The rest of the day went about as I thought it would. A bit of socializing here, a bit of drinking there, but I managed to keep my peace for the most part. The only one with enough guts to talk to me was Gai Jin, and he was a good kid, so I didn't mind that much.

I felt something in the distance. I watched as two women entered the region, one of the ninth rank and the other at the peak of the fifth.

"That damn Fisherman," I muttered.

A rank nine already?

How long until I was dealing with people of my own rank?

I walked away.

Nighttime was one of my favorite times of day. If only because the limitations and rules of the night were still obeyed by many cultivators.

That meant that all the talking and drinking came to a quiet end and we all went to bed, eventually.

Though none of us really needed to sleep. The cultivators rested in the new hotels over at cultivator town.

A few of them got handsy and then promptly met Rin Wi and Yai Mien.

I saw a bushy-haired man and pale-skinned woman flying off into the distance at some point. Both girls were resolute to spend the night in Cultivator Town just in case, but the rest of the visiting group quickly understood the nature of the situation.

I liked the night. I didn't sleep much. It just wasn't necessary. It was a privilege or a treat sometimes, like eating and drinking tea, but not a necessity.

The cold night air pushed through the forest leaves. Gauntlet was walking around, picking up any stray coagulations of laws left behind by the beasts. As for the beasts, they were having a gathering with Lin Tai. The marketplace thumped in the distance and cultivator town, being right next to it, felt alive as well. The village was filling up with mortals.

I sat down in front of my home, eyes closed and hands together and I meditated.

The cycle of drawing in qi, cycling it and pushing it back out was fundamental to cultivation. And that didn't change at higher ranks.

The whole process could be thought of as an exchange, a taking and a giving. You took from the world and made it and gave back what you couldn't use.

But this realm was at the tenth rank. It couldn't produce high enough quality qi for me to cycle through. And more than that, I needed daos and laws to cycle through as well.

But there was something else. Unlike laws and qi, Dao could come from anywhere. It could even come from oneself.

It was the philosophical aspect of cultivation. Introspection, understanding, and something else, something more.

The most similar thing to it in mortals was love. The love people held for their family members, that was similar to how a Dao felt.

I breathed, I circulated, and I cultivated.

I took in the people, the drinking, the dancing, the business. I took in the lives of many people and all they had within them. The joys, the conflicts, the happy moments, and the sad ones.

Someone in the village had just lost their mother. I could feel their pain and their struggle. It didn't feel wrong or out of place. It was normal. It was right.

But I could see the edges of the person unraveling. I could see the grief digging itself into them, trying to keep them caged for the rest of their life.

No.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

That would not last.

I touched them, ever so gently.

And in the moment, nothing changed for the person. They were just as sad, just as pained. And the grief would still be there, but most of it would pass.

I breathed.

If this was cultivation then maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

I felt space ripple in one spot then ripple again next to me.

Then aura, overwhelming aura of a ninth rank demigod.

"Do not ask me who I am, just listen. You are the cultivator known as Bill Ter Ance, yes? Nod your head to verify."

I shook my head.

"You are not the cultivator known as Bill Ter Ance?"

I nodded my head.

I could sense confusion from the woman behind me. She was pushing out her aura and overwhelming an immortal rank cultivator, at least in her mind. And in that situation, an immortal should not be able to lie to a demigod.

"Where is he?"

"Couldn't tell you," I replied, getting up and dusting myself down before heading to the village.

"I did not say you could speak."

"Its much more efficient than nodding."

"I did not say you could leave either."

"Go away. I've got enough going on as is."

"You're Bill Ter An--"

"Its Bill Terrance. First name Bill, last name Terrance. And yes, that would be me. Now go away. Find somebody else to bother."

Then I walked away, but she was behind me.

I was going to piss in that damn river the next time I saw that old bastard.

"You are not of the immortal rank," she stated, walking by my side.

"Oh, someone has eyes."

"Why can I not sense your rank?"

"What's the normal reason you wouldn't be able to sense someone's rank?"

"Either they are stronger or they're using a technique to hide it. But you can't be beyond the ninth rank. I know of every demigod within Ah-Marin and you are not one of them."

"Well then, that clears it all up then. I'm using a technique, now go away."

"No. If it were a technique, it would have to be executed at the ninth rank or higher to fool me."

"So?"

"So you have to be at the ninth rank or higher."

"Bravo," I clapped. "You've done it again, solved the mystery twice over. Now leave."

Then she reached for my shoulder. I debated dodging, but that would just bring out more questions. How can you dodge me? How strong are you? Do you practice evasive techniques?

I let her touch me and turn me.

She was an average girl. Beautiful, even by multiversal standards, but still average for the most part.

She had red hair that had grown all the way down to her shoulders and crimson red eyes to match, but her face displayed anything but fragility. She looked mean, like an old grizzled war vet, and wore a perpetually stiff face.

"Please?" I added.

"What?"

"Please leave?"

Her eyes squinted.

"You still want me to leave?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You look violent and angry."

She looked confused for a moment before understanding.

"Your rules state no violence?" She asked.

"Yes."

"I see. And what if I wanted to stay?"

"Why?"

"I have my reasons."

"Just follow the rules."

"You're not worried about the people chasing after me?"

"No one is chasing after you."

"Not right now."

"Hm," I nodded. "Good point. Leave. I don't want the people chasing after you to come here."

Her aura fluttered.

"Wait-- I--"

One thing to note was that she was in shackles, shackles made from a ninth-rank drainer wasp, supplemented with heavy arrays that limited her combat prowess heavily.

"Please," she bowed. It was formal and strict, and her aura roared in hatred at the action, but she did it anyway.

"I am in desperate need of a place to rest."

I stopped walking.

"Why here?"

"The Void Blade Empire believes you're just another immortal who came into the realm via some merchant boat. I was planning on leaving the realm to get these shackles removed."

Of course.

I thought for a moment. I could break her shackles and send her on her way. I could flat out refuse her.

I could just allow her to stay.

But breaking her shackles would reveal that I wasn't just at the ninth rank. It might spread awareness, and my small little valley could be overwhelmed by demigods soon.

But then I looked at the girl and saw her for what she was.

Tormented and tired. A dark and twisted ball of vengeance writhed inside of her. She hated so much but feared just the same amount. They were looking for her, and if they caught her, she would go back to chains.

And I could help.

"Don't go around telling anyone about me, and as long as you stay here, they can't find you."

Her shackles broke.

"Gauntlet!" I yelled.

The golem materialized next to me, disguised as a big and robust man.

"If she breaks the rules, knock her out."

The big man nodded.

I called for Mei Shan and she responded, arriving almost immediately within seconds.

"This is…?"

The woman, who had been entranced at her free wrists and ankles for the past few seconds, finally looked up and introduced herself.

"Fey Lin Fo. I have been given a third name, as one who has abandoned their sect. I was of the Eternal Darkness Sect, and stole the Void Blade Technique from the Void Blade Sect. I thank your hospitality, Honored Master."

"Keep an eye on her Gauntlet."

The eleven-foot-tall man nodded.

"Right this way Miss Fo," Mei Shan said.

It wasn't said with a submissive tone or an arrogant one. It was filled with just the right level of respect for an equal.

The woman certainly noticed it but she was still in shock at her shackles to even react.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.