In the Treasure Land, Cecile and the others just arrived at Yasenia's side. They had been nearby because of Cecile's previous warning, so their arrival coincided with Sarah's beast lovers' approach.
Cecile, who was burning with anger after she saw Yasenia's bloodied body, looked at them with anger. However, knowing more or less what happened due to the connection with Yasenia, she didn't say anything nor snap at them.
She had seen that these four had gone against Sarah and even helped Yasenia. Her anger was primarily due to her inability to help and the fact that Sarah's situation was unknown.
To the girls' surprise, the one who spoke with anger filled in her voice was Andrea. "Hey, where are the other humans?"
The girls were also angry but slightly surprised because Andrea, who usually was very rational and took things slowly, now looked scary.
Her face had a scowl, and plums of fire were swirling around her figure while her arms tightly but gently hugged Yasenia.
Andrea was scared. She had seen Yasenia hurt in the past, but she knew that this time, it was closer than ever. The reason was that when she arrived, Tatyana was tightly hugging Yasenia before she released her.
However, the attentive Andrea saw that the tight embrace meant more than usual, which made her heart twist. The thought of losing the gorgeous dragoness between her arms made her insides churn with pain and anger.
"Darling~."
Andrea looked down and used her hand to wipe a bit of the blood on Yasenia's face. "Don't worry, love. We will take care of everything from now on. Just relax in my arms."
The dragoness blinked cutely once and then smiled brightly, snuggling in Andrea's wide arms and burying her nose in her neck. The strong scent of her Darling made her relax and close her eyes, and before she knew it, tiredness hit her mind. Feeling secure in Andrea's arms, she relaxed and clung to her. 'Darling's arms are so nice~.'
Andrea naturally accommodated her, and she glared at the four beast humans. "Hey, I've asked something. Answer."
The four of them frowned when the human glared at them. However, the impact of her piercing gaze made them recoil.
Even when they had just gone through heartbreak because of a human, they couldn't help but feel intimidated.
It was Paledora who answered. "We don't know. We just arrived here."
Kali squinted and asked. "Are you sure? I have methods to make you speak the truth even if you don't want to."
Paledora had nothing to hide, so she nodded. "Yes. At least, I know nothing about them."
Kali looked at the others and asked. "What about you?"
Harmony, Dorian, and Lana shook their heads.
Angel spoke while standing right next to Andrea and Yasenia. "They are telling the truth."
Our girls frowned, and Du Xian approached, timidly intervening. "Um, I think I saw one of them in that direction."
Before they could say anything more, Evelyn's body was surrounded by lightning bolts, and she rapidly rushed in that direction.
Lana spoke timidly. "Um, Yasenia, we didn't know, so…"
Andrea asked sharply, not having it. "Didn't you initially come to mess with her? Angel has narrated the entire sequence of events to us, so don't act as if you are suddenly innocent. The reason Yasenia is like this is because you didn't stop Sarah to begin with."
The four of them opened their mouths, but they couldn't really say anything.
Even if they said. 'We were deceived.' That doesn't take away from the fact that they came here with the intent to fight, or if not, the intent of protecting Sarah from Yasenia in case something happened.
Of course, protecting one's lover when they do something is not bad, but the problem here was that they all thought Yasenia had something to do with Lea after Sarah spoke.
Instead of trusting the Sect Master, who had proved her character many times, and asking Sarah to clarify or at least to put forth evidence that something happened, they all came at Yasenia like rabid dogs, ready to bite if Sarah asked for it.
From the beginning, they didn't question Sarah. Therefore, they had nothing to say to Andrea's sharp words.
Evelyn returned a second later, carrying four bodies with her.
Then, she threw them forward, and they tumbled on the ground. "Here are Lea, Bai Ling, Su Ling Shi, and Astarea." Then, she spoke. "After taking into account Lillian, whom Yasenia killed at first, and Soraia, whom Angel killed later. They are all dead. It seems that they got involved in the shockwave and died."
Harmony and the others looked at the four corpses, and their hearts twitched. Even if they hated them, these people had shared their bed not long ago.
Laurina asked. "Little sister Yasenia, what are you going to do?"
Yasenia languidly opened her eyes from Andrea's embrace, reluctant to speak. Andrea's hand caressed her hair and scalp, making her almost purr in delight. At the same time, Valeria was by her side, analyzing her body with Kali, and their soft Life energies were extremely comfortable as they swam in her body.
If she weren't considering where she was, she would be groaning and purring, spoiled while sprawling herself all over them.
However, she made an effort and looked at the four beast humans. "They have zero animosity. Let them be. After all, while Sarah's situation is unknown, I doubt they are stupid enough to get together with her again. The fact that they fought against them and now look honestly apologetic is enough to atone. Of course, their 'Core Sect Elder' status in the sect will be revoked for ten years, reducing it to 'Outer Sect Elder.' But after that, I don't care."
While ten years sounded like a lot, it was not that long, especially if you considered a cultivator's longevity.
The four beast humans smiled widely and bowed deeply. "We thank the Sect Master! We will work to make up for today's blunders!"
Yasenia looked at them for a few seconds and commented. "Without Sarah's key, you can't continue the competition, right?"
Paledora, the tall and mature dog woman, spoke. "It's a shame. While our points might be slightly lagging behind, as only Sarah made it to the top fifty in the third event, we still have the three tickets. We were waiting for the final event to cash them in and try to aim for the top fifty."
The dragoness pondered. "Can you give them to us? This way, we can guarantee our top fifty position. Also, if you have any [Library Tickets], it would be fine…" Then, her lazy attitude cheered up. "Speaking of treasures. What are our gains?"
The girls, who were still worried, couldn't help but laugh and look tenderly at her.
Evelyn smiled. "Here, their four spatial rings."
Angel also smiled and approached. "This is Soraia's spatial ring!"
Yasenia got the five rings, and her long and charming dragon tail began waging. "Nice!"
Tatyana also approached and gave her the spatial ring of the person she killed while waiting for Sarah to come. "Here, I waited until now to give it to you."
Yasenia's smile widened while her tail wags quickened. "Another one? Lucky!"
The beast human present couldn't help but feel their hearts squeeze. 'She is too cute!'
Then, the dragoness looked at the four beast-human ex-lovers, and they approached to give her one [Library Ticket] each. "Good, good. With this, if we add our library tickets, we have 30 of them!"
Tatyana took two more and gave them to Yasenia. "32, actually."
Yasenia blinked, confused. "Where do these ones come from."
Tatyana's eyes shone playfully. "I found them on the side of the road."
Everyone thought. 'Who would believe that?'
Well, they forgot the existence of one person.
"Really!? You are so lucky, Mom!"
Many lips and eyebrows twitched.
Yasenia finally separated from Andrea, and out of habit, she stretched, only to groan in pain. "Ouch!"
Valeria bonked her head. "What are you doing? We haven't healed you completely."
Yasenia smiled, embarrassed. "Sorry."
Then, she spoke. "Only a few hours left until the Treasure Land closes. Let's do the remaining search together. You four, Harmony, Dorian, Lana, and Paledora, also stick together and continue exploring the secret realm. If, before it finishes, you manage to find more [Library Tickets], come to me. People probably still remember you as Golden Key holders, so there might be a few greedy people who target you."
Paledora asked. "Sect Master, should we kill them?"
Yasenia looked at her strangely. "If they endanger you, why shouldn't you kill them?" Then, Yasenia said seriously. "Also, remember that if you are much stronger, you must hold back a bit and try not to damage the spatial ring. Extra treasures never are bad!"
Paledora coughed and nodded, thinking how the other person would've been very against the idea. 'They are truly different.' Her eyes moved toward the four corpses and thought. 'If we had any thoughts of revenge, we would've probably joined them.'
For the rest of the hours in the Treasure Land, our girls managed to get quite a few peak-level Earth and low-level Heaven-ranked volcanic treasures and fauna to add to Yasenia's ring, making its environment even livelier.
However, while our girls treasure hunted, something was moving outside the Secret Realm.
A few top figures from the strongest powers gathered in a large room.
"It seems that there have been three Golden Keys this time. It's unprecedented."
"Who are the owners?"
"The Astral Sky Clan owns two of them, and the last one is owned by [Lion Mane Wolf Hounds], a second-rate sect."
A tall and extremely handsome wolf-man slammed the table. "They are too greedy! Why should we respect them even if they are a new first-rate power? On the contrary, them getting these treasures would make us seem as if we are being disdained!"
"Patriarch of the [Steel Back Wolves], behave yourself." A woman's cold and ethereal voice pressured the entire place, making everyone's faces harden.
However, unlike usual, the man smiled, showing his fangs. "Linghui Mingyu! As the Mermaid Queen, you should know that there have been deaths on your part by them. How about we talk together over tea in my den and discuss how to flatten them?"
However, there was no answer from her.
"Am I being ignored?" A white-feathered charming woman spoke coldly.
However, the Steel Back Wolf Patriarch seemed strangely unafraid and mocked. "Tengliu, why are you so hell-bent on supporting them? Is it even worth it? Or did you fall in love with that dragon? I wouldn't blame you for that, though. I really want to make her groan under me."
Tengliu, instead of being provoked, she laughed. "Ignorance is bliss."
At the same time, another woman spoke. "Patriarch, be mindful."
Fu Lang Zu, the wolf Patriarch, ignored Tengliu. "Zephyrith, don't speak so coldly. We will marry in a few years, so you must become more gentle with me."
Zephyrith looked at him coldly for a second and then spoke flatly. "Regardless, if you keep purposely provoking them, you'll bite off more than you can chew. As your wife-to-be, I don't want to become a widow even before Marriage."
"Hahaha! You are as sharp-mouthed as ever."
"Have you already acted enough?"
A man's deep voice spread, and the wolf Patriarch stopped speaking, looking seriously at the man with four jaded wings who had just spoken.
Then, the leader of the thirty-three clans spoke. "Once they are outside, we will demand the Astral Sky Clan to release half their treasures. While it's true that outright stealing from them is not ideal, we can manipulate the public into thinking that they are being greedy if we don't ask for everything. Anyone against the idea?"
Tengliu spoke. "You will regret it. Isn't it a few treasures? I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart that if you go ahead with that plan, you will look back at today's date and ask yourself. 'Why didn't I listen to Tengliu?'"
The man spoke. "Don't overreach, Tengliu. You are acting too arrogant lately. Also, would you rather make us all your enemy or make them your enemy?"
Tengliu stood up and shook her head. "You don't want to hear the answer."
Then, she disappeared.
The Jade Thunderbird Patriarch stayed silent for a few seconds and then spoke. "Be prepared to meet with counterattacks. Tengliu might really help them."
Zephyrith looked at everyone gathered here, and the smiling face of a certain tall and beautiful white wolf flashed in her mind. She shook her head and sighed. 'Why can't I forget her?'
Her eyes landed on the back of her Patriarch, and she sighed again. 'He is about to break through, and when he does, as I promised, it will be the time he finally claims me as his main wife. My future with you is impossible, and I should feel happy that the most powerful male wolf will become my mate, but… Why can't I seem to forget you? Why does my chest feel heavy? Why… Even when we met for just a week…'
She shook her head again and refocused on the meeting, wishing deep in her heart.
'Please, don't die… Sierra. Your next tribulation will be a very difficult one.'
***************************************************
Author: Things are getting complicated faster than the growth of our girls!
Evelyn: Hey, Sierra, what do you think?
Sierra: That I will soon have a black pelt as my fur coat.
Evelyn: Woah! I got chills~.
Author: Well, we have a few questions accumulated since I didn't want to interrupt the flow of Sarah's arc, but we are online and ready to answer again! At least for a while. Let's see, doing it at random and… I summon you!
Andrew Miles: Hello!
Angel: Hello~.
Andrew Miles: Well, girls, does the rank of a cultivation technique dictate the greater realm that a cultivator can reach, or is it more of a guide up to a certain level?
Tatyana: Juniors, you answer. This is a very basic question that you should know.
Yasenia: Then… Do I answer?
Andrea: Go for it.
Yasenia: Well, Andrew, the answer is both. While a level of a cultivation technique will give you the general limits you can achieve with it, that's if the cultivator is untalented. What is a cultivation technique in the first place? Is a way passed down from another cultivator about understanding the world, its laws, etc.
Yasenia: Therefore, you can use it as a guideline and continue improving your cultivation level, "creating" a "new" cultivation technique. It's like a formula that can resolve things. The higher the level, the more complex and thorough that formula is and the easier it is to climb up to the point where the formula explains the world.
Yasenia: The reason it is difficult to change from one cultivation technique to another is because the understanding of heaven's path is as numerous as there are people. Each person can understand the heavens in many different ways, and all of them might be correct or incorrect. The "correct" path is the one that allows a cultivator to surpass the heavens themselves, but that's something that hasn't been done ever.
Yasenia: Moreover, how do you think the first cultivators managed to get to godhood and all those upper levels? How did the first cultivator appear? There weren't cultivation techniques then. So, creating them through one's understanding while being helped by the paths previously cleared by the seniors is the path to supremacy.
Yasenia: In short, a cultivation technique is a guide. The better the techniques, the further they can guide you.
Andrew Miles: Wow. Thanks for the complex answer, Yasenia.
Yasenia: No problem~.
Author: And that's all for today! Bye-bye, dears!