In the previous situation, Cheng Tian suddenly came under the effects of a force of attraction that dragged him for dozens of meters. However, he had skillfully escaped such a thing by summoning his contracted beast and leaving it in its place.

After that, he used everything he had to escape those he had just seen as fast as possible.

'Damn it!'

'I almost got killed!' He shivered in fear as he felt his connection with the Giant Earth King had disappeared.

In other words, that giant scorpion had died!

Thinking about how that should have been his fate, Cheng Tian could not help but feel bad as he escaped for his life.

'What are monsters like those doing in Fasinuo Province? Why did they try to kill me so suddenly? Who would I tell what I saw?' He had many questions in his mind but could not think of answers to any of them.

After running for a few moments and continuing while on the back of his horse, Cheng Tian finally calmed down a bit when he was more than 50 kilometers from his previous location.

"Was it them that the old man and woman from the previous two villages talked about?" He muttered under his breath as he looked carefully at his surroundings. "No, impossible!"

'If that were the case, then none of those people would continue living in those areas! So those two probably informed me about the nighttime danger of those areas because of local criminals.'

'But those three are in no condition to be local criminals! They are too strong!'

'Anyway, what do I do now?' He sighed, feeling the terrible sensation that came after a near-death experience.

"Sigh..."

'All that's left for me to do is move on. If those people are after me, then that's the end. I definitely won't escape. So, I'd better just get on with my plans.' He made up his mind before giving the order for his horse to increase the pace towards the next village.

...

After a full day since the previous unwanted encounter, Cheng Tian had passed through yet another locality in that coastal area, but, as with the previous ones, he was unsuccessful.

However, as much as he had failed to find his target, he had found clues to the criminal he was looking for!

With this, he was heading towards the area where some people had recently disappeared after leaving their village to gather wild plants in a nearby forest.

According to information from the last locality he passed, a mother and daughter had disappeared two days ago after they had left in the direction of the nearby forest after a blond man had appeared in the forest.

After this period, several residents had already started to search for them in the surrounding area, worried about what might have happened.

Unfortunately, none of them were strong enough, nor did they have the knowledge and skills to track them down and eventually understand the incident.

But Cheng Tian, with his Sharingan, was confident in finding the tracks of these women, which could potentially lead him to the criminal in question.

So, he soon arrived where mother and daughter should have gone to harvest their plants of interest.

'Hmm, it looks like someone truly was captured in this place.' He looked at some marks on the adjacent terrain while crouching near a footprint.

'Well, there aren't many options here, so I'll follow those tracks.' He stood up, looking at a mental path that had formed in his mind after he connected the various tracks in that area.

After slowly traversing the careless trails of whoever had captured those women, Cheng Tian arrived near a hill, where there was a small hut.

Using the sensory ability of his Sharingan, he soon found six chakra sources inside that place, two of them standing while the others seemed to be sitting side by side on the ground.

'Those sitting are pretty weak, hmmm, they are probably victims. As for those two, one must be at level 36 and the other 37.'

He clenched his fists and muttered. "My target is probably here!"

Shadow Clone Technique!

He then made a hand seal and formed two clones, causing them to approach that hut cautiously, preparing a surprise for his enemies.

A while later, he walked toward the hut before him as if he were about to visit his favorite restaurant.

Pa! Pa!

He slammed hard on the only door of that place, frightening every person inside that hut with this movement.

...

Inside the hut...

Pa! Pa!

Hearing two loud knocks on the door, the four people tied, with several purple marks on their half-naked bodies, trembled as they looked in that direction.

'Don't tell me more of them are here?' The mother who disappeared two days ago felt her eyes water, fearing more people would join those two monsters.

On the other hand, her daughter, a woman who must have been about three years older than Cheng Tian, was trembling due to her current physical condition, not even able to cry in fear of what might happen next.

"That..." One of the two individuals there looked at that door in surprise since neither he nor his companion expected visitors.

"I wonder who that is. How did someone find out our location?"

"I don't know. I didn't think the people in this area would be able to find us."

After exchanging those words, one nodded to the other, quickly drawing out their martial souls, ready to fight in case of need.

Soon, three spirit rings appeared around each of them, with the strongest one having the ideal configuration, yellow, yellow, and purple, but his companion with the first ring, white.

"Who is it? Don't you know it's rude to come to other people's houses unannounced first?" The strongest one there said this loudly, trying to scare the newcomer.

Hearing that, Cheng Tian said in a childish tone. "Uncle, I got lost from my group and arrived here accidentally. Can you help me get back to my group?"

"Oh? You got lost from your group?" The weaker of the two said in a low voice, smiling, "Tell me something. Where are you from?"

As the women there felt sorry for the poor young man who would probably die soon, the childish voice came up again. "I'm from Suotuo City. I was in the vicinity with a group from Cryptid Academy."

"Cryptid Academy? That young man must be a spirit master... Maybe a nobleman." One of them muttered to the other, less interested in killing this young man who could become a good hostage for them.

After that, one of them opened the door and faced a young man with black hair, dressed in a red outfit with that academy's symbol.

Seeing Cheng Tian's handsome face and noticing that he did not look strong, his target, the strongest one there, relaxed a little and said. "Kid, what's your name? Do you think your group is far away?" Then, he walked toward the newcomer.

"My name is Madara. As for my group, we split up over three hours ago, so I don't know."

"All this, huh? It looks like you truly got lost." The level 36 man said that.

"It seems that is indeed the case." Cheng Tian laughed, but no one there knew whether it was out of embarrassment or some other reason. "By the way, you guys are spirit masters, right?"

"Hehe, that's right. Why? What do you want?" The blond man asked.

"My master taught me that I must have all kinds of experiences. Since we are here, could you teach me some steps? I'm sure you gentlemen can dance, can't you?"

"Oh? Brat Madara, you are bold, haha. I like it!" One of the criminals nodded to the other, preparing to deal with the newcomer in this situation.

They then showed their martial souls and spirit rings to Cheng Tian, one of them being a snake type and the other a scythe.

"What about you?"

"Me? Hehe, OK." Cheng Tian slowly released his first martial soul, causing the large black and white fan to appear in his right hand.

When this tool spirit appeared, the two criminals felt a certain pressure arise in their surroundings, but they still did not worry too much. Of course, martial souls could have different qualities, but the most important thing at the end of the day was the cultivation level!

"What?"

"How can that be?"

However, as they slowly watched Cheng Tian's three purple spirit rings emerge, tentacles surrounded their bodies, quickly trapping their legs and arms.

While they were still screaming in disbelief at Cheng Tian's configuration of spirit rings, a fireball the size of that hut was blown in their direction.

Ssss!

Cheng Tian's other clone finished blowing in the direction of the two tentacle-bound men.

"Third Skill: All Water Runs to the Sea!"

Bright rays departed from the fan held by one of Cheng Tian's hands, quickly connecting with his two targets, sucking in the energies of both of them.

'Now, I will absorb the powers from you first!'

...