Huan

[Updated] [Rewritten]

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After the end of the first exam, the crowd of examinees began to disperse. Some were sad and disappointed that they had failed the first exam. Others were happy and relieved that they had passed the first exam.

Among the people who had passed the exam, there was a young boy who was perhaps the happiest of all. He had a bright smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes.

"I did it! I passed the test!" He exclaimed, his voice full of joy.

"Mother, you see! I did it!" He said, looking up at the sky as if he could see his mother's spirit.

He jumped up and down, unable to contain his excitement.

His cheerful behavior soon attracted the attention of other cultivators. They looked at him with various expressions: amusement, contempt, curiosity, or admiration.

"Look at this idiot, hahaha." A burly man laughed mockingly.

"He is happy that he passed the first test, but he must have been lucky." A skinny woman sneered.

"Hahaha." Some others joined in the laughter.

"What a stupid boy…" A middle-aged man shook his head.

"Can he pass the other tests?" A young girl wondered aloud.

"But he looks cute when he did that, right?" Another young girl giggled, finding the boy's reaction adorable.

Many female cultivators nodded and smiled, feeling a bit of fondness for the boy.

The boy heard their comments and felt embarrassed. He quickly ran towards an alley near the exam area, his ears turning red.

"But that boy had a good cultivation for his age..." A calm voice said among the crowd.

"Yes, he may pass the second exam!" Another voice agreed.

"But, it will be hard for him to pass the final round..." A third voice added.

"Yes, you are right..." The first voice nodded.

People started to talk again, shifting their focus from the boy to the next exam.

"Hmph, what did he do to get so many people to like him..." A sour voice said near a carriage.

He was wearing a servant's uniform and had a badge with the Lin family crest on his chest.

"In front of my master, someone like him wouldn't even be worth mentioning..." He said arrogantly.

"Who is your master?" Some people asked him curiously.

"Hmph, my master is the second young master of the Lin family, Lin Tian." He said proudly.

"Whoa, his master is the young master from the Lin family." Some people gasped in awe.

"Did he say his name was Lin Tian?" Some people asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that famous genius from the Lin family." Some people confirmed in admiration.

"I heard he broke through to the tenth level of Spirit Body Stage at 14 years old!" Someone said as he was amazed.

Smack!

Another cultivator who was beside him smacked his head.

"Stupid, he is still 14 years old and he just broke through to that stage recently."

"Don't talk if you don't know anything." He scolded him.

People shifted their whole focus to talking about the young master. They praised his talent and achievements. They wondered if he would pass all the exams with ease. They hoped to catch a glimpse of him or get close to him.

Everybody forgot about the young boy they were talking about earlier. He was no longer in their sight or mind.

"Master, now everyone is talking about you!" The servant said happily as he peeked through the window of the carriage.

"Good work, you will get your rewards later." A childish voice said from inside.

Then he ordered his guards who were standing outside the carriage.

"Send some thugs to beat that boy up. I don't like his presence." He said coldly.

"Yes, young master. We'll do as you say!" The guards saluted and left to carry out his order.

Yes, this boy was the young master of the Lin family, Lin Tian. He had a handsome face and a noble aura. But he also had a cruel and arrogant personality. He hated anyone who stole his spotlight or challenged his status. He enjoyed making others suffer for his amusement or satisfaction.

"You received the attention that belonged to me. Be grateful that I didn't order them to kill you." He said as he looked at three figures who were entering the alley where the boy had run into.

__________________________

~Huf!

~Huf!

"Finally, I'm far away from the crowd!" A young boy said as he came out of the alley and appeared beside a forest.

He was a cute boy around 12-13 years old. He wore the simple clothes of a cultivator. He had a sword on his waist, a blue robe on his body, and short dark blue hair. His eyes were blue, but his irises had a hint of black.

His name was Huan.

He had come here with the hope of joining the Hundred Swords Sect, like everyone else. He could have tried other sects, but he only wanted to study in the Hundred Swords Sect.

Because he had his own reasons.

"But can I pass the other two exams?" He wondered, feeling uncertain.

He had heard what people had said about him. They had doubted his abilities and chances. He couldn't help but question himself.

"I have average cultivation and I'm only at the seventh level of Spirit Body Stage." He thought, feeling inadequate.

"I heard there are many cultivators who are at the ninth or tenth level of the Spirit Body Stage, and there might even be some geniuses who have broken through to Spirit Disciple Stage." He thought, feeling intimidated.

"Mother said I should always believe in myself!" He remembered his mother's words.

He felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

"Yes, I will pass the tests. And I will definitely fulfill my oath." He resolved his inner conflict.

Blurp!

A sound echoed in the area.

"Hahaha..." He laughed awkwardly.

It was his stomach that had made the noise. He felt embarrassed by it, his face blushing red.

"And now I need to find some food and also a place to stay for the night." He said to himself.

As he was heading towards the forest, he sensed some people following him from behind.

"Come out! I know you guys are following me..." He said loudly, turning around.

At this moment, three cultivators emerged from the alley.

Huan quickly checked their cultivation levels.

Two male cultivators were at the eighth and ninth levels of the Spirit Body Stage, while the lone female cultivator was at the tenth level of the Spirit Body Stage.

All of them had higher cultivation than him. He knew he had no chance to fight or escape. They also outnumbered him.

"What do you guys want?" Huan asked, trying to hide his fear.

"We want..." One of the male cultivators started to say something, but Huan cut him off.

"But first, I have some things to say," Huan said quickly.

"Huh?" The cultivators were surprised by his interruption. They couldn't finish their sentence.

"Ok," they said reluctantly.

"First, I have no money!" Huan said loudly.

"So you guys won't get any benefit from robbing me."

"But, we aren't here-" The female cultivator tried to say something, but Huan cut her off too.

"Hear me out!" Huan said firmly.

"Second, I'm a very powerful cultivator!" Huan lied easily, even though he didn't believe it himself.

He hated lying and liars.

{But if your money or life is at stake, you could do anything, huh?} He thought to himself.

"But aren't you just a seventh-level Spirit Body cultivator?" The other male cultivator asked skeptically.

"Yes, I am. But only in your eyes." Huan lied again, sounding confident.

"I have an artifact that my ancestor passed down to me." He continued to lie, as if he had done it a thousand times before.

His lies sounded so believable that even he started to doubt himself.

"What can it do?" The female cultivator asked curiously.

"This artifact can hide my cultivation." Huan lied once more, making up things on the spot.

"Whoa, is that right?" The cultivators sounded impressed and amazed.

"Yes, so don't bother trying to fight me. I can easily defeat you guys." Huan smirked, seeing their reaction. But his smirk didn't last long.

"Boy, do you think we're stupid?" One of the male cultivators said coldly.

"Huh?" Huan was surprised. He didn't expect them to see through his lies.

"Hahaha, hey, it seems he thought we believed his lies." The other male cultivator laughed mockingly.

"Hahaha!" The others joined in the laughter.

"Hey, stupid boy, did you think we would fall for your lies?" The scarface cultivator taunted him.

"Your words sounded like they were true, but you couldn't act like someone who was telling the truth. And your hands were shaking the whole time..." He pointed out his flaws.

"Yes, my brother is right." The other male cultivator agreed with him.

"Stop!" Huan shouted with all his might.

"What, are you going to lie again?" The first male cultivator asked sarcastically.

"No, hear me out. There is my master standing behind you." Huan lied desperately.

"Hey, master, I'm here!" He waved his hand as if he was greeting someone.

"Huh, your master?"

Instantly they turned around to see who was behind them.

But...

"There is nobody here."

"Oh no, that boy fooled us."

They looked at the boy again. But there was nobody here.

"He ran to the forest. Chase after him."

Said the female cultivator who hasn't been saying anything the whole time. Her voice was beautiful yet cold.

Then they started to chase after him and entered the forest.