Chapter 232

  Legend of the Masked Children (II)

  Days whizzed by rather uneventfully, all things considered.

  I locked myself up in a room, hiding from the Sect's Elders that looked at me in ways that triggered all my internal alarm sensors.

  In the meanwhile, the fanfare of the Gathering was ramping up, so much so that even I couldn't escape the rumors of it from all the way in here. Dai Xiu would visit every day with her 'daily updates', where she'd inform me about some new kid that arrived and about how famous they were and all their feats.

  Today, it was some kid called the 'Silver Dragon'.

  Supposedly, he killed someone at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm when he was only in the mid stages.

  With how excited she was about everything, I really didn't have the heart to tell her to stop, so I simply learned about all the fan favorites through her.

  The recent two days, especially, were abuzz with rumors, as, supposedly, there were even disciples of the Holy Lands showing up to compete. Whether true or not, well, we'll find out soon enough.

  As Master Gu learned that the kids would be competing, he arranged for me, Lao, Rayce, and Long Tao to stay with them at one of the viewing terraces overlooking the central arena.

  Speaking of Rayce, I'd honestly nearly forgotten the boy existed until he showed up yesterday and handed me a piece of paper--it was a 'Word' that he'd been working on all this while, Word of Misery. He spat out a single sentence about what it did (made the feelings of misery slowly intensify), and just... left.

  I don't really get what the deal with him is; I thought he'd try leaving on his own as soon as we came here, and that I'd have to convince him to stay, but from the looks of it... he chose to stick around.

  Lao tried swinging by, too, but I just pretended to be deeply cultivating. There's a year of time for me to learn as much about the world as I can from him, and for now, I just felt like I needed a temporary break from everything, as I knew it'd be my last for a long while after.

  Once the kids compete, and once the members of the Holy Lands see them, token be damned, there's going to be targets on our backs visible from space.

  The good news is that we can always revert back to our original appearances, though that is the last resort.

  I was startled out of my half-sleep and half-meditation by the loudest gong sound I've heard in my life. That thing ripped out like those city-wide alarms, tickling something deep inside your brain that made you instantly awake.

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  As I emerged from my little cocoon, I bore witness to yet another awe-inspiring sights--warships emerged from the sky, settling around the city, still afloat, as figures began to step off their edges and land in the city.

  They were all massive, at least twice the size of average ships back on Earth, with wooden hulls arrayed with some strange metals, a thin sheen of cyan covering their surfaces.

  "You're up, Master." Wan Lan appeared, a tinge of excitement on her face. "Have you rested well?"

  "Well enough. You seem excited."

  "..."

  "Ha ha, no need to be embarrassed," I said. "When I was your age, I'd be lucky to get a whiff of sleep before competition."

  "Really?"

  "Really. It's only natural." Well, competition in my case was basketball, for the most part, not potentially a life-or-death duel.

  I'm exaggerating a bit; the rules for the Gathering boldly state that intentional, lethal harm is strictly prohibited. Plus, there are going to be over a dozen Overseers ensuring that nobody dies.

  "Where are the others?"

  "Gu Hai came earlier and invited them for breakfast, so they all went. Even Senior Brother Tao."

  "Hm. Let us go too, then."

  "Yes."

  The narrow pathways of the sect were both empty and full, oddly enough; the kids moved in clusters, and when they'd leave our sights, the silence would return. Not for long, however, as the gong kept being beaten repeatedly for nearly half an hour, and as we kept running into the clusters of kids.

  None of them would actually be competing, but that didn't mean they weren't dripping with excitement.

  By the time Wan Lan and I came to the Dining Hall, it was practically empty; the only ones left were the kids, Gu Hai, and a few stray disciples that had joined them.

  "Master, you're here! Come, I've saved you a seat!" Dai Xiu exclaimed, shooting to her feet and then over to me, grabbing my arm and yanking me forward to the 'seat of honor', pressed at the far end of the table. "Here, you have to try this. And this. Ooh, this is amazing! Master, try this, too!" Before long, the plate in front of me was spilling food from its surface.

  "That's enough, Xiu'er; sit down and eat, too."

  "A-ah, yes, Master!"

  "Have you all rested enough?"

  "Yes!"

  "Are you confident?"

  "Yes!" Honestly, of all of us here, I'm the one most prone to panic. I mean, yeah, obviously, but more than that, these kids not just believed in me, they believed in themselves. Seeing them drip with both confidence and excitement made me feel guilty for ever doubting them, even.

  "Hm. Be careful, nonetheless. Hubris is a mistake that can undo decades of hard work."

  "Yes, Master!" Oh, this is actually good! It tastes a bit like beef jerky, but it's soft and boiled along with some cabbage-like leaves.

  "Master, uhm..." Xi Zhao suddenly spoke up, fidgeting in place.

  "What is it?"

  "If, uhm, if we do well..." Right. They want rewards. Well, it'll all depend on whether I get any Creation Points for them performing well. No, I have to, right?

  "Yes, if you do well, I'll have a special reward prepared." I said.

  "Master," dammit, I forgot that old bastard was here. "I recall you mentioning that your father left you the art that can help the cultivator create a Soul Weapon."

  "--woow! Really?! That's amazing!"

  "He he, of course Master would have something like that!"

  "Soul Weapon? What is that?" Gu Hai asked.

  "Just as it says, Junior Brother," Xi Zhao replied. "It's a weapon you forge within your dantian, and it becomes your lifelong companion. You don't usually use it to fight, as it's linked to your soul, so any damage to it can transfer over to you, but it can be an incredibly powerful trump card!"

  ... hey.

  How do you know that?

  You shouldn't know that.

  This thing stinks. It stinks so hard.

  Furrowing my brows, I steadily looked over all the kids and noted the immediate guilt in their gazes. Only to reach Long Tao, who was practically dying of laughter... without showing an ounce of it.

  These little gremlins!

  They coordinated this!

  Wow. You old monster, what are you making of my nice kids?!!