[Congratulations, the host has pulled an Epic-ranked character: Dark Assassin, Li Jian.]
Among the ten notifications floating in front of him, Hong Wei was staring at a single one, his feelings complicated.
He was naturally happy to have pulled an Epic-ranked character. But… perhaps because he had higher expectations this time, he felt just a little disappointed.
Was this really the limit of his luck?
Or… was it because his mother's blessing wasn't sincere enough?
While Hong Wei's thoughts wandered, in the end, he decided to be content with what he got.
If there was cash he could spend to draw better characters, that would be one thing. But unfortunately, this was the cultivation world, and his gacha system didn't accept cash money in exchange for more draws. So, he had to learn to be satisfied and content with what was given to him for free.
With that thought, he finally stepped out of his room and walked to Seren's side.
"Call Lu Fan out. I'm going out with Shan Mei," he said.
Seren nodded. And so, Hong Wei called Shan Mei before heading out.
Who was Lu Fan? And why did he ask Seren to call him?
One might wonder.
But the answer was simple, Lu Fan was one of the characters Hong Wei had drawn.
He was a scholar, and though he was only of Common rank, Hong Wei had appointed him as the representative of his people within the town.
After all, Hong Wei didn't want to explain things every single time he summoned someone new. He needed someone to guide the freshly summoned characters.
Was that all?
Naturally not.
Hong Wei had realized that, with the number of people under him steadily growing, he needed someone to manage them. If they had requests, deliveries, or any number of matters to handle… well, all of it took time. And Hong Wei, focused on cultivating his martial path, didn't want to waste precious time on such tasks.
So, the responsibility fell to Lu Fan.
The person managing the influx of new arrivals had to be smart, and Lu Fan was the best candidate he had.
But… what Hong Wei truly wanted was someone who had both brains and power. Unfortunately, he hadn't summoned anyone like that yet.
And it felt like a waste to assign his only cultivator to handle common matters among mortals.
Shaking his head at the thought, which still felt too early, considering he only had about thirty people under him, Hong Wei finally arrived at the outskirts of the town.
It was the same place he had used to summon all his characters so far.
And waiting there for him was a high-spirited man in formal robes. He looked like the kind of loyal official who'd give honest advice to the emperor and promptly get executed for it.
"My lord," Lu Fan greeted, bowing deeply as he saw him.
"At ease," Hong Wei replied, then turned to Shan Mei and asked, "The place is safe, right?"
No matter what, he still needed to be careful.
Even if no one followed him, someone could have followed Lu Fan.
Luckily, the area was empty as usual, and so, without hesitation, Hong Wei summoned all ten characters.
As soon as they appeared, every one of them turned their gaze toward him. Then, all at once, they dropped to one knee and shouted:
"Greetings to Lord!"
Their voices boomed so loudly, Hong Wei nearly panicked.
He quickly turned to Shan Mei and asked, "Did anyone nearby seem to have noticed?"
Shan Mei closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment before finally opening them again.
"No, master. Luckily, it went unnoticed."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Hong Wei turned his gaze back to the ten people… no, eleven, counting Lu Fan, all kneeling before him in their own distinct styles.
He wanted to scold them for shouting so loudly. He wanted to ask why Lu Fan suddenly joined in too. But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say anything. So, he sighed once more and said, "Rise."
At last, the ten people stood up. Lu Fan also blinked, finally coming back to reality.
Earlier, his knees had bent almost on their own. And too excited, as it was the first time ten of his lord's people had gathered at once… he had somehow ended up joining them by instinct.
Instead of reminding them that they were supposed to stay undercover in a foreign kingdom that hadn't yet fallen under his lord's command, Lu Fan felt like scolding himself!
In the end, he coughed into his hand, trying to gather everyone's attention. Then, raising his voice, he began to speak.
"Everyone, now that you've joined us, remember—our lord is merciful, and his expectations are few…"
He continued talking, sneaking a bit of praise into nearly every other sentence, while explaining the situation in the town, the surrounding environment, and so on.
Hong Wei, listening to him, felt the urge to facepalm.
In the end, he didn't comment on Lu Fan's speech. Instead, his gaze shifted toward two of the newly summoned characters standing before him.
The Epic-ranked Dark Assassin, Li Jian.
And the Old Cultivator, Guo Shan.
His eyes alternated between the two for a moment, studying them quietly, before they finally settled on Guo Shan. Today was the first time he had discovered that a cultivator could appear even among Uncommon-ranked characters, after all.
Curious, he summoned the old man's status window.
[Name: Guo Shan]
[Lifespan: 68 / 88]
[Cultivation: Qi Refinement Realm, Level Five]
[Cultivation Technique: Basic Qi Gathering Method]
'He's really old,' was the first thought that popped into Hong Wei's mind.
But then, something else struck him… he's at the fifth stage, the same as Shen Feiyu, who was a Rare-ranked character?
That was his second thought.
The realization puzzled him at first, but after thinking it through more carefully, Hong Wei began to understand.
It was about age.
One had more than fifty years of life remaining, while the other had just twenty.
It was about growth.
One, most likely, would not be able to grow much stronger from this point on, while the other still had plenty of room to advance.
Was that all?
Actually, no.