Chapter 137

  Tensions (IV)

  Everyone gathered relatively quickly, though, oh boy, did they grumble. All faces were quite familiar, and there were even a few unfamiliar ones. Altogether, I counted the number of unique sects present to be eleven, I think?

  Only four, I gather, would be considered 'Holy Lands', while the rest probably fell into that category of first or second-rate sects.

  Just as I was wondering about how they'd 'teleport' us, they just... did.

  It happened in the blink of an eye--space around me warped and dragged me in, like a pair of arms, and before I knew what happened, I was on my ass, staring at the gilded ceiling and the sneering faces of everyone else.

  Why?

  Because, well, I was the only one on my ass. Though a bit embarrassed, I just stood up and smiled sheepishly, dusting my poor little butt off.

  Whatever. Just keep telling myself that.

  Whatever.

  Taking account of everything, I was a bit... stunned. The room wasn't as decorated as I expected--rather, it was only the ceiling that was vastly adorned with a massive painting of a winged creature breathing fire. It wasn't a dragon, no--it was actually a phoenix.

  "Honored guests," a voice drew my attention to the northern part of the room, which was the only one that had chairs. Three of them, to be precise--two of which were filled.

  At least, this time around, their faces weren't cloaked in golden light. Though, despite my unwillingness to admit it, I... get it.

  Because, by God, that was the most beautiful pair of people I've ever seen in my life--and it's not even remotely close. Both the man and the woman had features that even plastic surgery couldn't achieve, and beyond just the scope of their physical appearance, there was the aura about them that made them about a hundred times more beautiful.

  "Welcome," the man was the one who spoke, smiling faintly. The woman, on the other hand, remained silent and still, her face unmoving, as though frozen in time. Everyone on our end grumbled back a greeting and bowed, and I followed their example.

  Honestly, I'm just now wrapping my head around the fact that I'm here. I, a literal nobody, am here, among the Elders of some of the greatest Sects of the continent. There's little ol' me.

  ... seriously, what the hell am I doing here?

  "Little guest, please join us." Ah, dammit, I'm close to being embarrassed just because those two looked at me. It's sort of like the most popular girl in school suddenly talking to you, except even worse than that.

  I shuffled my feet as quickly as I could, ignoring the scorching gazes of everyone, and walked up to the empty chair. The beautiful man nodded, and I sat.

  This is... surreal. No, no, it's unreal. I'm dreaming this shit up. I probably got pissed about how they treated me, got drunk, and now I'm imagining a scenario in which I'm looking down on them. Has to make more sense than the actual reality of things.

  "Now that we are all here," the man continued, and everyone immediately ignored me, focusing on him. "I suppose I should offer you an explanation."

  "You didn't come here for the ruin?" one of the Elders asked.

  "Ruin? Ah, that little thing. No, don't worry; if you ever manage to open it, it is yours." Though his words were vague and inconclusive, I'm pretty sure everyone immediately realized they'd been underestimating just how many people they'd have to kill to open it. I could practically smell the anger and disappointment oozing off of them. "Don't be discouraged; I do actually come bearing good news."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "That's... somehow even more terrifying," Old Zemin said.

  "Ha ha," the man laughed, and by God, was it beautiful laughter. No, seriously, is there anything these two wouldn't look beautiful doing? Maybe taking a shit?

  ... I did not just imagine that. Nope.

  "Ever a joker, Fellow Daoist," the man spoke. "But the truth is rather simple--I am here to inform you that the Phoenix Realm is about to be opened."

  "..." I thought they'd erupt in cheers, but the atmosphere chilled even more.

  "And you came here to taunt and spit into our faces? How brazen!" somebody commented.

  "No, I came here to tell you that our benevolent Sword Maiden has elected to offer one entry token to all of you. Well, not just you, but any sect of middling renown." Ho ho, would you look at that? All their anger evaporating. Well, there was still some of it there, though now further suffused with suspicion.

  "I've never known the Sword Maiden to be so generous," Old Zemin said. "If not about the generosity with which she beheads those who slight her."

  "Careful, Fellow Daoist," the man's voice turned chilly, and I could practically see the ripples of Qi descend upon the old man. Me, on the other hand? I just wished I had popcorn with me... "I will tolerate however many jokes you wish to make at my expense, but the Sword Maiden is off-limits. I will forgive you on the account of it being the first one, but should you ever be cross with her again, there will be another tomb your Sect Master will drink over in rage."

  Old Zemin's expression distorted so deeply I could see his gums bleed from how hard he pressed his teeth. Yet, somehow, he held it in. I mean, yeah, there's probably a buttload of history between these guys, so whatever random words they say likely have ten times more depth to them than I'm aware of.

  "... apologies," Old Zemin actually apologized. Wow. Rep really is everything in this world. "In my old age, I misspoke."

  "All is well," and, just like that, the man was back to smiling. All the while, though, the woman remained still and unmoving. Seriously, if she didn't blink like once or twice, I'd honestly think she was a lifelike statue or something. "It is true, however, that we have never opened our secret realm to the public before--we did occasionally offer entries to the great figures of renown who we thought would benefit from it greatly, but this year it's... a bit different.

  "Heavens have blessed us with a great harvest--the Phoenix Realm's divined yield is greater than at any point in history. And, as most of you should be aware, the Realm is vast and wild, and once it closes, all its resources are consumed. So, rather than have it go to waste, the Sword Maiden elected to share the heaven's fortune with the world."

  The old stooges chattered between themselves while my eyes wandered around the hall. It was quite large, though there were no windows or any obvious reason as to why it was so well-lit.

  I inevitably came back to the two sitting by my side--well, 'by my side' was a bit of a stretch. They sat on an elevated platform about two steps higher than me. Maybe if you stacked two of me by the length of my body, I could reach them. But still.

  I did try using Creator's Eyes on them, but something happened that hasn't happened before:

  The system outright told me that I can't see any info about them. It didn't even offer me to pay some Points to see a partial screen. Nothing.

  "When will the realm open, Fellow Daoist?" one of the Elders asked.

  "On the second harvest of the first solstice," wow. What the hell does that mean?

  "In just three years?! Isn't that a bit too fast?!" Fast? Three years is too fast for you guys?!

  "It should be enough time for the sects to hold internal competitions and select who will be sent," the man spoke with a smile. "The rules, though you should all know them by now, remain: all people under the age of fifty and under the Void Transformation Realm can enter. Any attempt to cheat will result in immediate execution. One entry token is valid for ten people, though only the bearer will have the right to participate in the Realm's bounty. Everyone else would merely be part of the entourage.

  "Here," eleven or so lights shot out from the man's fingertips, and a gold-gilded token appeared floating in front of each of the Elders. "Was there anything untoward about the meeting, Arbiter?" he then suddenly turned toward me and asked with a rather strange smile.

  "Uh, no, nothing untoward. Perfectly... toward." He chuckled at my awkwardness and flicked his finger yet again.

  "You're a bit weak," he said as the token appeared in front of me, too. "But you've shown us something nobody else did: the mind of an immortal," his voice spoke directly in his mind, his lips unmoving, stretched out into a smile. "There's a vast opportunity in the Realm; should you want to finally wash your unfortunate coil, you should come."

  Hmm.

  Hey, you're kidding, right?

  The moment I step out of this place, I'm gonezo. I'm going into the mountains and hiding for a thousand years!

  ... haah. Why do I have a feeling Long Tao will drag me kicking and screaming to this realm in three years' time?