BTTH: Template System

Jia Lie Ao swallowed in his anger and stretched his hand toward the young man trying to catch the culprit who ruined the atmosphere. The young man was dressed in simple clothes and cheap clothes showing that he is probably some country bumpkin.

"Do you know how much does my clothes cost?" He said angrily as he pulled him closer to himself. "How are you gonna pay me huh? These clothes are costume-made, you know? Which means they are one of a kind!"

As he raises his hand, prepared to slap the youth, the sharp voice of Xiao Yan gets caught in his ears. "It seems like young master Jia Lie Ao isn't only a womanizer but also bulky who only bullies the weak while fearing the strong. Such a pathetic display of authority."

Just like any other protagonist, the moment he got a chance to get on the moral, high ground, Xiao Yan Will took it even if it was disadvantageous to him overall. Upon hearing another ridicule from Xiao Yan his face grimaced even more.

He quickly throws the boy at him and says, with visible anger on his face. "If you are so righteous then try to protect him yourself! Man! Break Xiao Yan and that boy is legs!"

"Yes sir!"

Seeing that the situation is getting worse, Xiao Yan prepares to fight back, but an old and soothing voice echoes in his mind. "Kid don't bother with it. You and the girl are safe as long that boy is here."

"Hm?"

Suddenly the boy who was getting thrown around jumps up from the ground and dusts himself off. "This wasn't exactly the experience I was hoping for when visiting a big city first time."

He turns around and looks at Xiao Yan and asks him with a small grin. "Hey friend what's your name?"

"It's Xiao Yan."

"Then Xiao Yan, widen your eyes and don't miss a thing, okay? Because it's gonna be a spectacular show." Suddenly, the boy's figure blurred and disappeared into the air, followed by a loud sound of bang, and all the goons of Jia Lie Ao lay on the ground, completely knocked out. The back of their clothes are torn with palm-shaped holes in it making sure it was done by palm strike to the others watching it.

Seeing this scene Jia Lie Ao falls on the ground on his butt and starts crawling backward in fear. Soon, the boy in simple clothes he was threatening just now manifested in front of him again with a serious look on his face.

He then half kneeled in front of him, going eye-to-eye levels with him, and said in rather a cold tone. "I apologize about the clothes, I truly am. But I am sure it wasn't needed to extend to the breaking of others' limbs. You agree with me right?"

Jia Lie Ao nods his head like a chicken pecking on rice up and down as quickly as possible. "So let's settle this with this oki?" He then dangles the Wood Attribute Bracelet in front of his face. Nobody knows when he took it from Jia Lie Ao's hand or hit his goons but what they know for sure is this country bumpkin-looking boy is a real deal.

Yao Lao, who claimed the spirit of the great alchemist in the ring hanging around Xiao Yan's neck, whistled in surprise before saying. "1-star Dou Shi (Dou Master) at such a young age. Xiao Yan kid have you seen it? There is the sky above the sky and humans beyond humans. He is probably a disciple of some hidden master traveling around to experience the world."

'H-he is already Dou Shi?! He doesn't look much older than me!' Xiao Yan exclaimed inside his mind.

"Don't be fooled by his looks he is actually a lot older than you. By his bone age, he is either nearing or in his early twenties." The years of working with monsters, herbs, natural treasures, etc, allowed him to gain a certain ability to directly tell someone his bone age from a distance. It's still rather limited because he is in a soul state. He could tell this boy wasn't as young as his appearance.

"Still, that's rather impressive because his foundation is quite solid, and the Dou Qi he possesses is pure in quality. Not only that, there are signs of him breaking through. There is a chance he reached that stage without using any pills, making his talent at least the same level as yours."

After taking care of Jia Lie Ao, the boy comes in front of Xiao Yan with a proud look on his face and says in confidence: "Have you seen it, Xiao Yan? My moves are pretty flashy right?"

"A-about that... I wasn't able to see it. Because you were too fast." Xiao Yan awkwardly scratches his head with a guilty look as he answers this boy- he means the guy from an unknown background.

"Eeh?! Seriously? Did I move too fast again?... even though I put so much effort behind it." He looked dejected, almost ready to cry, which not only startled Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun Er beside him.

"W-wait a minute! Don't be sad. Even if we weren't able to see it, you were very cool!" Xiao Yan said while swaying his hand around in panic. 'W-what's up with this guy? How could dignified Dou Shi act so childish?!'

"Um-um!" Xiao Xun Er nodded her head, agreeing with Xiao Yan, which did seem to cause the boy-like-guy mood to improve a bit. Then they heard another thundering sound from him, but this time, it was from his stomach.

"Ehehe, the fight just now made me a little hungry, friend Xiao Yan. Do you think you can help me with today's meal? I promise I will pay you back later." He looked quite embraced as he scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"Huuh." A tired sigh escaped from both Xiao Yan and Xun Er. For some reason, they feel like they have done some kind of heavy labor for a long time.

***

"Ahh~ there is nothing better than eating a dumpling after a little bit of exercise." The boyish-looking guy pats his stomach while letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

'Wasn't it a fight just a few minutes ago? Why did it turn into an exercise?' Both Xiao Yan and Xun Er said in their mind. Xiao Yan then looked at the mountain of plates on the table and then at his almost empty wallet. Even with the money he borrowed from Xun Er, once he brought everything on the list, he almost went broke.

"By the way I didn't ask about your name before."

"Oh, it's Gang Ryong."

"D-Dang R-Rong?" Xun Er tried to spell it but failed miserably.

"No, Gang Ryong. Tell it after me."

"Gang."

"G-Gang."

"Ryong."

"Ryung."

"Gang Ryong."

"Gang Ryung."

"Close enough." He said while smiling at Xun Er who looked embarrassed by the fact she pronounced the name wrong.

"Gong Ryong? It doesn't sound like one you would hear around here." Xiao Yan said while looking a little serious.

"Yeah, I am actually from a very far, far away place. The reason I am here is because I'm chasing after someone." Gang Ryong said while picking up another dumpling from the plate which magically materialized itself beside him.

"Oh, who might that be? Maybe we might have heard a thing or two about him?"

"He goes by the name [Seol Hwi The Heavenly Demon]." A serious expression appears on his face the moment he mentions that name. Not only did his expression change completely, but the atmosphere around him changed completely, too. An immense amount of killing intent gets projected from him. It is almost potent enough to be seen by the people around him.

"Ehehe, what kind of sin did he commit to get chased by Brother Gang Ryong?" Xiao Yan said with certain awkwardness in his voice. His eye glances at his shaky hands. For a moment, he feels like he has reached the gates of hell itself.

'J-just how strong one must be to be able to project such a killing intent.' Xiao Yan once again felt the danger of the world.

Xun Er, who was also holding Xiao Yan's hand subconsciously while trying to protect him. After the incident at the Xiao Sect's Hall, she becomes even more overprotective of Xiao Yan.

"Kid Shiao Yan, it seems like I have understated him by a lot. There is a possibility that he might have cultivated a special kind of training technique. He might be far stronger than what he seems like." Even Yao Lao's tone becomes more grim once he feels Gang Ryong's killing intent.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Yan but I am afraid I can't reveal that to you. It contains both classified information of my sect and many other forces." Gang Ryong's tone returns to Its previous carefree, cheerful tone as his expression softens a lot.

"If that's the case I won't fry into it furthermore." Xiao Yan quickly nodded his head and promised not to fry into this matter any further.

"Many thanks to you my friend. Since I have bothered you so much I'll take my leave now." He gets up from the table and heads to the exit, but just before he leaves, he stops there as if he remembers something. "Ah right! Brother Xiao Yan catch!"

He throws the Wood Attribute Bracelet at him in panic Xiao Yan quickly jumps up from his seat to catch it. "T-This is?" His eyes greedily aim at the monster core in the bracelet.

He looked at the exit, trying to thank Gang Ryong, but he had long left the place. "This world seems like way bigger than I ever thought it would be."

***

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Ch 8: One Less Clan

Ch 9: Liu Xi's Demise