Not long after Little Mortal's departure,
An important figure of the sect, in disguise, landed at the front gate of the Outer Sect city.
She was the storehouse manager who came here to ask the sect master about her disciple's sin—and also the storehouse token.
She disguised herself because the citizens here were the most fearful of them: the elders and those black-robed members of the sect.
So she came in disguise to avoid scaring anyone and to see if she could uncover news about what the sect master was doing here.
While strolling toward the inn, where the sect master's daughter would often go,
She saw a little girl running around while shouting,
"Breaking news, breaking news!
The sect master and Expert Luna's battle ended in a draw!
Breaking news—the sect master sent another elder to the afterlife!
Breaking news, breaking news!
The inevitable destruction of the capital is on the way!"
The storehouse manager, furrowing her brow, called the girl over.
"Little girl, come here. Tell me about your news."
She could understand what the girl was saying, but the information didn't make sense in reality.
And how in Heaven's name did this little girl have access to so many unbelievable rumors—things even she herself didn't know about?
The little girl ran to her side and said,
"Hello, lady! What news do you want to know about?
1 spirit stone for the details of the fight between the sect master and Expert Luna.
2 spirit stones for the sect master 'taking care of' an elder.
3 for when the capital is going to be destroyed, so you can go and watch.
And 4 for the secret news.
Which one do you want?"
The manager looked at the little girl's serious face and wondered if she was a swindler.
But a few spirit stones meant nothing to her.
"Here, little girl—10 for everything you know."
The little girl gasped, then snatched the spirit stones and hid them in her pocket, her eyes darting around vigilantly.
She was the same little girl who had asked about the sect master's mustache and age during the gathering, giving everyone a heart attack.
After she finished hiding the spirit stones, she said,
"What do you want to know first?"
The storehouse manager said,
"Tell me about Expert Luna. Who is she to go against the sect master?"
The little girl said excitedly,
"Expert Luna is someone whose whole family the sect master massacred on one rainy night, 15 years ago.
Back then, she was the only one to survive the disaster.
And now, she's back for revenge!"
The storehouse manager was speechless.
What is she talking about? Is she lying to me?
Why don't I remember this at all...
"Forget about that. Tell me about the elders the sect master sent to the afterlife."
The little girl said with fear in her voice,
"This morning, a monster suddenly appeared in the city.
Ten meters tall, with black metallic skin, muscles from head to toe.
Just his walking made the world tremble!
Hundreds of buildings crumbled as he passed by!"
The storehouse manager could guess who she was talking about.
The story was a little exaggerated, though—perhaps in the eyes of a little girl, that big guy really did seem like that.
The little girl continued,
"Then, the muscle man went inside the inn.
I wasn't even finished with my ice cream when I saw the sect master come out with a silver sphere and say,
'Jump on it and sit tight.'
Then, with a kick, the muscle monster—now on top of the sphere—and the sphere itself disappeared into the sky.
They went straight to Heaven!
But I should say he was lucky! The other one was sent straight to Hell!"
The storehouse manager, testing whether the girl was lying or telling the truth, frowned and tried to contact Elder Iron—but she got no reply.
So she ignored the news about elders going to Heaven and Hell, and the capital's inevitable destruction—for now.
"And what about the secret news?"
Hearing her question, the little girl said,
"Come closer."
So she leaned forward.
The little girl, in a low voice, whispered in her ear,
"The sect master started a project called—"
Then she stopped, looked around nervously, gulped, and continued,
"called, 'Second Butt in the Hole.'"
The storehouse manager scoffed.
"What nonsense are you talking about, kid?"
An old man passing by overheard and said in a trembling voice,
"'Little Cherry,' if you want to sell news, at least say it correctly."
The little girl folded her arms and snorted,
"If you know better, then say it! Don't confuse my customer."
Seeing the lady and the little girl staring at him, the old man coughed and said,
"It's called 'Project Second Hole in the Butt,'
And I just heard the sect master asked Lady Rose to start it."
Then, with fearful eyes, he glanced behind him—toward the inn—and added,
"That's why I'm running back home to hide.
I heard Lady Rose ordering the group leaders to spread the news!"
With that, he shuffled away, trembling.
The lady and the little girl were speechless.
You're on the run right now?
But the little girl, who had just learned the project was beginning, screamed,
"Nooo, I don't want a second hole!
How could you do this to us, Lady Rose?!"
Then she sprinted away at full speed.
The storehouse manager shook her head, not believing a single word from these two.
And the news about the destruction of the capital?
That was even more nonsense.
How could anyone destroy the capital with the Emperor there?
But suddenly, she heard cries of pain and people shouting—"Run!" "Hide!"—coming from the direction of the inn.
She didn't know why, but her heart skipped a beat.
With her spiritual sense, she saw crowds fleeing in all directions, centered around the inn.
Some ran to their houses, some into nearby shops, slamming doors behind them, and others just darted anywhere for cover.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, she snapped back to reality and ran too.
What was happening? She didn't know. But as a cultivator, she knew it was better to flee first and investigate later.
On the way to the city gate, she saw disciples running as well.
She thought,
'What is the sect master doing here?
If she wants to conduct experiments, she should warn us first!
And isn't she supposed to be in seclusion?'
At that moment, a golden light streaked past her ear and vanished in the blink of an eye!
A moment later, a cry of pain rang out from one of the nearby houses—the scream of that same little girl.
The storehouse manager's scalp prickled when the light passed by.
She hadn't even seen what it was!
Wondering if the sect master was warning her to leave the city,
She sprinted away at full speed!
Inside the inn, everyone—including Rose herself—had one hand pressed to their buttocks, specifically the upper outer part of the left cheek, just below the curved bone (for those curious about the exact location).
They were all crying in pain.
Sweat dripped from their bodies.
Lady Butterfly was the only one who hadn't gotten a shot, and she watched their suffering with interest.
Just moments ago, Rose had summoned a group inside.
Five of them were responsible for communication between the followers and her during gatherings.
Now, ten group leaders took orders directly from Rose, each commanding ten subordinates—110 people in total.
The hundred underlings were tasked with spreading announcements from the group leaders to the rest of the citizens.
This time, the news was:
"Stay calm and trust the sect master, no matter what happens."
Rose waited about half an hour, then—with absolute faith in her savior—told the treasure needle,
"Magical Needle, you may begin the operation."
The motionless needle suddenly stirred inside the backpack and reemerged a second later, now filled with a blue liquid.
After a brief pause, it locked onto the followers whose locations the Guardian Token had provided.
Rose was its first target.
With a whoosh, the first victim of Operation Second Hole in the Butt received her injection.
Then the needle zipped around, injecting the blue liquid into the followers at blinding speed.
There was no escape.
Even Lady Butterfly doubted she could outrun it—let alone these ordinary people.
At first, those injected didn't even notice.
But a moment later—pain.
(For those concerned about hygiene: This magical needle sterilizes itself after each use, so no worries.)
Watching the crowd, Lady Butterfly sensed a miraculous change occurring in their bodies.
What it was, she didn't know.
But she knew someone surely did.
She intended to stay longer to protect them, but her senses picked up sect disciples fleeing in panic, shouting:
"The sect master is conducting secret experiments here! Run!
Declare this area a forbidden zone!"
She even spotted an elder—who'd come for who-knows-what—turn tail and flee.
Secretly amused by the misunderstanding growing behind her daughter-in-law's back, Lady Butterfly stood and left.
The little monster had asked her to go on a mission.
It was time to prove her loyalty to her new boss and test her enhanced power.
With a wave of her hand, thousands of white butterflies streamed from her sleeves, dispersing across the city.
It never hurts to have backup plans—just in case.
Not that anything would happen with those magical treasures around.
The problem? Those treasures were formidable—but only under the little boy's command.
From them, she expected no help.
They'd rebel against their own master if they could.
The fact that they hadn't harmed anyone yet was a victory.
And so, she flew toward the marked location on the map.
But just outside the city, she halted.
Something felt... wrong.
How had that elder gotten here?
Why hadn't Heaven's Will misled her?
Connecting this to the Guardian Token's warning about the world's instability, she guessed Heaven's Will itself might be failing.
Feeling urgency, she wasted no time on unanswerable questions and vanished.
....
Far from the Demoness Sect, atop a hill overlooking the cultivation world's grandest city—the capital—Little Mortal stood with his hands behind his back, his mustache dancing in the wind.
His cold gaze fixed on the magnificent capital below.
The city where someone was ruining his plans.
After a long silence, he pointed at the gate and said,
"I want you to become like that one."
Barely visible, a dark creature with an army general atop it stood there.
The little tricycle began to transform, shifting into a child-sized, black mechanical warhorse.
Little Mortal circled it and nodded, satisfied.
"Good job. Of all my birthday gifts, you're the most trustworthy, Unstoppable Ride."
He patted the horse's head and mounted it.
"TO THE CAPITAL!"
The warhorse reared, let out a deafening neigh, and charged forward!
....
In front of the capital's gate, a team of guards stood in position, looking vigilant.
Today, there was a direct order from the Emperor for all of the city guards to be on high alert, ready for an emergency.
No one knew the reason for that.
At this moment, they suddenly heard the loud neigh of a horse coming from afar.
They all became vigilant.
Not long after, they saw a black-robed warrior riding a black warhorse—one hand on his horse's reins, the other on the tip of his horseshoe mustache, playing with it—riding toward the gate.
The city guards wondered how their eyes could see this great warrior, who was far away, with such high quality, as if he were just a couple of steps away from them...
Time passed slowly.
For some reason, the guards felt pressure just looking at the other party getting closer and closer while getting... smaller...?
The guards felt something was wrong with their eyes.
Because no matter how much closer the great warrior got to them, his figure didn't get bigger!
And when they rubbed their eyes and looked more carefully, they found out that he wasn't far away but already in front of them—and he wasn't even a great warrior, but a child with a fake mustache on an expensive toy horse!
'When did he even get here without us knowing?
And what is this horse? It's not even real!
Is it a high-quality toy?
And what's with the arrogant look on this kid's face?'
Seeing the kid didn't even look at them and was riding his horse toward the city, the team commander furrowed his brow and tried to block his path with the spear in his hand.
"Stop!"
But the kid didn't stop riding his horse.
Only his right hand, which had been on his mustache,
Let go of it, move toward the tip of the spear,
And with a middle finger flick, he hit the spear's tip.
*Ding*
The impact made the team commander feel an unimaginable force transferring to his wrist.
The next moment, the tip of the metal spear was in front of his face while the spear itself bent into a 'U' shape.
Cold sweat appeared on everyone's back.
They only heard the now-'great warrior' again make a "Humph" sound, as if dissatisfied with them, and without looking back, he began stroking his mustache again and entered the city.
The team commander was the first to regain his senses.
He hastily ran inside the command post and sent the news to their headquarters with a crystal-like object that seemed to be used for communication, utilizing spiritual energy.
"Attention, a great warrior with an unusual appearance has entered the capital.
Tell everyone not to offend the other party!"
A woman's voice came from the other side:
"Describe the target's appearance, Team Commander."
The team commander thought for a moment and said:
"Black warhorse, black robe, black hair and eyes, horseshoe mustache, black headband, as tall as a three-year-old."
The woman on the other end replied:
"Please confirm the information.
Black horse, black robe, black hair and eyes, horseshoe mustache, black headband, height of a thirty-year-old man."
The team commander was speechless.
"I said the height of a three-year-old!"
The woman on the other side, after a moment of silence, said:
"...Are you messing with me?"
As the news of a three-year-old great warrior with a horseshoe mustache spread through the capital among the city guards, Little Mortal was already riding his horse toward the direction shown on his guardian token, where the 'Event' that could ruin his plans was taking place.
A little arrow on the token pointed the way for him.
With a deep frown, the closer he got to the target, the angrier he became.
Little Mortal was indeed pissed off at this moment.
Not because of the Emperor, but because of the condition of the normal people in the capital.
"This place is the only human capital of this world, the place that is supposed to offer normal citizens a fair life, but now, I only see fear in everyone's eyes and how cautious they are around anyone who wears a sect's robe..."
The more he saw, the more dissatisfied he became.
Everywhere he passed on his horse, whoever saw him avoided eye contact.
Just one look at him, and they could tell—this child was a troublemaker from a wealthy family looking for trouble!
Not far away, on a tall building, an old man and an old woman, with a little boy in the old woman's arms, were looking solemnly at the faraway mountains.
It seemed they were waiting for someone.
All three of them had the signature appearance of the imperial family:
Silver hair and silver eyes.
A hairpin with a red gem adorned the old woman's hair.
At this moment, the little boy—perhaps five or six years old—became excited and shouted:
"Grandmother, look, look!
A horse! I want one of those! I want one of those!"
The old woman turned and looked in the direction he was pointing.
Then she glanced at the old man.
The old man, without turning back, waved his hand and said:
"Go. I'll wait here to see if Sword God arrives on time."
The old woman smiled at the little boy and, while flying down, said:
"Alright, let's go ask him where he bought his interesting toy."
As they descended, the old man watched over them with his spiritual sense.
But then, he sensed them stopping in an empty place with no one else nearby.
The old man furrowed his brow and turned to see why he couldn't feel anything.
Hadn't they gone to ask someone about the toy? Where was that 'someone,' then?
But to his surprise, there stood a little kid on a miniature horse—neither the boy nor the horse registered in his spiritual sense.
The old man's frown deepened.
Then he saw his wife reach out to tap the little boy's shoulder.
But the little boy, as if sensing something, raised his hand and caught one of her fingers before she could touch him.
Then, slowly, the boy turned his head toward her.
The moment their eyes met, all four of them were taken aback!
The three imperial members, because of the mustache on the little boy's face, and the little boy, because of their silver hair, eyes, and the red-gemmed hairpin in the old woman's hair!
The old woman smiled and was about to ask about the horse—but suddenly, she felt weak all over.
At the same time, the old man's face turned pale.
Before his eyes, the spiritual energy inside his wife's body vanished in an instant!
She had become a mortal!
Without delay, he disappeared from the rooftop and reappeared beside the little boy.
He reached out with his left hand to separate the boy's grip from his wife while saying:
"Fellow Daoist, my wife only had a question!"
By now, any idiot could tell that this was a senior cultivator—likely a demonic path practitioner—in a child's body!
But to the old man's horror, he suffered the same fate as his wife!
In a moment, all his spiritual energy was gone.
Far away, in a dark valley, a man in a black cloak hid in the shadows, spying on the old couple.
Guards, citizens, even passing cats—none noticed his presence.
At this moment, his eyes widened in surprise, and he darted toward the old couple at extreme speed.
Those nearby only felt a shadow pass by them.
Only one word echoed in the assassin's mind:
"Opportunity!"
Back to where Little Mortal had 'disarmed' the old couple of their spiritual energy—
They were about to speak and clear the misunderstanding when they saw the little 'demonic cultivator' leap up and throw a flying kick at the empty air.
At the exact moment, a shadow collided with his leg, and the sound of bones breaking rang out!
Then, the space before them rippled, and a man in a black cloak appeared—with a small bare foot striking his chest.
The uninvited man then took another kick to the face from the demonic cultivator's other foot, vomited blood, and collapsed unconscious.
The old couple was so terrified that they didn't even notice their spiritual energy had returned.
Only the old woman covered her grandson's eyes to shield him from the bloody scene.
Then they saw the little demonic cultivator land, pat a small cage on his waist—and the black-robed assassin vanished as quickly as he'd appeared!
The couple didn't even dare to breathe, standing frozen in silence.
The demonic cultivator muttered to himself—loud enough for them to hear:
"Your Majesty, you even sent an assassin to kill me?"
Then he turned back to his horse, mounted it, and before leaving, said in a sorrowful tone:
"Uncle, Auntie, you didn't even recognize me...?
Is it because of the mustache?
Or is it because of the hardships I've endured all these years that I've become unrecognizable to you?"
He shook his head, as if heartbroken and disappointed.
"Maybe you don't remember me, but I remember you both.
Like it was yesterday when the three of us watched over His Majesty as he grew into a wise young man and future Emperor."
With 'tears' in his eyes, he rode away.
The couple stood rooted in place.
Their vision blurred, and an inexplicable sadness gripped their hearts.
Who was he?
A lost descendant of ours?
But his hair was black—he couldn't be a family member.
And he watched over our son as he grew up?
With us?
Why are we crying?
Unbeknownst to them, tears streamed down their faces.
Even the little boy was crying for no reason.
The couple exchanged glances, confusion mirrored in their eyes.
They had no idea who he was.
After a moment of silence, the old woman said:
"Was that an assassination attempt on us... or him?"
The old man took a deep breath and shook his head.
"I don't know what's happening anymore.
First, those twelve despicable sect masters.
Then our lost, overpowered 'nephew' and an assassin appearing out of nowhere...
Everything is spiraling out of control!"
The old woman frowned.
"Did I hear wrong, or did he say our son sent an assassin to kill him?"
The old man raised an eyebrow.
"I thought I was hearing things!
So he really believes the assassin worked for us?"
The little boy chimed in happily:
"Father is in trouble!
Father is in trouble!"
The old couple was speechless.
What are you so happy about?
Then the old woman said:
"Should we go join our son?
If something happens to him, I want to be there—even if I can't help."
The old man stroked his chin.
"You're right. And honestly, with the situation over there, adding an unknown 'monster' to the mix might actually help.
If Sword God arrives on time, he'll join us himself."
The old woman nodded.
The little boy cheered:
"Let's go watch the monsters fight!"
The couple considered whether this might offend the demonic cultivator—but then realized:
If the capital was destined for chaos today, offending one more person hardly mattered.
At that moment, a guard hurried over, bowed, and reported:
"My Lord, a great warrior has entered the city, but we lost sight of him shortly after. Please be aware."
The old man raised an eyebrow.
"Another one?
What does he look like?"
"Reporting to My Lord—
Black warhorse, black robe, black hair and eyes, horseshoe mustache, black headband, height of a three-year-old."
The couple stared at each other, at a loss for words.
A moment later, the citizens of the capital saw a guard flying through the sky, clutching his butt—
And the furious roar of the former Emperor:
"HOW ABOUT YOU REPORT IT NEXT WEEK?!"
The city guards knew—they were in deep trouble.