NOVPUB"Heave and ho! Heave and ho! Don't stop, Qiong Qi, don't stop!"
Ace chanted with exaggerated enthusiasm, grinning like a madman.
[Human! Once I unravel this witchery, I'll rip you apart with my own claws!]
"Good luck with that, soul bond," Ace muttered smugly, not even sparing him a glance as he lazily dipped his oar into the water.
Currently, the two were out at sea. Ace paddling at the back, while a grumbling, furious baby Qiong Qi rowed at the front like an unwilling boat beast of burden.
"Left! Go left! The right path leads to death!"
Ace pointed frantically as they neared a fork in the river.
Naturally, Qiong Qi turned right.
Ace's eye twitched. "This stupid beast…"
[Haha this is what you get, you vile human!] Qiong Qi roared in joy.
But the expected surprise didn't happen.
[Huh?! What's happening?! Where's the teleportation?! You tricked me, human!]
Ace rolled his eyes. "You didn't listen. I told you, left.. the left leads straight to the castle gates. But nooo, the mighty divine beast knows best. Now we are going to be rowing for a while more."
[Lies! You lie with every breath! Your soul color is pitch black, you hear me?! PITCH BLACK!]
Ace stuck a finger into his ear and wiggled it mockingly. "Hmm? Sorry, did someone say something? Sounded like whining."
[Argh!]
The man and beast continued rowing through the ocean.
Thankfully, no sea monsters dared approach, every predator instinctively avoiding the area around the divine beast Qiong Qi, even if he was still in his pint-sized form.
"Good thing, too," Ace mused. "Monster repellents are expensive these days. Glad the system tossed you in for free."
[I AM NOT A MONSTER REPELLENT, HUMAN!] Qiong Qi roared. [I HATE HUMANS! Why won't one of these sea freaks leap out and eat you already?!]
"Right. Go right," Ace said coolly, smirking to himself.
[As if. We go straight.]
"Sure, sure," Ace nodded cheerfully. "That works too."
The beast immediately turned left.
"NO! NO! That's the death route, you absolute idiot! We're gonna DIE!" Ace screamed, clutching the boat as if that would save them.
Qiong Qi laughed.
[Why do you think I'm choosing this path huh! Ho Ho Ho!]
The beast actually laughed, a deep, wheezing kind of laugh that echoed across the sea.
And then swoosh! a flash of light enveloped them.
The next moment, the two reappeared at the very top of the majestic floating castle.
Ace rose to his feet, brushing off his robes like a noble returning from battle.
"Good job," he said with a wide grin. "Couldn't have done it without you."
Qiong Qi stared at him, his eyes glowing with such raw hatred they could curdle milk.
Ace looked ahead, then paused. "Whoa. What a gate…"
But before he could step forward, his eyes caught something else, dozens of teenagers gathered at the courtyard, dressed in vibrant uniforms, sorted into color-coded groups: brown, red, green, and blue.
Everyone's oozing with aura, each flexing their cultivation base to show who's in charge of the area around.
It was like everyone was trying to maintain dominance except for one group. The group in brown.
"Master Zhi!"
A familiar voice rang out, a girl clad in brown robes waved enthusiastically.
It was Hua Lin, granddaughter of Hua Ting, the powerful patriarch of the Hua Family.
Yes, that Hua Lin.
The one Hua Ting tried to secretly betroth
to Ace but never really said it out… and the same girl who marched up to him to
break the engagement before it even officially existed.
At least she did it in private and not in front of the mass. Would have been cool if she did, maybe I could be a protagonist if that was the case.
Ace blinked at her. Then blinked at the crowd behind her.
"…What's going on here?" he asked, eyes flicking between the groups in colorful robes.
"Master Zhi," Hua Lin stepped forward, cheeks faintly pink, "This is the bi-annual Abyss Exploration. Everyone's gathered here to be sent through the gate."
Ace tilted his head. "Right… and how did you all end up at this very specific floating castle in the sky?"
"Oh! Through, um, trial and error," Hua Lin said proudly, puffing up slightly.
"After some serious deduction for years from exploring, the four clans deduced the exact time to enter to arrive straight at the palace in the sky, which for this year is today, we land right at the castle entrance."
She paused.
Then squinted.
"…Wait. How did you get here?"
Ace gave her a sly smile. "Thanks to your twin elders."
Hua Lin froze. "But… those two are currently being punished! Grandfather nearly popped a vein when he found out they sent you ahead of time!"
She turned and whispered to her peers, flailing her arms. "We literally only came in today to rescue him! We had a plan! It was actually a really good plan!"
Ace nodded solemnly. "Ah… I see. Well, if it helps, I can just go and wait in a dark cave somewhere. Let you all find me. Keep the plan alive." 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
He turned theatrically, as if searching for the nearest zone to jump off from.
"That won't be necessary," Hua Lin said, grabbing his sleeve before he could take a single step.
"Well," Ace said, settling down on the edge of the floating platform like he owned the sky, "why don't you tell me about this place?"
Hua Lin gave him a sideways glance—equal parts amused and exasperated—but joined him nonetheless. With practiced grace, she smoothed her skirt and folded it neatly beneath her legs before resting her hands in her lap.
"Inside that palace lies an inheritance we've been trying to claim for years," she began, her voice calm but edged with weight.
"Many have lost their lives in the process, there's no denying that. But we've also gained valuable treasures."
She paused, then added, "Just recently, a member of the Xiao Clan discovered a grade five dagger within. Their current clan leader, Xiao Ziyun, used it to hold her ground against three Dark Gold rank opponents."
Then suddenly, the ground trembled.
A deep, rumbling quake rolled through the floating platform, shaking loose dust from the ancient stone beneath their feet.
All chatter suddenly ceased and every head snapped toward the palace.
