The Grand Duelist

Joseph spent the night in a peaceful sleep and when he awakened...

The sun was still about to rise.

[You were awakened by your Personal Pixie Assistant: Pixie Fairy Elizabeth.]

"Why did you wake me up so early...?" Joseph whispered in irritation.

"[Master... I'm really sorry that I woke you up so early, but I had to do it! You can't miss this opportunity!]"

Joseph's eyes instantly brightened when he heard the word opportunity.

But when he snapped his eyes open...

He found nothing which made him doubt Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's words.

"[Master, you don't stare directly at the horizon! Take a look above you!]"

Joseph raised his head and his pupils constricted due to the sight that he saw. Above him, there was a vast expanse of mysterious purple fog covering the skies. Joseph deemed it mysterious for, despite the fact that its purple color was clear and vivid, it didn't cover the rays of the sun at all.

"What the hell is that?" Joseph blurted out in astonishment.

His mind quickly spun, looking for any information about this mysterious purple fog within the myriads of eastern fantasy novels that he had read several years ago but he found nothing.

He couldn't identify this purple fog at all.

"[That purple fog is a phenomenon caused by the gathering of yin affiliated spiritual energy at night. They are usually dispersed whenever the sun is about to appear but it would be a waste if we just let them disappear. Go and absorb it, master!]" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth hurriedly explained.

Joseph didn't say anything anymore as he sat down cross-legged. He took a deep breath and started attracting the surrounding spiritual energy to go inside his body.

The whole process only lasted for a few seconds at most due to Joseph's high cultivation. But he didn't know that there was an unexpected boon hidden behind absorbing the purple mist.

[You acquired Experience from siphoning the Purple Mist From the East: 201,231]

[You will acquire Experience from doing all sorts of activities within the world of the King's Trial.]

[However, it will only be awarded to you after the end of the King's Trial.]

[Your success and failure within the King's Trial do not affect the Experience rewards you will get.]

Joseph smiled when he saw several system notifications that appeared right in front of him. At least now, he was assured that even if he failed the King's Trial. He wouldn't be left without anything. He would still be able to get something out of the King's Trial that he attempted.

He became lively and more relaxed than ever before. Of course, the pressure of being successful within the King's Trial was still there, but knowing that he has a windfall even if he lost. It greatly reassured Joseph and heightened his mood.

Early in the morning, the mortal experts and the servant girls along with their masters woke up one by one and washed themselves clean off the dirt of yesterday.

From the carriage, the old woman who snatched the thousand-year-old panacea leaf from Joseph yesterday came out and started doing some calisthenics.

Joseph casually glanced at her then he heard Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's exclaim.

"[What happened?]" Joseph asked.

"[Her movements...]" Pixie Fairy Elizabeth replied in cryptic words.

"[What's wrong with her movements? Is there some kind of a trick in it?]" Joseph asked in curiosity.

"[No, it's not like that master... Her movements, even though she's a mortal and there's not any offensive power behind her movements. When used together and consecutively like that, it actually drastically improves the body of a mortal. If she continues on practicing those movements every day, she'll be able to live until she's a hundred and fifty!]"

There was clear praise in Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's voice, but this made Joseph chuckle as he said.

"[Why are you saying that in a tone that makes you feel like a country bumpkin. It's like you've never gone outside and haven't even seen the world before!]" Joseph jokingly said.

But Pixie Fairy Elizabeth went silent.

"[Oh? What happened? Why are you not saying anything?]" Joseph asked.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth replied, "[It's nothing, master...]"

Joseph frowned. He wanted to say something else, but then the old woman at the distance noticed him and was currently waving at him.

"Young man, did you sleep well last night?"

Joseph nodded his head with a smile.

The old woman stared at him for a moment. There was a clear flash of hesitation across her face before she asked, "To tell you the truth, young man. I wanted to ask where you got that... thousand-year-old panacea leaf."

Joseph was astonished by what he had heard. Didn't she send Charles to me to ask about that thousand-year-old panacea leaf? But then Joseph who knew how to read along the lines quickly caught on what was going on as he inwardly shook his head and thought.

Since she doesn't know about what Charles attempted to do yesterday. It seems like Charles is actively trying to curry some favor from this old woman. I wonder who she is? Joseph thought for a moment before he chuckled, Nah, I have my own mission and objectives. It doesn't really matter who she is for as long as I can get to the City of Eichenwalde.

As long as she doesn't intend on doing anything against me then I won't bother with her business.

Joseph decided and the two of them chatted for a while.

The old woman tried every trick that she knew on secretly extracting information from someone, but Joseph who dealt against those black and shameless loan companies for three years knew his way on how to prevent himself from falling into a trap.

In the end, the old woman could only sigh as she turned around and left.

The journey of the merchant caravan continued for several days.

Within those several days, Joseph slowly became familiar to every person within the merchant caravan. With the exception of the exalted owners of the caravan who always stayed within the main carriage, Joseph knew the names of everyone in here.

That also included that servant girl who often talked to him. Whenever she approached Joseph, she would always furiously blush which elicited bitter smiles from Joseph.

It was because one, he already had Alice, and two... Whenever she was beside him, Pixie Fairy Elizabeth would always be mad at Joseph for reasons that Joseph understood.

After several days of travel, the group finally arrived at the City of Eichenwalde.

Joseph summoned his Divine Sense and the entire City of Eichenwalde appeared in his mind.

Beneath the center of the City, there was a huge crystal made out of spiritual energy.

According to Pixie Fairy Elizabeth, the huge crystal was a part of the City's Grand Defensive Formation against enemies.

It was a formidable Grand Defensive Formation that Pixie Fairy Elizabeth even emphasized that it would take Joseph at least two fully-powered strikes before he could destroy the formation.

Joseph didn't even comment.

He knew that he really was too powerful for this world that he could easily annihilate a City with a wave of his sleeves.

Joseph retracted his Divine Sense and the world around him returned to normal. He then raised his head and found that there were gigantic chains spreading out from the center of the city to its four corners, namely South, North, East, and West.

"Brother Charles, mind you tell me about those chains?"

Charles revealed a look of envy and whispered: "Those chains are the restrictions placed on the City's Grand Defensive Formation."

It was Joseph's time to be astonished: "Really? Why is it being blatantly displayed? Aren't they afraid that their enemies would find the weaknesses present on their Grand Defensive Formation?"

Charles lightly chuckled, "That's not a problem, my friend. After all, there are rumors that this City is guarded by Immortals! Immortals! You know what kind of people they are, right?" Envy momentarily flashed across Charles's face as he continued, "Due to those rumors, I reckon that the other cities won't be that daring to invade Eichenwalde."

The group continued on their journey and at the bridge that separated the Northern Part of the City from the South. This was the place where Joseph parted from the group. Even though Charles hadn't been together with Joseph for too long, he became quite fond of Joseph.

He revealed a prideful look and said that if Joseph ever ran into trouble, he could run to him for help.

Kaiser who was forced to give up his horse to Joseph had completely acknowledged Joseph's alcohol tolerance and existence after only a few days drinking together.

Kaiser even bragged that if someone bullied Joseph, he would get the boss of the merchant caravan to act.

As for the boss of the merchant caravan...

Joseph finally knew her identity.

The boss was actually the old woman who snatched his thousand-year-old panacea leaf!

The servant girl who often accompanied Joseph in his drinking was also there. Seeing that Joseph was about to leave, she looked quite depressed and melancholic.

However, she mustered her courage and exchanged a few words with the old woman before she ran towards Joseph's direction and handed over a pouch: "Grandma wants me to give my thanks to you personally. Here, take this. Inside is the fee for the medicine."

Joseph clasped his hands together as a sign of gratitude and respect. He didn't refuse the pouch, after all. Now that he was about to be alone, he really needed the money.

Afterwards, he turned around and finally left.

It was only until Joseph was far away did the servant girl turned around and returned to the carriage.

Joseph continued his walk through the City of Eichenwalde. He carefully guarded the little pouch that he held for he knew that in a city this big. It was impossible that there would be no thieves or pickpocketers.

He kept on walking for several hours until the heat finally annoyed him, making him seat under the shade of a nearby alleyway.

Damn, even though my body is the body of an immortal. My mindset is still of a mortal! I really am not used to this kind of heat! Joseph inwardly cursed.

While he was sitting under the shade of the dark alleyway. A middle-aged woman suddenly passed by him and dropped a piece of bread right in front of him.

"What?" Joseph blankly uttered. He was about to return the piece of bread when he saw that the woman was actually doing the same to the beggars sitting beside Joseph.

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth's anger bubbled.

"[That woman... How dare she... How dare she treat master like a beggar!]" Joseph felt her killing intent and he hurriedly intervened.

"[Calm down, calm down, Elizabeth. It's just a misunderstanding, all right? It's not like she has bad intentions for handing me over this bread.]"

Although Joseph urged Pixie Fairy Elizabeth to calm down, even he had a bitter smile on his face when he realized that he really did look like a beggar right now.

After handing over the piece of bread to a nearby beggar.

He continued walking, his mission was to find a store that sold clothes for him to use.

With the number of shops present in the City of Eichenwalde. It was quite easy for Joseph to find a random shop to go in and buy some clothing so that he wouldn't look similar to a beggar.

Afterwards, using the money that he received from the merchant caravan.

He went to a restaurant and filled his stomach, while he was eating. Pixie Fairy Elizabeth was continuously ranting in his head saying that she really was envious that Joseph could eat so many delicious foods yet she could only stare at them.

Joseph walked out of the restaurant and he started strolling while thinking about how he could comprehend the way of the heavens.

For a mortal like Joseph to suddenly become an immortal wasn't really that of a problem if you considered that Joseph was someone who was an avid reader of the eastern fantasy genre.

However, if you asked him to comprehend the ways of the heavens?

Even if he wanted to do such a thing it would be pretty difficult for him to do so since he has no prior experience when it came to enlightenments like these.

Joseph could only shake his head helplessly.

Eventually, Pixie Fairy Elizabeth gave a piece of advice.

"[Master, how about you go and rent a small shop? By renting a small shop, not only you would have a place to rest, but you can also observe the mortals and understand how they live through that small shop of yours.]" 

Joseph nodded his head, but then a bitter smile emerged on his lips as he replied, "[That is actually a good idea at first glance but have you considered how possibly expensive properties are in this place? I only have like ten gold coins, you know? If I could access my inventory from Victory then I would even buy a mansion here!]"

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth replied, "[I didn't say that you must buy a property here, master. I only said that you should rent. Wouldn't renting be a cheaper option than outright buying a property? Master really often jumps to conclusions like this. It makes me wonder sometimes if you are the woman between the two of us.]"

"[Of course, you're the woman! Isn't that quite obvious?]" Joseph was quick to retort.

But Pixie Fairy Elizabeth fell silent. It was only after a few moments did she reply.

"[So master is actually... So master is actually acknowledging me as a woman...?]" 

It was Joseph's time to be speechless.

He could only gnash his teeth in frustration as he continued his journey in the City of Eichenwalde.

His target was the Western part of the City where the slums of the City were located.

He reckoned that if he went to the slums, he would be able to rent a property there at a much cheaper price.

Joseph succeeded on his quest and he did manage to rent a shop for a yearly amortization of only a single gold coin.

The property that he rented was only behind the main street. Joseph wanted to rent a shop directly on the main street, but after knowing that a shop on the main street costs ten gold coins per year.

Joseph backed out and decided to rent this shop instead.

Although it took quite a long time for him to find a suitable property with the cheapest price possible.

Night came and Joseph spent the entirety of it meditating. He wanted to familiarize himself with spiritual energy as much as possible so he didn't do anything except meditating for the entire night.

When morning came, he woke up and acted like a completely normal mortal or human being. He cleaned the shop and afterwards...

His body momentarily disappeared.

When he reappeared, he now had a bunch of ingredients for meals in his hands. 

He cleaned the vegetables and placed everything mise en place. Soon, Joseph began to recall his childhood, when his father personally taught him how to cook.

These memories gradually filled his mind as Joseph pondered for a long time.

Afterwards, he moved and prepared everything in the kitchen.

He was about to make the very first dish that his father taught him.

Egg Fried Rice.

At this moment, Joseph's spiritual energy began to move in mysterious ways.

They infused themselves into the ingredients that Joseph was holding and those ingredients transformed into something out of the ordinary. They became spiritual ingredients, completely different from their mortal counterpart.

Joseph began to move.

His movements were completely born from his instincts.

Soon, the fragrance of meat filled the air and it even spread towards outside, despite the fact that the doors of Joseph's shop were closed. 

Thankfully, the alluring fragrance of the meat, eggs, and the several dozens of ingredients within the Egg Fried Rice didn't attract the attention of anyone from outside.

Joseph had his complete focus on his cooking...

But the doors of his shops suddenly snapped open.

The sudden intrusion startled Joseph and it caused him to be distracted. The delicate ingredients within the wok quickly burned after Joseph's control of the temperature of the fire loosened. He tried his best on salvaging the Egg Fried Rice, but alas. His efforts were to no avail.

He failed the creation of his very first Egg Fried Rice here in the world of the King's Trial.

"[These bastards...]"

Pixie Fairy Elizabeth angrily turned to look at the doors, but her anger quickly abated for some reason.

Joseph turned his head to looked at the doors and found that there was a young man who looked to be at the age of five or six standing near the doors.

His eyes were plastered onto the wok that Joseph was using and he suddenly burst into crying when he realized that the delicious-smelling Egg Fried Rice was burnt to a crisp.

"Uncle! You burned it! Uwaaa... I wanted to eat it... It smelled delicious!"

Joseph awkwardly scratched his head.

In the end, he decided to not say anything other than...

"It's all right... Since there's no use crying over what had already happened. I'll just do it again! Even if I fail once more, I won't settle down until I have succeeded. Failure is the mother of success, young man. Don't forget that!"

Joseph lightly chuckled and turned his attention to the wok once more.

This time, he sealed off his senses from everything else other than the wok he was holding and the Egg Fried Rice in it.

After only several minutes, Joseph had finally succeeded. He had completed his very first Egg Fried Rice using the very first recipe that his father taught him.

A proud look emerged on Joseph's face as he placed the plate in front of the young man and said.

"Eat up, young man... This is the Entrada Family's Secret Egg Fried Rice!"