"Haha." Unexpectedly, An Lisha laughed. "Do you remember Claire Hill from the martial arts competition? The one who fought on behalf of the Li clan?"
Bren froze. Clei? Claire! That young man wasn't a young man, but a young woman! Now everything made sense. No wonder a fourth grade magic beast would cower before her. The memory of Claire defeating Hua Yilin was still fresh in his memory. Only fourteen years old, yet already so powerful.
"Alright, you can go. Claire won't take it to heart. To her, it was as easy as lifting her hand. You don't need to stress over it." An Lisha knew that this subordinate of hers always took things seriously and was probably in the middle of fretting over how to repay Claire.
"Yes, Madam An." Bren's heart shook. He bid farewell and then withdrew.
When Bren returned home, he saw his son conversing happily with his two daughters. When they saw him, they stood up.
"Father," Carter greeted.
"Carter, how are you home?" Bren was surprised to suddenly see his son return. If he remembered correctly, his son's break still hadn't arrived yet.
"I returned for some business. Home happened to be along the way." Carter's handsome face smiled.
"Oh, is that so." Bren gazed at his son with content. Carter had become more mature. Although Carter, having joined the Hidden Sect, was unable to become an official, if something happened to his family, he would definitely return to help. "Your strength must have increased quite a bit again." Bren smiled and patted his son's shoulder. Suddenly, a strange thought appeared in his mind. Between his talented son and Claire, who would come out on top? Both were fire attributed magicians.
"Many people are stronger than me still. I must continue to work hard." Carter's expression sharpened. "Father, I heard on your way back, you were in danger, but you were saved by a young man?" Jessica and Mayla had already informed him.
"Haha, not a young man, but a young woman." Bren laughed. "It was the one who defeated Hua Yilin, Claire Hill."
"Oh?" Carter was confused. He had never heard her name before.
However, Jessica and Mayla started exclaiming delightfully.
"Father, is that true? It was really her?"
"It was really her? Father, how could she be here? What a pity, I didn't even get to speak to her!"
The fierce battle that day had left a deep impression in the two girls. That girl had stunned everyone present that day.
Carter was a bit confused seeing how excited his little sisters were. He had never seen them idolize someone else besides him so much before.
"Carter, I still have a memory crystal recording of that battle. You should take a look. Perhaps it will help your cultivation. She is also a fire attributed magician. However, her flame is golden." Bren was unaware of the lasting impact his actions would have.
Once Carter finished watching the memory crystal, his expression became serious.
"Father, can you give me this memory crystal?" Carter's gaze had not left the girl in the magic crystal. He continuously infused magic, replaying the recording over and over.
"Mhm, take it." Bren completely understood why his son requested this. Although his son was very affectionate towards his family members, he was in actuality very arrogant, looking down on everyone. The originally undefeatable Hua Yilin secretly battled with Carter in the past. No one knew what the results were, however Hua Yilin never appeared before Carter again. Later on, Carter was selected by the Hidden Sect and from then on, started on his path of cultivation.
Carter put away the crystal and stood up. "Father, I must go now. I have very serious business this time."
Bren nodded. He understood the ways of the the Hidden Sect. "Go. Be careful now, take care of yourself."
Carter's heart was unable to calm down. The girl in the memory crystal was so entrancing, so stunning he felt his soul shake. The moment her lotuses blossomed, it felt as if time had stopped. Golden colored flames, what kinds of flames were those? Carter's heart throbbed. His hands clenched into fists, loosened, then clenched tightly again.
He wanted to meet her and have a match!
At that moment, Claire had already reached the mysterious island. What she saw made her shocked, but she did not see Feng Yixuan.
The small cabin from before was missing. The entire island was in disarray. Wood chunks were scattered everywhere. The beds, dishes, tables and the like were all over the place. It looked as is the island had gone through a natural disaster.
Currently, the old man, senior Astral Feng, had his back facing her, hammering away. His hair was like a chicken's nest. Was this how a powerful expert was supposed to look like?
The old man cursed under his breath. "That damn brat, he dared to wreck my place like this? Watch it kid, I better give you a lesson for your own good."
Claire's lip twitched.
This mess was created by Feng Yixuan?
"Senior Astral Feng…" Claire called out weakly.
"Oh?" The old man whipped his head around. From his expression, you could plainly see he was not in a good mood and that bothering him was a bad idea.
"What happened?" Claire glanced around at the carnage.
"What happened? That damn brat broke through the ninth level and leveled this place to the ground." The old man waved his hammer in the air angrily, seething.
"Ah…" Claire eyed the half crazed old man. Why was it that although he was throwing a fit, he seemed a little happy?
"Haha, so I kicked him into the Land of Rebirth*. There, powerful people are aplenty. I'll be damned if they don't beat him half to death." The old man laughed heartily, his hands at his hips.
*Literal means "refine with fire space". Anyone have any better ideas, comment down below, I'm at a loss T_T
"Land of Rebirth? What kind of place is that?" It was the first time she had heard of it before.
"It is a very dangerous place, dangerous yet also enticing. It is also a good place to cultivate. I and Si Konglin, that old fox, met there. There, it is a survival of the fittest." The old man's eyes closed, as if he were reminiscing about the past.
Such a place existed? How come she had never heard of it before?
"Why have I never heard or read about it before?"
"Haha, little girl, of course you wouldn't know. You cannot enter that world without reaching a certain level of strength. That world is completely different from this one. Everything is based on strength and power." The old man sat down. He set aside the hammer and looked at Claire. "Little girl, what did you come here for?"
"I… I have been thoroughly stuck at the eighth level of the Treasured Lotus Style, so I came here to ask for senior's advice…" Claire bit her lip, revealing her true goal.
"Do you know the fastest way to become strong?" The old man's expression sharpened.
Claire remained silent. She stared at the senior.
"The fastest way is to continuously fight against people even stronger than you. Only on the brink of death can you trigger your true potential," the old man said simply.
"But if you can't?"
"Then you die," the old man said plainly, as if it were obvious. Claire fell silent. What kind of a method was this?
But Claire thought back to when she had faced Hua Yiling. It was at that moment, so close to death, when she suddenly instantaneously comprehended the eighth level of the Treasured Lotus Style.
"That damn brat had also reached a bottleneck, so I sent them there. Whether or not he can return depends on himself." The old man yawned, finally revealing the true reason why he had sent Feng Yixuan away. He looked at Claire, his head crooked. "You have also reached a bottleneck. Will you go? I cannot give you any pointers for the Treasured Lotus Style because it was invented by that old fox. I don't know about his current whereabouts either, in any case."
"I'll go." Claire did not waver at all.
"Haha, not bad, little girl!" The old man stood up, laughing heartily. "I'll send you now. That fellow hasn't been there for long, so you two should be able to meet."
Without further ado, the old man quickly constructed a magic formation on the ground with numerous ores from his interspatial ring. An eight star magic formation!
"Be careful when you're there. If you two want to return, you must reach the highest mountain peak. There is a teleportation formation there, but reaching there is not easy. Once you're there, you'll understand." The old man started to activate the magic formation. White light glowed, becoming brighter and brighter.
Claire nodded. "Yes." She stepped into the center of the formation. The white light enveloped Claire's body, and then she disappeared.
"Aiya~ya, I wasted so many ores again," the old man cried out, looking at the used up ores on the ground. Able to power teleportation spells, the ores were priceless, not something money could buy. Of course, the Temple of Light owned some as well, but they were only used in times of emergency. However, although they were so precious, the senior was able to use them quite readily.
The old man sad down. He looked around at the mess. Quietly, he murmured, "I believe the two of you can definitely return."
Claire only felt the sensation of floating before everything went black. When she could see again, her surroundings were completely different. She was in the middle of a lush forest. But before she could look at her surroundings more closely, a yell caught her attention.
"Stinkin' brat, not knowing what's good for you. Me taking a fancy of you is lucky for you!" an unknown voice cried, piercing and full of anger.
On the other hand, the replying voice was quite familiar…