It was dusk. The sun had almost disappeared into the horizon. The sky was red and orange. It was quite serene.
Mah Qi is standing on the ledge of a cliff, gazing at the horizon, deeply in thought. Jun Haru, Si Yu, and Yang Zhai are cultivating.
"Father… I miss you. I hope you're doing fine!"
Two lines of tears streaked down her face.
"Sister Mah, why are you crying?"
Li Na was sitting on the side of the ledge and saw her crying.
"Huh? Nothing…"
She hurriedly wipes her tears. It seems like she just noticed Li Na.
"Do you love your father so much…? Why did you come with us then?"
"Father, huh?... I am not even sure whether to call him my father or not. Anyway, I need to cultivate,"
Mah Qi didn't want to speak with Li Na anymore. She was not too comfortable with starting a conversation with strangers.
"You know what… you at least have a father to miss, I don't even have that," said Li Na.
She is waving her legs while sitting on the edge of the ledge. There is no worry on her face as if she doesn't care for her father. In fact, she is enjoying the fresh air.
Mah Qi stops in her tracks after hearing Li Na.
She turns around and looks at Li Na. She can only see Li Na's back.
"What do you mean?"
Mah Qi inquires.
"What I mean is that my father went missing when I was a child. I don't even remember his face. In fact, even Si Yu's father went missing exactly at the same time. I am sure even he doesn't remember his face. Sometimes we even suspect… that our father might be the same man."
Mah Qi's eyes narrowed.
"I also lost my mother a few months ago. Si Yu and I don't have anyone other than Brother Fen now." Li Na looks at the red sky and says.
"Why are you telling me this?" Mah Qi asks.
Li Na stands up, brushes the dust off her clothes with her hands, turns around, and walks over to Mah Qi.
She looks up at Mah's face and smiles, saying,
"What I am saying is that I was a mere mortal, having no one on my side except for Si Yu. To be honest, I hated all the cultivators in the world, and I still do so—except for Brother Fen—even you. But, you know what, I am still willing to work with you. This is how much I trust Brother Fen."
Li Na stops for a while before continuing,
"What I am saying is that you should also try to trust him. For the past few days, I have observed that you have been unusually quiet and have been making an effort to avoid us, especially Brother Fen."
"I don't know what happened to you, but I am sure it was no small thing. However, if Brother Fen asks us to coordinate with each other, it means that it might be needed in the near future. If you really wish to meet your father again, I suggest that you place your trust in Brother Fen, as we do."
"At the very least, you can try, right? Only he knows what we are going to do in the future and where we are going. If you aren't comfortable around Brother Fen, perhaps you can feel more at ease with me. We can certainly have conversations, can't we?"
Li Na said with a smile. She went back and sat down to cultivate after saying this.
Mah Qi looks at Li Na.
The daylight disappeared and the sky turned dark. The sky was filled with beautiful dots. The stars were clearly visible from this cliff.
There were no clouds in the sky blocking the view.
Yang Zhai was cultivating with his eyes closed. The Last One was standing behind him, guarding him. He was passing the sun's rays from one line to the other, connecting them.
I wonder how much time will it take for the aperture to turn into a Black Sun. My recovery speed for the void rays would double if I had a second sun, along with my cultivation speed: Yang Zhai reflected.
"We will soon reach the territory of the Water Hounds, I need to be prepared." He murmurs.
"Yang Zhai…"
Yang Zhai hears his name and opens his eyes.
He looks in the direction his name came from and sees Mah.
"Oh, it's you."
"Can you tell me how to advance to rank 4?!"
Mah said with hesitation.
This was a surprise to him.
I thought it would take longer for her to feel at ease around me, but this was a surprise.
These were his thoughts.
It wasn't that Mah Qi had a weak personality; in fact, her personality was very strong. She was simply not accustomed to the outside world or its people, except for her close ones. It could be said to be the teachings she received, but her mother was the exact opposite.
"Are you sure you want to advance to rank 4?"
Yang Zhai confirmed once again.
"Yes, I definitely want to. Don't you think a stronger self of myself would be more useful to you?!"
Mah was determined.
"Very well, listen carefully. I will explain it to you twice. After that, you can ask me what you don't understand."
Mah Qi nodded after listening to Yang Zhai.
"Good, now listen. Advancing from rank 3 to rank 4 is a death game. After you begin, there is no going back and you must break through at all costs. What you need to do is…"
Yang Zhai starts to explain the process of advancing to rank 4.
"So, did you get everything?"
Yang Zhai and Mah Qi are sitting two meters apart, facing each other.
"I think so. But how can I control the void to create a shield that will defend against the lines?" Mah Qi asked.
"About this, practice it for a few days before attempting to break through. After you manage to create the shield, you only need a thought to move the shield wherever you want. During all this, your focus is the most crucial thing."
"I think I get it. I will start practicing then, thank you for the help,"
After saying this, Mah Qi stood up and left.
If she can't break through to rank 4, then she doesn't deserve to accompany me and would be better off dead. But considering that she will end up becoming a spirit, it shouldn't be difficult for her: Yang Zhai contemplated.
Yang Zhai stood up. It walks to the edge of the ledge and looks in a certain direction. It seems like he is thinking of something.
"It should work. We have a long journey ahead. These guys need to know the cruelty of the world as well as my value," he mutters with indifference.
A few more days passed. Yang Zhai and the others were traveling through a deep lush forest.
"Oh no, It's not in my storage bracelet!!"
Yang Zhai suddenly shouts and stops.
As he was leading the group, everyone stopped as he did.
"Brother Yang, what is it?" Jun Haru inquires.
"Do you remember the Kroy City's token I took from the Ma clan?!" Yang Zhai looks at Jun Haru and asks.
"Uh, yeah, I do. How could I forget that moment?! The whole crowd was shocked when the Ma clan suddenly started betting on you, even I was! But I still don't understand why you would want a token over everything the Ma clan was ready to give you; they were quite a lot?" Jun Haru said with an excited and confused tone.
"Brother Fen, what token?" Si Yu asked.
As Mah Qi, Si Yu, and Li Na were not present on the day of the final round, they didn't know what happened that day.
"I took it out to examine it a few hours ago when we were resting. I placed it in my pocket as we were in a hurry. However, it's nowhere to be found."
Yang Zhai looks anxious.
"What!!!!" Jun Haru was shocked.
This token was the only thing Yang Zhai took from the Ma clan. It was not ordinary, but Yang Zhai lost it.
"We should go back and look for it." Si Yu hurriedly suggested.
"I am sure it fell on my way here, and not where we were resting. I will go back and look for it myself, it will be quicker that way. You guys, keep moving forward. You can't stay here as this place is dangerous. Know this, keep moving straight, and do not stop. After finding that token, I will try to catch up with you guys as quickly as possible."
"But, brother, I feel like we should come with you and not get separated in the deep forest."
Jun Haru and the others were hesitant.
"No, you can't. I am a Rank 4 cultivator and also a body cultivator. If I take you guys, you will only slow me down. Also, you can't waste your energy like this. Keep going straight, and I will catch up to you as soon as possible."
"But, what if we get lost and you can't find us?" Li Na asked with worry.
"Don't worry. If you keep going straight, you should come across a cliff with two ledges. Wait for me there. Also, cook something while you are at it. But remember, do not stop. Now, go."
After saying this, Yang Zhai turned around and left.
The others were hesitant but did as Yang Zhai told them to. They turn around and continue their journey. Yang Zhai had strictly warned them not to stay here, so they didn't want to wait here for him.
"I wonder how is Yang Zhai familiar with the outside world? If I am not wrong, he stayed in the Bai clan his whole life," Mah Qi mutters, confused.
However, Jun Haru heard this and replied,
"About that... I asked Brother Yang once, and he said that he likes to read and is quite familiar with many things. He also told me that he had a friend who liked to travel a lot and used to tell stories about his journeys to Brother Yang."
"Forget about that. Tell us, what is this about a token?" Si Yu asked Jun Haru with excitement.
He resembled a child eager to hear tales about his hero.
/!*****!*****!/