(Heartfelt thanks to 'Qinxun Luopo,' 'Bing Yue Ying,' 'Qi Guanxuanqi,' 'Silver Dragon's Dawn,' 'Ye Yue Chen Yu,' 'Diying,' 'Yun Qi Qing Gu,' and 'mikulove' for their rewards!)
A breeze quietly blew in from the distant horizon, lending the air a faint touch of coolness.
Magnolia still stood at the center of the surrounding forests and hills. From time to time, the cries of townsfolk hawking their wares, along with the noisy sounds of people arguing loudly and laughing together, drifted out from within. Nothing had changed; it was still as lively as ever.
It was already autumn, and Magnolia's temperature had dropped considerably, gradually filling the town with a chill.
Of course, without even the slightest breeze, the humid heat would still leave people feeling stifled, even in autumn.
"Rustle... rustle..."
In one of the forests beyond the even more sweltering Magnolia, a faint sound of leaves stirring suddenly rose from a corner. The sound grew louder and louder, as though something were approaching.
"Whoosh—!"
The next second, a figure suddenly appeared in the distance among the trees. Moving at incredible speed and accompanied by a faint tearing sound through the air, he sprinted over from afar.
He was a youth of around seventeen, wearing only shorts, barefoot, and bare-chested.
At that moment, the youth held both arms overhead, carrying a boulder several sizes larger than his entire body. Yet he trampled across the forest floor faster than a cheetah, making the earth tremble as he raced through the woods, nimbly dodging the trees and obstacles rushing toward him.
"Huff..."
Only after a long while did the youth finally stop. He casually tossed the boulder he had been holding above his head to one side.
"Boom—!"
The boulder crashed down beside him, crushing branches and tangled grass beneath it while