Chapter 28: Unpopular

"Stop right there boy! Who are you!?"

"What's with your clothes?"

"Calm down guys, I'm a disciple of Gray Grass Sect. It's just that I had some trouble and had to change my clothes."

"Even if you were wearing gray robes, we wouldn't let you through. You could've stolen them from a corpse."

"Leave now, or we will be forced to kill you."

"You aren't letting anyone enter the zone?"

"Only the 'warriors'."

"The who?"

Yi Ren had been stopped a couple hundred meters away from the center of the sect where the Medical Grass was located. Two people were in front of him, a girl and a boy. Both had gray clothes and some sort of black necklace around their necks.

He didn't want to waste time taking a detour or killing nameless kids, but it seemed he would be forced to choose one of the two options.

Boom!

Explosions could be heard once in a while, mainly from the place Yi Ren had come from.

"The warriors. Inner sect disciples who leave the base to hunt our enemies… The heroes of this battle."

"I've killed a couple enemies myself. Can I go in now?"

"Did you bring their thumbs? Are they inside the weird bag you're holding?"

"W-What? No…"

"Then you have to leave."

Boooom!

"Come on guys, there's people chasing me. I was there when the Vice Sect Leader appeared and-"

"Rules are rules. This is for Gray Grass Sect's protection. If you were truly a disciple, you would understand."

Boooooom!

The explosions continued getting closer until Yi Ren couldn't take it anymore. He sprinted and ran past the pair of outer guards, not minding if more people would join the chase.

"W-Wait! What are you doing!?"

"We got a terrorist! I repeat, we got a terrorist!"

The boy and the girl reacted too late, they could only watch as Yi Ren lengthened the distance between them; he was much faster. The latter didn't want to fight or cause trouble, his only goal at the moment was to escape, but the disciples didn't know this.

"We have to stop him!"

"Gee golly, I know!"

"Hey you, stop right now!"

"Activate the alarm!"

A couple seconds later, Yi Ren finally crossed the fog border. He couldn't help being a little stunned when he saw the scenery that was revealed ahead; it had changed a lot.

A small gray fortress stood in the middle of the field and dozens of tents surrounded it. The thirty two platforms were nowhere to be seen, but seeing the blocks that made up the wall one could have an idea of what happened to them.

The Medical Grass seemed to be inside the walls of the fortress because the cemented paths that led to it were now leading to a grand door hole, the building wasn't visible though.

Many people were walking around the scattered tents as if they were readying themselves for a great battle, holding weapons and shields with tired eyes.

Everything stood above an untouched field of green grass that shined as it reflected the already descending sun's light,

Some disciples turned to look at Yi Ren, who was still far from the fortress, but didn't do anything. However, when he continued running in a straight line, holding a suspicious yellow bag with something heavy enough to stretch it like a stick, they started getting suspicious. And when two figures came out of the veil of smoke chasing him and screaming, they didn't hesitate further.

A deep horn resounded through the open area and dozens of people came out of the tents like bees swarming out of their honeycomb, looking at Yi Ren fiercely.

"Who is that guy?"

"He has the guts to come and attack our fortress alone!?"

"Get him, don't let him through! He must be planning a suicidal tactic!"

'Does no one recognize me anymore? I knew I would look different with a different haircut but this…'

It was true, there was no one there who could recognize him. He wasn't popular at all, maybe people would remember his cube haircut, but now that he had removed it he was a total stranger to the majority of the sect. Those who remembered his face weren't outside.

More than fifty people blocked Yi Ren's way and one even attacked him, but he evaded the blades that were thrown to him. Seeing he wasn't an easy opponent because he had evaded a Second Realm disciple's flying blades easily, they encircled him.

"Wait, guys, I just want to get to the other side-"

"Stop pretending! You could've just walked around this restricted zone, but now… we will either capture or kill you. Choose."

"You could also let me leave on my own though… I'm a disciple of this sect, why don't any of you people believe me?"

"You just dodged an Inner Disciple's powerful technique, so you must be at least a Second Realm cultivator and also an Inner Disciple, but I don't know you. You can't be from this sect."

"I was just lucky. I mean… yeah! The girl right there, I was with her in the Grass Breathing Class! She can confirm what I'm saying."

Hearing the boy's words, the one at the front turned his head towards the pretty girl the former had pointed at, but she just shook her head in denial.

"W-What? We were on the same team! I was the guy with the haircut that resembled a cube!"

The pretty girl seemed to be thinking for a moment, but the pair of guards that had been chasing Yi Ren arrived before she could say anything.

"Stop acting, your hair isn't how you described it. Who would have it like that? It would just look dumb."

"Did you think you could attack our sect without any consequences!? You will now taste the punishment of gray grass!"

"Everyone, attack! Make it so he can't even resist!"

"Sigh… Well, It doesn't matter. Come."

'I don't mind a little bit of danger, I guess. I could have gone through these guys easily, but… what difference would that make? I would still need to defeat the oldies somehow, I know better than anyone that it isn't easy to escape from Third Realm cultivators even kilometers apart. But what if…'

"Stop!"

Hearing the sudden voice, everyone stood still, some even bowed. A blond man dressed in elegant gray robes embroidered with golden figures of birds had come out of the fortress walls. His eyes were white and clouded, but he was staring directly at Yi Ren's face.

The man wasn't alone; two girls accompanied him, each on one side. One of them had long curly black hair, a beautiful face and long black eyelashes that were highlighted by her closed eyes, while the other girl had loose brown hair and a face more on the pretty side.

Both appeared tired; one of the girls seemed to be sleeping and the other had dark circles under her eyes..

"We greet the Great General Fauss, the Golden Hawk!"

"We greet Commander Fila, the Sleeping Strategist!"

"We greet Colonel Mai, the Protector of Pickles!"

"Huh? Hawk… but I don't think he can see… Did they form some sort of society in only a few hours? What's up with those weird titles?" Yi Ren muttered, but no one was paying attention to him anymore.

"Yi Ren…"

This time it was Feng Mai the one who spoke. She used a helpless tone.

"Follow me."

"I just want to leave-"

"We're taking you into custody."

"Huh?"

"It's just a formality… Well, no. You came back looking like that, unscathed. Of course we have to be suspicious. We'll treat you better than the other captives, and once we're sure we'll let you go, don't worry."

"I-"

"Or else I'll be forced to use violence." Her tone dramatically changed into a threatening one. She wasn't bluffing.

'Was this girl always like this? I think I just thought of a better plan.' Yi Ren internally smiled.

"Alright, but don't take my things away. I'll really have to defend myself if you try."

"We can grant you that much."

"Lead the way..." Yi Ren remained silent for a moment before accepting, showing an expression of displeasure.

"You saw? He chickened out in the presence of our leaders!"

"Long live the leaders of the disciples' coalition!"

"Long live the leaders!"

In front of the crowd of people that had been getting bigger, Yi Ren followed the blond guy and the two girls to the entrance of the fortress. It was a short exchange, but a very impactful event for those watching.

The tiles that formed the walls of the fortress were dark-gray in color, the disciples who built it recycled the dueling platforms located a few tens of meters away. The stands were also removed, but it wasn't clear why.

When the four people went through the large door frame, another small crowd of people greeted them, but Yi Ren was shocked when he saw what they were carrying.

"T-The 2nd Outer Disciple's Talent Competition of Gray Grass Sect winning invention… The Blasters… You stole them?" His voice turned serious in the last question.

"Major Chang donated them after he got admitted in the Medical Grass. That was a great contribution, so we gave him a good room and a rank."

"Those things are quite helpful, we've killed more than ten invaders with them." Fauss commented.

"You mean Fang Chang? He 's still alive? Wait, I invented those things. But you imprisoned me instead…"

"You didn't give us anything, did you? And you're not a prisoner, just an involuntary guest."

"Fancy words. Oh, I haven't told you why I wanted to leave this place as fast as possible yet."