Pebbles talked, shocking the Sun siblings as they never knew it was capable of this. He stretched lazily atop Long Di’s head after saying this, but cold sweat washed both Mad Sword Haoran's and Jingyi Yu’s bodies.

“You needn’t worry about me. I am simply this guy’s best friend. You may even call us sworn brothers,” stated Pebbles.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

Heavy footsteps from above shook the roof of the restaurant, startling everyone. Two cultivators spread their heavenly senses outward. Then, upon seeing what was on the roof, their jaws dropped.

“I-Is that an actual shi-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s what you think it is.” Pebbles stated, not caring what they thought Lord Whiskers was.

“Leave it alone. It’s a travelling companion.”

They were shaken to hear all this, especially Jingyi Yu.

Eventually, the amber flames died out and Long Di opened his eyes where a spiritual light flashed before disappearing.

“C-Congratulations Dao Brother.” Mad Sword Haoran was more or less shaken by Pebbles and the shidashi mao lurking above.

“Dao Brother, you have a shidashi mao!?” Mad Sword Haoran wanted to talk to Long Di about many other things. The flame that engulfed him, the secrets to his strength, and so on. But the matter of the shidashi mao was something that trumped all of this.

That thing was lauded as a natural calamity!

A land of death was birthed in their wake. A murderous intent that carried a bloody stench was their perpetual calling card. They were hated by the heavens, and nothing good came from them.

“Oh yeah, that’s Lord Whiskers Furryback the First.”

“…“

Okay, so that name was not what they were expecting, but Mad Sword Haoran tried to dig a little deeper.

“Dao Brother, do you know of the legends about those things? The nightmares they cause?” whispered Mad Sword Haoran, as if speaking about it aloud was a sin.

“I’ve heard things,” Long Di said indifferently.

Mad Sword Haoran looked at Jingyi Yu worriedly. However, seeing her nod, prompted him to continue.

“How about we eat before continuing.?” He smiled nervously.

Long Di shrugged his shoulders. “Sure.”

As they waited, they took a good look at Long Di’s companion who spoke before. Both Jingyi Yu and Mad Sword Haoran immediately felt inferior when gazing upon her.

They felt an ethereal, otherworldly aura coming from her that they couldn’t explain.

They couldn’t see her face, but her demeanour and grace far outshined Jingyi Yu’s.

For someone like her to be so inconspicuous baffled the two of them. Now they know why Long Di said table for nine earlier.

Just like them, the concierge completely overlooked her.

Who was she?

Then there was the cat. That cat was no cat at all!

Jingyi Yu felt a terrible sense of danger from it. The minute the flame had erupted and engulfed Long Di, a sense of death enveloped them both.

It seems it only receded once this ‘cat’ was sure that Long Di was fine and wasn’t in any danger from the flames.

Eventually, the server came back with several dishes.

The server was initially surprised to see Pebbles atop Long Di’s head, but seeing that it was small chalked it up to being a pet and didn’t say anything about it.

Before long, the entire table was filled to the brim with dishes. Prime roasts, stew, soup, juices, and other delicacies that they had never seen before lined the table.

It immediately livened up the atmosphere, and everyone started to relax and talk without scruples. Even Mina joined in laughing and talking with everyone.

Truly eating with someone was a quick and easy way to settle in around them.

“Is this the roast of a three treasures glazed chicken?” Long Di asked after taking up one of the dishes.

Jingyi Yu’s eyes flashed. “Daoist Di’s eyes are good. Yes, it is. Vermillion Phoenix Restaurant is known for its preparation of bird-type magical beasts.”

“Incredible.” Long Di commented after seeing the glistening nature of the meat attributed to the magical beast.

“So Dao Brother, how was your comprehension?” Mad Sword Haoran asked.

Since everyone was talking to everyone at this point. He asked some questions that he had on his mind.

After all, when he offered Long Di some of the wine, he expected some reaction but not one as exaggerated as the flames engulfing his body.

“It’s really good.” Long Di nodded. “It allowed me to see a way out for a cultivation technique of mine. I would have started immediately if we weren’t in the restaurant. So I sealed that feeling and my thoughts at that moment for further digestion later.”

Mad Sword Haoran smiled. “That’s good to know.”

“Junior sister Shen Ling, isn’t it uncomfortable eating with your veil? You can take it off here, no one’s around to see you.” Jingyi Yu advised.

In truth, it was bad manners to eat with your veil on, but no one said anything since the atmosphere was so good.

Shen Ling then looked at Long Di who nodded that it was okay.

The moment she took off Blossoming Abyss, the table instantly lit up.

Good lord!

Her features were immaculate. What celestial hand orchestrated the creation of a being as perfect as this?

Shen Ling’s white haze-like hair undulated like the mist that descended upon the morn of an immortal grotto. Two wayward strands cupped her oval face. Her red lips stood in striking contrast to her snow-white skin that knew no blemish.

A pixie nose with a small and graceful bridge stood perfectly on her face. Her eyes displayed the expanse of the starry heavens as they quietly twinkled here and there.

All of this then drew attention to her figure which was neither too much nor too little. An inch, a centimetre, a millimetre off in any way whatsoever would have ruined the perfection that she was.

Combined with the black and white dao robe she wore just made her seem like some immortal fairy. A being that was not to be blasphemed in any way.

This was beauty at its apex. No doubt about it.

Everyone, barring Long Di, Xiannu Liang and Mina, felt their jaws signing a lease with the ground beneath them.

This was too exaggerated, wasn’t it?

“Big sister is really beautiful!” Sun Kai’s childish voice echoed, out shaking everyone from their stupor.

They all felt as if they were in a trance a while ago.

“Junior sister Shen Ling is quite peerless,” Jingyi Yu commented with a wry smile.

She was quite confident in her looks. However, she knew she was nowhere near Shen Ling’s level.

“It’s truly Dao brother Di’s fortune to have such a divine beauty by his side.”

“Thanks.” Long Di received the praise, not seeing the true meaning of Mad Sword Haoran’s words.

It was getting dark now. The sun had gone down and a full moon hung up in the sky. It cast everything under it in a stately silver glow.

“Alright, now onto more serious matters. Dao Brother Di, do you know who Golden Lion Gate’s guest is?”

Everyone quieted down as they could tell this was what Mad Sword Haoran wanted to talk to Long Di about.

“I only know of someone from Ice Phoenix Hall.” Long Di admitted.

However, Mad Sword Haoran’s and Jingyi Yu’s expressions shifted to one mild surprise upon hearing this.

“So you already know!?” he asked.

Long Di sighed before replying. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s just that Wei Yun told me to meet her here. I thought she was here for a while but everyone’s acting like she just came.”

“You’re referring to Ice Star Yun, one of the Five Nobles!?”

“What is she, a princess?”

Mad Sword Haoran was shocked as it seemed that Long Di truly met Wei Yun but was unaware of her fame.

“She’s one of the ”Five Nobles. They are known as the five strongest cultivators in the Western Land.”

“I see,” Long Di drank a glass of juice as he listened.

“However, it’s not her that’s the highlight here. According to sources, tomorrow the Divine Daughter of the Ice Phoenix Hall will be arriving here.”

“That should be Qin Ling, I wonder if she’s okay.”

This simple statement stunned Haoran Jian and Jingyi Yu.

“Who’s Qin Ling?” Shen Ling asked nervously.

Pebbles, who was in the middle of the table, assaulting the meat of some magical beast, stopped and looked at Long Di.

“She’s someone I helped back in the day,” he admitted. “We come from the same city. Wei Yun told me she’s the Divine Daughter or something for Ice Phoenix Hall.”

“Oh, so that’s it!” Both Jingyi Yu and Mad Sword Haoran sighed a breath of relief upon hearing this.

It was one thing to meet one of the Five Nobles like that, it was an entirely different thing to meet the Divine Daughter of Ice Phoenix.

It was known that this Divine Daughter came from humble beginnings. Since no one heard of Long Di despite the latter possessing such heaven-defying abilities, it most likely meant he came from humble beginnings as well. This could very well mean he met the Divine Daughter before she was made as such.

Of course, now their status was nowhere near comparable to one another.

“Is this all you wanted to talk about?” Long Di asked him.

“N-No” Mad Sword Haoran did plan to talk a bit more about the Divine Daughter but that was no longer necessary.

Shen Ling felt a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing but she held her tongue and listened to the conversation.

Mad Sword Haoran expression became serious. “Many people think that the ten great sects are the apex of power in this world. However, at our level, we know that this isn’t the truth.”

“Go on.” Long Di listened intently.

“The ten great sects are actually under the Seven Grand Sects,” he revealed a revelation that shocked Shen Ling And Xiannu Liang.

“Who are they?” asked Long Di.

“No one knows really,” Mad Sword Haoran confessed. “However, they exist and are known to be countless times stronger than the ten great sects.”

“What does any of this have to do with another?” Long Di asked, not seeing the connection.

“I’ll explain. Ice Phoenix Hall is at the top of the ten great sects, but my master advised me the reason this is the case is because they are backed by one of the Seven Grand Sects. With a behemoth like that behind them, their position is unshakeable. It is said the Divine Daughter might be entering the mysterious behemoth. My master charged me with the mission to recruit strong and talented individuals under his banner. He wants to get close to the Divine Daughter so that he can eventually, with her, enter the grand sect and of course, bring us with him as his generals and trusted aides.”

Long Di nodded and took in everything he heard without a word. Once Mad Sword Haoran was finished, he finally asked.

“So, you want to recruit me under your master’s banner. Who is your master?” Long Di asked.

“It’s Heavenly Sun Noble!” Mad Sword Haoran swelled with pride when he said this.

“Heavenly Sun Noble?” Long Di’s brow rose in a questioning manner.

“One of the Five Great Nobles!” Mad Sword Haoran explained, not bothered that Long Di knew nothing of one of the greatest cultivators in the Western Land.

“I see. I refuse.”

“Pfftt!” Mad Sword Haoran nearly choked on the wine he was drinking. He coughed a few more times before he was able to clear his throat.

“D-Dao Brother… w-why?” He couldn’t understand why Long Di would refuse. For any cultivator, just meeting one of the Five Great Nobles would be the honour of a lifetime. Yet Long Di was throwing that away.

Long Di shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not interested.”

“That’s right!” Pebbled chimed in at this point. “My brother is a leader and joins under no one’s banner but his own! Your Noble isn’t even fit to carry his shoes!”

Mad Sword Haoran’s expression became ugly at this point. “Sir Pebbles the Wondercat, I truly mean no disrespect, but you are not allowed to slander my Master.”

If Mad Sword Haoran wasn’t a little aware of how dangerous Pebbles was, he would have attacked him a while ago for that remark.

“It’s the truth!” Pebbles sneered. “You think you saw anywhere near the limits of his power back in the city? Ha! I laugh at you, HA!”

Long Di knew Pebbles was trolling at this point, but it was funny, so he wasn’t gonna say anything and continued eating.

“You mean to say that Dao Brother here can defeat Master Heavenly Sun Noble!? You think he can take on any of the Five Nobles!?” Mad Sword Haoran asked incredulously.

“I don’t think,” Pebbled smiled. “I know!”

Boom!

An explosion echoed out in the distance. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the horizon where a blinding radiance lit up the landscape for miles around.

When Mad Sword Haoran felt the familiar aura, he smiled.

“Well, then, it looks like Dao Brother will have the chance to prove it.”