Everyone silently stared at the hazy spiritual Qi on her finger.
As if she expected this reaction, Su Yao pursed her lips and put down her finger.
"No… no way, how did you cultivate—from your mother's womb!?" Raizel reacted first. He pressed his palms against the table and stood abruptly and exclaimed loudly.
"Man, I'm really surrounded by a bunch of demons. Amitabha Buddha…" Tang Hao stared at the empty void for a moment and began chanting Buddhist scriptures.
"Lol, what are you doing, Tang Hao?" Thorin said.
"I'm exorcising you demons," he answered with his eyes closed-
"How did you reach the Moon Spirit realm so fast?" Kaelen asked Su Yao in amazement. The girl was definitely their age, yet she was a whole realm higher than them, who were all monstrous geniuses nonetheless.
"My cultivation speed was extremely fast in the early stage. I don't know," she simply said as she kept poking the small leopard.
"Wait, did you not aim for the nine extremes?" Thorin asked. Indeed, if she didn't try to reach the extreme stages of the foundational realms, it could explain why her cultivation speed was so fast.
Hearing the question, everyone's eyes lit up at the possibility and waited for the answer. In their hearts, it wasn't really worth it to not aim for the foundational extremes for greater cultivation speed at early stages, because the better the foundation, the farther a cultivator will go on the road of martial arts.
"No, I did. I reached all nine extremes…" She softly said, shocking everyone once more.
"…"
"Then, do you know how strong you are?" Kaelen probed.
Su Yao looked up at the ceiling in wonder. "Hm… I think my battle strength should be above the Innate Spirit realm- probably at early Intent Materialization."
"Heavens!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time.
Even Xue Qing was shocked. She looked at Su Yao in admiration, and a hint of fighting spirit could be discerned from her gaze.
"That means you're the strongest out of all of us—in fact, you're the strongest amongst all disciples of the sect below twenty years old," Tang Hao said in shock.
"I know," Su Yao nonchalantly replied.
"You do? How?" Raizel asked.
"Because I've defeated the top ten in the sect below twenty years old," she explained.
"…"
"Ahahahaha. You're awesome," Kaelen praised while laughing.
Hearing Kaelen's praise, Su Yao couldn't help but blush slightly. Her gorgeous face showed a hint of joy.
"All right, now I know about everyone's progress and strength. Hey, you guys seemed to be talking about something right before I came, no?" Kaelen smiled at the shy genius maiden and changed the subject.
"Right! Tang Hao, you were about to tell us more about the desert abyss trials," Raizel said as he sat back down.
"Desert Abyss?" Kaelen's eyes lit up. That's where he would have to go to find the baby three-legged Golden Crow.
"Yes, he was talking about the sect competition which determines who will represent the sect in the Coiling Dragon Empire competition for quotas to enter the Desert Abyss trials. The top twenty geniuses of the empire will head for the trial and compete against other empires and powerful sects of the Southern Desolate Lands," Thorin explained.
"Oh, there's something like that?" Kaelen exclaimed as he looked at Tang Hao. He knew about the Desert Abyss' existence from his teacher and its opening from the titanic Sun Crow, but he didn't know about the way to enter it.
"Yes. Where was I?" Tang Hao remembered.
"Right. During the competition, the strongest geniuses will be around Su Yao's level, probably the top three. As for the rest, they should be at the Profound Spirit or Black Gold Spirit stages. As for the Desert Abyss, you can use Su Yao as a reference for the geniuses of the top sects of the Southern Lands, like the Desolate Sect, the Flame Giant Tribe, the Southern Sword Palace, etc- they will all be monstrous. However, the biggest threat won't even come from them, but from the participating groups of other continents." Taking a deep breath, Tang Hao dropped the bomb and looked around, expecting everyone to be shocked and terrified.
"What? Other continents will participate in the Desert Abyss trials!?" Kaelen exclaimed in excitement.
"Hehh…" Seeing excitement rather than terror, Tang Hao's eyes turned white as he glanced at Kaelen.
"I should've known he would've reacted like this," he said in his mind. "Yes! Other continents will be participating. You must understand, Hidden Danger Lands are rare places where countless treasures of ancient powers are buried. Each continent has at least one, but there are only two that are accessible to juniors—The Desert Abyss, and the Star Grave." He continued.
The moment he said, 'Star Grave,' Thorin's eyes widened in shock.
"Star Grave… That's where sister said I will find her eventually." His heart became restless and excited.
"Where is it??" He asked Tang Hao with fervor.
"What?" The latter asked back as he looked weirdly at the unusually excited fella. "These guys are all weirder than the next," he thought.
"The Star Grave; where is it?" Thorin quickly said.
"Calm down, man, it's very far away in the center of the Middle Heaven continent and it's currently closed anyway. It will eventually open again, but I'm not sure when," Tang Hao replied.
"Oh." Thorin dejectedly said, his excitement decreasing.
"So, which factions from other continents will be there?" Kaelen looked deeply at Thorin, then asked Tang Hao.
"That—I don't know. I know the Lower Western Wilderland monster clans often participate as remnants of the ancestors of their beast clans reside inside the Desert Abyss. Sometimes, the demonic factions of the Upper Wilderlands participate as well. As for the other three continents, the Northern Dipper rarely participates because the distance between our two continents is the largest; next is the Middle Heaven continent; some of their top factions often participate. From the Eastern continent, one of the two royal clans that rule the continent will be there, as the two dynasties don't ever appear at the same time. Overall, you can expect factions from all territories except the Northern Dipper Continent," Tang Hao explained.
Kaelen, Thorin, and Raizel all had excited expressions on their faces as they listened to Tang Hao. They could almost picture the splendor and intensity of the battles they will have with top geniuses from other factions.
The latter finished by saying, "It will be a true chaotic struggle in there."
"I bet. Ahaha." Raizel commented.
"We definitely can't miss that at all." Kaelen looked pensive as he mumbled.
"Right, since everyone is here, I wanted to propose something to you all," he said.
"Hm?" Everyone looked at him, curious.
"I'm planning on taking a mission in the next few months to go outside, explore, and gain experience. Do you guys want to come with me?" he asked.
"Of course!" Thorin and Raizel both answered immediately.
"What kind of mission?" Tang Hao probed.
"I don't know yet. Actually, I might take a few different types and go out for a few months, maybe come back just before the sect competition," Kaelen said.
"I want to come with you," a soft voice rang beside him, as Su Yao decided to join.
"Really? Will the sect master be okay with it?" Kaelen turned to her in surprise.
"Yes, he won't mind. Besides, I can take care of myself," she replied with a resolute expression.
"Great!" Kaelen responded with a bright smile, as the two pairs of eyes interlocked.
"I'll come too," Xue Qing said.
"Hm?" Raizel's eyes brightened up as he heard her.
"Super! It seems like everyone's on board for an adventure," Kaelen rejoiced.
"Not everyone, Tang Hao didn't answer yet," Thorin said in a laughing tone.
"Well, if everyone is going, of course I'm going," Tang Hao exclaimed, but his mind was in deep turmoil. "These bastards, they'll probably cause so much trouble outside. Do they think a group of outstanding people like them will go unnoticed or something? Argh, mother, pray for me!" He turned to a corner to hide the single drop of tear in his eye.
"Ahahaha, alright! Let us enjoy the food today. Tomorrow, we'll all get ready and meet at the Extra-curricular Mountain to pick a few missions—we will set out!" Kaelen said as he took another piece of roasted meat and continued eating.
"Sweet adventure," Raizel took a glass full of bright water and raised it in the air joyfully, then gulped it down.
"Giggle," the pale-blue-eyed maiden beside him laughed out loud, making a giggle noise, causing everyone to look at her with weird gazes. She covered her mouth and blushed, making them laugh.
The group talked and enjoyed their meal joyfully. Kaelen took the opportunity to get to know Su Yao a bit more.
"You do not seem to come out often, Su Yao," he counted the time he had spent with her, and today was the third time only. They could not really be said to know each other.
Su Yao's face took a conflicted twist.
"I… I must be careful when I step out of my father's palace. There are spies of my mother's clan eyeing me just outside the sect and maybe even inside. Here, my father can protect me from anyone, but outside, it's a bit difficult," she explained.
Hearing her, Kaelen was left more confused. "What do you mean, does your mother's clan wish you ill?" he asked.
"No, it's not that. My mother and my father became lovers despite prohibition from the elders on my mother's clan. As I was born with great talent, they decided to accept our union, but they forced my mother to go back with them. They said eventually they will take me away too," she replied, deep sadness could be seen in her eyes.
"So that's how it is. That means you grew up without being close to your mother?" Kaelen furrowed his brows as he asked. If that was the case, it would truly be outrageous.
"Yes. I don't have any memories of her," Su Yao said.
Taking a deep breath, Kaelen went silent for a moment. Having been separated from his family for causes unknown, he couldn't help but sympathize with Su Yao. It made him very angry that her own clan would separate her family like that.
Looking at the emotional girl, he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry if I made you think of unpleasant stuff."
Su Yao looked back at him and smiled. "No, it's nothing. I don't mind. At least they didn't want to harm my mother; they just wanted her to become the next clan leader. As the next clan leader, her marriage was also a big deal, but she decided to do as she wanted. It's an unfortunate situation, I just wish I could see her from time to time," she said in an increasingly soft voice, almost mumbling the last sentence. She gazed at the empty ceiling as she longed for her mother.
Watching her, Kaelen's brow slanted resolutely. He grabbed one of her hands and looked deeply into her violet-colored eyes. "In three years," he said.
The latter looked back at him with a confused expression. "Three years?" She repeated in an interrogative tone.
"Yes; in three years, we will barge into your mother's clan. No one will block us from seeing her. What do you think, are you up for it?" Kaelen said in a straightforward manner.
Su Yao stared at the resolute young man that stood barely a step away from her. A warm feeling surged in her heart. She smiled widely, like a blossoming lotus. "Okay, ahaha" she replied with a bell like laughter.
"Good," Kaelen nodded in satisfaction.
"Woaw, wait, you guys, I'm coming with you," Raizel, who overheard, shouted.
"Count me in," Thorin also joined in.
"Wait, me too. No, wait, coming where? Is it dangerous?" Tang Hao, who was totally engulfing the food at a rapid pace, heard something going on and shouted.
"We are breaking into Su Yao's clan to see her mother," Kaelen said.
"Clan? Which clan?" Tang Hao turned towards Su Yao for answers, his cheeks completely filled with food.
"Right, you didn't say which clan your mother came from," Kaelen also wanted to know.
"It's the Dream Clan of the Middle Heaven continent," Su Yao answered.
"Pfffftttftt-- What clan!?" The shocked Tang Hao spits all the food in his mouth, the pieces of chewed food fly all around, making Raizel and Xue Qing who sat next to him quickly stand up. He turns towards Kaelen and points with a shaky hand.
"You—you want to break into the Divine Dream Clan... in three years, are you insane!?" He exclaimed in a trembling voice.