(MC POV)
"Hey... You're acting real cocky there aren't you?"
Of course, some people who weren't happy they lost a lot of money from the tournament came to stop me the moment I left the viewing gallery.
And by some, I mean a really big group of them, even Trash Qing was part of the group.
I tilted my head at the old man who addressed me, "Cocky? If you haven't noticed, I've been pretty much keeping to myself. It's you people who have been constantly disturbing me, no?"
"Do you even understand the situation you're in?!"
"Ah, of course I do. I'm about to be very rich from possibly being one of the few people who bet on my disciples to win this tournament."
Several of them started cracking their knuckles to try and intimidate me.
"Listen here. We're all willing to let this be water under the bridge if you agree to give away your winnings to all of us. Otherwise, you might not even live to see that money handed to you, understand?"
I feigned surprise, "Oh? Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise."
"In that case, I promise you that if all of you don't back away right now, everyone of you will find that your standing in this Plane is going to hit rock bottom very, very soon."
"You really have balls, young man. Gathered in front of you are the top Practitioners in this Plane, all of us holding influence that can move the entire Plane if we wanted to. You're telling us that we will drop to the bottom just by going against you?"
"Yes."
"Are you not aware that you can be killed right now?"
I tilted my head, "Who is going to kill me? You?"
"All of us if you aren't going to hand over the money!"
The others started shouting out words of agreement, a few of them even brandishing weapons at me.
Damn, all this just for some cash they lost, gambling is scary.
I looked around with an amused grin, "I suppose everyone here is of the same opinion and no one is here because they were coerced to?"
"What the hell are you talking about?! Just give us back our money!"
"Yeah! You lying cheat!"
"Give it back or we'll break your neck!"
They're even acting as though I've stolen it huh?
I waved my hand at them, "Is this the kind of attitude you guys should be showing in front of the gods? I'm sure they would be very disappointed if they were to see this, right?"
"Ha, you think you're important enough for the Gods to even pay attention to you?! There's a limit to being delusional!" The old man roared while shaking his fist at me.
"Is that so? Hmm... In that case, could you all just make a list of who you are so I can keep track? Would hate it if people unrelated to this suddenly show up and get a cut of the money, right?"
They started nodding their heads and a paper was quickly passed around, each of them writing down their names and the Sect they belonged to.
The paper was passed back to me and the old man who called me out earlier even clapped me on the shoulder, "It's good that you saw sense, young man. You have a bright future ahead of you."
Seriously? They're really letting this go and even giving me their names that easily? No wonder all of them got scammed.
I looked down at the paper, then back at them, then back at the paper again.
I'm still having trouble comprehending their sheer stupidity in this.
"They really are kind of dumb, aren't they, Master?" Xun Guan whispered in my ear.
Right as I was thinking of how I should react to this, a messenger boy ran up towards us, completely out of breath.
"Ma... Mas... Master Lin... Huff huff... The... The Gods... The Gods..."
I raised my hand, "Breathe boy. Seriously. No one can understand you while you are like that."
He huffed a few more times before sucking in a lungful of air, "The Gods... They are asking for your presence on the stage, Master Lin! Your disciples are also waiting there!"
The old man smirked at me, "I suppose this is the only way the Gods would actually pay attention to you, to expose you of your lies and deceit! It would be nice to see you grovelling at their feet!"
I smiled back at him, "In that case, shouldn't all of you go back to your seats? It would be a shame if you were to miss out on such a good show right?"
"Ahahaha! He's right! Let's go, everyone! We can collect the money from him later!"
The others roared with laughter and followed behind the old man, a few of them spitting at my feet to show their disdain.
It really feels like I'm dealing with a bunch of kids or something.
The messenger boy however, was looking especially afraid which was not what I expected.
Only when everyone else was gone did I turn back to the boy, "I'm surprised you weren't acting like them."
He panicked, "I... I'm just a messenger for the Gods, Master Lin... They instructed me not to slight you or I will cease to exist..."
"Hmm... Interesting for them to specifically tell you that. Very well, lead the way."
The boy turned around and marched robotically back towards the arena. Along the way, we also passed by a few other Practitioners who watched me walk past with scorn clear on their faces. Some of them were openly jeering and laughing at me.
I'm guessing the group from before had told them what they thought was going to happen to me, so everyone was taking the chance to ridicule me even more.
I have now come to the conclusion that the average IQ of this Plane is far below the average compared to other Planes. Is this a side effect of having gods around? Do they suck up other people's IQ or something? Ok, that's just ridiculous.
I eventually reached the entrance of the arena where my girls were already waiting for me, all three of them rushing to me the moment they saw me.
"Master!! We did it!"
I patted their heads, "Well done. Did you feel any different during the tournament?"
"Yes! It was faint, but I felt a little of the Divine energy coursing through my body when I was using my Technique! I think I can understand how to make use of them now! As expected of Master!" Lian Li answered immediately.
Manami and Kiyomi also confirmed her words which made me pat them again.
It's an obvious outcome after all, since there's so many gods literally a few steps away from them, it's hard not to be affected by the Divine aura they were giving out which helps them comprehend their own divinity easier.
"The Gods asked to see Master though, is there a problem?" Kiyomi asked, looking a little concerned.
I chuckled, "Well, let's go find out what they want, shall we?"
With my girls at my sides, I stepped up onto the stage, prepared for what was about to happen next.
