Chapter 84: The Marketplace

“Are you absolutely certain, young man?” Luo Zehn worriedly asked with his face full of concern.

Well, if I were in his shoes, I would’ve asked the same thing myself. What I’m about to do, at first glance, looks completely suicidal and yet chose to go through it. I can’t just sit idly by while they continue polishing their plans and getting away from them.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. Just bring them somewhere and please protect them. I know you’re powerful enough to do so.” I patted Luo Zehn on the shoulder. After spending quite a time with all of them, I finally get to talk super casually towards my dear disciple.

“But, aren’t you still in the Spirit Realm? I mean, I’ve witnessed your power firsthand and I don’t know where you get all that power, but you’re going against something in Ancient Realm!” Luo Zehn said.

As an esteemed Sect Master, I can’t afford to have my disciple look after me as if I was a mere child. And yet, somehow, I can’t help but feel pleased. It’s like I’ve gained a friend that would be worried for me if I were to fight someone stronger than myself. I can’t help but smile a satisfied grin as I reassured my disciple. “Don’t worry about me. I can look after myself. Thanks for worrying, though.”

Now that I think about it, I never told anyone that I was already in the Immortal Realm. They could probably detect my power and estimate which realm I was. But after throwing them off, they probably thought that I’m an abnormal cultivator cultivating an unknown cultivation technique. That’s why they still assume that I’m already in the Spirit Realm despite my power output.

I mean, I’m already in the Immortal Realm, perhaps the strongest out of all of them.

“No, I’m going with you. I can’t have you going alone again. Because the last time I did that, you ended up in your berserk state.” He said. “I won’t allow you to destroy such a formidable shelter and unwillingly take the lives of others.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve gotten stronger these past few days.” I reassured him for the umpteenth time. “Right now, I want you to look after Liu Zhi and the others. Ask them how they ended up like that and then have them return back to Red Sea Shelter. The Horde is coming a few hours from now and we can’t have them return to the Red Sea Shelter too late.”

“Understood. As much as I hate to admit it… I know that we can’t put their lives at risk. Otherwise, I’ll be bringing unnecessary wrath towards our shelter. After all, Shen Rong is someone we can’t offend at all costs.”

“You understand, right? Now hurry and get out of here. I’ll take care of things here and return to Tang Shelter as soon as possible.” I told him.

“No, I’ll bring them to Red Sea Shelter and get back to you as fast as I can.” Luo Zehn gritted his teeth.

Since this was not the first time it happened, I could tell that Luo Zehn was a bit annoyed by how things turned out. Although Liu Zhi and his party meant well when they accompanied us, they now became a burden that would slow down the mission. Well, it’s not like we have full control over everything and our planning was kind of rushed. This much of a setback should be expected.

And just like that, Luo Zehn, and Liu Zhi’s party exited in an anticlimactic manner.

…..

Left alone, I decided to stay in the marketplace and hopefully overhear some rumors about Ziyou Shelter. From what I overheard, the Forsaken Tree was once a Willow Tree that grew overnight and after encountering the Qi Current every year, it grew and grew. But the only time it showed its reserves of Qi Energy was when the outbreak started.

And it may be coincidental but I detected a bit of Qi energy that matched with my Virus Qi Core. It may not be much but I think the Forsaken Tree is a rabid human… I mean a rabid tree. In other words, it may have been infected by the Virus. If my theory is correct, then that would explain how the tree evolved so fast in just five years. The Virus probably changed its composition and made it become even more powerful, just like how the Virus turned human beings into infected ones, giving them new strengths and the thirst for infecting other people by biting them.

Well, it’s not like I was any different.

One of the reasons why I tend to level up quickly and efficiently cultivate was because of my weird constitution, that is, of a rabid human. And I guess I should also take into account the existence of the System.

Walking around the marketplace with my hood down, I still could feel that something was odd in the place. There are lots of people but still and the marketplace was busy. It may be a below-average market but it’s still a market. And yet, something feels off of it.

“GET HIM!” Someone exclaimed as a tiny figure ran through the marketplace.

Since I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t stop the tiny figure. Instead, I decided to walk in the middle of it so the pursuers would bump into me.

The pursuers were regular old men and they were pretty desperate. From the looks of it, it seems like they didn’t have any choice but to chase the kid. ‘Did that kid steal something important? He was wearing a hood so I couldn’t tell. But I’m pretty sure he wasn’t holding anything. Why are they chasing him?’ I asked myself.

“Oi~ watch it!” One of the man barked at me instead of saying sorry when he bumped me.

I nodded in silence and went my way. But while I was turning around. I directed a little bit of Qi energy towards the kid. There’re a lot of things I need to ask her… and also…

I finally realized what was odd in the marketplace.

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