He could only be grateful that he'd already experienced a High God's blessing. It had strengthened him quite a bit compared to before, yet people still treated him like a weakling.
Thinking about it, it made sense. This wasn't an ordinary world. If High Gods' blessings were a real thing, then even the city's less fortunate residents would probably get lucky once or twice every few years. It was only natural for people here to be physically strong.
Huang Huai felt aggrieved, but he'd never meant to get into it with the mother and son in the first place. The child had only made an innocent mistake. What kind of grown man would hold a grudge against a little kid? He'd be shameless if he did!
Taking a deep breath, Huang Huai waved at the woman. "It's all right, ma'am. I'm fine!"
The woman let out a sigh of relief, then promptly grabbed her son by the ear. The child yelped in pain as she thanked Huang Huai.
After walking a few steps, the woman hesitated, then turned back to Huang Huai. "Young man, if you're seriously frail, you could keep an eye out for a High God's blessing in the future..."
"Hahaha, Widow Wang, look at how weak this young fellow is! Even two or three blessings might not be enough to build him up. If you ask me, he'd be better off buying a couple of blood-and-vitality tonics at the Rare Treasures Pavilion. They'd work faster. Then maybe he'd be able to crawl off your bed alive!"
"Hey, Widow Wang, how about giving us brothers a chance? This kid looks all show and no go. Before you've had your fill, he'll be drained dry..."
Widow Wang's face flushed with embarrassment and anger as the busybodies taunted her. She pointed at them and let loose a stream of curses. "You bastards want to get into my bed? Take a good look at what you are first!"
Seeing that Widow Wang was riled up, the men whistled and scattered in a flash. As they left, they called back to Huang Huai, "Listen to your big brothers, kid! Go to the Rare Treasures Pavilion and buy some pills to build up your blood and vitality. Otherwise, Widow Wang's more than you can handle..."
After cursing the busybodies away, Widow Wang didn't dare linger. She nodded at Huang Huai, then dragged the boy straight into the alley. A moment later, the alley rang with a clatter of blows, the woman's scolding, and the child's shrill cries for mercy.
As the sounds from the alley gradually faded, a faint smile touched Huang Huai's lips. But his eyes held a thoughtful look.
The words might have been crude, but they weren't wrong. Whatever Widow Wang or the men mocking him had meant, one thing was beyond dispute: compared with people born and raised in A World, his body really was frail beyond belief.
Widow Wang had advised him to keep an eye out for a High God's blessing. Having experienced one himself, Huang Huai was certain that a few more could bring his physical strength up to the level of an ordinary person in A World.
The problem was, he'd have to get lucky to receive another blessing. Who knew when the next one would come? And he'd need several. Even if he got lucky every time, it might still take three to five years.
The Rare Treasures Pavilion mentioned by those busybodies, on the other hand, was a name Huang Huai knew. It had even come up in the biographies of High Gods. Perhaps he could look into it.
As Huang Huai considered heading to the Rare Treasures Pavilion in Great River City to buy a few pills that could replenish his blood and vitality—and finally escape the weakling image people from this strange world had of him—a commotion rose ahead. He looked up and saw a dense crowd gathered there, all peering in the same direction. There were at least several hundred people. The scene looked strangely familiar.
A thought struck him, and surprise flashed across his face. Could I really be so lucky as to run into another High God's blessing?
With that thought in mind, he quickened his pace and soon reached the crowd.
"Look, the Peng Family's Kirin Child is back!"
"That's right. The Great River Sect's entrance ceremony should be over by now. The Peng Family's Third Young Master has officially joined the Great River Sect. He's sure to become a High God one day..."
"The Peng Family has produced such a Kirin Child. Their ancestors must be smiling from their graves!"
Listening to the crowd chatter, Huang Huai quickly pieced together what had happened. Even if he didn't know at first, everyone was more than happy to talk.
The Peng Family, one of Great River City's great clans, had produced a Kirin Child. The Peng Family's Third Young Master, Peng Yu, had struck it lucky: he'd passed the test and been accepted as a disciple of the Great River Sect. In the future, he was certain to become one of the High Gods.
Truthfully, Huang Huai yearned to become a being with extraordinary power. Wasn't that why he'd taken such a huge risk to keep coming to A World?
He still had no idea how to step into the extraordinary. And now, he'd encountered a lucky fellow who'd already joined the Great River Sect. From what everyone was saying, the Peng Family's Third Young Master was a natural-born genius, destined to become a High God.
It would have been a lie to say the sight didn't stir something in Huang Huai.
A man beside him spoke with envy and jealousy written all over his face. "If I could join the Great River Sect, I'd gladly give up a hundred years of my life!"
No sooner had he finished than someone nearby sneered, "You've got quite the imagination. Great River City has over a hundred thousand people, and it might not produce even one lucky recruit every three or five years. The Great River Sect is the only sect within a hundred li. Do you really think taking up cultivation is that easy?"
The man who'd been mocked went red in the face. "Then I'll go beg the High Gods..."
Before he could finish, a scoff rang out. "What a joke. Every year, people kneel before the Great River Sect, begging to be accepted, until they die on their knees. Have you ever heard of anyone moving the High Gods of the Great River Sect enough to take them in?"
"Don't you know your own lot in life? Just live it quietly and provide the High Gods with Incense and Fire Prayer Power!"
"One of the Great River Sect's High Gods once said, 'The Dao cannot be lightly transmitted.' You've only seen the Peng Family's Third Young Master join the sect, not the trials he had to endure! Dozens took the test together, and only three survived. It was a brush with death, and in the end, only the Peng Family's Third Young Master caught the High Gods' eye."
At first, Huang Huai had listened with keen interest. After all, the people's discussion was giving him useful information quickly and efficiently.
But the more he learned, the more uneasy he became. Huang Huai had thought that stepping into the extraordinary might not be easy, but as long as he had enough perseverance, there was no reason he couldn't wield extraordinary power.
Now, he wasn't so sure. He murmured, "Is it really this difficult to begin cultivating and join the ranks of the High Gods?"
A man beside him heard the question and glanced at Huang Huai with disdain. "Kid, you don't look all that young yourself. You've got less blood and vitality than my eight-year-old little brother. You may as well give up on cultivation. In the past few hundred years, the Great River Sect hasn't taken in a single disciple over sixteen."
Huang Huai kept his expression neutral and sounded him out. "If the Great River Sect won't take me, couldn't I look for another sect?"
"Pfft!"
The man couldn't help laughing. He looked Huang Huai over and patted him on the shoulder. "It's good to have ambition, little brother, but it won't do you any good. It's the same everywhere. First, find a way to build yourself up, then settle down, marry a wife, and live an ordinary life."
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