Rien walked normally behind Kuto, but Lan looked at him angrily.
"Hey Kuto, we've been walking for the last two hours. Where is your damn hotel?" she asked with an aggressive tone.
Kuto smiled hesitantly.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure we're on the right path," he said with fading confidence.
Lan crossed her arms aggressively and looked at Rien from the side.
"Aren't you getting angry at him?" she asked.
Rien looked at her, his hands behind his back, a calm expression on his face.
"He's still a kid, so don't get angry at him," he said in a calm tone.
Kuto's head dropped.
"Sorry, guys… but it looks like we're lost," he said sadly.
Rien looked down at him.
"Want me to navigate?" he asked.
Lan looked at him with excitement.
"Yes, please… since we already lost so much time," she said with an annoyed tone while glaring at Kuto.
Rien looked at the two paths ahead and teleported all three of them in front of a large, royal hotel. Rich people walked everywhere, and the entire place sparkled.
"Woah! If you can do this, then why didn't you do it earlier?" Lan asked while looking around in awe.
Kuto rolled his eyes and walked toward the hotel confidently.
"Forget it. Since we already got what we want," he said without looking back.
Lan and Rien both gave him a deadpan look before following him inside. Lan, however, felt uncomfortable entering such a royal place so casually.
"Guys… are you sure we should enter like this?" she asked hesitantly.
Kuto stopped and looked back at her.
"It's not like we're entering without clothes. And we look royal, right?" he said while striking a pose that made everyone stare at him.
Lan looked down in embarrassment.
Rien walked to the hotel manager, spoke with him for a moment, and returned with a key.
"Our room is 17B," he said calmly.
Rien walked toward the room with both of them following carefully. He opened the door and stepped inside.
"It looks comfortable," Rien said as he closed the door after Lan and Kuto entered.
Kuto jumped onto one of the beds.
"Woah, it's really cozy," he said blissfully.
Lan sat on the other bed, giving him a deadpan look before turning to Rien.
"When are we leaving for the Xia Clan?" she asked firmly.
Rien looked at her with calm eyes and a blank expression.
"We should leave tomorrow. Since we traveled so much, we deserve a good rest."
Lan nodded, satisfied. She lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling softly.
"Well… I just want to go to my home clan and meet my sister," she said quietly.
Kuto looked at her, interested.
"Woah, you also have a sister?" he asked excitedly.
Lan looked at him with a deadpan stare.
"It's none of your business," she said with an annoyed tone.
Rien looked at her and asked,
"Do you belong to the Xia Clan… or the family that rules the Xia Clan?"
Lan smiled proudly.
"I'm from the royal family of the Xia Clan," she said confidently.
Kuto's eyes widened.
"Woah, you're a princess of the Xia Clan!" he said.
Lan smiled and winked.
"Of course. My rank is… and I'm very powerful."
(At Night)
Rien walked calmly in the park behind the hotel. Suddenly, several people approached from behind.
"We know you're hiding that girl from the royal family of the Xia Clan," one of the men said aggressively.
Rien stopped.
"So? That's none of your business," he said calmly, without looking back.
Another man stepped forward.
"This place is under our control. If someone enters without our permission, they have to pay. Now tell us who you are… or die."
Rien slowly turned around, his expression blank, gaze calm.
"I am Rien Kinohutsu. That doesn't matter. What matters is—wherever I stand becomes under my control. No matter where I sit, the place I sit becomes my throne. I am not bound to death; even death bends before me. I am beyond creation. People are born; they die. But I cannot die. This universe works on my will. Whenever I close my eyes, the universe dies itself. I am the source. I am the axis. The one who stands outside creation. I am beyond concepts, laws, thoughts, and probabilities. There is nothing I can't do."
His calm voice spread through the air as cosmic pressure surged.
The men exploded instantly into millions of pieces, blood staining the ground.
Suddenly, a man appeared in front of Rien with a steady gaze.
"You killed my people," he said firmly.
Rien looked around at the bloodstains, then at the man.
"They didn't die. You call it death, but I call it eternal sleep. There's a huge difference," Rien said with a heavy tone.
The man raised his hand and created a massive energy sphere, shooting it toward a mountain outside the city.
The mountain exploded instantly.
"See? This is the power of a Tian Huang–rank cultivator, kiddo."
Rien watched as the mountain rebuilt itself.
"I've seen the birth of the first star and the death of the last reality. Your 'mountain-breaking' is just… a loud sneeze. Try harder."
The man was shocked.
"I… I am Ling Lui, the most powerful elder of the Lui Clan. You can't be stronger than me," he said, voice trembling.
Rien stepped closer.
"An elder? Well, I am beyond your imagination. The more you think about my limits… the faster I break them."
Ling's cosmic energy vanished suddenly, leaving him as nothing but an old man.
"What… what did you do to me?" he asked, terrified.
Rien looked at him.
"I erased the concept of your power source. In simple language—I made you a man with the limits I want you to have," he said, using Zenith Zero.
Ling growled,
"But I am immortal! You can't kill me!"
Rien stared at him calmly.
"Immortal? No matter who you are… the moment you stand in my presence, you are bound to my rules. Even if you are an entity or a force, I will write your outcome, destiny, and what you should be. You are just a character in my story—one I can delete anytime."
As Rien turned around and walked back toward the hotel, Ling vanished into the air with one last, soundless scream.