“Lukman Ramal?” Kanari peeked over Shin’s shoulder after hearing his audible gasp. The Prince of Sand was radiating an aura of invincibility, one that was typically reserved for Kings and Sovereigns. There wasn’t a single second that Lukman second-guessed his abilities, in fact, his confidence was so contagious that both Shin and Kanari felt overwhelmed just by his demeanour alone.
“Long time no see,” Shin offered his right hand to the man from the Tuareg Sect.
“Yes, it’s been a long time, Shin Iofiel! The last time I saw you, you were a mere teenager that was hardly grown. Now, look at you! You’re even starting to grow a beard like me!” Lukman roared with laughter. He abruptly touched Shin’s chin and what little facial hair he had, completely ignoring the protocol for interacting with royalty.
Naturally, Shin was somewhat taken aback. Other than Kanari and his closest family members, there hadn’t been anyone that dared to touch him willy-nilly. Still, Shin kept his wits and gently grabbed Lukman by the wrist.
“A pleasure to meet you again as well,” Shin forced a smile before setting Lukman’s hand aside. His fingers happened to brush past Lukman’s wrist, and a surge of spiritual energy surged into Shin’s body. Being a Spirit Venerate, Shin was more sensitive to his surroundings, particularly when it came to overall spiritual or elemental energies. Just with a touch of his wrist, Shin could instantly tell the cultivation level of the Prince of Sand.
“Rank 73 Spirit Emperor? Looks like you’ve done well for yourself.” Shin was genuinely surprised. Among all of those within his generation, none of them had reached the Spirit Emperor realm yet. Even Kanari, who was said to be second in talent only to Shin, was still a Spirit King. Given how young Kanari was, being a Spirit King was already a staggering achievement. For Lukman to become as strong as he was at his age was quite the feat.
“I don’t want to hear that from the Spirit Venerate… Tsk, I’d thought that I would at least match you, but you had to go and advance so quickly.” Lukman clicked his tongue, truly annoyed at Shin’s tremendous progress.
“Haha, you’re mighty enough!” Shin laughed, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“Coming from you… Why does that sound like an insult?” Lukman furrowed his brows in thought, but ultimately, decided not to overthink Shin’s intentions. “Haha, no matter! I have a bone to pick with you!”
“Hmmm? What is it?” Shin tilted his head, confused.
The Prince of Sand folded his arms and snorted: “Back during the Summit, you promised that you’ll visit the Sahara Desert to exchange pointers! I’ve been waiting ever since!”
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“Ah… That...” Vaguely remembering the promise, Shin scratched his head with a little shame. “Sorry, I’ve been rather busy...”
“Don’t give me that! Everyone knows what you’ve been up to! From becoming the Prince of the Lantis Republic to creating Guardian Sword! I know everything! You’ve even been taking requests all over the new continents without once thinking of coming west to the Sahara Desert! I guess my Tuareg Sect wasn’t high enough on your importance list!”
“No, not at all!” Shin was caught in the awkward position that everyone was most familiar with. “Tell you what, once the final battle is over, I’ll take a trip to the Sahara Desert! With my family, of course!”
Taken aback, Lukman tilted his head to glance at Kanari: “Ah, I almost forgot. You have a wife and kids now. Wow, we’re really getting old. You were only a Spirit Core cultivator when we first fought. Now you’re a Spirit Venerate with a full family.”
Shin stifled a laugh: “What about you? You seem to have wisened up throughout the years. I’m sure that you have a child or two of your own.”
“No, not yet.” Lukman shook his head. “Children will weigh me down in my journey to become a Spirit Saint. The entire Tuareg Sect’s future is counting on my success.”
“I see...”
“Speaking of my success...” The Prince of Sand grinned sinisterly. “I do have a request that I hope you could grant me.”
“W-What is it?” A cold bead of sweat dripped down Shin’s face, as a bad feeling crept up his chest.
“Do you remember the details of our fight? We were in the final stretches of our bout, but my Elder held me back.”
Shin tilted his head, roughly recollecting the details of that day. “Yeah, somewhat...”
“So… We never really got to finish our fight,” Lukman chortled, a jovial glint shining in the corners of his eyes.
“...” As Shin had anticipated, nothing good was going to come out of Lukman’s mouth.
“Let me experience the fruits of your labour, Prince of Water! Let's determine who is the better Elemental Prince!”
❖❖❖
The Tree of Darkness. The Grand Hall of Eternity.
A black-haired man walked down the winding steps of the never-ending Tree of Darkness, waving his special blade in a taunting manner. For the man, he’d never been in such an uplifted mood in ages. Twirling his feet while on the verge of skipping, the black-haired man continued his jovial descent, only stopping when there was a physical diamond gate blocking his path.
“Open it.” Kuro issued a succinct order to the two guards holding the door.
“Yes, sir!”
Kuro strolled into the room and focused all of his attention on its contents. The chambers were filled to the brim with dense spiritual energies. If any cultivator lower than the Rank 80 Spirit Venerate realm were to enter into this room, they would instantly be incinerated by the intense mana flows and their mana circuits would short circuit indefinitely. However, Kuro was immune to the demerits of the room. Heck, the Primordial Beast even felt refreshed in this spiritual energy-dense atmosphere.
At the end of the chambers, there were three luxurious beds with comfy pillows and snug blankets. On them, three visible humanoid beings with luscious faces laid rested, entirely at peace with their surroundings. Warmth permeated out of their radiant faces, causing them to have beautiful rosy cheeks. If not for the terrifying mana that was radiating out, one would be inclined to think that the humanoid creatures were mere children that had overeaten the day prior.
“You guys done sleeping?” Kuro snorted, calling out to the three hibernating humanoids.
Hearing Kuro’s voice, the white-haired boy leapt his back up, promptly taking an upright position. His crystal bright eyes were laced with eye boogers, while his eyelids were steadily falling down by the millisecond. The next one to open their eyes was the red-haired muscular man. Wrapping his head, he looked to the left, only to see the familiar long purple hair of his comrade.
“Kuro? What happened?” Shiro asked, his head still throbbing.
“Hehe, congratulations!” The head of the Noble Beasts flashed his teeth in pure delight. “By the Allfather’s grace, you’re all now bona fide Primordial Beasts!!!”