Shen Kai was in a terrible mood. The order from the higher-ups in his sect was to be as low-key as possible while exploring the mysterious world fragment. But who could have foreseen that that weirdo Mu Ran would discover it?

Shen Kai hadn't believed a single word that came out of his mouth at the time Mu Ran was explaining how he had discovered the portal by a "coincidence".

He hadn't had much of a chance to test that guy, but Mu Ran's behavior reeked of a certain type of idiocy that he could never think of as genuine.

No one in the world of cultivation can be so easy to read, especially not a young man at the fourth layer of the Physique Transformation realm who could walk through the layers of protection that surrounded the gateway to the fragmented world.

Mu Ran had not only forced his way through the barriers they had set up to repel investigators, he had even disabled more than half of them somehow in the process. Shen Kai hadn't had the time to examine the damages, but he could sense the existence of the barrier from far away even after escaping from there. The bothersome bugs that had been snooping around for the last few days in this area would all come rushing to it, he was sure.

Thinking about the consequences, Shen Kai's heart ached.

After all, the portal was hidden from the perception of outsiders using seventy-one types of illusion spells and a grandmaster-level array formation that twisted all sorts of universal laws around it. Unless an expert cultivator beyond the realm of soul reformation came down there, there was no way anyone could just sniff it out while investigating that area.

How was he going to explain this to his master? Who would believe him?

Feeling vexed, Shen Kai wrapped the shawl around him to hide his tattered clothes and small injuries from prying eyes. There were a lot of cultivators with scary backgrounds loitering around the town due to the suddenly revealed traces of the mysterious world fragment. He had just barely avoided a group of dozens who looked like they were from a sect that didn't belong anywhere within five thousand square miles. Hell, they might even have been from overseas...

"Young man, can I have a word with you?"

The kind voice jolted Shen Kai into focusing on the seat beside him on the ferryboat. An old man holding a large black and red fish scale in his palm sat beside him wearing a peaceful expression on his face. Shen Kai suddenly felt that something was wrong with this situation. He was a cultivator at the sixth layer of the physique transformation realm. How come he hadn't noticed the old man coming to sit beside him right now? He could swear that this seat was empty ten seconds ago...

"Young man, I wanted to ask if you've seen two children. Both are slightly younger than you, and not very strong. One of them addresses the other as 'boss'. Both of them should have entered one of the towns nearby as representatives of the Crimson Snow sect. You met them, right? Can you point out which direction they went to?"

Shen Kai was dumbstruck. How did this old man know that he had met those kids?

But his surprise only lasted a mere second. Survival instincts kicked in fast. The casual way he had been sitting immediately changed into an attentive, respectful posture.

He had no doubts in mind that he was facing someone beyond the soul reformation realm...

"Hey, answer the question, boy. Don't keep me waiting. I haven't got all night. I'm an old man..." The powerhouse started to nag like a beggar.

In the dim light of lanterns swaying along the rhythm of the boat, Shen Kai noticed countless sinister, terrifying shadows superimposing behind the old man's hunched, harmless figure.

A cold chill encompassed his bones.

He didn't have the mental strength to lie to the old man. He didn't want to die so young.

"Yes, I met them, grandpa. They went into the woods close to Pine town to investigate something. If you follow the route that runs through the woods, you'll definitely meet them."

Shen Kai's answer was very honest and straightforward, respect and politeness pouring radiating from his face like the sun emitting light. The old man looked very satisfied with his answer.

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"The woods close to Pine town? Ha~ I should've guessed. No wonder somebody tried to erase my mark on the body of those kids. If my suspicion is true, the abomination will definitely look for something that can strengthen it.

That place...I remember it had a trace of a hidden world fragment with a strange aura. Ah...no wonder they headed there. Thank you, little one. I can see that you're stuck in a bottleneck. Hmm...not bad, let me see..."

Shen Kai's back was wet with cold sweat. The words coming out of the old man's mouth were scaring him. A hidden world fragment with a strange aura? That's how he described the mysterious world on the other side of the portal?!

What did he know about that place?

And what did he mean by "let me see"?

As the spooked Shen Kai watched, the old man made some calculations on his fingers and traced the air in front of him aimlessly.

"Ah, got it. Eh? That's interesting!"

"...What's so interesting, grandpa?" Shen Kai asked with some trepidation. His cultivation was in question here. What would this powerhouse say about his bottleneck?

"Boy, it seems that the best way for you to gain another breakthrough and reach the seventh layer of the physique transformation realm is to..."

"Is to?"

"Pay my transportation fees for me and I'll tell you. This old man is penniless."

". . ."

Shen Kai hesitantly reached into his pocket. Was this guy really a powerful cultivator? Was he really not a scammer? Should I take the risk of offending him?

With those complicated thoughts in his mind, Shen Kai took out some money from his pockets and handed them to the old man who greedily stared at his pocket during the whole process while he kept counting heavens-know-what on his fingers.

The old man's childish behavior attracted the attention of a child sitting a few feet away from them. She curiously observed his antics and suddenly interrupted.

"Grandpa, did your daddy not teach you how to count? Why are you counting on the same three fingers over and over? Do you need help?"

"Huh? Oh-ahem...it's been a while since I counted something so complicated. So this old man forgot some parts of the mathematics. But rest assured, I managed to pull through...somehow. I've got this last bit of calculations left..." The powerhouse sounded quite embarrassed.

"Wah~ I'm really good at mathematics! Tell me what the problem is!"

The old man curiously looked at the child for a few seconds before he opened his mouth.

"What is nine times forty-three, little one?"

Shen Kai choked on his own spit.

But he decided not to risk it by being disrespectful to the old man. He had heard that many of the old experts who roamed freely in the world of cultivation had weird personalities. The most popular antic among them was to play the pig to eat the tiger.

Shen Kai didn't want to be a tiger outside his bedroom. So he just kept going with the flow.

"Hihihi..." the child giggled and started counting on her fingers.

"I got it!" She excitedly yelled after a few seconds.

"Oh? That was fast! Tell me your answer!" The old man eagerly said.

"I'll tell you if you give me money to eat candies!"

". . ."

". . ."

The old man and Shen Kai exchanged a complex look.

"Ai~ kids these days learn so fast! Sigh...the young shall eventually surpass the old one day!"

While the old man sighed, his eyes bore into Shen Kai's own with an intensity beyond words. Shen Kai understood what he had to do. Life is harsh. It kicks you when you're down.

With shaking hands, he pulled out another wad of cash and handed it to the giggling girl.

"Nine times forty-three is three hundred and eighty-nine!"

Shen Kai wanted to refute her by saying that it was the wrong answer, but the old man butted in before he could.

"Excellent! Truly excellent! It has to be the correct answer. The answer I got was three hundred and forty-nine! Since both numbers are close and mine isn't very reliable, your answer must be the correct one!"

"Ehehe...Thank you, grandpa! Thank you, big brother!" The girl excitedly shouted and ran back to her parents who were chatting at a distance.

The old man looked at Shen Kai and said with a benevolent smile,

"Boy, count your lucky stars that the little kid was here to correct me or I would've missed some variables. If you want to gain the next breakthrough, you must fight with the person you hate the most at the moment. As long as you battle him or her, you'll break through and achieve victory! I have a feeling that you're very clear about who I'm talking about, so hurry up. Bye!"

Before Shen Kai could interject, the old man stood up and started walking away extremely fast. Shen Kai's eyes tracked his back, only to realize after a second that he was actually staring at a completely different person seconds later! The old man had somehow vanished within the crowd right before his eyes and he didn't even realize that.

Shen Kai pulled his shawl closer to his body and huddled up in a corner of the boat while clutching his almost empty pocket.

Even for a demonic cultivator, this world was an unkind place to live in.

"I don't have the money for a returning ticket to Pine town. Should I rob somebody? Or should I waste my qi to cast illusions on mortals to sneak inside a boat?

I'm being forced to commit these lowly crimes due to such petty reasons... It's not that I'm at fault, but it's the world that has wronged me..."

Feeling like a ruthless rebel who has seen through the unfairness of the world, Shen Kai decided to return to the woods and lurk for an opportunity to achieve his breakthrough.