Martin peered down at the two children he had been left with. His enormous figure towered over them.

"Sniff," the young girl, who seemed to be around six or seven, began sniffling while holding onto her tattered cloak. Tiny tears began to gather around her big blue eyes.

"He didn't even say goodbye," Ally said, lifting her head to meet the giant's eyes.

Martin nodded internally. He understood her sentiment but still he was left baffled.

He was not a uncle, he was not a instructor nor had he ever had children. Still, now that he was responsible for these kids, he puffed his muscular chest up and kelt down next to her.

Martin placed his groomed hairy hand on her head, being careful not to push down too hard. Even on his knees, he was thrice her height.

"The great elder has urgent business to attend to. His mind was probably filled to the brim with questions and concerns, and he simply forgot," Martin said, giving her a warm smile. He clenched his fist and lifted it in front of her face, continuing, "How about this? Train hard so that the next time you two meet, you can surprise him with your divine strength!"

Looking up at Martin's face Ally nodded. Cheering up slightly thanks to Martin's condolences, Ally hardened her determination to cultivate as diligently as she could.

Martin was right, she knew that she had been given an enormous opportunity. Ally remembered what her uncle told her, 'That she would be a fool not to seize this opportunity'.

Though, she had grown quite fond of Nicholas in the short time they were together, he was like the older brother she wished she had he was quite handsome too, she would always pull his hair hoping she could gain his attention and always provided a reason for doing so.

Wiping the tears off her pink cheeks with her wrist, Ally remembered that she hadn't even formally introduced herself to her new caretaker.

"My name is Ally, and the boy in your hand is little Deno. I hope you take good care of us, sir!"

Surprised by her sudden formalness, he chuckled out loud and replied with a mighty voice.

"I'm Martin, a Master Stage Cultivator of the Sect and a Core Disciple."

Looking at Ally, Martin realized that although she was old enough to be let loose in the sect to train and meet the five-year minimum requirement, she still hadn't been cleansed of the impurities in her body. The sooner the impurities are cleansed, the easier the path of dao will be for the average cultivator. However, seeing Ally's potential, which was second only to Nicholas, having it done now shouldn't affect her cultivation.

Looking down at the boy he was holding, Martin inspected Deno as well. With a pressure engulfing Deno, he felt the same palpitating pressure that he had felt back in the cellar, but this time it wasn't as threatening.

"Hmm, this boy is...completely average. What on earth does Nicholas see in this boy? Either way, I made a promise to educate him on Nicholas's behalf, might as well do my part." Martin thought, ceasing his inspection.

Deno's eyes were locked onto Martin, cautious and wary. Martin admired this part of the boy, he could see the grit. Even at such a young age, Martin could see Deno's daring nature. But what truly frightened Martin was the sleepless nights he would have to endure because of the boy, just like any parent would.

Martin had promised Nicholas to take care of the two children, but in reality, he would only check on them and provide them with resources to find their own paths. This was the path of the martial dao; they had to toughen up at an early age, or the brutality of the outside world would destroy them.

In this world, it was common for even disciples of the same sect, siblings, and masters to betray each other. Martin realized he should give the kids a tour of the sect before anything else, as that was the least he could do for them right now.

"Look over at that mountain," Martin said, pointing to one of the four mountains to the northeast of the sect. "Do you know who it belongs to?"

Ally looked over, surprised, and asked, "Someone owns that entire mountain?"

"Indeed," Martin replied. "That someone is your master, Nicholas. The man who saw great potential in you, so don't let him down!"

Ally was amazed at how powerful a cultivator Nicholas was. The more she thought about it, the more she realized the depths of his power.

'Master saved Deno and I from certain death... If only I could repay him somehow.'

Ally concluded that someday she would repay Nicholas's kindness. She hardened her determination even further, knowing that her new life was just beginning and that her path to immortality lay ahead. She vowed to save her family from the terror within the mortal realm and live peacefully with everyone in the village.

Martin chuckled as he looked down at Ally's bright golden hair and her serious, yet cute, expression that made her seem extremely goofy.

"Alright, now follow me," he said, beckoning to Ally with a hand wave. He carefully picked up Deno, who was wrapped in a multitude of blankets, and headed towards his home.

As he walked past many disciples, he noticed that they cupped their fists in respect. The countless disciples who paid their respects to the three of them caused Ally to blush, as she had never received so much attention before.

-----

Arriving at the steps of Martin's home, Deno was baffled. The structure looked identical to a traditional Chinese house, yet this was supposed to be a different world. This thought was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as he was taken inside Martin's home. Deno made sure to pay attention and take mental notes, as this was the home of a powerful figure and if he wanted to reach the same level, he may have to emulate it.

Deno's eyes widened as the interior of the house came into view. He could see that Martin was quite odd. The man had a myriad of trophies and medals hanging around his home, and weapons ranging from axes to katanas to long swords, all hung parallel to each other. Additionally, paintings of mountains, beasts, and specific cultivators, expertly created, were placed in frames and displayed in the middle of the house. Despite the decoration, the house had little furniture. In a way, Martin reminded Deno of a fanboy from Earth.

Ally's high-pitched voice interrupted Deno's judgment. "Wow! This is awesome, Master Martin!" Rubbing the bottom of his nose, Martin didn't hide his pleasure at her compliments, but couldn't shake the feeling that someone's opinion of him had plummeted.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Placing Deno on a bed in the corner of the room, Martin said, "Don't get too settled in this home, Ally. Once I've finished explaining the fundamentals, you'll be on your own with your own apartments within the sect."

Ally nodded in understanding.

Martin knew that she was old enough to become an official starting disciple, but he needed to prepare some things before she began her cultivation. He decided to personally teach her basic education for children her age, clear impurities from her body, and teach her the cultivation techniques of the sect.

Deno, on the other hand, was too young to become an official disciple, but still needed to be educated in subjects such as math and language. Martin sighed, knowing there was a lot of work ahead of him, but it was all for the sake of his idol.

'So then, until I'm five, I'll be allowed to venture the world on my own?' Deno asked after Adriana explained the conversation between Martin and Ally. He was shocked to find out that children were allowed to leave and train by themselves at the age of five.

'What if they have questions? Who would answer them? Where would they stay? How would they pay for their things?' Numerous questions flooded Deno's mind, but Adriana didn't answer them because she knew her answers would lead to even more questions. Either way, she didn't know the answers herself.

Understand that she didn't know, Deno ceased his barrage of questions and began to ponder on his own. 'So, in reality, I have a little over four years to prepare myself before I can begin training in the martial dao. Using the dragon imperial martial arts, I'll be able to reach the level of deities in no time. Maybe I can start my own cult or something.'

Interrupting his thoughts, Adriana quickly put a stop to his unusual thoughts. 'Don't forget our deal, human. Otherwise, the supreme dao will give you the proper punishment. Also, I would suggest not training the Imperial cultivation technique in public. How would you explain yourself to the human cultivators?'

'Relax,' Deno replied, 'I'll help you get revenge on the humans and demons, but in the meantime, how do you expect me to help if I look like this?' Understanding that he was right, Adriana calmed herself.

Deno gazed into a mirror and glared at his reflection. His red, bloated cheeks and tiny body wrapped in the brown, warm blanket made his heart ache. How many years had he trained his body, refined his muscles, and trained his muscle memory just to start all over again? Although he couldn't regret it, as now he had an opportunity to go beyond the mortal limit.

His entire life, Deno had felt like he reached the limit, the summit, the opus magnum of martial arts. But in the end, he died to humanity's weapons all because he pissed off some mob boss.

Adriana listened to Alexander's thoughts in silence. He had a rough life. She had seen it while he was sleeping back in the mortal realm. Two families, both dead; losing his job, losing his home. It was all very unfortunate. Besides that, the years of training he endured in the various parts of his magnificent world, which she had never seen before, dazzled her. Such dedication was truly admirable.

Although she had seen his entire past, she was still far more advanced in controlling her own sea of consciousness than Alexander, so he couldn't read her past unless she gave him permission to. This had earned her the title of "creep" in Deno's eyes.

Snapping both of them out of their contemplation was Martin and his suspicious choice of words. "First things first, let's clean your body!"

Ally's face grew beet red as she blushed at Martin. He was tall, handsome, and strong. She had lived in the mortal world for a long time, and the immortals were far more good-looking, as they remained young-looking for longer due to the removal of their impurities. This allowed their faces to become flawless.

"Ew, are you crazy, you pervert!" Ally screamed at Martin.

Martin, confused and innocent, continued. "What? You don't want your impurities to be cleansed?"

Ally finally realizing what he meant and grew even redder. Martin squatted down and sat on the floor, as she did the same, blushing profusely.

Martin placed his hands on her back and began to transfer the impurities from her body to her dantian to release them all at once. The process was incredibly painful, as all ascension of cultivation was. The higher the potential of a child, the fewer impurities that needed to be removed, and thus, Ally would be able to breeze through this. However, it still wouldn't be painless.

A white hue began to envelop Martin's hands and slowly transferred around her cloak, creating a tight pressure in the atmosphere. Deno looked on in disbelief, he had only thought such things existed in fiction. His heart began to throb with excitement, as normal humans only ever dreamt of such things, and now it was within his grasp.

Suddenly, Ally began to scream as she felt her entire body burn. She felt her dantian harden as all the impurities from her bulging veins travelled to it. Martin took his hands off her back, dusted himself off, and waited. It was up to her. The more impurities within a body, the lower the child's potential, but it would be more painful as a result. Ally's body didn't have many impurities, so it would be easier for her to tolerate it than other children.

Even so, it was still extremely painful.

Ally's consciousness was on the brink of collapse. She felt like her body was eating itself from the inside. She had never felt such pain in her six years of life, but she could still tolerate it.

All the impurities reached her dantian and slowly began to release from her skin, giving the entire house a horrible stench and forcing Deno and Martin's faces to scrunch up.

Martin swiftly pinched his nose, noticing Deno's face in a similar state. He quickly held Deno's nose too.

Deno felt he owed Martin one.

"Haaah, haah," Ally panted as sweat trickled down her forehead. She had done it—her first step to saving her village. Now, all she had to do was start cultivating. But what was that smell?

Realizing it was herself, she turned red with embarrassment. Martin immediately pointed in the direction of the bathroom, and Ally dashed there at the speed of light.

Her body felt far lighter and cleaner, even though she stunk like rotten fruit.

Martin pulled both hands close to each other and clapped, creating an immense shockwave that cleared the stench out through the open windows.

Deno looked on in amazement. His eyes glistened with determination. It was like the man had superpowers.

Deno couldn't control himself. He wanted that power. Maybe it could lead to more dangerous fights in the future.

Deno watched as Martin picked him up, his enormous hairy hands the same size as his frail pale body. They locked eyes for a moment, both seemingly entranced by each other, admiring each other without a word spoken. Martin saw Deno's sharp and terrifying eyes, which brought back memories of when he faced the Heavenly Demon.

The entire Sutra Empire had fought against the demon, with countless powerful sects and families working together in unison. At the time, Martin was just a measly middle-rank 2nd stage cultivator, threatened by the mere presence of the other cultivators. He was seen as a dispensable soldier and his only thought was if he would live to see another day.

Martin watched, along with the other lower-stage cultivators, as the Empire's Mystics and leaders of the other sects surrounded the Heavenly Demon. The demon's eyes were like those of a beast, ravaged and fierce. His body was covered in wounds as he faced thousands of cultivators. He was a human, a problem of the Sutra Empire, and yet had the ferociousness of the Demon Sultan himself.

The combination of a human and a demon was both terrifying and fascinating to Martin. The demon's slit, bloodshot eyes and gut-wrenching aura dazzled him, and he hated himself for it. The entire Sutra Empire hated the demon for all the lives he'd taken in his search for power, sucking their souls and vitality away, making it his own. And yet, despite the hate, he was still admired.

Who else could glare down a swarm of mystics and saint stage cultivators as if they were ants? Who else could make sage and below-level cultivators feel like filler?

He was like a lion surrounded by a clan of hyenas.

He could handle one-on-one, or even three-on-one, but a lion can't fend off hundreds of hyenas.

No one knew where he came from, but the entire Immortal world had never seen such rapid cultivation.

Sadly, he was taken out before he became too much of a threat.

Martin glared down at Deno and laughed, "You have the eyes, but thankfully not the dantian. Or else we'd have the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon right within our large sect."

Deno glared back at Martin, face-to-face and being held up by him.

'This is an immortal...' Deno thought, still unable to fully grasp it. He had come to a new world and had an opportunity straight out of a fantasy novel.

Though Deno didn't know what he mean't by heavenly demon, before Adriana was able to explain a sharp squeal was heard from the top floor.

Suddenly, both Martin and Deno heard Ally rush back down the stairs, wearing her new starting disciple silver robes.

"Wait!" Ally screamed at Martin.

Martin looked back at her blankly and responded, "How did you wash it off so quickly?"

Ally looked confused. She had taken a good ten minutes to clean. How was that quick by any means?

Martin realized that he must have been too lost in thought and lost track of time. He shook his head with a grin plastered on his face. "Okay, little Deno, let's take care of your impurities, shall we?"