Chapter 49: Trouble is Brewing
As soon as all of them had a.s.sessed their rooms and felt content with what they saw, they all went down to the restaurant.
They had spent a month and a half on the road. All they had eaten were dried strips of meat or roasted Fierce Beast meat that had been bland because they had not had any spices to liven it up.
"I apologize, but we do not have tables that fit a full fifty-three experts in one sitting. You will have to split up in groups," the innkeeper said with a smile on his face and all of them split up into groups.
Shen Mu, Luo Zhirou, and Xue Wei all stayed together at a small table in the corner while the others moved about and found seats for themselves. It was a large restaurant, and it could comfortably hold more than five hundred guests at once.
Everyone was eager to start eating, and fortunately there were a whole ten waitresses within the restaurant, not counting the one behind the counter dealing with drinks.
The main topic within the inn was the loss of face that the young master had suffered and the emergence of a new genius.
Although Xue Wei"s current strength was not overwhelming, the fact that he had reached it in such a short amount of time was shocking, and no one knew just how much strength he had.
"I bet his cultivation base is incredibly unstable and that he is a paper tiger in reality!" one of the guests in the restaurant said loudly. He too was a ninth layer Ordinary Warrior, but he seemed to be around fifty years old.
"Old Wu, you are just jealous!" another voice called out with laughter. "You spent forty years just to reach the ninth layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, but he spent merely half a year! I get why you are jealous, but don"t forget the facts."
"This youngster managed to cause one of the children to collapse from a glance alone! Tell me, could you even make a mortal collapse from a glance alone?"
The man known as Old Wu was silent. He simply could not respond as he knew that he did not have the strength to make anyone collapse without touching them.
"Don"t you think it was exaggerated?" someone else asked hesitatingly. "I cannot imagine that even an Earth Warrior can make someone collapse from a single glance – only at the Sky Warrior realm might one be able to compress their Qi to pull off such a feat."
"They say he has a special physique! I heard that it was something about him having the strength of a thousand men at the same level!" someone exclaimed. As soon as the words had left his mouth, Xue Wei almost choked on the drink he had ordered.
It was not only him, everyone from Tiankong City had strange and rather amusing expressions on their faces, but no one spoke up to talk about him.
"I saw the young man; he was a true dragon amongst men! Even his clothes, although travel-worn, had the aura of being worn by someone outstanding!"
Xue Wei was completely stunned with every additional thing that was being said by these experts. He had suddenly been placed up there as a real genius, one that the kingdom had never before seen, and this made him stunned but also uncomfortable.
"If people honestly believe that I am that strong, then I will be killed fast. No one wants to allow for such a perverse genius to be born; even the royal family will be against my rise as I will be able to threaten them later on."
Xue Wei wanted to correct them, but he knew that even if he corrected the ones within the restaurant, it was worthless. The rumors had long since spread through the entire Inner City, and they were just getting more and more colorful the further they went.
"Oh well, although the commoners might believe in this." Xue Wei sighed as he leaned back in the chair. "I know that those that truly matter will not believe it so easily. They will make tests and examinations and ask that young master about what truly happened. When they hear how simple it was, they will leave me be... I hope."
"If all goes wrong, they have to reconsider since my uncle is Xiao Lei. Would they want to cause problems for the biggest Primordial Beast Hunter of the kingdom, who is revered and respected by the public as their number one figure?"
Thinking like this, Xue Wei felt a bit better, but he was still rather uncomfortable with the conversations he heard within the restaurant. The stories were getting out of control, and some of them even claimed that this young hero who had emerged was a direct descendant of one of the heavenly War G.o.ds of the dark era.
It was common knowledge that the War G.o.ds were all the ancestors of the Wayfarers; and if he were a descendant from one of these War G.o.ds, then he would be a wayfarer, but wayfarers never partic.i.p.ated in the war, so why would he be there?
Xue Wei shook his head as he gave up thinking about all the strange rumors that were beginning to spread.
Instead, a slight smile rose on his face as the first set of dishes were brought to their table by an attractive woman. This woman glanced at Xue Wei clearly with curiosity, but she dared not say anything. As a result, she just hurried to place the plates in the middle of the table, curtseyed to them, and scurried away with a face as red as fire in the fireplace.
Xue Wei chuckled but said nothing as he looked at the dishes. He had not had real food for so long, and he was salivating as he looked at the dishes in front of him.
He had expected plain dishes considering the food was included in the room"s rental fee, but the dishes in front of him were anything but simple.
There was a stew made from Fierce Beast meat and vegetables; there was roasted Fierce Beast meat. On another plate were roasted greens with garlic and b.u.t.ter.
There was a total of ten dishes on the table, and all of them had a scent so heavenly that Xue Wei could almost not hold back. He picked up the chopsticks and his plate and took some of the food onto his own plate before quickly starting to eat.
Seeing that Xue Wei dug into the food, neither Luo Zhirou nor Shen Mu held back and began eating too. Those two had also lived on dry rations and bland, roasted meat for the last month and a half and were now so excited to have some real food with great taste.
Xue Wei glanced at the other tables and saw that everyone from his group had been given the same food, food that was much better than what they could demand with their rental fee.
The other tables belonging to people who were not from his entourage had food placed upon them too, but these were more humble dishes.
The wine that Xue Wei and his friends were given was also a very delicious fruit wine.
This fruit wine was fresh and delicious as it entered their throats, cleansing their palate after eating a bite. Xue Wei, Shen Mu, and Luo Zhirou spent a good hour in the restaurant eating the dishes, enjoying every last bite and chatting happily with one another about what they could expect from their time in the army.
"We already know that we will be entering the same gamp as the other ninth layered Ordinary Warriors." Shen Mu sighed with a bit of depression but also a bit of pride. Although he could not make it to the Genius Camp, he could make it to the next best.
"Do you think you can make it to the Genius Camp?" Luo Zhirou asked Xue Wei with a bit of hesitation. Xue Wei was only a ninth layered Ordinary Warrior like the others, but he had a fighting strength that did not match that of his cultivation base.
Xue Wei shrugged his shoulders. "I don"t know," he answered honestly. "It quite depends on what exactly the test is. If there is a way to display my fighting strength, then I should be fine, but if it is about cultivation base alone, then I am not an Earth Warrior yet and thus not allowed to join."
Xue Wei did not say anything about it, but in reality, he hoped that it was a test of combat power. He sincerely wished to join the Genius Camp. Not only for his own sake, but for the sake of his uncle and w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. If he wanted a chance to become stronger, then he needed the resources that he could get in the Genius Camp.
Xue Wei wanted many things. He wanted to become strong enough to make his uncle proud. He wanted to be accepted by w.a.n.g Xiaoyun"s family. He wanted to regain his memories.
Having read about the vast world from a very young age when he had no memories, Xue Wei also wanted to be able to roam the rest of the continent. He wanted to experience all the wonders he had read about. He wanted to be the first person from the Heping Kingdom to transcend the Heavenly Warrior rank.
Xue Wei had many dreams. He was aware that to make these dreams come true, he had to do many things, but the first step on his road would be whether or not he could enter the Genius Camp.
The rest of the meal was eaten with comfortable conversation before they had finished it all. The sun was setting behind the city walls, but even so the Inner City still bustled with life.
Street lamps were lightening up the roads and streets, small torches and lamps lit up the shops, and noise drifted out from every single restaurant and entertaining s.p.a.ce in the Inner City.
Carriages and palanquins were transporting citizens through the bustling streets, while others were on horseback and a few were moving on their feet.
Just as Xue Wei finished eating, he looked up and saw three figures entering the restaurant and going straight to the counter belonging to the manager.
Here, they spoke together with hushed voices, and soon after the three men were looking at Xue Wei with eyes that neither displayed open hostility nor any respect and positivity.
When Xue Wei tried to sense their strength, a frown appeared on his face. These three men had an aura similar to the one Manager Su had, meaning that they were all at the Heavenly Warrior rank. It was even possible that they were stronger than Manager Su.
"Trouble is brewing," Xue Wei muttered to himself, but he kept calm on the surface, and he did not lower his gaze when his eyes locked onto the eyes of the man walking in the middle of the other two.
The two looked at one another, their wills clashed, and although Xue Wei was much weaker than this Heavenly Warrior, his determination was not to be belittled.
"Young hero, may I ask what your name is?" the guy in the middle asked while they were still a bit away, and the entire restaurant quieted down as they observed Xue Wei.
The inhabitants of the Inner City dared not utter a single sound, some of them were even afraid to breathe. It was clear that they knew who these three figures were, but since they did not speak about them, Xue Wei was clueless.
"This young one is named Xue Wei," Xue Wei answered honestly and calmly as he cupped his fists and made a fractional bow.