The Great Hero Of—

The world that one lived in was far grander than what anybody could expect—it changed the life of not only one man, but several more than his. A single stone tossed into the water would cast ripple after ripple, extending far beyond than what would expect. Was it truly only the fate of one man at stake?

Bored gods with nothing to do.

Humble men and women going through their daily machinations.

Viewers across multiple realms.

One man placed in the center of it all—a heavy burden to bear upon his shoulders. Li Yang stared at the simulacrum on the seat right next to him. Shaped and fashioned into the shape of a panda but with powers far above him, the man still frowned. "What exactly have you done? I won't be mad."

It still acted more human than anything.

The creature motioned wildly with its paws, its white furry face turning red for a moment. "I just told you I did nothing. It's all because of you! Go check your notifications, dimwit—"

Someone's head poked upside down on Li Yang's windshield. Long dark hair fell down neatly through his ponytail, a hairstyle resembling those of ancient times. "Hey, got yourself in a sticky situation, didn't you?" the young man said with a relaxed smile.

Despite that friendly smile, he resembled someone who associated with gangs; he had a distinctive roguish look. The CEO still opted not to use his windshield wipers. He also bit back a comment of his own. Comparing the man to a monkey or spider was a little rude, and instead he opted for a more polite answer. "Thank you for your help."

The reason how somebody pounded on his car's rooftop now showed himself.

"Well, things are safe, so can I hop in?"

"..."

"I could run back, but you have a ride?"

It took a minute before the martial artist found himself in the shotgun of Li Yang's car and so dismounted the panda who originally sat on it. The stranger leaned back on the seat with a sigh in relaxation, muttering about the comfort of the seat. While the young man initially had a saber in hand, it soon disappeared under an inter-spatial ring.

Li Yang only nodded slightly, the man continuing on to drive to the city. "I did not exactly see anything… except I felt as if there was a heavy presence. Forgive me, it's a little hard to explain it."

"No problem, you're new, so I bet you don't know the terms and whatnot. I still mess them up myself, as for the gratitude—thank Shen later, she told me to look for you." The man's arms were resting behind his neck. "Who would have known you'd use up the talisman's efficacy and then attract demons? High stress?" Hua Zhao raised a brow and peered around. "I'm also detecting something strange, but my spiritual sensing skill is a bit whack."

He glanced at the rearview mirror, the panda currently stuck on the child seat. He glanced covertly at the man. "Is that so?" Li Yang had felt as if there was something wrong, a looming presence that he thought was his dark emotions, an overcast that darkened his vision, but it was only now that he understood that something truly happened.

He had tuned out the System's notification by himself at that point, too.

Ashamedly, he got caught up in his emotions and consumed by his rumination. He stifled a wince. Too blindsided. He didn't think it would pull him—but when one's freedom was at stake... It had messed with his mind. Somehow, it was no longer just about placing a dangerous hold over his company, but they leashed him for gods' whims.

It frankly wasn't that great to think about it.

He might as well be making excuses for himself right now, and that was also unforgivable.

"—terribly new in terms of cultivation. I'm not one myself, well you could say I'm a body cultivator. Martial artists train their body but I assume most people and including you are interested in being a 'proper' cultivator with you wishing to develop your body's spiritual roots to develop a core and whatnot."

Compared to the man's laid-back and even dismissive attitude last night, this Hua Zhao chattered and talked while reclined on the chair. Spouting things that both made sense and also made the CEO wish to consult his notes—even as they approached and arrived in the city of Shanghai at last.

Li Yang listened to him with some attention, but paid more attention to the road. It wasn't as if this exasperated him; he had indeed gotten stressed, but this younger man's presence was a welcome change. Despite the early hours, there was already some traffic congesting the roads.

Only this person filled in the silence.

The Panda creature was even quiet, narrowing his eyes at the young man. Perhaps it could sense that the man was strong? Well, not strong enough if they couldn't see the creature. As for him, it was probably because of the System and the creature being the one that granted him this. Li Yang temporarily checked the notifications that had gone through earlier.

[ You Have Been Stricken With Influx of Evil-Qi ]

[ The Exposure To Foreign Aura Extended Its Influences ]

[ A Kui Beast Has Sensed Your Presence From Spiritual Realm! ]

Realms. Earthly. Hellish. Spiritual. Celestial? Perhaps there were more, even more classifications, but that notification set off things in his mind. A realm so close to his own that if this martial artist hadn't come—he would have gotten impaled and used as a stepping stone for a demon's cultivation?

What an end it might have been.

Li Yang moved on to the next one, right as they parked outside of the building of the Shen's Office. It was in the marketplace, an inconspicuous place that attracted not much attention—but not necessarily the people that were waiting for him. A young woman stood aside, somewhat dressed to the nines, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Geez, Shen doesn't look happy." Hua Zhao muttered and took off his seatbelt. Unbeknownst to him, a status screen hovered just beside him.

[ Death Of Kui Beast - Lower Grade Demon ]

[ Killer: Hua Zhao ]

[ Information: Due to the transmitter's foreign qi mixing with the evil qi from host's unstable emotional state—it had mixed into a cloud of qi that was highly repulsive to yang creatures but attracted yin creatures. ]

[ Status: No Rewards To Be Given To Host ]

There was nothing he could do about that, instead he focused on the man's question. "Hmm, indeed. I'm afraid we've been late by two minutes," Li Yang grimaced as he checked the time. And yet there was something about the man's name that somewhat made him look back at the status screen.

[ Observer 'The One Who Slaughters' Is Impressed With New Individual ]

[ Observer 'Sea Foam' Takes Note Of New Individual's Appearance—Observer Wants To Throw Charm Points ]

"Don't let people steal your fucking spotlight!" the Panda groaned and raised a paw over its face. "Geez, it's not like we give Systems to everyone, you know?" the creature hissed at him with beaded red eyes, "You're losing your audience!"

Li Yang temporarily ignored the cursing and instead removed himself from the car. If his assumption was right, then it would enable him to at least understand something. He walked after the smaller man and glanced down a bit, "Are you by any chance related to Hua Mulan?"

The young man stopped in his tracks, freezing up like a solid block of ice.

It was just in time for the creature to leave the vehicle and watch it unfold. Something popped up in the corner of its vision and of the CEO's:

[ You Have Gained 30 Charm Points ]

Now what was this one for?! Don't tell this creature that there were cross-dressers involved in this ploy?!