A System That Beats Death 27 Glitching Banter

Guren then signaled for Tianli to follow and the both of them left Yidong to go towards an isolated location which was free of spectators.

"I know you have many questions but instead of asking me, you should ask them", Guren said which confused Tianli considerably.

"Ask who?", he was about to say but was interrupted by something which shocked him.

[Holy Supremacy: A new member? Welcome.]

[Duke of Pride: Congratulations on joining the World Traverser's entourage]

[Soul Supremacy: I told you I'm not the World Traverser]

[Duke of Sloth: I have to agree. The World Traverser is an insult to our venerable one]

[Sword Sage: ...I must be hallucinating. Did he drug me?]

[Holy Supremacy: Sound out what you want to say in your mind or you'll start broadcasting your thoughts]

[Duke of Sloth: I must admit though the surge of strength is addicting]

[Holy Supremacy: That's what I thought as well]

[Duke of Pride: Speaking of addictions, please stop eating that dragon's bone marrow]

[Soul Supremacy: Why?]

[Duke of Pride: Do you know how hard it is to not be able to eat that thing? The smell is so enticing that I started contemplating suicide]

[Duke of Sloth: I agree. I demand a hearty meal as compensation]

[Holy Supremacy: I also demand compensation]

[Sword Sage: Why would you kill yourself over a smell?]

[Duke of Pride: I dare you to say that after being tortured by that d.a.m.ned scent]

[Soul Supremacy: Am I the Chef or the Leader? WTF]

[Duke of Sloth: Think of it this way. You can tame people through their stomachs]

[Holy Supremacy: I did not believe it was possible until I met him. After all, I fasted for years]

[Duke of Pride: Idyl, remember the Gourmet Glutton?]

[Duke of Sloth: Of course, it gained its amazing flavor through eating delicious food]

[Holy Supremacy: Are you wondering how Chef tastes like?]

[*%^$#!<: he="" tastes="">

[Holy Supremacy: ...]

[Sword Sage: I can't read that name]

[Duke of Pride: I knew it!]

[Duke of Sloth: How do you know? Which part?]

[*%^$#!: Not sharing! All parts belong to me]

[Soul Supremacy: Was that you, System?]

[System: The Romance Subsystem is acting up. Congratulations Host, you have been rated as Platinum 2 Meat. For your information, the Grades are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum with 1 as the lowest tier of the Grade while 10 being the Highest]

[Soul Supremacy: ...I'm not a piece of meat???]

Cascadea shuddered vehemently as if her greatest secret was revealed to the only person she did not want it to be revealed to.

___

"Didn't you hear? A Sword Sage is holding a lecture, why are none of you attending?", the rookie to the Sect exclaimed.

"A Sword Sage?", one of his friends asked with eyes that betrayed great expectations.

"Wait. Is it the Sword Sage Guren?", the Knight questioned warily.

The rookie nodded which caused his friends to frown.

"Then it's not worth it", all of them said at the same time.

"Why? I thought Sword Sages were dragons amongst men"

In fact, Swordwielders had enough power to be considered heroes in worlds with lacking magic. If they were the one crusading the feeble demon lords in those worlds, it would likely take less than a month for the prophecy to be fulfilled, the demon lord slain, and the princess bedded.

As a mere Swordsman, the rookie understood that he was extremely lacking. He looked up to Swordwielders which were 2 Ranks above him so he was confused as to why his Swordwielder Seniors did not look up to a Sword Sage or Sword Sages.

"They are. Except Guren, he got his Rank through connections", the Knight clarified.

"That might be possible for a Blademaster but you need proper qualifications to become a Sword Sage", the rookie reasoned.

"He is rumored to be the Saintess' lover. A Blademaster reported the cold Saintess to blush whenever talking with Guren"

"....That despicable b.a.s.t.a.r.d"

"Yeah! I don't care about the position. I'd give my life to be the Saintess' darling", one of them proclaimed while the rest began to nod in agreement.

"Don't say that out loud. If the Saintess heard you, you would be disciplined with 10 lashes. Good thing she hasn't returned yet"

"A dominatrix... never mind then", the more timid among them said.

___

In a hall lacking partic.i.p.ants, two people stood at the podium conversing.

"Guren really has a bad reputation", Guren said while biting into a meat bun he had made himself.

"Indeed. Should I use my name to get people to come, Master?", Tianli asked while eyeing the meat bun.

Guren shook his head before saying, "I already have the information I need"

Atlas had already surmised the reason as to why Guren had a bad reputation. As he had set off on a journey right after joining the Sect, people did not know him well and only heard rumors of his true strength. Due to returning to the Sect while feeble, they likely believed that the rumors of him being powerful were false and he had used his relationship with the Sword Saintess to get the position of Sword Sage. It had been confirmed upon hearing the gossiping Juniors and Atlas wanted to smack Guren in the face.

The female Swordwielder was not the only one which knew of his dubious relationship with the Sword Saintess but she was the only one to blackmail him with the information. To be blackmailed with common knowledge...

Good thing he isn't female, Atlas thought, or the old Guren would've been starring in the NTR Genre as the unwilling cuckolder instead of just being the cuckold.

Leaving the hall, the two then headed towards the training area where Swordwielders and Blademasters gathered. Upon arrival, the two figures prompted unrest and gossip.

"Isn't that Sword Sage Tianli? If we could become his disciple, we'd be set for life"

"His guidance is worth more than 20 gold mines"

"What about the person next to him?"

"He's very dashing", a female Blademaster said while nearly drooling.

Everybody in the training area stopped what they were doing as Sword Sage Tianli had arrived. He was a figurehead of the Mystical Blade Sect and considered to be the greatest Sword Sage. He had cemented his position in the Sect through soloing all the Blademasters and they could still remember the beatdown like it was yesterday.

However to their surprise, Tianli remained silent and the one that spoke was Guren. They did not recognize Guren as his new appearance contrasted too greatly with his previous worn out appearance. Guren broke out into a meaningful smile suddenly which slightly dazed the females of the Sect.

"Tomorrow, a tournament will be held. Those who can defeat me will be awarded the position of a Sword Sage"

Upon hearing this, they turned towards Tianli who nodded to confirm the announcement. The crowd of Blademasters and Swordwielders were excited as many of them believe they were qualified to become a Sword Sage but no promotion opportunities had been given as the Saintess was currently unavailable.

"Which Sword Sage do you think that was? Hexiu? Guren? Zhuye?"

"Definitely not Guren. He seemed strong"

"Maybe a fifth Sword Sage who didn't want his position"

"That seems more likely"

"Instead of not wanting his position, I'd say it's more of using to hone his blade"

"He looks like a d.a.m.n male concubine"

"You mean gigolo"

"Gigolos don't look as nice as he does"

"Guren's in trouble. I doubt the Saintess would still like him if that gigolo remained"

Hearing the gossiping among the crowd as they left, Tianli wanted to roar with laughter. How could Hexiu or Zhuye compare to Guren? They couldn't even hold a candle to him who was defeated by Master while Master held back.

They were lucky that his Master was not bothered with the label of a male concubine or they would've been killed ten times over.

Guren then interrupted his thoughts, "Go inform the Sword Sages and Sword Saint"

He then began to walk away but Tianli shouted, "What about the Sword Saintess?"

"It's probably better for this body and the Saintess to never meet", Atlas replied truthfully as she seemed to be only one that truly knew Guren.

He then walked towards the former abode of Guren where he knew the two absent from the Swordwielder and Blademaster gathering had resided.

Atlas looked at his hands which were previously destroyed and felt his blood boil.

"Time for revenge"