Chapter 12: Making a Name for Himself, Possessed by a Best Actor

The matter with the Thubron family finally came to an end. The clan members carried Christian Thubron's corpse back to the Thubron family and hung his head high on the walls of Greenspire City. Byron Cutmore used up the lottery draws he had saved over the past two days. After seeing there was nothing worth mentioning, he took Goldie and left the sect again. This time, Byron Cutmore had a clear goal: he was heading to Greenspire City to take in disciples. In Greenspire City, the Thubron family was the sky itself. Even along the East Sea Coast, they counted as a major power with real influence. Yet their patriarch had died right at the gates of the newborn Skysoar Sect. That was practically a god-tier advertisement for Skysoar Sect. When Byron Cutmore reached the city gates, Christian Thubron's head was already hanging there, high above the crowd. "Kylian's still too softhearted," Byron Cutmore muttered. "Those Thubron family dogs wanted you dead, and you still let them walk away…" He narrowed his eyes. "Fine. Your master will clean up after you." Byron Cutmore rubbed Goldie's head and gave a quiet order. "Goldie. This one's on you." Goldie, "Woof!" After soaking hard in the Bloodline Immortal Pool and stuffing himself with two days' worth of dog food from the system lottery, Goldie's cultivation surged again. He broke through three realms in a row and reached the eighth level of Meridian Opening. In Greenspire City, Goldie could swagger wherever he pleased. Watching Goldie sprint off, Byron Cutmore strolled down the main street and couldn't help sighing, "The Thubron family ran this city decently enough." Once he reached the bustling market district, he finally heard the kind of talk he had been waiting for. A crowd had gathered, voices rising and falling. "The Thubron family ruled Greenspire City for years. They weren't too bad, all things considered. Who would've thought Patriarch Christian would die?" "You don't know the real story. Christian Thubron got what he deserved!" "Oh? You know something? Spit it out!" "Ha! Fine, fine. I'll tell you all." The speaker puffed up with pride. "My third uncle's cousin's thirteenth aunt is sworn brothers with Christian Thubron's brother, Christian Thubron's brother, Christian Thubron's brother… anyway, this news is absolutely true!" He was surrounded on all sides, talking with such vivid conviction it sounded like he had witnessed everything himself. "That Christian Thubron was a monster. He even dared to eat people! And not strangers either. He ate his own clan!" "Exactly! Good thing someone from Skysoar Sect stepped in. Otherwise, Christian Thubron would've eaten every last person in the Thubron family!" "Skysoar Sect? Never heard of it." "Probably a new sect. But from the looks of it, they're terrifyingly strong." "Strong or not, what's the point? In the end, they'll still get eaten by Sea Beasts." "That's the truth. Plenty of powerful sects have tried before. In the end, they all died out." Byron Cutmore listened closely, but the direction of the conversation started to feel… wrong. These people still had no intention of joining Skysoar Sect? He hurriedly slipped into the circle, pretending to be just another ordinary man. "If you ask me, Skysoar Sect can definitely solve the Sea Beast riots," Byron Cutmore said, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "A few days ago, I went into the mountains to hunt. Without realizing it, I wandered right up to Skysoar Sect's gates." "You know what happened?" The crowd's curiosity ignited instantly. They were all mortals, endlessly fascinated by cultivation. The moment someone claimed to have seen a sect with his own eyes, their gazes turned scorching, hungry. Everyone had imagined soaring through the skies and splitting the earth with their hands. But Sea Beasts hunted cultivators in particular, and fear kept most people from ever stepping onto that path. Even the man who had been telling stories earlier leaned in, eyes bright. "Brother, what's Skysoar Sect like? Tell everyone!" To blend in, Byron Cutmore slipped fully into his role, like a best actor taking the stage. "Heh. I'm just a rough guy," he said with a sheepish grin. "All I know is, that sect was insane." "The gates were wide open. Mist and clouds swirled everywhere. The peaks inside towered into the heavens, and spiritual light shot straight up like a pillar. I even saw someone flying in the sky with my own eyes!" All around him, people practically strained their ears. "What? Flying? Damn!" "That's not human. That's an immortal!" "Right, right! I heard my third uncle's cousin's thirteenth aunt say it too. Once you reach a certain realm, you can fly! That has to be an immortal!" They had seen cultivators before, sure. But they had never seen a cultivator fly. The moment they heard it, they decided Skysoar Sect housed immortals. "So the sect is really that strong?" Byron Cutmore kept fanning the flames. "Of course it is. I was watching, completely mesmerized. I guess one of the immortals inside noticed me, because mist suddenly rose all around me. When it cleared… take a guess what happened." "They brought you into the sect?" "What's it like inside Skysoar Sect?" Byron Cutmore gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "An immortal would never let someone like me in. When the mist cleared, I realized I was back in Greenspire City." "I'd walked two whole days to reach their gates. But they sent me back in less than fifteen minutes!" The crowd sucked in a collective breath. "What? Two days, and they returned you in less than fifteen minutes? That's an immortal's magic?" "That's ridiculous! If I learned magic, I could go sell goods in the prefecture city. A round trip that takes a month would be done in half a day!" "Eldest Brother, you want magic just to sell goods? That's small-minded." "If I learned magic, I'd visit every brothel in the world!" "Pah! You shameless lecher! If I had magic…" They all talked over one another, dreaming out loud about what they would do with immortal arts. Byron Cutmore only stood to the side, smiling as he listened. Then, a scream tore through Greenspire City, shaking the air. "Ah! Disaster! The Thubron family got wiped out by a dog!" The words detonated across the city. "What? A single dog exterminated the Thubron family?" "Go, go, go! Maybe it's Skysoar Sect's Divine Hound!" People surged toward the Thubron family estate. Byron Cutmore smiled faintly and ran with the crowd. At the entrance, Goldie sat atop the main gate like a conquering general, posture proud and imposing, radiating a ferocious aura. Byron Cutmore seized the moment and shouted, "No way! It really is Skysoar Sect's Divine Hound! I told you, I saw a yellow dog in Skysoar Sect that day!" The residents of Greenspire City went even crazier. "One dog wiped out the entire Thubron family? That's brutal!" "If that's true, I'm willing to go to Skysoar Sect and be a dog!" "…" While they gawked and gasped, Goldie leapt down from the gate and bolted toward the outskirts. Byron Cutmore quietly slipped away from the crowd. Back at the city gates, Goldie emerged from a shadowed corner, swaggering over with pure smug satisfaction written all over his face. Byron Cutmore chuckled, took out two pellets of dog food, and tossed them to him. Just as man and dog were about to leave the city- Greenspire City suddenly began to shake violently. What was happening? An earthquake? Could Mystpeak Continent even have earthquakes? Byron Cutmore frowned, baffled. In more than twenty years since his transmigration, he had never encountered one. Goldie bared his teeth, staring outside the walls with fierce focus as he barked at the top of his lungs. "Woof, woof, woof, woof!" The residents at the gate reacted instantly, faces draining of color. "Sea Beasts are attacking the city! Everyone, take cover!"