While it was baffling how easy this so-called "Ceremony of truth" ended up going for me, I had nothing to complain about. The easier all the procedures would go, the better for me!What was even most important was the fact, that during this ceremony, instead of directly requesting me to swear my life for the sect or actually make me promise anything, I was only asked if I"m ready to do so! As such, I didn"t even need to bother with trying to understand how this entire process was working so that I could safely lie!
Following the gestures of the elders, I obediently approached them and bowed my head slightly in a sign of respect.
"Thank you Elder, but there was nothing hard about it, so there is no point in praising me. It can only bring shame on me!"
Since I was already going all out with my fake personality, acting humble was just another brick to the powerful wall of lies that I was building around me in order to trick everyone here to bare their defences and let me steal all their knowledge!
"Well, being humble is a good trait… Anyway, everything should be ready for your advancement trial by now, follow us."
Instead of wasting the time of all the fellow elders of his, my very first guide to this city rushed forward, leading the entire group with me at its end through a complex array of small alleys and corridors.
Looking at my surroundings, I couldn"t help but notice how the everpresent redness seemed to tone down, slowly turning into the shades of pink, only to reach the level of light orange when the elders in front of me finally stopped their mad pace of the walk.
"We are here. From this point on, we won"t be able to guide you, as you need to rely on your own strength to advance further. While it would be for the best if you could complete the entire trial, when you won"t be able to progress any further, make sure to shatter this stone, otherwise no one will be able to guarantee your safety!"
Pa.s.sing a strange, transparent stone to me, the elder pushed the doors to yet another hall open, before moving aside and gesturing me to get inside the building. With no other choice, I moved in, only to hear the doors shutting behind me as soon as my entire body pa.s.sed through the threshold of the doors.
*Bonger, I think its the right time to evolve my executioner path… but at the same time, make sure to notify me when I will reach the usage of about half of what that violet robed elder could use.*
"Sure thing, it will take me about a minute to evolve the path, but I don"t think you will need it in the initial stages, so just make sure you won"t rush through them like some sort of madman!"
With the confirmation from Bonger in place, I started moving forward, wary of my surroundings. Contrary to my expectations though, instead of a set of clever traps aimed at gauging my skill, the first place that I entered after reaching the end of the reddish corridor was a wide, open hall, made with some kind of wood that was for once left in its natural colour instead of wasting tons of most likely an expensive paint to cover it in red.
"So you are the new challenger… I hope you will go easy on me, senior!"
Standing in the middle of the circular area, a young man of about twenty years of age, cupped his hands and bowed down in a Chinese manner, allowing his long, brown hair to flow down from his shoulders almost all the way to the ground.
Considering how humble this guy was towards me, I was quite disappointed again. Where was the arrogance? Where was the tras.h.i.+ng so popular in all cultivation stories, when everyone would speak s.h.i.+t towards everyone so that slapping their faces could be even more enjoyable?
"I will be in your care."
While I ranted at the situation in my head, I still cupped my hands in front of my chest and nodded my head. After all, even if it was a bait aimed at throwing me out of the balance or at least, disrespecting the enemy so that I could use less power than required to best him and give him an opening to defeat me, he was still respectful towards me, so I couldn"t act like a junior to him!
As soon as my head was lowered, the guy instantly jumped forward, attempting to make use of my unstable position. There goes all the respect for the rules and each other…
While he clearly thought that his attack was perfectly executed and aimed for a swift kill, to me, there would be literally no difference whether he would jump at me or just attempt to calmly walk a bit closer.
Not willing to waste any of my energy on such a small fry, I just waited for him to approach me without making any spare movement, and just as he reached forward with his fist while forming a strange sign in the air with his other hand, I just moved a single step aside and left my own fist behind.
"Urgh…"
Impaling his own stomach on my hand, the man"s body instantly gave up, caved in and forced all the food that he had yet to ingest to spill right where I was standing before.
What was that, a special attack when you add a debuff of disgust to your opponent by throwing up all over them?
Unwilling to waste either my energy or my time on such weak opponent, I allowed him to fall right in the pool of his own vomit as I moved towards the door located at the other end of the circular area.
"Seriously?"
With that single comment, I stepped over him and marched right towards the doors. With a painful screeching, the gate opened in front of me by itself, leaving me puzzled.
Was it created so that it would open just by approaching it? If that was the case, what would be the point of fighting with anyone, if I could simply avoid them and get right to the doors?