Kiron exchanged 6 of his golden bars for 600 gold coins. With this much money, his mother can easily buy a house and retire. This will allow Kiron to be at the Burning Phoenix Sect without worrying about his mother.

“Alright, I’m ready to leave the city now!” Kiron looked at Robin as he spoke. The tournament was already over, and they would leave for the Burning Phoenix Sect in 7 days.

Robin nodded his head, “Let’s go!” Then he started walking.

If they walked at a fast pace, then they should be able to reach Norica before the sun sets. Of course, if they were to run, they could reach Norica in less than one hour. But there really was no rush, they had 7 days to say their goodbyes and finish up unresolved matters.

As the boys were walking and talking, Kiron stopped up, “Hey Robin, you’re close to the 6th rank, right?” Kiron then took out a High Ranked Core and continued, “You should take this High Ranked Core! With this you should be able to get to the 6th rank!” Kiron extended his arm, giving the High Ranked Core to Robin.

“I can’t possibly take this core when you’re the one who earned it!” Robin shook his head as he spoke. Kiron wouldn’t give up, “You have helped me out so much! Without you, I would have been dead by now! And even this isn’t enough to pay you back! But it’s a start!” Kiron said with a serious tone.

Robin stared at the High Ranked Core for a couple of seconds, “Okay. I’ll take it!” Robin had a smile on his face as he spoke. Even if he at first didn’t want to take it, he still felt some sense in Kiron’s words.

“Thank you.” Robin said with a smile on his face.

... Meanwhile, at the Burning Phoenix Sect.

“I’m not joking, a kid at the 2nd rank of the Profound Practitioner Realm was easily wiping the floor with the Black Turtle Sect members who were are the 6th rank! He even won the semifinals and finals because the opponents forfeited the match before it even began out of fear!” The one speaking was Elder Pavong. He was sitting around a large, round table with the other elders and the sect leader.

The Sect Leader stared at Elder Pavong, “Then, if what you are saying is true, then this kid must have formed a spiritual bond with a Divine Beast! The second person since Baroona to have formed a spiritual bond with a Divine Beast… There is no logical explanation except for this!”

“Elder Pavong, did you happen to meet his soul beast? Most cultivators won’t stay away from their soul beasts for a long period of time, so it should be close to him!” The sect leader looked at Elder Pavong as he spoke.

He wasn’t the only one looking at Elder Pavong, all of the sect members were staring at him! To have recruited someone who is potentially the second person in history to have formed a spiritual bond with a Divine Beast? Naturally, everyone is curious about his answer. “Sect Leader Samon, I was unable to confirm it for myself. I only had a few encounters with Kiron. And those were all mainly at the scene of the tournament.” Elder Pavong had only seen Kiron once outside the tournament grounds, and that was at the grand hotel!

Sect Leader Samon looked at Elder Pavong, “Well, even if you haven’t personally had the chance to confirm whether or not he has formed a spiritual bond with a Divine Beast, it still doesn’t change the fact that you have personally seen him defeat those who are 4 ranks above him, with ease!”

Everyone were silent for a couple of seconds, “Even if he hasn’t form a spiritual bond with a Divine Beast, he could still be the one to bring our fame and reputation back! After we lost most of our expert disciples, our fame and reputation fell. But now, we actually have a chance to reclaim what we have lost!” One of the Sect Elders said

“But, there seems to be some sort of enmity between Kiron and the Black Turtle Sect! They might try to attack him, knowing that he’s about to join the Burning Phoenix Sect! Elder Pavong continued, “A Black Turtle Sect Elder by the name of Ronai tried to recruit him, but Kiron humiliated him instead. And later after that, he completely shattered the leg of a young disciple by the name of Girse.” Elder Pavong looked at the rest of the elders with a hint of worry in his eyes.

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“Girse? The same kid who broke Douglas’s legs? Haha, I like this Kiron already!” The one speaking just now was Elder Kurai, Douglas’s father.

Sect Leader Samon suddenly got up from his chair, “Then, Elder Pavong and Elder Kurai will be sent to escort Kiron and his friend to our sect! You make sure nothing happens to them on their way over here!”

Elder Pavong and Elder Kurai both bowed their heads, “Yes Sect Leader Samon! We will bring them here safely!”

… Norica!

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Robin said to Kiron as he started walking towards his own home.

Kiron started walking towards his own home as well, “Ah, it feels good to be back home! I probably won’t be coming here too often after I enter the Burning Phoenix Sect”

He opened the door, “Mom, I’m home!” Kiron said in a somewhat loud voice. Charlotte came walking over to the door, “Kiron! How did it go at the tournament? Did you win one of the fights?”

Kiron let out a small laugh, “I won the whole tournament!” Kiron said with a smile on his face. Charlotte looked at Kiron with a stunned expression, “You… You won the whole t-tournament?” Her voice was shaking, she wasn’t sure if he was just joking or if he was being serious…

“Yea! Oh, and I managed to slay a bunch of Silver Wolves! I sold the cores,” Kiron continued, “Now you can buy a house and retire!” Kiron took out 6 money pouches, all containing 100 gold coins each and handed them to his mother.

Charlotte didn’t know what to feel, there was so many feelings swelling up within her…

Kiron then proceeded to tell her about how he had been invited to join the Burning Phoenix Sect and other things…

“So, you’ll be leaving in 7 days?” Charlotte’s expression turned from a happy one to a sad one.

Kiron nodded, “Yes... And I’ll probably be gone for a couple of years.” Kiron said with a sad look on his face. Having to leave his mother for years was not something he wanted to do, but at the same time, joining a sect is something he wanted to do.

Charlotte and Kiron sat around the dining table, talking and laughing. Kiron kept talking about things he wanted to do, such as exploring the Chaotic Lands…

Some hours passed by. “It’s getting late. I should probably be going to bed now… Well, I suppose I don’t have to go to sleep early anymore, considering I can already retire!” Charlotte said while letting out a small laugh.

Kiron followed his mother’s example and went to bed.

…

*BANG*

Kiron was instantly awaken by the large sound. A large boulder had crashed through his roof and landed right next to him!

“What… What is going on?” Kiron had a shocked expression on his face. The outside was filled with screaming and rumbling.

Someone opened the door to his room, “KIRON!” Charlotte cried in a high pitched voice. “Are you okay?!” Charlotte saw the large boulder next to his bed.

Kiron was still in a daze, it took him some time to awaken and realize what was going on. “What is happening?” Kiron stared at his mother as he spoke.

“I don’t know, but we got to get out of here!” Charlotte grabbed Kiron’s arm and started running towards the exit.

Kiron and Charlotte got out of the house safely, only to see that parts of the mountain was gone, and the forest surrounding half the mountain was burning.

“Let’s go towards the center of the town and group up with the…”

*ROAAAR*

Both Kiron and Charlotte looked towards the sky. When they looked, they could see a dragon, and something chasing the dragon. It seemed to be a… Human?