The Deceitful One

Bryan reached home and took a quick shower. After drying himself up with a towel, he wore comfortable clothes and sat on the bed to meditate.

He was planning to advance to Rank 2 Apprentice in one go. The news about the Holy Blood Sect gave him a sense of urgency. He closed his eyes and calmed his state of mind.

Then he followed the breathing pattern mentioned in the Medici Family's Apprentice Meditation Technique and gathered the energy particles in the air to carve the 10th mind rune.

Time passes by relatively quickly when one is deep in meditation. After a few hours, Bryan gathered the energy particles to carve the last stroke of the 10th mind rune.

As soon as the mind rune was completed, all 10 runes in his mind vibrated for a brief millisecond but soon everything returned to normal.

But in that brief moment, Bryan felt a jolt in his mind and he could clearly feel his mind strengthen. This fortification was very different from the ones that happened after carving the previous 9 runes. It was much stronger and firmer.

He had finally advanced to Rank 2 Apprentice!

After this period of meditation, Bryan was so tired that he didn't even have the energy to cook himself dinner. He directly fell asleep.

That night, Bryan had a very strange dream. In this dream, he was standing in front of his apartment building on 7 Robinson Street. This world in his dream was very similar yet it felt different as if it was a parallel world.

This strange world was calling out to him, awaiting his arrival.

…

​ Saturday, 12th June 1580.

Bryan woke up with a confused look in his eyes. He mumbled, "What a weird dream." He tried to recall the details of the dream but in the end, he couldn't. With a sigh, he got up from the bed and reached out for his silver pocket watch.

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After advancing to Rank 2 Apprentice, Bryan could clearly tell that the silver pocket watch was really special. His mother had written in the letter that he had to refine the pocket watch first and only then would he be able to take out the items kept inside by his mother.

But he had no clue whatsoever as to what his mother meant by refining the watch. And if he asked Detective Watson what 'refining' meant, he would definitely be suspicious of Bryan. Therefore, he decided to wait for Detective Watson to teach it to him instead.

He was sure that sometime in the near future, Detective Watson would definitely teach him. He flipped the lid open and saw the time. It was already 8:00 am, 'Fuck I overslept!' Bryan hurriedly took his clothes out from the wardrobe, put them on, and rushed out of his apartment.

While eating a small piece of baguette, Bryan ran non-stop until he reached Detective Watson's house. Running there took less time than taking a public carriage would have.

He knocked a few times on the main door. After a moment, Butler John opened the door. "Please come in Mr. Bryan." He gestured for Bryan to enter.

"Thanks." Bryan nodded at Butler John and straight away headed to the study on the second floor. He knocked on the door to Detective Watson's study.

"Come in." He heard Detective Watson's voice from inside the room. He opened the door and stepped in. Bryan looked at Detective Watson apologetically.

"Sorry teacher. I overslept a bit today." He smiled awkwardly.

"Did something happen? It's unlike you to be late." Detective Watson asked in concern.

Bryan's heart warmed upon seeing the look of concern on Detective Watson's face. "Nothing happened, teacher. It's just that, after doing my usual inspection of the city yesterday evening, I went back home to meditate. And it was already very late into the night after I finished meditating. After that I was really tired and fell asleep, hence, waking up late today morning."

Detective Watson nodded and after observing Bryan's state for a moment he was surprised, "Oh? You advanced to Rank 2? Well done, kid!"

"Hehe thank you, teacher." Bryan smiled and then sat on the chair opposite Detective Watson.

"Teacher, there's some important information I gathered yesterday evening." Bryan added.

"What is it?" Detective Watson's expression turned serious.

"No new murders have been reported in the slums lately. However, a lot of bodies have been found an hour away from Damascus. These bodies had bite marks and claw marks. They had also been drained of blood.

At the same time, although there haven't been any murders in the slums, a lot of people have gone missing." Bryan reported his findings in detail.

Detective Watson wore a pensive look and was silent for a while.

"Teacher, do you think this could be related to the Holy Blood Sect?" Bryan asked.

"It is very likely. After all, Blood Path Transcendents usually drain their victims of their blood. They rely on blood for sustenance." Detective Watson explained.

"Rely on blood for sustenance!? How's that possible?" Bryan was shocked.

Detective Watson nodded, "That's right. These Blood Path scum all feed on blood with high spirituality. Be it humans or animals. This Path is centered around blood, they feed on it, use it to advance in ranks, and base their spells on it.

And blood with high spirituality is almost always found in Apprentices and Transcendents. They can also make up for the quality by brutally slaughtering a large number of normal people."

Bryan was appalled by such behavior. He couldn't believe that such a Path existed.

"Bryan, if you ever come across a Blood Path Transcendent, kill them if you're confident or escape with all your might. There's no shame in running away, your life is more important." Detective Watson advised.

"I understand, teacher. But what if I happen to come across them as I am now? I can't cast spells and I don't know any combat techniques either." Bryan asked.

Detective Watson chuckled, "Don't worry. I was going to teach you hand-to-hand combat techniques as well as gun shooting anyway."

"Gun shooting? I can carry a gun with me?" Bryan was pleasantly surprised.

"Well, not until you learn how to properly aim & shoot and obtain a gun permit." Detective Watson smiled.

"No problem, teacher. Let's do it!" Bryan was thrilled.

"Alright go downstairs and have some breakfast, I'm sure you haven't had any. You can't do combat training with an empty stomach. I'll finish up with some work and meet you in the garden outside in 20 minutes." Detective Watson stated.

"Alright teacher." Bryan got up from his seat and left the study after closing the door. He went downstairs to look for Butler John. He found him standing at the kitchen entrance and instructing a few maids.

Bryan approached him and asked politely, "Is there anything to eat?"

Butler John turned around and looked at him with his usual stoic expression, "What would you like to eat, Mr. Bryan?"

"Toast and eggs would be nice. Oh, also please add baked beans to that." Bryan smiled.

Butler John nodded, "Very well, Mr. Bryan. Please wait at the dining table. Food will be served within 10 minutes." With that said, he turned back around and headed into the kitchen.

Bryan approached the dining table and took a seat. Soon, he saw Butler John appear with a tray in his hand with a dome-shaped lid covering it. He placed the tray in front of him and removed the lid.

An extremely fragrant smell assaulted Bryan's nostrils as the food came into his view. Two slices of bread with butter spread on it. Two sunny side-ups with salt and pepper on it. And a bowl of baked beans with chopped onions sprinkled on top.

"The food here is always the best." Bryan praised sincerely.

Butler John smiled faintly after listening to the compliment, "Please enjoy, Mr. Bryan."

"Hehe yes of course!" Bryan chuckled and started eating his food elegantly. With the knife in his right hand and fork in the left, he cut the sunny side up into small pieces and had it with the toast. Then he scooped a spoonful of baked beans. He chewed on it unhurriedly and savored the flavor.

This was all a result of Detective Watson teaching him noble etiquettes and proper table manners. He believed that Bryan would come across all sorts of people in the future, so he might as well teach him this.

After finishing his breakfast, Bryan wiped his mouth with a napkin and then headed towards the garden in front of the villa. He arrived at the garden and started stretching his arms and legs for a bit.

After a few minutes, he saw Detective Watson exit the villa and come to the garden. Currently, he was only wearing his brown trousers and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Bryan, if you were to fight someone without any weapons or spells, how would you do it?" Detective Watson asked with a smile.

"Just punch them and maybe kick them a few times." Bryan answered, a bit puzzled.

"But the human body is much more than just fists and feet." Detective Watson chuckled and added, "Did you know? Wisdom Path Transcendents are relatively weaker physically compared to Transcendents of most Paths.

After all, Wisdom Path mainly focuses on the mind, thoughts, and emotions. We are adept at psychological manipulation and scheming rather than fighting the opponent head-on"

"However, in order to nullify this weakness, Wisdom Path Transcendents have developed a combat technique that uses little strength and power to fight stronger enemies, eliminating any wasted movements and efforts.

It consists of grappling and wrestling, fighting with your fists, elbows, knees, and feet. And over many generations, this combat technique has been improved and optimized." Detective Watson explained with pride evident on his face.

"It is called The Myriad Martial Technique."