It took a long time for the dust and all else to calm down. But the Grand Preceptor shuddered in rage for all the experts to see as they knew as well as he did… that they escaped.
They had left the Demon Region.
****
Far away from the Demon Region was a massive forest that went on seemingly forever. Roars regularly echoed from within the forest as a sign of the number of magical beasts that lurked within.
Boom!
In the sky above the forest, the void exploded, revealing an enormous dragon. Its mammoth body blanketed the sky, unleashing waves of draconic aura startling the countless magical beasts within to crouch or coil.
The dragons were not considered magical beasts by any stretch, despite their strength being measured using the grading system of the latter. However, they were the overlord of the magical beasts as a whole.
Their bloodline possessed a suppressive effect on all magical beasts, crowning them as the undisputed monarch of the magical beast race. Apart from another race, who the dragons refused to acknowledge, there was none who could shake their position.
The gigantic dragon came low and opened up its claws, revealing Long Di and his friends. A powerful qi shield encircled not just him but everyone else, as the draconic aura it exuded was overbearing to obscene levels, evident by a hush that befell the entire forest.
“You couldn’t transform into a guy before you took us away to rein in your aura,” asked Long Di.
“Just be sure you were telling the truth about this girl,” growled Long Zhe as his eyes shifted his gaze to Shen Ling. “If I find you were telling a lie to deceive Long Tian Yan, I will find you and kill you myself.”
Long Zhe was forced to take action and follow the wishes of a naïve Pebbles since the young prince decided to trust Long Di unconditionally.
Long Di stood up to the powerful dragon before stating, “I won’t lie… unless it’s for sh*ts and giggles, but that’s beside the point. She is not what everyone assumes her to be, so you can rest easy.”
“Hmph…” a snort sent plumes of smoke from Long Zhe’s nose under his statement. “For your sake, I hope you’re right.”
“Where are we exactly?” Mina asked as she looked around and saw nothing but leaves, trees, and leaves on trees.
“We’re somewhere along the border of the Southern Ice Belt.” Long Zhe informed her.
Long Di heard this and grew confused. “But I said we needed to head over to Cang Bian City. It’s the largest human city nearest the Demon Region.”
“I don’t know where every place on the continent is.” Long Zhe admitted. “A cultivator’s lifetime, which can count for several thousand years, mind you, is not enough to explore the entirety of this continent. Why do you think I would know a random city just because you said it’s the nearest city to the Demon Region?”
“That’s a good point actually,” nodded Long Di in agreement. “Then why take us somewhere along the border of the Southern Ice Belt?“
“Because to the northerly direction of the Demon Region is the Northern Lin Realm where very few humans go much less live and even more easterly is the Eastern Wastelands. That only leaves the Southern Ice Belt. And from what I know there is no human city that dares to set up shop between the Southern Ice Belt and the Demon Region.” Long Zhe explained.
“Wait, a minute.” Long Di stopped him. “Are you telling me you somehow flew across the entire Southern Ice Belt to bring us to the border opposite the one that faces the Demon Region?”
“What of it?” Long Zhe was confused why this befuddled him.
“You just said that not even a few thousand years is enough for a cultivator to traverse the entire continent, but you just blitzed through one of the main cardinal points in under a day.” Long Di pointed out.
Even Mina had to nod in agreement with this one. It made more than enough sense.
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“We weren’t in the void for a day.” Long Zhe advised.
Long Di was taken aback. “Come again?”
“We were in the void for a whole two weeks,” Long Zhe finally revealed.
“How!?” Mina was shocked by this revelation. “It was like less than a day in there!”
“There is barely any concept of time within the void.” Long Zhe advised her.
Long Di turned to Mina before stating. “Sounds pretty familiar, huh?”
“Shut it you!” Mina yelled. She then turned back to Long Zhe. “So we’re just supposed to wade through the forest on our own. How can you leave a beautiful maiden like myself in such a place?”
Long Zhe measured her up before scoring her with a… “Eh, five out of ten.”
“Your mother is a five out of te-”
While the three were conversing with each other, Pebbles stealthily brought Shen Ling away for a quick chat.
Whiskers was asleep at the moment and Xiannu Liang was cultivating by herself.
Nine green cauldrons rotated behind her, moving in a particular rhythm. A faint thud actually sounded out from her cauldrons as if it was a heartbeat of some kind. Ripples of life energy spread out in all directions.
For all intents and purposes, Pebbles would rather talk with Xiannu Liang about what he was going to discuss now based on what he saw. But who was he to judge?
He saw the signs, so all that there was left to do was act on them.
With that being said, he grabbed Shen Ling to have a talk with her for personal reasons. Well, as personal as anything concerning Long Di could be.
The two were close, so it was near to the chest, which meant that this needed to be dealt with… diplomatically.
That’s right… diplomatically.
“So you are her, eh?” Pebbles sized her up and only barely passed her in his head.
“Excuse me?” Shen Ling couldn’t see Pebbles but she heard stories from Long Di, so she knew the former was someone who Long Di cared greatly about and vice versa.
Of course, she remained confused about how Long Di could possibly be allied with an existence like the prince of the Dragons. But that was a story for another time she reckoned.
“A little shy when it comes to him, I see.” Pebbles realised.
Shen Ling could only barely follow along, “I don’t understa-”
“So what did you do?” Pebbles asked her.
“Huh?”
Seeing that she was still confused, he clarified by asking, “What did you do to make Long Di like you?”
Hearing this question sent a blush of red that ran from her cheeks all the way to the tip of her ears. She wasn’t wearing the Blossoming Abyss at the moment, so it was easy to see her expression.
“H-He likes me!? A-Are you sure?? How? When!? Why!?” Shen Ling found it hard to collect her thoughts.
She even had trouble breathing! Her breath quickened in an instant.
Long Di likes her!?
The sun must be rising from the west to set in the east!
He was capable of love!?
She thought it was a myth to him!
“It would seem you like him more than I initially thought,” Pebbles knew he had guessed right.
“I-Is it that obvious?” Shen Ling asked. Right now, she had the stupidest grin on her face.
“More than you know.” Pebbles cocked his head to the side at her.
“How do you know Long Di likes me, though? Like… how can you be sure?” Shen Ling asked after finally calming down a little.
She didn’t think that Pebbles was lying to her. It was just that though she had spent a long time with Long Di, and could pick up on a few things regarding his emotions, it was still really vague at times.
“Okay. Just the fact that you’re asking me that, means Long Di hasn’t told you about me,” Pebbles understood.
“N-No! He mentioned you many ti-”
“Not like that.” “Pebbles interrupted her. “I mean he hasn’t REALLY told you about me or himself for that matter.”
Shen Ling felt a pang in her heart upon hearing this, but it quickly passed. Everything would surely come in time, right?
“Listen, just know this. I know Long Di more than anyone else in this or any world, and you can take my word as gold when I talk about him.” Pebbles had a paw to his chest as he spoke as he clearly proclaimed himself on this matter. “He likes you and since you like him we’re off to a good start. But if you think it’s good enough, you’re far too naïve.”
Shen Ling couldn’t see, but she instantly fell to her knees and bowed to Pebbles, “Please teach me, brother-in-law.”
“Hmph! It's good enough that you know.” Pebbles held his head high as if taking on a disciple. He then held out a paw and raised it. “Arise Shen Ling, this brother-in-law of yours will teach you the ways of Long Di. Now I will impart to you core secrets, so listen closely, as these are not things you can learn anywhere else.”
As Long Di conversed with Long Zhe and Mina about their current situation, he had no idea that his brother conspired against him by assuming the role of the ultimate wingman.