Yin Long put away his metal sword and dissipated the small sword he had created using with his law of the sword, glancing down at the beast walking beside him. Jin Wang didn't look the slightest bit bothered, he actually looked a bit happy as he licked up the blood that had gathered on his snout. Yin Long bent over slightly to rub Jin Wang's head, looking down the hallway that was the dorm area to find Lan Yun's room.

"Try not to make a habit out of that, there are other ways to solve such situations than to just sink your fangs in them."

Jin Wang pressed the top of his head against Yin Long's hand but simultaneously just snorted at his suggestion. Yin Long might have a more enduring personality that could ignore such nonfactor-like people, but Jin Wang was a different story. If they dared to step forward and act up then they should just get chomped down on and eaten up, it's what they deserved for having the gall to think that they were worthy of stepping up to them.

The two quickly reached the door that led to Lan Yun's dorm room, Yin Long removing his hand from Jin Wang's head. Yin Long went through the instructions Lan Yun had given him one more time, casually pushing open the door after he made sure that he had arrived at the right room.

Lan Yun's room was a bit different from Yin Long's room, it wasn't as barren as the one he had been assigned. It contained two additional couches, a bookshelf, and a small flowerbed placed within an array that simulated sunlight. As for the first thing that greeted him when he stepped into the room, it was the sensual and enticing voice of Lan Yun.

"Welcome, Young Master, would you like to join me?"

Yin Long's gaze drifted towards the single bed in the room, where Lan Yun was lying with the covers wrapped around her chest and tucked between her legs. She was lying on her side so that the covers were draped around her in a manner that revealed as much skin as possible without revealing the most important bits, but even then it was easy to see that she wasn't wearing anything. She flashed Yin Long a charming and welcoming smile, but his own expression only faltered for a short second before he swiped his interspatial ring and tossed her a simple white robe.

"Get dressed, I'm heading to Four-Kings Valley for a bit and I imagine that you want to come along."

Lan Yun stretched out her arm and caught the robe, the covers draped over her chest sliding down as a result. But neither she nor Yin Long bothered with it, Lan Yun sitting up and puffing out her cheeks in a slightly pouting manner.

"Is there ever going to be a day where you don't hurt my pride like that?"

She went through the trouble of presenting herself this enticingly but he still barely batted an eye at her, it was like he was trying to shatter her pride as a woman. Yin Long remained standing, closing the door behind him so that someone else didn't peek in while he shrugged his shoulders.

"Depends, is there ever going to be a day where you don't pull something like this?"

This wasn't exactly the first time Lan Yun had tried to charm him like this, and it also wasn't the first time he rejected her like this. Lan Yun stood up from the bed, the covers fully falling down as she started to change into the robe Yin Long tossed her, her head tilted all the while.

"Probably not? I mean, either it doesn't work and I have to keep doing to seduce you, or it works and I have to keep doing it make you jump me."

Her lips arched into a mischievous curve as she thought about it, clearly picturing the myriad of ways she was going to try to seduce him. And since that obvious statement was her answer, Yin Long's own response was equally obvious.

"Then no, I don't think a day like that is ever going to happen."

Lan Yun finished changing into the white robe, brushing aside the errant strands of amber hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. She threw the fallen covers back onto the bed before walking over, clicking her tongue and winking at Yin Long as she walked past him.

"Bah, just you watch, one day you'll realize what a great treat I am and then you'll be head over heels for me."

Yin Long rolled his eyes at her confident statement and then followed her out of the room. The two left Eagle King Hall, the three people who had tried to antagonize Yin Long earlier no longer staying where they had been earlier. They arrived in the large hall that served as the first building, Soaring King Hall, Lan Yun clapping her hands as she suddenly remembered something.

"I'm gonna pick up a mission before we head out, there's an item I want."

She pointed at the three-storied square house that stood at the corner to the bottom left of the massive hall, the group of three heading over there. There was no harm in picking up a mission since they were heading to Four-Kings Valley anyway, it was a good way to acquire a bit more funds and resources from the trip.

Lan Yun entered the house but Yin Long stayed outside, sitting down on one of the couches that were scattered around in front of the building to serve as a waiting area for the various disciples. It looked a bit odd to have a house and waiting area like this within the large hall, but Yin Long guessed that the peculiar scene was a result of the dojo having been forced to relocate to this city.

As Yin Long was sitting there and waiting, going through one of the weapon manuals he had been gifted by the youth from the Deshi clan, two handsome youths left the mission building. The two youths were chatting with each other while pouring over a map that one of them was holding, their gazes drifting over to Yin Long and stopping on him.

"You? You ran away last time but you've actually come to us now?"

Yin Long stopped going through the weapon manual he was reading, the one detailing whip-like swords, and raised his head when he heard the question that seemed to be directed at him. He looked at the two men, his gaze roaming over their faces for a short second before he tilted his head.

"We've met before? Sorry, can't say I've got any recollection of it."

The two youths were the once that had tried to spar with him out of jealousy when he was about to enter the martial library of Swan Queen Hall. But since he was fully focused on the martial library back then, the two people hadn't really registered in his mind, so he failed to recognize them now, something that seemed to aggravate them greatly.

"You... You..."

The faces of both the youths turned somewhat red due to Yin Long's innocent expression, which made it clear that he wasn't just toying with them, he genuinely didn't remember them. But before the two of them could make any further moves, a cold voice reached them from behind, even overshadowing Jin Wang's growling.

"Oy, did you guys not get enough last time? Want to get beaten again?"

Lan Yun had just walked out of the mission building and was looking at the two youths with a chilly expression, the two youths shrinking back slightly. But they quickly thought of something, turning to Yin Long and sneering slightly.

"Tch, are you going to hide behind a woman again? Is that all you can do?"

Yin Long stood up from his seated position and put away the weapon manual, his gaze drifting past the two youths as he completely ignored their existence.

"Shall we go?"

Lan Yun's chilly expression changed into a smile as she nodded her head, skipping past the two fuming youths to reach Yin Long's side. The two people and one beast walked away without bothering about the two youths, quickly reaching the exit of the dojo, where they encountered a somewhat troubled-looking Xue Qiuling who seemed to be just arriving.

"You're leaving?"

Xue Qiuling's head was slightly tilted as she questioned them. They had been a member of the dojo for a month already, but the only time they had actually left the dojo was the one time Xue Qiuling took Yin Long out for a meal. Yin Long nodded his head without much thought, pointing at Jin Wang with his thumb.

"Yeah, we're going to Four-Kings Valley for a bit so that Jin Wang can run free for a bit."

They were also heading to the valley so that Yin Long could incorporate what he had learned from Meiyu, but he still considered Jin Wang and Lan Yun getting some exercise to be the main reason. Xue Qiuling's body stiffened slightly as Yin Long said where they were going, her gaze growing a bit more intense.

"Four-Kings Valley? I want to go with you. My family sent over some information that a field of Heart-root Tulips has appeared in the area."

Yin Long couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the thing that had apparently shown up in Four-Kings Valley. Heart-root Tulips were a type of cultivation resource that could be used to train either the body, the soul, or one's Qi, their roots were all intertwined into a heart-like shape that was filled with immense amounts of life force.

This heart-like shape was the actual body of the tulip, and it had a sliver of consciousness, only enough to have some base instincts. These instincts allowed the Heart-root Tulip to abandon the flower blooming above the earth, whose main purpose was to suck in the surrounding Qi and sunlight. After abandoning the flower, the root itself would escape by burrowing through the earth, making Heart-root Tulips somewhat troublesome to encounter.

Yin Long nodded his head to her request, but after sweeping Lan Yun and Jin Wang with a quick look, he added in a few requirements so that Xue Qiuling didn't completely ruin the purpose of the trip.

"It's not impossible for you to join us, but you have to swear that you won't interrupt in our fights unless its a matter of life and death, you also aren't allowed to steal any of Jin Wang's prey, and we'll get to take some of the Tulips and their roots."

Xue Qiuling had the highest cultivation of everyone present, if she took care of all the fighting then there would be nothing left for them to do. Xue Qiuling didn't reject the requirements, flashing them a brilliant smile as she stretched out her hand.

"That's more than fine with me, I look forward to adventuring with you."

Yin Long shook her hand, not quite sure why she would bother with such a gesture considering that they weren't exactly strangers. But it didn't really matter to him so he didn't ask, the group of four leaving the dojo and heading for the spatial array that would bring them to the valley. Lan Yun cast a few sideways glances at Xue Qiuling, pulling closer to Yin Long every time as if she was trying to mark her territory.

Yin Long simply rolled his eyes and Xue Qiuling smiled without saying anything, seemingly not in the mood to argue with Lan Yun at the moment. Thanks to this, the group managed to reach the spatial array without much fuss and were quickly launched towards Four-Kings Valley, once again descending into the valley filled with the faint scent of blood and somewhat demonic trees.

The valley was still filled with the disciples of the various sects and clans, all of them doing their best to train and increase their strength before the tournament to decide the participants of the Three-fold Territory Clash rolled around. Perhaps only next year, after the tournament ended, would the scent of blood tinging the air in the valley subside somewhat.

Yin Long left it to Jin Wang to find their way around when they descended into the valley, rejecting Xue Qiuling's request to look for the Heart-root Tulips straight away. He first wanted to let Jin Wang and Lan Yun move their bodies a bit to check how they fared, they could head for the secondary objective once that was done.

Jin Wang had a strong sense of smell so with him taking the lead it didn't take too long for the group to come across some Demonic beasts. The beasts in question were actually the corpses of various other beasts and animals, a crown of small vermillion flowers adorning their heads. The roots of the flowers burrowed through the flesh and veins of the beasts, pulsating slightly as they slowly sucked them dry.

The group stopped upon encountering the group of Demonic beasts, which were more suited to be called Demonic plants. Yin Long didn't beat around the bush, leaning against a rock and gesturing towards the seven corpses.

"Alright, have at 'em."

Jin Wang sprang forward the moment Yin Long's voice sounded out, shooting forward like a pale yellow blur as he crashed into the corpses. He immediately crushed the skull of the first wolf-like corpse, scattering the flowers as a result. He bit down on the neck of a deer-like corpse, shattering its spine and tearing the beast's head off, spitting it out and then stomping it to scatter the flowers. Yin Long and the others observed the bloody battle from the side, Xue Qiuling finding herself unable to resist the urge to comment on it.

"He really is quite vicious, isn't he? Really makes me wonder where he got that from..."

She knew that Yin Long was the master of Jin Wang, so it should only make sense that he picked up some of his mannerisms from Yin Long. But from what she had seen of Yin Long's fighting, his style could be called more graceful, even when he murdered groups of people. Yin Long shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to say anything about the subject.

The group continued to watch the battle, Lan Yun cheering Jin Wang on as if she was watching an official tournament and was cheering on her favourite participant. Yin Long's brows suddenly furrowed for a second, his expression turning chilly as he turned towards Lan Yun.

She noticed his gaze and turned to look at him, but his right hand swept out before she got the chance to say anything. His law of the sword and a minute amount of his soul gushed forth, forming several sharp swords that were shot forward, practically heading straight for Lan Yun.

But the swords didn't hit her, they pierced into two people that had appeared behind her, one rising up from the earth and the other flickering into existence as if he was a mirage. The swords hit them with such force that the two people were launched through the air, crashing into and getting nailed to the closest trees.

Both of the women, who were clad robes that were coloured so that they merged in with the surroundings, carried small daggers that were dripping with a sweetly smelling green liquid. Yin Long's expression remained chilly as he looked at the two women, two smaller daggers forming in his grasp.

"Poor choice."

He flicked his wrist and threw out the two daggers, each one piercing into the forehead of one of the women. The sudden attack interrupted their viewing experience, Jin Wang finishing up his last opponent during the time that Yin Long finished off the two women. But despite having almost been the victim of a sneak attack, Lan Yun didn't look the least bit scared, actually looking at Yin Long with a slightly red face.

"...Really, Young Master, I swear that you just keep trying to seduce me. Are you trying to make me moist?"

She looked at him with the same expression as the one she had worn when they first arrived in the Starblood Province, when she had practically jumped at him due to how he acted towards the man who had treated her like a prostitute.

Yin Long rolled his eyes heavily at her sweet voice, his chilly expression vanishing as he stepped past her and inspected the two corpses. He took everything of value that they carried, mentally noting the identical tattoos of a three-eyed stag that they both had under their armpits, and then tossed the corpses to Jin Wang, who happily swallowed them along with the corpses that had been controlled by the flowers. With Jin Wang taking care of the corpses, Yin Long turned his gaze onto Lan Yun, a rare teasing smile appearing on his face.

"The two of them were probably just scouts, there should be more of them in the area. It's been a while since I last got to see you fight, this'll be a good chance for you to show off. Well, that is assuming that you don't get caught off guard again."