Tragedy was about to happen before everyone’s eyes. Wenbu, the most respectable man in their village, was going to die under the blade of a ruthless foe.

Suddenly, in the nick of time, a figure leaped over the crowd and stood in front of Wenbu defensively. Before everyone could catch a glimpse of what happened, the figure caught the warrior’s hand that was bringing the blade down.

“Are you going to kill him?” The figure was surprised and confused by the warrior’s violent act

“Who are you?” the warrior demanded with a dangerous glare.

The figure’s speed was ridiculous to the point that the warrior could not catch a glimpse of him. By the time he noticed his presence, his hand was grabbed. Although the strength of the figure was nothing stellar, it did not diminish his potential as a powerful person.

“Tang Nee!” Valencia wailed in anguish and limped forward. Besides feeling grateful that her father escaped the Grim Reaper’s blade, she was thrilled about the sudden turn of events.

Tang Ling smiled at Valencia, but he was a little upset. He had not planned to appear in the nick of time to make himself look heroic. Actually, he saw the villagers crowding at the entrance to the village from a distance.

However, the grassland was a tricky place. Even if Tang Ling could see the village from far away, he was not able to reach it immediately. The grassland was clear of obstacles, hence he was able to get a clear view of everything.

In the end, he had decided to explore as much as he could, hence the delay in his return.

Therefore, when he noticed that things had gone south, he sprinted as fast as he could and made it back a split second before Wenbu was murdered.

The warrior felt insulted when Tang Ling did not answer, so he bellowed, “Who are you?” His hand exerted further strength and he wanted to swing his blade at Wenbu once more as a warning to Tang Ling that no one could stop him from killing the man he announced he would strike down.

The increase in his pressure on the hilt was also to take advantage of what he thought was Tang Ling’s lack of strength. After all, Tang Ling did look like someone without muscles and was somewhat scrawny.

However, to the warrior’s surprise, no matter how much strength he exerted, he could not swing the blade at Wenbu. Every time he felt like he could break free from Tang Ling’s grip and bring the blade down on Wenbu, Tang Ling’s hand would stop him with just the right amount of strength.

“I’m asking you if you’re trying to kill him?” Tang Ling repeated his question.

The warrior shouted in embarrassment after being annoyed by Tang Ling’s question, “Yeah! So what? As if you can do anything to stop the Uvandidi tribe from carrying out our business.”

“Great, I’ve got no more problems.” Tang Ling heaved a breath of relief. He did come over in a hurry, so it was natural that he did not know what was going on. As an outsider, he was afraid that he would meddle in the wrong business, but after confirming the warrior’s intention, which was to kill Wenbu, his doubts were cleared.

“What do you mean?” The warrior was confused.

Tang Ling gripped tighter and pulled the warrior closer. Under the warrior’s frightened gaze, he chuckled and punched him in the face.

He was so swift that the villagers only saw the warrior’s body shudder and him falling on his face while grunting like a dying pig.

Tang Ling’s blow crushed the warrior’s nose and broke seven to eight teeth in his mouth. Even the warrior’s cheekbone felt like it was badly bruised.

How could a single punch from Tang Ling even crush bone?

A second later, Tang Ling dashed to the fallen warrior, lifted him up, and dished out a barrage of punches. He did not hold back. Every strike hit the warrior at his weakest spot like his chest and waist, and every punch was loud and heavy like he was punching a cow pelt.

In less than three seconds, the warrior was bleeding all over his face and his breath almost stopped.

Tang Ling tossed him on the ground and stepped on his chest. “What do I mean? I mean, you are trying to kill Uncle Wenbu, so I’ll kill you. It’s that simple. Do you understand?”

After his words subsided, he stepped on the chest even harder, and the warrior’s chest caved in like a deflated bread. With a mouthful of blood spewing out, he stopped breathing.

No mercy for the enemy! That was the lesson Tang Ling learned in Safety Sector No. 17. The enemies would not be moved because of his tolerance of patience. Instead, they would hold a grudge and his brief mercy would haunt him in the future.

After taking out the warrior, Tang Ling looked at the two from Bartu’s family who apprehended Valencia. “Let go of her.” No one would defy the young, demonic boy who was so powerful and cruel.

The two men from Bartu’s family almost peed himself as they quickly released Valencia.

“Abu!” Valencia ran to her fallen father and wept a river.

Tang Ling then went over to grab the dull Bartu, who was frightened by the slaughter. He asked, “I suppose you owe everyone an explanation. Do you mind?”

…

Late night, at Valencia’s home, her erji had boiled some herbal medicine for Wenbu for the second time.

After two bowls of medicine, Wenbu’s pallid features gained a little color, but whether he could make it through the night was still uncertain.

“Tang Nee, is the soup you gave my father really useful?” Valencia seemed to have grown a lot more mature overnight. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, anger, and grievance but no pain of a child. She was calm and she tolerated the situation bravely.

“I’m not sure, but it’s more or less helpful for his recovery.” Tang Ling sighed deeply. He actually did not have any medicine on him. All he did was spare two strips of medium mutated beast meat and mixed them with some recovery herbs that he got from the Herrocky Mountain Ridge. He told Valencia’s mother to boil the ingredients into a soup and feed Wenbu according to his condition.

He was not being stingy with the vicious beast meat, but he was afraid that Wenbu’s body could not withstand the energy.

In this kind of village in such an era, if one was hurt, one would tend to try and live through the night by himself. What Tang Ling offered was the best he could get at the moment since Wenbu did not suffer just any injuries but his organs were badly damaged.

Of course, Tang Ling originally wanted to tell the worried Valencia that her father could be saved with a cell regeneration serum from Safety Sector No. 17. Unfortunately, she could never go through the path that he came from even if he provided her with the map. Furthermore, he did not like to talk nonsense in such serious times.

“I’m not strong enough. I cannot protect the village and my family.” Valencia was sitting beside the barn, looking at the sky as she said softly, “If I weren’t a girl, would it have turned out better?”

“This has nothing to do with you being a girl,” Tang Ling said as he fished a package out from his pocket for Valencia. “I’m going to leave soon, and after the wolves are dealt with tomorrow, I have to continue my journey. However, I don’t mind leaving you with a little hope.”

She accepted the package and opened it to see two pieces of jerky the size of two large fists and another holy fruit, plus a small and thin booklet.

Valencia wanted to return the precious gifts to Tang Ling when she glanced at them, but Tang Ling insisted on her having them. Solemnly, he explained the gifts to her, “Here are some vicious beast meat strips and the seed of the thousand-vine sunflower. You’ve seen it before, but I’m not sure whether your body can take it or not. Besides, I don’t know what your talent is.”

“But you must become stronger and protect the village, so you must bear the pain. You can start with the vicious beast meat. This is Level 2 vicious beast meat which you can only consume a very thin slice each time, probably around the size and thickness of your smallest fingernail.” As a matter of fact, the lowest grade of vicious beast meat in his possession was Level 3. These two pieces of Level 2 vicious beast meat had probably been part of Su Siao’s loot back at the Agnes family’s storeroom.

“That tiny? Can’t I just swallow it?” Valencia was confused because she did not know what vicious beast was though she had vaguely heard of the holy meat, and this gift from Tang Ling resembled it.

“Yes, swallow it, but try to chew it first. After you swallow it, hell will dawn on you, and if you can bear the pain and live through it, congratulations! You would’ve gained the base to become stronger, so at least, you can be as strong as the warriors you saw today,” Tang Ling said seriously.

“I can be that powerful?” Valencia widened her eyes in disbelief.

“Yes, you can be as powerful as them, but the pain you have to go through is no joke. You’ll have to go through multiple times of it, and one day, when you can punch with the force of a thousand kilograms, you can try to cultivate according to this little booklet. Remember to stay away from it if you haven’t reached a thousand kilograms of force.” Tang Ling then paused for a while and looked at Valencia with his signature smile. “Valencia, never fall into despair at all times. Life is always filled with hope.

“You may have to tolerate strife at times. Maybe Barbarto Village will eventually be absorbed by the Uvandidi tribe, and all the villagers have to work for the people with the stars, but you must understand what you hold dear and what keeps you going. Bear with it temporarily and things will turn out fine.”

“I understand. Is that why you spared the other warrior this afternoon? You could have killed him easily, yet you didn’t even teach him a lesson. You even released Bartu and his family, allowing them to bring away the villagers who are willing to submit to the Uvandidi tribe,” Valencia said gravely, “It isn’t necessary for you to worry about all that. Although you are just a passerby, you stepped in. You are worried that if the village gets on the bad side of the Uvandidi tribe, the village might lose the chance to side with them.”

Tang Ling chuckled. It was great that Valencia understood his intention. He could not stay forever after all, so all he could do was leave the village with a seed that would sprout into a great tree.

“Tang Nee, I really want to know who you really are. Until today, up till now, I have reason to believe that you aren’t just a normal young boy from another village,” Valencia voiced out. She treated Tang Ling as her friend. Although the young boy had some unusual charm that captivated her, she knew that he was from a different world and she could never keep up with his footsteps.

Not all things could be forced, but what about befriending him with her heart? A grasslander tended to go all out for a friend.

Tang Ling smiled at Valencia’s question in silence. As he looked at the stars in the sky, he realized that he had to leave soon. A sense of danger arose in his heart and he believed his own gut strongly, especially this niggling premonition.

Would the people from the Stardust Council discover the temple after this? Probably not because Tang Ling had locked it up. Therefore, even if the Stardust Council managed to control all six villages in the grasslands, they would not get anything out of them either because the villages did not have Level 1 access! After he locked the temple up, no one from the villages could even touch the door anymore.

Things were so coincidental. Had he been half a month late, the temple might have fallen into the Stardust Council’s hands. The worst thing would be that he would no longer be able to pass through the grasslands easily.

He felt like he was blessed by Lady Luck in places that he could not see. Who was protecting him?

Was it Uncle Su Siao who was in a slumber? Or the late Vian and Amir? Or his never-before-seen mother? Could it be his grandmother and San San praying for his well-being?

As he thought about such sentimental thoughts, he got carried away.

Valencia felt a little afflicted not to get an answer from Tang Ling, but she believed that Tang Ling must have his own reasons.

“I’ll endure all the pain as long as I can become stronger and protect my home. Tang Nee, just you wait! In five or ten years later, it doesn’t matter. Whenever you decide to come back, you’ll see how strong I’ve become,” Valencia stated loudly and pulled him back from his thoughts.

Tang Ling looked at her with a smile. “Then, let’s set it in ten years. There’s a high chance that I’ll be back here. Even if we’ve known each other for only a day, you and your family are part of my memories. One day is enough for us to be good friends.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Valencia smiled.

“I originally wanted to say that if you feel you can’t handle what I’ve given you, you can find someone that you can trust and raise him or her, or even it, up. But now, I have a feeling that you will become the best female warrior there is!” Tang Ling boldly patted Valencia’s shoulder.

Valencia burst out in a peal of bright and clear laughter. No matter how bitter life was, even if half of the village was gone, her meeting Tang Ling might be the hope that the god of the grassland, the Holy Fire Bird, gave her and her home.

…

“What? I have to make a detour to Herrocky Mountain Ridge now?” Tang Long frowned.

“Young Master Long, this is a direct order from the President. As a matter of fact, only you are needed there and we have deployed the faster dual flyer for this trip. You can make a round trip in a day.” Standing before Tang Ling was Li Wu. Despite being the general, he felt pressured by Tang Long because he was afraid that the young master would reject him, and there was he could do about it. Not even the President of the council had absolute control over Tang Long.

“Why must I go there? And a dual flyer?” Tang Long did not reject the order right away, instead he asked a question.

“It is about the…” Li Wu looked serious when he answered, he said word by word, “program, the search for the Ark.”

The search for the Ark? He viewed the program as an outrageous attempt. He had no idea why the President was so persistent on this program. Had the clues about the Ark been discovered so soon?

Although he did not know why he was involved in the program, if the President wanted him there urgently, a tinge of excitement rose in Tang Long’s heart when he considered the program itself.

Maybe a day trip would not delay his meeting with Higan.