Chapter 52: Pursuing Someone?

Staring blankly at the documents in his hands, the iron box—how did these people know he had such a box? After all, this box had been given to him by the old man just before his death; no one other than him knew about it. Since then, he had kept it close to him at all times. He was sure that aside from him and the old man, no one else should be aware of its existence.
Suddenly, Rod’s expression changed drastically. He thought of a possibility—the people who were hunting him and eventually killed the old man. At first, he didn’t understand why they would pursue an obscure person like him! But now he understood: because he was a demon. Clearly, the members of this organization knew his identity as well as the old man’s, which was why they started hunting both of them. But according to what the old man had said, those hunting him should be agents of the organization. So how did these people from the organization, these men in black, know about the existence of this small iron box? Even more astonishing was the fact that they seemed to know exactly what level of strength he needed to break the seal on the box.
He didn’t realize when he had taken out the iron box. Looking at its pure white surface, he realized it had remained silent for two years. The old man had been gone for over two years, and he had left Iron Bar Town for the same amount of time. He didn’t know when he would be able to uncover the secrets hidden within it—or what great secrets the old man had concealed there. His father? What about his mother? As he stared at the iron box, Rod’s gaze grew increasingly distant.
A cool breeze blew, making him shiver. When he looked up again, it was already noon. Unnoticed, an entire morning had passed.
“Three years. In three years, I must unlock you!” Taking a deep breath, Rod tucked the box into his arms and murmured to himself, his tone more determined than ever.
Without staying where he was, he turned and headed back to his room. Whether his guesses were right or wrong, regardless of the ultimate outcome, since he had made a choice, there was no turning back. All Rod could do now was to do his utmost to survive. Yes, survive—just being alive was a victory. He knew the training assigned to him by this organization was by no means simple.

Returning to the room, he tidied up casually and adjusted himself to be in top form. When he opened his eyes again, it was already evening. He hurriedly headed outside; a magic bag had already helped him pack all his things. Since having this magic bag, Rod’s life had become much simpler and easier. When he arrived in the small courtyard, the man in black was already waiting for him there.

This man in black was somewhat different from the previous one, especially in his approach to handling things. The previous one liked to have a group of people around him, like Hori and the others, who were always by his side. It seemed that whenever there was something to do, as long as he showed up, his subordinates would follow. But this man was different—Rod had seen him twice, and both times he was alone, seemingly a loner. “I’ve been waiting for you for a while. It’s not good to be late! Remember to change that next time, or it could cost you your life! Alright, follow me—chase me at full speed! Only when you catch up to me can I start training you!” Upon seeing Rod arrive, the man in black, despite wearing a mask, still frowned slightly before calmly speaking to Rod. Before Rod could react, he dashed off into the distance and disappeared, not even giving Rod a chance to protest.

“By the way, kid, if you can’t catch up, you’re out. The weak won’t be pitied!” A mocking voice drifted from afar, snapping Rod out of his thoughts. There was still a figure of the man in black in sight. Without wasting time, Rod quickly focused his combat energy at his feet and rushed forward like a gust of wind.

“Damn you!” he cursed inwardly at the old man who had run away before he was ready. If it weren’t because he still had questions to ask and because so many of his brothers were still under the control of that organization, he wouldn’t have chased after him.

Cursing as he ran, Rod grew increasingly frustrated as the chase continued. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed; all he could hear was the howling wind, and the surroundings blurred. He was now in a forest with steep paths. Rod and the man in black moved swiftly through the trees like agile pines, so fast that it was hard for ordinary people to keep up.

At such a speed, the combat energy in his body burned intensely, causing Rod to suffer in silence. Though he knew this man in black was unfathomable, his strength was simply overwhelming. It seemed as though the man was deliberately holding back, staying just ten meters away from him, moving effortlessly and with ease. Meanwhile, Rod’s combat energy was gradually fading, and he could no longer keep up, left only to pant heavily.

One should not underestimate the pursuit while running—it is actually the easiest way to reveal a person’s strength, especially when facing Rod. After all, Rod’s speed was one of his greatest strengths. The reason he could rival any martial artist at the mid-Imperial level, or even those at the early Saint level, was not only due to his extraordinary physical strength and power but also because his speed had reached that of an early Saint-level martial artist—neither inferior to anyone else in speed. It was precisely this confidence that gave him such assurance.

Yet, the speed he was most skilled in and most confident about was seen by the other man as something akin to that of a child, easily dismissed. How could Rod possibly feel comfortable under such circumstances? Though he knew the gap was huge, seeing it so clearly only made the weight of it feel even more oppressive.

Such a pursuit allowed the man in black to directly assess Rod’s abilities in the most straightforward way—his strength, endurance, speed, stamina, level of combat energy, as well as his skills and footwork! Rod was naturally aware of this; otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried so hard to keep up.

“Heh, kid, not bad. Your speed is decent, and your endurance is good too. Oh, I didn’t realize your combat energy is quite pure. You don’t seem like just a mid-Imperial-level martial artist! Not bad. It seems Number Five really didn’t pick the wrong person this time!” After a long while, turning to look at Rod, who continued to chase him from behind, seeing him panting and drenched in sweat, the man in black finally spoke.

The sky had turned gray, and unbeknownst to them, the two had already left Tianshui City in such a manner, which was quite surprising.

As the pursuit continued, he grew even more interested in Rod—quite a good guy, was his judgment.

Huff… huff… He was breathing heavily, completely unable to run any further. Witnessing this insane guy Rod once again drove him to the brink of collapse. His combat energy had reached its limit; his body was empty, sore and exhausted, leaving him unable to keep running. Yet the other guy seemed completely unfazed, as if nothing had happened, breathing easily without a hint of exertion. Even someone at the late stage of the Saint level would likely find it hard to do such a thing, so Rod guessed this guy must have reached the Divine level.

Perhaps he had indeed become numb recently, so he didn’t say much when reaching this conclusion. After complaining in dissatisfaction, he simply gave up. There were some monsters that couldn’t be compared to such a being.

“Alright, that’s enough for today. It seems you’re done for too. You get a day off. We’ll continue tomorrow. Once you catch up to me, our training will truly begin, and I’ll answer all your questions. If you can’t catch up… well, it just means your strength isn’t enough. Even if I tell you, it won’t help!” The masked man appeared in front of Rod and spoke leisurely. It was hard to believe that this person was the same one who had been running for so long!

“I’ll be there soon!” The conditions offered by the other party lit up Rod’s eyes, and he replied firmly. Those answers were exactly what he needed. Deep in his subconscious, Rod sensed that these answers were crucially related to him.

Without paying further attention to the masked man, he sat down on the ground and began meditating. With the dark-clad man around, was there any fear that someone else might harm him?

Regarding Rod’s thuggish behavior, the dark-clad man could only realize he had been tricked and help Rod as his protector in frustration.

After a night of intense training, Rod managed to restore his combat energy to a certain level. Under the strange expression of the dark-clad man, they resumed the chase!

After all, for someone whose combat energy had been completely drained—especially someone at the mid-stage of the Imperial level—it would take ordinary people at least three to five days to fully recover. The fact that Rod managed it in just one night naturally puzzled the dark-clad man.

For some time afterward, the two engaged in a cat-and-mouse game, chasing each other through the forests. It was unclear how far they had run or where they were. Rod was always kept at a certain distance ahead by his opponent, with no sign of the gap narrowing. Instead, he managed to hold on longer and longer, until a message arrived one day, allowing Rod to put this matter aside for a while.