"Don't worry, sir. I will make sure no harm comes to her," Jian Li replied. He then started to walk in the direction Sofia and Kai Ren had gone.

After some time, Jian Li was able to catch up to the running duo. The first thing he did was go to Kai Ren and whisper,

"Brother Kai, I see that you have taken a liking to that mortal girl. Do you want me to play matchmaker for you two?" Hearing Jian Li's words, Kai Ren's body stiffened, and his face turned red.

"I-It's not like that, Brother Jian," Kai Ren said in a stuttering voice.

Seeing how Kai Ren was reacting, Jian Li finally understood why their senior brother at that time was always looking for ways to tease him. It was exhilarating.

While the duo was busy with their playful banter, Sofia approached them from the side and asked, "Ah, Brother Jian, you are here too, right? So where are we going?"

Hearing Sofia's question, Jian Li just smiled devilishly and said in a teasing voice, "Sofia, why did you run away when Kai Ren said that he likes you?"

Sofia's face immediately turned red, and she stammered, "I-I didn't run away because of that..."

Jian Li chuckled, enjoying the sight of Kai Ren and Sofia's red faces. "Really? Then why did you run?"

"I ran because I didn't wanted my father to change his decision," Sofia replied with her head low and cheeks bright red.

"Oh, is that all? Sigh! And here I thought you and Kai Ren would make a great pair." Jian Li acted disappointed. His shoulders were low, and his eyes were filled with sadness, but the teasing smile on his face was still there.

"It's not like that, Brother Jian. I only ran because I was worried about my father," Sofia hurriedly replied, though she kept peeking at Kai Ren.

"Alright, I get it. Let's go now. We have a whole city to explore," Jian Li said, finally satisfied with the teasing, "though the only one that hasn't explored the city is Brother Kai, so let's ask him where he wants to go."

When Kai Ren saw the duo's attention on him, he declared, "Let's go to the Champion's Arena," there was no hesitation in his voice, as though he was just waiting for the moment someone asked him about it.

"Well, someone's excited," Jian Li said when he saw the determined look on Kai Ren's face, "alright, since you already decided, we will go to the Champion's Arena."

After that, they started to make their way toward the Champion's Arena through the bustling city.

In the middle of their journey, they came across a market that was bustling with activity, and there were all kinds of merchants shouting in hopes of attracting potential customers to their stalls.

"Cheap spiritual fruits, the best ones in the city," one vendor yelled.

"Healing potions, just 10 silvers each. Only a few remain," another vendor called out.

"Wow, this place is amazing," Kai Ren said as stars twinkled in his eyes.

Jian Li noticed his friend's excitement and leaned in to whisper, "Brother Kai, be careful. These merchants will do anything to make money. Scams, fake products, inflated prices—you name it."

Sofia also nodded in agreement, adding, "Brother Jian is right. Ninety percent of the things sold here are fake. You have to be very cautious."

After Kai Ren heard these words, his surprise was evident on his face, "Whoa, so this can also happen. I didn't know that."

"Yes, Brother Kai, you almost always had someone to take care of you, and because of that, you are still not aware of the filth that fills this world," Jian Li explained to Kai Ren after he saw the surprised look on his face.

"But worry not. We, after all, are here to get real-world experience, aren't we?" Jian Li further continued in a much lighter tone, "I will teach you all the ways of the world before we get back to the Sect."

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Hearing Jian Li's words, Kai Ren just smiled and said nothing, but Sofia, who was listening from the side, picked up the keyword sect in Jian Li's words and asked,

"Brother Jian, didn't you say that you were rouge cultivators? Then why are you talking about returning to the sect?" There was a confused and curious look on Sofia's face as she asked this.

"Ah, right, we haven't told you yet," Jian Li said as he leaned closer to Sofia's ear and whispered, "We are actually disciples of the Emerald Peak sect."

"You are the disciples of Emer—" Sofia, in her surprise, was about to reveal the identity of the duo to every single cultivator in the area, but, thankfully for them, Jian Li was able to react fast enough to close her mouth with his hand.

"Are you stupid? You will ruin the whole purpose of keeping our identity secret and also waste my efforts of creating a sound sealing barrier around us," Jian Li reprimanded Sofia a little before removing his hand.

"But Brother Jian, if there is a barrier around us, then why did you stopped me from talking?" Sofia questioned with genuine curiosity on her face.

"It's because most cultivators don't need to hear things to understand what you are talking about. Instead, they can easily read your lips," Jian Li explained to quench Sofia's curiosity.

After that, the trio continued toward the Champions Arena through the lively city. There were a few merchants who tried to sell their products to them, but the trio just ignored them and continued toward their designation.

After they arrived at the Arena, Kai Ren's jaw dropped to the ground by its magnificence, and he said, "The view from the distance really did not do any justice to this structure"

The Champion's Arena was a grand coliseum, towering high with colossal statues of past champions adorning its facade. The sounds of cheering and the clash of weapons resonated from within, promising the thrill of combat.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Jian Li said, placing a hand on Kai Ren's shoulder. "This is where the best come to prove themselves."

Sofia nodded in agreement, still in awe of the arena's grandeur. "I've heard stories about the battles fought here. They say it's like witnessing legends in the making."

The Champion's Arena was a grand coliseum, towering high with colossal statues of past champions adorning its facade. The sounds of cheering and the clash of weapons resonated from within, promising the thrill of combat.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Jian Li said, placing a hand on Kai Ren's shoulder. "This is where the best come to prove themselves."

Sofia nodded in agreement, still in awe of the arena's grandeur. "I've heard stories about the battles fought here. They say it's like witnessing legends in the making."

"Really, then I am even more excited to battle here," Kai Ren said as he started walking toward the Arena's gate, looking at the excited expression on Kai Ren's face, the duo chuckled before following behind him.

Inside the Arena, they started to look for a desk where they could register Kai Ren as one of the participants, and with Jian Li's help, they were easily able to find one.

After they approached the desk, the lady sitting behind it said in a professional voice, "Good Morning, sirs and madam. How can I help you today?"

"I would like to register my Brother as a participant in the arena," Jian Li replied to the lady, Kai Ren and Sofia were clueless about what to do here as this was their first time.

"Very well, sir, then please fill out this form and pay the registration fees of 4 mid-grade spiritual stones," the lady replied without any meaningless chatter.

After Kai Ren got the form, he started to fill in the details, it wasn't much, just his name, age, and cultivation level, though when he was about to enter his real age, which was just fifteen, Jian Li whispered in his ear,

"Add 22 in the age tab. We don't want people to know about your talent."

Hearing Jian Li's whisper Kai Ren also realized this face and added the number beside age.

After Kai Ren submitted the form along with the fees, the lady gave it a brief glance before pulling out a token with a number from her ring and saying, "Congratulations, Sir, you are registered as a participant in the arena."

"Please keep this token with you and go to the left. You will reach the participant's waiting area. You can also bring four friends alongside you. When the number on this token is called, you can participate in the battles."

"Thank you," Jian Li briefly thanked her before he started to move toward the side the lady had told them to, he also pulled Kai Ren and Sofia alongside him.

As they were walking in the hallway, Sofia asked a question that was bugging her mind for a while now, "Brother Jian, why were there no measures to check one's cultivation?"

"I mean, anyone stronger can just write that they are weak and can easily defeat their opponents by pretending to be a genius."

Kai Ren also nodded when he heard Sofia's question indicating that he was also curious about that.

When Jian Li heard the question, he smiled and said, "That's because no one dares to do it because this action is punishable by death, and even disciples from big sects like us can't evade it."

"Even you can't evade it? That doesn't seem right, any one of those sects can destroy the entire Mistvale city, much less the arena," Sofia asked another question after she heard Jian Li's answer, "Why would they stay quiet about their disciple getting killed?"

"That's because public image means a lot to those sects, and if they protected someone that cheated in front of so many people, their prestige as a great sect might take a hit," Jian Li explained, "So as long as it's their disciple's fault the sects will not say anything about it."

"Oh," Sofia nodded as she finally understood why no one would want to cheat in the arena.

"Alright, no more questions, you can ask them while we wait for Kai Ren's turn," Jian Li said as he picked up his pace a little bit.

When Kai Ren and Sofia saw this they also hurriedly followed after him.

After walking for some time, they finally arrived at the participant's waiting area.