The capital city of the Xiangu Province was a dire and yellow place, much like many other cities and towns in Murim. People being kicked out of restaurants, the rich bullying the weak and poor, and corrupt guards were everyday occurrences.
"Come buy these rare artifacts. Come once, and then come some more, for you won't regret buying these," a vendor called out, his appearance clearly indicating that he was a C-grade scammer who was bound to get his ass kicked.
The seer tried to ignore him and move forward, but the vendor was determined to make a scene. "Yo, brother who wears black? O' great sire whose mystery is known to none, the great seer," the vendor called out, drawing attention from the crowd.
The seer knew it was his job to put the vendor in his place, and now that he was recognized, a crowd gathered around him. "You know who I am, and yet you attempt to sell me fake shit. Are you stupid or do you want to die?" the seer acted haughty in front of the crowd, his voice loud and dramatic, successfully attracting the guards.
"What I sell is not fake stuff," the vendor attempted to defend himself, but he became flustered.
Neon knew exactly how to deal with these kinds of situations. "I know you aren't the real seer, are you? You are fake, which is why you don't recognize the value of these treasures," the vendor improvised, sticking to his original plan.
"Ah, doubting me, you ignorant mongrel. I shall predict the next happening, and if I am correct, off with your head," the seer continued to push his acting skills to the limit. He was a great actor, at least by Murim's standards.
"Sure, but if you're not correct, you compensate me with money," the vendor smirked, pleased that everything was going according to his plan.
The seer no longer needed to act high and mighty. "I will prove to all that your stuff is fake. And then, from the crowd, will emerge a well-known old man who will say, 'Hohohoho, I am an Ai family elder, and I vouch for his skills.' He will invite me for drinks, and of course, he will bring his daughter, who will be like, 'Omg, the seer,'" the seer said confidently as he stepped forward and wrecked the treasures.
Whispers spread through the crowd, and an old man emerged from the crowd. "Hohohoho, I vouch for your skill. Breaking those treasures was indeed the most efficient way to reveal his fake treasures. I don't know how you recognized the presence of this Martial Emperor, but you don't seem to be a simple person," the old man, an elder from the Ai family, praised the seer. "Why don't we have a cup of tea and talk about the various treasures that I have? I would give anything to have the mighty and renowned seer appraise my wares."
Neon politely declined the invitation, saying that it wouldn't be possible that day but perhaps in the following days. The old man provided an address and said he would be waiting for the seer.
Once the crowd dispersed, Neon finally reached the inn where his team had relocated. The inn was no different from any other generic inn in Murim.
"My job is done, so I'm leaving," the seer informed them.
No one paid much attention to him. All three of his pals sat around a small round table in the room, their hands on the table and their mouths on their fists, wearing grave expressions. When they finally noticed the seer's presence, they shifted their chairs to make space for him. Their expressions remained grim.
Neon pulled a chair and took a seat. "The An and Ai families don't see eye to eye," Liu said.
"That is an understatement. They each want the other destroyed and on the ground," Cao Tang added.
Neon sat expressionless, knowing where this conversation was headed.
"Can you convince your parents?" Lin Hua asked.
"Bullshit, can you?" Liu replied.
It was not difficult to guess that Lin Hua was part of the Ai family, which was engaged in a cold war with the An family. They loved each other, but the world wouldn't let them be together.
Neon found himself amidst this clichéd troupe, a love story more generic than most in Murim. The romance wasn't something commonly found in their world. If it was attractive, the stronger guy got to have it. That was it. That's how it worked in Murim, and that law had never been defied. The weak guy became strong to win his love interest, and that was all the romance one could expect.
"You guys keep going, and I will puke on the table," Neon said in a grave voice, now also resting his hands on the table and touching his fists with his lips.
"Come on, man, help a guy out," Liu begged, his expression grave and serious, resembling someone who was constipated.
"Help my ass. I'll give you a suggestion though: win the tournament and get your bitch," the seer responded.
"Can I borrow your gat thingy?" Liu asked.
"No," the seer replied.
"How about confronting your dad?" Cao Tang suggested.
"Are you crazy?" Liu replied his expected response.
"Maybe run away or something. Please, I would rather not be part of this nonsense," Neon pleaded.
All of them still wearing grave expressions.
Liu knew that the seer was his only hope. "Come on, man, for how long are you gonna live like this? You're strong, and you have our support. You should take the initiative. For how long will you run? How many times a day will you cringe at these motherfuckers? Let's climb the power scale and revolutionize this place into a non-cringe province. We can change the world. We can make it better," Liu stood up and delivered his little pep talk, knowing the emptiness of his words.
"Bro, nothing changes. Nothing in Murim ever changes. Maybe the borders do, the people do, the power level of the sects and provinces do, and kings do, but nothing actually changes. The world, the societal structure, and everyday practices remain exactly the same. Some demon cult ruling or some divine sect ruling, neither actually changes the crime rate or agriculture or anything," the seer drilled in the facts. One could in his voice sense how tired of this all he was and just wanted an out.
The see had nothing that motivated him to go the step to make an effort into changing how things were in Murim. he was just some powerful guy who wanted none of it. The seer in all truth was an aimless drifter with no goals and no motivations.
But something was amiss. The seer could not quite put his finger on what as all went back to their rooms to sleep. A very discomforting feeling that he was gonna be a part of this whether he wanted to or not. And it was not gonna be just limited to his two friends.