"Congratulations for getting well, young master," said Duo Ji with a salute.
Xiang Shaoyun quickly stopped the salute and said, "Don't act like that, old drunkard. If you guys had not arrived, I would have died."
"That is our duty as subordinates," said Duo Ji earnestly.
He was gratified to see that Xiang Shaoyun had reached the Transformation Realm. He still remembered back when he fled with Xiang Shaoyun that he was only a third-stage Basic Realm cultivator. It had only been two years, yet he had already reached this level. This was quite a shocking growth.
Prior to this, Xiang Shaoyun was an early ninth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. But after half a month of transformation when he was unconscious, his strength had grown, and he had reached peak Transformation Realm. In truth, it wasn't a large increase, considering the fact that all the medicinal power had been squeezed out of his body. He could no longer grow the same way in the future. Most of the medicinal power had worked to cleanse his body, which was much more beneficial than pushing up his cultivation level.
"Young master, where is the young lady?" asked First Eagle.
"She was too tired. Just let her have a good sleep," said Xiang Shaoyun. He could see the disdain First Eagle had toward him, but he did not resent it at all. He had matured much and naturally understood the reason for the disdain.
This was a world where strength mattered above everything else. Only by becoming strong would one gain respect.
He scanned his surroundings and asked, "Where is this? What has happened in recent days? Old drunkard, update me."
Duo Ji nodded and gave a simplified version of everything that had happened.
"Little White is here too? Where are they?" Xiang Shaoyun asked, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.
Right after he asked that, Little White rushed out from a different direction while shouting in surprise, "Boss, you're finally awake!"
Looking at the humanoid Little White, Xiang Shaoyun spoke in excitement, "Haha, finally, us brothers meet again."
Xiang Shaoyun ran forward and gave Little White a big hug. He had heard from the old drunkard that Little White had arrived and saved them all during their moment of crisis. If he had not appeared then, all of them would have died.
Xiang Shaoyun was filled with gratitude. Because he had tasted betrayal before, he appreciated true friendship even more.
"Boss, come to the Hundred Beast Mountain Range with me! With the tiger clan protecting you, nobody will dare to harm you!" offered Little White earnestly.
Xiang Shaoyun replied, "I know you are offering that to help, but I can't go with you. Some things we just have to face, and some weight we just have to carry."
"But you can leave after you have grown even stronger! We have more than enough resources for you to cultivate there!" said Little White.
"Thank you for the offer, but I can't do that," said Xiang Shaoyun firmly.
Although Little White's suggestion was good, he did not want to continue hiding himself. Perhaps he had to take more initiative to gain more room of growth and opportunities for himself. He did not want to rely on his sister to regain his family estate. No big brother with any self respect would want that.
When Little White saw how resolute Xiang Shaoyun was, he gave a different suggestion instead, "I will leave Jin Wo behind to protect you instead. He is now a Demon Emperor."
Xiang Shaoyun wanted to reject that as well, but Little White quickly added, "He can be your temporary mount, boss. That will save you a lot of unnecessary trouble. When I'm done with my cultivation, I will rejoin you, and together, we will battle the world!"
"Fine, let him stay. I won't treat him unfairly," Xiang Shaoyun agreed after giving it some thought.
He did not want to disappoint Little White too much by rejecting all his suggestions, and he also needed a mount anyway. With Jin Wo, a Demon Emperor, acting as his temporary mount, he could avoid a lot of needless trouble. Moreover, Jin Wo could also serve as his guard. So having Jin Wo around would serve two purposes.
Little White smiled joyfully when Xiang Shaoyun agreed. They spent some time reminiscing on the past when the old demon's voice rang out, "Prince, it is time to leave."
Little White was unwilling, but he still nodded and said, "I know." He looked at Xiang Shaoyun reluctantly. "Boss, I'm going back. When I become a Demon Emperor, I will come look for you!"
"Um, go back. Maybe your boss can go visit you someday if you can't leave," said Xiang Shaoyun.
Little White then called Jin Wo over and said, "In the future, you will stay by my boss's side. Be as loyal to him as you have been to me."
Jin Wo did not dare to disobey as he said, "Yes, prince."
"Um. I won't forget your contributions," promised Little White.
Just as Little White was about to leave with the old demon, a green-eyed wild woman charged out and cried out to him, "Meow! Prince, take care!"
Little White merely nodded indifferently and left without saying anything. A sense of loss covered the green-eyed beauty's eyes. It was obvious she cared a lot for Little White.
"Who is she?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
"She's a cat, a sister of the young lady," said Duo Ji.
"Oh? Interesting," said Xiang Shaoyun with a faint smile on his face.
The cat clan had always been very close to the tiger clan, and thus, it was understandable that this demonic tiger would find herself smitten with Little White, a real white tiger king.
One ought to know that for demonic beasts, bloodline was the most important. The higher the purity and quality of the bloodline, the further one could progress in the path of cultivation, and the higher one's status would be.
Little White had the bloodline of a pure white tiger, and with a snap of his finger, countless female tigers would jump into his arms. At this time, Chen Jiayan arrived outside the residence and requested an audience.
The Eagles kept him outside and reported to First Eagle, and First Eagle asked for instructions from Xiang Shaoyun. No matter what, Xiang Shaoyun was still their young master. Although they looked down on him, they still had to act appropriately.
"Let him in," said Xiang Shaoyun.
He also headed toward the entrance, and when he saw Chen Jiayan, he cupped his fists and thanked politely, "Thank you for offering us shelter, Senior Chen."
When the Thirteen Eagles saw how humble Xiang Shaoyun was, they felt incredibly unhappy. In their eyes, the tiny Chen Clan was nothing, and there was no need to be so polite to them.
Chen Jiayan quickly said, "You are being too polite, Young Master Xiang. It is our honor to be able to host you here."
In recent days, he had sensed clearly how cold and lofty the Thirteen Eagles were, and thus, Xiang Shaoyun's politeness horrified him.
"Well, we have been bothering you. Just wait until my sister wakes up from her sleep. We will leave immediately," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"Why are you in such a rush to leave, Young Master Xiang? Please allow us a chance to give you a proper welcome first," said Chen Jiayan.