Inside the simple hall—a round table with praying mats around it and seven tea cups—was ready to welcome the group.
The man known as the "Scholar", who was called "Big Brother" in this forgotten village, with golden hair and shining eyes, was already sitting there, waiting for the rest to join him.
The first to sit down on his right was the man known as the "Infamous Blacksmith"—muscular, gray-bearded, with brunette skin and innate divine power from childhood.
After him, an old lady sat down to his left. A kind smile appeared on Big Brother's face when she joined the table.
"How are you doing, Third Sister?"
You could hear the respect in his voice.
Third Sister, the old lady with green hair and eyes, innate nature affinity, and the most famous pill maker in the world of cultivation, smiled back and gave a simple nod.
"Not bad, not bad."
After that, the rest sat down one by one.
A middle-aged man with silver hair, sharp eyes, and a sword aura around him—known as Second Brother, the former "Sword God" of the "Sword Sect", the strongest sect in the current era of the cultivation world.
A middle-aged lady, slightly chubby, with fiery red hair and eyes, known as the "Bane of All Demons" in the past when she was still active in the cultivation world.
She was the Fire Goddess, or Fifth Sister, as the rest of the crowd living in this village called her.
Sixth Sister, pink hair, purple eyes, seductive look—known as the "Charm Demoness", the lady who liked to play with people's feelings.
And Old Seven, white-blue hair and beard—known as the "Carefree Sage", the mediator, the man who had stopped many fights and battles between the two sides of light and darkness in this chaotic world.
Everyone sat down and waited until Big Brother picked up his teacup so that the rest could follow.
After about an hour, they calmed down.
The first to speak was Big Brother, who looked at Old Seven and said,
"First of all, Old Seven, about how our guest arrived here—I must say, he suddenly appeared on a tricycle at the end of the restricted area."
Old Seven's eyebrows jumped up.
"Tricycle? You mean the same as the ones in mortal cities that kids play with?"
Big Brother nodded.
"Yes. But Sixth Sister should be the first to have noticed him, and I'm sure she can give us a better explanation."
Sixth Sister cleared her throat and told them what she saw.
"Big Brother, at first, I saw some trees deeper in the jungle moving left and right. But as you know, our spiritual sense can't spread far here in the Forbidden Jungle. So what I saw with my eyes was a scene as if the trees were making way for something—until the path between them opened to our village, and this little kid came out of the jungle on his tricycle with that big backpack. He even turned around and waved at something behind him, but before I could see what it was, those trees closed the path. The only thing I saw was a big white figure going back into the depths of the jungle."
Big Brother nodded and said,
"Yes. Everyone's guess is right—the white figure should be that 'White Tiger'."
Silence returned to the hall once more.
They didn't know what to think.
How could trees open a path for someone to travel?
Why would that bloodthirsty tiger escort a human child to their village?
The Forbidden Jungle was the heaven of monsters, with many restrictions on humans entering—but none for non-humans.
The most annoying one was the spiritual sense restriction, limiting perception to only 200 meters(656 feet).
But the real dangers here were the two strongest beasts:
The White Tiger and The Wise Turtle.
These two—one bloodthirsty, one kind in nature—would team up the moment a human threat appeared...
After some time, the Infamous Blacksmith, with his rough voice, said,
"Is it just me, or can we only see this kid but not feel him?"
Everyone looked at each other and saw the answer in their eyes.
Indeed, they couldn't sense his presence—only their eyes could perceive him, as if no "sneaky" methods like spiritual sense (which could reveal extra information) worked on him.
Even the house the boy was in now seemed empty to them...
Third Sister broke the silence and said,
"While this young boy was walking on the ground—and especially when he used those two divine techniques playing with time—I received a clear message from the world itself, as if 'Nature' was warning me..."
Hearing her words, everyone's attention turned to her, waiting for her to continue.
"And this was the message: 'Play along with him.' At that moment, I felt I would lose my nature affinity the next second if I didn't listen to this order."
Old Seven suddenly felt enlightened.
"So that was the reason? When the boy said 'Divine Technique: Time Stop' the second time, I was about to move to test if he was messing with me—but I felt the whole world would hate me forever if I did. There was even killing intent... So the one ready to kill me at that time was...?"
Old Seven turned to his old friend, Third Sister, not knowing what to say... He felt betrayed.
But Third Sister shook her head and pointed at the sky.
"It was Heaven's Will warning you."
Everyone shivered and thought to themselves:
Why is Heaven's Will taking sides in such a small matter?
Fifth Sister, who seemed impatient, said,
"This child's polite way of speaking suggests someone with a clear goal. We can wait for morning and ask him what he wants and which world he's from. After all, we all know that over 300 years ago, our world had a connection to another world, which is the Immortal Realm.
But that sudden, crazy fight between the demonic and righteous paths, and that unusual 'mass ascension' of sect masters to immortality, was the last time our world had access to the immortal world. Who knows? Maybe this brat even knows something about this matter."
At this moment, the silent Sword God spoke.
"I'm more interested in the 'interview' part and him leaving tomorrow. Even the seven of us combined can't escape this place due to the restrictions. Maybe we can sneak out with him—using whatever trick he used to enter?"
On the side, the Charm Demoness (the pink-haired lady) chuckled and said,
"I can't wait to see Fourth Brother on that tricycle. Hehehe."
Indeed, there was a high chance the boy entered thanks to his tricycle—something that could open a path even in the Forbidden Jungle.
Fourth Brother gave her a sidelong glance, then stood up. Sixth Sister suddenly jumped behind Big Brother to hide—but he walked out.
Big Brother looked outside and said,
"He's still there. Do you want to see if he'll share anything with us?"
Fourth Brother nodded and left the house.
At the boundary between the village and the Forbidden Jungle, Fourth Brother waited until a massive white tiger with blood-red eyes appeared before him—then transformed into an old man with upright posture, red eyes, and natural white-gray hair.
After a brief silence, Fourth Brother said, puzzled,
"This is the first time I've seen you without killing intent toward a human."
The White Tiger answered in a deep, old voice,
"It might bother the child."
Fourth Brother (and the others, secretly listening) were amused.
This violent old tiger was worried about a human child?
Fourth Brother asked,
"Did the 'Wise Turtle' see the child too?"
The White Tiger answered,
"She was the one who told me to show him the way."
Now, everyone was even more puzzled.
This White Tiger would usually attack humans on sight—no conversation, just kill or flee. Yet now, he was talking normally with them...
Fourth Brother took a deep breath and said,
"Any suggestions or information you—or Senior Wise Turtle—can share with us?"
The Wise Turtle was a mysterious entity; no one had seen her directly, but even the oldest history books mentioned her, as if she existed forever.
The White Tiger, with a hint of fear in his voice, answered,
"The Wise Turtle said: 'He is not from our world, but he is the last hope of our world. If anyone opposes him, I will leave the Forbidden Jungle and take a tour outside.'"
The White Tiger was afraid because when the Wise Turtle spoke those words, he was included, and he knew he'd be doomed if he harmed the child.
But he had also seen things in secret tonight... things that made him realize the real danger was the child himself, not the Wise Turtle.
That was why he was scared—while these foolish humans, trapped in the village, were merely puzzled. They hadn't seen what he had.
After delivering his message, the White Tiger left without waiting for further questions.
A moment later, Fourth Brother returned to the hall, sitting in silence like the others.
Big Brother stroked his chin and said thoughtfully,
"So, to sum up, this is what we know about our guest:
1. He is truly from 'Another World'.
2. He has a way to enter—and likely leave—our village.
3. Mother Nature and Heaven's Will support him.
4. His goal here is clear, and both the Wise Turtle and Heaven's Will want us to 'play along' with him."
Sixth Sister chuckled and said,
"The best thing we can do now is wait for the morning 'interview' and see what he wants. With us stuck here, I wonder what use we could be to him?"
The group discussed further, then began meditating—waiting for morning to learn what this "interview" was about.
Time passed slowly.
At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight shone into the house, Old Seven opened his eyes and looked out the window.
As the "youngest" member, he was supposed to keep watch for the boy to wake up.
After observing the now-clear sky, Old Seven glanced toward the boy's house—and was speechless.
The boy was already outside, sitting on a child-sized silver chair, with a small table in front of him that had a paper, a pen, and a black box placed on it.
Beside him stood a tripod with a crystal cube and a placard that read:
[INTERVIEW FOR RECRUITING THE PLANET GUARDIAN SPECIAL FORCE TAKES PLACE HERE.]
Old Seven gave a light cough, snapping the others out of meditation. They looked outside—and were equally speechless.
Not only could they not sense the boy's presence, but they hadn't heard him move either.
Everyone stood. Following Big Brother, they went out to meet the boy.
When they reached him, Big Brother glanced at Old Seven, signaling him to start the conversation.
Old Seven stepped forward, noting the boy's different attire today—a black suit, black tie, red shirt, and leather shoes.
Only one word came to their minds:
[Professional.]