Monster Fusion:The Path of Infinite Cultivation
Chapter 35: Fee

Chapter 35: Fee

One Month Later

"You have a Heavenly Pride Body just from afar, I can tell. Eyes of jade, an absolute heavenly talent! A once-in-a-million-years genius, and such talent can only truly shine in my Blue Butterfly Sect!"

Ray licked his lips, one hand resting against the wall.

Between him and the wall stood a young girl, her eyes wide, her body slightly trembling. She looked like she wanted to cry.

"W-Who are you, brother?" she asked hesitantly.

She had just arrived in Melody City to participate in the Disciple Meet, a grand opportunity to join one of the great sects. But out of nowhere, this creepy guy appeared and started praising her like a lunatic.

"I am Ray." He pointed at his face with exaggerated pride. "The greatest Vice Sect Leader of the Blue Butterfly Sect personally here to recruit talents today!"

"You’re very lucky to have caught my eye! I can make you shine!"

With a dramatic spin, Ray grinned, flashing his pearly white teeth.

The girl’s expression froze.

"Vice... leader?"

Her gaze drifted from his face to his ragged robes, then down to his shoes.

Her lips twitched.

Then, shaking her head, she muttered, "If the Vice Sect Leader is like this... I’m concerned."

Without another word, she turned on her heels and walked away.

"Hmph! Creep."

Ray stood frozen, hand still pointing at himself.

Munch. Munch.

The sound of dumplings being chewed reached his ears.

"Where’s that confidence now?" Nyxiel mocked, popping another dumpling into her mouth. "If you keep waving your hands around like that, the sect will be full of useless disciples."

Ray clenched his jaw.

"That was your seventeenth attempt." Nyxiel snorted, watching him struggle with his pride. "And believe me you look more like a pimp than a Vice Sect Leader."

"You—!"

Ray nearly exploded, but then his frustration boiled over into exasperation.

"If this sect wasn’t so damn useless, I wouldn’t have to" He abruptly stopped, then suddenly shouted into the air, "AND WHO THE HELL NAMED THE SECT BLUE BUTTERFLY?!"

Heads turned.

People in elegant sect robes, disciples, elders everyone in the vicinity paused.

Nyxiel immediately grabbed Ray by the collar, yanking him down.

"Shut up, you idiot!" she hissed through gritted teeth. "People from big sects are here! And disciples! Stop making a bad impression!"

Ray rolled his eyes, muttering, "Yeah, yeah. Not like we have high chances of getting recruits anyway"

Still, he lowered his voice and shut up.

"Come on," Nyxiel said, dusting off her robes. "The main event is starting soon. We need to put up our sect board for recruitment."

With a smirk, she rubbed her hands together.

Ray sighed but followed as they made their way toward the center stage, where the crowd was growing denser.

Disciples and elders in various colored robes filled the area, each representing their respective sects.

And soon the Disciple Meet would begin.

Just as Nyxiel and Ray were making their way through the crowded plaza, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"You two stop right there!"

Both of them halted, turning to the side in confusion.

A man clad in dark blue robes, gripping a spear, blocked their path. His expression was neutral, but his stance was firm.

"Uhh... you are?" Ray asked, tilting his head.

"I’m a guard here," the man replied flatly.

"okay i guess?" Nyxiel raised a brow.

The guard ignored her reaction and continued, his tone unwavering.

"You two aren’t here as disciples looking to join a sect, right?"

Ray smirked, puffing out his chest.

"Of course not!" He placed his hands behind his back. "We’re from the Blue Butterfly Sect I am its Vice Sect Leader, and we are here for disciple recruitment!"

The guard blinked.

"...Never heard of it."

His tone was as indifferent as before, showing zero interest. He only shook his head slightly.

Nyxiel sighed, already expecting this reaction.

"Anyway," the guard continued, "before you enter, you’ll need to pay ten spiritual stones each."

Ray’s confident smile twitched.

"Excuse me, what?"

"Entry fee," the guard repeated, tapping his spear lightly against the ground. "Ten spiritual stones per person. Standard rule."

Nyxiel froze.

Ray’s blinked.

"...Since when?!"

The guard crossed his arms. "Since always. Everyone entering must pay. Standard procedure."

Nyxiel and Ray exchanged looks.

being rushed.

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"You charge an entry fee from everyone?" Ray raised a brow, his eyes flickering to the crowd casually walking past the guards without a second glance.

The guard scoffed. "Of course not. Disciples and members of the top three sects of Wenghai City don’t need to pay. This event is hosted by them, after all, and their combined contributions cover the costs."

His gaze shifted back to them.

"Anyone outside these sects must pay. Of course, if you’re at the same level as those three-star sects, you can enter freely." The guard then looked them up and down.

"But you guys? Umm... yeah, just pay up."

He shrugged, tapping his spear against the ground, clearly not expecting any resistance.

Nyxiel stood there silently.

Her fists clenched.

"This is disrespect."

Her voice was sharp, but her face remained eerily calm.

"Clear disrespect."

The guard didn’t even glance at them properly. There wasn’t an ounce of acknowledgment in his expression.

"The rules of cultivation have never worked like this. If disrespected"

Her eyes darkened.

"the only response is to eliminate the disrespectful."

She took a step forward.

Just as she was about to make her move, a firm hand landed on her shoulder.

"Here."

Ray tossed twenty spiritual stones toward the guard, his face void of any expression.

The guard caught them, blinking.

"There. Take it." Ray’s voice was cold. "And remember if we get stopped again inside, there will be consequences."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked forward.

Nyxiel quickened her pace to catch up, a faint glint of surprise flickering across her face.

Behind them, the guard’s voice called out, "Remember, you can only recruit ten disciples at most. If you want more, you’ll have to get approval from the top three sects and pay an extra fee."

He happily stuffed the spiritual stones into his pocket, grinning to himself.

"Heh... rich people. I only asked for ten." He chuckled, turning away.

Ray and Nyxiel, however, didn’t spare him another glance.

After a brief silence, Nyxiel smirked.

"And here I thought you’d beat that guy up for disrespecting the high and mighty Vice Sect Leader."

She had spent almost a month with this guy, long enough to understand most of his personality.

Ray was definitely someone who hated being looked down upon his arrogance wasn’t just an act, it was ingrained in his very bones.

Even though she had witnessed his mediocre cultivation speed firsthand, she knew one thing Ray was hiding a lot of secrets.

There was something about him she couldn’t fully grasp.

She studied him carefully.

"Didn’t think you’d hand over the spirit stones so easily," she said, tilting her head. "I was expecting you to get all arrogant and shout, ’How dare you stop this young master?!’"

She even mimicked Ray’s voice dramatically, exaggerating his usual confidence.

Ray didn’t even glance at her.

"Why would I fight someone weaker than me?" he asked plainly. "He’s just a guard. If I, as a Vice Sect Leader, fight him, wouldn’t that mean I’m putting myself on the same level as him?"

His pace remained steady as he continued walking.

"I would rather fight an Emperor as a mortal than waste my time fighting a mere guard."

Nyxiel blinked.

"..."

And here she thought he wasn’t being arrogant.

She sighed, shaking her head before smirking.

"Taking a higher-level enemy as an equal while completely ignoring the weak, huh?" She chuckled. "I like the way you think."

"Leave it," Ray said dismissively. "So what now? How do we recruit people?"

His eyes swept across the massive stadium ahead.

The closer they got, the clearer the sight became—giant stone statues towering over the central area, where countless sects had already set up their stands for recruitment.

Ray turned to Nyxiel.

"We’re almost at the central point," he said. "What do we do now?"

Of course, he had no clue how the disciple recruitment process worked in this place.

Nyxiel sighed.

"What do you mean, ’What do we do?!’ Obviously, we set up a stall for our sect!"

Ray frowned slightly.

"A stall?"

Nyxiel grinned, already rubbing her hands together.

"Yeah. Let’s make Blue Butterfly Sect look grand... or at least, convincing."

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