In the middle of the night, a house surrounded by a group of bandits. And from a far a cultivator observed it

That cultivator was Yun Lan. He has been observing this house for the past 15 years, especially toward the boy named Shu Jue. He was an oddball, seeming literate from birth, and could create weird things for mortals. He called one of his inventions a "toothbrush" and sold it in the market, which became a trend until other merchants tried to imitate it, causing its price to drop, make Shu Jue eventually had to give up. He often spouted many strange things too, saying things like "when will my golden finger come" and "when am I going to meet my OP grandpa."

"As far as I know, his grandpa has been dead for a long time, and why would he want to make his finger golden? If it's about a body, then he can only become a Buddha, but his constitution only suits Taoism. Whatever, when the time comes, I can only force him to cultivate the dao"

The most surprising thing is he often searches for news of cultivators, as if he is sure that cultivators exist somewhere. Normally, for mortals, especially in this small kingdom, cultivators are only regarded as a legends. Even when recruiting a disciple, cultivators just need to go to the city of their respective sect to scout for potential disciples.

"He's definitely weird. It's like he has knowledge about cultivators from before he was born, but that's not possible. I've been to the underworld before; even the strongest soul I've ever seen can't escape the Guardians and is still undergoing the process of reincarnation. Maybe he heard a brief mention from others? Maybe that's the case."

Shu Jue also has a little sister. Her name is Shu Qin, and she is two years younger than Shu Jue. When I use Heaven's Fate Eyes on her,

"I see, she also bears a special physique"

She has the Nine Cauldron Physique. It's a physique best for making pills, its cultivation potential also good and Shu Jue was the holder of the Inferno Yang Physique, so it looks like they are fated for each other.

For the past few years, I've kept sending him opportunities to awaken his dormant physique.

But I can only sigh helplessly.

"It's useless. That kid Shu Jue is too cowardly."

When I sent a boar to fight him, he ran away in fear. When I tried to guide him into a secret realm, he didn't dare to approach it. But surprisingly enough, he really cares for his own family. He even dared to offend a noble for his little sister, so this situation happens.

"Maybe this is the best opportunity for him."

Yun lan also didnt forget pertering her brother about making his daughter join heaven might sect.

........,...........,..........,........,........,......

The bandits, who are probably that young master's lackeys, were approaching a wooden house.

Inside that house, there's a family of four. The parents, despite their despair, are filled with determination to ensure their children's safety. With trembling hands, they urged the children to escape to the dense forest.

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"Shu Jue, Shu Qin, listen to mom. Mom and dad will get the attention of the bandits, and Shu Jue, you must protect your little sister, okay? Go through the window. You must run toward the forest and never look back."

The brother and sister can only nod helplessly, their faces contorted in agony and fear. With one last embrace, they fled into the night.

Their parents chose to stay behind for their children's safety. Suddenly, the bandits barged in. Their figures were muscular, and they looked fierce. Looking at the open window, their faces contorted in anger.

"Go after the kids. Don't let them escape, especially the kid named Shu Jue."

"I won't let you pass." The parent let go of their fear. They determined to protect their children even at the cost of their own lives.

The bandits were furious. They sliced them in half and burned their house to a crisp as they immediately went in the direction of the dense forest.

The kids, Shu Jue and Shu Qin, ran for their lives. The brother and sister were in despair. They went deeper into the forest. Upon seeing a cave, they hurriedly entered it. Unfortunately, the bandits still found them. They were surrounded by bandits. Upon seeing the blood on the weapons, Shu Jue asked skeptically,

"Tell me, whose blood is that?"

"Oh, this? Of course, it's your parents' blood. The texture of their flesh when I was cutting them felt fresh in my head," the bandit said while licking his sword.

"You bastard! How dare you!" Shu Jue's anger rose immediately.

Shu Jue thought of his own parents,

'They may not be the best parents. They may not be wealthy, and they often scold me.'

But it was 'my parents.' The bandits in front of him were the ones who killed his parent.

"It's over now, Shu Jue. You can't run away anymore. If back then you had just handed over your little sister to Young Master Yan, none of this would have happened. Now that it has come to this, we can only use her for our fun."the bandits say mockingly

"Over my dead body!"

Feeling unjustly,Shu Jue lost all his reason. Undeterred by the overwhelming odds stacked against him, he stood his ground while protecting his sister. But the bandits were too much; they just toyed with him. Shu Jue's strength began to wane, his body battered and bruised from the bandits' onslaught. Their laughter echoed through the cave, and his sister was helpless; she can only cry, she couldn't do anything but watch her brother being beaten by the bandits.

Determined to protect his sister, Shu Jue still stood firm against the bandits. In a desperate effort, he gathered all his strength in one punch to at least kill one bandit in front of him. Something inside him cracked; his body suddenly felt on fire as he punched the bandit in front of him, throwing the bandit back to the cave wall, instantly killing him.

Seeing their comrade killed, the bandits immediately became serious and began to unsheathe their weapons, ready to beset Shu Jue.

Having consumed all his strength, Shu Jue could only collapse, begrudgingly looking at the bandits. When suddenly, a flying sword came and killed all the bandits. Shu Jue heard approaching footsteps coming towards him.

"You kids are safe now. Rest well."

Relieved to have help, Shu Jue began to lose consciousness.

......,........,........,.........,........,.....

Seeing the kids in front of him, Yun Lan could only sigh helplessly.

'This is a common occurrence in this world. If you are not strong enough, you can only be stomped.'

As he thought about that, He approached the brother and sister. The sister was still wary and terrified while hugging her brother's battered body.

"Don't worry. I don't mean any harm to your brother. You can rest easy."

"How do I know you won't harm my brother?" she said, her nose still runny from crying.

"My name is Yun Lan. I am a cultivator. When I passed by this forest, I saw you surrounded by bandits, so I helped you. You saw a flying sword killed all the bandits, right? That was my doing."

Cultivators, in mortal eyes, are legends, depicted as bearers of justice against evil.

Feeling her wariness lessen, Yun Lan sent a wave of qi toward the kids to lessen their injuries. He couldn't completely heal them; only cultivators who specialize in medical expertise can. He couldn't give them healing pills either, as they had not cultivated yet. If given a healing pill, their bodies would explode because of the overwhelming qi contained in it. Seeing the girl, he asked, "Girl, will you come to my sect and become my disciple?"

The truth was Yun Lan wanted to take Shu Jue, but with his physique, he could not be sheltered. Only with a battle of life and death could he reach his peak.

"Why do you want me to become your disciple?"

"You have a special Nine Cauldron Physique, and your potential is good enough."

"What about my brother?"

"Your brother can cultivate too, but his potential is not as good, at least for now."

"Can I bring my brother with me if I become your disciple?"

"Of course, you can, but he can only be an outer sect disciple. Is that alright?"

Shu qin hurriedly kneel toward her new master

"Disciple greets the master."

Yun Lan saw in her eyes a determination to not be helpless again and the will to protect someone close to her. So, he smiled at her.

"Let's get going now so we can heal your brother too."

"Alright, master."shu qin seeing her brother was unconcious can only nodded

Yun Lan took out a leaf that can expanded when touched the ground, big enough to accommodate multiple people. After placing both brother and sister, they immediately flew in the direction of the Divine Might Sect.