As he thought about his childish dream, Xu Min snorted at himself for being so naïve. Currently, he was wounded, tired, and mentally unstable, but deep within, his survival instinct was still roaring, forcing him to hide day after day.

He had not slept in days, and he had finally managed to climb up into a large tree, where he could spot anyone without them noticing him. The branches were all larger than he was, and he finally allowed himself to rest a little while sitting leaned against the large tree trunk with his legs crossed.

Xu Min kept swearing at himself for not being strong enough to fight his way into the main house and slay his targets immediately, but he knew that now was not the right time. It was the time to continue cultivating, following the instructions taught to him previously by Overseer Tian. Currently, Xu Min did everything in his ability to stay invisible. To pretend that he was the air; that he was the essence of heavens and earth.

The sky was dark when Xu Min finally fell into a light sleep. Although he slept lightly, his body was still that of an eight year old boy which needed rest, inducing him to sleep throughout the night, and the majority of the morning.

When he woke up, Xu Min was shocked when he realized how long he had been asleep for. He even felt a tinge of guilt that he could sleep so soundly while his beloved sister could not sleep at all anymore.

Although Xu Min felt a bit guilty, his alertness never faltered. He kept looking at his surroundings, not daring to move even slightly. Because of his vigilance, he noticed yet another group of humans walking through the forest. This time they were led by Overseer Tian, which caused his already wounded heart to hurt even more.

Climbing down the tree silently, Xu Min went as close as he dared to without being noticed, so that he could hear what was being said.

"We are going to enter the forest again tonight," Overseer Tian said with a cold and indifferent voice. "Perhaps I can lure him out if I pretend to be alone. When he appears, shoot him right away. We can't afford to let him keep evading us."

Hearing these words spoken from the one adult whom Xu Min viewed as almost a father, his eyes burned with unshed tears, and his heart hardened as he climbed back to the perch that he was previously sitting on.

Xu Min stayed at the top of the tree for days without end, living on nothing but the bark of the tree, and the moisture collected on the leaves. In the first few days, Xu Min would cry randomly, but as the hours went by with nothing but his own thoughts, the young boy slowly stopped crying, and started thinking about everything that had happened again.

Xu Min was still just an eight year old boy, but while he was living at the top of the tree, his mentality changed. Deep within him, there was a fire fueled by anger, a fire which grew slightly brighter every day. However, no matter how strong this fire burned, it was always suppressed by the need to endure.

The season changed from the warm summer to the chilly autumn, and finally, after several months passed by, it was possible for Xu Min to descend from the large tree, after seeing that the forest was no longer filled with mercenaries, guards, or other men who wished to hunt down the young boy for the sake of money.

After descending, Xu Min instantly went towards a small stream where he washed himself and his clothes. The months had taken their toll on his body as he was now incredibly scrawny, with his ribs visible through the skin. His body was weaker than it had ever been before, and all the muscles he worked hard to build up had lost most of their strength through the long wait and malnourishment.

His eyes, previously filled with childish happiness and naivety, became cold and distant; not even a speck of compassion for this world remained in them. Instead, they were filled with vigilance as he looked around.

Moving deeper and deeper into the forest, Xu Min quickly passed the furthest point that he had ever been to before. Instead of being filled with happiness and excitement from the new frontier, as he would have been just a few months ago, those childish feelings were nonexistent, long dead, and replaced with seriousness and alertness as he observed his surroundings, constantly on guard for humans that could appear.

The further Xu Min went, the more careful he became. He didn't dare to travel on roads made by humans, nor did he wish to follow too many animal trails. In the end, he chose the most difficult way to go through, believing that the path he chose would also be the hardest one to follow.

As Xu Min made his way towards the depths of the forest, he quickly found that although it was considered a safe forest by most, many demon beasts resided within it. However, when those demon beasts encountered the small boy, they quickly lost their interest, since skin and bone alone were not enough of a meal for them.

While he traversed through the forest, Xu Min finally dared to spend time on training once more, making his already slow trip become even more drawn out. He would spend hours each day breathing in and out, creating golden specks of light like Overseer Tian had taught him.

The breathing exercise was not the only training Xu Min did. He trained the stances he had learned during his time in the Zhong Family Compound once again. He remembered every muscle strengthening stance ever shown to him, and he would spend hours on them every day.

One day passed another, the seasons came and went. Xu Min slowly made his way through the vast forest, moving at an incredibly slow pace as he focused on rebuilding his strength and cultivation base.