A Man's Insanity: A Changing World

"Are you serious? He is just a rank 4 and you are rank 5, there's no comparison between you."

"That's what I have been saying, he is a rank 4 cultivator and the others are rank 3, there's no match between them. There's a chance that Jun Haru might be able to win against me with enough preparation, but nothing like this exists for those three against Jun Haru. They are bound to lose."

Mu Kang went silent.

"How about this: I won't use my full strength. This way, he will be safe, and we can have a one-on-one duel," Yang Zhai suggested, trying to seize the moment..

"Here, I even have a few rank 4 Blue Gems. Consider these my parting gifts. You can use them and reach the rank 4 Peak Stage. After that, we can continue our battle. Meet me here in two days." Yang Zhai handed three rank 4 Blue Gems to Jun Haru.

After that, he left, not giving Mu Kang any chance to say anything.

Before entering the house he commented,

"Know this, to truly know at what level you are, you need to be slightly weaker than I. This way, you can use that torus to find out if you can match me in a battle and if you have gotten any stronger."

He left, leaving Mu Kang thinking.

Does he truly care about Jun Haru as a friend, and a master? After all, no one just hands over Blue Gems to anyone just like that. He is also giving Jun Haru the opportunity to match him in his strength by allowing him a chance to reach the peak rank stage.

Anyway, this is also good for Jun Haru, he can reach the rank 4 Peak Stage. Besides, I am confident that I can protect Jun Haru if something goes wrong.

Was what he thought.

"Thanks, Brother Tzu! I will definitely repay your kindness!" Jun Haru shouted with enthusiasm.

However, Si Yu and Li Na didn't seem quite happy.

…..

Night before the battle,

"Jun Haru, are you ready?" Mu Kang asked.

However, Jun Haru was quiet and didn't hear Mu Kang, lost in his own thoughts.

I can finally have a duel against brother Yang. Even though I never thought of having a serious fight against him, but thinking about it makes me so excited. A person who even went against two rank 5 cultivators when he was just a rank 4 cultivator… not to mention that there were even many rank 4 cultivators with those two rank 5 cultivators. He is truly something.

But I cannot tell Mu Kang about this, he will definitely not let me compete against Brother Yang.

Even though I know it will be extremely hard being able to win against him in a battle, I still want to give it a try. Even though I know he must be thinking of something, I still want to have a go at it. Maybe it's because I have already spent a lot of time with him that I am already used to him.

But, the cultivators present tomorrow would be far stronger. I don't think he would do anything while those cultivators are there. And knowing Brother Yang, he isn't someone who would take a reckless step. Besides, nobody can leave this mountain without My Kang's permission.

"Jun Haru,"

"Jun Haru,"

"Jun Haru,"

Jun Haru was awakened from his thoughts because of Mu Kang's voice.

"What, what is it…"

"What are you thinking about so deeply that you cannot even hear me?"

"No… nothing, I was just excited about tomorrow's fight."

"I asked if you were ready for tomorrow's fight?"

"Yes, I am definitely ready."

"Don't worry about tomorrow's match. Now that you're at rank 4 Peak Stage, and after combining with the torus, you have a chance at winning. Also, the moment we sense a strange thing happening or a powerful method being activated, we would stop the fight right away."

…..

"Have you already told Mu Kang?" Yang Zhai asked.

"Yes, brother, we informed him two days ago." Li Na replied.

"Good, then leave. From what I have seen so far, nobody can leave this mountain without Mu Kang's permission."

"But… brother, we want to go with you…" Si Yu said hesitantly.

"No, you need to leave tonight. After tonight, you won't be able to leave this mountain. As for me… even if you wait tonight, you won't be able to leave with me."

He was silent for a while. After thinking of something, he took out a Kroy city's emblem and handed it to them.

They looked at the token with confusion after Yang Zhai handed it to them.

"You two, after leaving here, go to Kroy City. This emblem is necessary if you want to enter Kroy. Don't worry, as long as you two stay together, one emblem is enough. After entering, go to a store named 'Bent'. There, you will see a woman, tell her this…" Yang Zhai began giving instructions.

After he told them everything, he said,

"You have already seen Yah Yan and Ina Ya. They will come to you and tell you what to do in time. Also, there are already two nomination spots stored in that emblem. I have already transferred the one from my emblem to that emblem. Now, you can leave." After saying this, Yang Zhai signaled them to leave.

They wanted to follow him, but were forbidden by him.

They were hesitant, but they did just as he told them to.

I obtained these two tokens for them.

If I went there myself, it would take me forever, and I would only be wasting my time. Besides, these two don't know much about me, so I don't need to worry much.

"Before leaving, know this, that woman would only be helping you because it involves her benefits, do not be fooled and consider that care as love. Know this, if it's for me, you can do anything, even pretend to love someone. And always think of this, 'Brother Jaen Fen', at least a hundred times a day, as my last parting gift, once you reach a certain limit, Yah Yan and Ina Ya would be able to track you down and you would be able to meet me again."

As their love for me is intense right now, they will surely want to meet me again as soon as possible, and I need to take advantage of this. After they recite this sentence time and again, these two would become like a cult's people. I would become a being they revere with all their hearts.

…..

The next day,

Yang Zhai and Jun Haru stood facing each other, about a hundred meters apart.

There weren't any houses near Yang Zhai's house. The house that he was living in was secluded from the populated area.

So, the battle was taking place outside his house. A little distance away from his house, about a mile or two.

The person supervising the fight was a rank 6 cultivator chosen by Mu Kang himself.

"Get ready!" The rank 6 cultivator said.

Both Jun Haru and Yang Zhai readied themselves. Yang Zhai activated three yellow lines together, boosting his vision.

As for Jun Haru, he also activated a rank 4 method that increased his sensing ability.

Both Yang Zhai and Jun Haru stood too close to each other, which could put them at a disadvantage if they weren't careful. A rank 4 cultivator had a range of five hundred meters, so fifty meters was too close. Such a distance would not only increase the speed of the attacks, but the attacks would also be too sudden.

This was why, even a second was enough to change the outcome.

"Begin!"

Jun Haru took several steps back without hesitation. Yang Zhai also didn't rush toward him and retreated.

Mu Kang and the others stayed alert, secretly activating their techniques and preparing to strike at a moment's notice.

On Jun Haru's side, he combined with the torus without waiting for anything.

Jun Haru's appearance had undergone a dramatic transformation. His skin now had a warm, light brown hue. A single horn protruded from the left side of his head, while his fingernails and toenails had grown sharp and long, reaching an inch in length. A deep brown, fine line with a zigzag pattern had appeared on his forehead. Thin, brown fur covered his elbows and knees, and his pupils had transformed into thin, brown slits.

As he looked around, Jun Haru felt an intense, physical change within himself. His senses had heightened: his vision was sharper, his strength had increased, his speed had improved, and his body had become more resilient.

"Impressive, I can see that the torus has already advanced to rank 3, this speed is unbelievable." Yang Zhai said, his eyes narrowing as he assessed Jun Haru's transformation. "Let's see just how much Jun Haru has improved,"

Yang Zhai wanted to summon a gorilla for this fight as he was known as Tzu Yu to the world, a Mastery Path cultivator. However,

"I want to see for myself how much he has improved and what changes have happened to his body. Besides, I also don't have any other choice in this situation…"

As such, Yang Zhai didn't summon any beasts. Instead, he was observing Jun Haru carefully, ready to activate Earth Release Ka at any instant.

What this Ka does is very interesting, otherwise, I wouldn't have paid so much for this. I was impressed to see that the shop owner had three of these kas; it was supposed to be a rare ka: Yang Zhai thought.

"Brother Tzu, are you ready?!" Jun Haru said excitedly and dashed at Yang Zhai.

"As expected, no, it's even more than expected. His speed has reached that of a rank 5 peak stage cultivator…" Yang Zhai muttered.

Impressive, this torus is just at rank 3 but has given Jun Haru such a speed, I didn't expect such a boost from a rank 3 torus. It seems they both complement each other. With this, I don't need to worry about him anymore. It was a good decision letting him fight Tzu Yu, even Mu Kang was amazed by this power-up.

!|!*****!*****!|!