Xin Feng

In a place 24 miles away from the Silver Lining sect, a young boy dressed in black could be seen walking into a small town with a wolf by his side. The boy had beautiful blue eyes that can easily make one lost if you stare at them for too long, he was slender looking with broad shoulders. His skin was so fair ladies are envious of him, he had an inverted triangular shaped face and long black hair which falls all the way to his shoulders. The boy was Hao Ren who had left the Silver Lining sect the previous day.

Although he could have gotten here quicker, he wanted to take it slow. After leaving the Silver Lining sect, he decided to visit the town he stayed with his father when they just moved here. He had some good memories of the place and the people who live there were good to him and his father. Hao Ren's father had a good relationship with the people who lived close to them, Hao Ren also had a close friend there and had a good impression of the elders who lived close to them.

Hao Ren entered the town, and was immediately spotted by some people who stayed at the borders of the town. "Isn't that Hao Ren?" an old looking woman said while looking intently at Hao Ren who was walking farther into the town.

"That's definitely him"

"Where is his father, I thought they left already"

"Seems like he returned on his own"

"I heard his father took him to the Silver Lining sect"

"Yeah, I heard it too. If only my son could join a big sect, then I can die in peace"

"Well, we rarely have people from our town who are qualified to join the big sects. All the disciples of big sects are always from the big clans in the cities around the region"

"Di Ba is the only one who had joined since recent times.

Due to being a little town, the people here have few resources which means, the children can't be trained to meet the requirements of joining the sects. Most of the people here tend to be hunters and also go into the forest to search for herbs and precious materials. Although it is dangerous, it's the only job a weak martial artist can do for a living. The fatality rate is also quite high since their realm is not really high, but there is nothing the people staying in the town can do.

"Di Ba also joined the Flaming Valley around the same time Hao Ren went to the Silver Lining sect"

Di Ba is the son of the town chief, he is kind to the residents and also had a great relationship with the people. He has seen Hao Ren once, but they didn't really have a close relationship. He only knew of Hao Ren because his father always talks of Hao Yi. His father was lucky to see a natural treasure during one of his travels, which he happily gave to his son since he was already old, it greatly improved Di Ba's aptitude and this enabled his cultivation to increase faster than the rest of his peers in the town.

Di Ba was accepted into the Flaming Valley shortly after Hao Ren was taken to the Silver Lining sect.

"Di Ba also came over to visit his father with some of his fellow disciples in his sect"

"Who do you think is stronger between the two?. I know the Silver Lining sect is stronger, but Hao Ren wasn't accepted as a disciple of the sect. He only got in because of his father"

"Although Hao Ren's father is strong, that doesn't apply for Hao Ren also. But you can't be sure, he has stayed in the sect for some time now, so he definitely must have grown in strength"

"Well, it would be great if we could see them fight"

Older martial artist always enjoys it when the younger generations spar. Although they didn't have high accomplishments in the martial field, they still enjoy watching the battles.

"This is the place you lived in before moving to the sect?" Xiao looked at everything with eyes filled with curiosity.

"Yes, my father and I resided here for some time when we moved over" Hao Ren replied while looking at the surroundings with a smile on his face.

"Well, it isn't much" Xiao said with contempt

Hao Ren rolled his eyes when he heard this, he has already gotten used to Xiao's proud personality since they started their journey. Sometimes he wondered if Xiao was really born in the Nether forest, he acts like he has seen it all.

"This is a town?, well it's more like a village to me" Xiao said. Hao Ren had no refutes for what Xiao said, as the town was really small. The first time he came, he also had such thoughts.

As Hao Ren started getting closer to his former residence, he started seeing familiar faces. He smiled and greeted everyone he saw on his way. It wasn't really hard for the people to recognize Hao Ren, even the people who were not too close to him recognized him. He is easily recognizable mainly because of his handsome looks and his attractive blue eyes.

Xiao held his head up high as they started getting to more populated places in the town. Hao Ren was stunned by how Xiao was behaving, he could feel the noble air around Xiao. If not for being with him all this while, he would have thought Xiao was a noble being because of the way he is currently displaying himself. The only downside to Xiao's performance was the fact that he was small and had a lot of fluffy hairs around his body, so his looks didn't match his display of nobility.

Rather, it looked funny and cute. Xiao was wise and knew he shouldn't be seen talking, but that doesn't mean he can't show people how majestic he is.

Hao Ren went over to the house which was close to his previous place to check on the only person who stayed close to him. Hao Ren heard shouts as he was heading closer to the house.

"Look at you, you've gotten so fat, yet you still eat so much. Everybody your age is focusing on their training, yet here you are, filling your face up with food" An angry voice could be heard from inside the house.

"If I don't eat, how will I have the energy to train" A voice quickly retorted. From the sound of the voice, you could tell the speaker was a young boy and there was still food in his mouth.

"How many times have I told you not to speak with food in your mouth. Take a look at the house, you have gotten bits of food all over the place" The voice sounded angrier than the first time.

When Hao Ren heard the people quarreling, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, 'He still hasn't changed, still the same food lover'.

In the town, youngsters usually go out and train once it's midday. There is a teacher who always helps with their trainings, since most of the children can't get into sects, the previous town chief decided to come up with a way to help train the children of the town.

When Hao Ren was still in the town, he once attended the training. But he didn't really like it and at that time he was training with his father. He only went because his friend pestered him to follow him, that was where he also saw Di Ba, the son of the town chief.

Hao Ren walked over to the house and knocked. After waiting for some time, he heard footsteps getting closer to the door.

"Who is it..." The angry voice of a woman could be heard as she opened the door.

"Oh, Hao Ren" a surprised shout left the woman's mouth.

"Hello Auntie" Hao Ren greeted with a smile on his face. But the lady could reply, a shout was heard from the house.

"Did you just say Hao Ren" The young boy in the house said as he jumped to his feet from where he was eating and ran towards the door.

On seeing the visitor when he got to the door, he immediately had of look of joy on his face and pounced on him. He gave Hao Ren a bear hug and didn't let go for some time. "I've missed you so much Hao Ren, life has been so boring without you"

"Xin Feng, it's been a while. You're gotten chubbier from the last time we saw" Hao Ren said with a laugh. He was very happy to see Xin Feng.

"You heard that, its chubby and not fat" Xin Feng said as he glared at the woman close to him. He has always hated it when someone calls him fat, he prefers they use the word chubby.

"Hao Ren, how have you been?" Xin Feng's mother acted like she didn't hear a word he just said and focused all her attention on the boy in front of her.

"I've been okay. How are things here in the town?" Hao Ren asked.

"Are you going to stand there all day, come let's go inside" Xin Feng dragged Hao Ren inside before he could get a reply. Xin Feng's mother smiled on seeing her son's behavior. Although she quarrels with him every time, she loved him a lot, and she knew he also loved her also. "Sigh, if only Feng'er can work harder, and lose some weight also".

She closed the door and headed inside to join the kids…