The Thorne of Destiny

Adrian decided to call it a day at that moment. Even though he had already succeeded, he had already depleted his energy multiple times. Now that he didn't have a stable supply of pills, he didn't want to deplete his stash so soon for no reason.

The severe concentration he had to maintain during the refinement process had exhausted him mentally. Any more practice would only become counterproductive.

He sat up and chatted with Olivia and Jayson for a few minutes before they left him to rest. Olivia and Jayson went out to explore the city. Now that they were in an unfamiliar town, they could appear in public somewhat freely.

The chances that someone would recognize them were slim to none. Nevertheless, the chance was still there, which is why Adrian was a bit skeptical about their little adventure.

However, he knew that he could not keep them cooped up forever, so he decided to give them a bit of freedom. However, he gave Jayson the talisman that could defend against the attack of the Nascent Soul realm.

He lay on his bed and slept for a few hours. He woke up in the late afternoon and had a simple meal. After that, he started practicing his sword technique until the evening when the kids returned.

This schedule continued for a month. Adrian would spend his mornings concocting various rank 1 pills while cultivating and practicing his martial arts for the rest of the day.

However, one day Jayson and Olivia returned early with somber expressions. They had left earlier in order to go shopping and were only supposed to return in the evening. However, they had come back much earlier than planned. It was obvious that something was bothering them.

"What's wrong?" Adrian asked after noticing the sad look on Olivia's face.

"Well.... as we were walking around on the street Liv saw a hairpin that she liked but as we were about to buy it, some guys came in and snatched it from her hands because one of the girls among them thought it was cute."

"When we tried to complain, they just laughed at us and shoved us out of the way." Jayson replied.

A frown crept up on Adrian's forehead.

"The store manager didn't do anything about it?" he asked. Normally such issues would not be allowed in any establishment.

However, Jayson's next words caused him to understand what was going on.

"He said there was nothing he could do. Those guys were from the Cloudcrest sect."

It was then that Adrian fully understood the situation. The shopkeeper didn't want to offend the disciples of a sect just for some brats. 

Also, because they were supposed to keep a low profile, Jayson and Olivia didn't want to cause trouble for Adrian so they could only swallow their anger and return reluctantly.

The Cloudcrest sect was one of the medium-sized sects that was situated near the Misty Mountains. They were fairly strong in the area around the mountain range and they also had many shops in Stonehold city.

Their disciples were regularly found in Stonehold City. The Misty Mountains provided resources and was a suitable training ground as well. It was like killing two birds with one stone. 

Of course, they weren't the only ones who could think of such advantages as there were many other sects situated around the Misty mountains, both small and medium.

A wave of anger arose from Adrian as he understood why his siblings had been cheated. Strictly Speaking, the shopkeeper couldn't be blamed for his actions as it was perfectly understandable.

He couldn't afford to risk the anger of the Cloudcrest sect over such a small issue. However, Adrian couldn't care less whether his actions were understandable or not. All he understood was that his siblings had been cheated.

"The Cloudcrest sect huh....." Adrian said after staying silent for a few moments. Even though he didn't say anything, he had mentally blacklisted the Cloudcrest sect.

Even if he couldn't do anything to the sect itself, messing with its disciples was certainly not a problem. He was already getting bored of the monotonous lifestyle.

"It's time for me to resume my training in the mountains."