Inside the overseer's main building, various youths could be seen chatting animatedly while some remained quiet and kept to themselves.
It was quite a rare occasion for them to be summoned into one place unless there was something special about to happen.
They were the Ten Sky Guards and not even one among them had delayed after receiving the call from the Third Guard, the overseer of the Sky Guards Battalion.
Well, the topic they were currently discussing amongst themselves was centred around the new faces and the unforeseen reshuffle of the ten positions.
"Wow, I have never seen such a beautiful woman ever since I set foot in this place." A tall skinny youth commented as he cast a look of admiration toward an inconspicuously gorgeous jade beauty standing together with Zhao Wei.
This tall skinny youth was called Kung Lao, ranked number nine among the Sky Guards.
"Haha, your lascivious nature doesn't lose out to Lu Xiaoyun, Kung Lao." A green-eyed youth with a peculiar green moustache laughed jokingly.
He was Bai Zhu, ranked number eight.
Lu Xiaoyun, currently ranked sixth, cast a hateful glare at the two. His eyes gave them a warning to not utter his name as if they were buddies.
The two immediately raised their hands to signify surrender but slight mocking smiles were brandished on their faces.
Who hasn't heard about the embarrassment that Lu Xiaoyun faced from a complete newbie by now?
In the Sky Guards Battalion, news spread faster than the time a stinking fart takes to diffuse.
"But I can't believe that someone new to the Sky Guards Battalion easily one-shotted a guy like Lu Xiaoyun whose cultivation base isn't weak."
"Could his cultivation base be higher than his or is he just a natural genius that can easily triumph over other geniuses of the same level?"
"Let's look at his cultivation."
"Oh, I didn't expect this…"
"Isn't this too much?"
"That's Peak Sixth Rank. I haven't seen it wrong."
"Can you guess his age?"
"He should be around 14 to 16 years of age. I bet he's 16 years of age."
"That's incredible but not that exaggerated like Feng Hanyue's cultivation."
"Let's not talk about that monster."
Then, a cold voice sounded in the meeting hall which made the talking youths keep their traps shut.
"Good. Then, I will get straight to the point."
As if appearing out of the thin air, a figure clad in silver armour stood at the centre of the hall.
A stern, cold look adorned the face of the Third Guard.
As a common courtesy, the Ten Sky Guards all greeted him in respect.
"Lord Guanjun's seclusion is expected to end in a month. With the end of his secluded meditation, his Lordship will be willing to take a few disciples under his wing, it can be one or two." The Third Guard explained with a look of fascination as he referred to Lord Guanjun.
Well, everyone in the Guanjun Corps yearned to be under the direct tutelage of Lord Guanjun himself. Who wouldn't want or dream about such a lucky opportunity?
Lord Guanjun was a legend in Cloud Country and he was widely known to have ascended into the unreachable Holy Path before casually sitting on the throne of invincibility.
"The prerequisite for being taken under his Lordship would be decided by…"
'This is getting boring.' Zhao Wei lazily thought as he tried to hold back his yawn.
'It is now that I realize sometimes having a transmigrator's memories is both good and bad at the same time.'
Zhao Wei found this conjecture logical.
Knowledge is power but at the same time, too much knowledge can prove to be poisonous.
Zhao Wei already knew where the plot was heading at this juncture, making the situation lack a sense of unpredictability.
Yes, having knowledge of the timeline made one avoid most pitfalls quite effortlessly but it would make one's mind fixated on the known details, unprepared for the emergence of variables and the unknowns.
Zhao Wei didn't dare say that he was unbeatable, he was just a simple man looking for excitement and meaning.
He was naturally cautious and meticulous in his plans but Zhao Wei thought that that aspect of himself made him stiff at times.
There was a hidden urge for recklessness buried deep within him, threatening to erupt but could such urges be considered good in the long term run?
A deep realization emerged in Zhao Wei's mind.
'What I lack is the feeling of life and death being decided in a single moment, and the tribulations meant to develop me both in wisdom and overall power. Haha, but who is stupid enough to send himself into a quagmire?'
Zhao Wei wasn't the type to willingly send himself into a den of lions to be eaten, he was the type to eat the said lions for supper!
'The ominous premonition is probably related to those bandits that we are tasked to exterminate but I might be wrong. I should be prepared for any trouble that comes my way.' Zhao Wei fiddled with his fingers that were placed behind his back.
As various thoughts ran through his mind, Zhao Wei also listened to the words of the Third Guard and compared them with what he already knew. Zhao Wei was on the lookout for any discrepancies that might come to bite his ass off later on.
But it seems there weren't any.
The mission they were given by the Third Guard was pretty simple.
Beat bandits up and accumulate battle points. The higher the cultivation base of the bandit killed the greater the battle points earned.
The accumulated battle points would then be used to redeem alchemy resources and powerful cultivation techniques like Partial Holy Martial Arts, from Guanjun Palace's Treasury Hall.
They were also given five days to prepare before going on the hunt for renegade bandits that wanted to cause trouble to Cloud Country.
Zhao Wei naturally didn't give an F about the enmity between Maple Fire Country and Cloud Country. He didn't like political propaganda and conspiracies.
But if it was war…
A crazy smile tugged at one of the corners of his lips as he unhurriedly walked out of the main building.
"That smile that only signifies evilness..." Zhao Yufei cut off his thought process as she gazed at his face.
"Hmm, evilness? I don't consider myself either good or evil." Zhao Wei's face returned to his usual bland expression.
"I don't think so. There are only two and you can choose only one." Zhao Yufei smiled.
"Such thinking is flawed. I believe choices weren't meant to be chosen but for man to do whatever he wants according to his will."
"Living not according to your will but following choices and morality given definition by the world is sh*t!" Zhao Wei walked with his hand behind his back while wisdom swirled in his magnetic silver eyes.
"You like philosophizing everything that even sometimes it feels as if I am talking to an old man instead of someone of my own age." Zhao Yufei stifled a laugh as she covered her small mouth with her delicate hand.
Zhao Yufei had captured this special aspect of Zhao Wei's personality ever since she came to know him back at the Zhao Clan.
Sometimes, she truly wondered if Zhao Wei was a reincarnated grandpa who had returned to his youthful days.
'Old man? I am not an old man. On earth, I died around 25. Add that to my 14, that doesn't equate to me being an old grandpa, you little-' Zhao Wei grumbled but he couldn't actually explain that to Yufei.
It was a secret. His ultimate secret.
"What would you do if I were an old man masquerading as someone young?" Zhao Wei curiously asked while giving Zhao Yufei a side glance.
Zhao Yufei paused for a moment, completely taken by surprise after hearing Zhao Wei's silly question.
"I would only say one word…" Zhao Yufei adorned a terrifying smile on her unblemished visage.
"P.E.D.O!"
'My condolences to all the million-year-old reincarnators and regressor harem-seekers out there. We have a cultivator secret agent out here.' Zhao Wei looked at the azure skies with a pitiful gaze.
***
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