Chapter 4 A Price On His Head

Words : 0 Updated : Jul 18th, 2024

"Well, well... isn't that Ryan, the genius young master? What are you doing here? You should have a servant running errands for you. Oh, that's right, I forgot. You're now Loser Ryan, the good-for-nothing who has no servant at all. Ha ha!" The young man sneered at Ryan and laughed loudly the moment he saw him. "Ha ha! Ryan, the good-for-nothing!" The young woman laughed as well, covering her mouth with her hand. Disgust was evident on her face. Neither the young man nor the young woman hid their expressions. They felt no need to show respect, feigned or otherwise, to the boy before them. Ryan glanced at the two and quickened his pace, eager to leave the Elixir Sanctuary. "Aaron! Help!" The young man, Aaron Noel, looked around and saw two men from the Elixir Sanctuary running toward them, nearly falling over each other in their haste. They spoke quickly, words spilling out faster than they could think, giving their account of how Ryan had taken the Body Refining Pills against the rules of the Noel Clan. "Idiots! You can't even handle a good-for-nothing with no spiritual meridian!" Aaron shoved one of the men away and kicked the other. He strode up to Ryan and blocked his path. Aaron was Nicholas' cousin and had a one-star top-grade spiritual meridian. He was also at the peak of the third grade of the Dermal Fortification. "Loser! You broke the rules of our clan! You should die for robbing the Elixir Sanctuary," Aaron said arrogantly. Aaron gave Ryan a cold smile and continued, "Besides, the Chair of The Elders has ordered everyone lower than the third grade of Dermal Fortification to work in the mine. Head there now and report for work!" Aaron accused Ryan of two unforgivable crimes: disobeying the clan's rules and the orders from the Chair of The Elders. "You used to have talent, but you lost your spiritual meridian. So hand over the Body Refining Pills and go to the mine to atone. Since you and Nicholas were close friends, I'm sure he might make you the overseer," the young woman said, pointing at Ryan's nose. She wiggled her slim waist charmingly, laughing at him. This was Adeline—her father was one of the head servants. When Ryan was on top, Adeline followed him around like a clingy puppy, telling everyone she was his girlfriend. Now, the situation had changed, and she had thrown herself at Nicholas. But Nicholas wasn't interested, so she moved on to his cousin Aaron. "They say your bark is worse than your bite. The problem is, you can't even bark properly!" Ryan spoke coldly, regarding the two of them with an icy stare. "Go to hell!" Aaron had had enough. Furious, he struck at Ryan with the Roar Blitz, a technique that sounded like the roar of a tiger. "Hmph!" Ryan sneered and countered with the same move, Roar Blitz. When in doubt, fight fire with fire. Ryan's maneuver, however, sounded fiercer than Aaron's. His roar was like a real tiger, shocking everyone and throwing Aaron off balance. How could a loser make his punch roar like that? Bang! Aaron and Ryan were locked in a fierce battle, their energy scattering in all directions as their blows connected. "Ahhh!" A crowd had gathered to watch the fight. As expected, they heard a cry of pain. One of them flew backward with the force of the blow and landed heavily on the ground. But soon, everyone was shaken in fright, shocked, especially Adeline. They stared in disbelief at the fighter rolling on the ground. It was not Ryan but Aaron. The only one standing was Ryan, the so-called "good-for-nothing." He didn't even look hurt. "What the hell? How did you break through the third grade of Dermal Fortification with no spiritual meridian?" Aaron asked, his left hand covering his nearly broken right arm. Though Aaron was technically more powerful, he knew the score. He had improved himself with pills and elixirs, rather than actual skill. There was no way he'd beat a fighter at the same level. Of course, he fell to Ryan's fist. Bang! Aaron had scarcely finished his sentence before a foot caught him in the face and knocked him to the ground. Ryan stomped on his head harshly, his once handsome face now covered with dust and blood. "You said I was a good-for-nothing. How about you? See what a good-for-nothing can do!" Ryan said coldly, his foot resting on Aaron's head. Then Ryan kicked Aaron again, catching him full in the chest. Aaron flew into a nearby tree and passed out. Ryan wasn't going to kill Aaron—at least, not yet. For one thing, his father was still held captive by the Noel Clan. Another reason was that he did not have the time. If more powerful members of the clan heard about this and showed up, he wouldn't stand a chance. In a moment, Ryan turned and walked over to Adeline. His black eyes glared at her with sharp, murderous intent, like a hunting hawk. "What... what do you want?" Adeline asked, terrified. She wanted to back up but was too frightened. All she could do was stand there, paralyzed. She could sense he was intent on mayhem. "You cheesy slut! I wouldn't dirty my hands killing you!" Ryan said with an icy look. "I just wanted to tell you all that I'm back!" While he said this, his eyes swept over the other members of the Noel Clan, who wore the same expression as Adeline. "You can tell Nicholas and Gabriel I'll take back everything! Whether it belongs to me or not!" After finishing his speech, Ryan ran off. He returned to his small hut quickly, gathered up some clothing and a few copper coins, and then climbed over the wall, leaving the Noel Clan behind. Ryan did not head to the gates of Stonebridge City, as that would have been quite a distance to cover. After the powerful cultivators of the Noel Clan found out what had happened in the Elixir Sanctuary, the city gates wouldn't be safe. They'd be waiting for him there. As he expected, in less than an hour, there was a warrant out for his arrest in Stonebridge City. The Noel Clan, one of the three largest martial arts clans in the city, wielded massive power and influence. Once the arrest warrant was announced, all the warriors, except those from the other two clans, started to hunt for Ryan. It was a license to kill him. After all, Ryan was just a good-for-nothing without any spiritual meridian. They figured they could easily catch up to him. The fact that these hunters had the backing of the Noel Clan didn't hurt either. Anybody who joined the chase would score brownie points with the clan. Two days passed, and they still had not captured him. They had no idea where Ryan was. This enraged the Noel Clan, and a reward was added to the arrest warrant. Anyone who ratted him out would be rewarded two hundred silver coins. Ryan had a price on his head. All the warriors were excited to hear it. Even many members of other powerful clans joined the chase. Two hundred silver coins were a large fortune, equivalent to twenty thousand copper coins. A warrior at the medium level of Dermal Fortification, hunting wild beasts for two years, could only bring in two hundred silver at the most. They figured this was easy money. Unbeknownst to anyone, Ryan hid in an abandoned well in the western part of Stonebridge City. This land belonged to the Walker Clan, who guarded it jealously from the other clans. He wouldn't run into any bounty hunters here. He was safe for five days and nights. But danger finally found him on the sixth day. He was secretly followed by two furtive figures, who revealed themselves only when he came to the well. He had been found out!

Chapter 4 A Price On His Head

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