"Tsk," the answer of Zia Uzhi disappointed most of the Cultivators that were hoping for him to accept their challenges. They challenged Gu Chen instead.
"Sorry guys, but even I'm leaving. I have another commitment," Gu Chen also refused to listen to them.
He started leaving with Zia Uzhi and Long Chen.
The prisoners walked back and selected an opponent amongst each other instead.
...
"May I ask why you were trying to hide your strength?" As soon as Gu Chen left the arena, he asked Zia Uzhi.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say."
"Is that so? So you didn't throw away the battle as soon as you saw a crowd gather? You were fighting so well before, but it was as if you just made sure that you got hurt so you could surrender instantly. I mean, only an idiot would be stupid enough to not see," Gu Chen replied.
"I was thinking about the same thing. It did seem a bit fake," Long Chen agreed. "It did seem like you wanted to throw the battle."
"See? When even the kid can see it, then there was certainly something." Gu Chen nodded, smiling. "So, are you going to tell us the truth or not?"
"You're not weak. I refuse to believe it. Instead, it seems like you hid your strength instead. Just why are you hiding yourself so much? What is it about?" he asked.
"As I said before, the two of you are overthinking it. I didn't do anything like that. Anyway, shouldn't you two be focusing on something else?" Zia Uzhi asked.
He glared at Gu Chen. "Focus on spreading your art instead of thinking about me."
He turned to Long Chen. "Also, you're overthinking. Don't fall too deep in the conspiracies. Think about how you can learn the skills from this guy as fast as you can. Who knows, it might help you get a good rank in the Dark Tower."
Seeing the man so defensive, Long Chen could feel that he was trying to distract them. There was certainly some truth in it. However, he couldn't talk about it. Since the man didn't want to answer, he could only wonder in silence.
Moreover, Zia Uzhi was right. He was here for something else. He needed to leave this prison as fast as he could, but before that, he needed to learn some skills. That was better than being distracted from his goal.
"Man, I'm not sure why you're trying to avoid this topic. But you must have your reasons. I don't ask you too much about it. I hope one day you can gather your courage and take part in the event. It would be great to see you there," Gu Chen said as he also dropped the topic.
He shifted his gaze to Long Chen. "So, young man. Shall we start your training? Are you really sure you want to learn from me?"
Long Chen nodded. "I want to learn about Buddha Freeze and even more."
"Hahaha, you have lots of work ahead of you in that case," Gu Chen responded. "To learn the Buddha Freeze, you need to learn Buddha Gaze, and that's the hardest part. It'll depend on your inner talent and your comprehensive skills. I can try teaching you, but if you can learn or not, that's a different matter."
"I am prepared for it."
"Good. That's the intent you need. Come with me then."
"Alright, I'll meet you guys tomorrow then. Best of luck for the training," Zia Uzhi said, patting Long Chen's shoulder.
"You aren't coming?" Long Chen asked.
"What will I do by coming there?" Zia Uzhi asked. "It's your training, not mine."
He silently left without stopping.
"How long have you known him for?" Gu Chen asked Long Chen after Zia Uzhi left.
"Not for long. Less than a day," Long Chen replied.
"That's intriguing. So you can't know more about him either. That person is really strange. When I was fighting him, I was able to see that he was at least as strong as me. And that was all with the strength he was showing me. As for his true strength that he kept hidden? That was probably even more."
"And his Cultivation was pretty high as well. He should be one of the strongest prisoners in the Outer prison, and he didn't take part in the yearly tournament. That makes it clear that he doesn't want to be an Inner Prisoner."
"That man is really suspicious. You should be more careful about him. If I'm not wrong, there's a good chance that he's one of them..."
"One of who?" Long Chen asked.
"One of the Heavenly Warriors. There have been rumors that there are undercover Heavenly Warriors pretending as prisoners. And he satisfies all the criteria. He is strong. He wants to keep his strength hidden, and he doesn't want to get promoted," Gu Chen explained.
"There's a sixty percent chance that he's a Heavenly Warrior," he added.
"I don't get it. Why would a Heavenly Warrior pretend to be a prisoner?" Long Chen asked, confused.
"Who knows. Maybe that's so they could keep a better eye on the prisoners? Or it's for something else. We can't be sure," Gu Chen muttered. "l just say that you should be careful."
"Thank you for telling me."
"You don't have to thank me. Since I'll be teaching you, you're kind of like my disciple. The least I could do is advise you on how to be safe in a place like this."
"Anyway, you know a lot about me, but I don't know anything. How did you end up in this Prison?"
...
As Long Chen walked with Gu Chen, he told him his story and how he ended up here.
"Ah, that's an intriguing story. So you ended up here when you weren't supposed to. Did you talk to the Heavenly Warriors?"
"I talked to one. They refuse to believe me."
"Well, I can't blame them. We're all prisoners here who are looking to get out. They would be looking at everyone like a suspicious prisoner at this point. In fact, many people have already tried lying to them to get out. It looks like you'll stay here after all."
"Don't worry though. This isn't half bad as long as you're careful. I've been here for a long time. It's not much different from the outside world. The only bad thing here is the restrictions."
"Here we are, the training hall. We will be training here," Gu Chen said as he stopped before a white tower.
"Here, we can borrow a room for training using the points we have. And in one room, up to two people can train."