Chapter 300: 300
It was a warm summer day, and the sun shone brightly in the sky, cascading rays of light down upon the capital of Yan Dalu .
Time had flowed like water since the time that the Garden of Shadows had become the Snowfall Academy, and Xue Wei, alongside his friends, had personally witnessed the many changes that had occurred in the continent .
The Yuan and Gu families were much more prominent now than the Baili family had ever been before—in fact, even the King had decided to step down from her throne, letting these two families conquer the top spot of their world .
During these months of change, many things had happened, but Xue Wei had not participated in much of it apart from the wedding between his two good friends, Gu Bing’er and Yuan Bailong .
The two of them had come to truly love one another; they each made up for the other’s weaknesses, and no matter where they went, they were inseparable .
After stepping down from her position as king, the King had given up her riches and prestige, and sought out Xue Wei . She had declared that when the delegation from the Demon Phoenix Continent arrived, she would leave with them, as her dream had always been to become a pirate, not a king .
The people had been in an uproar when they found out that their newly elected king was abdicating, but with the unprecedented amount of prosperity that the continent was enjoying, there was no need for any revolution . Everyone started to accept the changes—even the old officials who had purposefully tried to suppress it at the beginning .
Xue Wei had brought changes with him to Yan Dalu, and he started to wonder why they had ended up here instead of the Demon Phoenix Continent to begin with . Was this Lan’s plan all along?
After thinking it through, he shook his head and smiled dismissively at himself . Lan was not the kind of person who would behave like that; he was far too casual to have the greater good of a spirit in mind .
While the months passed, Xue Wei and his friends were not chased nor threatened anymore . They were treated like the most important guests on the continent, and their cultivation benefited enormously as a result .
Every resource they could dream about was delivered to them as soon as they said the word, and every meal they ate was stuffed with the most luxurious and power-filled of spiritual foods .
With the assistance of all these things and the peaceful environment to cultivate, Xue Wei managed to raise his rank all the way to a seventh-layer Sky Knight in Qi levels, and a sixth-layer Sky Knight in his spiritual energy cultivation .
Hei Gou had reached the ninth layer of the Sky Knight rank in Qi levels, while Lin Xiao had just overtaken him, impressively breaking through to the first layer of the Heavenly Knight rank .
Bai Tianyi had elevated himself to the eighth layer of the Sky Knight rank in spiritual energy, and while Luoluo was incapable of ranking her strength, she had grown back into a five-year-old child .
Finally was the latest addition to their team, having shamelessly decided to tag along with them: the King . She was by now a third-layer Heavenly Knight in spiritual energy, and her Qi—which had been her main focus these past months—had just reached the ninth layer of the Earth Knight rank .
Their day of departure was nearing . Xue Wei had given up on cultivating for now, as he was now instead gathering resources, concocting pills, and preparing anything else they might need for their long voyage .
He was unsure of exactly how long the trip would last, but he had been told that it would take a couple of years to cross the sea, as they were not moving through a spatial tunnel this time .
The sea was vast, and the continents were far from one another . Although this was the closest continent to their own, it was far from being actually close to them—Bai Tianyi had used far too much power back when splitting the land into multiple continents; each one had been scattered so far .
When the delegation arrived, they would spend two months in Yan Dalu before it was time for them to set out to sea again .
These two months were filled with festivities, celebrations, and excitement for the entire continent; citizens were flocking to the capital for a chance to meet the inhabitants of the illustrious Demon Phoenix Continent .
Throughout the many months he had been in Yan Dalu, Xue Wei had done all in his power to get information about the Demon Phoenix Continent, but every time he tried, he was met with confusion and expectations rather than facts .
Even the King was not aware of much truth about the Demon Phoenix Continent .
“They are very secretive when they arrive,” she said, musing about her lack of actual knowledge . “I know that the continent is not as peaceful as Yan Dalu . Murder is much more common, and so is robbery and other crimes .
“The experts that come here from the Demon Phoenix Continent are all two-eyed, but there are always Primordial Beasts amongst them . These Primordial Beasts are the leading ambassadors, but as to whether or not they are the same race, or what their rank in the continent is, we actually do not know . ”
Xue Wei nodded his head absentmindedly, wondering what he was getting himself into . He had to go, even if he was not willing to; he had to get his hands on the Thunder Flame Crown as he had promised Lan—and then somehow get back to Chang’an .
When they had fled Chang’an, it was because they had not been strong enough to survive amidst the chaotic battles between humans and beasts, but now things had changed .
Over two years had passed since they left Chang’an, and Xue Wei was filled with longing for his homeland . He especially longed for Wang Xiaoyun, unable to tell whether or not she had forgiven him in all this time . Had she thought of him? Did she still hate him?
Thinking back on how they had parted ways, his heart ached, but he had to believe in her . She would survive until the day they reunited, and then he would explain everything, and hopefully, she would be able to forgive him .
Even Xue Wei himself did not know why he had fallen in love with Wang Xiaoyun the way he did . The moment he saw her, he felt that his forlorn heart had found a home .
He had felt that he finally found somewhere and someone to belong to . As time had gone by, this emotion had only become more and more prominent—to the point where he felt that his life would not be complete, were he not able to see her again .
It was also because of this that he hoped she would forgive him for being half beast .
He could not wait to see her again, but at the same time, he had some things he needed to deal with before he saw her, because if she rejected him, then he was not sure how he would continue living .
He had been betrayed far too many times . He still was unsure about why his uncle, Xiao Lei, had killed his father . He was unsure about how he had been created as a half-beast when mixed breeds did not exist anymore .
There were answers he needed before he was ready to reunite with Wang Xiaoyun, and although he had been betrayed before, he was fortunate enough to find himself amongst a group of friends whom he trusted . He doubted that they would ever betray him since they had already gone to the end of the world for him, leaving behind everything they knew in Chang’an .
As the days went by, excitement started bubbling in the hearts of the small group as they were waiting for the delegation to appear .
By now, Xue Wei had filled multiple storage treasures with pills, herbs, ores, formations, and a multitude of other resources that they might need on their travels—so many that even if they ate pills like candy every day, they would still be able to sustain themselves for half a decade with ease .
Having finished stocking up supplies, Xue Wei started touring the capital with Luoluo and spoiling her rotten .
Luoluo was growing slightly, but she was still only a small child, and her behavior was that of a child . She loved sitting on Xue Wei’s shoulders and overseeing everything around them as she pointed in the direction she wanted him to go .
Her favorite was going to the markets, where merchants from all over Yan Dalu came every day to sell their wares .
Ever since assisting the Yuan and Gu families, Xue Wei had been showered in gold, and thus he often bought whatever Luoluo took a fancy to .
She too had filled more than one storage artifact with treasures—or at least, things that she considered treasures .
While Xue Wei was taking it easy, Lin Xiao and Hei Gou were in a constant battle about who would have the next breakthrough first .
They were constantly doing their best to cultivate and improve themselves, but at this point in time, Hei Gou had fallen slightly behind, which annoyed him greatly but also motivated him to work even harder .
Xue Wei understood that, while it was good to be so focused on cultivation, one still needed to solidify their base, and although their cultivation had skyrocketed, they were not able to use it to the fullest in battle, as their lives had become far too comfortable .
Finally, the day arrived where a ship was spotted on the horizon . The first to know about it was the Gu family, who quickly went to inform Xue Wei, and after that, the rest of the capital was aware faster than anyone could expect .
It took a few hours for it to transform from a dot on the horizon to a ship that was docked in the harbor . When it arrived, the Gu and Yuan families’ grand elders went to welcome the guests and welcome back the returning members of Yan Dalu, who had spent nearly an entire decade away from home .
Everyone on the ship was stunned by what they saw . Usually, they would be greeted by the King, together with a bunch of officials . Yet this time, it was a group of four- and three-eyed experts . Even a two-eyed person, Xue Wei, was present .
Surprised by what they saw, the guests all narrowed their eyes, but their shock became even more profound when they sensed that the majority of these experts were all at the ninth layer of the Sky Knight rank in Qi cultivation . Was it not said that they did not know how to cultivate Qi?
At this point in time, everyone had realized that something had happened to Yan Dalu since the last delegation had been there, and the visitors made it their purpose to understand in detail what had transpired so that they could report it when they came home .
Xue Wei was also curious about the visitors and what information they had about the Demon Phoenix Continent . When he saw them arriving, he narrowed his eyes .
The captain, as well as all the higher-ranked officials and guests, were all Primordial Beasts . There were a few humans, but they were low in number, and their strength was nowhere near as overwhelming as the beasts’ .
The Primordial Beasts on board the ship all looked around the entourage that had come to greet them, and all of their eyes landed on Xue Wei .
He was acutely aware that it was likely that they could sense the aura of the Azure Dragon on him, but he was calm and collected . He was, after all, a Sovereign Beast of blood far nobler than that of Primordial Beasts . They should be excited to meet him, not hostile .
Feeling like this, Xue Wei returned their gaze, unwavering, showing no weakness . They were here as guests, so surely they would behave .