Rise of The Abandoned Husband

I had no clue how to explain this to Amber Skye.

I couldn't just tell her that the guy who spoke during the day wasn't really me, could I?

Amber would never buy that story.

"Damn it, Saron!" I cursed under my breath.

But the damage was done. I had to deal with it now.

So I steeled myself and walked toward Amber.

The closer we got, the thicker the tension became.

Amber couldn't meet my eyes, her head down, her whole body shaking a little.

I sat on the bed and stayed quiet for a while.

"Well..."

Finally, I broke the silence.

"Sorry about what happened today," I said, scratching my head.

Amber spoke softly, "It's... it's okay. I don't mind..."

My face went dark, and I rushed to explain, "I was just messing around earlier... Don't read into it."

Amber's face went blank, and hurt flickered in her eyes.

"Is... is it because I'm ugly?" she asked, forcing herself to be brave.

"No, no, no," I said quickly, waving my hands.

Looking at Amber, I had to grit my teeth and get it out: "Amber, you're gorgeous and sweet, but... there's already someone in my heart, and she's the only one."

Amber's face crumpled with sadness.

She bit her lip and whispered, "Is it Mabel Sean?"

I was shocked. "How'd you know that?"

"I heard some jerks talking about it..." she said quietly.

I knew this would crush Amber, but ripping the band-aid off was better than dragging it out.

So I nodded. "Yeah, it's Mabel Sean."

"Is she... pretty?" Amber asked softly.

When Mabel came up, I couldn't help but smile.

"She's gorgeous, absolutely stunning. To me, she's the most beautiful girl alive," I said, grinning like an idiot.

"She's not just beautiful - she's good to me and really understanding."

I got more worked up as I talked, even pulling out my phone to show her a picture. "What do you think? Beautiful, right?"

Amber bit her lip and said sadly, "Yeah, she really is beautiful."

That's when it hit me, and I said awkwardly, "Sorry... Anyway, you should get some rest. I'm going."

After saying that, I bolted out of the room.

I didn't stop running until I was hundreds of meters away.

"Damn that bastard Saron!" I couldn't stop cursing.

I'd hurt so many people without meaning to!

"Forget it, doesn't matter now." I shook my head hard.

Right now, I shouldn't be thinking about love stuff.

I clenched my fists, feeling that faint lightning power in my body again.

"Ever since I got this thunder element, my physical strength has gotten better," I whispered.

"Too bad my golden core got wrecked and I can't use spiritual power anymore."

As I spoke, I coughed up blood.

"Heavenly Vanilla... when the hell can I get it?" I sighed.

The next day.

I planned to leave Southerntain Village.

If I stayed longer, I'd definitely draw more hunters after me. So I went to find Amber Skye to say goodbye.

When I got to Amber's house, we looked at each other, and things felt awkward.

"I'm planning to leave," I said.

Amber opened her mouth but then just nodded.

"Alright, take care of yourself," I said before turning around to go.

"Wait!"

Right then, Amber suddenly stopped me.

I raised an eyebrow. "What's up? Need something else?"

Amber bit her lip like she was making some big decision.

After a moment, she worked up the courage to ask, "Can you take me with you?"

Hearing this, I frowned hard.

"Didn't I make myself clear last night?" I asked, frowning.

Amber quickly said, "No, no, that's not it. I...I just want to learn martial arts from you, okay?"

"Learn martial arts?" I couldn't help but laugh.

She meant cultivation.

"Why?" I asked.

Talking about this brought pain to Amber's face.

She whispered, "I watched Grandma Estelle die right in front of me. If only I had abilities like yours."

With that, Amber looked up with pleading eyes. "Mason, as long as I can stay by your side, even as your servant, I'd be willing to do whatever you ask!"

My face showed some difficulty.

"I'm on the run. Being with me is dangerous," I said.

Amber quickly replied, "I'm not scared!"

I thought for a moment, then said, "Let me think about it. If there's a chance, I can take you as my student, but not now."

"Okay!" Amber nodded excitedly.

I just nodded, not wanting to waste more time, and left Southerntain Village right away.

Over the next few days, I disguised myself and wandered through different herb markets looking for Heavenly Vanilla.

Even though I tried my best to hide who I was, the truth couldn't stay buried.

Plus, my search for Heavenly Vanilla quickly made others guess my identity.

"Heavenly Vanilla? I remember that's the herb you need to heal a damaged golden core."

"Why's Mason looking for Heavenly Vanilla? Could his golden core be damaged?"

"Breaking news! The guy who faced the Martial Saint apocalypse a few days ago was Mason Raymond!"

"Facing the Martial Saint apocalypse? So now Mason needs Heavenly Vanilla, which means he failed the tribulation?! His golden core is ruined?!"

When this news got out, the whole martial arts world went crazy!

"So before Mason Raymond finds Heavenly Vanilla, he's basically a cripple!"

"Strike while the iron's hot! Now's the perfect time to take him out!"

Tons of martial artists were getting restless, wanting to grab this chance to kill me and make their reputation!

One day, I showed up at Marquel Madron's herb market.

Both sides of the market had herb stalls, and as I walked down the street, people automatically moved out of the way.

They looked at me, itching for action, full of killing intent.

But I seemed to ignore them, walking forward casually.

My eyes scanned the nearby stalls now and then, searching for Heavenly Vanilla.

"Ahem!"

Right then, my wound made me suddenly cough up blood.

Seeing this, the people around started whispering, "Looks like the rumors are true! Mason Raymond really did fail the tribulation!"

"Mason's just a cripple now! Let's kill him!"

The crowd got stirred up, looking ready to make their move.