Five days slipped by in the blink of an eye.
During these days, Lin Yu hadn't only been crafting Energy Cubes.
He'd also nurtured the Gible egg every day with Viridian Power, and discovered it seemed to shorten the incubation time.
On the fifth day,
Xiaoye arrived right on time.
What shocked Lin Yu was that she wasn't alone — waiting at the door were Champion Lance and his Level 89 Dragonite.
"Morning, bro!"
Ye Qingxue stood at the entrance in a flowing white floral dress. With her otherworldly beauty, she looked like the kind of moonlight beauty few could ever reach.
But this outfit…
for a secret realm trip?
It looked more like she was going on vacation.
"Ahem… Morning, Xiaoxue. Morning, Champion Lance."
"Both of you, hop on. I'll take you there."
"Huh?"
Lin Yu froze on the spot.
What kind of secret realm required a Champion to personally escort them?
"Bro, get on first."
Still dazed, Lin Yu climbed aboard.
This time, he unequipped the [Dragon Rider] Entry first.
Xiaoye quickly followed, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and pressing her cheek against his back. "Ready!"
Lin Yu's whole body tensed up.
The girl's hair fluttered in the wind, strands falling over his shoulder carrying a soft, floral scent.
It smelled wonderful.
"Let's go!"
Dragonite beat its wings and soared into the sky,
casting a protective barrier over everyone on its back.
Just how fast was a Level 89 Dragonite?
The scenery below blurred past like a slideshow. In barely ten seconds, they'd already left the capital's boundaries.
Once he relaxed, Lin Yu gently tapped the small hands around his waist.
Xiaoye lifted her head and looked at him with questioning eyes.
Lin Yu covered them with Aura and spoke directly into her mind.
[Why is Champion Lance here too?]
Xiaoye blinked at the sudden voice in her head, then giggled. "He's my uncle~"
Lance, of course, noticed the Aura quietly spreading behind him.
"Yep. Name's Ye Du."
Lin Yu fell silent.
So she was connected to royalty…
No wonder the Ye clan held so much power — the previous World Champion was also from the family.
"Relax. As long as you both keep working hard as trainers, I won't get in the way of whatever's going on between you two."
Seeing Lin Yu's awkward expression,
Lance laughed, thinking he was worried about being separated from Xiaoye.
Lin Yu fell even quieter.
Only Xiaoye chirped happily, "Thanks, Uncle!"
"It'll be about ten more minutes. Hang tight."
"What secret realm is this far out?" Lin Yu asked in surprise.
At this Dragonite's speed, they'd left the capital's province in just a few minutes.
If it took another ten, they might even leave the country.
"Dragon Island. Out at sea! Dragonite, use Extreme Speed!"
Ten minutes later.
They'd set off at dawn, and now the morning sun hung over the open ocean.
Mist drifted across the water, glowing in the sunlight to form a soft Tyndall effect.
Dragonite slowed its descent.
"We're here!"
Lance let out a loud cry, and Dragonite let out a long roar.
Moments later,
another roar answered from below.
A gentle, easygoing Dragonite burst from the water and flew up.
Lin Yu thought he recognized this one…
Sure enough, it flew right over to them and waved toward Ye Qingxue.
"I missed you too~"
Xiaoye let go of Lin Yu and hopped onto this Dragonite's back.
"Alright, I'll leave you to it, Shiba Eighteen."
Lance greeted the new Dragonite with a smile.
"Dra~!"
The Dragonite nicknamed Shiba Eighteen grinned innocently.
"C'mon, bro!"
Xiaoye waved him over. Lin Yu finally snapped out of his confusion.
This girl…
she'd brought him to Dragon Island.
"I…"
Lin Yu glanced at Lance, suddenly hesitant to get on.
Opportunities like this were extremely rare even within the Ye clan. Yet here he was, an outsider, being allowed in.
Had Xiaoye fought hard to get him this chance?
"Draa!"
Just then,
two more Dragonites shot down from the sky,
each carrying a young man — both several years older than Lin Yu and Xiaoye, around twenty-three or twenty-four.
Their Dragonites looked freshly evolved, still a little childish,
around Level 52 or 53.
But when Lin Yu saw the Dragonite under one of the young men, he frowned.
Something seemed off about it.
Should he say something later?
"Uncle Du!"
The two young men landed in front of Lance.
"Make this trip count. Try to strengthen your Dragon Master Power."
Lance's tone was calmer now.
"Yes, sir!"
"Go on, Student Lin Yu."
Lin Yu finally stopped hesitating and leaped onto Shiba Eighteen's back.
The group of Dragonites beat their wings and flew onward,
leaving Lance alone on the ocean.
Moments later,
another Dragonite arrived, carrying Xiaoye's father.
Strangely enough,
the two Dragonites immediately locked into a standoff as soon as they met.
Their overwhelming pressure sent ripples spreading across the water.
"What? You here to pick a fight?" Lance spoke first.
"Hardly. You're the Champion, after all."
Ye's father's Dragonite backed down first, flying over to Lance's side.
"Is it really okay letting this outsider boy onto Dragon Island? Even you agreed to this."
Lance raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You agreed too, otherwise he never would've made it this far."
"I had no choice. That girl told me if he couldn't come, she wouldn't go either."
Ye's father huffed, still annoyed.
Sometimes he felt like his daughter's heart belonged entirely to this boy.
"You don't approve of them?"
Ye's father fell into a long silence.
He'd looked into Lin Yu's talent and character thoroughly — and found zero flaws.
High School Tournament champion.
Donated to the orphanage that raised him once he had money.
He truly couldn't find anything to criticize.
In the end, he only muttered: "They're still so young… and Xiaoxue only just came back to me."
"Can't bear to let your precious daughter go? Afraid he'll steal her away?"
Lance smiled faintly.
That was just how fathers were.
"Pretty much."
There was no point hiding it between them.
"Hahaha!"
Lance laughed loudly, then turned to his Dragonite. "Let's go."
Dragonite spread its wings and vanished into the sky like a streak of light.
Only Ye's father remained, staring quietly in the direction Xiaoye had flown off.
"Boy… my daughter isn't so easy to win over. Let's see how you handle this."