Chapter Thirty-Seven: "You Deserve a Reward"
Volume One: "The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change"
The tall, dark-blue-skinned man with long white hair stared at Lin Yuan. Calmly, he placed a hand on his chin and said:
"Hah… this boy seems good. His strength is solid, and his refinement level is sufficient to join my sect."
Zhao Tianyi looked at Scarlet King with suspicion.
"Hmm… your realm is higher than everyone else's, boy. But if you were the strongest and still couldn't protect the disciples… how did that young man manage to protect them?"
Scarlet King slowly raised his hand, as if recalling an old pain, and said in a cold, dramatic tone:
"Unfortunately, masters… when the black hole threw me out, I took the impact first… and I lost consciousness."
Then, without blinking, he pointed at Lin Yuan.
"But my sworn brother… Lin Yuan. The brave one. The one who cares about his friends… saved me, and saved everyone."
A faint, unreadable smile touched his lips as he continued:
"And it wouldn't be fitting… for such a heroic deed to pass without a generous reward. Heroes like him are the future of any sect."
Lin Yuan stared at Scarlet King in shock and pointed at himself.
"Wait… what? Me… I saved you?"
One of the elders tried to object, but Ikalat cut in immediately:
"Yes, yes… he's the one who saved us—this brave kid who saved everyone! And if you don't believe it, go ask the wolves!"
The black-haired elder challenged Scarlet King's claim:
"But Zhao Tianyi is right. How could someone at Qi Refining, Level Five, pass out from the pull of a black hole?"
Scarlet King smiled and gestured toward the black-haired elder.
"Great Elder, I lost consciousness because that Buddhist detonated himself… and you can ask the disciples once they wake up—starting with the one I rescued."
The elder ignored Scarlet King's lie. He still suspected him, but he let it go. With a sigh, he rubbed his light beard, then looked at Lin Yuan.
"Hah… fine. We should reward you, boy, for your effort and courage in saving lives."
Scarlet King interrupted as he stepped closer, spreading his arms slightly:
"Great Elder, forgive the interruption—but the best thing for an ambitious young man is to join one of the Four Great Sects."
He continued, bowing slightly with a hand to his chest:
"Don't waste a human treasure like this… sects that hesitate to seize talent always regret it."
The elder smiled.
"It isn't that simple. We'll take all three of you with us. We'll test your talent and roots, and then we'll see whether you have the right to join the great sects."
Scarlet King thought to himself:
(Damn it… this crafty elder wanted to take all of us in directly so I could obtain cultivation resources faster and more easily. But right now, I have no talent or roots—I transferred them to my little twin brother, Fang Chen. That might make the sect masters refuse to accept me.)
The elders exchanged glances and nodded. Then the fat elder with brown hair said:
"Elder He Xuan is right. We'll test your talent and roots, and then we'll decide who will join one of the Four Great Sects. Come—follow us."
Elder Zhao Tianyi spoke, cutting the fat elder off:
"One moment… Xiao Mo—who saved you?"
Xiao Mo stiffened in her father's arms and said fearfully:
"I don't know… but what that man in black said seems true. When I woke up, this heroic boy was there with his companion—the one with dark skin and red tattoos. The boy tried to get close to me and help me… but then a giant man appeared, grabbed the fifth-rank wolf, and killed it easily. After that, the giant vanished."
The dark-blue-skinned elder with white hair said:
"Seems like a beast conflict—ranking domination. Let's leave now before it returns and kills any talented disciples."
The elders flew off with the disciples, and the trio followed. They left the cosmic cave behind.
Everyone flew at such extreme speed that space-time itself seemed to bend around them.
[After hours]
Ikalat asked Scarlet King telepathically:
(Why are we flying faster than light? We're moving at ten times the speed of light now.)
Scarlet King replied as he drifted away from an asteroid he had been heading toward:
(It's because when we were on Earth, there were no speed restrictions. But now, there are limits and laws.)
[After more hours]
They arrived at the testing center, located at the heart of the First Dimension. The qi there was so dense it felt like you could touch it and grasp it—and so pure it was almost beautiful.
"Power Stones + rating, please"