“Outside?”
Li Yuanfeng was stunned speechless.
The burning sun made him feel a bit dizzy.
There was sunlight but no sun in the Ice Field. The light came from the formation on the ceiling; a clear sky had been artificially created, but the source of light was invisible. They made it to the surface from that exit?
Roar!
The beasts crouching there noticed the sudden appearance of human beings. One of the beasts stood up; it looked like a mix between a wolf and a lion. The sharp blades on its back perked up as it locked its gaze on the newcomers.
The beast’s roar alarmed the nearby beasts.
The beasts stood up one after the other; it was actually quite an impressive sight.
“Seven… beast kings.”
Su Ping was relieved.
Most of the beasts gathered on the plain were at the titled rank; there were only seven beast kings amongst them. There could be other beast kings in hiding so he wasn’t able to notice them.
Those beast kings were mostly at the Ocean State; only the beast king that looked like a wolf seemed to be at the Void State.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Li Yuanfeng wore a grave face as he looked around. He grabbed Su Ping and Su Lingyue from their shoulders and the space began to contort around them.
Roar!
That wolf-looking beast bellowed at the three when they were about to get away.
Space began to squeeze the three.
Li Yuanfeng snorted. The air trembled and the wolf-like beast’s strike was dispelled. Li Yuanfeng vanished on the spot with Su Ping and Su Lingyue in tow.
They re-emerged thousands of meters away.
They teleported a second time.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
They left the plain in an instant.
Li Yuanfeng took a moment to catch his breath once they had arrived at a safe place. The beast kings didn’t go after them, much to his delight.
Carrying two people while teleporting was an arduous task.
He could have slaughtered all the beasts on the plain if it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t want to alert other beasts.
That Void State beast king was not a problem for him. He had been stationed in the Deep Caves for eight hundred years and the battles had made him one of the best battle pet warriors at the Void State!
“I think these are the Sea Rock Mountains!”
Li Yuanfeng came to a sudden stop when he noticed the surroundings.
Su Ping looked at him with a question, “Sea Rock Mountains?”
Li Yuanfeng came back to his senses. He excitedly said to Su Ping, “Yes, the Sea Rock Mountains! We are outside! We really are outside!”
He still wasn’t sure that they had returned to the surface by only looking at the sun, especially because it seemed too surreal.
But he would have never forgotten the Sea Rock Mountains.
They were outside!
“It looks different. I see more woods here but the mountains are still the same. This is the place where I grew up; these are the Sea Rock Mountains. This is home… The Dark Claw Base City is quite near!” Li Yuanfeng was trembling as he reached the end of the sentence.
Eight hundred years!
He could not believe that he would be able to go home after fighting in the Deep Caves for eight hundred years!
He could have retired and gone home a long, long time before but he didn’t want to leave behind his partners in battles in the Deep Caves. He would also have to help train the newcomers; but when the newcomers became familiar with the Deep Caves and it was time for him to leave, the newcomers would have already become his partners in battle and he became reluctant to leave without them! He didn’t want to leave his friends to face death by themselves!
As such, for all sorts of reasons, he had never left the Deep Caves.
But this day, the swirl took him directly outside, to a place near his home!
Finally, he would be able to go home after eight hundred years!
Su Ping was then certain they were indeed outside; he felt he could finally breathe again. But the thought that the Little Skeleton was still in the Corridor pained his heart.
After taking a deep breath, Su Ping said, “Brother Li, go and alert the Tower about the Deep Caves. I have to go back. I need to find a way to go inside the Deep Caves again to save my battle pet.”
The thought that Su Ping’s battle pet was still taking the great risk to stall the Thousand-eyed Demon Beast brought Li Yuanfeng back from his sudden excitement. He nodded. “I will tell the Tower about the Deep Caves. But, Brother Su, I’ll be going with you if you’re planning on going back to the Deep Caves. I want to!”
Su Ping argued, “You’ve been there for eight hundred years. It’s time for you to take some rest.”
“Yes, but it’s only been eight hundred years. I can stay there a little longer.” Li Yuanfeng chuckled. His answer sounded casual and care-free.
Su Ping nodded.
Li Yuanfeng asked, “Brother Su, where is the base city you’re from? I’ll go and visit you after I see my family.” Su Ping answered. “I’m from the Longjiang Base City. Ask around and you will find me.”
“The Longjiang Base City? I’ve heard about that name. I think we’re going in the same direction then. Brother Su, how about you come with me to visit my family first? If I’m not mistaken, we’re going to reach the Dark Claw Base City first; after that is the seventh entrance to the Deep Caves and then there’s the Longjiang Base City,” Li Yuanfeng proposed.
Su Ping didn’t know that Li Yuanfeng still remembered the locations of the base cities that well. Such being the case, Su Ping didn’t have a reason to decline.
“Sure,” Su Ping agreed.
The Valiant Academy was just after the Dark Claw Base City as well. He could make a stop there to settle the scores! The thought of Su Lingyue ever going missing filled Su Ping with rage.
Li Yuanfeng led the way. The three of them checked the surroundings as they flew away. They didn’t teleport this time; the beasts didn’t go after them, which was a great relief.
“I think the beast kings are smart enough not to go after us.” Li Yuanfeng laughed.
Su Ping nodded. “But I thought you said that the swirl in the Corridor should have been connected to a Field. How come we reached the surface? Why were so many beasts gathered there?”
Li Yuanfeng’s smile disappeared. “That is what worries me; it doesn’t make sense. You said you didn’t see legendary battle pet warriors on your way inside and now this happened. I think that those beasts we saw on that plain were from the Deep Caves!”
Su Ping raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
He believed that that was not just what Li Yuanfeng thought. Those beasts were indeed from the Deep Caves! They had that smell!
“They are out here but they didn’t go anywhere; they’re just waiting. I think those things are plotting something. This may be a catastrophe waiting to happen!” Li Yuanfeng said. Worry hid between his eyebrows. That was why he said he wanted to go back to the Deep Caves after visiting his family!
He could not set his mind at ease!
Everything was strange!
The beasts outside had to be the vanguard force that had been sent up from the Deep Caves to pave the way!
He had to report this to the Tower and have them send legendary battle pet warriors to slaughter the beasts and then check out the Deep Caves.
“Your sister has in a sense made a great contribution!” Li Yuanfeng said all of a sudden.
Su Lingyue-who had kept her head low all this time-looked up. She had been blaming herself after her initial state of joy, ever since they came out from the Deep Caves.
She knew how strong the bond between Su Ping and his battle pet was.
His battle pet had stayed in the Deep Caves so he could save her. He had traded his battle pet’s life with hers.
Fortunately, Su Ping’s battle pet was powerful enough. Otherwise, none of them would have gotten out.
“Sir, don’t make fun of me. I almost got you killed…” Su Lingyue lowered her voice. “I’m a bad luck charm…”
Li Yuanfeng smiled. “That’s not right. Your brother wouldn’t have entered the Deep Caves to find you if you hadn’t gone there, and we wouldn’t have noticed the absence of legendary battle pet warriors, nor the group of beasts we just saw. We’re now aware that those beasts may be plotting something. I don’t know what they want to do but it definitely isn’t something good for us. “It cannot be good for humankind. “But we noticed that. We’ll be able to save the world if we can take action in time!”
Su Lingyue opened her mouth but uttered no words. She forced a smile.
That sounded right but she had not done anything to help. She had only created trouble.
The fact that they had been able to notice those weird things was a complete surprise. She had nothing to do with that.
Su Ping darted a glance at her. “You know you did something wrong, so be smart in the future. Don’t get me in trouble again.”
Su Lingyue pursed her lips. She knew he had every right to blame her. What happened that time had taught her a hard lesson and she would never forget it.
She had already taken her seven day stay hiding in the Deep Caves by herself as an unforgettable lesson. But at that time, she didn’t know she would have a chance to correct her wrong.
She didn’t know that Su Ping would go and save her.
“I understand…” she said.
She would have argued with him in the old days, but arguing with him didn’t even pass her mind at the moment.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Su Ping rubbed her hair.
Li Yuanfeng chuckled. He saw the outline of a magnificent wall on the horizon. “We’ve arrived. That’s the Dark Claw Base City!”
Su Ping gazed into the distance and saw a huge city leaping into his sight.
It was a majestic city. Moss covered the city wall; it seemed that it had been some time since the city had experienced a battle.
“I’m finally back.”
Li Yuanfeng gazed at the city. The walls, the bricks and the stones looked awfully familiar. That memory was a part of him. One look and he was moved.
For countless times, he had dreamed of that base city. He had dreamed of the people in the base city. That day, he was finally back!