"Oi." Hearing his intention, Shiro smiled twitched as she glanced up at him.

  However, the moment she glanced up, she noticed that he was nowhere to be seen.

  "Did…… did he just run away?" Shiro muttered as her smile twitched.

  {I’m pretty sure that if he stayed, you would have pierced him by now.} Nimue chuckled.

  ’I mean, you’re not wrong but does he have to run so quickly? It’s not like I can harm him so easily to begin with.’


  {I’d say it’s more a matter of pride. He is in front of his subordinates after all. Losing his first time this way would be quite a way to ruin his reputation after all.}

  While Nimue and Shiro were talking to each other, Keiko and Keomi were standing not too far behind her with their chosen weapons.

  Seeing that Nan Tian had disappeared, they looked down at the weapons and wondered if they should put it back.

  At the same time, even the elders were surprised to their core. Their branch master, one that had been neutral with everyone in the sect apart from the sect master, had actually declared that he wanted to make this girl his wife and ran away before she could even respond.

  "Um…… how should we address this miss?" Su Bo Qin asked respectfully.

  "Ah just call me Shiro. So…… your branch master said that we’re allowed to take something from the vault so would my cousin and sister be allowed the weapon?" Shiro asked while glancing towards Keiko and Keomi.

  "Of course. Since most of the treasury was obtained through the branch master’s efforts, he has the most say in how it’s distributed." Su Bo Qin nodded his head.

  "I see…… thank you. Oh before you go, do you know where your branch master got his romantic advice? Stalking a girl is not exactly the best way to go about things." Shiro asked as she decided to get revenge through exposing some of his deeds.

  "I’m not too sure but…… the branch master ’stalked’ a girl?" Su Bo Qin tilted his head.

  "Yes, yes he did. Not exactly the best move considering the fact that I didn’t even know that he was a friend of mine back then. Honestly, if he had continued, I would have tried to pierce him with a spear or two." Shiro sighed.

  ’Wait what?’ Su Bo Qin paused for a moment as he had just heard something incredibly weird.

  "You…… would have stabbed the branch master?" he asked hesitantly.

  "Mn? Yeah. I won’t go into details since I think it’s better for you not to know. Anyways, just tell your branch master to meet me back at the teleport shrine so that we can actually start to make our way to Mount Everest." Shiro waved her hand as she was about to walk away.

  However, before she could, Nan Tian returned with a smile.

  "You called?"

  "Were- nevermind. How do we get out of this place? I don’t want us to stop for too long since Yuki is still trapped." Shiro sighed.

  "Right then, follow me." Nan Tian smiled as he quickly dismissed the elders before showing Shiro the way out of the branch.

  As they were making their way through, Shiro’s presence next to Nan Tian caught a few of the members’ attention as they were curious about who she was. But since Nan Tian never introduced her to them, it meant that they didn’t need to know so they didn’t ask.

  Arriving at the edge, Nan Tian brought out a badge of sorts and presented it to the barrier.

  A faint halo of light could be seen pulsing out as an opening formed within the barrier.

  "Step through this and we’ll be within Han Tin forest. There shouldn’t be anything too insane within this as most of the monsters average around level 200, giving you a decent challenge should you bump into one. Of course, with me, your cousin and your sister here, I doubt the monsters will threaten us at all." He chuckled as Shiro only shrugged.

  Pulling out her phone, Shiro checked their location on the map and realised that they were quite deep into China as it would take a few days to reach the edge if they weren’t in a hurry. If they were in a hurry and used their skills to travel faster, there was a chance that they could attract unwanted attention from the three high level monsters so they needed to be careful.

  Mapping out a route that they could take, the four of them started their journey north.

  ###

  Deep within the caverns of a mountain, a large figure suddenly reared her head back as her snake tongue flickered out her mouth for a moment.

  "A queen has arrived." She muttered as her hair started to writhe around in a grotesque manner.

  "I must consume and conquer." The gorgon hissed as she made a hole in the ground and proceeded to slither away from her nest.

  While this was happening, a similar scene was playing out as a dragon opened his eyes slowly.

  "A queen has made her presence known within this territory of man. Has she taken their side? I must see which race she belongs to before choosing what must be done." He growled deeply.

  Spreading out his wings, he was about to fly up into the sky when a figure blocked his path.

  "I’m afraid you’ll have to keep me company first." The man said coldly as he slammed his hands down. A sudden hail fire of light pierced down from the sky as the dragon was forced back onto the ground.

  "Who are you?" the dragon growled, clearly annoyed by the sudden intruder.

  "My name is of no concern to someone that is about to die. Just know that you’re about to become nourishment for a god. Not everyone is as lucky as you are so offer your head willingly and I shall make this painless. Fight back and not a single scale will be intact after I’m done with you." The figure warned as light danced around him.

  "I care not of your identity as a god. Whether that be true or not, know this. I bow to NO GOD. I serve only her majesty the queen!" The dragon declared as a crimson radiance exuded from his body, sending waves of heat into the surrounding area, melting it with every passing second.

  "Then pay for your heresy." The figure scoffed as mana flared around him.

  Light flickered in the sky, transforming themselves into an array of weapons that surrounded the dragon.

  As the first light blade slashed against the mighty dragon, a deep burn mark could be seen, branded onto the dragon’s scales. Despite his abnormal resistance to fire, these swords could still burn him like nothing.

  Crying out in a rage, the dragon knew that this was a fight that he had to fight without holding anything back. Even at the cost of sacrificing some of his life essence to power his spells.

  As the two fought, the land seemed to cry for mercy as mountains were destroyed while lakes were evaporated.

  The people that sensed this fight immediately reported to the higher authorities as the martial hero, Ling Tian, was quickly notified about this calamity.

  Rushing out of his quarters, he immediately made his way towards the north of China. He knew that there lay three monsters that could warrant a peak tier 5 task force to take down and the best he could accomplish right now was to force them back.

  Should two of them be fighting right now, the only thing he could do was pray that they were far from the cities. After all, those at the beginning of A class could summon hell with a wave of their hand never mind those at the peak of A class.

  As for the final monster ruling the areas around China, its figure was shrouded with shadows and mist. A pair of purple eyes pierced the veil as nostalgia seemed to flicker in its gaze.

  "A new queen rises. How long have I waited? Should I report my findings to the capital or shall I visit the new queen myself." The figure tilted its head as their body swayed in the wind.

  "I suppose I shall see with my own eyes. I will be the judge of the new queen. If she is not up to standard, only death shall follow." The figure narrowed its eyes as the mist coagulated into a single figure. A woman that had ice white skin and black hair that seemed to shimmer with hints of purple.

  She had long ears like an elf and a pair of purple eyes that was surrounded by a black sclera rather than white.

  [Estrella – Spirit Guardian of Realms]