Back to the dilapidated town, the harsh cold wind brew. Its gentle breeze froze the skin, its rough embrace shivering the heart. On the town's sidewalk right under the cloudy sky, Wu Tian sat down, his arms wrapped around his body.

His breath turning into steam, he appeared to be talking to himself. "Master."

His voice was drowned under the faint snow, an ethereal, rough voice only to be heard by him. "Yes?"

"Master. We're poor."

A steady silence emerging, it was shut back down by Guizou's annoyed grumble. "No shit!"

It had been a couple of weeks since Wu Tian broke through. This amazing Warrior was now like a homeless person. Left stranded on the streets. Fortunately... maybe, he had company. This same company almost making his ears bleed. "I told you to stay in the cave! We barely have two silvers!"

"Master... I didn't think this town was so expensive. It looks like horse shit." This sigh of a sentence was only met with a scoff. "Yeah? Well I can see that. You're indeed not worth that much!"

Lone on the cold street, a young man's eyelid was madly twitching.

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Two months later.

What's going on?

Thinking in chaos, a middle aged man was sweating profusely. He was a staff member of an unauthorized gambling house. He wore a red tunic and black shirt. His black pants were seated next to a big table. He was currently shuffling cards while facing a young man.

How does he win so much?! It's like he knows!

Obviously trying to scam people, this gambling house was not fair to its customers. The game he was hosting was a one versus one against a customer. The higher value the two cards given, the better chances of winning. Each round, they would choose whether to stay or fold after raising the amount of money bet.

It was very simple and straightforward. The only way to accidentally lose for a staff member would be to have one's cards seen by the other party.

The young man facing him was very calm, bored even. He had been there for the last seven hours, always folding on the first round whenever he would have the upper hand. And since he had to seem normal, he sometimes picked bad cards on purpose. On these rarer times, the young man would always raise the money.

How much has he won already? Oh no! He already got twenty golds! The boss will put my head in the toilet and shove a deck of cards up my ass! Not again! It will be the fourth time this week!

Weeping, the man always kept trying to gain back what he made the house lose. It was another game, taking a two and three for his cards. The young man was hearing a voice.

"He got a two and a three."

Sighing, Wu Tian looked at his thirteen and eight. Without a word from his blank expression, he pushed some coins in between them. Seeing the amount, the middle aged man almost choked as he still had to seem fair.

I have a two and a three... It wouldn't be weird for me to fold... but I folded the last seven times too... according to policy...

Sniff. Tonight is going to be a rough three hours before bed.

"I...I raise too..." Clenching his teeth, the staff member pushed his entire three remaining gold coins. "I don't have anything anymore. Again. I have a three and a two." Sighing heavily, he seemed soulless. "What does mister customer have?"

"Me?" Playing stupid once more, Wu Tian enjoyed the sight of this fellow being traumatized. "Nothing much. Like an eight, and a thirteen. You know, like I always do. So, hum. I'll be taking that, thank you very much." Locking his eyes with the man's, Wu Tian slowly pulled the twenty-three gold coins into his side of the table. He never blinked during it, carefully staring into the man's soul with a smirk hidden inside his pupils.

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Once done, the staff member did not retrieve more coins. He stood up and walked lifelessly to a booth. He came back with a bit more life infused into his body and a tall burly friend.

"Ha~ It's this guy." His arms drooping along his back, the middle aged man waited for the show to be over. It was the fourth time he had to ask for 'security' as it was called in this place.

It was also very simple. The customer made too much, the customer had to give everything back plus their clothes and families.

Facing the nearly two meters tall giant, Wu Tian smirked visibly this time. Guizou's voice was still there. "Eighth layer Mortal. I won't help you, not that you need it. He probably wouldn't even be able to injure your crotch with his full strength while you slept."

A thousand pounds Warrior was a being that could exert a thousand pounds of force casually, but also a being that could take a thousand pounds of force without a care.

A level eight Mortal could not pull off so much energy even with their entire ingenuity behind it. At least not with their own body.

"Big man, you want to take my earnings? I won fair and square!" Right after his words were distant ones that only he could hear. "Fair my ass!"

"Little man, give everything you have!" Cracking his knuckles, the tall man then took a stance. He directly used a right jab before pulling it away in the next moment, his left arm already striking.

Seeing his left fist connect, he smiled one moment and grimaced the next. Pulling away, he did not grunt, carefully sizing up Wu Tian. Without having seen anything, even after feeling an impact on a defenseless opponent, the tall man realized his left fist to be in a pitiful state.

Guizou whistled. "Damn. That guy is pretty tough. He just punched a man made of iron and didn't flinch. Look at him, his hand shattered, his wrist has snapped and his forearm is bruised. That's pretty bad. Don't you feel guilty?" To answer him was a dumbfounded Wu Tian. "Would you?" And to follow his rebuttal was Guizou's even more dumbfounded expression. "But did I ask myself?"

Moron. Was the first thought Guizou had. He patiently watched Wu Tian take a step forward, followed by a next. He closed in on his opponent and struck forward with a simple left fist.

The opponent was unimpressed by the skill but shocked by the speed. Without enough time to move away, the left fist crashed into his right side, feeling his crushed ribs as if they were turned into fine powder. Reality was both better and worse. His ribs cracked and two of them badly so. His right lung was punctured by these two terrifically snapped ribs. This impalement sucked the oxygen right out of his system.

Barely recovering some sense, the darkening of his field of vision was accelerated by a right uppercut to his falling jaw.

Having a glass jaw would have been the same. Even his pure bones and bone marrow were not enough to stop this immense force. The jaw cracked and shattered, the teeth flew out and the man's face folded like a piece of paper. His body was not tough enough to survive, Wu Tian's right fist punching through the man's mandible and maxilla, directly piercing the man's entire skull before exiting at the top.

The scene was nothing short of brutal.

And so happening lightning fast to most people.

The burly man collapsing limply, Wu Tian retreated a few steps. He looked around once more before deciding to leave, his murmur fading. "Master, won't it be a problem if I'm recognized later? Shouldn't I have wore something?" It was a fair point, a fair point very well dismissed. "Oh yeah? Were you intending on walking right in this gambling house with leaves plastered over your face like a tribe member? Did you want to use animal feces to paint symbols on you as well? We're poor damn it!"

"..."

"Can't... really deny it..." Blushing at his lack of management, Wu Tian ran back to the cave abode. Or more precisely, to the random cave they found.

Sniffing, the middle aged man heard loud footsteps behind him. The scene of the so called security being slaughtered happened too fast. It was only a moment later that the man heard an angry voice from behind. It was an overweight man making noises as he took out his belt. "Jiang. I want your back to face me the whole time. Now take off your shirt and shove it into your mouth. I don't want to hear screams when I rip apart your skin! I'm going to use your blood to pay for my gold!"

"..."

"Y...Yes... s-sir!"

The air whistled and a man's back was hit by a rough leather belt and its buckle for two hours. It was then followed by the usual three hours long treatment.

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Back to the cave, Wu Tian resumed his martial training with Guizou.

Trying to punch his master, Wu Tian took a heavy step left and swung back his right arm. Once close enough, he punched with all of his might ahead, only being met with Guizou's yawn. "Kid, please take it a bit more seriously. Why are you swinging so much? Just punch!" Explaining while showing, Guizou's right arm flickered, his fist passing through Wu Tian's head before his own right arm could reach the halfway point.

"Sometimes I feel like you being dead inside is better. You made much better movements when you fought the last times. If you really want to see how strong you are, go punch a rock instead."

Wu Tian was embarrassed but could not refute. However, he was still glad. With the money made by ransacking the gambling house, they could now afford the hellish price of the Purple Foundation Herb.

They only needed a low grade Yin Flower! Just a single herb and he would be allowed to breakthrough again!

"Master, can we go see the Blue Foundation Herb's price as well?"

"Of course! This is what I intend to do as well. But we need to wait a few weeks for the storm we made to die down."