Chapter 41: Guess Who

**, this, this, this…

Good grief, it’s that trope again. A cute girl to boost my favorability? Don’t insult me—of course it can boost it.

It’s kinda awkward to admit, but who sees a cute, pretty person and doesn’t secretly up their favorability in their heart?

Still, even with the boost, Filo’s goodwill toward this guy—er, person—still hasn’t hit the passing mark.

This person was cross-dressing as a dude… or maybe a chick? Either way, this one’s dangerous!

“Turning into a girl all of a sudden to win our favor? You think we’re that superficial!” Bingpo said, completely unfazed.

Filo, beside her, twitched her mouth slightly. Why’s that line feel like a dig at me… Sorry for being that superficial, I guess!

Filo sighed. The trio’s eyes locked on this “Great Sage,” who awkwardly pressed two fingers together, head down, muttering, “You guys… didn’t realize I was a girl?”

“Nope.”

…

The Great Sage had a face like she wanted to cry but had no tears. Should’ve stayed transformed—too late to switch back now, and it’d be pointless anyway.

Filo eyed the Great Sage, or rather… observed… appreciated…

Pretty cute. Gray hair, looking even younger than Filo. Filo was just loli-tier, Lin—though born not long ago—had a teenage girl’s manifested form, and Bingpo and Chiyan were about sixteen.

But this Great Sage’s current body looked, like, eight or nine. Cute as hell.

“You’re not the human Great Sage? A fake?”

“I am the human Great Sage! Legit, 100% authentic, what’s wrong? Can’t a Great Sage be a girl? Trying to pull some gender discrimination, huh?”

The Great Sage, arms crossed, teeth gritted, fired back at Bingpo. Gone was the kindly grandpa vibe—now a total fluffed-up gray kitten.

At that moment, Lin decided to stop hiding. With a whoosh, she materialized from Filo’s body.

“G-Ghost?!”

“No, no, no, I’m not a ghost. I’m a spirit, a Spring Spirit. Call me Lin. Great Sage missy, you’re not pure human, are you?” Lin said, floating above Filo’s head, her voice ethereal.

Though newly born, Lin, packed with tons of racial memories, had knowledge on par with Bingpo and Chiyan, maybe even a tad better in some ways.

Bingpo and Chiyan, not at Great Sage level, might not have clocked it. Filo, not in full-power state, lacked the ability too. But Lin, peak level 7 in her true form, had the knack.

With Lin’s nudge, Bingpo instantly got what was going on.

Mixed blood!

Humans are the race with the most mixed blood. Due to their racial traits, they can carry genes from nearly any race. According to incomplete stats, mixed-blood humans make up about 5% of the race, meaning roughly one in twenty humans has some degree of other-race blood.

If the mix isn’t strong, they’re barely different from pure humans. But if it’s potent, they might inherit abilities from the non-human blood.

The Great Sage, exposed by Lin, took half a step back, startled. Her mixed-blood status was top-secret in the human world, way more confidential than her being a girl.

“How could I be mixed-blood? Haha… I just used a youth-preserving skill to keep my looks, that’s all…”

“Don’t think you can fool me just ‘cause I’m young! I’m a knowledge-packed Spring Spirit, hmph! You think your disguise is that good? Not just me—Big Sis was onto you from the start!” Lin, floating above Filo’s head, hands on hips, said with total confidence.

Bingpo and Chiyan instantly shot Filo worshipful looks, all “as expected of Master,” but… but…

But…

Filo stayed calm on the surface, panicking like crazy inside. I don’t know, I don’t know, stop spreading rumors, yo, I really didn’t know.

But even if she didn’t know, she had to fake it to keep face. She’s Lin’s nominal Big Sis and Bingpo and Chiyan’s Master, after all.

“Just mixed blood? I saw through that ages ago.”

“As expected of Master! Super awesome!”

“Everything’s in Master’s grasp!”

Bingpo and Chiyan went all out hyping Filo up. If she actually had that skill, she’d be thrilled, but Filo really didn’t have it. The more they hyped, the more she wanted to dig a hole and hide.

And Filo wasn’t the only one wanting to crawl into a hole—the Great Sage was right there with her.

For humans, mixed blood wasn’t exactly glorious. Many races prided themselves on pure blood—Blood Clan, humans, same deal.

Some mixed-blood cases were exceptions, but most lowered social status.

And she was that kind of mixed-blood.

“Who the hell are you guys, with a Spring Spirit as a buddy…” The Great Sage, hands covering her cheeks, lips pursed, said.

Bingpo and Chiyan exchanged suspicious glances, then turned back to the Great Sage.

“You didn’t figure it out? Our true identities?”

An 899-level powerhouse seeing through 600-plus-level Bingpo and Chiyan should be easy, but using detection skills without permission is super rude. Most detection skills give the target a subtle feeling when used.

Even with her Great Sage-level suppression, without fully stealth detection skills, she couldn’t scan without them noticing a bit.

Right then, the Great Sage used detection on Bingpo and Chiyan. With nearly 300 levels of suppression, the two… no, two dragons’ disguised stats were instantly cracked, and the Dragon Clan’s true stat panel popped up before her.

“600-plus-level dragons? That’s elite-tier in the Dragon Clan, right? What’re you doing in the human world?” the Great Sage asked, shocked.

“Ahem, we had a bunch of reasons at first, but now we’re just Master’s disciples,” Bingpo said, recalling how she and Chiyan got into a pointless brawl, then got schooled by Master on the roadside. Thinking back, it’s kinda embarrassing.

The Great Sage, hearing this, snapped her head toward Filo, immediately using detection, only to get a “permission denied” error.

That meant one of two things: either Filo had some crazy high-level disguise skill, or her level was above hers. Probably the latter.

“What race are you?”

“Guess.”

“…”

How the hell am I supposed to guess?!