603: Times Are Changing

Times Are Changing

As Zhu Xie led the group down into the depths of the ship, the Zodiacs all sat there in silence. There was quite a lot to digest after speaking with Ming Yue. 0

"A war between Humans and Demons... This sort of information, if it were to enter the ears of the tribe elders, the chance of them attempting a war will grow."

Ao Qin muttered loud enough for the others to hear. 

"Even more shocking is the fact that the origins of the Savage Lands were like that", Lao Yang mentioned, "Almost all of what Ming Yue has told us is very dangerous information. We can't spread it without some care or consideration for the implications."

This was something they all agreed on. 

Whatever they had just learned couldn't be leaked, at least for now. 

"In any case, I assume that everyone here is fine with her coming with us, right?" 

After a moment, the dragon-kin took a look around, seeing everyone give nods or just not react like Ruishi Lei. Taking that as approval from them all, Ao Qin revealed a smile, leaning back on his chair even. 

"Well then, that went far better than expected."

All of them just took a look at him before Lao Yang got up from his chair. 

"Right, it's getting late so I'll be retiring for the night. You can all relax here if you'd like but I have quite a lot to do after that conversation."

The goat-kin walked off while Jin Nao and the other scholars followed behind closely. 

"Hm? Where's Shu Yi? Is he still with Zhu Xie?" 

Qiang Rong pointed out at the empty seat, seeing a plate of uneaten sandwiches on it. 

"Probably, where else could he have gone?" She Xing replied. 

The snake-kin just shrugged before getting up herself. 

"Come on, we should go rest as well. It's been a long day after what's happened. We still have a few days before we enter the Teleportation Arrays, Might as well make the most of it."

Soon enough the Four Claws left the table, leaving only Ao Qin, Ruishi Lei, and Bai Sheng sitting there in silence. The dragon-kin took a deep breath and released, glancing outside of the ship towards the night sky. 

"Hah, I can't help but think that all of this feels surreal", he said, "I never thought that I'd be able to see Humans or Demons in my lifetime. I thought I would have just died in the jaws of a beast and that was the end."

The dragon-kin chuckled, looking down at himself as he spoke. 

Bai Sheng gazed at him and sighed. 

"Things are changing", she replied, "What was once stagnant has begun once more."

"Right, this is just the beginning. I can imagine that once the three continents are reconnected, life will be vastly different."

Ruishi Lei looked at them both, sitting there with a proper posture. 

No one said another word, sitting there silently and contemplating their lives. Soon enough, they returned to their rooms one by one and the ship lingered in the air for the night. It was a bit out of the ordinary, seeing a floating ship over a thick jungle of trees and whatnot. Even more so as the moonlight seemed to put it on display for everything to see. 

You could even see something fall out from the ship, dropping straight down. 

A few shadows appeared below, looking down at it and picking up a small package. It was difficult to see what they looked like because of their masks but it wasn't difficult to know who they were. While those masks covered their faces, they themselves were not. 

And these masks were nothing more than fox masks. 

Having grabbed the package, they looked up at the ship before nodding at each other. They shared no words and quietly went off into the night. 

The sun rose up once more and the ship was well on its way back to the Teleportation Formation. For the next few days on this little trip, Ming Yue was constantly battered with questions from Lao Yang, sticking to her like glue. 

She didn't quite mind it and the others were already accustomed to it. 

Hongyu was elsewhere, most likely outside, admiring the view with the trio of beasts protecting her. Zhu Xie was in the captain's cabin, humming away as he steered the ship. Everyone else was off doing their own things. Sleeping, training, or tending to their equipment. 

But it wasn't as if she didn't gain anything either. 

"So the beast-kin are all gathered into one major city at the Halcyon Meadows? The elders of your tribes gather as a 'Council'... I see."

"Yes, it's just one city, there's no real name for it but most call it the 'Den' nowadays. After defeating two of the three Beast Gods, we were able to handle the Savage Lands a bit easier and focused more on rebuilding. So it looks more like an actual city or metropolis even."

Hearing this from Lao Yang, Ming Yue's interest had been piqued. Her curiosity only grew as the goat-kin continued to tell her more about them. 

"And you don't have the ability to cultivate or the bloodline abilities like the demons. You are able to 'revert'?" she asked. 

Lao Yang nodded. 

"I don't quite know the specifications of human cultivation or demon bloodlines but I can tell you that 'reverting' does not resemble either one. There are seven stages to it and the higher the stage that someone reaches, the stronger they become. Their bodies would transform and by the seventh and final stage, they will have returned to the form of their ancestors. Take Ao Qin for an example, he originates from a dragon so he can become a True Dragon if he reaches that last stage. He will have the same power that a True Dragon has", the goat-kin explained. 

"I see, I thought that it was similar to the demons, who are able to use the abilities of their ancestors but demons cultivate in their own way. And they can only use their abilities, they cannot become like their ancestors like the beast-kin", said Ming Yue.

"That's correct. For us to get stronger, we have to consume the flesh or core of beasts and absorb their power. The Devouring Goose and Earthbound Tortoise had allowed most of us to grow our ability by at least one stage, for some they were able to revert to the second stage. It was through that, that we were able to finally push back against the Savage Lands."

"Is that so?"

"Mm, unfortunately, no one has been able to reach the final stage since the Calamity."

There was a somewhat somber look on Lao Yang's face as he said this. 

These sorts of exchanges continued until the end when Zhu Xie shouted out for everyone to hear. 

"We're back!"

Just hearing this, everyone looked out of the cabin, staring down below them. Ming Yue was practically the first one there, the excitement and anticipation were not hard to see on her face as she looked down. 

Once she did, her shoulders seemed to loosen up just a bit. Although she had seen it before, this time felt a bit different. 

It was one of the four Teleportation Arrays, one of the two leading into the Human Continent, her home. 

There were little dots surrounding the area, masses of them, all waiting for the ship to descend. It hovered above them before coming down, landing right in front of the Array. 

"Alright, we'll go out but you should all stay inside and hide", Ao Qin looked at Ming Yue and her group as he said this. 

The Niu Hong and the rest of the Four Claws stood by the dragon-kin. 

"It shouldn't be very long, just a few formalities and a ceremony of sorts before we can get going", they said. 

"Yeah, I and the rest of the scholars need ti make sure that everything is prepared for this. So you can just sit tight."

After Lao Yang came with these passing words, the Zodiacs all exited the ship whilst Ming Yue and the others waited inside. It was quiet but with each passing second, the tension began to grow. 

pqdm.com