A Chaotic World

Chapter 275: Fame and Pressure

Elder Ximo did not bother hiding his tracks when he visited them at the inn. In fact, he had even made quite a huge showing on purpose, ordering the innkeeper to clear out some space for them to have breakfast in comfort.

After all, he was here to apologise for the previous day, and he needed to convince Nanlan Qianxue of his sincerity.

With this visit from an elder of the Healer Circle, it was inevitable that many people would start noticing Lu Tianzi's group.

The day had yet to pass and the news was already spreading, stating that the late Elder Beichang of the Healer Circle had a student who would be participating in the upcoming Healers' Meet for the first time. This student of his might just be an Essence Building realm martial artist, but he actually had very close ties with Elder Ximo of the Healer Circle. In the span of two days, this Beiwei Jinguo had already met Elder Ximo twice!

What sort of character was an elder of the Healer Circle?

To have Elder Ximo visit him time and again, nobody could question the close relationship between the two!

This piece of news spread quickly among the poison masters of Wondertrap Mountain, all of whom had their own ways to collect intelligence.

It did not take long for Lu Tianzi's group to get wind of this as well.

After walking around the open markets for the day, they were having tea at a small restaurant when Lu Tianzi first overheard the customers at the next table mention Beiwei Jinguo's name.

"Sounds like you are pretty famous around here, Brother Jinguo," Lu Tianzi smirked.

"Me? Famous?" Beiwei Jinguo laughed it off. "Stop joking, Brother Tianzi. How is that even possible?"

"Why don't you listen for yourself?" Lu Tianzi gestured towards the next table with a slight movement of his head.

Wondering why Lu Tianzi was saying that all of a sudden, Beiwei Jinguo perked up his ears in curiosity.

At the next table was a young couple who looked to be in their late teens, both of whom were at the Intermediate Essence Building realm.

"I don't really know of this Elder Beichang, is he very formidable?" the young lady asked.

"I don't know much about him either. But according to the rumours, his poison arts were one of the greatest among the elders of the Healer Circle. Some even say that had he not left the Healer Circle back then, he might have been appointed as the leader by now!" the young man answered enthusiastically.

"Are you sure about that? I heard that the current Elder Xiquan is the greatest leader that the Healer Circle ever had! I can't imagine someone ever taking his place."

"That just goes to show how incredible this Elder Beichang is! To be able to match even the current Elder Xiquan, how incredible is that?"

Listening up to here, Beiwei Jinguo could not help but feel some warmth in his heart. To hear his teacher's name being mentioned by strangers in a good light made him feel infinitely proud.

That's right, his teacher really is an incredible person!

"If what you say is true, then we really have to look out for this Beiwei Jinguo during the upcoming Healers' Meet!"

"Mm, there must be a reason why Elder Ximo has been spotted visiting him twice in two consecutive days. As if his identity as Elder Beichang's student is not enough, I'm sure Elder Ximo must have surely given him some pointers regarding the upcoming Healers' Meet as well. We definitely cannot let our guard down if we were to encounter him."

"Got it! Since he is now one of the favourites for the Healers' Meet, there's no way that I will treat him lightly. Who knows? If we go all out, we might even be able to beat him!"

Cough-! Cough-!

Beiwei Jinguo almost choked on his own saliva.

Shit! How did these two people find that he met Elder Ximo twice in these two days?

And what did they mean he is one of the favourites for the Healers' Meet?

Since when did that happen?!

"I don't think the elders would have gone around telling others," Lu Tianzi voiced out his thoughts. "It is probably the three students from yesterday who told others of your relationship to Elder Beichang. As for our encounters with Elder Ximo, he is far too prominent for others not to notice the places he went and the people he talked to. It is inevitable that there will be eye witnesses."

Beiwei Jinguo let out a helpless sigh.

Just because of that, he had now become the target of others in the Healers' Meet.

There were still six days left before the main event. If this piece of news could spread to these two strangers in just a day's time, by the end of the week, this piece of news would surely have spread to every single person around!

Still, it seemed that at least his face was not widely known yet. Otherwise, the young couple was unlikely to discuss the matter so openly at just the next table.

"Wait, isn't that him?" a middle-aged man exclaimed from near the entrance of the restaurant.

Beiwei Jinguo immediately felt a bad premonition.

"You're right! It really is that famous Beiwei Jinguo! Let's go introduce ourselves!" his companion replied him excitedly.

The two strangers did as they said. Within moments, they were already standing right before Beiwei Jinguo.

"Sir Beiwei, what a surprise to see you here!"

"My name is Qin, and my friend here is named Lin. If you don't mind, can we join you at this table?"

The two men did not keep their volumes down at all, introducing themselves at the top of their voice as though they were afraid that Beiwei Jinguo would not be able to hear them otherwise.

Because of that, their words easily drew the attention of everyone.

"Wait, so he is Beiwei Jinguo?"

"That is the renowned Beiwei Jinguo?"

A commotion immediately arose within the restaurant, and many of them started to crowd over.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Beiwei! It is my honour to make your acquaintance."

"Sir Beiwei, all the best for the upcoming Healers' Meet!"

"Sir Beiwei, are you confident of doing well in the Healers' Meet?"

"Sir Beiwei, I will be attending the Healers' Meet as well. Do you have any tips to share?"

One by one, they came up to Beiwei Jinguo and introduced themselves respectfully.

"This" Beiwei Jinguo was at a loss for words as he stood up in alarm.

To most others, it would be a flattering experience to have this many people come up to greet him of their own initiative.

However, that was not the case for Beiwei Jinguo.

If anything, he was more overwhelmed than flattered.

As someone who had been staying with his teacher all his life, Beiwei Jinguo never had a chance to hone his social skills.

He had been glad to find a friend in Lu Tianzi whom he could finally open up to, but that did not mean he would be able to handle having this many people trying to get to know him all at once.

At this moment, Beiwei Jinguo's discomfort was already apparent from his expression, yet people continued to come forward and speak to him, as though they did not even notice.

Watching from the side, Lu Tianzi let out a helpless sigh.

He had not expected Beiwei Jinguo to be so easily shaken, but it was not completely unexpected either. If anything, he was more disappointed in the actions of others.

Since most of them were martial artists themselves, Lu Tianzi did not believe that they had not picked up on Beiwei Jinguo's discomfort.

However, most of them chose to directly ignore that fact, and were more concerned about taking this chance to establish a connection with Beiwei Jinguo. Of course, what they really wanted was not Beiwei Jinguo's friendship, but the potential benefits that could come along with it.

As expected, no matter where he went, people were as selfish as always.

"I believe Brother Jinguo is tired," Lu Tianzi finally spoke up. "Shall we take our leave and retire for the day?"

"Y-Yes!" Beiwei Jinguo answered immediately. "That sounds like a good idea! Let's return for now!"

"I'm sorry, everyone, but you heard Brother Jinguo," Lu Tianzi clasped his fist towards the crowd apologetically. "Let's continue this next time if we get a chance,"

"What a pity. Farewell then, Sir Beiwei!"

"May we meet again."

"I will be here tomorrow as well, let's have a good chat if possible!"

While these people were disappointed, they knew better than to push their luck. After all, what they wanted was to establish friendly relations with Beiwei Jinguo. If they insisted that he stay even after he had explicitly said that he wanted to leave, it might backfire on them directly.

Of course, many were still hoping that some idiot would stop Beiwei Jinguo, thereby giving them the chance to help him out of his predicament, but no one was stupid enough to do so.

Just like that, Lu Tianzi led the way out of the restaurant with Beiwei Jinguo and Nanlan Qianxue in tow.

The moment they stepped out of the restaurant, Beiwei Jinguo could not help but let out a huge sigh of relief. For those who did not know better, they might even misunderstand that he had just escaped a dreadful prison.

"Hahaha! How are you feeling, Sir Bigshot?" Lu Tianzi laughed. "Does it feel good to be in the limelight?"

"Please stop joking about that, Brother Tianzi," Beiwei Jinguo felt the corner of his lips twitch. "Suddenly having this many people looking out for me, you have no idea just how pressurising it can be."

"Hahaha, all right, all right. I get it," Lu Tianzi shrugged. "But why are you even worrying about it? Just relax and concentrate on doing well in the Healers' Meet like you have been doing. It was your initial goal to do well at the Healers' Meet anyway. Others' expectations of you do not matter. As long as you just go ahead and do what you wanted to do from the start, the result will not change simply because of others' opinions."

"It is not as simple as that," Beiwei Jinguo sighed again. "Nobody knew me originally, so even if I failed to do well in the Healers' Meet, nobody is going to say anything about it. But things are different now. Now, they all know that I am my teacher's student. If I were to screw up somehow, I would not only bring shame to myself, but I will also be bringing the reputation of my teacher down with me. Since my teacher's reputation is at stake, how can I not feel pressured?"

"Pardon me, but I think you are overestimating yourself a little here," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "So what if you failed to do well here? You are yourself, not your teacher. Just because you are bad doesn't mean your teacher is bad. Similarly, just because you do well, it doesn't mean your teacher is better than that of others. In any case, a single event is not enough to prove anything at all. Even if you choke and end up doing badly this time, you can always come back again. As long as you really have what it takes, sooner or later, you will be able to prove your capabilities. On the other hand, even if you do well this time, any future mistakes will just make others think that your previous success was nothing but a fluke."

"I guess you are right," Beiwei Jinguo nodded in agreement.

Even though many others were expecting a lot out of him now, there was no need to feel pressured because of it.

So what if he failed this time?

There would be another Healers' Meet three years later. He could just come back and try again then!

Yes, now that things had come to this, he would no longer be able to achieve the sensational effect of doing well as a nameless character.

However, that had not been his true goal in the first place.

Right from the very start, all he wanted was to prove that his teacher's heritage was the greatest. Just like what Lu Tianzi had said, this one event was not conclusive of anything. It was merely the first step towards his goal.

Even if he won, so what of it?

Even if he lost, so what of it?

As long as he had what it takes and kept trying, it was just a matter of time for him to convince others, and himself, that his teacher's heritage was truly the greatest!

With that, Beiwei Jinguo felt like much of the tension from before had left his body, and every step he took felt lighter than before.

"Thank you, Brother Tianzi," Beiwei Jinguo expressed his gratitude.

"I did nothing," Lu Tianzi shrugged nonchalantly.

As the group slowly walked back to their inn, two youngsters, a young lady and a young man, lingered near the entrance of the restaurant that Lu Tianzi had just left, silently watching as the trio's figures slowly disappeared down the street.

"It seems like this Beiwei Jinguo finds it beneath his status to even have a chat with those who want to befriend him. How arrogant for a mere Essence Building realm martial artist!" the young man commented.

"He might be arrogant, but his background certainly gives him the right to do so. Don't you remember what Zirui said? He is accompanied by an Overlord realm powerhouse! The public are acting frivolously around him because they do not know this, but we must act cautiously," the young lady replied with a grim look on her face. "Whatever the case, let's get back to Brother Xiquan. I wonder what he will think of this."

"Understood," the young man nodded. "No matter what kind of background this Beiwei Jinguo has, there is no way he can possibly hold a candle to Brother Xiquan!"

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