Parent's Situation

Oak's parents lived near the walls of the Inner Region. It was located on the southern side of the city, so he had to travel quite a lot.

Fortunately, his speed had increased a lot.

Within two hours, he reached his home.

It was a small thatched house that wasn't even properly reinforced. After they lost their first and only house, his parents didn't rebuild this house.

That attack was truly a horrible experience.

Although the Beast Raids had been increasing for the past decade, it was only the past raid that truly took the lives of many people.

Before that, the Beasts would often attack the outer edge of the city where there were no walls.

Knock! Knock!

Standing in front of the door, he knocked a few times. A second later, the door was opened by a woman.

Her face had a few wrinkles, but still had soft cheeks and jade jade-like appearance. Her blue hair had become a bit curlier and whiter.

Her blue eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around Oak.

"Oak, my dear son! How are you?"

"Mom, I'm fine. Oak let out a heartfelt smile as he embraced his mother and gently spoke.

Although he tried to be gentle, his voice still trembled a bit as if he were going to cry at any moment.

He truly missed home. He missed his parents.

Within these three days, he had gone through such a drastic experience that he truly wanted to cry in front of his mother.

But he didn't. Not because that would make him a crybaby, but he simply didn't want to worry his mother.

Touching her hair that was turning white, he knew their difficult situation.

After his father's money was taken by that man, his parents had to work extra hard to save enough money for him.

Otherwise, how could he afford to live in the Core Region even if it was under the influence of the sect?

Aria also noticed some tremor in his tone, but Oak sounded like he didn't want to talk about it.

She didn't say anything. When she saw his face, for a moment, she was stunned.

Before she hugged him, just from his expression, she found that her son had gone through a difficult situation.

She didn't care what that situation was. She was just extremely glad to see her son in good condition.

"Who is it, Aria?"

A male voice came from inside.

Oak instantly recognized the voice, and his eyes widened.

"Dad is inside?"

Aria left his embrace and showed a look of hesitation.

Oak's expression darkened.

"What happened? Is he alright?"

He walked in and saw his father lying on the bed. There were some bandages around his hands and legs.

He stopped.

Looking at his father's condition, Oak couldn't hold back his tears.

"Dad!"

Seeing his son, a look of surprise appeared on Root's face. But he quickly smiled and said.

"How are you, champ? Hey, are you crying again? Don't be such a crybaby. This was just a work injury."

Hearing his dad's words, Oak rubbed his eyes and wiped away those tears, but his eyes remained red.

He couldn't help but get angry.

Not at the world, not at those who hurt him, but at himself.

He wasn't just a child. He was an adult in a child's body. How could he not know these injuries were caused by excessive work?

There were no injuries on his face or upper body.

Only his hands and legs were injured.

While he was going through an amazing encounter that changed his life, but was still begging someone to kill him because he couldn't bear the pain; his parents were working till their arms couldn't work.

Didn't they feel the pain?

So, why was he the only one crying?

Just how much of an embarrassment was he?

If his mentality hadn't changed after that incident, he would continue to blame himself.

But after that change, he immediately came out of self-blame and out a pill from the Space Ring.

It was a Rare Rank Recovery Pill.

He walked up to his father and said.

"Open your mouth!"

Dad looked at his son with confusion, but still followed.

As soon as he opened it, he found his son throwing some kind of pill in his mouth.

'It must've been a recovery pill. It seems like Oak has awakened his Martial Spirit. That's great!'

Although there was a high chance that Oak would awaken a Martial Spirit, they weren't too sure.

Root was still nervous. After all, his awakening was purely accidental. He ate some kind of herb that triggered his soul and helped him awaken the Martial Spirit.

If he didn't have that herb, he would've never awakened his Martial Spirit.

"Oak, did you feed him Recovery Pill? How can you waste a pill like that? Your dad will be fine within a few days. You need those pills for yourself."

Before she could say more, Oak went in front of his mother and smiled. His smile stunned her.

"Mom, I went through a lot, but this time, I also gained a lot. Dad is more important than any pills in the world. So, please don't say anything like that."

His words also stunned her. But before she could say anything, she found her husband standing up. She anxiously went to him and shouted.

"Husband, what are you doing? Stay down!"

"Aria, look!"

With a dumbfounded expression, Roots unwrapped his bandages and revealed completely smooth hands and legs.

Even the scars from two years ago seemed to have vanished as if his hands hadn't gone through any kind of hardship.

It was hard for him to accept it.

"W-wh-what was that?"

Aria's eyes widened as she turned around with a wide-open mouth and asked her son.

Oak smiled. This time, he couldn't contain his joy.

The sadness and anger of that betrayal. The painful experience. The life and death situation.

All of them made him collapse multiple times.

He only managed to stand up for his family. And now that he was helping his family, all of the negativity in his heart disappeared.

He still hated Arvin, but he no longer resented his experience.

Although it was a fruitful experience, it was full of pain and suffering. But for his family, it was all worth it.

With a smile that was hardly contained, he explained.

"It was something I got from an inheritance. That's why I came to meet you. I also heard about the upcoming Beast Raid. At least, people of the Core Region should know about it."

But his joyful expression disappeared as he spoke with a serious expression.

"If I return to the sect, I will make an enemy of a certain person. Now, I am no longer afraid of him, but I don't want to cause trouble to Mom and Dad."

"We need to move to the Inner Region. I can afford it there."

Hearing his words, his parents' expressions changed several times.

They were a cautious family. Oak's cautious nature was inherited from his blood.

But even they knew what they should do next.

If they remain overcautious, it would only cause more trouble for them. Although Inner Region was expensive, if their son could afford it, they didn't have to worry about his enemies finding them.

After all, the population of the Inner Region was ten times more than the population of the Outer Region and Core Region combined.

"Son, I am healed up. I will return to my workplace, and…."

Before he could continue, Oak stopped him and said.

"No need to do that. If they know that you have left, my enemies might get a clue. We need to hurry up and leave. If you stop going there, they will just assume that you either left or died."

"In that situation, nobody would know where you went."

Hearing that, Root also realized just how anxious his son was about their safety. That meant he wasn't afraid of his enemy attacking him, but rather afraid of his enemies attacking them.

He paused for a moment and asked.

"Son, what rank did you reach? Why can't I sense your cultivation?"

"Oh! I am only Second Rank."

Oak instantly released his Internal Strength. Normally, an experienced person could sense others' Internal Strength level and make a guess about their rank.

But neither of his parents could sense his rank because he used a certain skill he obtained from that ring.

[Energy Suppressing Art]

It was a special skill that not only suppressed his Internal Strength but could also be used to suppress the Internal Strength of his enemies as long as they were unable to move.

"Second Rank?"

Although Root expected his son to have a high rank after a fruitful encounter, he still kept tabs on his son's journey to the Blue Wave Sect.

He knew that the Blue Wave Sect would only teach students after a year of basic training.

And, it had only been fifteen days after Oak joined the Blue Wave Sect.