The first was the wildly excited Nyla Shur. She rushed forward, waiting to receive the message, but they were all curious when they noticed that Tuo Bihan removed a silver box from the bag that was tied to his shoulder. When he brought it out, a soft exclamation resounded from afar, unheard by the five.
Ma Sujiang was astonished. She couldn't sense into that box. It was as if her spiritual sense sank into an endless chasm of nothingness, making her feel lost and uneasy. Ma Ru looked at this prestigious figure of the clan, and also her cousin, and quietly asked: "What's wrong?"
Unlike Ma Sujiang, she wasn't curious about any message or details, so she didn't even bother to try to sense the box.
"…Nothing," Ma Sujiang calmly replied.
Tuo Bihan used the spell he was given, slowly extracting the spatial ring labeled 'Nyla Shur' within. "Give me your hand," he asked. Nyla Shur noticed the ring, and her eyes brightened considerably. It wasn't just her, Xue Yifei's hazel eyes became astonishingly radiant, lit with excitement and expectations. It was a ring just like this that contained her portion of the Valkyrie resources.
Nyla Shur stretched out her hand, and Tuo Bihan performed the same spell as before. The ring emitted a spiritual light that entered Nyla Shur's palm. She then heard the voice that made her heart race.
"My little biter, it's been a while, huh?" Wei Wuyin's voice echoed in her mind, and it caused her to fiercely blush. Especially at that nickname, clearly referring to her constantly biting him at her climax. While she could never even break skin, she couldn't help it.
"I don't know if they explained it to you, but if you're getting this message, then our starfield is destroyed. Don't feel angry at them, these people did something that I couldn't hadn't even thought was necessary, and that was to save all the beasts. So don't cause too much of a ruckus, okay?"
The concern in Wei Wuyin's voice touched her. She had indeed caused some issues, but they were far too strong to deal with. She got smacked down and taught a lesson about her weakness. While she did hear that their starfield was destroyed, she also learned the others were shifted away so no one was harmed, but she didn't expect that they saved the beasts…
Did that mean they would've been left behind?
She felt a tightness in her chest. The images of her family, her friends, and all those that belonged to her lineage flashed within her mind. They were all at the precipice of death?
"I know. It's a lot to take in. But the good thing is you're all okay, and as for me, I'm perfectly fine. So cultivate, keep the Valkyrie's mission alive. I might need that strength, I might need your strength.
"Within this ring contains resources and materials suitable for your cultivation, as well as the continued development of your Valkyrie Unit. Don't let them slack off."
Nyla Shur felt the warmth that Wei Wuyin's voice radiated. Genuine concern and care was present in every syllable. When she was in the sect, she was a short-tempered type that stood for no bullshit. This got her into trouble often, and if it wasn't for her status as a disciple of the Myriad Monarch Sect and her family, she might've been killed off already.
She missed him.
Wei Wuyin added, "Wherever I am, I'm missing you. So be sure to stay safe. Don't do anything reckless until I'm there. Promise me, okay?"
Nyla Shur said aloud without hesitation, "I promise!" There were tears flowing from her eyes, her nose slightly filling with mucus. She sniffed heavily, wiping the tears from her cheeks with little success. They kept flowing.
Zuhei and Xue Yifei watched the emotional display of Nyla Shur, her every expression and those two words. Zuhei clenched his right fist, but his eyes still reflected a death-like indifference.
Tuo Bihan knew that Wei Wuyin's message was perfectly tailored to each of them, and some of them responded strangely with Ying or Wen Mingna, and others responded emotionally like Na Xinyi and Da Shan.
Nyla Shur couldn't stop her tears. She moved away, staying with herself for a moment as she recalled Wei Wuyin's words in her heart. When swore she'll stay safe until he returned, then she'll go wild. Be it on him or others. This caused her crying to stop, happily laughing in between her sniffles.
"Zuhei, come here." Tuo Bihan chose Zuhei as the next recipient. And this caused Zuhei to freeze for a moment, forcefully relaxing his fist. With a few steps, he held out his hand.
Tuo Bihan brought out his ring, but it didn't read Zuhei. Instead, it read: "My claws, my fangs."
Zuhei's pupils constricted after seeing those characters. The indifference in his eyes faded away, replaced with an emotional light. Those words redefined his life, gave him a second chance, and he swore on his very existence by it.
The spiritual light flowed onto Zuhei's pale palm, coursing through him with lightning speed. Despite the swift, unique display that shocked even Tuo Bihan, the message it carried was remarkably simple yet utterly explosive in Zuhei's mind.
"REDEEM YOURSELF!"
Zuhei's eyes became as wide as saucers. His heartbeat became violent, and thumped with such force that it was audible to everyone present. The ground even shook and Anu released a low roar, staring at Zuhei's small figure with a tinge of fear.
Zuhei clenched his fist around the ring, and his eyes became absolutely fierce with his sharp incisors bared before the world. "YES!"
Xue Yifei was stunned. Since meeting Zuhei a few months ago, he had never shown the slightest emotion or spoken out a single word. She felt that the fight in the Grand Spirit Trials had traumatized him, ruined his Heart of Cultivation. He seemed quiet, listless, and wasn't even as defiant as Nyla Shur or some of the weaker beastmen.
Even Anu tried to escape despite suffering defeat once before, but Zuhei just quietly accepted his situation. Yet when he spoke just now, she felt this domineering savagery that shook her core.
Zuhei turned to Tuo Bihan and bowed deeply.
Tuo Bihan nodded. Whatever Wei Wuyin told him was clearly what Zuhei needed to hear right now. He couldn't help but feel that Wei Wuyin's understanding of people was utterly terrifying.
"Anu," Tuo Bihan lifted his head to the giant golden dragon eye that stared at Zuhei. It seemed its focus was entirely on Zuhei at this moment. If Tuo Bihan knew what Anu was feeling, he would be stunned.
There was abject fear.
To Anu, Zuhei became an apex predator that harnessed utter savagery, murderous intent, and felt like death itself. If it wasn't for the faint traces of dragon bloodline within his body, he would've submitted before Zuhei. He was completely frozen with fear, however.
"Anu?" Tuo Bihan was confused by the dragon's reaction. Was it unable to understand language? He sent a spiritual transmission via a communication spell, the same spell most cultivators use to interact with their beast mounts, but it still provoked no response.
"Anu!" Xue Yifei touched Anu's claw, sending her spiritual sense into his body. Anu's body didn't instinctively reject it, allowing it because it carried his grandmother's aura. She then felt his cold, abyss-like fear. Her heart raced, her mind felt as if she was sent into a world of carnage and death, and that was what Anu felt at this moment.
"ANU!" She screeched through her spiritual sense.
"Huh?" Anu snapped out of his daze, her eyes blinking swiftly. He regained his posture, and looked back towards Zuhei. Zuhei, however, returned to his indifferent expression, those void black flecks in his eyes were even darker, purer.
Tuo Bihan didn't need Anu to hold out his hand, just retrieving the ring that was titled 'Anu'. It did the rest. The spiritual light flowed into his scales and vanished.
Anu heard a voice, very familiar. It belonged to Wei Wuyin! He hadn't expected that the little silver-eyed boy with the courage to bargain for his essence blood was doing so well. The True Dragon Transmutation Method was astonishing, but it was merely a tool to pass down their bloodline in hopes of creating a being to free the dragons trapped in the Auric Sea.
"It's been a while, Anu. Well, I guess there isn't much I need to say except this: I destroyed the World Realm's Core, freeing the imprisoned dragons. If you didn't know before, now you do. I don't know if that was your intention when you gave me the True Dragon Transmutation Method, but if it was, well played.
"I couldn't allow the dragons to suffer in good conscience, and that would've been true even if you never gave me the method. Even if it meant taking an absolutely devastating risk, I would've freed them no matter what. That being said, thank you. Without the method, I wouldn't be able to accomplish the task so perfectly, and I wouldn't have such an amazing existence by my side.
"This ring contains resources and materials for the dragons. I don't know how long it'll take for this to reach you, but I'm sure the dragon lineage are still far from their former glory. Use it well."
The message ended there.
Anu stared at the spatial ring that floated to his eye-level. He was silent for a moment, realizing what had happened. It seemed his grandmother's plan had worked. He looked towards Xue Yifei.
Was this fate?
The same one who devised the plan to use humans to keep the dragon lineage alive and a possible chance of freedom also became a part of this woman, who, from her own words, was their savior's concubine. Was this her reward for his success?
Anu was lost for a moment in his thoughts, but he didn't reject the ring in the end. He slightly breathed in and sucked the spatial ring into his Internal World.
Tuo Bihan knew the last person was also the most important, "Xue Yifei."
