CHAPTER 46: ACCEPTANCE - II

"Why me?"

The old man’s voice was loud and solemn, yet at the same time, soft and calm. Even without raising his head, Lucian could sense the growing heaviness around his neck.

If he wasn’t aware of the situation, he would naturally think the pressure being inflicted on his neck was foreign hostility. Even in a crowd of such powerful elders, Lucian would hesitate to think that someone was after his life. Since over the years, the Feng clan had lost even the slightest of its glory and had fallen to the point that the world had turned its back against the clan.

The condition had become so severe that it wasn’t wrong to say that the Fengs had been barely surviving due to their limited funds. The most evident proof was this same ceremony.

Usually, when a child reaches the age-of-ceremony, it is said to be the greatest celebration in one’s family. Normally, thousands of gold and silver nyangs are spent in order to make sure the ceremony is held extravagantly. The major clans were said to have gone to the extent of inviting the entire world at their expense.

And here the Fengs were, hosting their ceremony on the narrow street before their house without even a single bit of decoration. In a way, that itself was a humiliation to both Feng Liang and Feng Yue. To not be able to fund their child’s biggest day, how miserable their condition had to be?

Yet, their expressions said otherwise. Seeing their smiling faces, Lucian had already heard the faintly whispering murmurs, "How shameless could they be? They call this a ceremony? I’d rather die than humiliate myself and others."

Though he couldn’t suppress such thoughts due to his pitiful strength, Lucian didn’t really mind their bickering either. Why? Because he didn’t care at all.

To him, this world wasn’t real anyway. Whatever happened within this world, Lucian didn’t care. What he cared for was to make sure he lived till the end while keeping the other participants of the gate in check.

"Forgive me for being pretentious; however, I have chosen you purely on instincts. Something inside of me is telling me to never make an enemy out of you. And I believe that it is better to keep such people close." He said in a steady voice.

Hearing his response, the crowd frowned. Long, deep lines formed over the foreheads of the elders as they raised an eyebrow in confusion. In that instance, a single thought flickered through everyone’s mind as they rethought about the child’s words.

"That man is someone that child doesn’t wish to see as an enemy? Then what about us? Does that man seem more powerful in that child’s eyes?"

Unknowingly, the crowd seemed to have gotten much more affected by Lucian’s words than he had anticipated. The fact that such a bright child had challenged and then ignored their presence had been pressing over their mind since before. Although they had briefly forgotten about it after being surprised by the child’s intelligence, Lucian’s words only gave more in to their growing rage.

Many elders and the hot-blooded youngsters grunted in silence as veins bulged over their foreheads in anger. If they could, they’d have already slain the ill-tempered child in the name of discipline.

However, they couldn’t afford to do so in the presence of tens of masters who stood on equal footing as them. In the worst cases, they might cause further trouble for their sect, causing them to be tortured by their own sects.

Their eyes, alongside Feng Tian’s parents, were stuck to the old man’s figure. His face still inhabited the indifferent expressions from before. Despite hearing Lucian’s response, he seemed lost in thoughts.

Slowly, he raised his head and looked towards the dimming sky. His eyes, even in dark, seemed just as bright almost as if they were emitting a certain glow.

"Hmmm..." After a few moments, he lowered his gaze towards the child once again. "Fine." He said, closing his eyes.

Hearing this, Lucian was delighted as he quickly raised his head and smiled towards the old man. Almost immediately, he lowered his head once again and yelled, "Thank you, master!" at the top of his lungs.

Seeing the entire scene unfold, the parents finally sighed with relief as a sense of happiness washed over their worried faces. While the crowd that had been eyeing this young talent for their personal gains grunted in spite. Their eyes had changed once again. Envy, greed, and pride oozed off their gazes, but Lucian didn’t care.

He could already tell that he had struck gold. Just that, it was covered in mud as if someone had deliberately tried to hide their essence. Now whether it was someone else’s doing or the gold’s, he’d know only with time.

But for once, he seemed happy that the man had agreed. His eyes, however, darted from one direction to the other as if he was looking for something.

*Ding!*

The sharp system notification softly chimed into Lucian’s mind, catching his attention in an instant. Looking at the slowly materializing system window in the air, he couldn’t help but smirk since he might receive his confirmation sooner than he intended.

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[#~System Notification~#]

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[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the coming-of-age ceremony!]

[You have successfully formed a new formal relationship of fate.]

└ [The ’Familiarity Tab’ has been updated!]

[The minimum conditions have been met!]

[The very first seal of the system is being removed.]

[Unsealing... Success!]

[New information has appeared over the ’Status’.]

[The ’Task Tab’ has been unlocked! Checking for any new tasks...]

[The ’Familiarity Tab’ has been unlocked! You may now access it whenever you want.]

[Additionally, a random function will be unlocked from the system.]

[Choosing at random...]

[Congratulations! The ’Daily Sign-in’ function has been unlocked!]

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Lucian couldn’t be any happier. At last, his cheat system was back. And now, he even had someone to call his master. Lucian truly felt somewhat overwhelmed yet extremely relieved at the same time.

However, his relief didn’t last long. Since the system decided to drop the bomb right as he was celebrating the moment.

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[The ’Main Quest’ for clearing the gate has been revealed!]

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