Dylan was just about to turn around to store the bundles of copper coins that they earned to the underground safe room when his instincts suddenly warned him that something was wrong.
The corner of his eyes did not leave the view of his backyard. Without delaying, he used his Spiritual sense to survey his surroundings.
"?!" In that instant, Dylan immediately sensed three individuals who were climbing up the fence of the backyard. They were warily infiltrating Dylan's residence, careful not too cause too much noise to alert anyone.
"Thieves, huh? I expected it but only on the second day?" Dylan could not see their faces since they had masks covering their faces.
Dylan proceeded to his room upstairs and stored the money under his bed. He knew that these thieves would be using Spiritual Sense as well so he acted normally. But he did not want to reveal the location of his secret room with cultivators here.
He smiled, "I guess being a fast-rising and new establishment without security makes me a prime target for armed robbery. Were they sent by a local business giant or by the City Lord?"
"They seem to be all in the Awakened Spirit Realm. This is going to be difficult. No wonder I had such a lucky day today. My luck hasn't always been the best. Things would have been bad if I slept immediately. I could have taken care of myself but Scarlet would've been in danger..." Actively sensing the infiltrators, Dylan sat down cross-legged.
Once again, he realized the dangers of the cultivation world. Here, people will openly try to kill you for the petty reasons of hurting one's pride and most of all for the sake of their own benefit.
He whispered as he spoke to Vastocean who he knew would be actively listening in from the Cosmic God Mansion, "Mister Vastocean, use all the Primal Stones we have! We will need all the power we can muster against cultivators of this strength."
"Thank you, Mister Vastocean!" Dylan closed his eyes as he began reciting the Cosmic God Manual's first page. It wasn't long before he felt the surge of familiar mist-like energy surging in his Spirit Core.
"Time to breakthrough to the Spirit Veins Realm!" He guided the building energy and made it circulate throughout his entire body.
In the Cosmic God Mansion...
The moment Dylan Vastocean had crushed two hundred and thirty eight Primal Stones, his energy swelled up as the Innate Energy enveloped his Spirit Core! The white thread that connected his Spirit Core with Dylan Ford's Spirit Core also reverberated as the flow of energy connected itself with the outside world mysteriously!
Meanwhile...
The white thread mysteriously materialized on Dylan Ford's navel. He was also feeling the astonishing volume of energy from the two hundred fifty Primal Stone inside his Spirit Core.
The energy eventually was absorbed into the Spirit Core, making it look more pristine and robust!
Both Ford's and Vastocean's Spirit Core were now pure white in color as it contained a hint of starlight around it!
The Spirit Core has now reached its most complete state as its glow now extended on the entrances of the one hundred twenty-five Spirit Veins, alluding to their eventual unsealing in the future!
In that very moment, they had both formally entered the Spirit Veins Realm!
...
A few minutes earlier..
The thieves who snuck in Dylan's residence were actually part of Darren's gang. They came here earlier with Darren to eat during lunch. They thought of raiding this house because they saw how weak Dylan was.
"Follow me." A man with short brown hair and beard said as he led the group. He seemed to be acting the leader of this small robbery.
"This restaurant thinks it could rip off the Black Skull Gang that easily? We will beat him up for taking our money!" A long haired man with silky straight hair scowled.
"Well, to be fair, we gave it to him as payment. The food was more than worth it!" The fat youth said as he licked his lips, remembering the heavenly taste of Dylan's cooking.
"Hey, dumbass! Are you on my side or his?!" The long haired lanky man got pissed and punched the fat guy on the arm.
"I'm on the side of good food!" The fatty remarked.
"Why you?!"
"Shh!!" The brown haired man gestured for the two to be quiet. He continued, "Let's keep it discreet. We're going to get the money that he stored under his bed and leave."
"Boss, why didn't we just do it like usual? Beating up the person and force them to get their money?" The fatty asked. Calling the man with the short brown hair and beard "boss" was peculiar since Darren was the known boss of the Black Skull Gang in the Cirrus Cloud Town.
"Yeah, boss. Why do we have to wear masks and sneak in the middle of the night?" The long haired man was also curious of the reason.
The short-haired man stopped as he was hesitant to answer, "It's because..."
"Because?" The two repeated, eagerly waiting for their leader's response.
"Because if we beat him up, he wouldn't be able to cook the good food we had yesterday." The short haired man excused.
"..." The two looked at him suspiciously. It seemed like he just wanted Dylan to keep cooking the amazing meals he has so he could keep eating it.
"Boss, it seems like you just really like the meals he makes..." The long haired man commented, only to be punched in the face, "Ow, that hurts!"
The boss tried to save face, "W-we'll just keep stealing from him! As long as he can cook and we can keep eating here with Darren, he can keep earning and we can keep stealing from him! E-easy money, right?!"
The three were now slowly approaching the back door of the manor as this point. Just as
"Wait, are you just scared that Darren will beat you up since he likes this place as much as you do?" The fatty curtly softly asked to which he was punched to the face. "Ouch!"
It seemed that comment made the short-haired boss visibly furious with veins on his forehead popping out. There was an underlying inferiority complex that was triggered. His expression turned hostile and hateful as he grabbed the fatty's face, "I'm not scared of Darren, you hear me?! Fine, let's kill him, take this restaurant for ourselves and sell his little sister to a brothel!"
"..." The fatty was too scared to speak and he could only nod.
'It seems like Boss is still hung up on the fact that Darren beat him.' The long-haired man was also frightened by this sudden change in behavior. They knew he was like this since he was the former boss of Black Skull Gang.
It was at that moment that they felt a sudden burst of energy from upstairs. Before anyone could react, they only saw a palm grasping the face of the boss.
"Who-"
"Then, I'll have to kill you first!" Dylan grabbed the short haired man by the face, his hands now glowing with Innate Energy! In one swift motion, he pushed the man so hard that he was launched flying over the fence of his backyard and to the forest!
"B-bo" The two were shocked that there boss was sent flying just like that.
Before the two could even properly react, Dylan had already curled his entire body on the ground with his back on the floor using that motion he used to launch their boss to the air.
Without slowing his momentum, Dylan planted his shoulders, coiled his torso tight, and violently uncoiled, launching his body upward in a explosive Kangaroo Kick!
*Boom!*
Both of his boots slammed directly into the chests of the remaining two lackeys, sending them rocketing backward through the air along the exact same trajectory, over the fence, and crashing into the dark tree line right behind their boss.
*Bang!*
The boss was still shocked. He did not understand what had just happened. The same goes for his two lackeys who were just as easily flung in the air.
"What the fuck just happened?!" The Boss shouted angrily at the two.
"We don't know!" The two replied quickly in panic. They were just as confused.
Then, Dylan had also landed right in front of them and slowly uttered, "You barge into my house and planned to kill me, take over my bread and butter, and collude to sell my sister to prostitution? I will have you all be begging for your lives!"
"Pfft! AHAHAHAH!" The three laughed their asses off, hearing his words.
"If it isn't the business owner? This has got to be the funniest thing I've heard in my life." The long-haired man was the first to talk as he mocked Dylan.
"Have us begging for our lives? You're only at the Initial Stages of Spirit Veins Realm! Me and Ethan are at the Early Stage of Awakened Spirit! Meanwhile, Boss Nathan is at the Peak Stage of Awakened Spirit! We are a realm above you! Not to mention, there are three of us here!" The fatty rubbed salt on the wound as he stated the reality of the great disparity in strength between the two parties
Nathan dismissed the earlier attack as nothing but an off-guard moment for him as he continued berating Dylan, "Hahaha, you got lucky off of your sneak attack earlier, but I'm sorry to break it to you, you will be the one to die here. Not unless you grovel on your feet and bow down to me while agreeing to surrender your daily earnings to me, only then will I consider letting you leave here alive."