Chapter 7: First Tutorial Quest (6)
= 30 Years Ago, Modern World =
In a trial courtroom, a 30-year-old man was standing in a trial box in front of a judge throne. A white hair Asian woman in her mid-50s sat on the top seat, reading the documents before her. Behind the defendant, a family of a deceased victim glared at the man with hatred.
The man's lawyer leaned back to his seat and relaxed. He was confident that his client would never be punished in this case. Yet, he gave the prosecutor, who was glancing at him with a frown, with an apologetic smile.
The judge woman was astonished after she had read the prosecutor's presented document and the details.
"Why did you kill him, Mao Miaomiao?" The judge glanced at the man, the 30-year-old Mao Miaomiao.
Miaomiao was beamed with a bright smile. He feinted innocence.
"It wasn't intentional. People can die in the rings, your honor."
"But this is the 12th fighter that died in the rings with you as their common opponent. Isn't it too strange?"
"Not at all," Miaomiao laughed, "Anything can happen in the ring, your honor."
.
.
.
= Present =
Slicing a few men gave Mao Miaomiao a nostalgic feeling. It felt similar to when he punched his opponents to the chest and made their hearts stop beating. It gave him a similar sense of accomplishment.
The lost sadistic nature of Mao Miaomiao resurfaced after he hadn't had a chance to fight for decades. In the modern world, he was banned from entering official rings.
But in this world, he could kill!
Looking at helpless injured men and dead bodies exhilarated him.
"It's been a while... this adrenaline."
Miaomiao used to get addicted to the adrenaline rush when he was a pro-MMA fighter. Although his logic reminded him that battles in this world were dangerous, his inner-self wanted to go on a rampage and draw more blood from his enemies.
His leaked murderous aura overwhelmed the five remaining thugs.
"I-Isn't he supposed to be a 1st stage noob? H-How can a muscle tampering realm kill 2nd stage fighters!?"
"How should I know!? I'm sure he was just a 1st stage noob a minute ago!"
"Use qi attack! If we don't use it, we'll die here!"
"B-But spending our hard-earned yang qi strands..."
"You can gather them later! If you don't want to die, use them!"
Five 2nd stage warriors drew qi from their dantian and distributed them to their skeleton frames. All of a sudden, these men emitted colorful aura around their bodies.
Miaomiao raised his eyebrows, doubting his eyes.
"I'm not hallucinating, am I, system?"
[[No, you're not.]]
"Then, can you tell me what they are doing?"
[[Your opponents have used a similar enhancement skill that you are using. However, your speed and power are still superior to them.]]
[[A reminder, the skill effect can only last one more minute.]]
"Hmm."
Miaomiao kicked the ground and dashed toward the nearest enemy. It was a tall man who stood at the right edge of the five-man single line formation, 5 meters away from Miaomiao's position.
The tall man hadn't finished circulating his yang qi into his bones and muscle yet. He widened his eyes in panic as he failed to react.
*SWUA*
A second after Miaomiao leaped forward, a bloody saber sliced the tall man's chest. The blade cut through his rib cages, lungs, and heart like tofu even though the tall man had reinforced them with his qi.
"Shit!"
The four remaining thugs spread out to surround Miaomiao again. Even with their half-finished buff, their speed got 50% faster.
Miaomiao squinted his eyes as he noticed the sudden increase in their speed. He jumped backward to avoid the encirclement.
Two thugs who failed to get behind Miaomiao lost their patience. They charged at him on the front.
Miaomiao used the same trick. He grabbed two stump chairs and hurled it at the pursuers, but he dashed after one of the chairs.
One of the two chasing thugs dodged the stump by retreating backward.
*POEK*
The other thug hacked the stump with his sword to block it. The wood was cut in half, and it didn't hurt him. But Miaomiao's crescent smile and his smug eyes appeared before him. The adrenaline junkie gave the thug a nightmarish smile as a parting gift.
*SWUA*
That demonic smiley face became the thug's last imprinted memory as his head was hacked by Miaomiao's saber. The blade lodged into his skull and cut a portion of his brain.
Miaomiao attempted to yank the saber out, but it got stuck in the skull of his victim.
"DIE!!"
Three men slashed their swords at Miaomiao while the latter was busy pulling his saber.
Miaomiao let go of his hands and ran a few steps backward. Their swings missed him.
"Hahahaha!"
Miaomiao turned his back to his enemies and ran to the bar counter, where the tavern had stored many liquors, wines, and various products.
Three angry thugs chased after Miaomiao with their full speed. They didn't care if they had to destroy the tavern to kill this young man.
*BOOM*
As the fight was reaching its climax, the sole spectator, Luo Cheng, leaped from his seat and landed between Miaomiao and the surviving three men.
"ENOUGH!!"
The elder glared at the three men. Yet, his right hand seized Miaomiao's collar cloth, stopping the transmigrated psychopath from reaching the bar counter.
Miaomiao was helpless under the grip of this old dwarf. Even though the latter only held his collar cloth, the aura from the Luo Cheng's hand disabled his system buff and his ability to move.
For the first time, Miaomiao encountered a master.
Unbeknownst to Miaomiao, The old man didn't want to prevent the fight or save any life. Instead, he cared for the precious wines, whiskey, and alcohol beverage that were stored behind the bar. If the fight continued any further, the tavern might be destroyed.
"I'VE BEEN DRINKING HERE FOR HOURS, AND YOU, WEI CLANSMEN, ARE BULLYING THE WEAK AGAIN!! AS THE DISCIPLINARY ELDER OF THE MOUNTAIN GOOSE SECT, Y'ALL UNDER ARRESTED!!"
The thugs protested, "But he killed our friends first!"
"THIS BRAT WOULDN'T HAVE KILLED YOUR FRIENDS IF YOUR GOONS HADN'T HAD TRIED TO ROB HIM!! IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR SETTING UP THIS TAVERN TO SCAM RANDOM TRAVELERS!!"
"Screw you! Our clansmen aren't scared of the Xu Clan's bootlicker!"
"FOOL!" As if the Luo Cheng could teleport, he reappeared behind the three thugs.
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
Sound of the three palm strikes echoed through the tavern after the teleportation as Luo Cheng's attack speed surpassed the speed of sound. He hit the three thugs with a palm to their chests, which destroyed their hearts and spines from the inside.
The gangsters fell on the ground. No more robber could lift a sword in this tavern. However, behind the bar, ordinary workers huddled together and trembled. They didn't want to get in the way of these ruthless cultivators.
Luo Cheng walked to the bar and tossed two spirit stones at the workers, "Here is the compensation for the damage and corpse cleaning fees. Sorry for the trouble."
The dwarf didn't let his hand off Miaomiao. He dragged the lunatic outside of the tavern and tossed him on the street.
"Ouch! What's the big deal!? I'm the victim, you know!?"
Miaomiao wasn't happy that this old dwarf interrupted his fun time. He had always dreamt that he could get himself into an exciting fight that he could kill his opponents without worrying about laws and consequences.
During the time when Miaomiao encountered Qing Yong and his goons, he couldn't hide his sinister thoughts, which reflected through his smiling eyes and the sneers when he conversed with Qing Yong. He wanted to kill them, but he was afraid of eyewitnesses and consequences.
And just a minute ago, Miaomiao wanted to continue killing. There were not many chances that he could let loose.
Unfortunately, the dwarf wasn't as naïve as Qing Yong, Qing Gui, Wei Feng, or Wei Huang. He could see through Mao Miaomiao's character by just observing the latter's facial expression, eyes, and demeanor. Miaomiao's previous action in the tavern reeked the smell of a combat junkie or a sadistic murderer.
Miaomiao couldn't fool this old man this time.
"Ungrateful brat! I've just saved your life! You should be thanking me that I stepped in and killed those goons for you! Don't you know that the Wei Clan can read the dead's memory? They will be able to find your face, and they will hunt you down to the end of the Goose Plane!"
That was a lie. The dwarf didn't care for Miaomiao. He cared for his favorite alcoholic beverage in this tavern. Even if this shop was owned by a rival clan, Luo Cheng wouldn't want these beverages to be discarded or destroyed.
Hearing that the elder's explanation, Miaomiao analyzed this development with his novel knowledge.
'The Wei Clan? So, Wei Huang and Wei Feng bastards are behind this tavern? Oh, I see! Those people are surely on the villain's side. Sure, I don't want to provoke those antagonists. That's the job of a protagonist, not me! Anyway, I need to know who I am dealing with.'
Miaomiao stood up, cupped his fist, and bowed to the elder, "Thank you for saving me. My name is Mao Miaomiao. May I be so bold to ask for your name and your affiliation?"
It was a rude request, but Miaomiao wasn't sure if this old man was a villain, a side character, or a possible protagonist's ally. Since the sect entrance exam was usually a common story plot in novels, Miaomiao thought that a protagonist might be around here in this city and his story might be in progress.
"Luo Cheng, the head disciplinary elder of the Mountain Goose Sect!"
The dwarf cultivator, Luo Cheng, revealed his identity. However, he had another motive for rescuing Miaomiao.
"Brat, since you've partially offended the Wei Clan, you should come working for me as a blacksmith trainee under my sub-department! I can see that you have a lot of potential judging from your body enhancement skill and your combat experience. Even if you're no longer in a prime age to cultivate, at least you can train under me and advance to the 2nd stage or the 3rd stage within a year or two! How about it? Want to work for me?"