Chapter 10 10

Chapter 10 Chapter 10

"What a beautiful morning." Clark moaned in satisfaction after the rays of the sun warmed his body and soul. He had already passed the gates of the Pleasure House and has now exited the rather special establishment.

After the drastic change of appearance, even the beautiful concierge was not able to notice the newly emerged Lu Chen in their midst. The old Lu Chen and the Lu Chen of today was akin to heaven and earth in difference.

Thus, with a spring on his steps, Clark accepted Lu Chen's identity as his.

"How may i help you, Master?" an old bowed man greeted Clark with utmost respect.

The recent transmigrator has only needed to walk less than 7 minutes before a dilapidated courtyard assailed his senses in sudden melancholy. This has been Lu Chen's home for 100 years.

Gone were the busy servants and noisy echoes of activity in the place. What was left was only the decaying 2 story complex buildings that has brought not a few pleasant and sad memories unto Clark's soul.

"Master?" the old man called in a soft voice.

"I'm sorry, I spaced out." Clark refocused once more and looked at the old man. He hesitated for a second or two before finally acting on his predetermined plans.

"Don't you recognize me anymore, Lai Peng? That's sad. Would that mean that our decades of friendship was nothing but mere waste at all?" Clark asked but there was a bright almost teasing smile on his face.

"Master Lu Chen?" Old Peng could not believe his muddled eyes. He had served Lu Chen for 81 long years already.

It could be said that Old Peng knew every nooks and cranny of Lu Chen's personality yet when faced with a change as spectacular as this one, the old man's sense of propriety was almost forgotten.

He wanted to touch Lu Chen to make sure that he was indeed real and not a ghost of his poor old master instead.

"Is that really you, Master Lu? But how..."

"It is I, Lai Peng. I've become a cultivator. FINALLY!" Clark laughed as he tapped a gentle hand on Old Peng's shoulder.

"This old servant is happy for you, Master Lu." Old Peng held Clark's arms for support. Though both were actually at the same age but their bodies couldn't have been more different from each other.

The old Lu Chen before still stood with dignity and grace but this Old Peng was already bowed with age and weariness.

The faithful servant took care of Lu Chen's daily needs and toiled with no complaints in the years of his service. This was the fate of a slave and Old Peng was certainly not alone in this plight.

'The weak are used and exploited, the strong commands and dictates.'

This has ever been the law in this world where cultivators thrived and plundered.

"Pack up, Lai Peng. We're moving."

"Where are we going, Master?"

"We're gonna get an upgrade, Lai Peng." Clark replied with a wide grin on his handsome face.

"Upgrade?" Old Peng murmured the word and though he was not entirely sure what it meant but since his master Lu Chen has ordered, thus he shall obey.

30 minutes later and an ancient carriage as old as Lai Peng wound up trekking down the busy lanes of the city. Nexus was a mortal city that nurtured at least a hundred million people. Updated chapters at novelhall.com

Lu Chen, being an ordinary Elder of the Lu Family, was relegated on the far edges of the metropolis. The wealthy even termed these suburbs as slums where the poorest of the poor was packed like a family of cats.

Alas, this was entirely not far from the truth as those places indeed demanded lower cost and subpar amenities compared to the heart of the city.

Along the way, Clark wasted no time and got acquainted with the power levels of this world.

"Am i already at the 7th stage of the Mortal Shedding Realm, Nancy?"

"Affirmative, host."

"Would anyone notice your presence inside my body?" Clark continued to inquire.

"Nigh impossible, host. Unless of course the one that's making the pry is a god or a deity then you won't be able to hide no matter how much you try."

"And why is that, Nancy?" Clark was interested in this topic.

"The levels between cultivators of this world and the real superpowers that can create universes and realms with just a single thought is absolute. It cannot be easily bridged by any strength or will alone."

Nancy further explained and in consequence invited the curiosity of a wanton adventurous gamer.

"You're telling me that even if i reach the pinnacle of power in this world, that accomplishment alone is not enough for me to contend with the real monsters above and beyond us mere mortals? Why is that so?"

"To be a god or a deity needs a particular requirement, host." Nancy started.

"They need to be born unto noble Houses and Immortal Lineages in order to have a chance to achieve godhood. Like for example in your case, can a mortal ascend to be a god in one leap?

That's a dream better left for fools and drunkards, host.

A frog that matures in power and strength can only remain as a powerful frog in the end. It's a different level of life altogether when one's origin is from the line of gods and deities." Nancy answered.

"I see." Clark nodded in understanding. He rubbed his long beard unconsciously. A habit he assimilated from the recently departed Lu Chen.

'Hmmm... Gods and Deities, huh? That must be the max level if this was a game in my world.'

'Well, no sense thinking about something that far off.' Clark concluded with these thoughts before he issued another command at his very good assistant.

"Show me the cultivation stages of this world and their benefits, Nancy."

"As you wish, host."

Cultivation Stages:

1. Mortal Shedding Realm - 200 years longevity – Average Power 100

2. Foundation Establishment Realm – 500 years longevity – Average Power 1000

3. Golden Core – 1,000 years longevity – Average Power 5,000

4. Aspirant – 2,000 years longevity – Average Power 10,000

5. World Traveler – 5,000 – Average Power 100,000

6. Void Seeker – 10,000 – Average Power 500,000

7. Overlord – 100,000 – Average Power 1,000,000

8. Saint – 500,000 – Average Power 5,000,000

9. Earth Immortal – 1,000,000 – Average Power 10,000,000

10. True Immortal – Infinite Life – Average Power 1,000,000,000

"The list of cultivators and their numbers are as follows:

level 6 cultivator - 1

level 5 cultivators - 13

level 4 cultivators - 47

level 3 cultivators - 184

level 2 cultivators - 592

level 1 cultivators – 6,816

In a city that houses more than 100 million people, this was an extremely small number of successful travelers in the ways of the dao.

"Damn, it's no wonder Lu Chen wasn't able to cultivate also in the past."

"The selection is pretty demanding indeed." Clark shook his head upon arriving on this conclusion.

"What are you shaking your head for? Are you now ready to accept your punishment?"

"HAHAHA!"

"I can forgive you and not let you die but you have to cut your arms and legs and kowtow to your owner, Yan Ju!"

"How about it?!" the big ugly man named Yan Ju opened his terms.

"Don't waste anymore time, Yan Ju. Our boss won't like this at all." the driver of the second carriage interrupted for the first time.

The man looked at their expensive products that was now wasted on the dusty grounds. Some of the jewelries were even thrown on the feet of the masses yet no one dared to covet these things.

The people around had long fled to a viewing distance, away from the cause of massacre and unexpected implications.

"I beg to differ, Yan Tao. I think the boss is enjoying his ride at the moment and he's too far in heaven to care about a little talk with my friend here."

Yan Ju looked at the third carriage behind and gentle rocking motions could be perceived on its pristine surfaces if one paid enough attention to details.

"The lucky fucker!" Yan Ju cursed as he envied the life that his cousin has. If not for that little twat to be born from an influential Elder in the Yan Family then he would not be even worthy to stand alongside Yan Ju at all.

He would be left in the servant's quarters and work his life from morning till midnight if he had been a tad misfortunate.

"Just don't waste anymore time, Yan Ju." Yan Tao leaned back and took a quick peek at the only person who has said nothing from the start to finish.

This person was not a big man at all but he held an unnerving quietness in his calm posture. He sat at the helm of their boss' carriage and took the scene with an eerie look of disinterest.

As if he was looking not at the world of the living but only at insignificant dead men walking in his field of vision.

Yan Tao shivered suddenly when those cold eyes gazed exactly at his own.

"What a scary old man!" Yan Tao dropped his head in alarm.

"Don't worry, Yan Tao", Yan Ju said as he gazed at his victim.

"This will be over in a minute."

"What are you waiting for? Do you want me to do the cutting or will you first say your farewell to your limbs before you do the deed yourself?"

"Huh? I'm sorry i didn't hear you. I was preoccupied with something else. What did you say again?" Clark at this time was rather busy looking at his hands.

Although he had only thrown two punches earlier but that was enough to obliterate the two magical beasts into smithereens. Those magical beasts were called Furious Mutts and was only level 1 monsters.

Against Clark that was now at level 7, there was nothing shocking about this battle result at all. There was no blood on his clothes save the two crimson mess that now painted his fists in disgusting gore.

Maybe it was how ugly those animals looked or perhaps Clark was still battle shocked at the moment because he felt no guilt whatsoever from turning those large bodies of life into a meat patty.

But this was the first time that Clark and Lu Chen combined has ever killed another living thing in their 119 years of existence.

Of course they killed ants and mosquitoes but that certainly did not matter in the grand scheme of creation. This time though it was different.

"I feel surprisingly... nothing?" his thought wandered for a few precious breaths before a grating voice woke him up from his soul search.

"I said that it's high time for you to die!" Yan Ju frowned. He was being ignored over and over again and he did not like that at all. He approached the middle aged man and put a hand on his favorite tool for murder.

A short sword for death!

"KA CHING!" a sharp sound reverberated menacingly in the open field.

"That man is dead!"

"Sigh! Such a handsome and mature man, his soon to be widow must be beautiful."

"The Yan Family is so overbearing." The people around whispered as they spied helplessly on the sidelines.

"No police. Not even some good samaritan in sight to help me."

"How cruel is a world without laws..." Clark sighed as he suddenly missed home. His father, mother, and siblings were there with him. But right now, it felt like nobody cared at all.

He was all alone in this alien world. This fact alone turned Clark's blood cold in an instant.

"Time for me to act." Clark decided and met the Yan Ju halfway.

"Be careful, Master Lu!" Old Peng prayed behind even as he sat there trembling and fearful on the coach box.

"Just stay there, Lai Peng. This won't take long." Clark replied without looking back.

"I believe in you, Master Lu!" Old Peng claimed in his heart but he could not take that much excitement at all so closed his eyes and waited for the outcome.

??BOINK!"

"BOINK!"

"BOINK!"

Exactly three breaths later and a ripple of surprise rang like waves in the audience that gathered in the place.

"Let's go, Lai Peng." Old Peng heard the unperturbed words of his master.

"What about them, Master?" Old Peng opened his eyes and found out quickly that three men was now kissing the ground and moved not an inch.

"Are they dead?" Old Peng shook but left this question unspoken instead.

"I'm just a lowly servant. No matter what happens, as long as Master Lu is alive, everything will be fine." Old Peng concluded and took the horse reigns to urge his obedient pets into motion.