In a teahouse beside a country road, several rough-looking men were taking a rest. Each wore a fierce expression, had a burly build, and carried a sword or saber. A huge scar ran across their leader's face and had cost him an eye. In short, anyone who wasn't blind could tell at a glance that they were no good.
"Boss, why do you think Senior Yiwu wants us to stir up trouble across Central Province?" asked a man whose beard was almost as long as his hair. He took out a leather flask, drank some of the wine he had brought, and frowned in puzzlement. "I still can't figure it out."
"Neither can I," said the one-eyed man. "But it doesn't matter. Someone with Senior Yiwu's powers would never bother deceiving us. She said we could exchange points for Dragon-Tiger Harmony Pills, so we surely can."
He laughed, making the scar on his face look even more savage. "Everyone knows the Dragon-Tiger Harmony Pill helps break through the bottleneck between Innate and Returning to the Origin. It may not compare to the legendary Four Symbols Truth-Returning Pill, but it's still precious beyond measure. I reached Innate at forty-eight and mastered the Four Transformations at sixty-one. Now I'm a hundred and thirteen, and I still can't touch the threshold of Return to the Natural State. In a few more years, my vitality will wane, and I'll have no hope of breaking through. I'll only grow old and wait to die... Whatever happens, I have to fight for a chance!"
The men nodded. One of them, who had a habit of baring his teeth, grinned. "Once Boss becomes a True Person, we'll rise with the tide. Give it a few years, and maybe more of us will become True Persons too."
That