"Hahaha…"
Fred couldn't help but burst into laughter after hearing what Ricky had just said. From his perspective,
Ricky would not stand a chance against him. Fred laughed so hard that he almost rolled on the ground.
"You are just a waste with no spiritual meridian. Even if you are the first among the top ten outer
disciples now, your powers are still nothing compared to mine. In my eyes, you are just a little better
than a tiny little ant! You are worth nothing." Fred pointed at Ricky's nose and sneered, and laughed so
hard that his eyes watered.
Agnes' face turned sour as she stood beside Ricky. She knew the huge difference between the power
of Blood Purification and Skin Refinement, and she was certain that Fred wasn't bluffing at all, not this
time. Fred might be right after all.
"Am I a small ant? Fine! You can think I am as small and as useless as you can, but I don't give a
damn. I've got other things to think about. Now you're saying that you are going to expose my
whereabouts to the Refinement Faction and the Casting Faction? They had always wanted to kill me.
That's what I have to care about! That's bigger than this. Even if we both are fellow disciples from the
same sect, I have to kill you today!" Ricky shouted at the top of his lungs, while he gritted his teeth.
"Wow, you are just a trashy warrior with a bitchy mouth, huh? I wasn't intending to end your life by
myself, but you really make me angry right now. You're releasing the beast in me. Rest at ease! It won't
take too long before I turn you into a corpse." Fred stopped mocking. As his face turned fierce, his
killing intent surged and filled the atmosphere in an instant. His face became red out of anger, and his
fist was clasped into a ball ready to punch Ricky in the gut.
In a flash, his feet aggressively slammed the ground, and he formed his fists by clasping five fingers of
each hand. Next moment, his straight punch, containing great strength, almost landed on Ricky's head.
But Ricky was no ordinary warrior for he possessed an insurmountable amount of strength.
In the face of Fred's aggressive attack, Ricky stayed calm and confident, with no fear inside his heart.
All he showed was a poker face that no one could ever guess what was on his mind. 'To figure out how
much more progress I've gained in these days, I've been upset lately to find someone to fight me. This
guy is just coming in time!' Ricky thought to himself. Just before Fred's fist reached him, the static blood
vitality in Ricky's body abruptly sped up with great power, causing a stir around his surroundings. With
the blood vitality running through his hands like electricity, Ricky could feel both his palms were full of
power and strength. Immediately, Ricky closed his right hand into a tight fist, and met Fred's fist with
such an enormous strength.
'What? Did he already break through Skin Refinement? How overwhelming his spiritual energy is! Is
that Blood Purification?' Agnes couldn't even believe her own speculations. Right now, she could feel
nothing but shock.
'It seems that I have to admit that Ricky's talent is great, maybe better than mine. I must accept the fact
that he has surely reached Blood Purification. But how could he possibly make it? No matter how
talented he is, the cultivation up to Blood Purification from Skin Refinement never cost only a couple of
days, not this easily. To my knowledge, his achievement on cultivation is unprecedented!'
Clearly, Ricky seemed to have reached Blood Purification. And to Agnes' amazement, she found no
reason on how could Ricky make it in just a few days. "Did he get the Treasures from Heaven and
Earth when he entered Treasure Tower last time? Maybe that's why he has broken through Skin
Refinement! " That reason was as far as what Agnes could think of.
Not only had Ricky's spiritual energy overwhelmed Agnes, but Fred also got startled and found it
unbelievable. In Fred's perspective, Ricky was just an outer disciple whose Skin Refinement grade
would be no more than the ninth level. Like Agnes, he never thought that Ricky would be able to
improve himself and achieve Blood Purification within ten days only.
But to Fred, Ricky was still not so much of a warrior. His surprise and amusement towards Ricky's
strength didn't last for far too long.
He thought with pride, 'Blood Purification? Ha ha. Would that scare me? I have already reached the
peak of the first grade of Blood Purification, and he is just finding his way to it. Will it be possible for him
to wield the power of Blood Purification even better than I can?'
Fred narrowed his evil eyes and added more power to his fists. He was enraged about the fact that
Ricky might be more powerful than he thought. With this in mind, he made himself ready to try his best
to defeat Ricky.
But, to Ricky, Fred was not strong enough to make him translate his strength and anger into a fight.
Ricky didn't even take it into account whether he should exert the Second Degree of Nine-degree Body
Refining Formula for this battle.
Boom! Next moment, two fists from two warriors collided again and again, and a series of thunderous
noise were heard, causing blasts of air mixed with blood vitality. Both of Ricky and Fred were wrapped
inside a powerful energy-field, and anyone at the moment who dared to step in between them would
definitely face their ending. No one could dare stop the fight.
The two warriors treated each other like punching bags as punches were continuously thrown after the
other. Fred ran out of his powers and was thrown out of the energy-field by Ricky's last punch.
"You might have forgotten how small and tiny this ant is. Huh, is that the best you've got? I didn't even
try my best, but you have already been defeated! YOU are the small ant!" Ricky relaxed his muscles,
released his fists, stomped on Fred's head and snorted in disgust. He spat on his face and watched as
blood came out of Fred's nose because of the damage brought by Ricky.
"How...? No...No it's impossible!" Fred yelled, in a hoarse voice. Gargling some words as he was not
able to pronounce properly with Ricky's foot on his head. 'It's impossible! He is just a newcomer to
Blood Purification. Even though I do have the odds to lose this battle, how could he possibly take me
down so easily?' Fred thought to himself in frustration and disgrace.
"Haven't you ever heard that a genius warrior could challenge someone better than him? Only a foolish
one wouldn't know about that," Ricky stated in a mocking voice, as if he already had read Fred's mind.
With a cold mock, Ricky stomped his foot harder on Fred, with the intention of killing him. Despite the
begging and pleading for his life, Fred still didn't escape from his fate of death. Ricky put so much force
on Fred's head that Agnes could clearly hear his skull crack. His eyes turned upward and he spat huge
amounts of blood which rendered him lifeless. Ricky was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
"Ricky! Did you really have to kill him? Why did you not spare his life?" Agnes got astounded at Ricky's
act. A wave of fear crawled up her spine as she could not believe that there was a body, a lifeless body
in front of her.
What Ricky had done to Fred was too ruthless. To Agnes, despite his right choice, Ricky was supposed
to give it a second thought. Ricky should have known better when to stop with his revenge.
"If I spared his life, there would be too much trouble getting in our way. To be honest, I would not spare
anyone who gets in my way. Not now, not ever. I am not scare and won't be scared anymore. But most
of all, I don't want you to be in trouble," Ricky explained, with a forthright look in his clear eyes. He kept
gazing at Agnes, without blinking, and continued, "Look! I have to warn you that I have many enemies
because I always offend people. But it's just me and that's the way I am. Just like Fred knew and said,
the Refinement Faction and the Casting Faction were just two out of my many enemies. If you find it
too risky to have me in your team, just tell me. I will leave as soon as I can so you can find my
replacement. I won't blame you if you do."
"No, I'm not scared, and you won't go anywhere. Stay and help me as you promised," explained Agnes
to Ricky, with an appreciative look. She didn't get cold feet to have Ricky by her side despite knowing
that Ricky's company might drag her into his own personal trouble. Instead, she felt more willing to
have Ricky with her on account of his honesty. She'd rather have him ruthless than to lose her partner.
After Ricky's battle with Fred, one thing was for certain--they would watch each other's backs. They
shook hands to seal their new pact, and they went to continue their journey.
Hours passed and they had successfully arrived at the foot of snow mountains. They stopped by an
inn, where they grabbed lunch and purchased two strong Flaming Horses. Flaming Horses were not
like normal horse species for they belonged to the hybrid offspring to one type of fierce beasts deep in
the mountain ranges—Flaming Tiger. Flaming Horses were animals that could run a thousand
kilometers without slowing down. They would just swiftly run like the wind effortlessly. Unlike the regular
horses, Flaming Horses were much more suitable for long travels.
Both of them riding on their own Flaming Horses, they continued to carry on their common journey.
Ricky and Agnes traveled far and wide to get to their goal. Side by side they rode their horses from
morning until sundown. They looked just like a warrior couple who were ready to search around all
corners of the martial world.
Billow City was located far from the Snow Sect which was at the westernmost tip of the Snow Land.
Considering that the road might be rocky and arduous, they hurried on day and night and marched
toward their destination. The horses ran as fast as they could without any stopovers. Even a single
minute could postpone their journey to Billow City for they'd intended to make it to their destination in
eight days.
Therefore, they couldn't afford to waste even a second of time to take an unnecessary break; nor did
they care about whatever interesting or fascinating things they'd encountered on the road. Distraction
was never to be included in their vocabulary during this journey.
However, when they passed by a small mountain range, a bloody and egregious scene unfolded before
their eyes. On a narrow mountain road, dozens of villagers who were unarmed and defenseless cried
in despair and yelled for help while they escaped. They saw a bunch of fierce-looking guys who
followed right after the folks, some with swords on their hands, some holding machetes. The weapons
were covered with blood, dripping like sauce on the ground. They might be rebels, bandits. As they
swung their weapons to the escaping people, blood splashed all over the road and heads fell to the
ground. Innocent lives were taken one by one with no mercy!
Horrible screams filled the air. Blood that flowed from the dead bodies began to meet and gather into a
small stream on the road. The air smelled like death. Children, parents, elders -- no one was spared
from the wrath of the bandits.
Agnes got shocked at the sight, and her face turned pale. At once, anger surged from the bottom of her
heart. Ricky also felt infuriated at what he saw. The rage inside his heart promptly erupted like a
volcano.
Not acting on impulse, both of them silently observed the situation in caution and sanity. They watched
from afar, and thought of how they could help the other living folks. But the scene was too much for
them and they'd had enough. Anger trumped their calmness and the fire in their hearts only raged to
protect the remaining citizens. Though they didn't know any of the folks, both of their consciences told
them to do something about the situation. A blaze of anger started to fill their bodies. Their eyes burned
with desire to make the bandits responsible for what they did. It was too ruthless of a show! How could
they possibly destroy and kill an entire village? In their minds, if they would not do something about it,
then a village might be reduced to rubble.
From Ricky's view, if it was a battle between two groups of warriors, he wouldn't interfere, considering
his interference would influence the battle. However, if the battle happening before him was between a
bunch of warriors and ordinary people, he could not help but be against the warrior group. He could not
let this war take lives of innocent people. This was completely outrageous.
"Look! Boss! The girl standing there looks so sexy and charming! I want to take this one home! Come
to papa!" A guy on a horseback noticed Agnes's presence. With one eye blind, this bad warrior pointed
at her, and exclaimed. His lustful eyes lingered on Agnes's delicate face and saliva dribbled from his
mouth to the back of his horse, like a salivating beast. He was hungry for Agnes, like a predator.
"Listen, my brothers. Whoever brings that woman to me will be rewarded handsomely!" A coarse and
bossy voice from a tough man was heard. The head among the evil warriors also couldn't help but
drool, as he caught his first glimpse at Agnes. It was like these men had not seen a woman like Agnes
for years! All their eyes were plastered on their prize--a beautiful and sexy warrior, and Agnes must fear
for her life!
Crack! Crack!
Before the warriors could have done anything, Agnes rushed into the crowd with her horse, with a white
long whip unfolding on her right slender hand. After every strike of her whip, a pervert's head was
instantly sliced away from his body. Every head fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Following Agnes's act, Ricky drew out his saber that hung up on his back, charged into the robbers,
and started to kill them one by one without mercy. One after another Ricky pierced their bodies so hard
that his saber was crimson red. Ricky would not let Agnes down, nor would he ever destroy their pact.
He did whatever it took to protect Agnes from the beasts.
In the face of warriors as powerful as Ricky and Agnes, the pack had no chance to fight back. Grieving
and shrill cries filled the atmosphere. One by one they targeted the bandits, and head by head they
were dead. Not for too long, all of the robbers had been taken down.
"Oh, guys! God sent His men to save us! Let's all kneel down to show gratitude for God's assistance!"
Seeing Ricky and Agnes had killed all of the bad guys and saved their lives, the survivors among the
villagers all exclaimed with great respect and appreciation. The survivors went down on their knees in
gratification of their rescue.
Given Ricky and Agnes were still in a hurry to continue their journey, they didn't pay much attention to
villagers' sincere acknowledgements. As all the folks bowed down to them and gave many thanks to
them with excitement, they just stood still in silence. Both of them just nodded their heads toward the
innocent people, mounted their horses and marched out of the place.
This event affected Ricky deeply and made him sink into deep thoughts.
'The law of this world is just as cruel as the law of the jungle, and so is the martial world. The weak fall
prey to the strong, because it is the strong who rule the world and everything in it.
The destinies that the weak are left with are to be treated like animals.'
'Is this the rule of the real world? To hunt or to be hunted?' A shadow of doubt flashed across Ricky's
mind as it became clearer to him. Ricky found it very hard to shake it out of his mind.
Before this day, the meaning of his living was for himself and the people he loved. His only purpose to
improve himself was to be strong enough to protect himself and his family.
But after what happened, inside his heart, he found something else for his purpose of improvement-- to
uphold justice, to protect the innocent weak from the violence of the strong.
If it weren't for the sense of justice deep inside his heart, Ricky wouldn't have taken the trouble to save
all those villagers. He did not have to do that; he just wanted to.
However, he thought of what his father had told him many years ago, "There is no justice in this world.
We are either hunters or survivors. Don't trust justice. The so-called justice will only get you killed if you
are stupid enough to be fooled by it."
'Why did my father once teach me that way? Should I listen to his words and abandon the shadow of
justice that is just formed inside my heart? Though it will be good for me, for I can save all my precious
time to focus on cultivating and then grow strong enough to protect my beloved ones, would it make me
have less regard for others and ignore justice?' Ricky couldn't be more confused right now as his heart
and mind battled for the right answer. It was as if he was searching for an answer to an unsolved riddle.
Suddenly, Grace flashed into his mind, and Ricky immediately seized the thought, 'Wasn't Master
Grace out of justice to help me? Will Master Grace agree with my father's opinion?'
The more he thought about it, the more torn he felt. He could not just disregard his father's opinion. It
bore heavy in his heart.
At a loss for a solution, Ricky turned to ask Agnes and asked for a solution. He walked up to her and
put his hand on her shoulder so as not startle her. Then, he asked, "Agnes, why did you offer to help
and save those villagers? It was none of your business, right?"
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