Xuefeng shrugged.
"I didn't pay too much attention to it. I was busy, so I sent the old man away. He didn't mind much too and gave me a Disciple Token so I can enter the Sect whenever I want."
Seeing the Elder's face, Xuefeng found it amusing and decided to test Ming's token earlier than planned. He pulled it out and waved a golden circular object in his hand.
"See? He gave me this."
He also checked it out to see Ming's work only to be blinded by the sudden golden light bursting from the token.
Roar!
Resounding bellow followed suit as the dragon engraved on the token came to life. A small replica of the Golden Dragon flew out, circling the two of them a few times before returning to the token, all in a few seconds.
Both he, Tianshi, and the Elder were dumbfounded.
"S-sect M-master Liu…" The Elder began while stuttering before exclaiming. "This is Sect Master Liu's Disciple Token! Only his Personal Disciples have it! You… Are you trying to say you sent the most powerful expert in Heaven Realm away, and he didn't mind it?! Also, who are you calling an old man! He is younger than me!"
'Haha, it worked!' Ming laughed in celebration. 'I once saw the original and created a replica for you. It seems my forgery skills are still great!'
'Won't I endanger myself by pretending to be his Personal Disciple?' Xuefeng questioned, anxiously, not expecting she would choose such a high profile person.
'Don't worry, those types of experts are usually in Closed-door Cultivation, and they rarely leave their Sects. No one will bother him to confirm it, instantly assuming he gave it to you,' Ming assured. 'No one is stupid enough to pretend they are House of Dragon's Sect Master Personal Disciple. That would be suicide.'
'…'
Xuefeng didn't want to comment on that. She told him to pretend in the first place! He didn't show his frustration on the outside and acted cool as if it was a norm for him.
"Well, didn't I tell you already? He came over and gave me the token. For me, he was an old man. Even he didn't mind me calling him like this, so why you care?" Xuefeng asked as he kept the token.
"Why didn't you say that before…? I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to recruit you…" Elder questioned back, his tone back to the polite one.
"You didn't ask," Xuefeng replied simply.
"Wait, you said you met him earlier today?" The Elder froze, realizing that fact. "Does that mean he is in the Water Element Land?!"
"Ye, I'm sure my master is still somewhere around the Water Element Land," Xuefeng confirmed, and just as the Elder was preparing to leave, he added, "I guess I will call him to pick me up earlier and tell him what treatment did I receive from the Silent Drop Sect."
Xuefeng grabbed Tianshi's hands and turned around, flying away. He gave the Elder three seconds to break.
Not only a second later, the Elder stopped them.
"Wait! Don't leave! I didn't do anything wrong! Don't tell your Master!" The Elder called out anxiously.
"Huh? Didn't you just use a threat to pressure us into entering your Sect? I'm sure my Master will be pleased someone tried to steal his Personal Disciple," Xuefeng said as he looked back.
The Elder paled and fear displayed from his eyes.
To make it worse, they turned around again and left.
"Wait! Please, don't tell your Master! I will do anything!" This time the Elder's cry was more desperate, precisely what Xuefeng wanted.
"A hundred Upgrade Fragments," Tianshi said calmly in response, ahead of him. "Yes, this is blackmail. Deal with it. We won't stay silent for less."
"But—"
"One. Hundred," Tianshi repeated, not giving him the chance to negotiate.
"Yes," the Elder didn't argue anymore and threw a Storage Ring in their direction.
Xuefeng caught the ring in one move and checked its content.
Ten stacks of neatly placed Water Element Upgrade Fragments. Not only that, but the Storage Ring also had decent capacity, showing the Elder's sincerity. They would be able to store much more goods if they wished to go hunting.
"Everything is correct. Thank you for your cooperation," Xuefeng said with a smile. "We will keep quiet to our Master."
The Elder didn't seem like he wanted to chat anymore. "I will take my leave then," he called out and flew away hurriedly.
"I knew he had a hundred on him, yet he wanted to bluff us," Tianshi commented.
Her Fate Spirit ability was also unique, allowing her to see the possible futures. At times, it was impossible to tell the correct future, but at specific times, there were only a few paths that gave her more accurate information.
She was just about to turn her head to him when he pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply.
"Mhmm!" Tianshi exclaimed with their lips connected, acting surprised by his abruptness. "What was that for?"
"Can't I just kiss you because I love you?"
"Well, if that's the case, I will go for seconds because I love you too," Tianshi replied, leaning over to claim her kiss.
Unfortunately, they were not in a safe place, so they didn't have too much comfort to enjoy themselves.
"I originally wanted to get only fifty, yet you got us a hundred," Xuefeng finally explained his excitement. "I didn't know you had it in you. I'm proud."
"Hehe, there is a lot you don't know about me," Tianshi giggled mysteriously. "You will have to explore more."
"I will."
"It's dangerous here," Ling pointed out as she appeared once again, forcing them to separate. "We should follow that Elder to find the nearest City. All cities are the safe zones of the Heaven Realm."
"Shouldn't we refine those fragments first?"
"It takes a long time to refine Qi. Ling is right. We should find a safe place and perform at least the First Refining, which should take us at least half a day," Ming concurred the plan. "Don't worry, if you want to find your wives, you need to get stronger first. The Heaven Realm is too vast for you just to randomly search for them."
Ming's and Ling's souls were linked with his own. They knew very well how he felt.
"I guess there is no other way…" Xuefeng muttered with a sigh. "I'm just worried about Yiren and Lisa. The two of them entered the same exit, so they should be together. How do you expect the two of them to defend themselves?"
"We can reach out for help to Trade Union in the nearest City. If anyone can find them the fastest, it's them," Tianshi proposed. "But also don't underestimate Yiren. She is much stronger than she looks. She will take care of Lisa for sure."
"Let's hope that's the case."
There wasn't a minute he didn't monitor his Soul Bracelet, keeping tabs on the girl's heartbeats.
"Anyway, let's be as high profile as we can. Hopefully, the girls will hear about us and move in our direction too," Xuefeng decided to which Tianshi joked.
"Aren't we the Personal Disciples of the strongest Cultivator in the Heaven Realm already?"
Xuefeng could only roll his eyes and gazed at Ming, blaming it on her.
Ming looked away as if she didn't hear him and changed the subject, "Right, I almost forgot. I am still yet to tell you about the Cultivation Stages. Let's go! I will tell you all on the way!"
"…"
"…"
———
"Ah, I'm glad the scenery is not like that forest everywhere…" Lisa sighed in relief when she saw the natural greenery outside the forest.
Although it wasn't much, the ground having more rocks than grass, she was still satisfied. The red mist and bloody liquid covering the whole ground was making her crazy.
"Are you sure you can't go with us?" Yiren asked the black cat who just dropped them off.
Mrrrr…
It confirmed with a murmur and rubbed its head against her for the last time before running back to the forest. Yiren waved it off like a good friend and finally returned to Lisa.
"See, it wasn't that bad, right?" Yiren asked playfully, grasping Lisa by the arm. "Are you ready for adventure?"
"Does your adventure have a hot bath and a comfy bed?"
Yiren smiled and pulled her to fly with her, "Come on, I'm sure we will find some!"
Lisa doubted that a lot, but she didn't have a choice but to follow her.
Rooooooooaaar!
Just as she did, the two heard a reverberating cry of a beast some far away. Lisa shuddered, but Yiren didn't stop in fear, dragging her in the direction of the cry.
"Yiren, no!" Lisa called out sternly, but she couldn't resist the never-ending curiosity of Yiren.
"We will just take a look from afar. Come!"
———
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