The Beautiful Girl!

While waiting for the cultivators to arrive, Aotian continued his training journey in silence.

Thus, a week passed. During this time, he closely observed the happenings in the city but still heard no news about the cultivators' arrival.

His exercises were progressing well, but Aotian estimated that he would need at least three more weeks to reach the mid-level of Blood Refinement.

His avatars continued searching for cultivation inheritances and martial arts manuals. The only difference now was that they were focused on Essence Refinement exercises – the so-called innate manuals.

The innate is not a level itself. Innate is the perfection of Essence Refinement.

Essence Refinement Levels: Initial -> Intermediate -> Advanced -> Innate (Perfect)

Since Blood Refinement is a major obstacle for martial artists, Bone Refinement manuals are much rarer than Skin and Blood Refinement ones. Only in the last few days did his avatars find enough manuals to synthesize a definitive Bone Refinement manual.

[Luo Mountain Swordsman Manual: Innate-Level Exercise Book.

Description: Manual of the famous Luo Mountain swordsman. Lost and partially destroyed, it was later repaired and greatly enhanced.

Note: When fully trained, it can generate perfect sparse five-element spiritual roots.]

As Aotian suspected, refining the section of the manual related to bone refinement brought the possibility of creating perfect sparse spiritual roots. Although he was not certain—having never heard of such a case—he believed that entering the 1st level of Foundation Establishment with these roots was not impossible.

In any case, Aotian was satisfied, as he was now almost certain that once he found enough essence refinement manuals to perfect it, he would be able to generate true spiritual roots.

'Essence Refinement manuals are becoming increasingly rare for my avatars to find. Fortunately, I still have months before reaching Essence Refinement,' Aotian pondered as he dressed and went out to gather news from the city.

As soon as he stepped outside, he noticed something was different.

The luxurious inn where he was staying, once filled with powerful and influential people, was now surprisingly empty.

Aotian heard hurried footsteps and quickly hid in the shadows.

"Idiot! Why did you take so long to wake up?! Everyone is already ahead of us!" An angry voice scolded his companion, trying to keep his voice low.

"I-I'm sorry! The maid seduced me, I couldn't resist! Don't worry, I'll send her to hell later for her insolence!" The other man responded, anxious to appease his companion's anger.

"Hmph!" The first one snorted with disdain.

Aotian watched coldly from the shadows.

He knew the man likely forced himself on the maid and now intended to kill her to cover up his own mistake. The other, by snorting in agreement, was equally despicable.

Aotian's eyes gleamed with a faint trace of murderous intent, but he quickly suppressed the impulse.

This was not the time to seek justice for others. Aotian was focused on the cultivators who were arriving, so he continued to follow the two men.

Interestingly, they were the same men who had inadvertently informed him about the arriving cultivators.

He estimated that his current physical strength was equivalent to that of a first-level Body Cultivation monk in Qi Refinement. With his vast experience as a thief, gained through the avatars, he was practically undetectable to ordinary mortals.

He followed the men for about ten minutes until they reached the City Lord's Mansion, which exuded a festive atmosphere.

The two approached the guards, presented their documents, and were allowed to enter.

Aotian couldn't do the same, but he didn't need an invitation.

Moving silently, he leaped over the wall and entered the property, sneaking through the shadows.

Upon reaching the banquet hall, he noticed the colorful lanterns and banquets that gave the place a celebratory air – it looked more like a New Year's party than the reception of immortals.

Seeing the crowd, Aotian calmly jumped through a side window and blended in with the guests without being noticed.

Grabbing a glass of wine and some snacks, Aotian walked around as if he were at home, listening to the conversations around him.

Aotian, despite being a very cautious man, knew that he had three resurrection coins... ahem, three avatars through which he could revive, and this made him less timid. His caution was meant to allow him to cultivate with peace and stability, but that didn't mean he lived in fear of his own shadow. On the contrary, he was quite fearless.

So, treating someone else's house as his own backyard, he wandered around, eating for free and eavesdropping on conversations.

This continued for half an hour, but seeing no sign of the cultivators arriving, Aotian couldn't help but grow tired and look for a place to sit. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he searched, every spot was taken.

Just as he was about to give up, Aotian was surprised to see an empty spot amidst the crowd.

In that area, despite there being comfortable sofas to sit on, no one dared to sit there... except for one person. A beautiful girl with golden hair, a curvaceous figure, snow-white skin, and a flawless face.

Aotian was slightly stunned and couldn't help but gulp at the sight of the girl. Never before had he seen someone so beautiful.

He looked around and saw the eyes of those nearby, all watching with curiosity and caution, but no one dared to approach.

Aotian tilted his head and focused on the girl again, but saw nothing special aside from her stunning beauty.

'Probably the daughter of someone important,' he thought, scratching his chin as he analyzed the situation.

Aotian couldn't help but feel a spark of curiosity about the solitary blonde girl, a rarity among a population where hair like hers was unheard of. Since he also needed a place to sit, he boldly walked toward the sofa.

People around him looked on in shock and disbelief at the young man who appeared out of nowhere.

Aotian didn't care and, without much elegance, simply plopped down on one of the sofas near the young woman.

The young woman also looked at him curiously.

Aotian raised an eyebrow at her and, unfazed, made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"So... what's your problem?"

Subtle.

The young woman looked at him in surprise and couldn't help but find it amusing.

"I think that question is for you. What's your problem?" She fired back, the corner of her mouth curving slightly into a smile.

Aotian rolled his eyes.

"I'm not the one scaring everyone away..." Aotian looked around, lifted his face and sniffed the air slightly, then put his hand on his chin and pondered, "Strange, it doesn't seem like it's your smell that's scaring them off."

The young woman, who was watching him with an amused look, froze instantly.

She then glared at him angrily.

"You're the one who stinks!" She snapped, fury flashing in her blue eyes.

Aotian quickly waved his hand upon seeing her irritated look.

"Whoa, whoa! I didn't say you stink, I said you don't stink! That's why it's not your smell that's scaring them off!" Aotian defended himself.

"Hmph!" The young woman huffed and rolled her eyes.

A few seconds of silence passed, and Aotian couldn't help but secretly admire her profile.

"Have you stared enough?" The young woman asked impatiently.

"Ahem!" Aotian cleared his throat into his fist. "Not yet. But you didn't answer, what's the deal with them staying away?"

The young woman looked at Aotian helplessly but answered anyway, "They're staying away because I ordered them to. And you, what's your problem? Didn't they warn you not to come near me at the gate?"

"You ordered them to warn people at the gate to stay away?" Aotian asked, his mouth slightly open in disbelief.

"Yes, didn't they warn you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aotian scratched his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged.

"I guess they don't warn gatecrashers." Aotian said nonchalantly as he tossed a snack into his mouth.

This time, she was the one who looked at Aotian in surprise.

"Pfft!" She couldn't hold back and laughed behind her delicate white hand.

Aotian smiled as he watched her laugh. It was his first real conversation in over two months since he arrived in this world.

He had a brief chat with the old man at the city gate on his first day, but that was two months ago. And, let's face it, the old man was no beautiful girl.

Of course, he had exchanged a few words at the inns and at the Wubao pavilion, but it was purely business-related. Nothing compared to a casual conversation with a beautiful girl.

"What's your name?" Aotian asked, still smiling.

"Well, Mister Gatecrasher," she began playfully, "I suppose, for the feat of sneaking in without anyone noticing, I can tell you my name. My name is Rihai, Liu Rihai."

"Rihai?" Aotian looked at her in surprise. "Sun..." His eyes drifted to her golden hair. "And sea..." Then they focused on her deep blue eyes.

"It's beautiful. It suits you." He complimented her softly.

Her ears turned slightly red.

"Thank you..." She replied quietly. Then, she looked up at him. "And you? What's your name?"

Aotian froze at the question.

"Ahem..." He coughed into his fist, clearly embarrassed. "I can tell you, but... you have to promise not to laugh!"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't expected the charming young man in front of her to have a strange name.

"Don't worry, I won't laugh." She assured him with a sincere smile.

"Alright... My name is Long Aotian." He said firmly, looking directly into her eyes.

Rihai froze at the unexpected name.

"Pfft!" She couldn't hold it back and laughed, quickly covering her mouth with both hands as her face turned red.

Aotian looked at her in disbelief.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" He exclaimed, outraged.

"I didn't... I didn't..." She tried to deny it, waving her hands, but another laugh escaped. "Hehe..." Her blue eyes were crescent-shaped, overflowing with amusement.

Aotian was speechless, his expression clearly saying, "Do you think I'm blind?"

Seeing his expression, Rihai laughed even harder.

After a few seconds, she finally managed to calm down.

"Sorry, sorry!" She said, wiping away a tear of laughter. "I just didn't expect such a... majestic name!"

"Ha ha, laugh all you want." Aotian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, almost pouting.

But despite his annoyed expression, his thoughts were completely different.

'Mom, I think I'm in love!'

"Okay, okay! I won't laugh anymore." She promised with a mischievous smile. "It's just that... Your name is so... arrogant! And you don't seem to match it."

"Yeah, I admit..." Aotian sighed before lifting his nose theatrically. "But I can be very arrogant when I want to!"

Rihai couldn't help but laugh again. He definitely knew how to entertain.