The door blasted open at that moment, and a burly man walked in.

"Me! I'm the one who locked you up. What? Do you want to beat me? An ant like you dares to shout here? You must have a death wish." The man growled, and Anthony vaguely saw the shadow of something being swung around.

He turned towards the door and the first thing his eyes saw was the shadow looming above him. He looked up at the man and his eyes immediately widened in shock. The first thought that came to his mind was barbarian.

The man looked like something out of a movie. He was tall and burly, but not so tall to be referred to as a giant. He was just a head or half a head taller than Anthony. However, he was monstrous. His body was filled with bulky muscles, and he was dressed in clothes that might pass for rags. He was wearing ragged trousers and long sleeved Hanfu inner shirt, just like those men in ancient Chinese movies that wore a shirt and trousers as underwear. But in his case, his clothes were a dirty brown color. He had an animal fur thrown over his left shoulder and attached to the right part of his waist with a sash. His hair was totally bald and he was holding a giant axe which Anthony could swear weighed tons. The axe was made of metals of unknown origins, and the tip was especially glistening with a smudge of red at the side, as if he didn't wipe the blood from his last kill properly. His eyes were terrifying and he was glowering at Anthony.

Anthony didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. The man looked barbaric, and seemed to speak a language of his own. But surprisingly, Anthony could still understand him perfectly, although it was not English. It was as if something formatted in his brain and he remembered the strange language. However, Anthony didn't have the time to think about the reason he often had memories of things he never remembered doing or learning.

"You, why did you tie me up like a dog? Have you no shame? You stumbled upon an injured person and decided to reap the fisherman's benefits. It's fine that you didn't help, but you actually tied me up, what's your purpose? Look here, if you want money, you've got the wrong person. I don't have a dime on me." Anthony replied, snarling.

"Not bad, you can actually understand me. Humph! You should consider yourself lucky that I spared your life. But instead of showing gratitude, you're talking back, you little urchin. Do you want me to cut you into cubes and use you for dinner?"

"You dare!" Anthony roared, his eyes spitting flames. The man chuckled and walked to him. Without warning, he picked Anthony up with his left hand, and flung him on the wall. Anthony landed on the wall with a loud thud. The wall cracked, and the wood splintered, damaging the shed a bit. Anthony could feel his ribs shattering, but he bit his tongue, refusing to let out even a groan. Before he could slide to the floor, the man used his dirty bare foot to bridge his fall, making Anthony's stomach roll in disgust.

Before he could get over that, the man kicked him to the roof and he landed in a dirty feeding trough, making him scream in horror.

"You mad man! How dare you? Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Anthony roared in rage. He felt infuriated, and wanted nothing more than tearing the man's throat into pieces. But with the chains on him, it was impossible. He was basically a rag doll in the hands of the burly man.

"Weak. Too weak, pitifully weak. Even a child can beat you till your face turns purple, yet you dare to be arrogant. Who do you think you are to act up here? Even a grass can eat you up. Stupid urchins from a lower realm—that's how they behave. Look here you might have been a prince in your village, but over here, you're nothing. Even the dust on my feet has more rights than you do."

"You, just you wait, despicable monster. You chained my soul power, and spiritual force taking advantage of my sick state. And you dare harrass me. As big and old as you are, you do not have a conscience."

The man laughed at that moment, as if Anthony had said the most funny and ridiculous thing ever.

"Conscience? What is that? Food? Over here, there's nothing like conscience. Little boy, you truly don't think that the reason you're so helpless before me is because of the chains do you? You're less than an ant, a sneeze from me could kill you. Even if I remove the chains which was meant to keep you from running away while I'm out, you will still not be able to do anything. You're that weak and useless." He said with a smirk which Anthony found annoying.

Anthony scoffed and smirked at him.

"We won't know if we don't try, right? How about you remove the chains and we have a little exercise to see how weak I truly am? Or do you not have the courage to take it on?"

The man laughed loudly.

"Indeed, that's how a youngster should behave, the blood is boiling hot, and the desire to conquer is all over the place. There's also the arrogance that pierces the sky. Not bad, not bad at all. You won't shed tears till you see the coffin, is that it?"

"Coffin, where's the coffin? Old man, do you dare or not?" Anthony asked, still smiling confidently.

"Fine, let me make a deal with you. If you successfully defeat me, or even leave an injury on me, I will let you go and never hunt you down again. You can even take one of my sheeps or animal of your choice. However, if you cannot defeat me and get beaten up instead, you will continue with the original purpose I brought you here, being my slave." The man said calmly.

Anthony gasped in anger at the man's ridiculous words.

"Who do you think you are? Who do you think I am? Slave? Slaaaaave? How dare you suggest such an upsetting thing to me? What century is it that you still need a slave? If you want a slave, go find a real slave from your family or give birth to one, not me. I, Anthony Meyer can never be anyone's slave. Even a god treats me with respect, someone that can pinch you to death with one finger. Who do you think you are to give me such conditions?" Anthony spat back.

"You might be a spoiled and pampered young master where you came from. But here, you're nothing. You're one of those idiots living off the glory of your ancestors. Because a god ranked master gave you face based on some past relations, you think you're something, when you're worth nothing. Nothing at all, you waste! If you're not willing to take the chance for freedom, then remain here and be my slave forever." The man said coldly, not smiling at all.

"Fine. A duel it is then." Anthony replied.

He knew the man was right. Lan Xuanyu treating him well was because he was kind and felt affection for him. Hua Cheng never bothered to talk to him or reach out throughout his stay. Only Lan Xuanyu kept him company through the voice transmissions and occasionally helped him. Over here in an upper realm, there definitely are numerous masters that were more powerful than him. Being proud and arrogant will only lead to doom and turn him into a clown. Besides, if he didn't take the chance to fight for freedom, the chain will never come off his hands. As for being a slave, it was the same thing whether he fought or not. So fighting for a chance was better than doing nothing.

"Good." The man said with a chuckle and motioned towards Anthony. With a snap of his fingers, the heavy chains automatically came off.

Anthony quickly jumped out of the feeding trough and patted the debris on his body away. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was half naked. His clothes were torn and stained with blood, dirt, mud, grasses and other particles. He wasn't looking any better than the barbarian standing before him.

"Follow me." He said and walked out of the woodshed.

Anthony followed him out and was immediately blinded by the sunlight as a result of staying in the dark for too long. He looked around to see where he was, and was immediately shocked. They were on top of a hill surrounded by thick forests. There was no other human around, their only neighbors were probably the beasts in the forests. There were fields of grain at the parts of the forest closer to the top which Anthony assumed was cultivated by the man. There were paddocks, pens, and other huts on the hill, with two wooden enclosures that seem to have no specific use. The forest was so thick that he couldn't see the end, despite his modified eyesight which can see better than others due to his cultivation techniques. The man brought him to the middle of nowhere. Can someone even escape from this kind of place?

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