"She is waking up," said Xu with a curious expression on her face.
The little girl slowly opened her eyes, and Ronin's blurred image gradually became clear. "Father!" exclaimed the little girl and hugged his neck with a happy smile on her face.
"Father?"
"Father?"
Zhenxia and Xu looked at Ronin with confused expressions.
"Father?" the young girl, who was in the shadows of the tree, broke a tree branch with an angry glint flashing through her eyes.
"Huh? Father? I never participated in the battle of pleasure with a girl in my dreams. How the hell, as a still virgin, did I become a father?" thought Ronin with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Little girl, see, I'm not your father, and it's my first time seeing your face in my life," said Ronin in a gentle voice.
"Father, you want to leave Sese again?" asked the little girl, tears streaming down her cute face.
"No, Father won't leave you. Stop crying," said Ronin with a helpless look on his face.
"This demon beast dared to call my master 'father.' Hmph, you have to ask your mom's permission here before you call my master 'father,'" a young girl muttered under her breath, with furrowed brows on her face.
"Hmm," Sese nodded her head and hugged Ronin's neck again.
"Why the hell did I become a female monkey?" Ronin murmured inwardly while shaking his head. Then, he looked at Zhenxia and Xu and continued, "Let's go." Both of them nodded their heads, and all three of them walked towards Lotus City.
Meanwhile, at the location where the tribulation fell…
"Did you all find who the culprit is?" asked the Oldman with a stern expression on his face.
"Elder Taser, we didn't find a single clue that leads to the culprit," said the instructor, fear evident on his face.
"Useless. Can't even find a clue about who the culprit is?" shouted Elder Taser, his anger evident.
"But... but…" the instructor stammered while speaking, but he was interrupted by Elder Taser.
"What?" asked Elder Taser with an annoyed expression.
"But I have never seen an attack like that in my life," said the instructor, shivering.
"Hmph, whoever it is, I will find him, and he has to pay with his life for taking our elder's life," said Elder Taser, clenching his hand tightly.
"His life belongs to us," said the old man in an angry tone, appearing in that place close to Elder Taser.
"Hmph, you two are not qualified enough to snatch that bastard's life from my hands," said another old man as he appeared close to two other elderly individuals in that place.
"Tu Faj, Kalyug, get the hell out of here and don't even think about snatching my prey," said Taser, a ruthless glint flashing across his face.
"Taser, oh Taser… whoever finds him first will get his life," said Tu Faj with a calm demeanor.
"I'll agree with Tu Faj. Whoever finds him first will get his life," added Kalyug, narrowing his eyes.
"Hmph," Taser didn't respond but simply disappeared from the spot where he was standing.
Two other elderly individuals also vanished from their positions, and the people who had come with them exchanged glances before dispersing in different directions.
Meanwhile, Ronin, together with Zhenxia and Xu, finally reached Lotus City.
"Oh, this city is so big," exclaimed Xu, her curiosity evident as she looked around.
"Of course, it's a large city. It's situated between the inhuman and human continents, housing citizens from both regions. How could it sustain such a population if it were small?" Zhenxia asked, her expression mirroring Xu's curiosity.
"Oh," said Xu in response to Zhenxia's words and started running here and there with a playful smile on her face.
Sese didn't bother to look around; she simply clung tightly to Ronin like a koala, attracting everyone's attention, with people pointing fingers at him and sharing laughter.
Ronin shook his head helplessly after witnessing the people's reactions and continued to follow Zhenxia and Xu, who were jumping around with playful smiles on their faces.
Despite Xu's initial reluctance to interact with Zhenxia due to her hideous appearance, both of them had unknowingly grown close during the journey.
After finally reaching the entrance of the Lotus Pavilion, Ronin inquired with a few people around him. Guards conducted a thorough search on everyone, confiscating all weapons before granting them entry into the Lotus Pavilion.
"Hello, sir. What would you like to purchase in our pavilion?" asked a female worker with a gentle smile.
"I want to buy information," replied Ronin.
"Please follow me, sir," the female worker said, leading the way to the information section.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the information section, and the female worker left them. Ronin approached the receptionist and asked, "I want to know about the current and future events taking place in the Ocean Continent."
The receptionist, who had initially intended to greet Ronin, stopped herself and instead said, "Sure, sir, but you must pay 50% in advance. Once you confirm that the information is legitimate, you can pay the remaining amount."
"Okay," Ronin agreed and paid her 50% of the payment in gold coins. He received a scroll containing information about the Ocean Continent.
Ronin opened the scroll, briefly glanced at its contents, and then paid the remaining amount to the receptionist.
"Thanks for your purchase. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. Please feel free to visit us again if you need any more information," said the receptionist, bowing slightly with a respectful demeanor.
"Sure," Ronin replied and walked away.
A few minutes later, he entered the main hall, with everyone following him. They left the Lotus Pavilion and retrieved their weapons from the guards before departing from that area.
Ronin rented a room at the inn. Once inside, he retrieved the information and began reading the contents of the scroll.
After a few minutes, he closed the scroll and began to contemplate. "The Ocean Lord is searching for a spouse and has organized a spouse competition. The victor of all the fights, reaching the pinnacle, will earn the right to marry his daughter, and he offers a soul pearl as a dowry gift."