Chapter One Hundred and Three: The Southern Forest

Everyone had boarded the ship. Though the hull was cold to the touch, the girls were all in high spirits, and the fear of the previous night had vanished without a trace.

Fortunately, there was no need to row. With White Saint Wild guiding it with magic, the nimble little boat cut cleanly through the water and left behind the scarlet expanse of the Red Sea. Ahead stretched an open blue ocean, and above them, a lofty, crystalline sky.

Over the next few days at sea, Black Feather felt that the power of the one-eyed troll he had absorbed into his body had still not fully been digested. He could only take advantage of the journey to sit quietly and rest his spirit. Energy flowed around him in an invisible aura, and his magical power continued to grow.

Scarlet Heart still sat apart in solitary silence, washing the blood from her greatsword with the cool seawater outside the ship.

“I know a friend from the Divine Dragon Clan. She also uses a greatsword, and she can turn into a dragon,” said Sky Tear, moving over beside her. After sharing life and death through that battle, she no longer found Scarlet Heart quite so difficult to approach.

“I cannot turn into a dragon.” Her answer remained brief and decisive, her tone hard.

“Why not?” Sky Tear asked at once.

“Because I am not of the royal bloodline.”

“Oh...”

“Only the royal house may enter Dragon Island. The rest of us are outsiders, living on the plains beyond the island. We can marry into other races, and our numbers are far greater than those of the royal family. At present, the royal house of the Divine Dragon Clan has only three members, and only they can take dragon form.”

“Three?!” Black Feather thought for a moment. He seemed to have already met all three. Divine Fruit was one of them, along with the mustached Uncle Divine Wood who always stayed by her side, and the matriarch Dragon Granny he had seen at the Border Great Wall.

“The bloodline of the Sacred Dragon is exceedingly noble. They are born from dragon eggs.”

“Huh?” Sky Tear was even more astonished. Could Divine Fruit have... been born from a dragon egg?

“That is all I know.”

Suddenly, Black Feather, who had been sitting in meditation, opened his eyes. The aura around him shifted. Sky Tear noticed it at once and hurriedly asked,

“Black Feather, don’t tell me you’ve broken through to the next realm?”

“Yes. I’ve reached the late stage of Mage rank.”

“What?” White Saint Wild and the others were filled with envy. Among them, White Saint Wild had originally been the strongest in cultivation, yet even he could only click his tongue and say, “I never expected you to break through faster than I do, kid.”

Black Feather recalled the heroic way Scarlet Heart had hacked at the demonic tendrils during battle, and asked her, “Captain Scarlet Heart, what level is your current strength?”

“If measured by your Mage ranks, it would be equivalent to a Mage Mentor.”

“A Mage Mentor? Then you’re qualified to join the Pantheon. Why stay in the Mage Alliance?” Black Feather pressed.

“The Pantheon is not exactly a fine place...” Sky Tear nudged Black Feather’s elbow and whispered.

Scarlet Heart was clearly sensitive about the subject. With a disdainful look at the cold blade in her hand, she said, “We people of the Divine Dragon Clan would never be the Empire’s hounds. I may only be a wandering bounty warrior, but I have always fought for justice. I can face my sword with a clear conscience!”

Black Feather remembered that Divine Fruit had once spoken of the Pantheon slaughtering the demon race. The Divine Dragon Clan seemed to be furious over that matter and had long remained at odds with the Empire. Dragon Island, too, was self-governing and independent, forbidding imperial garrisons from entering.

Black Feather chose not to pursue the subject further.

Though their voyage was slow, they encountered no major storms or rough seas. After drifting upon the ocean for several more days, they finally reached the southern continent’s coast. When they came ashore, the beach was soft and golden, the shallow waves clear, and the scenery tranquil. White Saint Wild recalled the ice ship, and after resting on the sand for a while, they continued on.

The southern continent was renowned throughout the world for its dense forests, beautiful lakes, and abundant life. As they climbed into the low, rolling hills, they found themselves surrounded by stretches of lush woodland.

While the central continent was deep in winter, the southern continent remained as warm as summer. All through the woods could be seen flower gardens and orchards. The orchards were planted with all manner of strange fruit trees, their branches weighed down with heavy, ripe clusters.

White Saint Wild stopped beneath a tree with a fiery red canopy and star-shaped fruit to inspect it.

“What kind of tree is this?” Sky Tear asked, stepping closer.

“This is a Flame-Love Fruit tree. The fruit tastes spicy, and it is excellent material for refining invigorating tonics.”

“And this one?” Sky Tear pointed at a tree high above, bearing round blue-violet fruit.

“That is a Mystic Fruit tree. Many recovery potions on the market are extracted from mystic fruit.”

“Oh.” Sky Tear’s eyes shone with curiosity.

A little farther on they passed a flower garden, where countless varieties bloomed in dazzling confusion. White Saint Wild blinked his peach-blossom eyes and exclaimed again and again, “As expected of the southern continent. It’s practically a treasury of medicinal herbs!”

Sky Tear suddenly remembered something Divine Fruit had once said: if she were not of the Divine Dragon royal house, she would truly have liked to live as an ordinary fruit farmer or florist in a village near Dragon Island...

Behind them, Black Feather plucked a Flame-Love Fruit and swallowed it in one gulp. At once his face turned red to the ears, and a searing blast of spicy air hissed from his nostrils and mouth. Thankfully, he quickly covered his lips and kept the others from noticing.

Scarlet Heart remained silent as she walked in front. Soon, the group came to an arched stone bridge. Beneath it ran a shallow stream so clear they could see to the bottom; its surface shimmered with ripples, and the shadows of fish and shrimp were cast onto the pebbles below. In the distance, a sparse village could be seen dimly ahead.

“The village is up front,” she said. “Our purpose here is to heal the villagers.”

Across the river, there were still clusters of small flower gardens. In one of them, two girls wearing aprons, sunflower hats, and veils were bent over their work.

“Hey!” Sky Tear called to them from afar.

The two veiled girls turned back. Seeing that the group crossing the little stone bridge were unfamiliar outsiders, they immediately spun around and fled. As they ran, they dropped to all fours, darting straight into the surrounding woods.

“They’re from the demon race,” Scarlet Heart said at a measured pace. “They’re afraid of strangers. Shouting at them like that will only scare them off.”

“Oh... are there many demon race people here?”

She remembered that Divine Fruit had once said the demon race was despised and pushed aside on other continents, and that only on the southern continent could they live freely.

As she thought of this, a peculiar sound suddenly exploded in Sky Tear’s ears. She whirled around at once and saw, above the forest to the right, a wisp of purple smoke rising into the air, linking the lush treetops to the sapphire sky.

“Damn it!”

Sky Tear’s face changed. Instinctively, a staff materialized in her hand, and she tightened her grip on the pendant of the Book of Summoning.

“I need to go take a look!”

She rushed off the stone bridge and ran toward the forest.

Black Feather knew that was a signal flare of the Dark Elf Clan. Anyone who saw it would hurry there at once. So he said to Scarlet Heart, “Something must have happened. I’ll go with her. Let’s meet up in the village ahead.”