Chapter 22: New Skill

[Name: Miguel

Age: 18 Years Old

Level: (Cleansing (Second Stage)) (Novice Martial Artist (Advance))

Summoner Rank: Apprentice (Beginner)

Innate Skill: Boundless Sage of Knowledge

Skills:

Techniques: Return Of Origin (Unknown Grade)]

Miguel looked at the name of the technique with satisfaction. This was truly a befitting name for the technique. Subsequently, the stage he was at was also named the Cleansing Realm.

In this Cleansing Realm, he must gather the worldly energy, refine it into an Origin Energy and use it to cleanse his body of impurities. He had already cleansed his body twice, and from his estimate, he should be able to do it seven more times before he could achieve the perfect body to house Origin Energy, and thus break through to the next realm of the Return Of Origin technique.

With his current pace of being able to refine one drop of Origin Energy per day, it would not take long for him to break through to the next realm.

Miguel has a good gauge of his current strength. Compared to the Cultivation Realms, his body should be as strong as a Late Stage Qi Refiner Realm right now.

In this world's martial artist power system, he was at the Advance Novice Martial Artist, which was also equivalent to a Level 3 Normal Grade Beast.

Of course, this was in terms of physical strength; the real strength of a being would not be quantified or measured easily as each being was unique and had their own means to battle.

For example, a Level 2 Normal Grade Beast might even be able to defeat a Level 3 Normal Grade Beast as long as he was crafty enough. Being smart and crafty was also part of one's strength.

Miguel kept his grimoire back to his inner world as it automatically started absorbing the energy in the air to replenish its reserve that had been depleted.

Not long later, Sara also arrived; her shoulder was dropped, and her mood was heavy, as if she were affected by something.

Seeing her like that, Miguel immediately realized what had caused her to be like that.

"Are you alright?" Nevertheless, he still decided to ask.

Sara let out a deep sigh and sat on the chair sluggishly. "Jonas is dead," she said solemnly.

As it turns out, Jonas' disappearance was already known to the whole village by now. The branch head, along with the other two guardians, also announced that he was killed by a beast.

Miguel went and sat beside her. He rubbed her shoulders and stated, "Isn't this better? All he did was abuse and take advantage of your kindness. It's better now that he's dead, if he truly is, right?"

Sara sighed. Her mood was complicated. She did not know how to feel. Should she be happy or sad that her abusive husband is now dead?

She knew that it was better this way, but she could still not celebrate his passing. She was kind, even to his last breath. She had never mistreated Jonas, even when he kept on beating and treating her badly.

Miguel saw through her complicated emotions.

To be honest, even with all his experience from his previous life, he still could not make up some words to console her.

In the end, he could only hug her tightly.

In response, tears slowly fell at the corner of Sara's eyes as she began to recount how she met Jonas and how good he was to her until he came back eighteen years ago. It was as if his entire person had changed when he came home.

Miguel just listened to her realize her pent-up emotions.

This was a very loving mother and wife.

He doesn't want to see her cry. The last thing he wanted was to see her cry. However, he knew that this was for the better.

Jonas must absolutely be killed.

Miguel knew for a fact that Jonas had been bewitched when he came back here eighteen years ago. Perhaps it was no longer the real Jonas that Sara loved, but a Jonas secretly bewitched to search for a certain treasure hidden in this small Peach Village.

Miguel knew that he was not lying at that time due to his Innate Skill.

As for the treasure, even Miguel himself was a little curious about it. However, that was all there was to it and nothing more.

Anyway, knowing that Sara was not in the proper mood to cook, Miguel decided to take over this time and cook for the both of them.

Of all the things, though, his cooking skills were the one thing that he was never fond of or proud of.

Sara's cooking doesn't taste good, but it was still countless times better compared to his cooking. That was also the reason why, when he wanted to eat during his previous life, he would just tell the Harem Emperor to cook for him.

Anyway, the two of them passed the tribulation of his cooking. He accompanied Sara to bed, and only when she slept did he leave her room.

Inside his room, Miguel did not sleep immediately.

Instead, he closed his eyes and fell into deep meditation.

It was now time to test his Innate Skill and create a new skill through it.

Creating a new skill was easy for Miguel. The moment he gained the Innate Skill, the method to use it was also included in the information that was provided to him.

Just like how he created the Return Of Origin technique and assimilated it to his grimoire, Miguel also closed his eyes as he began to draw the skill inside his mind.

For Miguel, who has a lot of knowledge and all kinds of strange techniques from his last life, this was a god-given opportunity. It's only drawback, though, was the fact that he could only create one skill per day.

A few minutes later, a new skill appeared on his status page.

[Skill: (Shadow Steps (Level 1))

Description/Effects: A footwork technique that allows the user to become nimble and quick. Their steps would become light and would not produce any sound. Short-distance teleportation can also be achieved by stepping into the shadows. ]

In his previous life, space and time skills were the most difficult to comprehend and use. Those in the higher realm would be able to utilize it freely, but those who just started cultivation should not be able to use it due to its strict and high requirements.

In his previous life, the Shadow Steps were actually associated with a cultivation technique.

If one wanted to use it, not only would they need to cultivate and comprehend it, they would also need to follow a complicated step-by-step process before it could be properly executed by the user. One small mistake, and it would fail to be used.

However, in this world, Miguel would be able to use them freely as long as he has the energy to spare; the energy here, of course, was referring to the energy inside a grimoire. And unlike his previous life, he doesn't need to execute the complicated step-by-step process in order to cast the skill. Here, as long as he willed it, the skill would be used instantly.

Miguel did not waste any time and immediately executed the skill, Shadow Steps.

He took a step forward, and as though he slid on his bed, his figure actually appeared right in front of the door instantly.

A grin appeared on his face as he donned a black cloth and went outside of the servant quarters.

He looked above and noticed the bright, brilliant moon. It was the perfect time for a bloody and unexpected vengeance.

The surroundings were dark, aside from the occasional lights inside the other servant quarters.

Miguel's figure disappeared and phased into a tree's shadow a few meters away.

He traveled through the shadows and arrived at the village's most prosperous area in just 30 minutes.

He sensed the grimoire's energy reserve and realized that it was almost empty. He hid behind a huge tree and sat there to help the grimoire absorb the surrounding energy first. Without energy, he would not be able to summon any creature or the absolute shield.

Thirty minutes later, Miguel opened his eyes and thought that the energy he gathered inside the grimoire should be enough.

He no longer wasted any more time and phased through from shadows to shadows.

Not long later, he finally arrived at Carlota and Gasper's house.

A devilish grin appeared on his face; however, just as he was about to enter the residence, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

"As expected, you truly came!"