn't for good; anyone could change and rise above with enough time.

It just required the willingness to make that change.

* * *

Tylem dashed toward the large oak tree that Katie had pointed at. Scanning the vicinity, he couldn't even see a shadow, much less a real person.

"Bro." Kaden had followed suit, and when he had finally caught up from running at his top speed, he was panting.

Closing his eyes, Tylem tried to search for the sound of Lynne's voice, but it was of no use even with his heightened senses.

"In the manual, it is said that Foundation Establishment cultivators are able to use spiritual sense to probe their surroundings." Tylem murmured to himself.

The Foundation Establishment stage was the next major realm that followed complete mastery of all twelve levels in the Qi Building stage.

Reaching this level, Foundation Establishment cultivators were considered true cultivators, and their lifespan would reach two-hundred years.

Once again, Tylem found another reason to get stronger. It was a useful tool that could ensure the safety of himself and those close to him.

"Kaden, could you help me look for Lynne please." Tylem sighed.

"You don't even need to ask, bro." Kaden quickly agreed, sprinting off in the distance to investigate. "I'm on the case!"

However, Kaden soon returned while gawkily scratching his head, "Uh, bro. I just realized I don't have any way to contact you if I do find her."

Tylem nodded, giving Kaden his mobile number. Emily, a few days ago, had given him a brand-new iPhone to use. The debts he owed to her continued to pile up.

Of course, Emily would never make him pay her back, and Tylem knew this. For family, there was no need to even mention debts with each other.

"Sweet, bro. I'll call you the moment I see her!" Kaden rushed off.

"Damn it." Tylem was clueless as he continued to search for Lynne while asking around, but it was fruitless. In the end, he was unfamiliar with Ivla; he no idea where to look.

Ivla, a private school that had everything, was too enormous.

Time flowed like water, and the bell for lunchtime had just rung.

In this time, Tylem had tried dialing Lynne's number a million times. However, like he had expected, it was to no avail. The phone left him on voicemail.

There were a myriad of possibilities as to why Lynne didn't or was unable to pick up.

"Where could she have disappeared to in such a short time." Tylem's teeth ground against each other, flipping a garage door open. Those bastards, where had they taken his sister?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Tylem's phone rung. The gentle melody of ocean waves crashing on sand resounded in the empty garage shed.

It was from an unknown number, but Tylem was certain that the phone number belonged to Kaden.

"Kaden?" Tylem's usual calm voice was nowhere to be seen.

"Bro… I managed to hear about Lynne's whereabouts through a friend." Kaden first stated the matter of importance, continuing, "You're not going to like this, but come to the bathroom located at the end of Corridor XX."

"Corridor XX." Tylem repeated, and Kaden confirmed it once more. Looking around, he ran toward a female teacher who was on duty, and he quickly asked her for directions.

The moment she told him where the building and corridor was, Tylem rushed off with just about everything he had. The speed he traveled at was unbelievable. It was at least twice as fast as an Olympic-level sprinter. No, even more.

Keeping this godlike speed up for a long time began to drain him. For the first time since becoming a cultivator, a drop of sweat emerged on Tylem's cheek.

Nevertheless, he had arrived at his destination.

"Here." Tylem looked up at the musical building, a sinister glow in his pitch-black eyes.