Splash!
Water exploded outwards, falling down shortly after in a fine-refreshing mist as boisterous laughter drifted about a place that looked like paradise.
“I’ll give that splash a seven,” Laia’s gentle voice drifted out.
“That’s the best you can do?” John asked, his voice slightly mocking.
“Hey, if you can do any better, then let’s see it!” Kirii’s voice sounded out within his mind.
“That’s easy. Watch this!” John called out as he jumped off a high cliff towards the crystal blue waters below. He curled up into a ball and slammed into the water’s surface, causing an explosion of water to blast up into the sky.
“Hmm, I’ll give that an eight and a half,” Laia spoke up again, acting as the judge of the apparent competition between John and Kiriii.
“Tch, I guess that’s a bit better than my splash,” Kirii couldn’t help but admit as he floated within the crystal blue waters, although he was clearly not happy about it. “But I’ll easily win with my next dive!”
“Hehehe,” melodical laughter, like that from an angel drifted out shortly after as Laia watched the splash competition between John and Kirii continue..
It had been several weeks since they entered the Dao Transformation trial realm, and their journey through the realm had been dangerous and harrowing. They had nearly lost their lives several times, but thanks to their immense talents, they had managed to survive up to this point.
Earlier in the day they had stumbled upon this place, which was unlike anything they had seen before in the realm. The realm was a land of fog, decay, and death, and the beasts within were those that thrived in such environments, such as the Rot-Breath Drake.
For the first time since entering the realm, they had felt a vibrant and refreshing aura within the realm. They followed the aura to its source, and found an area that looked like a paradise to them. A mile wide lake with crystal blue waters rested in the center of the oasis, the source of the vibrant aura. Surrounding the lake was a verdurous forest, filled with exotic fruits beyond counting, each more delicious than the last.
The best part of this lake was that its natural vibrant aura seemed to keep the beasts of the land at bay, who clearly detected its vibrancy. It was as if this natural oasis had been placed here as a temporary reward for making it half-way through the Dao Transformation realm.
Realizing all this, John, Kirii, and Laia had decided to stop here for a while and rest up, as it was the perfect opportunity to do so. They were incredibly weary from their journey thus far, and this was the perfect place to recover their full strength. It was a true paradise for them at the moment.
Next to the lake was a small cliff several hundred yards tall, which John and Kirii were using in their splash-making contest, while Laia laid down on a nearby sandy beach and judged their competition.
Kirii quickly raced up to the top of the cliff and gazed down defiantly at John who waded in the waters below.
“Heh, you should be happy that you’ve managed to push me this far,” Kirii’s voice sounded out within John and Laia’s mind, while he did his best to sound like an ancient elder praising a youth, “but now that you’ve forced me to go all out, this is where your defeat is imminent!”
After making his rousing little speech, Kirii jumped off the cliff once more. His body suddenly grew in size, becoming several dozen yards long and tall. It was as if he had suddenly become a giant.
SPLASH!
His massive body slammed into the crystal-blue water, creating a massive splash and also a wave that washed out in all directions. The wave quickly crashed out over the edges of the lake, Laia included, before eventually receding back to the lake.
“Hahahah, you see how awesome I am?” Kirii said boisterously as he surfaced from the waters depths.
“Hey, no fair. You’re not allowed to change size like that!” John exclaimed in protest. One of the Kirins natural abilities was to shapeshift, both in appearance and size. Kirii had just used that to his advantage, and John would not be able to match such a splash without using his cultivation which they had agreed to not use.
“Heh, too bad. This ability of mine is completely natural and doesn’t require using my cultivation or Qi, so it’s allowed,” Kirii mocked John, clearly satisfied with his score. He looked over to the beach towards Laia to receive a score, and his face scrunched up slightly as he saw he had soaked her with his splash.
“Ah…sorry!” Kirii’s voice reverted to a child-like one as he quickly apologized. Her pearly white dress had become soaked and clung tightly to her skin, revealing her alluring curves…a view which John couldn’t help but stare at.
“No need to apologize,” Laia replied with a smile as she stood up, “and that splash was definitely a ten. I think you win this one.”
“Hahahaha! The Great Kirii has once again proven his might!” Kirii laughed maniacally. John couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Kirii’s antics, which locked onto Laia as she quickly made her way to the top of the cliff they had been jumping off.
“Since I’m already wet, I might as well join you two!” Laia said with a smile on her face as she jumped off the cliff and to the waters below, while John watched on with mesmerized focus as she fell down towards them. The golden sun above illuminated her beautiful and wet figure, making her appear like an lavender-haired angel descending from the heavens above.
Splash!
…
Crackle!
The soft crackling of a campfire drifted out as the three sat around it to dry off. They could dry off instantly using their cultivation, but all three had decided to relax as much as possible while staying here, including drying off naturally.
“That was really fun!” Laia said while laughing lightly, her melodic laughter lightening the mood even further. She squeezed her hair to dry it, while the warm fire took care of her water-soaked dress.
John stared at Laia in silence for some time, as he could tell this was a rare occasion for her. Clearly she was not used to doing something laid-back like this, although he supposed such a thing was natural as the princess of one of the strongest empires on the Divine Martial Continent.
“This place truly is amazing” she said as she gazed all about.
“It really is,” John replied with a head nod before biting into a fruit in his hands. “Not only are we safe here, but the fruits and herbs around here are beyond wondrous, untouched for tens of thousands of years. Just staying here for a few days will help both our cultivations tremendously.”
Laia nodded her head in agreement as she watched John eat. Her eyes roamed over his shirtless body for a brief moment, taking in the sight. His body was like a perfectly sculpted statue, with perfect proportioned muscles covering every inch of his body. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the various scars that covered his body, scars that were so faint as to be almost invisible.
With his powerful cultivation, the scars would eventually vanish, but the deeper the wound, the longer such a thing would take. Laia could clearly tell that with the number of scars on his body, his journey to get to this point must have been beyond agonizing. She fell into deep thoughts as she stared at some of his faded scars, but quickly snapped out of her thoughts as John’s voice sounded out.
“Enjoying the view?” John asked as he stared at Laia, whose face quickly turned red as she realized she had been caught starting. Her eyes averted to the side as she harrumphed slightly like a scolded child.
“Hmph, don’t think I haven’t caught you staring at me as well,” she harrumphed.
“Why wouldn’t I stare?” John replied without any shame or hesitation as he stared directly at her, “isn’t it natural to stare at beautiful things?”
“You…I….you…” Laia stumbled over her words while her cheeks turned bright red, not expecting to hear such direct words from John.
A mischievous smile appeared on John’s face as he watched her stumble over her words. Laia averted her gaze once again as a Jade piece appeared in her hands, as if she were trying to take her mind off what had just happened.
“The Jade Dragon List?” John said as he noticed what she had taken out. “I had completely forgotten about that thing while we were here. So have any interesting changes happened to the list?” he asked curiously.
Laia’s divine sense flooded into the jade piece, and her rosy-red face quickly faded away as a serious look appeared on her face. John could instantly tell something was wrong, and his own Jade Dragon List jade piece appeared in his hands for the first time since entering the Dao Transformation realm.
He quickly inspected the jade piece, and a cold, murderous look appeared on his previously relaxed face. He stood up from the log he was sitting on and flared his Qi, drying his body in an instant. A black and red robe appeared on his body as his cold gaze stared at Laia.
“Dry off and get dressed. We’re leaving right now!”
“Mhm,” Laia hummed in acknowledgement and quickly dried off and put on a fresh dress.
“What are you going to do?” she asked as she arrived next to him, slight worry in her voice.
“What am I going to do? Isn’t that obvious?” He replied with a cold tone. “I’m going to leave this trial, and then I’m going to drown this realm with the blood of every last invader. Now let’s go!”