The crushing weight from these seven figures sent shivers through the crowd.


    Even the arrogant young nobles fell silent in that instant.


    "Seven Martial Saints... They''re basically the kings of this world," Pearson Bowman whispered under his breath.


    "With them around, we won''t get squat."


    "So what if they''re Martial Saints? They can''t just push everyone around! If they''re so tough, why don''t they just wipe us all out!"


    "The big shots from the Mystic Realm aren''t here yet. Who knows what''ll go down when they show up."


    Everyone stared at the massive mine ahead, ready to be dug up, worry written all over their faces.


    ...


    ——


    When I came to, I was already stretched out on a bamboo bed.


    The ce around me feltpletely foreign.


    The room was bare-bones simple, but spotless.


    I pushed myself up slowly from the bed.


    Rubbing my head, dizziness hit me along with a sharp ache in my chest.


    My wounds clearly hadn''t healed yet.


    I sent out my divine sense, sweeping the area around me.


    Before long, I picked up several people nearby.


    From their energy, they all felt like regr folks.


    "You''re up."


    Right then, a girl in worn clothes stepped in from outside.


    She had thick ck hair, and her outfit screamed modest family background.


    "Who are you?" I managed to ask.


    The girl spoke up quickly, "I''m Amber Skye. I found you when I was out collecting herbs, so I brought you back."


    I looked over at the herbs on the table, then at the medicinal brew simmering nearby.


    "You made this?" I asked.


    Amber Skye nodded fast and said, "Yeah, my father taught me how."


    I walked slowly to the table, picked up the medicinal soup and took a sniff, and felt a bit amazed.


    Even though the girl''s mixture was basic, her technique was incredibly careful.


    "Don''t worry, my father''s a well-known healer around here, and he''s helped tons of people!" Amber Skye seemed worried about my doubts and rushed to exin.


    I smiled and said, "Thanks."


    Amber Skye finally seemed to rx and said quietly, "I thought your injuries were really bad and nearly hopeless, but I didn''t think you''d bounce back so fast."


    I didn''t say much; Amber Skye was just a regr person, so no point telling her too much.


    "You''ve got to be starving after waking up. Just hang tight, our family''s about to eat dinner." Amber Skye seemed to suddenly remember.


    I nodded and said, "That''s really nice of you, thanks."


    Amber Skye said kind of flustered, "It''s nothing, you just rest, and I''lle get you in a bit."


    After that, she rushed out.


    I got up and walked outside the room.


    Cool air hit my face, and it turned out this was a tiny mountain vige.


    Everything around the vige was wrapped in mountain forest, practically cut off from the world.


    "Never would''ve thought I''d stumble onto a ce like this," I said out loud.


    There was a light spiritual energy here - while it wouldn''t boost a martial artist much, it was incredibly good for the vigers.


    Then I nced at the room''s wall and saw bunches of dried herbs hanging there.


    These herbs were prettymon, mostly wild ones without names.


    "This is a perfect spot to recover," I noted.


    Anyway, I had nowhere else to go right now. Staying here temporarily to heal up wouldn''t hurt.


    "With how my body is now, it''ll take three days tops to get back to normal," I thought.


    Three days wouldn''t change much, and this kind of quiet life might give me a different outlook, help my training.


    While I was thinking this over, Amber Skye came running from nearby.


    "Um... Dinner''s ready, let''s go eat," Amber Skye said softly.


    I looked at her and saw her face red and totally shy.


    "You''re really bashful," I said casually.


    Amber Skye''s face shed with rm, and she quickly said, "I...let''s go eat, everyone''s waiting..."


    Seeing Amber''s reaction, I couldn''t help thinking about the first time I met Mabel Sean.


    Amber right now was like me back then.


    "Alright." I smiled and nodded.


    Amber and I headed together toward a courtyard in the vige.


    On the way, Amber asked quietly, "What''s your name?"


    "Mason Raymond."


    "Mason Raymond...that''s a good name," Amber said.


    I didn''t say much, my thoughts feeling kind of jumbled.


    Even though I wanted to keep low and heal for a few days, I couldn''t settle my mind.


    Endless worries filled my head, making me frown now and then.


    Seeing this, Amber didn''t dare say more and just carefully walked behind me.


    Soon, we got to a big courtyard.


    There was a huge round table in the courtyard, loaded with food.


    The meal looked great, with wild greens and meat from local wild animals.


    And around the table sat three generations of people, young and old.


    "Amber,e sit down," an old man waved at Amber.


    Amber quickly pulled me along to run over.


    "Young man, you''re awake? How''s your body feeling?"


    "You must be a tourist from the city, right? With injuries that bad, you must''ve run into wild animals, huh?"


    "Where are your friends? Are you by yourself?"


    "There''s lots of wild animals around here; you need to be super careful and not wander off alone."


    "..."


    The vigers here seemed really friendly, constantly piling food on my te.


    I rarely got to rx like this, so I just went with it.


    After talking for a while, I found out the vige was called Southerntain Vige, which had been around for ages. People in the vige hardly ever wanted to leave.


    They lived off farming, growing vegetables, and hunting, truly like heaven on earth.


    After the meal, the vigers started a bonfire and began singing and dancing around it.


    The singing and dancing made me feel like this wasn''t quite real.


    Compared to the dangers outside, this ce really was a safe haven.


    After dinner, Amber walked me back home.


    As we walked, I casually asked, "Howe I didn''t see your parents?"


    At this, Amber said quietly, "My parents died; I only have a little brother."


    "Oh," I responded without much feeling.


    As for Amber''s sad story, I didn''t react much. I was already used to life and death.


    When we got home, Amber got busy organizing herbs.


    "You...just wait, I''ll heat up water for you to wash with," Amber said while tidying up.


    I waved my hand and found somewhere to sit.


    Looking up at the full moon in the sky, my thoughts felt heavy.


    "It''s way too hard to fight them without reaching the Martial Saint level," I thought secretly.


    I couldn''t help remembering my fight with Norah.


    That Norah had obviously held back; otherwise, I might already be dead.


    "Martial Saint..." I couldn''t help feeling worried.


    Even with the line word form, a Martial Saint could still lock down space.


    If I ran into them again next time, escaping wouldn''t be so simple.


    "It''d be awesome if I could change how I look," I thought.


    On the side, Amber had already gotten the herbs ready.


    She put the herbs in a basket and slung it on her back.


    "Mason...Raymond, I need to deliver these herbs. Do...do you want toe along?" After struggling for a long time, Amber worked up the nerve to ask.