บท 13: Flying Sword Sect

"T...T...T...This…" Mo Zhou stuttered like a baby who just started speaking. He has never seen anyone penetrate the scales of a Fiery Lizard known for its nearly impenetrable defense with a single sword strike, let alone with such ease!

Yuan suddenly extended his hand for Mo Zhou, who had fallen to the ground from shock. "So? Why did you continue to fight that thing despite the obvious conclusion?" he asked as he pulled Mo Zhou off the ground.

Mo Zhou's expression stiffened upon hearing his question. "I will die if I fail to obtain a Fiery Lizard monster core, so I might as well die trying…" he sighed in a sorrowful tone.

"Why would you die if you cannot obtain one?" Yuan became interested in his situation.

Taking another deep sigh, Mo Zhou said, "Because I had offended a Chosen from my sect…"

"Chosen? What's that?"

Mo Zhou looked at him with a weird expression. How can anyone not know what a Chosen means?

"A Chosen is someone who is favored by the mighty heaven; they are all born with great talents and are respected by everyone."

"Favored by the heavens, huh…" Yuan nodded, "So you mean to tell me that you are going to die because you had offended this one guy? What did you do, kill his parents in front of him?"

Mo Zhou shook his head violently at his words. "No way! All I did was court senior apprentice-sister Xing… but because senior apprentice-brother Ren also fancies her… my actions angered him…"

"Are they dating?"

"No…"

"Aiya!" Yuan facepalmed, making a loud slapping sound. "He wants to kill you because you went ahead and confessed your love to this Xing girl? What kind of unreasonable man is this senior apprentice-brother Ren of yours?"

Mo Zhou became dumbfounded by his words. "But… this type of situation happens all the time…?" he thought to himself.

Yuan glanced at the Fiery Lizard corpse. "You need that, right?" he asked while pointing.

"...Yes."

"Take it."

"Eh?" Mo Zhou looked at him with a face full of surprise. This Fiery Lizard monster core is no doubt a valuable treasure that even the sect elders would covet, yet this young man was willing to give it to him, who he just met, just like that?

"Really…?" Mo Zhou mumbled in a doubtful tone. "But it was you who killed it…"

"Then I'll just take it for myself–" Yuan turned to walk towards the corpse.

Seeing his actions, Mo Zhou quickly panicked. "Wait! I want – No, please let me have it! I, Mo Zhou of the Flying Sword Sect, will be forever in your debt!"

"Brother Yuan is really kind. If it were anybody else, they would have definitely kept it for themselves." Xiao Hua thought to herself as she watched Mo Zhou fall to his knees to kowtow to Yuan as a way to show his gratitude.

"If there is anything this savior needs from this Mo Zhou, he will do it without fail!" Mo Zhou said loudly with tears falling off the corner of his eyes.

Having never been in such a situation, Yuan didn't know how to react to Mo Zhou's actions. "No need to be so humble. If I can exchange a mere monster core for someone's life, of course, I will do it without hesitation," he said.

"Thank you! Thank you very much…" Mo Zhou stayed kowtowing. "Not only did you already save me once from the Fiery Lizard… you are also giving me this Fiery Lizard monster core… In such a short time, you have already saved my life twice! Please, accept this as my gratitude…"

"It is awkward seeing a grown man such as yourself in this position while crying… hurry and stand up already…"

–

It took a moment, but Mo Zhou eventually calmed down.

"I haven't gotten your name yet…"

"You can call me Yuan."

"Then, fellow Daoist Yuan, once again, I am Mo Zhou, an outer disciple of the Flying Sword Sect." Mo Zhou stretched his hands for a handshake.

"Flying Sword Sect? What's a sect, again?" Yuan asked, forgetting that he'd already heard of such a word when he first arrived in this world.

Mo Zhou instantly became dazed at his question.

"Brother Yuan, a Sect is an organization dedicated to the practices of cultivation, where people go to study cultivation." Xiao Hua explained to him.

"So in other words… a school for cultivators?" Yuan looked at Mo Zhou, and a profound light flashed in his eyes. "Hey, Mo Zhou, can you give me a tour around your Flying Sword Sect? I have never been to a sect before, you see…"

Mo Zhou trembled, waking up from his daze. "So you really are a rogue cultivator…" he mumbled in a voice of disbelief.

"Rogue cultivator?" Yuan looked at Xiao Hua with a question mark floating on the top of his head.

"They are independent cultivators that do not belong to any sect."

"Oh, I understand. But why do you look so shocked?" He turned to look at Mo Zhou.

"I can tell that Daoist Yuan is a Ninth Level Spirit Apprentice, but he was able to slay that Fiery Lizard that even Third Level Spirit Warriors would have trouble, and you even killed it with such ease…"

"What he is trying to say is Brother Yuan, who does not have the support of Sects, shouldn't be this powerful," Xiao Hua intervened.

She looked at the dumbfounded Mo Zhou and said, "Brother Yuan is special. Don't compare him with these geniuses. Even these so-called Chosen are nothing in front of Brother Yuan."

"Ah, you are making me blush with such a bashful statement…" Yuan sighed in a low voice, his face slightly red.

"No – as arrogant as it may have sounded, I believe it… that Daoist Yuan is no doubt a genius." Mo Zhou said with a serious expression. "As for visiting my Flying Sword Sect… I will have to get permission from my sect elder before I can say for sure…"

"Really? Then what are we waiting for?" Yuan said cheerfully. He didn't expect that he'd have the chance to go to school in a video game, something he did not have the luxury of doing in the real world due to the limitations on his body.

"Ah! Give me a second to retrieve the monster core…" Mo Zhou said hastily, nearly forgetting about it.