Totem

When she said these words, Weylin’s expression was quite complicated. Her large, vivid eyes was one tenth anger, two tenths grievance, and seven tenths… entreaty!

Correct, entreaty! Weylin seemed to be like a child that had been misunderstood and was earnestly looking for someone she could rely on who could understand her. She stared at Jiang Nan imploringly as if waiting for him to say in a loud voice, “Beautiful Miss Weylin, my opinion differs from these fools. There is definitely a reason behind *your actions, truly, I understand you…”

But!

How come she always looked for Jiang Nan, a slave, to hear his thoughts?!

For a time, everybody’s gazes flitted uncertainly between Weylin and Jiang Nan.

It was a pity that Jiang Nan failed to meet their expectations: “Weylin, I am a slave, alright. I do not have the qualifications to a.s.sess your behavior.”

“You d.a.m.ned piece of sh**, is this woman asking you for an honest opinion such a difficult request?!”

Pa!

Weylin drew out her whip and lashed near the top of Jiang Nan’s head, then rushed towards the arena without turning back, “Forget it, this woman can’t be bothered to explain to you all! The duel will continue as arranged. Whoever wants to watch, follow me. If you don’t… then get lost!”

The elderly managers let out a sigh and led everybody to follow behind Weylin.

By this time, Lola had already helped Weylin register, and a number of arena managers hastily rushed over. Once they saw Weylin, they acted as though they had seen a close relative, “Aiya, Miss Weylin is personally fighting! This is truly Sun City’s greatest pleasure. Please, this way. Everything has already been arranged for *you. After one hour, the match will officially start!”

Weylin was still sulking and didn’t even acknowledge the managers, simply walking directly in.

The managers did not get angry either, and just continued to welcome Lola and the rest with smiling faces.

Their att.i.tudes definitely weren’t strange: one must know, at the same time the Totem Arena freely offered their arena… they were also earning money from selling tickets!

Weylin was one of Sun City’s top ten fighters, and if any of the top ten came to fight, spectators would come thronging over. One could say that Weylin was the managers’ livelihood, their G.o.ddess of wealth!

In support of this kind of att.i.tude, the managers hastily ran to attend to Weylin and bow to her as their faces brimmed with enthusiastic and cordial smiles.

But just as Jiang Nan started pa.s.sing through, the managers’ smiles abruptly melted off their faces!

One manager looked at Jiang Nan’s clothes and his expression suddenly changed as he stretched his hand out to block Jiang Nan, coldly saying: “Halt, you cannot go in!”

Jiang Nan stared blankly, “Mister, how come?”

Just as Weylin had not bothered to interact with the managers just then, the manager felt disinclined to acknowledge Jiang Nan. Thud, thud. He knocked on the entrance’s info board, then pointed at a paragraph of words on it.

“For customers carrying VIP tickets, please go towards pa.s.sage #3…. For customers carrying first-cla.s.s tickets, please walk through pa.s.sage #5… For customers carrying standard tickets, please walk through the corridor…”

These lines of words were standard guidelines, and they indicated which ways the customers should go depending on their status. Jiang Nan swept over it with a glance, but truly did not understand how these words held any relationship with him not being allowed in.

“Mister, you should switch to an easier method of explaining so I can understand…”

Jiang Nan shook his head as he said: “Alright, I still don’t get it!”

“A lowly slave like you still doesn’t understand?!”

The manager had not even answered when Lola had already shouted from the side. She pointed at the info board and said loudly: “Look clearly at what the poster says—Customer! People!”

Lola was angry to the point that her face had grown bright red, as if Jiang Nan had shamed her outside in front of other people. She first spoke towards the manager, “This slave of mine does not understand the rules, *you do not ever need to mind him.” She then turned her head and began berating Jiang Nan, “Do you understand now? The Totem Arena is for people to watch. Does a piece of sh** like you count as a person? Slaves and livestock… are prohibited from entering the arena!”
(*TL: holy c.r.a.p I need to punch her)

Slaves and livestock…

Jiang Nan’s left hand faintly trembled, and a segment of [Skeletal Poison Blade] nearly pierced outwards.

Slaves and livestock!

Was there anything more humiliating than this?! Slaves and livestock were prohibited from entering. F***, *I’m not even equal to a dog?!

“Alright, I’m a slave. Fine, I don’t have the right to enjoy the dignity of a human!”

Jiang Nan calmly chuckled, then bowed and said, “Then, esteemed Miss Lola, I’ll just wait for *you here, okay?”

“You shameful thing. Properly wait here!”

Lola harrumphed, then turned to walk into the arena.

But just in the moment Lola turned around, Jiang Nan lowered his head as a sliver of ferocity flashed across his eyes!

This time, Jiang Nan had been truly and thoroughly infuriated!

Slaves and livestock couldn’t enter?! For the sake of that tiny bit of dignity remaining in the depths of his heart, Jiang Nan told himself, “I should not receive this kind of humiliation, I’m already a Totem Warrior… F***, *I will definitely enter into the arena and retrieve the dignity that is rightfully mine!”

After he said this, Jiang Nan came to a secluded corner and began to survey the arena’s surroundings.

He wanted to find a way to infiltrate the arena!

Ten-some seconds later, Jiang Nan’s eyes lit up. He saw that on the info board, there was yet another line of words on the bottom, “For customers carrying standard tickets, please walk through the corridor… Fighters who are partic.i.p.ating in the Totem Arena, please contact a manager. There is a special pa.s.sage for compet.i.tors.”

A pa.s.sage for compet.i.tors!

If he anonymously attended the Totem Arena and acquired the ident.i.ty of a compet.i.tor, could it be… that he could enter the arena?

Furthermore, he was already a primary rank Totem Warrior, but he still did not know what level he was ultimately at within the primary rank. As long as he anonymously partic.i.p.ated, could he not find a suitable opponent and fight, thus accurately confirming his own level?!

When he thought up to here, Jiang Nan rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he was back in his old world, challenging those experts and scholarly authorities and slightly adjusting those golden-rimmed gla.s.ses…

   ……

Several minutes later, Jiang Nan dressed himself up into a different appearance: he wore a blackish gray short-sleeved top that was full of patches and an earthen yellow skirt on his lower body. On his head, he wore a cornerless, golden mask, and even that eye-catching long, silvery hair of his had been dyed into a hideous green color!

After that, he looked at his appearance in a sink and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Alright, this appearance was indeed a bit ridiculous, but who could understand the bitterness it represented? Jiang Nan was only a slave. Where could he find the money to buy lavish equipment. Just for these things, he had fumbled and dug through a pile of trash with his own two hands in the bitter cold weather of negative twenty degrees!

However, it was fortunate that although his appearance was laughable, it was enough to conceal Jiang Nan’s ident.i.ty.

On the other hand, the slave clothing he had changed out of could not be discarded, so Jiang Nan hid them into the depths of the trash pile.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, there was still half an hour before Weylin’s match, and Jiang Nan once again came to the arena’s entrance.

It was still those exact same managers, and when they saw Jiang Nan’s strange attire, they all walked inside without a word. Only one stepped out and angrily commanded: “Halt. This is not a place to beg for food. Get lost!”

“Mister, judging by appearances is not very good behavior.”

Jiang Nan shook his finger and then knocked on the entrances info board.

Dong, dong!

Just like how the manager had done just before.

But this time, when it was the manager’s turn, he did not understand it either, “Did you not hear me? Quickly…”

“Mister, your comprehension ability disappoints me.” Jiang Nan’s finger slid over the word ‘compet.i.tor’. At this moment, it seemed as though he had retrieved that pride as a professor in his past world, and he felt as though he was again challenging those specialists and scholarly authorities. He chuckled calmly and said: “Alright. I came to partic.i.p.ate in the arena.”

“Even you wish to partic.i.p.ate in the Totem Arena? Hah…!”

The manager roared with laughter, but just as the laughter escaped his mouth, he forcefully choked it back down!

Following Jiang Nan’s finger tip, the inch thick info board… had been thoroughly torn and ripped through!

“I welcome *you to partic.i.p.ate in the Totem Arena!”

The manager hastily grew extremely respectful.

Following that, he took out a small, white-skinned booklet from his chest area. One one hand, he wrote on the book, and on the other, he deferentially said: “Esteemed totem master, according to the arena’s regulations, I must record *your details. Might I ask what *your name is? As well as your totem level?”

Looking at Jiang Nan’s golden mask, he abruptly understood, “Oh, I apologize. It looks like *you wish to anonymously partic.i.p.ate in the Totem Arena. This is also permissible, and I will no longer inquire any further into *your business. However, in order to make it more convenient to revise the ‘Totem Ranking’, *you must at least provide an alias that can represent your ident.i.ty.”

After he said this, he placed the small record before Jiang Nan and asked him to write down his alias.

Without even thinking, Jiang Nan wrote down a word in large letters… Professor! (TL: X!)

“Professor?”

The manager looked blankly, then dashed into the arena and yelled out: “Today, the alias of compet.i.tor #37 who will enter the arena is… Professor!”

   ……
Author’s note:

Two things below –

First, Stuffed Bun (author) has discovered that the explanation of the totem ranking was a bit messy. To make it clearer, I’ve simply written it onto the description of the novel. If n.o.body wishes to flip through the first chapters, just looking at the description is fine.

Second, the main lead has already been oppressed for fifteen chapters. Finally, I will let him embark on an awesome path.