"Hey, watch it you filth!"

"Ugh, I don't understand why I have to see their faces every morning. Why can't we just kill them once and for all?"

"If I were to smell and look that bad, I'd have jumped off a cliff."

Walking down the bustling streets of the imperial state—Xiangzhan—Lucian stared at the people with his eyes wide open.

Even as the roads were crowded with voices and people, Lucian could hear several voices far better than the others.

Sneers. Passive aggression. He heard all of them.

The children who had barely learned to form words, the young who barely knew the rights and wrongs, and even the elders who knew the world like the back of their hands—each spoke out of nothing but pure spite.

Dressed in bright silken clothes, their gazes faltered in disgust upon seeing the kind that was rejected by the world.

Lying near the footpaths miserably, several skeletal-like bodies reeked of sweat, dirt, and excrement.

A skinny layer of withered fabric lingered on their body, protecting their core from the sun's searing heat.

Their eyes—empty and dull—were hidden beneath the thick layer of disheveled hair.

"See them?" The old man asked. As usual, his voice was loud and clear even in the loud banter of the area.

"I believe you are smart enough to tell the current state of this world." He continued, slowing down as if he wished for the child behind to absorb everything present.

"Tell me, in your eyes, how does it look?" Tianlong Bai asked, his voice low and cold.

Lowering his gaze for a minute, Lucian replied. "Peaceful." His voice—calm and steady.

For an instant, Tianlong Bai's legs froze. He slightly turned around and glanced at Feng Tian—his gaze piercing through the child's eyes with a bright golden glow.

Then, without uttering a word, he turned around and continued to walk.

"Correct." He finally acknowledged.

"The new rules of the six clans have definitely harmed the world, but it has also stabilized its falling hierarchy. Creating differences, they've filled the gap that the absence of the true rulers created. Personally, I hate this." As he continued, his voice grew rigid yet sharper and colder than Lucian had ever seen.

"I could very well kill them all, including the so-called innocents who are merely paying for their crimes. But if I do so, that would merely be selfish of me. And sooner or later, I will be chased and killed." He sighed.

"Kid, I've been alive longer than you think. Now that you are my disciple, I'm willing to give you whatever technique you wish for. Any technique that exists in this world, whether it be the six clans' or my lineage's. Name it and you shall have it. However, I will not allow you to reveal them to the world or learn more than one. It is merely your choice. For that is my decision."

The old man's words echoed in Lucian's mind, giving him a hint of the power that the old man was hiding. His words, although arrogant, sounded like nothing but the truth.

'In a world where commitment and responsibilities are put above everything else, why would this old man utter such lies? No, more importantly, his words sound much like a threat.' Lucian delved deeper into the old man's words, realizing the essence behind.

What the old man wished was to slightly hint at the powers he possessed, inflicting a sense of awe in the little one's mind.

While hiding the subtle sense of threat behind. Proclaiming himself to be capable of such a feat, the old man hinted at the possibility of killing his disciple upon disloyalty.

'If I choose other sects' techniques, I'll definitely be hunted by the respective clans under the pretense of retrieving their heritage from a stealer. In that case, the Tianlong lineage techniques sound much safer. But what if it were a common enemy to the six clans as well? Otherwise, how could one justify the hatred in Tianlong Bai's mind?'

"I'd like to learn the techniques of our sect." He grabbed the corner of Tianlong Bai's robe, solidifying his answer.

The path Lucian chose was undoubtedly the hardest. But why did it matter if the six clans truly were his sect's enemies? Didn't this old man just claim to be powerful enough to destroy them?

'If that really is the truth, then this solitary sect's techniques must be just that powerful. After all, why would some sect merely pass down its techniques to a single person? Maybe it was for the balance or the secrecy of their responsibilities. Or maybe, it was to prevent such powerful techniques from being revealed in the world.' Lucian could already imagine the last ends of his possibilities.

Of course, there was a chance that all of this was nothing but the old man's bluff. But what if it wasn't?

That gamble, Lucian was willing to take.

Tianlong Bai froze in surprise. 'To think this child would think this far. Makes me wonder sometimes," he narrowed his eyes, "if he truly is just a child?"

In his eyes, Feng Tian was a kid who had only been in the outside air for two days. To him, he was but a child who had grown up under the narrative that the six other clans were the heroes.

Even as of this moment, he didn't know whether he knew a thing or two about the Feng clan. But for a gentle mind to refuse the techniques of his heroes and choose something new... It just didn't fit right.

'Hmm?' Suddenly, a strange flare caught his attention. Putting a hold on his thoughts, he instantly twisted his neck right and sharpened his gaze.

The golden pupil in his eyes began radiating a faint glow. Reaching his target, his eyes widened and almost instantly shrank to normal.

The corners of his lips flinched, slowly curling into a devious smile.

"As I expected, coming to Xiangzhan wasn't a bad decision..."

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