The energy drilled into Lu Pei’s body through the ‘King’ character and before long, cracks appeared all over his body.

The twilight gave rise to a scream of pain that reverberated across the distant plains.

****

Long Di sat back down on the carriage in a huff when he realised what happened.

“Who is that?” he asked himself. He placed the bronze saber back in his storage ring.

He was going to save Feng Yu and Yaomu Shou himself, only stopping short when he sensed someone charging into the gas.

After using the advantage of his spiritual perception to see what was happening, he began to feel more at ease.

Shu!

A figure shot out of the gas at breakneck speed and it didn’t take long for Long Di to see that it was the same figure who charged into the gas to save both Feng Yu and Yaomu Shou.

He had both of them strewn over his shoulder like a 90s hobo’s bag on a stick. He lept a great deal and landed on the carriage, shocking everyone but Long Di.

He quickly placed the two girls down and looked towards everyone with that same smile, “Hello everyone!”

“Hello, do you know how to steer a carriage?” Long Di asked him.

“Hm? Yes… why do you ask?” the white-clad stranger asked.

Long Di unhurriedly pointed in a particular direction and everyone turned their heads where they could see the remaining pandas a few hundred metres from them closing the distance fast!

“Ah, I see, rape does seem to be incoming. Then excuse me.” He sat down in the driver’s seat and took the reins and shook it to direct the Super Donkeys.

Boom!

The powerful hooves dug into the ground and took everyone away at a speed that brought the pandas’ sexual frustration to new heights.

The near-instant acceleration of the super donkeys brought powerful tremors wherever they tread, but this mysterious person’s carriage driving skills brought none of the tremors to the carriage itself.

After around half a day, the pandas that were chasing them could no longer be seen and even when using his spiritual perception to view the surroundings, Long Di could sense neither hair nor hide of them.

With this being the case, the white-clad stranger brought the carriage to a gentle halt. Even the super donkeys who were normally kicking in what I’d call a coked-out desire to make the land their own, whilst neighing like the rejects for AGT, were surprisingly docile.

At the moment, Xiannu Liang was busy healing Yaomu Shou and Feng Yu simultaneously. When the stranger caught sight of this, he raised a brow in slight surprise.

“A Nymph? Interesting… and are you sure you want to do this while I’m still here?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Long Di asked.

“Well, since this is your harem and all, I can understand if you’re comfortable with it, but I am a stranger, or are you a deviant and don’t mind me watching?”

“The hell are you on about?” Long Di asked once more, wondering if this person’s head was screwed on right.

"Well… you’re going to relieve them once they wake up, right?” he asked Long Di, cocking his head to the side wondering where he lost him.

Long Di stared back at him with that same dull expression and answered, “They’re big girls, they can go to the bathroom on their own. It’s not my responsibility to help them pee, good sir.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

“You’re going to force me to say it?”

“I’m not forcing you to say anything.”

“Is this not your harem? Do you know what to do with your own harem?”

“Why is that your business? Plus, I’m eleven.”

“So two years short from adulthood. Why not get a head start?”

“Why are you trying to pimp out an eleven ye-”

Suddenly Yaomu Shou shuddered as her eyes opened in a flash. The blush on her purple skin cast it in an even darker shade, making her even more so exceptionally beautiful, and there was a lustful expression on her face.

She looked all around and saw the closest humanoid object (which was Xiannu Liang) and pounced on her without warning!

“Kyaaa!”

Xiannu Liang tried to fight Yaomu Shou off, but the latter was too strong and was holding her down to commit unspeakable acts!

“L-Long Di, help me please!” Xiannu Liang screamed.

The stranger that was watching all this time finally reacted, “Ah, so your name is Long Di?”

“Yes, yes, it is… what is your name?” Long Di asked without the slightest worry about what was happening over yonder.

“My name is-”

“Long Di!” Xiannu Liang screamed his name once more.

“I think she wants you to join her,” the white-clad young man pointed out.

“Really?” Long Di asked. He then looked over to where Xiannu Liang was fighting with Yaomu Shou.

Shrugging his shoulders, “Well, I have no experience in this regard, but if she wants me to get in on this, I might as well use it as training material.” He got up and made his way over to where the two were still in a tussle.

…

“Let me go, Ban Yan!”

“Calm down Wan Li”

“I’m calm! I’m calm, I tell ya! I’ll cut him! I’ll just cut him a little bit! I promise!”

“I want to cut something myself, but let’s just observe things a little longer. I don’t see anything lustful in his eyes!”

“Then let me cut off the lust and I’ll come right back!”

Uncle Yan was trying his best to hold his younger partner back at the moment. In truth, it was taking a considerable amount of his willpower not to swoop down and save her from Long Di’s clutches himself.

Their primary job was to make sure that Yaomu Shou was safe. They knew her tendency to run off and cause trouble whenever she had the chance.

It happened so many times that instead of trying to stop her. Her family and house assigned the two elders to keep both an eye on and to protect her. Of course, there were conditions attached to this.

What were these conditions, you ask? Well, it was that they were not to interfere with her excursions if she refused to come back home. After all, if she insisted on being so wilful, then she needs to learn how to own up to the consequences of her actions. This was now part of the rule of her house.

Hence, no matter what danger she experienced, they were not to intervene unless her life and death were at risk.

This was why they didn’t move a finger to save during that skirmish with the pandas. It hurt them to no end seeing as how they viewed her as their own child. However, the rules of their house were absolutely not something they could disobey.

“Let’s observe a little longer!” Uncle Yan said through gritted teeth. “If he makes a move on her, then I will go down there myself! I’m sure the family and the house will understand!”

Hearing this, Wan Li calmed down slightly and reluctantly went back to being an observer

…

Long Di was already by the side of the two and stared at Xiannu Liang with an apathetic expression.

“Now, what would you like me to do, exactly? Be specific please,” Long Di asked.

“Get her off me!” Xiannu Liang screeched.

“Ah, good stuff, so you didn’t want me to join you then?” Long Di asked for clarity.

“Not on your life!” she screamed as she struggled.

“Hm? Well, that seems excessive,” said Long Di. “Is it because I’m not handsome?”

He wasn’t really planning to join in on their action or anything. For the most part, he was joking around, yet no one would really tell since his expression never changed. Hence whenever he acted out of character, no one could make heads or tails of what went on in his head.

He then looked to the observers to the side who were frozen by the sequence of events. “Hey Shen Ling, am I not handsome?”

The latter heavily blushed at this question, before replying in a whisper, “Y-You’re really handsome, actually.”

Shen Ling was not wearing her veil at the moment, so her every expression was clear for others to see. The rush of colour to her cheeks beautified her all the same.

However, when the white-clad stranger saw her, his expression changed to one of extreme fury!

Dom!

Killing intent erupted from him with volcanic ferocity!

Its sheer density and weight affected everyone in the carriage and even staved off the lustful desires of Yaomu Shou a bit.

Shing!

His white sword sang in the air as he charged towards Shen Ling! She wasn’t able to react in time to this sudden act of aggression.

Dum!

Somatic essence circulated in a split second as Long Di drew the bronze saber.

Krssh!

The two blades met at an angle, causing an explosion of sparks to light up the insides of the carriage!

“Keyholder, she needs to die! She’s a Pur-”

“Thank you for your help. Leave us and never return,” Long Di said to him. It was emotionless as always, but it was tinged with a noticeable coldness.

“You have to believe me! She needs to die because she’s-”

“If what you have to say is that she is an Abyss Ghost, then scram!” Long Di raised his voice twice in one day. Truly, this was a day of days for him, but he didn’t care.

All he wanted to do was to send away this young man who was practically a loose cannon.

“Heh!” the stranger laughed when he heard this. “An Abyss Ghost? Hehehehe… yeah, I guess you could call it that!” he spat out the last few words in spite and disgust.

“She is an alien thing, even among them. Your path to the door will be impeded with her at your side. You cannot rise to the top for she will rip it from you!” Though the stranger struggled to keep his grip on this sword, Long Di drove the somatic essence within to keep this madman at bay.

“You touch a hair on her head and I. WILL. Kill. You.” Every word was enunciated with special emphasis on the ‘will.’ The level of certainty in his words left no word for debate on the subject.

He snorted in derision at this, “Tch! Bewitched by her beauty I se-”

“Such a thing is cheap and not worth my time.” Long Di cut him off, not wanting to explain in detail to anyone who thinks that solely beauty is worth him making a move. “She is one of a thing that I sorely lack and would want to keep around.”

This is the gift of friendship that he forged with the disciples. For every one of them, he would go above and beyond to keep them alive and well. Though he didn’t show it much, what little sanity he possessed would be tested whenever they were endangered in such a way.

“You will soon come to know what I mean!” the stranger stated as he withdrew his sword and jumped back to the opening of the carriage.

He withdrew his killing intent and narrowed his eyes as he stared at Long Di before he announced himself finally, “The name is Miko, and I am for you.”

As he said this, an ancient regal, almost kingly air emanated from him. He didn’t wear the smile he had before, but at the same time, it was as if this was his natural state.

Even as he stood there, this act somehow required submission to him. Long Di was unaffected by this, whilst Shen Ling felt angered by it somehow.

Everyone else shuddered from it and sweat started to drip from their foreheads, as if just the act of looking straight at him was blasphemous in itself.

As he turned around to leave, he left this comment.

“I will search for the newly awakened kings in this world, and I hope you are not fallen the next time we meet.”

He took off in a separate direction and soon disappeared. The words he left lingered in everyone’s mind.