Apollo took a deep breath to calm his nerves. The man who Bernie and others feared was standing right in front of him.
Am I going to have another fight? But this guy is definitely stronger! Apollo started to get nervous. He looked at his own body and noticed that the numerous wounds were still bleeding. If he wanted to heal immediately, he'd have to buy that health potion again, but that would cost him Alm points.
He was saving up so he could hide in his beggar spot. Apollo didn't want to spend points mindlessly, especially when he could still move, even if his body was aching.
Sh*t, I don't have a choice! He was about to summon the system store when he heard Sir Guo's voice.
"Don't be tense," Sir Guo said with a smile. "I'm not here to fight."
"Oh, t-that's good," Apollo sighed in relief while deep inside he remained vigilant. This guy is a perv! What if he also likes young boys? Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.
"You… are you really a beggar?" Sir Guo asked.
"Yes!" Apollo answered, his chest puffing up. "I'm a beggar from heart to soul!"
Hearing this answer made Sir Guo speechless. Why are you so proud?
"I see…" Sir Guo nodded before he looked the beggar up and down. "You're already at a half-step foundation building. How old are you?"
"You can tell?" Apollo was surprised at first, then understood what was happening. The guy in front of him was definitely an expert. This was probably the reason why Bernie and the others were afraid of him. "Am I obliged to tell my age?"
Sir Guo's eyes widened, but Apollo didn't notice. "You are right. But you seem to be young, so I have to tell you something…"
"What is it?" Apollo tilted his head. In the next second, he noticed Sir Guo walking towards him. He took a couple of steps back to maintain some distance.
"You are a beggar. No one will take you seriously. Even if you are a half-step, you are just a better ant than them. Your current status… it's nothing," Sir Guo's smile disappeared.
When Apollo heard this, his eyes turned cold. He felt humiliated, and this was a feeling he detested. Even in his previous life, belittling him was equal to challenging him.
"So?" Apollo raised an eyebrow.
"So… that is what other egotistical and prideful cultivators will think about you," Sir Guo continued, and the smile returned to his face. "I don't know how you got yourself a cultivation technique, but others won't like it. They will try to steal it from you and then kill you. You better stay away from conflict, kid."
As Sir Guo spoke, he motioned towards the passed-out man on the floor.
Apollo understood what he meant and dropped his guard, bowing. "Thank you for the reminder, Sir Guo!"
"Nah, don't mention it. I'm just one of the reasonable ones," Sir Guo waved his hand dismissively.
"I see… Did you come here just to remind me?" Apollo asked.
"No. I'm here to make an arrest," Sir Guo pointed at the thin man, Bernie. "A mere half-step dared to steal from the Cultivation Library of the Academy."
"Oh?" This piqued Apollo's curiosity about the Cultivation Library and the Academy Sir Guo mentioned. But he already had the system and the store. There was no need for him to check that out, right?
"I should get going then!" Apollo bowed again. "Thank you again, Sir Guo!"
"Sure, goodbye," Sir Guo waved his hand and watched the beggar run outside the training ground.
After a while, only he and the snoring Bernie were left in the arena. Sir Guo put a hand under his chin, recalling what had just happened. "Is he really a beggar… or is there something hidden I can't see yet?"
At first, he didn't care about the beggar, but Apollo did something that made him curious. When Apollo punched the measuring scarecrow, Sir Guo noticed the water level reaching past the half-step foundation building.
This surprised him, so he decided to check up on Apollo at night. When he saw Bernie confronting the beggar, Sir Guo followed them to the training ground.
He planned to intervene if the beggar was about to die, intending to arrest Bernie for stealing the Air Palm technique. If the beggar died, then it was his fate, but contrary to Sir Guo's expectations, the beggar won instead.
"Even without using any battle techniques, he won…" Sir Guo muttered. "And something is strange about him. I can't feel his qi."
Sir Guo rubbed his chin in thought. Is someone secretly teaching that kid? Or is he a wandering cultivator pretending to be a beggar? There are many eccentric cultivators who do this kind of thing; he even encountered one in another city, so he wouldn't be surprised if the beggar was a hidden master. This was also one of the reasons he didn't antagonize Apollo.
If he really is just a beggar… Klown, that b*stard, wouldn't like this. He's been capturing all the beggars in the city, and if he finds out that there's still one running around, he will surely send someone to go after the beggar.
"This is getting interesting…" Sir Guo smiled. He isn't the kind of person who would snitch on someone; he'd rather sit back and watch everything unfold. Besides, he'd love to see Klown's angry face.
Suddenly, his thoughts were disrupted when a coughing sound reached his ears.
"Cough! W-what happened?" Bernie shook his head, his vision still blurry. Fragments of memories started coming back, and after a while, he remembered everything. "F*ck that beggar!"
He stood up but fell back down the next second. "Arghh! My arms—"
Looking at his limp hands, he realized that he had been beaten up by a beggar.
"H-how?"
"It's because you are weak," a voice echoed. At first, Bernie was confused, but soon his eyes widened with fear. He turned to the side and saw the most dreaded person in the Academy. "Sir Guo! I— Hello!"
"Hello my *ss!" Sir Guo looked at the thin man coldly. "You stole an elementary grade technique from the Cultivation Library. You have committed a crime. Your status as a student will be stripped, and this will also include your cultivation!"
Hearing this, Bernie's eyes shook as he realized the f*cked up situation he had landed himself in.