The sky had changed, and the morning weather felt dark with a glimmer of light from the east, illuminating the land with vibrant colour.
The sound of rustling grass echoed. Yuto walked along a small path, staying alert to his surroundings for any signs of presence, like animals or monsters.
His breath came out as white mist, as the cold morning wind still lingered in the atmosphere.
'How much further do I have to walk?'
A few hours had passed since Yuto left his resting place last night.
More precisely, the place where he had cultivated last night.
Last night, Yuto was quite shaken to find that the horse carriage he was riding in had been completely wrecked.
He had planned to use the carriage at least to protect himself from nocturnal animals or monsters.
But the assassin must have destroyed everything, including the sack of money he had.
Angered by the man's actions, Yuto eventually gave in and returned to the spot where he woke up, choosing to cultivate there overnight.
Unexpectedly, the effects of that cultivation were truly beyond expectation.
His body was treated between conscious and unconscious, allowing him to rest while deepening his understanding of his new power.
It was, as the saying goes, 'two birds with one stone'.
Moving forward, Yuto came across a vast area without trees. His eyes gleamed with anticipation as he hoped he had found what he was looking for.
'Please be a road, please be a road.'
After wandering through the forest, which looks like a maze. Yuto crossed the last line of the trees and came face-to-face with a sandy road stretching in two directions.
'Finally.'
Yuto breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze to the sky.
There was a reason why he did that.
Thanks to Elias's memories, Yuto had quite extensive knowledge of the world.
As the youngest son of a Duke and a lover of books, Elias at least knew the geographical location of the Kingdom and where he needed to go.
"Oh, how lucky I am."
To his right, the sun shone brightly, bestowing its grace upon the world.
Considering the direction and location of the place he intended to visit, Yuto lifted his feet towards the sun.
East.
The place where the supreme being ruled over the land, also known as the land of champions, where the Solgrand Empire stood.
That was Yuto's goal. To reach the neighbouring country.
There was also a reason he chose that place: the Empire's abundant resources attracted him.
Yuto needed those resources, especially as a cultivator. He must use something to ascend to a higher stage.
Of course, he still didn't fully understand his own power yet.
At least, he could gather information from the Empire, while collecting the proper resources he deemed worthy to grow stronger.
"At this pace, this could take weeks to reach the Empire."
Yuto's voice slowly drowned in despair after realizing how far the distance between the Kingdom and the Empire was.
However, the boy shook his head, keeping his thoughts positive and trying to enjoy the long journey as part of his experience of living in a new world.
…
Several hours passed.
"F*ck, I can't take this anymore!"
Yuto howled loudly.
His voice echoed on the lonely, deserted road.
He no longer cared about the possibility of a monster or wild beast attacking him.
His right leg stomped his own shadow as the vein on his forehead was on the verge of bursting.
"Damn it, I didn't want to use this method, but..."
Yuto's blue eyes stared straight ahead, seeing an endless flat road.
He closed his eyes and began circulating his breathing, slow but steady.
The Qi in his dantian surged like a tide. It filled all his open meridians and empowered his body.
"Okay, I can do this."
His eyes fluttered slowly, and Yuto stepped forward while maintaining the circulation of his Qi.
At the early stages, just maintaining Qi circulation within his body was already difficult, let alone while moving.
Yuto walked while regulating his breathing, steady and gradually increasing his pace until he was jogging, then finally running.
The wind blew as his shadow sliced through the atmosphere swiftly.
His feet blurred, and he felt as light as a leaf.
Yuto's lips curled into a satisfying grin, and he began to exert all his ability to test his limits.
His brow furrowed, and a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead to his jawline before falling to the ground.
However, his breathing and Qi circulation remained stable.
The fatigue he experienced from the strenuous activity was fixed by an incredibly rapid recovery from his increasing vitality.
The Qi enveloping his body became slightly denser, and Yuto felt his speed increase tremendously.
While running as if he were gliding, Yuto's brow twitched as he saw a shadow in the distance.
'What's that over there?'
Far ahead was a carriage surrounded by a group of people.
'Bandits!'
Yuto's eyes narrowed dangerously, but a moment later, he sighed and muttered in his heart.
'Well, not my problem.'
He inhaled deeply, unconsciously pouring a tremendous amount of Qi into his feet.
His body shot forward like a missile. Unbeknownst to him, Yuto's capabilities increased significantly.
A few seconds later, Yuto closed in on the carriage and saw seven bandits surrounding a man hugging his daughter.
Yuto averted his gaze, but in that brief moment, he heard the cry of the little girl being embraced by her father.
His smile was thick with a scent of despair, but his eyes still radiated a strength parents used to have.
"...D-Daddy, I'm scared."
The girl's trembling voice cracked as she buried her face deep in her father's chest. She was too young to experience the cruelty of the world around her.
"Everything will be okay."
Hearing their exchange, Yuto's body trembled violently as long-forgotten memories from his past life in the orphanage resurfaced.
***
A seven-year-old girl, whose parents had left her a few days ago, cried alone in a corner.
Thirteen-year-old Yuto, the oldest among the other children, approached slowly.
"What's wrong?"
"..."
The little girl remained silent, hugging her thighs tightly to her chest, refusing even to utter a word.
Yuto didn't move and slightly shifted his sitting position beside the girl.
He knew the coldness of loneliness and how suffocating the emptiness in the heart could be.
So the boy chose to give the girl a little warmth to melt the ice prison in her heart.
Several minutes passed, and the little girl finally spoke, like a small whisper.
"...I'm scared."
"Scared?"
Yuto turned to the girl and saw darkness in her facial expression.
'I see, so that's how it is.'
It was natural for a child that young to be afraid of a new environment, especially after experiencing the severe trauma of losing both her parents.
After a brief hesitation, Yuto extended his palm and gently patted the girl's head, which immediately stiffened in surprise.
In a soft tone, Yuto opened his mouth and said.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright."
The warmth on her head, coupled with the gentle voice of the boy beside her, made her eyes well up with tears, and she held back sobs.
"*hic, *sob, Mama, Papa..."
Yuto continued to stroke the girl's head gently and repeated his words.
"Everything will be alright."
He poured his warmth toward the girl, hiding the fact that he also needed something to close the gaping hole in his broken heart.
***
Without realizing it, Yuto clicked his tongue and changed his running course, charging directly at the largest and most fearsome-looking bandit among the others.
'Die!'
He used the momentum from his high-speed sprint as he launched a straight kick right at the bandit leader's face, sending his body flying dozens of meters with a trail of blood lingering in the air.
"Huh!? who?"
"Boss!"
"You little s*it!"
Flustered, the remaining bandits turned to their boss, lying around, convulsed.
There stood a boy dressed in tattered clothes, reeking with the tangy stench of blood and a pungent odour from filth.
Their faces twisted in disgust. Some of them scowled at the boy with creased brows.
Their behaviour instantly ignited the mysterious boy who had just knocked out their boss.
The boy's roar crackled like thunder, shaking their eardrums.
"How dare you pity me!"