The temperature went down again.
The bandit boss... No, the Snow Goddess's vein on her forehead was already popped out.
She said, word by word:
"This... is... Demoness Sect!
Sword Sect is still where it always was."
Hearing her, Little Mortal stopped crying and wiped his nonexistent tears.
Then he looked at Elder Sun to see if she was telling the truth.
Elder Sun nodded his head nervously.
Then Little Mortal turned to the other elders to be sure.
They nodded too.
He took out a small notebook, opened it to the page with the Sword Sect's address, and showed it to the Snow Goddess.
"You're telling me this is your address, and not the Sword Sect?"
The Snow Goddess clenched her teeth, looked at the address, and said after reading it:
"It was, but recently the Sword Sect's address changed."
Little Mortal snapped again:
"What do you mean by 'changed'?
We're talking about snow—a lot of snow!
And a big, ugly statue!
Who's so bored they'd change their place?
If I find out who, I'll spank them right here and now!"
Hearing the direct threat to the sect master, the Supreme Elder suddenly stopped laughing and looked at the little kid in astonishment.
The elders shrank their necks.
'You want to spank who?'
'Can we excuse ourselves?'
The hall's temperature dropped again.
Snow started falling from nowhere.
Snow Goddess spoke in an impatient tone:
"I did it."
The little boy froze. Then his jaw dropped.
"You're telling me you picked up all the snow on these mountains and dropped the whole thing over there?"
Snow Goddess gritted her teeth and nodded.
"And then you uprooted that Sword God guy's statue and put it at your stronghold's entrance?"
She was about to nod, but growled:
"We are a sect, you little brat!
Not a bandit stronghold!"
The little boy was shocked:
"That Sword God didn't do anything while you stole his statue?"
Snow Goddess shook her head, clenching her fist, and said:
"I just took it. I didn't steal it!"
The armrest under her hand crushed inward from anger.
Little Mortal didn't care about this lady, who was about to explode, and touched his chin while thinking out loud:
"If this stronghold chief is stronger than that guy, wouldn't it be better to be her disciple?
Even if she's a villain, I can do my own things..."
Hearing him, everyone wondered why the sect master hadn't turned him into an ice statue by now.
The little boy walked beside the Snow Goddess's chair and said:
"Does this recommendation letter work for you, too?
The guy who wrote it was stronger than you, you know?
How about you take me as your disciple instead of that Sword Guy?"
The audience was lost for words.
Sword Guy?
The Snow Goddess just threw the letter at him and said:
"It's not for me. Why would I accept it?
And so what if the one who wrote it is stronger than me?
Is he here now? No, he isn't!"
Little Mortal took the letter and stood there silently.
The two stared at each other. After four or five seconds, he suddenly looked outside and said:
"Is that your dragon?"
Everyone turned around without exception to see the sect master's dragon!
Even the sect master was looking for her own dragon!
But no matter where they looked, there was no dragon.
And the Snow Goddess remembered she didn't have a dragon...
One by one, they turned back to see what dragon he was talking about.
But they saw him slipping a pen into his pocket, handing the letter back to the Snow Goddess, and saying:
"That dragon's already gone. You guys are too slow.
Anyway, take a look—this letter's for you. Your name's on this one.
I thought I was in the Sword Sect, so I gave you the wrong letter."
Snow Goddess furrowed her eyebrows. She took the "new" letter and read it:
"I, your master, recommend Fellow Daoist Mortal, with the Daoist name 'Sect Master,' to you, Sect Master of the Demoness Sect, the current 'Snow Goddess,' as your disciple. I hope you can support him on the path to becoming our (this part is secret to you).
Signed by the Former Snow Goddess."
At this moment, even if a pin dropped, you could hear it.
They didn't even know what to think.
He had fooled them with that fake dragon, and he'd changed the letter while they weren't looking—just like that?
Do they look like idiots?
We can still feel the Sword Aura on the letter!
And who's the Former Snow Goddess?
The sect master's teacher was someone called 'Ice Queen'!
Snow Goddess threw the letter back at him:
"I don't even know who the Former Snow Goddess is.
And my teacher's name is..."
She was about to say it, but stopped.
What if this kid changed the letter again?
Little Mortal waited but didn't hear her say her teacher's name.
So he just shrugged, as if saying, 'At least I tried.'
While looking around, his eyes locked onto the Supreme Elder.
The Supreme Elder, for some reason, became nervous.
Little Mortal looked at the Snow Goddess again and said:
"What if she gives me a recommendation letter?"
Snow Goddess snorted:
"If you can get a letter from her, I'll accept you as my disciple after a test, like my other disciple."
Then she glanced at her dear sister with a stern look.
The Supreme Elder gulped and nodded. She knew it wasn't the time to mess around and give him a letter just to be funny.
Little Mortal went to his backpack and started searching inside.
After a while, he took out a woman's statue.
While everyone was puzzled, the Supreme Elder's eyes widened in shock.
Under everyone's gaze, the little boy went to her, gave her the statue, and said:
Write a recommendation letter for me. If not, I'll sell you out to your master and tell her you didn't help me when I needed it! Humph!"
He said it as if he were giving her an order—even snorting at her at the end.
The audience was shocked at how crazy this kid was, daring to order her like that.
But to their surprise, the Supreme Elder took the statue and started writing the letter without hesitation.
Snow Goddess was speechless...
How can you betray me for this little statue?
But as the Supreme Elder handed the letter to the little boy, she pointed at the statue, then at her own hair, and finally upward.
Snow Goddess thought for a moment and understood:
'So she's saying this is her master's statue?
The Charm Goddess, who probably ascended to the Immortal World?'
Then she looked at the little boy suspiciously:
'Who is he to have a close relationship with both the Former Sword God and the Charm Goddess?'
Both she and the Supreme Elder suddenly looked at each other in shock!
They'd uncovered a secret!
This child is the son of the Sword God and the Charm Goddess!
So that's how it is... They got married in the Immortal World?
Snow Goddess sighed in relief for not losing her temper and beating him up.
She coughed and said:
"Okay, now you're officially my disciple.
Sit down for now. After the meeting, I'll choose a test for you to pass and become my disciple for real."
The elders were shocked by the sudden change in attitude from the two!
What happened? What did they figure out from that statue? What did we miss?
Little Mortal cupped his hands and bowed respectfully:
"Yes, Stronghold Chief."
Snow Goddess said in an annoyed tone:
"I said this is a sect, not a stronghold!"
The little boy climbed onto his backpack and said:
"Didn't our bandit group, under your leadership, steal the Sword God's statue to show them who's boss in these mountains?"
The room's temperature dropped again.
The elders did their best to pretend they didn't exist.
The Supreme Elder didn't know whether she could laugh or not...
Snow Goddess, not knowing how to talk to this kid—and not wanting to admit she'd taken her own husband's statue away out of anger—said:
"Forget it. We'll talk about it later.
Let's start the meeting."
Then she looked at the silent crowd and asked:
"Did anything happen while I was in seclusion?"
The elders looked at each other.
Did something happen? Why don't you tell us?
Where should they even start?
But the library manager seemed to remember something and said:
"Sect Master, you forgot to put the library token back in its place."
Snow Goddess, puzzled, replied:
"What token? I didn't take the library token to put it back!"
But at the same time, someone else answered:
"How about you stay at work and watch the token so you don't lose it?"
The library manager and the Snow Goddess turned to the little sect master in confusion.
He looked back at them and said:
"What?
He said, 'Sect Master,' so I answered him.
You don't believe me, Teacher!
The other day, I visited the library to borrow some books.
But guess what?"
Snow Goddess waited for him to continue, but he stopped, as if waiting for her to say 'what' so he could go on.
Already annoyed by this new disciple, she asked:
"What?"
"There was no one there!
Can you believe it?
There was just a lone token on a table with a note!
You should pay this guy less.
What's the use of him if he doesn't show up for work?
This is a mountain full of gangsters, and he left the token there just like that!
What did he expect? It's only natural for the token to be stolen already!
But guess what happened after that?"
Snow Goddess asked, annoyed:
"What else?"
"After that, I went to the storehouse.
When I got there, there was no one there either!
Can you believe it?
Just like before, there was only a token with a note!
Teacher, I'm telling you—neither of these people goes to work!
They're just freeloading like gangsters!
I even suspect them of going around asking for protection money from shops in the city!"
The Supreme Elder had already moved her chair to the side so she could laugh as much as she wanted—secretly.
The two elders were speechless.
This kid was clearly targeting them for no reason...
Snow Goddess didn't say anything, but the dropping temperature made her mood clear.
At that moment, the middle-aged lady from the storehouse cautiously asked:
"What about the storehouse token, Sect Master?"
Snow Goddess, now even more puzzled, said:
"You're telling me neither the library nor the storehouse token is with you two?"
They both shook their heads.
She was about to ask another question, but someone cut her off:
"Teacher, I wasn't finished. Let me tell you what kind of mess our stronghold is in.
As its chief, you should take care of these matters instead of going to your room, closing the door, or stealing people's statues!"
Hearing him, the Snow Goddess suddenly lost her temper and slammed the table,
"I am the sect master!
What chief?
What stronghold?
This is a sect!"
Little Mortal was shocked!
"No, you are the stronghold chief!
I am the sect master!"
Snow Goddess slammed the table again, cracks appearing and spreading everywhere on it!
"I told you, this is a sect, not some stronghold!"
She was so angry that each time she slammed the table, more cracks appeared on it, and at the same time, heavy snow began to fall from above their heads.
Seeing her angry, Little Mortal first became silent,
then said,
"Okay, teacher, you are the sect master.
Let's forget about that and talk about important matters.
Let me tell you, after that, I went to the outer sect city.
Guess what I found there?"
"You just be quiet!
I don't want to know what you found!
And don't speak without my permission from now on!
Understood?"
Little Mortal shrugged,
"Okay."
And just one word from him brought peace back to the hall.
The elders were all stressed out by now.
The Supreme Elder's chair turned around silently.
She knew her sister was furious now. This kid was really something... He was like the source of chaos.
He made the sect master so angry in just a couple of minutes that all of the sect together couldn't do the same in a decade!
Snow Goddess took a deep breath to calm herself down.
She really wished to punch this kid out of the sect to his husband.
Peace came back to the cold meeting hall once again, but with half a meter of snow already covering the floor.
"What else happened in these two days that I was in seclusion?"
The elders were puzzled.
Elder Sun said,
"Sect Master, you were in seclusion?"
Snow Goddess furrowed her brow,
"Yes, why are you asking?"
The library manager asked,
"Then who took all those books from the library?"
The Snow Goddess looked at him blankly,
"Elder Elvis, you are telling me that a bunch of books were taken from the library in my name?"
Elvis was the name of the library manager.
Elder Elvis furrowed his brow,
"Who else could it be then?
I was sure it was you because all of the disciples inside were kicked out..."
Snow Goddess felt it made sense that he thought that way because only she could use the token combined with her sect master token like that...
"What about you, Elder Leta? Don't tell me I used my privilege to take something from the storehouse, too."
Elder Leta, the storehouse manager, nodded,
"Yes, I thought it was you who took the token,
because some items, herbs, and other things were missing that only you had access to..."
"But it wasn't me!"
"What about the experiment on the... You know?"
She said it in a way as if the Snow Goddess was supposed to know what experiment.
"I know what?
Just say it, what experiment?"
Leta was going to say it, but she stopped and looked at the little boy, who was looking at them quietly.
Snow Goddess understood her meaning and told him,
"Cover your ears."
The little boy covered his ears obediently.
Snow Goddess was going to tell Leta to continue,
But she turned to the little boy again and said,
"Look away."
But he only looked at her blankly.
She raised her voice,
"I said, look away!"
But he was still looking at her blankly, as if not only could he not hear a single word, but he couldn't see her talking either.
The Supreme Elder felt that everything this kid did made the air in the hall colder because the Snow Goddess was getting angrier and angrier.
Feeling the chilling cold, she brought out a teacup with hot tea and started drinking while watching the show with interest.
The rest didn't say anything; it was a normal thing for her to do.
Nothing was serious in the eyes of this so-called Supreme Elder.
Snow Goddess was speechless.
'How can he not hear me?'
She shook her head and said,
"Elder Leta, you can say it now."
Elder Leta lowered her voice,
"The experiment on the people in the outer sect city,
the one called 'Second Hole in the Butt.'"
Hearing the name, the Snow Goddess's hand clenched, and another part of her stone chair shattered.
The Supreme Elder spat out her tea.
The little boy looked at them in confusion.
The snow in the hall became heavier.
Snow Goddess gritted her teeth and slammed the round table,
"That wasn't me either!
Who the hell is messing around in my own sect in my name!"
Then she disappeared.
The elders, even the Supreme Elder, were shocked by her speed!
Neither of them saw her leave!
Only a certain little boy was looking at the window in the direction of the outer sect city.
Then he shouted,
"Can I listen now?"
The Supreme Elder, who wondered where her sister had gone to find the culprit, turned to the little boy and said,
"Yes, you can."
But the little boy shouted again,
"Whaaaat?"
The Supreme Elder raised her voice,
"I said you can!"
"Speak louder, I can't hear you!"
The Supreme Elder raised her voice even more,
"I said you can!"
"Whaaat?"
The Supreme Elder shook her head, took out a pen and paper this time, and wrote on it:
'Yes, you can!'
Little Mortal read it and shouted,
"I can what?"
The elders looked at the two and felt something wasn't right.
The Supreme Elder was now really annoyed.
She wrote another sentence:
'You don't need to cover your ears anymore!'
Little Mortal read the note and said,
"I'm only three, how can I read?"
The elders were speechless.
The Supreme Elder froze...
Then she understood what was going on!
This kid was playing with her this whole time!
Little Mortal suddenly froze, too.
He let go of his ears and said,
"Oh, I forgot that I read the first sentence.
But I must say, you, little pinky, are as easy to fool as her!"
Then he started laughing.
The elders' eyes widened in shock!
He just called her pinky?
Easy to fool like her?
Like who?
Then they suddenly found a pattern in his behavior!
'This kid's target changes based on power!
He is targeting the most powerful person around him!'
Elder Leta and Elder Elvis then turned to Elder Sun. He was the next target if the Supreme Elder left, right?
Feeling their gaze, Elder Sun knew what they were thinking and became speechless...
The Supreme Elder couldn't take it anymore!
She stood up and shouted in anger,
"I'll give you a lesson in your mother's place!"
The moment she stood up, Little Mortal leaned back and dived into the snow, which was more than one meter deep now, and disappeared.
The Supreme Elder tried to catch him, but he was already gone!
She tried to find him with her spiritual sense, like all the other three elders in the meeting hall, but none of them could see him!
The elders were astonished,
'How could he just disappear?'
The Supreme Elder was just annoyed, though.
'My master gave him a treasure so he can easily hide, huh?
It must be a treasure from the Immortal World that even I can't detect.
But why would she send this brat down to the cultivation world? I didn't even know that was possible!
Did something happen there?'
While annoyed, she went back to her seat.
The elders were wondering why she was so tolerant toward this little troublemaker.
Was it related to that small statue he gave her?
Seeing them looking at her with questioning eyes,
The Supreme Elder said,
"The statue belonged to my master,
And his recommendation letter was from Sword God's master, not himself."
The three elders felt a mix of shock and enlightenment simultaneously.
So many things just became clear to them!
'So this little kid is their child!
That's why he's fine in this cold!
He's a child born in the Immortal Realm!
And that's why neither the Snow Goddess nor the Supreme Elder has given him a beating until now!
What a little big-shot!
And his black robe must be their idea to give him another layer of protection!
Who dares to touch this group of people with a black robe or impersonate them?'
And like the Supreme Elder, the only question for them was: Why did they send him down here?
Back in her seat, the Supreme Elder was taking a sip of her tea, but suddenly, a head popped out of the snow beside her,
"You still angry!?"
She spat out her tea once again and almost screamed!
It wasn't easy for cultivators to get used to others getting close to them without them noticing.
She wiped the tea from her lips and said in annoyance,
"I'm not angry. Get out of the snow."
Little Mortal went down into the snow again and disappeared.
A moment later, they saw him climbing up the backpack.
Elder Sun looked at him and remembered something he had forgotten entirely.
The feather this kid stuffed into his nose in their first meeting to wake him up!
He remembered that feather had some special fire inside that he couldn't understand or comprehend at all...
'So that was a feather from a bird in the Immortal World?'
He nodded to himself and wondered if he should give it back or not.
The Supreme Elder, in her chair, tried to act like a senior and, while sipping from her teacup, asked,
"So, what's your name?"
Little Mortal pointed at his sect token,
"Sect Master."
"I mean, your real name!"
"Mortal."
The people in the hall raised their eyebrows.
Why would you name your child Mortal while you are in the Immortal World?
But they suddenly thought of a possibility:
'Is it possible that he is...'
The Supreme Elder, to confirm their guess, asked,
"Alright, Little Mortal, what's your spirit root?"
"Don't have one.
Don't need one."
They nodded.
'So that's how it is?
They sent him down here because it was too dangerous for him to be there.
And here, no one can cultivate anymore, so that he won't feel foreign.
Especially if they gave him some treasures from the Immortal World—he's much safer here...
But why is he saying it like it's not a big deal?'
"So, how is my master?"
"Fine."
And the hall became silent again.
Why are his answers so short all of a sudden?
Elder Sun, by his side, asked,
"By the way, Little Sect Master, do you know what kind of bird that feather you woke me up with belongs to?"
Hearing the question, he became excited,
"Elder Sun, let me tell you!
The other day, I went to my big sister's castle to borrow my old buddy!
And guess what happened?"
Elder Sun, who was taken aback by this little kid's change in mood, asked,
"What?"
"A big, fiery bird jumped out of nowhere, looking at me arrogantly!
Anyone who didn't know might've thought it was a guard dog or something!
I looked back at the bird and said to it,
'What are you looking at? You aren't even real; you're a manifestation, little bird!
Go away, or I'll pluck your feathers!'
But the silly bird, who thought it was a real bird, suddenly got angry and tried to peck me!"
The crowd wondered if this kid was always ready to target whoever he saw.
Not even a bird was spared?
And what did he mean by manifested bird? Was that how the Immortal World was? Did they have non-living creatures in castles?
Little Mortal stood up on his backpack and started throwing random punches and kicks,
"So I got angry too!
And then—BAM!—after a left hook, I dodged to the right.
And then—BAM!—another hit, and then I jumped up 100 meters high—no, 1000 meters high! Right! The bird was 1000 meters tall!—and with both legs—BAM BAM!—I kicked it unconscious!
After that, I plucked one of its feathers to teach it a lesson!"
Then, with a snort, he sat back.
The audience wondered what was real and what was fake.
What feather was Elder Sun talking about?
Something from the Immortal World?
And what was he fighting in this story?
He jumped up 1000 meters high to knock it out cold?
While wondering, Elder Sun said,
"Can I keep the feather?"
"Sure."
The elders wanted to ask Elder Sun to show them this legendary feather, but there was a knock on the door.