Hesitating slightly, Xu Min looked at the food that had been handed to him. Although he had decided to rely only on himself, his stomach did not seem to agree with him now. It started growling loudly, making the young boy's face turn crimson.
Fortunately, Wang Li showed no signs of reacting to the loud growling sounds of Xu Min's stomach; instead, he kept pouring the warm soup into his mouth, and as soon as he had emptied the bowl, he would pour a new serving for himself. He was eating to his heart's content. Looking at Wang Li, one would think that they had found the most comfortable man alive.
Smiling slightly, the young boy placed the bowl to his lips and tried some of the broth, only to realize that the flavor was amazing. He quickly ate in a hurried, but satisfying way. It was as though the food was rejuvenating his starved and exhausted body.
"So, kid." Wang Li said after they finished the entire pot of soup. "Are you going to be meditating all night, or do you plan on getting some sleep?"
Looking at the old man with vigilance, Xu Min wondered whether or not it would be possible for anyone to sleep if they were in his situation, and responded by moving towards the wall again.
He fell to the floor and quickly sat with his legs crossed and his hands resting in his lap. He closed his eyes and started breathing in the way Overseer Tian had taught him.
Usually, it would take some time for a young boy such as Xu Min to get adjusted to his new surroundings. However, after living in the forest without any proper rest for two years, Xu Min learned how to completely disregard his surroundings, and only react to the essence of the heavens and the earth.
While Xu Min was very attentive and alert, he was also aware that it was impossible for him to escape Wang Li's grasp. As long as the older man wished to look after him, the young boy had absolutely no way to go against him. Since this was the case, he decided to use the opportunity that he was seated in a warm room with a roof above his head to cultivate, hoping that at some point he would break through, and transcend the Student Warrior rank.
Although this was Xu Min's hope, the young boy was aware that despite the fact that he was cultivating every time he could, he was unfortunately in need of some kind of challenge to push his limits. But he simply had no clue how to challenge himself, other than how he had been doing for the past few years.
Every day he challenged his physical limits and transcended them while working hard. Previously this constant cycle was accomplished within the forest; however, from now on he would do so at the city harbor.
More than anything, Xu Min wished to find a teacher who would assist him with his training, but finding a teacher proved to be much harder than he expected. If he spent every day at the docks, the young man found that he would have no time to search for a teacher. His only option was to see whether or not he could form a bond with this Overseer Wang.
It was with mixed feelings that Xu Min reached this conclusion. Mainly because the young boy did not trust the man at all. The fact that he accidentally gave away his real name was also something that bothered him a lot. Were this man to hear about the bounty that was placed on him then Xu Min was certain that his head would be delivered to the Zhong Family on a platter.
But at the same time, although this man was someone Xu Min did not trust, Overseer Wang was clearly an expert ranked far above Xu Min. Seeing someone with such strength caused the young boy to feel veneration and hope at the same time. He was hoping dearly that the overseer would not sell him out, and instead focus on teaching him as a disciple.
These thoughts were floating in his head all night as he cultivated. As the sun rose in the sky, painting the clouds to a beautiful purple color, Xu Min opened his eyes and saw that Overseer Wang was gone. The boy quickly locked the small house before he rushed towards the harbor.
Rushing through the alleyways, the young boy was uncertain which way he should go, but his physique was good, which allowed him to keep running at his highest speed for quite a while. At first, he ran about randomly, but as the scent of the salty seawater and fish reached his nose, the young boy rushed in the direction of the smell. He arrived just at the time when the sun was finally visible above the eastern horizon.
Wang Li was already busy working in the docks. Multiple scrolls were open in his hands while he barked out orders. As soon as he saw Xu Min, a smile appeared on his face, and he waved the boy towards him.
"Good job at arriving on time. Now go move all those crates with fish to that cart." The Overseer said as he pointed to the crates and the cart.
Hearing the order, the young boy immediately did as he was told without hesitation. Xu Min was hard working. Although he started sweating, he kept working at the same pace, pushing his tired limbs to their limits. He forced his body to overcome its limitations as he constantly trained to improve his strength.
Every time his body was just about to break, it would scream in pain and agony, begging his muscles to stop working. However, when this happened, Xu Min would force himself to remember how his sister died in front of him, and how he was unable to do anything but watch. Watch, as she died. Had he been stronger back then, he should have been able to save her.
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