RISE OF THE MARTIAL GOD

Anthony appeared before the assassin, blocking his escape route.

"Hey, friend. Where are you running to so fast? Didn't you come for us?"

The startled assassin skidded to a halt before him and drew back cautiously. Anthony smiled and held his chest.

"What is this? I came to welcome my cherished friend. Why are you stepping back? Aren't you excited to see me? I'm hurt" He chattered away, holding his chest in an exaggerated display of pain.

The masked man stood still, watching Anthony from behind the mask.

"Step back! I mean you no harm."

Anthony chuckled.

"Oh, really?" He smiled, his hands clasped behind him. "I never said you did. Why are you already panicking?"

"Don't overestimate yourself boy. Step aside."

Anthony's playful eyes turned cold without warning and he appeared behind the man, giving him a heavy smack to his back.

The man collapsed to the ground convulsing, and Anthony wiped his hand on a nearby tree.

"Ayah! Aren't you the one overestimating yourself?"

The man began to draw back fearfully, realizing that the target wasn't to be trifled with.

"Why do you keep drawing back? It can't be that you're scared of this young master, right? Am I that hideous?"

Anthony's acting skills truly deserve an Oscar. He even managed to fake heartache as he squatted before the man.

"Now let's see what face is hiding behind the mask."

He dragged the mask off the man's face and the man immediately sent off a signal which shot into the sky.

Anthony grabbed his throat, and his eyes darkened in anger.

"Who did you just call with that flimsy thing? Do you think a few more bandits will bail you out of my hands?" He slapped the man and tightened his grasp on his throat.

"Truly hilarious! Are you going to speak now or should I have minced meat for dinner? Why are you here? And what's the name of the organization you just sent a signal to?" The man tightened his lips, refusing to make a sound.

Anthony smirked wickedly and brought out a special black nail.

"Alright, I would like to see which one is stronger, my demon's thorn nail coated with poison, or your organs. Should I start with your heart?" He muttered, smiling wickedly as he slowly dragged the nail from the man's face down to his chest.

"No, you will die instantly if we start from there, which will be no fun. How about we start from….," His words trailed off and he suddenly dragged the black nail to the man's crotch. "Here. This should be a good place to start from, not enough to kill you, but enough to make you suffer from unimaginable pain, before finally losing your poor stick."

The man's eyes darkened and he drifted back while simultaneously unleashing numerous martial skills on Anthony.

Anthony immediately dispersed the attack with a wave of his sleeves, and the man already disappeared. He smirked as he traced the man's location through his aura.

"I will let you run for now. Make sure to return with lots of friends."

Anthony returned to the campsite and met Xinglan anxiously acting as a look out, her sword unsheathed.

"What's wrong?" He asked, walking toward them.

"Young master!"

"You have been gone for so long, in addition to the abrupt way you left." Xinglan said grudgingly, sheathing her sword.

Anthony frowned, then laughed.

"Was that the reason you were agitated? Who could possibly have the ability to kill me in this part of town?" He took a step towards Xinglan.

"Even if something happened to me, would you have been able to do something about it? If an enemy that I can't defeat actually comes, what will you do?" He asked playfully, lowering his face to meet hers which was slightly below his due to their height difference.

She scoffed and stalked away.

"Xinglan Jie might not seem like much, but she's fiercely loyal. If you were truly trapped, if after an hour we still didn't find you, she would go after you with all her might to rescue you—even if it's a suicide mission. Don't look down on her." Miao Miao said, raising her face from the fireplace where she was blowing air with her little lips.

"I never looked down on her. Can't you tell I'm just teasing her? Xinglan has a special physique, as long as she continues to train diligently, it won't take time before she earns a place for herself in the martial arts world. That's more than what I can say for the two of you." Anthony replied and floated to a nearby tree to survey the environment.

He found where xinglan was sitting brooding, and went after her.

"Xinglan honey, did you run because I teased you a bit?" He whispered, appearing behind her. But she didn't even flinch, except for the light blush which colored her cheeks when she heard him call her honey.

"I know I'm not as strong as you are, but can you not always rub it in my face…" The rest of her words trailed off as he hugged her from behind.

"Can't you tell? I just like teasing you. You're one of the fiercest, most loyal girls I have ever come across. If you were born into a martial arts family, you would have been a prodigy. But it's not too late though, you're a fast learner, and you're hardworking, dedicated even."

Xinglan kept quiet knowing that hard work and dedication doesn't change much in the grand scheme of things. Talents, skills, techniques, teachers and family background matters. No matter how dedicated she was, catching up to her mates who were born with the resources was nothing but a pipe dream for her.

"Honey, are you still angry?"

"Young master, you don't need to get cheeky with me. No offense taken. Please move away, men and women should maintain a distance, although I serve you now."

Anthony let go of her hand and stepped back.

"Between a brother and a sister, should there still be such a gap?"

"No matter how you sugar coat it or put it to the outside world, I will never qualify to be your sister. Nor do I have a brother like you. You will always remain the untouchable young master to us. We're just grateful you're giving us a chance to live."

Anthony was left speechless as she went back to rejoin the girls.

"What's wrong with me? Am I that cold that they're terrified of me? I haven't done bad things before them, except kill one or two people here and there. Perhaps, my words also get scathing. But I don't deserve this, right?"

He took a deep breath and shrugged.

"This is good too. At least, none of them will get the crazy idea of sneaking into my bed."

He returned to see them carefully wrapping the fishes in batches. They were done with dinner and preparing the fishes.

Tong Tong carried the tray containing the fried and roasted fishes, in addition to the cups of spices which remained after cooking.

"Young master, it's done."

Anthony brought out an empty storage ring and threw it into the tray. It was one of the better qualities which he magnanimously accepted from one of the bandits. He had unlocked it and removed the owner's seal before emptying it of all good things. Now it was totally empty except for a little box of silver which he intentionally placed there.

The ring was ready for a new owner since the seal of the previous one had been erased.

"Xinglan, brand the storage ring with your energy. You guys can store food and other things in them. Don't bother me with such trivialities. If I still need to handle rations when I have pretty ladies here with me…"

Although he said it harshly, it was to let them know he was not interested in controlling everything, hoping it would make them see him as less of a terrifying existence.

"You guys should keep the food items, there's also a little money in there, you can use it to buy things along the way if you see what you like. When you're done with them, ask me for more."

Tong Tong took the tray to Xinglan and she accepted it. She took the ring and used the method she learned to mark it, making it accept a new owner. The moment she sent her spiritual consciousness into it, she gasped in awe.

There was a huge box in it filled to the brim with silver ingots. There were also some jade bracelets and gold coins lying around, as if a lazy person carelessly tossed them in and forgot to pick them back up.

"What's wrong?" Tong Tong asked, pulling closer to her. Although Miao Miao said nothing, her eyes were filled with that same eagerness and curiosity.

Xinglan passed the bag to the duo and their eyes widened simultaneously. They had only handled such money during the clan's businesses, but never alone.

"Why does this smell like blood money? Is he one of them?"

Anthony, who was lazily sitting back with a smile enjoying the awe and posing to receive their praise, immediately choked on his saliva, coughing heavily.

"Blood money? I'm not the despicable type of person that kills for money. I am…" His words trailed off again as he looked at a point. The guests he had been waiting for had arrived

"I guess I will make even more blood money tonight." He mumbled under his breath, grinning, his eyes shining with honest undiluted greed and thrill. His blood was boiling, ready for action.