In the underground room of the Octagonal Building, Yang Kai maintained his Demon God Transformation while he felt his Demon Crests faintly pulsing, causing his blood flow to accelerate, and raising his momentum to an astonishing height.
In the distance, the three Great Commanders of the Ancient Demon Clan all observed his movements with great interest, each of them repeatedly nodding in approval.
Yang Kai’s growth these past few months had all been witnessed by them and each of them was quite impressed with Sir Great Demon God’s successor.
The only thing that still gave Li Rong a headache was the fact that even until now, she had not found any way to instill a sense of belonging to the Ancient Demon Clan into Yang Kai.
*Hong…*
A loud bang rang out, and with Yang Kai at its center, a violent wave of energy burst forth. The three Great Commanders who had been passively observing all quickly acted, injecting their energy into the Energy Sealing Stones to reinforce the room’s barrier.
The wild energy fluctuations rampaged about inside the barrier and Yang Kai looked like he was having trouble controlling the power inside his body. It was not until sometime later that everything gradually stabilized.
Li Rong and others exchanged a quick glance before quickly flying over to Yang Kai, a worried expression upon each of their faces as they asked, “How are you?”
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled and only after a short silence did he finally shake his head, “I’m fine, just feeling a bit restless.”
“Restless?” Li Rong was stunned. She never would have imagined that someone was calm and deliberate as Yang Kai would also have an impetuous side.
“It’s nothing important, I’ll end my cultivation here for today and head back first,” Yang Kai said, getting up and walking out.
Staring at Yang Kai’s slowly disappearing back, the three Great Commanders were speechless for a while.
“Haa, he’s not the type of person who is suitable for growing up in a greenhouse,” Hua Mo sighed deeply.
“I’m afraid that staying here is giving him a feeling of restriction,” Han Fei gently nodded. Although since the death of Chu Jian, the three Great Commanders had not placed any limitations on Yang Kai’s freedom, and had even done their best to help make him feel comfortable, being stuck in this Mysterious Small World probably still made him feel like a prisoner.
The living Ancient Demon Clan people grew up here, so even though they all longed to leave this place, none of their clansmen felt a particular sense of repulsion towards it.
But Yang Kai was different, suddenly being snatched from an incredibly vast world and then being tossed into this small place would inevitably make him feel uncomfortable.
The three Great Commanders weren’t stupid, so they naturally understood what was making Yang Kai feel so restless.
“It seems we won’t be able to keep him here much longer,” Li Rong smiled bitterly.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Han Fei suddenly grit her teeth and said.
“Alright. Be sure to see if there is some other reason as well. If it is something we can help him with, make sure he knows he’s free to ask,” Li Rong reminded.
Han Fei gently nodded.
Back inside his stone room, Yang Kai took out a bunch of herbs and held them in his hands, but for a long time simply couldn’t bring himself to continue, seemingly having lost interest in practicing Alchemy.
Suddenly, a fragrant scent brushed past the tip of the nose. Yang Kai looked up and saw Han Fei standing there silently with her usual cold expression.
“Do you have some worries you’d like to talk to me about?” Han Fei asked softly.
“Worries?” Yang Kai was stunned, soon smiling lightly, “What worries could I have?”
“Then why are you feeling restless?”
“It’s nothing,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head, apparently unwilling to discuss the matter.
“You don’t want to talk about it?” Han Fei stared at him fixedly.
Yang Kai put on a curious expression as he asked, “What is this? Is Great Commander Han Fei now also responsible for enlightening me? I’m afraid you can’t handle such matters, if someone really wants to provide spiritual guidance, I’d say Li Rong is more appropriate.”
“Am I really no good?” Han Fei immediately became a bit disgruntled.
“You prefer to keep to yourself, how are you supposed to get others to open up to you?” Yang Kai argued back.
Han Fei suddenly grinned, “This and that are different issues. It’s normal for young people to have troubles and regardless of anything else, I have at least lived many more years than you so my life experience is far more abundant. As long as you’re willing to discuss it with me, there’s nothing I can’t guide you about.”
“In that case, do you understand the relationships between men and women?” Yang Kai asked jokingly.
Han Fei was suddenly stunned and unable to speak, her tender body trembling lightly. She had never had feelings for any man throughout her life so naturally she had no idea about love. If that was really what Yang Kai was troubled about she really couldn’t help him.
“You just want to leave this Mysterious Small World don’t you?” Han Fei suddenly asked coldly.
“When did I say that?” Yang Kai felt inexplicable.
“What else could it be? The reason you feel restless is entirely because you feel like this world is imprisoning you!”
“Somewhat,” Yang Kai admitted calmly, “I really do feel a bit restrained here.”
“Even though we treat you so sincerely?”
“It has nothing to do with you, it’s just that I have things I need to do, people I need to find,” Yang Kai shook his head as he replied, unable to understand why Han Fei was suddenly so upset.
“I understand,” Han Fei took a deep breath, her rich chest rising and falling dramatically, exhibiting an amazing ripple of elasticity, “But you don’t have to worry, you won’t have to stay here much longer. In a little while you’ll be able to leave.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai suddenly looked happy.
Han Fei stared back at him coldly, “Coffin Slave Senior sent you here because you have a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, which is necessary for you to refine the Saint Grade pill we require, but the rate at which your skill in Alchemy has improved is too fast, leading to a shortage of herbs in this Mysterious Small World. It won’t be long until our supply is completely exhausted. Without herbs, you can’t continue improving your Alchemy skill so the only solution is for you to leave this place and seek out resources yourself.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes gradually brightened and the shackles that had been binding him suddenly felt like they had shattered, giving him a renewed sense of freedom.
“Happy?” Han Fei glared at him scornfully, “Whether it is Li Rong, Hua Mo, or I, none of us ever planned on limit your freedom, if you wanted to leave, we would have arranged for it immediately. The only reason you’re still here is because you’re still suspicious of us and didn’t dare to make such a request.”
Yang Kai suddenly couldn’t help feeling awkward.
He indeed did have such concerns. The Ancient Demon Clan had placed all their hopes on him, so he didn’t dare to ask them if he could leave. Even if they respected him and had sworn to follow him, Yang Kai didn’t know if they would suddenly go back on their word if he were to make such a request.
But now Han Fei had bluntly exposed his thoughts and suspicions.
“I just wanted to tell you, no matter what you think or do, since you are the inheritor of Sir Great Demon God, my Ancient Demon Clan will follow the teachings of our ancestors and faithfully serve you and obey your orders for the rest of our lives. If you can’t realize at least that much, then I’m afraid my clan’s only fate will be to be buried in your hands!” Han Fei spat out these words angrily before turning around and leaving.
Yang Kai scratched his head for a while, feeling quite uncomfortable.
Recalling everything that had happened since Chu Jian’s death, especially Li Rong and the other Great Commander’s attitudes towards him, Yang Kai suddenly felt somewhat ashamed.
They had truly been treating him with complete sincerity, but in return he had always kept his distance from them.
After some time, the air in front of Yang Kai distorted and the three Great Commanders appeared together. Yang Kai looked up and noticed that the three of them all wore serious expression on their faces, seemingly having made some kind of important decision.
Li Rong first hurriedly apologized to Yang Kai, “What Han Fei just said to you is was a bit harsh, but she only said them because she was thinking about our clansmen, I hope you can understand.”
Han Fei also stepped forward, a somewhat awkward look upon her face as she stammered, “Sorry.”
“The one who should apologize is me,” Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m the one who was over-thinking things and disappointed your sincerity.”
“We also prioritized the future of our clansmen, so it is not just your fault,” Li Rong smiled bitterly, “But from now on, we will do our best to consider things from your perspective. Good, do you really want to leave here?”
As soon as she asked this question, all three Great Commanders couldn’t help staring at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded.
Han Fei couldn’t help feeling somewhat lost while Hua Mo’s expression did not hide his disappointment.
Li Rong’s expression remained unchanged though as she smiled lightly, “You wanting to leave is also reasonable. Good, then we’ll send you out as soon as possible. You’re not one of our clansmen so you won’t be subject to this Mysterious Small World’s restrictions, so you are free to come and go as you please.”
“I didn’t say I would leave right away,” Yang Kai shook his head.
The faces of the three couldn’t help brightening upon hearing this, doing their best to calmly wait for him to continue.
“Han Fei mentioned earlier that your supply of herbs is nearly exhausted, correct?”
“En,” Li Rong nodded, “Demon God Citadel’s supply was actually consumed some time ago but after collecting the herbs Chu Jian had privately stored away, we managed to stretch things until now. But at the speed you perform Alchemy, I’m afraid that within a month even that will be used up.”
“Then I’ll use all the remaining herbs to refine pills that will be useful to you and once supplies run out I’ll leave.”
“Fair enough,” Li Rong smiled faintly, “We’ve been fortunate to receive your contributions this past year and a half, my clan now has many good pills to use so our overall strength has improved significantly. On behalf of them, I sincerely thank you.”
“You say that as if I’m an outsider.”
“You think of yourself as an outsider anyways so what does it matter?” Han Fei said bitterly. Although she had apologized just now, that didn’t mean she wasn’t still angry about Yang Kai being so determined to leave.
“Since all of your herbs are gone, it’s pointless for me to stay here, you can’t possibly want me to wait here for dozens of years until your supplies are replenished in order to continue studying Alchemy, right?” Yang Kai smiled lightly towards her, “That would be a big waste of time. When I leave here, I can seek out my own herbs to continue improving my skill in Alchemy so I can become a Saint Grade Alchemist sooner.”
His expression suddenly becoming dignified, Yang Kai solemnly declared, “I promise you that when my Alchemy level meets your requirements, I will definitely return here and bring all of you out!”
The three Great Commanders couldn’t help trembling as the turned joyful and excited looks towards Yang Kai.
“Can we take your statement seriously?” Li Rong asked urgently.
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded firmly, “I have never sworn an oath to anyone about anything before, this is the first and I do not intend on breaking it!”
Li Rong looked at him seriously and realized that he was being sincere, her pair of beautiful eyes suddenly becoming slightly wet as she whispered, “Thank you.”
Han Fei and Hua Mo also quickly thanked him, feeling a deep sense of gratitude in their hearts.
“You can rest assured that my clan also takes places the highest of importance on our commitments and ancestral teachings. Even after we gain our freedom, we will still faithfully follow you!” Li Rong quickly added, her expression incomparably firm.
“That’s a discussion we can have later,” Yang Kai smiled, “For now, give me the rest of your herbs.”
“I’ve already brought them,” Li Rong said, reaching out and swiping her Void Ring, dumping a heap of herbs in front of Yang Kai’s eyes.
“These are all the herbs we have left.”
“I’ll finish using these up as soon as possible,” Yang Kai gently nodded, his mind and body feeling much more relaxed.
