While Mike was in a daze, he spoke in a low voice: “So, this is how it works? Nice. I feel so refreshed, and I can feel his strength, but this dude was just a peak stage Oi concentration like me, and I broke through at early stage Foundation establishment.”
When the other four thieves heard it, their faces turned pale, and they were scared.
One of them shouted in panic as he dashed out: “No! We can't handle that child; he's a cultivator! We have no chance of winning; run!”
When the remaining thief heard it, they immediately started to run in panic, and Mike saw them, but he wouldn't let them escape. If Mike allowed them to escape, it would be the same as allowing others to be killed and robbed. Mike dashed after them and killed the remaining four in an instant.
Mike then looked around and moved slowly towards the old man, while his armor was covered in blood, and he asked, laughing as if nothing had just happened: “Are you okay, old man? I told you I can handle them!”
The old man looked at Mike and replied: “Thank you, young man, but how did you end up here? It was late at night.”
When Mike heard the old man's question, he explained: “Actually, I escaped from the Zeit village, and I encountered a problem with the bridge because there was a guard. I saw you with your carriage, and I decided to go inside your carriage to hide.”
The old man replied: “What? But why didn't I notice you?”
Mike replied with a grin: “It was because I hid my presence, that's why you didn't notice.”
The old man was surprised: “What? You did that? But how? You are just a child. Where did you learn it? And I know about the Zeit clan; it was a very poor clan, and there are no cultivators because they are not allowed to go outside or learn cultivation. How did you manage?”
Mike replied: “I escaped, then I saw a book.”
Mike didn't mention the cave, but he let the old man see the book.
When the old man saw the book, he was shocked: “What! This book? I saw this in the ancient record book. As I remember, according to legend, this book belongs to a cultivator who created this world. But I am not sure if it's true. The book was mentioned in the record that this book was owned by a God, and it went missing when the God died due to war. On his last breath, he combined his body with the world he made to protect it from invasion. The enemy was not mentioned; maybe it was also a powerful powerhouse, but it was not mentioned which race was the enemy. It only mentioned that when the book appears, a huge war is soon to happen, and the next owner of the book will bear the burden as a successor.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Mike was shocked by the old man's words.
The old man continued, looking at the book: “I am sure this is the relic of the creator. I saw this book in the record of the Book of Beginning. It said that it was the cultivation technique of the creator, and it was a God rank! But I am not sure if it is true because in this world, the peak cultivation stage is only the spirit stage. If I was a cultivator, I would steal this, but I don’t have spirit root. That's why I decided to become a merchant to make a living in the mortal world. Also, don’t let others know about this book; it might lead you to death, and it can even cause a war between sects and continents.”
Mike was curious, so he asked the old man how many stages of the cultivation in this world, since he only knew a little about cultivation.
Upon hearing Mike's question, the old man replied: “There is Oi concentration, Foundation establishment, Gold core, and Hollow stage, Nancent, Legend, saint, spirit, and god stage. But I didn't see god powerhouse level or hear about it that they exist. Because to become a God, they need something, but no one knows. Even the current emperor of our continent said that the cultivation world was not complete. If one can reach the peak spirit stage, they can see the door, but the bridge was missing. That is why no one succeeded in breaking through. If this is a god rank cultivation technique? It's a pity I don't have the chance to witness it.”
The old man returned the book and reminded Mike not to let anyone know about it, or else he would be in danger, saying: “Listen carefully. You must not let anyone know about this book, even if they become one of your closest friends or even a loved one. Human hearts are complicated when it comes to benefits.”
Mike nodded his head seriously as he said: “Got it, old man. I may look young, but my experience and knowledge towards human nature is vast.”
The old man looked at Mike, trying to see through him, but no matter how he looked, he couldn’t find something wrong. He started to wonder how come a 7–8 years old child knew too much about human nature, but he didn’t ask about it.
After observing for a while, the old man spoke: “Okay, young man, let's go to sleep. My old bones need some rest.”
Hearing the old man's words, Mike's eyes enlarged in confusion as he asked: “But I didn’t eat anything yet for two months.”
Hearing this, the old man laughed and said, “Oh, okay, you can have that food I cooked since I only prepared a pot for one person. You can have that, after all. I lost my appetite.”
Mike was overjoyed when he heard the old man's words, and he rushed towards the pot and dug in while using the spoon that the old man used to mix the ingredients.
While Mike was busy eating, the old man went to the other side of the wagon and reached his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a bunch of beef dried steak and started eating while looking at the moon in the sky. The beef steak was his emergency food, but since a young warrior was with him, he no longer saw a reason to save the beef. If Mike saw the old man eating meat while he was eating soup, he might be dumbfounded, but still, he would never know.
When they were done eating, they decided to sleep. While Mike was asleep, the old man couldn't fall asleep for some reason; it bothered him how Mike found the long-lost treasure of the creator. The old man tried to take a nap, and eventually, he fell asleep.