The redwood door shut behind Van and the brown eyed man turned towards the youth. He had a worried expression on his face.

"You shouldn't be wandering around for too long! Who knows what kind of dangers you will encounter out there!"

The man's eyes widened as he noticed the bruises that had been previously hidden in the dim lighting.

"Who attacked you?!"

"It's fine Ghan. I just fell on my way here."

Ghan sent him a doubting look. Ghan was at the 1st Stage of Dantian Formation, but because he was a well known supporter of the Old Nguyen Dynasty, he had to hide his ident.i.ty and couldn't get revenge for his young master.

Ever since he was little, Van did not have much talent, which resulted in his exclusion from the family.

But now, he was the only one left of the royal family, besides his aunt who rejected the throne as if it were an undesirable disease. The usurpers had ignored him because of his status as the royal failure.

He had hopes of getting revenge, but at the moment they had no chance. They just had to wait patiently for the right time.

At this moment, a woman in a red dress, that accentuated all the curves on her body, decided to approach the two.

"Van! You're back!"

Ghan grumbled something about a d.a.m.ned enchantress and moved to the kitchen. Van smiled at the woman in red and crossing his arms bowed.

"Junior greets Aunty."

"Don't greet me like that! It makes me feel old."

"Junior apologizes."

Van's aunt shook her head in mock indignation and sat down in the nearby couch.

Her long pale legs crossed as she sighed. Suddenly, her expression turned serious.

"Why did you sign up for the Fierce Beast Hunt?"

Van turned his head sharply, staring at his aunt.

"How do you know?!"

His aunt sighed.

"Do you never listen to anything I say? You forget that Bang reports to me. He genuinely feels friendly with you. It's just some extra money to be made for him. Don't think any different of him."

Van groaned. What was he going to do with this overprotective aunt of his.

"I need to pressure myself to improve. Aunty, you know this."

His aunt had a sad defeated expression on her face and nodded slowly.

"I'll be in my room if you need me."

He went to his room and carefully closed the door.

His gaze swept across the room, searching for any hidden spying inscriptions his aunt may have hidden. Seeing nothing, his mind seemed to calm and he gently pushed aside his bookshelf.

A circular door with a 5 foot diameter was revealed. The youth gripped the handle and pulled. A strange breeze flowed through the tunnel and one could see a lake, lush with plants. There were a few docile rank 1 beasts drinking from the lake.

Van quietly closed the door behind him. The whir of cogs could be heard as the bookshelf reverted itself to its original position.

Van walked to the end of the pa.s.sageway and sat down cross legged in meditation. Once he was in the right state of mind, he stood up and pulled out a 3 foot bow from his extended s.p.a.ce bag. It was a family heirloom meant for his elder brother when he was to be crowned as King, but now it was his.

He pulled out an box made of green ivory from the horn of a rank 2 beast called the Towering Fire Rhino. He carefully opened the lid and pulled out 10 arrows.

Every day, he would string an arrow and try to fire the bow, but it was too heavy for someone like him with a mere cultivation of the 2nd Stage of Body Fortification.

He would continue to try over and over again until he collapsed from fatigue. He lay on the ground heaving.

A shadow was moving through the bushes and the rank 1 Fierce Beasts ran in fright. Van Nguyen was too focused on controlling his breath that he didn't notice a golden striped panther emerge from the tree line.

By the time he had noticed the panther, it was only 5 feet away, a distance that could be covered in a split second.

"A rank 2 magical beast!"

Van exclaimed in horror as he finally saw it. He was just about to turn around and flee when the Panther rushed at him.

"If you want a fight, I'll give you one!"

He quickly changed directions and narrowly dodged the panther's swipe of the paw. He was just about to stab out with the arrow in his hand when the Panther rushed past him at a small fleeting shadow.

When he looked closer, he saw that it was what seemed to be a rank 2 Whitecloud Mouse.

Whitecloud Mice were very elusive and treated as a treasure among beasts even in the entirety of the Fire Rock Continent. It's value was not only in its rarity but also its ability to eventually become an Emperor ranked existence!

Van's eyes flashed with excitement as he imagined having it as his contracted beast and marching to the peak of Martial Arts as a Saint.