Liz came back crying from one of her trips where she had gone to meet someone she had found on the Internet.
As it had turned out, the person she was meeting had been good friends with her husband Rob, who had died during a sect invasion.
People had created a site where one could put up pictures of their loved ones and see if someone else recognized them. Liz had put Rob's picture up on a whim, and someone had recognized him.
The family mourned for a full week before things slowly became normal again. However, it still took Liz quite some time to get over her husband's death.
Alex spent some time with senior Yang, learning about a few more things from him. He even acquired a technique that would allow him to convert low-grade spirit stones into a higher-grade ones simply by using the technique.
Alex wasn't sure how useful the technique would be just yet, but he was sure he could make some use of it in the future. The technique had no name as it was apparently something the senior had read from a nameless book. Still, he called it the 'Qi Grade Upgrade technique' which was more than enough to explain what the technique did, despite being a rather mediocre name.
Sometime later, the results of the poll that was created were finally out. It was somewhat surprising to see how easily the Southern Continent won on the poll.
Only those that had a family or close relations with people in the Western Continent decided to return back there.
Of the people from the Northern Continent, only half of them decided to return back to that continent as well.
The majority of the people, even ones that weren't originally from any of the three continents decided to go to the Southern Continent.
It was a combination of reasons that led to this decision for most people. For one, Southern Continent was the safest continent from what the people could tell. It was also the most advanced with many strong people. It wasn't forever cold either, like the Northern continent.
Most importantly, the quality of pills found in the Southern Continent was many times better than any of the other continents. Also, given that their King was a person like them, they didn't have to worry about being mistreated either.
Once it was clear that the people going to the Southern Continent would be sent first, people started making preparations. 2 months later, they all found out where they had to go to find the Teleportation formation.
Unlike when they arrived, while going back they had to go through the main formation, which was in Senior Yang's mansion. So, Hao Ya and Liz had already returned to the mansion to help out the senior with preparing for the massive number of people entering the building.
Back at home, Alex and the rest prepared to leave as well.
"I still can't believe this," Fan Yanshi said, looking at the massive farm and mansion. "Are you really giving this all to me?"
Just 3 days ago, Alex had gone and brought him back along with his daughter after making him fully quit his current laborious job.
He had no idea why he was made to do that, but now that he was here, he was finally understanding it all. He was being given everything that Alex and his family owned.
"There's no point in us keeping it anymore," Emily said. "Now that we've all decided to leave this place, we will likely never return at all. So, we need someone to take care of this place."
"We have no other family members alive that aren't leaving with us. The closest ones we could think of was you, so we chose you," the older Alex said.
"I… I don't know how to thank you." The man started crying while his little daughter tugged on his clothes to stop him from crying.
Ronron crouched in front of the little girl. "Lilin, I'll be leaving now. Don't forget about your older sister, okay?" she asked with a little smile.
The girl nodded.
Emily talked to the little girl as well. In a way, this was her child too. So, when it came to leaving her, she found it difficult, but in the end, she had to leave her with her father.
"We'll be leaving now, take care," Alex said. Then, everyone got into the small van they had reserved and left.
Emily and Ronron wiped their tears a bit. Some of it was for little Lilin, while some of it was for the house they would be leaving.
Helen and Graham looked back as well with a bittersweet look in their eyes. They were sad they were leaving, but they were happy where they would be leaving to.
Of the two Alex, one teared up a bit, while the other one was simply happy that he was taking all of his family with him.
"I wish we could bring along little Lilin," Ronron said.
"Her father doesn't want to leave this place, so we can't help it," Alex said. "Without any spiritual roots, her life wouldn't be all that better in the other continent either. She would instead be one of the many mortals that had to look up to so many cultivators."
"But still…" Ronron had no argument to make. She simply didn't like the fact that she had to leave her sister behind. "At least she will grow up in the same house I did."
The group took the train, and half a day later they were outside of senior Yang's mansion.
The number of people that were streaming into his house was perhaps enough to fill an entire city. With nearly a million people wanting to go to the Southern Continent, it was going to take quite a lot of time to transfer them over.
Alex and his family were allowed entry through a different path, all because of what was happening inside the mansion.
As soon as one entered the mansion grounds, they immediately fell into a trance that made them follow the simple path to the teleportation formation inside.
"In a day or two, I'll start teleporting the people away. I will need you to go there first and prepare your people to handle the influx of newcomers," the senior said.
Alex nodded. "I'll do that," he said. "Will sister Hao be coming with us?"
The man shook his head. "She'll have to stay behind and do the same in the other two continents. I'll send her once everything is ready."
"We have 2 years before we go to the Eastern Continent, so it is better the sooner she comes so we can prepare," Alex said.
The senior nodded. "What if the emperor doesn't accept?" the senior asked. "I'm worried he really won't accept."
"I don't think we need to worry about that right now," Alex said. "That's something we can figure out after the emperor rejects. I might have a few things to bribe him, but time will tell if he accepts or not."
The senior nodded. "If only I or the others could go there," he said softly.
Alex went on to talk with senior Luhei before leaving while Ronron came to her master.
"Master, you aren't angry that I'm leaving, right?" she asked.
"Haha, of course not," the man said while stroking her hair. "You've grown up, and I can't keep you confined for long. I need to let you spread your wings and experience the outside life if I want you to fly and grow."
After a small goodbye, Ronron walked away from him. Liz also talked to the senior for a bit, thanking him for the book she was given.
They all gathered over the teleportation foundation, ready to leave.
Alex looked around him at his family, all of whom he was taking with him back to his continent. After so many years, everyone was back together.
Almost everyone.
There were still two more people missing. Pearl and Hannah.
'I found him, but I still can't take him back just yet,' he thought. Still, he knew Pearl was doing his best. It would only be a matter of time before he came back to him as well.
"Are you all ready?" the senior asked.
Everyone nodded.
"Alright, here I go," the senior said and started activating the formation.
Alex and the rest felt the aura of teleportation take over them.
"Good luck."
That was the last thing they heard before they were teleported away.
They arrived in the Southern Continent on the other side of the teleportation formation. The moment the soldiers and staff around the teleportation formation saw Scarlet and Alex, they immediately bowed.
"Welcome back, your Majesty!" the entire group spoke at once.
Alex looked at the place that had been waiting for him, for his family. He turned around to the rest of his family with a big smile on his face.
"Welcome to my Kingdom!"
Thus ended a saga of Alex's life, one where he was finally freed from his ties from both the Western Continent and the Central Continent.
His new life in the Southern Continent with his friends and families would signal the beginning of a whole new saga.
As for what this saga would bring to his life, only fate could answer that question.
[End of Book 4: Fire and Crown]
* * * * * *
[Extras]
The blood burned on Pearl's body, both on the outside and inside. How many days had it been since it had started? 10? 20?
He didn't remember.
His mind had gone blank for so long that he no longer perceived time at all. All he could tell was that he was hurting.
He was hurting and he wanted it to stop.
He had forgotten where he was, where he had come from, and where he was going. Why was he here? Why was he in pain?
All conscious thoughts seemed foreign to him at this point. Even screaming in pain was not something he could do.
His fur was no longer white as he had been bathing in the fountain and his own blood for nearly a year. In fact, it looked more black than red with how thick the blood was.
'Why am I here?' a thought finally came to his head. A conscious one.
'I'll wait for you!' a small memory flashed from deep in his mind. 'Good Luck, Pearl.'
'Brother?' he thought. He remembered the last words that Alex had spoken to him, right before he had come to this room.
'I love you, my son.' He heard the whispers of a dying beast that licked him with love even as she died. A memory that was hidden so far in his mind that he was surprised he even remembered it at all.
'Mother?' he thought with pain building up in his heart.
'You must survive, Shouchuang.' Another memory floated in his head, one spoken by a beast whose voice was loud like that of a thousand lightning strikes.
'…who?' Pearl did not remember this beast at all. "Who?" he asked, out loud.
'Survive and Live!'
His eyes opened wide, shining bright yellow in the darkness of the room.
"I will survive," he shouted with gritting teeth. "I will live."
* * * * *
A young man and woman stood on the beach of an island. In front of them was a cave, the insides of which shined with some light, purple and silver to be exact.
"Are you ready?" the young man wrote on the palm of the young woman standing next to him.
Unlike the young man's simple attire, the young woman wore a pink robe with a white veil that covered her face. Through the white veil, one could see an orange mask that had no openings for any orifices.
The girl nodded in response to the question.
The young man took her palm with his left hand. With his right, he brought out a sword that was Ivory white in color and had an indent near its handle.
He pulled her into the cave and arrived in front of the thing that was glowing inside.
A Voidgate.
The Voidgate was small, barely large enough to fit a child. Through it, the young man could see a world that was an amalgamation of purple and silver lights.
Trying to squeeze through this Voidgate would mean certain death. However, the young man had no such fear.
He activated the sword in his hand and put it into the Voidgate. From there, he simply pushed it downward.
As if a searing hot knife on a stick of butter, the boundary of the Void Gate simply melted and became larger. Large enough to fit two people.
"Time to return," he spoke to himself. He took a deep breath before pulling the woman close to him. He grabbed her by the waist and then walked ahead with her.
Then, the two of them disappeared into the Voidgate, gone to a land far away.
* * * * *
A man sat in a bright room, working in front of a cauldron full of ingredients, surrounded by formations all around him aiding him in his task.
He wore a deep blue robe, accentuating the long blue hair on his head that fell straight behind him like a waterfall.
He silently worked on the pill he was making, giving nothing about his emotions away through his face at all times.
The pill came out a second later, which he placed on the formation next to him.
97%.
Finally, the man frowned, the only emotion he had shown since the beginning. He had worked with the best ingredients, using the best recipe and the best technique, aided by some of the best formations this world had seen.
Even then, he could never reach 100%.
He walked out of the room and saw a woman who had been bowing in front of the room for who knew how long.
"What is it?" the blue-haired man asked.
"Commander Jianyu has sent us a message," the woman said. "The people that left the Southern Continent have started returning. In fact, more have returned than the ones that left."
"Is that so?" the man asked. "So there really is a civilization hidden beyond those walls of violent Qi, huh?"
"It would appear so," the woman said.
"Tell the commander to keep me updated," the man said and walked away.
The woman continued bowing toward the man as he left.
"As you say, your Majesty."
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