Attribute Farming System

Hearing the laid-back response, the Guard Captain—a Half-step Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator—unleashed the full extent of his aura. The concrete across the entire High Ward cracked in a spiderwebbed shape. Even the other Golden Core Realm guards experienced some discomfort.

Knox, however, just stood there, staring blankly at the furious hair-bunned man. He noticed the shining medallion hidden away in the sleeve of the captain's armor and immediately realized what was happening.

He smirked.

"I know very well that the Nascent Soul Realm guards are out capturing a notorious fiend that escaped just before I got here," Knox said. "Is that the backup you're calling for right now?"

'How did he…'

"But what I don't understand," he continued, amused, "is why you're requesting backup. At first glance, your lot both outnumbers me and is stronger than me. That is unless…"

"!!!"

"You know who I am," Knox coldly surmised as his figure blurred. "It truly is too bad that I refuse to fall into your silly trap. Well, until next time, Mr. Guard Captain. I'll be sure to puncture you like a balloon filled with candy the next time we see each other. Hopefully, you drop something good."

"Don't you dare leave!!" the Guard Captain shouted, his boisterous voice further cracking the interior of the Fortress Prison. "You can't leave! I won't allow you to!"

He grabbed out with his right hand, Innate Energy sparking at his fingertips. A large, illusory blue hand shot out, aiming for Knox's fleeting figure.

Knox scoffed before using his Intent Sword to slice through the illusory hand, which it did with little resistance.

"Level 3 Sword Intent!?" the Guard Captain shouted in surprise. "The Manifestation Stage! How can you, someone who started cultivating less than half a year ago, possibly have access to the Manifestation Stage of an Intent!??"

Knox frowned at his words. "So you do know who I am," he said in a tone devoid of emotion. "But for you to know who I am, those poisonous bastards must've put up wanted posters… Tch!"

He decided right then and there that the next major event on his agenda would be to completely obliterate the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect. He'd kill every single member of their organization and convert them into his loot.

Treating him like some sort of criminal—who did those bastards think they were!?

Knox swore that if his bounty was any less than that of a Crime Lord, he'd skin them after taking them for all they were worth!

"Whatever," he scoffed, annoyed. "Don't follow me. If you do, I'll make sure to kill all of you as soon as I become strong enough to do so."

The guards wanted to defy his warnings and give chase, but they knew from the wanted posters that he had mysterious methods that allowed him to vanish. Even still, they were confident that they could deal with those supposed methods if he was only as strong as the wanted posters stated. However, after sensing that his Innate Energy was sitting in the Golden Core Realm, they didn't want to risk it and gamble with their lives.

The Eldest Son of a Count Family—and the Falazar Family at that—one could never be too sure what someone like that was truly capable of.

"The Guard Commanders will disembowel us as soon as they return…"

"Yes…"

And just like that, a Great Heist went off without a hitch, leaving squadrons of Golden Core Realm guards in a morass of depression…

— In a different, far-off location, one that Knox knew all too well —

"My son—he's still alive?" A deep, raspy voice resounded within the dimly lit office room of the Falazar Count Family Mansion.

An old man with slicked-back gray hair nodded. He wore a butler's suit and had his eyelids always closed.

"Your eldest son is still very much alive, Count Falazar," said the old butler, his expression unchanging. "Though, sir, there might be a matter that'll interest you. It concerns Young Master Knox Falazar."

Count Falazar's facial muscles eased up from their tense state. Hearing his Head Butler's words put him in a deeply contemplative state. He folded his hands and rested his chin on them, his thoughts known only to himself.

"So the Prophet was right…" he ended up murmuring, his voice barely a whisper. His apathetic gaze then fixated on his Head Butler. "Tell me: what is it that you think will interest me?"

Even under the overbearing pressure that Count Falazar unconsciously emitted, the Head Butler didn't falter. He matched his lord's gaze and calmly explained the situation that Knox was embroiled in with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect.

Yet, after the explanation's conclusion, rather than become angered, Count Falazar once again murmured talk of a Prophet. After a couple of seconds, though, he returned his attention to his Head Butler. His sword-like brows and long black hair synced up as he moved his lips, slowly giving his order:

"The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect's direct opposition to my authority is unexpected, but it matters not. The very moment they defied the Falazar Family, their fate was set in stone."

The Head Butler's brows slightly raised, yet his eyes remained closed shut. "Does this mean, my Lord…?" he asked to make sure he was understanding things correctly. "Should I send a declaration of war right away?"

Count Falazar shook his head. "No," he said. "With the Water King about to send me back to the battlefield again, I can't risk starting something that I won't be present to finish. No, that's not what I meant."

"Then…?"

Count Falazar's eyes trailed outside his office window and into the vast, seemingly limitless expanse of land beyond. His brows profoundly furrowed as what appeared to be a hint of pride formed in his irises.

"Knox will uphold justice on behalf of the family," he said prophetically. "After all, his destiny is one not limited to this small backwater region. Even the Azura Empire will be no more than a mere stepping stone on his path to something we can only dream of yet not attain."

The Head Butler's expression contorted in confusion. His nose wrinkled as he attempted to decrypt his lord's cryptic words.

But in the end, he couldn't figure it out.