Infinite Potential System

Hearing William's familiar voice, Jenny finally understood what was going on. Her brown, almond shaped eyes glittered in happiness for a moment, but her expression turned to indifference when she blinked.

Jenny placed her hands on her hips and shouted at William, "Where have you been? Do you know what happened to the village while you were gone? And your mother is worried sick about you!"

She had completely forgotten about William's show of strength during the battle and had autonomously started talking to him like he was still the non-Cultivator kid that could barely defeat a Wind Wolf.

William looked down in shame and nodded, "I know, but I had no choice. I couldn't come back."

Ever since he was chased by the Rhio Ancient Family Cultivators, William had pretty much been forced down a specific path. He couldn't return home from the Five Elements Sect until he became an Inner Core Disciple, and then he was taken as a student by Riyald.

When he left the Gravitas Ruins, he was already being chased by the leading figures of the World, and now he had to do everything in his power to keep his identity hidden, lest he be discovered again.

He was already taking a huge risk by revealing himself to Briar and Jenny when Supreme Left was seen nearby, but William kept his Life Sense trained on the man's movements. If Supreme Left did anything suspicious, William was ready to teleport a few thousand kilometers in an instant.

"Can I just ask why I'm here?" Briar suddenly asked. There was still some pride in his tone, but the usual arrogance was no longer present.

After losing his second home and being forced to join the rest of his family in Blue Moon City, Briar began to realize that his talent was only so-so. What more, while his parents were both at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, they didn't bother to help with the Beast Tide at Thin Creek Village at all!

That was why when Master Black asked for supporters to join Retribution, Briar didn't hesitate to join the line, and Jenny was the same. And now, William pulled them away from that option.

William looked at the red-haired youth, "I don't know, maybe it's because we're from the same village? Either way, joining those people seems like a bad idea."

"Do you know about them?" Briar asked.

"Well...no, but- " William actually didn't know what to say. Other than watching Tenebris try to assassinate Supreme Left, William knew nothing about Retribution. Perhaps they truly were good, and Supreme Left was the evil, but his gut instinct said to stay away.

Not only that, but Retribution wanted to capture him. No matter how he felt about Retribution, their stance was clearly obvious.

"Then don't say it's a bad idea!" Briar shouted. He started to run back towards the group of people outside the portal, but William teleported him back. He ran again and again, but William did the same thing every time.

At one point, Briar launched a fireball spell, but it bounced off William's skin harmlessly, making Briar grit his teeth in frustration. He sat down in a slump and propped his head up with his arm, "Fine, I guess I can't go even if I wanted to."

While Briar was angry at William for keeping him there, he was also impressed with the boy's growth. It had only been a few months, and now William could keep Briar hostage without lifting a finger.

He didn't fail to notice that William now had the Earth and Space Elements. Had he concealed all these Elements the entire time?

William sighed, "They clearly said they want to capture me. Can they be anything good?" he relayed the scene of Tenebris jumping out of Supreme Left's shadow to Briar and Jenny, causing them to widen their eyes in shock.

He continued, "All I'm saying is that something's off about their group. I wouldn't trust them even if they weren't after my life."

Jenny nodded, but she didn't feel good about the situation. "It doesn't change the fact that the older generation should be responsible for dealing with these Beast Tides, why do so many people have to sacrifice their lives?"

William frowned. He agreed, but now wasn't the time for that. "Forget those old guys. If we want to change something, we need to be strong enough to do it. Don't let that man manipulate you, he didn't help either, he's no different!"

"I'll decide that on my own." Jenny said. William might have grown stronger than her, but he wasn't more mature. She looked at Briar and started walking towards the massive portal in the distance, William's words still in the back of her mind.

He's right, but I can't sit by when others are risking their lives. I'll get stronger in my own way.

Briar followed behind Jenny, but William chose not to stop them this time. When they had crossed a few hundred meters, Briar suddenly stopped. He looked back at William with a slight smile and said a few words even though he knew William couldn't hear him.

"Thanks for looking out for us, Will."

Jenny gave Briar an odd look, but she didn't refute his claim. She wouldn't forget that out of the hundreds of people waiting to enter the portal, they were the ones that William wanted to protect.

William disguised his voice again and spoke to Carl, "We should go too."

"What about them? Weren't you going to keep them from joining Retribution?" Carl asked.

"There's nothing I can say to change their mind. They're living their own lives, after all." William replied listlessly.

I hope they will be alright... William thought to himself.

-They'll be fine.

Can you see the future, System?

-No.

I see, well thanks anyway.

On the way back to the battlefield, the System notified William of the completed Quest, granting him five thousand Potential Points, ten Fame, and five Humanity points as a reward. It was a significant number, but nothing compared to the over fifteen thousand Potential Points he gained from killing Golden Core Beasts.

Out of the ten thousand Beasts, William had killed nearly three thousand by himself, which was an incredible amount to say the least. For a single person to kill almost a third of the Elemental Beast Tide, the City's higher-ups were astounded.

System, how many more Magical Beasts do I need to kill to upgrade my Beast Slayer Title? Even after all that, it didn't go up.

-Your Beast Slayer Title has 4992 Beasts killed out of the required 5000. You need to kill 8 more Magical Beasts to upgrade your Title to Legendary.

Just eight more, huh? So close...

It couldn't be helped. William could have gained plenty more Potential Points if he worked harder, but he didn't want to go overboard like he did in the past many times.

System, how do you think I did in the battle? Did I use too much strength? Am I going to attract more enemies now?

-You saved the lives of many, and the Elemental Affinities you revealed are not threatening to the powers of the Azures Continent. You are safe for the time being.

William heaved a sigh of relief. The day seemed to be full of good news.

Hopefully it stays that way.