While Lin was returning to his room to cultivate and muttering the lines of the poem he once heard from ancestor Mu, in a place that’s located far away from the southern-continent specifically on the continent of his birthplace, within the central-continent that people from his human-race—that’s commonly and widely known within this spirit-world by the name "evil-race" despite being no-different from regular mortals—call it the "land of remembrance" there’s a special and unprecedented event that’s currently being held! the ministry of knowledge has been passing the baton from one generation to the following generation for millions and millions of years, humanity’s number-one priority and main-mission has always been and will always be to "preserve" itself.

Since this main-mission has been accomplished long, long ago when the ministry unleashed a protective-dome of completely-controlled and perfectly-manipulated layer of disintegration-matter.

The number-one priority of humanity—that’s thankfully still being led by the knowledge ministry towards prosperity while living in peace—has changed, their "morality-needle" and their "alive-conscience" pulled their eyes towards their fellow human-beings who’re currently living in misery outside the land of remembrance! their fellow human-beings outside this "safe-zone" or cage—that humanity voluntarily choose to create for itself and live in it in-order to preserve itself—are being treated worse than animals and livestock by cultivators of this spirit-world which is by any means... unacceptable.

For millions and millions of years the ministry of knowledge has faced difficulties accomplishing this noble-mission of "liberating" and breaking these "chains of injustice" that has shackled and restricted the hands, feet, and sealed the bright-minds of their fellow human-beings for years and years... for generation after generation.

When cultivators of this world retaliated against the ministry that dared take a stand and seize an entire continent from their spirit-world, the wound cut deep into the heart of humanity and the aftereffect it left did last and left them with a lingering-taste of defeat for era after era! the biggest cultivation-factions just wouldn’t let-go, they refuse to admit the existence of that "foreign-race" in their spirit-world despite the passing of millions of years’ worth of time.

The deadlock between the cultivators which are mainly led by the five great-sects and humanity which are led by the knowledge ministry really seemed like it’d never end at all, all until a few months ago when an unexpected discovery was made by the defense-council of the ministry! there around the borders of their land of remembrance, there’s a very big and very pleasant surprise waiting for all human-inhabitants of this continent.

Everyone who got to hear the news thought : 'Maybe there’s still hope for our fellow human-beings outside this land after all.'

The most famous great-sage, the one who lived in a very, very ancient era... the one who was born in a different universe that’s currently extinct and there’s no longer trace of it ever existing at all, exists! maybe it’s because these humans are aware of the existence of different systems of cultivation and most of them have been watching all sorts of records on many cultivators since they were born and are naturally used to treating the actions of these "violent" and "cruel" lot like some sort of... entertainment.

The mere idea of "reincarnation" and "rebirth" did surprise and excite them indeed but, most of them were more eager to learn more about the circumstances of that "legend" that was supposed to be something from the past yet managed "somehow" to "transcend" common-sense and walk the surface of this spirit-world! however, that "role-model" was discovered the moment he left their land of remembrance, their minister had to respect the wish of his family and not to disturb the hero who saved all humanity once at the price of his own life and let him enjoy this life.

Looking from the perspective of anyone who gets to hear until this point then according to their own judgment, that might seem like it’s the biggest loss humanity could ever allow itself to receive! however, in-exchange of this extremely hard choice that their minister Lei Liang had to make, humanity received another ray of hope, a person that shares the same bloodline with great-sage Lin, the twin-sister of the great-sage... queen Lily.

Despite having only been introduced to the inhabitants of the land of remembrance for a few months, queen Lily demonstrated the unique brilliance that’s the exact same of her twin-brother.

Solutions to various issues and problems fell like rain that showered the operating-staff of the different councils, she by herself caused the entire department of research and development to gasp for breath while trying to follow her guidance, all of them felt like their butts are constantly being whipped by her whip and like the seats in their office are hot or something because they didn’t get much time relaxing on them at all ever since she sent her first sound-transmission! the one who felt like he’s almost being worked by this little-girl to an early grave is councilor Jou the head-manager of the archive-council, Lily had to gain his permission and approval before accessing many of the top-secret information since these are the rules of the ministry.

The categories Lily was most interested in are, cultivation-manuals and the different techniques for cultivators, history and information about this spirit-world.

Councilor Anna the head-manager of the Intel-council and councilor Halas the head-manager of the protection-council has to personally give Lily daily-reports and update her about the current whereabouts and condition of her twin-brother.

After months that humanity spent in excited-anticipation for the time where queen Lily personally pays them a visit, at last she decided to give her countless "fans" this satisfaction! however, the real reason behind this visit is because this deadly-sin of envy wants to enter the treasury where the knowledge ministry is keeping all the spirit-tools and equipment that were collected from all-over their territory over the years.

The department of research and development has always been studying different spirit-resources and spirit-tools in hope to glean something that might help them break the mysterious-riddle of why the genesis-operation keeps failing within this spirit-world, humanity has been monopolizing all the resources from the entire central-continent while collecting more from the other four continents, the surrounding sea, and the wider ocean beyond! maybe right now humanity is richer in spirit-related materials and items than any other organization within the entire spirit-world, mainly because they don’t consume all these materials and use some of them for research while storing the rest, over the years the amount of these valuable resources kept growing and growing.

Humanity managed to find a way to preserve and cultivate many of these resources which only caused their storage-space to be improved and increased.

“Queen Lily!”

“She’s here, she’s here, she’s here... oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!... huff... I can’t breathe...”

“Kyaa... queen Lily... I love you so much.”

Sitting on her phoenix-throne and flying slowly in front next to little-Lao who’s clearly feeling so exited after experiencing how it feels to really fly by himself for the first time, he had to pass a few tests, then undergo a few simulations before finally being rewarded with this skin-suit by his kind, loving, strict, and slightly frightening big-sister! it’s slightly odd that his queen chose to reward him once the boy managed to "demolish" and break all the records that were previously set by his big-brother Lin but, it doesn’t matter now since he’s already living one of his dreams.

There’s twelve grown-ups flying behind these two kids, they’re not some guards or escorts, they’re the top chain of command of an entire civilization... nine councilors, one vice-chairman, one chairman, and the minister himself! all of them are respectfully allowing their first guest to the core-territory of their land of remembrance, this guest is a complicated mix of everything since she and her brother next to her descend-from barbarians yet... this little-girl is a spirit and soul-cultivator however, the "heart" of this queen Lily, reason of her true existence, and the passion of her entire life belongs to humanity.

“Whoa! big-sister there’s so, so, so... many people waiting for us at that city a head of us.” Lao felt like his heart is almost going to jump from his chest when he noticed the sky-covering crowd that’s about to welcome them.

“Heh. That’s the least of what this queen should expect from her subjects, now compose yourself my sweet champion. That’s it, just like I taught you... chin up, chest out, and every breath you take, take it slowly in and out of your chest.” Lily smirked then placed one of her legs on top of the other and relaxed in her throne while drumming the heads of the two phoenixes with her fingers, clearly this deadly-sin of envy is feeling so excited since she’s about to snatch Lin’s dream-position within the knowledge ministry, minister Lei Liang is about to announce his resignation and step-down from his office! meanwhile the chairman, vice-chairman, and nine councilors plus the "former-minister" himself are going to nominate her... queen Lily. Certainly she’s going to steamroll the next round of elections and make history by becoming the... youngest-minister throughout history within two different universes! even her big and twin-brother would never be able to surpass that record in his lifetime... Lily is finally going to topple Lin’s legendary image and seize all the glory for herself instead.

The envious-look on the great-sage’s face when he gets to know all about it would be just... way too precious! maybe a bit too sweet, even for her odd taste.

..............

“Ugh!... I feel like I’m about to die from this, buddy is so boring, so boring, so boring! I’m going to go mad if I keep staring at these walls... I just know it. Senior Jianhong has been busy with something lately, I keep bumping-into that annoying woman whenever I leave buddy’s private-space, she reminds me a lot of that bitch... oh don’t act like you don’t know about Mia! you really don’t? then let me tell you all about her.”

*Crunch... smack... crunch... gulp...*

“Whimpher...” Shuang made a quick work of a few of the normal fruits with her strong molars then made snort-wheeze-like sound while nodding her head.

“Excellent! it all happened a few months back, back then buddy and I had just left our village, the one I told you about it yesterday night where my mate and cubs and grand-cubs are living right now, also... we let Lin’s family and friends live among us so that we can protect them. Some of them are somewhat strong but, most of them are just useless, they make quite good food though! oh the barbeque there is really... to die for. Buddy once told me that the secret is in the sauce-”

“Snort!...”

“Yeah almost forgot there, we met that bitch-Mia, I’m go’nna call her that... bitch-Mia. Bitch-Mia was being chased by two assassins from the assassins-guild, alright!... then I arrived at the scene after leaving buddy to hide somewhere far from the action to keep him safe since he’s weak and all, don’t mention it to him he’s "sensitive" and becomes sad when he’s reminded of how useless he was that day. Anyway... just like that I found bitch-Mia being surrounded by three enemies and her back is against the high and steep cliff-wall, maybe bitch-Mia would’ve attempted to climb it had she had time to do that but, bitch-Mia was really exhausted after her enemies chased her for months like quick, persistent, and annoying hunting-hounds! I gave a mighty roar before tackling that scorpion-tailed Cerberus into the ground and we tussled and wrestled a bit you know how it goes, it attempted to use its stingers against me but I kept avoiding them or swatting them to the side with my wings. It was really difficult you know, that fellow had three heads and three stingers which means more means to attack me, since it was kind-of annoying to keep dodging all his weapons! finally that Cerberus angered me when it dared to go after my neck and I roasted it with a flame-breath. The two assassins were surprised by my arrival and bitch-Mia used this chance to give one of them a wound... she’s so stupid she missed his vital and gave that man a wound on the shoulder that’s it.”

“Bleat!... rattle...”

“It’s true! listen to this, the moment my attack happened it caused these two assassins to be frightened and they attempted to flee, of course I didn’t allow them to up and go then leave just like that! I pinned one of them beneath my paw and... crushed him into meat paste, the scene of his hot blood splattering everywhere caused the other assassin to feel despair and I immediately realized it’s beneath me to kill this cowardly-prey, bitch-Mia stabbed him in the back and ended-up laughing like a fool and celebrating her kill like an idiot without feeling any shame. Tell you what, if we ever meet the bitch? then, you’re welcome to hoof her in her big-ches-... ouch! who dares to hi-... oh no! buddy y-y... you don’t understand, I-I... I was telling little-Shuang here about your amazi-” Sun tried to explain but Lin just cracked his fingers while glaring at him from above, “Little-Shuang, run!” The orange-kitten flapped its wings after running towards the balcony and flew at its fastest speed, clearly the winged-tiger is planning to make a quick escape from the scene through the balcony.

“Grunt... snort...” Shuang shook its head then opened its mouth to take another fruit from the basket.

Lin : “Humph! you’re poisoning the thoughts of my mount now? spreading false information and lies? what gall? Sun... you’ve become so brazen, audacious, and bold lately.”

“Tsk,” The red-tiger stopped once he discovered Frostine blocking the balcony’s door, “Little-Shuang you traitor! you should’ve run with me instead of just surrendering without a fight.”

Shuang : “Bleat!...”

Sun : “Cough... I surrendered because I know that I can’t take Frostine on my own! maybe had we joined hands then we might’ve succeeded.”

Lin : “So you’re that bored huh!”

“More than you imagine! buddy... come-on,” The orange-kitten raised its tail and prickled its fur and began to rub itself in the feet of its best-friend, “Let’s go have some fun, it’s been one week since you began to cultivate and almost two weeks since I came here! any more than this and I know that I’m going to die, just waste-away and die from boredom, what a terrible way to go that would be.” The winged-tiger hugged the shin of his buddy with his paws and looked upwards with a pair of tearful, vertical, draconic, and pleading yellow-eyes.

Frostine : “Ei’hoot.”

“Humph. Call me an idiot all you want! I’m bored of this place, you keep hibernating all the time, buddy keeps meditating all the time, this traitor keeps munching fruits all the time, Qiang Chi keeps being quiet all the time. I’m going mad here, I’m losing my mind!” The red-tiger slumped towards the floor and closed his eyes, he seemed to be surrendering to whatever punishment that may come and welcoming this depressing lifestyle.

This isn’t the first time the boy had to intervene and stop Sun from causing trouble lately, almost every single day this orange-kitten would awaken the great-sage from his meditation or interrupt his training.

Within the past week Lin has managed to recover his soul-force to maximum-capacity before the "newest" deadly-sin finished the unfinished work on the silver-eye of both soul-clones, according to what the boy heard from this sin-brother of his... Gang caused quite a scene once the deadly-sin of wrath got forcefully sent back into the "sin-world" and the others of his four sin-brothers and single sin-sister had to work really hard just to calm the angry fellow! however, Ming’s cynical and gleeful-comments almost brought these two "returners" into trading blows.

Between the three deadly-sins—who favors a male meat-suit over a female one and—who didn’t get a chance to possess this empty-vessel, greed won the chance while sloth and gluttony need to wait for the next opportunity.

The boy named his sin-brother "Dai" and the deadly-sin of greed was so excited after receiving it, Dai quickly went to work and showed efficiency by recovering the soul-force then completing the formation-inscriptions and runes of the ability of soul-lock within just five days! afterwards the deadly-sin of greed worked on recovering their soul-force to maximum once again however, the maximum-capacity of soul-force wasn’t the same in these times... before the formation-inscriptions of the soul-lock ability was completed their maximum-range of soul-sense was about two-hundred and fifty-three kilometers but, afterwards that maximum-range increased to become two-hundred and fifty-five kilometers which is a clear improvement already.

Dai : “Maybe we should take a short break, you’ve already spent the past week mostly spirit-cultivating, doing physical-exercises until you got the hang of your strength and can already control it to some degree without straining your muscles or harming any joint, and you still had time to get some positive-results whenever you attempted to communicate with the disintegration-intent! even our seven-restrictions formation that’s created from our seven-intents you’re much better at controlling it, you’re already capable of manipulating it to release some of the disintegration-intent whenever you want then seal the formation once again.” The deadly-sin of greed attempted to convince his big-brother to relax a little.

Lin : “Sigh, maybe you’re right.”

Sun : “Does this mean that we’re going out?”

Frostine : “Hoot.”

Shuang : “Whimpher!...”

Qiang Chi : “Phew...”

Seeing these reactions from his follower and beast-companions caused the boy to smile sheepishly and stop himself from saying anything because he was about to tell his orange-kitten that he wasn’t talking to him, the great-sage really didn’t want to stop this session of cultivation until his master Jianhong gave him a cultivation-manual for qi-vitality, until this moment Lin still doesn’t know how to use that power! more magma keeps being stored within that lava-lake whenever the boy exercises, whenever he eats, whenever he relaxes, whenever he senses wood-energy, whenever he attempts to manipulate wood-intent, the accumulation his cycle of unlocked and connected qi-vitality acupoints makes just... never stops.

When the great-sage explained the situation to his master and mentioned his fear of what might happen to his body if the lava-lake flowed in reverse, the city-lord told Lin to just wait and give him some time to find him an "appropriate" or slightly-compatible method for body-forging, somehow... the boy felt like his master is just stalling for time and not giving him a clear answer for some reason! but, why would he do that? so far the white-sovereign seemed open and forthright.

“What are you waiting for? let’s go people! kakaka... finally, I’m free, woo’hoo!” Sun noticed how the scarred young-guard, the "cool" bird, and "traitor" mule were waiting for permission from his buddy and decided to "drag" them into this desperate-attempt of pulling his best-friend away from that boring lifestyle that most cultivators live! the orange-kitten ran towards the balcony and jumped without care about the extreme height, the winged-tiger didn’t even seem to care about being prevented from passing-through the fog-formation because... senior Jianhong told him that it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Yes, this red-tiger attempted to sneak-away by himself once and go tour this mercenary-city alone but, this stupid, stupid, stuuupid and annoying white-colored cloud-like fog-formation stopped Sun in his tracks! one of the blue-king mercenaries on the floor next to the location where the orange-kitten landed sent a complaint to Lin about how his beast-companion is disturbing her with all the cursing, shouting, and loud meowing it’s making next to her balcony. Thankfully that woman is one of the boy’s senior-disciple sisters and had a soft-spot for cute things that’s why she didn’t harm the winged-tiger when he "forgot" his place and revealed his fiery-attitude to her, she called him—this devil-beast—"courageous" since it dared to hiss at her and Sun... immediately tucked his tail once he heard this "praise" and began to "admire" the beauty of this goddess-like woman and compliment her all the way up into comparing her with the "Moon" itself. Thankfully that spirit-king lady didn’t know that this really, really, really courageous tiger was comparing her to his own mate! otherwise, she wouldn’t be smiling and nodding repeatedly... that woman would be skinning him alive, for real.

“Hoo’it... ei’hoot!...” Frostine quickly followed after this impulsive-one who just doesn’t seem to understand the basic rules of hierarchy and how to simply just wait for his superiors to act first before he follows!

“Bleat!...” Shuang shook her head and moved towards the circular stairs because she never liked it when Lin made her experience how to fly.

“Young-master Lin. Please take care and wait for me, I’ll accompany Shuang and take the stairs... which gate should we take?” Qiang Chi bowed then closed the visor of his bear-styled brown-armor and asked for directions.

Lin : “Let’s meet at the northern-gate.”

Chi : “As you command, excuse me.”

The great-sage was quickly left alone in his own room, he walked towards the balcony and picked one of the mild spirit-fruits before jumping-over the rails to follow after his red-tiger and white-owl.

Lin began to munch on that spirit-fruit while observing his two beast-companions who keep chasing after one another and doing some aerial-maneuvers in their game, of course Frostine is superior in this particular field compared to Sun however, the winged-tiger isn’t too bad himself not to mention that he keeps improving this aspect! thankfully these two are being careful during their games and are no longer like they once were before when the orange-kitten and the white-owl both seemed to be so eager to jump the throat of one another almost all the time, now they know when to stop before going too far otherwise, the boy would just punish them with his soft-methods.

“Hoot!”

“Did not!”

“Hoot... hoo’awt...”

“Tsk, you barely touched the tip of my tail with your wing! how could that be considered a win already? next time, next time for sure, I’m going to win all our next challenges. Humph.” The red-tiger landed on the shoulder of his buddy and muttered these words while giving the ancestral-bird a disgruntled look.

“H’hoot.” Frostine just traded that look with a haughty one of her own which seemed like it means : 'Heh. We’ll see about that! next time only speak these strong words after you win, but when you lose... you better accept your loss like a fully-grown and proud "male" not like some whiny little-cub.' And Sun seemed like he’s cringing a bit too much after hearing this reply that he almost farted.

Lin : “You really did good holding "that" in, I really would’ve thrown you back in my room had you sprayed "that" on me!” The boy smirked and pushed the orange-kitten away from him while notifying him of the consequences, at least he didn’t expose the secret of his best-friend which would’ve been very... very embarrassing to the winged-tiger.

Sun : “You two go-on ahead of me, I need to "visualize" what happened before.” The red-tiger seemed to appreciate the kind gesture from his buddy and awkwardly said that while widening the distance between them, honestly Sun doesn’t usually feel embarrassed when he spread his "love" and marked anywhere he goes! however, this time the circumstances and timing of that "wind" would’ve affected the orange-kitten’s image in front of its "rival" which wouldn’t hesitate to keep mentioning it for the rest of their life.

Frostine : “Hoot?” The white-owl seemed very confused and kept looking between the great-sage and the winged-tiger but, one of them just laughed and shook his head while the other kept avoiding eye-contact with her! until the red-tiger revealed a really, really perverted expression on its face, according to the opinion of this ancestral-bird, that sight just demanded a back-flap from one of her wings.

“Come. Shi and Shuang are going to exit through the northern-gate, let’s go check the products that are being sold in the stalls around that area of the plaza.” Lin gently held Frostine with both hands then pulled her towards his chest, the boy covered her and himself with a layer of soul-force before activating his spirit-wings... a single flutter caused both of them to disappear from that location and appear all the way on the opposite side of the white-tower! even the white-owl who’s already very, very fast when she’s serious seemed shocked, once before this ancestral-beast—broke-through and ascended to the realm of ancestral-beast—witnessed the boy when he competed with a bird-lord however, actually living the experience of such extreme speed and watching it from a distance are two completely different feelings.

The upper-pair of his four wings are still of the same size and of the same dark-gold color, the lower-pair however are different compared to before... not only in size but also in color! they’re currently yellow but, almost all these yellow feathers have some gold color on them right now, the size of these wings is about half the upper-pair.

However, the loss of the two cloud-generals seems like it isn’t a loss that could be easily recovered, the unique trait of intelligence does seem hard to cultivate within the dark-gold cloud-soldiers! and that’s why the position of cloud-general and the title of army-commander are still vacant, meanwhile the main reason why the lower-pair of wings changed so much is because of the extensive work and effort that this great-sage has been doing within the meridian-system, specifically the first major-meridian and the first minor-meridian that branches from it.

The first minor-meridian, the meridian-tunnel is at least two-times wider now, its tunnel-walls are almost about to become completely gold in color! while the golden-hall at the end shouldn’t be called "golden-hall" at all since the walls are almost about to become completely dark-gold in color, even the wings-symbol experience some change—just like the other wing-symbol that’s on the symbol-feather—and its color is now much deeper gold compared to the yellowish-gold from before. When the boy activated his spirit-wings that wings-symbol on the back of his right hand is a lot different in color compared to the time he met sky-queen Hongtian.

Meanwhile the dantian-space itself has experienced some differences too, the number of huge suns on the dantian-walls is higher while the "uncolored" areas are much less now, the bowl-like area at the bottom of the dantian-space is a lot deeper while in the bottom of that dantian-space there’s what seems to be some milky-white dew! that dew has begun to accumulate in that location by the effect of all the fallen-clouds whenever the great-sage is attracting strands of light-energy into the dantian-space, or whenever the matrial-spirit decides to spray the weak clouds on-top of the dantian-walls to leave smudges and patches of paint, the ones to contribute the most to the accumulation of this dew are the white-clouds.

“Come, come, come... come and take a look, fresh demonic-cores for sale! all basic-attributes, demonic and devil-realm. Lightning-attribute demonic-core of an ancestral-realm beast, highest offer wins it at the end of the day. Just write your offer on the list and come collect it from our stall at the end of the day, don’t miss this rare chance.”

“Our stall is selling medicinal-ingredients... master-alchemists would find our products essential for almost all their concoctions, potions, and pills. We also have some grandmaster-rank medicinal-ingredients, first come first serve, reasonable prices. No bartering, spirit-crystals or spirit-coins only!”

“We buy and trade resources and raw-material for spirit-tools...”

“Selling diamond-claw rodent pups, two left for sale...”

“We craft jewelry, our stall guarantees the quality... our craftsman is a grandmaster-jewelsmith.”

“Hoot!”

Once the great-sage landed in the plaza he blended discreetly among the crowd, Lin began to walk between the stalls which are at their densest and thickest around the edge of this massive-sized and extremely-wide plaza and grow thinner and sparser around those who walk towards the white-tower, mostly these activities are frowned-upon but they’re not illegal however, when there’s a need for mercenary-guild to clear-out the entire plaza these peddlers would immediately scram and disperse like smoke! Frostine seemed to drool when she noticed the pair of small white mice-pups in the cage and the white-owl did seem to be asking the boy to buy them for her.

“How much?” The great-sage walked towards the stall which have different exotic creatures but, Lin wasn’t interested in any of them, they all seem like useless pets compared to Sun, Frostine, and even his mount Shuang! the boy asked while pointing towards the cage that contains the pair of lab-mice.

“One low-grade spirit-crystal.” The woman in gold-armor gave the boy a look then glanced towards the white-bird on his shoulder before raising an eyebrow after noticing the difference in cultivation between the two, she answered while squinting her eyes.

“I’ll take them.” The great-sage answered while retrieving the spirit-crystal from his space-ring, he noticed that this woman might be raising the price but, he never cared about money to begin-with and doesn’t even know the market-price of these pups! Lin only knows that this ancestral-bird wants them and that’s enough.

“Each.” The woman seemed to be doing her best to hide it but, the amused-glint and the teasing tone of voice betrayed her efforts.

“Ho’ot. Hoi’et.” Frostine kept nodding her head and seemed to be saying : 'Pay it, give it, take these two... quickly now!' The excitement from this white-owl was... a bit too much!

“You sure?” The boy retrieved another spirit-crystal into his hand from the space-ring and asked this woman, his tone of voice seemed daring and challenging while containing a cautionary-warning! the great-sage never likes to bully others or suppress them with his status however, he wouldn’t mind slapping some people on the back of their hand to teach them a valuable lesson.

“Hmmm! of course I’m sure but, the price just increased by fifty purple-coins.” The woman refused to heed the warning and challenged Lin by increasing the price instead, the playful-smirk on the corner of her lips added some beauty to her average-looks. She thought : 'Humph. A snotty-nosed kid dares to threaten me inside mercenary-city, while I’m being within my stall right in front of the white-tower! no matter what backing you’ve got behind you, let’s see what kind of waves you’re going to cause now and how tall they are. Tsk, if he dares ruin or damage anything in my stall? then, I’ll teach this boy a very harsh lesson before the guards arrive! I better subdue that white-bird first before it’s able to react.' Then this golden-mercenary stood-up and slowly walked towards the boy.

“Looks like I have no other choice but to pay quickly before the price increases once again, I guess!” The great-sage muttered while looking upwards slightly at the taller woman, he looked her right in the eyes before smiling and retrieving fifty purple-coins more however, Lin quickly stored these fifty purple-coins back into the space-ring before retrieving another low-grade spirit-crystal and raising the three spirit-crystals on-top of an open hand towards the stall-owner and saying : “You meant each.” Then squinted his eyes when the woman looked at him with some annoyance within her eyes after the boy stole words from the tip of her tongue, now she can’t tease or provoke him anymore without being the one in the wrong.

“Humph. As long as you underst-”

“Big-sister Mei. Don’t!”

Before the average-looking woman could extend her hand forward she heard the voice of someone both she and the great-sage already know.

“Tsk. Young-lady Zhenzhen, it’s a pleasure meeting you... like always.” Lin clicked his tongue when he noticed this woman that’s called Mei retract her steps and pull her hand away from him faster than lightning itself, he turned to face the female blacksmith-apprentice and unenthusiastically greeted her! then extended one of his arms for Sun to land before ruffling fur and feathers without care for the two ladies.

“Little-Zhenzhen. W-who’s he?” Mei pulled the young-girl to the side and whispered into her ear while cautiously looking towards the boy’s face in an attempt to read his mood judging by his expressions, she’s usually good at reading people but, this time she gained nothing and felt slightly confused and a bit afraid! especially after noticing how her friend seemed to desperately try to warn her earlier.

“Y-you big, big idiot! tell me, are you seeking your own death? that’s the closed-doors disciple of sovereign Jianhong right there! didn’t I tell you before that his eyes are the color of pure gold? can’t you see the color of his eyes? good judge of character my ass! you’re as blind as an old bat, didn’t I tell you that he’s a boy who looks like a twelve-years old? shouldn’t you be greeting all twelve-years old boys in the city with all the courtesy in the world? not to mention grovel if you have to in front the ones who have golden-eyes!” Wen Zhenzhen seemed like she wanted to just bite the average-looking woman and slap her a few times to wake her up into the fact that she almost caused a lot of trouble to herself, despite feeling extremely upset and annoyed-with this spirit-tyrant and being so agitated while scolding her, the young-girl managed to keep her voice low since they’re practically surrounded by people everywhere.

Notifying these strangers of the existence of this Lin among them might cause a huge disturbance in the plaza and this disciple of sovereign Jianhong doesn’t seem like he’s the type to appreciate being under the spotlight.

“Buddy. What’s going-on here?” Sun crouched on the shoulder of his best-friend and asked while looking at these two women who’re whispering to the side while keeping looking towards them.

“Sun. You be quiet now, there’s still people everywhere around us, once we’re back I promise to tell you all about everything that almost happened here,” Lin gave the orange-kitten a quick side-glance to warn him about casually saying anything that shouldn’t be said when they’re out in the streets then looked towards the female blacksmith-apprentice and her average-looking friend before saying these words, “Young-lady Zhenzhen. Your "timely-intervention" really "interrupted" a very good "deal" that was about to be finalized, I just hope that lady Mei here wouldn’t hold you accountable for it but, that’s something between you two sisters and none of my business. Now... could someone please tell me how much are these two pups so I can be on my way!” The boy said then looked towards the stall-owner whose face is currently so pale.

“Young-master. J-just take them, they’re a gift from me. I just hope that you wouldn’t hold against me, I was in the wrong earlier, I really was, please forgive this Mei.” The stall owner quickly reacted by taking the cage and offering it to the great-sage while bowing, the average-looking woman really seemed like she’s about to cry.

Wen Zhenzhen : “En. En, en, en...” Meanwhile the young-girl crossed her hands and kept nodding her head, seemingly approving her big-sister’s current behavior.

Lin : “ No. Since my point is clear, and since you sincerely apologized after admitting your wrong, then... I need to give face to you since you’re my senior and give face to young-lady Zhenzhen since we’re already acquainted but, under one condition!”

Mei : “Young-master. Please... this Mei is certainly going to do her best to satisfy your requirements.”

“Heh. Her face might be a five but her figure is certainly a nine, at least it’s an eight.” The female blacksmith-apprentice smirked and teased her big-sister, she’s not ashamed to say such inappropriate words despite being a lady herself because she’s used to accompanying mercenaries all the time ever since she was a little kid.

“T-this... sigh,” The average-looking woman gawked after hearing what little-Zhenzhen just said then puckered her lips and just looked down at her toes while blushing, “I-I... I don’t mind it young-master.” This time the stall-owner barely said these words in a whisper.

“Accept the price that I’m willing to pay and never take advantage of your customers, you already gave me a price that’s higher than normal in the very beginning then let your greed control you and doubled it once again, before taking a moment to appreciate my warning you attempted to force me into accepting an unreasonable price then raised it again while planning to raise it afterwards just to suppress me. If you want to act like a bandit then you’re in the wrong place, if you’re willing to listen to this advice of mine? then, maybe I’d be willing to come and visit your stall in the future,” The boy smirked after hearing the two sisters and seeing how the older one is behaving after misunderstanding him then told her what he wanted to say before leaving three low-grade spirit-crystals in her hand then looking to the side towards Qiang Chi and Shuang who just arrived, “ Chi. Help me carry this cage.” The great-sage pointed towards the cage in the hands of the shocked and surprised spirit-tyrant then moved towards his mount and sat himself on its back.

Qiang Chi : “Yes young-master, right away.” The former-general nodded then immediately walked towards the average-looking woman and said : “Senior. Hand me the cage.”

Mei : “Huh! uh... y-yes.” The stall-owner extended her hands forward to give the two diamond-claw rodent-pups to the fully-armored man whom she can’t see his face since the visor of his helmet is shut.

Wen Zhenzhen : “He really allowed such a chance to slip-through his fingers! well... I guess that’s really to be expected from a six years old.” The young-girl muttered while feeling slightly apologetic after seeing the expression of total loss on the face of her big-sister, that woman is smart, bright, and really fun to accompany! but, she never had any confidence when it comes to her looks, the same couldn’t be said about her confidence in her body though.

Lin : “Oh! almost forgot there, stall-owner Mei. This young-man in front of you is my follower, his name is Qiang Chi, please take care of him whenever I send him to your stall.”

“Eh! why does it feel like I heard these words before?” The female blacksmith-apprentice scratched her head while muttering these words.

“A-any time young-master. Brother Chi is welcome to come visit me whenever he likes.” The average-looking woman cupped her fist towards this Chi when she said these words.

“Senior Mei. Pleasure making your acquaintance.”

“Same here brother Chi, same here...” Mei said so and watched the man in the bear-styled brown-armor politely bow towards her before moving towards his young-master with the small cage held in one of his gauntlet-covered hands.

“It’s good to know that my bear is going to be in good hands, then... see you later ladies.” The boy smiled then said while cupping his fist.

“Young-master. Please wait!” This time it was Wen Zhenzhen who said these words.

“Hmmm...”

“I was supposed to come visit you in the tower to hand you the meat of the... you know! however, I heard that there’s a grandmaster-jewelsmith in the northern-area of the plaza and didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity. Since you’re already here then I can give it to you now instead of having to climb all the way to the peak of the tower later. My luck is just super good today, I saved sister Mei, met young-master and saved some precious time, now I can take my sweet time appreciating the work of that grandmaster and buy some for myself or request some custom-made jewels before they leave mercenary-city. I heard that their stall is only going to be available for a single week before they join a caravan towards pearl-city, apparently their final-destination is the Ling-empire on the western-islands, they seek gaining the favor of the fifty-seventh empress who just ascended the throne after the fifty-sixth emperor passed-away on his sickness bed. That empress is widely-known for her passionate-love towards jewelry, precious and rare gems.” The young-girl moved towards the great-sage and handed him a level-three space-ring that’s filled to the brim with the chunks of meat from the fire-eating dark-lizard and pointed towards a nearby stall while explaining her reason of being here, the female blacksmith-apprentice was smiling from ear to ear apparently pleased because lady-fortune herself seems to be smiling towards her from above right now.

'Isn’t that princess Ling Mei’s father! well, what happens in that empire and the matters between her siblings has nothing to do with me. Still, I probably should take a look at that stall, the craftsmanship of these pieces of jewelry is of a pretty high quality indeed. So far I haven’t bought any gifts for my family at all, who knows when I’ll get to meet a grandmaster-jewelsmith again.' Lin thought while giving the products in display a glance.

Lin : “Then let’s go together.”

Wen Zhenzhen : “Big-sister Mei. I’ll come visit you when I’m done.”

Mei : “Okay.”

The boy dismounted from Shuang’s back and walked towards the stall with the young-girl, meanwhile Frostine flew and perched on the cage where the two pups of the diamond-claw rodents are being held, Sun’s sensitive nose picked-up the scent of a really, really delicious-smelling meat on the space-ring that his buddy just received and kept sniffing at it while feeling very excited! Shuang seemed bored since her friends stopped after just going outside and moved towards the nearby stall where the other beasts are being held captive to take a look, Qiang Chi followed after his young-master but before he went the scarred young-guard gave the average-looking stall-owner a hand-gesture which meant : 'Senior Mei. Please keep an eye on young-master’s mount.' Then the spirit-tyrant gave the man in brown-armor a thumbs-up gesture and a smile which meant : 'Brother Chi. Don’t worry about this spotted mule-deer and quickly go.'

“Welcome, welcome... dear customers, are you looking for something in-specific or are you just here to admire our products? our stall also accepts requests for custom-made ornaments, the price of custom-made products decreases or increases depending-on whether or not our customers are willing to provide the required raw-materials for the product itself.” Once the great-sage and the female blacksmith-apprentice approached the jewelry-stall they were met with a middle-aged woman in a very luxuriously-adorned attire, her pink-white colored silk-dress, her hands, her ankles, her neck, and the crown of her head and forehead plus the ears are covered in jewelry! despite her slightly above-average looks that middle-aged woman did indeed seem like she’s some type of queen or at least belong to high-class royalty of some kingdom or empire.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Big-sister I’m here to look for some jewelry to buy for myself, if there’s something I want that isn’t already made then I don’t mind making some requests for custom-made pieces.”

Lin : “Well... I’m just here to look for now, maybe I’ll buy some for my mother and sisters.”

“Feel free to take a look. Please don’t touch anything and allow this servant to help you remove the pieces that you wish to examine or try it on, that way I can explain all about the material used in making them.” The stall-owner seemed pleased after the young-girl called her big-sister, then she really wanted to ask the boy if his pair of beautiful-looking eyes are really his eyes and if he didn’t just polish two nuggets of gold then stuck them into his eye-sockets! the middle-aged woman could already see the reflection of the jewelery and gems on her body within these golden-eyes.

“Whoa! I really admire the grandmaster who created these pieces, this craftsmanship is... top-class. Big-sister you’re so beautiful, can I try this one? that necklace too, and that ring, these pair of butterfly earrings are so cute and lovely! kyaa... I want everything, now I don’t know what to choose, I feel dizzy already.”

“En. It’s spectacular indeed, the fine touch is clear to the eye and the ability to balance between beauty, color, and extravagance while maintaining the minimal-cost of raw-material makes every piece a work of art and a masterpiece of its own!”

One felt like she’s in heaven and surrounding by angels taking the shape of these jewelry while the other kept admiring the work and craft with his golden-eyes.

The stall-owner who was about to comply with the requests of her customer while feeling certain that she’s going to sell some of her products to this lovely-looking and sweet-tongued young-girl, suddenly gawked and looked towards the boy who just explained the strategy she’s using to operate her business since the first time this middle-aged woman decided to open her own jewelry store and enter this profitable market, her establishment allowed her to make a lot of connections with individuals and families who’re of the peak-tier standards in social, influential, and power.

“Young-master Lin. Your eyes are really sharp, I’m already a spirit-forger of the master-rank yet I didn’t notice this until you said it, tsk. But, your way of complimenting and flattering the creator of these pieces makes this young-lady envious, I wish that I had a man who would praise and admire me in a similar way. Oh! by the way... where’s big-brother Qing? isn’t he your personal-guard? he’s supposed to keep your company when you’re outside, these streets could be dangerous sometimes.” Wen Zhenzhen moved closer towards the great-sage at the end of her words and spoke in a hushed tone of voice.

“He’s back in his clan right now, when he returns I’ll send him to your smithy right away. Your grandfather, is there any progress? it’s been more than a week without me hearing anything from senior Zedong.” Lin smiled after hearing the young-girl and asked her about the grandmaster-blacksmith, the boy needs his weapon before the challenges begin since it’d make things a lot easier for him if he doesn’t have to do everything with his own fists.

“Sigh. Last time I checked on him was three days ago, he was really annoyed and cursing his bad luck after failing to achieve his goal. He said : "This time I’m certain of taking that final step towards ancestor-hood, thankfully young-master Lin was more prepared than me and left me with a spare brick otherwise I would’ve been too ashamed of ever facing him again! however, I promise to make it up for him in the future by forging the best spirit-tools and equipment for him and his people." then he told me that it’d probably take him four or five days to make his breakthrough before chasing me out of his forge and closing the door behind him, stingy old geezer wouldn’t let me even watch him work! you better help me and bully him later, better yet if you ask your master to beat him up if he fails. Humph, humph, humph...” While accepting the jewelry pieces from the stall-owner and trying them on herself, the master-blacksmith told the great-sage about her grandfather’s current situation while encouraging Lin to cause trouble however he likes.

The middle-aged woman acted like she isn’t interested about the conversations between these two but the boy noticed how her expression changed for a split-second earlier when Zhenzhen called his name, then when the young-girl mentioned that she’s a master spirit-forger this extravagantly-dressed woman gave her a quick side-glance before offering her the necklace in a manner that’s way more polite than earlier! however, when the stall-owner heard that the grandfather of that girl is already a grandmaster that’s about to enter the ancestor-rank in his spirit-forging profession she almost stumbled before quickly regaining her balance, then when she heard the young-girl asking the boy to naturally bully an ancestor-rank spirit-forger or ask his master to give such an individual a beating she began to sweat.

Lin : “You don’t sound like someone who have faith in their grandfather at all, I’m quite confident that senior Zedong is going to successfully make his breakthrough and ascend to the ancestor-rank in his profession. But we’re not here to talk about him we’re here to buy jewelry, I’m interested in the creator because I can sense their passion for their profession from every single one of these pieces. Lady owner... is there any chance for me to meet with him or her?”

Stall-owner : “This! young-master... honestly our grandmaster-jewelsmith is a woman but, her circumstances are somewhat unique.”

Lin : “How so? doesn’t she like meeting the admirers of her work? I understand the idea of how genius-inventors, talented-creators, and craftsmen usually get absorbed in their work and don’t usually like wasting their time socializing since their dedication to their craft is extreme, actually I admire such individuals.”

Stall-owner : “Sigh. Young-master misunderstood me, she’s a slave of mine... one from the evil-race who’s talented in this craft. Back then almost twenty years ago I bought her along-with a few dozen of her evil-race to help me take care of my manor, you know how most people from that evil-race could learn if they’re trained from a young age, that’s why I bought them all young and sent half of them to learn different professions. Unfortunately most of them were either useless or lazy to learn or work, these idiots were holding a grudge after being separated from their families after I bought them, humph! slaves who show an attitude to their masters are always the first to die, most of them got themselves killed after offending the people I sent them to learn the profession from, only that little-girl kept her head down and her mouth shut, she learned for ten-years until she became a master-ranked jewelsmith then the one who taught her sent her back to me. Afterwards I just opened a store in my hometown, then that small jewelry-store spread into a chain of jewelry-stores within the nearby towns, after five years she became a grandmaster-jewelsmith! my stores spread everywhere within the big cities of the Dou-empire just because of her work and the work of the ones she taught the profession during these years, finally my wealth attracted the envious eye of one grand-duke that’s being supported by one of the seven kings of that empire, sigh... I had to abandon all these stores, leave my homeland, throw-away most of my fortune just to keep my life. What you see is all I have left, besides that I own nothing except that slave of mine and a few of my most loyal guards, even these guards wouldn’t hesitate to leave me if I’m not paying them and compensating them for all their hard work and the sacrifices they made for me! unlike cultivators I’m just a mortal old woman, I’m powerless in front of true power.” The middle-aged woman told her story and the boy could hear regret and sorrow from her voice however, he didn’t pity this lavishly-adorned lady at all... once the great-sage listened to her speak so naturally about owning slaves and hear her careless and apathetic words when she mentioned the death of these young slaves who "dared" have an attitude after being forcefully separated from their families and sent somewhere to spend the rest of their "slave-life" alone! the stall-owner didn’t notice any change on Lin’s expression at all but, Sun—who was still sniffing at the space-ring that his buddy allowed him to take into his paws and sniff all he wants while acting like the drunkard-version of a little and adorable orange-kitty—suddenly shrunk his neck and shivered when he noticed the look within the boy’s pair of golden-eyes when he looked towards this foolish middle-aged woman who dared anger his best-friend.

“Well... my deepest condolences for your loss lady-owner, now... do I have your permission to meet that grandmaster-jewelsmith? I’m planning to buy everything that you have on display here within your stall as a present for my friend, young-lady Zhenzhen... this’d be my congratulatory-gift for you on your successful breakthrough into the master-rank! don’t forget our promise, take care of Qing whenever you meet and come to me if he ever dares to offend you, I promise to straighten his crooked attitude for you.” The boy asked the middle-aged woman before enticing her to accept with his generous offer then the great-sage turned to look towards the young-girl and genuinely smiled when he witnessed her expression of disbelief that quickly got replaced with excitement then joy when Lin assured her that he’s going to take her side if she go and complain.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Deal! hahaha... this is my lucky-day, I just know it.”

Lin : “Hmmm...” The boy suddenly looked towards the east then his smile widened into a wide-grin before looking towards Chi who noticed it almost at the same time and nodding once, afterwards the great-sage looked towards this very excited master-blacksmith and saying : “Young-lady Zhenzhen. There’s another surprise for you but let’s not ruin it for you, you just wait for it when it happens! now, go ahead and pocket everything here and don’t forget to give your big-sister Mei a piece or two while you’re at it.”

Stall-owner : “Young-master. A-are you really going to buy the whole thing?” The middle-aged woman asked while being apparently shocked yet pleased at the same time.

“The craftsmanship is more than worth it already, how much do I owe you lady-owner?” Lin asked while patting Sun’s head to calm his agitation.

“Give me a minute to calculate the worth of everything,” The stall-owner quickly ran between the items on display and began to scribble on a piece of paper with excitement showing all-over her expression and practically shinning from her eyes, “Young-master... huff... the total worth is eight low-grade spirit-crystals and seventy-five purple-coins.” Finally the middle-aged woman returned gasping for breath and said the number while offering the bill to the boy with shivering fingers and a very shaky hand.

“Let’s settle it at nine since lady-owner is allowing me an audience with the grandmaster-jewelsmith, I’m going to bring my mount while you finish dismantling your stall.” The great-sage handed the extravagantly-ornamented lady nine spirit-crystals before gesturing for the young-girl to go ahead and take her jewelry then left the jewelry-stall and walked towards Mei’s stall to get Shuang.

Stall-owner : “You go ahead young-master, I’ll finish everything right-away, right-away...” The middle-aged woman began to fold and stack her belongings on-top of one another while being in quite a hurry to leave.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Mine, all mine! kakaka... in you go, you too lovely, same to you precious...” The master-blacksmith began to talk to herself like a lunatic while grinning like a pervert in heat who met a gathering of naked beauties! however, this young-girl doesn’t care about any of that at all because... in this moment she’s too busy thinking about how she’d look wearing every single one of these trinkets.

.........

When Lin and Chi looked towards the east. Outside the eastern-walls of mercenary-city.

Suddenly a space-formation appeared and from within it appeared Rong Qing, the former-assassin smiled when he looked towards the black-walls and the man released a sigh after sensing the existence of his young-master Lin and his little-brother Chi inside it, after his journey back home and settling everything within his clan and sect... Qing clearly does seem like an entirely different person right now! he’s no longer naturally-emitting the dangerous-air of intimidation or the cold-air of estranging everyone in his surroundings, the guards on the gate quickly allowed him entrance after paying the entrance-fees since this spirit-disciple isn’t on any of the "wanted" lists, yes... this former-assassin already ascended a major-realm in his spirit-cultivation after being absent and way from his young-master during the past week.

The man didn’t waste a second and ran towards the direction of his young-master Lin, through the eastern major-road Qing’s pair of agile and quick-feet practically flew on-top of the stone-paved streets until he reached the plaza where he quickly moved in-between the crowded area of the stalls, he still feels sad after having to separate with his mother after spending just a few days with her despite being away of her and causing her to worry for years! however, his mother was the one pushing him and encouraging her son to go back and keep his promise towards his savior and benefactor, his duty is to protect and serve the one who allowed him the opportunity and satisfaction of uniting with her once again, his goal is to wipe the sins of his past with the good deeds in both present and future.

Honestly, when Rong Qing returned to his clan he didn’t feel welcomed by his clan and didn’t sense the heartfelt and genuine appreciation from many of his own family members, most of them gave him condescending-looks that seemed to ridicule his low spirit-cultivation, some of them completely ignored his existence including a pair of his brothers! except for his own mother, a sister, and a lukewarm father... the rest didn’t seem to care at all, within his swift-sword sect only his own master cared about his well-being and safety and appreciated this disciple of his who’s still willing to return to the sect and warn him of a danger that might happen.

After returning to this foreign-city the former-assassin really felt like he could breathe again, there’s no use in him denying his own feelings anymore, next to the young boy is where he knows that he belongs now! following the instructions of his young-master Lin, hereon listening and learning from his teachings is what he needs to do, helping the boy reach the summit of his potential is what he needs to see with his own eyes, avenging himself from the devil-incubator is what he needs to seek with all his power.

Rong Qing : “Hmmm...” Once the former assassin arrived he noticed the young-lady who kept acting so friendly with him back when they visited her smithy, that young-girl is wearing a lot of jewelry on her body and standing in front a big mirror next to a spirit-tyrant woman who’s similarly covered in a lot of jewelry! his young-master looking towards him from on-top of his mount and smiling while his little-brother is feeding the spotted mule-deer while holding a cage that contains a pair of small white mice which Frostine is perched on it and having fun scaring the small creatures, Sun holding a space-ring between his paws and leaning on his back on-top of the boy’s lap and sniffing at that space-ring and acting like a very intoxicated drunkard.

“Young-master. I’m finished packing everything up, we can go now.” Before the spirit-disciple got to say anything he found a much more extravagantly-adorned and ornamented middle-aged woman in a pink and white silk dress talking to his young-master while gesturing towards some dismantled-stall.

Lin : “Good. Since we’re all here then let’s be on our way,” The boy nodded towards the stall owner then turned to look towards his personal-guard, “Qing. Welcome back, now help me store the belongings of lady-owner in one of your rings and hand it to me, don’t forget to erase your spirit-mark from it.” Once the great-sage mentioned the name of his follower it seemed like a bout of electricity overtook Wen Zhenzhen, she turned to look towards Rong Qing before suddenly gawking after remembering how silly she looks right now since she’s covered from top to bottom in jewelry! the sight of the young-girl scrambling to remove this ornament or that while blushing deeply did seem cute indeed.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Young-master! this isn’t a surprise, that’s a trap.” The master-blacksmith glared towards the boy while hiding behind her confused big-sister Mei however, the average-looking woman quickly noticed the source of her little-sister’s embarrassment and smirked before pushing her outside her stall where she’s exposed to the "elements" while ignoring all the "lethal" glares! thankfully the man didn’t seem to notice the exchange between the sisters and was following the order of his young-master.

Rong Qing : “Here young-master.”

“Excellent. Now help me escort young-lady Zhenzhen back to her smithy safe and sound, make sure to return once she no-longer has any more requirements or requests from you.” The great-sage received the space-ring from his follower then said that after urging Shuang to follow the middle-aged woman.

“Yes young-master,” The former-assassin bowed towards his young-master then looked towards Wen Zhenzhen, “Let’s go.” The man said these words so naturally while expecting the young-girl to just walk back towards her smithy.

“Huh!...” The master-blacksmith just gawked while looking towards the boy who almost disappeared among the crowd and back towards this man who expects her to follow him.

Mei : “Silly girl... didn’t you hear what young-master Lin just said to this man?” The spirit-tyrant shook her head from side to side before whispering her question in the ear of her little-sister.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Ah!”

“Finally it got through that thick-skull of yours! now that you get the message... scram.” The average-looking woman smirked then whacked her little-sister on her butt and enjoyed seeing the young-woman gawking before hiding her cute-looking butt with her hands and widening the distance between them.

“Y-you! this isn’t over between us, big-sister Mei... you’re going to regret this, just you wait.” After throwing that threat at her laughing and mused big-sister while waving a fist and sticking her tongue out, Wen Zhenzhen began to walk between the stalls and moved towards some food stalls before taking a seat then finally looked towards her escort and said : “Big-brother Qing. Wont you join me? I didn’t have my dinner yet, I’m hungry.”

“This isn’t going to work.” Rong Qing looked towards the young-girl and said that while maintaining eye-contact.

“What’s that?” The master-blacksmith was startled by what she heard and felt slightly uncomfortable.

Rong Qing : “Sigh. I’m not blind you know, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen young-master Lin play the matchmaker, you seem like a lovely, cheerful, and social person however, I’m nothing like you! we just have nothing in-common between the two of us, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make you laugh, or... happy.” The former-assassin took a seat next to Zhenzhen and muttered these words before gesturing for the store-owner to serve them to plates of his single-product menu and something to wash it down.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Is it because I’m young?” Despite asking this question the young-girl was smiling because this big-brother just complimented her.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? the problem has nothing to do with you, it’s me who falls short in this matching, you’re the one being disadvantaged in this unfair relationship!” The spirit-disciple raised an eyebrow before gently poking the forehead of this master-blacksmith.

“Ouch! you’re offending me, young-master Lin promised to straighten your crooked attitude when you offend me, big-brother Qing is in a lot of trouble now.” Wen Zhenzhen puckered her lips and began to eat her food after notifying the man.

“Uh! I’m sorry. Does it hurt?”

“En. I think it’s going to leave a bruise, doing such a cruel thing to a weak, vulnerable, and helpless-lady! big-brother Qing is so, so fierce with me... leaving me sore in our first da-... cough, cough... I’m choking! help me... cough... pat my back...”

“Are you alright now?” Qing asked.

“Cough... no... cough... massage my chest!” The young-girl had a very sly look within her eyes which she tried to so bad to hide it by closing her eyes and acting like she’s in pain, the true struggle however was... to hold her laughter and not to smile otherwise, this act would be ruined and the hilarious-scene would stop prematurely! the stall-owner was feeling amused watching this poor man being toyed-with by a young-girl who’s in her teen, at least he noticed how genuinely-worried the man is about the safety and well-being of this naughty-girl and how absorbed he’s in his attempts to help her that’s why he didn’t notice a thing. However, what that stall-owner didn’t know is... the orders this former-assassin received from his young-master are like the sharpest sword at his throat, once he fails to follow them then it’s like he failed his young-master! if it wasn’t rude to use his spirit-energy to check the interior of this young-girl? then, the spirit-disciple would’ve done that long ago.

“Feeling better now?” Qing asked while doing like he was told, his first time touching a woman’s breast happened in such a strange and awkward situation! however, despite being slightly small for his hands they felt so soft and squishy, the former-assassin unconsciously gave the one he’s holding a gentle squeeze.

“Humph! where do you think you’re touching?” The master-blacksmith felt like she’s being taken advantage of after feeling the strong hand teasing her right breast and swatted the hand away while blushing when she noticed the single member of their audience grinning like a perverted old man, Wen Zhenzhen threw a coin towards the stall-owner and left the stall without caring if the idiot is going to follow or not because he certainly is going to follow like a lost puppy.

The two of them walked the entire length of the plaza from the northern-part to the southern-part without saying a single word however, Rong Qing seemed to hesitate about saying something but he didn’t say it until they reached the southern major-road when he said : “Forgive me, I never intended to shame young-lady Zhenzhen.” The former-assassin like always didn’t shy-away from eye-contact.

Wen Zhenzhen : “Tsk. Man... you’re really serious all the time,” The young-girl suddenly felt ashamed of herself and blushed so hard when she clearly sensed the deep sincerity in the words and actions of this man, she muttered these words while admiring her own toes however... she really wanted to kiss him right now! “I’m not going to tell young-master Lin anything but, promise me something.”

“Anything.” Qing said while nodding his head, he really doesn’t want to be scolded by his young-master... not ever.

“Anything?” The master-blacksmith had this playful-look in her eyes... again.

“En.”

“Then close your eyes and promise to keep them closed no-matter what happens, only open them when I tell you to do so and only then.” Wen Zhenzhen asked while gathering her courage.

“I promise.”

Once the former-assassin closed his eyes she tiptoed and circled his neck with her arms then kissed him and began to kiss him just like how she saw it happen before, the man himself felt like a piece of stiff wood in the beginning before his shoulders loosened-up and his strong arms circled her waist and pulled it towards his well-toned body in a tight and firm hug, she felt like a block of butter melting and sizzling on-top of a hot piece of metal! she closed her eyes and forgot the existence of time and place until...

“Oh! get a room you two, stop blocking the entrance of my store.” Some old lady shooed them away with her broom while looking towards them with a frowning and grumpy-expression on her face however, the envy of their young, passionate, and reckless-love could be noticed deep within her eyes.

Hand-in-hand the two of them escaped the scene while avoiding eye-contact out of fear of going at it again, until Wen Zhenzhen finally couldn’t hold it anymore and a burst of amused laughter escaped her mouth and soon afterwards Rong Qing joined her because he was feeling real joy and true happiness in this moment... he can laugh again!

............

Stall-owner : “Young-master. This is the place that I rented, it isn’t much but it’s more expensive than any part of this city.” The middle-aged lady in pink-white dress gestured towards a small two-story building in a very crowded street where there’s just no more space between houses and less greenery to be seen than anywhere else in this wide city.

Two strong-looking guards are standing at the entrance but, none of them is a cultivator.

Lin : “ It isn’t my place to judge your accommodation lady-owner, to each their difficulties.”

“Heh. Young-master is such a sweet thing, if only I was a few decades younger, I would’ve swooped-in and snatched you for myself in a heartbeat.” The stall-owner seemed really pleased after having this thought while the boy felt disgusted deep-down in his stomach, if it wasn’t for his curiosity towards the jewelsmith herself and some of her designs which have some very faint similarities with jewelry from his previous-life? then... the great-sage would’ve told his winged-tiger to chase this slave-buyer all the way to one of the city-gates! Lin really have no love for such hypocrite-individual who lives her life lavishly while suppressing helpless individuals and claiming all their hard work and sucking their blood, this middle-aged woman spoke of it all like it’s the most normal and just thing to do in this world.

The boy spread his soul-sense to cover the building and within it he only found a single person, a frail-looking and slave-collared thin-woman who seems a few years older than his own mother but she doesn’t seem like she entered her thirties yet, that woman is standing in front of a forge holding a small tool that contains some gold nuggets that are about to melt, next to her is a prepared mold that’s ready to be filled.

This frail-looking woman was startled once she heard the voice of the stall-owner entering the building, judging by the expression on her face she seemed both confused and regretful for some reason however, she quickly reverted back to her previous apathetic expression right before the middle-aged woman led Lin towards the forge! witnessing this all happen with his soul-sense caused the great-sage to feel even more disgusted with the stall-owner, but, the shock and disbelief Lin witnessed afterwards on the face of this thin-woman when she looked towards them caused him to squint slightly while thinking : 'This woman not only know me but also she’s seen my face before, but I’m sure we never met.'

Stall-owner : “Come quickly Yingtai. This is young-master Lin, he’s been very interested in meeting you.” The middle-aged woman seemed like she’s annoyed-with the idea of being in the forge and called the thin-woman who’s called Yingtai to come towards her instead.

Yingtai : “Master. This slave doesn’t dare disobey you but right now I’m in a critical-stage of my work on this piece, if I leave right now it’s going to be ruined.” Hearing these words felt like daggers stabbing into the boy’s heart, the word injustice doesn’t fit because the great-sage imagined twenty years’ worth of time this malnourished and frail Yingtai spent being treated like this! maybe this woman would’ve been treated way worse if she didn’t have the talent for jewelsmithing.

“T-this...” The lavishly-adorned woman hesitated before looking towards Lin, clearly she doesn’t want to waste a chance to earn more and attempting to seek the boy’s kind, gentlemanly, and chivalrous-side! that way she wouldn’t offend him and wouldn’t lose anything.

“Lady-owner it’s okay, I can have my conversation with grandmaster-Yingtai while she’s working as long as I’m not going to disturb her, you can go entertain my guard and watch-over my beast-companions before they mess-up your place!” The great-sage walked ahead and entered the forge while leaving these words behind, Lin sounded like he’s dismissing her because he’s really doing so.

Stall-owner : “Then this lady can’t allow these cute and naughty beasts of yours to have that chance.” The middle-aged woman glared towards Yingtai before taking her leave.

The boy isolated the forge after covering it with a very thick layer of his soul-force before retrieving two chairs from his ring and a table that’s fully organized and covered with prepared hot meals, afterwards the great-sage retrieved a big globe of clean water and left it levitating in front of the thin-woman to wash her hands then took his seat however, Yingtai didn’t move from in front of the forge or look towards the hot and delicious-smelling meal she just... kept looking towards him and Lin became really anxious because... she really seemed like she’s going to cry! finally the boy sighed and got-up from his seat then walked towards her with open arms while saying : “I don’t really know how do you know me or when did you see me before but, if you want to cry? then, I can lend you my shoulder and pat your back for you, I promise that no-matter how loud you scream or how loud you curse that hateful-woman... nobody would be able to hear a single thing.”

“Great-tage... boohoo... dey took ma famidy... waaah...” Yingtai tackled the great-sage and he had to use his soul-force like a pedestal to compensate for the difference in height between them, she kept muttering muffled or deformed words while crying and sniffling in-between but... the first two words sounded like thunderclap in his ears and Lin thought : 'She just said great-sage, right!'

Dai : “Well... this is interesting! it seems like I came to be just in the right time, where’s my popcorn at when I need it?” The deadly-sin of greed could already feel the other sins being really active after the words great-sage were said by this woman.

Lin : “Let it all out girl, you’ve been through a lot and you deserve much, much, muuuch better from this world. You’re beautiful, you’re creative, you’re strong, you’re resilient, you’re just a very amazing person... you didn’t allow this disgusting-woman to break you! raise your head up you did nothing wrong, there’s nothing to be ashamed of here, your soul is pure... you should be proud of yourself. I’m proud of you, Yingtai... the whole world should look-up to you and learn from you.” Lin spoke softly while rubbing and patting the thin-woman’s back until she calmed-down, finally the boy pushed Yingtai slightly further away from his body and cupped her face before looking her directly in the eye while saying her name and gently shaking her before praising the frail woman then giving her a tight hug.

Yingtai : “Heh. The great-sage is really the best great-sage, you’re the only reason I was able to endure these twenty long years.” The thin-woman kissed the boy’s cheek before wiping her face in her rugged, dirty, and torn clothes.

Seeing the metal-collar on her neck and the tattoo-like brand on the nape of her neck caused the great-sage to wish if he could just snap the first and wipe the other clean with his own blood if he have to! however, he can’t do such a reckless thing otherwise Yingtai’s life would be at risk, if not by the metal-collar itself? then, by the ones who’re going to come after her following the tracking-formation within the brand on her neck.

Lin : “First clean yourself properly, I don’t have any clothing for beauties like you but I do have some that might fit your size.” After Lin heard what was said earlier he understood that this woman not only know about him from his previous-life but also know about him within this life too! which means, he can’t—under any circumstances—leave her staying with that obnoxious-woman, earlier the boy was thinking of buying her from her contract from that woman and setting the thin-woman free or let her live with him, she’s more than capable of earning enough to live a very honorable and dignified life. Now she’s a valuable source of information that can help the great-sage fill the void that has always existed between both of his two lives.

Lin retrieved the bathtub, soap, towel, curtained the whole thing, warmed the water, arranged the clothes then pushed Yingtai towards the tub before returning to sit at the table, maybe if this location wasn’t mercenary-city where violence is forbidden? then, the boy might’ve unleashed the beast—Sun—on that repulsive-woman! but he can finish his business here and never see her again in her short mortal life, there’s no need to get his hands dirtied.

Yingtai : “Great-sage. How do I look?” The thin-woman twirled in place while asking, the smile on her face brought warmth to the great-sage’s heart and he smiled while tears fell from his eyes uncontrollably after imagining how long it has been since this woman really smiled such a genuine smile! he choked on his words slightly before finally saying : “G-gorgeous! just like a monarch-butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.” Afterwards Lin stored the "cleaning-kit" and sent a streak of his fire-intent to burn the tattered-clothes Yingtai used to wear before turning to invite her towards the table, he helped the thin-lady to her seat and pushed it for her before sitting in front of her.

“Heh. You must be really, really anticipating this piece of information huh!”

“Well... it’s rare for a piece of puzzle to confuse me for six, almost seven years! being in a state of anticipation is the least of my feelings, I’ve been worried, confused, and despairing. Whenever I imagined the fate of quadrillions perishing just like that, exterminated in a blink of an eye! that’s not a weight that I wish for an enemy to carry on their shoulders.” The boy said while pushing a few of the more delicious plates nearby the frail woman to try them, her malnourished sight worries him a lot.

The great-sage thought about using his light-energy to assist her but was afraid to harm Yingtai instead of aiding her, then he thought about using his wood-intent however, it really isn’t his own intent it belongs to one of the seven-deadly sins.

Dai : “It’s mine. Want me to heal her up? you can do it yourself if you want.” The deadly-sin of greed spoke and Lin smiled before nodding, immediately afterwards he felt a root-like strand of wood-intent extending below the table and entering the thin-woman’s body through the sole of her feet! despite it happening to her own body the frail woman didn’t seem to notice anything at all however, her complexion began to gradually show improvement and the more she ate from the table the more the boy felt like the function of the organs in her body are improving.

Yingtai : “I’m really great-sage, this meal is just to amazing, I feel so strong and lively already! I didn’t mean to tease you, as much as I’d like to do so... it’ll just leave me feeling terribly-ashamed of myself after finally meeting you. Our ancestors did really manage to create the ark... Lin-ark carried and saved them from the disintegration-shockwaves, generations lived and died unable to see anything except a world that’s the ark which they got born inside it and grey everywhere outside every window! the sacrifice you made was the only possible chance for our human-race to survive, every statistic they made led to the death and annihilation of our entire civilization on that universe. There just wasn’t any time to create more genesis-reactors before continuing further trials, your sacrifice not only saved that reactor but also your amazing action of holding-on until great-sage Sarah arrived then contributing the memory-chip gave the ministry conclusive and firm results, when the two genesis-reactors the one in the Sun-Moon research-facility and the one within the ministry’s headquarters worked together day and night until the third and fourth genesis-reactors were built they barely managed to finish the ark and prepare it for what to come a few minutes after everybody who could get in got in. Thankfully the ministry had already collected samples from everyone which allowed them control the inhabitants within the ark during its journey, finally the disintegration-shockwaves hit some invisible-wall according to the information it’s clearly some sort of space-energy or space-formation, Lin-ark fell in the central-continent on the land we call land of remembrance but cultivators who love to mock, shame, and ridicule us call it land of forgetfulness instead.” The thin-woman stopped to take a drink before continuing : “Without the restrictions of the space within the ark we duplicated the bloodline of the ancestors and our numbers spread at a rate that cultivators noticed, but the thing they really noticed is our knowledge and our capability of improving and adapting to the different situations using brain instead of brute-force, they schemed to steal it by force from us but we’re weak mortals our souls are extremely difficult to penetrate without it bursting like a balloon, orthodox-cultivators and devil-incubators joined hands to suppress us and attempt to seize our secrets and failed because the ministry did choose its candidates carefully and hid the whereabouts of its headquarters until the breakthrough happened, we became able of manipulating disintegration-matter or what they call chaos-energy which is the bane of all elemental-energy and spirit-cultivators below the realm of spirit-sovereign! even those individuals don’t dare stay within the territory of our disintegration-dome for too long, feeling like their pride is wounded after we forcefully snatched an entire continent from them and kicked them out... cultivators played dirty and forcefully bred all they could get their hands on from our human-race, after millions of years our "evil-race" is suppressed and oppressed everywhere within this spirit-world and the ministry is doing its best and giving its all to the mission of rescuing the hostages from the savage cultivator however, there’s too many of us out her on the four continents and too few being saved on each attempt, I hear that sometimes the ministry falls into traps and schemes then end-up losing more instead, most of the ones being saved often need extensive psychological-therapy. All of this because our race is incapable of cultivating.”

Lin : “Well... that explains the past, how did you know that it’s me? that I’m the exact same guy, I’m... "pretty" sure that I don’t look anything like my previous-self, not to mention that I’m a cultivator!” The boy activated his energy-armor and covered himself in a layer of light-energy before activating his martial-spirit.

“Heh.” The thin-woman smirked before walking toward the boy to take a look for herself at his pair of wings, she doesn’t seem like she could see the energy-armor but she can see the martial-spirit just fine.

“You dare tease this great-sage? judging by the lineage I’m many times multiplied your great-great grandfather, say it now... child.” The great-sage stood-up and demanded from this woman who doesn’t look frail anymore.

“Grandpa! but... you never married before, never had an affair no-matter how great-sage Sarah attempted to tempt you with her char-”

“Cough! it seems like you prefer the company of that lavish and extravagant woman, goodbye.” Lin felt his face swelling already after this woman kept giving his pride imaginary-slaps.

Yingtai : “Wait! this is actually a very, very good news for the great-sage but... maybe you need to take a seat first.”

Lin : “Why would I need that?”

“Because queen Lily is the current minister.”

“Huh! m-m... cough...”

Dai : “Say what? fucking seventh-hell! he's having a heart-attack, shit I'm having it too... fuck you Lily... you bitch are going to be the death of all of us... ouch!... who turned off the light in here? you've got to be kidding me... I only got to spend a week with him! this shit is rigged.”
The deadly-sin of greed kept complaining until Dai found himself back within the sin-world where two of his brothers gave him sympathetic-looks and two of his brothers were jumping up and down from extreme excitement while one sister is burning from rage after hearing the news about what Lily dared to do.

“Humph. I’m taking that one, you two wait for your turn.”

“Tsk, lust is really mad now. Envy is going to get her butt spanked for sure.”

“She still took our turn, your chance was fifty-percent.”