Speeding up the Process

The bandits and Huan Wei returned to their camp. They had taken no prisoners. They did not need new slaves. With the bandits' numbers so reduced, taking more slaves could cause problems.

When they arrived at the camp, Huan Wei was excited. He believed he had proven himself. Not only had he shown them that he was not afraid to kill someone, but he had also put up a good fight against Xin Hai.

Yun Ying signaled to the bandits. Xin Hai and one of his friends dragged Huan Wei into the cage. The young man did not resist. The other slaves watched them.

Xin Hai literally threw Huan Wei into the cage. The young man hit the bars and did not fight back as the collar was chained around his neck, yet he glared at Xin Hai. They took his broken sword from him.

When the bandits left, Lei Lok and Jiao Bai were very curious. Ai Tung was curious too, but he wasn't going to ask anything.

"Huan Wei," Lei Lok has spoken. "What happened? Why did they take you away?"

Huan Wei shrugged. "They needed extra people. They chose me because of Body Tempering."

"But they didn't take Cao Jingguo."

"I don't know about that. I just did what I was told."

Their conversation continued into the evening. Then it was time for dinner and the slaves were taken out of the cages.

As Ai Tung walked away from Huan Wei, Cao Jingguo sat next to him again. He was eating his meal in silence.

Huan Wei suddenly asked. "Why are you helping them, Jingguo?"

Cao Jingguo looked at him as if he didn't understand what he was saying. "What? You told me to do this. You told me not to be like before."

"That was before I saw the ingratitude of these people. They don't deserve any help you can give them. Can't you see they abandoned me because I saved my life? How can you be sure they won't do the same to you tomorrow?"

Cao Jingguo took another spoonful of his food. "What did you expect, Huan Wei? Do you think this is a community of people who love each other? Do you think they are all good people here? Then let me tell you."

Cao Jingguo pointed to one of the slaves. "Bai Long. He stole all the money his family had saved and ran away. Now his parents are slaves to the person they owe because they can't pay their debts."

He pointed to another. "Cai Cai. He is a thief. He escaped into the forest to avoid the town guards. He was caught by the Forest Masters. The number of people with good intentions here can be counted on one hand."

Huan Wei looked at him meaningfully. "What about you?"

Cao Jingguo became silent. He didn't speak until he had finished eating. Lei Lok and Jiao Bai were also curious about his story. When he finally spoke, they listened.

"I come from the north, from Stone Valley Town," he began. "It is famous for its mines. Many of the crystal stones, the money currency of the Great Sword Palace, are made from crystals mined in our town. My family was one of the richest in the town. So I had access to the resources needed for Body Tempering."

He straightened his posture a little. It was clear that he had wanted to tell someone about this for a long time. He had held it in all this time. "It's funny why I came here. I just wanted to take a walk in the forest while my father took care of business in Broken Mountain Town. The Bright Forest was a place that interested me then. Now I hate this place...

"I was picking some plants that looked good to me when I was ambushed by these bastards. I fought and took one down, yet when I tried to escape Lan Xifeng shot me in the leg with a light dagger. They knew I came from a rich family because of my clothes. They ransomed my family many times. That's why they kept me alive. But my family doesn't send money anymore. They probably think I am dead."

Huan Wei realized that his was not the only life that was difficult. Everyone had experienced some difficult things. Yet none of them had experienced anything as hard as he had.

Cao Jingguo's family loved him. If they had kidnapped Huan Wei and asked Huan Chao for ransom, he wouldn't have cared. He wouldn't give a single copper. Cao Jingguo's life became difficult later. Huan Wei secretly jealous of him. If he was the one with a rich family, he would probably have entered the Great Sword Palace by now.

"Stone Valley Town, what's it like?" asked Lei Lok. "I've never been there before."

Cao Jingguo took a deep breath. "The town sits in a valley between two mountains. These mountains are called the Black Stone Mountains. There are countless natural monsters on it. Moreover, it is not far from the Divine Region. That's why some of the disciples of the Great Sword Palace are assigned to protect our town. There are often natural monster attacks. But the disciples destroy them all."

"Wait, why did you enter Path of the Earth if it's close to the Divine Region?"

This was the first time anyone had ever had such a conversation with Cao Jingguo. Even though the man felt awkward, he was secretly happy. "I didn't have big dreams. My father owns a mine. When I was old enough, I would take over the business, and I would have a trouble-free life. That's why I didn't go to the Divine Region."

Huan Wei's jealousy was turning into anger. There was a Divine Region near Cao Jingguo, yet he had chosen Path of the Earth? What kind of stupidity was this? How could anyone be so shortsighted? Life had thrown everything at him, but he had pushed it away. He had everything Huan Wei had ever dreamed of.

Cao Jingguo continued. "He is also known for his stonemasonry. In the territory ruled by the Great Sword Palace, the best statues are made by sculptors who grew up in our town. A few of the statues even made it into the Great Sword Palace." He spoke with pride.

Huan Wei rejoined the conversation. He tried to hide his jealousy. "I'm sure powerful cultivators also came out of your town. After all, there are so many natural monsters around. Those of you who fight them must be very strong."

"Yes, a few of them have even become very famous people. Bare Hand Nee Ping, for example, has reached the fourth rank in Body Tempering. Thanks to the Ebony Body, he can fight natural monsters using only his body. I've heard that cultivators below Iron Body can't cut him."

The bandits began to lift the slaves and put them in cages. Huan Wei also got up and went into his own cage. It looked like his days of slavery would continue.

Xin Hai yanked hard on his collar, causing him to hit his head on the bars. Huan Wei turned his head to look at him, but when he saw his smile, he didn't say anything. He just wrote it down in his mind.

When night came, he did not sleep. He often turned his head to check on the bandits. After their jealousy today, he thought they might try to do something bad. He was still in the early phase of the Wanderer stage. If he could meditate, he could keep getting stronger at night.

He looked at the veins in his hand. They had receded almost to the palm of his hand. Expecting it to take at least another two weeks, Huan Wei was surprised. "At this rate, they will all be gone in a few days," he thought.

He remembered what the Corrupt Seal was capable of. Even the Iron Boar, which had terrorized the entire forest, had been helplessly crushed to death. It had been frightened just by the sight of the seal. Even the Black Void in his nightmares had been frightened by the demon mark. The more Huan Wei thought about the magnitude of the power in his left hand, the smaller the world seemed. Even Yuchi Meizhen was weak at that moment.

Huan Wei felt that something had changed inside him. The Qi flowing through his body seemed to be struggling to flow even faster. At that moment, he had an idea.

Again he put his back against the bars and pretended to be asleep. But he sat in meditation. Instead of strengthening the Qi within him, he channeled it. Starting from the Qi Pool, the flow slowly moved to his shoulder and then to his left hand.

Huan Wei could feel the congestion there. The Qi he had couldn't enter the area where the black veins were. So he started to force it there.

He directed all his energy there and pushed the blockage as if he wanted to break a locked door. When he felt the veins recede even further, he was filled with excitement. He didn't have to wait months for the Corrupt Seal. He could use his Qi to shorten the time.

He continued to focus all his Qi. As the black veins disappeared, his left palm began to itch. Huan Wei was excited to have access to his greatest trump card again.