In the innermost part of the Phoenix Cry Sect, an emergency meeting among the High Elders was happening. Suddenly, some of them received a mental message and shut their eyes in shock. Then one High Elder jumped up from his seat, furious, and turned to Zemuo, shouting:
"ZEMUO! What the hell is this?!"
Zemuo, confused, looked at him with bewilderment. The man spat in anger: "The disciple you brought! He started beating up everyone in my faction until they were nearly dead! Even the Elders are running away, seriously injured!"
Zemuo was stunned by the news. Were they talking about Raoni? That shy young man? However, before he could fully process it, another High Elder from the opposing faction slammed his fist on the table, also furious.
"You bastard! You recruited a fighter and manipulated the system to get him approved among the alchemists? That goes against all the rules!"
"Hm? Don’t be ridiculous," Zemuo shot back with a strange smile. But inside, he was surprised and excited. Had that young man finally unleashed the beast he kept inside? Since when did he have so much strength?
Back at the Heroic Pill Hall.
Raoni was walking calmly down a stone path when he suddenly heard a tinkling laugh. It was a laugh full of joy.
Turning the corner, he spotted about twenty elven maidens chatting and playing on swings hanging from big trees.
These elves, who looked incredibly young, had a rare beauty and were having a great time, carefree.
Raoni stood off to the side, watching them in amazement. Alm and Bruno briefly thought of Ruri.
It had been months since they had been away because of the convention. Now, they were on another adventure and had no idea when they’d see her again. They wanted her by their side for longer. Being able to see her smiling joyfully, like those elves, was an invaluable gift. Maybe if they improved their inventories, they could eventually bring her along on main quests.
Unbeknownst to him, Raoni stood frozen, almost like a statue, lost in his thoughts.
"Oh? Look, a new little brother over there. He looks really young and cute," one of the maidens said casually, without a hint of shyness or embarrassment.
The other elves looked at him with curiosity. They were all surprised; usually, they’d be quite annoyed by a human man looking at them. But there was something peculiar about the calm he exuded, a tranquility that brought them peace.
Even though new disciples entered that place every two months, most were extremely arrogant and always in a hurry. Nobody ever stopped to think or contemplate the surroundings calmly. The lustful humans... they always showed up eventually; but this young man didn’t seem to have any intention or desire.
Raoni smiled gently and replied, "Sorry, I got distracted. I don’t want to bother you."
Bruno, on the other hand, realized it had been a long time since he had smiled like that. A genuine smile that made him look like an innocent young man from the countryside, something he had been countless years ago.
He felt that those elves were innocent and pure, with no malice in their hearts. And that’s why his smile came out so naturally and sincerely.
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"Wait, little brother!" one of them said as they all stopped swinging and walked toward him. "Since you seem like a nice guy, I’ll give you a tip. When you’re in the Heroic Pill Hall, stay neutral. Don’t align with any faction. It could save you a lot of trouble."
The elves looked around, afraid someone might overhear them.
"Thanks for the heads-up. I understand," Bruno replied, grateful. Those maidens were clearly neutral too, being seen as opportunists. They had taken the risk of offending both factions just to warn him, which made him deeply appreciative. At least among the alchemists, there were still good people.
Even though they were few, that’s exactly why they should be valued. However, he knew he would have to disappoint them. His faction had already been chosen a long time ago.
"You bitches! Why are you gossiping for no reason?"
At that moment, four people approached. Three were men, and in the center was a woman who had just spoken. She seemed to be the leader of the group.
Inside the Heroic Pill Hall, male disciples wore white robes, while female disciples wore yellowish robes. The members of the Phoenix Feather fighters wore red outfits.
Additionally, faction members had special symbols on their clothing. The disciples from the conservative faction displayed a small shield mark on their collars to represent their position.
As for Raoni, his collar should have a small spear indicating his affiliation. But Cinoi had said before that since he had just joined, he wouldn’t receive his clothing yet.
Seeing those four, he understood they had come to "greet" him and show their strength, trying to recruit him or intimidate him. They were testing the waters... and they didn’t know what happened to the previous ones.
The elven maidens, frightened, stepped back, clearly afraid of those three men.
The leader woman spat with disdain: "The beating I gave you last time wasn’t enough? Looks like I’m going to have to discipline you even more. No problem, I have plenty of strong men who would love to..."
"Do you really not know it’s rude to talk so much crap?" Raoni interrupted coldly. "What kind of garbage did you eat to make your breath stink so bad?"
The elves, trembling in fear, were stunned by Raoni’s audacity.
"Punk, you’re courting death!"
*CRACK!*
A man roared as he charged, only to get a direct punch to the face. His nose broke, and blood sprayed everywhere.
Alm and Bruno weren’t used to this kind of confrontation. They only knew how to kill; beating someone until they were nearly dead seemed boring... maybe if they gathered a few thousand punching bags, it would be more fun.
"Bastard! Attack together!"
As the man held his nose, the woman yelled furiously, and the three attacked as one.
The elves screamed in fright, not believing that this pure young man would actually step up to help them. The situation exploded in an instant.
These attackers didn’t know how to fight. Bruno moved swiftly, kicking one of them in the head, nearly disintegrating it... that was close...
Another one came at him, and a punch sent him flying while the woman in the distance paled and froze.
In the next second, he grabbed the last man’s hair and repeatedly smashed his head with his knee. With his technique, he could have made his head explode with a single kick, but to show he wasn’t experienced in combat, he held back.
The other two got up and tried to punch him, but they couldn’t even get close. Where were their techniques and fire laws? How pathetic could they be? It was sad to watch.
What was in their hands couldn’t take it anymore and passed out, hitting the ground. In a quick motion, he grabbed one of the others and threw him violently, smashing his head against the floor.
The man’s neck broke, and he collapsed, unable to move. The expression on the last guy changed, and he tried to run away, but was grabbed by the collar...
*Bang!*
He was held by the neck like a chicken, his feet barely touching the ground. Raoni punched him in the face. "Punk, do you know who I am?"
*Bang!*
"Refusing to answer? You’re tough, huh?" The next punch hit his eye, giving him a bruise.
*Bang!*
"So you’ve got some guts! Daring to roll your eyes at me?!" Seeing the disdainful look, Bruno jumped in and punched him again, making both of his eyes black and blue.
*Bang!*
"Damn, you dare spit on me?!" Bruno was getting angrier by the second.
"Brother! He’s not rolling his eyes; he just passed out, and that’s why his eyes rolled back! And he’s not spitting on you; he’s foaming at the mouth. If you keep hitting him, he’s going to die," one of the elves interjected, unable to watch the scene.
"Oh, really?" Bruno tossed him to the ground. The man’s body convulsed a few times before going still.
"Sorry, it was my first time fighting, and I didn’t have any experience," Bruno apologized shyly, scratching his head.
At that moment, Bruno had returned to the appearance of an innocent boy. He turned to the woman who was frozen in the distance.
She murmured in a panic, "I... help... sorry..."
"Hmm... I don’t hit women," the young man said thoughtfully.
That was clearly a lie. Alm and Bruno didn’t discriminate by gender; usually, women were a bit less competitive, and they just killed fewer over the course of history. Bruno said this to provoke a reaction from the elves.
"You said some really poisonous things to those girls... I know!’’ He turned to one of the elves. "Punch her, a good hard one. She won’t use her cultivation to defend herself."
The elf’s eyes lit up. They had been humiliated and even beaten by that woman once. One of them murmured, "But..."
"Don’t worry, she won’t get revenge later. I’m here now; just stick by my side," Bruno replied lightly.
Suddenly, the eyes of the twenty elves widened. For some reason, they felt an unmatched confidence coming from that young man. It was a feeling they finally understood where they had felt it before. It wasn’t just an impression; he didn’t need to fight and move to help them, yet he did it without expecting anything in return.
"I’m going!" The fiercest of them exclaimed and ran toward the woman.
*Bang!*
She threw a clumsy punch, but it landed squarely on the woman’s face, knocking her back and making her spit blood.
As she got up, Bruno kicked the three men close to her feet, then waved for her to move away and take out the trash.
"Little brother, this could get you in trouble," one of the elves approached, nervous. "That human is quite vengeful. She’s connected to a powerful figure; she’ll gather everyone and hunt you down..."
"Don’t worry about me; I can defend myself. Besides, I have a free pass to hit everyone. That’s exactly what I came here to do; the more, the merrier," Bruno replied casually.
The twenty elves exchanged glances. It was unexpected that this seemingly weak boy was so powerful. But for some reason, they felt a strange connection to him and another person. Suddenly, one of them’s eyes widened, and she said:
"You... you’re Almin’s brother?!"