The Legendary F Rank

Soon night came around, and Haru was still cultivating, using the technique that he had gotten from the mysterious Mansion within his soul ocean. Although he hadn't told anyone about it, as Hong Xia watched him, she began to feel as though there was something radiating from Haru's body.

It was almost as though there was a hidden power within him that no one had seen before. From a single glance, she could tell that the force was eager to escape from within its prison inside Haru's body, yet there was something dragging it back inside just as it began to seep above the surface.

It was like the power Haru contained was a bottomless pit to her as she watched him for some time before realising that they had other arrangements, but as soon as she began to move, Haru slowly opened his eyes, giving them time to adjust before turning back to see her watching him in awe.

"We should head out now. I'm not sure what he wants from us, but one thing is certain, tonight will be the night that we leave this place. Things will get out of hand when the alliance realises that their people are missing. Both of our heads will end up being collector pieces on someone's wall if we don't leave soon." Haru said as he seemed more concerned for her safety than he did his own.

Hong Xia nodded her head as she looked at him with a hint of sadness. She couldn't quite express how she felt since she knew that the whole situation was just as hard on him as it was for her. She was scared for her life at just the thought of a strong force hunting them down in an unfamiliar world.

But Haru was absolutely terrified. Since he had become a cultivator, he had gotten used to relying on people stronger than him to back him up when he was in trouble, but now he had no one.

'Lao. Li Jun. I know that you guys are probably somewhere far away from here and won't be able to hear what I'm about to say, but I want you both to know that I'm grateful for all the guidance you have given to me over the years. I won't let it go to waste. There is no way that I'm dying here no matter what.' Haru thought as he made sure that Hong Xia had everything ready before leaving with her and heading towards the city lords mansion on top of the hill in the middle of the town.

The walk there was both tiresome and exhausting but not physically. The stress from knowing that they would be in danger for the foreseeable future was a heavy burden to have, and both of them were in it together. Although Hong Xia wasn't technically involved, she had nowhere else to go.

If she ran away from Haru, there was a good chance that she would be kidnapped by someone for her beauty and then forced to become someone's wife just like the people from the alliance tried to do to the young girl that was with Annabeth.

She knew that her best chance at survival was to stick with Haru and hope that he could manage to gather as much strength as he possibly could to fight back against anyone that would come looking for them.

As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Hong Xia grabbed hold of Haru's hand and pulled him back a little. As Haru turned around, he could see the look of fear in her eyes before he reached out and placed his hand on her head.

"It's okay. Nothing bad will happen, I promise. At first sight of danger, I will use the spatial rift to get us out of there. Or I could even use it to teleport our enemies somewhere else. It's absolutely fine. Have a little faith in me." Haru said in a soft tone as he wanted her to feel at ease as she was clearly nervous about meeting with Master Chu before leaving the city.

But Haru wanted to hear him out. But it wouldn't be hard to believe if they had set up a trap to catch Haru and hand him over to the alliance for killing their people. It wasn't like he could blame them for it either if they wanted to. They had to keep their own people safe, and Haru and Hong Xia weren't even from their world. 

It would be the natural thing to do the minimise the damage done to them. But he just hoped that they wouldn't do anything like that.

Hong Xia nodded her head after hearing what Haru had to say to her before they both took their first steps up the staircase to the top of them, where they were met by the sight of guards running around all over the place as though something was happening within the Mansion.

Upon being spotted by one of the guards, they called out to Haru and Hong Xia and waved their hands with friendliness before beckoning them over towards him.

"Hey! Are you the two here to meet with Master Chu?" The guard called out as Haru furrowed his brows for a moment as he found it strange that the guards were notified of his arrival, and they didn't seem to be in a formation to capture him.

In fact, it looked as though they were swamped preparing something, but surely they couldn't be planning something against him openly. There was no way that they would be that bold, so he wondered what was really going on. 

"Yeah, we were told to meet him here. Do you know where he is?" Haru asked as he expected an answer from the guard, yet instead, he got an excited look on his face as he practically began to run as he insisted that they followed him inside.

"Come on, this way. Everyone is waiting for you." The guard said as Haru looked at Hong Xia in confusion. He didn't know why anyone would be waiting for him, but there had to be some kind of special event happening to be dividing the guards into many small groups.

Haru and Hong Xia both followed the guard hesitantly as he guided them inside the main building of the Mansion. It was the first time for both of them. Neither of them had set foot within the Mansion, so they didn't know what to expect, but as they entered, it was a pleasant surprise to see that it looked like a regular house.

The decoration was quite extravagant, but that was to be expected with a man of status living within it— he had to show his money off in some sort of way. Or he wouldn't be taken seriously by other people in his same position.

The wooden floors of the Mansion were spotless— not even a single mark or stain from the dirt of people's boots made it onto the ground. It was as though there was a barrier in place to stop that from happening or something of the sort. It was a strange sight to see a house in that immaculate of a state given the time period that the world was in.

But he guessed that the stronger someone was with their cultivation, the more respect they earned and the more gifts that were sent to appease them. He figured that it wouldn't be that abnormal to form an array that could keep things from getting dirty. He was just yet to learn it, that's all.

Hong Xia was mesmerising by her surroundings. Her house back on earth was extravagant given the fact that she was from one of the imperial families, yet it was nothing in comparison to this. The number of artefacts, cultivation tools and weapons hanging from walls and in special carbonates was enough to make her jealous. 

She could sense the Qi emitting from some of the items there, and everything— despite being right in front of her, had a strange out of reach feeling to her as though the objects themselves were laughing in her face saying she would never have anything like that. It was indeed a sight to behold and the source of envy for a lot of people.

But neither of that concerned either of them as they were there for a reason. They were still nervous about what was going to happen with them, but the happiness on the guard's face as he eagerly guided them seemed all too real to be just an act before leading them to their deaths.

As the guard reached the end of the corridor with Haru and Hong Xia behind him, he paused for a moment before opening a large set of double doors made from a red-stained cedar tree. 

The doors opened smoothly, gliding on their hinges as though they were freshly oiled, yet there was no residue. It seemed like another array or maybe just master craftsmanship at work. Haru and Hong Xia held their breaths as they were unsure as to what they were about to walk into. But as the door opened, they were hit by a blinding white light for a moment that caught them both of guard as an eerie silence emphasised the blindness experienced as the door opened. Only to be broken by Master Chu's voice.

"Haru, welcome. I'm glad you came." He called out in a friendly tone. As two sets of eyes fell upon his face with intense stairs before his sight returned to him, revealing two bearded men sitting beside Master Chu at one side of a gigantic hall.