Chapter 328 328 – One Last Visit
"That was fast," Alaric commented.
"Keep training, maybe you will also be able to defeat nobodies quickly," Tiara patted his shoulder as the five left the place, ignoring the cheering crowd.
"Team Leader, aren't you going to see your parents before we leave?" Vivienne chimed in, stopping the banter before it could develop. "I can also come if you go, I like to visit them."
"The truth cannot be obscured by clouds made of lies, just like the sun will not be hidden by the rain for long," Henry used one of his quotes with a serious expression.
"Hey, I'm not lying, I DO like to see them!" Vivienne protested.
"Vivi, I know you are after Emrys' fluffiness and my cooking, but I already went to say goodbye a few days ago," Ken crushed her hope.
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A few days ago:
Ken looked back at his house where he had left Soul with a few instructions and brought his fingertips to his lips. Forming an open circle with his fingers, he used them to produce a sharp, loud whistle that reverberated in the area.
*Howl!*
The howling of a wolf answered, and in the blink of an eye, a large wolf dashed toward Ken.
"Hello, Big Glutton," Ken stroked his fur. It was extremely soft, making the young human feel like he dipped his hand in a pond of fluffiness. He immediately recalled Vivienne and her love for the big wolf; she would often accompany him on his trips to his parents ever since she learned Emrys carried him there bareback.
Emrys' new nickname, 'Big Glutton,' was not in vain. Raising him cost Ken as much as it would cost a person to hire Ken's service to support their cultivation from the first stage to the seventh. In other words, it was an exorbitant price.
Due to Ken's extreme nurturing, the wolf was picky in his food. He never ate meat below his stage, and only agreed to eat the finest of beasts in his stage. If their bloodline was too weak to his taste, he would slap their carcasses with his big paw and send them away, declaring he would never consume such junk food.
"Grr," he purred under Ken's touch and rubbed his nose against his master's chest. Just as Ken liked the wolf's fur, the wolf liked Ken's smooth silk clothes.
Ken scrutinized the wolf with his eyes. Emrys was now a sixth-rank beast. His fur was snow-white with strong hues of gold, a result of the Sun Dragon bloodline embedded in his veins.
It was not the only thing his bloodline added to his body. Two razor-sharp horns, akin to glistening daggers, sprouted from the wolf's head, curving menacingly towards the sky. They glinted under the sun, adding a terrifying majesty to the creature's already fearsome visage.
"Let's go, I'm going to visit my parents," Ken told him, getting a soft growl in response. He jumped on Emrys' back, two meters and a half high, and lay on the fur. He could easily understand why Vivi was obsessed with it, even with the large muscles moving underneath, the stay was still pleasant.
Emrys kicked the ground and ventured out of the sect, his speed so high Ken's sight blurred into tunnel vision. They only stopped twice – once at the exit from the inner sect and another at the exit from the sect's base.
Gladly, Emrys used a barrier to stop the wind from inconveniencing his master, letting Ken enjoy a ride with nothing more than an enjoyable breeze. Ken took in the sights of the forest.
The forest was a realm of enchantment, its towering trees radiating vibrant Qi that tingled on Ken's skin. Leaves shimmered iridescently, and the ground was a tapestry of vividly colored flowers, pulsating with Qi.
It was only during his trips that Ken appreciated the beauty surrounding him in the cultivation world, especially there, near the central zone, where the Qi density was at its peak, nourishing the beast and vegetation worlds.
Before, he used to only focus on achieving his objectives and ignored the rest, but now, perhaps under Tiara's influence, he also appreciated the beautiful view.
Above, the treetops formed a dense cover, sometimes parting to show the blue sky. Sunlight poured in, casting a golden glow over the woods.
Disciples were scattered in clearings, either dueling with the local beasts they needed to defeat or meditating under ancient trees, drawing from the rich Qi instead of paying for the training rooms. Others collected rare herbs and spiritual fruits, treasures of the Qi-dense woods.
Emrys navigated the terrain with ease, his presence commanding respect from the intelligent beasts that lurked, allowing them unchallenged passage. His bloodline was pure and his rank was high, prompting the beasts under the Supremacy Phase to retreat.
As they approached the forest's edge, the dense trees gave way to rolling hills and meadows, revealing the walls of a city in the distance.
The trip took one hour, and they stood outside his parents' door. They didn't bother passing through the gate, simply jumping above the wall fast enough to go unnoticed by the guards.
*Knock knock*
The door was opened, and Ken saw his smiling mother behind it. She didn't wait a second to step forward and embrace her son before dragging him inside.
Emrys could only make a sad whimper and wait outside, trying to ignore the curious gazes of every single person passing by. He was too big to enter the house, forcing him to remain in the street.
He could only grit his teeth in annoyance and ignore the few kids brave enough to approach him and touch his fur before their parents hurriedly pulled them away.
"Mom, Dad, how are you two doing?" Ken broke free from his mother's hug and sat on the sofa.
"We are fine, I just found a job teaching the kids of a few officials in the city during the day, I guide them into the first stage. Aiya, I was lucky that I learned the manuals you gave me, the expectations here are much higher than in the branch of the Phoenix Feather Sect," Haoran laughed as he sat down.
The maid served them some tea and biscuits before excusing herself. She already knew the protocols – when Ken came to visit, she would get the day off.
"I just keep practicing the alchemy theories you gave me and sell some of my more ordinary crafts. I gave Henry my accumulation of pills just a week or two ago."
Ken, knowing his mother's fondness for Alchemy, had provided her with the knowledge to experiment with in her free time, which was most of the time as she had no responsibilities as a normal resident in a mainly mortal city.
Since everything she needed was supplied by Ken, she gave his subordinates her best pills to sell along with Darma's, although Mei never manufactured pills for that purpose.
"How is your cultivation?" Ken asked as he caressed his mother's arm gently.
"Even with all the resources you gave me, I'm still at the peak of the fourth stage. I can't break through, I miss my nascent soul," Mei said in sadness.
"She is still as feisty as she was at her peak though," Haoran joked, earning a hateful glare from his wife. "Ahm, sorry," he looked away.
"There's nothing to worry about, Mom," Ken smiled, "I came here today for two reasons. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
"Bad news. Is it about Aaron?" Mei immediately asked, imagining the worst. Even though everything was nearly perfect in the past fifteen years, there was always one sore point, one blemish on those beautiful years under Ken's protection. Aaron, their missing son. Even after all these years, Ken had no reliable news about him.
"No, it's not, nothing changed on that front," Ken sighed, "The bad news is that this is a goodbye, I might not return for a year or two."
"Where are you going?"
"On a mission. And for training. Both, those interests are intertwined."
The mission was secret and dangerous. Telling them the details would only make them worried and potentially even endanger them.
"I see," Haoran replied softly, not asking for further details. He understood Ken's intentions and chose to trust his son as he had done many times before. "What is the good news then?"
"That today I'm here to restore Mom's nascent soul," the young man smirked at his parents' expression.
"Are you a seventh-rank alchemist?!" Mei exclaimed in excitement. It officially placed him among the elite of the continent, a person with great influence on the great twenty sects.
Knowing that her son achieved this special status was enough to make the mother inside her ignite, turning her breath hurried, her eyes burning with fervor. She completely missed the point of having her nascent soul healed, only caring about her son's accomplishment.
"Exactly. And to make it even better, I haven't concocted the pill yet; you get to watch a grandmaster alchemist in action today!"
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