“And?” the Grand Preceptor asked.

To this Long Di only had one response. “Take Me To The Blood Crypt Sect.”

****

The Grand Preceptor smiled at this response. However, he didn’t move much apart from this, only turning his head towards the lone Blood Crypt Sect elder that was present.

Because of this, every other demon turned their attention to this Blood Crypt Sect elder as well.

“!”

This elder was stunned when he suddenly became the centre of attention.

For a while, an awkward silence descended as the elder squirmed under the uncomfortable atmosphere this created.

The Grand Preceptor finally broke the silence by saying, “Need I ask?”

The elder couldn’t take it anymore and fell to his knees. “I-I sent word to the sect letting them know that young master Xue Zi had died to the target..”

The Grand Preceptor with that same smile pressed him, “Continue.”

“H-He bade me stay here as a point of contact with the rest of the powers after everything had settled down to let them know he is going to be launching a full-scale attack on the village. He is readying things to rally the troops as we speak.”

As soon as he said ‘the rest of the powers,’ several people started to sweat at the possibility of being implicated.

“Wonderful,” the Grand Preceptor smiled. He then turned back to Long Di. “So your mission is to dissuade this imminent destruction. Do that and you can leave the Demon Region alive.”

“Then let’s get to it,” Long Di said to Pebbles.

“But you’re not healed!” Xiannu Liang wanted to grab him by the collar and shake the stupidity out of him!

Why doesn’t he listen!?

Long Di then turned his gaze to Xiannu Liang. “Watch this.”

He then looked back at the Grand Preceptor and asked, “How long do I have to heal?”

“However long you need,” he responded.

“Do you see the problem there?” Long Di asked Xiannu Liang.

The nymph held a confused expression for the longest time until Long Di finally said, “You make this too easy sometimes y’kno.”

He then patted her on the shoulder and asked out loud, “Asking for a friend, does anyone know how to get to the Blood Crypt Sect?”

“Ooh! I can help!” Pebbles raised his paw.

“Help me to get Long Di to the Blood Crypt Sect!” he asked Long Zhe.

Long Zhe snorted before asking, “Do I look like a mount to you?”

Pebbles narrowed his eyes, replying, “You don’t look like a lot of things and that is NOT a compliment.”

Long Zhe’s anger surged at this remark. “You damned embarrassment! You dare say what I look from what I don’t look like!? You look like you took on all possible birth defects and then said to them, ‘be worse!’ and they went above and beyond with that mission!”

“Yeah!? Well, you look like a forty-seven-year-old substitute teacher that got wasted in Vegas and OD’d on drugs because his ex-wife of seventy-three told him his wrinkles look like a bull’s scrotum!”

Flames blazed all over Long Zhe in response to this, “Long Tian Yan!”

“Aren’t bulls known to have like the wrinkliest of scrotums?” Long Di asked.

“Your point?” asked Pebbles to drive the point home.

“I’m not bringing you anywhere!” Long Zhe decided.

Then, in the style of ‘Yentl’s oh papa can you hear me?’ Pebbles sang, “Oh mama can you hear me?”

“You!” Long Zhe nearly choked on his own saliva and anger. This prince of theirs was an insufferable wretch as far as he was concerned. He didn’t know half of what Pebbles had said before, but damn it all if it didn’t sting!

“Fine! But if your human pet over there fails, then I’ll kill him myself!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Pebbles waved him off.

Boom!

Long Zhe then assumed his original form, which was that of a massive dragon whose wings spanned the sky.

His draconic aura was so powerful that it suppressed everyone present save for Long Di, Pebbles and the Grand Preceptor.

Its breath was so awe-inspiring and overbearing that disciples like Yaomu Shou and the others couldn’t even breathe.

Cold sweat drenching their backs was like a joke at this point since the heat that the dragon radiated dispelled the notion of anything being ‘cold’ at the moment.

It was if it aimed to set fire to the ten thousand daos and plunge the nine heavens and ten earths into literal hellfire.

Long Zhe’s draconic eyes then slid in Long Di’s direction before he curved his claws in a beckoning gesture.

Pebbles, Long Di and Xiannu Liang felt a strong force envelop them before they were pulled up in the sky towards Long Zhe.

Xiannu Liang trembled as the draconic aura and flame energy of Long Zhe suffocated her.

“You’re hurting her, you idiot! What joy do you have in bullying a little girl!?” Pebbles cursed Long Zhe.

“It’s not my fault,” Long Zhe said uncaringly. “I don’t have perfect control in my other form since it's been a long time since I transformed.”

Pebbles snorted, “Whatever…”

Whoosh!

A draconic aura spread out from Pebbles that directly clashed with Long Zhe’s aura and worked to suppress it.

“Long Tian Yan, are you trying to suppress me!?” Long Zhe roared, causing his already tyrannical pressure to roil and‌ surge like a crushing flood.

Xiannu Liang instantly paled and even the weakened Long Di started to feel it.

“Bite me you old lizard!”

Whoosh!

Pebbles’s aura swelled once more before it beat back Long Zhe’s aura in a tyrannical manner.

Immediately, Xiannu Liang felt a great deal better and could continue healing him.

Long Zhe was shaken by this, “You!”

“Just leave!” Pebbles yelled.

Long Zhe was furious, but there was a hint of pride in his eyes. Dragons needed this type of overbearingness to be worthy of the name.

“Wait a second.” Long Di called out.

“What’s wrong, oh wonderful friend ‘o’ mine?” Pebbles asked innocently.

“Pebbles, you can’t leave Whiskers,” Long Di said.

“So its name is Whiskers, eh?” Pebbles suspiciously eyed the Shidashi Mao that was looking at him from below.

“Eleven years and you replace me with that imitation. I’m hurt Long Di,” remarked Pebbles.

Long Di stared at him blankly for the longest time and said nothing.

“What?” Pebbles wondered where this scrutiny came from.

“It just dawned on me that you’re talking,” Long Di finally said. “This is so bizarre…”

Pebbles narrowed his eyes at Long Di for the longest time before replying, “Oh, how I’ve missed you.”

“Bring it along with us,” Pebbles requested.

Long Zhe couldn’t deal with any more arguments right now and simply brought it along with them.

Whiskers was gripped safely in Long Zhe’s other claws. “Meow!”

“Tch! You can’t butter me up!” Pebbles looked away not wanting to pay attention to Whiskers.

“Pebbles, be nice!” Long Di demanded.

“He’s got to earn me being nice! Like her,” Pebbles pointed to Xiannu Liang who was still working hard at healing Long Di.

Long Di then looked at Pebbles, “Which reminds me… are you a he or a she?”

“Meoŵ…” Whiskers answered.

“You don’t say…” Pebbles and Long Di answered simultaneously.

“You stinking cat, what about me!?”

Pebbles looked over at the ground to see Mina stamping her feet, demanding to be let up.

He then patted Long Zhe’s claw. “Let’s get out of here.”

“I hope you die!”

The Grand Preceptor chuckled at the liveliness of this group and stated “Don’t worry, I’ll bring along the rest.”

Fwap!

Long Zhe nodded and flapped his massive wings, kicking up tempestuous winds in their wake.

The Grand Preceptor waved his hand to dispel these winds from affecting those below, lest his power cause extensive damage.

Boom!

The dragon’s massive body disappeared from view in an instant, its insane speed incalculable to those below.

“Shall we get going?” The Grand Preceptor asked.

“Yes, let’s…” Yaomu Shou stood up and faced everyone else.

“You, on the other hand…” she pointed at Yaomu Qiang. “Long Di might have forgotten about you, but I haven’t!”

Yaomu Qiang took a step back in fear when he saw her furious expression, “Y-Y can’t kill me! I was carrying out the King’s orders.”

Schwing!

Yaomu unsheathed her sword with a furious brandish, causing it to ring out.

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you, but by the time I’m done, you’ll wish I did”

Yaomu Qiang looked all over for help before finally turning his gaze towards the Grand Preceptor as his final hope.

However, the Grand Preceptor simply looked at him with that same perpetual smile.

He obviously had some idea as to what happened and didn’t approve of his actions all too much. With that being said, he wasn’t against this Yaomu Qiang being punished.

As long as Yaomu Shou didn’t go too far, he couldn’t care less what happened.

Because of this, a scream in response to a pain never before heard echoed across these distant plains.