Early the next day, the sun shined brightly. Claude's eyelids could not help but twitch twice. After a long time, his firmly shut eyes opened a crack. He struggled for a little before managing to sit up, and analysed his body.

Claude smiled bitterly to himself as he muttered, "Beau Paradis Sword Technique… I am indeed not strong enough to execute it perfectly." He sighed in his heart. Some things just take time to learn.

"Forget about that. I have more important things to focus on," Claude said to himself as he remembered the words spoken by his seniors, and all of a sudden, a name popped into his mind; Dayton Palmer!

From his seniors, Claude had learned that there were many rumors about the poster child of the Silver Moon Academy. They said that he had been practicing secret techniques that were kept hidden by the Silver Moon Academy, mastering swordplays at the age of five and cultivating from a very young age.

Since he was thrust into the spotlight, he had never met anyone who was a match for him. He is the current top expert of the Clawferry Prefecture's youth.

"Fifth rank of the Sky Realm…" Claude silently muttered to himself. Although he believed that having a higher cultivation level doesn't necessarily mean you have a higher probability of winning, what he did believe in were skill, technique and quick thinking. And if you were to effectively combine them with the raw strength that was based on your cultivation, then you'd be unstoppable.

Reaching fifth rank of the sky realm when he was only seventeen was very rare in the cultivation world, which meant that he was most likely not a musclehead. Which meant that he'd most probably be a tough opponent for Claude, who had been beating those with a higher cultivation level than him only because he was more experienced and skilled in combat.

"I need to know more if I plan on fighting such a character..." Claude said in an ice cold voice.

Although Dayton was a child prodigy, Claude was an experienced fighter. And to fight his enemy, he first had to know the enemy!

******************************

Dayton felt very excited; he had never dashed so fast and so smoothly before. Every cell in his body was relaxed, and his clothes and hair were fluttering in the wind. His handsome face revealed a certain calmness.

Finally, he reduced his speed and used the tree branches to travel, avoiding all the wild beasts. The rain had stopped and the sun, which came immediately after the rain, brought warmth. Dayton stopped moving, and he sat on one of the tree branches, and took out a bottle of wine, as well as some snacks.

He had been staying in the Mazewood Forest near Vercester for quite a while as part of his cultivation training. With the Prodigy Summit close by, he was planning on winning by a huge margin. Although many of his teachers at Silver Moon Academy told him to take it easy, he decided that it would be better to train nevertheless.

Dayton enjoyed the pleasant wind, drinking his wine and eating his snacks, as he revealed a satisfied smile. His training had paid off, and his techniques had improved quite a bit. It wasn't anything special, but nevertheless, Dayton was still proud of his achievement.

He sat on the tree branch, wondering about the future as he drank wine, watching clouds gather and scatter, flowers bloom and wilt, feeling free and unfettered. Just as he was about to leave Mazewood Forest, he immediately felt an indistinct killing intent extending around him, and he extended his Spiritual Sense. Dayton's senses picked up a group of martial artists who were moving towards his location, and he narrowed his eyes.

He immediately hid his presence, and kept watch on the ground, waiting for the martial artists to arrive.

Just a couple of seconds later, a young man leaped out of the bushes, his expression filled with fear and tiredness. He was breathing hard, as he looked around, attempting to find a place to hide.

But before he could do anything, a group of cultivators followed quickly, encircling the young man, blocking all routes to escape.

The man who looked to be the leader of the group started smiling, as he laughed loudly, "It's all over young man. Hand over all the beast skins and gold coins that you have on you; otherwise, don't blame us for being vicious."

'Are they thugs? Seems like it..' Dayton thought to himself, as he watched the event unfolding right in front of him.

The young man asked them with a trembling voice, "Can't you just let me go? I only stole a few gold coins to feed my starving family. It wasn't even that much. I don't have any beast skins on me either."

The leader raised his hands forward and smiled coldly, "You can only blame yourself for daring to steal from our Guts and Glory Clan, young man. No one who steals from us, no matter how small the amount may be, has ever escaped death. And I'm not planning on making an exception for you."

Dayton, who was spectating from above the trees, couldn't help but click his tongue upon hearing the leader's words. So these people are from the Guts and Glory Clan. It's no wonder they dare to be so presumptuous. They were a bunch of ruthless thugs who went around murdering those who they deemed unworthy.

"Leaving trash like you alive is just increasing the burden on the planet," The leader said in an indifferent manner, as he stared at the young man with disdain in his eyes.

Dayton felt extremely angry. Was this what a human being's life amounted to in their eyes? Was the young man not even comparable to a beast to them?

"Alright, no more crap; die …" the leader was already very impatient. He opened his mouth to order his men to kill the young man, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw a flash of white light, and in an instant, his body had already been sliced into two pieces.