“There are fifty floors, some of them taken by the Tiankong siblings, mostly near the top. They like to perch at high places. There is also another near the bridge floor the Dragoons live on. Aunt Ping, feel free to choose some of the unoccupied floors and do what you wish with them. If you need anything simply ask the Dragoons and they’ll probably be able to get it for you.”
At this moment, Zhu Ping as well as all those she brought were simply amazed. The central part of the tower was an open air courtyard, which the elevator hung into, giving them a good view through the glass of the height of the building and the balconies upon each floor. The tower narrowed as it rose higher, so the open air courtyard rose hundreds of feet up before they finally entered a little tunnel and lost their view. A few moments later, the elevator came to a stop and opened up to the top floor of the tower.
The Tiankong Siblings were waiting for them at the top floor. It had the best view and was definitely the most exciting place to take a newcomer to show off. These mischievous birds were also wanting to see the looks on these people’s faces when they were up so high for the first time. Flying Demonic Beast mounts were quite rare and expensive, so they didn’t expect all the servants and attendants to have ever experienced something like this.
Sage brought them out of the elevator and over to the windows at the edge of the building. Letting them all get a good view of the ground from hundreds of feet in the air. It was somewhat spoiled by the wall of clouds a mile out, ruining that expansive vista Sage was used to from such heights, but it was still pretty impressive. Then they walked through a few rooms and to another side of the building with an open air balcony. Without a ceiling and wall, they would really feel the height, and also because he knew the Tiankongs were here to play a prank.
He stepped back and let them take over. Jiyao started blabbering, “This is the best place in this whole dimension. You can feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. From this height you feel like the lord of everything.”
Sage shook his head at the nonsense, since he was pretty sure the light and wind were artificial. They were in the Universe Ring, not outside! Then he looked away when Jiyao started his prank.
Jiyao climbed up onto the railing of the half-wall around the balcony. He extended his arms and threw his head back. Then Baozhai ran over to him, “Brother, come back down, it's dangerous!”
Tujiu climbed up next to him, walking slowly along the rail, “Jiyao, it's alright, we’re just going to help you back down.”
Then Songji hopped into the air and sat on the edge of the rail with her feet dangling off, “This is great! Good idea, Jiyao!”
Juzui walked up to Songji and grabbed her by the waist, starting to pull her back, “Not you too, come back!”
Then, in unison, they all fell off the building. Jiyao ‘lost’ his balance, Tujiu leapt forward to try and save him, but tripped and fell off the rail. Baozhai dove over the rail to try and grab Jiyao. Songji leaned forward and fell, bringing Juzui with her.
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Those of the Zhu Clan let out a collective gasp as the five of them fell off the balcony at the same time. Some of them rushed forward instinctively to try and save them, but there were so many people falling off at the same time they didn’t know what to do.
Zhu Ping had a concerned look on her face, but then Jiao patted her arm again and pointed at her husband. Sage shrugged helplessly, “These rascals have been talking about this trick for ages. They begged me to bring you all up here first thing.”
The Zhu Clan people were hanging over the edge of the rail, watching helplessly as the five Tiankong siblings fell off. Then they gasped as the five people transformed and five giant birds swooped off into the air. They winged around in the air, doing a few laughing victory laps before they returned to the balcony and reactivated their Human Seals.
Ruanfu and Wanqian Lei were watching from the side. With the prank finally over, Ruanfu finally smiled, “It wasn’t as great as you all said it would be, but it wasn’t bad. Maybe I’ll join you next time.”
Then she turned to Sage and he bowed, “Sorry to make you work so hard, Sister.”
She kissed Wanqian Lei on the cheek and then smacked him on the backside before disappearing into thin air. Sage chuckled at this, and then continued to take Zhu Ping and her staff on a tour.
On the outside world, a Flying Messenger Sword that was zipping through the air came to a sudden stop. The sword disappeared and a golden ring was left behind. The ring started to fall, but was caught by a giant white feathered drake. The ring changed size and wrapped around the drake’s taloned toe. Snow swirled around the large white feathered beast, propelling the flaps of its huge wings.
Ruanfu took her true form and carried the Universe Ring more than ten thousand miles, making her way from Righteous Wind Province to the neighboring Flying Wind Province. A few days later Ruanfu flew down and landed near the gates of a place she’d visited often. The Thundercloud Sect. A loud crackle and boom of thunder greeted her. Then she flew back up into the air and frolicked with a giant cloud full of lightning.
A few hours later, she reactivated her Human Seal and met with an elderly gentleman. Sage stepped out as well and clasped hands with the man, Elder Manji. The two of them knew everything about each other, at least all their early adventures. Sage had seen all of Manji’s life up to a dozen or so years ago, but he’d lived a few thousand since Manji had seen all of his. Even so, they were closer than family.
Sage gave Ruanfu a hug, “Alright, your part is over and you can rest now. Sorry to impose upon you Brother Manji.”
The elder laughed and clapped a hand upon Sage’s back, “You rascal, you didn’t even invite me to your wedding!”
Sage looked a bit embarrassed, but then someone walked down the path in front of them that made him stop in his tracks.
An hour later, the immense Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel took to the skies. Its body forged by lightning zipped through the atmosphere. It couldn’t fly nearly as fast as it could within the emptiness of space, but it still moved far faster than Ruanfu did. Even if Ruanfu could cut through most wind resistance with Cosmic Traction and use a snow flurry to propel herself, it couldn’t compare to a being without a solid physical body, especially one that was made out of pure energy.