"HOW IS it, Elder?" Jingxuan asked Elder Zhentian.
"Just a little more time," Elder Zhentian replied while wiping the sweat from his forehead. He had gone through a great deal of trouble trying to understand how the formation had been constructed.
There was indeed a formation.
However, it seemed to have been created using an ancient formation art that had long been forgotten.
The Bai Clan preserved records of the different Artisan branches dating back to its earliest generations. Every elder was required to study and understand those records.
Fortunately, Elder Zhentian had once read about this particular formation.
Unfortunately...
It required someone of his cultivation to dismantle it.
Even then, he was having difficulty.
"I can't believe there's a Volcanic Roc inside," Elder Yanshu sighed.
When he first saw the enormous bird, even he had been astonished.
"That bird only appeared a few days ago," Elder Lu Wenyuan said. "It has remained there ever since and hasn't done anything else. We have already requested assistance from a Summoner Elder at the Academy."
None of the three great clans specialized in the Summoner Path.
The Pei Clan had been called to provide warriors in case the situation turned hostile.
"Alright! I got it!"
"I've solved the formation!"
The moment Elder Zhentian shouted those words...
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the area.
A violent gale swept across the forest, snapping countless trees in half.
Everyone's expressions changed.
The gigantic Volcanic Roc let out an enraged screech as it charged toward them.
No.
It wasn't charging toward them.
It was chasing Lily and the others.
"What have you done?!"
No one knew who shouted first.
But everyone had the same question.
They had left these children in the capital.
Yet somehow...
They still managed to cause trouble.
"Prepare for battle!" Jingxuan shouted.
He opened his grimoire.
Magic circles appeared one after another.
Fire.
Wind.
Water.
One spell after another shot toward the charging bird.
The others quickly followed.
The warriors of the Pei Clan drew their weapons.
Those who specialized in body cultivation surged forward, their physiques strengthening dramatically.
The moment Lily and the others reached them, they immediately hid behind Elder Zhentian.
"Elder Zhentian, you're amazing. But I don't think you should've done your best solving and breaking that formation," Lily commented earnestly.
The veins on Elder Zhentian's forehead nearly popped.
His temper flared instantly.
"Why did you three follow us and wake that beast?!"
"We didn't!" Bai Yichen protested. "It was sleeping when it suddenly woke up. How were we supposed to know why it woke up?!"
Lily unconsciously touched the object inside her pocket.
She knew why.
She had seen it.
"It only chased us before," Bai Yichen complained. "But the moment you broke the formation, it started spewing lava everywhere!"
"..." Elder Zhentian was speechless.
So...
He wasn't supposed to break the formation?
How did this suddenly become his fault?
These shitty brats!
——
A few minutes ago...
"We should go back," Lily said, turning around to head back the way they came.
This enormous bird had already satisfied her curiosity.
What if this third life ended because she got swatted to death by a bird?
Another humiliating ending.
Hence, she started walking toward the exit.
But then...
The bird suddenly let out an enraged howl.
Lily looked toward the top of the volcano.
A small lizard had bitten the bird's claw and snatched...
Were those jewels?
Then it ran.
She had never seen a lizard run so fast.
In less than a minute, it had already reached them.
Then...
It dove straight into her pocket.
"Tianli, what are you doing?! Run!"
And that was how they ended up in this situation.
It was all because of a lizard that had stolen the bird's jewels.
Lily glanced down at the bulging pocket on her clothes.
Should she squash the lizard into a paste?
Meanwhile, Jingxuan and the others were having difficulty subduing the bird.
"What tier is this bird? It's so strong," Elder Yanshu said, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He had been swatted away the moment he got close. Fortunately, he managed to land a blow before being sent flying.
He was a body cultivator.
To fight, he had to get close.
It was one of the disadvantages of being a Warrior.
They were meant to stand on the front line.
Pew!
A stream of lava shot toward him.
He quickly dodged.
Jingxuan immediately countered the incoming lava with a spell of his own.
When Elder Yanshu saw the magic, he was astonished.
Earlier, Jingxuan had only been casting the basic elemental spells.
Now...
He was already using a new spell beyond what he had shown before.
No wonder he was called a genius.
In less than an hour, he had already comprehended another spell.
Elder Yanshu then turned toward the two Pei siblings, and the corner of his eye twitched.
One looked terrified.
The other still wore the same blank, indifferent expression.
For some reason...
He was beginning to worry about the future of the Pei Clan.
Then he heard the Bai Clan's Young Heir shouting excitedly while cheering them on.
No.
Among this generation...
Only the Lu Clan seemed reliable.
Lily took the lizard out of her pocket before looking at the bird.
If she handed this little fellow over as food...
Would it stop terrorizing everyone?
She was about to throw it when the lizard suddenly shouted—
"Don't you dare!"
Lily's eyes widened.
"This is my treasure! How dare you give it to that ugly bird!"
The lizard hugged the jewel even tighter, afraid it would be taken away.
This lizard could talk? And she was planning to throw him, not the jewel.
She turned toward her sixth brother and held it up.
"This lizard can talk."
"W-What?" Tianrui shifted his attention from the battlefield to the lizard in Lily's hand, "Did you lose your mind from fright?"
"You didn't hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"You," Lily looked at the lizard. "Talk again."
"What do you want?" the lizard asked irritably.
"See?"
"See what?" Tianrui frowned. "It only opened its mouth."
He hadn't heard a single word.
And where had Tianli even gotten this lizard?
The more time he spent with her...
The stranger she became.
Now she was even keeping a lizard as a pet?
Seeing that Tianrui couldn't hear it, Lily stopped explaining.
"You started this mess. Now end it."
If it could talk...
Then perhaps it wasn't an ordinary lizard after all.
The lizard clicked its tongue.
"You humans are so weak despite being given such gifts," it said, referring to their cultivation.
"Oh," Lily replied. "Since you're so almighty, why don't you beat the bird up?"
"Humans should fight their own battles," the lizard answered lazily. "We great beings are not allowed to interfere with the flow of this world."
"It started because of you."
The lizard played dead.
"End it."
The lizard continued playing dead.
"I'll throw you to it."
The lizard remained dead.
Seeing that it refused to move, Lily took the jewel from its tiny claws and tossed it toward the enormous bird.
"No! My treasure!"
The lizard screamed.
Without the slightest hesitation, it leaped after the jewel.
Still fighting, the Volcanic Roc never noticed it.
Its massive foot came crashing down.
Crunch.
The jewel shattered instantly.
"No..."
Its treasure.
The treasure it had protected for centuries...
Gone.
Just like that.
And that ugly bird...
Had stepped on its beautiful jewel!
The lizard trembled with rage.
An overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon the battlefield.
Everyone felt it.
Their expressions changed.
They thought the Volcanic Roc was about to unleash its strongest attack.
Instead...
Blue flames erupted from nowhere, and the Volcanic Roc didn't even have time to scream.
It was reduced to ashes in a second.
"..."
Everyone who had been prepared for a desperate battle froze.
What...
Just happened?
Where did those flames come from?
While everyone else remained stunned, Jingxuan slowly turned his head toward Tianli.
He could have sworn...
The blue flames had come from her direction.
Lily, whose pocket was once again occupied by a little lizard, returned Jingxuan's gaze with complete innocence.
Her eyes were sincere. She had no idea why Jingxuan was looking at her.
Seeing that expression...
Jingxuan began to doubt himself.
Did the blue flames really come from Tianli...
Or had he only imagined it?