"For that matter I don't see anyone else daring to commit a similar offense. You did a great job Son, I feel more comfortable with you leading the Palace for a while." Yang Kai said, with a proud look on his face.
"Father, praises me too much. Something like this doesn't warrant such words. Besides, I have other responsibilities I have to take care of, remember I still need to refine my resources." I said, standing up again.
"Indeed, Hua Qing Si, please keep an eye on the Palace for a while longer. Once we return from our trip I'll have Leiji help you a bit." Yang Kai said, with a dignified aura.
"As you wish Palace Master, this one will manage the Palace in Palace Master's stead." Hua Qing Si said, cupping her hands and bowing.
"Father? Are we changing the order of things?" I asked, curiously.
"Yes, I think it's best if we bring your mothers and your wives to visit the twins first. Once they receive their blessing they will have something else to do than just wait around for you. And we can get double the work done with half the effort. I only wonder how those two will act." Yang Kai elaborated, albeit only a small amount.
"Since that's the case we should invite Zhang Ruo Xi to travel with us. And we should also prepare some treats that would suit the twins' fancy. I... I'm going to ask them for a 9th rank crystal each. I'd like to make sure I am as strong as possible when I break through. Fortunately my other materials are all already 8th rank materials. But, a Divine Ability manifestation from two 9th rank materials like that... I could in theory boost my ability to fight against the Ink clan. No, I absolutely will need it." I said, deciding to start preparations.
"8th rank! Young Palace Master... you're breaking through to the 8th rank directly?" Hua Qing Si gasped in total shock.
"Not only am I trying to do it. I will do it. I have the foundation needed. And to be honest, if those assholes didn't steal a single bit of my breakthrough from when I became a Great Emperor... I don't see why I wouldn't have been capable of pushing directly to the 9th rank." I said, putting a hand to my chin. "Fortunately for those guys I wasn't planning on doing that. Otherwise I'd have them tortured and killed, and their masters would be tortured and crippled. The funny part would be that I wouldn't have to order it. Mother Smiles would have done it in a heartbeat. Knowing what I am capable of now, and then all of a sudden being restricted because of the nonsensical greed of idiots who don't know any better... Given the stakes of that, a simple death would be far too good for them." I added, with a bulging vein on my forehead.
"I see, now that you mention it, considering the effects you had on the Star Boundary and what I've witnessed so far... I wouldn't be so surprised if you had been able to promote to the 9th rank directly." Hua Qing Si said, in a soothing voice. "Now then, Miss Ruo Xi is actually here in the Star Boundary. Though I made sure she wouldn't disturb us while the two of you were being brought up to speed." She added.
"Good, tell her that we will depart a week from now. And be sure to gather up some of these kinds of things." Yang Kai said, tossing over a list containing a bunch of meaty snacks.
"It will be done. Palace master may rest easy." Hua Qing Si said with a light smile. "The twins must be children if he is asking for snacks like this. I'll add in a little extra. And order the farmers to start breeding their livestock a bit more heavily now." She thought.
~~A Week Later~~
All of the Dragons and Phoenix Clan Members that returned to the 3000 Worlds with us, Yang Kai and his wives, myself and my wives, along with a few other Ancient Divine Spirits joined us on our quest.
"Leiji, you were right, that Gourd Vine, putting it in my Small Universe was a great Idea. It's already producing a set of gourds. Moreover, my Small Universe remains stable at its current level. Though..." Yang Kai said, looking at one of his hands.
"Don't worry father, you shouldn't prioritize the immediate benefits when it comes to this experiment. Remember, no one in Void land knows what you're doing right now. And even if they did, they would be unable to complain. So the worst case scenario, just produce a few sets of gourds for now, and then when there are several sets we can distribute them in accordance with how it was done before." I said.
"Indeed, I'll harvest the gourds several times during the next year. And then I'll begin the experiments in earnest. I'll let you fly the ship towards our destination in the meantime." Yang Kai said, passing total control of the ship over to me. "Rou Xi, you should try and get along with him. He knows more about why you are here than anyone else, so you can talk about that." He added and then closed his eyes.
"Father! Ah, alright, Since I'm in control then... I guess I can speed this up a bit. Miss Ruo Xi, if you want to find out why you're coming along with us, I can tell you. But you must promise me something. Don't leak a word of this visit to a single soul. It could prove to be... problematic." I said, looking out into the void, as Yang Kai vanished, likely to retreat inside a room for a while.
"I was curious about that, but now I'm more curious about you. You're the one that healed sister Lan Xun's injury, right? I wonder how you did that and why you did it more than anything else now. Also why was Yang Kai saying something like that anyways?" Ruo Xi said, walking up next to me and crossing her arms.
"I'll answer your last question first, my father wants to matchmake us together. I may have multiple wives already, but from his perspective such things don't matter." I explained.