Hello There, it's been twenty-one chapters.
Does the story progress too slowly? Give me your thoughts on it.
Also, give this story more power stones!
--- Chapter 20 ---
In a vast sky, a great bird with brownish-red feathers and a wingspan over seven meters flew above the clouds. A purple-clothed youth and two green-clothed women sat on the back of the winged beast, overseeing the land below.
"Young master, you are actually able to subdue a peak Earth Profound Realm Beast," Lily commented while patting the somewhat rough yet warm feather under her. "How did you do it?"
"Yeah, I'm also curious." Hong Guan added calmly.
After receiving bloodlines from Yu Long and awakening profound aspects, the maids feel their young master becomes more unreadable. They would gloss it over in the past because a child's mind works differently than an adult's.
However, Yu Long has started a step toward adulthood now. His talent grew into an unknown territory they couldn't understand.
"It's just one of my expertise." Yu Long waved his hand casually.
"You'll know about the truth sooner or later."
"But for now, I want you two to trust me completely."
"I trust you with everything, young master." Hong Guan let out a beautiful smile.
The current Hong Guan is different than she was three months ago. Her black hair has gained a shade of red, turning auburn due to [Yin Dragon's Bloodline]. And yeah, Her eyes also become greener, thanks to [Glade Dragon's Bloodline].
Still, Hong Guan's facial features and body changed the most compared to those traits. Hong Guan's face became more alluring with a touch of healthy redness on those luscious lips, and coupled with her hourglass figure, she could turn an empire upside down.
On the other hand, Lily is becoming brighter than ever. Her black hair became silky smooth with faint radiance. Those brown eyes also gained a touch of sun, giving off a warm feeling.
In the past, Lily's appearance was nothing special. However, using Heart Opening Liquid and Yu Long's training method cleanses impurities out of her body.
Her body might not be as 'sexy' as Hong Guan's, but the innocence it gave makes one's heart flutter. [Yang Dragon's Bloodline] and [Grass Dragon's Bloodline] transformed Lily into an amiable lady.
"Mm, me too, me too~!" Lily giggled happily. She has watched her young master grow from baby until this very moment. Of course, she trusted him with everything.
Yu Long smiled inside, thinking how nice it was to have reliable people on his side.
He contacted Yume in the Inner World and praised the butterfly, 'Good job.'
'It seems your Psychic Force is not just for show.'
'Of course, my lord,' Yume responded somewhat arrogantly. Since she was 'recently' created, she'd definitely do her best to gain more points from her creator.
Controlling a mere peak Earth Profound Realm Beast who hasn't formed its human-like intelligence is nothing to Yume. She only has to use [Dream Eater] to devour its consciousness and order it around with [Telepathy].
She could even control Sky Profound Realm Beast, but it would need more effort and energy. Not to mention, her purpose was more than turning profound beasts into mindless puppets.
The great bird let out a cry and descended from the high altitude.
Yu Long activated his enhanced sight and watched the appearance of the Drifting Cloud Mountain Range. His [Profound Sense] spread over and mapped every possible route for an outsider to enter Drifting River City's territory.
'Master, let me do it,' Yume said calmly. 'Using your mental energy on such an uncomplicated act is a waste.'
'My Psychic Force will map the area faster.'
A wry smile appeared on Yu Long's face at how convenient it was to have more kaiju. First, Woby took over his Heart Opening Liquid's making routine, and then Yume coveted the scouting chance.
Well, he could only feel happy about this.
'Done, I'll transfer the information.' Yume finished scouting and sent the relevant information to Yu Long's head. Since they were connected, it was a smooth transfer.
"On the south of the mountain range, a path is 'actually' connected to the open road." Yu Long closed his eyes for a few seconds, digesting the information. "And it led to an open road?"
"If I wasn't wrong, that open road should have the route used to reach Wind Blade Sect." He rubbed his chin. "The reason behind caravans' destruction wasn't as simple as I thought."
"In the first place, since when did those greedy business owners dare to touch the Yu Clan?" Hong Guan suddenly raised a point. "Young master, you taught us that an act is 'most of the time.' built on confidence."
"Without confidence, those greedy business owners won't do this. They didn't know our true power, so they believed a full-blown attack would lead to mutual destruction."
"Unless they have someone supporting them from the shadows." Lily chimed in.
"You two are smart." Yu Long praised them, laughing in satisfaction.
Lily blushed, "Young master, you probably thought about this already."
"Yes, we merely voiced our opinion." Hong Guan hugged Lily.
Yu Long shook his head, "No, you two pretty much solved the case."
"Except the last part."
"It's not someone, but a sect."
"Wind Blade Sect and Cloud Palm Sect near our city have been eyeing our resources for years. They wanted a bite of our pie without any hard work."
"The problem is... We are in a deadlock, or so they thought. So, they collaborated with other business owners and reaped the benefits."
"Even in the cultivation world, politics still exist." Yu Long sighed helplessly.
"At least I could punish them more easily here."
The great bird descended even more, reaching the forest near the Drifting River City. Several people in dark suits approached the beast, showing deep killing intent.
"Stand back, this is my pet." Yu Long's voice echoed, making the people in dark suits bow.
"Welcome back, Lord Shadow." They greeted him simultaneously.
The corner of Yu Long's mouth twitched because 'Lord Shadow.' induced a cringeness into his bloodstream. He hated how they called him this title, but he couldn't change it either.
Influenced by his past life's junior high syndrome, Yu Long formed an organization and named it [Shadow Realm]. He recruited orphans or someone with nothing to rely on, training them into his loyalists.
Currently, [Shadow Realm] has over one hundred thousand members, and they are spread all over Blue Wind Empire. Even the neighboring empire has them.
It shows just how devastating this world was. Weak people at the bottom of the food chain were 'literally.' destined to die sooner or later, but Yu Long took them, knowing he could change them into something else.
It's hard to believe a boy initiated this organization three years ago, but Yu Long did it slowly. The number of members gained explosive results from ten thousand to one hundred thousand in its third year after a small kingdom fought a bitter war against a first-rate sect in the other empire.
After dismissing the shadow agents, Yu Long and his maids walked to the Yu Clan leisurely.
Upon entering the front gate, a familiar voice was 'immediately' heard.
"Fourth Brother?"
"Fourth Brother, you have returned!"
A chubby young man entered Yu Long's field of vision. His bright yellow robe and red sash never change, making Yu Long laugh a little.
After three years, Yu Long's second brother has grown bigger but doesn't mistake his chubbiness for fat. Under that bright yellow robe is nothing but fierce muscles.
Yu Gong is now fifteen. And slightly taller than Yu Long.
"Yes." Yu Long answered calmly.
"I heard we have a crisis, so I returned from my journey."
"Good. Father's mood is worse than ever these days." Yu Gong put on a defeated look. "Eldest Brother just recently got engaged to a lady from Zhu Clan."
"They met three months ago and fell in love with each other."
"And the Zhu Clan also demanded a huge dowry."
"Oh, what kind of dowry?" Yu Long tilted his head.
Yu Gong sucked a cold breath and replied, "23% of our annual income..."
"..." Yu Long.
Bruh, why didn't they rob the royal family instead?
23% is over a fifth of Yu Clan's income, which could lead to the dysfunction of several businesses. They asked for too much.
"And there is more..." Yu Gong scratched his cheek.
"There is more?" Yu Long raised his eyebrows.
"Haha..." Yu Gong laughed awkwardly. "You know that the Third Brother recently awakened his profound veins, right? He had 12 profound entrances open, making him quite a talent."
"Cloud Palm Sect recruited Third Brother as their disciple and demanded half of our annual income as payment for his enrollment."
"But the Third Brother begged Father, believing the sect will train him into a core disciple."
"This is definitely a scam." Yu Gong put on a solemn expression.
Oh, you thought!!
"..." Yu Long.
"..." Lily.
"..." Hong Guan.
"Oh my fucking god, I know they are idiots, but not this IDIOTS!" Yu Long shouted at the sky.