Chapter 121: Finally, Inner Peace (1/2)
Since Shi Meili already heard about my death and how I appallingly got resurrected, I thought that she wouldn't be surprised if I were to tell her the current state of the Tang Shelter. But after stating that I wasn't the current leader of the Tang Shelter, her face paled in shock as she covered her mouth to avoid her exclamation.
Before we could reach the entrance to the coliseum she stopped short and tugged at my sleeves. ”That's impossible.” She hissed, doing her best not to garner unwanted attention to ourselves. ”How could you lose rulership over your shelter to someone else? Is he in the Transcendence Realm? No, why— are you joking with me right now, Yongrui? There's no way someone could beat you in the fight.”
Seeing Shi Meili act like that reminded me of the past where she would follow me like a chick who imprinted on the first thing it saw. She always believed that I was the strongest cultivator on earth even though I was never a genius. In fact, she was more of a genius than I am. If it weren't for me going above and beyond and accidentally discovering a faster way to cultivate, I would've had been left behind in the dust while she steps into a different dimension.
With a chuckle, I gave her a pat to the head for her innocence. After seven years, she still held on to her conviction that no one could beat me, even those in the Transcendence Realm are no exception. I don't know why she held me in such high regard, but what could I say? I'm deeply honored by her opinion, to say the least.
”Stupid, I told you my cultivation was reset, right? Currently, my cultivation is on the First Level Level of the King Realm but due to some complications, I'm on par with Ancient Realm Cultivators. Also, I didn't lose rulership over the Tang Shelter. I mean, I never built it in the first place. Remember? I was the first one to die during the outbreak, right? When I came to, the Tang Shelter was already created and my very disciples were the ones who created it.”
I didn't really have to hide it from Shi Meili since she knew me all too well. As mentioned before, it's unnecessary to tell a blatant lie in front of her since she would be able to easily detect it. After following me around like that throughout the years, she probably knew me from the inside out and vice versa.
And as ironic as it may seem, I don't even know her all too well.
”That's why it's paramount that no one knows of my real identity. Right now, you're the only one who's aware of it, that's why you can't reveal it to anyone else. If word were to spread that I, Tang Yongrui, is alive, then a lot of formidable cultivators would be aiming for my head.”
Shi Meili vigorously bobbed her head. ”I promise, I won't tell a single soul about it.” After her declaration, a soft smile was plastered on her face. ”In return, I hope you'll tell me everything you've gone through. We have a lot of catching up to do, you know.”
I nodded my head in agreement. If that's what it takes for her to keep a secret, then I'd gladly oblige. Besides, I know for myself that I wouldn't be able to lie to her. She's basically my childhood friend, and also, she's pretty good at detecting lies. I can't stress out that fact enough for myself.
Just as we entered the coliseum once again, a few persons blocked my path and I immediately recognized them. I mean, why wouldn't I recognize them? They were probably the only ones whom I've known ever since I turned into a rabid human.
They were Liu Zhi's party and Luo Zehn.
”Oh, are you going out?” I casually greeted.
Yang Mei Mei and Wu Yan pouted as they stared at Shi Meili. It wasn't that challenging to realize what they were thinking and it would've been just as easy to bring it up. Nevertheless, I decided to keep everything to myself as per etiquette. Chaos would've befallen me if I said something about the sparks that flew from their eyes, which zapped in contact with Shi Meili's.
”No, we came to get you. You're fighting in the next round.” Luo Zhen called out before the atmosphere got even more awkward.
”We were just about to look for you. It would've been a real mess if the representative of our shelter loses in the Red Sea Tournament by means of disqualification.” Liu Zhi smiled. ”You should hurry, your fight is about to be announced.”
At that moment, something in my mind suddenly clicked as if a light bulb was turned on. Somehow, Liu Zhi's casual comment struck me as odd, and relating it to the past event made it sound even weirder.
'Shi Meili and I were only gone for a few minutes, how come they won so fast?' I thought to myself but I didn't ask them about it. Of course, the ones who won might've achieved it by a landslide.
But no matter how I tried to explain it, it still bothered me a bit.
Since there wasn't much time left, our group strolled to the coliseum and returned to our seats, just as we did so, Shen Rong stepped on the platform again with a paper in hand.
”Now, we will move on to the quarterfinals of the Red Sea Tournament.” Shen Rong began. ”Unlike the first round, we will pit the players by their match since it's unnecessary to draw lots when there are only eight participants left. As such, we will pit the winners of the first and second match, the third and fourth match, the fifth and sixth— so on and so forth. With that said, the first match will now commence, participants, please step into the stage.”
Yang Mei Mei gave me a shove from the back as she flashed a thumbs up towards me. Meanwhile, Liu Zhi and the others expressed their cheer by flashing their thumbs as well, making my face redden a little bit.
And then the cheers began.
It was the same cheer I heard before when Shi Meili and I were talking outside the coliseum. The noise drowned the whole coliseum like a tsunami hitting the shore, eliminating everything on it. If two people were to converse amidst the commotion, they would probably not hear each other even when they shout.