I stare out the window. The morning fog that is yet to lift from the streets gives everything a ghostly touch. Far in the distance, above the fog, the sun's red rays fight to illuminate the dawn.

  For a long while, I keep standing there, watching the sky shift as the sun continues rising.

  Soon, the fog is defeated, clearing the streets of this lawless town to reveal the ugliness of this place.

  With no one to rule it, everything here is in a terrible state. They have no organized resources to better their living conditions, and those who can afford it would rather move out than help anyone. I can hear numerous fights all over the nearby streets and inns. These are normal for this place without laws.

  Why do they even insist on staying here if all they do is fight each other?

  Wouldn't it be easier for them to go back to wherever they belong than stay here where they can die any moment if a fight between powerful cultivators breaks out?

  Most of these beings are not cultivators. The thing they value the most is wealth. I guess even in such a place, there is still money.

  *Knock-knock*

  I glance at the door.

  "Sir, the carriage is ready," a servant of this inn informs.

  It is time to set off to wherever the tournaments are being held.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'~~~~

  "Where are we going?" Xing'er asks as soon as the carriage sets off.

  Even though she is trying to appear composed, I can see the excitement painted all over her face as she touches almost every corner of the carriage. "Why do you want to travel in this? I can fly you wherever you want to go."

  "This is the mortal world. There are not many dragons here. Especially of the divine bloodline. Do you want to be caught and locked up? They will take away all of your scales before cutting your horns and-"

  "Zhuren!" she sniffs covering her ears while giving me a scared look. "Are mortals so bad?"

  The nature of every being is different. I have witnessed a lot while in the void that has led me to believe that everyone can be good and bad when their interests are on the line. I am not an exception.

  "Xing'er, you cannot judge a group as a whole. Every individual has a unique nature. Like here, humans believe demons are evil just because they are different from them. But if you look closely, humans are just as flawed as the demons.

  "There are good and bad demons just as there are humans. Even the gods are no exception."

  She lowers her hands, confusion filling her purple eyes. "I don't understand. You always said that everyone is evil except you."

  Such arrogance. No wonder he died so miserably.

  "Ahem!" I look away. "Forget everything I did or said in the past. The old me is dead. I have been reborn, and so has my view of things."

  This is not entirely false. Her master is dead. I am a new soul. I won't rest her as coldly as he did and I can't send her away. With her innocent nature, I doubt if she will survive a year before she is targeted by those sects.

  "How is the little fox doing?"

  Xing'er raises her hand and brings it closer to her ear. "It's still sleeping. When will it wake up?"

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "I don't know. We'll just have to wai-"

  The carriage comes to a sudden halt, thrusting us forward and almost out of our benches.

  "What is going on?"

  Silence.

  I sigh silently as I activate my domain sensing. We are already out of town. Here, surrounded by two mountains, the oath is narrower with talk trees on either side. Our hired coachman seems to be one with the six men blocking the path.

  "Sir, ba-bandits," he fakes his fear even though I can feel him taking out a dagger from his sleeve.

  "What do we do about them?"

  "Zhuren, should I beat them up?"

  Once more, Xing'er shows her thrill at the idea of violence.

  I flick her forehead getting up. "Wait here."

  "Oh!" she sulks. "Okay then."

  I come out of the carriage to stand next to the coachman who is still seated feigning absolute fear.

  "Give us everything you have if you want to leave here alive!" one of them yells with his machete raised at me.

  From the qi in their bodies, I can tell that they have tried to cultivate but with no good resources, most of them are stuck in the first level, Qi condensation. They probably do not even have any good techniques to practice as they lay their foundation.

  "How about I hire you all to be our guards along the rest of the journey? I will pay well."

  They exchange confused glances before the one at the front speaks again. "Do you think we're stupid? Just give us your money and clothes and we will let you pa-"

  His machete is cut in half. "Huh?!" He moves his face to inspect his weapon. "What...who...?"

  I smile when he looks up at me.

  While he was busy wasting his breath, I had already cut his machete with my petal. They are just too weak to have seen or felt it.

  His partners gasp taking steps backward as they cling their backs together to form a defensive formation.

  "What do you say? Accompany me or let us through. The choice is yours."

  The coachman who has been acting weak beside me suddenly groans revealing his dagger as he aims for my abdomen. I do not give him the chance to. My left foot moves, kicking him off the carriage and sending him flying to the closet tree.

  I had to control my qi so as not to kill him with the kick.

  "Get out of the way."

  I take his place, picking the reigns to drive the carriage myself.

  The bandits stare at me before exchanging more glances. Finally, they choose to move to the side to let me through.

  Before I drive away, I cast the leader a glare asking, "Have you killed people while robbing them?"

  He quickly shakes his head. "No-no, Sir."

  "Good. I'll give you a chance to change. Be my servants. You don't have to follow me. I only need you to collect as much information about things in the human realm."

  "Sir," he says with his fist pressed on his open palm to salute me. "We don't have the money to pay the fee for crossing the border. How will-"

  "You only need to agree. Stop speaking so much."

  Their eyes communicate once more as they come to an agreement. Maybe because they now realize that I am not one of their weak victims that they have been robbing, or maybe because of the little show of mercy I have granted them.

  They all bow.

  "We accept, Sir."

  "Mm... You've made the right choice. I won't let you suffer. But if you rob or unjustly, I won't be so polite... Xing'er?"

  "Yes!" Her head instantly pops out of the courage.

  This little mischievous dragon was just there waiting to be summoned. "Zhuren?"

  From my memories, this divine lord taught her a lot of skills. One of them is soul-locking. I now understand why it is important in such cases. Maybe I'll learn it later.

  "Lock their souls." I then glance down at the men. "If you go against your promise, you will die without knowing how."

  "We won't," they chorus out of tune.

  Xing'er opens her palm and small arrays appear above it before they float to enter every person here, the unconscious coachman included.

  "Lift your heads."

  "Sir, do you have any instructions?"

  "Not at the moment. Accompany us to the tournaments. We will discuss more afterward."

  They bow again, fists in the palms.

  They haven't killed innocent beings, so I had no right to kill them. Their crimes are robbery, which can be corrected.

  My first goal is to unite the two races. For this, I need to learn when to kill, when to reward, when to forgive, and when to protect.

  I will be their supreme ruler. Not their tyrant.