Little Mortal was going to continue, but he saw Little Peanut jumping up and down while shouting excitedly,
"Big sword!Big sword!"
And pointing behind him.
The crowd that had already seen the big sword knew who was coming.
It was the Sword Sect members, and that was the sect's 'flying artifact' that they would use for traveling.
Rose, who saw the sword, muttered to herself,
"Father is here..."
She wondered what would happen if her boss saw his father alive?
Would he accept the reality?
Or bury him for real to keep his own reality intact?
While everyone gazed up at the massive sword in the sky with amazement, Little Mortal didn't even turn around.
He was staring at Little Peanut intensely because, after jumping up a couple of times, he didn't land!
He was floating in the air.
The crowd that saw this scene already knew about this new ability.
They could fly now for whatever reason.
It seems this Golden Coin Realm had this benefit with it, and they couldn't wait to try it.
But the thought disappeared just after one sentence from the little boss, who walked in front of floating Little Peanut, placed his hand on his head, and pushed him back down, while saying with a serious tone,
"You are not a bird...
If I see you fly without my permission next time,
Then humph!"
Little Peanut, who didn't understand what he meant, said,
"Yes, boss!"
Then he turned to the crowd, and while everyone could see his serious face on the big screen and knew he wasn't joking at all at this moment, they heard him saying,
"There is an old saying.
'Tell the door so that the wall can hear.'
Do you... Understand?"
The gang members gulped down.
They understood.
It means he told Little Peanut not to fly while indirectly telling all of them not to do it either!
What was the reason?
They didn't know—wait!
At this moment, all of them found the reason!
'He can't fly?'
Until now, they never saw him fly!
He was always traveling around in that peculiar vehicle, which could transform into different forms, and that vehicle never flew either.
The crowd nodded to themselves, so that's why...
Only now did Little Mortal look at the big sword and, while rubbing his chin, muttered to himself,
"I should finish the job here and go see how the competition is going to be; maybe Teacher needs my help.
With all those lazy gangsters, how could they manage it properly?"
Then he turned to the crowd and said,
"I ask you a question; if you answer correctly, you can break through; if not, you stay in this realm forever."
The crowd became shocked!
What happened?
Is he angry at something?
We didn't even fly!
They wondered why a question has such a significant impact on their cultivation journey.
What if it's too hard and they can't answer?
While feeling stressed, Little Mortal asked the crucial question,
"Do you believe if you break through to the next realm,
You are getting an extra soul that can take physical form?
Answer with 'yes' or 'no' on your guardian token."
And after a pause, he added,
"The name of the next realm is—"
But before he could finish his sentence, someone had already answered the question, and the answer appeared on the screen.
When the followers saw who was the one who answered immediately, like a wave, with Rose at the center, everyone answered the same as her.
"—Nonsense Soul."
Little Mortal was speechless.
Before he could finish his sentence to give them a hint, they all answered...
He looked at Rose, who answered without hesitation, and then at the crowd, who copied her answer...
Everyone's answer was 'No'.
They thought that if one person knew about all of the cultivation realms,
The real ones, not the fake versions of the little boss, it should be Rose!
How could she be wrong?
And Rose knew the answer was supposed to be 'yes'; there will be a new soul made of their golden core that takes physical form or something after advancing to the next realm.
But when they broke through to the Golden Core Realm,
That her boss was telling them it's Golden Coin,
she saw that there is no such thing as 'golden core' in her body,
She knew whatever name he was saying really had a meaning, and it wasn't some made-up names!
And when he explained the different realms to them and the equal power that each realm had in relation to the numbers, he said that in the Nonsense Soul realm, if you believe there won't be any extra soul, you are good to go!
It was hard to believe, but until now, everything, even seemingly unbelievable things he said, all come true in one way or another!
Many followers thought the same as her, but they didn't have 100% trust in him like she did.
So they hesitated and didn't dare to take the risk without a second thought.
But with Rose taking the lead, they didn't waste their time thinking.
And the correct 'yes' answer was definitely 'no' for them.
Then, while they heard Little Mortal saying,
"You people owe my assistant this breakthrough!"
They all broke through with a new cultivation technique circulating in their bodies, to the 'Nonsense Realm'.
This time, they could feel it; a little of the compressed spiritual energy source in their bodies was finally used.
Maybe less than 1%, and that was enough to push them to the peak of the next realm...
The speechless crowd thought to themselves,
'What seven-day spirit root awakening?
We are already halfway through the path of becoming a real expert on the third day...'
"Alright, do whatever you want; I'll go help Teacher take care of some important matters."
And with a whistle, his small motorcycle appeared.
As he was going to put on his sunglasses, three people ran to him.
The first was Little Fred,
"Great Uncle, can you take me with you?"
Little Mortal shook his head,
"You should stay here and cultivate."
The second person was Rose,
"Boss, I'm worried about my competition; I don't even know a single technique, and everyone there is
a lot stronger than me; won't I embarrass you like this?"
Little Mortal snorted,
"Assistant Rose!
This is a stronghold!
'Our' stronghold! to be exact
Our home ground!
If the boss, me, says you are first, then you are!
And who said anything about fighting?"
While Rose was confused about how she could be first without fighting, the third person, Little Peanut, arrived and said,
"Mother!"
Little Mortal, seeing that he misses his mother, said,
"Alright, sit behind me then; let's see if we can find her."
Little Peanut jumped on the back of the motorcycle,
And Little Mortal, while riding away, said,
"Train well; the next realm is important for your advancement in the 'Taboo Destruction' realm."
And everyone broke through again; a new cultivation technique started circulating inside their bodies...
The crowd felt numb from all these breakthroughs.
A certain little girl's voice sounded,
"Breaking news, breaking news!
Is the gang members' breakthrough real?
Or is this all an illusion, a dream?
1 spirit stone if you want to know the truth!
2 spirit stones if you want to stay in this fake dream!"
Because she was close to Little Mortal before the screen went off, her voice echoed, and everyone heard her!
Little Mortal rode away speechlessly.
The crowd's heart skipped a beat!
They started whispering,
"Could it be true?"
"We are dreaming?"
"It's not like we never experienced in any dream he forced us into before!"
Seeing the panicked crowd, Expert Luna took action,
"Alright, enough.
Dream or reality, any improvement would be true when you are back in reality.
Wasn't it like this every time?"
The crowd calmed down,
"As expected of Expert Luna!"
"With Expert Luna here, what could happen?"
"Yes, even if we are in a dream, with a wave of her sleeve, she can break it!"
Under the shower of flattery from the crowd, Luna could only act like the expert she wasn't now but could be in the near future.
She only repeated to herself again and again,
'Fake it until you make it!'
...
A while ago.
On the vast sword in the sky, a group of more than 200 people in silver robes stood straight in rows, looking with anticipation towards the massive snowy mountains in front.
They were mostly men, because unlike the Demoness Sect, Sword Sect disciples were more than 80% men, and for both sects, this competition, especially after the two sect masters' marriage, became an opportunity to make their bond stronger.
In the end, they had the same hobbies, and that was cultivation and fighting.
That's how Snow White and Sword God's disciple got married after the competition four years ago.
At the tip of the sword, the Sword God, the same man who had been knocked out by the shock wave twice in a row, stood with his hand behind his back, looking handsome and dashing, like a true sect master.
But when they got closer to the Demoness Sect, he furrowed his brow, and so did the elders behind him.
Three men and one lady were the elders who accompanied him.
What they furrowed their brows at was the Sword God statue.
Or to be exact, the one-legged statue...
While they felt offended, they saw the snow and rubies everywhere around it, and then when they got closer,
They saw the big rolling track on the sect, which started from the lake at the foothills of the tallest mountain, towards its peak!
Just looking at the track sent a chill up their spine!
What happened here?
Now they weren't offended, but worried!
...
At the welcoming place for guests, Snow Goddess watched the big sword landing.
Then a man, with black hair,
a straight stature that only made you think of a sword when seeing him, jumped down from the big sword with the rest of the crowd who followed him.
Seeing Snow Goddess and the elders who were here to welcome them, they felt at ease.
They are fine.
The two sect masters smiled, and as if they were not a couple, but the sect masters representing the two sects, bowed to each other respectfully.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"
Then the rest of the elders from both sides started greeting each other.
The two sides, while one unorthodox and the other orthodox, seemed really friendly.
After greetings,
They sent their disciples to rest, and the elders, along with the two sect masters, went to the meeting hall to discuss the competition.
Close to the meeting hall, Sword God turned to the elders and said,
"I'll catch up with Fellow Daoist Snow about some matters; you can make decisions about the competition.
I'm fine with anything that you elders agree with."
The elders nodded, and the couple left.
Sword God couldn't wait to ask what happened here!
The elders knew what he was thinking, too, and didn't mind.
A while later, at the front door of the meeting hall,
The three men and one lady from the Sword Sect arrived, accompanied by Elder Leta and Elder Elvis.
They were in a good mood.
When they were close to the meeting hall, the Supreme Elder appeared out of nowhere to welcome them.
As they drew closer, the smiles on the faces of the four elders grew wider and wider, while the faces of Elder Leta and Elder Elvis darkened.
Supreme Elder, who didn't understand why the two groups of people had such different reactions after seeing her, went forward and said,
"It's been a while, Fellow Daoists!"
And after that, a child's voice sounded beside her,
"Greetings, honorable elders!
With your arrival, you brought light to our humble abode!"
And a second voice of a younger child,
"Welcome, humble elders!"
Supreme Elder almost screamed while jumping to the side!
The Sword Sect's elders laughed in amusement when they saw the scene!
They wondered how Supreme Elder, the famous disciple of Charm Goddess, hadn't seen these two brats beside her until now?
Only now did Supreme Elder understand why Leta and Elvis had a dark face!
They could see him beside her, but she couldn't feel a thing!
While annoyed and embarrassed as a former assassin, she went to the little boy, who had another little boy in his arms, and was going to twist his ear and give him a lesson, but the little boy skillfully bowed and dodged her hand at the same time,
"Greetings, Supreme Elder!
How have you been?
And can you stop pretending that you are scared every time I show up?
It's not funny anymore."
The other little boy greeted her as well.
"Greetings, Supreme Builder! Don't be naughty!"
Supreme Builder—cough—Elder was on the verge of exploding with anger!
But she couldn't do anything in front of her guests to this little brat of her master at this moment!
At the same time, she couldn't admit she wasn't joking, and she was terrified when he suddenly appeared beside her.
The lady from the Sword Sect was the first to come forward and greet them,
"Fellow Daoist Ingrid, how is it that there is no end to your beauty!"
Then, after some ladies' talk, she looked at the two little polite boys who were silent the whole time with only an innocent smile and said,
"I didn't know Fellow Daoist Snow took in a new disciple!
And this little one, from his face, I can tell he should be Snow White's son, right?"
Supreme Elder was speechless!
He is indeed Snow White's son, but believe it or not, she is looking for him everywhere now!
And don't you people remember he couldn't speak?
She could only force a smile and nod.
The little boy put down the other little boy beside him, and the two politely bowed,
"I am Mortal, the Sect Master's disciple.
It's nice to meet you."
And Little Peanut said,
"Nice to beat you."
The elders laughed again.
The smaller one only recently started learning how to speak.
They were only puzzled as to why Snow Goddess had a new disciple?
It was basically impossible to awaken your spirit root in recent decades, and only to try their luck, the sects would accept mortals with strong and pure spirit roots.
Everyone had a spirit root, but the less pure it was, the less chance they had of even awakening it in this era, let alone breaking through to higher realms.
But either way, he was the Snow Goddess's disciple.
They patted their heads and went inside with the Demoness Sect elders, who couldn't send any spiritual messages to ask for help from the Snow Goddess or tell Snow White that her son was there.
They could only go in and try their best to stop this troublemaker, who was now acting like the most polite disciple of the sect, from causing trouble for them.
Until now, neither of them felt the cultivation level of the one-year-old boy because he was absorbing the solar power automatically, and he was in
'plant mode' at this moment.
Inside the hall, they sat down around the round table
and were about to start, but they saw a little hand trying to place the teacups in front of them clumsily!
The Sword Sect elders could only watch the two little boys trying to serve tea to them helplessly.
Supreme Elder and the two elders, who didn't know what this little brat was up to, couldn't help but be amazed by his acting skill!
You're acting clumsy now?
The one who can backflip randomly?
Whoever didn't know him would think the same thing as what the Sword Sect elders were thinking,
'What an adorable child.'
When the two were done serving tea, they stood politely beside the Supreme Elder.
Little Mortal even took out a notebook and pen, as if he were ready to write down what they were going to decide.
The Sword Sect elders could only laugh.
They were only playing around here, so they didn't mind it.
Supreme Elder, who just wanted to finish the meeting as fast as she could and question this kid, said,
"Alright, how about we start?"
Seeing the elders agree, she continued,
"Let's start with where to hold the competition?"
The rest nodded in agreement.
Little Mortal nodded too and said,
"Yes, the best place is the silver platform outside of the 'outer sect city'. If anyone disagrees, please raise your hand?"
The elders, who were confused as to why this little kid suddenly jumped into the conversation, heard him after a brief pause, saying,
"Then it's decided."
And wrote something in his notebook.
The crowd was speechless.
You didn't even give us time to vote!
And why are you one of the 'decision makers'?
One of the elders asked,
"Fellow Daoist Ingrid, what silver platform is he talking about?"
Supreme Elder, who was going to say,
'He is talking nonsense, ' heard Little Mortal answer the question in her place,
"Let me tell you, honorable elder!
That silver platform is hard!"
Then he pointed at the Supreme Elder,
"Do you see her?
She can't even put a scratch on it!
That's how hard it is!
Best place for the savage cough, I mean, strong cultivators, to fight!
If you don't believe me, we can even make a bet!"
Then he took some broken spirit stones out of his pocket and put them on the table, like he was ready to bet!
The confused elders looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes...
What is he talking about?
And you want to bet with these four broken spirit stones?
One of the elders chuckled and asked,
"How about me?
I am a sword cultivator, I'm good at 'scratching', you know?"
Little Mortal snorted,
"You can't either!
Here, let's bet, we can try it tomorrow, before the competition starts. It will be fun for the junior brothers and sisters to watch too!
What does everyone think?
Whoever disagrees, please raise your hand."
And without giving them time to vote,
"Alright, it's decided then."
And again, wrote something in his notebook.
The crowd was at a loss for words.
What's going on!?
Let us at least give our opinion!
They didn't know why, but when this little boy asked for something, they couldn't disagree at all!
Like something was telling them 'don't'!
They looked at the Demoness Sect elders and saw that two were pretending not to hear anything, and one was gritting her teeth as if she were angry.
The only thing they could think of was that he was telling what his master, Snow Goddess, taught him,
And Snow Goddess just did this so they can be more familiar with her new disciple?
The lady from the Sword Sect who saw the dark faces of Elder Elvis and Elder Leta, with the near exploding face of the Supreme Elder, chuckled and tried to change the subject before things went out of hand,
"What about the competition itself?
Like always?
Everyone under 100 years old can join?"
She was expecting everyone to agree, but Little Mortal slammed the table, and while everyone jolted from the sound, said,
"No, how could that be a fair competition?
That won't work.
In the past, we were uncultured, savage, and brainless, especially those old timers!
But now, we should use our heads!
What do you mean by 'Everyone'?
How about we make it a battle royale and throw everyone in a pit and see who comes out alive?"
The elders who heard him calling them like this
And criticized them so harshly that they didn't even have time to say anything.
Because Little Mortal pointed at Elder Elvis, who was trying his best to pretend he was not there, and said,
"Tell them, Elder Elvis, who was the previous 10-time winner of the competition?"
Elder Elvis was going to answer, but he answered the question himself,
"Exactly, all men!
We should have two categories, one for ladies and one for men, that would be fair!"
Then he looked at the lady from the Sword Sect,
"These men can't understand, but I'm sure you can, young lady, right?"
The more than 1000 years old lady, who was called 'young lady', coughed in embarrassment and said,
"Little Mortal, I don't mind having a positive change like this, but it was the Demoness Sect's decision for both men and women to fight each other.
Because your master and the previous generation sect masters of the Demoness Sect, believed women are not weaker than men...
So I don't think she will agree with such a change."
There were even women who won the competition, but Little Mortal didn't let Elder Elvis say it.
Little Mortal, confidently said,
"I already know about that.
But let me tell you, the other day, my teacher was in meditation, but suddenly opened her eyes and became..."
He paused, as if he didn't remember the word, and started mumbling to himself,
"Enlist? Enlarge?"
The lady tried to help him,
"Enlightened?"
Hearing her, Little Mortal clapped,
"Yes, yes!
You are so knowledgeable, Young lady!
She became enlightened and said,"
Then he looked towards the horizon, while posing like a senior, and continued,
"Sometimes, if you want to make a change,
You should start with yourself!' "
The elders raised their eyebrows in surprise and thought,
'Such a wise word!'
Then he turned to normal and continued,
"And then, she thought about this two-division competition!
So now, if you disagree, please raise your hand."
Supreme Elder, while in shock at his making lies without even showing any guilt, was going to say he was making things up, but the little boy didn't give her the chance to speak, or the rest of them any opportunity to vote.
"Alright, it's decided then."
And again, wrote something in his notebook.
By now, the elders from the Sword Sect were sure about what was going on here.
Snow Goddess changed her mind about this matter for whatever reason,
But didn't want to admit she was wrong and sent this little clueless disciple of hers here to say it in her place!
At the same time, the Elders of the Demoness Sect were puzzled as to why these four elders would listen to the nonsense of a little toddler!
Little Mortal, who didn't care about what they were thinking, said,
"Okay, now we need two referees, and someone to take the role of commentator.
Mr. Colina will be the referee of the women's category,
The referee for the men's category will be someone from the Sword Sect, whom you can choose.
And as for the commentator, I'll do it; if you have anyone in mind, they can join too."
Then, he looked at the Supreme Elder and said,
"Alright, where is the place for registration?"
Supreme Elder, who was finally allowed to speak, gritted her teeth and said,
"It's always at Elder Sun's place, but he might be busy until the evening, so..."
Little Mortal nodded, and after writing it down, closed his notebook and said,
"Alright, see you tomorrow at the competition's venue.
Be there after lunch so we can be done with it before sunset."
Then he cupped his hands and bowed politely,
"Now I should go and train for the competition.
Everyone, if you excuse me."
The Sword Sect elders looked at him in confusion!
He just took over the meeting, made all the decisions, and now ended it too?
But before he could even take a step, Supreme Elder who had enough of this troublemaker that managed the whole meeting alone, slammed the table and said in anger,
"Where do you think you are going?
I'll take you to your teacher right now!"
How could she let him go again?
If he was out of sight, they couldn't find him again until he showed himself to them willingly!
The elders, who were taken aback seeing her getting angry all of a sudden, wondered what this little boy meant by 'train for competition'?
Is he going to participate as a mortal?
And only now he remembered to go and train?
By now, they suspected that this little boy was actually crazy!
Little Mortal, who was going to be caught, gasped,
Pointed at the window behind Supreme Elder, and with a horrified look and trembling voice, said,
"Pinky, why is that dragon here again?"
The crowd all stood up and turned to where he was pointing, their faces serious and shocked.
There is a dragon outside?
How could we not feel it until now?
But it didn't matter where they looked, there were only some random birds in the sky...
They wanted to ask the little boy what dragon he was talking about, but he had already disappeared!
And not only him, but even the other smaller boy was gone too!
The Sword Sect elders were shocked!
They were all close to the peak of the Mahayana realm,
But he sneaked away without any of them noticing?
They looked at Supreme Elder, who was fooled again by this dragon trick, and saw the corner of her eye twitching!
One of her hands was on her thigh!
Little Mortal, before leaving, pinched her too!
But she only felt it after the shock from the dragon had worn off.
At this moment, she couldn't take it anymore, and her aura exploded,
"Little Mortal, if I find you, I'll spank you a thousand times!"
The glass on the windows all shattered!
Her voice echoed through the whole sect!
Even gang members in the outer sect city heard it!
Snow Goddess, who was telling about the
'biggest secret' of the immortal world to her husband, Sword God, heard her sister's angry voice and rushed over with Sword God to the meeting hall!
But the only thing they saw upon arrival was the messy hall, filled with confused Sword Sect elders and dark-faced Demoness Sect elders.
Supreme Elder was panting from anger at this moment!
What would people think of her if they found out a little kid pinched her?
She would be a laughingstock in every assassin organization!
Snow Goddess was going to ask what happened, but another strong aura rushed over to the hall,
"Where is he!"
The moment Snow White heard the name of her 'senior brother', she rushed over!
Now the elders of the Sword Sect knew they had probably thought wrong about this little new disciple of the Snow Goddess!
He wasn't adorable, he wasn't being used, he wasn't crazy either, he was a troublemaker that they probably couldn't even catch!
Even they, who were wondering why Supreme Elder was shouting the little boy's name instead of catching him, found in their shock that he was nowhere to be found!
Who was this invisible kid?
...
Not far away, in a bush, the two little boys were giggling.
The bigger one whispered,
"Look, Little Peanut.
What did I tell you?
If I make Pinky angry, you can see your mother!"
The smaller one looked at her mother, who couldn't see him, excitedly, like they were playing hide and seek, and whispered,
"Yes, boss!"
Little Mortal then looked towards the big bell on the tower far away,
"Little Peanut, I bet your mother is going to register for the competition. If so, you can see her tonight."
Then, both of them, still giggling, left for the tower without anyone noticing.
Their Destination?
Elder Sun's place.
...
Inside the meeting hall, Sword God looked at his elders,
"You are telling me, except you, there was a little boy in here?"
One of the elders shook his head,
"Not one, but two little ones."
The couple was confused.
One invisible boy was natural, but who was the other one that even they in the immortal realm couldn't feel his presence just a building away?
Supreme Elder gritted her teeth and said,
"The other one was Snow White's son."
Snow White's eyes widened,
"My son was here too?"
Supreme Elder nodded and told them about the meeting, which he had suddenly shown up to and organized.
Snow Goddess put her hand on her forehead, frustrated,
"He told me about all of this last time I saw him,
But I didn't take him seriously...
Now he is really going to do it?"
Hearing about the silver platform, they were thinking he should be somewhere around that place, but when they wanted to go and take a look,
Their decision slightly changed.
Sword God said,
"Isn't he taking the responsibility of holding the competition?
Then let him be, we only need to send a referee for this so-called men's category."
The others agreed, and the lady from the Sword Sect was assigned to judge the men's fight.
Snow Goddess said,
"Alright then, but if there is any shortage, we take care of it..."
Sword God laughed,
"I really want to see how capable my master's son is!"
The Sword Sect elders,
"Eh!?"
Now they knew why everyone here would tolerate this little boy's actions!
He was a true 'Young master'!
...
High up in the sky, the old manager, who had altered the decision of these people just enough to cover up for the little alien boy, looked a little nervous.
He muttered to himself,
"He already pushed 10 thousand followers to Nascent Soul...
With this speed, they will likely advance to the Mahayana realm soon.
At that time, I can finally see what this guardian position is about,
And what he wants to do with it...
Let's hope he is not up to something crazy..."
...
In the registration place, where Elder Sun's home was,
He came back while in deep thought.
Not long ago, his disciple had completed her seclusion.
Then she told him about what happened.
The old manager was forced to make a move again.
So the girl didn't mention anything about the emperor's son, only her breakthrough and the cloud that appeared and disappeared after her senior brother asked the 'old man' to get rid of it.
After that, Elder Sun went to the meeting hall and told Snow Goddess about it privately, and she asked him to keep it a secret for now.
When he reached the front of his courtyard,
He saw a table and a chair, with two placards on the table.
[Women's Registration] - [Men's Registration]
Elder Sun nodded in approval.
He thought it was his disciple who made these for registration.
He didn't mind and just walked inside.
Not long after, his disciple arrived.
She saw the table and thought her master had prepared these for registration, and she didn't mind about it either.
Unbeknownst to both of them, on the rooftop,
Little Mortal and Little Peanut, who had placed the table and the placards, were sleeping soundly under the warm sun and the cool mountain breeze.
They had two oversized pillows and a blanket, which they had probably found in Elder Sun's house for their midday nap...
In the end, one of the most important things for a child's growth is sleep... right!?
:)