Chapter 202: The Last Settlement

The two guards glanced at me from time to time, trying to hide the hatred and fear in their eyes. Since it wouldn't warrant my actions if I paid them any attention, I decided to ignore them. Meanwhile, I was clutching Natalia's hand as if she were my lifeline. If worse comes to worst, she can fight head to head with probably anyone here and if I were to power up with the help of the System, we would be quite a formidable force.

I'm sure that White allowed Natalia to go with us just so he could gain my trust. Although she posed a greater threat than me, he still allowed her to go, indirectly implying that I should trust him as well. Of course, ever since we fought in the Void Tower Dungeon, I already unequivocally trusted him. There was no room for doubt since his actions were sincere.

That— or his ulterior motives far outweighs betraying me. Whichever the case, I'm just glad he's not on the other side of the ring. If he were my enemy, I would've fought with him to the death, which I do not like thinking about at all.

"So, you're a user of the Time and Space Element? How did you come to stumble upon your two Qi Cores? Did you always have them? I thought having two cores only existed in the Middle Plane." Gando commented, wiping the sweat off his brows. "Are there a lot who could cultivate with two Qi cores in the Lower Plane? Or you're the only one?"

"Nope, there is another one, a woman. She's a precious comrade, hailing from one of the strongest shelters in our region. I'm not that familiar with her but when I met her, she was a tad too powerful for her peers. Who would've thought that she was already developing another Qi Core at such a young age."

"She's a genius then." Raluf pitched in on the conversation. "And with the minuscule amount of Qi Energy available in the Lower Plane, how do you think she managed to form her second Qi Core? From what I could glean from the ancient texts, getting another Qi Core while you're on the Lower Plane has a 99% mortality rate."

"Then,  not only is she a genius, but she's also lucky. What else?" Gando added. "Man, that girl must've been a real genius. How old was she when she developed her Qi Core? What was her cultivation realm?"

"Why would I tell you that?" I teased. "She's actually in her early twenties, and already at the Dao Realm. It may not amount to much when you compared her to all of you Middle Plane inhabitants but in our Plane, she's one of the very rare geniuses to ever exist. Just like Natalia over here."

"And you? Even without the talent when it comes to cultivation, you actually have the Time and Space Element." Gando gave me a pat on the back. "All these years, we were underestimating teh Lower Plane when there are capable cultivators there. I guess we were judging the covers of the book wrong after all."

"You're mistaken Gando... this guy, he's not that simple."

A figure suddenly appeared beside Gando, wearing a White Robe with golden embroidery on its edges. He was also wearing a long white hat, akin to an ancient priest. When I saw him, I almost had the urge to kneel down as he was releasing an out-of-this-world pressure.

This guy... he's strong.

"Dad!" White enthusiastically blurted as he cupped his hand with fervor. "I have returned, father."

"I could see that." He said sarcastically as he patted White on the head. "You've done well fulfilling the mission. So this is the vessel of the ancient power?"

"Um, no dad but he's connected to the anci— " White tried to explain.

"No, there's no doubt about it, you really are the vessel of the ancient power. White, you didn't know?!" White's dad exclaimed like a kid as he grabbed me by the shoulders. "Hey, kid! My name is Luxor Maximilian, White's biological father. Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence."

"Dad! What do you mean? Is he really the vessel of that ancient power? I thought he was just connected to it!" White tried to clear up the misunderstanding but the more he delved in deeper, the more he got confused.

In the end, his father decided not to explain anything further.

"You fool, didn't you notice? He's got Five Qi Cores? Have you ever seen someone with more than two Qi Cores?" Luxor debated.

Well, this person is not only strong, he's also very perceptive as well. For the past few weeks, I've hidden my exact cultivation level and the amount of Qi Cores I had in my body by regulating my Qi Energy as a camouflage. But even after going through all that intricate processes, his dad managed to see through me in a split second.

"And let me guess, time and space are not the only elements you have, right?" Luxor continued his verbal onslaught. He really caught me red-handed this time.

"So I was found out, huh. I thought my cover was pretty good." I acted as innocently as I could, forcing a laugh while awkwardly scratching my head. I didn't want to appear the least bit hostile towards this guy. One snap of a finger and I might as well be dead.

"Gando! Raluf! What are you waiting for! Prepare a meal for our new visitors. They came a long way to get here. We should at least give them a warm welcome. Oh and also, I would like to properly apologize in regards to our gate guards, um— what was your name again?"

"Tang Yongrui, you can just call me Yongrui. It's a pleasure to be here." I responded.

"Ah, yes, no, I should be the one thanking you. Thank you so much for coming all the way here. And just as I was saying, I would give the two guards who gave you a poor welcome a much-needed lecture later. I was watching from afar and I can tell that they did a poor job accepting you and your wife to our settlement. I hope you find your stay pleasing here. If you need any help, just contact me through my son. We'll see what we can do."

"Yongrui, this is dad, he's also the one managing this settlement so you can take his word for it." White whispered beside me.

"It will be my pleasure, Master Luxor." I cupped my hands. "If that's the case, then, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask me anything. I'll try my best to answer."

I gulped. I knew that the questions that I was going to ask is probably not your everyday topic. There's a great chance that no one even discusses it in the settlement. Regardless of the risks, I decided to ask my question. " Can you tell me in great detail what happened here in the Middle Plane?"

Luxor Maximilian's face, which was cheery and light a moment ago, turned a darkened expression as he clasped his hands and stared at me. He then nodded towards Gando and Raluf, then at White.

"Follow me," he continued.

.....

Just like any other settlements or shelters out there, this settlement's got the leader's quarters right in the most exposed portion of it— somewhere close to the middle. Luxor didn't speak a word when he led us to his quarters. Even when we finally got to the front door, he just opened it and headed inside, beckoning us to come along. Just like I thought, the topic about the rabid humans here is as sensitive as burn.

"Please take a seat." He finally spoke up as soon as he closed the door behind him. The six of us gathered inside his living room of sorts, not daring to speak first since he was the one calling the shots at the moment.

"Once again, Tang Yongrui, thank you so much for coming here. And before I say anything, please promise me that you won't say a single soul about it, that you all won't tell a single soul about it. If word gets out... then this settlement will be doomed. I don't want that to happen, not after everything I've done and sacrificed for the lives of these people."

I glanced at Natalia and Natalia glanced towards me. We nodded at each other. "Please, continue. I promise not to tell anyone about this. And in turn, I'll try to help in any way I can, as long as I can do it."

"Thank you." He repeated as he turned towards White. "Son, did you tell them anything about the history of how the Middle Plane got overran by the infected?"

White nodded.

"Did you also tell him about the greatest secret of this settlement?"

White vehemently shook his head.

"Then, Yongrui, I hope you won't be surprised. But before you decide to help us, please listen to what I have to say first. Once that's over, you can freely decide if you'll help us or not. No hard feelings." He continued.

"Please," I gestured, telling him to go on. I could tell that they were about to drop a bomb on me so I tried to wear the best poker face I have while maintaining my composure.

"The truth is— "

Gulp!

"— This settlement... is the last settlement here in the Middle Plane."