Gray glanced at Snout for a few moments and ruminated.
Clearly, some people were spreading false rumors in order to cover up what happened and put some dirt on his name.
It seemed that the ringleader was this ugly toad-faced guy, Snout.
Although some were doubtful, with the amount of people spreading the false rumors, it probably wouldn't take long before the doubters would be drowned out if he didn't do anything.
It also didn't take long before a huge group of people started to gather around Gray to watch the spectacle.
"Heh, you should've all seen his face a few days ago, it looked worse than a pig's. I'm actually surprised you were able to recover. But I have to admit, I liked your face more previously." Dingdong said mockingly as he walked towards Gray.
Gray stared silently at Dingdong and his buddies for a few seconds and sighed in disappointment
'I know where this is going. The classic 'main character gets bullied and humiliated at the beginning of the story' scene.'
'And what the heck is up with that toad-faced guy? Is he projecting his insecurities on me?'
Just as he was about to respond, a transparent blue screen flashed in Gray's vision.
[New Mission Issued]
[Objective: Deal with your enemy's lackey, Dingdong.]
[Option 1: Scare/Intimidate Dingdong. Reward: 8,000 Street Cred Points.]
[Option 2: Defeat Dingdong. Reward: 80,000 Street Cred Points.]
[Option 3: Kill Dingdong. Reward: 800,000 Street Cred Points.]
'800,000 Street Cred Points to kill this clown? That's a pretty sweet deal.'
He quickly analyzed the situation.
'Hold on. I currently have zero cultivation. Beating him is a long shot, and killing him is basically impossible. The rewards are this high because the System is betting I'll get my butt kicked. It's baiting me into doing something stupid.'
He let out a mental sigh.
'Guess it's Option 1, then. 8,000 Street Cred Points isn't much, but it's a start.'
Gray didn't say a word. He just stared at Dingdong.
'Intimidation Aura, Activate'
An extremely overbearing and ancient aura, imperceptible to most, suddenly exuded from Gray.
It wasn't a wave of power, but a deep, fundamental pressure that seemed to weigh down on life itself.
It felt impossibly old, carrying within it a chilling echo of endless cycles, of life ending and beginning anew, a feeling Gray vaguely recognized from the chaotic vortex but couldn't place.
Dingdong, mid-swagger, suddenly felt his throat go dry.
The murmurs of the crowd faded away, and all he could hear was his own frantic heartbeat.
He was still looking at a weak, cultivation-less cripple, but the feeling he got was of something else entirely.
He felt an ancient aura that reminded him of the endless cycle of life, death, and reincarnation.
He felt the crushing weight of countless lifetimes, his own brief existence suddenly seeming utterly insignificant and fleeting.
Gray finally spoke, his voice quiet but carrying an unnatural weight.
"You're making a lot of noise."
Dingdong flinched. He tried to force out a retort, but his confidence had vanished. "S-So what if I am? You got a problem with that, cripple?"
Gray took a single, slow step forward. He didn't look angry or threatening.
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to, little bug?" Gray asked, his empty gaze fixed on Dingdong.
"Your entire fleeting existence means less than nothing."
The words weren't a threat; they were a quiet, crushing statement of fact delivered with the chilling finality of a soul facing the endless wheel of reincarnation.
Dingdong's brain couldn't handle it. He was a bully who understood fists and power levels.
He didn't understand this cosmic horror wearing a human face.
He stumbled back, whimpering.
"A-Ah, I'm worthless, please spare me, great lord!"
Dingdong couldn't even run. He felt a deep, primal fear of something his mind couldn't comprehend.
He then felt something warm dripping down his pants.
At that moment, Gray felt that he could beat up Dingdong.
But he knew that if he did that, Dingdong would realize that everything was just a bluff, and his true strength was merely that of an average person without any cultivation.
"You want to be spared?" Gray asked quietly. "Fine. But you need to show your sincerity."
His gaze shifted from the terrified Dingdong to the toad-faced Snout, who was still trying to process what was happening.
Gray pointed his finger at him.
"That one over there," Gray commanded. "He seems to be your biggest fan. Go show him your… gratitude. Give him a kiss."
The entire courtyard went dead silent.
Kiss who? The toad?
Dingdong looked at Snout with utter horror and disgust.
Snout's jealous sneer was replaced with a look of pure confusion.
However, Dingdong's fear of Gray was far greater than his disgust for Snout.
He got up like a puppet whose strings were being pulled, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Hey, Dingdong, what are you walking towards me for?" Snout nervously stepped back.
"He... he told me to..." he sobbed, stumbling towards his comrade.
"Get off me, you freak! He's messing with you!" Snout yelled, trying to shove him away.
But Snout was much weaker than Dingdong, and Dingdong, driven by soul-deep terror, was an unstoppable force of pathetic devotion.
He wrapped his arms around the struggling Snout in a crushing, desperate bear hug.
The crowd stared, their brains short-circuiting at the bizarre spectacle.
Then, the final blow.
With a loud, wet smooch, Dingdong planted a sloppy, tear-soaked kiss right on Snout's lips.
Snout froze, his eyes wide with a violation so profound he couldn't even scream.
The courtyard was silent for one more second before it erupted in roaring, uncontrollable laughter.
Gray watched the masterpiece of humiliation unfold, he truly admired Dingdong for being able to do such a thing.
"I never told you to kiss him on the lips, the cheeks would've been just fine," he announced.
"But congratulations on your kiss, that was beautiful, now both of you can get hell out of my sight."
Like prisoners granted parole, the two of them scrambled to their feet and ran in opposite directions, one crying from fear, the other from a shame he would never live down.
Gray walked away, leaving the crowd in hysterics.
"Did you see that?!" one onlooker exclaimed.
"He made Dingdong kiss that ugly toad! Hahaha! They even kissed on the lips!"
"But why was Dingdong so afraid?" a girl asked, completely baffled. "Gray didn't even touch him."
"Exactly! Gray is a cripple with no cultivation, but Dingdong is at the 3rd layer of Qi Condensation! He could have wiped the floor with him! Why did he do all that?"
"Who cares? I'll definitely tell all my friends about this! Hahaha!"
…
As Gray rounded a corner, the blue screen popped up.
[Mission Complete: Scare/Intimidate Dingdong.]
[Reward: 8,000 Street Cred has been deposited.]
System Note:
[+1,000 Street Cred Points - A small crowd watched.]
[+1,000 Street Cred - Extreme Psychological Humiliation (Forced Romance).]
[+500 Street Cred Points - Target lost bladder control.]
[Total Gained: 10,500 Street Cred.]
Immediately after, another notification appeared.
[System Upgrade Unlocked: Threat Assessment Scanner.]
[You can now view the power levels and Street Cred values for all targets.]
Gray's curiosity was piqued. He glanced at a random clan member walking past.
As he did, four lines of text appeared above the person's head, visible only to him.
[Power Level: 1,200]
[Intimidate: 12,000 SC]
[Defeat: 120,000 SC]
[Kill: 1,200,000 SC]
'The power level is quite direct, it measures how strong someone is in numbers.'
'Let me check my own power level.'
[Power Level: 100]
'How weak!'
'The points correspond to the difficulty of scaring, beating, or killing someone, and it's calculated based on my current power level.' Gray realized.
Gray's expression remained neutral as he processed what had just happened.
'That was… more effective than I expected,' he mused. 'An ancient aura, its profoundness is similar to that vortex I entered for reincarnation. Did it have anything to do with that?'
A thoughtful look crossed his face.
'Still, I shouldn't throw this around. It's too overbearing, and it'll make people suspicious if a "cripple" can scare people like that. It's a trump card, not a party trick. Gotta be smart about when to use it.'
…
Atop a nearby pagoda, two stunningly beautiful girls with veils on their faces watched the bizarre spectacle unfold below, a plate of exquisite pastries sitting forgotten between them.
"Pfft- Hahaha! Oh, my heavens! Ziye, did you see that?" exclaimed the girl with short golden hair, her melodious laughter echoing softly.
"He made the bully kiss the ugly one! That's the most creative bit of humiliation I've seen in at least a century! Hahaha!"
The beauty named Ziye, who had long, straight black hair, did not share her companion's amusement.
Her golden eyes were fixed on Gray's retreating back, her expression cold and serious. "Matriarch, I am less concerned with the crude humor and more with how he accomplished it."
"Oh? What do you mean?" the Matriarch, whose name was Zareena, asked, struggling to stifle her giggles.
"My spiritual sense is clear," Ziye stated, her voice flat and analytical.
"That boy... he has no cultivation. His Spirit Roots are shattered beyond repair. He is, for all intents and purposes, a complete cripple. Yet he broke the will of a cultivator with words alone. That should be impossible."
Matriarch Zareena's cheerful smile remained, but her eyes gained a sharp, insightful glint. "A cripple, yes. But did you not feel it, Ziye? That pressure? It wasn't a technique powered by spirit energy. It was an Aura."
Ziye's aristocratic composure finally cracked. Her eyes widened slightly in disbelief. "An Aura? You mean... a Regal Aura?"
"Very likely," Matriarch Zareena confirmed with a confident nod. "The kind born into the bloodlines of natural emperors, a pressure that commands submission from the soul itself."
"A Regal Aura? Here?" Ziye's voice was laced with shock. "In this backward mortal world? Matriarch, that's impossible. Furthermore, for it to manifest in someone without a shred of cultivation... it defies all known principles!"
Matriarch Zareena simply picked up a spirit fruit tart, examining it thoughtfully.
"Logic is often just a box we haven't learned to see outside of. The facts are right in front of us."
She took a delicate bite, her calm smile never wavering.
"In fact," she said after a moment, "I suspect it may be even more than that. A normal Regal Aura can suppress a weaker will, but to cause a complete mental collapse like that... not to mention he's just a mere mortal with no cultivation… what we just saw had the scent of an Imperial Aura."
The pastry in Ziye's hand fell onto the plate. She was rendered completely speechless.
An Imperial Aura... the legendary presence of a true sovereign, something that was only seen in the top figures of the Immortal Realm. And she was being told it existed here, in this tiny clan in a tiny mortal world, within the body of a mortal cripple.
Her cold, analytical gaze fell upon Gray once more.
'How intriguing.'