The duo continued to watch Anthony till he opened his eyes. The moment he opened them, his pupils turned golden, and revolved around for a while before it disappeared, showing his normal eye color.

Lan Xuanyu immediately sent a strand of consciousness through the mirror formation, and coiled it around Anthony's wrist.

"Wow. His spiritual sea is teeming with strands of space laws."

Anthony noticed the string and looked down at his wrist.

"Xiao gege, have you learnt space deciphering and space manipulation?"

"No, what are those?"

"Space deciphering allows you to see the kind of space you're in, the creatures in it, the condition of the surroundings, the kind of energy flowing around it, and how turbulent the laws guarding that area are. Space manipulation allows you to control space and do things like warping or position swap. With space manipulation, one can teleport at will, attract things to himself like a magnet, or swap positions during a battle. Oftentimes, these things depend on how high a person's cultivation and their understanding of space manipulation is. Most god realm masters can teleport. However, the distance varies according to their abilities and level of enlightenment. Some can cross into another galaxy with just a step, while some are limited to moving around within a town. But there are geniuses that defy this knowledge. And those are masters of space manipulation, with a very high affinity with space. Those kinds of people, even without reaching the god realm, can teleport and do other things related to space manipulation at will, or with minimal sacrifices. Despite being young, if you can teleport, tell apart the condition of surrounding space, spatial coordinates, and also detect abnormalities in space, you will be a well respected figure. As long as you have the strength to back it up, of course."

Anthony nodded and shut his eyes again.

"Let me try teleportation."

After a few minutes, he extended his hand to the altar, and a bowl used for offerings appeared in it. He also shifted slightly and appeared between the two statues.

"Um, I'm not yet accurate. While teleporting just now, I didn't appear at the exact position I wanted. I guess I need more hours of practice and hard work." Anthony said and sighed in disappointment.

However, Lan Xuanyu and Hua Cheng were watching him with their eyes wide with disbelief. It was truly a good thing that he couldn't see them. Otherwise, they would lose all their faces before him.

They looked at each other and Hua Cheng sent a mental message to Lan Xuanyu.

"Ah? Not yet accurate. This kind of arrogance will infuriate even the heavens. This is something he learned for a few minutes, while others need many years to just teleport a few steps in front of them, but he's feeling disappointed."

"It's good he feels like this. Otherwise, he might get arrogant and think that he's the best in the world." Lan Xuanyu replied.

"Lan Xuanyu, what do you think?" Anthony's voice came in through the connection interrupting their mind link.

"Mmm, just average. But that's a good start. Hurry up and study more."

*****

A day and two nights have passed since Anthony returned to the temple. And a day and night since he began his intensive practice. It was the morning of the second day. He had dressed up in the second set of clothes delivered by Lan Xuanyu, ready to leave.

He was done with learning how to set up and destroy formations, more on space affinity, and a few other techniques. He had also learned the basic method of controlling the soul sucking bell. So he was good to go—according to Lan Xuanyu.

"God of lust, I'm ready to leave."

"Ah? Who is the god of lust? I only recall a god of love here." Lan Xuanyu said, making Anthony chuckle.

"You rotten, ungrateful boy. You are not referring to me, are you?"

Anthony grinned at the statue, showing his perfect set of white teeth.

"Naughty kid. I won't mind you because you're about to get beaten up by spiritual beasts guarding the portal. I packed some things for you."

"Lan Xuanyu, you're wrong. I'm the one who will beat them up." Anthony replied arrogantly, making Hua Cheng who was beside Lan Xuanyu, watching as he packed supplies for Anthony to scoff.

"You can be arrogant, of course. Don't come crying to me if they defeat you because of your overconfidence. Here, have these two bags." He replied and two bags made of unknown cloth-like material appeared before Anthony.

"One of the bags contained clothes that I packed for you, and some herbs for your bath, herbs to treat injuries, more for minor diseases, and a few incense sticks to calm you down while cultivating. If you lodge into an inn, you might find it difficult to concentrate because of the noise, but the incense will help you to concentrate. There are two talismans that can be used to reverse an attack. There are also two pouches, one contains spirit stones, another contains gold chips which can be used for transactions. However, I only put three pieces of spirit stones, and five gold chips enough to last you the first week or two. After that, you're on your own. Besides, when I was your age, I never bothered with inns or a comfortable bed. I slept in forests or caves, and once it was morning, I continued on my journey. Most cultivators also do it this way because enduring the harsh elements toughens one up and grooms your temperament. One cannot stand at the peak without experiencing suffering. It's just that I'm too kind."

Hua Cheng gave Lan Xuanyu a dirty side eye the moment he mentioned being kind. Kind? Lan Xuanyu was anything but kind. Being kind always depends on his mood. He was just shamelessly partial towards Anthony. Lan Xuanyu had to rummage through their treasury where they packed lower ranked treasures for low rank spirit stones before he found the ones he gave to Anthony. Yet, those ones are of a good quality. Giving him the type they used will draw unnecessary attention to Anthony, making him refrain from it. And giving him too many supplies when he doesn't have a famous family would make people pay him attention. He was given just enough to support him till he could adjust on his own.

"You should follow other youths and figure out how to make money. Good luck." Lan Xuanyu added.

However, Anthony wasn't listening to him at all. He was busy going through the bag.

"Tch! These ancient clothes again. They look like something straight out of a Chinese Xianxia drama. People are going to look at me as if I'm some specimen or clown. It doesn't matter. Once I get there, I will find a clothing store and buy new clothes."

"Wearing the clothes you first came in; that's what will make people look at you curiously. You will just be exhibiting a big sign that screams 'stranger' on your forehead. Everyone will rush to take advantage of you because you're not familiar with the place. People will try to sell you fake relics, and incomplete manuals. Others will try to bully you and rob you. But with these clothes, you will fit in and bluff your way forward. Except if you're very stupid, or had the bad luck to encounter an expert with eagle eyes who wants to take advantage of you. These are clothes I arranged with much thought. It's okay that you do not thank me, but you're actually saying rubbish about it."

"I'm thankful of course. I just said what I really thought. Are you annoyed?"

"I don't have much to say, experience as they say is always the best teacher. The other bag contains food and water. And maybe a few sealed jars of fruit wine. The bag it was stored with will ensure that none of it will spoil. However, eat it sparingly to avoid another energy eruption. If it happens again, I won't be close by to seal your core. You're better off buying buns when you get there. I packed roasted meat from spirit beasts, some spirit fruits, and pastries. There are also blankets in your cloth bag and an extra pair of shoes and socks. Ayah! Why do I feel like a mother sending away her child to some boarding school?"

"Tch! You're not my mother, and I have no plans of joining any sects or martial arts school once I get there." Anthony replied and sent the two bags into his storage ring.

"Open your palm."

Anthony obeyed and a plate appeared in his hand. There was a single lump of stewed meat and bread smeared with cheese on it, in addition to a cup of water.

"You should have something light for the journey. If you eat too much, you will feel sluggish, and unable to fight if you encounter a dangerous situation."

Anthony nodded in agreement, and began to eat while standing. The moment he drank the cup of refreshing spring water, the empty plate and cup disappeared. He quickly washed his hand and turned to leave.

"Wait, come closer to the statue." Lan Xuanyu whispered. Anthony obeyed and a strand of light brought out a jade pendant. Lan Xuanyu controlled the light strand to fasten the jade to the belt around his waist, letting the piece of white jade with a red tassel dangle from his waist.

"A gift from me. Don't ever remove or lose it, especially when crossing through space portals. Bye." Anthony nodded, not noticing a compass made of light appear on the jade.

He quickly turned around and left through a side door, making his way towards the back exit which opened up to the wilderness he needed to cross to arrive at Hell's gate, the portal which led to two dimensions.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.