The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu stood in a certain corner of the martial arts field at the moment; Cai was on his shoulder.

He had suppressed his aura this entire time since he didn’t wish to attract people’s attention. From an outsider’s point of view… he was currently no different from a martial warrior who had barely stepped into the Xian Tian primary stage. Also, no one could sense his true strength unless the opposite party’s spirit sense was far exceeding his own.

The strength of his dual cultivation – martial arts and magic arts – along with the splendid power of his spirit sense allowed him to get an edge over the ordinary martial warriors. In addition, the practice of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power and the Transcending Heaven Imperial Spirit Determination had significantly contributed towards the enhancement of his spirit sense’s power. Therefore, his spirit sense was now far more powerful than that of of any Earth-ranked primary stage warrior. But, it was slightly less powerful than that of a Moon-ranked magician.

However, Shi Mu couldn’t cover-up his overbearing and rebellious temperament. Consequently, many surrounding people cast sidelong glances at him. However, they soon exposed a contemptuous look, and retracted their gazes when they found out that his cultivation wasn’t high.

The registered participants started to arrive at the venue one after another as the time of the competition approached.

Most of the participants were either middle-stage or advanced-stage Xian Tian warriors. However, several Star-ranked magicians were also part of this group.

Manager Shi of the Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion had been assigned to preside over this competition. He took a look at the sky. Then, he walked up to the stage which was located in the center of the martial arts practicing field. He coughed a little, and then began the announcement, “It’s almost time. We can’t wait…”

A sudden uproar broke out in the crowd at this moment. Then, a woman leapt forward in the martial arts field in a hurry.

The woman was dressed in an orange dress which was perfectly highlighting the contour of her exquisite figure. Her pure-white face looked slightly red at the moment. She had a pair of deep-green and slender eyebrows; they looked like a willow leaf. A pair of large and limpid eyes could be seen below them. Her beautiful eyelashes looked like curtains. In addition, there was a hint of a distinct heroic aura around her that was adding charm to her mesmerizing beauty.

This woman didn’t wait for the surrounding people to recover from the trance. She gracefully clasped her hands toward Manager Shi, and said in a reverent manner, “I’m Leng Yue Tong. I’m sorry for being a little late today. Do I still have time?”

Manager Shi looked at her, but didn’t reply. He simply nodded. Then, he began to announce the rules, “The total number of applicants that have registered for the selection of escorts is eighty-five. But, only seventy-eight people have marked their presence today. The outcome of the battle will be determined through drawing lots. There are altogether forty matching numbers here. Those who draw out the same number will have a showdown here. And, the winners will become eligible to participate in this escort mission. The thirty-ninth and fortieth numbers will be promoted directly.”

These words had barely faded when a wave of whispering and discussing sounds echoed in the field. But, nobody turned up with any objection in the end.

“Well, everyone will start drawing lots in sequence now.”

Manager Shi waved his hand as he finished his words. Then, a blue-robed man beside him walked out, and placed an iron box in the center of the stage; there was a pile of sealed paper wraps in that box.

Shi Mu also followed the crowd. He stretched out his hand, and picked up a paper wrap randomly. He was about to open the paper wrap when Cai’s voice suddenly fell into his ears.

“Shi Tou, I know that woman!” Cai’s big eyes went wide open, and he blustered loudly.

“This is a public place. So, you give me little peace,” Shi Mu responded.

“I’m telling you the truth. Take a look at her quickly. She was the one who had thrown flirtatious glances at you on the street when we had barely entered this city,” Cai shouted again. Simultaneously, he rubbed his wings against Shi Mu’s neck.

Shi Mu raised his head, and looked in that direction. He found that the woman that Cai was talking about was Leng Yue Tong; she had arrived late here.

He thought about it several times, but couldn’t remember when he had seen this woman. Meanwhile, Cai couldn’t hold back. So, he flew over to Leng Yue Tong.

“Hey, pretty lady, do you recognize me?” he hadn’t even finished his words when his head received a smashing hit from Shi Mu.

“What’s this, Shi Tou? Why did you do this?” Cai shouted at him with displeasure.

Leng Yue Tong was awestruck to see that a parrot with multi-colored feathers was talking to her. But then, the corners of her mouth gradually curled as Shi Mu emerged beside her.

“So, it’s you!” Leng Yue Tong was surprised and delighted at the same time.

“You finally remembered. I have a good memory. I had recognized you even though you had a veil on your face the other day. We had parted ways that day. But, we’ve met again today. This is called fate…” Cai started to blabber in an incessant manner.

“So, this parrot is your spirit-pet,” she listened to Cai’s non-stop blather, and found it very funny. She thought that Cai had been trained by Shi Mu. So, she shifted her gaze to Shi Mu and said so.

“This domestic animal keeps on babbling nonsense all day long. And now, he has offended you. However, I still hope that the Miss will forgive us,” Shi Mu clasped his hand toward Leng Yue Tong and said. Then, he picked up Cai and left.

“Shi Tou, Miss Leng is so pretty. How are you not tempted by her?” Cai had been dragged away by Shi Mu. But, he still didn’t forget to add a few words.

“Shut up!” A smashing hit again fell on Cai’s head.

“Ouch, it hurts! Can’t you hit me gently? You are a stone-hearted fella…” Cai shouted in a resentful manner.

A group of surrounding participants saw that Shi Mu and Leng Yue Tong were talking to each other in a manner that made it seem as if they were very close. And, an askance look surfaced in their eyes.

It was indeed very rare to see an extremely gorgeous woman like Leng Yue Tong in the barbarian race. In fact, there was hardly any woman in this Peaceful Sun City who could compete with her intriguing beauty. On top of that, Leng Yue Tong was also a Star-ranked magician; it could be sensed from the faint magic power waves her body was radiating. Therefore, the surrounding participants felt a sense of admiration for her in their hearts.

A few Xian Tian advanced stage warriors saw this, and also tried to strike up a conversation with her. Buy, they hadn’t expected that she would give them the cold shoulder. Consequently, they couldn’t remain calm, and exposed an expression of embarrassment on their faces. Then, they again struck a glance at Shi Mu… only to find that he was merely a young Xian Tian primary stage warrior. And, this realization filled their hearts with a sense of irresistible hatred for him.

“A boy who has just entered the Xian Tian realm is thinking of fighting over a woman with us — his seniors. It seems that he’s tired of living!” a tough and sturdy man blurted out. The people around him issued bursts of laughter in response.

“Brother Jia, even a man of your strength can’t help but get angry when you look at that boy.”

“Yeah, that boy is kind of arrogant. It ticks me off when I see him!”

“…”

However, Shi Mu acted as if he hadn’t heard their words. He didn’t even throw a glance at these people. He simply strode toward a blue-robed man, and gave his number to him. This action made people’s hatred for him even stronger than before.

The competition finally marked its beginning. The participants started to come forward in ascending order as per the rules.

The small field bustled with people’s noise and excitement in a matter of seconds. Someone would strike down the ring every now and then.

Shi Mu had already found that his opponent was a martial warrior with the help of Cai’s vision. That person had received number 18 just like he had. However, he had exchanged his number with that robust man surnamed Jia at the last moment.

Shi Mu sneered in his heart on seeing this. But, he still maintained his composure, and went to the ring.

The man surnamed Jia swept a glance over a few supporters in the crowd, and burst into laughter. Then, he leapt onto the ring with a huge stick in his hand; that stick was covered with several sharp teeth-like a wolf’s fangs.

Suddenly, a buzzing sound resounded in the crowd below the stage. The man surnamed Jia was a strong advanced stage Xian Tian warrior. Therefore, the entire Peaceful Sun City was scared of him. In fact, there were only a handful of people in the city who could be his match. On the other hand, his opponent — Shi Mu — had never been seen before in the city. Moreover, he was merely at the Xian Tian primary stage. Therefore, everyone thought of him as a worthless and anonymous pawn.

Only Leng Yue Tong was unable to take her eyes off the stage. In fact, her eyes were smeared with a hint of curiosity. It seemed that she couldn’t wait to watch the showdown. She had just defeated her opponent, and had qualified for this escort mission without a hitch by doing so. But, it seemed that she wasn’t particularly happy with her attainment.

“Boy, I’d like to give you a chance. Allow your senior to use only three head-smashing moves on you here. And, I promise you that I won’t hit you severely,” the man surnamed Jia struck a contemptuous look at Shi Mu as he said.

Such words sparked off a burst of laughter in the crowd.

“Are you done?” Shi Mu responded in an unhurried manner while examining his right-hand’s fist.

“You have courted death!”

The man surnamed Jia gave a loud shout, and a green light flashed on his body. Then, the light surged rapidly, and enveloped the wolf-tooth gigantic stick in his hand with a mass of green light. He then hacked his stick toward Shi Mu with full force. A Xian Tian advanced stage oppressive force swept across the audience, and galloped straight toward Shi Mu the next moment.

“Boom” a loud and explosive sound rang out.

Shi Mu’s silhouette dispersed into the air the moment he was struck by the mass of green light. However, it was only his remnant shadow.

The fact was that Shi Mu had dashed around, and had appeared behind the man surnamed Jia at lightning speed. It had seemed as if his main body had transformed into a green silhouette as he dashed to behind that man. He then raised his arm, and shot a solid punch with his full strength. And, an overwhelming invisible force rushed out of his fist.

A loud “Bang” sound was heard. It was followed by a sound of bones being cracked.

“Ah!”

The man surnamed Jia uttered a screech in anguish as he got struck and went flying out of the ring like a scudding cloud. He then crashed to the ground with terrible force. A hole had been smashed-open in his chest by Shi Mu’s punch. He had been left to spout a mouthful of blood by a mere punch! Even his breathing was barely perceptible at the moment… as if he was lingering on the doorstep of death.

The entire martial arts field sank into a complete silence at once. And, everyone began to gaze into Shi Mu’s eyes with an indescribably appalled look on their faces.

However, Shi Mu didn’t say anything. He merely turned toward Manager Shi, and bowed to him with his hands clasped. Manager Shi also responded at this moment, and declared that Mu Shi had qualified for the mission.

Manager Shi then gazed at Shi Mu’s silhouette from behind, and sank into a deep contemplation for a while. Then, he beckoned to the blue-robed man, and whispered a few words to him. After that, he started the next match.

“Shi Tou, I knew that you would triumph over him. How old does that fellow think he is?! He was messing about and acting like a prick in the name of seniority. He doesn’t deserve to live…” Cai flew over to Shi Mu in high spirits when he saw his victory.

“Ah, Miss Leng, I had told you that you didn’t have to be worried about Shi Tou, right? Shi Tou can be compared to a stone. That man had invited disaster by overestimating his own strength,” Cai’s voice revealed a sense of complacency when he said such words to Leng Yue Tong; she stood not far from them.

Shi Mu was dumbfounded to see Leng Yue Tong again.

“Brother Mu is very formidable. I must agree that an honorable person doesn’t need to flaunt his true strength,” Leng Yue Tong walked over, and said with a broad smile.

“Miss Leng is making fun of me,” Shi Mu’s voice sounded cold when he said.

“Miss Leng, why do you address Shi Tou as ‘Brother’? Why do you do this?! Can it be that you like my Shi Tou?” Cai saw that Shi Mu wore a cold and detached look on his face. Therefore, he said in order to add fuel to the fire from the sidelines.

“Haha, this bird is very amusing. So, you are asking me this question? I naturally like him. However, he doesn’t seem to like me. So, what means do I have?” she replied with a natural and generous smile.

Shi Mu had never been confessed to like this. Therefore, a flush of bashfulness spread on his dark face when he heard these words. He then grabbed Cai with all his strength, and flicked on his head. Then, he turned as if he was about to take his leave.

“Brother Mu doesn’t have to be bashful. Your Little Sister is a straightforward girl. She speaks everything frankly… like I just said ‘like’. So, you don’t need to be shy,” her big and beautiful eyes stared at Shi Mu as she said. Also, a hint of a smile could be seen hanging on her face.

Shi Mu was left speechless for a moment… He didn’t know what he should say in this situation.

“This Little Sister felt a kind and amiable feeling when she first saw Brother Mu. Presumably, Brother Mu is also a hybrid of a human and a barbarian. I can feel that the aura on your body has a great similarity to mine,” Leng Yue Tong spoke in a straightforward manner.

Shi Mu’s mouth went wide-open in amazement as these words surfaced in his ears. And, a person’s silhouette flashed across his mind at the same time; it was Feng Li!

It was very rare to see a hybrid person — half barbarian and half human — in the Eastern Continent. In fact, a person of mixed blood neither had a foothold in the Barbarian race nor in the Human race if he was found by the people. But, this Leng Yue Tong was courageous-enough to share her secret with Shi Mu in public.

“What? Miss Leng is a person of mixed blood… half barbarian and half human?” Cai looked surprised as he asked this.

“What’s the matter? Why do you have such a strange expression of amazement on your face? You’re in the Western Continent. The barbarians and the humans had started to intermarry almost a hundred years ago here. And, their children also get acknowledgement by everyone here. Doesn’t your family do the same, Shi Tou?”

“Tsk, so it turns out that you aren’t a barbarian. Why are you clad in this kind of dress then?” Cai asked without thinking the matter through.

“How am I not a barbarian? In fact, I’m not just a barbarian; I’m a human as well. It’s just that I prefer barbarians’ dressing style. That’s all. Don’t you think that it’s easier like this?” she replied.

“Miss Leng, I’m afraid that it’s not right. This Mu is indeed a barbarian. But, you and I can’t travel the entire journey together. We’d better part ways here,” Shi Mu grabbed Cai as he spoke. Then, he turned around, and walked away while ignoring Cai’s shouting and wrangling.

“Interesting!” Leng Yue Tong gazed at Shi Mu’s receding silhouette as he drifted into the distance. She then muttered to herself.