After the abrupt acceleration, the girls on Yasenia's back got protected by her aura from most of the momentum created by her speeding body.
However, if they didn't protect themselves, the remaining shock was sufficient to throw them out of her back.
Now that Yasenia was in movement, they carried the same momentum as her so they could easily keep their footing.
The rest of the people also accelerated and tried to catch up to the two speeding targets, but they couldn't do so.
"My heavens, what's that speed?"
"She also looks nonchalant."
"Right? Her wings are not flapping that quickly."
"To fly fast, you don't have to become a hummingbird."
"Pfft."
After activating the Talisman, Jorey's speed more than tripled. Yasenia felt her approaching and smirked. Then, she activated [Celestial Dress]. Her dragon body was covered in an ethereal cosmic mist, and her overall strength increased further.
Then, with another abrupt acceleration, Yasenia sped into the distance, leaving Jorey in the dust.
Jorey looked at the giant dragon shrinking in the distance and laughed. "It seems I'll have to prepare a list of interesting merchandise when I return."
Our dragoness's enormous wings didn't flap rapidly as they moved majestically at a moderate pace.
Yasenia smiled relaxedly as she flew quickly. The feeling of freely moving in the air was a wonderful sensation. 'I feel like I should've done this before. I've truly been missing out.'
"Woohoo! Yasenia, you are so fast!" Angel excitedly shouted.
Evelyn laughed and commented. "I didn't expect this speed! The surroundings are all blurred."
"Hmm, my love is swift." They were startled as this cold voice belonged to someone that shouldn't be keeping up.
They turned their heads and saw Cecile's phoenix body keeping up with the speeding Yasenia, her enormous silver wings flapping at a synchronized pace with Yasenia and her long tails fluttering elegantly behind her back.
The wind around her seemed to push her forward as her wings were set aflame by the freezing white fire.
Cecile had used most of her buffing skills to keep up with Yasenia. They were [Moon Feather Enhancement], [Lunar Flame Enhancement], and [Hollow Moon Steps]. She had learned and mastered these three skills during her stay in the Secret Realm.
The first one enhanced her speed, maneuverability, and feather resilience. Not only that, in her human form, it would give her sword hardness equal to a Heaven-ranked shield, making them a wonderful overall improvement in strength.
The second one coated her whole body in her [Lunar Fire], which also boosted her strength and other physical qualities besides giving her the skill to use the freezing fire. In her human form, she could fire arrows coated in this fire and even blow fire tornadoes using her wind element in combination.
The third skill was her movement technique. In her human form, Cecile would be able to not only increase her speed several times over, but she could literally step in the air to move agilely in the air or while fighting on the ground. It was one of the few exceptions that allowed a cultivator to fight in the air before arriving at the higher cultivation realms.
In her beast form, the technique would make her flying speed much swifter and also increase her ability to use Moon-related skills. As archery was not an option in her phoenix form, Cecile used projectiles and physical attacks to fight.
Meanwhile, Yasenia looked at her and smirked. 'As expected. My sweetheart is too talented, after all.'
If you thought about it, besides the awakening of Celestial Energy, Cecile and Yasenia had had similar experiences. A rebirth of the body and bloodline, increased strength based on the new potential, and absorbed powerful treasures. It was the [Void Soul Phoenix Tear] in Cecile's case.
Cecile still lacked unlocking an intent, but she was very close to understanding a few.
Understanding something like that was not a matter of a month or two. They would already be very powerful if they could unlock one after a year of practice.
Remember that Yasenia was forty-five years old, while Cecile, Kali, Angel, and Evelyn had less than thirty years of age. Andrea was also more than ten years younger than Yasenia.
Yasenia commented. "Sweetheart, we both can still go faster. Let's have a real race later."
Cecile's beak arched, and she looked sideways. Her cold voice sounded provocative. "Why not now, my love? Are you scared?"
Yasenia snorted. "We have to leave a bit of face for Jorey, after all. Would I maintain this moderate pace if it weren't for her?"
Cecile chuckled and began flying in circles around Yasenia. Cecile's tone was still indifferent as she spoke with a bit of pampering. "Sure, sure. My snail dragon wants to keep face. Who am I to say no?"
They all felt their lips twitching. 'This is too much.'
They wouldn't think much if she circled in a circular motion around Yasenia. But the circling movement was horizontal, meaning Cecile was overcoming and letting Yasenia overcome her while making circles around her!
Yasenia rolled her eyes, and the next time Cecile overcame her, she sped up a bit and bit the Phoenix Tail.
*QYA!*
The Phoenix let out a soft cry that resonated in their ears.
Then, Cecile looked back with reproachful eyes. "Love, don't bite. I can still feel through it."
Yasenia laughed aloud.
Cecile snorted and swiftly flew below Yasenia to bite her belly with her beak.
*Roar!*
Yasenia was not prepared and roared, interrupting her laugh.
"Now you've done it!"
Cecile saw the dragoness's claws trying to swoop down to catch her and barrel-rolled out of her reach.
Yasenia snorted and flapped her wings vigorously to follow behind.
Cecile extended her wings and abruptly decelerated, making Yasenia miss her for a wide margin. "My love, you are too clumsy to catch me."
"We'll see about that. Dears, grab onto me strongly." They all obeyed and prepared for the wild ride.
Cecile overcame her while looking at her with a provocative smile, and Yasenia flapped to speed up and catch up.
Yasenia's front claw was about to grab the silver phoenix when the majestic feathered creature sharply increased her altitude.
This time, Yasenia anticipated the movement and also angled her wings to catch up to her quickly. Yasenia grabbed Cecile's talons before she could dodge them again.
"Hahaha, gotcha. How about you catch me now?"
Yasenia then used her energy to accelerate and speed past the silver phoenix.
Cecile and Yasenia began playing catch and bothering each other flight as they flew far away from Jorey.
The other girls felt the world spinning and flashing by and laughed aloud in excitement.
Cecile finally caught up with Yasenia and managed to touch her with her wing. Yasenia hastily turned around and followed the silver phoenix.
Angel cheered. "Get her, Yasenia!"
Andrea laughed. "Don't make us look bad, Cecile! Teach the dragoness a lesson! Don't let her grab you again!"
Kali saw Yasenia touching Cecile's wing again and laughed. "Hahaha, Yasenia got you again, Cecile."
Soft dragon roars and Phoenix cries echoed together with the laughter and cheers of the other girls.
Yasenia was touched again and spoke. "Sweetheart, let's play around this area. The minute has passed, and we should wait for the others. The loser will be the one that is caught last after Jorey arrives."
Cecile flapped and elevated her altitude. Yasenia quickly followed.
While dodging Yasenia, Cecile was touched by Yasenia's tail.
Cecile hastily extended her wing to make an abrupt change in direction, but the dragoness could dodge her.
When Jorey caught up moments later, she viewed this endearing image of the Phoenix and Dragon dance.
Her eyes glittered as a smile spread on her lips. "Truly wonderful creatures."
Yasenia looked sideways, and Cecile took advantage of that second to land on her back. Yasenia was stunned and dived down for a few hundred meters before she regained control.
"Ah! Sweetheart, be careful! You'll squish my other dears!"
They were high up in the air, so there was no danger.
The girls on Yasenia's back didn't suffer as Cecile avoided them cleverly. Moreover, they were all near Yasenia's front, a few of them standing on her head.
"We are okay, Yasenia." Spoke Angel.
"Cecile, my girl, you are freezing, like, literally." Commented Evelyn.
"I'm a Moon Phoenix, Evelyn. What did you expect? For me to be warm?"
Andrea snorted. "At least not as cold as you are. Look, my breath is condensing."
Andrea exhaled to prove her point.
Cecile didn't move and rode the dragon with a triumphant smile. "Either way, I win~."
Yasenia was flapping on the spot, not moving, and gazed at her with a pampering gaze. "Sure, sure. It is this dragoness's loss. What does my sweetheart want as a reward?"
Cecile tilted her bird head and commented. "Carry me until the next city!"
Yasenia laughed. "Sure, sure. I'm willing to carry you all the way until Torrent City If you want."
Jorey arrived and exclaimed. "I really had no chance. You left me in the dust."
Yasenia and Cecile turned their heads, and Yasenia answered. "Well, for our future friendship, I'll let you know that I don't gamble without being certain of winning. Gambling without clear chances is not something I like to do."
Jorey crossed her arms before her chest, her tail swishing, her ears flickering with evident annoyance. "If we were friends, you would have said this before the race!"
Yasenia chuckled and didn't answer.
Jorey's gaze moved toward the Phoenix riding the dragon. "Say, Lady Cecile. I think I've seen your race in books, but I want to confirm. Are you a [Moon Phoenix]?"
When she heard Jorey's question, Cecile was observing Yasenia's draconic features, which were highly charming to her.
Naturally, our phoenix only had the dragoness in her eyes, so she was annoyed at being interrupted by Jorey's questions while enjoying looking at Yasenia.
Her cold and indifferent phoenix eyes turned to look at the fox and coldly spat. "It's none of your concern."
Jorey's lips twitched. 'She must be. The legend says that Moon Phoenix are not interested in anything besides their lover and strength. However, how is it possible for a Moon Phoenix to appear here?'
Jorey floated with her sword before Yasenia and asked. "Can I touch your scales? I've been quite eager to do so since I saw you."
Yasenia nodded. "Sure, but go to my side. I don't want you to be near my neck."
Jorey nodded. "Right, a dragon's reverse scale. It's quite a shame that your race is plagued by that weakness."
Yasenia lifted her eyebrow. "If it weren't for that weakness, we would dominate the world easily.
The rest of the group arrived soon after.