"Then why did you do it?" Agnes asked, stunned at Ricky's question.
"I'm not sure, but maybe it was because of the fiery rage inside me!" Ricky replied.
"I know what you mean!" Agnes nodded. She was all too familiar with the feeling.
"Ricky, why have you been cultivating yourself?" she asked.
"To protect myself and the people around me," Ricky replied.
"Then why can't you extend a hand to the weak you encounter? Would you really have felt good later
on if you didn't save these villagers today?" Agnes probed again.
"I wouldn't have," Ricky admitted.
"Some of my family's ancestors said that, though the world follows the law of the survival of the fittest,
sometimes the strong must find it in their hearts to protect the weak. It is their morality," Agnes said.
"I'm not so sure of the meaning, but I'm convinced that it is right.
The competitiveness of the martial arts world tells us not to be kind, to be individualistic, but at times
doing justice and rescuing even the most lowly life is easy for us, so why wouldn't we?"
"That does make sense!" Ricky said after hearing Agnes' explanation.
While he couldn't fairly understand these sentences from the ancestors of the Shui clan, it seemed that
he had begun to scratch the surface of these proverbs.
Now that he had the power to uphold justice, why did he give it up? It was supposed to be human
nature for him to do the right thing. However, he should control the justice and do the right thing at the
right time, with wisdom, discernment, and tact.
Ricky felt suddenly enlightened as he realized these things.
"Agnes, thank you for explaining that to me!" Ricky said to Agnes.
"You're welcome, Ricky. I just passed on the words of my ancestors." Agnes felt a little shy at Ricky's
gratitude.
...
Before they knew it, they had arrived at Billow City. They had been talking all the while about martial
arts and cultivation.
Billow City was located west of the Snow Land. It was said that ten thousand miles further from this
place, one could find another region, the West Desolate Land.
Billow City was worthy to be inhabited by three demi-immortals. In area, it was about one third of the
Snow Sect. But from thousands of miles away, warriors flocked here like a flood.
In Billow City, the Shui clan's reach was so large that it alone occupied three fourths of the whole city,
its industries and palaces to be found everywhere.
Agnes had explained to Ricky that the Shui clan was divided into three factions: Purity Faction, Groom
Faction and Sage Faction.
Agnes was from the Purity Faction.
Ricky entered the land of Purity Faction, following Agnes. Apparently, she was well-known here. Her
arrival caused a bit of a stir among the people who saw her.
When in the area of the Shui clan, Ricky finally understood reason why the clan's competition of juniors
had to invite juniors from other clans, who were all men.
Because Ricky discovered that inside the Shui clan were all women, which made him a rare sight
among them.
Agnes owed this phenomenon to their blood. Almost always, a Shui baby was born female.
Furthermore, this led to a need to marry men from other clans.
"Wow, this life is hard to imagine! What special blood!" Ricky thought emphatically. He used to live only
in Stone City, so his perspectives still had some widening to do.
But the disciples of the Shui clan certainly had been informed beforehand that he had been invited by
Agnes to compete with them.
These disciples were pretty enthusiastic, asking again and again whether Ricky was Agnes' man.
Some even said that since he wasn't, they could be his woman.
Ricky was annoyed, complaining to himself, "They are much too pushy!"
Fortunately, Agnes was summoned by elders of the Purity Faction at her arrival, so Ricky could follow
and escape all the women clamoring around him.
In a large hall, four young married women and a middle-aged man were sitting on the dais. Sensing
their aura, Ricky could tell that they were all overmatches of Bone Reinforcement.
They were the five elders of the Purity Faction.
A total of nine Shui disciples had gathered in the hall. Beside each one, a male warrior stood. Like
Ricky, they had all been invited.
Some of these warriors were peaceful while others seemed arrogant. Each had distinctive
characteristic.
Agnes and Ricky walked in, catching peoples' attention.
"Agnes, how dare you make the five elders and so many other people wait for you," A woman said
wryly when Agnes entered.
"Sherry, I will apologize to the elders myself. You don't have a right to scold me. You're not my mother,"
Agnes replied coldly. It was apparent that they were on bad terms.
Agnes walked up to the elders, apologizing profusely.
Sherry was indignant at Agnes' retort. She was visibly upset until the man next to her comforted her.
Ricky heard his words clearly. He was telling Sherry that he would defeat Ricky at the competition
tomorrow so that Agnes would lose the qualification to compete with other factions.
What was more, they planned to give him hell.
...
"The ten of you are the geniuses of the Purity Faction. It has been three years since we have lost the
ruling position over Billow City, so the Grandmaster has decided to reward the disciple who can win
back the role for our faction," an elder said, after gesturing at Agnes to acknowledge her apology.
Not only the ten disciples of the Shui clan but also the ten men including Ricky were so excited upon
hearing the words. The reward from a demi-immortal must be good, so the male warriors were eager to
get their share too.
The five elders on the dais nodded at the sight of the young warriors stirring with excitement. This vigor
was what they wanted to see.
"All right then. You may have a rest today. Tomorrow we have preliminaries to determine who will
represent us and thus compete with the other factions!" The elder went on to say.
"One more thing, as the Shui's disciples, you should orient the swordsmen well."
"Yes, Elder!" The disciples echoed.
"Well, you are dismissed!"
...
"Humph! You'll see tomorrow!" Sherry said viciously to Agnes as she walked out of the hall.
"Enjoy today, boy! You might never get off the bed after tomorrow!" Sherry's male companion warned
Ricky threateningly.
"Ricky, they're idiots. Don't listen to them!" Agnes said, rolling her eyes. She was leading Ricky away
with her delicate and slim hands.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda