The men of this gang, now frozen in place like statues, were in utter despair.
Why would someone like
him
come to a place this small? Why?
The leader was trembling with terrorâbecause he
knew something
. The rest of the gang members were equally terrified, but for a different reason: they had no idea what had happened to them or where this mysterious man had come from. The leader, however, had some inkling.
In this line of work, people in leadership positions needed to understand how the world truly operated.
This was no ordinary world.
It was known as the
World of the Ancients
.
Terrifying beings walked this land. Beings that ordinary people couldnât even begin to imagine. The common folk remained blissfully unaware of their existence, while only the highest echelons of society knew the truth.
These people were called cultivators. They wielded mysterious and divine powersâable to control thunder and rain, twist the winds, or even reshape the earth itself. They could destroy mountains with their bare hands. In front of them, even martial artists were mere paper tigers.
Sure, martial artists could attain some strength. But compared to cultivators? They were nothing.
The gang leader, Bruno, was a martial artist himself. He had reached the level of
Skin Refinement
.
In the
Body Refinement Realm
, there were several stagesâ
Skin Refinement
,
Bone Refinement
,
Muscle Refinement
, and
Visceral Organ Refinement
. Only beyond that came the
Innate Realm
.
Only those who had stepped into the Innate Realm were qualified to work as servants in the homes of cultivatorsâand even then, only the very best of them. But the man standing before Bruno now... he was on a whole different level entirely.
Why would a cultivator come here?
Bruno wanted to beg for mercy, but he couldnât even open his mouth.
Ethan stood there, gazing at them coldly. The urge to kill them in the most brutal way possible burned inside him. But he knew... if he allowed his sadistic side to take over, if he started killing people without restraint, it would be the beginning of the destruction of the world.
So instead, he forged an iron sphere, inserted an energy ball into each of their bodies, and sealed all eight men inside the sphere.
He hypnotized them.
In their minds, they hadnât had sex in years. Now, they suddenly found themselves in a desert with seven alluring women. But in reality, each of them saw the other seven as women. Ethan then coated their penises with barbed iron.
Boom!
They began raping each other.
They could feel every ounce of pain, but couldnât stop the urge. When they were about to die from the torment, the energy balls would heal them and restore their strength. This was their punishment.
They wanted to rape women?
Let them rape
each other
in the most brutal way imaginable. And this torment would go on... until their natural lifespans ended.
Ethan then created a deep pit in the ground, lowered the sphere into it, and reshaped the soil to look undisturbed.
Without a sound, he vanished from the alley and reappeared near a restaurant.
He needed to find out where he was.
He had already looted the bandits, and was now quite rich in this place.
Ethan entered the restaurant and ordered the establishmentâs most renowned signature dishes.
A waiter brought the food and smiled politely.
"These are all the signature dishes, sir. Would you like a drink as well?"
Ethan nodded. "Sure."
The waiter quickly returned, bringing two jugs of fine liquor.
Ethan handed him a generous tipâfive silver coins.
The waiter froze on the spot.
What the hell...?
He only earned three silver coins a
month
.
And this man had just handed him
five
in a single moment.
He felt a wild urge to kneel down and kiss this manâs feetâbut managed to control himself.
Instead, he flashed the brightest smile of his life.
"Sir, if you need anything, just call me. Iâll be at your service!"
Ethan smiled slightly.
This was exactly what he wanted to hear.
"I do need something," he said. "I want information."
"Please ask, sir," the waiter replied enthusiastically. "If I know anything, Iâll tell you everything."
"Tell me the geographical details of this place. Name, location, everything you can."
For the next thirty minutes, Ethan questioned him thoroughly.
Eventually, he got a clearer picture.
This city was called
Black Mountain City
, situated near the
Black Mountain Range
. The continent itself was known as the
South Continent
.
Most of the population were ordinary people, though a few martial artists existed here and there. To the common folk, they were like living deities.
But these martial artists were different from the ones Ethan had known in his previous world.
Whatâs going on here?
Am I in a different world entirely? Or a different timeline?
The waiter only knew this much.
He needed more information.
After finishing his meal, Ethan stepped outside.
To gather deeper intelligence, he asked the waiter about local gangs and bandits.
The boy looked terrified, but still whispered everything he knew. He also warned Ethanâ
never go near them
.
Ethan smiled.
That only made him more interested.
He wanted to go
straight
to themâbecause he could extract the answers he needed by force.
He vanished from the street, reappearing in front of an ancient-looking building.
This was the hideout of the
Black Raven Gang
.
Ethan walked straight toward the entrance.
Two burly guards stepped forward.
"Where the hell do you think youâre going, punk? Is this your mommaâs house?"
Without a word, Ethan slapped both of them into unconsciousness.
More gang members came rushing outâbut they all met the same fate. In just ten minutes, Ethan had knocked out fifty of them.
Thatâs when he sensed a powerful presence approaching.
This man had a strength of about 3,000 kgâequivalent to a Level 2 Martial Warrior.
The boss probably.
The manâs expression turned dark as he saw his subordinates lying on the ground and a pretty-faced stranger standing calmly in their midst.
He roared, "How dare you touch my men? Iâll kill you, you damn punk!"
He charged toward Ethan, aiming a punch at his face.
He was fully expecting to hear the crunch of broken bones and feel warm blood on his knuckles.
Insteadâ
His punch stopped an inch from Ethanâs face.
That grip...
It felt like the paw of some ancient beast. He couldnât pull his hand back. No matter how hard he struggled, it wouldnât budge.
He was in the
Muscle Refinement
stage of the Body Refinement Realm. In this city, he was a ruler. Untouchable.
But in front of this young man, he couldnât even move.
Damn it! Is he in the Visceral Organ Refinement stage? But he looks so young!
Ethan smiled and casually grabbed the manâs neck. Then he twisted his arm around and began slapping him with his
own hand
.
The man roared in fury.
"Do you know who the hell youâre messing with!?"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"You motherfucker! Iâll fucking kill you!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
His face swelled with each hit. He was humiliated beyond words. But he was powerless.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Boss! Please stop! What do you want?!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Dad, please! Dad, stop! It hurts like hell!"
He was sobbing now.
Ethan finally stopped. He stared coldly at the man and said, "Iâll ask. Youâll answer. Any hesitationâyou die."
"Yes, father, yes..."
Ethan felt disgusted. He slapped the man again, knocking out what remained of his teeth.
"I donât have a filthy son like you. Donât talk unless I tell you to."
"Okay... boss..." the man whimpered.
Ethan then asked all the questions he needed and extracted every piece of useful information.
When he was done, he slapped the man one final time and knocked him out cold.
He walked out of the building humming softly.
So this is the World of the Ancients.
There were martial artists hereâbut they werenât like the ones from his own world. Their cultivation was different. They didnât use cosmic energy. Instead, they used blood energy and herbal concoctions to strengthen their bodies.
The structure of martial arts in this world was as follows:
Body Refinement Realm
Innate Realm
Martial Saint Realm
Each of these realms had multiple sub-levels.
Apart from martial artists, there were other beingsâ
cultivators
.
They were the true powerhouses.
This world matched the description of those ancient Chinese cultivation novels. Cultivators were like gods. But they were extremely rareâlike a blue moon. Most people had never even seen one in their entire lives.
Now for the most important question:
What exactly is this world?
Is it a part of the main world? Or an entirely different universe... or space-time?
He recalled that one of his clones had mysteriously vanished a few days ago. Perhaps... that one had ended up in another world as well?
He couldnât contact his main body. But the system was still operational.
So he asked,
"Whatâs going on? Can you tell me, system?"
[Please find out yourself, Master. Best of luck.]
This was the same damn answer.
Ethan cursed fierecely.
He didnât know that the system had also been cursed by his other clone.
So I need to find out the truth myself. Letâs see... can I conquer this world too?
I will become the ruler of all worlds someday.
Meanwhile, on Earthâ
Ethan opened his eyes.
Another one of my clones disappeared.
Damn it. Again?
"System! You fucking tell me whatâs going on!"
[Become a Star Realm cultivator first. Youâll know the answers then.]