“Remember what I said about staying neutral?”

Ah? “Not off the top of my head, but if you give me a moment, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” Why’s the ruler talking about staying neutral after I beat up these demons? They were surprisingly weak by the way. Oh! Right! I wasn’t supposed to attack demons, unless…. “They attacked me first!”

“Bullshit!” the lead demon said. He was lying on the ground staring up at me with fear and hatred in his eyes. Of course, he couldn’t do anything about his feelings because his arms and legs were broken. I’m starting to think the problem is with me. I was pretty weak, but then, I went through that process where the ruler improved my meridians. Now, it feels like everyone else I’m fighting is weak. I should go back to the law enforcement chief and ask him for a duel to see if it’s me who got stronger or everyone else who got weaker. I wonder how the chief’s doing. He should’ve recovered from his minor case of food poisoning by now.

“You attacked us first,” another demon said. He was also lying on the ground with his limbs useless. “I have a recording.”

Mm? I’m pretty sure these demons assaulted me first. “Play it.”

The demon grimaced, and two rays of light shot out of his eyes, one for each. They overlapped with each other, forming an image. There was no sound, but it was easy to see what was going on. There was me and five demons. One of the demons opened his mouth; then, the image of me ran forward and gave the demons a beating. After the five demons were rendered incapable of fighting back, the image disappeared. “See?”

“What about the voice recording?” Right. That projection made it seem like I was an aggressive and horrible person. “The only reason I attacked was to defend myself. Your leader insulted me, and everyone knows words hurt more than fists.”

“I wish my words could break all your limbs right now,” the leader of the demons said while still glaring at me.

“Look! He’s threatening me again! Breaking Fist!”

“Gah!” the demon shouted. “How can you attack someone who’s down and defenseless!?”

Mm? How do I attack someone who’s down and defenseless? “Well, it’s certainly easier than attacking someone who can fight back. If you can’t hit a helpless person who can’t move, I really don’t know what to tell you.” Ah? What’s this? It’s been a while since I’ve planted a heart devil in anyone! I almost forgot what it felt like.

Bang!

What was that? A fist just came through the wall beside the door! There was an explosion, and the wall exploded, most of the bricks and internal parts flying inward. A group of people dressed in sunny robes came into view. Didn’t the ruler say they weren’t chasing me? Why are they here now?

“Don’t look at me with those eyes,” the ruler said. “They really didn’t chase you when you fled, but you’re at the only point of interest within a short range of the entrance. Even if you weren’t here, they’d still come.”

“Big Elder Fluffytail,” a woman said. From her position at the front of the group, she looked like the leader of the Burning Sun Sect members. “This junior is Mu Yin. I’m afraid I’ll have to be impolite and ask you to leave.”

Mm? Wasn’t I supposed to be treated with great respect?

“She’s looking down on you because you fled earlier,” the ruler whispered at me. “If you stayed and reasoned things out, she wouldn’t have thought you were weaker than her. Humans are good at spotting weak people to pick on; they do it all the time amongst themselves.”

Why did I run then? “Am I weaker than her?”

“Yes. You’ve only come into contact with spiritual energy for two weeks,” the ruler said. “You can beat newly ascended immortals without breaking a sweat, but that doesn’t change the fact you don’t have enough experience with manipulating spiritual energy yet. It’s like asking a child to fight an adult. Even if the child has a stick and the adult is unarmed, the adult still has a huge advantage.”

“So?” the serious-looking woman from the Blazing Sun Sect asked. “Are you leaving, or do I have to show you the difference between humans and beasts?”

Difference between humans and beasts, eh? I’ve met plenty of people like this before when I was still slaving away in the army. I might not be able to beat her in a head-on confrontation like the ruler said, but that doesn’t mean I can’t win in any other way. After all, Ilya has me doing stuff for her all the time, and I’m much stronger than her. Even an absolute difference in strength like the one between Ilya and I can be overcome by using one’s brain! How does Ilya manipulate me…? “If you let me stay, I’ll give you a cookie.”

The serious-looking woman frowned. It was so deep that it looked like her forehead was frowning too. “By insulting me, do you wish for me to attack you? The White-furred Tyrant might be your master, but she’s not here right now, is she? I think you should”—

Loud coughing sounds came from one of the people standing behind the woman. Wasn’t that the person I robbed and stripped? His buddies are pretty generous, giving him another set of clothes. They even gave him a spare interspatial ring! Unless he had that ring hidden away? Mm, I checked him pretty thoroughly, so it’s most likely not his. “Senior Mu, the White-furred Tyrant wouldn’t allow her disciple to go around without a bodyguard,” the man said and glanced at the ruler.

The serious-looking woman glanced at the ruler as well. “No matter how resounding the legends of Atlantis are, shouldn’t a pregnant woman be resting at home instead of wandering around out here?” Then, the woman looked at me. “For her sake, I’ll let you off this time. Hurry up and go.”