"....."
Silence, utter silence, the crowd, the sect representatives, the powerful families, and the Ju Emperor himself gone still as if someone had taken the air out of the stadium and forgotten to put it back, a quiet so complete a pin would have been a riot, and the silence was not even the worst of it, because everyone was stunned and stiff in the positions they had been occupying when Dong Pao's sentence died.
On the high stands an ominous sensation spread through the seats, coming from none other than the Patriarch of the Dong family, Dong Chi, father of the boy on the bricks, and Dong Chi had been the best father he could be to his only son, the only male descendant of the Dong, spoiling him to the maximum, feeding him the best cultivation resources and pills a house in the top five could buy, which was a way of saying he had raised a prince who had never been told no until a stranger told him he talked too much.
Above the families Ju Han stood still in shock, grabbing the handle of his throne-like chair until the wood broke in his palm, his first expectation of this stranger having been a body-strengthening freak who had dusted a Spirit Emperor stone with a pinky, and now the other tests had made the boy the definition of an ultimate genius, and if he could subjugate Patrick then all of Patrick's powers and knowledge would be his, which was a hunger that had already failed him once at the Shi estate and had not learned better. Kang Mu and the remaining participants were completely terrified, Kang Mu the worst of them, having planned to fight this man and cripple him in an accident, and seeing the situation now his mind was in an absent state, the kind of blank a genius falls into when the math stops being kind.
Everyone had seen it, from Dong Pao jumping onto the stage to Dong Pao lying breathless, only seven seconds, and what was more shocking was that Patrick had not moved from his position, and that alone caused the biggest commotion, because in a continent that measured strength by how far you flew a boy who killed without taking a step was not a contestant, he was a verdict.
"HOW DARE YOU."
A shout, a man in his late thirties flashing from the high seats and appearing above the stage, participants trembling, some fainting, Dong Chi flying with angry eyes, glaring at Patrick while releasing pressure at full strength, half-step Emperor realm, qi condensed for decades, almost as strong as Ju Han in terms of cultivation, which in Ju was a polite way of saying he could break cities if the Emperor let him.
"For killing my son, you shall pay with your life."
He sent a killing blow, and before the attack reached Patrick a shadow appeared in front of him and canceled it, Ju Han's voice coming down authoritatively, although he knew Patrick had violated the competition rules and killed Dong Chi's son in front of him, still choosing to defend the boy because a dead genius could not be recruited and a living one could still be owned.
"Dong Chi, how dare you take action before consulting me, the Emperor."
Dong Chi landed, angry expression still on him like a second skin.
"Your Majesty, this boy has violated the rules and has killed my son, killing him will be the only way to avenge my son."
"Dong Chi, this boy is a genius only seen in a lifetime, do you think your son would have stood a chance if he met this boy in the real world, I understand your pain, but we must think about the future of the Empire and its people."
Ju Han changed the subject from Dong Pao's death to the security of the empire as if a corpse were a budget item, and everyone understood he had chosen to defend Patrick because of those unorthodox methods, even the sect representatives knowing why, because if he could recruit the boy before they did then the Ju Empire would rise past the sects, perhaps even toward the Sacred Families, who in the future would sit heavier than any eastern hall. Behind the Emperor, Patrick heard Grace in his head from the moment he had walked onto the stage, having only thought of using the same qi pressure Kang Mu had used on Li Feng, and although he had controlled his power the result was not much of a surprise to him, a cup talking too much and a continent forgetting how to breathe.
[Deactivating qi pressure]
"You are Alex King, good, you have the potential to be an Immortal in the future, but you need resources to reach such a stage, why don't you become an imperial disciple of my Ju Empire, and all resources will be provided for you by me."
Ju Han turned as he asked, ignoring Dong Chi and his anger, his main goal to make Patrick a disciple for now and later ask the guardians to pick the boy's secrets apart, the same guardians who had told him not to touch the Shi, as if a throne could learn from one slap and still reach for a second. The crowd burst, because an imperial disciple was rumored to hold the same authority as the Emperor, the guardians personally mentoring him, and it was also said that disciple would be the protector of the Ju Empire for life, which was a pretty chain if you liked chains.
"Are my eyes and ears working, the Ju Emperor is asking a Qi Condensation realm cultivator to be the imperial disciple of the Ju Empire?"
"It is rumored the imperial disciple has the same authority as the Emperor, and the guardians of the Ju Empire will personally mentor him, but it's also said that disciple will be the protector of the Ju Empire for life."
Patrick did not react except to reply in a calm, unrespectable tone, the kind of voice that did not bow even when a continent expected kneeling.
"Are you sure your empire has what it takes to make me a disciple, or to be mentored by you?"
The public fell into silence again, more exaggerated this time, some mouths open wide, some passing out from shock, even the black-robed Elder Mo standing when he heard it, the sect representatives all standing, some already heading for the platform because a Qi Condensation boy had just asked an Emperor if the Empire was qualified. Ju Han, wearing a smiling face, had not expected a reply to his kind and unpressured question, having planned to fake kindness and win the boy over, and still not expecting such an answer from a Qi Condensation kid, his expression changing from smiling to murderous as he spoke, releasing qi pressure, slowly rising in the air.
"Kneel and introduce yourself and your origins, or I shall declare you a demon and eliminate you."
Patrick stood with his hands behind his back and watched the Emperor rise and press, Athena and Anastasia still in the seats as if this were the first interesting minute of the afternoon, Anna's fingers paused in silver hair, the wooden slate turning once like it had opinions. A message reached Ju Han, and he turned to see the sect members flying toward him, the words from the black-robed man, an annoying face as he looked at Elder Mo, and then the others were already talking over one another because no one in the east liked to watch a throne eat a genius alone.
"Your Majesty, I propose we calm down and solve this matter in peace, this is a genius never seen before and to have such behaviors is only natural, if you kill such a genius, how can we find his roots or secrets?"
"Your Majesty, we from the Beast Sect are willing to account for this kid and his actions."
"Hahaha, Beast Sect, do you even have the resources to train such a genius, we from the Puppet Sect will make him the most powerful puppet master in history."
"The Heavenly Rain Sect will take responsibility for this boy, and I suggest no one interferes anymore."
A superior voice, the elder from the Heavenly Rain Sect, number one in the Eastern Continent, only the Sacred Families able to beat them in terms of power, and Ju Han heard the sects making excuses to recruit Patrick, his reputation more important than these halls, but before he could take action that elder's voice had already come out, and he knew even his guardians could not scratch such a man, so he remained in his position and did not say a thing, which was the second time in a short season the Ju Emperor had chosen stillness when pride wanted war.
The elder slowly passed him and tapped his shoulder while looking at Patrick as if probing for origins, calm, still digging.
"Kid, you are indeed in the Qi Condensation realm, but how you were able to cause such results in this competition remains a mystery even for me, and you are still standing even when an Emperor-realm cultivator is pressuring you, you are indeed a genius in a lifetime."
[Master, Jiang Shi is using spirit qi to invade your mind. Here is an analysis of him and his secrets.]
[Analysis: Name, Jiang Shi. Sect, Heavenly Rain Sect. Cultivation, Early Sage realm. Secrets, working with the demons to invade the Broken World, and...]
Grace's voice rang as Patrick looked at this elder and his secrets as if looking at a menu, smirking, his adventure just getting more interesting, thinking of various ways to enjoy the drama, because a Sage who shook hands with demons while scouting children was the kind of hypocrisy that tasted like wine.
"And you are not so bad yourself, to be able to cultivate to the Sage realm after three thousand years is quite an accomplishment for a mortal pursuing immortality."
When Patrick spoke the elder's expression changed, and so did all the sect representatives, some taking precautions against this boy, because not even the elders of these sects could discern this man's realm or his age, yet a Qi Condensation cultivator had talked about him as if they were comrades sharing tea. Ju Han, Dong Chi, and most of the coordinators immediately took a stance for battle, if this boy could tell the realm of the elder then he must be hiding his strength, equal or higher, which in their heads was the only language they had for a god sitting in a child's seat.
"Who are you, and stop hiding your true self."
Jiang Shi spoke in a murderous tone as he released all his qi pressure on Patrick, the ground and the platform breaking into debris, dust climbing the stands, Li Feng still tasting blood from ten seconds ago now watching a Sage try to kneel a boy who had not yet taken a step. Kang Mu's absent mind found a thought and lost it, Lou Yan's strained Heavenly Eyes catching a future that did not include anyone winning, Lou Min's fan pausing halfway, Yang Cho's cunning going quiet because cunning needed a board and the board had just been kicked.
"Since all of you want to fight, then I shall challenge everyone here, including the sects' representatives, if you guys can make me take a step from my position, then you win, and I will join whoever makes me move."
He spoke, not affected by the pressures, remaining in his position, the wooden slate still turning in the ruined air as if the stadium had not been invited to collapse. The crowd was already in disorder with all these events happening continuously, the situation climaxing when everyone viewed the dark horse, the number one genius, challenging the entire sect representatives and even the Emperor, a Qi Condensation joke that had stopped being a joke somewhere between seven seconds and a broken throne handle.
"Boy, I don't know who you are, but if you think you can speak to your elders however you wish, then you leave us no choice but to kill you, it's such a waste to kill such a genius."
Jiang Shi was the first to attack, using ten percent of his strength, because if he used his full strength the whole stadium would be wiped out, and the other elders released attacks as well, the sky filling with techniques raining down on Patrick, Beast, Puppet, Devil, Sunblaze, Moonflower, Heavenly Rain, a continent emptying its pockets onto one brick. Dong Chi added his grief to the rain, Ju Han adding his pride, and none of it had yet asked the brick to move.
Athena watched with the bored patience of a goddess who had already seen universes end less noisily, Anastasia's golden hair catching dust like it was beneath her, Anna's hand still in silver, and Patrick looking up at a sky that had decided to become interesting.
"Now, this is what I call adventure."
Patrick spoke as he smirked.