Chapter 134 (1/2)

Patricia grinded her teeth as she stared at her television screen. On it, there was a news report about an old man claiming to be the strongest and most athletic cultivator in the intergalactic society. His evidence? Gold medals in every competition he was allowed to take part in during the Bread Games. To an average person, that was very convincing evidence, but to Patricia, it was bullshit. “Does this old man really think he’s the greatest?” She turned towards the person sitting across the room from her. “If you attended the Bread Games, all those gold medals would be in your hands instead of his.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop watching the news?” the cultivator asked in return. “It’s good to be informed, but watching too much of it will cast deep shadows on your soul. Wallowing in the darkness of society will inevitably contaminate you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Patricia said and rolled her eyes. What shadows? What contamination? If watching the news was so detrimental, the government wouldn’t allow news stations to broadcast twenty-four seven. “It’s still bullshit though, don’t you think?”

The cultivator shook his head. “He has a right to be arrogant. He defeated everyone in everything he competed in, and those people he defeated were supposed to be the best of the best.”

“But the real experts don’t care about fame and fortune, so they don’t attend the Bread Games in the first place,” Patricia said. “It’s like how you’re capable of defeating soul-seed cultivators despite only being in the nascent-soul stage, but no one knows about it because you don’t show off.”

“This man’s boasts don’t bother me, so I don’t understand why you’re so upset,” the cultivator said and scratched his head. He was Patricia’s older cousin, but he was several hundreds of years older than her. Cultivators had long life spans, and as such, keeping track of familial ties could be confusing at times. If someone had a child while they were twenty and had another child when they were eight hundred years old, depending on the first child, the second child could be born as a great-great-great-great-great-great uncle with dozens of great-great-great-great-great-great-great nieces and nephews who were all older than him.

“I’m upset because his attitude pisses me off!” Patricia said, her brow furrowing. “Just look at him, looking all smug and shit. Sure, he beat some people, but that doesn’t mean he’s the strongest. Why don’t you challenge him to a duel?” Patricia’s eyes lit up, and she stared at her older cousin. “I bet we can make a killing off the bets if that were to happen.”

“I thought I told you to stay away from gambling as well,” the Patricia’s cousin said. He wasn’t sure why this cousin of his was so unruly, but he suspected it had something to do with the woman his uncle had married. She had a horrible personality, and if it weren’t for the fact his uncle could beat him, Patricia’s cousin wouldn’t show any ounce of respect towards his aunt-in-law. “Cultivators should have a kind heart, a clean body, and a clear conscience.”

“I know, I know,” Patricia said. “Don’t be evil. Do good things. Don’t damage your body through earthly temptations. You tell me this all the time.”

“If you actually listened, I would only have to say those words once instead of all the time,” Patricia’s cousin said and shook his head.

“We both know I can’t cultivate,” Patricia said. “Since that’s the case, why do I have to behave like a cultivator? The heavens let me down, so in return, I’ll let them down as well.” She turned her head back towards the television, and it didn’t take long for the sound of grinding teeth to permeate the room once more. She turned back towards her cousin. “Alright, maybe you aren’t willing to teach him a lesson, but surely, you’ll let me contact one of your friends, so I can convince them to do it, right?”

“Did Vremya do something to you personally?” Patricia’s cousin asked. “Why would you go so far as to provoke someone like him when he hasn’t done anything to offend you?”

“He embarrassed Derrick on intergalactic television!”

“Who’s Derrick?”

“My boyfriend!”

Patricia’s cousin’s brow furrowed. He knew his words wouldn’t get through to this younger cousin of his. However, he still had to try. Even droplets of water could eventually bore through a boulder with enough time and persistence. “I believe I warned you about the perils of having a boyfriend.”

“Can you stop lecturing me? My parents do it enough when I’m at home!” Patricia furrowed her brows. “Derrick lost to an old man in an arm-wrestling contest. Isn’t that super embarrassing? As his girlfriend, how am I supposed to show my face around people?”

“He lost to someone who won forty-three gold medals at the Bread Games,” Patricia’s cousin said. “There’s nothing embarrassing about losing to someone like that; in fact, Derrick can probably brag about the event to all his friends.”

Patricia pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “Think of how much more he could brag if he actually won!”

Patricia’s cousin shook his head. “Don’t let your emotions get the best of you,” he said. “Emotions are merely a signal from your body to your brain similar to hunger or thirst. If you let them control you, how will you ever be in control of your own fate?”

“Who cares? It’s not like I can cultivate anyway.”