Chapter 1056 Invitation to the Coming of Age Ceremony
“Well, very good,” the image of the middle-aged man showed approval in his eyes from across the room.
He was Li Hao, Li Mu’s father and the Cloud Shadow Sky’s Sect Master.
“Father, I have something to report,” Li Mu said with a serious expression.
“Is it the news that the members of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family on this trial have been eliminated?” Li Hao calmly said. “It has already spread out. The higher-ups of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family are furious. They are currently investigating the origins of those people who killed their members. The Elemental Elves’ Seventh Princess is a friend of theirs. If the Tiger Talisman Royal Family are unable to locate those people, the Elemental Elves will be implicated.”
“Father, I’m with those people too.” A mysterious smile suddenly climbed onto Li Mu’s face.
“What did you say?” Li Hao frowned.
“I’m with them right now. I mean Zhang Hanyang and his people,” Li Mu confessed without hesitation. “Father, you can’t even imagine how powerful Zhang Hanyang is. He is incredibly mighty. He knows a senior of our Cloudy Shadow Sky. He told me that he had an old friend in our Cloud Shadow Sky, whom I later found was Elder Bai. At first, I asked him if that friend was the 53rd elder, but he said no. Then he said it was our First Elder. Plus, father, do you know that he also…”
“Pfft…”
Li Hao’s eyes widened, and he choked on his saliva. “Wait! C-Come again, who does he know?”
“Elder Bai, the First Elder from years ago. I’ve never heard of such a person, so I thought he didn’t exist.” Li Mu looked at his father in shock and bewilderment.
“Senior Bai? He knows Senior Bai?” Li Hao’s expression changed drastically. “Heavens, he knows Senior Bai? For real? Senior Bai has already left the Sea Dragon Star Area for over a thousand years. How could he possibly know Senior Bai? Could it be that he’s a senior as well?”
“Er… gulp…”
Li Mu swallowed. He also felt that his throat was a little dry, and his heart suddenly thumped much faster. Then, he added, “And he also knows one of the three greatest secret skills of our Cloud Shadow Sky. It’s the complete version of the Highest Clouds Sketch, which is remarkably powerful. Compared with the Highest Clouds Sketch he performed, the incomplete version I’ve learned is a far cry.”
“He can even perform the complete Highest Clouds Sketch? So he really… really knows Senior Bai. Otherwise, he couldn’t have possibly mastered the Highest Clouds Sketch.” Li Hao’s brows puckered deeply as he continued to exclaim, “He actually knows Senior Bai. Has he ever said that he knows anyone else?”
“He mentioned the Eight Greatest Elders.”
“Surely he did.” Li Hao closed his eyes. He looked a little overexcited. “Then is it possible that he is Senior Bai’s descendant?”
“That’s impossible. His surname is Zhang. His father and grandfather are also here,” Li Mu replied. “The odd thing is, his father’s strength seems to be at the Elixir Realm Last-Stage, and his grandfather is at the Elixir Realm Peak-Stage. As for his strength, I can’t fathom it. But he can easily kill those at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage. His wife is also very, very strong. I figure that even those at the Yuan Ying Realm Middle-Stage aren’t a match for her. Later, I decided to make Zhang Hanyang teach me the complete Highest Clouds Sketch. Therefore, I traveled with them. I treated them sincerely, so they didn’t drive me away. I guess they’re gradually admitting me into their circle. I believe that I can definitely move them with my lasting resolution. I’ve got to learn the complete Highest Clouds Sketch, even if it takes years before Zhang Hanyang agrees to teach me.”
“You’ve all grown up.” Li Hao’s gaze turned a little strange. “You’ve worked hard. I’m proud of you. Are you and the others on the Dal Star? I’ll come to you right away. I want to see Zhang Hanyang with my own eyes. There are some things you still don’t know about, but I can tell him.”
“Well, father, you don’t need to hurry here.” Li Hao shook his head and said, “It will take at least seven days to travel from the Cloud Star Area to here. But Zhang Hanyang and his people will only stay for five days before they go back to their place. I have already inquired around. They also live in the Sea Dragon Star Area, only their place is very difficult for outsiders to locate. They will come out again. I will try to learn more about Zhang Hanyang and the others over the next couple of days.”
“They’re leaving so soon?” Li Hao knit his brows.
“Yes. In Zhang Hanyang’s group, there is also a very mysterious old man. His strength is amazing. Oh right, the Tiger Talisman Royal Family’s fleet of nearly 50 wars.h.i.+ps got smashed into pieces by an unknown force, including the main vessel. I suspect it was the work of that old man. Even Zhang Hanyang and his fellows are quite polite to that old man. If he really did that all by himself, then, his individual strength must have far surpa.s.sed the Yuan Ying Realm. With that kind of strength, he could be an overlord in the Sea Dragon Star Area. Father, Zhang Hanyang’s daughter and Princess Nina have become good friends. They’re almost like sisters now. Perhaps Nina knows more about them. I’ll find a chance to talk with Nina as well.”
“That is to say… the Seventh Princess of the Elemental Elf Clan has been on good terms with Zhang Hanyang’s daughter.” Li Hao pondered for a moment and said, “There isn’t enough time for me to come over. You can deal with the matters over there as you see fit. It would be best if you could collect more information about them.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. It’s not something that can be done in a hurry. Judging from Zhang Hanyang’s tone, he seems to be quite familiar with our Cloudy Shadow Sky. He also said that if there was a chance in the future, he would visit the Cloudy Shadow Sky,” Li Mu said.
“How is Zhang Hanyang treating his daughter?” Li Hao asked out of the blue.
“Well, um…” Li Mu thought for two seconds and said word by word, “his affection for his daughter is rare in the world. What I’ve felt is that his daughter is everything to him. I’ve never seen a man pampering his daughter like that. When his daughter said she wanted to play, he brought everyone out to have fun. When his daughter said she was tired, he immediately told everyone to take a rest. Yeah, it’s just like that. Therefore, Nina… Nina is really lucky to have a good relations.h.i.+p with his daughter. Anyway, that little girl doesn’t like to play with me, so I can only befriend her in a roundabout way.”
Speaking of this, Li Mu felt somewhat heartbroken.
“Really?”
Li Hao revealed a thoughtful expression as he muttered, “From the looks of things… if the Tiger Talisman Royal Family makes a move against the Elemental Elf Clan, we can provide them with some a.s.sistance in light of the circ.u.mstances.
“Well, I have something else to attend to. I’ll leave you to your work.”
As Li Hao said that, his image slowly dissipated.
“Phew…”
Li Mu exhaled a long breath. Judging from his father’s expression, he knew he had made the correct move regarding this matter. He would be a real fool if he missed the chance to obtain the Highest Clouds Sketch for his fear of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family.
Having obtained his father’s support, Li Mu felt more daring and ma.s.sively relieved.
In a small room on the middle floor of the building, the atmosphere was a little tense.
“Your Majesty, it’s true that we shouldn’t have done this. But the Seventh Princess never meant to let things turn out like this. The root cause is that those people of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family were too arrogant. They looked down on everyone. Who the h.e.l.l did they think they were?”
Mo Wen said angrily, “They brought it on themselves. We all know what kind of person Hu Bin was. Had he not coveted other people’s treasures, he wouldn’t have ended up like this. In short, Nina and Mengmeng are very close now. If the Tiger Talisman Royal Family can’t find the people liable for the slaughter, I’m afraid they would vent their anger on us. They may even launch a large-scale attack on us, won’t they?”
“Given the temperament of the Tiger Tally Royal Family, it’s possible for them to take such an extreme measure.” The King of Elves had a long, handsome face, but his expression was quite somber at this moment. “Before you set off, I already warned you not to cause trouble. Nina is too insensible.”
Mo Wen took a deep breath and said, “It’s not Seventh Princess’s fault. As the team leader, I’m the one who should take responsibility for anything that goes wrong during this trip.”
“What can you take responsibility for?” the King of Elves asked in a detached voice.
“I…” Mo Wen trailed off.
“It was Nina’s fault for being careless when making friends. I have my own judgment on this matter,” the King of Elves said coolly.
He didn’t show concern or other feelings for Nina. Elves like him all had many children. Most elves didn’t adore their offspring. Only a few doted on their children.
After hanging out with Zhang Han for several days, Mo Wen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly when he heard King of Elves’ cold words.
“His Majesty’s way of being a father is too different from Zhang Hanyang’s.”
Mo Wen had keenly noticed that a strange look had fleeted across Nina’s eyes several times. Those were the times when Zhang Han and Mengmeng were talking.
“Nina must also hope that she could have such a father, yet she’s never had one.”
“Your Majesty, Seventh Princess is about to have the Coming of Age Ceremony. I reckon that if she is able to break through to the Yuan Ying Realm before then, it will be an all-time record for us Elemental Elves. It will also greatly increase the prestige of our clan,” said Mo Wen.
“It’ll be great if she can make the breakthrough. But a cultivator at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage still doesn’t have much influence. You and your team should come back now.”
“Frizzle.”
The image disappeared as the call ended.
“Alas.”
Mo Wen sighed heavily.
It was obvious that the Kind of Elves was quite upset with them offending the Tiger Talisman Royal Family.
Yet, what could he do about it?
Helplessly, he dialed Nina’s communication number.
“Seventh Princess, His Majesty just told us to go back right now.”
It was silent on the other end of the line.
A good five seconds later, Nina’s voice finally sounded.
“We’ll set off in five days.”
“Okay.”
After the short conversation, Nina hung up the phone.
Sitting by the window, Nina pursed her lips and stared blankly into the distance.
“I’ve listened to the elders in my family my whole life. Please let me be willful just this once,” she muttered to herself.
She liked to be with Mengmeng. When they were together, she constantly sensed a free and easy air, which made her happy.
Thus, to be able to play with Mengmeng, Nina would rather risk defying the order for once.
This seemed to be a willful act.
Yet, it was a manifestation of the vague bitterness in her heart.
At the same time, in the neighboring building, the members of the Silver-winged Hall had also checked in and went to the top floor. Zhong An was in charge of a whole planet, where the branch of the Silver-winged Hall was located. That gave him various means to earn money. Thus, he carried hundreds of thousands of crystal stones with him this time.
In addition, he was a single man who didn’t have a family to support. Hence, he could afford the best food, vehicles, and accommodations on trips.
“Master, that’s all we know. At present, Nina and Li Mu are with Zhang Hanyang.”
Zhong An just explained the situation. He felt kind of thirsty so he picked up the teacup and took several gulps.
“The Tiger Talisman Royal Family is investigating this matter right now. If they only stay here for five days, the Tiger Talisman Royal Family won’t have enough time to catch them even if they set off now, not to mention they are still waiting for the result of the investigation.”
The master of the Silver-winged Hall nodded. “You’ve made the right decision on this matter. We don’t need to get involved. All we should do is to let our force grow steadily. Now Hu Bin and Hu Zhiqiang were both dead, the Tiger Talisman Royal Family will definitely do something about it. If they can’t track down the culprits, they will act against the Elemental Elves. The Cloud Shadow Sky probably has already known about this as well. Let’s just sit back and watch them fight.”
“Yes.”
Zhong An cupped his hands and turned off the communication device of his own accord.
The master of the Silver-winged Hall had long been used to his style of doing things, so he didn’t mind being hung up on. Zhong An was the kind of person who was restrained in words but not actions. He was also the master’s capably subordinate. Since he did not like interactions with others, the master didn’t ask him to inquire about anything.
Now that the Silver-winged Hall was already quite powerful, the master didn’t care about gaining some more special connections.
This matter was already beginning to brew up a storm.
But as the one at the center of the storm, Zhang Han was not fl.u.s.tered at all.
In Zhang Han’s eyes, the Sea Dragon Star Area was just a small place. Nothing there could be a challenge to him. What was more, there were few talents in this Star Area that he could take seriously.
After staying in the suite for half an hour, Mengmeng could not sit still anymore. She ran into Zi Yan’s arms and proposed, “Mummy, how about we go out to play? There is a big slide, a swimming pool, and a lot of amus.e.m.e.nt facilities.”
“You wanna go out? There seem to be a lot of people.” Zi Yan looked at Zhang Han hesitantly.
“It’s okay. Let’s go out together,” Zhang Han said with a smile.
“Then, shall we change into our swimsuit?” Mengmeng asked.
“Sure.”
Zi Yan nodded. She went to the cloakroom with Mengmeng. Both of them changed into one-piece swimsuits.
“Mummy, I’m going to ask Nina to come with us.”
With that said, Mengmeng dashed out of the suite.
When Zhang Han took a look, he found that the little girl was holding a white bikini in her hand.
He couldn’t help feeling speechless.
A dozen minutes later, Nina walked in. Her face blushed tomato red.
She felt quite awkward, unsure where to put her hands and feet. Because the s.e.xy swimsuit had accented her hot figure.
“Ahem.”
Zhang Han quickly looked away from Nina, so she wouldn’t feel self-conscious. It would also prevent Zi Yan from getting jealous.
“I’m going to fetch Aunty Xue and Aunty Jiang.”
Soon, the small crowd preparing to go out and have fun had a.s.sembled.
The building had more than 100 floors. After coming out of their suites, they all leaped from the top floor.
After falling for just two meters, they were picked up by an intelligent flying plate.
When technology had become this advanced, committing suicide by jumping off a building had also become impossible.
Riding the round flying plate, they came to the entrance of the slide that looked like a column. When they started to spiral downward, they suddenly found that they were surrounded by 3D electronic screens. They could even choose the background they like, such as gliding above the clouds, in the universe, over rivers, or over all kinds of world wonders.
This kind of slide was extremely fun.
Mengmeng played on the slide several times in a row before she moved on to other entertainment facilities.
Mo Wen couldn’t stand staying in the room with nothing to do. Thus, he came to the corridor to enjoy the view while sipping at the gla.s.s of ordinary fruit wine in his hand.
“Well, I hope… pfft.”
“That’s Nina?”
Seeing Nina in a s.e.xy swimsuit playing outside, Mo Wen was stunned at first. Then, he hurriedly looked away.
“Oh my, oh my, she can’t, she can’t be like this…”
“As an elegant elemental elf, how could she wear something this décolleté in public?”
Even Mo Wen’s face involuntarily blushed with embarra.s.sment.
“Woopie, hahaha.”
“Giggles…”
“Tee-hee.”
All kinds of laughter were heard.
Mo Wen was slightly taken aback when he heard Nina’s resounding laughter.
“Since when has our Seventh Princess started to laugh out loud?”
Mo Wen looked over once more.
Seeing that Mu Xue and Jiang Yanlan were also wearing s.e.xy swimsuits, and other guests were all dressed like this, Mo Wen fell silent.
He felt that he had overreacted. Although elves were not accustomed to exposing their bodies, they were no stranger to seeing others dressing like this. It was perfectly normal.
There were even some places where people hung out completely naked. It was just that Mo Wen himself had never been to such places even though he was starting to feel his age.
While watching them play, Mo Wen heaved with a sigh.
“Seventh Princess looks very happy when playing with them.
“At her age, Seventh Princess is certainly fun-loving. Her Coming of Age Ceremony is drawing near. I just hope nothing unexpected would happen this time.”
After playing for a while, Mengmeng and the others returned to their suites, took a shower, and changed into fresh clothes.
“Mummy, shall we go shopping?”
“Certainly!”
Zi Yan was even more interested in shopping.
They also asked others whether they wanted to go with them. A while later, everyone, including Yue Wuwei, left their suites to go shopping. Li Mu and Nina served as their guides.
“Princess Nina, you looked quite s.e.xy and bold in that swimsuit you wore earlier,” Li Mu said to Nina with a grin.
The playboy’s temperament was inadvertently revealed.
“Swis.h.!.+”
Nina blushed, feeling a little embarra.s.sed.
“How hot she is none of your business,” Mengmeng glanced at Li Mu and muttered.
Her words silenced Li Mu at once.
“Are we going to take an aircraft? I think the prosperous place ahead is a little far from here.” Mu Xue, dressed in pure black, stroked her hair and asked.
“The hotel provides free flying cars here. We can take the flying cars anytime we want.”
Li Mu walked to the edge of the corridor and looked down. “Wow, we’re so high in the air!” The control station was right on the side. Li Mu picked a large sightseeing flying convertible.
It could accommodate 30 pa.s.sengers. They all got in and flew smoothly to the prosperous area.
When they arrived, he found in surprise that life on the ground here was not as they had imagined. The shopping mall was a gigantic building, but the floors not more than 30 meters off the ground were the staff’s offices. There was nothing interesting to visit on the ground.
The outdoor shopping area was almost the same as that in Xiangjiang. From the entrance, they saw layers of iron plate floors between two buildings. When they walked on one, they found that the iron plate floors above their head looked exactly like the sky, and even the sun could be seen.
The iron plate floor was also a technological product.
Stepping on it, one could really feel like doing shopping.
“Let’s take a walk outside and then go into the mall.” Zi Yan’s eyes lit up slightly. She was greatly intrigued as she saw the long streets and the people coming and going.
“You call it shopping mall? We call it trading center here,” Nina looked at Mengmeng and inquired.
“Yes. There are many shopping malls at our place. You can find anything you want to buy there. The goods they sell are of a wide range. Nina, why don’t you go there with us this time?” Mengmeng actively invited Nina to her place.
“I…”
Nina’s expression changed. She seemed tempted.
Li Mu was lost for words.
“If Nina doesn’t wanna go, I’ll go. I’d love to go there. Invite me, quick!”
However, nothing of that sort happened.
Nina hesitated for two seconds, then shook her head and said, “No, I can’t. I’m going to have my Coming of Age Ceremony soon. I can’t go out until after that. So, when the ceremony is over, I’ll go to your hometown to visit you.”
“Nina, when is your Coming of Age Ceremony?” Mengmeng asked.
“In half a year, I plan to go back and cultivate in seclusion for some time. I’ll do my best to break through to the Yuan Ying Realm before the ceremony,” Nina answered with a serious face.
“Half a year? Let me do the math.” Mengmeng waved her fingers. Her cute expression made Zhang Han laugh.
“My girl just loves counting on her fingers since she was little.”
“March, April, May, June, July, August.
“So it’s in August?”
Mengmeng said with a chuckle, “I’m free then. I’ll be on summer holiday. Nina, I can attend your Coming of Age Ceremony. Mummy, Daddy, can we go to the ceremony then?”
Then she remembered that she had to ask Zhang Han and Zi Yan for permission. There was a chance that they wouldn’t allow it.
Yet, when had Zhang Han ever said no to Mengmeng?
He nodded directly and said, “Sure, we can.”
“Hahaha, love you, Daddy!”
Mengmeng threw a kiss at Zhang Han through the air, and then said to Nina, “I can come to your Coming of Age Ceremony.”
“Me too,” Li Mu chimed in with a dry cough.
Since n.o.body cared to engage him in the conversation, he could only bite the bullet and cut in on them.
Nevertheless, no one responded to his words.
“Alas…” Li Mu sighed inwardly.
He felt a sense of defeat.
“Thank you,” Nina said to Mengmeng with a smile.
“You’re welcome. You’re my bestie after all.” Mengmeng smiled. Then, she suddenly noticed a clothing shop on the right, so she pointed at it and said, “Mummy, a clothing shop.”
“Let’s go and have a look.”
Zi Yan took the lead and walked over.
“Welcome.
“Distinguished guests, feel free to look around. If you see something you like, there is a fitting room on the left. I’m Lala, the shopping guide. Call me if you need anything.”
A robot floating in the air about the same size as a football came over to greet them. Then, it left them to look around by themselves.
“Well, most of the clothes here are long dresses.”
Zi Yan glanced around and spotted a long dress, which was pink and looked cla.s.sic and elegant. The material seemed to be thin gauze. It was glittering and translucent. Yet, it was not dazzlingly sparkling, but a kind of natural glitter, which was very eye-catching.