“There’s a lot of spirit beasts. Shall we take a detour from the east?” Nina’s subordinate asked.
“Then let’s take a detour.” Nina’s eyes became grave.
If there was only one Colorful Leopard, she would not be so worried. But the recurrent roars they just heard showed that there were at least dozens of spirit beasts there.
“Just keep going,” Zhang Han suddenly advised.
He wanted Mu Xue, Zhao Feng, and the others to fight the beasts. From every battle, they would gain valuable experience, which was also one of the fundamental purposes of the trial.
But unexpectedly…
“Coo-coo, coo-coo.”
Staying in Mengmeng’s arms, Tiny Tot had been kneaded by her little hands, which was an experience that it shouldn’t bear at its age. Even its face was deformed. But Tiny Tot seemed to be enjoying this. When it heard the roars below, it sank into deep thought.
After a good five seconds, when the others were talking and Zhang Han announced his decision, Tiny Tot finally came to its senses. Its eyes suddenly took on a dark shade. And it yelled in its ethereal voice. Its cries seemed to sound from all directions and could be heard everywhere.
Its somewhat naive voice had no effect on Nina and the others.
However, the Colorful Leopard below them abruptly widened its eyes and trembled with fear.
“Boo-hoo…”
The Colorful Leopard sounded as if it had been wronged. It was no longer domineering as it was a second ago. It arched its back and slowly retreated more than 10 meters. Then, it spun around, turned into a streak of light with a whiz, and escaped rapidly.
“Swoosh!”
In the depths of the mountain range, quite a few energy waves spread out. Upon closer inspection, over 100 spirit beasts were fleeing towards the east of the mountain range.
Zhang Han was at a lost for words.
“This isn’t what I want, okay?
“I intended to let them fight against the beasts. But the beasts have all been scared away. Tiny Tot, y-you little annoying thing.”
“Why are they all running away? What’s happening?”
Nina’s subordinate, who was in charge of leading the way, had a confused look on her face.
Normally, spirit beasts wouldn’t flee like this. But why were they doing it now?
It was because of the pressure released by Tiny Tot, the ancient demonic beast!
Zhang Han was the one who could sense the cursed roc’s unique aura from Tiny Tot’s voice.
“Every time it goes into a trance, it is thinking what moves it’s got, isn’t it?”
Zhang Han mused, finding this quite funny.
“We should keep going.”
In the end, the group of people crossed this vast mountain range without hindrance.
This land was very large. Along the way, they also met a few people who came in small groups. When those people saw them, they immediately recognized Nina.
“Look, that’s Nina, the Seventh Princess from the Roland Star!”
“She’s a famous beauty on the Roland Star.”
“Not only is she beautiful, but her strength can’t be trifled with. Except for Li Mu and the other talents who can surely suppress her, one can at best be on par with her.”
“I heard that Seventh Princess’ Coming of Age Ceremony is near. She’s Elemental Elf King’s youngest daughter. Recently, the development of Elemental Elf King’s territory isn’t very promising. Do you think he’ll make Nina marry a powerful ally?”
“Ha, even if that was the case, the groom wouldn’t be you. Don’t waste more time daydreaming.”
“Look, there is a beautiful woman beside Nina. Whoa, she’s very attractive.”
“…”
As they traveled, they inevitably sparked some discussions when other people saw them from a distance.
Sometimes, Zhang Han’s group also discussed other people they saw. The closer they were to Cloud City, the more people they encountered. It was easy to imagine how appealing this invitation to Cloud City was.
The person who introduced them to all the forces they came across was Nina’s subordinate who had been leading the way.
“The group of people on the left seems to be from the Orwell Star’s Martial Style Sect. The leading young man is He Zai. He is the best of the younger generation of the Martial Style Sect. I never thought he would come here as well. We haven’t crossed paths before.
“Wait! If I’m not mistaken, the old man ahead traveling by himself is Wei Fan, a free cultivator from the Sea Central Star Area, isn’t he? He is already at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage. Why did he come here instead of going to the east side of the river?”
“What? Wei Fan?”
“Yes, it’s him. Wei Fan is an evil cultivator. His moves are all extremely wicked and vicious. He is the kind of man who seeks revenge for every petty grievance. Many forces would refrain from upsetting him. I can’t believe he has come here, too!
“We have to be cautious now that we’ve run into him. The good thing is, we’ll soon arrive at Cloud City. With the technological weapons of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family, plus the presence of the Cloud Shadow Sky and the Silver-winged Hall, he won’t dare to stir up trouble.”
Hearing the conversation of the elves, Mu Xue, Zhao Feng, and the others all looked over.
After coming to the Lost Continent, they had seen a lot, listened a lot, but done little talking. That was the case for Mu Xue, Zhao Feng, and the other young cultivators. Even Deep Flame and Zhang Mu had talked less and observed more.
As if sensing their gazes, the old man in front of them suddenly turned and looked back.
“How ugly!”
Zi Yan inwardly gave that comment after being stunned for a moment.
Those who Zi Yan thought ugly were surely unusually hideous.
When Zhang Han saw Zi Yan’s expression, the corner of his mouth quivered slightly.
The man ahead of them had a pointed chin and a thin angular face. He had short black hair and pinky cheeks. His eyes were quite small. One could hardly forget him once one saw him. The most distinctive thing about him was the red robe he was wearing.
It made him look awe-inspiring. That was his characteristic.
After casting them a nonchalant look, Wei Fan turned around and sped up to fly toward the small city ahead.
“Why do I feel that the look he gave us is somewhat meaningful?”
One of Nina’s subordinates patted her chest and said, “We’d better not be targeted by him, or we’d be in trouble.”
“I don’t think so.” Nina frowned slightly. “We Elemental Elves have always stood aloof from worldly strife. Nor have we ever offended him. Although Wei Fan is notorious, he is still afraid of my uncle’s prestige.”
“That old man we just saw was quite strange.”
Mengmeng grabbed Zhang Han’s hand and whispered, “He wore red clothes, and he was obviously very old. But why was his face still pinky-white?”
“I suppose it’s because of his cultivation method.”
Zhang Han replied, “That cultivation method is not suitable for his body. Thus, there are some complications. While the cultivation method brings him strong power, he also has to bear some side effects. This means that what Wei Fan practices is not a cultivation method for human beings.”
“Oh.” Mengmeng blinked and watched Wei Fan enter the small city in the distance and disappear out of sight.
“This trip has taken us five hours. Now, let’s get in there,” said Nina’s subordinate.
They sped up. More than 10 minutes later, they finally arrived at the gate of the small city.
It was like an ancient city, surrounded by high walls. However, the city walls here were considerably tattered, as if they had seen many of the vicissitudes in the world.
From the gap of a collapsed wall, it could be seen that most of the buildings inside were ruins. The city gate was the only construction that was relatively intact, for half of the double doors was still complete. The patterns on the gate demonstrated the existence of some old formations, which also showed the city’s bygone glory.
“Why are there just ruins?” Mengmeng looked around and was a little disappointed.
She thought it was a prosperous town, but it turned out to be a ruin.
“Princess Nina, welcome.”
In the vicinity of the small city, there were many small detectors and small spider-shaped aircraft the size of a palm. Those were all the products of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family.
At the gate of the city stood six men in cyan robes. As the leader saw Nina, he walked toward her of his own accord. Standing five meters away, he cupped his hands at Nina.
“Young Master Li Mu has already arranged a feast in his mansion to entertain all the visitors. Just follow this road and you’ll arrive at that place in about 10 minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Nina parted her lips slightly and thanked him. Then, she led the way in.
After they walked through the gate, they saw quite many cultivators walking toward the inside along this road. Among them, four groups of people caught the sight of Nina and said to her, “Honored to meet you, Your Highness.”
Clearly, they had all heard of Nina as well.
Perhaps some of them didn’t know Nina before. But when they were on the Dal Star where all the forces gathered together, they had more or less heard something about her.
In the center of the city was the mansion. The mansion looked like a royal palace, only that its size was much smaller.
It was also a relatively orderly place in the whole small city. People were coming and going through the gate of the mansion.
As soon as they entered, the first thing they saw was a square. There were very few people there. On both sides of the square, there were lush grass and plants. The lawn looked very nice. It was obvious that it had been mowed very recently. The trees were all short ornamental trees and were planted at an interval of several meters. Between the trees, there were many rectangular dining tables, which were loaded with freshly cooked food and various drinks.
At first glance, there were about several hundred dining tables. The people sitting at the tables probably added up to hundreds.
A piece of melodious music was coming from the mechas standing in the four corners simultaneously. This was really a splendid feast.
When Nina came over, someone on the road pointed to the main residence and said, “Princess Nina, that’s where you should go. Hall Master Zhong An, Young Master Li Mu, Prince Hu Bin, and many representatives of other forces have all gone to the main residence.”
“Well, thank you.”
Nina thanked him and led the others in that direction.
In front of the main residence stood two lines of tall and sturdy men, as well as two silver mechas. They were all temporary guards.
When Nina approached—
One of the blue-eyed men reached out a hand and remarked, “Princess Nina, you can bring your subordinates in, but not others. Those who don’t hold a very high rank shall not enter.”
His voice was very calm, as though he was just explaining a fact.
“Who do you mean by that?” Mu Xue glared at the guard, suddenly looking murderous.
She didn’t care whose territory she was in at all. If anyone dared to provoke her, she would talk back.
“They’re my close friends. That’s a good enough reason to let them in, isn’t it?” Nina knitted her brows.
“Princess Nina, if every guest brought many people inside, wouldn’t it be clamorous there?” The blue-eyed man smiled as he continued, “If so many people came in and disturbed the peace of the distinguished ones, I would be in a tight spot. What’s more, people who don’t hold a very high rank have nothing common to share with the distinguished guests inside. If there was a conflict, wouldn’t it dampen their good mood more? Princess Nina, as I said, you can bring your subordinates in. But the others can’t go in.”
He objected without any hesitation because he was a member of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family.
The Tiger Talisman Royal Family was highly advanced in science and technology. Before they came here, they had collected all the information of all the important figures. As for those lower-ranked people, they would not pay attention to them. In the eyes of this blue-eyed man, Zhang Han and the others standing in front of him were those who were unqualified to take a place in the higher circles.
Of course, even if he really misjudged somebody’s status, it wouldn’t be a big deal. After all, he had Prince Hu Bin to back him up.
“Haha.” Instructor Liu suddenly laughed.
This was a sign that he was going to answer back to the guard as well.
Right at this moment—
At the corner of a table on the side—
Wu Ming was sniggering with his both hands covering his mouth.
“Hahaha, the man I’m expecting is finally here. Zhang Hanyang has just got a refusal of entrance. This is funny. If the guard really pisses them off, Moon Empress will display her power and smash this place up.”
“Eldest Lady…”
Ding Jiuming was also in the crowd. Seeing this scene, he did not go forward but just looked at Mu Xue from a distance.
Many were also watching them. After all, the dining tables were placed on both sides of the square. When anyone came in, the people at the tables would notice him or her at once.
“Hey, blue-eyed gentleman…” Instructor Liu gave a strange laugh and was about to attack.
Nina suddenly said, “Well, since that’s the rule, we’ll just stay outside. Sorry to bother you.”
“Forget it. Just drop this subject.” Jiang Yanlan thumped Instructor Liu on the arm.
That made Instructor Liu swallow back his words. He then glared at that man and turned to leave.
They walked to the right side of the square and sat down at two tables on the edge.
“Uncle Zhang, Aunty Zi, that person we met just now is a member of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. They attach great importance to the hierarchy. Please don’t take it to heart,” said Nina. Her expression was a little bemused.
“Under that circumstance, Uncle Zhang could have employed some means to make the man grant their entrance. Even if he just released a wisp of his aura, the other party would immediately give in. Yet, he did not do that. On the way here, other than exchanging a few words with Zi Yan and Mengmeng, he did not talk much. He did not even attack the spirit beasts that challenged us.
“Is it because the strong are more tolerant to others’ aggressiveness and are more easy-going?”
While thinking, Nina glanced at Chen Changqing and the others.
She felt that she begun to understand this.
“This should be their first time coming to this kind of place for adventures. Uncle Zhang is the leader of the team. He surely wants the team members to see all aspects of the world, doesn’t he?”
Nina was very smart. She could take cues from other people’s words and behaviors.
Hearing Nina’s words, Zhang Han smiled and waved his hand. “Fine. It’s no big deal.”
“Humph.”
Mengmeng snorted softly and said, “Sister Nina, my father once said that we don’t have to mind how outsiders see us because those snobbish dogs always look down on others.”
“Woof?”
Beside her, Little Hei suddenly barked softly.
It had its own opinion about this. “Hey, why do you people often associate dogs with negative things? You use phrases like lead a dog’s life, work like a dog, dog-tired… What do I have to do with all that? Why didn’t you do the same to Big Brother? Why not say things like lead a gorilla’s life, work like a gorilla, gorilla-tired…”
Hearing Little Hei’s bark, Mengmeng turned her head to look at it and quickly stroked its head, saying, “Little Hei, you are not a dog, you are… well, actually a dog, but the dog I’m talking about is totally different from you. You are a good dog…”
At those words, Little Hei could make no sound but “boo-hoo”.
The group sat at the tables for a while. People were coming to the square one after another. The newly arrived guests did not go to the main residence either. Instead, they sat directly at the tables on both sides.
Coincidentally, Su Beimu, Shi Fenghou, Ye Longyuan, and Yan Chen came across one another on the way here. They entered the square together and directly sat down beside Wu Ming.
“What a coincidence! You’re here, too?” Yan Chen greeted Wu Ming.
“There is some fun to watch, so here I am.” Wu Ming treated them quite cordially. He said hospitably, “Come on, I recently got a lot of wine. Let’s have a drink.”
“Well, that Li Mu has discovered a secret realm, but he didn’t say where it was. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be interested in coming here and watching them having fun,” Ye Longyuan said, taking a glance at the main residence.
“Ha.”
Shi Fenghou gave half of a cold laugh and remarked, “That’s just their hypocritical excuse. Since there is something they can’t conquer, they certainly need some cannon fodder.”
This time, he was not mocking Ye Longyuan anymore. As they both came from Earth, in this Sea Dragon Star Area, they were now on the same team playing against a common enemy.
“D*mn it, I don’t like them either.”
Ye Longyuan took a gulp of wine and continued, “Especially the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. They always think that they are high above everyone else as if they are the rulers of this place. Who gave them that sense of superiority? They even said that the place I came from must be a backwater! To hell with them! I have so many top-grade crystals in my pockets. And I’ve even paid off hundreds of thousands of crystals. I also have some great treasures with me. If I show them what I’ve got, I can scare the crap out of them!”
“By the way,” Su Beimu’s expression altered as he said, “I guess you’ve all noticed this. The price of commodities here is very low, and the treasures are rather scarce. At our place, even sixth-tier treasures are not very rare. But on this land, it is said that people would fight for a sixth-tier treasure so fiercely that bloodshed could occur.”
“The Sea Dragon Star Area is very poor,” Wu Ming added.
“It’s mainly because it’s too big.” Yan Chen sighed lightly. “The Sea Dragon Star Area is incomparably large. The many subareas can dazzle the eyes. However, I’ve also heard of some famous subareas. For example, the Sea Central Star Area is relatively developed in science and technology. There are also things that they call warships. I’ve never seen such things before. The Tiger Talisman Royal Family and the Silver-winged Hall are both from the Sea Central Star Area. The Heavenly North Star Area and the Cloud Star Area are not bad, either. Li Mu is one of the Eight Great Young Masters of the Cloud Star Area. I figure he is a man of genuine ability.”
“Those people are all at the peak of the Elixir Realm. They are certainly capable, only that they are all too arrogant.” Ye Longyuan laughed. “It’s just that I can’t beat them now. Give me some more time and I will deal with them sooner or later.”
“You won’t get a chance because I might have been able to suppress them all before the end of this trial,” Shi Fenghou said offhandedly.
“Stop talking big!” Ye Longyuan stared at him.
“Wanna fight?” Shi Fenghou glanced at him.
“You guys, listen to me.” Feeling that a headache was on the way, Yan Chen said with resignation, “Let not engage in internal strife during our stay here. When the trial is over, you can fight however you want.”
“I’ll break your wings then.” Ye Longyuan snorted.
But his hostility had declined a lot, and he no longer intended to argue.
“Ha!”
Shi Fenghou gave half of a sneer and stopped talking.
“A hundred people have come to this land from Earth, including us. Brother Wu Ming, have you seen anyone you know here?” Yan Chen looked around and found that the trees here had blocked his soul sense, preventing him from investigating on others. Some tables were placed behind the trees, so it was difficult to make out who were sitting there. Thus, each table was like a private room.
“Yes, Ding Jiuming is also here,” Wu Ming replied.
“That guy?” Ye Longyuan snorted. “He is too dull. He likes Mu Xue, but he can’t pluck up the courage to pursue her. What a wimp!”
“Besides him, there are also more than a dozen people that I’m not very familiar with,” Wu Ming said.
“Is Zhang Hanyang here?” Su Beimu abruptly asked.
As soon as Zhang Hanyang’s name was mentioned, Shi Fenghou and Ye Longyuan were slightly taken aback.
“The creditor is also here?”
“Yes, he is.”
Wu Ming laughed and said, “He is sitting on the opposite side. I didn’t go over to greet him. He and his people are together with the elves. Just now, when they came in, someone called one of the elves Princess Nina. She must have a strong background. Princess Nina could have entered the main residence. But who knew that the guard at the door stopped her because she couldn’t bring those nobodies in. He said that Zhang Hanyang and his group didn’t hold a high enough rank. Hahaha, it really made me laugh out loud.”
“What?” Ye Longyuan straightened up. “Zhang Hanyang didn’t attack that guard?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“That was out of his character. Zhang Hanyang wouldn’t be Zhang Hanyang if he didn’t turn this place into ruins after someone offended him like that, would he?” Ye Longyuan murmured in confusion.
“Do you think everyone is as aggressive and hot-tempered as you?” Shi Fenghou said coolly.
“Shi Fenghou, believe it or not, I can totally…” Ye Longyuan almost lost his temper again.
“Wait, we seem to be in trouble,” Yan Chen suddenly remarked.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!”
Everyone in the square flashed their eyes to the front. More than 20 people were striding out of the main residence.
They were accompanied by the Tiger Talisman Royal Family’s red mechas. Among them, about six men were holding technological weapons.
Disciples of the Cloud Shadow Sky were also in the group, who were all wearing a cyan robe. The leader of those disciples was Lin Hai. He was looking at Shi Fenghou with a smile.
Around Wu Ming and the others, there were already many aircraft with a diameter of two meters flying in the air.
