A couple of days later, I was more than happy to say goodbye to the Spartan room of Epsilon Dormitory and return home. Dad was waiting for me when I got back, grinning cheerfully.
"So how was it? Staying in a dormitory?"
"Not as exciting as the stories make it out to be. As I expected, being at home is the best." I sighed. "I kind of had enough 'fun' staying outside home during all those missions."
Over the last eighteen months, I had participated in cultivator missions, looking for clues for the demonic cultivators or repelling spirit beast waves. The system had been very quiet, as I said before, not offering me any new missions or requests. Disappointingly enough, I wasn't able to get new spirit beasts outside of those being bred in my dungeon. If not for the fact that it showed up to notify me of dungeon updates, I would have thought it was gone.
"Other web novel and manhua protagonists have much better systems," I had muttered under my breath. "Or maybe it just wants to do a time skip and go straight to the university years?"
Obviously, the system didn't deign to respond to that.
Anyway, I told dad briefly what had happened and he laughed.
"Good job, son! You showed them! And yeah, I agree with you. Don't take random people as underlings. You don't know if you can trust them, and it's not good to take advantage of other people, anyway. Besides, at the first sign of trouble, they might just run away, so don't take it for granted that they will be at your beck and call whenever you need them."
"Yeah." Dad wasn't a cynical person, but he wasn't naïve either. He had seen a lot of friends appear and disappear, and often told me that I should discern them accordingly.
"Oh, you will be having a guest later." Mom showed up, looking concerned. "They visited yesterday, looking for you, but I told them that you aren't home. They said they will be back to find you again after you return from university."
"Who?"
Mom shrugged. "No idea, but one of them claims to be your schoolmate from high school."
"Is it Qin Ying?"
"No."
"Oh." That made sense. My parents knew Qin Ying, especially since we visited her family's restaurant a few times. By now, the Qin family had completely paid back their debt to me and even managed to relocate to a bigger and much grander restaurant in the middle of the city. Qin Ying had thanked me a lot of times, and if it wasn't for Myria, I suspected she would have asked me out or something. Or maybe I was deluding myself.
Perhaps it was Hao Ren or Tong Xue? But my parents had met them before, so mom would recognize either of them as well. Also, she said schoolmate as opposed to classmate. That meant the person wasn't from my class.
I didn't have to wait long. Less than an hour later, the visitor showed up with an entire entourage. When the doorbell rang, mom sighed and nodded to me.
"That's them."
"Okay. I'll get the door then." I curiously approached the entrance and opened the door, only to be greeted by an unbelievable sight. "You…!"
"Greetings, classmate Song Jun Wen." Long Fan Xue bowed politely, escorted by bodyguards from her rich and powerful Long family. "I'm here to formally extend an invitation to you."
"An invitation? To what?"
"A…ritual of sorts. A ceremonial trial. My family is holding a tournament, and I thought you might want to participate in it." She handed me an envelope. "The details are inside."
"Okay. Thanks. I'm not sure if I will…" I wasn't interested in taking part in a trial, but Long Fan Xue pressed the envelope into my hands.
"Please. Just do me a favor and attend." She lowered her head. "I beg of you."
I was about to callously reject her when I caught sight of the notification window from the system. For the first time in over a year, the damned system finally deigned to issue me a mission.
-The system has issued a new quest: "Long Family Trials." The user's objective is to successfully overcome the trials held by the Long family. Completion of this mission will grant the appropriate rewards. –
Say what?
"Um, okay. I'll think about it."
"Excellent." Long Fan Xue beamed. "The trials will be held this weekend. I'll see you then!"
She then turned around and stalked off, accompanied by her many bodyguards before they rode on a limousine and drove away. I watched the luxurious vehicle disappear into the distance before shaking my head.
"Right. Whatever."
"What's that about? Trials?" Mom frowned. "What on earth do they want you to do?"
"Probably a tournament among the younger generation." Dad chuckled and shook his head. "I remember in my youth, all the big families and sects love to organize these sorts of trials and tournaments. They'll have all the young cultivators compete together so that they can determine the best spouse for their family heirs."
"I already have a girlfriend," I grumbled.
"So will you refuse?" Dad asked. I nodded distractedly, though I knew it would mean giving up the first mission that the system assigned me in a year and a half. However, Myria chose that moment to show up.
"Jun Wen! Hello, uncle and auntie. Hmm? What's going on?"
"Oh, Myria." I waved the envelope. "Just in time. I was going to ask you for advice…"
As it turned out, I ended up participating in the Long family's trial. Myria had a plan, and she suggested that I attend anyway for the resources and rewards. If anything, I had the right to refuse if they tried to pull any sort of marriage shenanigans on me. And Myria told me she had a countermeasure for that.
So I was alone at the Long family manor, waiting at the gate. The guards confirmed my identity and led me in, and suddenly I found myself one among many. A lot of talented cultivators had gathered in the colossal courtyard of the Long family manor, admiring the meticulously groomed garden and exquisitely sculped statues. there was a fountain in the middle, with geysers of water sprouting from the mouths of dragons. At their tails, and in the base of the fountain, stone carps were frozen in midflight, almost as if they were trying to scale a waterfall.
But the most eye-catching monuments in the Long family manor were the four immense Asura statues standing sentinel around the huge courtyard, towering over everyone at about twenty meters. Even though they were all gray, carved from ethereal granite, their features were carved with such skill that they appeared lifelike. Ferocious, warlike and intimidating, they glared down on the plaza, almost as if they were ready to smite anybody who dared threaten the manor under their charge.
"Amazing…the Holy Statues of the Long family…they look almost alive!" One of the candidates murmured, awestruck.
"They never fail to impress me whenever I come here," another added, studying the courtyard. "This is the home of one of the top families in Xia Hai City?"
"Incredible…"
Though they sported muscular, humanoid bodies that held an assortment of weapons, the heads of the Asura statues were concealed behind bestial masks. The horned mask of a ferocious demon. A head that resembled a dragon, with a flowing mane, snout and teeth. The terrifying, fanged visage of a godly warrior. A serpentine helm with webbed ears and magnificent scales.
The four heavenly kings, perhaps?
"What's this?"
I noticed something odd. The system was notifying me of things I could do with the Asura statues, but it appeared that I had to complete the trials first. I studied the weird holographic icons that appeared like targeting reticules, the boxes extending from them displaying garbled text. In another window, the system informed me that the text will be clear once I completed the trials.
-These will be your rewards. –
"Huh? Asura statues? How can they be my rewards?" I honestly didn't understand. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to contemplate the new information. An enraged roar shook me out of my thoughts and I jumped away just in time to avoid a powerful fist that pulverized the spot I was standing on. Bouncing back, I glared at my assailant. "Hey! What's that for?!"
"You are Song Jun Wen, aren't you?" The guy who attacked me appeared very familiar. That dyed blond hair, blue eyes and slicked back hair. He seemed a little older, but otherwise he appeared very similar to my opponent from a few days ago. It was as if I was staring at an older version of Kai Fan. "How dare you beat up my brother?!"
"Dude, your brother volunteered to take charge of the recruitment exam, and then tried to beat me up first. What am I supposed to do, let him beat me up without fighting back?"
"YES!" Kai Fan's brother bellowed and threw another punch. Fiery qi surged out and almost incinerated me, but I ducked it once more. "You are just TRASH! Trash has no right to fight back! If we say you die, then you must DIE!"
…what was with this retarded logic?
"If I'm trash, then what does that make your brother who lost to me? Worse than trash? Is he shit then?"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Good lord, the dude was yelling in caps now. Just how edgy and juvenile could he possibly be?
"DIE!"
"Dude, yelling in caps doesn't validate your point. It just makes you look immature."
Even as I reprimanded him, Da Hai materialized between us, extinguishing his torrent of flames with a stream of water. Whirling about, he smacked Kai Fan's brother aside, sending him spinning to the ground.
"You dare fight back?!"
This was getting ridiculous. Did he really think he was entitled to killing me because…actually, I don't know what sort of mental gymnastics he was performing in order to reach that conclusion.
"Enough! Stop this at once, Kai Fang!"
A man in his twenties landed on the ground with enough impact to send both Da Hai and Kai Fang flying in opposite directions. I dismissed my War Turtle and watched as Kai Fang scrambled to his feet.
"But, Brother Long! This guy…!"
"Brother Long your head!" The newcomer smacked Kai Fang in the head and sent him sprawling on the ground once more. "Is that how you address the guardian of the Long family? Am I your brother? Huh? And if you truly think of me as your brother, why are you throwing my face by picking a fight in my home?"
The guardian of the Long family? That guy must be Long Shou Shi. I had heard of him – among the generation just before mine, he was considered to be a peerless genius. Not that it meant anything because the special snowflake of a protagonist would just dump all over him later anyway.
"Sorry, sir." Kai Fang lowered his head, ashamed. But he wasn't giving up. He pointed at me wildly. "Even so, I can't just give up…I must seek revenge for my brother! This trash dared to fight back and humiliate the Kai family!"
"If Song Jun Wen here is trash, then your brother is worse than trash! And stop insulting him! He's a guest of the Long family, so if you continue to assault him, we will kick you out!"
Kai Fang gritted his teeth before glaring at me. "Song Jun Wen, if you dare, then why don't you have a life and death match with me?! Let's settle this once and for all!"
"…um, is that allowed?" I asked, glancing at Long Shou Shi. He sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, but make it quick. The trials will be starting soon, so you have five minutes to lose to Kai Fang."
"Huh? You're already assuming that I'll lose to him?"
"Of course." Long Shou Shi was wearing an ugly grin. "Though I am not deluded enough to call you trash, even someone like you won't be able to defeat a cultivator of Kai Fang's caliber. The sooner you fail the trial and leave the Long family territory, the better."