23 Chapter 23: Savages.

"Congratulations on achieving enlightenment, Doctor." Lan Xueruo said that as soon as the energy vortex ceased, the energy in my veins stabilized at a specific level of density, and I felt that it was about to get even denser in a little bit of time.

But what really mattered was the change in my mindset, from being an atheist to being an anti-theist, all thanks to a comment made by someone I had never met before.

Life was weird sometimes.

Now I had to worry about some weird asshole god messing with my life even more. What if they just up and took me somewhere else again?

I sighed. Just thinking about it gave me anxiety, but what did it matter if I worried about it?

"Yes, thank you; I realized something very important right now." I drank another glass of the wine, the slight burn to the back of my throat taking my mind away from my latest existential crisis.

I turned to the man, who had been looking at me with a very shocked expression, probably relating to my seemingly random breakthrough, and said, "Nice to meet you. I'm sorry for the mess. If you need any medical checkups, come by my clinic."

Lan Xueruo tilted her head and asked in curiosity, "May I ask, what prompted this sudden enlightenment?"

"It doesn't matter, not really," I replied with a wry smile. "I apologize for the commotion."

"I see." She replied, clearly still wondering what had happened.

But how could I explain that, for the first time in a year, I finally stopped and thought about my situation?

I didn't even try to think about it; actually, I was actively trying not to think about my coming to this world; I hadn't pondered why, how, or any other related question. I closed myself and worked.

Because I was afraid, somewhere inside of me I still held the notion that this might just be a dream, but now that hope was dead.

I was here to stay, whether I liked it or not, and I definitely didn't like it.

But enough of that, I watched as an old man got on stage, a younger man right beside him, and Lan Xueruo spoke up at that moment, "That's the new Palace Chief, Qin Wuyou; he might be the strongest person in the entire city; he was sent by the Imperial Capital's Profound Palace."

"Is that so?" I muttered, then looked back at the man in curiosity.

I needed to make something to identify how strong other people were—maybe some glasses? I could make them fashionable as well.

I took out my notebook and scribbled the idea down, putting it pretty high on the scale of importance of my future plans.

The girl looked at me with curiosity and commented, "May I ask, what is that notebook of yours?"

"It's where I note any idea that comes to mind, in case I forget them," I replied, putting the notebook back into the green tattoo. "Too many projects; I don't want to forget the important ones."

"You must be very dedicated to these projects then," replied the girl as her eyes darted to the people that just entered the banquet hall. "The outsiders are starting to arrive; the good show is about to start."

"Outsiders?"

"Yes, many clans are coming to congratulate Palace Chief Qin on taking office, but mainly to show off their young and show the other sects and families how talented their disciples are." She replied, talking about it as if it were the natural and civilized thing to do.

"Why?" I asked.

She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. She then explained, "They need to show strength, and rather than having their elders fight and potentially lose them, causing a war, the young fight in a controlled environment, allowing them to gain experience without too much risk."

That... made sense, I guessed, but these people were really too bloodthirsty; couldn't they do things peacefully for once? But no, every dispute had to go to a fist fight, as if they were drunkards in a pub.

But it made sense; since Lan Xueruo kept talking about "resources" to boost their cultivation, these people might as well be drugged out of their minds.

For super-strong drug addicts, this world is doomed.

I sighed, then saw a specific person that I did recognize among the new entries, and I waved my hand at him, then muttered to nobody in particular, "I'll never get used to the violence in this world."

The girl didn't know how to respond to my statement, but she did see who I waved at: "Ah yes, now that I think about it, it was the young master of the Yun family, the one whose hand you reattached?"

"Indeed," I replied shortly, as the young man neared our table, he was part of the Profound Palace. Now that I thought about it, he might have mentioned it before, "Hey Jing, long time no see, how is the hand going?"

"Honestly, it might even be better than before, Doctor. You're a real miracle worker. I had never heard about anyone mending Profound Veins the same way you did. I can feel the energy flow better than ever, but how come you're here?" The young man asked, but his eyes widened as soon as he saw who was sitting at the same table.

"Senior Sister Xueruo, I didn't know you were acquainted with the Doctor." He bowed slightly at the girl, to which I raised an eyebrow.

The girl smiled at him and replied, "Yes, the doctor and I have formed a friendship recently; that's why I invited him today."

"Is that so?" He smiled, but in a weird way as he looked at me intently, saying, "I have to congratulate you then, Doctor; having such a talented and beautiful friend as Senior Sister is something many would envy."

Why did he stress the word friend? Was this guy having a misunderstanding?

I had no idea how to reply, so I gave a very lackluster reply, "I guess? Yes, I guess you could say we are friends."

More like acquaintances or business partners, but if I loosened my definition of friend, I figured she could be one; she wasn't abhorrent to talk with, so that was a plus, but I barely knew anything about her beyond her name and affiliation.

But I forgot most guys here were perverts that could only think with their lower halves, so being beautiful like she was would be enough for them. I was the same at their age; as long as they grew out of it, it would be fine.

Wait, I'm a teenager now too.

"Can I sit at your table?" He asked, but I just looked at Lan Xueruo for an answer; this wasn't my event after all.

She just nodded in reply, so I turned back to the man and replied, "The lady says you can."

"Thank you, Senior Sister," he replied as he was finally allowed to sit, "it's the first time we meet outside of your clinic doctor; I thought you were too busy with your research to enjoy life."

"We all need a break sometimes." I replied and began making small talk with my two acquaintances.

The banquet seemed to have officially begun; another group of people had joined my table, but they seemed to be more interested in Lan Xueruo than anything else.

Better this way: more wine for me.

Even if the banquet had already begun, more people kept coming inside the hall in groups, each seemingly made up of around ten people with an older one leading them.

I looked at the group dressed in red that had just gotten inside; their leader was an old man with crimson flame patterns on his already red robes.

"So tacky." I muttered under my breath, These people really had an awful fashion sense.

Another group came in, but this time it caused a small commotion, probably someone famous. Thankfully, I had my trusted Lan Xueruo to explain things that I didn't ask for, her expression a slightly more serious one: "The one from before was the Burning Heaven Clan of New Moon City; this one is the Xiao Clan; they don't seem to have sent an elder... And that," she said, indicating a particular one among the young people of the new group, their leader probably, "Is the most talented young person of New Moon City, Xiao Luocheng; he reached the tenth level of the Nascent Profound realm at just sixteen years of age."

I was a more important lad then, but I still had no idea how anyone could be considered more or less talented in a thing as easy as cultivation—just exist and absorb energy.

Wait, could I somehow convert other stuff into energy? Like a weird, magical photosynthesis? Was that what their drugs did?

I sighed deeply, adding another item to my notebook of things that I had to look into; the small bastard was already half full.

The girl looked at me weirdly, and as I once again put away my notebook, I was unsure whether to be happy that today was a day so filled with ideas or if I should be irritated that I had more stuff to figure out.

The more you know, the less you know. Thankfully, I liked researching stuff.

"Yes, that Xiao Luocheng is indeed a monster." replied to Jing Yun's introduction.

"He is good, but I think that someone else could be even more talented, if he put more effort into cultivation, that is." I chuckled at the girl, but I was downing another glass of wine.

How I was still relatively sober was a mystery.

This wasn't good; if I wanted to get properly drunk, I would have to spend a fortune. Just like back on earth, I had to make stronger drinks.

Vodka was made with potatoes, I think; now I just had to find out if this world had any potatoes.

"Who?" My ex-patient replied in evident confusion.

She smiled and gave me a look. "The Doctor here is also sixteen and has just broken through to the eighth level of the Nascent Profound, a sudden enlightenment before the banquet's official start; it caused a big commotion in the hall when it happened."

"It did?" I asked, but I didn't remember anything in particular happening.

"Yes, everyone was shocked; nobody hounded you about it just because you're not part of the Profound Palace; it would be discourteous, and also because you are with me," She explained. "It's not everyday someone achieves enlightenment and is rewarded by the world for it."

I scratched my head but didn't reply, awkward about the looks Jing was giving me, as if ready to plop on the ground and worship me as his teacher or whatever it was that these people did.

But, mercifully, it was the new Palace Chief that interrupted that conversation, saying, "Just for the sake of this Qin's appointment matter, our esteemed guests have taken time out of their busy schedule in order to grace this Qin with their presence; this Qin is truly fortunate. Since it is this Qin's first time in New Moon City, his knowledge regarding the affairs of New Moon City is quite poor. From now on, this Qin hopes that all who are present will not be too stingy in bestowing this Qin with their assistance. This wine cup is Qin's first toast to you all!"

He seemed like a nice enough person, but why did he talk in third person?

Everyone followed the speech with a toast, and everyone already began bootlicking the new boss of this place, but at the same time, most of the younger people turned around to look in my general direction, not at me specifically but at the people I was sitting with.

"Hey, I think they are looking at you guys." I commented to the girl sitting beside me.

"They are just studying us, since we are going to fight shortly and we are the elites of the Profound Palace." She replied normally, not showing even a hint of hesitation or reluctance to take part in what was basically a gang fight.

"Are you confident in not getting hurt?" I asked with a hint of apprehension. I didn't want my new friend to get hurt like this.

This was just stupid.

"I will have no problem; don't worry, the other disciples will have a hard fight," She replied, tension evident in her tone. "But if anyone gets seriously hurt, I hope that you will be able to save them, Doctor."

As long as it wasn't directly fatal, I had packed enough stuff in my green inventory to help with most cases, and I doubted they were actually going to suffer fatal injuries; this was still just a practice match, as far as they said.

And as if on cue, an old elder not from the Palace said, "Why don't we let a few of our younger disciples of the same age range exchange pointers? It may even liven things up and deepen the relationship amongst them, and Palace Chief Qin would get to gauge the current strength of the palace's disciples. Wouldn't it be like getting three birds with one stone?"

And most people seemed to love the suggestion, as cheers and applause kept coming.

Just how bloodthirsty were these people?

The first fight was easily decided between two young people, both sixteen years old, as they made it a point to state their age.

"Li Hao is going to get hurt." Jing said that as soon as a veil of purple energy appeared on the other person's fist, Li Hao was the member of the Profound Palace, his cultivation clearly inferior to his opponent's.

It was the first time I observed a fight between cultivators from this close, with so much detail. I looked around, and they were cheering and laughing at seeing someone else get hurt.

The people here were violent savages; their main source of entertainment was watching other people rip themselves apart and try to kill each other, just like those two people in the ring that were fighting each other as I watched on.

At their same age, I was out and about, living my dreams, and having fun with friends, and yet, they fought with a ferocity that I didn't see even in top fighters back on earth. These people were insane; they hated each other from the bottom of their hearts.

I'm afraid that knowing how to run away faster than anyone won't be able to help me as much as I hoped to survive in this world.

Maybe Jasmine could help me with that.

It didn't take long for Li Hao to be sent flying away from the fighting ring. With blood leaving his chest from the violent impact of his opponent's fists, he lay supine on the ground, holding his stomach in pain.

I turned to the girl that had led me here, her expression the same, as if she had expected this outcome; it seems that you never really know someone here. "I'm going to help him."

And in an instant, I completely disappeared from sight of anyone around, my modified version of Jasmine's movement technique at the fourth level gifting me speed far beyond what was normal by most people's standards, but I didn't care.

I had people to help.