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Chapter 1: Water Element Land

Cough, cough!

Fresh stream water gushed out from Xuefeng's throat as they finally reached the shore. Thin but strong arms gripped him in place until he coughed out all the water clogging his lungs.

"Are you alright?" Tianshi asked worriedly, rubbing his cheek gently.

She was his wife, the only one who left the passage with him while the rest got lost, separated from them forcefully.

"I'm fine," Xuefeng said weakly, trying to reassure her. He tried to lift himself up but a throbbing pain flared in his chest, making him flinch.

Right… Heavenly Chains broke my ribs.

"Don't move yet. Your wounds are still healing," Tianshi reminded him and forced him to lie down. "Rest for a moment. Rushing won't benefit us right now anyway."

Xuefeng closed his eyes, seeking comfort from Tianshi's soft touch as she cradled his white-haired head on her lap.

Suddenly, a sweet voice resounded in his mind, clearly apologetic.

'I'm sorry for being useless...'

'It's not your fault, Ling,' Xuefeng said, reaching out for her in his mind. She was one of the two Fate Spirits living inside his body, who had been helping him since the beginning of his journey. Without them he wouldn't have been able to stay alive. How could he blame them for anything? 'I'm the useless one. I should be the one taking care of my wives.' His voice was tinged with bitterness; he still couldn't accept what had happened.

'Let me heal your wounds,' Ling said softly. Immediately, he felt his bones reconstructing, and then the pain slowly receded.

'I don't know how this happened,' Ming spoke up with despair. 'If only there was a way for me to help, I could have prevented it..." As Ling's mother, she was supposed to know things that Ling couldn't help him with, yet even her knowledge turned out to be lacking. Even as the former Queen of Heavens, she couldn't influence Heavens' will.

"Xuefeng."

Xuefeng opened his eyes and looked up at his beautiful wife who called out his name.

Tianshi's face hovered above his own, water dripping from her wet brown hair. They were both completely drenched, but her crystal blue gaze was full of warmth, her slender fingers rubbing his elvish ears gently to ease his pain.

He was of the Royal Forest Elf Bloodline, and his lovers could please him with just a soft touch to his ears, but in his current state the gesture barely registered in his mind.

"Don't blame yourself," Tianshi insisted. "It's not your fault. We will find everyone in no time."

Xuefeng heard her soothing words but he felt too guilty and ashamed to accept the comfort his wife offered. He felt her cup his face so he would look at her, and when his golden orbs locked with her own he saw that she was smiling.

"But I failed everyone," he muttered.

He couldn't protect his wives.

He couldn't keep his promise.

Did he even deserve them anymore?

"No," Tianshi said, shaking her head. "It's everyone's fault. We weren't strong enough to support each other and failed together. It happens to the best. What matters now is how we grow and improve from this. We can only learn by failing."

She lifted his left arm, showing him the birthday present that he received from them. Nine multi-colored crystals on a string, creating one of a kind bracelet.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

Each crystal beat like a heart, some quicker, other slower than the rest. Each represented one of his wives. The crystals were bathed in their blood and had part of their soul inside of them. As long as the crystals were whole, his wives were safe.

"We are all alive. That's what's most important," Tianshi added.

"Ah… you are right," Xuefeng said with a sigh and finally stood up, pulling her up with him. "Let's focus on finding everyone then. I won't be at peace until we are all together."

Even if he was depressed, there was nothing else he could do now. The longer he stalled, the more chances of his wives getting hurt.

"Yes!" Tianshi agreed, nodding firmly. "Is your chest alright?"

"It's fully healed now," Xuefeng replied, pulling up his shirt so they could both inspect it. Thanks to his regeneration ability he only needed a few breaths to recover.

"I still don't understand, though. Why would Heavens want to split us?" Tianshi questioned, squeezing out water from her hair. "Are there rules preventing groups from entering the Heaven Realm?"

"There shouldn't be any. It must be something else," Xuefeng replied with a frown. He was confused and completely clueless.

Revenge?

He couldn't count how many times he had angered or challenged Heavens.

Swoosh!

He dried his clothes in a blink, evaporating the water inside them and Tianshi followed his actions, helping him scan their surroundings. Endless greenery, lush trees, and fields of grass as far as the eye could see, yet his gaze landed on the stream they just got out from.

The passage from the Earth Realm had thrown them out at the bottom of it.

After dying on Earth, he reincarnated into the World of Cultivation, the fascinating realm of magic and elements where only one's imagination is the limit, where one could achieve his wildest dreams and reach the top of the world. But it was also a ruthless place, where cultivators fight — and even kill — for resources.

Despite all that, Xuefeng survived — and flourished. He learned how to battle, how to cultivate his body and soul and climb to the top of the Earth Realm, and even how to love. Aside from Tianshi, his childhood best friend who followed him from his home on Earth, he met his beautiful wives in that new world and trained alongside them.

He mastered all nine Elements, the crucial part of his Cultivation Path that put him steps ahead of his peers, and finally reached the point of Ascendance to the Heaven Realm. Both Xuefeng and his wives were ready to depart for their new adventure.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Just as they thought they had succeeded, rushing through the passage between the Realms, they were attacked by the Heavens, forcefully split apart. Even their two Spirit Beasts ascending together with them were not spared. They were ones of the many beasts in the World of Cultivation that could absorb the energy from nature and grow into powerful beings, rivaling humans in their path of cultivation.

The faces of his crying wives as their hands slipped away from his palms still lingered in his mind. It was a sight that he never wanted to see again.

"Water Element seems to dominate this area. There are almost no other elements in the air," Tianshi pointed out.

Xuefeng silently agreed. Aside from the Water Essence in the air, all other elements were barely existent. Even if he tried to absorb the small energy particles of elements in the air, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy his daily needs.

"I think we are in the Water Element Land. I remember Ming mentioning it before," Xuefeng explained. "There are nine lands in the Heaven Realm and each land represents one element."

'Ming?' He called out in his mind, requiring more information.

'We are lucky,' Ming answered. 'Water Element Land is the least harsh one, with the most greenery and wildlife. We even landed in the southern part, which is the easiest one to explore. The northern part would be covered in endless snow and ice.'

Xuefeng's thoughts instantly wandered to his wives.

'Does that mean everyone else has to face harsher conditions?'

'There are no 'good' or 'bad' locations in the Heaven Realm,' Ming explained 'Everywhere is dangerous. Because you can only replenish one element in each Land, the Heaven Realm is hard to live in. I suggest we find a hideout so I can slowly explain everythin—'

Boom!

Before Ming could finish speaking, there was an explosion somewhere not far from them. More sounds quickly followed, which to their surprise, were getting louder with each second.

'They are coming to us!' Ming called out. 'There are more than a hundred of them!'

Xuefeng and Tianishi turned to look at the horizon in alarm and saw multiple black dots rushing in their direction.

Golden Wings appeared on Xuefeng's back as he grabbed Tianshi in his arms, getting ready to flee, but she held his arms to stop him. She pointed to the incoming group.

"Xuefeng, look! They are chasing something!"

A shiny object seemed to be flying speedily in front of countless cultivators. As they got closer, Xuefeng was able to get a better look at the scene.

It turned out that the cultivators were after the dark blue ball that was flying away from them. Focused on their target, they weren't being particularly aggressive with each other, except when someone got too close to the ball. Then they attacked him until the ball got away and they resumed the chase.

Before Xuefeng could decide what to do, the group flew past them. No one in the group even seemed to notice they were there.

It must have been quite a treasure, Xuefeng thought. He was pondering whether they should join the chase when Ming cried out in his mind.

'Xuefeng! You need to get it!'

If Ming got excited over something, it meant it was definitely a precious treasure. Xuefeng didn't hesitate and launched to the sky like a rocket with Tianshi in his arms. Fire blasted from his feet, giving him an additional boost and Tianshi wrapped his body with her Support Arts that sped them up even further. She already got used to flying with him. His Golden Wings were much faster than her own, which were perfect in such a race of speed.

"Tianshi! Grab it quickly when we'll fly past it!" Xuefeng cried out mid-air. He held her with both arms across her chest and waist so she could be the catcher this time.

In barely ten seconds, they had caught with the group and flown above everyone else. Xuefeng caught a glimpse of white uniforms with a crest that looked like a light blue bird on the back, but before he could inspect it further, he was already at the front of the pack, chasing the Dark Blue object that was zooming out of reach.

"Hey!"

"It's our Fragment!"

"Damn it!"

Curses flew up to them, but Xuefeng ignored them all, closing in on the treasure in a blink of an eye.

Huh?

They were just above what the cultivators called a Fragment, ready to catch it, when the ball came to an immediate stop and dove downward. Xuefeng turned sharply, but with his speed, it was impossible to be as nimble as the treasure.

"Hahahaha! Amateur!"

The cultivators laughed as they followed the fragment, zooming ahead of him. Someone launched forward, gaining the lead in the race.

Did they really think they could win?

Time Flow!

Everything froze when his newest ability activated.

He smiled and slowed down, flying calmly in the frozen sky. The faster he moved, the more Fate Qi he had to use to change the time flow of the space in front of him. He could not waste the precious Fate Qi that his Fate Spirits patiently cultivated from his limited stock of Fate Stones.

If anyone looked closely at the cultivators' bodies, they would notice that they were actually moving, but in very slow motion. In comparison, Xuefeng was like a ghost, passing the sky unnoticed.

"This is so cool," Tianshi whispered, equally impressed and envious. "This is my first time seeing this. You could have shown it to me earlier."

"I can't use it for long. It drains too many resources to just activate it," Xuefeng explained. "I hope this is worth it."

'It is!' Ming called out excitedly just as Tianshi reached out to grab the object that everyone seemed to desire. 'I haven't even told you about them yet, and now you already got your First Water Qi Upgrade Fragment. It hasn't even been ten minutes since we arrived!'

Tianshi held the Fragment in her hand, and together they looked down at it. It was just a shiny, oval-shaped dark blue rock. "What is this Upgrade Element?" he asked, but then time suddenly returned to normal.

The group of cultivators unfroze but held still, momentarily confused, and then startled when they saw Xuefeng appear as if teleported.

"They have the Fragment!" someone in the group called out and, as one, the cultivators turned to look at Tianshi's open palm.

Previously fighting against each other, the cultivators in white uniforms now turned to Xuefeng and Tianshi as their common enemy. Weapons appeared in their hands, and Xuefeng knew the game was over.

"Fuck."

Chapter 2: Golden-haired Duo

'Why did you cut off my Fate Qi?!' Xuefeng scolded Ming in his mind only to get scolded back. 'I'm not wasting so much Qi for our chat! Now run!'

But before he could, they were already on him.

"Get him!"

More than twenty cultivators unleashed their arts at him all at once.

By himself, Xuefeng would probably have been overwhelmed, but the moment someone aimed a weapon at one of his wives, he turned merciless. He wrapped his arms around Tianshi protectively.

Swoosh!

Air Qi blasted from his legs, and they flew up in the air, dodging the cultivators' arts.

"Tianshi!" Xuefeng yelled as he pushed her behind him with the fragment already kept safely in her Storage Ring.

They didn't need any commands. The continuous training through the past three years had taught them enough to know how to communicate without even saying a word.

Tianshi stabilized herself in the air with the pair of white wings on her back and extended her arm forward, casting all her Support Skills on him.

Speed buff!

Strength buff!

Defensive buff!

Spirit Qi Shield!

Xuefeng shone like a star with all the buffs applied on him, but that was just the start!

Fire Qi!

Water Qi!

Air Qi!

Earth Qi!

Spirit Qi!

Lightning Qi!

Blood Qi!

Metal Qi!

Ether Qi!

All nine Elemental Qi spun around his body as he glared at the cultivators with golden eyes.

"YOU FOOLS!" Xuefeng bellowed. "YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?!"

He couldn't think of any powerful line, so he just went with the classic one.

So what if he just Ascended? In the category of skills and abilities, he hadn't met anyone who could challenge him.

The group of cultivators halted, but instead of showing fear as Xuefeng expected, he saw them snicker and sneer.

"Pfft! He thinks mastering all elements makes him powerful!"

"Haha! Look! All his elements are still on the base level! No wonder he was so desperate to get that fragment!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Xuefeng frowned, his face hot.

'I didn't even have the time to explain it to you. Everything happened so fast,' Ming interrupted his thoughts of murder. 'Your elements are still on the base level as you didn't go through any refining. Cultivators in the Heaven Realm value the quality over quantity. They use the Elemental Fragments born from nature to improve the quality of their Qi.'

Before Xuefeng could reply, one cultivator held up a hand and the jeering subsided.

"I'm in a good mood today. How about we let the white-haired guy have it?"

"Fine, let him have the first fragment of his life. "We were just like him once, weren't we? Trying hard to get our first fragment..." another one said with a patronizing smile.

"Yeah. Besides, he outsmarted us all and caught the fragment first. That's something, right?"

Everyone nodded and 'generously' agreed to let him have the fragment, as though they were doing him a favor.

Xuefeng's eyebrow twitched.

'Xuefeng, I don't like their attitude.' Tianshi's voice suddenly resounded through his mind.

Aside from being the primary support of their group, Tianshi was also responsible for communication. Anyone she touched could join their private channel, connecting all of their thoughts. Their enemy could never guess their plans if they were never spoken out loud.

'Neither do I,' Xuefeng replied and glanced at his wrist.

Underneath his sleeve was one of the Godly Treasures, which he didn't really want to expose too soon, but he thought the situation called for a display of power.

He never enjoyed staying low key anyway.

"Everyone, let's go. We wasted too much time already," one cultivator proposed to which everyone nodded, and they all turned to leave.

"Did I allow you to leave?" Xuefeng called out coldly while massive amounts of Air Qi gushed out from his body.

Instantly, the air within the hundred meters of space around him got locked down, entirely under his control. Below his sleeve was a Golden Bracelet with a single white stone, representing Air Element. It shone brightly when in use, giving him absolute mastery over the element.

This time the group visibly tensed.

"Hey! What are you doing? We have settled this peacefully yet you are stirring up trouble!"

"We already gave you the fragment! What else do you want?"

Xuefeng smirked.

"Do you think I need your permission to get anything I want?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Multiple explosions blasted those who spoke up.

"Don't mess with us! We are from—"

Bang!

Xuefeng cut them off with a flick of his fingers.

"I don't care."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

More explosions resounded, Air Bombs exploding right in the cultivators' faces. They were not strong enough to kill them but painful enough to teach them a lesson.

The entire place was in lockdown, controlled by the power of his Air Domain.

"That's enough!" a youngster suddenly bellowed angrily, his face already bloodied after three explosions. "Shadow Assassin, go!"

At his command, Dark Blue Qi oozed from his body, materializing into a shadow holding a giant black sword right above his head.

'Qi Materialization! Fourth Refining! Not bad!' Ming praised but Xuefeng didn't care even if they had ninth or hundredth refining. It didn't matter to him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Xuefeng clicked his fingers and Air Qi exploded once again, hitting the youngster's stomach, the back of his head, and his crotch.

"Ughh!" The youngster groaned in pain, and his face paled. His Water Qi crumbled, dissipating into the air. His friends ran to catch him else he would have fallen from the sky.

"What's the point of having a better quality Qi when you can't even use it! Useless!" Xuefeng spat out.

With the most powerful member of the group down, fear engulfed the rest.

"We surrender! Please have mercy!"

They were so fast to throw the white flag. Xuefeng could only shake his head.

He didn't plan on killing anyone from the beginning. Unless it was necessary or if someone tried to kill him, he wouldn't spill blood.

Just as he thought of leaving, Ling called out in alarm, 'We have a company! A powerful company! We need to go! Now'

"Next time don't be cocky when you can't back it up with skill!" Xuefeng shouted in the group's direction and didn't hesitate to move, knowing Ling scanned their surroundings.

'Tianshi, we are dipping!' Xuefeng announced as he appeared in front of her.

Poof!

They were instantly gone.

As soon as Xeufeng disappeared, the Air Domain began dispersing, the Qi returning to nature.

"What the hell happened here?!" A raspy voice snapped like thunder, making all cultivators shudder.

But when they saw who arrived, they immediately brightened.

"Elders!"

"They attacked us!"

"Get revenge for us!"

The Leading Elder frowned when he saw the scene in front of him, everyone either bruised or with a bloody nose. He searched the crowd, yet he couldn't seem to find what he was looking for.

"Where is my son?!"

Two cultivators raised a beat-up youngster who was still clutching his groin. "He is here!"

When the Elder saw his son's state, he immediately demanded, "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

"Elder, they attacked us! They stole the Fragment too!"

"We couldn't even fight back! There were too many of them!"

The cultivators were speaking up for him, one on top of the other, until the Elder's son finally raised his head, glaring at other Sect Disciples, "Stop fucking lying! We were all beat up fair and square! He was alone and still in the Pseudo God Stage, probably just Ascended not too long ago. He didn't even go through any Qi Refinements. He won using his skills alone!"

Hearing his explanation, the Elders' faces darkened. One person who just Ascended and didn't go through any Qi Refinements just beat up a hundred of their disciples. They would become the laughingstock in the Heaven Realm if anyone heard of it.

The Leading Elder glared at the lying disciples and declared, "Ten Days of cleaning duty for lying! The rest gets five days for losing to a nobody! If anyone says anything about what just happened, they will be kicked out from the Sect!"

Everyone shuddered at that punishment but accepted it with lowered heads.

"We are going back!"

Approaching the two Elders behind him, he whispered something different.

"Go find that person and recruit him. Give him whatever benefits he desires. We need to have such experts in our Sect!"

———

While Xuefeng and Tianshi were rushing to leave the scene, another two familiar souls walked cautiously through a silent forest. It would be considered normal if not for the bloody mist hovering inches above the ground and trees dripping with blood.

"I hate it… I hate it… I hate it…"

One of the two blond beauties repeated under her nose, her body shaking as she followed the other. Her sandals and feet were already soaked with the blood-like substance covering the ground.

The young lady with green eyes and a slim yet sexy figure was usually a cheerful girl, but now she was pale, with her eyes always open to scan her surroundings for danger. With one hand she squeezed an explosive pill while the other held the second girl's arm.

"Yiren, when will this forest end? I'm scared…" The girl whispered, looking fed up with the neverending scenery.

If not for the flying beasts above the bloody forest, they would have flown away a long time ago.

Yiren wasn't affected much, looking around cheerfully with a few Air Qi birds on her shoulder, chirping into her pointy, elvish ear.

"Don't worry, Lisa, it's not that bad," Yiren assured her with a smile and took a deep breath. "Ah, It's the smell of adventure!"

"Yiren, you are mad," Lisa said with frustration, unable to comprehend the other girl's courage.

"Calm down. If your heart beats too fast, it will only make Xuefeng worry. We don't want him to panic over us. I'm sure he is already depressed about our separation," Yiren suggested, hugging Lisa to cheer her up. "Big sister will take care of you."

Roar!

A black cat jumped out from the bushes, bloody claws spread wide, aiming at their heads.

Ah!

Lisa screamed, swinging to throw the explosive pill at the beast but Yiren stopped her, standing in front of her and the beast. Her eyes shone with gold as she cried out sternly.

"No! Bad Kitty!"

Chapter 3: Upgrade Fragments - Part 1

Did she really think that would work?!

Yiren stood in front of Lisa defensively, and the black cat pounced on her with its whole weight, pinning her to the ground, and turned its head down to bite her neck.

Ah!!!

Lisa was nowhere close to being calm, this being the first time she was in a situation like this. They always had Xuefeng and the other sisters fighting the beasts while Lisa and Yiren provided support together with Tianshi.

Even her new ability, which she got from her Spirit, was non-offensive, just providing her with unlimited storage for her precious herbs and enhancing their properties. It only made her a better alchemist, not a better fighter.

Lisa wanted to help Yiren but hesitated. The power of her explosive pill was immense and she might end up hurting Yiren instead. But she decided there was no helping it -- she would just try to aim accurately.

"Leave her alone!" she shouted, holding up the pill and preparing to throw it, but she froze when she heard Yiren's laughter.

"Hahaha, don't lick me so much! It tickles!"

Licking? Tickles?

Confused, Lisa walked cautiously to where Yiren and the black cat were wrestling on the ground and saw that it was indeed attacking Yiren, not with violence but with slobbery kisses.

What…?

Lisa couldn't comprehend how Yiren did it every time. Every Beast that would rip anyone to shreds became her tamed pet in a matter of seconds.

Yiren's unique ability was just too broken…

It boosted the power of her elements in all ways possible, but because she was from a race of Forest Elves, her affinity to nature increased as well.

"Lisa, look how cute it is!" Yiren called out happily, sitting up while scratching the three-meter long cat behind its ears, under its chin, and cheeks

Grrr…

When Lisa tried to approach, convinced by the gentle nature of the cat, it turned its sharp eyes towards her, growling defensively.

"No! Bad kitty!" Yiren immediately scolded, pinching the cat on its cheek. "She is my dear sister! Go greet her politely!"

The black cat immediately became meek, gazing at Lisa apologetically.

It hopped off Yiren and began rubbing its head on Lisa's stomach. Yiren watched them with a soft look on her face, as though it was the most adorable thing in the world.

"It wants to be petted. Don't worry. It won't bite," Yiren said reassuringly.

Easy for her to say! Lisa thought. The Beast just growled at her, showing its long fangs, yet Yiren wanted her to pet it?

Nope! Nope! Nope! Not a chance!

Lisa's body was as stiff as a statue, her arms extended upward.

'If I pretend I'm a tree, it will go away… If I pretend I'm a tree, it will go away…' Lisa repeated her mantra, yet it didn't work at all. 'Why doesn't it go away?!'

"Yiren, please, please, take it away. I'm scared…" Lisa begged with her eyes pressed tightly together only to hear Yiren's playful giggle and a snap of her fingers.

"Come here."

One call from Yiren was enough to free her from the Beast.

Oof…

Lisa breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. She was never good with scary beasts and didn't think that would pass any time soon.

A-choo!

Lisa heard a sneeze and saw Yiren get rid of all of the bloody-liquid from her back and hair. After a black cat knocked her to the ground, Yiren dirtied herself all over. Despite that, she was still cheerful, smiling happily without care.

Lisa wanted to ask what pills did Yiren take to be so positive every day, but she knew there were none.

Yiren was Yiren. She never suffered any injustice or met with any dangers, always sheltered, which made her not scared of anything.

An optimist from nature.

"Will you bring us outside the forest? We are kind of lost."

And now she was even talking with a Bloodthirsty Beast as if it was her buddy. To Lisa's surprise, the black cat nodded eagerly and slipped its head between Yiren's legs, popping her onto its back.

"Haha, it agreed! Lisa, hop on! Adventure is calling!" Yiren called out, extending her hand to Lisa.

"W-what…? You want us to ride it?" Lisa questioned, shocked. Only Yiren could think of such an idea.

Yiren finally got more serious. "Why not? It's big enough to carry us. Do you want to walk all the way on your own instead? We can't fly as we need to conserve our resources."

Right… They were all alone now. There was no Xuefeng with his unlimited supply of both money and Fate Stones.

There was only Blood Qi in the air with barely any other elements present. If they used any, their only way to replenish it was through pills or their unique method, Wisdom Trees.

It helped them convert Fate Qi, which their Fate Spirits used into any other element they desired. Each of Xuefeng's wives had a full set of nine, representing each element. As long as they had enough Fate Qi, in theory, they would never run out of any Qi.

Unfortunately, the only way to get it was through Fate Stones, which they didn't have much on hand. Who would think that heavens would suddenly separate them from Xuefeng?

"Hop on. It's alright. You already rode on Bella, and you didn't mind," Yiren added, trying to convince her.

Bella was one of the two Spirit Beasts that traveled with them, also separated inside the passage just like them.

"Yeah, but Bella is a massive Phoenix and also our friend so we could trust her…" Lisa countered when her body suddenly lifted in the air, forcefully placed by Yiren behind her.

Ah!

Lisa exclaimed, hugging onto Yiren in fear only to realize she was somewhat safe.

"Let's go! Chop, chop! Xuefeng, we are coming for you!"

———

"Her heartbeat was fast, and only now it stabilized… I hope nothing bad happened…"

Xuefeng spun Lisa's crystal on his wives' bracelet, and only when it returned to normal did he sighed in relief, ready to focus on Ming's words.

"What did we talk about again?"

They found a small cave behind one of the many waterfalls in the area and hid inside after setting a secure concealing barrier.

He was standing in a circle with three other beauties from which one was Tianshi. The other two were naturally Ming and Ling, who left his body in their physical forms, this way including Tianshi in their conversations.

"Gosh, did you listen to anything I said?" Ming scolded while pinching his side. "You are lucky we just started, or I would punish you."

She was the most senior from them all, living for hundreds of thousands years already, yet her aging stopped around thirty, right at the prime of her beauty. Her mature and sexy body gave her charm to seduce while her spicy and unruly nature allowed her to dominate.

Being once the Queen of all Fate Spirits, it was quite understandable.

"Ming was talking about the Upgrade Fragment we collected," Tianshi assisted, showing the Water Element Upgrade Fragment in her hand. "She said that each Land had their own Upgrade Fragments being born from nature. Fire Land had Fire Element Upgrade Fragments while Metal Land had Metal Element Upgrade Fragments. Same applied to other Lands."

Tianshi hugged onto his arm, smiling at him brightly as she explained. Her beautiful girl-next-door face was enough to cheer him up.

"We also said that Upgrade Fragments are scarce and appear in nature out of thin air. Because there is only one form of Qi in each Land, it's so concentrated that it sometimes forms into those Upgrade Fragments. They also always try to escape whenever you get too close to them," Ling added, hugging onto his second arm. "You need a few of them to improve the quality of your Qi. The better the Qi, the more Upgrade Fragments you will need."

Although Ling had similar facial features to her mother, her white hair differenced her from the blond beauty Ming presented. Her body was also much slimmer and innocent, fitting in Xuefeng's arms perfectly.

"Oh, alright, thank you," Xuefeng acknowledged the help and suddenly embraced them, pulling the two into his arms.

They didn't mind at all, letting him hug them as they laid their heads on his chest. Although Xuefeng wasn't in the mood for anything sexual, his mind still thinking about his other lost wives, his hands still landed on their bottoms on instinct.

He squeezed and rubbed gently as if to relieve his stress. It already became a habit of his.

"So, you didn't listen from the start, huh?" Ming questioned sternly, not as lenient as the other two. "Who did I explain it to?"

Xuefeng sent her a flying kiss and apologetic smile. "Don't be mad, my Queen. I will listen properly now. Shall we continue?"

Ming squinted her eyes and approached them. They took both of his arms, so she grasped onto his head instead and planted a deep kiss on his lips, pulling him closer by his ears.

"Mhmm!" Xuefeng exclaimed but eventually gave up resisting, letting her punish his lips until she was satisfied.

The scents of all three mixed, assaulting his senses with a pleasing aroma.

"Ehem…" Tianshi and Ling cleared their throats, seeing Ming was hoarding Xuefeng to herself for far too long.

Only then did Ming pull away, not yet releasing him. She showed a rare shy expression and muttered sweetly, "I want you to pay attention to me too… Okay? I'm also important…"

Ming gazed deep into his eyes and gave him one more peck before drawing away, not waiting for his response.

"We can begin now."

Chapter 4: Upgrade Fragments - Part 2

Xuefeng was different from all other Fate Holders, the hosts for Fate Spirits. Many of them treated their Fate Spirits as slaves, only exploiting them for knowledge and their abilities with no feelings involved.

Xuefeng, on the other hand, came from Earth's modern times, so his thoughts and values were much more developed. It didn't matter for him if the women in front of him were Spirits, Elves, Titans, or Humans. There were many races but Xuefeng grouped them all into one category, Women. No matter the race, every woman deserved his respect and love.

Especially if they were meant to spend the rest of his life with him as Ling and Ming would.

Being his Fate Spirits, they were bound to him forever, or until he dies. Only after his death would they be separated and return to the reincarnation circle, searching for another host to continue their lives.

In theory, Fate Spirits lived forever.

Knowing the two beauties were sentenced to stay with him for a lifetime, Xuefeng naturally treated them special, considering them as his women. He was the only male they could be with so they treated him the same.

Eventually, feelings brewed between them.

"Us too…" Ling murmured before they started, asking to even up the score.

Tianshi concurred the idea, leaning over to suck on his neck.

"Ah, just one…" Xuefeng gave in.

Ling's lips were needy, pleading for attention before eventually opening fully, gushing with passion and energy.

Tianshi was different, attacking with her own plan from the start, knowing exactly what she wanted. She tried to make the best use of the limited time they had.

She almost lost him once and decided to take full advantage of the time she has with him. Tianshi also came from Earth, following him after he saved her life. Both carried their love from one world to another, proving that love could overcome every hardship.

Pa! Pa!

Xuefeng's heavy hands smacked their butts at the same time, returning back the order.

"Enough," Xuefeng called out and turned to Ming. "Is there anything else I need to know about those Upgrade Fragments? How can I find them most efficiently? I suppose this is the only method to improve the quality of my Qi, right?"

"It's not the only method but the fastest and most efficient one. As I said, Upgrade Fragments are born from nature and it can be considered a mini phenomenon. It is not necessarily impossible to find one but luck definitely plays a huge role in Fragment Hunting," Ming replied.

She didn't stop and added in one go, "If I remember correctly, there are usually close to a thousand new Upgrade Fragments being born every day on each Land. It sounds like a lot but considering the size of each land and the number of Cultivators coveting them, its an extremely small number."

"Is it possible to just buy them?" Xuefeng asked curiously, already finding the hunt bothersome.

"It is but almost no one is selling them. Everyone who finds them is either using them or exchanging for high ranked treasures. No amount of Spirit Stones will help you buy them."

"How much of those fragments do we need to improve our Qi?" Tianshi joined the conversation. "It shouldn't be such a high number, right? All those Cultivators laughed at us for still being at the base level so it must mean all of them already advanced, right?"

"Those Cultivators were mostly after their Third Refining. The number of Upgrade Fragments required is increasing the more you refine. First Refining needs ten fragments, Second Refining almost fifty while the third a hundred. Everyone is stuck at that point as the next one requires a whooping five hundred fragments. Unless you have connections, it's really hard to find so many on your own." Ming answered and took a deep breath, preparing for a long lesson.

"In theory, you can refine your Qi endlessly as long as you have Upgrade Fragments but in practice, it's impossible. At some point, the effects are so small you would need a mountain amount of Upgrade Fragments to complete another refining."

"There was one Expert called Refining Master who devoted his life to determine the maximum number of Qi Refining a Cultivator can perform. Eventually, he stopped at the Ninth Refining and created a universal guide that everyone is using to this day."

"Mhmm," all three listeners nodded their heads, showing they were listening attentively. Ling was also learning, not having much knowledge about the Heaven Realm.

"You mentioned Qi Materialization being the name of Fourth Refining. What are the rest?" Xuefeng questioned second.

"Even though you can refine your Qi nine times, only two of those really matter, Fourth Refining and Seventh Refining," Ming continued. "After refining four times, you can finally materialize your Qi, this stage called Qi Materialization."

"At that point, your Qi is so dense it can become your weapon like that Shadow Assassin from before, almost acting like a physical body. The Seventh Refining, Qi Incarnation, is even more powerful, allowing you to temporarily slip your own soul into the body made from Qi. Those bodies are commonly known as Avatars," Ming introduced.

Xuefeng's eyes widened in realization. Everything made sense now.

Back in Earth Realm, he met one of those Avatars after he consumed Titan's Blood, gaining some of their bloodline. Only now did he recall the Avatar words, claiming they will find him once he enters the Heaven Realm to take him home to his brothers and sisters.

Should he be worried already? He didn't plan to join any races.

"So should we focus on gathering Upgrade Fragments from now on?" Tianshi asked curiously. "That Qi Refining sounds quite powerful. No wonder everyone gives it so much attention."

Ming had a quick response to that.

"Balance is the key to a healthy growth. Qi Refining is important as it improves your battle prowess but without proper Skills and Cultivation, you will be like the group we just defeated, useless. In our case, we already have the skills so we only need to focus on the other two. After all, with your Elemental Bracelet, having high quality Qi would make you invincible."

It was indeed a terrifying combo. His only Elemental Stone gave him the ultimate power over Air Element but if he met someone with a higher quality Air Qi than him, Xuefeng doubt he could control it easily. If two fireballs met of different quality, the one with more Qi Refining would win.

"I suggest we try to collect as many Upgrade Fragments as we can while traveling but we shouldn't lose our main goal," Xuefeng proposed. "All my wives are split throughout the Heaven Realm. Until we all reunite, I don't plan to heavily focus on anything else."

Some things were important but his wives were the top priority.

"Mhmm, I agree," Tianshi nodded, fully supporting him.

"What about Cultivation stag—" Xuefeng was already in the process of changing topics when Ming suddenly turned around, gazing at the waterfall. "We have a company."

Poof. Poof.

Ling and Ming disappeared back into Xuefeng's body, ready to support him from the inside.

'It's the same people from before. It seems they found us using some Tracking Artefact. You left so much of your Qi behind that I shouldn't be surprised,' Ming commented. 'They shouldn't know where exactly are we. I fully concealed this cave.'

The waterfall was huge while the cave only few meters tall. Unless they bombarded the whole place, they wouldn't discover them.

Tianshi let go of him, just in case he needed to act swiftly but still stayed close. They watched the lone middle-aged man fly in front of the waterfall and stop, watching them from afar.

He cupped his fists and called out, "Young Master, I came in peace. I was sent by the Main Elder of our Sect. Can we talk?"

Chapter 5: House of Dragons

'He wants to recruit you!'

Ming didn't need long to figure out the Elder's plans. What else could it be?

'It's either that or revenge, but I doubt the second one. You two defeated a hundred of their disciples, so obviously they want you to join them. If those Sects meet a genius, they always try to recruit first. Only if you reject will they turn hostile. It's not good for them if a competing Sect gets another genius.'

'Should we run then?' Xuefeng wondered. 'I don't plan to join any Sects until we are all back together. When that happens, we will think about what to do next.'

'We can't run away. That Elder will find us using his Tracking Artefact one again,' Ming replied and paused, thinking for a moment. 'I got a plan, but I am not sure if I can pull it off. Stall some time for me. If I fail, we will think of something else.'

He trusted Ming fully, so he left that to her.

"Come with me, we will exchange some words with the Elder," Xuefeng informed Tianshi as he grabbed her hand.

Tianshi only nodded with a smile, not questioning his decision. Just the fact he took her with him instead of asking to stay behind was enough to show he cared for her.

The waterfall split in two as they flew out of the cave, stopping a few tens of meters away from the Elder. One couldn't trust anyone in the Cultivation World, and this much distance was enough for converse anyway.

"Thank you for your trust," the middle-aged Elder with a short cut nodded his head in respect as if Xuefeng was his peer.

He didn't mind that Xuefeng was so far away.

"You are welcome. What do you want? Our time is precious," Xuefeng replied casually, preparing to teleport away just in case.

"If that's the case, I won't waste it. I would like to formally invite you two to join our Silent Drop Sect as Disciples." The Elder went straight to the point. "I know you might be unfamiliar with it, so let me introduce it quickly. We are one of the three top Sects in the Water Element Land, having the most number of Qi Manifestation disciples. If you are looking to refine your Qi, we can help you with that. Just as you join, the Sect will present you two enough fragments to refine your Qi four times."

The Elder smiled, probably thinking that was enough to buy them, yet Xuefeng gazed at him suspiciously. "So there are two more Sects just as good or even better than yours, right? Usually, when someone says the top three, they are not confident enough to say they are the best. I guess that's the case here."

"No, no, you misunderstood me. Our Sect is top three because we compete for the first place in the Land, not because we are weaker," the Elder replied hurriedly. "In the next few days, there will be a big tournament that will finally decide which Sect is superior. The maximum age of the participants is thirty, and you fit perfectly to represent our Sect."

Xuefeng wasn't convinced, so he added, "How about this, not only will the Sect help you reach the Fifth Refining but we will also assist you in breaking through to the Immortal Stage! On top of that, as long as you win the tournament, you will receive the full reward from it. The Sect won't take anything. Usually, we take fifty percent of all rewards."

Xuefeng smirked, finally seeing through the Elder. He knew he would eventually spill it. All they cared about was winning this tournament and wanted his help.

Just as he opened his mouth to comment sarcastically, Tianshi squeezed his hand and spoke on his stead.

"Let me guess. We defeated all your Disciples that you groomed to win the tournament for you, and now you are worried that we will join the other two Sects, thus taking away your chances of becoming the top one Sect in the Water Element Land. Am I right?"

The Elder froze at her comment, striking right when it hurts.

"You are right. You defeated the Main Elder's Son, who was the favorite in the tournament. If you can beat him with such ease, winning the tournament won't be a problem," the Elder admitted honestly. "Let me change my offer. The Sect will assist you till Sixth Refining. The most generous reward I can propose. Naturally, it includes you Miss, as well. Both of you will receive the same reward."

Xuefeng took Ming's request to stall for time seriously and turned silent, pretending to whisper into Tianshi's ear when in reality, he was just biting her ear playfully.

"You have to know that the reward I'm talking about is just for joining our Sect. Aside from that, you two will receive the usual rewards and bonuses our Disciples receive. The initial bonus is Equivalent to a whooping six thousand six hundred and sixty Upgrade Fragments for each of you. This is one in a lifetime offer," the Elder continued to convince them.

"You know, we understand that the offer would be generous for a casual Disciple, but how can this reward even compare to the status of number one Sect in the whole Land that I would need to sacrifice my life to get you?" Xuefeng asked with a shrug, making the Elder speechless once again.

He was right. The benefits from being the top Sect were immense, something which thirteen thousand fragments couldn't buy.

'I made it!' Ming suddenly announced in his mind. 'Go ahead and tell him you are already a Disciple of a Sect called the House of Dragons. From what I remember, it should be the top Sect in the whole Heaven Realm. He won't bother you knowing that.'

'Oh, perfect! But why did you need so much time?'

Xuefeng didn't mind bluffing. Bullshitting others was his side hobby.

'Just in case he questions you, I created two Disciple Tokens for you two. Hehe,' Ming explained with a crafty giggle.

"Two Immortal Artefacts of your choice. That's the most I can add," the Elder called out, close to losing his patience. "You have to remember you are still only in a Pseudo-God Stage. The world is dangerous, and only the Sect can protect you."

Xuefeng frowned. The Elder was polite till that moment and suddenly decided to throw a little threat to pressure them. The negotiations ended at that moment.

"You are right. Only the Sect can protect me, and because of that, I already joined one," Xuefeng revealed.

"W-what…?"

The Elder didn't expect that at all, gazing at Xuefeng dumbfounded.

"You heard me. When I first Ascended to the Heaven Realm just earlier today, a funny older man approached us. He asked us to display our power and didn't hesitate to offer us to become his Personal Disciples. He wanted to take us with him to the Sect, but we still have something to settle first, so we went separate paths."

"Who was it?! What Sect?!" The Elder exploded. "Was it Water Palm Sect or Three Lakes Sect?!"

"Huh? Why are you so tensed up? Let me remember. It was something like House of Dragons or something," Xuefeng replied casually, not putting too much significance to it, but the Elder's expression changed momentarily.

All the anger disappeared in a blink, replaced with fear.

"D-did you just say House of Dragons…?"

Chapter 6: Personal Disciples

Xuefeng shrugged.

"I didn't pay too much attention to it. I was busy, so I sent the old man away. He didn't mind much too and gave me a Disciple Token so I can enter the Sect whenever I want."

Seeing the Elder's face, Xuefeng found it amusing and decided to test Ming's token earlier than planned. He pulled it out and waved a golden circular object in his hand.

"See? He gave me this."

He also checked it out to see Ming's work only to be blinded by the sudden golden light bursting from the token.

Roar!

Resounding bellow followed suit as the dragon engraved on the token came to life. A small replica of the Golden Dragon flew out, circling the two of them a few times before returning to the token, all in a few seconds.

Both he, Tianshi, and the Elder were dumbfounded.

"S-sect M-master Liu…" The Elder began while stuttering before exclaiming. "This is Sect Master Liu's Disciple Token! Only his Personal Disciples have it! You… Are you trying to say you sent the most powerful expert in Heaven Realm away, and he didn't mind it?! Also, who are you calling an old man! He is younger than me!"

'Haha, it worked!' Ming laughed in celebration. 'I once saw the original and created a replica for you. It seems my forgery skills are still great!'

'Won't I endanger myself by pretending to be his Personal Disciple?' Xuefeng questioned, anxiously, not expecting she would choose such a high profile person.

'Don't worry, those types of experts are usually in Closed-door Cultivation, and they rarely leave their Sects. No one will bother him to confirm it, instantly assuming he gave it to you,' Ming assured. 'No one is stupid enough to pretend they are House of Dragon's Sect Master Personal Disciple. That would be suicide.'

'…'

Xuefeng didn't want to comment on that. She told him to pretend in the first place! He didn't show his frustration on the outside and acted cool as if it was a norm for him.

"Well, didn't I tell you already? He came over and gave me the token. For me, he was an old man. Even he didn't mind me calling him like this, so why you care?" Xuefeng asked as he kept the token.

"Why didn't you say that before…? I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to recruit you…" Elder questioned back, his tone back to the polite one.

"You didn't ask," Xuefeng replied simply.

"Wait, you said you met him earlier today?" The Elder froze, realizing that fact. "Does that mean he is in the Water Element Land?!"

"Ye, I'm sure my master is still somewhere around the Water Element Land," Xuefeng confirmed, and just as the Elder was preparing to leave, he added, "I guess I will call him to pick me up earlier and tell him what treatment did I receive from the Silent Drop Sect."

Xuefeng grabbed Tianshi's hands and turned around, flying away. He gave the Elder three seconds to break.

Not only a second later, the Elder stopped them.

"Wait! Don't leave! I didn't do anything wrong! Don't tell your Master!" The Elder called out anxiously.

"Huh? Didn't you just use a threat to pressure us into entering your Sect? I'm sure my Master will be pleased someone tried to steal his Personal Disciple," Xuefeng said as he looked back.

The Elder paled and fear displayed from his eyes.

To make it worse, they turned around again and left.

"Wait! Please, don't tell your Master! I will do anything!" This time the Elder's cry was more desperate, precisely what Xuefeng wanted.

"A hundred Upgrade Fragments," Tianshi said calmly in response, ahead of him. "Yes, this is blackmail. Deal with it. We won't stay silent for less."

"But—"

"One. Hundred," Tianshi repeated, not giving him the chance to negotiate.

"Yes," the Elder didn't argue anymore and threw a Storage Ring in their direction.

Xuefeng caught the ring in one move and checked its content.

Ten stacks of neatly placed Water Element Upgrade Fragments. Not only that, but the Storage Ring also had decent capacity, showing the Elder's sincerity. They would be able to store much more goods if they wished to go hunting.

"Everything is correct. Thank you for your cooperation," Xuefeng said with a smile. "We will keep quiet to our Master."

The Elder didn't seem like he wanted to chat anymore. "I will take my leave then," he called out and flew away hurriedly.

"I knew he had a hundred on him, yet he wanted to bluff us," Tianshi commented.

Her Fate Spirit ability was also unique, allowing her to see the possible futures. At times, it was impossible to tell the correct future, but at specific times, there were only a few paths that gave her more accurate information.

She was just about to turn her head to him when he pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply.

"Mhmm!" Tianshi exclaimed with their lips connected, acting surprised by his abruptness. "What was that for?"

"Can't I just kiss you because I love you?"

"Well, if that's the case, I will go for seconds because I love you too," Tianshi replied, leaning over to claim her kiss.

Unfortunately, they were not in a safe place, so they didn't have too much comfort to enjoy themselves.

"I originally wanted to get only fifty, yet you got us a hundred," Xuefeng finally explained his excitement. "I didn't know you had it in you. I'm proud."

"Hehe, there is a lot you don't know about me," Tianshi giggled mysteriously. "You will have to explore more."

"I will."

"It's dangerous here," Ling pointed out as she appeared once again, forcing them to separate. "We should follow that Elder to find the nearest City. All cities are the safe zones of the Heaven Realm."

"Shouldn't we refine those fragments first?"

"It takes a long time to refine Qi. Ling is right. We should find a safe place and perform at least the First Refining, which should take us at least half a day," Ming concurred the plan. "Don't worry, if you want to find your wives, you need to get stronger first. The Heaven Realm is too vast for you just to randomly search for them."

Ming's and Ling's souls were linked with his own. They knew very well how he felt.

"I guess there is no other way…" Xuefeng muttered with a sigh. "I'm just worried about Yiren and Lisa. The two of them entered the same exit, so they should be together. How do you expect the two of them to defend themselves?"

"We can reach out for help to Trade Union in the nearest City. If anyone can find them the fastest, it's them," Tianshi proposed. "But also don't underestimate Yiren. She is much stronger than she looks. She will take care of Lisa for sure."

"Let's hope that's the case."

There wasn't a minute he didn't monitor his Soul Bracelet, keeping tabs on the girl's heartbeats.

"Anyway, let's be as high profile as we can. Hopefully, the girls will hear about us and move in our direction too," Xuefeng decided to which Tianshi joked.

"Aren't we the Personal Disciples of the strongest Cultivator in the Heaven Realm already?"

Xuefeng could only roll his eyes and gazed at Ming, blaming it on her.

Ming looked away as if she didn't hear him and changed the subject, "Right, I almost forgot. I am still yet to tell you about the Cultivation Stages. Let's go! I will tell you all on the way!"

"…"

———

"Ah, I'm glad the scenery is not like that forest everywhere…" Lisa sighed in relief when she saw the natural greenery outside the forest.

Although it wasn't much, the ground having more rocks than grass, she was still satisfied. The red mist and bloody liquid covering the whole ground was making her crazy.

"Are you sure you can't go with us?" Yiren asked the black cat who just dropped them off.

Mrrrr…

It confirmed with a murmur and rubbed its head against her for the last time before running back to the forest. Yiren waved it off like a good friend and finally returned to Lisa.

"See, it wasn't that bad, right?" Yiren asked playfully, grasping Lisa by the arm. "Are you ready for adventure?"

"Does your adventure have a hot bath and a comfy bed?"

Yiren smiled and pulled her to fly with her, "Come on, I'm sure we will find some!"

Lisa doubted that a lot, but she didn't have a choice but to follow her.

Rooooooooaaar!

Just as she did, the two heard a reverberating cry of a beast some far away. Lisa shuddered, but Yiren didn't stop in fear, dragging her in the direction of the cry.

"Yiren, no!" Lisa called out sternly, but she couldn't resist the never-ending curiosity of Yiren.

"We will just take a look from afar. Come!"

Chapter 7: Beast Tamers

Although the roar sounded as if the fight was close to them, they flew for close to a minute before they finally saw it. Unfortunately, it seemed like it already ended as Lisa and Yiren only saw the last glimpse when some unknown four-legged Beast fell to the ground, mortally wounded.

Yiren's heart hurt just from seeing it suffer, but she couldn't stop it anymore.

"Shh…" Yiren shushed Lisa's complaints as they landed some far away, hiding behind a boulder.

The ground around them was more red as if burned by the sun, filled with many blood-colored boulders. The open scenery turned into a valley, with high mountains on both sides and a blood river in the middle.

When Lisa saw the river from the sky, she instantly knew she wouldn't jump to swim.

"It seems they are hunters…" Yiren pointed out in a whisper as she sneakily peeked from the boulder, checking the situation. "There are five of them…"

They were at the foot of the mountain, watching from a few hundred meters away. If they approached any closer, the hunters would most likely discover them.

"How did you guess it? Is it because they are wearing leather gear, and they are in the middle of hunting?" Lisa pointed out playfully, but Yiren only nodded thoughtfully, making her speechless.

"Whoa… So many new friends…" Yiren muttered in amazement as her gaze spotted five Beasts gathered around their fallen brother. Their teeth were soaked in blood, showing they were the ones who defeated the Beast.

They were not attacking the Cultivators but instead fought for them as if being Hunter's companion Beasts. How amazing was it?

"Did they tame them?" Lisa questioned in wonder as she laid next to Yiren, peeking together with her. "Seems like they are Beast Tamers."

"Huh? Beast Tamers?" Yiren asked, passionate about anything with beasts.

"Mhmm, my Spirit just told me. They use various methods to befriend a wild Beasts before using them to battle," Lisa explained. "They connect their souls with them, creating a link that allows them to communicate. Unfortunately, there is a limit to how many Beasts they can tame, which makes their strength limited. Once their Beast is defeated, they are usually useless. That's why Beast Taming is considered only a side profession."

"How lucky… The Hunters can play and meet new friends every day…" Yiren whispered in wonder. "I wish I could become a Beast Tamer…"

Yiren asked her own Spirit if she knew all of this, but unfortunately, she never had contact with Beast Tamers. If that was the case, she would become one long time ago.

"But aren't you one already? You can tame Beast as easy as snapping your fingers. Isn't that exactly what Beast Taming is?" Lisa pointed out.

"Oh! I guess I am!" Yiren exclaimed only to shut her mouth with her hand, forgetting they had to be silent.

They looked at the five hunters in the distance, but it seemed like they didn't hear her, still busy with their prey.

"Look, Spirit Artefact is forming…" Yiren nudged Lisa with a shoulder, pointing at the fallen Beast.

The soul of all Spirit Beasts was unique and had a small chance of turning into a Spirit Artefact instead of dying. Cultivators could then use those Artefacts, unleashing its power in battle. Usually, it was a weapon with special ability passed on from the Spirit Beast, but most of the time, the soul turned into a simple Beast Stone. Crafting Masters would later turn them into man-made Spirit Artefacts, but obviously, they were much weaker than natural Spirit Artefacts.

"Oh… It's an ax. Good for them," Yiren nodded in approval. "At least the Spirit Beast's Soul can live forever in the hands of that man. Better than nothing."

"Sigh, I wish some Spirit Beasts dropped a cauldron for me so I can make better pills. Being an alchemist is hard," Lisa shed light on the clear discrimination.

Seeing the hunters began cutting the Beast for its meat, Yiren suggested, "How about we approach them and ask to take us to the closest city? It would be much easier finding Xuefeng if we have a map or something."

They didn't know much about Heaven's Realm, and their Spirit's knowledge was limited as well. Aside from the Cultivation tips and general knowledge, they still needed to explore for more information.

"Do you think we can trust them? What if they decide to attack, rob, or even worse, assault us?" Lisa questioned suspiciously. "We don't know them. We shouldn't trust anyone easily, especially when big sister is such a beauty. They might want to kidnap us and sell to a brothel."

Lisa shivered at her own words.

"We won't know until we check. I don't think everyone is evil," Yiren said innocently, peeking over the boulder to get another look at the hunters on to freeze, realizing they were gone. "Huh? Where—"

"What do you think you are doing?!"

A shout from behind cut off her words. The girls turned around swiftly and saw five hunters hovering in the sky behind their Beast Companions.

Grrrr…

The five Beasts growled at them while displaying its sharp row of teeth.

"Are you spying on us to steal our prey?! Did you think we wouldn't notice you? My Brutus noticed you five minutes ago!" One of the men in red skull masks shouted.

The Brutus he mentioned was a massive wolf, almost five meters long with shiny red and black fur. It howled at the mention of his name, glaring at them as if ready to pounce.

"No! We were just watching curiously! I—" Yiren tried to explain as they hopped down from the boulder, but the man cut her off, "That's what all thieves say! Where is your group hiding?! Were you meant to act as a diversion? This trick is too old! No one will fall for it anymore!"

He didn't give them any more chances to prove themselves and quickly ordered.

"Brutus, take care of them."

Chapter 8: True Power

Awuuu!

Brutus howled and immediately launched his offense. Bloody armor wrapped around his body as he pounced forward. The other members of their hunter team looked around as if to search for the girl's team, which should come out at any moment to defend them.

The Hunters acted as if it happened too often for them, not even caring they were two innocent looking girls. The Wolf didn't care, even more, treating all humans as a piece of meat.

Lisa gazed at Yiren while pulling out some explosive pills and sighed in relief, seeing her eyes turn golden.

"Brutus! Sit down!"

At her call, the Wolf froze, stopping himself immediately. His momentum dragged him forward, sliding on the dirt until eventually halting right in front of the girls. He sat down like a dog, waiting for more orders from her.

"Lay down!"

Brutus immediately executed, finally lowering himself to a height where Yiren could pet him.

"Hehe, good boy," Yiren praised with a giggle as she rubbed under its chin.

The man in red mask seemed dumbfounded, calling out in disbelief, "Brutus! What are you doing?!"

He was completely ignored, his Wolf enjoying rubs.

Yiren didn't finish at that, gazing at the other four beasts. "Everyone, come here. I'm giving away free belly rubs!"

As if she placed a charm on them, all four rushed to her, ignoring their owner's orders to come back. The Beasts circled Yiren and Lisa, asking the two to pet them. Even if she didn't want to, they dragged Lisa to play as well, forcing her to pet the Beasts despite her fear.

Only one thought came to the Hunters' minds after seeing Yiren's feat.

She was a Master Beast Tamer! A great one at that!

With just one command, their Spirit Beasts went out of their control. Even their Boss didn't have such skills.

The Hunters didn't hesitate and landed on the ground, pleading for mercy.

"Miss! We apologize for our rudeness. We didn't realize you were also a Beast Tamer. Please spare us and our beasts."

Their Beasts stepped aside, showing Yiren and Lisa, but they didn't seem like they accepted the Hunters' apology.

"I tried to explain, but you didn't let me!" Yiren cried out, upset. "I took a liking to your Beasts, so I think I will keep them. Maybe it will teach you a lesson to not attack innocent people."

The eyes of five Hunters widened.

Killing or stealing away their beasts was akin to robbing their livelihood. How are they supposed to feed their families otherwise?

The owner of Brutus didn't hesitate, dropping down on his knees despite his friend's surprised looks.

"Please, we won't be able to survive without them! If you want to punish someone, punish only me! I was the one who made a mistake! I'm single, but they have families! They need to feed them! If you take their beasts away, their kids and wives will starve. Please! Spare them!"

Awuu!

Brutus howled at his owner before nudging and poking Yiren with its nose.

"You think I should spare them?" Yiren questioned.

Brutus first gazed at his owner before back at her, nodding. The other four Beasts also approached Yiren, pleading with their eyes. When the Hunters saw it, they were close to bursting into tears.

"Do they treat you all well?"

Roar!

They all nodded with a quiet snap and a stomped with their paws.

Yiren didn't plan to take them away, only wanting to test Hunter's personality. If they weren't kind to their Beasts, she would adopt and take all of them away.

Make sure to take care of your Spirit Beasts as if they were your family and friends. If I see anything happen to them, I will come and take them away," Yiren called out in an unusual stern voice before patting the Beasts on their heads. "Alright, you are free to return."

All four Beasts rushed forward first, knocking their owners to the ground with their charge only to lick them happily. The owners didn't mind at all, hugging their Beasts. Yiren was right. They were their companions and partners, just as important as their family.

Brutus stayed behind, waiting for his owner to lift himself from the ground first.

"You can stand up. Your Brutus is waiting," Yiren advised, rubbing the Wolf on its strong leg.

"Brutus…?"

The man looked up, taking off both his hood and mask. He was young, about sixteen years old, with his features not yet fully developed, but one could see he has been through a lot at first glance.

Woof!

Brutus barked and jumped forward.

"Brutus!" The Youngster cried out and rushed to meet him half-way.

Naturally, Brutus knocked him back with the sheer weight alone, but it didn't matter for him. The Youngster was happy to keep his friend.

"Awww… Isn't it cute?" Lisa commented at the sight of five grown men hugging their Beasts.

With everyone hugging, she hugged onto Yiren and praised excitedly, "Big sis, you were so cool! I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Of course! Your big sis is always cool!" Yiren accepted proudly. "As long as you stand by my side, nothing will happen to you."

"Hehe, then I will make sure to hug you tightly," Lisa said with a giggle.

Xuefeng was probably the most worried about them, but with Yiren's skills, they were perhaps the safest from all of his wives. Yiren just needed to tame some powerful Beast that will defend them from all danger until they meet again.

"Miss, I apologize once again. I didn't recognize your greatness and offended you," the Youngster apologized after the Beasts returned into their Summoning Tokens to rest. "Would you two be interested in visiting our tribe's Village? My father is also a Master Beast Tamer, but his power can't compare to Miss. He would be thrilled to meet you."

"Is everyone in your tribe a Beast Master?" Yiren asked curiously.

"Yes. It's a tradition of our tribe. We tame Spirit Beasts and coexist with them. Many Spirit Beasts are roaming in our Village in broad daylight. They help us a lot too." The Youngster introduced.

Yiren's eyes brightened, suddenly turning back to her cute and exciting nature.

"Can we go? Can we go?" Yiren asked Lisa while jumping happily.

All five hunters were dumbfounded, not ready for such a drastic change.

"Ehem, lead the way, please. We will check your Village before we depart," Lisa agreed formally after clearing her throat. "As a Manager of this lady here, I need to manage her time. Master Beast Tamer, like her, is extremely busy these days. We have a lot of jobs scheduled this month."

The Hunters nodded as if it was natural.

"Of course! Follow me please, our Village is not far from here. Barely ten minutes by flight," the Youngster said politely.

All of them looked at Yiren with respect, admiration even.

They launched to the sky all together when one of the older Hunters asked curiously, "Miss, what were the strongest Beasts you tamed in your life?"

"You mean, who is my friend? Well, there Drakos, Bella—" Yiren began to count on her fingers when Lisa stopped her.

"Let me answer for her. Drakos is a Blue Dragon from Dragon Race with his stage comparable to Immortal Stage Cultivator, while Bella is a Celestial Stage Phoenix who already reached its human form. We naturally consider them our friends instead of Tamed Beasts."

"Yes, exactly," Yiren affirmed. "Bella is so pretty, but I liked it when she was a Phoenix. Her feathers were so soft~. I loved to sleep on her back and fly in the sky. Ah…"

"…"

Her words rendered the five Hunters speechless once again.

A Dragon!

A Phoenix!

That was the true power of a Master Beast

Chapter 9: Hidden Leaf Village

"We have arrived."

Yiren and Lisa checked their surroundings at the Youngster call, but they saw nothing but a single tall mountain in front of them. There was no sight of a Village anywhere, only lush forest covering the whole space.

"Here? Are you sure?" Lisa questioned suspiciously, but the Hunters assured her. "Don't worry, Miss. Our village is hidden from the public view."

Yiren squeezed Lisa's hand, showing she shouldn't worry, and they followed, landing on the ground within the trees. The Hunters seemed cautious, looking around to check if anyone was spying on them before knocking at one of the boulders.

Surprisingly, what they thought was a boulder turned out to be a hidden passage, leading into the ground with sharp stairs. A guard stood at the top of the stairs, instantly glaring at the new faces, Lisa and her. His head was covered with a similar mask and hood like the other Hunters, only showing his eyes.

"Who are they?" He asked sternly. "You know we can't invite strangers into the village."

"Don't worry, uncle," the Youngster assured as he took off his mask and introduced them with a smile. "They are friends we made while hunting. They are a Master Beast Tamer, Miss Yiren, and her manager, Miss Lisa. My father would love to meet them, so I invited them."

The guard's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

It was naturally hard to believe they met a random Master Beast Tamer during their hunting session.

"Yeah," the Youngster nodded with a bitter smile. "Miss Yiren tamed all five our beasts with just a few words."

Seeing the other Hunters confirm it, the guard finally believed, bowing his head to the girls, "I'm sorry for my rudeness. Please, come inside."

"Misses, please follow me," the Youngster lead the way, going down the stairs, and Yiren pulled Lisa inside without hesitation. She believed they were good people just as their Beasts thought of them.

The stairs were short, leading to a long passage lit up with shining crystals. It took them about a minute until they finally saw the other exit.

Yiren's mouth didn't want to close after what she saw.

"Whoa…"

She saw a giant open space within the mountain itself. Countless wooden houses spread from one end to the other. Homes on the walls and the ceiling had hundreds of bridges connecting them. Not only that, but there was also plenty of greenery everywhere, large trees in the middle of the streets with houses built inside them as well.

It was just like her hometown!

Her Forest Elf race had their small Realm with floating islands, similar wooden houses, and everything connected with bridges. Yiren felt as if she came back home.

Ah!

She couldn't help but exclaim, seeing small birds fly freely in the sky, followed by much bigger Spirit Beasts who carried people and goods.

It was even better than her hometown!

The only thing she always disliked was the lack of Beasts in her Realm, yet so many beasts lived here. She didn't fully believe it at first, but what the Youngster said was true.

"How do you like our Village Miss Yiren?" the Youngster asked from the side.

They were inside a hole in the wall, viewing the whole enormous cavern from the sky.

"I love it!" Yiren exclaimed and flew forward without them, pulling on the innocent victim with her, "Come, Lisa!"

The Hunters quickly followed, but it was hard to keep up with her.

Yiren let out a loud whistle to which all birds reacted, suddenly flocking in her direction.

Chirp, chirp!

Hundreds of birds voiced their happiness from Yiren's arrival, dancing around them in joy. Yiren couldn't help but giggle and sing in a melodic voice.

"Living the dream, watching the leaves, changing the seasons,

Sunsets and sunrises, birds fly for all those reasons,

Enjoying their lives, flying to the moon's eye,

Birds fly in every direction, so fly high, fly high…"

Yiren took Lisa's hands and danced happily with more and more beasts joining. Their song echoed throughout the village, making all residents stop what they were doing, gazing at the sky.

"Seasons will change, but we will always fly, fly, fly,

My dear friends, I love you and love will never die, die, die,

Let's enjoy our lives, flying to the moon's eye,

Let's fly with the birds, fly high, fly high…"

In front of the largest tree within the village was a plaza which quickly filled with people, all staring at the two dancing girls. The melody was so catchy people began to join, humming along. Kids danced happily, jumping around, husbands grabbed their wives into their arms, dancing to the song.

"A Goddess…" A mature lady muttered as she watched the performance from the balcony of the tallest tree. "Our Goddess returned!"

"What is going on?" Her husband, a handsome man with sharp eyes, asked as he joined her at the balcony, embracing her from behind. The scenery immediately dumbfounded him.

"Your son brought a Goddess to our village," the lady explained, pointing at the five Hunters who followed Yiren and Lisa. "All beasts from the village follow her."

As she said so, she pulled out her Beast Token and let her beast free as well. A flaming bird burst from the token and launched to the sky, joining the rest.

"Amazing…" the man muttered, amazed when he squinted his eyes, noticing something unique. "Her eyes… They are shining with gold… Is she a Master Beast Tamer…?"

"Hug me closer, dance with me and let's fly,

Cherish our love, hug me tightly and take me to the sky,

I want us always together, flying to the moon's eye,

Just like the birds, fly high, fly high…"

The man embraced his wife, influenced by the music, and danced along to the song.

When Yiren and Lisa landed, the two were out of breath but two big smiles displayed on their faces. Yiren tickled the flaming bird who sat on her shoulder in the middle of her dance and looked around. Multiple people surrounded them, and wherever she looked, they bowed their heads, calling out in respect.

"Goddess!"

The crowd suddenly split, and two middle-aged people walked through. They seemed like a couple, holding their hands.

"Dad, mom!"

They heard a cry, and the Youngster from before landed next to them, giving them a solid hug. "She is a Master Beast Tamer like you!"

"We know, son. Everyone could see the display of her power," the sharp-eyed man replied, patting the Youngster on the head and turned to the girls.

"Welcome to our Hidden Leaf Village. We have been waiting for you."

"Huh? Waiting for me?" Yiren repeated, confused, but the man didn't explain, announcing to the gathered people.

"Everyone! Our Goddess returned! Let the celebration start!"

Chapter 10: Cold Beauties

"So those two Upgrade Fragments can help us refine our Qi… Interesting."

The female Cultivator said curiously as she stepped on the defeated man's chest. Her battle boots were so heavy. He couldn't help but groan in pain each time she pressed on his chest. His white cloak he used to protect from the heat was already red, soaked with his blood.

He was lucky the other woman wasn't as brutal, only standing to the side and asking questions. If both of them decided to torture him, he would rather die fast. He couldn't see their faces as they hid their faces under the hoods, but he guessed they were cold beauties.

The cold came from how they killed without any hesitation, only to cause him pain for fun while the beauties came from their slim and sexy bodies that even a cloak couldn't hide.

The evil woman juggled the two crimson balls in her palm. Those were his only Fire Qi Upgrade Fragments that his group managed to find that day, yet they lost both the fragments and their lives after a failed robbery attempt.

What pushed them to start robbing again? Damn greed.

Ugh…

He groaned yet again when the woman stepped on his chest, breaking another pair of his ribs. He already had trouble breathing, but it didn't seem like she cared much about his well-being. He was only alive because they needed him.

"Cough, cough! Have mercy!" the man coughed blood, pleading for his life. "I already apologized. I also answered everything you asked!"

That was all he could do to survive, his body pinned to the ground.

"This is not the end," the nicer woman answered as she crouched next to him. "Unless you want to end like your friends?"

The man glanced at both sides and quickly shook his head. "I will talk!"

He could only see red, burned ground filled with dead bodies of his friends, killed just a few minutes ago. They tried to rob those two pseudo-God stage women, thinking they would be an easy target, yet they failed horribly. All of them were dead before the fight even started.

The man still remembered how his body froze mid-air, unable to move. They forced him to watch as the women appeared next to his friends and behead them without mercy.

They were pure devils!

"Tell us where is the closest big city with a Trade Union branch," the crouched woman questioned. "If you lie, we will tie you to the boulder and leave for vultures to eat you alive. I wonder how long will pass till they arrive."

The nicer lady wasn't nice in the end. He paled as he imagined beasts slowly eat his body and answered swiftly, "There is a map in my Storage Ring. All big cities are marked with a big red circle while the small black circles are smaller supplies cities. There just happens to be a Capital of Fire Land just thirty minutes away from here. You can find a Trade Union there."

The lady didn't reply to his answer but instead looked at her partner. They opened his Storage Ring, and just as he said, they found a map inside.

"If you let me live, I will bring you there," the man added, clutching to every chance he could.

Unfortunately, the moment he decided to rob the two devils, his fate was already sealed.

"Haha," the devil laughed as she pressed her boot even harder and eventually shook her head. "No. There is only one man I will follow in my life."

The man's eyes widened, seeing her display a long, bloodied sword, one she used to kill his friends.

"Noo! I know many secrets! I'm useful! I can show—"

Slash!

His last words got cut off when the blade severed his head, making it roll away. Blood erupted from the headless torso, but the women jumped away, keeping their cloaks clean.

"Nice cut, Nuwa," the nicer woman praised.

"Thank you, Wu. I think I will play around with this sword some more. Cutting heads off is much more satisfying that just breaking necks," Nuwa replied humbly while swinging the new sword. "I will just use it as a finishing move. Sword Arts are not my style."

"Your Bloodline Ability is powerful enough to handle any foe. It shouldn't be that hard for us to survive here. I thought it would be harder," Wu commented.

"Well, it has a good surprise element as no one expects it, but it should lose its effects once we meet someone stronger. This group was just too weak," Nuwa pointed out honestly, displaying her power by gathering the Storage Rings of all bandits with just a single thought. "I just hope it will be enough for Yiren to protect herself. I forced her to improve her Soul Power. She should be almost comparable to me at this point."

Their Forest Elf Bloodline gave them the ability of Telekinesis. They could use their Soul Power to move objects or, most importantly, control the bodies of their enemies. Being her daughter, Yiren had a similar bloodline while Xuefeng received it after connecting with Yiren, becoming just like them, a Forest Elf.

"Don't worry. Yiren should be alright. Didn't she stay with Xuefeng?" Wu assured, patting Nuwa on the shoulder. "He will protect her until we find them."

Nuwa glanced at Wu's hand but didn't shrug it away. The two didn't interact much before, but after spending some time together, they realized their core values were similar, letting them get along well. Both were dominant, killed when necessary, and knew what they want.

"That's the problem. I have a bad feeling Yiren was separated as well," Nuwa muttered worriedly. "Didn't you notice how the Heavens split us all into groups of two? Would they be allowed to stay in a group of four? I doubt it."

Usually, Nuwa was thick-skinned, and nothing could move her, but she was still a mother. When it came to her daughter, Yiren, she would always take care of and protect her.

"Then let's find them all fast before anything bad happens," Wu suggested as she spun the ring they received from Xuefeng before Ascension. "Xuefeng seems fine so far."

Each of them had one Storage Ring created by Xuefeng with their name on it. Just as the bracelet they made for him, the rings kept beating, sharing Xuefeng's heartbeat. So far, it was mostly steady, letting them be at peace.

"Are you sure your grandpa will help us find them?" Nuwa asked cautiously. "I don't trust him."

Wu's family owned the Trade Union, the most prominent trading organization in both Heaven and Earth Realm. Aside from trade, their investigation business was also booming. Whatever you wanted to find, they will do it as long as the price was right.

"Don't worry. I'm sure my grandpa will stay true to his words. Unless he wants me to hate him, he will fight Xuefeng fairly," Wu assured. Both of them knew how much her grandpa doted on her, but it was still risky. Xuefeng had something that her grandpa coveted for many years.

Elemental Bracelet.

Her grandpa searched for it, planning on gifting it to Wu, yet it turned out she married the man who found it first. Unless he killed Xuefeng, he couldn't recover the Elemental Bracelet. The only way to appease her grandpa was scheduling a fair battle between him and Xuefeng. If Xuefeng was powerful enough, he could keep both Wu and the Elemental Bracelet.

"Alright then…" Nuwa agreed, thinking realistically. "It's not like we have any other choice. There is no way we can find him in such a big realm without any help. Also, there is no way I can handle another two weeks without him."

While crafting the marriage rings, Xuefeng was away for two weeks straight, studying crafting day and night. Unfortunately, it collided with their naughty activities at night. Nuwa didn't know how long she would last with just their last night sex. She made sure to satisfy herself before Ascension, but there could be a long time before they reunite, which might drive her crazy.

"Mhmm, let's go then. We got a compass, so navigating the map should be easy," Wu said confidently, pulling out a circular box with a needle that always pointed at the north.

"Wait," Nuwa stopped her. "I am too hot."

Nuwa grabbed her hood and pulled it back. Her shiny golden strands spilled like water, showing from who did Yiren inherit her prideful hair. If the man on the ground were still alive, he would realize his guess about cold beauties was perfectly adequate.

Nuwa put her palm in front of her face, and the cold wind blew at her, cooling her down.

"Ah… Much better…" Nuwa muttered relaxed. The Fire Land they arrived to seemed to be the hottest of them all, making it a living hell. If not for their cloaks, they would suffer greatly.

Unhooking the buttons of her cloak, Nuwa displayed a clean look, a short white dress that gently fluttered on the wind. One of the reasons they covered themselves was their sexy bodies, which the dresses barely covered, her back and side all bare. They didn't want to bring too much attention, especially with dangers everywhere.

Thud.

With a single stomp, she created a makeshift chair from the earth and leaned on it, letting the cold air cool her whole body.

"Nuwa!" Wu scolded when Nuwa placed her hand under her skirt, blowing in between her legs. "What if someone sees us?"

"Then we will kill them," Nuwa replied casually.

She was still hot, so she began sprinkling cold water on her face. Mastering Elements allowed Cultivators to materialize them. Although it would waste a lot of Qi, they could, for example, create real water from their Water Qi.

Water drops traveled down Nuwa's face, cooling her neck before sinking in her dress. Wu's eyes widened when she saw Nuwa's perky nipples poke through her wet fabric.

"Nuwa! Enough!" Wu called out in panic as she quickly approached, spreading her cloak to cover Nuwa's body. "Where is your bra?!"

Wu's hood dropped in the process, her straight black bangs still coiling around her jawline. She seemed hot as well, her porcelain cheeks already reddened, but it still couldn't match her sharp red lips that stood out at the first look.

With her cloak open, Wu looked like she was exposing her naked body for Nuwa to have a view.

"Hehe, I forgot to wear one," Nuwa replied playfully before leaning forward, poking at Wu's breast. "But you can't criticize me when you don't wear yours as well."

"Well, your dress is lighter, so it will poke through. Mine is from leather, so it's differen— Ah!" Wu argued back only to exclaim. Cold water dripped on her chest as Nuwa skimmed her fingers across her deep cleavage. Nuwa's fingers grazed on the two side boobs, gushing water between her skin and the black leather battle-dress.

Wu couldn't even be mad, experiencing relief from the scorching heat.

"No wonder Xuefeng likes to caress them. They are indeed soft to the touch," Nuwa commented, having a casual feel of Wu's chest before she finally broke the limits, and Wu pulled away.

"You say it as if he didn't make a feast out of yours yesterday," Wu teased back with the roll of her eyes, buttoning her cloak once again. "We couldn't pull him away from you."

It was so hot that just a few seconds was enough to dry their clothes, the Fire Qi in the air doing all the job for them.

Nuwa smirked and took it as praise, "Well, what can I say? Some people just have it, you know?"

"Tsk, I'm going," Wu replied as she flew first.

Nuwa laughed and covered herself as well, following Wu.

She couldn't wait to meet Xuefeng again and dive into his embrace.

Bab 395: 1-10

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