16 Invitation to the Li residence

The crowd stared with wide eyes at the panting Li Sui, who had his hands raised in a pacifying gesture and muttering the words for a surrender. After a moment of silence, the arena filled with surprised shouts and disbelieving cries.

"Are you kidding me?"

"This third level Body Refinement child was able to defeat Li Sui?"

"This is truly... an unprecedented victory!"

The look of disdain that most of the audience had shown when Jun Xiang first ascended the steps to the arena had disappeared, now replaced by looks of curiosity and disbelief. Even the adjudicator looked stunned for a long while before he was able to come to his senses. Raising his arm and casting a coloured explosion, the adjudicator shouted, "The victor is . . . Jun Xiang!"

Although Jun Xiang had only experienced victory twice, both on the same day, it was truly elating to see thousands of people cheer for one's victory. A sudden idea popped into Jun Xiang mind and he grinned, punching his fist into the air like the heroes his sister had told him about. Many of the audience, seeing such a childish and ridiculous pose, began to laugh and chuckle. Even the adjudicator could not help but grin at the humorous child.

Li Sui strode over to Jun Xiang, facing him with a serious expression. The onlookers tensed up. This was the part where the loser would confront the victor and declare a duel that would take place a certain amount of time later, in a final, desperate attempt to save their dignity. Although Li Sui seemed an understanding and calm person, it was not impossible for the loss to shake up his emotions, causing rash actions.

Just as the tension in the air seemed to become unbearable, Li Sui let out a contented chuckle and placed his hand upon Jun Xiang shoulder while saying, "You're truly strong. I look forward to fighting you again in the future."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. After all, nobody would want two geniuses children create conflict at such a young age.

Li Sui smiled broadly before continuing, "How about you come over to my residence later?"

The innocent suggestion warmed everyone's hearts, especially Jiu Meng.

Jiu Meng had lived a hard life before he became a cultivator. People might think that after he began to cultivate, he would live a happy life, using his innate talent and potential to the maximum, however shortly after he began, a group of older boys bullied him. In the beginning, it was not much to bear, however one time, the boys went too far, accidentally paralysing Jiu Meng's left arm.

Of course, his talent had not changed, his passion for cultivation had not changed, however without a teacher willing to take him in due to his crippled arm, Jiu Meng had begun to fall behind his peers, his only excellent trait being his dedication. Years had passed, and just as Jiu Meng was about to give up his dream to become a cultivator, he met the Li siblings.

In desperate need of a medicinal expert, the Li siblings had been asking left and right throughout the streets to find one, however none had to skill to satisfy them. Jiu Meng decided to take a chance, and to his surprise, they instantly brought him to the largest residences in the entire city.

It was the sibling's late father that had been seriously wounded. Even the most skilled physicians within the city had not been able to cure and heal the man, however Jiu Meng did so with a wave of his arm. Jiu Meng had long known that large clans often made sure that any witnesses to the incident would be silenced, however the good of his heart overpowered the worry, causing him to trust the family and to heal the father. Thankfully, the family replied to his efforts with great thanks, and after a lengthy conversation, they took him in to become the elder of the physicians of the sect.

Jiu Meng sighed in his heart as he witnessed the two children immediately become friends, despite one winning a competition over the other. Tears quickly formed at his eyes as he remembered his youth and thought, 'If only I met with such a compassionate child such as the young master.'

Although Jiu Meng's seeping emotions were quite obvious, they were nothing compared to the combined ruckus of the rest of the audience.

Jun Xiang's eyes gleamed with excitement at the request. He had never had any proper friends and the only people who were truly close to him were his family, so this invitation was almost as exciting as the reward money from winning the competition.

"I'd really like to go!"

Li Sui burst out into laughter before replying, "It's my pleasure. You could come today if you want!"

Jun Xiang affirmed Li Sui's offer with a nod before grabbing Li Sui's hand and holding it tight.

Instantly, the audience burst in uproar.

"What's going on here?"

"Is he gay? Or did Li Sui not clarify his gender clear enough yet?"

"Calm down, they're children alright! How can they develop such emotions right now?"

Li Sui's face turned a bright shade of red as he heard the audience's reactions, "Jun Xiang, I see you as a strong competitor and that's it. Maybe I'll consider it sometime into the future alright?"

"But you are my first ever true friend other than my sister. I'm really happy that you're my friend!" Jun Xiang threw himself into Li Sui's body, hugging the latter tightly.

Although Li Sui was quite shocked that Jun Xiang had never had friends before, the hug was too sudden for a straight man like him.

"Ahem..."

All the eyes turned to look at the adjudicator, who was now standing up and waving his hands to gain everyone's attention. Seeing that he had gotten majority of the audience to focus on him, the adjudicator began to announce the rewards. Small cards with a reference number upon them floated down to the victorious competitors and with that, the adjudicator flicked the end of his robe and left.

Li Sui pushed Jun Xiang an arm's length away before congratulating him and walking back towards the Severed Snow Sect.

Several miles from the arena, the adjudicator rushed up to a small group of hooded figures before apologising profusely several times, "The kids were just too ferocious, they used so much time just to defeat each other."

"Haha, it's cool. What do you say we all go for some drinks."

"Sounds good to me. You shouldn't be worried about being late, overseeing the children is an official job after all."

"Agreed, let's all drink till we knock ourselves out tonight."

And with a smile, the adjudicator drank with his friends deep into the night.

'Life isn't so bad after all.'