A slow murmur was arising in The Golden City at the two strangers walking nonchalantly down the center of the street.  From first glance, it was obvious that the two were outsiders and not native to the lands of Summerset.  One was a tall, ghostly pale gentleman wearing an unnaturally black robe that flickered and moved as if in a breeze, even though there was no wind blowing.  Large straw hat pulled down over his head, the shadows concealed his face and blanketed his eyes in darkness, making it impossible to see where he was looking.

The other stranger walked respectfully a step behind him.  A beauty, by all accounts, the other was a well tanned young woman, in the prime of her youth.  Long strands of pristine white hair stood out oddly, highlighting her youthful face, hanging long down her back and almost to her knees.  Outrageously enough, what the young lass the young lass was dressed in – or almost not dressed in – was a scandalously skimpy outfit that made mothers cover their children’s eyes and women glare at their men. 

Pure white sandals laced up to her knees, with heels of such height that they lifted the girl up onto the tips of her toes and made her hips sway outrageously with each step.  Around her waste was nothing more than two long, narrow strips of white silk cloth which draped in front and back like a loin cloth, leaving her long legs bare and visible and doing nothing to conceal the sides of her hips as she walked.  From the rear, the round curves of her tanned buttocks was teasingly revealed with each sashay of her hips as she moved.

Most outrageous of all was the shirt…  Shawl?  Not-shirt?  Was whatever she was wearing over her top! 

Appearing to be nothing more than a single piece of white silken cloth, the top did precious little to hide her well rounded womanly attributes.  Hanging by small silver chains which attached to a set of large rounded earrings, the cloth draped loosely in front of the girl and hung freely in front of her.  As long as she kept her head down and didn’t look around, the cloth would drape and somewhat conceal the view of her breasts from the front – though it did nothing to hide their ripe rounded view from either side.  Unfortunately, the girl had apparently never seen a place as majestic as The Golden City before, and she kept shamelessly turning her head left and right to gape at first one sight and then the other, causing the cloth to move scandalously from side to side, revealing first one full breast and then the other.

Such outrageous strangers!  Such disrespect!  The further into the city the two walked, the louder the mumbling behind them became and the larger the crowd that formed to follow them.

For all the girl’s wide-eyed wonder, the man was completely the opposite.  He walked slowly, seemingly without taking notice to anything or anyone around, and kept his head down as he stared at the ground several feet in front of him.  Several times, people moved to block his path – sometimes guards of the city, sometimes others – and always they found themselves walking to the side and remaining silent as he and the girl passed on by.  Many were questioned about why they didn’t stop the two outsiders, but none could give a reason why.

Soon, the two strangers started up the massive golden steps leading to the shrine in the center of the city.  Dozens of elite guards formed a line blocking the steps, each being a master of their own art.  Veterans of thousands of battles, each of these men had the strength to make an army tremble in fear.  Masters, standing at the pentacle of cultivation and war, they feared no man nor beast under the sun – and yet, they respectfully stood to the side and allowed the two strangers to pass without uttering a single word.

Their honor was shattered in less than a second, and none knew the slightest reason why!

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

On to the top of the steps the two outsiders walked, heading to the center of the shrine and the heart of the city.  The massive golden bell which took the might of a dozen masters to ring suddenly started to sway violently, echoing thunderous ringing which carried for miles around.  A single old man ran out of the nearby temple and stared in disbelief as the bell seemingly rung itself repeatedly and effortlessly.

“What…  What is going on here?”  The old man’s beard hung nearly to his ankles and he was wearing a long golden robe.  A look of astonishment filled his face and he stared bewildered at the two strangers and the crowd which had encircled them.

“It is time for a testing,” was the dry, harsh, unemotional voice from the strange man, who simply stood and stared off into nothing.

“A testing?”  The older man blinked several times, looking baffled.  “The next testing isn’t for another three years, I’m afraid.”  Opening his mind, the old man reached out his senses to scan the two strangers before him.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing – that’s all he was sensing from the two!  There wasn’t a sense that they were blocking his probe; he didn’t feel as if he had encountered a wall or met any resistance at all with his art.  It was simply as if the two weren’t there before him!

“Who… Who are these two?”  Shaken, the old man tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened.

“We apologize, Patriarch!”  One of the men nearby rushed up and knelt before the old gentleman.  “We do not know why, but we could not approach nor even question these two.  I know not what power they hold, but we were unable to resist it at all.”  Blushing in shame and anger, the young man held his head in shame.

“It is time for a testing,” came the dry, harsh, unemotional voice from the strange man once again, who still simply stood and stared off into nothing.

“We are not so easy to order around!”  Unable to bare his shame any longer, the young man kneeling at the patriarch’s feet leaped up, spun around, and unleashed a powerful blast of qi energy which would’ve toppled a dragon.  The ground erupted in a massive explosion which sent people flying and caused screams all around.

When the dust settled, the strangers were still standing untouched on a small rise of stone, in the center of a massive crater which had formed all around them.  “It is time for a testing,” was the dry, harsh, unemotional voice once again.

Seeing his attack fail completely, the young man’s eyes opened wide and his face turned beet red.  Never had he imagined that someone, or something, could completely disregard his power!  Reaching into the bag at his side, he drew forth one of the great artifacts from his clan, an ancient silver spear of the greatest power.  With a roar of anger, he rushed forward, stabbing the strange man through the chest.  Channeling his energy into the spear, primordial waves of death energy rippled out and into his opponent.

Grinning triumphantly, the young man pulled his spear out from his opponent and turned back to beam proudly at the patriarch.  Nothing could survive a direct hit and infusion with so much pure death.  Just as he was beginning to get ready to brag on himself, the young man realized something was wrong.  The crowd had gone deathly silent and the patriarch’s eyes were wide as he stared unblinkingly.

““It… It is time for a testing,” the patriarch commanded in a quavering voice.  “Let all know!  It is time for a testing,” he repeated, louder and more authoritatively.  “Let all know that the testing will begin at the end of the month…”

“Week,” corrected a cold, dry, unemotional voice from behind the young man, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up in alarm.  Slowly he turned around to stare at the strange gentleman who had apparently not been affected by his attack at all.  A feeling of dread welled up in his heart and his mouth instantly went dry.  It was impossible!  Nothing could resist such a direct infusion of death from his spear.  Feeling his knees quiver, Warmaster Silver sank to the ground and trembled in utter defeat.

“A week,” the patriarch corrected.  “Let all know that the testing will begin at the end of a week!”

Seemingly satisfied, the stranger said nothing as a strange old rocking chair floated down from out of nowhere.  Sitting contentedly, the gentleman slowly began to rock back and forth in the chair while the girl respectfully sat upon her knees in front of him.

The Golden City seemed to fall silent, as no one appeared to have a clue as to what had just happened.