"Teacher, I'm back!"
Little Mortal, who brought his assistant with him, ran to Snow Goddess.
Snow Goddess, with a stiff hand, patted his head.
"W-welcome back... How long has it been?"
"I just left yesterday..."
Then, as if he remembered something,
"I mean, yesterday of 100 years ago!"
Rose laughed and said,
"Mother!"
But before she could walk to her mother, Little Mortal caught her hand.
"Assistant Rose!
How many times should I tell you, that's not your mother!
You can't just pick a lady as your mother to feel the 'gap' in your heart!"
Then he pointed at Sword God beside Snow Goddess.
"What next?
You are going to call him father?"
Rose excitedly said,
"No, I'm telling the truth!
They are my parents, the sect masters I told you about!
You can ask them yourself!
Even grandmother is here to testify!"
Little Mortal was shocked!
"Is she telling the truth?"
Snow Goddess shook her head,
"I never had a daughter."
Sword God smiled 'bitterly',
"Nephew Rose, your father unfortunately passed away...sigh.
It seems it was so unexpected and challenging for you to believe, that you can't accept it..."
Then he walked over to her and held her in his arms, patting her back.
"It's fine.
Even if he is gone, I'm still here..."
The elders almost clapped for him and his performance!
Charm Goddess was already hiding at the back so that she could laugh at them without worry.
Rose was speechless...
She looked at her grandmother, but she shook her head too,
"That's not my son, Sword God.
How could I not know my own son and his wife?
This is my other son, your uncle, your father's twin brother, and she is his wife, Snow Goddess..."
Little Mortal sighed and patted her hand gently,
"I understand.... I understand..."
Then he walked to Snow Goddess and whispered,
"Good job, Chief!
So you already took over the family, huh?"
Snow Goddess smiled like a 'villainess' and didn't say anything at first,
But as if she suddenly thought of something, she said,
"I don't have a daughter; how about we take her as our own daughter?
What do you think, honey?"
And 'secretly' winked at Little Mortal, who gasped in shock and muttered,
"How sinister!
As expected of the top villainess in this neighborhood!"
Sword God's eyes shone when he understood the meaning,
"What a good idea!
What do you think, Rose?"
Rose, who saw everything move in a circle to the starting point, hurriedly said,
"Yes, yes, I agree!"
And before Little Mortal could intercept their idea, she ran to Snow Goddess.
"I missed you, mother!"
Little Mortal looked at the rest of the crowd to see if anyone else noticed a problem with these fast-paced changes in relationships!
But the elders and even his special force members were nodding to show it was a natural thing that was happening.
Little Mortal scratched his head and then shrugged,
"I was just joking with you guys, but if you want to keep playing, then play by yourself..."
Rose turned around while gritting her teeth,
"Boss!
You already knew?"
"Yep.
The old manager told me about him getting knocked out twice while on the way to the capital.
And I just saw him this morning talking 'about life' with my teacher."
The crowd was speechless...
'You said this morning...
Wasn't it 'this morning' 100 years ago?'
Snow Goddess remembered her conversation with Sword God, and the sweet things they said to each other, and blushed a little.
Sword God, who closed his eyes to control his anger,
felt something pat his leg and almost jumped back out of fear!
But he saw it was the little boy who came to his side without him feeling anything!
Little Mortal said in regret,
"Fate didn't allow us to meet...
You were supposed to be my teacher,
and today's winner could be from your sect..."
Sword God calmed himself down and said regretfully,
"Now I understand why they say 'let's meet, if fate allows it..."
Little Mortal nodded as if he agreed.
Then he walked to Snow Goddess.
By now, the atmosphere wasn't as heavy as they thought it would be.
This little boy was more like a 'naughty kid' than a little demon... At least for now!
Snow Goddess, who knew he was looking for his reward, cleared her throat and said,
"Little Mortal, you and my daughter are stronger than I already...
So I can only give you something symbolic; I hope you like it."
Little Mortal jumped up excitedly,
"This is my first time getting a reward!"
Snow Goddess waved her hand, and two beautiful ice crowns with different styles started taking form.
Sword God, by her side, added his sword aura to them, and they started shining and making pleasant noises.
Lady Butterfly, who saw this, added some little colorful butterflies to fly slowly around it.
Little Mortal's eyes were already shining;
His mouth was wide open in shock!
He then took it with caution and ran out while shouting,
"I'll show it to my followers!
See you tomorrow for my graduation, teacher!
By the way, Mr. White sent the 'goods' to the meeting hall!"
Snow Goddess saw that he liked the reward and sighed in relief,
"Alright, see you tomorrow."
Then she turned to Rose and placed the other crown on her head.
"Do you know who Mr. White is?"
Rose nodded,
"Yes, that's a member of the research team."
Lady Butterfly added,
"A white rat.
If you see it, be careful; It's stronger than us..."
Sword God couldn't wait anymore,
"Can you give us an explanation of what is happening here and who he is?
There is a research team, too, with a rat as its member?"
But Snow Goddess stopped him,
"The 'goods' he mentioned are the missing disciples.
Let's go to the meeting hall; we can talk there while checking their condition."
The rest of them could only agree and leave together.
....
In the evening, inside the inn.
Little Mortal had already placed his victory crown on a new shelf that was made specifically for it.
It was placed in a way that if anyone walked in, the first thing they would see would be this crown.
"Alright, come in and say what is the first thing you see."
The door opened, and a group of disheveled people, who were mostly old, came in.
If you look at them carefully, you would recognize them as the 10 team leaders who were under Rose and Luna, organizing and coordinating the followers these couple of days.
At this moment,
They were in a sorry state because they received their 'payment'.
Luna, at the side, still acting like an expert, looked at them while embarrassed...
After the competition, Little Mortal took her away with these 10 people to 'pay' them for their hard work.
And the payment was the breakthrough to the next realm.
At first, Luna knew he had a plan to help all of the followers break through to the Mahayana realm,
But an otherworldly old man suddenly appeared and asked him to change his mind.
He said the planet can't handle this many high-level cultivators and can't produce Tribulation clouds for 10 thousand people.
He basically begged him to stop, or the planet might face technical difficulties.
While looking at the otherworldly old man who turned out to be the 'heaven's will' in disappointment,
Little Mortal just chose a group of people with more 'contribution' to break through.
Like Rose, Luna had a 'free ride' to the peak of the Mahayana realm without any Tribulation clouds and then received a candy that finally turned her into the real 'Expert Luna'.
But the 10 'group leaders' weren't that lucky.
They were forced to go through the Heavenly Tribulation together.
But after getting hit by the lightning a couple of times, it turned out they are too strong for it and just turned to this 'disheveled' appearance.
But in reality, they were completely fine inside.
Now they were invited here for the final meeting with Little Mortal.
But before that, they were supposed to give their opinion about the victory crown's placement.
"Sect Master, the first thing I saw is naturally your magnificent crown."
Hearing the first answer, Little Mortal puffed his chest.
"Sect Master, the first thing I saw was you; how can anything 'outshine' your light in any place!"
Little Mortal raised his chin arrogantly.
"Sect Master, the first thing I saw was the ground."
Little Mortal furrowed his brow.
"Because your aura is so heavy that I couldn't even raise my head!"
Little Mortal gasped!
"Okay, okay, enough!"
And while satisfied with his followers' flattery, he said,
"As you know, tomorrow is my graduation day.
I was going to let you graduate with me while all of you were in the Mama Mia realm,
But unfortunately, it wasn't possible, so my followers can only receive a graduation certificate in this realm..."
"Anyway, I give everyone a recommendation letter to work for His Majesty.
The choice is yours to do whatever you want.
Remember to tell everyone about it, and be ready to graduate after I recorded the 'Emperor's first descend' tomorrow.
Any questions?"
One of the team leaders asked,
"Sect Master, you turned our miserable life into one full of opportunities; is there nothing that we can do in return for you?"
Little Mortal furrowed his brow,
"Do I look like a merchant to you?"
The old man shook his head in confusion.
"No."
"Why would I ask for anything in return, then?"
The crowd was confused for a moment, but it didn't take long for them to understand what he meant.
If you ask something in return for your 'good deeds', would that be a good deed anymore?
That's making a 'deal'.
"And you already paid me.
I can become the planet guardian because of you people."
The 10 group leaders looked into the eyes of this little demon for the first time without any fear.
The only thing they could see in his eyes was... honesty.
After some other questions about the recommendation letter, it turned out that it was for them to become gym coaches in different cities to help the Emperor.
It was clear that the Emperor already planned for all of the citizens to become like them and gain the ability to absorb solar power, so their help was naturally needed to prepare their bodies.
Little Mortal only added something at the end,
"By the way, in the future, I need to travel to other places.
When I become a planet guardian, I can summon you to where I am for emergency purposes.
So, if I need your help, and you see my message,
you can accept it, or if you are busy or don't want to come, decline it.
Please share the information with everyone and let them know that they don't need to accept my request for help in the future.
But if they accept it, I guarantee their safety."
The group leaders didn't know what he meant by
'travel', but they promised to spread the news.
The moment they left, a certain little girl jumped out of the shadows and left with them while shouting,
"Breaking news, breaking news!
The evil sect master is going to give back our freedoms!
Breaking news, breaking news!
Evil sect master is leaving!
1 spirit stone for the date of freedom!
2 spirit stone fo- no, let me go, mother!"
"Cherry! Stop it!
I looked for you everywhere, so you were hiding here all the time!"
The group leaders left hurriedly while sweating profusely!
Expert Luna just stood there indifferently, like a real expert that she is now.
And Little Mortal was speechless,
"..."
He shook his head like a senior, walked outside, and whistled.
The tricycle appeared.
"Manager Luna, I'll go send some invitation letters for my ceremony."
Luna nodded.
Then he said to the backpack,
"If assistant Rose comes looking for me, give her two candies.
She probably wants it for her parents."
Then he rode his tricycle and said,
"Space mirror, you come with me."
The mirror flew out and hung itself on his waist.
...
Around the night, Rose, who was in the meeting hall this whole time to provide information about everything that happened,
came to see if she could ask for 'candies' and left after receiving them immediately.
Her Boss was playful and liked joking with others, but he was thoughtful and considerate when it came to others...
....
Day 8 after Little Mortal's arrival.
Demoness Sect.
In the morning, at the meeting hall, Snow Goddess was waiting for her disciple, alone.
The door suddenly kicked open, and he walked in.
"What's up, chief!"
Snow Goddess gritted her teeth in frustration.
It seems he was back to his thug mode now that nobody was around.
"Come in."
Little Mortal, while spinning his small chain around his finger, walked over.
He took out a piece of paper and a pen and handed them to her with both hands respectfully.
Snow Goddess took it while not knowing why he kicked open the door if he was going to be so respectful the next moment...?
She read the content, nodded, and signed it.
She already heard from Rose and the others,
that he was only supposed to come here, gather followers, do his things with Sword God's support,
That unintentionally, she became the 'support', and then became the 'guardian', that none of them knew if it was even a real thing, or an alien child from a strong race in outer space was just here to play his imaginary game with becoming the guardian as the final goal.
Rose, though, was sure that this guardian position was definitely real!
The paper he gave her today was for her to confirm that he graduated from here with his followers.
She gave the paper back to him and said,
"Thank you for the candy, by the way,
fellow Daoist Mortal."
She indirectly tried to say he isn't her disciple anymore.
Little Mortal waved his hand to say it was nothing.
Then he put the chain in his pocket, 'shaved' his mustache, and said,
"To record the scene of 'The Emperor's first descend' I need to ring the bell,
Do you want to tell the disciples about it, so they don't get scared when they hear the bell ringing?"
Snow Goddess, who already knew about this,
was going to say 'yes', but when she remembered how all of them ran after they found the 'truth',
and came back when they found out everything was fine, shook her head,
"No need.
They abandoned us so heartlessly for no reason yesterday, I don't mind seeing them scared for real this time!"
Little Mortal chuckled and patted his chest,
"Leave it to me!"
...
At noon, the silent and quiet sect heard the emergency bell ring!
*Ring*
But it didn't end after one ring; it rang nine more times!
The disciples, already with their belongings under their arms, were about to run, but a strong aura that they had never felt before suddenly descended from the sky.
The sky literally changed color, from blue to silver!
They all looked up with difficulty and saw a man, in a silver imperial robe, embroidered with gold, a crown on his head, looking like an absolute ruler, descending from the sky!
His voice echoed through the sect!
"Brother!
Storm clouds gathered!
Our borders are beset by evil!
Both mundane and immortal!
How long can we withstand this onslaught?!
Do you remember your promise?
We either die alone or survive together!
This is the moment!
Your choices will decide the fate of this world!
And all that inhabit it!
Make the right one!"
The disciples recognized the newcomer with his domineering aura at a glance!
It was the Emperor!
With their hearts beating wildly, and already kneeling on the ground, they thought,
'What is he doing here!
Who is he calling brother!?
Didn't he already 'cleanse the world'?
There is another war coming?'
But a brief moment later, a tide formed from the gathered auras of thousands of strong cultivators exploded, even creating a hole in the passing clouds above the outer sect city!
The disciples almost fainted from the sheer power emitting from the collective aura passing through the sect's grounds!
The next moment, thousands of people, one step from the Mahayana realm, all leapt to the sky above the outer sect city and flew towards the Emperor!
It was the two groups of dark blue and red-robed followers!
The disciples couldn't believe their eyes when they saw so many 'mortals' with such a strong aura suddenly appear!
What kind of force was growing under their nose without anyone noticing?
The group of followers all knelt on one knee in front of the Emperor and shouted,
"By the order of Sect Master, we shall obey the sun of the empire, his majesty the Emperor, until our last drop of blood!"
The Emperor nodded,
"Where is my brother?"
Rose, in front of the group, said,
"Your majesty, the sect master just received a letter and left in a hurry!
He only said a relative in the capital is in danger!"
The Emperor, hearing the answer, furrowed his brow, as if thinking someone might have tricked him into coming here with the news of the chaos!
So he flew away immediately and left without looking back, leaving only a sentence,
"Follow me.
To the capital!"
The followers all shouted together,
"As his majesty's order!"
And then followed after him.
After they left,
Snow Goddess with Sword God appeared.
They looked at the disciples on the ground and chuckled.
Some disciples were already lying on the ground, unconscious from overwhelming fear.
Some of them were underground.
They dug a hole with their 'special skills' the moment the Emperor descended!
And some were kneeling with their foreheads touching the ground!
After flying for a short while, someone shouted,
"Aaand Cut!"
Hearing the voice, the followers cupped their hands towards the Emperor and went back to the outer sect city.
And the Emperor went back to the capital.
The scene was over.
The sect's higher-ups, who were watching the whole thing, were laughing at these disciples who had a new nightmare to add to the previous one.
On the silver platform, Little Mortal scratched his head in confusion.
Three more people were here. The old manager, who was sitting on a special seat, was one of them.
Beside him was another lady with brown hair and a robe, sitting on a less fancy, but more comfortable sofa, which was Wise Turtle.
And Scholar, who was standing beside them.
He already had a chat with the old man and knew who he was.
Maybe because this little boy was too abnormal, he accepted him as planet manager with ease and finally saw the 'dying old man' his boss always talked about.
Little Mortal went to the old manager and asked in puzzlement,
"She is not coming?"
The old manager looked confused,
"Who?"
"The lady manager from the next-door planet."
The old manager blinked in confusion,
"Who is that?"
Little Mortal rolled his eyes,
"Your future colleague from 'Immortal Planet'!"
The old manager raised his eyebrows in understanding,
"Oh, you mean her...
Wait, you sent an invitation to her, too?"
Little Mortal said in annoyance,
"Why else would I wait for her?"
The old manager was dumbfounded,
"How?
When? Who did you give it to?"
Little Mortal said as a matter of fact,
"I just went there and placed the invitation on the table in front of her."
The old manager, who didn't know how he got there, thought for a moment and said,
"Was she awake?"
Little Mortal shook his head.
"Did you wake her up so she knows you sent the invitation?"
He shook his head again,
"It was late at night; do I look like someone who disturbs people while they are sleeping?"
The old manager didn't know what to say!
Wise Turtle by his side said,
"Maybe she is still sleeping..."
Little Mortal was shocked,
"She is the manager of a whole planet!
She wakes up early in the morning and goes to bed late at night!"
And looked at the old manager for confirmation,
"Right?"
The old manager didn't dare to say sometimes they would sleep for years...
'What, waking up early in the morning and going to sleep late at night!?'
"Maybe she can't come because the two sides aren't connected at this moment?"
The old manager suddenly shivered,
"It happened again!
How can I forget about something so obvious?!"
Little Mortal slapped his forehead,
"Right, you are under the influence too!
How could I not think of that!"
Then he looked at the fancy seat beside the old manager, which was prepared for the Immortal Manager, and shook his head,
"That won't do.
The tenth day is near, and our uninvited guests might come at any moment; there is no time to waste!
Let me go bring her here personally.
Space mirror, where are you?"
Scholar, who was listening to the conversation, became interested!
'Something interesting is going to happen, right?'
The old manager frowned,
"What uninvited guest is coming? If I'm right, you are here for eight days!"
The three didn't know if they should be scared or not about the so-called uninvited guest.
Are they stronger than him or not?
Little Mortal rolled his eyes at the old manager,
"How should I know who is coming when it's uninvited?"
The old manager looked at Wise Turtle.
He thought she might get better answers compared to him.
She understood what he meant and asked,
"Little Mortal, should we be worried? Can we help you in any way?"
Little Mortal suddenly changed mood, became friendly, and ran to her side to comfort her,
"Madam Turtle, don't worry yourself about these small matters.
And to answer your question, I can definitely use your help, but I should be the guardian to bring the risk of this planet's complete destruction to zero."
Wise Turtle nodded with a forced smile, and the three started sweating profusely.
Why did the planet's complete destruction suddenly become part of the discussion?
We only asked about the guest...