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The silence settled once again, and the two friends sat motionlessly together until Yan Xiaobao rembered another question he wanted to ask. "The law," he said, "do you know why the Dragon Army is hunting down the law?"
"No," Lan Feng replied, his eyes flashing with anger. "In the past, the law was revered as a sacred part of society within the Holy Dungeon. Now they are being hunted. I wonder if all four regions of the underground city are doing this."
"Don’t worry," Yan Xiaobao said, sensing that Phoenix genuinely cared about these rules, "When I discover what happened to them, I’ll do my best to help. Let’s treat it as additional cultivation practice."
After that, neither of them spoke again. Yan Xiaobao and Lan Feng remained quiet, rely sitting side by side, calmly focusing on the cultivation techniques within the Dantian Cave, working as efficiently as they could.
After an hour of resting side by side, Lan Feng sighed again and closed his eyes. His celestial blue body began to glow with a golden radiance. He once again refined spiritual energy, letting a drop descend from the center of the Dantian, and continued cultivating Wu Wei.
Seeing Phoenix focus on refining once again, Yan Xiaobao sighed. He re-entered his own body only to find that now everyone had left him alone. Outside, the sun had ceased its beautiful violet glow, now burning brightly in the sky, heating the entire cave.
Upon leaving the house, Yan Xiaobao noticed that the entire courtyard was empty. It seed as though no one was around, which surprised him. It had been a long ti since they all ventured out without him, but he shrugged after a mont and walked into the main house to prepare for his own outing. He was eager to experience this beautiful city once more.
Preparation took a long ti, as Yan Xiaobao enjoyed the soothing warmth of the water on his fatigued body. He also thought that if he took his ti, perhaps his friends would return. But when he finished, no one had co back.
Staring at the empty house, his face showed a slight frown. It seed they all had a reason to leave together, but this hadn’t happened before. A sense of unease crept over the white-haired boy. The feeling of danger lingered, as though it could strike at any mont.
Choosing not to wait in the courtyard any longer, Yan Xiaobao calmly made his way toward the inner city. He paid for a boat to take him to the market where he had previously been with Sha Yun, hoping they had gone out shopping. However, when he arrived at the market, his friends were nowhere to be seen, heightening his concern.
Before searching restaurants and inns, Yan Xiaobao combed through the entire market, moving from one stall to the next, but no matter where he looked, there was no trace of his friends.
The sun was no longer high in the sky; instead, it had begun to set as Yan Xiaobao left the last sector of the town he’d entered. He decided to take another boat back to the courtyard, hoping his friends had returned in his absence.
Yet, that was not the case. Upon his return, he noticed the house was as empty as when he had left it. No one was there, and Yan Xiaobao felt even more worried than before.
Once more, he thoroughly searched every room, finding nothing. As he passed through the last room, however, a sound could be heard coming from outside the building.
Heading outside, he was deeply shocked. As Xu Biao and Xie Lan stumbled their way in through the courtyard gates, Yan Xiaobao stared openly at them. The two were leaning on each other, both severely injured. In Xie Lan’s hand, a faint green light shimred, just enough to keep them on their feet.
Gazing at the two, a cold light flickered in Yan Xiaobao’s icy-blue eyes. He pondered the whereabouts of his friends before steadily approaching the two wounded King Ranking Experts.
"Yan Xiaobao," Xu Biao croaked with a weak voice. "You need to help us," he continued, his words barely audible, as all his energy had been drained by the re act of speaking. But the pain was unmistakable as he added, "We fought the Dragon Army."
"Where are my friends?" Yan Xiaobao asked through gritted teeth.
"They’ve been taken. You need to get them back. Use the B-grade badge you were given. I believe they’ll release them if you do."
"Why didn’t you use yours?" Yan Xiaobao countered, rage flaring in his heart. Xu Biao’s words made no sense to the white-haired boy.
First off, how could two King-level experts be defeated? Secondly, if the B-grade badge was sufficient, why hadn’t he used his? And thirdly, Yan Xiaobao knew he couldn’t trust him based on what he’d been told previously.
Yan Xiaobao clenched his teeth and fists tightly, glaring at the two injured King Ranking Experts, wondering the extent of their injuries and what had truly transpired.
When he finally spoke, his icy-blue eyes glead with frost. "Explain."
Xu Biao and Xie Lan shared a brief glance, understanding they couldn’t be vague about what had happened. It was clear Yan Xiaobao needed a full explanation.
Sighing heavily, Xu Biao began to recount the events. "While you were still cultivating in the training room, the others finished their session and began discussing what to do next. They decided to go out to eat. They all knew you’d probably be busy for the better part of the day."
"Hearing their decision, we chose to tag along. After all, reaching our level ans cultivation isn’t particularly beneficial, so spending ti with friends and experiencing the beauty of the city seed like a better way to use our ti. We also thought, if fortune favored us, we might even gain enlightennt. Many cultivators have achieved epiphanies in this breathtaking city."
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