342 Rite of Baptism, Black Pool

The mixed bathing area was silent once Leon uttered these words. Everyone had their gazes fixed on Goldenrod, awaiting his answer with curiosity.

A warrior should be true to his words and accept losses with honor, but they also understood how difficult it was for Goldenrod to accept such an outcome. 

All warriors were naturally proud, with eyes aspiring for greatness. It was hard to imagine any of them lowering and subordinating themself to an outsider.

Nevertheless, this was something Goldenrod had brought onto himself. He only has himself to blame. The middle-aged warrior had already warned him and tried to mediate the matter.

"I lost fair and square. Why wouldn't I accept this loss?! I am a man of my words! From now on, I am your subordinate! It's not a shame to lose to a great Warrior!" Goldenrod spoke strongly. He would not dishonor himself by being a sore loser.

"Good lad. At least you still have your warrior's honor." The middle-aged warrior praised.

Shortly after, he started to frown slightly as he glanced Goldenrod's dangling arm. He turned to Leon and asked, "However, don't you think you have been a bit too heavy-handed, Big Brother Leonhardt?"

"I think it should be broken, but this is what I deserve for provoking a Great Warrior." Goldenrod said self-deprecatingly while shaking his head.

"Heavy-handed? Broken? Not at all. It's just a little bit dislocated." Leon said indifferently.

In truth, his current base strength was inferior to Goldenrod. He had to rely on his explosive strength to win. He could beat Goldenrod in a normal contest of strength without his Divine Will and folded strength technique.

If these warriors also had techniques that applied the same concept of [9 Echo Oscillating Fist] to their attacks, they would also experience an increase of multiple folds in their strength.

Nevertheless, Leon did not see the need to explain as he simply strolled over to Goldenrod.

"What do you—" 

Goldenrod was not able to finish his words before Leon grabbed his right arm and gave it a quick yank and twist. 

Kacha!

The sounds of bones clicking were heard as Leon fixed Goldenrod's arm. Goldenrod grunted and sweated from the brief rush of pain. 

At the same time, Leon's intention was misunderstood as the middle-aged warrior deepened his frown and said, "You have already won, and punished Goldenrod enough for his offense. Don't you think you are taking things too far by continuing to bullying him with your strength?"

In any case, Goldenrod was still one of them, while Leon was an outsider. They would not standby while Leon bullies their people.

"Oh?"

The middle-aged warrior and everyone else was also surprised seeing Goldenrod wave his arm around without a problem.

"It seems I have been mistaken and misunderstood your intentions, Big Brother Leonhardt. Forgive me for my rudeness just now." The middle-aged warrior apologized.

"It's fine. I did not take it to heart. If you really feel sorry, then just call me Brother Leonhardt. I am not used to being called a big brother by someone who is old enough to be my father." Leon spoke.

Pfft!

"Did you hear that, brothers and sisters? Big Brother Leonhardt said Brother Blacktiger is old enough to be his father! Hahaha!"

"Hahaha! Brother Blacktiger definitely has the looks! Do you want me to call you daddy, Brother Blacktiger?" 

"Hahaha! Big Daddy Blacktiger!"

Everyone immediately broke into laughter as jokes and snide remarks were made at the supposedly 'middle-aged' warrior.

"Oh, piss off! Are you guys really going to make fun of my face right now?! Do you also have to embarrass me in front of Brother Leonhardt?!" Blacktiger barked.

Leon was taken aback by everyone's response as his eyes started to flicker with doubt when he looked at the 'middle-aged' warrior.

Noticing his inquisitive gaze, Blacktiger rubbed his bald head with embarrassment and explained, "Despite how I look, I am actually only 25 years old." 

"What? Motherfucker, you look 50!"

Leon was given a great shock as his eyes darted between the other people at the mixed bathing area. Everyone appeared to be within their 20s to 30s.

Are these people also younger than what they appear to be?

He soon fixed his gaze on a warrior who looked to be roughly 20 years of age and wondered if this person was like 10 years old or something.

"Don't tell me, everyone here is also…"

"No, they are all normal. I am the odd one." Blacktiger shook his head and proceeded to explain further, "I've become like this because I was too stubborn during the Rite of Baptism and overstayed my body's limit in the Black Pool."

Rite of Baptism? Black Pool?

Leon's brows furrowed ever so slightly at the more unfamiliar terms. Nevertheless, he could faintly guess it might have something to do with their body cultivation method.

"Brother Leonhardt doesn't know about the Rite of Baptism and the Black Pool?" Blacktiger asked, noticing Leon's confusion with his keen perception.

Leon was inwardly startled. He was prepared to make an excuse when Blacktiger continued to say, "Brother Leonhardt must have been a vagabond since birth and never undergone any Rite of Baptism before, right?"

"It would make sense that Brother Leonhardt does not know about the Rite of Baptism and Black Pool. After all, your body doesn't look much different to everyone before they underwent their Rite of Baptism in the Black Pool. It must have been hard outside on your own all this time…" Blacktiger speculated. 

He had a look of confidence, totally convinced by his own conjecture that this was truly the case. Leon gaped in a dumbfounded manner, not knowing where his confidence came from. 

'Sure thing, dude. Whatever you say.'

"You know what? You are exactly right! That is indeed the case!" Leon nodded in agreement, following along with Blacktiger's assumption.

Blacktiger was not the friend he wanted, but he was the friend he needed. It saved him a great deal of trouble explaining himself.

"Hahaha! Just as I have assumed." Blacktiger laughed.

After receiving Leon's confirmation, he was more smug and complacent with himself.

"Brother, when are we going to have our match?" One of the warriors asked with an urging tone. 

Obviously, he did not care much about Leon's story. He was more concerned with beating Blacktiger and claiming the number one spot under the Great Warrior Realm.

"Oh right, sure, sure. Let us see what you got! I hope you won't disappoint me." Blacktiger was in high spirits as he grinned.

"Hahaha, I shotgun the next challenge if Blacktiger wins."

"Then, I will take the one after!"

The male and female warriors began to gather around the arm-wrestling table with interest as they began to place bets and queue up for challenges.

With no one left to bother him, Leon focused on scrubbing his body to cleanse himself of the revolting smell. While he was at it, he was not concerned in the least whether the color-changing cream he applied to his skin would wear off or not.

Spirit herbs with strong purifying properties were needed to remove the colored cream on his body, and the soaps provided by the Bathhouse did not have this kind of purification. 

He had already checked this and was rechecking it. The soap did not seem to have been made from anything that could be found on the Infertile Plains. At least, not from what he had seen on the surface anyway.

"Just a kind of word advice, brother. Don't drop the soap." A warrior advised him.

"Hm? Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." 

Leon was a bit speechless. What did that person mean by that?

Shortly after, he hopped into the now vacant mixed bath and enjoyed the relaxing warmth of the hot bathwater. 

He was conscious enough to have a towel wrapped around his lower body. He was not accustomed to being butt-naked around other people. 

Nevertheless, no one found this strange and thought he was just unfamiliar due to his vagabond life.

As Leon watches the Darkmoon Tribe warriors compete in arm-wrestling matches, he sank into thought, pondering about his next course of action.

'All sorts of information are usually found in a pub, but considering the tribal chief has invited me to join their great feast tonight, it would be improper to visit the pub today, lest it arouses their suspicion.'

Right now, Leon was all alone, while Lumi was not inconspicuous enough to help him scout the city. Meanwhile, every other person in Darkmoon City could be Chief Valencia's eyes and ears. He had to be mindful of his actions.

It had only been a brief exchange, but he found the tribal chief unfathomable and impossible to read through. He could only tell that this person seemed to be plotting something.

'For now, I should familiarize myself with the city. A tour guide will help me prevent arousing suspicion. I should also look further into these people's Rite of Passage and Black Pool when I can. It might be useful for my body cultivation.' Leon mused.