Mayor's Castle

One could say it's the greatest structure and building in the entire Klown City. This building stood in the middle of the central district. It has a tower on its side, but there's no bell, only a statue of a man holding a trident.

This building resembles both a castle and a church. It's large enough to fit two martial schools. People were already walking on the marble floor that led toward the entrance.

The guards in front of the metallic door didn't dare slack off. The morning sunlight reflected off their silver armor that covered them from head to toe, while their eyes scanned the surroundings, especially the officials entering the building.

A dozen meters away, a man stood beside the open gate. He wore a black and white uniform with a serpent insignia on his chest. When all the officials had entered the Mayor's Castle, the man walked toward the entrance, where one of the guards stopped him.

"This way," the guard said, leaving his post to lead the man. They walked for a while and stopped in front of a gold-encased door. Another guard stood in front of the giant door, but this one wore gold armor.

The silver-armored guard bowed before leaving.

As the gold-encased door opened, the man took a deep breath.

"Munch!" The sharp, crisp sound of biting echoed through the room, causing the man to glance at the table and see someone eating something that made him frown in disgust. So the rumor is true.

"Gulp... Welcome, Arke."

"Good morning, Mayor Klown," Arke said, bowing his head to the mayor of the city.

Klown was large and round, his cheeks rosy and plump with a double chin that wobbled when he looked up at Arke. His clothes were made of expensive materials that strained at the seams. His suit was laced with intricate gold patterns that exuded opulence.

"Why don't you take a seat?" Klown pointed at the farthest seat with his knife.

Arke nodded slowly while his eyes focused on what Klown was eating. Those are hu—

With a banging sound, Klown stabbed his food and brought it up. Seeing the eyeball, Arke wanted to throw up but held it in. He didn't want to embarrass himself at his first meeting with the mayor.

"Thank you for the offer, but I just ate," Arke said, bowing his head.

"If you say so," Klown muttered before putting the eyeball in his mouth.

The mayor closed his eyes to savor the food in front of him. He didn't speak again, continuing to finish his 'meal.' After eating a finger, leaving only the bone, he put it back on the plate and burped aloud.

He couldn't help but lick his bloodied mouth. "Ah, this is really delicious."

When Arke heard this, he looked to the side, not daring to glance at the fatso who could eat human meat like it was nothing. Is he cultivating some demonic technique? If he is, why are the Martial Schools not doing anything? This doubt remained in his heart.

Klown wiped his mouth with a white towel, staining it with blood, and said, "I will get straight to the point."

Arke turned back to the mayor and waited.

"I want you to kill that boy before the Advancement Examination. Finish what you didn't finish. This is going to be your last chance," Klown said, staring Arke dead in the eyes.

Arke was visibly shaken when he heard the mayor's words. "I-I will definitely kill that boy!"

"You have to. You know what will happen to you if you can't succeed, right?" Klown asked with a smirk.

Arke nodded slowly, glancing at the human bones piled up in front of the mayor.

"Then go now," Klown waved his hand, and Arke stood up to bow before leaving the room.

As the sound of the door closing echoed, Klown's eyes became cold, and bloodlust erupted from him. The sunlight that passed through the windows turned red while the temperature dropped.

"Soon, this world will be mine."

…

Apollo opened his eyes after a night of cultivation. He brought up his Status screen and saw that his cultivation was still the same, but he could feel that he was stronger than yesterday.

"I should get something to eat," Apollo muttered. He left his beggar spot and was about to go to Big Chub when he noticed the line in front of the newly opened restaurant. "Oh? There are already a lot of customers?"

He glanced to the side and saw that Filly's restaurant had fewer customers than before. They're already taking the hit… Skyline Savory is really an influential restaurant, Apollo thought with a shake of his head. He started walking in the direction of Big Chub.

But he was confident in the journal that he wrote.

After a few minutes of walking, he saw the stall where Big Chub was selling. He hurriedly walked towards him and greeted him with a smile. "What's up, Big Chub!"

Hearing the shout, Big Chub glanced at the sound and saw Apollo. He looked at his clothes and couldn't help but be surprised. "Is that a new robe? You look much cleaner for a beggar."

"Hehe, it's because not all beggars are the same," Apollo said. He started choosing the bread on the table and handed his money to Big Chub. "By the way, do you have some gossip you can share with me?"

Big Chub rolled his eyes before he focused on the beggar. "You are lucky."

"Why?" Apollo asked before biting the bread in his hand.

"The city is cleaning up the beggars on the streets. Haven't you noticed? There aren't many beggars wandering around anymore," Big Chub explained.

Actually, Apollo had already noticed and he also tried to find other beggars but found only three or four of them. This made him think about what was happening.

"What they're doing is too extreme. I wonder why…" Apollo muttered, though it sounded muffled because of the bread in his mouth.

"I agree with you," Big Chub sighed. "In the past, they did take care of the beggars on the street but not to the point where they specifically looked for them."

"I see," Apollo frowned. "Is there going to be a big event soon?"

"Why do you ask?" Big Chub questioned but still answered the boy's inquiry. "Oh, come to think of it, the Advancement Examination is going to be held soon."

"Advancement Examination?" Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"It's where the Student Cultivators in the Martial School will participate. They must prove that their cultivation is not stuck and that they are making great progress. One will fail if their cultivation is still the same. I'm not particular about the details of the examination, but I heard there's a combat test."

"Oh? It sounds interesting," Apollo said, taking one last bite of his food.