Little Mortal placed the candles on the gravestone and lit them up.
After that, he stood up and walked back to the inn while saying,
"Say your goodbye and come in later.
We need to adjust some plans, and I need to inform you about the changes."
After he left, the crowd turned to Rose.
Rose said,
"Let's wait a little, then we can go in."
So they all stood there in silence, watching the flames on the candles burning on Sword God's grave.
Meanwhile, a certain little girl was watching in the shadows.
Inside the inn, Little Mortal, who saw them coming in, said,
"Sorry, everyone, I couldn't greet you all at the funeral because my eyes were full of tears, and I didn't see you."
The elderly people all waved their hands,
"It's fine, Boss."
Luna already informed them about the name change.
And eyes full of tears? They naturally didn't believe it because they saw his eyes were evil as always at the funeral.
Little Mortal nodded,
"Today, I found out about some secrets that I need to tell you about, but promise not to be shocked."
The crowd nodded and promised not to be surprised by the secrets.
The biggest and most shocking secret of this world was him—how could they be shocked by anything else?
"First, we aren't in Sword Sect, but Demoness Stronghold."
Then he looked at the crowd to see the shock on their faces, but they were looking at him with a puzzled look.
They already knew where they were—what's the secret here?
And they became his followers because he said he was the Sect Master's disciple...
"Second, the Sect Master isn't Sword God, but Snow Goddess."
Then he looked at them again, but they weren't shocked this time either.
It was common knowledge who the Sect Master was...
"And I was supposed to join the Sword Sect,
But because this stronghold's boss, who suddenly decided to change the whole snowy scenery and then move the statue of that weakling, 'Sword Whatever', here to her stronghold door, I ended up in the wrong place."
Then he looked at them again.
This time, they were all shocked!
First, he called Rose's mother 'stronghold boss', then called her father 'Sword Whatever', and he even said he was in the wrong place!
"So, you can't be my followers anymore because this is a stronghold, not a sect."
Lady Butterfly and Rose remembered something else now.
They forgot to tell him Snow Goddess is their relative too, and now they understand why he was so dissatisfied with Sword God.
It was because he was supposed to be his teacher,
But he lost to a 'boss' from the Demoness Sect, and even his statue was taken...
To him, it was probably a disgrace that even made him change his Daoist name to the one that beat the 'Sect Master'... 'Boss'.
The two felt enlightened!
An old man said,
"T-then, Boss, are you going to abandon us?"
Little Mortal shook his head,
"No, I don't have time for that.
That's why I give you two options, and you can pick one."
Then he pointed at the whiteboard.
The crowd turned to it and read the options:
1. Take over the sect and turn them all into followers.
2. Disguise the followers as gangsters and continue with the plan secretly.
Seeing the two options, they looked at Rose and Lady Butterfly nervously.
The two were looking at them with a smile that didn't seem to be a smile at all.
They thought,
'You want us to take over the sect?
With the daughter and mother-in-law of its
Sect Master here? No way...'
So they chose the second option without hesitation.
Little Mortal nodded,
"Alright then, tomorrow, we will distribute the 'gang members' package' among you.
I'll teach you personally how to use it later on and disguise yourselves.
So don't worry.
Now you can leave if you want."
The crowd bowed,
"Goodnight, Boss," and left.
Rose, by his side, was going to tell him about his parents, but he didn't give her the chance.
"Big Guy, connect to the guardian token, measure the size of our gang members, and start making the things on this list.
If you need anything, find it in those rings."
Then, after throwing a paper at the big backpack alongside his guardian token, he said,
"Alright, Assistant Rose, what did you want to say?"
Rose immediately said,
"Boss, my father is still alive!"
Little Mortal, who Rose was expecting to be shocked, shook his head and said,
"I understand..."
Then he turned around to leave.
Rose hastily said,
"Boss, it's real!
Look, he even sent me a message!"
Little Mortal paused, shook his head again, and said,
"I understand..."
Rose couldn't take it anymore,
"Boss, what do you understand?"
Little Mortal sighed,
"Sometimes, your mind tells you the truth,
but your heart won't accept it... Like you right now...
You know it well that your father is already gone,
but your heart doesn't want to accept the truth—it's even trying to fool you with this fake message..."
Rose didn't know how to continue this topic, so she changed to another one,
"Boss, what about my mother!
Snow Goddess is my mother—did you know that?"
Little Mortal, who was going to leave, stopped again, but he wasn't shocked this time either,
"I understand..."
Rose was going mad,
"What do you understand this time?"
Little Mortal shook his head again,
"When a girl loses her father, she tries to fill that space in her heart with something else...
Something as powerful, understanding, and trustworthy as him...
That's why, right now, your mind is trying to fill that emptiness with Snow Goddess, the strongest person you know, as a mother..."
Then he walked back to her, held her hand,
and gently patted it while saying,
"Assistant Rose."
"Yes ..."
"You don't need to fill the emptiness left by a weakling with another weakling... Especially with someone as strong as me by your side.
Do you... understand?"
Rose, who realized there was no way to convince him, gave up,
"Yes, I understand..."
Lady Butterfly, sitting on the sofa, was amazed by his resistance when it came to the truth that he didn't want to accept.
Little Mortal was going to go inside his backpack, but suddenly stopped and looked at Lady Butterfly in confusion.
Lady Butterfly had a bad feeling—
Why was he looking at her like this?
Little Mortal then nodded, as though he figured out something, and turned to Rose,
"Assistant Rose."
Rose, who was thinking about how to convince him later about her parents, responded,
"What is it, Boss?"
"Say goodbye to your grandma.
It seems she was a bit naughty today, and she is going to leave us for some time."
Then he looked at Lady Butterfly with a knowing smile and waved at her, as if bidding her farewell...
Lady Butterfly panicked, stood up, and said,
"What did I do?"
Rose's eyes suddenly widened in shock,
"Grandmother, beside you!"
Out of nowhere, a dark passage opened beside Lady Butterfly without her noticing!
Then, like she was hit by something, with a look of disbelief on her face, she was thrown inside the dark passage, and then the passage closed the next moment.
Little Mortal, who didn't care at all, just giggled and left while shaking his head like a senior who saw his junior learn her lesson.
Rose was so shocked that she couldn't talk.
What happened? What was that?
Luna, who was watching this little boss making Rose speechless, gulped and said,
"B-Boss, just now...?"
"She was added to the naughty list of that old manager.
But don't worry, she is fine."
So Lady Butterfly did something while she was away and made the planet's big boss dissatisfied enough to make a move on her?
Luna, seeing Rose had lost all of her family members in one night, tried to change the topic,
"Boss, how was your meeting with Snow Goddess?"
Little Mortal became excited,
"It was dangerous, really dangerous!"
"How so?"
"Let me tell you, Manager Luna, when I arrived at the meeting hall, there was nobody there except this white-haired, cold-looking lady in a white robe, looking at me...?"
"Coldly?"
"Exactly!
At first glance, I could tell she was the Boss of this stronghold. But I didn't fear her! Because?"
"You fear nobody?"
"Exactly!
So we sat there quietly until an old man in a brown robe walked in!
The guy's hair was on fire—can you believe it!? On fire! Literally!
When we looked at each other, we both frowned!
It was like, without knowing each other, we hated each other!
That was a weird feeling!
So I said, 'Whatcha looking at, old man?', but the old man didn't dare to say anything and just sat down too after snorting!
I could tell he was just an Underboss.
Then I suddenly heard a cold snort from outside!
Guess who was coming?"
"A big shot?"
"Exactly!
A pink-haired girl in a brown robe walked in this time, and the old man shivered uncontrollably just from her presence!
One glance, and I could tell she was the Boss's—"
"Right-hand?"
"Exactly!
After her, another two came in—one wise-looking man and a happy-looking lady.
Both in brown Underboss robes."
"Boss, I think they were Elders..."
"Manager Luna, we are in a stronghold—what elders?
We have Boss, Right-hand man or woman, and then Underboss.
There is no such thing as Sect Master, Supreme Elder, and Elder here—those are for sects."
"Oh..."
"Where was I...?"
"Another two elders came in."
"Oh, right, when the two arrived, the meeting started. At that time, I didn't know this wasn't the Sword Sect, but the Demoness Stronghold!
So I said, 'We should wait for the Sect Master to come.'
The crowd looked at me weirdly!
Seeing their reaction, I sensed that something was wrong.
The lady in white said, 'I am the Boss of this stronghold—we wait for no Sect Master. And who even are you?'
I said, 'Who am I? I am the Sect Master's disciple! And what do you mean by stronghold? This is a sect! Sword Sect! Can't you see the statue of my teacher at the entrance?"
Only now did Rose and Luna find out how he ended up in the wrong place!
He came to the Demoness Sect because he saw the statue of Rose's father...
"The moment I said 'the statue of my teacher', the meeting hall suddenly became deathly silent!
Only then did I find out something was wrong, really wrong!
And the next moment, a bloody fight—"
"Broke out?"
"Exactly... not.
I just changed my team—why else do you think I changed to a white robe?"
Luna and Rose were speechless.
The story just built up to the point of no return, but it suddenly ended peacefully...
"What's the plan now, Boss?"
"The same as before.
We train my followers, take the final steps, I become the guardian, and everyone's violence will be under control."
"What do you mean by 'everyone's violence will be under control'?"
"Not telling."
"-_-"
"Boss, about my grandmother..."
"She is fine, don't worry."
"My mo—I mean, stronghold boss might come here to see me now that my grandmother is missing—should I tell her where she is?"
"Tell her the truth—she went to the same place as Elder Iron."
"So she is in Forbidden Jungle?"
"Yeah, with a bunch of other people with a +90 level of power.
The planet manager is keeping them there because if they go around, they use too much spiritual energy."
"Didn't you say he forced you to help him with that?"
"I did, but there is a limit on the energy orb I gave him—he can only use it for himself, not for the whole world.
By the way, aren't you girls hungry?"
"...Yes."
....
Forbidden Jungle.
Restricted Area.
In the dark and quiet night of the small village, the sound of Infamous Blacksmith hammering iron with his bare hands echoed.
Lady Butterfly picked up her teacup and looked at the group of big shots in front of her, who couldn't wait to ask her questions.
"Thank you for the tea, Senior Scholar."
It had been close to 300 years since she was last this respectful to anyone...
A group of people eagerly looked at Lady Butterfly, who had suddenly appeared.
Lady Butterfly sipped her tea nervously.
'What is this lineup?
Is this the gathering place of big shots?'
Not long ago, she was dropped here.
Then she was welcomed by this group of her "colleagues."
At first, when she was thrown into the passage, her vision turned dark, and she thought that was the end.
Her reclusive move to investigate the immortals from the other side angered Heaven, which was completely in support of her boss.
She thought the little monster was dissatisfied with her going around looking for that immortal, and the old manager just decided to get rid of her and be done with it.
While her mind was in turmoil, she saw the light again and found herself in a small village. She even heard people talking around her.
The voices were familiar to her... or, to be exact, she knew all of them.
A lady said,
"Oh, we have a newcomer?"
An old man said,
"Look, she has a black guardian token like us—it's a colleague!"
Then a man with a stern tone said,
"She is my disciple's mother, Lady Butterfly."
A gentle voice of a man followed,
"Alright, I bet Fellow Daoist Butterfly can tell us a lot about what's going on outside."
And then a charming voice of a lady sounded with a panicked tone,
"Little Butterfly, is the Demoness Sect still around?
Don't tell me it's already gone?
Noooo, my little disciple!
I wasn't even there to bury her..."
An old lady, with a voice full of kindness,
"Don't be so negative. Our Little Sect Master is not that kind of person..."
Soon, Lady Butterfly's vision returned to normal,
And she could see who they were.
The lady with a fiery temper—Fire Goddess.
The old man who was known as a busybody in the cultivation world—The Mediator.
Her son's master—the former Sword God with his silver hair.
Scholar—the man with golden hair, the most knowledgeable person she had ever known.
The master of the Demoness Sect's Supreme Elder—Charm Goddess.
The best pill maker of the current era—the kind and lovable lady everyone would call "Grandma."
And farther away, in a workshop, the two guys were busy building something. She only knew one of them—Elder Iron—but she could guess who the other person was.
He should be Mr. Blacksmith, whom her little boss contacted once and then kicked the sphere (with Elder Iron on it) toward him...
'So Elder Iron was kicked here?'
Seeing this group of people, she felt somewhat relaxed.
This place was probably somewhere inside the Forbidden Jungle that the little boss once said her other colleagues were trapped in!
She took a deep breath and said,
"It's good to be here.
Being around him is too stressful..."
The big shots looked at each other, amused.
Scholar said,
"Fellow Daoist Butterfly, you think
Being trapped here is better?"
Lady Butterfly nodded.
"It's far better, Senior."
"Fellow Daoist, let's go to my house. We have lots of questions for you."
And she ended up in Scholar's small home with all of the big shots except Blacksmith.
Seeing she had finished the tea, Scholar smiled.
"Fellow Daoist Butterfly, before you tell us how things are going outside, let me tell you why we are here.
After we met with the Little Sect Master, with his explanation, we figured out that it's all Heaven's Will's arrangement for us to be here due to the lack of spiritual energy.
But unlike the way you entered, which was a lot more straightforward, we were baited here.
This shows Heaven's Will is far stronger now than in the past when we were outside."
Lady Butterfly nodded.
"It should be because of him. He was forced to help Heaven's Will in that regard.
Oh, by the way, he changed his Daoist name tonight to 'Boss' because he was dissatisfied with my son."
"He was 'forced' to help Heaven's Will?"
"Yes, but not by Heaven's Will. The Planet Guardian position he wants forced him.
I couldn't understand how exactly he was forced, though."
"Is he still talking in a complicated way?"
"Yes, but I think it's because he can't say some things, or certain entities with 'higher levels' might find out."
And so, the discussion between them started.
Listening to them, Lady Butterfly discovered why they had been here all these years, how Little Mortal had appeared one day, recruited them as a special force, and the story behind the recommendation letter and the address that the group had not known was incorrect.
But after Lady Butterfly told them about what Snow Goddess did to give her husband a lesson, they understood how everything went wrong because of a husband-and-wife fight.
In the cultivation world, this wasn't something rare between cultivators—just this time, it led to something dangerous.
Third Sister, the lady known as "Grandma," asked,
"Fellow Daoist Butterfly, did he contact anyone or any place outside our cultivation world?"
Hearing her question, Lady Butterfly didn't think too much about it because they only knew about the immortal world.
"He changed to the role of a judge the first day I met him, and after judging a bunch of those black-robed people, and I was scared it might bring heavenly lightning, but nothing happened—
He summoned a gate."
The crowd raised their eyebrows in wonder. What gate?
But "Grandma" clenched her fist secretly in excitement.
"What was behind the gate?"
The third sister was the most curious about the child.
"Little Butterfly, tell us about him.
What does he do these days?
He doesn't seem to be a troublemaker..."
The rest rolled their eyes at her!
He wasn't a troublemaker?
Lady Butterfly shook her head.
"He is indeed not a troublemaker, but... a walking disaster, I think..."
The third sister, unlike the others, who were looking solemn now, became excited.
"Tell me, what did he do to make you say that?"
The others frowned at Third Sister's behavior!
What is wrong with her?
Why is she excited about a walking disaster?
Where is our 'always calm' Third Sister?
Aren't you an illegal immigrant in his eyes?
Lady Butterfly, who found it weird that she seemed happy, said,
"I don't even know where to start.
But I'll give you an example.
The day he arrived at the sect—the wrong sect, I mean—he caught all those black-robed people after breaking a bunch of their bones and knocking them out, and sent them to Hell later on to bring justice..."
The crowd looked blankly at her.
They understood the words, but the meaning was unclear.
Scholar was going to ask something, but Third Sister cut him off.
"Tell me in detail!
What do you mean by Hell?"
Charm Goddess, by her side, said,
"What else? She means he killed them, right, Little Butterfly? Forget about that—is the Demoness Sect still around? Did he kill Snow Goddess when he found out that she wasn't the teacher he was looking for?"
"Please calm down, Senior. The sect is fine, and he didn't kill anybody. It seems that, as guardian candidates, harming the creatures on our planet—if they aren't guilty, I guess—is forbidden, or he'll be disqualified for the title. And he already knows about the wrong address, but he seems fine with it."
Charm Goddess sighed in relief.
"And about Hell, I meant it literally."
"Huh!?"
"Judge Bredd literally summoned a gate to Hell..."
The crowd's eyes widened in shock!
"Hell is real?"
Third Sister asked,
"Who is Judge Bredd?"
Lady Butterfly rubbed her temples as if even thinking about it frustrated her.
"Well, his name was 'Mortal' when he met with you guys, right?"
They all nodded.
"Then he chose the Daoist name 'Sect Master' and left?"
They all nodded again and wondered what she was trying to say with these questions.
"For your information, he changed his Daoist name tonight to 'Boss,' but that's another story.
The thing is, he goes to his backpack sometimes,
And when he comes out, you might face the same person, just in different clothes, or...
A completely different personality that acts like he's someone else—even the memories might not be shared between them..."
When she finished her explanation, she saw them looking at her even more confused.
So she tried to give them an example.
"For example, Judge Bredd is one of them.
He has a small wooden hammer, and when he appears, there will be a trial for someone.
And there will be a verdict for the criminal at the end...
He was the one who summoned the Hell gate to send those black-robed people there for their conviction period."
And then she told them about the gate guard getting beaten up and the door opening by itself after he "knocked" on it a couple of times...
Even Third Sister was scared now...
A hand came out that could just casually turn everything to ash if the little judge hadn't made a move?
The cage they didn't pay attention to was a prison with living people inside?
Third Sister thought she might be strong enough to help her with her problem—someone who could deal with strong enemies she couldn't do anything about—but what Lady Butterfly said was something she couldn't fathom.
Hell wasn't even a fundamental concept where she came from.
"Oh, by the way, I just found out that three cultivators from the immortal world have been here for unknown reasons.
But two of them, who were in the middle of kidnapping my granddaughter, were caught by him, and they're in his cage now, alongside whatever was going to destroy our planet and the members of the Twelve Sects.
And the last one was sealed in the Sword Sect by my son, his wife, and Heaven's Will's help."
The big shots' jaws almost dropped!
What's with the mix of prisoners?!
Scholar said,
"Slow down, Fellow Daoist Butterfly!
What was that part about our planet in the mix?
Please don't throw news at us like this!"
The rest of them looked at her with questioning eyes.
Lady Butterfly felt that two days around this little monster was like 300 years...
"Fellow Daoists, how about I start telling you everything from the start to the end?
About his arrival, gathering followers, his plan for them, clearing up the Twelve Sects,
and trying to make people use solar power,
Opening a path to other worlds, and his different personalities...
Oh, and the 'Harmony' technique that he learned the other day..."
Just the headlines made these bigshots' eyelids twitch...
Even Third Sister, who was excited at the beginning,
was now looking at her blankly.
She felt like someone who was desperately looking for a glass of water, but instead found a raging and uncontrollable sea full of monsters...
So Lady Butterfly started telling her story of two days of extreme fear, frustration, and random despair caused by Little Mortal to the big shots, who listened as if it were the most critical lesson in their life.
When Lady Butterfly was done, she ended it with one sentence:
"And again, I never saw him kill anyone, presumably because he would be disqualified as the guardian candidate..."
The big shots didn't know if they should feel good now or something.
This little monster was so out of place and seemed to be entangled with so many high-level things that it didn't matter if he himself was dangerous or not...
It was about his real goal and how much they would be involved in it.
Scholar, who saw everyone completely flabbergasted by what they'd heard, tried to summarize it.
"So the personalities are:
Judge Bredd, with the hammer and white wig, who shows up to bring justice.
Mr. Corleone, who seems kind and calm on the surface, but is ready to explode from inside? I think this is the one Elder Iron told us about—the one who found that heavy iron sphere for him.
The new one is the training coach called Many Mambod, who seems harmless but is the one using harmony to train his followers.
What else?"
Lady Butterfly answered,
"The technique name is 'Coach Assistant' now. Please remember not to say the wrong name.
And my granddaughter, Rose, said there is a secret agent called 'Morty Meven,' whom she has never seen. She said he was talking to himself at that time..."
The crowd felt a headache just from hearing about it, let alone dealing with it.
Scholar continued,
"Alright, about his treasures.
They are all intelligent.
The backpack is like a moving storehouse, containing a wide variety of items.
The crystal records everything all the time from every direction and plays different music, not from our cultivation world.
The cage can keep living creatures inside, and the number seems to be unlimited. The only restriction is that its target needs to be unconscious for it to take them in?"
Lady Butterfly interrupted him and said,
"It can interrogate the people inside it, too, and then send out their confessions on paper."
The crowd gulped. They wiped the sweat from their foreheads and wished never to experience what was inside that cage...
Scholar nodded and wrote it down.
"There is a black-framed glass that seems to be able to analyze information and show our age and power level—though we don't understand exactly how it works?"
Lady Butterfly, as if remembering a painful memory, said,
"I actually know about the equivalent realm of those numbers... I don't know if you want to hear it..."
The big shots raised their eyebrows.
"Lady Butterfly, what could be worse than what you've already told us? Just say it—we can handle it."
While not really sure in his heart, the Scholar's thirst for knowledge couldn't be satisfied if he didn't hear it.
So Lady Butterfly told them about his 14-day plan—training his followers from mortal to one step away from the immortal realm, with made-up names...
The crowd, jaws dropped, couldn't believe what she'd just said.
They didn't care about the 14-day back-to-back breakthrough—what hurt their feelings the most were the names and the way of doing it!
Mortals—this one was fine.
Muscle Refinement—we can accept it, but...
Favorite Station?
Gold Coin? Just find a coin?
Nonsense Soul? Just believe it's nonsense?
Defense Formation? What formation?
Return to Home? You can break through a realm by going home?
Taboo Destruction? Why so violent all of a sudden?
Google Translation? What does 'Google' even mean?
Mama Mia? Just be scared, say it, and you're fine?
Scholar took a deep breath and said,
"Let's forget about hearing this part... Where was I? Oh, right, his treasures.
The stick over there seems the most straightforward—just an extremely sharp hidden blade inside.
And the needle he uses for injection.
Anything else?"
Lady Butterfly thought for a moment and said,
"I think the needle is only one item from a set. And when the lab rat—another treasure from the same set—appeared, it accused him of stealing it. But he said it was his birthday gift...
Oh, right, he has a Pot that can copy anything consumable."
Third Sister closed her eyes and muttered to herself,
"Let's hope the owner won't show up..."
Scholar closed his notebook and said,
"So all of his treasures have a suspicious origin, and they might even rebel?"
Lady Butterfly nodded.
"But there's something weird about those treasures. It seems even they don't know how powerful their new master is... So any rebellion seems doomed to fail from the start."
The hall became silent.
They'd all experienced it here. The silver-colored sphere that landed—which they couldn't move or even scratch—was cut by that stick like butter...
And now they were being told it couldn't just cut the little monster in half if it wanted?
Scholar looked at Third Sister this time.
"Third Sister, can't you tell us what we're dealing with?"
Third Sister clenched her fist, as if she were frustrated just thinking about it.
"You heard about the levels of beings from Lady Butterfly...
Level 1: Creatures of this planet. They can advance to Level 2, at which point they'll be transferred to the Immortal World, which can host their advancement to the peak of Level 2.
He told Lady Butterfly about the effect of creatures two levels higher.
The only thing I can add is that if a creature is three levels higher than the original Level 1, they can't descend to the targeted World—a mysterious force stops them."
Scholar was enlightened.
"So the highest level that can enter our planet is Level 3, but if a Level 4 shows up, they can't enter?"
"They can—if they lower their level and seal their power."
"So our Boss is at most a Level 3 being?"
Third Sister shook her head.
"I would know if he was Level 3. He's definitely higher than that."
Third Sister herself was someone who had come here from another world, forced to seal her power to enter.
That's why, when Little Mortal grabbed her by the ear in their first meeting—and she lost her power the next moment—she knew the other party wasn't someone she could deal with, even at her peak.
The rest of them were puzzled by her answer.
"How do you know, Third Sister? And how is he even here? Didn't you say there's a limit? How is he higher than Level 3 but allowed to enter our world?"
The third sister, trying to hide the fact that she was Level 3 herself, gave them other reasons.
"I have no idea how he can be here, even though his level surpasses the entry limit. He may have sealed his power as well. Didn't Fellow Daoist Butterfly say his headband and wristbands might be treasures to seal his power?
As for how I know he's higher than Level 3—or even Level 4—there are two reasons:
I've seen Level 3 and 4 beings in the past. Don't ask where, but I can tell if I see one.
And more importantly, the candy he gave us didn't melt..."
The big shots, surprised by the first reason, didn't understand the second.
What was the connection between this miraculous candy not melting and the danger this little kid posed?
Third Sister continued with a simple explanation.
"This candy, if you were in the Immortal World, could push your cultivation realm to the limit of that planet too..."
The crowd froze in place.
They'd bought such a treasure with a few spirit stones?
But she wasn't done.
"And if you go to a world that can host Level 3 creatures, the same thing would happen again.
Though if you were born as Level 1, you can only advance to the peak of Level 2—no higher.
But if you were born with Level 3 potential, this candy could take you to the limit of Level 3 in one go..."
The big shots were unable to sit still!
Charm Goddess, who had another candy left, felt like the richest girl in the cultivation world!
Scholar, looking dumbfounded, was about to ask how she knew but stopped himself.
The rest of them realized this kind "grandma" wasn't as simple as she looked.
She was, at the very least, someone with Level 3 potential herself—otherwise, how would she know all this?
Then they thought about the owner of these candies.
If he was going to leave when he was done—fine.
But if he stayed in his headquarters and did who-knows-what afterward... their ending might not be as bright as they hoped. Sooner or later, the original owners of the treasures he'd taken would show up...
Who could create such a candy?
And Third Sister felt the worst of all.
She remembered him telling her he'd need her for something later. She was sure this little unknown monster knew what race she belonged to—and even what mission she had in the cultivation world.
The storytelling and discussion among the big shots—trying to analyze what they were dealing with—lasted until morning.
This little monster had even sent his special force member, Lady Butterfly, to clean up the 12 sects he was dissatisfied with...
So they all agreed on one thing for now:
"Play along with him."
Fire Goddess shook her head and said,
"I wish I were a little older, this way I would already be in the Immortal World..."
Lady Butterfly suddenly remembered something else.
"I forgot to tell you.
But the Immortal World has been emptied.
There are only four people left there.
It was originally seven, but with the two in the cage,
And the one sealed in the Sword Sect, it's only four now. And from the 'Treasure Cage' investigation, even the two who came from there didn't know how the older generations who ascended before them all disappeared together..."
The big shots felt they were one step away from crying.
Is there any safe place out there...?
Here was this little monster, and in the Immortal World, they were just gone without anyone knowing where...
While they were in their own thoughts, they heard the former Sword God, Fourth Brother, saying,
"Well, I hope that little monster won't come back after me because of the wrong address..."
Then he and the rest of them laughed at how destiny could play with people.
While their mood turned for the better,
They heard a knock on the door, and Old Seven stood up to answer it.
It was probably Elder Iron or Second Brother, the infamous blacksmith.
But the moment Old Seven opened the door, he closed it again.
His hand trembled on the door frame.
He closed his eyes, bit his lower lip, and lowered his head, as if regretting what he had done!
The rest were going to ask him what happened—
And what was so regrettable about opening the door?
But then they heard another knock.
KNOCK KNOCK
And then, the voice of a little boy:
"Open up, Old Seven!
I saw you!
I came for a visit!
The big shots were speechless.
"..."
The unknown little monster... is back!
They all looked at Fourth Brother as if it was his fault for wishing what he shouldn't have.
Charm Goddess said from the side,
"Fourth Brother, go open the door.
Your wish has been fulfilled. Didn't you want to see your disciple's daughter...?"
Fourth Brother:
"-_-"