"Grandpa! Grandpa! There's another one from the forest, they're covered in blood!"

A young girl ran into a small hut on the outskirts of a farm. Inside, an old man sat by a stew pot, adding ingredients in when he felt like it.

"Get some of the boys and bring him here. If his Master comes we give him over, you know the rules."

"Yes Grandpa!" The girl ran out to gather some muscle.

By the time she returned, she had 4 people with her, they carried a wounded man inside the hut.

"Back room." The old man commanded.

After the man was set down, the 4 people who carried him left and only the girl and old man remained looking over the youth covered in blood. They had a blood-stained sword wrapped in dark fabric and a golden seal that looked expensive.

"He seemed to have come from a rich family. He even stole the seal. I doubt we'll be able to keep him." The old man made comments as he checked the man's body.

"But Grandpa, the last three people we saved were all taken back. Can we hide this one? Pleasssseee."

The old man sighed and left the room, he returned to the pot of stew as the girl bickered and whined. Old in age, the grandpa surprisingly had a strong resistance to the complaining. But all defenses eventually crumble.

"Oh fine! Go and help him recover, I'll decide once he awakens!"

The girl smiled, "Really! Okay!"

Scampering off, the girl took a bucket of water and some bandages and headed to the back room to tend to the injured man. 

...

Cain's eyelids twitched, he had been taken care of for over a week yet he never awoke. Today was the day where the girl's labors bore fruit.

"Grandpa! He's waking up!"

The girl was excited, this escaped slave was different from the rest. The clothes he had were exquisite, and he had a sword and a golden seal. She had never seen such wonderous things before, making the strange slave mysterious.

Opening his eyes, Cain came too in an unknown environment.

'Where am I? Did I pass out? Was I caught?!'

He jolted up as panic set in, his feet shifted over the bed and planted themselves on the ground. Just as he was going to push off the bed a young girl put her hand on his chest.

She reassured him. "It's okay. You're safe now!" 

Confused and entranced by the soft voice, Cain's heartbeat slowed and he got back into his bed.

"Where is this?" He asked.

The girl smiled. "You from the Sun Dynasty right? Don't worry, this is the Yang Imperium, they can't find you here. I found you along the border in the Crystal Bark Forest."

Cain rubbed his head, 'Crystal Bark Forest? Yes, I believe I was in some place like that, the trees had small clusters of crystals growing out of them....'

He raised his eyes and met the girl's, "Where is this place in the Yang Imperium?"

Loud footsteps came from the hall as the door creaked open and an old man waltzed in. "Near the border, this be a farm of the Imperium, we're mostly made up of escaped slaves.

"To outsiders, the Imperium is strange. Not many slave masters will mess with the Imperium to get back a slave. However, you seem important boy, if your masters come calling I can't help you."

'Yang Imperium? I read a bit about them. The sect called them cultists who hated Mystical Creatures and cultivation. They are a country that only uses external harnessing and the Weapon Master Sect is their spokesperson. No one has even been to the core province beyond a delegation of elders or important people.... that means I'm in the Grass Province that borders the Core Sky Province.'

Cain went over all the information he learned during his time at the Immortal Sect and what he learned from his Master and through Yun'er. He was chillingly calm.

The old man watched him and nodded his head, "You're an interesting one. I don't know what you did to escape but you are a Mixed Blood like the rest of us. We stick together, you can stay on the farm for as long as you want, but if those hunting you come here, I can not protect you and risk others. Please understand."

Cain listened to the old man with seriousness, he then shook his head and smiled. "I thank you for your generosity. I have no plans of dragging anyone down with me. I will recover and then leave."

...

A few days passed, and Cain was wearing slave clothes as he sunk his plow into the soil. He found this type of work peaceful, living day in and day out under the sun with kind people.

He was given a bed and was returned his Sword and the Heavenly Mandate, all was well. In addition, he got to know many people and their stories. Many of the slaves on the farm were either born from slaves who escaped here long ago or recent escapees, most of whom came from the Secular Dominion.

The Yang Imperium had slavery, but it was lightweight. The country allowed slaves to exist as workers but gave them the freedom to live themselves, as long as they filled the quota the country required they were free in their cages.

It was the best way for slaves to live in the common age. This led to mass amounts of escapees coming to the Imperium. To others, the slaves of the Imperium were normal citizens but the real citizens lived in the Sky Province. 

It's surprising no one has gone to the Sky province and lived to tell the tale. Anyone who travels there disappears. It has become a horror story to some, creating a fog around the Imperium. 

Of the three countries, the Dominion was the worst with slavery, many of their sects even didn't accept Mixed Bloods. Yet with such a large slave population, there were also a lot of mixed-bloods who gained freedom one way or another and started their trade or business.

Because of this diversity, the Dominion somehow flourished. The trend was even leaning towards making Pure Bloods and Mixed Bloods no different from one another. This sprouted from rumors that the leader of the Beast Tamer Sect was a Mixed Blood!

Overall the situation there was good, unlike the news from the Sun Dynasty which spread like wildfire.

That is the Emperor, Sun Xiang, was murdered along with the entire Palace and all its guests who came for the wedding. The killer was the groom of the Royal Princess and slaughtered everyone, even his soon-to-be wife.

The killer was named The Imperial Demon due to the amount of Imperial Blood on his hands. Truly heaven-shaking news.

No one knew where Cain went, but the entire Dynasty was looking for him, the parts of the Dynasty that hadn't collapsed already. A civil war had already broken out, and even the sects joined in with hopes of creating a puppet ruler for themselves.

'A bunch of idiots, they're in-fighting will be what helps me escape their sight.'

Wiping his brow, Cain crouched down and stared at the field. It was full of life, men laughing at jokes, women bringing water and fruits, the children running around playing with sticks. The breeze passed Cain as he took a deep breath, when he exhaled his mind mellowed and he felt at peace.

'This is my final....final....final-what? Why was I thinking about the final? Damn it, my head is getting all messed up again.'

Leaving the field, Cain accepted some water from one of the women and headed for a hut in the distance. When he got there he opened the door to see a girl kicking and screaming in her chair as an old man tried to feed her a spoonful of medicine.

"Grandpa no! I don't need it, it's too bitter!"

The old man huffed and puffed, "That means it works! Now drink you stupid girl!"

"No!" The girl kicked and leaned back, the chair went with her and she tumbled to the floor.

The old man could only sigh. Noticing Cain he smiled. "Ah, Cain. Have you finished working the fields already? You do the work of twenty men! The harvest this time around will impress the Inquisitor of the Imperium!"

Cain took a seat by the table as the old man brought a plate and filled it with stew. It was perpetual stew, one of the old man's hobbies, this batch has been going on for around a month.

Taking a spoonful, Cain ate and his lips curved upwards, "I got to say, this strew is the best I've ever had!"

"Of course it is, Grandpa has been making stew all his life, ever since I was a baby!" The girl expressed, still on the floor.

Sitting opposite of Cain, the old man poured himself a bowl as well and enjoyed it. Halfway through the meal, he sighed.

"You know, I used to be a part of a powerful faction once. But in the end, we were defeated and forgotten..."