“Not this time. Everything I have prepared for you are good stuff. I should have given them to you one hundred years ago. Ahem…”

Old Man Fang didn’t continue the topic, as he didn’t comfortable whether or not Feather was bothered.

“Oh, thank you.”

Feather thanked him politely. The old man was a very good man, except he was a little eccentric at times. Frankly, he was a weird old man that people wanted to respect but couldn’t bring themselves too.

“Oh, yes. I’ve sent the little rascal to play on the other side, and I think he’ll need some time to return. You can stay with me over here for now.” Old Man Fang recalled what was happening with Blue Maple, except nobody knew what sending him to ‘play’ meant.

“Oh.”

Feather acknowledged coldly as he wasn’t bothered by that at all.

“Oh, yes. There’s other good news.”

Old Man Fang seemed to recall something as he spoke with a mysterious look on his face. He deliberately lowered his voice, like he was afraid that other people would overhear.

“What?” Feather tiled his head slightly as he asked confusedly.

“Heh heh heh…”

The old man suddenly laughed indecently.

“I have the egg of a Vermilion Bird with me, and it will definitely hatch into a pretty lady. Do you want me to help?” Old Man Fang said teasingly to Feather.

Feather was momentarily stunned by the old man’s abrupt statement, and he only recovered after a long while.

“Eh? That… uh… no, no thanks.”

Feather’s face immediately flushed red, and he still seemed a little frantic in this moment.

Feather actually felt shy!

Nobody could have imagined that he was just a cold and calm young man just moments before.

Feather was particularly susceptible to feeling shy!

Feather’s behavior immediately caused the old man’s eyes to light up, like he had discovered something entirely new!

“Oh? Don’t be shy. Even though you’re still young, you can consider this for the future of the Spirit birds.” Old Man Fang winked and squeezed his eyes as he tried to tempt Feather.

“No, no… That… will… distract me… I will have to get stronger…”

Feather’s face was red and looked dizzy like he was drunk on alcohol. He sounded very incoherent.

Old Man Fang became even more intrigued when he witnessed Feather’s behavior. Feather appeared very emotionless and calm on the outside, but he was actually so shy in this moment. A contrast like that was very rare!

“What? Is the Vermilion Bird not good enough for you? Then, I have news of the Peacock. Even though I don’t know whether the Peacock is a female, the Peacock is very likely to be a one!” Old Man Fang continued teasing Feather. He seemed to find teasing young Feather very amusing.

“Pea… Peacock… Not even a peacock. I have to become stronger, not to find a mate!”

Feather shook his head furiously and attempted to control his emotions so that he could keep his head clear, but he didn’t seem to be making any progress.

His face was still very red, and he looked like he was feeling very dizzy.

"No? then we can go look for the Green Argus, the little pretty girl. Surely…”

Old Man Fang continued talking excitedly as he continued winking like an old gangster. However, he suddenly froze and just stood there, rooted to the ground!

The old man almost seemed like he was quivering!

“Surely what? Keep going.”

A crisp and melodious female voice could be heard. It was very gentle, and it came from behind the old man. This was the reason why he froze!

“Uh… I was just joking with the little guy. Don’t take me seriously… Don’t you know that I am an honest man?” Old Man Fang suddenly turned around with a fawning look on his face as he spoke.

“Precisely because I understand your personality too well, therefore…”

This crisp and beautiful voice still sounded to gentle, but Old Man Fang could definitely hear the fury contained within!

I’m… screwed…

Old Man Fang thought to himself grievously as he closed his eyes.

“So, you better scram as far as you can! Don’t be a bad influence to little children!!” The beautiful and melodious voice suddenly turned rough and furious, like two different people were talking!

“Boom!!!”

Countless sword shadows appeared from nowhere before the old man and surged forth. The blades were so quick that they could hardly be seen!

“I will never dare to again…”

The old man was blasted far into the distance, and his voice gradually grew faint as his body flew away…

……

Feather’s young soul was already shaken as he stood there, rooted to the ground.

Feather looked like he was around thirteen or fourteen years of age, and he did look very cute in this moment even though he was a boy.

“The Sword Hermit is… the strongest human alive… but he was so easily blasted into the air…”

Feather was already feeling a little dizzy before, and his brain felt like it had melted down into liquid…

He felt like he was seeing stars and everything was blurry…

“Come, little fellow. Let me take you to the present that was originally prepared for you.” The crisp and beautiful voice could be heard once more as a pretty figure appeared before Feather.

Feather was now still feeling dizzy, and he still couldn’t make out this lady’s facial features. He only knew that she was a female.

“Oh, alright. Thank you, aunt.” Feather spoke like he was in a daze. He relied entirely on his instinct, and he didn’t what consequences his words would have on him.

“What a cute little fellow. Are you calling me aunt?” The lady’s voice still sounded so beautiful and gentle, but…

Feather had a cold shiver as a chill that was innate to a beast’s natural instincts could be felt, and his head immediately cleared a little.

The lady’s tone was very similar to when she blasted Old Man Fang, and this made Feather think about one thing, a story that the Golden Roc had told him before.

Old Man Fang’s wife was one of the humans’ Ten Great Sages. Her speed reigned supreme, and she was known across the world as a beautiful Swordswoman. She maintained her youthful look, and she hated it when Old Man Fang acted like a gangster or talked about other pretty women.

However, what she hated most was people calling her old!

And he was just addressing her as ‘aunt’…

Feather could feel a deep chill run down his spine!

……

Feather didn’t know what he was going to face next, while Blue Maple stood calmly at where he was on the other side.

Blue Maple’s environment was thick with the sickening smell of blood, and ghastly white skeletons and bones could be faintly seen. The ground around him was barren with not a single inch of grass littered with many broken weapon parts, as stones that were irregularly shaped and of all sizes were scattered all over.

Blue Maple didn’t know where this place was and what he had to do next, but there was a familiar feeling about his environment, and there were some things that he could guess.

Seems like I’m at what is known as a border city.

Blue Maple surveyed his surroundings calmly as he thought to himself emotionlessly. The newly activated Rank 2 city system had another war quest, and every train of thought let to the outcome that Old Man Fang had deliberately sent him here.

Faint demonic energy and the smell of blood permeated his surroundings.

Of course, what he was most familiar with was… the smell of war, what he wanted to avoid most!

But that was a smell that he… couldn’t avoid before!

“War… again…?”

Blue Maple unwittingly muttered under his breath.

“You don’t look like you enjoy war.” Old Man Fang’s voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Blue Maple was already used to this happening, and he could also do the same thing.

“I hate it.”

Blue Maple’s cold words corrected Old Man Fang’s words.

“Quest.”

Blue Maple didn’t seem like he wanted to continue on the topic, and he took the initiative to ask about his quest.

“Don’t be hasty. Aren’t you usually at ease and carefree?” Old Man Fang could clearly tell that Blue Maple didn’t want to talk about war, but he felt the nasty urge to not give Blue Maple a free pass.

“I’m not in a hurry, indeed.” Blue Maple’s answer was plain. However, he didn’t wait for Old Man Fang to respond as he continued.

“Whatever the quest is, I don’t care.” Blue Maple’s words were so cold that Old Man Fang didn’t dare to talk about war anymore.

The old man was very sure that, with Blue Maple’s personality, there was a possibility that Blue Maple would just ditch this quest if this was allowed to continue. Blue Maple didn’t really care about these things, such as class advancement and whatnot, in the first place.

“Ahem… the quest, eh? I’ll tell you now.” Old Man Fang cleared his throat awkwardly, and he read the situation very well as he started detailing the quest.

“Frankly, this quest is quite entertaining. It’s a game of cat and mouse. However…”

“You are the mouse.” Old Man Fang paused as he spoke mysteriously.

“Just tell me the details.” Blue Maple didn’t buy the old man’s nonsense at all. He only wanted to know the quest’s details so he could end it and leave this place as quickly as possible.

“You’re so impatient. Youngsters like you are always like that…”

“Ahem, you’re here to harass a small demon transport party.” Old Man Fang wanted to chide Blue Maple, but he could sense Blue Maple’s unfriendliness, so he could only swallow his words tactfully.

“How?”

Blue Maple was indeed more impatient and hastier about this quest. He typically wouldn’t take the initiative to ask for so many details.

“That’s very simple. You’ve already learned the old bastard’s skills, right? Even if you haven’t integrated the thing he’s given you, you can rely entirely on your control over your Heavenly Fire and space to unleash those skills.”

“Therefore, you aren’t only completing my class advancement quest. You’re also completing the old bastard’s class advancement quest. This quest can be considered to combine two quests into one. All you have to do is use those skills, and this item, to burn their provisions.”

A blue sphere of fire appeared before Blue Maple before it dissipated to reveal a dark blue pearl within. It was about as large as a pinball.

Blue Maple grabbed the pearl calmly. He could immediately feel the intense power of fire from the moment that he touched its surface. This pearl was probably created with Old Man Fang’s Heavenly Fire and Earthly Fire.

This meant that burning provisions wasn’t an easy task. Evidently, Blue Maple couldn’t just use his Heavenly Fire to burn them. Perhaps, that was also because his level was too low.

“Heh heh heh. I won’t go into anymore details as I would take the fun out of it otherwise. You will figure it out when the time comes. The quest’s general requirements are contained inside the pearl.”

“Go and enjoy yourself. You can send the pearl back to me after completing your quest. I’ll be watching you…”

Old Man Fang’s irritating voice gradually grew faint, and he seemed to be travelling further away as his voice eventually disappeared.

Blue Maple didn’t say anything in response, and he only listened quietly.

However, Blue Maple’s face immediately turned black when he opened the pearl’s characteristics and found out about the quest’s requirements…