Chapter 300: The Delegation Arrives (1/2)

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?