NOVPUB"I refuse. Don’t follow me, creep stalker." Lucius replied with a hint of disgust. He ignored the girl and left the area at full speed.
"Wha, what did he just say? Me, stalker!? How dare he insult me!?" The girl felt irritated. She stomped her feet and rushed after the young man as she didn’t want to let her old comrade go.
The run, chase, hide, and seek lasted for two days. After going through several dangerous encounters, incidents, and predicaments, Lucius could only ignore the stalker. After all, she could always find him, and she was so tricky. He couldn’t beat her either.
"Who are you talking to?" The girl landed on top of the tree, asking curiously. She secured the newly picked high-tier elixirs in her storage pouch, then jumped down.
She wondered what kind of powerful ancestral spirit was guiding this young man, but she had to restrain herself to discover it directly. After all, it was already hard enough to gain his trust, even a little.
Lucius’s heart skipped a beat. He used his soul ring to suck his master in. His master was almost discovered by an outsider, or probably, this annoying girl already caught a glimpse of his master’s spirit. "That’s none of your business."
"Hmm~" The girl smiled faintly. She had already taken off her veil, and it was easy to tell the young man got his heart fluttered upon witnessing her beauty up close.
’All men are actually simple, but he still tried his best to look cold and indifferent. How cute, but how do I arouse his memories of past life again? He is clearly the protagonist and the hero. His luck is also pretty insane, just like me.’ The girl pondered about it once again.
In the past two days, she accumulated some wealth, precious elixirs, and precious treasures. However, her place on the ranking list fell because of this young man.
She then recalled that the most basic thing in a relationship was always an introduction. They had yet to know each other’s names!
"This might be a bit late, but my name is Zhuan Mei. What’s your name?" Zhuan Mei introduced herself, feeling a bit embarrassed because she almost skipped it.
"..." Lucius remained silent.
’You stupid disciple of mine. You say you want to play dual identity, but you don’t even dare to mention your name.’ Medea couldn’t help but scold her disciple from inside the soul ring.
"!?" Lucius was enlightened. His master was right. He was not the Wizard Lucius, but he played a new identity in his exploration, the Mage Lucius.
’Hum-hum... So, what is the name of your new identity.’ Medea crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction.
"Hey, don’t be cold and keep quiet like that. We’ve been through a lot in the last two days. Do you have any suspicions and prejudices towards me?" Zhuan Mei pointed at her face and sat on a boulder near the young man.
She occasionally stole several glances at the young man’s soul ring with a thought in mind, but she kept it for herself for now.
"Lucius." Lucius said his name. Regardless of what identity he would play, he would always be Lucius.
’Not a pseudonym?’ Medea asked in wonder, but that was up to her disciple.
Lucius nodded slightly. He then checked the ranking list wooden plaque. His name had fallen far from his previous place. Zhuan Mei was just above his name, but he knew she previously was in 4th place.
"Ah, my rank has fallen so bad. It’s all because of you. What if we hunt more spiritual beasts and climb to the top three in one go? We can do it!" Zhuan Mei proposed an idea.
"I have other goals." Lucius stared at the Area V and beyond.
"Do you want to hunt monsters in higher-tier areas? The elders forbid us because the death rate is very high if we go there." Zhuan Mei felt a little worried.
"Hmm... do you want to reach the top rank?" Lucius considered it. He could use this girl.
Her combat capabilities were incredibly impressive, far from what her cultivation base could achieve. So, she could also clear the path for him to seek some treasures. He could also help her with some reward in return. It was also not impossible for her to surpass the other top participants.
"Isn’t that obvious? We will get many privileges as new disciples if we reach the top ten, especially the top three." Zhuan Mei nodded in reply.
"Hey, I have a good offer. Listen, and I’ll help you get to 1st place. But it’s not free. I only ask for one thing from you in return." Lucius sparkled with wisdom after he made up a new plan.
"Hou? You don’t want to attract attention and want to give all your points to me? So, what’s the catch?" Zhuan Mei was intrigued. It was rare for Lucius to say that much, but she knew he had a nice plan in mind.
"We can’t trade the points. I only ask for the elemental fruit, and I will help you to 1st place. Even though you are only one step away from 4th Rank, you are not an ordinary person. You can handle the monsters in the higher tier area, right?" Lucius glanced at Area V and beyond.
"Pretty much. Are you eyeing the elemental fruit only? I thought you wanted the spirit stones, top-tier artifact, or something." Zhuan Mei blinked her eyes in surprise.
Although the elemental fruit might be considered an exceptional elixir, that one was useless for her as she aimed for the higher-grade treasure to nurture her body to the divine level. However, that was for later.
"That’s a fair price. It’s a deal then." Zhuan Mei shook Lucius’ hand. It was a cheap price to gain the other party’s trust.
Unfortunately, she was unaware of Lucius harboring something else in mind to use her to his advantage.
---
Dark, billowing clouds gathered on the horizon, gradually blotting out the vibrant colors of the sky. The clouds took the ominous shades of gray, purple, and indigo, creating a stark contrast against the fading daylight.
The distant echoes of thunder reverberated through the atmosphere, a prelude to the storm’s arrival. In the distance, a rolling curtain of rain descended from the clouds like small, sharp shards of ice.
"The storm arose from there. Someone tried to stage a tribulation here." Evelyn inspected the storm cloud and pointed her finger in a particular direction.
"The storm clouds can reach our Sacred Mountain. Is this a divine ascension?" Ella was concerned.
"That’s possible, but whoever it is, he won’t be able to ascend. Our master is the one who holds the Heaven’s Gate teleportation array." Vanessa gazed far into a particular cave beneath the distant mountain region.
Someone was cultivating there, but his aura was beyond ominous.
"Then, what are we going to do? He will cause a fierce hailstorm soon. We can’t let disturb our Goddess Master’s seclusion." Gabriella sought further instructions.
"It will be dangerous if we go any further. Let’s leave. Whether he came here intentionally or not, we just need to focus on guarding the Sacred Mountain." Ella proposed an idea because the atmosphere ahead didn’t bode well with her.
*Rumble!* *Rumble!*
The thunderclaps became increasingly violent, and the sharp hailstones gradually reached the investigation teams.
By the time everyone was about to leave, a curtain of lightning rained down on them. A massive storm enveloped them as if nature wanted to uproot the land upside down.
Even the nature spirits that came with them were engulfed in the raging evil storm.
Everything happened so suddenly, and everyone immediately gathered to defend themselves as a group.
A similar situation occurred in the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast regions around a thousand miles from the Sacred Mountain.
These four locations were the causes of the approaching ominous storm clouds in the sky above the Sacred Mountain. The investigation teams were soon caught in a fierce storm, struggling to deal with nature’s fury.
"This ominous feeling... Is it the Blood Moon Sovereign and his hidden demonic allies?" Yuuki stood on the roof, looking up at the distant, cloudy, stormy sky.
Cherub and other experts already tried their best for several days to disperse those storm clouds, but the fierce storm was inevitable.
"He borrowed a knife to deal with us. Based on one of my future predictions, he will secretly come to take back what should be his... during the rainstorm, amid the chaotic storm." Luna opened her eyes and finished with her divination meditation.
"Our people are caught in the deadly storms. Then, some disciples and followers send the distress signals. There are several monster stampedes heading towards us, and they will probably arrive here in two hours." Sylvia flew down with a concerned expression.
"They are probably the frightened beasts who fled in fear because of the fierce storm. But the situation suddenly became bad. What should we do?" Zi Xuan looked at Miko. This disaster occurred because of joint efforts from various parties to deal with them.
"..." Miko still closed her eyes on the Heavenly Altar in meditation, guarding her mama from close proximity.
Yuuki looked back. The shrine abode was not affected by stormy weather outside. The kaleidoscopic crystal shone with a gentle glow and warmth touch, resembling a lotus sun reverberated with a Heavenly atmosphere.
"Ely wants us to handle this matter as our training too. We can deal with them with our methods. Let’s just kill the enemies and clean up the rest." Sylvia grinned like a true evil devil.
Ely’s method was still too kind. It might be because those fish were considered far too weak by Ely’s current standard as the Goddess.
However, she was still a bit dissatisfied with the result of the Mermaid Kingdom’s last war. They shouldn’t let Ely, their Supreme Goddess, handle that underwater war alone, even if it was for a little experiment. They were there to do the things for their master!
Although the mermaids could deal with those who wronged them by themselves after the incident, it would always be best to eradicate the enemies without remainder. Or at least, they should torture the enemies on the battlefield before making them pawns!
Regardless, they were their master’s servants and weapons. They should handle the stuffs for their master.
Sylvia persuaded her fellow sisters. Everyone soon agreed to make their move as the extermination force to eradicate the cause of calamity.
