The Village Chief of Aruni Village was a tall and firmly built man who stood at about 195cm. His broad shoulders were a symbol of his strength and his huge muscles were proof of his harsh training. He had grey hair, due to it being his natural hair color rather than due to age. His beard was long, covering the front of his neck if he stood straight.
"So, you survived the onslaught of the Demonic beasts?"
This man's presence was majestic and fierce. Lin Fan felt that he had to respond. "Yes, but barely. If it wasn't for Woodcarver Lin dragging me in, I would be dead by now.'
The man seemed to think for a minute. "Tell me boy, are you a martial artist?"
"What's a martial artist?"
"These are special people whose bodies, minds and souls can outclass normal people's by a huge disparity. They are the ones responsible for eradicating these demonic beasts."
He went on to explain further. Martial artists are divided into three major phases; each phase is further subdivided. The major phases are body refinement, heart refinement and soul refinement.
Village Chief Yan examined Lin Fan carefully before nodding. "You possess the capacity to become one. Your body is as strong as my son here even though you haven't experienced any training. Follow me, I want to show you something."
They left the chief's house, a tall house built with fine wood from the area. They walked over to the periphery of the village and Lin Fan stopped, fearing to go further and walk out of the village. Yan Li pat his shoulder and gave him a confident smirk, before pulling him. They stepped outside of the ruin and were now face-to-face with the Kara demons.
Chief Yan put his arm in front of the two boys. "Stand back and watch this."
Without a moment of hesitation, Chief Yan lunged at the two demons, instantly closing the distance. He threw a punch at one of them, knocking it over ten metres away. The other Kara tried to slash at him but Chief Yan dodged just in time, before following up with a kick to the Kara's head. The other Kara had recovered from the blow and tried to stab Chief Yan in the gut but the athletic chief grabbed its hand and flipped it over his head, before raising it up and bashing its head to the ground.
Chief Yan began walking to the boys. Lin Fan sat there with his mouth open in surprise. The demons that nearly ended his life story were instantly handled in a matter of minutes. Then, he noticed something. One Kara was missing. He had a bad feeling. He pushed Yan Li to the side before leaping out of the way. A humanoid figure lunged from behind them, barely missing Yan Li but only scratching Lin Fan. It turned again to strike them but instead, received a punch to the face, completely bashing its head in.
Chief Yan was angry at the Kara's underhanded sneak attack on the children, especially his son. After calming down, he walked over to the two boys.
"I'm impressed. You have amazing reflexes. Thank you for saving my son."
He bowed. Lin Fan held his shoulder and refused to accept the bow. "You all saved me once. I'm just repaying the favour."
Chief Yan smiled. "You're too polite. I would like to ask, if there is nowhere in particular your heading to, how about you join the village and participate in the sect selection for the Linghun martial sect?"