Chapter 136: The All-Inclusive Bar and the Dutiful Bartender

As An opened the massive double doors leading inside, he was greeted by walls and floors drenched in blood.

Slowly making his way down the corridor, he could see, through the walls, a large gathering of people on the floor below. Continuing forward, he eventually came across the first corpse that stood out from the others.

The woman was dressed in clothes adorned with gemstone patterns, bracelets on her wrists, and earrings set with enormous stones.

Approaching the woman's body, An crouched down and began searching her. When he found a small handbag, he raised an eyebrow. ‘Even spatial items come in the form of fashionable handbags. Fashion really is in demand everywhere...’

After rummaging through the bag, he found a ticket made of paper that, due to its thickness, felt more like plastic to the touch.

The ticket listed the date and locations of departure and arrival, as well as the cabin reserved by the woman.

“-The New Dream! You can trust us! You’re in safe hands!-”

‘What a stupid, and possibly even lying, slogan.’ Dropping the handbag back onto the woman's body, he pressed his palm against her stomach and released his Qi directly into her.

Her body immediately began to decay, consuming itself from within and turning into a black mass.

Once it had transformed into black jelly, it began devouring itself until all that remained was something barely larger than a raindrop.

With a snap of his fingers, the black drop dissolved into the air, erasing any trace that remained.

Placing the ticket between the blank pages of his rune book he had been holding all this time, An continued onward, checking every room along the way.

Wandering from one open room to another, unfortunately, he failed to find anything interesting.

After finishing with the last room, he began descending the stairs to the floor below.

Once he reached the next floor, he deliberately began making his footsteps louder so they could be heard.

“Stop! Who goes there?! Stop! Stop!!”

A cultivator in a red uniform jumped out from around the corner. It looked more like a waiter's outfit than a guard's.

An raised his hands and stopped.

“W-what are you doing?!” Seeing the gesture, the guard straightened the arm holding a short dagger and began activating his Qi.

“Showing you that I’m unarmed...” Reading the guard's emotions and seeing him activate his dantian, An decided not to waste any time. “I’m a passenger! Here, take a look!”

Opening the book above his head, he took out the ticket and held it out to the guard.

The guard hesitated for a moment, but eventually wrapped the ticket in his Qi and pulled it toward himself. Reading that it was for a VIP cabin, he frowned and finally took a proper look at the young man standing before him.

Torn clothes covered in dirt and holes, messy, unkempt hair, and bare feet. His eyes moved back and forth between the ticket and the young man, and his frown deepened. “W-why do you look like this?”

“Hm? First of all, how dare you speak to a passenger in such a tone! Second, that’s none of your business! Open the doors and let me in, quickly!” An raised his voice and lifted his chin slightly, looking down at the guard.

After reading the man's emotions, he understood that being rude was the fastest way to end this. Otherwise, the whole thing could drag on for quite some time.

“Ah!” Caught completely off guard by the sudden change in the young man's attitude, the guard instinctively handed the ticket back and opened the doors behind him, not forgetting to bow in the process. “I-I’m sorry! Given the situation... Please forgive me!”

Snatching the ticket from his hand, An merely snorted and walked through the doors.

He found himself in a corridor whose floor was covered by a rich red carpet depicting mountains and an enormous lagoon untouched by civilization.

Portraits decorated every wall, but An couldn't care less about them. Instead, he looked toward the far end of the passageway, where two more guards in the same uniforms as the previous one stood before another set of enormous doors.

….

Seeing someone approaching them, one of the guards raised his hand and muttered something. After receiving a response, he looked at his partner and nodded.

....

As An approached the doors, the guards bowed slightly and stepped aside, making way for him.

When An reached the doors, he noticed a strange-looking lock. Quickly figuring it out, he took out the ticket and, while keeping an eye on the guards from the corner of his eye, ran the ticket through the lock.

Pip! Pop!

After the beeps, several locks inside the doors clicked open, and the two halves slowly pulled apart.

Putting the ticket back into his book, he pushed the doors open.

Beyond them was an enormous room with ceilings several dozen meters high, dominated by a massive glass chandelier and glass vines covering the entire ceiling.

Several hundred tables filled the center of the room, with nervous passengers seated around them.

Some people were running between the tables. Others sat in place, clutching their heads.

Children, old people, women, men, thousands of passengers filled the enormous room, and somehow, despite its size, it still felt incredibly cozy.

Looking around, An immediately spotted a bar right in the center of the opposite side of the hall, with a bartender behind it. Two doors stood on either side of the bar, with waiters constantly coming and going through them, carrying food to the tables.

Heading straight for the bar, completely ignoring the strange looks from several passengers who were barely holding themselves together, An finally reached it.

Sitting down on a swivel chair, he spun around once and looked at the bartender. “What do you have?”

The bartender stared at him for a long moment, particularly at the way this unfamiliar passenger looked.

With a faint hint of disdain in his eyes, he picked up a menu designed like a magazine and, maintaining the composure of a true professional, placed it in front of the young man.

Studying the menu, An occasionally shook his head and sometimes even let out a soft sigh. ‘I don’t understand a thing... What is any of this?’

Eventually giving up, he placed the menu back on the counter and looked at the bartender. “One of each. We’ll see after that…”

Hearing his order, the bartender simply continued giving him sideways glances while serving other passengers seated farther away from An.

Seeing the bartender suddenly ignore him for no reason, An called out to him several times.

When he received no response, he pulled a spirit stone from his ring, held it between his fingers, and flicked it straight between the bartender's eyes.

“AH!” Clutching his now-bleeding forehead, the bartender stared at him in terror.

There had been almost no force behind the throw, but since the bartender was only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, he had nearly been knocked unconscious.

Seeing the fear on his face, An looked him directly in the eyes and repeated his order. “One of each. We’ll see after that...”

The people nearby suddenly abandoned their conversations and whatever they had been doing and stared at him.

Even some passengers who had been nervous only moments earlier quickly turned their attention toward An, finding in his strange and provocative behavior a chance to escape their own thoughts.

An could feel all their eyes on him, but he completely ignored them.

He allowed himself to behave this way because long before entering this enormous hall, he had already known that there were only two people here at the Golden Core realm, and fewer than twenty at the Foundation Establishment. Everyone else was merely at Qi Condensation.

And since those two Golden Core cultivators had chosen not to participate in the battle, that meant they were either protecting someone or hiding in plain sight for some reason.

Knowing this, An wasn't worried about anyone looking for trouble. At the moment, everyone was too occupied with something else.

They were all trying to distance themselves from what was happening outside, drowning out the screams and explosions with the orchestra, which was already straining to play as loudly as possible.

....

The bartender, pressing a cloth against his forehead, began bringing shot glasses and tumblers over to An.

Looking at the colorful drinks in front of him, An picked up the first one. After smelling it, it reminded him of old tea.

He downed it and immediately grimaced. “Ugh, disgusting...”

Setting the empty glass down, he grabbed the second one and downed it just as quickly.

Continuing to empty glass after glass and shot after shot, An once again began drawing strange looks from the surrounding guests.

The bartender could barely keep up with bringing him new drinks.

....

“Hahaha! Look at you! I’ve never seen anyone drink this much!”

A guest dropped onto the barstool beside An.

The man had red hair and a fiery red beard braided with golden clasps. He wore a blue robe decorated with golden locks and keys. His enormous belly was barely contained by the robe.

An slowly turned his head toward him, gave him a smile, and continued drinking.

“Listen... I saw you come through those doors... Tell me, were you outside? Did you see what’s happening?” The fat man with the beard glanced around before leaning a little closer.

Setting down yet another glass, An turned toward him. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that a large number of guests were also watching him, waiting for his answer.

He deliberately let out a loud sigh and shook his head.

“There are bodies everywhere, and not all of them are even intact... One of the guards helped me get back aboard the ship. But at the last moment, a spear went straight through his head...” Sighing again, he picked up another glass and gestured to the bartender with his hand, telling him not to stop.

“Once I made it back onto the ship, I saw that the attackers, the damn bastards, were winning... Hm, they’re about to reach us. So... it’s only a matter of time...”

....

Listening in, and hearing such pessimistic and grim predictions, the guests began passing his words from one to another like links in a chain.

“W-what? They’re losing?!”

“What the hell have we been paying for?! Where are the guards?! Where’s my protection?!”

“How dare they abandon us here?!”

“Someone! Where are all the higher-ups?!”

Panic immediately erupted throughout the room. The more mobile and panicked guests rushed toward the nearest ship staff, whether waiters or guards. At this point, it no longer mattered to them who they were.

....

The face of the fat man sitting beside An suddenly fell, and he went pale.

After staring at the young man for a long moment, he abruptly turned toward the bartender and spoke with a broken voice filled with unmistakable panic.

“T-Two-hundred-year-old whiskey!”

“What brand, sir?” The bartender, equally panicked, had already forgotten his resentment toward An.

“Any! Hurry!!”

As though his life depended on it, the fat man began tapping his fingers against the counter, urging the bartender to move faster.

“Fill it! To the brim!”

When he received the glass, whiskey spilling over the edges, the fat man tossed the entire contents down his throat in a single motion.

“Ugh! Haaah!”

An smirked slightly and continued emptying glasses and shots, occasionally grimacing or nodding depending on his opinion of each drink.

....

BOOOM!

The main doors leading outside suddenly burst open with a thunderous crash from the impact.

The guests all cried out in shock.

“Everyone, calm down!” A large group of people entered through the doors, led by a gray-haired cultivator radiating the lingering energy of the Golden Core realm.

He wore a uniform that had once been white but was now drenched in blood.

Yet in contrast to his clothing, his beard and mustache were perfectly groomed, and even his white hair, braided into a long plait, had not a single strand out of place.

Recognizing whose voice it was, the guests immediately calmed down.

Some, however, couldn't resist throwing sideways glances at An, remembering what he had told them.

This did not escape the notice of the gray-haired cultivator or the people behind him.

....

“Ladies and gentlemen! Our esteemed guests! I am pleased to inform you that the enemy who so treacherously attacked us has been defeated!”

With a smile, he clasped his hands in front of his chest as he looked around the room.

“All thanks to the bravery of our ship's crew, as well as the courage and decisiveness of several of our guests! When despair struck, they extended a helping hand to protect both themselves and all of you!”

Stepping aside, he gestured toward Young Master Su, who was actually a disguised young woman, and Feng Min, who stood beside her shoulder to shoulder.

Behind them stood the remnants of her people, along with the pale and injured Old Mo.

A deathly silence fell over the room.

But the moment the first guest opened his mouth, everyone else immediately joined in.

“Thank you for your help!”

“Good job! Thank you!”

“Keep it up! I told you everything would work out!”

“A toast to the brave heroes!”

Without turning around, An raised his next glass and downed it in one gulp.

....

“Haha! There’s no need, really! It was our duty!” Taking a step forward with his rusty sword resting on his shoulder, Feng Min placed his free hand over his chest and gave everyone a slight bow.

The guests, especially the women, seeing such a handsome gentleman, began covering the lower halves of their faces with their hands or fans.

Turning toward Young Master Su and her people, Feng Min looked her in the eyes and bowed his head, an undisguised smile on his face. “Though the circumstances of our meeting were hardly pleasant... I’m very glad to have met you!”

Raising his head, he looked into her eyes again and gave her a wink.

Looking into his eyes, she was almost tempted to play along.

But realizing that this was not the situation to let her feelings take control, she merely nodded, clasping her hands in a respectful gesture before turning back to her people.

“As for me... I think I’ll have a drink!” Tossing his rusty sword from one hand to the other, Feng Min headed toward the bar.

The gray-haired Golden Core cultivator, still wearing his bloodstained uniform, finished his formal exchange with several important guests before turning his attention toward the bar, specifically toward the strange young man sitting there.

Noticing Feng Min heading in the same direction, the gray-haired cultivator thanked yet another guest for their words of gratitude and followed him to the bar.

....

“Roasted cherry rum! Three fingers!” Placing his sword against the counter, Feng Min sat down beside the fat man, leaving An on the opposite end.

“The usual for me... Four servings.” Dropping heavily into the seat beside An, the gray-haired cultivator leaned against the counter and pulled a tobacco pipe from his spatial ring.

“My given name is Min. My family name is Feng. Feng Min!” He tapped his glass against the counter before downing his rum in one large gulp. “Ah! Another. Twice... No! Three times!”

The gray-haired cultivator merely nodded, occasionally glancing sideways at the young man beside him.

Sitting next to An, the gray-haired cultivator had expected to smell the sort of odor associated with a vagrant or beggar, because he immediately understood that it was impossible to become like this after such a short battle.

But all he could detect was a faint scent of pills.

It was an exceptionally pure and concentrated fragrance, almost imperceptible, the kind of scent found only around highly skilled alchemists.

What surprised him even more was that no other scent came from the young man.

As a Golden Core cultivator with evolved senses, he could detect the natural scent of any human being, even Nascent Soul cultivators still had the natural scent of a living person.

Continuing to study An, he realized that he couldn't hear the young man's breathing or heartbeat either.

Not even the slightest trace of Qi emanated from this strange young man.

After finishing his drink, the gray-haired cultivator concluded that the young man must be using some kind of artifact that allowed him to conceal himself to such an incredible degree.

He couldn't help but wonder just how far the clans had advanced in the art of crafting artifacts.

“Hey! My new friend, Donte the Third! Let’s have a drink together!” Wrapping an arm around the fat man's neck, Feng Min downed another glass of rum.

“Hahaha! Brother Feng, of course! Of course!” The fat man eagerly tossed back his own drink as well, urging the bartender to keep the alcohol coming.

After all, it wasn't every day that one got the chance to befriend such a now-famous cultivator, even if only within a relatively small circle.