If they were lucky they could make it to the clan city without any further trouble. Fortune was not on the caravans side. There were 30 bandits against the 7 remaining guards. That number was now down to 3 remaining guards, as 3 had run away, and Gary was hiding in the bushes. All three wore straw hats. The local merchant was saying his prayers. The 3 guards had been the ones that sat out the fight with the boar clan disciple.

"I guess it's a fair fight then" The Straw-hat with a sword said.

"S'pose so boss." replied the Straw-hat with a bow.

"Huh" grunted the unarmed muscular Straw-hat.

The Straw-hat bowman started the fight by firing three arrows in quick succession each killing a bandit. The Straw-hat swordsman rushed forward holding off six bandits, five now that he had killed one. The Straw-hat pugilist ran into the dense mass of bandits ignoring the sword stabs, and arrows. He began to beat the crap out the nearest bandit, and managed to distract the attention of 8 of the bandits. Around 7 bandits had bows, and were standing on a hill slightly a ways off with the bandit leader next to them. The bandits were falling one by one, but one had managed to sneak up on the bowman and was about to stab him when a crossbow bolt went into his leg causing him to scream out. The bowman turned and cut his head off. Gary ran out of his bush like a gust of wind. He ran straight up to the bandit leader and stabbed him to death with his fine dagger. Then he turned around and took down no less than four of the archers before the rest started to retreat. He considered chasing them down, but decided against it. Gary had not been idle while practicing the immortal way of the dragonfly. He noticed the harmony many of the movements had with the flight of the chicken. He combined the two arts into the immortal flight of the cockerel. A killing art that allowed one to have truly impressive agility. Due to his affinity with it his speed was comparable to an ascendant master. Of course to use this speed one needed great stamina, which Gary currently lacked. He hoped to make it a priority of his to train.

The Straw-hats gathered in front of Gary. "Shoot! You fought pretty well there kid, how about joining the Straw-hats?" asked the straw-hat swordsman.

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"Damn, that's a really great offer, but I'm on a mission right now." replied Gary.

"Don't worry about it. Here, for saving my boy's life. If we ever meet again the offer is still on the table." replied the Straw-hat swordsman. He gave Gary what appeared to be a talisman. These were extremely rare one-use items that could only be made by ascendant masters. This one would allow Gary to increase his speed even further temporarily.

The rest of the travel went harmoniously. Gary and the Straw-hats parted on good terms, and they even received a bonus for not being cowards. Although, Gary still considered himself one, as he wasn't planning on helping if the situation had been going poorly.

Now that he had some money under his belt, he decided to enjoy some of the services the city had to offer. He would make sure not to get ahead of himself as he had before. He first decided to get himself some new clothes, as the black clothes he wore were the same ones he'd received when he arrived. That had been many months before, and they were starting to get worn, especially after the fight with the bandits. Second he would visit a sauna, and relax himself. Sure he was on an important mission, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself. He entered a general store belonging to the silk clan. The silk clan was generally more peaceful than the others preferring to act more as merchants than martial. They often held the auctions, and sold the rare materials for the other clan. Their presence was near ubiquitous, only truly missing from the dragonfly, and newt clans. The only other clan that had as much presence as they did was the honeysuckle clan. The honeysuckles run the brothels, and more importantly the black markets.

Inside he received adequate service despite his rags. He bought himself dark blue clothes, and a new cloak with a hood, mask, and travelling supplies, as well as a large bag to carry his things. He then booked a stay within an inn for a week, and spent some time in a sauna run by the honeysuckle clan. After a couple of days visiting it, he thought that now would be a good opportunity to train. He had thought to try to cultivate as he had back on Timor, but was slightly fearful as his last cultivation method had killed him. He decided to attempt to cultivate in this new world with his first method. Bay's first cultivation manual. He focused his energies, and found that they flowed freely, more freely than they had in his old body. He looked within himself.

He was back on the beach. The water was no longer black. It had a clearer color. Still murky, and gross to look at. His soul floated above the water. It still looked mostly the same as when he had last seen it. A floating colorless sphere. However, in the center bits of black lighting could be seen. Suddenly, Gary felt an odd sensation. His mindspace began shaking, out of its sky came the cube. It placed itself on top of Gary's soul. Gary opened his eyes.

He had succeeded in reaching the innate talent stage once more. With his newfound strength, and self-made martial art Gary now had strength comparable to a first-rate martial artist. He would have to train himself well in order to use it properly. He decided to pay for another month within the inn. He holed himself up in his room, and didn't come out for the duration of his stay.