"... I have ten thousand gold coins." the Young Master offered in a lower voice, as he felt he was at a rather large disadvantage.

"Nascent Realm, One Star." the Sky Ranked Adept informed Pef as he skipped merrily towards the dead Elder in black robes.

"Gold coins, huh? From the ring on your hand?" Pef asked offhandedly, as he collected the six rings worn by his target, then turned to glance at the Xia youngster.

"... I have some mana crystals too." the Young Master admitted in a reluctant tone.

Pef just sighed and went to check the porters, but they didn't have anything beside some metal weapons and damaged robes.

"You realize I also own anything you wear, by right of combat? Don't offer me what is already mine." Pef replied in a disappointed tone, while the Icefire Adept divested the Young Master of his former property.

"... My father. He can pay a million gold coins!" the Xia youngster offered in a more pleading tone.

"Now we're talking, Young Master! Still, only one million? Even just one storage ring is worth that much." Pef countered with a gentle smile, which made the Grand Elder shiver for some reason.

Pef ignored the old grandpa, as he drew close to the Xia scion.

"Ten! Ten million coins then." the Xia teenager shouted, possibly terrified of the Icefire's Holy Son.

"Much better. Although I doubt your mighty clan is so poor." Pef said while holding out the signet ring he obtained from the Adept. "Plus, there are things that gold cannot buy. Unlock the ring for me, if you'd be so kind." he added in a carefree tone.

"My ring...." the teenager muttered.

"My ring. Just unlock it please. My young stomach cannot stand so much blood and torn intestines." Pef pleaded, while staring at the Xia Young Master with big kind blue eyes.

A pained cough resounded from the nearby Grand Elder, but nobody cared about him.

"Don't! I will, here!" the teenager shouted as he pocked the ring while pulsing a certain code with his mana.

Pef smiled cutely then turned around, as he began searching inside the pocket dimension of the ring. 'Gold in the millions, piles of jade stones, hundreds of crystals and weapons, a few books, even a few bottle of pills...jackpot!' he muttered inward, as he retrieved a bottle of yellow pills.

"Are you sick of something, Young Master?" Pef asked curious, while scanning the teenager for any signs. He seems healthy as an ox though.

"What? No! The Patriarch checks me every week anyways." the Xia scion replied somewhat outraged.

"So, these pills are not medicine. Why do you take them?" Pef wondered in a childish tone.

"You haven't heard of Yellow Origin Pills? Cret...." the Xia teenager erupted in anger, before getting slightly strangled by the Adept behind him.

Pef extracted one pill and examined it for a long minute, mostly letting his memories swift for something similar. "Take it, fly guy. It should work for you." he decided while flipping the pill towards the Icefire Adept.

Without comment, the man ingested the pill and began to circulate his mana, and swiftly began to recover his injuries. "It's a cultivation aid, Holy Son. But doesn't work too much on me, except for healing."

Pef nodded in agreement as he also took out a pill and ate it. A burst of mana filled his qi pathways, then swiftly contracted into a point in his abdomen. He had finally reached Core Realm. It had been a long five years, but Pef eventually managed.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He checked the remaining inventory, finding there were nine pills left. Almost enough for an entire cultivation realm.

"Interesting pills. How much is one worth?" Pef asked randomly, as he took out another bottle of pills, this time red ones.

"...I got them as a gift for my fifteen's birthday. Very expensive, if my father's face was any clue." the Young Master muttered in a very unhappy voice.

"And the red pills?" Pef demanded while taking out a sample.

"Red-Blood Battle pills. They also heal injuries, even during combat." the teenager answered in a dejected tone.

"Aha! This I must see. Hit him a little, fly guy." Pef commented with an interested voice.

*Pow, pow, pow. A flurry of small punches struck the Xia scion, breaking bones and tenderizing meat.

Pef then generously offered a red pill to the injured target, his face the very incarnation of mercy and compassion. To the side, a groan and slight shiver could be heard from the Grand Elder, who seemed quite terrified for some reason.

"...thank you..." a small voice whispered as the pill entered his mouth.

"You can pay me back later. A million coins will do." Pef replied with a careless handwave, as if this was nothing among friends.

Soon after, the Young Master began steaming with energy as his eyes filled with blood. Pops and cracks followed, as bones and muscles repaired and re-arranged back into health,

and his dantian also filled with fresh mana.

"Lead the way, Young Master. We have some way to go till we reach the Sect" Pef commanded as he climbed back onto his perch.

He then turned towards his Grandpa and signaled a flash of fire with his hand.

The Elder nodded sadly as he began burning the bodies with his blue flames. It was a cruel world, and the winner took all.

-------------------

"What is that?" Lara asked as she flew higher to get a better view at the approaching monster, which made the entire valley shake from its steps.

The Ruler flew beside her, not that interested in the magma golem stomping its way towards the village below.

"Some kind of humanoid rock? I wonder if it talks..." the girl muttered in a soft voice as she flew closer.

The young girl held station in front of the monster then shouted. "Big guy, turn back! There are people that way!"

A giant burning fist swiped towards her, making the young Soldier dodge. "Alright then. Seems I need to beat you back myself." Lara whispered and unfolded a large polearm from her ring. Luckily, the former invaders had provided lots of metal with their weapons and armor, enough to forge herself a dozen strong weapons.

A flash of qi covered her polearm when she struck the magma golem, leaving a magma leaking scar on its chest, yet the monster seemed unimpressed.

The young girl glanced back, at the mountain village where everyone she knew lived, including her own mother. She had to stop this menace, no matter what.

Something shifted in her soul as the tiny girl became focused all the sudden. 'It's me or you, big boulder thing.' Lara muttered inside.

'And me too.' the glove added with a mechanical giggle, only heard on the Legion network.

'I want to fight too!' the ruler grumbled as it circled around the golem.

'You want to fight a mere Emperor Ranked Golem?' the glove asked ironically.

'Eh. I was just saying. I'm kinda bored.' the Heart Ruler answered as the girl was punched away and spit some blood.

Being overpowered had its downsides as well.