Zhang Dong returned to the ship after crushing the demonic stone into dust. This was the third one that he had received. It was looking good on the outside but the search was slowly coming to an end. These monsters weren't that hard to kill, finding them was the hard part.
The massive protective barrier that separated the continent of the races from the demonic lands was an issue. These demonic lords had a hard time coming through to this side. He was already lucky that he managed to get to three of them in such a short amount of time.
Even this Demon Lord of Terror was more of a fluke. The only reason that they found him was that his senses had expanded and he was able to sense a big spike of demonic energies. The cultists were also quite bad at hiding their tracks as they picked off people from close by villages without bothering to hide their tracks. Anyone that was lucky to be leftover was quick to report their movements to the authorities.
"Bob, with this one what are the chances of returning back to my sector?"
"The chances are 17,78%"
Each nucleus had a different amount of energy which then increased the percentage by a random amount. It seemed that the stronger the Archdemon was the more percentages he would get.
He had already asked Bob about the way back home. It wasn't as hard for him to actually do it at this very moment. He would only need to design the proper teleportation formation and then focus all of the energies he had gained onto it.
When he activated it he would be blasted to the same path between worlds. That would be where the absorbed nuclei would come into place. The energy from them would be required to tether himself back to his own world. As someone that was an owner of a body that belonged there, he would be able to materialize there without being a spirit like here.
He required these cubes to be sure that he would make the journey back home. Depending on where he initially started out in, it would require more energy to find the connection. Then even more to make it.
Bob even told him that if he was able to reach a realm above the nascent soul level then the cubes wouldn't be required as much. He would be able to travel between worlds of his own accord. This was something that he couldn't wait for, even getting to the great circle of the nascent soul level would take many years. Even more in a world without spiritual energy but mana that wasn't that suited for his cultivation.
This is why he needed to get as many of the nuclei from this world as he could. Otherwise, he could be lost between worlds forever. He was lucky enough to come in contact with this world during Beatrice's summoning. The next time he tried there could be no Beatrice to pull himself to, then he would be left out in the void and die alone.
"Twin Saint Priestesses! We are saved!"
His attention turned to the two girls that were sweating. Their teamwork had gotten better and he was able to keep his form for longer while also adding more power. Ever since the first demon lord was killed rumors had been spreading about their adventures.
He was doing most of the heavy lifting in sensing the Archdemons and actually battling them one on one. On the other hand, he as a summoned spirit was pushed into the background while the two Summoners that used him were at the forefront. Everyone praised them as the Twin Saint Priestesses or the Golden Saints. There were various other nicknames but the two were now very popular with the common people.
Due to him requiring the Archdemon gems they traveled through the continent to demon-infested regions. They cleared them out one by one while watching out for the demon lords. Though he was doing most of the 'clearing out' by disintegrating the demons with his lightning.
'The ungrateful life of the summoned spirit… I wonder why you do it…'
Zhang Dong looked at a water nymph that belonged to Isabella. Since the soul resonance, he could also access the other girl's soul. Through it he could actually interact with the spirit she made a contract with.
This spirit in particular had the appearance of a beautiful woman but regretfully he couldn't converse with her well. He wanted to know more about the spirit realm as he wasn't really part of it. This spirit wasn't that chatty though and also could only perform basic commands. Due to his massive strength, she also saw him as someone to be listened to. He could actually overwrite Isabella's commands that she placed on this spirit.
After pulling the spirit into his own soul realm he had it interact with his soul beast. The dragon was actually happy to have someone else to play with. Though this water nymph wasn't that fond of him and mostly turned to water whenever the big guy tried bothering her.
'Hey, you two. Get some rest and let us return to the city. The mana engine needs to be refilled.'
He vanished after taking care of the Archdemon and left the two girls to tend to the crowd. With them around, he wouldn't need to interact with the crowd at least.
The academy life was over for now and they returned to a large city of Elfheim. This was this country's capital and was the largest city in this world. Even though it was the biggest, the population was only at about two million. His own Spirit Spring City that he hailed from was way bigger. This world's size and population was a lot smaller than the sun-sized world he came from.
With time the ship arrived at the dock. Thanks to something akin to a magic floating stone it was able to remain up in the air. The mana engine was only needed for the propulsion speed while this strange rock kept it afloat.
This place had been their base of operations. The Principal was an influential magic user, she gifted them her villa as a place to stay along with the Vice-Principal as help. The old man was necessary to get things going. Without someone with some status it would be impossible to just fly around the whole continent unchecked.
Isabella's father had also supplied them with many guards for protection. With them around, he could safely battle the demons while the girls concentrated on lending him mana.
"Glad that you have returned."
Elobarin greeted the two girls along with Zhang Dong that was saving his energy in his smaller form.
"You should go rest, I bet the battle was hard-fought."
"Not really, I think he was weaker than the last one. The ritual that those cultists were performing was incomplete."
Zhang Dong replied while the Vice Principal chuckled. The old man wasn't as afraid of him as he was previously. Leigong was now seen as a force for good and a powerful being that aided the people of the races. He knew that people talked behind his back, telling everyone that he was quite eccentric.
"Is that so…"
Elobarin rubbed his beard while chuckling but then looked to Zhang Dong as if he was worried about something.
"Is there something more?"
"Ah yes, there is such a thing but we shouldn't talk about it here, let us return."
Zhang Dong raised his eyebrow but nodded. The soul resonance wasn't such an easy technique to perform. The girls were always tired afterward and needed at least a day to sleep it off before returning to normal.
While moving down from these flying ship docks he looked at the city once more. There were various smaller devices flying around, not all in the form of a ship. There were also people like witches, magical beasts, various types of golems moving back and forth between everywhere. It looked quite busy, flight seemed to be a lot easier here than back home, probably thanks to items like the floating stone used in the ship.
They all returned to the villa that the Principal provided for them. It was nothing compared to his own house back home but in this world, it would be considered quite large. Inside there were many maids with dog and cat ears alike. This time around they weren't demons but just regular women.
There was a barracks for the knights to stay in as well as a field for their training. They would normally head out for a week to scan the areas for potential demons. Though the one doing the scanning was him. The range he was able to monitor had increased but he wasn't able to find any spots with more cubes. The only clue that he had were the Archedemons but after taking out three the trail started getting cold.
"Are there any news about more Demons? We should rest up and head out tomorrow if it's possible."
Zhang Dong declared while the two sleepy girls yawned. They were inside the main room of this mansion with a few other people that joined them on this journey.
"The young miss has to rest, there is no news of the demonic presence, we have done enough for now."
Elobarin replied while scratching his beard. Zhang Dong on the other hand was a bit anxious about no news of any demonic lords around. It has been a month since they left the academy and he wasn't even close to getting all of the nuclei.
"Now now, there is no rush. Let us talk about other news, a letter from the royal castle arrived. They wish to invite young Beatrice and Isabella to the yearly royal ball."
"The royal ball?"
Beatrice, who was almost asleep, opened up her eyes wide after hearing this news. Isabella on the other hand narrowed them as if she wasn't that keen on going there.
"The ball…"
"Mr. Leigong we must go, all the members of the royal family will be there… what should I wear…'
Beatrice started bouncing around as if the previous drowsiness didn't exist. Soon both she and Isabella left to discuss some lady business. Zhang Dong on the other hand was left with Elobarin.
"Will the king be there?"
"Yes, he will but please you must not be rude to the king! That man's temperament is something no one can control!"
The old man started panicking while looking at Zhang Dong who just raised an eyebrow.
"Have I ever been rude to anyone before?"
"Well, there was that one time when…"
"It was a rhetorical question! More importantly, the king is the person that could help me battle the Archdemons, maybe even organize a preemptive strike..."
"P-preemptive strike?"
Elobarin started panicking even more. Attacking the side of the demons was something that he didn't think was possible but for Zhang Dong the time was ticking. He couldn't wait months or years for the monsters to decide to attack.
"Yes, we bring the fight to them… Don't worry, I'll speak to him myself."
"T-that's why I'm worried…"
The old man called out while Zhang Dong shrugged and vanished into his own soul realm. While waiting for this royal ball he would continue his cultivation.