High above the empyrean sky, the blazing sun spontaneously beamed out waves of hallowed rays, warming the cold earth that laid beneath it. White pieces of cotton candy covered bits and pieces of the gorgeous azure lining, but it was unable to fully block the boundless sky. And amidst the crazy number of clouds, there were a few rapid moving objects, one that could outmatch any bird or projectile. No… There were two of them.

Those who lacked the vision was unable to see the two objects which were flying over ten thousand metres above sea level, but the few that could would physically see the speeding objects first before hearing a thunderous bang a few seconds later.

Clouds were forced to make way for the supersonic flying objects, and a trail of pure wind could be seen in the distance. It was a shock, seeing such a queer phenomenon. However, those that boasted the ability to view up ten thousand metres in the air were all experts of their own right. They had a cursory understanding of what those two objects could possibly be. Some of them were even able to lens in on the target, making out the silhouettes of an elongated creature and a ball of fur.

Naturally, those two objects weren’t man-made machines, and neither were they a natural phenomenon. It was the friendly snowy-white Tier 9 Kamaitachi and the scaly Primordial Azure Dragon Beast.

Shin’s three children who had come of age were all seated on Bingbing’s back, protected by a dense golden mana barrier. The three children were amazed and somewhat afraid of being so high in the sky, so they all clenched together, careful not to move a single inch. However, there was no need for them to do such a pointless thing. No matter how fast Bingbing was moving, the three children didn’t feel any wind pressure or lack of oxygen. In fact, the conditions within the barrier were even safer than they would ever be on the ground.

However, there was no way that the three children could remain calm. Cassiel, the older of the twins, moved her shaking hands and called out to the blonde woman who was controlling the reigns to the Tier 9 Kamaitachi.

“G-grandma Seph… How long more until we’re there?”

Cassiel was calling the blonde woman ‘grandma,’ but her facial features were anything but old. In fact, any ignorant bachelor would rush to get the woman’s marriage signature the moment they saw her flawless beauty. Her golden hair was glossy and pure, while even skin cell in her body seemed to be as supple as a baby’s bottom. There was no other two-hundred-year-old woman that could possibly boast such an immaculate appearance… No one other than the Master of the Prince of Water, Lady Seph.

“A few more minutes, why?” Lady Seph looked back, her hands unconsciously reaching out to the young girl. As Shin’s Master, the Divine Healer naturally had the authority to meet up with his children anytime she pleased. Other than Kanari, Lady Seph was perhaps the one female family member that Shin’s children frequently met. Heck, they were even calling her grandma even though they weren’t blood-related, something that greatly pissed off Longyu Tian when she first heard about it.

Lady Seph quite liked her new role as Shin’s familial matriarch and often played her part to perfection. The woman would bring sweets to spoil her grandchildren rotten, and whenever they were in trouble with their parents, Lady Seph would be the first one to intercede for them.

Therefore, when the doting grandmother found out that Shin was bringing three of her precious jewels out for an expedition, the Divine Healer insisted on tagging along as an overseer.

“C-Can’t we take a break?”

Lady Seph smiled: “Just endure it for a little while longer. Even if we stopped now, we'd still have to move sometime later… If you’re scared, just don’t look down!”

“That’s easier said than done, Grandma Seph!” Luciel raised his voice in protest. “H-Humans aren’t meant to be flying in the air!”

“Hahaha, true!” Even Lady Seph can’t argue with basic science. “But once you transcend your first barrier of mortality, you’ll learn to fly! So either way, you’ll need to get used to moving at certain heights!”

“Grandma!!!”

The children continued to plead with the Divine Healer only to find out that she wasn’t willing to budge a single inch. Shin looked on the interactions between the grandmother and grandchildren with an amused smile. Sensing the change, a baritone voice called out to the Prince.

“Mmmm, Venerate Seraphim really looks like the wise grandmother in Jia Si Ge.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“You think?” Shin chuckled as he looked down at his mount.

“Mmmm… Even though she’s childless, she treats children with the love of a grandmother. Always spoiling them when the moment is right and disciplining them when it really counts. If Venerate Seraphim isn’t the wise grandmother of Jia Si Ge, who is?”

“Hah… Senior Zishen, you have been reading too many novels again...” The Prince dropped his head and heaved out a huge sigh.

Five years ago, the Azure Dragon Lord had passed the final barrier that all Spirit Beasts could only dream of crossing. He fully stepped into the Primordial Realm, making him the next Saint-level expert that the Lantis Republic had. Well, since Zishen was tied down to Shin, technically, he a Saint-level expert for Guardian Sword. Being the Master of the Hall of Protection, Zishen’s job was mostly to protect the assets of the organisation.

However, who in the right mind would dare to attack Guardian Sword? Located on Celestial Island, the base of Guardian Sword was protected by the Lantis Republic. At the same time, the Kori Federation and Himmel Empire both had favourable relations with Shin. Not to mention, Shin’s grandmaster was Lady Althea, the Spirit Saint of the Healer’s Association while the Blacksmith’s League and Mercenary Guild all liked having the Prince around.

With the Black Masks mostly in hibernation, Guardian Sword was mostly safe and Zishen had nothing to protect. Furthermore, now that he had become a Primordial Beast, there was no need for Zishen to worry about cultivation anymore. He could now live out the rest of his life, which still had at least ten thousand years in it, in leisure and happiness.

And for his first act as a retired grandpa, the Azure Dragon Lord started digging into human literature, the Lantis Republic’s in particular. Jia Si Ge was the latest of his many literary conquests, and the Dragon couldn’t help but beam when he talked about it.

“Mmmm, what’s wrong with that? Give me some work if you’re unsatisfied...”

“Give you, Senior Zishen work? Give a Primordial Beast work? I’m not that bold yet...”

“Mmmm… My Prince, I told you many times. My power pales in comparison to yours. It’s only a matter of time before you can beat me to the ground with only your fists, so me submitting to you a few years early doesn’t harm my pride one bit!” Zishen’s voice echoed into Shin’s ears.

That’s right. For the past ten years, Shin had been reluctant to give Zishen any orders and only used him for easy tasks that required little time and labour from the Primordial Beast. In Shin’s mind, Zishen could leave his side the very next day if he so wished. After all, how could Shin control a Primordial Beast that could match up against a Spirit Saint?

Alas, Zishen didn’t see it that way. The Azure Dragon Lord saw himself as a servant to Shin, the heir to the Celestial Dragon and the Master that would illuminate the darkened world. Submitting to someone of that stature wasn’t anything to be shameful about, and in fact, Zishen took pride in it!

“... I’ll consider it.” A few days ago, Shin would have brushed off the Azure Dragon Lord’s in a nonchalant manner. However, now that Shin was a Rank 79 Spirit Emperor and potentially a Saint-level expert as well, the man was seriously thinking about incorporating Zishen into his plans.

“Mmmm… Don’t make me wait too long… Reading and protecting your children is fun but...” The Azure Dragon Lord gazed down on the crevice that they were fast approaching. Locked in between two mountains, there was a pit of darkness that was pushing out legions of dark smoke. However, as the mist reached five metres up, it quickly dissipated and returned into nothingness. Tall trees and humongous boulders blocked the presence of the crevice from any passerby, and if not for an aerial view, there were virtually undetectable.

That pit was one of the many consequences of the Allfather’s Call of Darkness. After the Worldquake had devastated the world, the Allfather had moved on to the next stage of his Grand Scheme… Spreading as much chaos in the short time that he had.

One of the ways he did that was to activate the numerous crevices that had been filled with his mana beforehand. Judging by the size of the fissures, Umbras would spawn by the thousands or millions and once they had all been awakened… Terror would befall upon all innocent lives within its vicinity.

The Terre Continent had been split into six parts, and one could imagine the amount of mayhem that existed within the top levels of government. Armies were stretched thin, and resources weren’t readily available for those located at remote areas. Not a single government in the world was ready to deal with the pain that those crevices could cause.

And that’s where Guardian Sword stepped in.

Showing his full set of teeth, Zishen smiled as he roared:

“... annihilating the Black Masks is far more fun!”

“Though I’m inclined to agree, please reign in your excited face… You’re scaring the kids,” Shin chuckled as he turned towards Bingbing and the four individuals that rode her. Perhaps it was a twin thing, but Cassiel and Luciel were both shaking in sync while in one another’s arms. Errol, on the other hand, had his arms wrapped around Lady Seph’s thin waist.

Angered, Lady Seph glared at Zishen for raising his mana without warning and was ready to pounce at any given moment. Just like the grandmother in Jia Si Ge, Lady Seph was as overprotective as ever.

“Mmmm, my bad...”

“Haha, it’s good that you noticed it early...”

“Mmmm, my Prince. Who would be the one to take care of the crevice? Do you want me to blast it away with my breath?” Zishen asked the innocent question.

“No, that would defeat the purpose of Errol, Cassiel and Luciel coming here. If they wanted to see you attack something with full force, we could have let you attack a mountain or something...” Shin shook his head. Gently pushing his weight up, Shin’s body floated up from the Azure Dragon Lord’s body like a feather in the wind and every single element in his body burst forth like a volcanic eruption.

Cerulean, Azure, Gold, Ashen-Grey and an ethereal colourless aura congregated into one simple domain. If one attempted to look into the domain, they would see a picture of their loved ones or something they cherished. If they were within the domain, they would feel their world being shifted from their consciousness and would fall into a trance-like state.

“Father’s Domain of Dreams...” Errol gulped. It was the second time that he’d seen Shin use that infamous ability, and it was just as awe-inspiring as the first time he’d seen it.

At that moment, the Celestial Dragon coiled around Shin’s lean body. It was at least fifteen metres long, severely outsizing the man who it had engulfed. Everyone knew that the Celestial Dragon was a force to be reckoned with. Who hasn’t heard about the time that the Celestial Dragon generated tsunamis and rogue waves on a whim, or the time where it would utterly decimate sailors that dared challenge its hegemony?

However, instead of being the domineering beast of legend, the Celestial Dragon seemed to behave like a child, much like it did when it was just a Sovereign Koi.

“Yes… Let me deal with the crevice.”