Steadily, he would defend himself from a barrage of attacks from this bunch of Body Tempering Realm cultivators at the first stage. When a chance opens up, he would counterattack.
There's a huge gap between each stage. Jasper can rely on his own strength this time.
Each strike of his damages an opponent's vital spot, instantly removing them from the fight. He was swift and decisive.
Every four to five strikes he took, he would counterattack and immediately remove one opponent. Thus, in less than a minute, all delinquents were on the ground, either rolling or paralyzed in pain.
"What the…!" Liam unconsciously took a step back. This scene was too unbelievable.
Didn't this man just fight a Body Tempering Cultivator at the second stage? How is he able to continue fighting multiple Body Tempering Cultivators at the first stage, and not only that, but ending it this quickly?
Is he secretly a cultivator?
Liam shook his head. He didn't feel a 'cultivator's aura' from Jasper. Unless Jasper is at least three stages above him… in which case, he will be able to hide it. But this shouldn't be. If this is true, Jasper would just sweep the ground with their bodies.
So, what's happening?
While Liam was deep in his thoughts, he noticed Jasper's gaze.
It was a taunting gaze!
'Trash!'
Under the silent and tense atmosphere, Liam walked up to Jasper until they were just a foot apart. As Liam was taller by half a head, he met Jasper's gaze down.
Crackle*
Without warning, Liam raised his fist and swung it at Jasper.
Jasper's eyes widened. He expected a fight, but he didn't expect this speed and power.
He wasn't able to deflect it this time. A power stronger than that of the delinquent leader pounced onto his arms, and its force penetrated to his chest.
That collision pushed Jasper a few meters away as he dropped to his knees. His breathing was disturbed
Before he could recover, a shadow loomed over him as he felt the wind. Instinctively, he raised his arms. But Jasper felt a stinging pain on his forearm.
His bones were fractured from that collision!
If he were hit in that area again, a fracture would be the least of his concerns. Thus, within a fraction of a second, Jasper had to decide and dropped his head to dodge.
Fortunately, Liam's kick just grazed the back of his head. However, that wasn't the end of it. Liam's speed was abnormal for a Body Tempering Cultivator at the second stage.
His legs adjusted mid-air and raised.
An axe kick–
In Jasper's position, there was no way to dodge. Mercilessly, Liam's heel dropped like an anvil.
Bam!*
Dust billowed from the impact, creating a cloud on the ground. Dark clouds loomed over the sky, dimming the day.
The fight was one-sided.
The delinquents, who were in pain, and the girls looked at the scene, horrified.
Liam… killed a person!
From the cloud of dust, Liam came out with an ugly expression. Everyone avoided his gaze.
"L-liam, is this alright?" the blonde shook as she was afraid to get close to Liam.
"Huh?" A terrifying gaze from him landed on the girls, "Is there a problem?"
Immediately, the other two girls shook their heads as if their lives depended on it.
"Heh," Liam's expression softened as he walked to the blonde girl, lifting her chin, "Sophie, don't worry. Who would care if an 'ordinary' person were to suddenly disappear?"
"..." Cold sweat dripped from Sophie's forehead.
Liam then turned to the delinquents and said, "You all, dispose of the body. If any word from today came out, you all know who will be next…"
The delinquents were speechless.
"Did you not hear me?"
Feeling Liam's gaze sharpened, the delinquents all stood up, except for the unconscious leader.
"We saw n-nothing today!!! Sir!"
One shouted, and the others agreed.
Satisfied, Liam pulled Sophie's thin waist and walked away.
Once Liam and his group were out of sight, the group of delinquents heaved a sigh of relief. The pressure was finally gone.
"I can't believe it… He's really the top dog of our school."
"Yeah, he managed to hide it. It seems that he's already in the third stage of the Body Tempering Realm."
"He's a genius!"
The group of delinquents murmured with each other, filled with mixed emotions. Some are jealous, others conflicted, and the rest glad that they didn't antagonize such a talented individual.
"Come on! This is our chance to curry favor with him!"
The others agreed.
"Y-yeah, let's throw out the trash before it rains!"
They all glanced at each other and looked at the unmoving body of Jasper. His head dug deep into the ground.
Even they felt like they wouldn't survive that. Thus, wanting to get this done quickly, the group of delinquents threw Jasper's body into the river.
.
.
.
***
The world is unfair.
An ordinary person's life is as frail as an ant's in the Enlightenment Era. Resisting the hierarchy will only result in an ordinary person's defeat. In most cases, this defeat means death.
Today, Jasper is just another one of those countless ordinary people. One of those who resisted the system and perished.
People may become concerned with his absence in the next few days. But after a week, it's doubtful that anyone except his friends will remember he even exists.
This is the fate of an ordinary person–
***
Thunder crackled in the darkened sky as heavy rain poured.
From the flowing river, a hand reached out and desperately grabbed a blade of grass.
A drenched and bleeding figure struggled, climbing up the river and going against its flow. The current was stronger due to the rain, but the figure didn't release his grip.
The rain and the wave immediately washed away his blood.
His head was pounding in pain, his vision was blurry with the loss of blood, and his fractured bone was about to break.
The currents of the river pushed him. His grip was slipping. Only strands of root were the only thing anchoring him. Frail.
The heavy rain didn't let him breathe properly and drowned out his painful groans.
At this point, letting go would be better. Death would be less painful.
Jasper's eyes went blank. His grip was loosening.
In that brief moment, his life flashed by before his eyes.
… his parents were ordinary. They were just a pair of victims in this world.
Jasper grew up poor, barely surviving from day to day, and had to live his life believing that things would eventually change once he reached the age of enlightenment and became a cultivator himself.
Jasper, however, didn't passively wait for the enlightenment.
He was greedy. He wanted to free himself from the grip of reality as soon as possible.
He has ambitions!
Jasper was working on himself, becoming better and better every day, even if no one was looking or knowing.
Even when his background was of the lowest of the low, he always came out on top.
That thrill gave him hope.
This time, it wouldn't be different! Even if he is not enlightened, he will not give up.
In the end, he will come out on top as long as he is alive!
His grip became stronger than ever before. Before the roots snapped, his other hand clutched onto another.
Without pausing, he pulled himself up against the current, against the pain, against the rain… against everything!
"Gaaa…."
Soon, the figure rose and overcame the currents.
Jasper pulled himself out of the river, barely alive.
He gasped for air. His senses returned to him for a brief moment. A deep voice came out of him. Filled with hatred.
"... Liam… hehe…"
A devious smile broke from his lips
With his state, however, Jasper's consciousness didn't last long.
Eventually, his vision darkened.
It had been hours since he was thrown into the river. The river brought him into the middle of nowhere.
In the middle of that nowhere, a person appeared before Jasper's unconscious body.