To him, the fact that there was a path that could let him become stronger than his peers was very attractive. In his mind, the only requirement to walk through it was resources. And while he didn't have them yet, he didn't think it was beyond his capabilities. He was in the Twenty-Two Suns Pavilion after all!

As such, he was very impatient to start building his core. He was already dreaming of a giant thousand triangle faced form...

While he remained lost in thoughts, the question-and-answer session went on. Until the lecturer said it was time to go and dismissed the crowd. Jin followed the little girl as she took him straight to the Logistics office of the Outer court.

As they entered, the many elders inside looked at them curiously. It was not that unexpected to see disciples right now since the examination was yesterday but those weren't new entrants.

The little girl had quite some fame to her name due to her brutal fighting style and the one that was with her was actually an inner court disciple. That was far more unexpected than anything else.

Those guys rarely came back here.

As they reached the counter, she asked the elder for a mat and the elder acknowledged the demand. To him, it was very probable that the guys from the inner sect forgot about it. After all, it was something that all the entrants there already had and they were mostly using their personal treasured mats...

It didn't take long for Jin to be given one. Like any other, it was a simple blue mat. He picked it up, thanked the elder, thanked the girl and was ready to leave. However, the girl had other plans. She followed him and decided to take him to the cafeteria with her instead.

To be honest, that was welcome too as he didn't know where it was and had yet to eat since he entered the sect.

That bed had been too comfy...It made him forget eating...And now that he did, he got hungry…

And so, they went to the cafeteria. People were staring at him hard once again but he expected it. And someone like him wouldn't be fazed by just this much.

There wasn't much on the menu if you weren't ready to pay up from your own pocket. There were only three options free of charge but they were free. And beggars can't be choosers. So, he picked one. The same as the little girl. A simple plate of curry rice.

He followed her to a seat at an empty table and couldn't help but ask: "Don't you have friends to eat with?"

It earned him one of the fiercest glare he ever got since reincarnating. As he thought back to his question, he could understand why. He was quite rude to ask such a thing so straightforwardly…

Turned out she might not have any and didn't quite like the fact that he pointed it out. He sighed and apologized. Then he told her: "You should try to make some though, you will be here for a long time after all"

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She snorted and retorted: "So will you, right? And I don't see you having any friends "

Jin smiled. Then he told her: "Aren't I eating with one right now?"

And this cheesy comeback, needless to say, was enough to stun the little girl. She smiled back and began to eat. Her mood had been changed quite easily. Jin chuckled as he congratulated himself. He knew at least how to please kids it seemed. Anyways, she had been quite right too. He needed to make some acquaintances from here on out.

The path he would walk on would likely be quite long so it was probably best to find people and rivals to walk along with... Sparring was required to truly perfect one's arts. The little girl might not be capable of providing this kind of help but he had to admit, she had been very helpful up to here. He didn't mind adding her to his list of acquaintances. If calling her a friend made her happy, then so be it too.

As he was eating, she began to chat: "So, where are you from?"

This was but a simple question yet his face distorted upon hearing it. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember the name of that village... He did remember the closest sect to it so he answered as such: "A random village close to the Wind Slash Sect"

The little girl nodded thoughtfully and said after a few moments: "Never heard of it"

It brought some laughter from Jin. Of course, she didn't hear of it. That sect was a weak one, only strong in its own area... So, he told her: "It's in the countryside, it's okay that you don't know"

She asked him: "So, it's far?"

He nodded.

She then continued probing: "Did your parents travel all the way here so you could take the test?"

And Jin’s face distorted once more as he recalled what he had to do in order to leave: "No, I came here alone. They didn't want me to become a cultivator so, I left"

The girl seemed like she couldn't quite understand: "What do you mean? Don't all parents wish for their kids to become great immortals?"

And that brought a depreciating laugh from Jin: "No, some of them only wish for their kids to live happy and simple lives. Let's say that I traded that to follow my dreams"

The girl asked: “Didn't you feel lonely? Weren't you scared travelling alone?"

He had to ponder for a moment to find the right words. Heck, he was not even certain of his own feelings on that part. He only knew what his dream was and that he would do anything in his power to pursue it.

In the end, he answered with a sad smile on his face: "I was used to be alone on my path... It's just that I traded the easy happiness for another one. I don't feel lonely nor scared, only excited about the future"

And the girl shook her head as she said: "I don't get it, I wish I knew my family"

Jin asked her: "What do you mean?"

And the little girl explained: "I was born and raised in the sect, by the sect, for the sect. My parents are servants of the sect but I don’t know who they are…"

Jin understood. The parents were probably mortals who worked for the sect. As a reward for their diligence, the sect probably adopted their little girl. They did their best to provide her with a bright future. They did force the girl to a life without parents but, at least, she would be able to cultivate…

Jin would have probably been fine with that. But he could understand how difficult it might be for someone else. For someone with no prior memories of a past life, at least.

He tried to comfort her: “But they should be here, right? Don’t you only need to search for them?”

The girl smiled brightly as she nodded. She was diligent in her training in hope that she would soon be allowed to check the registries and find her family.

As for Jin, he did abandon his parents in this life but he didn't regret it. What he wanted was to find something greater. As he was dying back then, he understood more than ever what kind of man he was.

He was someone who loved martial arts more than anything.