The closest people immediately took a few steps backwards disgusted: the young youth in front of them was so dirty that even his face was indistinguishable! Even his long, flowing, black hair that reached the waist had blackish earth and mud attached to it… It really made one wonder whether black truly was the color of the hair, or if it was simply so unclean that it had been naturally dyed like that!
The absolutely worst thing though was that the boy stunk. He stunk really bad! He was so stinky that many people had to hold their noses and breath through their mouths: judging by the smell alone, it wouldn’t be weird for one to guess that the child had never taken a bath before!
"Y... Young child, what matters could possibly bring you to come to my Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect? Is a sibling of yours studying there?" The man that was constantly being sung praises to asked the small boy while holding back his annoyance: despite his exquisite acting skills, even he had trouble hiding the disgust on his face. Before he could react, he had already clearly bent back slightly, all in order to put some distance between him and the dirty child.
The golden-eyed child's gaze scanned the man in front of him. Slowly, an imperceptible smile formed on the thin lips as the child realized exactly what kind of man he was talking to.
"Oh, This Lowly Junior has no siblings, relatives nor friends at esteemed Senior's Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect. This lowly Junior came to join the Sect and become a powerful cultivator just like Senior! Esteemed Senior's strength can be seen simply by his air and demeanor; truly worth of a king among men!" After noticing how much the man seemed to value face, the boy wasted no time and immediately started flattering him in front of the other disciples. The praises had come out extremely smoothly, without the slightest hint of sarcasm amidst the fancy words. It was a beautifully done flattery, so much so that the man's expression immediately turned from disgust in the stinky youths' regards, to pride, and finally self-satisfaction, as if what he had just gained had not been a slight bit of face, but rather the greatest of riches imaginable!
He looked around, a huge smile plastered on his face, as if he were saying: “See? This genius is so great even a small child understands how he should act in front of me!”
MWAHAHAH! Indeed, this Genius is the greatest!
"Cough, cough, ahem!" The man with three white stripes on his black robes stepped closer to the kid and he waved his hand towards him: immediately afterwards, the air flow changed! An invisible pressure started to firmly yet gently burrow into the child's body before emerging; at the same time as it did, the invisible power had also removed all traces of dirt or mud from the golden-eyed youngster’s figure.
The boy watched in 'amazement' as the previously dirty him suddenly turned into a clean, refined young boy: his beautiful and long pitch-black hair, and his wide, somewhat girly, golden eyes as well as his handsome face mesmerized some of the females on the spot.
Those long eyelashes, that small, straight nose pointing slightly upwards... With such delicate features to his name, how in the world was this child not a girl?
He was even prettier than many beauties!
It was to the point that some girls even came as far as awakening their hidden shotacon side, and immediately started to think of methods to get closer to the beautiful youth.
The child's pretty, girly looks coupled with the hint of courage between his eyebrows and the innocent and pure look in his bright, golden eyes... If he was this beautiful while still so young, how breathtaking would he become in the future? Gah! Arrows of blood shot into the sky!
Ignoring the strange reaction from his female companions, the thirty-one year old cultivator smiled at the child. "Good child! You sure know what you are talking about! As a little reward..." The black-robed man looked up and the air surrounding them trembled as the two suddenly shot towards the sky! That single move had brought the two of them really high up. In the blink of an eye, they soon were more than a hundred feet off the ground! Just as they seemed on the verge of falling back down though, the crowd realized that the two of them were actually as still as a rock on the ground: the child and the older man were fluctuating in the air!
The golden-eyed youth turned towards the man at his side, who was firmly grasping his shoulder and sharing the power of flight of an Advanced Stage cultivator with him. The man looked back and, seeing his little friend’s 'shocked' face, he explained emanating an air of superiority, "A king among men, you said? Well my little Junior, you were absolutely right! Your Senior is indeed quite powerful. I am actually an Advanced Stage Cultivator! As a reward for guessing correctly then I, Liu Biao, will personally escort you to the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect!" Having said that, the man that had called himself Liu Biao turned towards the tall walls in the distance. He smiled and the child felt a strong pull as they suddenly sped up, moving so extremely fast that the trees beneath them could not be clearly seen and the people below seemed even more like colored blurs!
In less than twelve breaths they had travelled quite a distance and reached the tall walls of the gigantic fortress! The fort spanned for many miles in both length and width and it was absolutely massive, so big that it could easily house at least a few million men while still having plenty of space left over.
"Young boy, Senior has given you his name, so can Junior tell what is this little Junior's name?" As they landed and started approaching the tall walls, Liu Biao also started to ask the youth beside him a few questions.
"Senior, this Junior is called Cheng Hao and he comes from a small mountain village in the south. This Junior truly thanks Senior for his assistance and hopes to one day be able to repay kindness with even more kindness! But as Senior is so strong and important, this measly Junior truly doesn't want to waste the great Senior's precious time and thinks that for Senior's best it is better to part ways here..."
Although the intention to sweet-talk and flatter the older man was crystal-clear in the boy's words, the 'Advanced Stage cultivator' had already fallen for the young man's soft schemes and sweet praises so much... That he actually couldn't bear to part with the boy! It was like biting into a delicious cake: now that he had gotten a bite once, he wanted more! Because of this, he quickly disregarded the boy's suggestion. "Hahaha, this Junior can call me big brother Biao and I will call you little brother Hao! How about it? There would be no need for worries when we are brothers right? Onwards, let big brother help you easily pass the exam for Vacant Disciples!"
Cheng Hao caught onto the occasion and knelt on the ground. When he looked up, his eyes glinted with excitement as he softly called out. "Big... Big brother Biao..."
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Ugh! Too cute!
Some passers-byes felt as if an arrow had suddenly stabbed into their chest!
MWAHAHAH! Indeed, this Genius is not only the greatest in cultivation… to have such a cute little brother, I must also be the greatest big brother!
"Ahahahah!" Liu Biao lifted his head upwards and laughed loudly to the sky. By doing so though he had also missed the grin as well as the greedy countenance that appeared for a really short time on the child's face. Suddenly, the child's expression changed as he slapped a golden blur that had suddenly shot out from his ragged clothing. The blur whimpered once, and then returned back into one of Cheng Hao's front pockets.
"Not yet," he hissed. Without being seen, he hurriedly closed the front pocket where, for a moment, a golden, scaly tail could be seen moving about...
A short while later.
"Little Bro' Hao, you wouldn't by any chance have already started to cultivate, have you? Those trashy cultivation methods that ordinary peasants use could really harm your foundation, as it is really difficult to change one's method midway..."
"B-big brother Biao!" Cheng Hao stuttered. "How could have I? I am so young, how could I possibly have started to cultivate?" The child chuckled before his expression darkened. "Our mountain village only had one cultivator, and that cultivator didn't let even his closest of friends look at his cultivation method. Let alone a small, poor and..." the child sniffed theatrically, "orphan child like me..." At that Cheng Hao gradually started to slow down and began to sob. An incessant stream of tears also didn't wait long before falling down the sides of his face.
"You... You are an orphan?"
"Y-yes... W-w-WAAAAA! MOMMYYY! DADDYYY! WAAA!"
Liu Biao panicked when he saw the child cry even more at his question. He hesitated but he then knelt in front of the child. "Do not worry, you may have no parents, but now your big brother is here! Big brother will protect you from now on!" After saying that he tightly hugged Cheng Hao and let the boy cry his heart out on his robes. After a long while, the child seemed to have finally calmed down and he looked at the older man with what seemed even more ardor. "Big brother, thank you!"
Liu Biao grinned and patted the boy's head. "Now let's go... I will make sure you pass that exam! You WILL join the Sect"
Cheng Hao also looked determinately at the wall that was now only a few dozen step in front of them and nodded before starting to walk again…
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE CAN’T JOIN???" Liu Biao furiously banged his fist on the table. The poor furniture immediately got crushed into splinters under the immense power of an Advanced Stage cultivation base. Thanks to the thirty-one year old cultivator's actions and fiery temper, all the people nearby immediately gave up on their intentions and steered away as far as they could from the broken down table and the three people gathered around it.
Sitting at the table, or at least the few splinters that had once been a table, was a middle-aged man: he wore a white uniform with a single black stripe on it. The white robe meant he was an Elder yes, but that single stripe showed he was only a mere Vacant Sect Elder... compared to an Inner Disciple, his status was as low as an ant before an emperor! Furthermore, when the table had been destroyed, the poor guy had also found out that the power of this arrogant disciple was a whole stage higher than his own, so he could do nothing but pray that that furniture murderer would let the matter go...
"E-e-esteemed inner disciple," he flattered, "this boy is simply way too young, we can't possibly allow such a young kid in our sect! Let alone the fact that we wouldn't be able to measure his talent due to his age... The rules would still require him to pass through a vicious and arduous trial! If he attempted it as he is now, he could very well perish!" The Elder tried to explain.
The result?
"Does it seem like I, your grandfather, gives a dog's crap about your rules??? If I say crawl, you crawl, if I say bark like a dog, you bark… and bring me back the stick I threw at you while at it! And so, if I say my little brother here will join the sect... HE. WILL. JOIN. THE. SECT. Am I clear?"
Facing Liu Biao's, an Inner Disciple's, cursing, the vacant Elder could only shut his mouth and not retaliate, hoping that the other party would eventually calm down... or a miracle happened. Well, not that he put much hope into the latter, after all miracles were miracles exactly because they simply did not happ-
"B-big brother, you don't have to go as far... I-I will come back in a few years, how about it?" Hearing that pleasant voice and the words it had just spoken, the Vacant Elder felt as if he was on the verge of tears.
It’s actually a miracle! Now, all that’s left is for this guy to drop the matter and-
"Look here now… Are you listening to me? Do you even KNOW who I am???" Liu Biao leaned in threateningly.
FUCK!
The Elder's eyes twitched: he did not get paid enough for this! Now that he thought about it... did he even get paid at all?
"Big brother!" Meanwhile, as the Vacant Elder was lost in his thoughts, Cheng Hao lamented in his place: he wished to lie low and slowly make his way up as he gained enough strength… that much attention just as he was starting off was simply unwanted! The golden-eyed child had even begun to tug at the older boy's clothing and urge him to stop, but all had been in vain: having completely immersed himself in his role of the “Greatest Brother”, Liu Biao wouldn’t listen to reason!
"Senior... I-I... Really can't-" The Elder finally managed to stutter…
"Are you not listening to ME? To MEEE?" But when he heard Liu Biao’s reply, the poor guy almost began looking for a club or something to smash onto that guy’s face.
Unable to endure any longer, Cheng Hao gritted his teeth and finally spoke out: "Big brother! I will just take the test! Esteemed Elder, there will be no problems if Junior can pass the new disciple acceptance exam, right?"
"Uh?" Both the examination elder and Liu Biao looked at him with wide eyes and stopped arguing.
Finally, the enraged Inner Sect Disciple seemed to have calmed down. "Little brother, you should know that there are traps and monsters waiting for you if you take the test... Are you willing to throw your life away??? Just leave it to big brother here!"
"I-I won't die!" Cheng Hao yelled. "Please big brother, just stop arguing! You’re scaring me!"
Liu Biao was stunned.
Scaring him? But… But I am the world’s biggest brother! Wait… could it be that, being the greatest, my love is just too much to handle for the average person?
“Little brother-” Liu Biao started… but before he could say anymore, Cheng Hao had already walked towards the area where the middle aged vacant elder was sitting, stepped on the teleportation hexagram laid on the ground, the one that would bring him towards the test's location, and vanished. Seeing the scene play out before their eyes, both the elder and Liu Biao stared at the fading teleportation hexagram with blank expressions.
"Uhm, Senior? Does that little brother of yours perhaps have enormous strength even if he is so young? W-what cultivation does he actually have?" the Elder managing the examination asked Liu Biao: for the child to be so confident… was he perhaps a genius that had begun cultivating at such a young age?
At that however, the black robed man immediately paled. "C-Cultivation? He... He... HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY!!!!!"
Both Liu Biao and the elder looked at the now almost completely gone hexagram in horror.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" Liu Biao tried to step on the hexagram before it disappeared with a huge leap… but failed miserably and fiercely slammed into the wall. "STOP IT! Stop the new disciple acceptance exam! NOW!"
"I cannot!” cried the panicking Elder, “There is no way to access an occupied examination array once it is full! Now that it already holds a disciple in it, the exam has already started: unless he dies, nobody else can go in!"
" Little Hao! NOOOOOO!"
Liu Biao started weeping on the ground where he stood. He began rethinking his whole life: perhaps, just perhaps… there might be a chance he was not actually the greatest brother?
And so, the encounter between the self-conceited Liu Biao and the small Cheng Hao ended just like that. Perhaps they might encounter each other in the future, but by then, they would already be travelling very distinct paths. And maybe, just maybe, had the Advanced Stage cultivator remained even just a little more clear-headed instead of drowning in his grief, he would've probably felt something was off. Fortunately for the golden-eyed boy, it would only be much, much later, that the Inner Sect Disciple would finally discover that his belt had actually gotten one Heaven&Earth pouch lighter...