As the first light of morning seeped through the window, I slowly awakened atop silk sheets so inviting that they could tempt even the most diligent early riser. Despite the allure of comfort, I stirred myself to action.

With a sense of purpose, I quickly got up. I went to the shower, the scolding hot water washing away any lingering drowsiness. With my strengthened body, I could handle much more heat than the average person.

Refreshed and alert, I changed into a fresh set of clothes retrieved from my storage ring.

Dressed and ready, I descended the stairs, my thoughts already turning to the breakfast that awaited.

As I reached the first floor, three people were already there. Two of them wore red uniforms. One was a tall, burly young man with a large sword strapped to his back. His companion, another young man, was short and thin and, notably, had no eyebrows. These two were likely from the Titanic Blade Sect.

The third person was a woman with haunting purple eyes, dark hair, and a cold demeanor. Despite her beauty, neither of the disciples from the Titanic Blade Sect approached her. From what I could sense, she was one star higher than the tall man, and both were Qi Gathering Cultivators. She was likely from the Azure Frost Sect.

All three cultivators turned toward me as I descended.

"Oho! New blood!" the tall man exclaimed, slapping his shorter companion on the back, nearly causing him to slam face-first onto the table. "Which Sect are you from?"

"Blazing Sun Sect," I replied, moving to one of the many empty tables and sitting down.

"Oho? A member of the tournament winners!" he declared.

Did he have some strange compulsion to say "Oho" whenever he spoke?

He should be more cautious of the woman from the Azure Frost Sect breaking fast with us. She had participated in the tournament. If I remembered correctly, she hadn't made it far, but her participation alone marked her as elite.

"And the winner before this tournament was from the Void Piercing Sect. Some consider that a more official victory," I said, calm as a cucumber. The short receptionist behind her desk gave us a strange look. I waved at her and asked, "Can I get a cup of tea?"

"Of course, honorable guest!" she said, hurrying off.

She didn't seem comfortable around cultivators, which was understandable—it was like a regular person surrounded by people with machine guns.

The tall Titanic Blade Sect disciple walked past the many tables and sat in the chair next to me. "That is still a great achievement, friend."

"Oh, are we friends now?" I raised a questioning brow. From his tone, it didn't sound like we were friends.

"But of course. We slept in the same lodging, we're talking now, and soon we'll be on an expedition together, watching each other's backs. What else but friends could we be?" he asked.

"Since we are friends, let me tell you something," I said as the short receptionist brought me a cup of tea. I took a sip and locked eyes with my new companion. "Words are wind and easily forgotten. True friendship isn't built on words but on actions."

There was no reason for him to be friendly. I didn't want to be his friend either. Having too many people close to me, people I'd have to constantly look out for would be annoying. Besides, I had seen how he treated the shorter guy from his Sect; it was clear they weren't friends. Keeping someone like him close was just asking for trouble.

"Hah! That is true!" The tall Titanic Blade Sect disciple laughed before standing up and returning to his so-called "friend." He slapped him on the shoulder as he sat down and began enjoying his meal. While the tall guy no longer paid attention to me, the short guy without eyebrows and the Azure Frost Sect girl were blatantly staring.

"C'mon now, my brother in arms. With everything already prepared, our… companions from the Blazing Sun Sect have finally arrived. We'll set off any day now, so you can't look scared," said the tall guy to his companion.

Though not directly demeaning, this guy was quite an asshole. He was clearly treating his fellow Titanic Blade Sect disciple like dirt.

I might have helped if the other guy wasn't such a wimp by nature. One thing I'd learned in life was that I couldn't help people who didn't want to be helped. Even if I defended the short guy now, it would only create an unknown enemy, and the short guy would go right back to being bullied as soon as I was out of sight.

Of course, there was always the option of killing the tall guy. But I wasn't about to kill someone for a person I didn't know.

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However, if the situation called for it, I wouldn't hesitate to end the tall guy's life. We were on an expedition, and many things could happen. The tall guy was also clearly a fool, antagonizing people needlessly in this situation. He must have never faced the consequences of his actions.

After that rather unpleasant encounter and a quick breakfast, I was already out and about. My first thought was to go to the library and see how much access I had. Perhaps I might need to roll some dice to find out, like everything else in this place. But this was no longer a time for leisure—I had already wasted a day.

Song Song had little strategic sense regarding these things, even though she had grown more cunning recently.

As I walked toward the same gate I had entered through, I saw some guards talking to a man with a pale face. The same golden-armored man who had treated me like royalty was now glaring at the same old man with two donkeys I had spoken to yesterday, his eyes filled with hate as if the old man were responsible for killing his family.

From what I knew, the old man wasn't a criminal. He was just a trader from a nearby village who came here to sell common goods in the city for a higher marked price.

But while the golden-armored man looked like a god of rage, the old man stared at a die on the ground… It had landed on one.

Before anyone could react, the golden-armored man swung his arm in a blur and ripped off the old man's head in one swift motion. Blood spurted from his headless body, painting his two donkeys in a red splash.

"That bastard! We let him come into our city so many times, and he dares to hold such malicious thoughts!" the golden-armored man shouted. Where there had once been serene calmness, now there was an unquenchable rage.

He just rolled a one… Why was this so personal?

But trying to talk or appease a clearly mentally unstable Foundation Establishment Cultivator was not a good idea. So I just walked past him as the silver-armored guards killed the donkeys and used martial techniques to burn the bodies and everything else the old man had owned.

Except for one of the silver-armored guards, who nodded my way as I left the city, the others didn't even seem to notice me.

The golden walls and the city's wealth no longer seemed so glamorous. It felt like all the luck I'd had yesterday was gone.

As I approached the camp with the green tents, I saw Song Song waiting for me with a knowing smirk. She had likely sensed my approach and decided to welcome me.

"How was your stay in the Golden Town?" she asked.

"Pretty good on the first day, but it soured in the end," I shrugged.

"That's why some people only stay for a day," she said. "I don't know much about the place. Well, technically I do, as I vaguely remember my father going on a rant about it. But it was one of those boring speeches, so I often zoned out. He went on rants a lot of the time for a lot of things and places."

"Well, either way, I couldn't leave you alone for too long. I don't want to return to an inter-sect war," I joked as we walked back toward our clump of tents, where my cousins were sitting outside, waving at me.

They were lounging on some wooden chairs—likely brought along by Liu Heng, who seemed like the kind of guy who would over-prepare and keep them in his storage ring. However, Liu Qian didn't seem to be with them.

Song Song and I continued joking as we sat down on one of the wooden chairs. My cousins soon joined in the jesting, though neither dared make a joke at Song Song's expense.

But once the laughter died down, I put up a silencing array around us and turned toward Song Song.

"I think I might have come up with a way to get us some allies," I said. "This trip is the perfect opportunity to gain certain people's support without alerting everyone, as we would have if we visited them in the Sect."

"Oh? So you've finally decided to put on your scheming hat? Let me in on your plans," she smirked like a stereotypical villain.

We really needed to work on that smile if she wanted to play the role of a benevolent leader. And while I liked my cousins, I couldn't trust them with this kind of sensitive information. I doubted they would intentionally do anything that would put me in danger. Still, if it benefited the Liu Clan and put Song Song in jeopardy, I wasn't sure they'd care about her well-being.

Still, I wanted them to know I was up to something. The Liu Clan needed to be ready if they decided to put all their bets on Song Song.

“However, we need to keep our plans and all our allies a secret, at least until Song Song reaches Core Formation and can defend herself—and all of us—from any backlash,” I said.

“That will take a while,” Song Song confessed. “Advancing during Foundation Establishment is half talent, half understanding and comprehending my element.”

I had read enough to know that each cultivation stage had its challenges. But the way Song Song looked when she said it would take a while was as if she had just bitten into a lemon. She was not a patient woman, and that might end badly.

“How many years do you think it will take?” I asked.

“At least ten,” she sighed.

So, by the time we could make our next move, I would be close to my thirties. That seemed so long from now. Oh well, I was going to have to play the long game.

I leaned back in the wooden chair and contemplated my next move. There wasn’t much to do until the expedition went into full swing; for now, I should continue training and cultivating.

...

Days later, as the early morning sun cast a pale, golden light across the horizon, the air buzzed with urgent news: it was time to depart immediately. The word spread swiftly. In a flurry of motion, everyone gathered their belongings, mostly by storing everything they could in their storage rings.

Each Sect, distinct in their clothing, rushed, securing weapons to their sides. Elders issued sharp commands while the younger members exchanged brief glances. The atmosphere was set, a collective energy fueled by anticipation and the unknown.

For whatever reason the Sects had stopped in this city; it seemed they had accomplished what they needed, and everyone was ready to set off.