Shin woke up topless, dazed and ghast.

The sun was glaring through the glass windows, hinting to the youth that it should be close to mid-noon. The room smelled of musk mixed with a tinge of rose petals. Sweet and salty, Shin thought. Underneath him, Shin felt his pants becoming wet after all of his sweat from the night before had soaked up in the sheets. After the third hour, he had become accustomed to the sweat, so Shin remained nonchalant about it. He tugged on the white duvet, hoping to make it out on the floor. There was one problem though…

“...”

There was a sleeping beauty laid right next to his arm. She grimaced slightly over the blanket tug, so Shin carefully placed the duvet back and gently stroked her hair. An unconscious purr came out of Kanari’s mouth, and her scowl turned into a smile.

‘If she were this tame last night, I wouldn’t be having this headache...’

Flashes of Kanari’s wildness under the sheets gave Shin a throbbing soreness which pulsated throughout his entire body. When her switch was turned on, it really was quite obscene what she could do. It took her some time to be completely satisfied, and by that time, the dawn was fast approaching. So… Shin had collapsed on the bed, catching up on the few hours of sleep that he was given.

Shin pivoted his body out of the duvet and carefully landed his two feet on the carpeted floor. Red marks, resembling that of enlarged mosquito bites, dominated Shin’s upper body, and it seemed like the man had contracted a terminal illness. Of course, it was all the doing of one person, but Shin didn’t want to think of it right now. He combed through his wardrobe and picked out two layers of clothes, hoping to cover his entire body and prevent others from seeing his love bites.

‘I really need to shower...’ Not only was his entire body sticky with the sweat of two people, but his manly odour had been completely enveloped by Kanari’s own aroma. The sensitive noses in the chambers, particularly Bingbing’s, would pick up on Shin’s changed scent in a flash. He took out a white towel from the cabinet and walked into his attached bathroom.

The Longyu Clan, being one of the Eight Ancient Clans of Water, were extremely technologically advanced, particularly when it came to water innovations. Unlike traditional bathrooms in the Himmel Empire, the Longyu Clan, particularly the upper class, had a glass shower enclosure where thousands of holes were crafted inside the ceiling, allowing beads of hot water to trickle down, creating an indoor rain, just for bathing. Shin quite liked to shower. There was no wait time, and he could be in and out within minutes.

He entered the glass enclosure, only to feel two soft jugs pressed upon his shoulder blades.

“Kanari?!” Shin cried out, tempted to look back. However, he was butt-naked and based on the softness on his back, his invader was as well. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, don’t be shy,” Kanari stepped one foot forward, displaying her entire naked body for Shin to see. “After all we’d done, is there a need to be that surprised? I’ve seen everything of yours, and you’ve seen everything of mine.” The young woman locked her arms around Shin’s neck as the warm raindrops fell from the ceiling. “Also, we’re saving water and time if we shower together.”

“What’s your true intention?”

“Hehe, you really see right through me~” Kanari playfully stuck her tongue out and landed a kiss on Shin’s muscular chest. Stroking it slightly, her face blushed as she admired the red marks littered all over his body. “I don’t want you to be cleaning away the artwork I had worked so hard to create. I need the women of the world to see these marks.”

Shin rolled his eyes. “Where is the virtuous Kanari of old? I miss her so much.”

“Too bad! She died the day you kissed her!” Kanari smirked and landed yet another kiss on the youth’s lips. Since they were standing up, it was a little hard due to the height difference. So, Kanari separated after two seconds, much faster than the average minute-long kisses. “Get used to this Kanari… She’s coming into your bed every night.”

‘Every night?!’ Shin cried out mentally. One night was more than enough! If Kanari were to continue what she did…

‘Not good… My chastity is in danger!’

That morning, Shin was barely able to finish his shower with the woman who wanted a continuation of last night. Of course, his shower was all for nought. No matter how hard Shin cleaned himself, Bingbing would obviously be able to tell the difference. Also, Lady Seph had entered the bedroom during the wee hours of dawn to call Shin out for breakfast, only to see the two exhausted lovebirds snoozing away.

Thus, that day’s lunch was perhaps the most unbearable feast that Shin or Kanari had to ever sit through…

❖❖❖

The next few days on Longyu Reef turned out to be rather mundane. After Shin had poured his heart about his plans to Longyu Tian, the Spirit Saint had left him alone, seemingly to go back to the drawing board to develop new strategies that would attract Shin to the Lantis Republic. With all that pressure off his shoulders, Shin was able to relax in Lady Seph’s mansion, reading up on all the books that the Longyu Clan had sent him.

Furthermore, the five Spirit Lords that Shin had faced in the Atoll of the Ancients had also paid Shin multiple visits to teach and potentially form an everlasting bond with the new Longyu Clan golden boy. They taught him the Lantis Republic’s martial arts and shared the variety of tricks a cultivator might develop when using the Sovereign Koi. And it wasn’t limited to just the Spirit Lords. Sometimes, Spirit Emperors may even slip in for a visit, though they would be heavily watched upon by Lady Seph and the Himmel Empire guards.

Shin’s second week was proceeding much smoother than he’d anticipated. After the first week of mayhem with Longyu Tian trying to tie up dozens of maidens onto his bed, Shin needed this rest period to recharge. However, not everyone in the Lady Seph mansion was feeling this way…

“So bored!!!” Shizen blurted out, his tongue out and eyes misty. Since he had been busy for the past two weeks, Shin hadn’t been paying attention to the woes of his friends. But for the most part, he didn’t have to. Ella and Emma were now on the Meijing Arctics, receiving their basic training in the icy arts. Lady Seph was buried in her books, learning more about the research in the Lantis Republic, particularly the resources they had about Spirit Immortal Dream. Kesyl was bitterly trying to keep up with blonde researcher’s rapid pace, tending to her needs as an attendant while squeezing out what little time she had left to train her healing arts. And Kanari…

Shin may not have time for Kanari in the mornings, but each waking minute he had at night was reserved for the girl’s own pleasure. So there was only one person that Shin had truly neglected.

The black-haired youth chuckled and filled the jade bottle in Shizen’s hands with his created water. “Here, have some.”

“Yip, Yip!” Bingbing chirped happily as well, wagging her tail in joy.

“Tskkk...” Shizen clicked his tongue in annoyance, but his hand still naturally gravitated towards the jade bottle. “Shin, you really don’t understand my pain, do you? There’s really nothing to do here! No trees, no forests! Heck, there are more lakes here than soil! I think I’m about to go insane!!!” Shizen chugged down his favourite juice and for a brief moment, his lips curled upwards. However, as he recalled his current predicament, Shizen dropped his smile into a frown. “I’d even started to miss Ella, that nagging witch! Am I going insane?!”

Shizen was genuinely concerned over his mental health. The severe lack of forestry was taking its toll on the Freak of the Dundlewoods, and Shin knew that. Hence, the youth had come up with a plan for his treasured friend.

“If there aren’t any forests around, why don’t you make one here?” Shin suggested. “There’s a big plot of land at the back that’s unused. If you used your Advindar Tree, you could plant all sorts of trees, and it’ll probably finish growing in half a year?”

The nature boy’s Adivinar Tree had many properties. It could absorb mana from other Spirit Users with ease, create thousands of vines and razor leaves, and most importantly, it could create fertile land that could mystically hasten the growth of any plant life. For that very reason, Shizen was sought out by many organisations, particularly nobility or merchants who owned vast amounts of land. Unfortunately for them, Kanari had zoned in on Shizen first and signed him to the Highgarden Duchy.

“Genius?” Shizen looked at Shin with reverent eyes. Right! If there weren’t any forests nearby, why can’t he just plant his own?

“Hehe, that’s what they all call me,” replied Shin with a cheeky smile. He held Shizen’s hand and brought the youth out to the backyard, where nothing but earth and mud existed. There, barrels of seeds were placed on carts, just waiting for someone to pry them open. “During my stay at Longyu Palace, I’d asked some of the Longyu members what kind of plants were most prevalent on Longyu Reef. Then, I’d asked some logistics officers to prepare those seeds and bring them here. It took some time, but at least they arrived today.”

Shin remembered Shizen’s lethargy when he came to the island filled with water. Being the only male member around his age that he could confide in, Shin didn’t want to lose Shizen this early on into their stay. Thus, when Shin had heard about the arrival of the seeds, he cancelled whatever plans he had for the day, hoping to spend some time with Shizen to begin the cultivation of his own backyard forest.

“Shin...” Shizen started to become teary-eyed, and his skin began to twinkle. Without warning, the hobbit-like nature boy jumped into Shin’s arms, eyes wet and nose snotty. “Shin, I love you so much!”

“There, there...” Shin grinned and stroked Shizen’s hair. Even though he was fast approaching twenty-one, the Freak of the Dundlewoods still retained his childlike innocence.

“Come, let me help you plant it!”

“Yeah!”

Though the seeds and resources were provided to them, there was a need to plough the fields and plan out the mini-forest layout. Shin was the one who did the brainwork while Shizen did the heavy lifting. The spiritual energy left by the Adivinar Tree vines blessed the lands more than any other Deity of Agriculture could while Shin’s careful seed placement would guarantee that the trees would be evenly distributed without overly competing for resources. Also, Shin’s created water, which had been sanctified by the Sovereign Koi, one of the Eight Scions of Water, showered the lands, giving it an additional blessing to grow faster than any forest before it ever could.

Shin and Shizen continued to bond throughout their agriculture woes. Since they were surrounded by women, it was nice to have some brotherhood camaraderie every once in a while. Shin could open up about details that he could never breathe about in front of Lady Seph, Longyu Tian or Kanari. Bingbing was a little rattled by Shin’s constant movement, so she leapt out from the youth’s robes and huddled up into a ball by the bank.

Three hours passed since Shin had brought Shizen out into the backyard, and their progress in planting the trees was staggering. Over a third of the fields had been ploughed, seeded and watered. Furthermore, Shin got to really connect with Shizen, laughing and joking around as bosom pals would. However, happy moments do not last forever…

“Ah, looks like you’re having fun, Shin Iofiel...” A spirited, youthful voice broke Shin’s concentration.

The gardening brothers halted their actions and glanced up at the source of the voice. A suave young man, who seemed no older than thirty, was levitating ten metres up, wearing a devilish grin. On his vibrant and affluent robes, there was the insignia of the Jingyu Clan, a rare thing to see on Longyu Reef. Though Shin wasn’t fazed. He had seen this face once before back during the Summit and Meijing Bingying had warned him multiple times about the troublemaker of the Jingyu Clan. Sighing, Shin dropped his gardening tool and called out to the intruder.

“Jingyu Taiyi, it’s been a while...”