“Bold one, why do you not kneel before His Majesty?”

In the Hall of Heavenly Purity, Evan Grant shouted angrily at Eric Bennett, who was standing there confidently, looking around.

Eric Bennett sneered contemptuously, wearing an expression that said “are you an idiot?”, and took out a lighter to light the cigarette in his mouth.

In this kind of situation, putting on an act works better than anything else. After all, he was supposed to be an immortal—what immortal would kneel to mortals? In truth, he had no idea what to do next, so he could only take things one step at a time. Since Adam Cooper wanted to seek out an immortal, he’d just play along with this immortal game for now and focus on keeping himself alive. As for the future, he’d deal with it when it came. Once he became a favored guest of Adam Cooper, wouldn’t it be easy to find a chance to escape?

To display the bearing of an immortal, he blew smoke rings while brazenly sizing up Adam Cooper, who was sitting across from him. The latter was also sizing him up, probably for the first time encountering someone who dared to act this way in front of him.

“Since you are a reclusive master, there’s no need to be bound by worldly etiquette.”

After a moment of eye contact, Adam Cooper said with a forced smile.

At this time, he was in his prime—though a bit thin and not particularly tall, he was used to looking down on the world, which gave him a certain air of authority. Plus, he took good care of himself, so his complexion was rosy and glowing. Of course, this also made the pockmarks on his face stand out even more.

Eric Bennett nodded calmly, then casually stretched out his hand to the side. Instantly, his palm disappeared into thin air, and when it reappeared, he was holding a pure, transparent treasure bottle filled with a green jade-like nectar. Under the sunlight, it looked especially mysterious. Several officials in the hall began to discuss in astonishment. Amidst the slightly reverent gazes, Eric Bennett nonchalantly opened the lid and drank all the green nectar in one go, then let out a satisfied burp. He stretched out his hand again, and his palm once more vanished into thin air. When it reappeared, it was empty.

This act deserved a perfect score. Everyone in the hall stared wide-eyed, even Adam Cooper’s expression grew serious.

To be fair, these people were not inexperienced. They were the main targets of all sorts of charlatans—from their ancestors’ shamans, to the Mongols’ Yellow Sect, to Han monks and Taoists, even Western missionaries. They had seen all kinds of mystical figures, some of whom had even demonstrated real magic. But none had ever been as miraculous as Eric Bennett. Those people, even when showing off their magic, always needed some strange props or rituals. In the end, they weren’t much better than stage magicians. But this guy didn’t need any props, rituals, or assistants—he just grabbed things out of thin air, and made them disappear just as easily.

With so many eyes watching, even the most skeptical couldn’t find any flaw.

So the only explanation was...

Immortal arts—this was definitely immortal arts!

“Where does the master hail from?”

Adam Cooper’s expression changed dramatically, and he asked in a much friendlier tone.

“Kunlun!”

Having just snatched half a bottle of Sprite from a little girl at the window to soothe his throat, Eric Bennett raised his right arm and spread his palm, pacing back and forth while tracing shapes in the air, putting on a show as he spoke. He was also checking out the surroundings, since this place was full of hidden dangers—no one knew what Adam Cooper might do next, so he needed to see if there was anything that could save his life in a pinch.

“Nonsense! Kunlun is a range of snow-covered mountains on the Tibetan border, inhabited only by herders.”

An elderly civil official barked. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, and judging by the crane badge on his chest, he must have been one of Adam Cooper’s most trusted ministers.

“The Kunlun of the immortal realm is not something you mortals can see. If it were, then east of the Eastern Sea would be the Land of Wa, but who among you has ever seen Fangzhang or Penglai? The places where immortals dwell are only visible to those with fate. For ordinary people like you, even if you reach those places, there will be no door for you to enter.”

Eric Bennett said with a cold laugh.

“Uh?!”

The official was left speechless.

“The master comes from the immortal realm?”

Adam Cooper asked expectantly.

“Indeed!”

Eric Bennett replied, putting on airs.

“Then why did you kill innocent civilians?”

Adam Cooper asked.

“If mortals offend me, what harm is there in killing them?”

Eric Bennett replied proudly.

Adam Cooper was fairly satisfied with this answer. An immortal killing a mortal didn’t need to be overthought—if offended, just kill them. That was the immortal’s style. To be honest, this guy was starting to seem convincing. Although he wasn’t respectful enough, that was normal. But his outfit really didn’t look like an immortal’s!

He looked at Eric Bennett’s clothes with some speechlessness—a dirty gray long robe, a melon-skin cap, and a braid hanging from the back of the hat. While immortals did sometimes have braids, which was somewhat reassuring, an immortal with a braid still didn’t look much like an immortal!

As if reading his mind, the official suddenly asked, “If you are an immortal, why are you dressed like this?”

“What should an immortal wear?”

Eric Bennett retorted.

“Well...”

The official didn’t know what an immortal should wear. Taoist robes? Monk’s cassock? A shaman’s costume? But none of those people had ever shown such abilities.

“As an immortal playing among mortals, naturally I wear mortal clothes!”

Eric Bennett said with a cold laugh.