As fie left, Krune's group turned around and did the same.

"Let's go!"

​​

Without Liriu even noticing, everyone disappeared.

Sometime later, Liriu noticed someone approaching inside his Divine Sense. Not only him but the members of his group as well.

"Hum...? A kid?"

Sure enough, they could see that Fie wasn't that big. But it was then that Liriu's eyes opened wide. He would never mistake that long Rainbow Hair.

"It's Fie!"

The others were taken aback.

"You mean, that Fie? The one who grew up with you?"

Liriu nodded before immediately taking flight. He dashed to encounter her as well. Although Fie was sad that she had to separate from Krune and the others, she was still happy to see Liriu as well.

"Liriu!"

They quickly reached each other. Fie then gave him a hug... or so she tried.

"Ah! Liriu, you grew way too much! I can't hug you at all!"

Liriu laughed after hearing that.

"Well, you will need to wait until I can take my human form."

"Can't you do that in the Soul Forging Realm?"

Liriu shook his head.

"I tried, but it seems like it doesn't work."

Liriu's friends quickly arrived, as well. Liriu then introduced everyone. Just like that, the new group was formed.

---

Back on Krune's side, they quickly arrived at the closest Light Pillar. Without wasting any time, they immediately entered the 6th floor. However, Feifei remembered one thing.

"Ah! That's right. Lala, should I try to look for your companions now?"

"Eh?"

Lala was taken aback. Only now did she remember about this issue.

"Errr... There is no need. I have a connection with my friends, but I couldn't feel their presence at all. That means they probably went higher than me already."

Feifei laughed a little before nodding.

"Is that so?"

Lala looked away as if trying to avoid Feifei's curious eyes.

Krune didn't mind that, though.

"Well, since that's the case, let's go back up."

However, Tiane and Ruik didn't follow up.

"In that case, we are also leaving here. Now we can't get separated anymore, Tiane and I are going to follow our own path."

Krune and the others understood. It was basically the same decision as Dilo and Xankruan had.

"Very well, We'll see each other when the Holy Land is over."

Tiane and Ruik bid Krune, Feifei, Lala, and Laex farewell before leaving in another direction.

Still, Krune couldn't help but ask Laex beside him.

"Aren't you going with them?"

Laex shook his head, though.

"Our cultivations are too far apart. At first, I was only sticking with them since they couldn't use Chaos Energy. After all, Liriu needed Chaos Energy to reinforce his Bloodline Seal. But now that such a need disappeared, there isn't much of a point in staying together."

Krune had to admit that he was right.

"Well, the tenth floor is far from being enough for us anymore, so let's go directly to the eleventh."

Laex and the others agreed.

The lowest cultivation in Krune's group now is the 6th Stage of the Void Breaking Realm. Obviously, this is Feifei and Krune. That being said, they could now move much faster than before. It only took them a few days to arrive on the 10th floor once more.

"We are taking the 10th Light Pillar Test, right?"

"Of course, it still can provide us with Godly Energy Stones!"

Feifei then looked at Lala.

"What are you going to do now? We are going to keep going up, but you don't have a need to follow us anymore. As far as I can see, it seems like you are already recovered."

Lala finally didn't have an excuse anymore. Unless she states it herself that she wants to stay, she will have to leave. However, saying something like that would go against her own pride. Well... it's not like it was worth much since she used the 'friends' excuse to stick together until now.

Seeing Lala's dilemma, Laex began to laugh out loud.

"Hahaha! Lala, there isn't much of a point to struggle. You are a demon beast, aren't you? Just say whatever you want. Tha's how a demon beast should act like. At least, that's how I did so far."

Lala was taken aback by those words. But she had to admit that Laex was right. As a demon beast, why would Lala mind hiding her own feelings? Demon beasts are direct, so she should be direct too!

"I don't really have any companions that I need to find since I came into the Holy Land alone. I just feel that I like to stay with you, so I intend to keep like that for now."

Krune narrowed his eyes before asking.

"Why?"

Lala smiled at him in exchange.

"Because I want to."

Feifei sighed before answering.

"You should have said that since the beginning. Why all that pretense? It was quite annoying to watch that."

Laex nodded as well.

"I found it quite funny to watch, though."

It turns out that Lala isn't a good lier or an expert at hiding her feelings. Maybe because she is a Bear demon beast, so she spent most of her time alone. That being said, she didn't develop many skills on that side.

However, there was someone who didn't notice anything. Or better, two.

Krune and Heavin looked at each other, puzzled.

"Was she pretending?"

"Feifei and Laex are saying that she was."

"I see..."

Sure enough, the zero EQ wisp and wisp's Divine Soul aren't that good with those things as always.

Still, Feifei patted Krune and Heavin's heads.

"You two are good the way you are."

For some reason, Krune and Heavin felt like they were being made fun of.

"Well, the important thing is that Feifei trusts her, so that is fine."

Lala was surprised to hear that.

"I thought you were against it."

Krune shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, it seems like Feifei enjoys to sleep close to you a lot, so I will leave it at that."

Laex laughed before saying.

"Welcome aboard, pillow."

Feifei got angry at Laex's words, though.

"Lala isn't a pillow!"

Lala's eyes shined when she heard that.

'At least Feifei understands this point. I'm a Scarlet Bear, not a bed.'

However...

"If anything, Lala is a mattress and pillow combo! Didn't you see how big and furry she is in her real form? You should show more respect for her real abilities!"

Lala almost vomited blood.

"Who is a mattress and pillow combo?! First of all, since when being compared to those things is an ability worth of respect?"

Feifei then hugged her, not mind her words at all.

"Just ignore those two, I'm proud of your warmness and softness abilities."

Lala felt like crying but had no tears. So what if you feel proud about it? I'm not proud, okay? I'm not proud at all!

But the worst part was to see what happened next.

Krune, Laex, and even Heavin quickly bowed.

"Sorry, Lala. We were not thinking straight. Indeed, you are much more than just a pillow. We understand it now. Mattresses are really important too."

Lala finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Fuck you all! I'm not staying even one more second in this place."

Lala began to move away, fuming!

Still, Feifei quickly hugged her back while apologizing. Krune, Heavin, and Laex laughed out loud but apologized as well. In Krune and Heavin's case, they only participated in that joke because Feifei asked them to do so through a Divine Sense. Feifei was basically trying to get rid of the awkward feeling from a moment ago. Of course, she was very successful in doing so.

As Lala complained and rebuked, everyone moved in the direction of the 10th level Light Pillar.

Sure enough, there was almost no one there when they arrived. Now that the participants aren't obligated to take the tests anymore, those who could go up had gone already. As for those who couldn't resist the next floor's Godly Energy, they stayed hidden somewhere else while cultivating.

"Heavin, can you feel anyone's presence close by?"

Heavin nodded.

"There are three hidden ones. However, they are pretty far away from the Light Pillar, and they are using Anti-Divine Sense methods. Most likely, they are just biding their time to go up as well. It doesn't look like they prepared any trap."

Krune nodded.

"Little Arty, what is the tenth floor Light Pillar Test about?"

Little arty then began to explain. From now on, Krune's group was pretty much free of worries. That being said, Krune, Feifei, Laex, Lala, and Heavin will be able to focus entirely on cultivation.

Just like that, another five years went by...