Yulin made the travel a part of his training. He ran swiftly toward the capital, circulating qi to pump his legs with power and speed. While not exactly the qinggong skill of lightening the body, Yulin’s crude ability made him move much more quickly than a normal human. Carriage and caravan riders gawked at this skinny boy who sped past them faster than a horse’s gallop. When Yulin required rest, he would sit off the road and meditate to restore energy. I also increased the quality of air around him to make this process even faster.

We arrived at Lamane City in barely under two weeks. I excitedly peeked out of the sword’s cloth as Yulin approached the city gates. Neither of us had stepped out of the village’s area, so we both took our time looking around. My godly senses covered the entire continent, but I’d had no interest in the world and so never bothered to examine its happenings.

The path to Lamane City was paved with smooth grey stones. Neatly pruned and flowering trees stood at the sides of the path, their whitened pink and purple petals fluttering in the air. The scattered sunlight reflected gold off of the white surface of the upcoming city gate’s Pixiu guardian statues. If one had to describe the impression of this grand city entrance, it could only be, ‘Rich’! What a wealthy place! Truly befitting of the royal city where the king of this country resided.

A few passerby sent Yulin some odd looks. Yulin stopped gaping and continued on into the city. Passing the great golden doors of the gate, we came into Lamane proper. The tall, vividly colored, and decorated buildings completely contrasted the humble shanties I saw in Yulin’s village.

Yulin went to the city center and signed up for the competition at the administrative booth. After, he sought out various inns to accommodate him for the next few days. But, it seemed that every inn was filled to the brim. The ones that weren’t, were far too expensive. There was one inn that had an open room, but even this rundown family-owned inn’s price was so great that we could only afford to stay for a single night.

Though, if Yulin had to spend a night outside, it would be fine since I was there to protect him.

While Yulin thought over his choices, a group of four martial arts practitioners shuffled into the tiny inn. Their clothes were worn and dirty from the long roads, and they reeked of sweat. Even so, the aura of these youngsters wasn’t bad. They had a friendly and hardworking look to them.

The granny owner of the inn warmly greeted this group. Yulin regarded them with his unreadable expression.

“Hello, madam! Do you have a room for us to stay in?” a girl called. She had a short red ponytail and a fresh expression. Her charming smile won over the granny.

“Of course, we have just one room left. The price is 30 silvers a night,” the granny replied kindly.

A relieved burst of chatters came from the group of practitioners. The girl smiled widely, apparently pleased to have found a place within her price range. “Then…” At this moment, she caught sight of Yulin standing to the side. Her gaze took in his travel-worn appearance, and an intelligent understanding flashed in her eyes. “This older brother, you’re also here for the competition, correct? Would you like to share a room with our group?” she asked Yulin.

Yulin looked at her with a conflicted and distrusting face, his mouth pursed with contemplation.

“Ah, don’t refuse, we’re all brothers and sisters here!” A boisterous and thick youth stepped forward, clapping a hand on Yulin’s shoulder. Yulin’s nose scrunched funnily. “Madam, please lend us your room!”

The practitioners paid the 30 silvers and herded themselves up the stairs to their room, bringing Yulin with them. The smallest practitioner looked worried at the stormy-faced Yulin, but his fellows paid him no mind.

“This older brother, I am Vita of the Jade Sky sect,” the girl introduced herself with a smile, cupping her fist and bowing politely. “My fellows are Troy,” the large and boisterous boy patted his chest and smiled, “Lauran,” she pointed at a nervous and muttering young man in a corner, “and Derrus.” The small and thin boy waved shyly. Smiling, Vita asked, “Older brother, your cultivation is very high. May I ask which sect you belong to?”

Vita herself was an impressive young girl, with a cultivation at the pinnacle of fourth rank. She was just able to sense that Yulin was stronger than herself. The others with her were a bit lacking, all at varying stages of third rank.

Yulin shook his head. After a beat, he realized that it seemed as if he rudely wished not to answer them, so he grudgingly stated, “No sect.”

“Clan, then?” Vita glossed over the previous tense air.

“None.”

Troy asked, “Oh! You can at least tell us your name, can’t you?” Vita shoved her elbow in Troy’s stomach without losing her smile. Troy gasped and bent over, suffering greatly. The two other practitioners had no reaction, evidently used to this.

With a furrowed brow, Yulin introduced himself.

“Su Yulin?” The quiet and small Derrus looked interested. “Your family name is Su, and your birth name is Yulin?” When Yulin nodded, Derrus smiled and explained to the confused Vita and Troy, “This is an ancient-style name mostly found in families descending from the fallen kingdom of Xian. It’s most common in small, rural villages…” he trailed off, glancing nervously at Yulin, most likely worried that he had offended.

But Yulin only showed a spark of interest. He himself didn’t know the origins of his name.

The next day, Yulin woke early and went outside to begin his morning routine of exercise. He had left his belongings in his room. I stayed behind to protect his things. It wasn’t because I was too lazy to get up before the sun rose.

My light dozing was interrupted by the chatter of the practitioners.

“Elder sister, is his cultivation really that much higher than yours?” Lauran, who had been immersed in his own world yesterday, asked with open panic.

“Mm!” Vita nodded, changing out of her sleep clothes. Despite being in a room full of boys she showed no trace of shyness.

“W-W-Which sect could have such a genius? Is he Linius of Clear Water? Mayrelle of Ash Mountain?!”

“He said, no sect! No clan!” Vita stated clearly.

“No way!” Lauran bemoaned, “Ah, there are too many impossible people here! How are we supposed to compete? Someone like me, challenging these monsters? No way! No way!”

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The other practitioners completely ignored him, going about their own routines. But I was annoyed. This guy, please someone shut him up. My eyes bulged out of my shell and waved furiously.

“He must be hiding his identity!” With that cry, Lauran launched himself toward Yulin’s part of the room.

“Lauran!” Vita angrily grasped the back of his collar. Like scolding a dog, “Stop!”

Lauran whimpered.

“Ah…” Derrus suddenly said in alarm. Vita and Troy looked at him curiously. Lauran, hanging from Vita’s fist, only whined at the floor.

Derrus raised his arm and pointed at Yulin’s sword. Specifically, he pointed at me.

Ah, whoops!

I shrank back into my shell, but it was too late. I had been seen. Vita, pale-faced, dropped Lauran with a thud and stumbled away. Troy and Derrus, on the other hand, shuffled closer with open interest on their faces. “What was that?” Troy whispered loudly, unable to properly speak at a low volume.

“It looked like snail eyes.” Derrus’s vision was really too sharp!

“I-If there’s a pest in here, get rid of it!” Vita fervently looked around to make sure there weren’t any crawlies near her. I was a little hurt. I’m not an ugly, scary snail. Please don’t call me a pest.

Derrus and Troy inched closer while Lauran sat, rubbing his sore butt. Panicked, I crawled back further into the cloth. Thankfully, Yulin had finished his exercise. He bounded up the steps of the inn and into the room just as Troy reached for the flap of cloth.

Everyone froze.

Yulin took in this scene of the two practitioners huddling in front of his sword. He narrowed his eyes dangerously, mouth thinning in anger.

At this moment, Vita shrieked, “Did you guys get rid of it yet?!” She had cocooned herself in blankets as protection against this terrifying snail me.

“Um…” Derrus retreated, dragging Troy back with him. “Brother Yulin, we saw some sort of bug on your sword, please check it out.” Crisis averted.

Shooting them a suspicious expression, Yulin stomped to the sword and brazenly threw back the flap. Ah! I squirmed inside my shell. This was the first time Yulin had ever seen me. I really hoped he wouldn’t exclaim in disgust and toss me away. Shivering, I waited for his reaction. Even though I was a god, my snail instincts took over and made me placidly curl up. Why didn’t I run!

Yulin gazed at me for a good few seconds. His fierce eyes softened. I was surprised to feel his fingers lightly stroke the pattern on the top of my shell. He flipped the cloth back to cover me and turned back to the other practitioners.

“It’s mine,” he said.

Dumbfounded, the other practitioners had nothing to say.

After morning breakfast, Yulin took me and the sword out for a walk around the city. I was happy, so happy! I wiggled my eyes around the air. I didn’t know why I was so happy, but I knew that if Yulin were to have rejected me earlier, I would have been unbearably sad.

In my joy, I crawled onto Yulin’s shoulder. He shot a curious glance at the feeling, but smiled when he saw me. See! My good mood was so strong that it could even affect this stone-faced little cultivator.

It might have been strange to see a young man walk around with a snail on his shoulder in any other town. But, because so many cultivators had gathered in Lamane, everyone was used to seeing people riding or carrying around strange magical beasts. Only powerful cultivators could tame magical beasts to be their servants, so having an impressive beast was a sign of status, strength, or wealth.

Yulin didn’t waste his time. With only cultivation on his mind, he visited stores which sold spiritual pills. Even a bottle of the cheapest pills was worth several silvers, so he didn’t buy anything. But it was a good reference for how much wealth cultivators were expected to have. Since cultivators were much more powerful than average humans, they were highly sought after for protection against magical beasts, demons, and other humans. Cultivators who specialized in pill-making could make cures for numerous diseases, and cultivators with magic could decimate cities if they so wished. Truly, any cultivator’s services weren’t cheap.

Even if Yulin didn’t get into a sect for some inconceivable reason, he could make a living as a roaming mercenary.

While Yulin continued to browse the pills, a beautiful and heavenly man swept into the market. He was an adult, much taller than Yulin’s half-grown state, with elegant flowing hair and a regal attitude. Many of the cultivators present bowed respectfully to him. Yulin, unaware, merely continued staring with frustrated brows at the two bottles held in his hands.

I waved my eyes in the air, taking in the presence of this man. He had thick spiritual power. Actually, this man was a mid-level Saint. In a realm which hadn’t produced immortals for thousands of years, he was a worldly treasure.

But, compared to me, he was still very weak.

His keen eyes took a fraction of a second to assess the market. When his gaze landed on me, a small flicker of interest passed through his face. He gracefully approached. Sensing something troublesome, I sunk back into my shell.

“Excuse me.” The man’s voice was pleasantly deep. Just a little bit, I envied his confident and manly tone. My own voice was airy and timid. It was very vexing.

Yulin, finally noticing the presence of this guy, turned around warily. He tensed with apprehension. Yulin’s instincts were sharp enough to tell him how powerful this man was even if Yulin couldn’t sense him.

The man politely smiled, though his impression was entirely cold. He pointed lazily at the snail me on Yulin’s shoulder. “How much?”

Yulin just stared for a beat, uncomprehending. His face flickered with sharpness. “Not for sale.”

Unperturbed, the man asked, “Where did you obtain this creature?”

Yulin shrugged warily.

The surrounding cultivators sweated intensely. They knew that this elegant man was a Saint. If you offended someone with such power, you wouldn’t even have time to say your regrets.

The man’s gaze turned colder.

Just when I started to worry, a delicate and cute voice called out, “Big Brother Zhen!”

A breathtakingly pretty girl skipped into the market. Her hair was done up in the pattern of a butterfly, with many hanging ornaments and jewels shaking back and forth. Her pink robes made her look like a frilly flower, lovely and ephemeral. The girl latched onto the Saint’s arm with a happy bounce. The Saint’s coldness instantly disappeared, replaced with gentle warmth.

The girl caught sight of me and beamed. “Wow! That shell is so pretty!” She bent closer to take a look, admiring, “The faint pink and blue color looks like the sky at sunrise, the white dots like clouds and the golden pattern the rays of the sun! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!”

She said such an embarrassing description. It made the me inside flush. However, being praised was certainly better than being called a pest.

“I’d love to see the snail which has this kind of shell! If it’s not too much trouble, could you ask your magical beast to come out for me?” she asked cutely, tilting her head with wide eyes. Ah, this girl certainly knew how to use her looks to the fullest.

Yulin looked annoyed.

With a laughing voice, the Saint said, “May, this little snail isn’t a magical beast. It’s just a normal snail.” And then, with glittering eyes, he turned back to Yulin. “If you like it so much, as your older brother, I can give it to you as a present.”

He silently put spiritual pressure on Yulin. Yulin hissed, bearing the bone-aching pressure. A normal human would have died immediately, but Yulin could just barely keep up without spitting blood.

What a bully! This guy was so arrogant. Since he’s only a Saint, he couldn’t sense the spiritual power of this me who is a God in hiding. Because of that, he assumed that this me who exuded no power was just a normal pet, and thought he had the right to steal me away from Yulin.

How could I let this tyrant bully Yulin? I dispelled the pressure and wiggled out of my shell, angrily waving my eyes at this stupid Saint!

Shock crossed his ugly face. Humph!

“Waa~” The girl squealed. “So cute! Look at how elegantly frilled its white body is. The snail looks like it’s made of an elegant lady’s dress.” She pleadingly looked at Yulin, unaware of the bullying her dear Saint just inflicted on him. “Would you be willing to sell this snail to me?”

Yulin, his mouth clenched to hold back blood, stiffly shook his head. “Not. For. Sale!” he bit out.

The Saint, recovered from shock, narrowed his eyes. “You…”

The girl frowned and interrupted, “Stop it, Big Brother Zhen. If he said no, it’s no. It’s not good to take things away from people.” Ah! What a good girl, what good common sense. If only this stupid Zhen had the same morals you have.

With one last yearning glance at me, the girl bade goodbye and dragged the ugly Saint away. Good riddance. I crawled into Yulin’s shirt, letting my slime sink into his chest. It was only a subtle thing, but my medicinal power would softly heal his internal wounds. Yulin sighed when the Saint left, rubbing my shell gently from the front of his shirt and setting off again. We returned to the inn, where Yulin sat on the floor and spent the rest of the day meditating.

Tomorrow the competition started.