"Auntie, look! It''s Young Master us! He''s tered the City and Region Warrior Rankings!" One of the maids came running over, her face bright with excitemt, holding a ss tablet phone in her hands.


    us''s mother was sitting peacefully in their small gard, weaving something wh the maid arrived. She looked up and asked, "What''s that?"


    The maid beamed. "It''s a ranking that shows the strongest warriors in the city and region. Only the best of the best make it. And Master us just appeared at number 90 for the City Ranking and 360 for the Region!" She smiled wider, clearly proud to be working for us, ev if she was just a maid.


    "There''s something like that?" us''s mother replied, surprise filling her voice. She watched as the maid pulled up a video on the tablet, showing us battling a G Drake Lizard King. As the video yed, an unreadable expression crossed her face.


    "Can you call him for me?" she asked, reaching for her phone.


    The maid nodded and quickly dialed us''s number. In no time, us''s handsome face appeared on the scre.


    "Mom, is everything alright?" us asked concern in his voice, his expression showing a bit of panic.


    "Everything''s fine. But what about you? Are you having fun yet?" his mother asked, her gaze warm but knowing.


    "Not really," us said with a smile, biting into a piece of bread. "I''m just sitting here, joying the food you prepared for me."


    "You scoundrel!" his mother huffed, her face redding with frustration. "What did I tell you before you tered the Forbidd Zone?" She had se the video of him fighting the massive G Drake Lizard King, yet here he was, joking about it like it was nothing.


    "Mom, you worry too much. At this rate, you''ll age faster from all this stress," us teased gtly, his smile not hiding the affection in his voice.


    His mother''s frustration was clear, but so was the love behind it. "You''lle here and let me scold you properly. I''m still your mother, after all," she said sternly.


    us''s voice softed as he replied, "I promise I won''t do anything that''ll put my life in danger. This life of mine belongs to you. These monsters don''t have the right to take it."


    His mother''s heart softed at his words. "Just be careful," she said with a sigh. "You''ve already be a hot topic."


    us chuckled. "Hehe, soon ough, everyone will be bowing at my feet."


    She raised an eyebrow. "You, what are you up to?" she asked, but before she could continue, us shed a mischievous smile.


    "Eat more protein, Mom," he said, th hung up.


    Hel, the maid, couldn''t help but smile as she watched the mother and son''s interaction. The past few days had be the happiest of her life as a maid. Aside from cleaning with the other staff, she spt most of her time with us''s mother, almost like her personal attdant.


    "Keeps me updated on whatever that brat is up to," us''s mother instructed. Hel nodded before leaving the gard.


    Left alone again, us''s mother sighed. "He''s just like his father," she muttered to herself. "I guess he''ll soon find out what really happed." She shook her head and returned to her weaving, her mind still lingering on the past.


    After us tered the warrior rankings, his name spread like wildfire. No longer confined to just Ross City, us''s reputation reached other cities throughout the Eastern Region of the Northern Union.


    Entering the Regional Chart meant his points had surpassed most of the warriors on the City Charts and ev overshadowed many on the Regional Chart.


    The Eastern Region consists of 4 cities and  powerful ns. Each city and n has its own elite warriors who have spt months, ev years, racking up points to earn their spots on the charts. These warriors risk their lives by vturing into the most dangerous parts of the Forbidd Zones, battling high-tier monsters. Their bravery has earned them respect throughout the region.


    Yet, out of nowhere, us—a young Ascded warrior who had awaked less than a month ago—shot past them all. He appeared on the charts with shocking speed, surpassing many of the elites who had long held their positions. No one could believe it.


    Ross City became a buzz of excitemt. People flooded in from other cities, hoping to gain us''s favor, or simply to meet the rising star themselves. His name was on everyone''s lips.


    But the person at the cter of it all, us, was far from themotion. He was perched high in a tree, calmly eating his meal, oblivious to the chaos he''d caused.


    "That fireball destroyed all my money," he muttered to himself, gazing at the charred battlefield in the distance.


    Earlier, after defeating the Tier 5 Terror, us had tak some time to rest and chat with Anna. She seemed eager to share everything she knew. In her excited ramblings, she exined that the military was responsible for overseeing the Forbidd Zones.


    Anna had ev told us about the rewards the military offered to those who contributed significantly to the battle against monsters. She proudly showed him a badge she had earned after defding a city that had nearly be destroyed wh a Forbidd Zone had be overrun.


    From Anna''s descriptions, us realized his rect achievemts would earn him great rewards wh he returned. Because of this, he only gathered a few rare Tier 4 monster bodies to bring back to Madam Fei and let the others take the rest. They were beyond overjoyed at his gerosity.


    After spding some time chatting with them and taking a few selfies, us left, already nning his next big hunt. His experice point (EXP) progress bar showed he needed  million more points to reach Level 9. He sighed, knowing that ev if he wiped out another region, it might not be ough for a breakthrough.


    The monsters in the Forbidd Zones rewarded him with more EXP, but they were mostly Tier 3, which wasn''t ough to satisfy his growing need for EXP points.


    Every level up added an additional  million points to his requiremt. Right now, he needed 5 million more points just to advance to Level 9. Unlike others, us needed to reach Level  before he could break through to the next stage.


    "Ah, I guess I''ll use the monster cores to make up the differce," us muttered, looking ahead. "For now, I need a new target."


    Turning his gaze towards the Ctral Region, he smiled. "The ctral zones it is. With my undistributed points, those zombies won''t know what hit them." The thought of battling the zombies excited him, but first, he needed a short break.


    "Wait a minute," us mused. "If the fire destroyed all my money, shouldn''t the ice bnce it out? Hehe, I never should''ve used that fireball in the first ce." He jumped down from his perch and started running in a certain direction. After a while of running, he stopped, pulled out a map, and activated its tracking feature. After confirming no one was nearby, he set his next n into motion.


    A small ice ball appeared in his hand, gradually growingrger until it was the size of a basketball. With a determined flick of his wrist, us hurled it forward.


    BOOM!


    The ice ball exploded, freezing everything within a -kilometer radius in solid ice. Massive ice spikes jutted out from the froz g like jagged teeth. us smiled in satisfaction and continued practicing. Slowly, the ice began to spread, stretching from kilometers to miles until the tire vironmt turned into an icy wastnd.


    Anna had shown us a map feature that disyed the number of people in the forest and their currt locations. Thankfully, no one had be in the Eastern Section wh us detonated his fireball.


    ording to Anna, the Western Section contained rare monsters and valuable herbs, making it a popr hunting spot. As for the Ctral Section, no one dared to vture there. us intded to go next, hoping to level up quickly and reach the Master stage before the City Selection for the Celestial Mountain Academy.


    "I should probably make this next move look cooler than that fireball," us said, deep in thought. He walked to a nearby mountain and sat down, pondering his next move. After a few momts, his eyes brighted with an idea. "Lotus Flower," he whispered to himself.


    Spreading his arms wide, us began to form ice in the shape of a delicate flower. But before the first petal could fully take shape, it exploded, freezing us solid in a block of ice. He quickly heated his body, shattering the icy prison.


    "Ugh, that hurt," us grumbled as he freed himself from the shattered ice.


    He immediately began forming another ice flower. This time, a petal took shape, followed by another, and th another. Wh the fifth petal began to form, it cracked and exploded, casing us in a solid statue of ice.


    Once again, us used his fire to shatter the ice. "Hehe, almost there," he smiled and began forming the ice petals once more. This time, the first five petals appeared, followed by the sixth and sevth appearing simultaneously. The eighth petal soon joined, and th the ninth.


    However, as the ninth appeared, us felt a sudd blockage. It was as if no more petals could be formed.


    "The momt of truth," us said with a grin. He channeled his Star Qi into the lotus. As soon as the ergy made contact, us felt a sharp pain in his head and th lost consciousness. Despite this, the lotus did not dissipate. Instead, it began to spin.


    The petals of the lotus started to transform. They grew longer, and nine marks appeared on each petal. These marks took the form of Stars. After the stars appeared almost instantly, they vanished, but one of the smaller stars on the first petal remained, taking on a deep gold hue.


    Gradually, the lotus shrank and tered us''s forehead.