Farming tools left hanging from their haft, a middle aged man brushed the sweats off his forehead, swiftly introducing himself in the process.

"H-Hello! I am the village chief here, you can call me Jan or Janord! Who may your Excellency be?" Being one of the strongest here, standing proudly at the Heavenly Realm, the village chief could not actually tell how strong Alexander was. A difference between the Heavenly Realm and the Empyrean Realm did not lay on a small peculiarity. There were more than forty major realms in between after all.

But even then, a young man so composed, so random and with such unity in his every move... was not someone he was ready to trouble for a small visit.

'If needs be... I can just plead to the sect!'

Cupping his fists, the man awaited.

"I'm Alexander. I want to gather some information. I've just exited the forest to land here, and need some familiarity with the world outside. Isolation training can do a lot to someone's memory!" Hearing Alexander's lighthearted chuckle, the man began doubting whether isolation training could actually do something like this. However, he did not pry further, instead inviting him for a snack at his house.

"We can do that." Nodding, Alexander followed the village chief to his humble abode near the village's center plaza.

After a few greetings with the man's wife and children, he could not talk first, as the man opened his mouth in a strange hurry.

"Sir! I simply wanted to ask something first if it is alright..."

"..." Feeling some sincerity from the man, Alexander gently waved his hand in agreement, indicating for him to continue.

"Thank you sir! I only wanted to ask, as you exited the forest from near our fields... have you perhaps caught sight of a small girl? And a big dog as well!"

"........" Pursing his lips, Alexander faked his contemplation for a moment.

"Hmm... no? I don't recall such things. I have seen some wild beasts, like big birds and elephants... but no dogs and especially not a little girl. Sorry."

It was a complete and utter lie.

One he did not put much thought into. But even if the man knew of this lie, what could he do? He was not ready to fight someone he could not accurately gauge the strength of anyway.

"Oh..." Clearly let down by this answer, the village chief regained some vitality, gesturing for his guest to ask away.

"So, I need a bit more information on the Core Territory. I never really left my own area, which was quite poor. Therefore, I lack certain common sense, at least I think I do."

"I see..." Quick thinking churning up, the man began explaining core concepts of this place.

"First, I'll tell you about the geographical spots of importance. We are west now, if you go south, some purple mountains will be there. Unless someone is from a big sect, this is a restricted area! North is where a giant lake is situated, where an ancestor protecting its own race is residing. Even the top sects don't dare to offend it."

"Second, there are a few big sects here, but one thing is even stronger..."

Perking his ears, Alexander was surprisingly aware of something for this next piece of valuable information.

"There lies in the center some place called the Saint Hall! Some call it the Chaos Saint Hall as well. In here, there should be the top ten masters of this territory. Each is given the title of saint, granted not by cultivation alone, but also martial prowess! The only ones capable of defeating a saint should be the legendary sages from beyond this place! Rumors has it that some sages are actually still here. But I doubt it."

"Something to remember however... is to never offend this Saint Hall under any circumstances!"

"..." A smile almost escaping, Alexander thought to himself that this was a bit too late now.

"Each saint is already extremely strong, but the Saint Hall itself is where people claim the exit to be! If this is true, which it might actually be, then... sages might be watching over them!"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Nodding, Alexander sipped on the tea, tasting it to be quite flagrant but of poor quality. Raising three fingers, the man resumed.

"Third, the top forces of this place are as follow. The Saint Hall is first, the True Martial Legacy is second and the sect world third. The sect world is composed of the top three sects, namely the Diamond Sect, Chaos Dream Sect and Lured Cloud Sect! But while they claim an alliance between them, pulling their place to the top three of the world, none really knows for a fact whether they are actually on good terms with each other."

Slowly putting down his cup, Alexander heard ringing in his ears, introducing silence once again.

"Thank you." Rising from his chair, he was stopped by the village chief.

"Sir! Would you like to stay here for a few days? By the way, the Tamon Sect will be coming over in a few weeks, if sir is interested, you can even stay until then!"

'A sect? Here?'

"Mmmh~"

"How strong are they? There isn't much of a point if I can just-"

"Sir doesn't need to worry about that! Each disciple is at least in the Golden Core Realm! Powerful disciples and elders are even in the Nascent Soul Realm!!"

His eye twitching a bit, Alexander regained a steady face.

'Actually... it might be a fun trip, I could also gain some more information there. While I doubt to ever receive information about the Law Immortal Realm over there... it should be fine. Some things are better done for fun rather than worth. Since there is hidden worth in casual fun.'

'So, might as well be a surprisingly potent disciple, capable of collapsing his own sect with a thought.'

"If it's alright, then I'll stay until they arrive!"

"Good!" Nodding repetitively, the man showed Alexander a guest room below the house. The room was grey and quite shabby, with spiderwebs everywhere.

However, it only took a wave of the hand to clean it up. Spiderwebs vanished, dust flew out and broken furniture turned to nothingness.

Sitting on the ground, Alexander was left to wait.

.

.

.

A few weeks passing by, a male and female duo in light blue and white robes landed on the dirt plaza.

"Welcome!" Cupping his fists, the village chief bowed, greeting such masters.

"Hmm!" Not quite talkative, the man dismissed the chief with a single noise.

"Junior brother, let's get on with it! Also, be careful how you act! This is a poor village, so it doesn't matter, but last time-"

"I know! I know!" Irritated to no end, the young man grit his teeth. During their routine in search of disciples, the young man had been taught a lesson by his senior sister. This was deserved since he acted arrogantly in front of a rather decent sect of the area. Loyal sects were rewarded, and disrespecting them was akin to disrespecting their own reputation.

Therefore, the senior sister of dark hair and blue eyes could only smack his face in front of them as an apology.

A slap mark still visible, the young man of green eyes and brown hair was infuriated. But he dared not refute, his cultivation only at the Golden Core Realm, while his senior sister was half a step into the Nascent Soul Realm.

Aware of their cultivation was Alexander, already out of the guest room, now amidst a crowd of worried villagers.

Easily spotted by the senior sister, not as blind as her junior brother, she showed a worried expression.

'Who is this? He is tall... but in a weird way. And what's with his clothes? He isn't shabby like the rest of them. No signs of dirt nor blemish. He is definitely not from around these parts!'

Apart from the obvious lack of field work done by Alexander compared to other villagers, his height seemed strange. But she dismissed it as coincidence.

'No way, must be luck. He is two meters tall, no more, no less. But such perfection on the height is not that rare. But if he truly did change it voluntarily...'

'Even someone at the Dao Heart Realm like our sect master cannot do so...'

But still, she could not let this go from her mind. Alexander was a being previously ten million kilometers tall. In Limbo however, height attained from cultivation turned strange. In Limbo, height could still be altered, but even regular mortals would be birthed with increased height from their parents or ancestor. Limbo was and still is a mysterious place of dubious origins. No one in Limbo itself knows why it exist. And because of this, no one can tell why everyone can reach ten million kilometers in height no matter what path or origin they come from.

If someone is born within Limbo itself, within its true space, they are granted a height people from other's Multiverse must attain through rigorous cultivation.

However, some people above the Earth Transcending Realm know of a possible explanation.

One would be indicating a cause from space principles. Beings from one's Multiverse were not actually normal at birth, but smaller. Worlds of Limbo are so big, yet worlds inside Multiverses are not. It turned into a mess of explanations no one could truly confirm.

The final point was that, this senior sister and other people could tell when something felt unnatural. Yet, his unnatural height showed naturality, as it evolved into a natural thing.

'...' Being observed so much, Alexander himself showed no change, still as indifferent as ever.

Pausing for a few moments, the senior sister nudged her junior brother. To this, he immediately reacted, giving away his contempt.

"Everyone! We are the ones in charge of your village for the Tamon Sect's recruitment! The last one was ten years ago, as agreed, and so, your village has been blessed once again with the opportunity to rise! Those who wishes to participate, come forward."

A few youngsters taking a few steps forward, Alexander did the same, a light smile plastered all over his face.

Clearing his throat, the young man began explaining.

"In my hands is this jade staircase. It is a powerful artifact capable of measuring talent. I will place it down, those of you who can climb to the fourth step will go to the next test inside our sect." Casually throwing the green miniature staircase down, it glowed before expanding into a giant staircase.

The pressure it emitted suddenly changed compared to the smaller version, giving goosebumps to some.

"First one, you!" Pointing at a young woman, the young judge was ready to weed out the weak.