The sun, alone in the sky, shown upon the Great Stone Mountain Range with such brilliance that from afar it would appear as though the mountains were kneeling towards the ruler of the heavens.

The heat from above pressed down on Fang Shi as he descended the mountain path heading towards Chengjing city, the capital of the central continent. Fang Shi was in a rush to arrive at the city, but moved as though he was in no hurry so as to avoid attention.

Every step was a struggle for Fang Shi, not because traveling had caused him to tire, but because his heart was pushing him to move faster while his pride and caution slowed his step.

"The princess is waiting for me. I cannot wait to see her again. She is so kind and innocent I must be by her side to protect her."

He was mumbling quietly trying to convince himself to move faster, but could not overcome the words from his sister back in his home town.

"Do not rush. You don't want to seem desperate or she'll think you're weak and unworthy of her attention."

He knew the words were true or at least everything he knew about women didn't conflict with what she said. That was not saying much however because he knew close to nothing about women. He had grown up in a small sect next to a middle size town and had focused only on training since he was young.

In this world strength to protect those around him was all he desired. When a young girl was possessed by an evil spirit he had used all his strength to save her life. The battle had been intense but his Emperor Fist was a fist, not just of strength, but also of Will and could damage the evil spirit directly. He was also a peerless talent that could cause even geniuses to bow their head in shame.

After the battle was finished the young girl had looked at him with eyes of wonder and amazement. Her tranquil eyes had filled his mind with shameful thoughts causing him to want to grab her immediately so he had. His strong hand grasped her and he was shocked at how small and soft they were. He had never thought he would be bold enough to grasp the beautiful and delicate... hands before him, so he blushed, but was able to ask if she was alright.

She too had blushed, but she hadn't pulled her hands away. Instead she had collapsed causing him to rush forward and grasp her small perfectly formed waist with his right hand while his left held tightly onto hers refusing to let go. As she looked up at him she had fluttered her deep blue eyes and a smell of flowers had overwhelmed him leaving him speechless.

She had called him her hero and asked if he would always stay by her side to protect her. Caught up in the moment and having no reason to refuse Fang Shi had immediately swore on his life that he would always protect her.

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Fang Shi blushed again as he remembered that moment. Even now he hadn't overcome his shock at how bold he was. Still the days following that event had driven home what his father had always taught him that a cultivator must not be afraid to take risks or there would be no reward. And reward there was.

The young girl he had saved was the 2nd Chu princess and she had told him to find her in the capital city so that they could be wed as soon as possible. She stayed a while in the town and made plans with him. He couldn't travel with her though as she would need to discuss the matter with her father the emperor.

Fang Shi smiled at that thought. Emperor! I'm going to be the son of the emperor of the entire central continent! Sure it was only a step son, but his name would spread across the land and everyone would know him. He couldn't wait to see the look on his big sister's face when she found out. His sister had known he was going to marry the girl he saved, but for political reasons the princess, Sun Qing, told him to that he should only say he was marrying a wealthy merchant daughter and to give a false surname. 

'Not the princess anymore MY princess!' he thought to himself, still with a smile on his face.

With that thought his feet began to hasten, but then immediately slowed remembering his sisters wise words. He also had another reason to not rush. If he were to be seen running then bandits would be more likely to attack. People that ran through the mountains were most likely had valuables they didn't want taken and thus in a hurry to leave the bandit covered mountains.

Either that or they were fleeing from something or someone. If the former then the bandits would just cripple the victim and use the victim as bait to flee. If the later they would trade the victim to the pursuer for a reward.

Unfortunately traveling slowly hadn't discouraged the bandits in the least. A lone travel was easy pickings and Fang Shi had already been attacked several times while crossing the mountains. Still it was better to play it safe since doing so was also inline with his sister's words. However fearing a bandit attack was not the reason he had slowed his pace.

As if summoned by the quicker pace; several men stepped out of the woods onto the path in front of him. They were the reason he had slowed his steps.