This time not only did Wei's ship stop after that extremely loud and commanding order... all the ships in the premises of the harbor did stop too! however... two men arrived this time and both of them came flying towards Wei’s ship... the older-looking one is wearing a blue robe while the other one is the same arrogant fellow in red who searched the ship a day earlier but... this time the fire-cultivator followed behind the old man in blue like a... lackey! simply because his posture appears to be extremely humbled to everyone who saw it... while the eyes of the man in red were lowered like a "beaten dog" the extreme frown on his forehead revealed his deep confusion.

Meanwhile... Wei's group and the ship’s crewmates were all on-deck and looking upwards at the two men who stood one-hundred meters or so up.

“Inspector Huang. This humble servant is Cheng Wei... I extend my greetings to you, how can I be of service?” Quickly bowing deeply with his friends while the crewmates kneeled on both legs and lowered their heads in apparent fear on their expressions... Tang Wei spoke but he didn't raise his upper-body and kept his posture lowered! Lin just did like them and bowed while using the most untraceable and faintest of his soul-sense ability to watch every detail on the face of old man in blue... the boy sensed that if he sent his soul-force anywhere within the twenty meters around the man then he would be discovered in an instant. That man in blue looks to be in his seventies possibly eighties... both the hair on his head and on his face is a flare of the white-color! his beard cut slightly short and on his face is a pair of sunken-eyes which seem gentle but... the great-sage immediately understood how dangerous the owner of these murky-eyes after seeing the cruel gaze from them when the old man looked downwards with these eyes which are surrounded by deep lines and traces of old age on each side... there’s some wrinkles on both cheeks of that old man in blue and both of his shoulders are slightly bent forward too but... his back is still straight like a person who’s in his prime! the inspector’s tall physique added more to his charismatic air which caused the feeling of pressure that he gave the group of spirit-cultivators on the ship and crewmates to increase by a fold or two. While looking at this inspector Huang and carefully studying his character and gestures discreetly... Lin vaguely sensed that the surrounding water of the ocean are at this man's beck and call! maybe all it would take is just a simple move of that man’s finger or a simple thought and this calm ocean would immediately transform into a raging ocean with extremely strong currents and massive waves... after his last session of meditation on the fire-intent the boy’s awareness towards fire-energy wasn't the only sense that became much stronger... his senses towards the directly opposing elements like the element of water or ice became much keener.

“Mm-hmm. Hai. Go order these ships to keep on going towards the docks, I don't like it when people get their noses stuffed into my matters,” The old man in blue said without looking back and the red robed man immediately flew left to relay these orders then right to give orders to the rest of the ships, “Cheng clan huh! well... your clan-master is welcome go to the headquarters of my cultivation-alliance to complain... if he wants. Now. Just... give the water-pearl here, otherwise? I’ll simply bury you all in the depth of the ocean floor, still I would get what I want in the end.” After landing in front of Wei's fat body... the old man in blue spoke softly in a threatening tone of voice and Wei's group of five shivered visibly under the suppression of the inspector’s water-energy... the great-sage felt it clearer after sensing the man’s thick water-energy coming closer to his body... that water-energy felt heavy and corrosive with a slight stickiness to it! it resembled glue somehow... thankfully that energy wasn’t focused on him alone or he might not be able to separate himself from it.

“City-lord Huang. We're helpless if faced with your wrath... and we’re doomed if you find one of these miraculous-treasures us with! if I had found one such item? then... I would gladly offer it to you, gaining your favor is a much better choice and a smarter choice... don’t you agree senior? yesterday when your subordinate delighted us with a visit, we never hesitated to surrender all of our space-rings storage-items really, none of us dared to disobey and we followed each one of his commands... to the letter. Like I said... we're helpless to be of service on that request! I'm sure that nothing would escape your unfathomable-self... if you want to make sure of our honesty? then... search us again and again. We're just lowly merchants from a lowly clan who are trying to get-by with some profits from a tiresome, exhausting, and extremely dangerous journey that takes us from the east to the west of the southern-continent then back! not to mention that I doubt that my clan-master would even frown if city-lord Huang wiped us all out right now, we’re yours to command senior Huang... do what you must inspector, we’re helplessly weak to complain, we’re helpless but we’ll strongly comply with your orders.” Wei spoke calmly this time... especially after already knowing that Lin has a way to cover his belongings from prying eyes! despite facing a spirit-king of the seventh-stage... the fatty was sure that a person in the realm of soul-keeper can easily hoodwink this inspector-Huang with his methods.

“Snort. It’s good that you know your place but... that won't be enough for me to-” inspector Huang seemed to be pleased with Wei's groveling attitude and humble tone of voice then brought-out his own version of the spirit-tool which looks like a compass and spoke while injecting his water-energy inside it but... his words were immediately cut short after the same effect happened with the pointer of his spirit-tool! that pointer chaotically moved all-over the place without settling on any direction like the city-lord imagined it would... while frowning deeply the old man in blue kept staring at the pointer in befuddlement because this spirit-tool is a high-grade and a very rare special-tool that never failed once when pointing-out all soul-related natural-treasures, medicinal-ingredients, or materials. After feeding that compass-like tool more of his pure water-energy it caused a blue sphere of a very thick and dreadful water-energy to cover the special-tool in inspector Huang's thin-hand and it indeed calmed the speed of the pointer slightly which slowed down a lot! but... that pointer didn't point-out a clear direction in the end. Inspector Huang tightened his fingers on the tool in frustration then began to walk aimlessly on the ship while trying to get a clear reading with his tool on the location of the water-pearl! still... the bloody tool in his hand seems to be refusing to work... the city-lord didn't care about the kneeling mortals or the bowing juniors around him and treated them like air while taking his sweet time in searching the ship. Meanwhile... Hai the fire-cultivator in red has already returned a while earlier after completing his order and stood at the bow of the ship and watched everyone kneel or bow—especially Peng Tao—with a scorn-full smile on his face! yet... whenever he looked at the little boy who has a demonic-beast on his shoulder... Hai would feel like there's something different about the boy compared to yesterday but... no matter what the fire-cultivator just couldn't clearly point-out the difference since the kid is still a junior who’s in the first-stage of the apprentice-realm.

“Hai. Are you sure their space-rings are clean? if I find it on one of them? then... you're directly going back to the headquarters to report to the disciplinary-hall, good! then... open your space-rings everyone.” Inspector Huang returned after his short tour of inspection in the layers below deck within the ship and asked his subordinate with a frown on his face! when the man in blue received a serious nod from the man in red he made-up his mind to go all the way and commanded Wei and the others who has space-rings to hand them over... and like always Wei was the first person to raise his head and straighten his back before taking off all of his space-rings and storage-items before offering them forward on-top of a pair of open hands... Lai and the others kept their silence and followed their young-master and offered their space-rings forward but... buried deep within their eyes there’s various different emotions. Lin took-off his space-ring too after weakening his spirit-mark on it then watched the blue robed old man take one ring after another from on-top of Wei’s open hands and look inside before releasing these storage-items to fall to the floor next to their feet! Wei kept smiling calmly without revealing any displeasure on his face but... the inspector’s frown only deepened whenever he found nothing inside these dozens of space-items which are of various levels and are of different storage-capacity... finally the city-lord left the fatty behind him after personally searching every storage-item with his strong senses... the merchant’s storage-items were scattered everywhere around him and he calmly collected them one by one without breaking the ass-licking smile from his face. Inspector Huang immediately gave Lai a frosty look once he noticed the look in the eyes of the blade-user... afterwards the city-lord rudely injected his water-energy inside Lai's space-ring which caused Liao Lai’s face to become extremely pale before shifting into a deep flush of the red-color and the blade-user stifled a cough—which is full of blood—in his chest then struggled to prevent all that blood from spurting out through his lips with all his power! but... one red line of blood did escape the corner of Lai’s lips though... which caused the strongest spirit-cultivator on this group to stand there shivering from pure rage and unwillingness in complete silence after the old man threw the blade-user’s space-ring... once the inspector scanned that space-ring thoroughly he carelessly ignored the frustrated junior and discarded the storage-item which lacks anything valuable except an armor and a few spirit-crystals but... these are valuable for spirit-tyrants or the poor amongst spirit-lords! only... the city-lord threw Lai’s space-ring in the ocean water which caused a tiny splash before slowly sinking towards the bottom. The mood became tense but nobody said or did anything at all which saddened Lai who felt like he was just stripped naked of his dignity and pride... this was true bullying! yet... this time he felt like he wasn’t shamed or that he shouldn’t feel like he’s being shamed... because this time he isn’t being silent to save himself out of cowardice! he’s keeping his silence and enduring this injustice for his companions... certainly if he was alone then that old fart wouldn’t have been allowed to search Liao Lai’s space-ring without having the blade-user burning his spirit-cultivation and sacrificing it all just to scar him once or twice with his blade before dying with a smile on his face.

“Hmmm... the Cheng clan actually put its juniors to work from that tender age! it seems like they’re ambitious indeed, but... it seems like they don't support their juniors with spirit-resources. Boy. Who are you? some junior of the clan-master or... a bastard maybe?” The old man in blue has already noticed Lin previously and only decided to speak when he found nothing inside any space-ring or storage-item that he searched on the ship... while opening the last space-ring—which is Lin's—and finding it completely empty! the city-lord became certain that these juniors actually don't have on them what he's after... while trying to lighten-up the mood—which has become heavy and awkward—after his arrival and especially after his action against Lai... being the city-lord of a famous city and an inspector from the cultivation-alliance these actions of his are completely unacceptable in the books of any faction within the spirit-world after all! however... Huang attempted to fix it by talking with the youngest spirit-cultivator while giving the boy a faint smile.

“Replying to senior. My name is Ming, I'm not originally from the Cheng clan, I’m from the western-islands, specifically the island which looks like a wild hog, after the group of big-brother Wei found-out that I have awakened my martial-spirit they decided to groom me into a scout for their next journeys in the future because I have wings! nobody in my island liked me anyway since I'm an orphan and all.” Lin's answer gave the people on the ship who felt heavy-ness on their chests a release... the way the boy talked and acted like a kid who’s cheerfully blowing his own trumpet and being full of pride and joy after his accomplishments then sorrow and lamentation because of his fate! it made inspector Huang give the great-sage a leering glance which is hidden behind a fake expression of a smiling face.

“Wings hmmm... wings are good, not every junior get the ability to fly from the very beginning, your ship doesn't need to pay its tax-fees in this journey. Here boy. Cultivate diligently and work hard... who knows? maybe... my cultivation-alliance would someday find some use for you!” The old man in blue ruffled Lin's dark hair and generously compensated the tyrannical actions of searching this ship twice with tax waiving on a single journey! before taking out a low-grade spirit-crystal and handing it to the boy then the city-lord turned around towards the harbor and left with his subordinate tailing him after giving the people on the ship one last glance which is full of despise and ridicule before flying after his master.

Lai was the first person to move after these men left... the blade-user walked towards the side of the ship and was about to jump and dive in the water to find his space-ring! but... Lin had it already covered and extracted it with his soul-force from the ocean.

“Are you alright?” Lin asked Lai whose face is still pale but... the stubborn blade-user only nodded silently after taking back his space-ring and sat-down cross-legged to measure the extent of his injuries, “You shouldn't have given him that look! you know what? that man could've made things not only much harder on you but also on your friends here and on me too... that man is an evil person, I fear that he wouldn't have hesitated to do what he said earlier, so... it would be much better for us if we avoid meeting that person again.” Lin isolated the ship from the senses of others with his soul-force before he spoke with Lai then the boy threw the low-grade spirit-crystal carelessly into the water which caused a sound of splash that terrified those who saw it... because the great-sage acted just like inspector Huang when he threw Lai's space-ring earlier! seeing the others gawking after they saw what he just did and said made Lin smile in amusement... especially when the group of five spirit-cultivators looked with unease towards the east in fear of inspector Huang actually hearing what Lin said.

“Don't worry... that man and his lackey already left! sigh... everywhere around the ship is covered with a couple layers of my soul-force, nobody can overhear what we say... at least not without me knowing.” Lin said confidently after shrugging when he saw disbelief in the eyes of Tang Wei then returned to his seat on the table.

“Phew! brother Lin, just now... you almost scared all the fat out of my skin. But... we gained a tax-free journey from it! if only they would search us every time, then... I won't need to pay any more taxes agai-” Wei received a glare from Tao, Wang, Zhang, Lin, and Lai who seemed like a ghost when his bloodshot eyes looked towards the merchant with a fearsome expression on that pale and sickly-looking face of his! the fatty immediately paused his words but... he glared back at them because—in fact—them not paying taxes in every journey through the territories of the cultivation-alliance would really help the five-clans save quite a sum of money. Yet—despite all of his greed—Wei never gave the low-grade spirit-crystal—which Lin threw in the water earlier—a second look or any thought at all... the fatty just didn't feel the "fueling" force and the deep urges inside him—which always pushed the merchant to gather as much as he can of wealth and resources—that spirit-crystal seemed cursed to Wei! being someone who has no greater pleasure or joy in life than finding free resources or gaining easy profit... it’s indeed a first.

The crewmates has nothing to do with the matters and affairs of esteemed cultivators... they diligently worked on steering their ship towards the public docks so that their young-master Wei and his escorts of bosses would get to leave first towards pearl-city before they along-with boss Tao take the ship afterwards towards the Cheng clan's docking-area. From there they would transport the products within the ship to the storehouse... later would be the work on repairing the ship then a short vacation before they take another journey west but... all of these people were actually eager to work hard right now! so that Peng Tao would give them an early release from duty sooner.

Lin watched the hustle and bustle within pearl-harbor... ships docked or sailed from the harbor... people transporting products of many shapes, sizes, and uses from and into thousands of ships.

“Hmmm!...” When their ship moved closer to the harbor... Lin saw with his soul-sense that there within some location which is much deeper inland and within a secluded part of pearl-harbor... that location has ships which are filled with people from both genders who are being treated as... merchandize! there’s mere kids younger than himself, youths slightly older, and some elders. These people are covered in tattered and filthy rags which doesn’t cover their much of their skin... they’re chained together from collars on their necks! muscular men holding whips led them in lines either towards a spacious area which has its floor made from rough yellow stone and forced them to orderly sit under the glare of the sun or... towards ships where they get crammed into the lowest, darkest, and dampest layers until there's no more place to cram anymore of these unfortunate and miserable-looking people. Whenever any of these people in chains stumbled and fell from exhaustion during the transportation or lagged behind within the line until the chains are pulled tight by the one walking ahead of them? that person gets mercilessly lashed by the muscular men until the victim is up on its feet! even if said victim is a mere child who’s younger than Lin... everyone gets to experience the same pain. What infuriated the boy after witnessing such scenes is that... these cruel executioners of such severe injustice actually licked their lips while delivering such punishment on these helpless people! clearly these muscular men are sick and sadistic people who take great pleasure in hurting others... a few days earlier the great-sage actually saw some people being mistreated within the western-islands when he searched for leads on the water-pearl but... the quantity was way less and the mistreatment was way lower! in here Lin feels like he’s in a slave-port... and not a small one at that.

“Prepare to dock the ship,” Tao said and the crewmates threw the ropes in lassos and pulled until the side of the ship was nearly completely stuck to the elevated dock... hearing Tao ordering the crewmates distracted Lin slightly from witnessing these sights of these people suffering, “Young-master Wei. Have a safe trip home.” Peng Tao bowed towards Wei and gave him his well wishes however... this time the crewmates were actually gladly doing the same for a change! especially those previous losers who received a yellow-coin to compensate their loss.

“En. You take care in your next journey old Tao, I’ll personally give your family a visit once I return.” Wei patted Tao's shoulder firmly before walking towards the stairs and descended them until his feet stopped on the firm and solid land of the harbor. Wang, Zhang, and Lai nodded towards Peng Tao before following their young-master Wei.

“See you later then... minion number one! I bet these other minions are... terribly envying your... special rank.” Lin stood on top of the stairs when he was about to leave. Then the crewmates and old Tao squinted slightly when they saw the boy stop and look back at the oldest spirit-cultivator! the great-sage said while wiggling one of his eyebrows mischievously then... Lin pointed towards the crewmates which the majority of them seemed evidently restless before he spoke then gawked after hearing what the boy said to tease them before waving them goodbye.

“Tsk. Who's your minion? you brat!” Lady-cook covered her face in the back of the helmsman and muttered while wiping her eyes.

“I wouldn't have been able to get back home because of what you did! but... thanks to young-master Wei, I can go back now though.” The despairing fellow blushed when he said it then he grinned afterwards when he thought about how much he would’ve suffered if it wasn’t for his young-master’s timely kindness.

“Hurry up and leave! you snotty-face little shit... you're attracting bad luck for me and my friends here.” One of the losers made sure he’s well hidden between the crewmates and shouted his words.

“Not for me! hahahaha... cloud-pavilion... here I come.” Monkey-man dangled from the highest sail and covered his eyes from the sun and squinted his eyes... clearly the man was trying to locate his next destination from this far spot! the losers grinded their teeth while wishing that he falls and break his neck though.

“Shut the fuck up you fool... try and learn to read the mood will you! damn monkey.” The loser jumped on top of the shoulders of his friends and hurled something towards the cheerful monkey.

“And you... my poor and sorry loser, you should learn to use your... brain! the coins that you took from young-master Wei earlier, must’ve been surely given because of Ming... he’s my lucky charm, so is he... yours? tsk. Bunch of morons.” Monkey-man evaded the object with ease and looked down towards the losers before his words detonated within their brains like explosives.

“Eh! you don't say?” Lady-cook frowned towards the helmsman after hearing and seeing shock on his face before shaking her head at how stupid this old friend of hers can be! it’s very obvious that these words are true.

“Ask yourselves this you idiots! when was the last time that young-master Wei gave you anything? except for more work... of course! tsk... never is the answer.” Monkey-man climbed upwards and began to unfurl the sails... he completely ignored his colleagues afterwards.

“Enough with the chitchat! head towards the clan's docking area now or... all of you would be repairing the ship, those who I don’t see working wouldn’t even leave the ship before they finish the repairs, they wouldn’t get to eat their next meal before we do.” Peng Tao smiled proudly when he witnessed how his men are charged with morale and excitement... despite their rudeness towards Lin these crewmates seems to like the boy very much even if they only got to know the boy for a few days and rarely interacted with the great-sage! these crewmates stopped fooling around and quickly released the dock from the restraint of their ropes before they left towards their next destination but... these people all were smiling and waving arms exaggeratedly towards Lin and Wei’s group of four.

“Such a rowdy bunch! now that I remember... they never gave us such an energetic goodbye before.” Wang nudged Zhang with his elbow and pointed towards a slightly beautiful woman who’s walking some distance ahead with his chin when he spoke! however... the handsome-man was very disappointed when he found that Zhang just shook his head in apprehension while revealing a pair of dodgy and nervous ox-eyes.

“Who cares about them? this young-master... isn’t paying any taxes this time! city-lord Huang is so generous.” Wei was in excellent mood and walked slowly among the crowds with a spring in his steps! the fatty was so happy that he whistled softly and almost felt like dancing... Lai looked towards the departing ship and found old Tao's pair of hawk-like eyes on directed towards himself... the blade-user nodded once to assure and calm the "outcast" that he would make sure to do his best on the next journey and escort young-master Wei and the boy Lin to the clan safely. Peng Tao smiled widely when he saw Lai's gesture and raised his arm then waved goodbye before turning to give the blade-user the sight of his back... two days ago both man had another private talk amongst themselves and Liao Lai was still thinking that the best course of action for himself next is to go alone on a journey to gain experience! Peng Tao didn't oppose that choice because the blade-user is free to do whatever he wants but... the oldest spirit-cultivator asked that Lai would protect the group with everything that he got and makes sure that they arrive safely within Tang-city before he does.

Wang and Zhang walked behind with Lin being between them while Wei walked a few steps ahead and Lai walked next to him to his left.

“Something is bothering you Lin?” The handsome-man glared at his best-friend which kept shaking his stubborn head after each option that Wang offered... then noticed the slight frown on Lin's forehead, “Please... don't provoke these slave traders, these slaves are from the "evil-race" and belong to the cultivation-alliance.” When he looked towards the direction which the boy was looking Wang saw the target of the great-sage’s golden-pupils being the area of the slave traders! the handsome-man’s heart skipped a beat and he felt a shiver on the back of his neck when Wang saw the hardened eyes of Lin... the ice-cultivator quickly lowered his head then whispered in the boy's ear both the identity of these slaves and the identity of the owners... the sight of these slaves getting whipped while being led everywhere the holder of the whip point has long become a normal scene for him.

“Evil-race! they look... normal to me, they’re just mortals without spirit or soul-cultivation at all, where are they taking them?” Lin didn't know why but... the sight of these people being inhumanely tormented... really spoiled his much awaited fun of getting to see new sceneries from this spirit-world! despite there being actually many new things—which should be really fun—like the humanoid creatures that are being locked in "cages!" with a lot of different beasts in the area right next to these "slaves" some of these humanoids has ears similar to felines and similarly long tails or long ears and short fluffy short tails like bunnies... there’s also ones which look like draconian creatures and has rough blue, green, brown, and grey skin that’s covered in scales and long thick tails. Some of the humanoids look like beasts and are covered in thick fur and have bulky muscles... they ferociously would reveal their set of sharp fangs and claws in a threatening gesture to people around their cages! one of the cages actually has a mermaid who’s collared from the neck and her lower-body is a long fishtail of the aquamarine color... that beautiful woman is contained in a large water bowl that’s half-filled and made from transparent glass... everywhere around Lin there’s lots of the strangest and most unbelievable sights and a lot more yet... ever since the boy saw these people from the so-called "evil-race" it was like there's a volcano that just impatiently wants to erupt from within his chest! the great-sage just couldn't remove his eyes or soul-sense of these tormented souls... he just wasn’t able to. Wang felt the hidden rage and frustrations behind each of word from Lin and noticed the visible forcefulness in the boy’s tone of voice when he questioned the handsome-man.

“This!... I don't know. It’s just the way they're called everywhere, I don't know why we spirit-cultivators have to bully and suppress these people, despite us being clearly stronger and superior, while the evil-race is commonly known for their inability to cultivate any aspect at all. Don’t overthink things... our clan doesn't deal in the slave business, as for where they're taking them, from here they can be sent towards the western-islands, or maybe the western-continent... I guess!” Wang shrugged because he doesn't know... right before this moment he never cared for slaves of any kind or cared to give them any thought really! his mind has only the matters of his clans and his cultivation and his friends which is enough to keep him busy... why would he distract himself in thinking about the problems of others? instead of seeking to waste money on collecting slaves... the handsome-man can work on collecting spirit-resources to cultivate and become stronger himself... those from the evil-race are good in being a work force and are excellent craftsmen but... they’re never good in forming an army of any kind... beast-kin are much better yet... what good would collecting them be if his enemies are much stronger than all of the strongest sects? plus... the loyalty of beast-kin is hard to earn and grooming these creatures is proven to be very... very costly.

Feeling sorry after venting at the wrong person... great-sage Lin silently walked with the group of four and his previous distaste of the tyranny from the cultivation-alliance deepened by a lot with each lash of the whips that fell on the backs and bodies of these helpless slaves from that so-called evil-race.

“Ming. What kind of mount would you like to choose? the beasts’ renting-station in this pearl-harbor is that red building over there, do you see it? the one with the green flag on-top... that one, over there at the back. It has many beasts that you can either buy or rent... they also accept every type of beast that you offer to sell to them, as long as it’s healthy... then they would but it.” After the silence became unendurable for Wang—who felt antsy since Lin stopped talking after they left the ship—the handsome-man glared at Zhang for help! since Lai has been acting like he heard nothing at all of the previous conversation... while Wei is just too happy to notice the gloomy-mood that befell the boy because the merchant has no tax to pay this time... the attempt to lighten-up the mood by the simple man was seen as being foolish by Wang who almost snapped at his best-friend however... the handsome-man stopped himself from saying anything in the last moment when he noticed how the kid reacted by raising his head to look upwards to meet the wide and honest pair of ox-like eyes of the strong man then smiled slightly while looking towards where the fire and earth-cultivator pointed with his finger.

“Tell me big guy... what kind of mount do you have? is it yours or... is it rented?” Lin understood that the simple man is trying to cheer him up and distract him from the ongoing atrocities... the boy shrunk the range of his soul-sense to one-hundred meters after inwardly giving these unfortunate slaves a silent mental apology! the great-sage apologized because he's helpless to aid these people right now... doing anything right now would implicate his four companions and might actually harm many of these people instead... doing anything right now might cause further delay in saving old Jin Bao who only have fifteen years to live. The odds are against him and the price of lives is too much! the great-sage’s practical-mind immediately choose to endure and do nothing for now but... once there’s enough strength within his body and sufficient methods to safely extract these people from the grasp of that cultivation-alliance then... Lin would immediately make his move to change this sorrowful-fate of these helpless and tormented souls. The boy blocked and isolated these emotions in a corner of his mind then asked Zhang in return instead of directly answering... clearly aiming to hear the words of this simpleton which might distract him slightly from the tragedy that he just witnessed.

“Rented. Last time I bought a mount it was eaten during an attack of a beast-wave, I really took good care of it though! it was both fast and strong, too bad it met a stronger beast that killed it while I was busy defending the young-master. Sigh... afterwards I decided to save my resources and rent instead, I always rent a mount from the bull species... usually I choose a horned-bull though, because they obey all my commands and I understand how they like to be treated, if you decide to choose one then I’ll teach you how to make your mount tame.” Zhang blushed slightly when he spoke about an incident of the past then glared back at Wang who started to snicker in amusement... the handsome-man is laughing because he remembered how much his best-friend had paid for that dead mount... the strong man actually paid one low-grade spirit-crystal for that copper-skin bull from the allowance which Zhang saved after a few journeys! still... that mount was almost about to reach the devil-beast realm... too bad it met an early death though.

“What else is there for you to recommend?” Lin asked again while noticing that the wide streets—which are paved with the same rough yellow stones like the harbor—began to become more orderly and cleaner whenever they walked deeper inlands! hawkers shouted to attract merchants and customers towards their products and most of the items displayed are lacking spirit-energy, cheap, and sold only in bulk.

“Hmmm... well, young-master Wei and Lai do always choose shadow-colts and you can get one if you like, shadow-colts are good mounts because... they're fast, and they’re mounts which have good stamina but... these colts does always rear and neigh or snort restlessly whenever I ride them. Tsk... I guess they don't like the scent of my martial-spirit, oh! I remember... I actually rented an earth-lizard once before, however... that annoying creature is really, really slow! despite it being very sturdy, big in size, and has a lot of defense which makes it very good in protecting both itself and its rider... people rarely rent that creature. Most of the other mounts are very costly because they're both faster and stronger but... if you aren't strong enough, then it's possible that your mount would try to attack you, or... maybe the beast would try to escape by itself if it could, because these costly mounts are in the devil-beast realm or higher. As for mounts in the ferocious-beast realm, well... they're just weak, slow, and have low stamina. Mounts in the demonic-realm are the best choice for people like us, because they’re safe and efficient.” Zhang repeated the words Wang once taught him without blushing once when he spoke but... the handsome-man just knows his best-friend very well that’s why he understood why the big man is doing his best to avoid eye-contact with him right now! simply because he's very... very embarrassed.

“You do know a lot about stamina huh!” Lin muttered faintly and Wang cackled after remembering the boy’s joke from a couple days earlier.

“Quite knowledgeable indeed! hmmm... our Zhang is sounding more and more like a beast-tamer, maybe you should open your store.” Wang just couldn’t help himself and joined Lin in teasing his best-friend! this time he choose a topic that always caused Zhang to be embarrassed.

"S-shut up... I'm never going to be a beast-tamer, I'm a warrior and the strongest-shield for young-master Wei! the same like you... no, I’m better than you, tsk.” Zhang flushed deep and refused to accept the praise from Wang! stubbornly the strong man defended his dream of becoming someone great in this life... just like his role-model the barbarian-emperor.

“Shut-up... both of you! let's go grab our mounts then get the hell out of this pearl-harbor, don’t forget that I still need at least a day of rest before I can be of any help to you, I need to quickly remove this foreign spirit-energy from within my body,” Lai coughed slightly and spat a globe of blood which is mixed with his saliva at the ground next to his feet! then spoke after giving the two a smile which revealed a mouth filled with bloodied teeth, “What a generous gift! that senior has left me a present, what a lovely gift! I’m honored... really honored, to receive it... is my fortune.” The mockery and sarcasm in the words of the wounded blade-user definitely hid rage that’s beyond limit in Lin's opinion... seeing the strongest person in their group suffering from an internal-injury reminded the duo of the previous shame which they were trying to forget by distracting themselves in talking about mounts. Afterwards the steps of the group picked-up in speed and silence quickly returned to reign within the five spirit-cultivators! only the sounds of the people around them going on with their lives and doing their business could be heard in a mixture of liveliness... cultivators, mortals, beasts, beast-kin. Walking the earth or flying in the sky without wings! riding a mount or a carried by slaves on a palanquin... walking alone or in a group... wearing fine clothes, covered in armor, carrying variety of weapons on themselves that come in many shapes and sizes... ornamented in different kinds of jewelry. Or... none of the above at all! sights and scenes which are no different from fictions or... much weirder. Lin watched and heard everything yet... his heart felt like it’s being torn in half once he turned his back on these slaves and choose to do nothing.

“Telling you... it isn't your fault wouldn't ease your mind any. I know that very well but... what if I told you to become stronger? then we can come back here later, and just... lift their curse.” Ming said while feeling Lin's confusion since they share mind and body.

“I suppose you're right... but... why am I feeling so bad right now? I know myself... I hate injustice, I hate seeing it happen, however... this feels much, much deeper! somehow it hurts me worse than soul-pain, for me... I would prefer experiencing soul-pain again, if it means that I wouldn’t stand helplessly to the side right here and now... and do nothing.” Lin answered then inwardly released a deep sigh which is filled with emotions of unease and restlessness.

Arriving at the street in front of that red building—which Wang Zhang mentioned earlier, the first thing Lin noticed is the much wider street and the large bronze gate of the building—which are opened widely—while many people entered and exited in the same time without trafficking the entrance of the building that’s made from red-colored stones. Guards wearing similar uniforms and below them every guard is armored in a full-set of spirit-tools, while lively and colorful runes cover the exterior of these armors and spirit-tools and move jointly in a certain rhythm in unison on every guard! these guards are making sure the crowds—entering or exiting the building—are not here to make or give any sort of trouble to the clients of this establishment. These guards all has the exact same insignia which the boy witnessed on the colorful spirit-coins that he gave Wei a couple days ago, the insignia of two people sitting cross-legged side by side and each of them using a hand to hold the hilt of a sword which is halfway buried between them... that insignia is there on the area of the heart of each guard. The weakest of these guards is at least as strong as Zhang! if not stronger, There’s three men with strong auras inside the building but... these three sat to the side under the shade of a small pavilion in the garden before the main building of the beast-renting station. The weakest of these three men is at least comparable in strength to the fire-cultivator in red-robe, the other two sitting with him seem much stronger in the senses of the great-sage however... Lin ignored them and followed Wei and Lai while being flanked by Wang and Zhang. Beasts of many shapes, sizes, and species are mounted by cultivators and mortals who are going from and into the red building. After going through the entrance these clients would head towards one of the many tunnels.

“Welcome to our station. Fellow cultivators, how can I help you?” One cute girl who has her hair styled in a pair of pigtails spotted Lin's group of five entering the building and quickly moved towards them, the girl welcomed their arrival while exposing a charming smile on her face then asked in a professional tone of voice, her chest clearly isn't yet developed and she seems to be in the early stages of her maidenhood but... the potential for a startling beauty in the near future are already visible through her tight yellow dress. Such a perky bottom and long and fine legs would make this young-girl certainly drive men to their knees while begging her favor in the future!

“We're looking to rent five mounts, young-lady... hello!” Lai began to speak while Wang began nudging Zhang to see what his best-friend thinks of this one but, the simple man was a step ahead of the handsome-man when he decided to take a quick step further from his best-friend. However... all of the four men in the group immediately noticed how the cute girl in yellow ignored Lai and walked straight towards Lin! then the girl actually tried to snatch Sun from the hands of the boy.

“Eh!...” The girl in yellow became surprised when she found that this young kid has actually evaded her—pretty easily actually!—after taking a simple step backwards then quickly returning to his original position, while blushing—since the boy ruined her plans and exposed her intentions with a single step, then dared to move closer to her—the girl glared towards Lin while looking at him from above. The girl in yellow clearly was trying to intimidate this boy who looks to be no more than half her age at best, she doesn’t want to make it easy on him after causing her to be embarrassed in front of the staff of this beast-station. The girl in yellow only wanted to take a close look at this boy’s pet before returning it to him, even if the boy’s companions has a problem with her action she could always compensate them with some spirit-coins, discounts, or spirit-crystals! plus a fake apology and a cute smile before sending them on their way after getting what she wants.

“Stay away from Ming,” Zhang glared from above at the girl with his pair of wide ox-like eyes once he witnessed her action, the strong man simply moved between the two juniors and blocked the girl from her target by positioning the boy behind his wide back. His words are deep and threatening enough. “Young-girl... what do you want from us? we're here to rent some mounts, we’re not here to cause any trouble, don’t block our path or the guards would handle you.” Zhang suspiciously asked the girl in yellow while raising his voice to make the guards of this establishment hear him but, that was seemingly unnecessarily because from the moment this girl in yellow dress walked towards their group... Lin’s senses alerted him of the extra dozen pair of eyes that became directed towards their group from everywhere inside and outside the building! especially the three men—which are the strongest in the area—who are sitting under the pavilion back in the garden outside the main-hall of this beast station.

'They're here to protect her huh! at least two of them are here for that reason.' Lin concluded this after seeing one of these men shake his head slightly towards his two companions to stop them from taking immediate action against Zhang who interrupted the girl’s fun.

“What do I want? is none of your business! now... move to the side, or I... will make you crawl to some corner all bloody and with a few teeth missing. All I wanted is to take a look at the beast, do you understand? Now... move for this lady, if this lady wants to bully any of your companions, you wouldn't be able to breathe a word of complaint while I do so.” The girl held her hips with both hands and glared back with her dark-black pupils towards Zhang while saying her threat, which caused her pigtails to shake during each of her words and the attitude the girl in yellow exposed while shaking her head gave away how much she’s used to commanding others.

“Young-lady must be joking, this is the beast-renting station! there's no rule which says that we have to comply with the wishes of each and every one who’s working here... it’s the other way around. Now... don't cause a scene, go back and do your job of serving people like us... your clients, let someone else handle our business. Otherwise... if your superiors catch wind of what happened here, they would surely punish you for ruining their spotless clean reputatio-" Wang tried to give the girl a hidden warning by bringing up the matter of her superiors and her position which is no more than a low-rank worker with the responsibility of welcoming and helping clients in this beast-station but, the handsome-man was quickly confused by the rude sneer on the girl’s face who gave him a scorn-full smile afterwards before cutting his words off by saying : “Shut it... eyelashes! nobody tells this Bo An what to do. Do you hear me? no... one! go-on, holler for help all you want.” Her first comment made Wang grit his teeth and Lai—who seemed like a block of ice ever since the incident with inspector Huang—smile faintly, before giving the guards a silent and hard look—because they’re acting like blind and deaf people!—despite the loud voice of Zhang and this "Bo An" nobody dared to intervene and every guard was avoiding eye-contact with the group. Wei immediately understood that the background of this girl in yellow isn't simple when he witnessed what happened, yet the fatty didn’t hesitate to push both Wang and Zhang back a step before he stood next to his brother Lin and looked towards this unreasonable young-girl.

“It's just a variant demonic-cat, a pet this junior is treasuring its companionship! is there a need to cause such a huge scene just to take a look at it? is snatching the belongings of other people so easily forgiven around here?” Finally the boy spoke after noticing that Wei is willing to suffer for his sake, the strong stance and the assuring gaze the fatty gave him earlier means that this merchant would do everything in his power and wouldn't let anyone force the great-sage to oblige with the rude demands of this fearless girl. Because even Wei with his slimy-personality and extremely lax bottom-lines, in the end he has a bottom-line. First it was the assholes from the cultivation-alliance trying to openly steal his water-pearl—once, then again, now this girl is openly harassing his brother and trying to make things difficult for them? her reason! just because she wants to "take a look" at Lin's pet. If "they" weren't intentionally doing so to test his patience? then Wei actually has no problem in trying to convince his brother Lin to let this girl have her way and take a look so that their group wouldn’t be unnecessarily delayed, because that meeting is merely a coincidence but, if it’s really like what he thinks? then the fatty can't surrender anymore ground to these scheming villains from the cultivation-alliance. Otherwise, he would keep facing one test after another in the future. Maybe all the way until the Sunrise-empire—which isn’t the direction where the merchant wants to take his companions after reaching mercenary-city, not to mention that there would be a much higher possibility in having his cover blown away in the meantime. Wei has to take a stand, the fatty would walk around naked if he has to! just to prove that his—and his group’s—hands are clean from the whole matter of the water-pearl. Before leaving this territory that’s ruled by the people from the cultivation-alliance, the merchant has to resolve this issue and do something so that their name is removed from the list of suspects.

“I'm curious... that's all, who said anything about snatching? if I took it then it would be so, if I return it then it would be... just taking a look.” Bo An squinted slightly when she heard the calm questioning tone of voice from great-sage Lin and answered while exposing a slight smile on her face, then the girl in yellow immediately noticed that the boy didn't seem affected by the ongoing situation at all despite her high and mighty attitude and the location of their encounter being a favorable-territory for herself. Being under the gaze of the kid’s serene and calm pair of golden pupils... Bo An felt her face heat up! especially after Lin patted the head of his small orange kitten—which bared its small set of fangs at her—before offering his pet closer towards her while revealing his intentions of wanting to know what's going on inside her head.

“You're not the only one who's curious, Sun... behave.” The girl in yellow scoffed at Lin after hearing his answer then took Sun with both hands, honestly... Bo An translated the boy’s action in being a sign of surrendering of some sort after receiving no assistance from the guards of the beast-station! she ignored the cat's obvious annoyance—since Sun isn’t friendly towards strangers, especially "female" strangers—and flipped the red-tiger in kitten-form at her palm on his back then unashamedly checked his sex, counted the number of his claws and their length and color, unfolded his pair of bat-wings and studied every vein and bone on them with her eyes, looked inside both of his ears, and pulled at his lips to see inside his mouth, Bo An even sniffed Sun’s stomach and was about to check the interior of the eyelids on the orange-kitten! finally Lin just knew that Sun is really about to go on a rampage. If left in her palms a second longer? then his buddy would transform into his original-form and attack everyone who attempts to stop the red-tiger from tearing this girl in yellow to shreds. The boy quickly snatched his tamed-beast back from the clutches of this Bo An then shrugged towards the girl while calming his beast-companion—who kept snaring and hissing cutely towards this woman who's even "weirder" than the previous human-females that he met before be that Lin's sister, Lin’s mother, the women back in the village, or even Mia. Because none of them dared to invade Sun’s privacy like she just did, this tiger just doesn’t like it because it felt wrong.

“Give it back.”

“No.”

“Give it back... now!”

“No... I can’t do that, my pet doesn’t like what you’re doing.”

“Give it... now, or I’d become really, really angry! believe me, you don’t want to see me being angry.”

“No. Your anger, has got nothing... to do with me, or my friends. You said you wanted to take a look, I was generous and allowed you to take more than a look but, you made my pet angry instead! before threatening others think about what could’ve happened, Sun might've hurt you, had he targeted you then it would’ve been troublesome to stop him. The way I see it, it’s you who should be thanking me for taking him back in the right time. Big-sister. Can we get-over whatever that happened here? can we go get our mounts now? like... please!” Lin avoided the swiping-arms of the girl in yellow and protected Sun in his embrace while talking but, every time the boy dodged the attempts from Bo An to snatch the orange-kitten back... it only made her more angry and more embarrassed and a lot more... like much more frustrated. Under the stunned gazes of the shocked guards, the working staff of the renting-station, the few visitors inside the red building who already know the identity of this young girl in yellow, and the strongest three men under the pavilion. A kid—who seems less than ten years old—simply played with Bo An and avoided completely and seemingly effortlessly, while keeping his distance only two steps away from this little-demon! Chentian Bo An—the little genius of the Chentian clan and the most precious gem in the eyes of the whole clan, especially the seniors and the class of high-tier commanders and authoritative personages—the granddaughter of the famous beast tamer Chentian Ao. One of best among the "supreme-ten" beast-tamers within the current beast-tamers of the spirit-world, is actually stomping her feet to the floor in frustration! simply because... Bo An just couldn't snatch the kid's pet from his hands. No matter what method the girl in yellow tried, and no matter how sneaky and quick she tried to make her actions! the girl in yellow just couldn't hold his pet or an parts of his body. Chentian Bo An couldn’t stop the boy from slipping both in and out from the range of her reach, whenever she actually tried to catch the cat or the kid himself... the whole experience felt like chasing a mirage that’s both within arms’ reach yet worlds away! finally Lin stopped and asked the girl in yellow to be reasonable while keeping his soul-sense locked on the three most formidable guards who are sitting under the pavilion, the two men—who wanted to beat-up Zhang earlier—are staring wide-agape while looking towards their young-lady Bo An clearly they’re extremely shocked with disbelief. She's not yet sixteen of age but, her cultivation is apparently three major-realms above this little brat! and more. Yet... their young-lady actually failed to hold or catch the kid despite the boy never trying to widen the distance between the two of them, if she had been going easy on him? then the two of them would've treated it like their young-lady is trying to have some fun while toying-around with a young junior, or something of the sort since Bo An is always pranking everyone around her whenever she’s bored. However, both of them now know for sure, they know that their young-lady isn’t going easy at this kid... at all! she’s been doing her best to catch the brat earlier. Yes, she didn't rely on using her spirit-energy to accomplish her aims. Or order her tamed-beasts to aid her in her actions but, the boy only used his pair of two small and little-legs to avoid their young lady... nothing more! fair chase yet, an unbelievable result.

“Tsk. Who's this brat?” One of the two men from the Chentian clan—who’s responsible for guarding Bo An during her stay within the territory of the pearl-harbor and city—asked the man—who’s managing this establishment for the benefit of the cultivation-alliance, however... when the man who just spoke looked next to him he found the man frowning.

“The men around him are from the Cheng clan, they’re juniors protecting and overseeing the trade-delegation almost every two journeys their clan send to the western-islands. If my memory isn't failing me... that is.” The old man who answered was trying to rummage through his memory for any piece of information about Lin but, he came-up empty in the end! he told his two guests about the identities of Wei and the others though.

“I Never heard of such a promising junior in the reports of my clan either, such a rare eye-color is a one which I never heard of before too. Tell me, is that Cheng clan strong? where they're at?” The other man shook his head and inquired for more information about Wei and the others, only to find their host smiling ruefully.

“That Cheng clan is some weak clan from the Sunrise-empire, that fat young-man over there is their leader, he’s a waste of a spirit-cultivator with a somewhat good natural-affinity but, I heard he doesn’t care about spirit-cultivation at all! yet, he's got quite a good talent for making profit, however that merchant cares not at all about fortifying his spirit-foundations. If I'm not wrong? then the strongest individual in the Cheng clan is just a... high-stage tyrant, fellow cultivators Qiu and Quan, surely you shan't be worried about any consequences from that Cheng clan. If you want to intervene on this matter? then... by all means go right ahead! after all, senior Ao is here under the personal request of grand-elder Renshu, being the close kin of our most esteemed guest, then... accommodating his granddaughter as much as possible is my duty. While inspector Huang is doing his best to be of service to the grandfather and complying with his every request, then I need to assure the safety of young-lady Bo An while she’s having her fun in my establishment. If her days are filled with fun and peace? then I’m doing my job right.” While washing his hands clean from the whole matter at hand with every word he said, this lackey of the cultivation-alliance gave Qiu and Quan the "green light" to do whatever they want! the man who’s responsible for operating this renting-station is already a spirit-lord yet... he clearly doesn’t want anything to do with the affairs of the Chentian clan.

Quan nodded then flew and left the renting-station after giving Bo An and Lin—who were still playing at the moment—a final look! Quan went to report to the most famous beast-tamer of his Chentian clan, Chentian Ao himself. He could've sent the message through a long-distance transmission with a single wisp of his spirit-energy through a communication-jade but, that method has a flaw and a certain vulnerability! it could be sensed by other cultivators who have special-tools or has a much higher cultivation or keen senses and special-abilities! Quan wanted to personally report such a startling genius to his senior Ao, even if the boy is currently being a source of annoyance to their young-lady. The Chentian clan can groom him the kid become her personal-guard in the future, if doing so would make her happy? then that great-grandmother shall have her wish! the Chentian in its entirety would work like a well-oiled machine to make Bo An happy.

“No. You... won't be getting any mounts from this station, unless I say so... "little brother" since you call me big-sister, then you shouldn't be naughty! you should listen to your seniors, now... give it here. Give it now, I promise to give you a good discount on a half-pure unicor-” Bo An shook her head which caused her two pigtails to flutter in the air while she spoke.

“My answer is no. Since we're not getting any service in this place then... goodbye "big-sister Bo An" I hope that next time we meet, you'd be... a bit more on the reasonable side of things, otherwise... it’d be really for the best, if we don't meet at all in the future.” Lin noticed the man who just left and headed towards the direction of the northeast at a very fast speed! the spoke and refused while planning to quickly leave this renting-station after throwing these words.

“Impudent.”

Bo An—who tried to stubbornly corner Lin—even threw a half-pure unicorn in the deal, however... Lin didn't care about a mount in the first place! the great-sage is only here to accompany Wei and the others, he’s only here to enjoy the novel sights and new scenes of the spirit-world. After all... the boy has his spirit-wings, there’s Sun to carry him anywhere he wants without paying a single spirit-coin or minding the details of how to deal with a foreign new beast! however... hearing these words from the great-sage caused the face of the other man to darken. Qiu, one of the "autumn and spring" duo from the Chentian clan. A spirit-lord of the highest stages and someone who’s famous for his dao of the storm, that man actually tried to give this "ignorant junior" a scare by momentarily suppressing Lin with spirit-pressure. Only to find the boy's pair of golden pupils looking towards him from inside the main-hall of the red building, the great-sage was not affected whatsoever by Qiu’s loud shout or the pressuring effect of the angry man’s storm dao that’s created by combining and fusing both energies of wind and water. Wei and the rest were protected within Lin's domain of soul-force and none of them was affected by what that Qiu fellow just tried to do, yet none of them felt anything except for Liao Lai who sensed what the boy actually did to protect them just now. The other people within the renting-station who has weaker spirit-cultivation—than that Chentian Qiu—paled in the face once some of that spirit-pressure affected them! meanwhile the mortals and the normal people within the building their faces flushed in a deep red color and these helpless people felt their chests heavy and stiffly with a burden that weighs tons of rocks, some of these mortals coughed blood before they were knocked out by the scattered aftereffects of that spirit-pressure. Only that small effect happened to the audience because these people weren't actively targeted by Qiu's storm-pressure directly like Lin himself! these people only received the aftereffect of what is directed towards the boy, not to mention that Qiu is actually working on weakening that scattered storm-pressure and controlling it to minimize the effect it gives everyone around. Because Chentian Qiu doesn’t want to hurt his young-lady Bo An who’s standing just a few steps from the body of the great-sage.

“Eh!...” Bo An twisted her neck to look towards that senior Qiu just like Lin after she witnessed many of the people inside the station being affected by the man’s storm-pressure—which is something this young-girl is very familiar with, the girl in yellow never wanted to bully Lin or to forcefully suppress him. Not to mention that Bo An wasn't offended—like... at all!—by what the kid just said earlier, actually the young-girl thought it was kind of courageous from the boy. Just one look in his eyes and the girl in yellow sensed like Lin didn’t mean to mock her or anything, honestly even Bo An herself was embarrassed and slightly ashamed of herself because of the trouble she’s giving the boy right now. But, the young-lady of the Chentian clan only wanted to keep her high and mighty image in front of this station’s staff! and her untouchable image and reputation in front of the people within both pearl-harbor and pearl-city. Actually Chentian Bo An has already confirmed what she wanted to confirm after holding Sun in her arms earlier but, the girl wanted to make herself appear mysterious in the eyes of this little kid who has the pair of beautiful eyes of the gold color. The scenario—which Bo An formulated in her head!—would be Lin eager to know what kind of variant his pet actually is, while staring with his golden pupils—like a puppy who’s waiting for his milk—towards the young-girl and waiting expectantly for her answer. Bo An would enjoy the attention for a... while! before telling the kid that his beast actually has quite a good and pure bloodline, plus some high attainments for a beast who’s only in the demonic-realm. Then... the young-girl would give Lin some advices on how to groom that pet of his, before taking the group to choose their mounts and Bo An would give them a small discount which would make the whole group of five—especially the boy!—sing praises for the young-lady of the Chentian clan during their journey everywhere they go. However, senior Qiu choose the wrong time to be worked-up for the sake of his young-lady—like he always does!—to make matters worse, the man actually tried to personally suppress the kid and his group with storm-pressure.

“Hmmm!...” While receiving the stares of confusion and helplessness from everyone within the station, Chentian Qiu—who’s actually struck with disbelief—was shocked not only because Lin and his group of four are completely unaffected by his storm-pressure but also because Bo An is actually glaring towards him! clearly the young-lady is feeling annoyed since Qiu must’ve ruined her fun. The man next to Qiu brought-out his long-distance communication-jade at once and sent his report directly to inspector Huang, the two of them being spirit-lords... they felt the sudden increase of soul-force which suddenly appeared from the body of that young-boy just before he and his group of four were slammed with the storm-pressure from Qiu's spirit-energy of the storm dao. The degree and intensity of soul-force really confused both of them! because these two spirit-lords couldn't clearly estimate exactly at what major-realm that soul-force is, just after it appeared within their senses... suddenly that soul-force was gone the next instant.

“Senior. Do I have your permission to leave now? if you still have any more teachings for this junior before he goes on his way, then... please! by all means, say them. Right now, you do have my full attention.” Lin spoke while looking straight towards the man with a pair of golden-pupils which are clear from all emotions and every one of his words is both sharp and on point. 'I had enough of these silly games. Either come all out or... I would be out of here! so... old man. Don't throw your weight around, I won't tolerate this behavior any more than I already have.' Chentian Qiu felt that hidden meaning behind these words from the boy is something of this sort, yet... Qiu just couldn't read anything when he looked at these golden pupils—at all really, if he’s trading places with the great-sage—who’s at such a young and tender age—and some elder from the senior-generations tried to bully him for whatever reason! then Qiu would be burning with various types and colors of emotions. Such emotions can't be hidden from the eyes of true experts or cultivators who are in the higher realms! just like how Liao Lai couldn't hide his emotions of anger and unwillingness from inspector Huang when the city-lord searched the blade-user’s space-ring, who's Chentian Qiu? on the long pyramid of spirit-energy cultivation... he's currently in the sixth-floor and only needs two more steps to reach the seventh-floor. However, someone like him is unable to uncover some hidden emotions from a young kid despite staring the boy directly in the eye! “First... apologize to my young-lady, after what you sa-” Chentian Qiu wanted to take an apology from the brat before he leaves—since that’s the least he could do, but, Bo An interrupted him and said: “No need for an apology! or anything else, Senior Qiu. It was me just pranking little-brother, what happened here earlier is a matter for us juniors to resolve ourselves, stay out of it. Your name is Ming? huh! let's go this way then, I would take them to pick their mounts now... everyone should carry-on with their work, someone go help and awaken these customers.” The young-girl gave the "autumn" fellow of the famous duo a glare to back off before smiling towards Lin while acting cute and cheerful all of a sudden! then the girl in yellow politely pointed towards a door to the side and invited the group like she should've done from the beginning, the destination is to choose from the various mounts within the station. While walking... the young-lady of the Chentian clan threw orders for the staff to deal with those who fell unconscious and the ones who suffered internal-damage after being affected with some storm-pressure. Wei smiled ingratiatingly and followed Bo An but, his walking gait is clearly stiff and his brain actually almost burst from the countless thoughts which kept troubling and burdening his brain-cells! Wang really wished to leave instead—because this girl is annoying to him, Zhang kept walking calmly while giving Lin a few looks of adoration and respect. Meanwhile Lai did his best to keep suppressing the foreign water-energy which is inside his body! just like the handsome-man the blade-user really wished to leave quickly so that he would get to remove that annoying water-energy sooner, the boy just looked at the red walls of the tunnel they’re in after entering the door which Bo An led them towards. It’s a wide and spacious tunnel and there’s traces of animals which is visible on both the floor and walls of the tunnel but, the red stones which this building is made-of are huge and seems to be... very sturdy. Glowing-crystals are embedded in the center of the ceiling in a line, and these glowing-crystals did give more than enough light to brighten the long and wide tunnel which has a very high-ceiling. Finally after half a minute of walking in silence ever since they entered the tunnel, Bo An twirled around to face Lin and the group... just like how the boy is carrying Sun on his hands and hugging his buddy close to his chest and scratching his fur to calm him! the young-girl too is holding a grey puppy which has pitch-black and very intelligent eyes and is hugging that cute creature to her undeveloped chest, Bo An gave Lin a cute smile when she noticed some signs of confusion in his eyes. The kid clearly doesn’t know where did she brought that puppy from... while walking closer towards Lin, Bo An raised her puppy up and rubbed her cheek on its lush grey fur before introducing her beast : “This is... Fang Bo. My beast-companion.”

“This is... Sun. He’s been my best-friend ever since I was ten months old.” Lin scratched Sun's head while introducing him but, Fang Bo merely sniffed at the air then gave Sun a condescending gaze before closing his eyes and snuggling himself to sleep in the hands of the girl! meanwhile Sun—who just became a bit calmer after Lin kept coaxing him repeatedly—suddenly stood up and began to hiss and growl towards the grey puppy while revealing his fangs, the red-tiger is clearly angry because that little "mutt" is acting very arrogantly in his presence.

“Ah! they don't seem to get along well.” Bo An indeed wasn't happy because of what Fang Bo just did and she helplessly returned the grey puppy to her monster-medallion, only then was Sun a bit more at ease! but, he kept snorting in frustration whenever he looked towards her. Actually... Sun sensed like he's not going to have to wait for much longer before he gets to take one of the demonic-cores—which Lin has within his space-ring, if the red-tiger aimed for the demonic-core from the big one? the demonic-beast knows and understands that it has to become a lot stronger before it’s able to safely refine it. One after another these stupid humans and their stupid and furry friends bullied it and caused trouble for its buddy, Sun needs to quickly become stronger and beat them all up... purr that would feel really good! So what if that stupid grey mutt is stronger than him right now? since it’s acting arrogantly then it needs to be taught a lesson. The red-tiger already ate many such enemies—who are much stronger than itself—ever since it began to learn how to hunt and how to cooperate with Lin's father, so what if you're strong now? I can be much stronger if I’m given enough time. Just you wait "black eyes", the red-tiger thought, someday this Sun would bully you and pin you underneath his paws! let's see if you would act arrogantly when it happens. Noticing that "awkward silence" has returned to rule-over the atmosphere after her attempt to ease the tension in the air slightly with the help of Fang Bo yet she failed in the end, Bo An decided to be direct instead and looked towards Lin : “Little-brother Ming. Do you know what kind of winged-tiger Sun is? sigh! listen Ming, Sun is a... very special tiger that comes from a rare species of tigers—which despite having a very mixed bloodline, that species of winged-tigers actually have a faint strand of bloodline that branches from dragons. So... make sure to feed him very, very well. While he’s growing stronger you should raise the quality of the spirit or demonic-meat that you feed him! after Sun successfully reach the devil-realm you shouldn’t feed him anymore meat from normal or domesticated animals, change his meals with meat from ferocious or demonic-beasts instead. Each time you find his pulse slowing down for more than a day's worth of time then... it means that you should feed him a demonic-core of a beast from the same major-realm or two demonic-cores from beasts which are one realm-lower if there’s none but, never feed him a demonic-core of a higher-realm!...” When she received a slight shake from Lin's head to answer her first question, it made Bo An drop her shoulders in surrender while thinking 'I thought so.' then the young-girl began giving the boy advices while explaining the cause of her previous curiosity. But—at least—Bo An is satisfied with the great-sage’s serious attitude who gave each one of her her words his full-attention, Lin kept asking Bo An about certain matters—which are related to his tamed-beast—these things happened to confuse the boy ever since he noticed them on the behavior of Sun. Meanwhile... Wei and the rest began to look towards Sun with a different kind of eyes! after these four heard that the red-tiger is blessed with a faint strand of "dragon-bloodline" just the word "dragon" when used to describe anything no matter how small or "faint" the relation might seem... the word is never simply added to spice the topic or to add excitement. Even beasts who has the faintest hue of the bloodline from the dragons, are said to be like a hundred-percent and certainly are going to be able to reach the major-realm of tyrannical-beast someday! the four of them already noticed that Sun is a very talented beast, despite being only in the realm of demonic-beast the winged-tiger is already able to transform—which is a clear sign that it’s ahead of many demonic-beasts—who knows what it’ll be able to achieve once the red-tiger reaches the realm of devil-beast.

“Big-sister Bo An. Thank you... I did really learn a lot from you today. Well... allow me to introduce myself to you properly, I'm Ming son of Tai the mighty and Tian the beauty, it’s a pleasure meeting you here.” While offering his hand forward to shake hers, the boy introduced himself to the delicate beauty in yellow. Meanwhile—inside the soul-world—Ming was deeply blushing yet smiling widely all the same.

“What a strange way to introduce yourself! but, I like it, tehehe... Ah! I guess that means that it’s my turn then, well... I'm Chentian Bo An, from the Chentian clan—which is full of beast-tamers, nice to meet you too. Ming.” Bo An giggled cutely and entered through the second-gates within the tunnel while speaking carelessly, these gates are being guarded by two spirit-tyrants of the mid-stages! yet... the young-girl in yellow ignored the two while moving ahead of Lin's group of four, meanwhile these two guards quickly opened the doors of the black gates for her before she reached their side then gave a slight bow as a respectful salute to the young-lady from the Chentian clan. Once again it was the turn for Wei's group to be stunned after discovering Bo An's true-identity, Chentian clan? no shit! that’s one of the "top hundred" of the "famous clans" in the rankings of the spirit or cultivation-clans. Their Tang clan almost made it on that list once in the past, because of the attainments of their ancestor Jianyu and the effort he gave to strengthen the Tang clan but, alas! the fall from the top of the pyramid almost crippled the Tang clan. Its four friendly clans took a harsh blow in the end, and the consequences were indeed catastrophically severe. 'Chentian huh! Mia mentioned such a name before, more than once really... I guess, it would be for the best if I don't ask.' Lin thought then following after Bo An... the boy directed his attention towards the black-gates instead and what lays behind them. Carved on these black gates is a variety of beasts. Every one of these carved beasts is lifelike and each carving has a pair of spirit-crystals instead of—normally carved—eyes! or... more. While following Bo An to enter these black gates the great-sage felt like every one of these beasts—which are carved on the doors—are watching and staring at him closely. Maybe in a split-second these carved animals and beasts would jump out and attack their group! the two guards pushed the black gates shut after their group entered which put an end to the strange feeling of being closely monitored by almost a hundred carvings of beasts. Ahead of him Lin saw beasts lined on each wall of this long hall which is seventy meters below the renting-station. Separated by huge pillars every twenty meters and leaving the space between every two pillars for a single beast to rest comfortably on layers of clean hay—which is scattered messily—on the ground below and around the feet of the beasts.

“Go-on and take your pick. These are... the finest mounts of the ones in the realm of demonic-beast, or lower. Of course... I’m talking about the ones which are currently within this station.” Bo An smiled and spoke while patting the long neck of a tall horse which is as black as night. That beautiful creature has hoofs which are covered in similarly long and thick black hair. Just like its tail and neck... that fine breed of a horse was brushed, cleaned, and well fed! that mount is only missing a saddle because it’s clearly ready to go. Despite there being hundreds of different beasts and animals in this huge and spacious hall... first thing that Lin noticed is that there’s no odor of feces or any traces of excrement in this location at all. Everything is so clean and very well organized in the area and the beasts themselves seem to be at peace in here! it’s just kind of... weird.

Wang followed Zhang and went to check the horned-bulls since they’re the only available mounts from the bull species! meanwhile Wei and Lai nodded when they saw the quality of the shadow-colts and each of the two men brought-out some fruits from his space-ring to feed the mount they choose. Sun kept his eyes on these new "guys" and the red-tiger really wanted Lin to choose some brown lion that’s from a strange species as "its own" mount! but, Lin patted his buddy which meant : forget about it then shook his head once again when the tiger in kitten-form asked again for the boy to take it—brown lion—as his own mount. The great-sage understands completely that his tamed-beast certainly wants him to choose that brown lion to be Lin's mount so that Sun can bully it! or... maybe play with it when he’s bored. But... one troublesome tiger being currently in his company is more than enough. Finally after reaching the end of the huge underground hall. The boy was still hesitating about taking his pick from these mounts.

“Why not... this half-pure unicorn? it's a very beautiful creature, a mount which is famous for being really docile and loyal to its owner, not to mention that it’s extremely strong within its realm if compared to the majority of creatures in this world... as well as being terribly fast!” Bo An asked but great-sage Lin almost immediately shook his head in refusal! the beast is really all that however... it’s a very... very noticeable creature!—the one which stands-out among other creatures like a sore-thumb, it’s eye-catching, it’s taller and bigger than even the biggest of the shadow-colts, it has a coat of white hair which is so bright... the white color itself is like first daylight! the colorful mane of long locks of hair dangling from the beast’s neck and tail with the silver hoofs just fuses into a perfect picture when the long purple-blue colored horn at its head faces towards the sky. Unfortunately despite the extreme temptation that oozes naturally from that creature towards everything around it... Lin had to deny himself that pleasure. Why? because the boy never actually forgot Jin Bao's advice—the one which urged the great-sage on being low-key during his travels—riding on-top of that beautiful unicorn’s back would be like... riding a light-show in the middle of the darkest night! it’s practically "impossible" not to draw attention to himself when he’s with that creature.

Finally—while sighing inwardly, Lin choose a spotted mule-deer! a creature which Bo An mentioned that : it could keep-up with a shadow-colt if both creatures are in a "sprinting rush" for six hours—which is more than enough in the opinion of the great-sage—other than that... the spotted-deer is famous for being tame and docile. The creature has the natural-affinity for the element of wood which means while mounting its back the person can actually recover some of their stamina! or... heal their wounds a bit faster than normal. Meanwhile Bo An—who was glaring at Lin since the boy just refused her advice and choose such a mediocre and below-average beast—just humph cutely and said nothing because she vaguely sensed like this fellow must have his reasons. Soon afterwards Lin returned to join the group while pulling the spotted-deer which he chose by the reins while ignoring Bo An—who is clearly unsatisfied by his choice, the boy saw the duo of Wei and Lai standing at one side and feeding their shadow-colts while the duo of Zhang-Wang are standing on the other side and patting the backs of their horned-bulls—who seemed to enjoy this pampering, like... a bit too much! the shadow-colts are the taller beasts and looks to be creatures which are fast like the wind with their symmetrical shaped bodies. Especially these two pairs of long—and a bit too muscular—legs. The bodies of the horned-bulls are longer in size despite being shorter in height! these beasts has wider backs and stunted legs which are packed with muscles on top of more muscle. Their heads are decorated with a pair of horizontal horns which are curved upwards on the end... horns which extends outwards from the sides of the bull’s head up to one meter in length on each side before curving upwards for another half a meter until the horns end in sharp points which looks... terribly dangerous! seeing Lin bring a spotted mule-deer puzzled the four men. All of them thought that the boy would receive that promised half-pure unicorn from Bo An but... one look on the little-girl’s face and these men immediately understood that the kid must've regretfully refused. After a few days—which they spent with this little-ancestor—these men just know that Lin would do whatever he likes without caring about the opinion of others... because apparently he’s this kind of person! they’re the ones who just can’t understand the reasons behind these actions.

“Young-lady. We'll take these mounts, how much exactly do we owe your station? we would be sending these beasts to the other renting-station in mercenary-city.” Wei asked for the price while mentally readying himself to pay for the expenses of these mounts! it really hurt emotionally whenever the fatty remembered the rule which says : "that while being inside any establishment that belongs to the cultivation-alliance then nobody can bargain for anything"

'Sigh. There’s really nowhere that’s better than the "free market" not even equal!' Wei thought while lamenting how much of his fortune he could’ve denied the despicable cultivation-alliance during the transactions along the years! every time the fatty deals with their establishment... he's actually helping that organization grow stronger. But, the merchant understands completely that he has to be "patient" and have to "wait" for the most "opportune time" to strike at that colossal organization wherever that place is—that place which should be both fatal and crippling—without a shred of mercy... without showing a shred of weakness.

“Each colt is rented for one green and fifty yellow spirit-coins, the selling price within this renting-station is... one low-grade spirit-crystal and fifty purple spirit-coins per each shadow-colt. As for the horned-bulls... their rent is two green spirit-coins, each... of course! the selling price is... just two low-grade spirit-crystals per each horned-bull. Ming's spotted mule-deer is... his to take for free. That’s my gift to you, I’m apologizing for what senior Qiu did... and said earlier,” Bo An—professionally—gave the four men the prices and the options then turned to face Lin then gave him a smile while pinching the boy’s cheeks! the little-girl spoke like some big-sister who’s seeking reconciliation with her little-brother. “You see... big-sister Bo An is being very generous here, right!” While puffing her small and undeveloped chest outwardly in a proud gesture... the young-lady from the Chentian clan inquired while trying to hide a sly glow from showing within her eyes! but the great-sage noticed it when it fleetingly passed on her expression.

“Big-sister treats me... the best! because you’re obviously... the best.” Praise really does come easily for someone like Lin. Since it's free and does work wonder in making all sorts of people around the boy like him even more or... tolerate his existence in some—rare—cases! even someone like... Kai. Softened in the end and actually gave Lin some advices... despite how uptight the talking-raccoon was while doing so... these advices actually count among the best and most direct hints! hints that would clearly help the great-sage avoid many unnecessary distractions in the future. Meanwhile Bo An just had no idea that Lin could actually read her like an open book right now! her beautiful face instantly lit-up in joy after she heard the boy's praise. Bo An leaned forwards and gave the great-sage a light kiss on the cheek then extended both of her hands to pinch them again one final time.

“what was that for?” The great-sage faked being shy while sneaking a few glances towards his four companions and asked faintly.

“That was... only given to you because little-brother Ming gave the correct answer, so... don't go on in your journey while thinking that you would be getting free kisses from this young-lady if we met in the future.” With mischievousness in her eyes and a sly expression on her face. Bo An leaned forward again and softly whispered these words in the great-sage’s ear—which only made Lin smile ruefully in return—because he’s sure that Bo An has it in her wishes for the boy to go on and beg her! beg for a chance for more of these kisses—be that now or in the future, but... the great-sage just gave her a silent nod while revealing slight confusion on his expression. And—like he expected Lin—noticed the signs of disappointment in the eyes and on the face of Bo An after seeing his silent reply—which confirmed his earlier thoughts— after the girl in yellow returned to her serious and professional-attitude Bo An turned to face Wei's group. However... once she did the young-lady of the Chentian clan saw the fatty—who had a comely and genial-face earlier—actually shivering like a leaf! his narrow-eyes clearly bloodshot and his chubby-face black while an extremely deep frown crisscrossing on his expression. Meanwhile the blade-user—who’s called Lai and is clearly guarding the fatty—is actually snickering endlessly at the sight of his superior! the reason Liao Lai is amused is because they all noticed that the prices on this tunnel are almost double of the other tunnels—which they visited before, however... let’s not neglect the fact that... the beasts here on this tunnel are... actually a few grades higher in quality! the way these beasts are treated are much better in comparison to the other tunnels too. Wang kept raising his eyebrows towards Lin mischievously—since the kid just received a direct kiss to the cheek from this babe, the handsome-man kept winking knowingly and—for his own good—discreetly! but... the ice-cultivator found the boy—who’s just faking being embarrassed a moment earlier—being completely unaffected by his teases. Which was much to Wang's disappointment! Zhang on the other hand only has the horned-bull—which he choose earlier—in his eyes. The simple man kept pampering the beast by patting its back here and there... meanwhile his horned-bull kept mooing comfortably and softly while relaxing its neck which caused its big-sized head to dangle downwards! that action really made Bo An smile when she noticed it happen between the two. Because finally she found someone who actually knows how to treat a beast... even if it’s a rented-beast... that doesn’t mean that it’s just a tool! people have to actually bond with their mounts before they leave the station.

“Young-lady. Thank you for the generous gift to my follower, Ming! young-lady Chentian has bestowed you her favor, never forget it,” After calculating the worth of Lin's spotted mule-deer and finding that they really did make some profit here despite paying higher price for the rent of their four mounts! the fatty spoke to Bo An then casually exposed that the boy is just his follower to affirm and solidify their fake identities to this girl from the Chentian clan before continuing to say : “Here. Here's seven green spirit-coins for the rent.” Yes. Wei did feel like... a lot better. While handing out these seven green spirit-coins. But... the fingers on his extended hand were actually "shaking" and quite visibly at that! thankfully Bo An's pair of eyes were looking in shock and apparent disbelief towards the kid instead. Once again the girl in yellow held herself back from asking any personal and private questions however... the young-lady of the Chentian clan decided to inquire and request for more information about this boy Ming who’s with that group.

“Take care Ming. Since you’re heading towards mercenary-city, then remember that pearl-road isn't safe, at least not like it normally should in these days! reports say... that some large-scale attacks from bandit groups, and huge beast-waves happened last week and the couple of weeks before it.” Bo An warned her new little friend and Wei was the most thankful one to hear these news. During the days where his group had to tread the pearl-road—from and into mercenary-city—Wei would always hear rumors of attacks from beast-waves in an extremely large-scale! only to find that these attacks are in a small-scale in the end—which can't really endanger the affairs of his trade if the fatty is well prepared for these beasts—however... since someone of a high status similar to Bo An is the one who mentioned these news. Then she must've heard about these attacks and dangers from a "reliable source" the merchant gave the young-lady from the Chentian clan a polite bow as a courtesy first for her kind warning then mounted his shadow-colt agilely then lightly prodded it to move by slightly pulling the reins in his hands. The black horse trotted slowly towards the black gates ahead of Lai, Wang, and Zhang who followed after their young-master Wei.

“Little one. Make sure to keep my friend Ming here both safe and healthy, don't be naughty and give him trouble later! Sun here won't bully you, so don’t be nervous of him, I know that little-Ming would make sure that wouldn’t happen in the future.” Bo An told the spotted mule-deer once Lin mounted its back. The girl noticed how the mule-deer became agitated and struck with unrest once Sun was on its back... which is why the young-lady calmed the beast with a few words! seeing that interaction between Bo An and the deer made Lin smile. The boy was relieved in knowing that he isn't the only one who’s used to talk to animals as if they could fully understand whatever he says! otherwise great-sage Lin would regretfully admit that he's just going bonkers.

“Big-sister Bo An. Thanks for the gift, I hope we meet again in the future... farewell.” Lin waved her goodbye and pulled the reins gently to urge the mule-deer forward.

“Have a safe trip! if you're free and are nearby my Chentian clan then don't you dare hesitate in paying big-sister a visit, I’m sure that we’re going to meet again in the future, just by asking... I'm sure that you'd know the way.” Bo An gave Lin a mischievous wink after she spoke then smiled widely when she saw the boy avoid eye-contact with her! but... once the group of five were out of her sight after moving quite a distance within the tunnel the black gates were finally closed shut by the two guards. It was then that the young-lady of the Chentian clan went towards the half-pure unicorn and pulled its head downwards after grapping the purple horn! Clearly the girl in yellow was overcome with frustration. “Whitey! you like him, why didn't you make any move? like approach him or at least look in his eyes to gain his favor.” Bo An glared directly at the unicorn's large blue eyes while she spoke.

“Snort. An! let go of my horn, he clearly has his pride... so do I. And I don't like the scent of that demonic cat which was in his arms, both of them gave me the creeps.” The unicorn spoke while raising its head and colorful tail like a peacock! then shook it's long mane of colorful hair... it’s really a very beautiful creature. But... if Lin had listened to it talk? then he would've refused it once again without hesitation! why? because... a few words from that mythical-horse—which has been the symbol of beauty for generations and generations within his previous-life—can make Sun growl for days and nights without end... very easily at that!

“Tsk. I do believe that it's your loss, you dummy! who knows what kind of person he he’d become in the future?” Bo An clicked her tongue and left the place after giving the proud half-pure unicorn a glare. This time the young-lady from the Chentian clan took her time going back to the main-hall of the renting-station. The two guards—who are situated on the gates of this special tunnel—exchanged a knowing look when they noticed how Bo An was daydreaming when she left! the girl in yellow would stop periodically every few steps and frown or giggle to herself like a demented person.

“What in the hell happened to this "little ancestor"? did these guys from before try and bully her? or maybe... play some sort of trick on her.”

“Heh. As if! anyone who would dare to do that to Chentian Ao's precious granddaughter is... certainly resting in the soil, or... already in the belly of one of her beasts. I heard that... she already has a few beast-kings acting as her dao-protectors ever since she was born!”

“I heard that... it’s a primordial-beast! one which choose the beast-path after transcending it’s lightning-tribulation.”

While the guards argued among themselves. And Bo An tried to translate these feelings which lurked within her chest because they’re confusing and strange! Lin followed after the group of four who took another tunnel which led them away from the bustling area of the harbor and deeper towards the west. Ahead after the exit there’s a wide road that’s completely straight and hundreds of meters in width... that road is paved from yellow stones similar to the streets of the harbor and is separated into two sides. Each side is crowded by many loaded-carriages and creatures mounted by people and people moving and going in both ways. Meanwhile the exit of their tunnel is already guarded by a dozen of guards from the cultivation-alliance and being led by one tyrant who appears to be the one in command of this small unit. Countless people walk the sides of that street which is flanked by a variety of different stores, restaurants, taverns, etc. Each establishment is open and ready to welcome more of these customers. Meanwhile caravans and merchants accompanied by fearsome looking guards rode the yellow road from and towards pearl-harbor.

Tang Wei released a sigh of relief once his narrow eyes fell on this yellow road then led his mount towards the middle of the wide road and eased the reins for his shadow-colt to run at its leisure. On every mile of the road Lin noticed that there’s a tunnel underneath the road which people uses to go from the far left of that direction towards the opposite direction of that wide road or towards the stores and establishments located on the right-hand side of each direction. Things felt similar to the boy when he saw that sight which made him remember his previous-life where roads bustled with activity yet remained flowing without signs of congested traffic! after shaking his head to remove the distractions... great-sage Lin looked towards the surrounding sceneries and towards the stores and people while hoping to achieve some rest of his mind. However... no matter how much Lin actually tried to distract himself from the sight he saw before—where the slaves were hoarded like cattle towards ships in pearl-harbor—the boy would again see something that would remind him of his previous-life! be that a unique product being sold in one of these stores or the uncommon design of some buildings or the style of some clothes which some of these people are wearing. Not to mention that despite of the variety in these slaves—who are collared everywhere around him in this new continent—since there’s men, women, little boys, girls, humanoids, and beast-kin that are helping their owners carry their belongings or transport some "rich" and "extravagant" looking people—who are currently shopping these stores—by carrying these "cruel" people on-top of palanquins which come in various designs, shapes, and sizes.

“Ming. You've been somewhat... "out of sorts" ever since we docked in the harbor, how about a race to add some fun to this dull ride?” Liao Lai suddenly said and except for Lin himself the three other companions frowned after hearing it. Because they all thought that he must be seeking to have his revenge on this new travelling companion of theirs! after all... he’s the sort of man who holds a grudge. Wei looked towards the blade-user and glared at him... meanwhile his chubby cheeks bounced up and down because the effect of his shadow-colt’s moderate-running pace was wiggling every flap of fat on the fatty’s body! it seems bad to laugh at the scene because the beast below his butt is the one enduring that burden. Wang on the other hand just sneered in contempt while keeping his mouth shut and refrained to intervene... since their bully of a companion is seeking trouble for himself then he can have at it. Zhang shook his head slightly while giving Lai a honest and silent warning with his wide ox-like eyes which meant: "that the blade-user is bound to lose if he wants to compete with the kid again." Even if Lai’s mount is the beast—which is superior in speed among the two mounts—the simple man just has this gut feeling and strong faith in Lin... the boy just won't lose no matter odds! his clansman is bound to fail in the end.

'Some habits just don't die young... I guess!' Wei thought when he noticed how Lai is ignore his glares and acting like he didn’t see anything.

'A leopard just doesn't change its spots... huh! wait until you lose, let’s see if you’ll keep that grin on your face then.' Wang thought while anticipating the blade-user to crawl into some dark corner after getting handed a loss by the kid—which made the handsome-man even more excited to see it actually happening—when it happens... maybe he would have some fun ridiculing that arrogant insolent prick! since Liao Lai was never mindful whenever he bullied them... payback seems close at hand now.

'Sigh. Why is he being stubborn like an old mule? mmm... he just doesn’t learn his lesson, Lin seems like the type of person who respects those who respect him and punishes those who doesn’t do so by stepping all-over them. He should just be friends with the kid, it’s so much easier and simpler after all! he’s being weird... en, he’s being very, very weird.' Zhang thought while giving Lai the verdict of certain loss before the race even began! but... somehow—and contradictory to his own thoughts—the strong man admired the tenacity and courage of the blade-user all the same.

“A race huh! how long do we have to compete? Bo An already said that my mule-deer can't keep up with your shadow-colt, it can only do so... if it's a sprint in a duration that’s no more than six hours.” Lin nodded when he noticed that Lai’s intentions are to cheer him up... the three men seems to merely misunderstand the blade-user that's all! since he’s in a state that requires immediate distraction at the moment... the great-sage welcomes the idea of a race very much right now.

“Meow!...” Sun scratched at Lin's clothes cutely while practically begging with his eyes for a chance to participate in that event.

“No. Buddy! I already know that you're fast, however... this race doesn't seem like a short race, and... don’t forget that these guys seems to best you when it comes to endurance, especially these horned-bulls there... they seem like they have an insane amount of "stamina" hehe. You and I, we don’t like to lose... do we now?” Great-sage Lin spoke with Sun and the kitten lowered its ears in disappointment after getting its request denied! meanwhile... Wang, Lai and Wei smiled when they heard the boy tease Zhang who scratched his head since he just doesn’t get that joke! then Lin continued to say to his best-friend: “Since you already understand that, then you better behave from now on... because I don’t want any trouble.” After saying that the great-sage extended his soul-force through the ability of soul-gaze towards the direction ahead without actively targeting anything in specific. Yet... after his soul-force stretched five-hundred kilometers in range! all Lin could see is the wide yellow road extending endlessly in the distance ahead of that maximum-range—which his ability of soul-gaze could reach, the only change in the wide yellow road ahead of them is that... all of the buildings on both sides has become fewer in quantity and smaller in size while being less in extravagance when it comes to the interior and exterior decorations. Their owners must be poorer if compared to the owners of the establishment near pearl-harbor.

“En. That’s to be expected from your... "inferior mount" hehe. Pearl-city is approximately about a day's worth of galloping from where we are, since our stay within the city in the clan's estate would be a short one, for like... a day or so—give or take a few more hours depending on how and when our dear merchant is going to give the order—before we hit pearl-road and "stomp" all-over it with our own "precious" and slow-ass caravan! then... we can actually push our mounts to the extremity today, tomorrow—once we arrive—we can let the beasts rest while we make final preparations in pearl-city. You can treat it like... a test of the quality of these beasts, many people actually does so, if something is wrong with the mounts? we can just swap them for another in the next renting-station. Honestly... I'm currently in a hurry to arrive sooner! because I need remove the foreign water-energy that’s inside my body, since I hate to waste unnecessary time—during this short-distance travel between pearl-harbor and pearl-city—then... why not do both? we can actually have some fun, and arrive faster,” After hearing the short and one-sided conversation between Lin and his winged-tiger. Lai spoke and alternated between being sarcastic and serious however... other than Lin himself... none of the blade-user’s three clansmen actually believed a word from what he said! Lai continued to say : “Actually... I don’t really feel like my chances of winning the race are that great but, I've got nothing to lose by trying anyway, in the end... the sooner we arrive, the sooner I can dissolve this issue of mine.” The blade-user shrugged after frankly speaking his mind and expressed a careless smile on his face while seeming to enjoy the air which buffeted his hair into a messy style.

“Fair enough. But, I won't be riding my spotted mule-deer in our race. I have something that has been troubling my mind, I want to shake it off.” Lin said and this time Wei and the three men frowned after hearing it. Since the boy is saying that he wouldn't be riding his winged-tiger or mule-deer then... is it possible that he’s planning to...!

“Ming. You know that during our race... you can't be allowed to use your spirit-wi-” Lai panicked slightly and tried to clarify to the great-sage that it wouldn't be fair if he’s allowed to use his wings but Lin merely raised his hand in the man’s face to stop him from saying anything : “Worry not. I’ll race you by myself, I would be the one doing all the running, maybe that exercise would take the edge of trouble off of my mind... or so. I hope!” But these words from the boy caused these four new friends to stare widely and gape their mouths.

“Hahahaha... now you're talking! this really does make things a lot more interesting, now if you’ll excuse... meeeh.” The blade-user laughed aloud then squeezed the belly of his shadow-colt between his thighs and stole a "head-start" on the great-sage without feeling any shame whatsoever after the childish and unfair action that he just did! especially since the two of them didn’t even agree on the duration or how far this race would be.

Lin gawked slightly after seeing such "unethical" behavior from Lai and courageously jumped from the back of his mule-deer—that’s running at a considerably fast speed—and sprinted after the shameless blade-user—after doing a few quick rolls on the ground of the yellow road—whose shadow-colt is leaving quite a trail in the shape of a cloud of dust behind it. The boy’s mule-deer—who’s running between the horned-bulls of Wang and Zhang—didn’t seem to even care after its rider left its back and continued to run with the group! the handsome-man was quick to respond after these two left them and held the reins of the mule-deer then urged his horned-bull to go after the mad kid and the unreasonable blade-for-brains. Wei and Zhang woke-up from their shock afterwards and followed after these two... idiots! Lai is an acknowledged "moron" who’s known for his hotheaded and reckless behavior among the group since... many years ago. But... Lin's current recklessness and impulsiveness in accepting such a race which is disadvantageous and extremely unfair! honestly... wasn't expected by any of them... like at all. Unfortunately... before any of them got to intervene or stop the blade-user from doing something so foolish and terribly nonsensical. Lai already stole the head-start on the boy then the kid quickly dismounted with such ease and style! then ran after their clansman and within a few the time it took them to make a few blinks their two companions are already racing and competing against one another. Not to mention how much frustration Wei is currently feeling right now because... the fatty could've assumed the rule of the "house" and accepted some bets from the contestants to spice things up! such an opportunity to make some profit has escaped his sausage-like fingers because the merchant was slow to react.

'Sigh. I'm still green, too green! what a waste of such a good opportunity? I could've thrown my lots on Lin's win to force Lai to stay in the future after we reach Tang-city, my loss would’ve only been a few spirit-crystals... spirit-resources could be re-compensated, loyal followers are hard to gather.' Wei thought while gradually narrowing-down the gap between him and Lin—who’s still in second-place in this race—while remembering what the boy said to him and old Tao back in the ship... wealth just can’t save people from trouble! especially... when they don’t have the power to protect their valuables.

“How long do you think he can keep running at that speed?” Wang asked the fatty—who caught-up easily with him since his shadow-colt is much faster when it’s sprinting short distances—while looking ahead at Lin who’s keeping his very fast pace of running and regulating the timing of each of his breaths! the movement-technique which the boy is using to move the joints his body and his four limbs is seemingly and clearly very different if compared to any other movement-technique among the ones the handsome-man has seen or personally practiced before but... the kid is certainly very fast which is uncommon for a person in his age who’s only relying on the strength of his physique to generate constant speed of motion. The slowest sprinter among these beasts is the pair of horned-bulls which can normally reach the speed of fifty kilometers per hour! horned-bulls can go faster actually and double that "normal-speed" and reach the speed of one-hundred kilometers on average per each sprint. Not only can these horned-bulls do that fierce sprint once every day but also these beast can do it six times per day! on a regular basis of one hour of sprinting dash then three hours of rest—which the horned-bulls spend running at normal speed—so within every four hours of travel these beasts can be pushed to their limits once. Horned-bulls can keep up with shadow-colts when the normally agreed upon distance of travel that both beasts can travel per day is estimated—which is one-thousand and one-hundred kilometers per day on average—the only difference between the two species is... that you can squeeze two-hundred kilometers more of distance from shadow-colts which can take its rider nine-hundred kilometers per day normally on average! if pushed to the limit? these fine horses can take their riders to the distance of one-thousand and one-hundred kilometers per day! while horned-bulls can take their riders five-hundred kilometers per day normally on average. If pushed to the limit? these strong and durable horned-bulls can do their special ability and make the six sprints for one hour per each sprint to cover the six-hundred kilometers of distance with the sprints! after every hour of sprint the horned-bulls would then take the duration of three hours to rest and recover while running at normal speed before sprinting once again in another rush to catch up with the fast shadow-colts. Shadow-colts on the other hand does really sprint at much higher speeds however... the over-all stamina of the shadow-colts is incomparable to the endurance of the horned-bulls! that fine species of horses would end-up slowing down to a "trotting" pace after each hard gallop... then later afterwards when the shadow-colts take their rest the rider can keep on regularly urging these mounts for more speed until the shadow-colts are already sprinting in another hard gallop and that’s the correct way of riding shadow-colts in a complete circle. Now that Wang is riding a much finer horned-bull—which is a bit faster than normal horned-bulls by five or... maybe ten kilometers, and is rushing his mount in a full-throttle sprint already yet... Lin is still keeping his distance between the two of them constant while running ahead of Zhang and the handsome-man’s horned-bulls! that's why Wang asked the fatty about how long the boy can keep running at this speed—before the merchant could take his much faster mount and follow Lai and the kid, because... the handsome-man not only wanted to know why is the kid so quick on his feet already but also how long can the great-sage keep going... since this yellow road towards pearl-city is very long and would regularly take their mounts a whole day of non-stop riding while pushing their beasts! so even if Lin is very fast... he shouldn't be able to keep on running at that fast pace for long... otherwise it would make Wang feel like puking at how broken the kid’s abilities are.

“I don't know... I just don’t know! damn you Lai, he should've at least waited until we placed our bet-... never-mind. Sigh. Green! too green, so tender. These merchants with big appetites would swallow me like... leviathans! if I don't change that defect of mine? then my poor fortune would be theirs in a heartbeat, no... it’s mine! all mine. Yet... here I am, I let another opportunity slip out from between my fingers, like an idiot I was distracted! god, I'm so stupid, so stupid and clumsy... right?” Wei suddenly snapped and began to speak and argue with himself like a... lunatic! which made Wang stifle his laughter and make some distance between the two of them then watched the fatty move ahead on his fine steed.

“Zhang. What’s making you suddenly stare like so? hello... answer me you moro-” Wang wanted to chat for a bit with his best-friend since Wei has already entered his own strange state of self-blame and already left. The merchant always does so whenever an opportunity to make some profit eludes him however... the handsome-man was surprised when he found Zhang staring ahead with obvious shock all-over his expression! when Wang turned his head to look towards where his best-friend is looking the words became strangled within his throat and the ice-cultivator didn’t know if he’s hallucinating right now because... far ahead in the distance is Lai on his shadow-colt while Lin is a couple kilometers behind the "bully" which is an expected result since shadow-colts can go at a breakneck speed of almost two-hundred kilometers! not to mention how that shadow-colt in specific is a much finer beast if compared to average shadow-colts but... the strangeness in this situation doesn’t fall on the beast... it lies within the human because Lin is clearly gradually picking up speed since he’s already widening the distance between himself and the handsome-man—who became shocked like best-friend after witnessing the sight—and shrinking the gap between himself and Lai. The first thing Wang did when he saw Lin get further away from them was to make sure that their mounts aren't the ones which are slowing down instead of the boy who’s actually going faster. But... the air hitting his face and body is an indication that’s clear enough of how fast they're currently moving! yet... the kid is still able to widen the distance between them despite their current speed.

“Ming is going even faster! are you kidding me?” Wei was the one who shouted in frustration from ahead and interrupted Wang’s train of thoughts. The reason the fatty is feeling angry is because this situation means that Lin might actually win the race—which affirms the high probability of profit making and a loss for Wei who missed an excellent opportunity to tie Lai to their group—the merchant kept blaming himself inwardly since he’s been slow to react earlier! meanwhile Lai who’s ahead and kept looking back from time to time to look at the great-sage with a gloating gaze—since just earlier the blade-user kept getting further and further from his competitor, Lai was quite shocked when he noticed how the distance between them actually stopped widening. Then the blade-user became stunned once he noticed how the gap between himself and Lin began to shrink! albeit... slowly. However... Lai soon sensed that every time he urged his shadow-colt to move faster it felt like the boy would go faster too! much to the worry of the blade-user... that fact was confirmed later afterwards. The man wanted to win this race so badly... because winning might somehow fill some parts of the "void" which has been growing wider inside his chest with some of the relief after besting that little "monster" who’s the one to cause its birth within Lai’s chest in the first place. Alas... after the blade-user spent almost thirty-minutes of hard galloping—which Liao Lai spent all of them getting worried about each meter the great-sage managed to shrink from the gap between the two of them—he suddenly remembered a very important detail... they didn’t agree on the rules! which means that he can set the terms later when the freak of nature catches up with him... if Lin could do so at all. 'This race has only just begun! why am I getting impatient already? Ha Ha... come-on kid, let’s see for how long can you keep going... don’t disappoint me now, because I’m planning to make it extremely hard for you this time, once you break and fall... I’ll enjoy looking down upon you from above to my heart’s content.' Lai thought and smirked devilishly while letting his shadow-colt go slower and allowing the beast to take a breather by moving at its normal speed.

After another five minutes Lin actually managed to catch-up with the blade-user and ran next to Lai's shadow-colt! the boy graced the blade-user with a smile on his face... the great-sage is sweating bullets and his hair is flying by the effect of the wind and dust covered his skin and clothes—which made the great-sage look quite funny, however... the first thing that Liao Lai noticed is that Lin’s breathing is barely hurried or chaotic after the kid ran more than one-hundred kilometers already. Sun on the other hand poked his head out from Lin's chest—since he has to nestle within the great-sage’s clothes otherwise he’s bound to fall if he stayed on the shoulder of his buddy—then gave Lai a very irritating smirk which exposed a set of cute fangs that caused Lai’s shadow-colt to faster once again without receiving any such order from its rider! the blade-user calmed the competitive beast and looked towards the boy for a few seconds before saying : “This race would end when one of us can’t keep going or... if one of us reaches the finish-line. Pearl-city is waiting for me so... I won’t entertain you anymore.” Then the blade-user urged his shadow-colt to begin another hard gallop while thinking : 'The brat really is a freak! thank god that I wasn’t involved in any bets, that shitty merchant was planning on conning me earlier... that sly lump of fat, just you wait until I get my hands on you. Even if I'm beginning to feel like I won't win... even if I’m really going to lose, I’ll still exhaust you little freak of nature all the same! let's see if my luck is good today, because... if I win? then... you’ll never get a chance to even the score between us, I’d be taking that win with me to the grave.' Lai thought while gradually widening the distance again between him and Lin.

........

From the beginning of the race.

Many people did notice the strange sight of a little boy who’s racing a blade-user who’s riding a shadow-colt of a fine quality! those people who arrived at pearl-harbor the earliest after the race began mentioned the topic in a joking manner while chatting between themselves because... those who witnessed the sight noticed the wide distance between the kid and the shadow-colt in the beginning. However, a bit later when more people arrived at pearl-harbor that day... the description of the events of that story began to change according to more of the witnesses who got to see the boy shrinking the gap! gradually... more witnesses confirmed that the two competitors are already head to head... every once in a while... the shadow-colt would take a short and temporary lead before the kid catches-up once the duration of its hard gallop ends. If Lin had seen the sight of these excited people who are gathered in taverns and restaurants and listening expectantly to fresh arrivals to pearl-harbor which are carrying the latest news of that thrilling event? then the great-sage would've certainly smiled in nostalgia... since "ancients" from his previous-life used to listen to news of their favorite sports on the radio with similar expressions on their faces! only this time... the commentator wasn’t holding a microphone in his hand and shouting at it with an emotional tone of voice... that person is left waiting on-top of the main entrance of pearl-harbor and listening to people from merchant caravans and guards who witnessed the scene while keeping countless others who follow the incident constantly updated with the latest news about the exciting race with a transmission-tool. Meanwhile a long-distance voice-transmission has been sent for all the guards situated on the western-gate and walls of pearl-city with a single order... to keep an eye out for that group and to report the winner of that interesting race at once! that is... if the event actually continued all the way to pearl-city itself. Poor Wei! the fatty would be so shocked later... shocked almost to death actually after he receives the news of the enormous opportunity to make profit that he missed. And when the merchant gets an estimation of how much money has been betted on that "not fun" race within both pearl-city and pearl-harbor! Wei would instantly be struck by a dizzy spell and... actually faint for real. Such a tremendous amount of wealth being gobbled-up almost entirely by the people from the cultivation-alliance! is an unfortunate incident that would affect the fatty for days and weeks later after the day of the race... the merchant would suffer and become troubled with scary nightmares that haunts him in his sleep and whenever he’s awake. Being a merchant who knows his business-capabilities well... when and where he should be risking his assets is a must! that’s why Wei never looked covetously at the benefits and profits the enemy of his and his five-clans... the organization that’s called the cultivation-alliance gained... not even once did the fatty become emotionally affected whenever he got to know or hear about how much that organizations profited annually or periodically. Simply because... the talented merchant just couldn't see with his keen eyes and good sense of profit making... Wei just couldn't see any chance for himself or his five-clans to sink their teeth and take a bite from such a huge and tempting "pie" without getting themselves smacked by the far-reaching hand of the cultivation-alliance! or without provoking that enemy of their into an all-out war with the five-clans... the fatty already knows fully well how far his people has been driven within the corner and how close their feet are already from the edge of the precipice. However, this time the merchant would fully understand—with incomparable regret—that he could've took most of that sweet pie of fortune to himself... since both horses within that damn race are practically his horses! after all... the fatty could say that he’s the sole organizer of the event and take it from there to fill his pockets. Had he known that such a large propaganda would ensue Lin and Lai's race? then the merchant would've moved mountains and drained seas! Wei would’ve cried rivers and caused lightning storms so that he gets to personally supervise the race... just controlling the tide of bets can ensure that he makes a fortune with his friends. So what if he schemed against these people from the cultivation-alliance? so what if the race is rigged? all is fair in love and war! yes that’s true. However... all is fair when making profit! above all else. In-fact... many cultivators from pearl-city and pearl-harbor tried to personally go and see the fun race live! however... these cultivators found the suffocating pressure which is coming from two people who stood about five kilometers in the sky and followed the duo’s race with their eyes. Each and every one of these cultivators kept their mouths shut and simply followed the pair’s race patiently and quietly... nobody dared to affect the competition between the little boy or the rider on-top of the shadow-colt.

One of the two people in the sky is the inspector from the cultivation-alliance’s and city-lord of pearl-city... Huang who’s wearing the same blue robe. The other person is an elder who’s wearing a grey colored robe. That grey robed elder has long and white colored hair reaching slightly below shoulder-level freely. The pressure from these two men who stood in the air worked as enough deterrence to anyone who attempted to fly in the air within the range of fifteen kilometers around the location of Lin and Lai! spirit-tyrants and spirit-lords who could freely fly willingly choose not to do so... otherwise they might be seen as disrespecting these two seniors. No spirit-king would join this gathering of weak cultivators to watch the event anyway... those who do would do so by keeping their distance and their whereabouts hidden! the only way any cultivator below a spirit-king in strength could watch the show live is by... calmly following after Lin and Lai on foot or... by flying less than a hundred meters from ground while keeping mind of their position! blocking the sight of any of these two seniors up in the sky would be... a very stupid thing to do. Whispering became the loudest way of communication between these cultivators! most of them used voice-transmission among themselves to hide their conversations from strangers.

..........

“Senior Ao. Is the soul-sparrow picking anything related to the water-pearl from these juniors?” Inspector Huang asked the man in grey robe who’s next to him. Turns out that man is... actually Chentian Bo An’s grandpa! however... after the water-cultivator received the response from Chentian Ao who slightly shook his head... it made the spirit-king almost despair. The city-lord continued to say after taking a breath-in : “I see. Grand-elder Renshu certainly isn’t going to be pleased with these news, without the water-pearl... he has less chances in taming that water-dragon once it hatches.” Inspector Huang was the one who found that precious water-dragon egg actually. However... the city-lord choose to gift it to grand-elder Renshu instead! the water-cultivator did so in hopes for a chance to receive help from the grand-elder in-exchange... a chance to increase his cultivation from the realm of spirit-king to the realm of spirit-emperor. Without the grand-elder’s success in bonding the water-dragon and making it his tamed-beast? then city-lord Huang just doesn't believe that grand-elder Renshu would still extend the hand of help and assist him in ascending to the next major-realm! if the grand-elder of the cultivation-alliance ended-up with just a hatchling that’s a water-dragon? one that’s held against its will under captivity no less... then they would be either forced to kill it later or letting that extremely valuable and rare beast go free. Simply because... the dragon clan would certainly go all-out against the cultivation-alliance—if news found its way to their ear of that fearless clan somehow, the situation where a pure-blooded dragon that's already tamed successfully and a pure-blooded dragon that’s being held against its will is... completely different in the eyes of the dragon clan. The "faithful-coalition" is already allied with the dragon clan after all! not to mention that these two colossal organizations already hates the guts of everyone within the cultivation-alliance... dragons which are successfully tamed by anybody are considered mere outcasts by the dragon clan or... traitors! that's why... if that water-dragon could be tamed by grand-elder Renshu? then... no problems or troubles would follow or haunt anyone who contributes to make it happen, the other scenarios however... are very scary and extremely frightening for this city-lord who knows very well that he’s nowhere near being able to handle the consequences. The city which inspector Huang rules is already very far away from the headquarters of the cultivation-alliance within the southern-continent... its location is flanked by the territories of the elves and the beasts! which means that before the cultivation-alliance could make any respond to rescue or keep its hold on this valuable and strategic location at the west-coast of the southern-continent... dragons from the dragon clan would’ve already arrived and finished causing havoc everywhere while rescuing the valuable hatchling. Killing Huang and everyone in sight would take no time for the high-ranking individuals within the dragon clan—which are certain to leave everything in ruin before their rage is abated—after all... this has been proven before many times in history.

“All those who dare scheme against my dragon clan... you better be prepared to face our fury, let the events of today act be our warning, like a breath on the necks of our enemies. Hide and cower in fear... the dragon clan remembers its grudges, we’ll hunt the offenders, we’re ready to pay any price to protect our kin.” That’s a famous saying which one dragon-king left in the past after the mighty dragon clan exterminated a few dozen spirit-clans—which were later scratched from within the top-rankings of the one-hundred spirit-clans—after an incident which had much too similarities with this one! inspector Huang already knows why the sly grand-elder Renshu practically insisted on choosing this place when trying to tame the water-dragon. Because... if the attempt failed? then he wouldn't be blamed by those from the headquarters since the grand-elder isn’t doing his plans within the territories nearby the headquarters of the cultivation-alliance itself! plus the fact that the city-lord already knows that he himself is... just a disposable-card in the eyes of grand-elder Renshu... once the cat is out of the bag? the grand-elder is fully capable of making himself scarce in blink... the authoritative-figure within the cultivation-alliance can just escape on his own and leave his underling—city-lord Huang—to face the wrath of the dragon clan on his own. Being a water-cultivator himself... inspector Huang fully understands that his benefits if he succeeded in taming a water-dragon hatchling could certainly push his spirit-cultivation upwards to the realm of spirit-emperor! if he's lucky to gain the love and adoration of the water-dragon? then while the beast grows stronger with time then his chances in "sovereignty" actually wouldn’t be too far-fetched or impossible as a dream any more. However... Huang has already choose to take the smaller risk already! and there's no turning back from it now.

“So that's the boy which my little BoBo played with earlier today. Qiu said that he felt soul-force from the kid—which could momentarily withstand his storm-pressure, and Quan said the boy is a little genius who has insane agility and quick reflexes, while little sparrow here is telling me that the boy has a... very pleasant traces of "soul-scent" that’s coming from his body! a scent which is both extremely strong yet gentle, in its senses the kid is so bright just like the sun. But... my own two eyes and senses can only see and feel that he’s, just another junior! yes... he’s just another junior, someone who’s most visible trait is that he’s... a complete monster when it comes to the aspect of qi-vitality and body-refinement.” Chentian Ao retrieved a few spirit-seeds from his storage-item to feed the little black sparrow when he spoke. However... these words caused inspector Huang to look towards Lin somewhat suspiciously! Because... the city-lord is quite sure that the kid's space-ring has been empty before when he checked it... there’s nothing within it. Maybe it’s still empty now except for the spirit-crystal that he personally gifted the boy when they met... the water-cultivator already thoroughly combed the space-ring a few times with his spirit-sense. However, soul-cultivators are always sneaky and deep bunch... only soul-cultivators who are much stronger could reveal the tricks of another soul-cultivators in the end! by using other methods could enable cultivators from other schools of thought or systems to sense some traces when a soul-cultivator attempts to hoodwink them however... not only do they need to be much stronger than said soul-cultivator but also their senses and intuition needs to be the sharp like no other... some would require the assistance of special and rare spirit-tools or the meticulous workings of extremely rare natural or spirit-formations! that’s why when city-lord Huang heard Chentian Ao comment on Lin's soul in being "extremely strong" the alarm bells just kept ringing within his head. The water-cultivator looked towards the spirit-emperor who’s standing next to him and said : “Senior Ao. I know that you was once fortunate to find the rare-potion of "thought-rebirth" I’m wondering if I can shamelessly ask for it? I want to use it on this junior, I'm well aware of its worth... that’s why I’m willing to compensate its use with anything that I own, and I'm sure that grand-elder Renshu wouldn't hesitate to do the same once he hears of your contribution.”

“Hmmm... even after you and your underling personally searched these juniors twice... you're still doubting them! bullying them thrice would only tarnish your reputation, doing so would possibly extend further beyond you, and ruin some of the reputation which your cultivation-alliance worked hard to regain around these territories. I won't ask you again, Huang... are you sure that you want to take this matter that far?” Chentian Ao raised an eyebrow when he heard that request from inspector Huang. After giving the spirit-king a silent and deep gaze... Bo An’s grandpa asked while taking out a tiny glass-tube which is filled with some turquoise colored and viscous liquid.

The face of city-lord Huang paled when he heard these words from Chentian Ao. However, after taking a few seconds to think the man in blue finally nodded then said : “Yes senior. All consequences would be falling on my shoulders, I'm willing to take full responsibility of whatever that may follow.” Yet... once he said these words the water-cultivator seemed to age a few decades! since he’s already risking everything for a chance to breakthrough into the next major-realm. Then... right now it’s already too late! there’s no room for regret or doubting oneself... it’s impossible to turn back now.

“Very well then. If a junior consumed the potion of thought-rebirth? it has great help actually! since when it comes to juniors it's essential to hold-on to the memory of awakening their martial-spirit every step of the way while dwelling and venturing the road of spirit-cultivation. Sigh... sadly nobody of the brats actually cares about admiring that "special-moment" when it happens! the moment of awakening the martial-spirit huh... even if our elders kept telling us to be attentive, even if our elders kept naggings us over and over about it, once we see or feel the existence of our awakened martial-spirit in our bodies and witness its characteristics... almost all of us are bound to be distracted one way or another, once that happens the special-moment just slips away from us. We lose the rare chance of being within the closest that we can ever get to the true meaning of the dao! the purest... the truest form of cultivating spirit-energy... and what a better way or time to do just that, other than to itch that genuine memory right after we take our first step on the journey of spirit-cultivation,” While sloshing the turquoise liquid inside the glass-tube which is in his hand... Bo An’s grandpa said that and watched Lin run and compete against the fine breed of shadow-colt. Chentian Ao kept a close eye on the boy’s breathing which revealed how close the great-sage is nearing the stage of burning-out whatever that remains within his tank of stamina and endurance after crossing sixty-percent of the distance between pearl-harbor and pearl-city! finally the famous beast-tamer smiled and continued to say : “Heh. This boy sure is lucky—judging from his age, he looks to be behind those from his generation in awakening his martial-spirit, despite being late to begin his cultivation of spirit-energy... this intervention of fate—which you personally requested—could actually give the kid a chance to catch-up with his generation when it comes to cultivating spirit-energy! to be honest with you Huang... I was planning to give that potion of thought-rebirth to my little BoBo in her birthday when she’s eighteen of age, but, you seem intent on forcing my hand to hand it anyway.”

“Apologies senior.”

“Heh. It’s alright... I don’t plan on giving away my possessions without being justly compensated,” Chentian Ao gave inspector Huang a side-glance. He knows the possibility of foul-play and never considered the people from the cultivation-alliance his friends from the moment he agreed to work with them anyway! the spirit-emperor directed his sight back towards the boy and continued to say : “However, since the boy has such a flaw and lacking talent when it comes to cultivating spirit-energy, I would like to see what kind of person is the kid going to grow-up to become when he shows his full-potential in spirit-energy after being force-fed my potion! I doubt he'd become a powerhouse for certainty in each aspect he got anyway, since he's already ahead from his generation in qi-vitality and soul-force, being distracted between all these attainments and trying to improve them one by one is bound to waste three-times the worth of time-span... that’s without considering the time required to achieve balance and perfect fusion of these aspects—I bet that he wouldn't be able to keep-on distracting himself by trying to do everything simultaneously, otherwise... those from his generation are bound to catch-up to him in some aspects and even suppress him on them if the kid stubbornly choose do all and waste the opportunity of leading an era. Of course... the boy can take it slow and seek the fusion of his three aspects! but... that road is very risky and a hundred-times harder, not to mention that... the required spirit-resources the kid would need to achieve that aim are going be enormous, just the demand on his comprehension-abilities is very exaggerated and would strain the best of the best and. The most supreme-geniuses could be driven to despair and end-up ruining themselves... I wonder! what future is this boy going to choose? would he give his full attention to body? spirit? or... soul? to truly reach the peak and stay ahead of his generation... it won’t be an easy decision for me if I were in his shoes. Will it be spirit, soul, or body? don't you want to see that too Huang?” Chentian Ao kept the little black sparrow in one of his beast-medallions and explained to inspector Huang that... he's intending on letting the junior live and grow! since he's not going to waste the potion of thought-rebirth for nothing in the end... using it on someone other than his little BoBo means that this spirit-emperor intends to see matters to the end. Of course... if the kid ended-up dying later by the hands of one of the junior-generation? then that is that! while shaking his head Bo An’s grandpa kept saying : “Huang... you and I are two strugglers, we’re strugglers within the stream that’s called dao... strugglers who almost squeezed their potential-tank to the absolute limit! we’re from the same generation me and you... that’s why I can share with you some of my experiences, you and I have hit the wall... any peak spirit-cultivator has gave it much thought like me and you, be that spirit-king, spirit-emperor, or... spirit-sovereign ! we all did one way or another... I'm sure that you felt it too—once you attained the title of king, is the wall of "sovereignty" possibly the last we can really reach on the dao? is the wall behind the wall in front of me... an endless wall without any doors? or is it just that the door itself is obscured from the eyes of us all? any spirit-king felt it once they took their first step of kinghood... the dao is severed! or... our senses are blocked from it! is there really no way to become stronger than a peak-sovereign? if only that question has a clear answer anywhere? then I would travel and cross distances which are worth worlds’ just to seek that answer! just to give myself the satisfaction of knowing. Sigh... here Huang, let's see if that little gamble of mine is going to be worth anything in the future, maybe... I should give BoBo a drop of the blood-essence that I’m going to take from the water-dragon, since that grand-elder Renshu is being used as leverage against me by you to snatch my belongings... then I’m going to request for two drops, that’s going to be my price for working the thousand-beast formation! I’m giving my granddaughter the drop of blood-essence in her next birthday instead. En... it’s a much better gift for her, Bo Bo’s weak-constitution has always been a worry of mine.” Chentian Ao spoke on and on before and after handing Huang the glass-tube however... the man in grey’s thoughtful-expression when he spoke about his granddaughter... resembled that of an elder who’s ruminating within his thoughts and searching for the way of how to pamper his grandchildren the best! Chentian Ao did so while donning the happiest smile on his face. Huang on the other hand became stunned after hearing what Chentian Ao said just earlier. Because... that blood-essence is going to be taken directly from a pure-dragon hatchling! not only is that blood-essence very precious, expensive, and incomparably rare. If consumed directly? it not only give—those who are lucky to refine—an extra addition of lifespan and superior vitality! but also the blood-essence reinvigorates the most important quality to any cultivator from any school of thought or system... "potential" the blood-essence from a hatchling water-dragon reinvigorates basic potential to those who refine it. When someone like Chentian Ao—who almost squeezed his potential-tank almost dry—refines a single drop of blood-essence from a water-dragon? then... the attainments of that spirit-emperor in spirit-energy are certain to reach the middle-stages of the sovereign-realm! an increase from a fifth-stage spirit-emperor to—at least—the fourth-stage in the sovereign realm is... a fortune of a life-time really. Since sovereigns could practically outlive emperors almost to double... then with two drops of blood-essence Chentian Ao can guaranteed himself the rank of peak-sovereign! yet... the spirit-emperor wants to exchange that opportunity by gambling on his granddaughter... thankfully he isn’t mad and is only planning on splitting that opportunity with her and not giving her everything. Chentian Bo An would ascend in spirit-cultivation and climb the major-realms like a breeze with that drop! the girl would be like a "shooting-star" that would enable that man’s granddaughter to hoard more chances in the future—which should fall into the hands of her peers instead, to be leading the line of a whole generation means... to be guaranteed a share of spirit-resources from this spirit-world no matter what or which environment these spirit-resources are located. For example... when Chentian Ao’s granddaughter visits somewhere like the drowned-realm for instance then... no junior would dare covet any of the fortunes that Bo An gets to find! not to mention that her chances to go deeper within the mysterious drowned-realm itself would be much easier and much safer. If she decided to explore its secrets? then that man’s granddaughter would be allowed access to many more of the "forbidden-areas" that her peers don’t dare venture! these locations are filled with many fortuitous-chances—which are only allowed for juniors to grasp—these encounters and locations would be her private-playgrounds everywhere Chentian Bo An goes to harvest many chances for the benefit of herself and for her clan... of course. While holding the potion of thought-rebirth in his hand inspector Huang instantly made a mental note to remind himself from now onwards... to always keep a close and friendly relations with the Chentian clan in the future! just because that clan is guaranteed to have an unequaled powerhouse within the next generation in the image of Chentian Bo An. Despite her tender and young age... the little-girl is already talented before refining any of that blood-essence! according to the private-information from the headquarters Chentian Ao’s granddaughter already has superior attainments among those from her generation when it comes to spirit-energy! what happens to such a talented individual once she refines a drop of blood-essence from the water-dragon hatchling? then... within a few years the Chentian clan would certainly celebrate the ascendency of another peak-cultivator within their ranks. Not to mention that Chentian Ao himself would transform into another titan within the spirit-world after her refines his share of the blood-essence! with the assistance of his huge army of tamed-beasts and beast-companions the man by himself would be a threat to whoever dares to provoke him... forget about the trump-cards of the Chentian clan and the cluster of beasts within the countless beast-medallions... just these two can take-on many by themselves in the future and come out unscathed from the exchange.

However... both peak-cultivators were entirely unaware that they've already missed on noticing something crucial about the kid! decision they took was completely based-on what they think they know about the boy. Yes... Lin is behind his peers when it comes to the cultivation of spirit-energy however, he isn't in a slightly advanced age like they think the great-sage to be for a fact! everyone seems to make that mistake because Lin does really look older to those within his age-group... the boy’s mature character does add more to that misconception. Which means... that Lin is in fact behind his peers in spirit-cultivation! but... not by that much really since the gap isn’t stretched that wide to begin with however, if the boy is compared to Andreas—during his junior years, or... Dan Pengfei. Mia, Katherine, Bo an, and many other examples then... the great-sage is indeed a little bit delayed compared to six years old juniors in spirit-cultivation. Still... now that Chentian Ao has agreed to actually let-go of that potion of thought-rebirth! then... Lin would really gain an advantage over them on-top of the advantage he already has in awakening his martial-spirit earlier than everyone else. The timing is just too right for the boy to ingest that potion of thought-rebirth right now! maybe... had Chentian Ao knew the true attainments of Lin? then... the spirit-emperor would never agree to give this rare opportunity to the great-sage... unless Lin swore an oath to join the Chentian clan afterwards. Inspector Huang would’ve surrendered the chance to help grand-elder Renshu tame the water-dragon hatchling and snatch the boy and deliver him personally to the headquarters! because... the contribution is more than enough for an opportunity to reach the emperor-realm.

.........

Lin and Lai kept pushing faster for a chance to break this stalemate of this ongoing-race. Lin was obviously tired and on the brink of reaching his absolute limit. Meanwhile Lai's shadow-colt was burdened with extreme exhaustion all the same from being pushed into hard galloping before getting a chance to properly rest between each rush. Slightly behind the two competitors... Wei's group of three obviously noticed the great entourage of cultivators that’s been following behind them while maintaining their distance! as for the two cultivators which has been staying up in the air long before the crowds began to amass? nobody actually knows their identity because... Chentian Ao has been making sure to cover their identities of himself and the city-lord from prying eyes. Maybe Lin and Kai are the only ones who were able to see the faces of these two! by relying on the ability of soul-sense... the great-sage was able to sneak his senses beyond some vague layer that blocked the others however, Lin wasn't able to eavesdrop the conversation between the two men because... that man in grey robes was blocking sound from seeping away from their position. That person seems dangerous... like bad news if provoked! that’s why Lin didn’t dare to approach the two men with his soul-force because... he might be discovered... the boy was almost sure of it actually happening like he predicted. However, the great-sage did see the man in grey hand that city-lord Huang the glass-tube that contains the turquoise-liquid.

..........

Run! run, run, and run some more. Lin spent seconds then minutes which accumulated into hours until day-light and night-gloom shifted during this rush of non-stop running. All the boy had in his mind while running was to keep going until he reach the finish-line! the great-sage wants to win this race if possible—he doesn’t wish to be stopped by his own body mid-way—actually... Lin doesn’t want that scenario to happen. Like... more than anything really! still... the boy’s body felt heavier and more lethargic with the passing of time... his muscles and ligaments became strained after being pulled tauter whenever they were burdened with the additional effort of prolonged motion. The great-sage sensed how the movement which is controlled through his joints has become stiffer like a rusty machine that’s groaning and grumbling loudly with blaring-noise! like... a patient who’s in extreme pain and screaming at his doctor for the comforting peace of rest.

'Stop! ease-up a little, this suffering which you've been putting us in from the beginning isn’t good... something is going to snap and tear if you keep this up.' Accompanied-with each painful and rugged breath that he took in while running in a hurry... Lin could almost feel every muscle in his body sending him these thoughts whenever the boy neared—what he once thought— is his final limit of endurance! yet... many times after that happened the great-sage would feel a similarly comforting and cooling feeling of coldness spread within his chest while he ran. But... it seems like there’s a limit to that reinvigorating sense of coldness because... after running more than five-hundred kilometers with the help of that assisting-coldness... that occurrence stopped happening all-together! afterwards Lin found himself forced to actually pushing the limits of his endurance for once... thankfully Lai's shadow-colt has been pushed hard almost all the time by the blade-user to keep up with the boy who kept preventing the beast from taking any rest by going on a speed well-beyond its normal speed. The shadow-colt now looks to be burning-out the remainder of its stamina just to keep its rider from falling behind the boy however... after the great-sage reached the eight-hundred kilometers mark he seemed to be the one who’s slowing down more and more in comparison to the shadow-colt which began to rest more and more in the latter-half of this race.

“Huff... huff...” Step after step he focused on the goal of reaching the finish-line no matter what. However... Lin felt like there’s lead underneath him instead of a pair of legs! Lai's shadow-colt was snorting in frustration when its rider forced the beast to lower its speed to a trotting pace to match their competitor... the fine steed was glaring towards the damn kitty that kept giving it dangerous looks. The shadow-colt just wanted to make some distance between itself and that little beast! simply because... it felt dangerous being next to it.

“Looks like this would be my win... you seem to be at your limit, Ming! hey... can you hear me? are you alright?” Lai wasn't able to gloat anymore and attempted to check and see if the boy is even conscious! Because Liao Lai’s feelings of admiration towards the great-sage has become no-less than the amount of admiration the blade-user have been carrying towards ancestor Jianyu himself.

“Thump... ba-dum... thump... ba-dum...” Suddenly—and coming from Lin's body—the sound of heartbeats could be heard very prominently and loudly almost one kilometer away! cultivators within the master-realm or lower felt their hearts being clenched with a cold hand... then a feeling of pressure overtook and squeezed their chests.

“Fuck... not again!” Lai's face darkened when he heard the sound of heartbeats and a feeling of unease began to spread within his chest! even after the blade-user urged his shadow-colt to move... the bully within Wei’s group sensed the kid being close behind him despite having his mount go at its maximum-speed.