Chapter 14: The Untouchable
The morning sun hung high over Suotou City, casting a warm, golden glow over the bustling streets. The air was thick with the scent of spiced street food, the clatter of horse-drawn carriages, and the shouting of merchants peddling their wares.
The heavy glass doors of the Rose Hotel swung open, and Mame stepped out into the light.
He looked like he had stepped right out of a painting. His flowing, silver-white robes shimmered flawlessly, completely devoid of dust or wrinkles. His wild black-and-purple hair was neatly tied back with a black silk ribbon, and his posture was relaxed, exuding an air of absolute, effortless privilege. With his tail securely bound beneath his wide sash, there was nothing to suggest he was a beast-human hybrid. He was just a wealthy, aristocratic teenager enjoying a beautiful day.
He didn't have a destination. He simply put his hands in his pockets and began a leisurely stroll down the city's main thoroughfare.
Almost immediately, the whispers began.
In a city like Suotou, secrets rarely stayed secret for long, especially when they involved absurd amounts of money. The rumors had already spread from the Rose Hotel's staff to the local taverns and street corners: A boy traveling alone dropped a fortune in solid gold just to remodel a ground-floor room because he didn't want to climb the stairs. As Mame walked, he didn't even need to use his Void Instinct to feel the eyes on him. The sheer weight of the crowd's greed was palpable.
From the shadowed alleyways, street thugs and pickpockets watched him with hungry, calculating stares. From the storefronts, the local merchants and guild informants analyzed his every step. They were all trying to solve the same puzzle: Who is this kid?
In the ruthless hierarchy of the Douluo Continent, a child flaunting that kind of wealth without a retinue of Spirit Master bodyguards was either an absolute, sheltered idiot begging to be robbed, or something far more terrifying. He could be the direct heir to one of the Upper Three Sects, or a scion of the Spirit Hall Supreme Pontiff herself. Someone who walked with that level of carefree arrogance usually possessed a background so monumental that no one with half a brain would dare touch them.
Mame paused at a street vendor's stall, casually inspecting a display of candied fruit.
"Y-young master!" the vendor stammered, his eyes darting to the exquisite silver embroidery on Mame's robes. "Freshly glazed! Only two copper coins a stick!"
Mame smiled, a polite, aristocratic expression that didn't quite reach his abyssal black eyes. He pulled a silver spirit coin—worth a hundred coppers—from his sleeve and tossed it onto the cart. He picked up a stick of candied fruit and took a bite.
"Keep the change," Mame said pleasantly, resuming his stroll.
The vendor nearly fainted, clutching the silver coin to his chest.
That casual display of wealth was the breaking point for the opportunists. The predators in the shadows might have been too cautious to strike, but the merchants and "guides" of Suotou City possessed no such restraint. If they couldn't rob him, they would try to fleece him legally.
A man in a flashy, multicolored suit practically threw himself into Mame's path, bowing deeply.
"Greetings, distinguished young master!" the man beamed, rubbing his hands together. "A gentleman of your obvious taste and refinement must be looking for the true treasures of Suotou City! I represent the Golden Pavilion. We have the finest, rarest Spirit Tools and ancient artifacts from the Star Luo Empire! Please, allow me to guide you—"
"I have no need for rusted iron and counterfeit jade," Mame interrupted. His voice was smooth and polite, but it carried a strange, heavy resonance that made the merchant's teeth ache. "Step aside."
"B-but young master, I assure you—"
Mame didn't raise his voice, nor did he break his leisurely stride. He simply locked eyes with the merchant.
For a fraction of a second, Mame let a microscopic drop of his Conqueror's Pressure leak through his suppression. It wasn't enough to cause physical harm, but to the merchant, it felt as though a massive, invisible predator had just snapped its jaws an inch from his face. The man's survival instincts screamed, and all the breath left his lungs in a sharp gasp.
He stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet and crashing into the dirt, his face pale with sudden, inexplicable terror.
Mame stepped smoothly over the man's sprawling legs, taking another bite of his candied fruit. "Have a wonderful day," he offered cheerfully.
The crowd watching the exchange collectively shivered.
That settled the debate for the onlookers. The boy wasn't a sheltered idiot. He was a sleeping dragon. The thugs in the alleyways quietly slipped back into the shadows, deciding their lives were worth more than a pouch of gold, and the other approaching merchants abruptly found themselves very interested in minding their own storefronts.
Mame spent the next two hours enjoying the absolute peace his reputation had bought him. He wandered through the local markets, bought a few obscure spices and ingredients to throw into his expanding spatial ring, and simply watched the vibrant, flawed human world go about its business.
It was a stark contrast to the brutal, blood-soaked laws of the Star Dou Forest. Here, power was hidden behind smiles, contracts, and social standing. But Mame knew that beneath the thin veneer of civilization, the rules were exactly the same. The strong ate the weak.
And Mame was currently the apex predator on the continent.
As the afternoon sun began to dip, casting long shadows across the cobblestones, Mame casually turned his path back toward the Rose Hotel. His Void Instinct was beginning to tingle with a familiar, nostalgic "heat" entering the city gates.
"Right on time," Mame murmured, tossing the empty stick from his candied fruit into a bin.
Chapter 14: The Untouchable (Continued)
As the afternoon sun began to dip, casting long shadows across the cobblestones, Mame casually turned his path back toward the Rose Hotel. His Void Instinct was passively mapping the city, but as he turned down a lively commercial street, two distinct, familiar thermal signatures caught his attention.
One burned with a heavy, arrogant, beast-like heat. The other radiated a chaotic, impure, fiery warmth that smelled faintly of scorched poultry.
Mame paused, glancing toward the entrance of a high-end tea house.
There they were. The future "monsters" of Shrek Academy.
Leaning casually against the carved wooden pillar of the tea house was a tall teenager with striking blonde hair and a pair of unsettling, dual-colored eyes—one blue, one red. Dai Mubai, the Evil Eye White Tiger. Standing next to him, nodding enthusiastically and drooling slightly, was a plump, red-haired boy with a round face. Ma Hongjun, the Evil Fire Phoenix.
They were currently running what looked like a thoroughly rehearsed, highly aggressive pickup routine.
Their targets were two pretty girls dressed in modest, traveling clothes that marked them as being from out of town. The girls were clutching their woven shopping bags tightly to their chests, exchanging nervous, desperate glances.
"Come on, beauties," Dai Mubai purred, giving them his trademark, wicked smile. He stepped just close enough to block their path to the street. "Suotou City can be overwhelming for newcomers. My brother and I know all the best spots for... entertainment. Let us show you a good time. Dinner, drinks, and a private suite at the Rose Hotel. My treat."
"Yeah!" Ma Hongjun chimed in, his eyes darting shamelessly up and down the girls' figures. "Boss Dai always treats his guests right! You won't regret it!"
The girls took another step back, practically pressed against the wall.
"T-thank you for the offer, young masters," the taller girl said, her voice tight with forced politeness. "But we are just passing through. We really must be getting back to our inn. Our chaperone is expecting us."
"A chaperone? We can send them a message," Mubai insisted smoothly, reaching out to gently catch the girl's wrist. "It's just one night. Why waste it in a boring inn?"
Mame watched this from a few yards away, shaking his head. In the story, Dai Mubai was painted as a cool, troubled prince. In reality, he was just a spoiled, overbearing creep bullying women who clearly weren't interested.
Pathetic, Mame thought.
He adjusted the sleeves of his immaculate, silver-white robes and stepped smoothly into the fray. He didn't use a burst of speed or a flash of soul power. He simply walked right between the two Shrek students and the girls, completely shattering the tense atmosphere with his sheer, radiant aristocratic presence.
He didn't even look at Dai Mubai or Ma Hongjun. He treated them exactly like the wooden pillar they were leaning against—like completely irrelevant background scenery.
"Excuse me, ladies," Mame said, his voice smooth, cultured, and perfectly polite. He offered the two girls a charming, disarming smile. "I apologize for the intrusion, but I seem to have lost my bearings in this district. Could you perhaps point me toward the Great Spirit Arena?"
The two girls blinked, stunned by the sudden appearance of the breathtakingly wealthy, silver-robed noble.
Behind Mame, Dai Mubai's face darkened. His hand dropped, his famous charm instantly evaporating into fierce irritation. He wasn't used to being interrupted, and he certainly wasn't used to being ignored.
"Hey, buddy," Mubai growled, his voice dropping an octave as a faint, heavy pressure began to roll off his shoulders. "We were in the middle of a conversation here. Wait your turn."
Mame didn't turn his head. He didn't flinch. He just kept his pitch-black eyes fixed warmly on the girls.
"I hear the Arena is a passable place for a little afternoon entertainment and some light exercise," Mame continued pleasantly, his voice completely drowning out Mubai's threat. "Is it far from here?"
The girls, recognizing a golden lifeline when they saw one, immediately rallied.
"O-oh! The Great Spirit Arena! Yes, of course, young master!" the taller girl practically shouted, stepping eagerly toward Mame and away from the blonde playboy. "It's actually a bit complicated to explain. We were just heading in that general direction ourselves! We would be honored to guide you!"
"Excellent," Mame smiled, offering a slight, respectful bow. "I would appreciate the company. Shall we?"
Without a single backwards glance, Mame turned and began walking down the street, the two girls flanking him closely, breathing visible sighs of relief.
Dai Mubai stood frozen by the tea house, his mismatched eyes wide with absolute shock. His jaw was clenched so tightly his teeth ground together. He, a prince of the Star Luo Empire, a Rank 37 Spirit Elder, had just been completely, utterly dismissed. The silver-robed kid hadn't even given him the dignity of an insult. He had simply looked right through him as if he didn't exist.
"Hey! Boss Dai, are you just going to let him disrespect you like that?!" Ma Hongjun squawked, his face turning red with secondhand embarrassment. "Who does that pretty-boy think he is?!"
Mubai's fists trembled, a faint aura of white tiger energy flickering around his knuckles. He took a half-step forward, every instinct screaming at him to summon his Martial Soul and teach the arrogant noble a bloody lesson in respect.
But as his eyes locked onto Mame's retreating back, a sudden, icy chill ran down his spine.
It was a primal, inexplicable instinct. A sudden, terrifying whisper in his mind that told him if he laid a hand on that silver-robed boy's shoulder, he would not live to see the sun set.
Mubai forced his aura down, swallowing the bitter taste of humiliation.
"Let it go, Fatty," Mubai spat, turning away and kicking a loose cobblestone into the street. "He's just some spoiled core disciple from a big sect. Probably has an entire squad of hidden guards watching from the rooftops. It's not worth the hassle."
Down the street, Mame heard the exchange perfectly with his enhanced hearing. A faint, mocking smirk played across his lips.
Smart kitty, Mame thought. Keep your claws to yourself, and you might actually survive the week.
He escorted the girls safely to the next district before politely parting ways, leaving them swooning over the mysterious, perfect gentleman. His detour was complete. Now, it was finally time to return to the Rose Hotel.