“Yeah, I do,” Shao answered, scratching his cheek in uncertainty. He didn’t want to reveal such information to a cultivator he had known for less than an hour, but he supposed he could trust Xiahou Ren. “I should probably tell you about it. I call my bloodline talent ‘Carnivore.’ It lets me gain the power of a divine beast or a yaoguai when I eat its heart.”

“You call…?” Xiahou Ren began to ask but stopped short. “Nevermind. I won’t pry too far into your business. In the interest of fairness, I’ll tell you of my bloodline talent, the secret of the Xiahou Bian family. It’s called ‘Blessing of the Suffering God,’ and it increases the speed of my cultivation based on how much pain I’m in.”

Shao grimaced at the thought. “That sounds more like a curse than a blessing.”

Ren laughed before saying, “You know, I thought the same way at first. Now, I’ve learned to find meaning in the pain. Pain is really just a body’s physiological response to outside stimuli. There’s no reason to fear it.”

Frowning, Shao turned toward Xiahou Ren and examined him in detail. Underneath a smiling exterior, a sharp intelligence capable of both mischief and malice swelled. This hidden capacity was reflected in the design of Ren’s robes. What initially appeared to be a muted silver sheen in the blue coloring was actually an intricate webbed design that started just over Ren’s heart and spread across every inch of his outfit like an all-encompassing spider web.

“There’s one last thing I don’t know about you,” Xiahou Ren said, peering at Yang Shao out of the side of his eye. “I’ve never heard of the Yang Clan, so I have to ask. What Path are you on?”

Shao scratched his cheek in thought. “Path of the Divine Sword, I guess? I dunno, I only figured out I was a cultivator a few days ago.”

Ren scoffed at Shao’s words, but he didn’t seem to doubt their veracity. “I assume this mentor of yours made it clear to you that this is abnormal. It’s immensely rare for a cultivator to reach the sixth step before he’s twenty years old even when he’s trained his entire life.”

“Yeah, he told…” Shao’s statement was interrupted by a sound just on the edge of hearing. It was the sound of pained screaming, which immediately took Shao back to the moment he first heard the sound of four demonic cultivators attacking his clan.

“Someone’s in trouble,” Shao said. A moment later, he took off running down the street. His movement was slowed significantly by the people crowding the street, but he was able to reach the source of the distressed cry in less than a moment. Based on the sound of another set of footsteps a few cun behind his own, Shao could tell that Ren followed him on his hurried sprint through the streets of Zhoushan.

Soon, Shao turned the corner and saw two men wearing cultivator’s robes standing near a woman. One of the two men held the woman by the wrist, and this man wore the colorful robes worn by members of the Gao Clan.

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They had reached a wide back alley that was about fifteen cun across and surrounded on two sides by wooden structures that rose high into the sky. Either because no one wanted to use the alleyway as a path or because no one else wanted to get involved, there were no witnesses nearby.

“Come on, you’re gonna hurt my feelings by acting like that. Let us show you a good time; it’ll be easier that way.” The Gao man spoke with a derisive tone as he gripped the woman’s face in one hand. It seemed as though the Gao man only applied the slightest pressure, but the woman immediately began to whimper and blood began to drip down her neck. The woman was clearly a mortal, and even the slightest pressure from the Gao man could seriously wound her.

“Why is it always the Gao Clan?” Xiahou Ren muttered just loud enough for Shao to hear.

Shao stepped forward and shouted at the two aggressors loud enough to make his presence obvious. “Hey!”

“This doesn’t concern you,” the Gao man responded without even turning his head toward Shao.

“I’m making it my concern! Let her go or I’ll tear your arm off!”

“Huh!?” With a tone tinged with genuine shock and confusion, the Gao man shouted in Shao’s direction. He immediately released the woman and turned his full attention toward the two newcomers. “You’re courting death, boy. Don’t you know who you’re dealing with? I’m Gao Song Jinyu, son of Gao Song Yi. Kiss my feet, and maybe I’ll let you off with a beating.”

Xiahou Ren let out a bark of laughter. “How cliché. Did your parents never tell you about karmic debt?”

Another foreign word. Shao figured he would have to ask Ren about it after he was finished killing Gao Song Jinyu.

Though much of Ren’s meaning was lost on Gao Jinyu, he knew when he was being mocked. The Gao man’s teeth clenched and shoulders squared as he took several angry steps toward Ren and Shao. “Oh, you’ve done it now.”

Shao was more than willing to respond in kind. He took up a fighting stance and allowed the animalistic corner of his mind to take control. His iron staff whipped up into a striking position as he slowly stepped forward.

The two combatants stepped toward each other, allowing anger to fill their bodies with motive force. Then, just before the tension broke and one of the two cultivators launched a vicious attack, there was a blur of movement in Shao’s peripheral vision.

Like a striking viper, Xiahou Ren struck a moment before Shao. The scholar’s cupped hand flew toward Gao Song Jinyu’s chin and made contact. To Shao’s eyes, Ren’s hand barely seemed to brush the bottom of his opponent’s chin. Gao Jinyu’s head rotated almost imperceptibly, and his eyes instantly lost focus.

Gao Jinyu fell to the ground, knocked immediately unconscious. He didn’t use his arms to catch his fall. It was as if he had fallen into a deep sleep while still standing.

Shocked, Shao looked down at the prone cultivator. His body spasmed and foamy saliva began to accumulate in his mouth. At a glance, it was clear that he would live, but he wouldn’t be in fighting condition for a long time.

Xiahou Ren brushed his hands together with a smile. “I think we’re done here.”