I am the Main Character? No Thanks! (Volume 3): Chapter 6

Author Notes: Well, the Votes are very clear, so I guess we are sticking with the regular membership setting. Anyways, enjoy the chapter. From tomorrow to Saturday, I will be posting two chapters a day since I have the time to write, so I look forward to it!

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It was once a nameless village.

A small settlement at the edge of the Yin Long Empire and bordering on the Great Wilderness.

An unremarkable place filled with either unremarkable mortals or people who wanted to leave their past behind.

And yet, that was no longer the case.

Yan Huo’er could not help but stare in awe as the people of this town went about their lives, carrying great machines laced with undecipherable inscriptions or working on the fields to produce food.

In the distance, colossal buildings lined an entire district of the village turned town, resounding with the clangs of metal on metal and secured with many people guarding the buildings and their secrets.

On the other side, a large length of carts linked together and hovering in the air shot out of and into the town at great speeds, carrying supplies and other goods that were likely to be traded in the large market that dominated the center of the town.

However, the thing that caught the former Mistress of the Crimson Realm Holy Land was the cultivation of all the people in the town.

Nearly all of them, save for the children, were cultivators of one kind or another.

An entire town of cultivators, what kind of a scary thought was that?

Even in the Holy Lands, the majority of the residents were mortals who settled within the lands because the most talented people with the best spirit roots within their ranks were allowed to join the lands as ordinary disciples at most, with only the most exceptional becoming inner or core disciples.

This meant that, even for such powerful forces, the sight of an entire town made of cultivators was a foreign concept.

Granted, most of them were Body Cultivators who could not advance past the Core Formation stage, but still, the point stands.

In fact, even for her two companions, it was a startling sight as the village where they were once humiliated was no longer a village, but instead a bustling town that would not look out of place if it were placed near the Holy Land.

Jin Tianrui, on the other hand, smiled happily at the familiar sight.

“Oh!? Isn’t that little Tianrui? When did you return from your trip!?”

Jin Tianrui turned to the person who called out to him and grinned.

“Old Li! How are you!?”

“Hahaha! As you can see, I am doing quite well.”

The old cultivator returned the hug from the young man before he turned to give a curious look at the three hooded figures, two of whom were trying their best not to attract attention.

“And who are these three?”

“…Oi, you two, reveal your faces.”

“B-But-“

“You want our help or not?”

Under such a direct threat, Yan Xinyan and Yan Liehuo had no choice but to remove their hoods and reveal their identities, making Old Li raise an eyebrow.

“I don’t know if you two are brave or stupid for returning here after Old Feng gave you that ultimatum. But given that little Tianrui has led you here, I guess you have a good reason to be here. What about the other one?”

The two siblings would have fought the old man to death if it were any other time for so casually addressing their mistress, but as powerless Foundation Establishment realm cultivators surrounded by a literal hoard of body cultivators and Qi cultivators, they had no leg to stand on, so they could only keep their mouths shut.

Yan Huo’er removed her own cloak and revealed her true features, which made the old man stare at her with mild surprise.

With a bow, the former mistress of the Crimson Realm Holy Land introduced herself.

“I am Yan Huo’er, the Aunt of Yan Ling-“

“Da Ling. I advise you not to use that old name while you are here, young lady. Little Ling does not take kindly to that old name being used, ever.”

Yan Huo’er simply stayed silent at those words, knowing that she could not let her true feelings be known at this juncture lest she be turned away from help.

However, in her heart, she would always remain stubborn and would only call her niece Yan Ling.

Such was her pride as a descendant of the Yan family of the Crimson Realm Holy Land.

A fact that the old man could clearly see as well as he gave a questioning stare at Jin Tianrui, who replied with a helpless shrug.

“Is Master going to come here any time soon?”

“No. Emperor Da Wei is quite busy with the war effort and is occupied with a lot of things, from what I hear, thanks to his complaining all the time whenever we talk. So I don’t think he will be coming to our town anytime soon. Why do you ask?”

“…I need his advice on how to handle these three.”

“Hmm, in that case, why not go directly to him?”

“You think he will be free enough to see me?”

Old Li gave the young man an amused look.

“For you and little Ling? He will probably chase out the entire court just to hear what you have to say. You know that better than anyone.”

Jin Tianrui could not help but chuckle at the mental image of all those stuffy nobles and martial families being chased out of the Royal Palace just because Da Ling wanted to spend some time with her father or because he wanted to talk with his master.

The image was made all the more funny when he realized that such a scenario would likely happen in reality, given his master’s personality.

With a shake of his head, the young man got rid of that amusing image.

“Well, I guess to the Capital it is. Are there any trains leaving for the Capital today?”

“Yes. I’ll tell them to hold until you get there.”

“Thanks, old man.”

“Oi! I am not that old!”

Jin Tianrui simply laughed at their inside joke and led the three people of the Holy Land with him toward the train.

“…Just what is this place?”

Jin Tianrui could not help but grin at that question before he made an exaggerated gesture with his arms spread out.

“Welcome to my home, the town of Xin. The heart of the Yin Long Empire and the hometown of the current Emperor, Da Wei.”