A month later, on a peak in the back mountain, two figures, one blue and one purple, danced and collided in the air like flowing light, creating explosive sounds with each clash of pure power. Suddenly, two light shouts echoed in the air.
"Overlord Fist!"
"Overlord Fist!"
The blue and purple lights converged, and a powerful energy erupted from their intersection, with the blue and purple energies suppressing each other.
"Break for me!"
With a delicate shout, the blue energy was ultimately overpowered by the purple energy, and the blue figure was sent flying from the point of impact, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The purple figure then descended.
"Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan, this time I won! According to our agreement, you have to cook a big meal for me now, hehe!" The excited Ziyan said to Lin Yuan, who was emerging from the dust.
"Of course, and as a reward for mastering the Overlord Fist, I'll add some extra dishes for you," Lin Yuan replied with a smile, stepping out of the dust. His clothes were slightly torn, but he was unharmed, and his aura remained strong.
"However, you're getting tougher and tougher! You can fight me for so long with just your physical body, like a magical beast," Ziyan teased after glancing at Lin Yuan.
Hearing this, Lin Yuan chuckled. During this time, he had collected a lot of high-level magical beast blood through various trades and had completed his second spirit elevation. His physical strength had further improved, and his ability to take hits had skyrocketed. He could now spar with Ziyan using pure physical strength, though he still fell short compared to her. It could be said that the Void Ancient Dragon truly deserved to be the king of magical beasts.
"I've mastered the control over my explosive power, and I've finally taught Ziyan the Overlord Fist, which suits her well. I can't let the Elder down," Lin Yuan thought, feeling quite satisfied with the results of the past month.
"Let's go back! I'll make you a big meal to celebrate!"
"Yay!"
As they joked, the two headed back to the inner courtyard.
In the inner courtyard, Elder Su's office.
"You want to take a leave of absence?" Su Qian looked at Lin Yuan with slight confusion.
"Yes, Elder. I want to go home to pay respects to my parents. It's been many years since I last did so. Now that I've achieved something, it's time to go back and honor them, and then travel for a while!" Lin Yuan replied to Su Qian.
"I see. This is a natural sentiment for a son. You should indeed go. You're already a Battle King, and traveling around the Northwest Continent is a good choice! How long do you plan to be away?" Su Qian stroked his beard and nodded in understanding.
"Initially estimated to be two to three years!" Lin Yuan estimated the time and answered.
"Two to three years, huh? I approve. Sigh, that little girl Ziyan will probably throw a fit with me. When do you plan to leave?" Su Qian sighed and then asked.
"Implying that Ziyan isn't allowed to travel with me for now? That makes sense; my current strength isn't enough to reassure the Elder, and it's indeed not suitable to take Ziyan this time," Lin Yuan thought.
"Thank you, Elder! I plan to leave next month," Lin Yuan said, cupping his hands in gratitude. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "During my travels, I will return once. If the timing is right, we can see if Ziyan can join me then."
Su Qian waved his hand: "Let's talk about it when the time comes!"
After discussing the specifics, Lin Yuan took his leave.
The next day, back mountain.
"Brother Lin Yuan, are you leaving?" Ziyan stood in front of Lin Yuan, looking up at him with a reluctant expression.
"Yeah, I have some matters to attend to, and we might be apart for a while," Lin Yuan gently said, patting Ziyan's head.
"Can't you take me with you? I'm tired of staying in the inner courtyard, and if you leave, no one will cook delicious food for me," Ziyan pleaded with a pitiful look.
"Little Ziyan, I have things to do this time, so I can't take you with me," Lin Yuan replied, pinching Ziyan's little face.
"Really can't take me with you?" Ziyan continued to act cute.
"No, it's too dangerous outside," Lin Yuan shook his head.
"I'm very strong!" Ziyan said proudly, puffing out her little chest.
"Oh?" Lin Yuan's tone was filled with obvious skepticism, then he added with a hint of temptation, "How about this, let's make a bet. We'll have a match, and if you can defeat me, it means you're strong enough to protect yourself, and I'll find a way to take you out!"
"Really? Then let's bet! But you can't go back on your word!" Perhaps due to the recent sparring, especially her victory yesterday, Ziyan was filled with confidence and readily accepted the challenge.
"Sure! Let's get started!" Lin Yuan nodded, a glint of scheming in his eyes.
Immediately, the blue and purple lights shot up into the sky, and the battle commenced.
Half an hour later.
Ziyan stared blankly at the blue-clad youth in front of her, touching the red mark on her forehead, her entire demeanor dazed.
Lin Yuan smiled at Ziyan: "I won, three times! Looks like I can't take you out this time."
Upon hearing this, Ziyan snapped back to reality, recalling her three overwhelming defeats, and said resentfully, "Why are you so strong! It wasn't like this during our sparring a few days ago."
Lin Yuan chuckled. The reason he had fought evenly or even lost to Ziyan in the past few days was to help her practice her combat skills and to help himself master his explosive power. He had used a fighting style that suited Ziyan's strengths rather than his true combat style. Today, he had used his real fighting style, and the outcome was naturally worlds apart. Given his understanding of Ziyan's fighting methods, her chances of winning were minuscule.
"Of course, it's because you're not strong enough!" Lin Yuan pinched Ziyan's puffed-up little face, and upon hearing this, Ziyan became even more like a pufferfish, which Lin Yuan found amusing.
Looking at the pufferfish-like Ziyan, Lin Yuan smiled and tempted her: "How about this, next time I come back, if you can hit me once, I'll take you out. How does that sound?"
"Next time, I will definitely defeat you!" Ziyan said fiercely, looking at Lin Yuan.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it," Lin Yuan gently responded, stroking Ziyan's soft hair. He felt relieved; although Ziyan was quite childlike, she took this kind of bet seriously and wouldn't insist on following him anymore.
"Let's go, Ziyan!" Lin Yuan took Ziyan's hand and walked deeper into the back mountain.
"Where to?"
"I won't be leaving for another month. Let's explore the back mountain this month and find some suitable ingredients to make delicious food to store!"
"Really? I had a strange feeling over there before; there must be good stuff! Let's go get it!"
"It's not stealing; it's taking. Those heavenly materials and earthly treasures are originally unowned!"
"Oh right, right, right! Let's go take them!"
With Ziyan's lively voice returning, the two began a new round of treasure hunting in the back mountain.
(This chapter is complete.)