Chapter 24 - Heated Fist

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Arthur wiped the sweat off that ran through his cheeks.

'Phew, that was too tiring. Just one of them took me all of my efforts, this is troublesome indeed!'

If there were other people nearby who could read Arthur's thoughts. They would undoubtedly rush up to him and beat him up badly!

Defeating someone else a stage higher than you, that was a rare feat that no ordinary man could accomplish. To kill one is ten times more difficult than defeating one. However, Arthur has broken that point and accomplished that feat! Moreover, it was not a human but a beast!

Any beast that goes up against a man with the same cultivation, obviously, the beast will be stronger!

For Arthur to say something that arrogant, many people would immediately burn their eyes with disdain and jealousy.

After all, any man powerful enough to jump ranks would inevitably be a supreme figure in the future!

Arthur stretched his neck and said, "I have little energy left, it seems like I have to go back tomorrow to kill off another one."

Just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly had an idea.

'Wait, this Green-scaled Lizard beast should be edible, I should give it to the villagers.'

Green-scaled Lizard beasts are agile and fast in nature, therefore their muscles and tendons are rather soft. If they were boiled and made into a soup, it would be a mouth-watering experience for a mortal village.

With that, he carried the Green-scaled Lizard's corpse on his back and went back to the village.

It was already afternoon by the time Arthur got to the village, and many children were still playing.

When they saw Arthur head towards their village with a large beast on his back, they feared him and ran away from him at top speed.

Darriel and Heina, who were appointed to guard the village in case of incidents, were walking around the village and were about to head back to their own rooms.

However, they suddenly heard a large commotion from the children beside the gate so they immediately headed towards there.

"Who goes there?!"

After scrutinizing who the figure was and the beast on his back, they were dumbfounded and couldn't speak for a while.

"T... t... this, a Green-scaled Lizard beast?!"

Heina was shocked, even the weakest of a Green-scaled Lizard beast has a cultivation similar to that of a Superior Body Stage martial artist. Although they excel in speed and agility and do not really pose much threat to a cultivator with the same strength.

For a Vigor Stage martial artist, it is impossible for them to defeat it and even touch it, much less kill it!

But, in front of them, it seems that it is not impossible.

'What tricks did this kid use?!'

'Impossible! Him, killing a beast of that level?!'

Neither of them could still accept it even after the evidence was laid before their eyes.

At this moment, Arthur noticed the two men in front of him and waved at them, "Oh, greetings Senior Darriel, Senior Heina."

Then, he tossed the corpse he was carrying behind him in front of them.

"Seniors, Junior wants to give this to the Village Chief, but it seems that he's not around so I'll leave that up to you!", Arthur cupped his fist and walked towards his room.

But as soon as Arthur went past the two of them, Darriel interrupted him and said in a disbelieving tone, "Kid, how did you kill this?"

Arthur pouted in his heart, from the city until here, he obviously noticed their disdainful attitude towards him even if they tried to restrain it.

Part of the reason why he chose to bring the corpse of the Green-scaled Lizard beast was to impress these two fools and drop their pathetic act right here.

However, it seems that in the eyes of the people, a lowly man doing an impressive feat will not draw praise and astonishment but only disbelief and ridicule.

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It is this part of the nature of humans that keeps them away from flourishing.

Arthur thought about it for an instant and replied, "Mm, luck? In any case, Senior, I really am tired so I must be going. Farewell."

After that, Arthur went back into his room. Although he used training as an excuse, he really was tired from the fight earlier. The move he used at the end took a great toll on his body. To completely recover, he would have to skip cultivating tonight and rest.

'My time is more precious than the two of you old lizards', Arthur thought to himself.

When Arthur was out from their sight, Darriel's face immediately darkened, "That kid! Using cheap tricks and acting all mighty! Hmph!"

Heina remained silent.

The following day, Arthur went back again to the forest and repeated the same process as he did yesterday to kill off a Green-scaled Lizard beast.

Since he now had a grasp of the Green-scaled Lizard beast's abilities, he killed the second Green-scaled Lizard beast a bit faster than before.

Afterwards, he carried its corpse back to the village again to give it to the Village Chief for a meal.

The night of that day, Arthur was cultivating inside his room when he heard a sudden knock on his door.

The one who knocked was the Village Chief. Yesterday and today, this young man in front of him whose age might not even be 15, slew the beasts who were occupying their farm land.

If he did not thank him today, then it would become his greatest regret.

However, since they are but a mere mortal village with no hands to offer. All he could do is to at least give him a meal using the meat of the corpse of the Green-scaled Lizard beast.

Arthur accepted it while the Village Chief gratefully left.

After that, Arthur resumed his training.

Only four Green-scaled Lizard beasts remain on the farm land.

Through the days of him battling the Green-scaled Lizard beasts, he would learn more and would execute his learnings the day after.

With that, he gradually solidified his comprehensions in 'Sable God's Movement Technique' and tempered his foundation.

The night before he finished the last Green-scaled Lizard beast remaining on the farm land. He actually managed to comprehend the first skill listed in the 'Sacred Vermillion Manual', "Heated Fist".

He decided to try it out during his battle against the Lizard beast. And it turns out that it was quite powerful when partnered with the dagger given to him.

He defeated the last Green-scaled Lizard beast twice as fast as the previous ones.

And with that, he finished his mission.

Once the villagers, especially the kids, saw Arthur bring back yet another corpse of a Green-scaled Lizard beast, they were ecstatic and shouted in high-spirits.

The meat of a beast is a rare delicacy for them and they were thankful to Arthur for giving it to them.

"Village Chief!"

The villagers split and made way for the village chief, appearing before Arthur.

"Village Chief, this is the last one of those beasts," Arthur dropped the corpse of the last Green-scaled Lizard beast he slew, then he added, "now you can go back to your farm land."

All the villagers instantly shouted in unison, some even started crying.

The loss of their farm land almost led them to a great famine. If not for the help of Arthur and the two others, they would undoubtedly die of starvation.

The Village Chief approached Arthur with teary eyes and said, "Young man—no, Young master, my words weigh nothing in front of you but I must express my deepest gratitude for helping our insignificant village."

The Village Chief bent his body forward deeply, and soon, all the villagers followed him and bowed to Arthur.

They were silent throughout the time but the feelings they conveyed were loud enough for Arthur's heart to hear.

"All of you, there's no need to be too courteous," Arthur waved his hand, and he continued, "I'm a bit hungry, so we might as well start cooking this lizard."

Before Arthur knew it, it was already dark. However, the cheers and loud chattering of the villagers continued as they danced around a bonfire.

Large chunks of logs were laid around it to serve as a substitute for a seat.

Arthur was sitting on one of these. Across from him are the duo Heina and Darriel. Right now, their face was covered with an expression of disbelief.

In truth, in the early days when Arthur returned from the farm land with a corpse of a Green-scaled Lizard beast on his back. They only felt slight disbelief and would conclude that Arthur must have used some trick to kill one.

However, day after day, Arthur would bring one back again and the time it took him also got lesser and lesser. Until finally, earlier, they decided to follow Arthur to have an understanding of what kind of cheap tricks he must have been using.

Yet what they have witnessed made their self-esteem instantly drop.

The speed, power, and precision, all of that could not possibly exist within a Vigor Stage kid's body!

Especially the speed, if they were to compare theirs with Arthur, then Arthur would only reach half of their full speed. However, that in itself is more than worthy of praise.

Even a Meridian Opening Stage might not have achieved that feat!

'A good-for-nothing scion of the Vermillion Family my ass! He's fiercer than my grandfather!'

'Even the mayor as a child might not compare to a half of that kid!'

The two drowned in deep lifeless thoughts.

The long night ended and the villagers slept with their hearts filled with contentment.

As Arthur walked, he remembered the power of the first skill he learned from the 'Sacred Vermillion Manual'.

After using it in an actual fight, he comprehended it completely and he was certain that the next time he used it, it would be much fiercer and more powerful than before.

He got all excited just thinking about that.

At this moment, a familiar figure appeared in Arthur's line of sight, his face brightened and he greeted him, "Senior Brother Bai Fuah!"

Bai Fuah nodded, "Mn, good job taking out the beasts. Honestly, you have not failed to give me surprises ever since I met you." he sighed.

"Senior Brother Bai Fuah is too polite. It's just that my luck was good that I was able to defeat them," Arthur laughed.

Standing on another viewpoint, luck has indeed played a great part in Arthur and he really meant what he said.

But from Bai Fuah's perspective, it was just Arthur being humble and modest: "It's good to be humble, but be more confident in your abilities."

"Mn. I understand."

"Very well. Rest well tonight, tomorrow at dawn, we shall leave!"

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The sun arrived.

Arthur, Darriel, Heina and Bai Fuah were already at the gate bidding farewell to the Village Chief and the other villagers.

"Young Master Arthur, once again, I must thank you for saving our village."

"It's fine, it's fine. Village Chief must be careful from now on.

"Let us go, Seniors."

Subsequently, the four left the village to return to White Alyssum City.

During his time here, Arthur learned more than what he did within the confines of the city. However, the dangers that he encountered had also not been few.

'Nether Devouring Flower...', he mumbled.

'I wonder when I'll be able to reach that level of power.'

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Did I just make a poem? I jest.