“Where are we going?” Sun Zixin nearly tripped over himself to keep up.

Long Di didn’t stop. There was a mission to complete it seems. “It’ll end up as me signing up for that stupid martial competition.”

****

You know that moment when you know that someone did something stupid and you want to help them but they make it so hard for you to do that?

Well, crank that to ten, and that’s what I’m dealing with seriously. I knew there was something wrong with that sect and they didn’t even try to hide it. Well, at least that’s what it looked like to me.

To make matters worse, Sun Zixin didn’t even see it. The boy isn’t just in the matrix, he could very well be taken for a joyride by a skin-wearing agent. I tell ya the kid should see an eye doctor for that condition of colour blindness he’s walking around with since the red flags just passed him by.

“So they gave you money.” I looked at him as we headed to the registration area.

“!”

He seemed surprised that I figured this out, but the jangling of every step he took was pretty obvious.

“I… they said it was change since the fruit I gave them was very mature.”

“Give me the money Sun Zixin.” I held my hand out for the gold.

“But I-”

“Give me the money while I’m asking nicely. You’re a fool of the highest order. You’re not gonna spend that money while I’m here.” I wasn’t angry with him, you know. Just disappointed.

He silently handed over what appeared to be 10 gold pieces. A pained look appeared on his face as he dropped them in my hand.

“I don’t mind you wanting to do what’s best for your siblings. However, don’t succumb to bullying when you don’t have to. I am here.” Without another word, I started off once again.

I headed to where they were signing up for the martial competition and the crowd that was already there was even crazier than before, if you could believe it.

The crowd was easily in the thousands if I had to number it, which I could. You’d never guess, but cultivators had this word superpower to count large numbers. I call it super counting. It’s weird that no one ever bought it up.

A cultivator could tell the difference between a thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, a million, billion, trillion… I think the next one is quadrillion?

Meh, doesn’t really matter.

I forced my way into the crowd and didn’t care much for the looks I got in return. Some of the bolder ones wanted to say something but stopped themselves in time. They seemed to recognise me somewhat and honestly, it didn’t feel too bad.

Not the vanity of it, just the peace that it gave me.

I guess getting tangled with a person crazy enough to talk to Death Armour Archaic Soldier isn’t worth it.

Be crazy enough and people avoid you. I needed to write that down.

As I made my way through, I turned around every now and again to make sure that Sun Zixin was behind me and lo-and-behold, there he… gone?

The hell did he go?

Shu! Shu!

I heard the faint brushing of cloth and looked to my right to see Sun Zixin effortlessly utilising that little foot technique of his to make his way through the crowd without disturbing other people.

Still impressive, I thought to myself. It wasn’t a foot technique for speed; it was for evasion. Obviously, this was honed through the years of walking amongst cultivators without peeing them off.

The crowd was so thick that even if they noticed him, they couldn’t do anything about it without being a prick to everyone next to them… like I was being.

Before long, we came to the front of the crowd and saw the actual line for registration. So these people actually came here to see who is signing up?

Sweet Mother Mary, these people need some hobbies.

“Stay here,” I told Sun Zixin before I joined the line. There was no need for him to be out of sight only to be bullied to literal death when I wasn’t looking.

The stares he received as he stood before countless cultivators made that possibility about as likely as me not being a general prick if he was anywhere but.

My closeness with him marked him as my acquaintance at least. They wouldn’t violate a madman, would they?

“Look! That's Zhili Cheng Fang!” A person shouted when a particular person made it to the front of the line.

I looked at the person who shouted and thanked him for his service. They smiled at me and bowed in return.

I can’t help but respect this spokesperson of the peanut gallery. It can’t be easy knowing all these people and then introducing them to everyone else. That job demanded respect.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I hear they call him the invisible killer,” another one chimed in.

My ear perked up at this. It couldn’t hurt to know a little more about the people I would come in contact with.

“In what way?” I asked them. That’s right, I asked them the question. I always wondered why an MC just never asked these questions. Screw that, I wanna know.

“He uses a strange power,” another expert answered me.

“Strange?” You can’t blame me for questioning that. I’ve literally fought people who can bench press a continent, seen a cat who’s a dragon, friends with a female druid, and a gluttonous monk who used Buddhist hand signs to body the masses. Exactly what constitutes strange, really?

“I hear he can kill people without even moving. Even weirder there are no spiritual fluctuations on his part, either!”

“Really?” That was interesting.

Spiritual fluctuations were the shifts, and variations of a person’s spiritual qi as they fought. It could even be sensed when they were using spiritual force.

The same rang true for body cultivators, too. However, their fluctuations took place within the realm of somatic essence. This Zhili Cheng Fang must be using something entirely different.

I took a good look at Zhili Cheng Fang and had to admit that he was either evil or… evil. Why, you ask? Well, his looks kinda gave it away.

He was what you would call aesthetically unpleasing, or to use fewer syllables, ugly.

His chin was so long that it could be used as an Olympic swimming pool diving board. Beady eyes darted around in quick shifting movements that reminded me of a chihuahua with ADHD (I saw some disturbing things on the internet). His hair was also thinning out, (I didn’t even know that male pattern baldness was a thing in cultivation novels, consider my horizons broadened).

This man lost at life in the looks department and yet still wore an arrogant expression as he drank in the praises of those around him.

I want to be like him when I grow up.

He walked down the line so that people could see him and keep their eyes on him and he eventually arrived beside me. He looked up and down at me and sneered.

“Hmph! A brat who’s still wet behind the ears dares to act so arrogant? You better hope I don’t face you in the ring, otherwise… hehehe…” he left his rather obvious meaning up in the air.

“Why is this old uncle talking to me?” I asked loudly, throwing him off guard. “Do you have candy too? My mother told me not to take candies from strange uncles. You want to kill me after facing me? I’m still pure you heathen.”

“You!”

Zhili Cheng Fang nearly coughed up blood after this. How did his threat turn him into a sexual predator!?

Judging by his ugly and dumbfounded expression, maybe it was safe to say he didn’t have those preferences.

Obviously, my handiwork was quite effective. This was what I wanted, so I’m not about to stand up for him.

He seemed like the type of guy to think ‘Maybe lolis could enter my eyes but I would never use such despicable methods!’

You know, it’s things like this that make me glad to still be eleven. It just made things like this more believable.

It seemed he noticed the strange stares he was getting from everyone else and glared at me something fierce.

Whoops?

“You’re lying!” He yelled at me.

“I would agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong,” I shot back.

Was I Lying? Yes, yes, I was.

Did I care? No, no, I did not.

He turned around with his hands outstretched, facing the masses. “This is slander!”

I took out a pen and paper in response. “Would you like me to write it down so it’s libel?”

“Die!” Consumed by rage, he lunged for me, only for a terrifying pressure to come bearing down on him.

Boom!

He stood there stuck in place, unable to move an inch.

An aged voice echoed out that rang in everyone’s ears. “No unauthorised fighting is allowed in Golden Lion Gate.”

As soon as the voice disappeared, so did the pressure that was levied on Zhili Cheng Fang.

He then stared daggers back at me. It was obvious at a glance that the earlier experience tempered his anger a great deal. Not enough to not wanna kill me, but enough to do it later rather than sooner.

Without another word, he swished the sleeves of his robe and stalked away.

Well, that was anticlimactic. Looking at everyone’s expressions, it seemed that they were disappointed they didn’t get to see Zhili Cheng Fang in action.

‘Which reminds me, where did Firecracker go?’ I looked around to no avail. Maybe he left already?

I was moving up in the line, but the insane length made it so that I wouldn’t get through for now.

Man, you’d think that since these people can move at insane speeds that literally break the void and the known laws of physics that a simple line could move a little faster. Discrepancies like these really stand out when you’re the one dealing with them.

“Look! It’s Heavenly Sun Noble!”

Hearing the commotion, I looked over to see a golden-haired woman walking over. I had more time to survey her, and this woman was supermodel worthy by the standards of my old world. Not that I cared much for it.

Her facial structure was soft, and her creamy skin was without blemishes. The absence of pimples made me think that cultivators didn’t really go through puberty… which really explained a lot.

Her eyes were golden as well, and quite beautiful, if I’m being honest. She was beautiful all over, really. I contest nothing on that front. It’s not like I couldn’t see beauty… it’s just that… it didn’t affect me like most people I realised.

Plus, though she was a woman, there was a heroic air about her that couldn’t be wiped away. She took large strides as she walked over.

She also wore glistening golden armour that shone like the sun. Two orbs sat squarely on the shoulders of the pauldrons, while one rested where the sternum was. There were two more that were nestled neatly in the knee joints.

They release a blinding radiance as if they contained their own suns. The broken parts of it were already repaired like it didn’t go through a heaven-shaking battle against Death Armour Archaic Soldier the other night.

Behind her was Mad Sword Haoran, and behind him was Jingyi Yu who was walking with her head down. She didn’t look sad or put down, but more like she was keeping a low profile.

She didn’t have to try hard though, as all eyes were glued to Heavenly Sun Noble. The woman could command attention, that’s for sure.

They didn’t join the line either. They strode right past where the line started and headed for a particular location in it. Mine.

“Hello fellow Daoist Di,” she said with a bright smile.