《The journey of Yin and Yang》


 1 Celestial palace I

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    High up in the sky, above the clouds lied the Heavenly gate. Through it, immortals and other beings may pass to travel between the Mortal realm and Celestial realm. Because of its importance, it was heavily guarded by the Celestial imperial guards.


    Many soft winds could be felt at the gate as Gods, allied beasts and even a few demons entered Heaven in order to celebrate the current Celestial Emperor''s 10 Millionth birthday.


    The hall where the ceremony was being held was enormous and decorated with gold, fresh flowers and light. The seats arranged to the guests were based on their importance. The greater rank and relationship with the Royal Celestial clan they had, the closer they were placed to the Celestial Emperor''s seat.


    Among the guests were the minor Fire God, Yang, who arrived together with his parents the Fire High Gods. They represented the Fire Clan, which was one of the greater clans of this realm and thus got seated quite near the Emperor.


    Ironically, those who followed were the representatives for the Ice Clan, which also belonged to the major clans. Their tables were stationed beside the Fire Clan''s.


    Everyone who was updated on the Celestial affairs would know that the young miss Ying of the Ice Clan and the young master Yang of the Fire Clan were literally akin to fire and water.


    While Yang was hot-headed, Ying was calm and collected. While Yang liked to provoke Ying, she remained passive. With these two in the same place, the audience could expect a good show.@@

 2 Celestial palace II

    When Yang saw Ying, he left his seat while his parents were busy speaking with the Wind High God. Since the Celestial Emperor had yet to arrive, no one frowned upon his actions. Some immortals who had enmities with the Fire Clan felt schadenfreude knowing that a good show was about to begin. Others felt worry over the troublemaker.


    He sneakily approached the seated young miss from the back and threw out a Fire-infused punch. Yang was only a 933 years old minor God. In the eyes of the old geezers, an immortal of his age was a mere infant in an adult''s body.


    Nevertheless, his attack was still quite fierce. He was afterall a prodigy in the arts of Fire magic and undefeatable among his peers. For ordinary minor Gods in his age, they would have no way of defending themselves, especially from the back.


    However, Ying was not just somebody. Even if she was only 1056 years old, she was the pride of the Ice Clan. It wasn''t only for her looks and intelligence, but also for her brilliance in the arts of Ice. Therefore, she hadalready anticipated the strike and causally blocked it with her Ice Wall.


    The vibrations and noices of the collusion were transmitted through the air, which alerted everyone in the hall. Yang was angry over his failure and thus ignored the surroundings. His sole target was Ying,whom he had never ever defeated. This time, he was determined to succeed.


    He morphed a Flame sword and stabbed towards the Ice Wall. Without even glancing over her shoulder, Ying strengthened the wall at the place where she calculated the sword would land.


    True to her calculations, Ying''s sword clashed right at the thickened place, which caused sparks to erupt. Realising that he once again failed, he kept swinging his sword in rage. Each and every time, the Flame sword was unable to destroy the wall, which only caused him to lose it even more.


    Outside Yang''s self-centered bubble, the audience could clearly see the difference between the two younglings. Yang lost his calm to quickly and acted to rashly, while Ying had everything planned out.


    With each strike, Ying moved her barrier closer to Yang, to limit his swinging range unless he chose to retreat. Based on Yang''s personality though, he would most likely never concede. Thus Yang was obviously at the losing end.

 3 Celestial palace III

    "Enough."


    As the voice transmitted in the hall, a powerful blaze appeared between Ying and Yang. The young master couldn''t help but stumble backwards, while Ying was flung towards her table, but was caught by her mother.


    The one who intervened turned out to be Yang''s father, the Fire High God Magma. He threw a disappointed glare at his son, before facing the Ice Clan.


    "Please pardon my idiot son''s manners, Ice High God Frost and Snow. He is still quite young and has yet to learn the etiquettes." The Fire High God gave a small bow to show his sincerity.


    High Gods were all revered characters, since they were on the peak of the cultivation path. For a High God to actually lower himself or herself to bowing to anyone but the Celestial Emperor, required a lot.


    Magma knew that the young God Ying was the loved child of Frost and Snow. If they felt offended by his son''s rude actions, it could initiate a Clan War, which would cost many unnecessary lives.


    Furthermore, the reason why they all gathered at the Celestial palace was to celebrate the Celestial Emperor''s birthday. To cause a ruckus at such an important event could ignite his rage and also cost innocent lives. Thus the High God chose to humble himself for the greater good.


    Seeing his father lower himself because of him, Yang felt ashamed. He just wanted to win for once against Ying. Since they didn''t have many chances of meeting each other, Yang wanted to utilize this opportunity. He didn''t think that it could cause this mess.


    "What did we tell you before leaving the Fire Palace?" Yang''s mother Ember walked up to her son and asked quietly.


    "To not cause a ruckus." Yang whispered with his head lowered down.


    "Next time you should listen to us, alright?" Yang''s mother Ember reprimanded him sternly, causing him to nod in agreement. Satisfied with her son''s answer, she hugged him and patted him softly on his back.


    "Don''t worry Fire High God. It was just a friendly fight between adolescents. No harm has been done, so there is no need to be this polite." Frost replied Magma after a while, which eased the tense atmosphere. His daughter was afterall the one who shined during their fight, so he wouldn''t be petty about a brat who made himself a fool.


    Suddenly, a high pitched voice sounded out.


    "The Celestial Emperor and Empress have arrived!"

 4 Celestial Palace IV

    "The Celestial Emperor and Empress have arrived!"


    Immediately every guest raised themselves and bowed towards the hall entrance, where the Royal couple strode forward with their arms linked followed by a few servants.


    "May the Celestial Emperor and Empress remain forever healthy and fortune. May the Celestial realm forever prosper." Everyone chanted in chorus.


    The Emperor and Empress each had an own thoroughly decorated golden thorne, who represented their mythological beast. For the Emperor it was shaped after a dragon, while the Empress had a throne in the shape of a phoenix. Just like the guests, they each had a table filled with delicacies and wine in front of their seats.


    The Royal couple stopped in front of their seats and faced the subjects.


    "Thank you all for coming today. Feel free to fill your stomachs with the Royal Kitchen''s top dishes." A sturdy male voice sounded out. Based on this alone, one could guess that the Celestial Emperor''s cultivation must be immensely profound.


    "Thank you, your Majesty." Everyone replied synched once again.


    The Emperor turned around and moved towards his seat. Abruptly, he stopped in his tracks. This alerted his attendant Flash, who immediately flashed to his Majesty''s side. Except for a cold face, nothing unusual was observed by Flash.


    "What happened, your Majesty?"


    With a swirl of his sleeve, a golden dragonshaped wine cup floated up from the ground. The formerly masterpiece was now ruined by a vertical crack. Several gasps could be heard from those who possessed some inside knowledge of the Royal family.


    It was the Celestial Emperor''s favorite cup and a gift from the late Emperor, the current Emperor''s Royal father. Now that it had been destroyed, Flash and the Empress among others couldn''t help but be worried.


    "Who did this?! The culprit better show itself or the punishment will only be heavier." Flash shouted out loudly. He has accompanied the Emperor for as long as he could remember and knew at that moment that his Majesty must be very pissed off.


    Murmurs could be heard among the immortals, but no one stepped forward to answer. Truth be told, everyone had been busy watching the fight between the Fire and Ice God. Since the thrones had been empty, there had been no reasons for them to pay attention to the wine cup on the Celestial Emperor''s table. Thus, no one knew how it had fallen to the ground and cracked.


    "The mark has remains of fire essence." The Emperor spoke calmly after a while, still with his back towards the audience. The hall immediately became silent.


    "Tell me, Fire Clan." He paused, before slowly facing High Fire God Magma.


    "How come?"

 5 Celestial Palace V

    The members of the Fire Clan immediately fell down to their knees. Yang was the youngest and couldn''t help but shake under the immense pressure from the Celestial Emperor. Luckily, his mother was at his side so she could steady him and give him some comfort.


    "Please be wise, your Majesty. We of the Fire Clan have no idea how your Majesty''s wine cup was damaged. Even if we are proficient in the arts of Fire magic, many others do also possess the knowledge of Fire." The High Fire God Magma steadily replied.


    "Though, others didn''t recently causally cast around Fire spells in the vicinity of his Majesty''s throne." An young looking man clad in white intervened with a hint of a mocking smile on his face. He waved a fan depicting mount Tai.


    The audience wasn''t stupid and could easily detect what the speaker implied.


    "Oh, is that so? Keep talking, God of Spring." The Celestial Emperor''s attention was now on the immortal.


    "Your Majesty, until the moment of your arrival the Fire God Yang was exchanging moves with the Ice God Ying. The reason why they were fighting on the day of your Majesty''s 10 millionth birthday is unknown to me, but I am certain that miss Ying wasn''t the initiator."


    God of Spring kept waving his fan leisurely.


    "I, as many others present, can attest that Fire God Yang was the one who attacked miss Ying from behind, which she blocked skillfully, if you ask me. Afterwards, minor God Yang kept charging, which could have caused some splash effects."


    No one could find falsehood in his summary of the events.


    "What do you now have to say to your defence, Fire High God Magma?" The Celestial Emperor''s tone turned dangerously cold.


    Yang felt as if he was sunk into icy water. Deep remorse and dread were only the tip of the mountain of feelings he experienced at that moment. Why didn''t he listen to his parents? Now his clan might be impacted by his reckless behavior.


    "This..." Magma was speechless and didn''t know how to respond. Seeing this, his wife Ember decided to speak instead.


    "May I have a word, your Majesty?"


    As the Emperor didn''t reject her, she continued.


    "It is undeniable that my son played with Fire a moment ago. To claim that he certainly didn''t cause the crack on your Majesty''s cup is impossible, but to claim that he with certainty damaged it would be lying."


    "Keep going."


    "What this subject want to convey is that we currently can neither confirm or deny my son''s guilt. Furthermore, the Fire Clan doesn''t lack enemies in the Four Realms and some might even be present at this banquet." Ember threw a meaningful glance at the God of Spring, who acted as if he didn''t notice.


    "It wouldn''t thus be unthinkable that some might have taken the presented opportunity to strike a conflict between the Fire Clan and the Royal Clan. To avoid falling into a trap, please investigate this thoroughly." The Fire High God concluded with a bow.

 6 Celestial Palace VI

    Silence filled the Hall. Internally everyone wondered what order the Celestial Emperor was going to give. If he chose to immediately hold the Fire Clan responsible for the incident, others might consider him unfair. If he chose to investigate, he might end up fruitless and might be unable to vent his anger.


    "Your Majesty, this subject has a suggestion." A female voice sounded out.


    "What may that be, my beloved?" The Emperor''s facial expressions softened when he faced the beautiful woman he called Empress.


    "The dragon cup is a priceless treasure and holds sentimental value to your Majesty. Its destruction should thus be investigated."


    The Empress smiled sweetly towards her husband.


    "Whether it affirms the Fire Clan''s involvement or not, the fact that the Fire God Yang wrecked havoc in this Royal Palace can''t however be pardoned. If your Majesty gives punishments based on this, no one present would be able to protest."


    "My beloved is wise." The Emperor nodded in agreement.


    "Thanks for the praise, your Majesty." The Empress felt content with the praise.


    Seeing a bad situation turning worse, Yang made up his mind. With determination, he moved from his parents'' side and kneeled in front of the Emperor''s table.


    "Your Majesty, it was solely me who disturbed the festive atmosphere. I am ready to take whatever punishment your Majesty think is fitting, but please spare my clan." He kowtowed and remained with his scalp on the carpet.


    Yang''s actions showed that he knew how to take responsibility of his misdeeds, which increased everyone''s evaluation of him. Quite a few neutral parties would have helped him hadn''t it been of his grave crime.


    Generally speaking, the level of disrespect towards the Royal Clan would be enough reason to erase his soul. Depending on the Emperor''s mood, even his clan might receive penalties. In this case, where the Emperor''s heirloom had been broken, even his family and relatives might be obliterated.


    Magma knew of this and urgently pleaded.


    "Please have mercy, your Majesty! My son is young and foolish and-"


    "Your Majesty!"


    Ying surprised everyone by stepping forward and kneeling beside Yang. Her parents wanted to stop her, but reacted a bit too slow.


    "If you want to punish Fire God Yang, you should also not spare me. Without me constantly declining his invites for a spar, he wouldn''t be desperate enough to in initiate one here. During our exchanges, I also had several opportunities to stop him but didn''t. Thus I can''t escape the responsibility."


    As a finish to her statement, she mimicked Yang and also rested her head against the carpet.

 7 Celestial Palace VII

    Ice High God Frost and Snow couldn''t help but be worried over their child, even if they understand her reasoning.


    Ying''s involvement might decrease the chance of death penalties, since both Ying and Yang were heirs of Major Clans. If the Celestial Emperor ordered execution of both Gods, the two clans wouldn''t be passive. He would then lose the support from them and in worst scenario they might even cause a rebellion.


    As the pillars of the Celestial Realm, their withdrawal would remarkably lessen the defence forces. By then, nothing would ensure that the Demon Realm wouldn''t engage and destroy the long lasted peace between the Realms.


    "Fine. Considering that minor God Yang and Ying are still young, they shall be pardoned from death."


    Hearing this, both the Fire and Ice Clans were elated. But before the euphoria had peaked, they were once again thrown into the pit by the Emperor''s following words.


    "However, they still have to be punished. I hereby order the Fire God Yang and Ice God Ying to suffer in a mortal trial of the first rank. With this trial, I hope that they can learn to coexist in harmony and help each other. Without completing the given object, they shall not ascend from mortality."


    The judgement was a bit harsh, since the first ranked trials were the most difficult ones. This was however a much better alternative than death, so Magma and Ember were still relieved. At the same time, Frost and Snow were a bit bitter since their daughter would have originally escaped conviction.


    "Thank you, your Majesty, for your mercy!" The Fire and Ice Clan responded together.


    With a hand gesture, the Celestial Emperor signalled for his trusted attendant to investigate the incident with the cup. Flash nodded and dismissed himself from the scene.


    "Let us now continue with the banquet."


    The Emperor sat down, followed by all the guests. Ying and Yang also returned to their seats. Along the way, Yang couldn''t help but sneak a few glances at Ying. In the past he had thought her to be cold and arrogant, who always dismissed him as if he was a child and she an adult. Right now, he realized that she was actually somewhat caring and considerate. He even risked her own life to protect him, which caused him to feel deep gratitude.


    Ying was at the same time aware of Yang''s changed attitude, but didn''t put much importance to it. She had always been quite indifferent to worldly affairs. Her main goal was to increase her cultivation and reach the peak of the world. Then she would finally be able to fulfill her greatest wish...

 8 Celestial Palace VIII

    After the ceremony, the minor Gods Ying and Yang received three days to prepare themselves mentally for the trial. The task was still unknown to them, so it was impossible for them to gather knowledge beforehand.


    At the Fire Palace, Yang was scolded harshly by his parents and ordered to stay the rest of the days in their library. Since he never had the patience to study, he lacked major education in everything. Thus they gave an ultimate command to the subordinates.


    Without learning something new and useful about the mortals'' living, he would be denied meals, much to Yang''s displeasure. He loved food above anything else and therefore frantically searched for information.


    To entice him further, Ember even ate his favorite roasted duck with honey and syrup in front of her son. The lovely smell and wonderful sight caused his stomach to growl uncontrollably, while he cleared every shelf in desperate search for his tickets to meals.


    While in the Ice Realm, Ying''s parents tried to impart as much as they knew about the Mortal Realm to Ying. She was offered the best food available, because the upcoming future would most likely be tough.


    When three days had passed, Ying and Yang gathered with their parents in front of the Portal of Trials at the Celestial Palace. The portal was huge and changed its colour constantly. One second it was blue and in another second it was purple, causing the young Gods to be in awe.


    The representative for the Celestial Emperor was Flash, who had the responsibility to set them off.


    "As per his Majesty''s order, I shall now introduce Fire God Yang and Ice God Ying to the mortal trial. Considering the young Gods'' age, the Celestial Emperor has allowed you to retain your memories. Though, you will have a mortal body and thus be unable to do magic."


    Flash pulled out two silver necklaces from his long sleeve and handed them over to the participants.


    "These are infused with Tracking Magic, which will allow us to ensure your exact positions."


    "Why do we need these, Mr Flash?" Yang asked curiously while attaching it around his neck.


    "Your task will be to make it out of the Forgotten Desert. When you have completed your objective, we will be alerted by these jewelries."


    "The Forgotten Desert?!"


    Magma couldn''t help but exclaim. Like the other parents, he was surprised over the chosen location. The place was desolated from civilization. No mortals chose to live there, because of the harsh conditions.


    During the days the sun was blazing hot, while the nights were colder than ice. With this wide range of temperature changes, it was no wonder that it was left uninhabited. Furthermore, other dangers also existed in that place. To be sent there equaled to be sent to a torture chamber. Maybe that would even have been more merciful.


    "This was his Majesty''s given sentence and it is final."


    With these words, the Gods had no way of refuting and could only accept their cruel fate.

 9 Mission Failed I

    As Ying and Yang bid farewell to their families in tears, God of Spring arrived at a dark cave somewhere in the Realms. The sound of water dripping could be heard as he walked into the darkness. He ignited a mucky torch, which lightened up the damp walls.


    Soon he reached an open space, with a small waterfall beside a small pond. Around the water source, thick vegetation existed. Even a few small trees could be seen.


    Suddenly a powerful force was sent out towards the God from behind. He quickly swirled around and unfolded his fan. God of Spring held it in front of him and infused his magical power into it to resist the assault. The attacker''s strength, however, surpassed his, which made him glide towards the pool. Seeing this, he quickly shouted while gritting his teeth.


    "My Lord! Please have mercy!"


    The response was an increased force, pushing God of Spring into the water. With great efforts he swam up to the surface, only to be pulled down by the assailant''s magic. This continued for a while before he finally was released from the torment and landed on the ground quivering.


    He spat out the water he unwillingly swallowed and breathed heavily. Even though he couldn''t drown like the mortals by normal water, Water magic could still harm him and even potentially kill him if the wielder was strong enough.


    "Did you have fun?" A cold voice asked him.


    God of Spring weakly stood up and forced out the water from his clothes with magic.


    "No, my Lord. But I guess I deserved it." He answered with a bow.


    "You deserve much more!" The Lord screamed while approaching the God.


    "What did I order you to do?"


    God of Spring gulped before responding.


    "To eliminate the Fire Clan."


    "And what happened?!"


    Water left the pond and shaped into an arm, before grabbing the unlucky Immortal at his neck. God of Spring attempted to lessen the strangulation by cutting of hand, but it grew back again.


    "The Fire Clan remains, and the Fire kid and the annoying Ice kid were only sentenced to a mortal trial." The Lord angrily replied in his stead.


    "I-It isn''t just an ordinary trial, my Lord!" God of Spring managed to force out.


    "No?"


    The God hit the ground with a thud and coughed loudly.


    "No. They were directed to the Forgotten Desert."


    "The place where no mortal has ever successfully traveled through?" The Lord''s mood became instantly better.


    "Yes, I managed to manipulate the Celestial Emperor''s decision in secret. The Forgotten Desert is a place with no return. My Lord, you can therefore be ensured that the Fire Clan will remain without heir."

 10 Mission Failed II

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    "And how is this going to help our cause?" The Lord questioned sceptically.


    "Since the mission is impossible to accomplish, the Fire Clan will soon or later become restless. Either they will beg for the Celestial Emperor to release them or they might even directly interfere with the trial. No matter the way, discord will grow between the two parties. We can even lend them some help in this. By then, the destruction of the Fire Clan will be inevitable."


    "Good!" The Lord helped the God of Spring up and said happily. "I knew I could trust you!"


    The abused God tried to keep up a smile, even though he felt deep hatred towards the individual in front of him. If not for having no other options, why would he even lower himself to do the dirty works for this evil-doer?


    "When that happens, my Lord, please remember your promise." God of Spring sent a reminder.


    "Of course." The God felt a pat on his shoulder.


    "As long as the Fire Gods are eradicated, I shall also return what I owe you."


    Satisfied with the answer, God of Spring dismissed himself and left the cave. When he was gone, the joyful attitude of the Lord disappeared. Instead a sinister aura spread out.


    "Soon, I shall have my revenge. Magma, Ember, Blaze... All of you bastards shall experience what I have been going through and worse!"


    With a shout, all the plants in the area immediately withered.


    --<>--


    "Remember to never give up, baby." Ember encouraged her son while wiping away her tears.


    "I believe in you, son." Magma chimed in and declared proudly.


    "Thank you, mother and father. I promise I won''t disappoint you again." Yang gave a sweet smile and then took a deep breath, before stepping in front of the portal.


    Soon after, Ying had also finished her farewell with her parents and accompanied Yang.


    "Are you ready?" The young Fire God asked his partner.


    "Yes." The Ice God nodded gracefully.


    Together they entered the now orange Portal of Trials. As they passed through, their bodies twirled painfully before they were flung out into the Mortal Realm.@@

 11 The Forgotten Desert I

    They landed ungracefully with their heads first on the sand. The heat hit them immediately, even though the sun had yet to fully rise above them. With a groan Yang sat up and looked around while Ying dusted off sand from her body.


    Around them, a beige landscape with little or no vegetation visible. A tall, dark and dried up tree was beside them, who distinguished itself from its surroundings. Sand was everywhere as far as the eye could see.


    As Yang''s gaze passed Ying, he realized thattheir outfit had changed. They now were clad in white, light cloths and had a scarf wrapped around their heads so that a spring for their eyes were left open. Beneath the layers of protection, he could feel the necklace safely wrapped around his neck.


    With a flash, Flash appeared in front of them and threw some items at the their feet.


    "These are the survival tools that you are granted with. Use them wisely."


    Such impudence!


    Yang had always been treated fairly and with respect. To see this flippant behaviour towards himself, caused him to feel anger. He wanted to lash out, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.


    "Thank you, Mr. Flash." Ying pulled herself up and gave a small bow.


    "Do you have any tips on how to successfully complete this trial?" She continued.


    If it had been Yang who asked, Flash would most likely have ignored him. He disliked Yang because of his prior actions. Of course he couldn''t offend the Fire High Gods and thus spared him some respect in the Celestial Palace. Now that they were in the Mortal Realm, he no longer felt the need to keep up his act.


    However it turned out to be Ying who had questions. Flash held her in much higher estimate and therefore decided to give some real advice.


    "Sure. Don''t cry when you die, rise up instead."


    "What kind of advice is that!?" Yang exclaimedin dissatisfaction.


    Flash gave him a glare, which shut him up.


    "Thanks for the motivation, Mr. Flash." A hint of a bitter smile was painted on her face under the scarf. She understood what the Immortal implied, but she still wasn''t looking forward to it.


    "I shall await your success." He stated as he disappeared into thin air.

 12 The Forgotten Desert II

    "Why were you even bothering to show respect towards him, when he blatantly disregarded us?" Yang was annoyed.


    "As they say among mortals: "Treat others as you would have wanted to be treated". By showing kindness to others, they will also more likely do the same."


    Ying calmly replied before scrunching down to inventory their equipment. Yang snorted to Ying''s silly wishful state of mind. If the world was truly so simple, there would no longer be any conflicts.


    They had two big backpacks containing two knives, two tinderboxes, some nuts and dried meat wrapped within handkerchiefs, some rope and eight leather bags. After quickly opening the lids, Ying could conclude that the larger six of them were filled with water and the two smaller ones contained alcohol. Lastly, they also had two bear pelts to keep them warm during the nights.


    "Such a stingy bastard! With this little amount of food and water, we will never make it out alive!" Yang complained, which was ignored by Ying.


    The Ice God rolled the pelts into bundles and bound them to the backpacks, since they couldn''t be contained in them. Then she divided everything else equally and handed out one of the packed rucksacks to the annoying Fire God.


    "Hey, don''t ignore me!" Yang grabbed the backpack with one hand and pecked Ying''s shoulder with his other.


    In return, he received a cold glare and a push on the chest. Taken by surprise, Ying fell downon his buttocks. His stunned facial expression amused her, but she didn''t show it.


    "The more time we waste, the less likely we will survive." She said coolly.


    "Furthermore, water is a rarity. Thus stop wasting it by talking if not necessary."


    "You-" Yang rised up with a vengenceful mind but stopped when he saw Ying''s meaningful gaze.


    "Also, avoid unnecessary movements as they are a waste of energy and sweat. Spare whatever enmities you might have against me until we have left this place."


    With that said, she swinged her rucksack over her shoulders and prepared to leave.


    "Remember because of whom we are in this mess." Ying commented as a finish and started to walk away.


    The Fire God was speechless for a moment, but quickly recognized the undeniable truth in Ying''s words. No one but him was responsible for this hell and the unfairness towards them.


    With a heavy heart, he followed the woman he started to admire more and more.

 13 The Forgotten Desert III

    The young Gods traveled throughout the day and stopped only to take some gulps water from their leather bags. To their misfortune, the volume water they possessed decreased with an alarming velocity. What''s more no water source was present within their vicinity, which only added the fuel to the fire.


    Their entire body was since long drenched in sweat, causing their clothes to stick tightly to their skin. Not just once had Yang wanted to rip off the fabric to cool down. Luckily, Ying interfered since she knew that it would increase the rate of dehydration and skin burn.


    However she understood and shared the Fire God''s urge. If even a Fire God was botheredthen how couldn''t she be? She was after all originally an Ice God and thus had less tolerability against heat than a Fire God. Yet, she could only grit her teeth and endure it.


    As they moved across the desert, they tried to keep a straight line towards the east. Ying had some knowledge of the Forgotten Desert thanks to her parents teachings and knew that it was less wide along the east-west axis.


    During the middle of the day, the sun would be faced towards the north. Based on this understanding, Ying used it as a reference. However she forgot that the sun''s position changes during the day, resulting them walking in a curved line.


    The everlasting landscape with yellowish sand and a few cactus at times, caused them to start to be less observant of their surroundings. Everything looked the same and therefore their brain started to shut it out and focus solely on keep moving.


    Finally Yang had enough and collapsed on his stomach on a sand hill. This alerted the Ice God, which tiredly moved to his side and shook him with determination. Since he had no reaction, Ying suspected that he had fainted.


    With limited medical knowledge about mortals, Ying''s options were few. First she chose to remove his backpack and then shakedly turned his body so that he lied on the back. At last she removed Yang''s protection over his face. The skin was reddish and a bit dry, which caused her to suspect that his water level was low.


    She pulled out her water bag and put it to Yang''s lips. To ensure as little waste of water as possible, she pulled down his lower jaw. As water flowed down his mouth, his lips moved slightly. After a while, he came to consciousness and frowned in discomfort, before lifting his eye lids.

 14 The Forgotten Desert IV

    What appeared in Yang''s sight when he woke up was a concerned young lady with beautiful sapphire eyes. In his muddled state, he thought that it was an angel that had pitied him and taken care of him. At that thought, hegrinned widely.


    "Angel." He mumbled.


    When Ying saw that Yang waking up, she ceased the water flow and put on the lid. To claim that she wasn''t relieved would be a lie. They were in this mess together after all.


    However, her heart skipped a beat for whatever reason when she saw his smile. She quickly dismissed it and convinced herself that it must have been her imagination. Because of her agitation, she didn''t notice him speaking.


    "We need to find somewhere to rest and prepare for the nightfall." Ying''s voice came out raspy as she lightly patted his cheek.


    Slowly, Yang started to recall the situation and realized how embarrassing he had been. Both of them suffered the same sun and the same heat, but still he had been the first one to go down defeated. It was like all the other times, when he was always at loss when engaging with the Ice God.


    He quickly put on the face protection and pulled himself up from the ground. Because of his flustered and weak condition, he wavered and almost tumbled down hadn''t it been Ying grabbing him by his arm.


    "Thanks." He mumbled as he held on to her.


    The response was an acknowledging nod from Ying. They then started to move while steadying each other, since both were exhausted.


    Soon the sun was leaving the sky, but they still hadn''t found any proper place to settle down. A few cactus wouldn''t provide that much protection after all. Therefore they stopped below a sand hill.


    With a thud, both Gods landed on their bottom and panted heavily. The thirst they had was severe, but they decided to spare the last water bag til the day after. With the dropping temperature, they wouldn''t at least have to worry about sweating.


    They took off their backpack and facial protection before lying down on their back. As they watched the beautiful sunset, Yang sneaked a few glances at the woman beside him. He had to admit that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen with her long black hair and the sharp edges in her countenance.


    "Beautiful."

 15 The Forgotten Desert V

    @@


    "Beautiful."


    When hearing this, Ying faced Yang and tilted her head. She lifted her left eye brow as if questioning his statement, which caused him to blush. The word had left him unconsciously and now he cursed his stupid mouth. To distract himself he quickly sat up and rushed to loosen his bear pelt from the backpack.


    Seeing Yang''s flustered state, Ying decided not to pursue it any further even though she found it amusing. Instead she lent him a hand, since he was quite clumsy.


    The Ice God was just going to wrap her pelt around her body when the Fire God gathered enough courage to articulate his opinion.


    "You know, or I think you know, uhm, that it would be more thermal efficient if we" He wetted his dry lips before continuing.


    "If we slept together..." The last words were almost inaudible.


    Yang glanced at the woman beside him and saw no visible change in her expression. As always, she was cool as a cucumber. This apathetic behavior of hers had more then once ignited his rage. He wanted to feel acknowledged, which she seldom did.


    Now, he felt afraid and abashed instead. His pulse increased by some unknown reason and he started to breath deeper. What if she thought he was a pervert who wanted to take advantage of her?


    The unfortunate truth was that his question really did arose some suspicion in the Ice God. Her evaluation of the Fire God had always been that of a stupid and rash idiot with too much arrogance. Because of his talent in Fire magic, his self esteem had no boundaries. But as they said in the Beast Realm: "Pride goes before a fall".


    With all their previous meetings as examples, it was truly hard for her to believe that he would think of something intelligent. Thus she couldn''t help but suspect that he had ulterior motives.


    Ying flexed her knees and steadied her left elbow on them. She then cupped her cheek with the left hand and stared intently at the young man beside her.


    "Oh? So do you want to do it with or without the clothes on?"@@

 16 The Forgotten Desert VI

    "Oh? So do you want to do it with or without the clothes on?"


    The face of the Fire God instantly turned red like a tomato.


    "Wh-What are you asking!?" He shrieked in defiance.


    "A simple question, young God. Don''t tell me" She bent forward until her face almost touched his. Yang gulped and considered retreating, but his pride prevented him. When he felt her index finger under his chin, his heart beat frantically.


    "That you are an almost thousand years old virgin?" Ying was so close that he could feel her warm breath.


    "I-I, of course I am not." He forced out in panic.


    "Such a liar." A hint of a smirk could be seen on her otherwise cold face.


    "Do not laugh! I am still very young. When we leave this place I will have a lot of females competing for my favor."


    "Such arrogance." She said in a belittling voice while slowly shaking her head.


    "So what? Don''t tell me that you aren''t a virgin?" While asking this, the Fire God prayed internally that she wasn''t. The thought of her being together with someone else left a sour feeling in his mouth.


    The air immediately felt colder as the Ice God freezed. Even if she tried to act normally, Yang could clearly see that she had been affected by the question and not in a positive way. Had something bad happened to her?


    "If we do the act right now, I would certainly not be." She responded in her usual tone, but it felt stiffer than normal.


    "But this might not be the best moment to lose it, so let''s just sleep for now."


    With that said, she moved away from the young man and wrapped her pelt around herself only. Luckily it was quite large, so it could fit around her entire body except for her head. To keep it warm, she wrapped the scarf around it. Then she lied down and closed her eyes, signalling that the conversation was over.


    Yang felt like he stepped on a land mine and promised himself to investigate this further after leaving this place. This was the first time since he had met her at the Grand Festival in the Beast Realm that she had been this bothered by something and he didn''t like it. Now he could only copy her actions and rest.


    Because of their exhaustion, they fell asleep almost instantly.

 17 Find the culprit I

    Meanwhile in the Fire Realm, a shadow flew past the guards in the Outer and Inner Palace before entering the Mansion of Everlasting Fire. It shut the doors after itself and kneeled with its hands cupped.


    In front of the shadow was the back of a man clad in red, who stood and admired a painting hanging on the wall. The painting was depicting a beautiful lady dancing on a green meadow, surrounded by different kinds of red flowers.


    "Reporting for duty." A calm and monotone voice filled the room.


    "It took you long time enough." The man said without moving an inch.


    "I apologize, my Lord. I was delayed by an unforseen incident."


    "Oh? What happened, Shadow One?" The Lord reached out with his hand to feel the contours of the painted woman.


    "A feral beast appeared in the vicinity of the Land of Ashes and disturbed the locals. Before I managed to stop it, it had killed five residents and wounded twelve." Shadow One explained.


    "Yet another attack?" The man in red turned around in surprise.


    "Yes, my Lord."


    "Seems like I have to make a trip to the Beast Realm soon." The Lord stroked his chin in contemplation, before he continued.


    "Have you got any leads yet?"


    Shadow One knew of the case''s importance but couldn''t help but disappoint his master.


    "Unfortunately no, my Lord. It happened too long time ago, so any clue about the incident has already turned cold."


    Hearing this, the Lord sighed. He knew that it was a tough nut to crack and with the personality of Shadow One, he knew that his subordinate must have tried its best.


    "Maybe it''s the will of fate."


    The room was filled with silence as he recalled the past. If only he had been more observant it wouldn''t have happened and she wouldn''t have died. Now, he would never be able to see her dance and sing in joy anymore.


    "I have got another task for you. The Fire Clan''s heir was framed during the Celestial Emperor''s birthday for having damaged his wine cup and was almost sentenced to death because of it. Investigate everything thoroughgoingly and find the culprit behind the scheme. God of Spring seems to be apart of it, so you can start from him."


    "Yes, my Lord. Your subordinate will certainly find the truth."


    "You might leave."


    With that said, Shadow One departed from the mansion.

 18 Find the culprit II

    At the same time in the Ice Realm, Ice High God Frost and his wife Snow sat on the bed in their chamber and worried about their daughter.


    "Honey, do you think that Ying will be alright?" Snow couldn''t help but ask as she basked in her husband''s embrace.


    In front of outsiders she might seem strong and cold like her daughter, but in actuality she is a very loving and an emotional soul.


    "Of course, love. When has our daughter ever disappointed us?" Frost ensured her while slowly massaging her head.


    He then gave a small kiss on her forehead, which made her smile before she frowned as she thought of something.


    "But I can''t help but to worry. Ever since she came home that day, her entire personality changed. She used to be so carefree and mischievous. She used to laugh all the time, but now? The only thing on her mind is cultivation, cultivation and cultivation. To achieve her goals, she doesn''t give a damn about what kind of hardship she has to go through and now she has to suffer yet another one."


    "Yeah, I know." Frost sighed heavily.


    "She never even laughs anymore. When was it the last we saw her laugh? It must have been ages ago."


    A tear made its way down Snow''s cheek. Seeing this, Frost gently wiped it away with his thumb. His wife lifted her head and looked at him.


    "I just don''t understand. Why can''t she tell us what happened? We are her parents. We should be her rocks, her pillars, so why can''t she share her burdens with us?"


    Witnessing his wife being this sad truly pained Frost. He wanted to erase whatever caused her unhappiness.


    "We will find out the truth. If there is someone who caused it, we will find the culprit and make that person pay." He tried to convince not only Snow, but also himself.


    "The one I have assigned for this mission is Absolute Zero, who is an ace in stealth and secret investigations. With him in charge, we should be able to expect good results."


    "But still, he has found nothing." Snow hugged her husband even tighter as she complained.


    "Everything takes time, love. No matter what, karma will bite back at those who deserve it."


    He kept stroking his wife''s head before humming a soothing melody. Slowly, Snow fell asleep. Frost lifted her up carefully in order to not awaken her, before lying her on their bed and kissing her softly on the forehead.


    "Sleep well, my love." He whispered before leaving the room to cultivate.

 19 Crazy Woman I

    "Yang Yang, look what I have got here!"


    The young Fire God turned around and saw his mother walk towards him holding a tray with food.


    "Mum!" He immediately rushed to his mother''s side and wanted to steal a few bites.


    "Don''t rush! Sit down before you act like a glutton."


    With an unhappy face, he followed Ember to a table in their yard. He couldn''t wait to taste his mother''s personally cooked food. As she presented the dishes, he started to salivate.


    There were roasted duck, picked vegetables with hot sauce, soya panned salmon and tofu soup, which were all his favorites. Ember also poured his favorite lemonade for him to drink.


    Exactly when he was going to pig in the meal, the entire scene started to dim. He tried to hold on to everything, but they passed right through his hands.


    "Yang. Wake up now."


    Wake up? No, he didn''t want to. He wanted to eat and taste the delicious food.


    "Yang."


    --<>--


    With a start, Yang opened his eyes and saw the cold face of Ying. He still felt the lingering smell from the different dishes and couldn''t help but be annoyed when he realized that none of them were real.


    "You sleep like a log." Ying''s cold voice reached his ears.


    "You sleep like a log." Yang imitated her in irritation while he sat up.


    The sun had yet to fully rise, but it still managed to lighten up the desert. A large shadow of a tree, provided with a contrast to the otherwise relative constant setting.


    Wait a second... A tree?


    Yang''s eyes widened as he recognized where he was.


    "Why are we back at where we started?"


    The Ice God stared impassively at him, while inwardly pitying herself for having such an incompetent partner.


    "Our food and water have been restocked. My bet is that we died last night and thus have to start over again." She explained slowly as if she spoke to a three years old child.


    "We died?" The Fire God found it somehow hard to believe.


    "No way. I always thought that dying would be painful." He continued in amazement.


    "Don''t worry. You will have many chances to experience that." Ying commented in boredom as she sat down beside him to the left and stared up at the sky.


    "Hey, you wish that I fail?" Yang poked her right shoulder with his left hand.


    Abruptly, her body reacted by grabbing his left wrist with one hand and his left upper arm with the other. With a twist, he was slung over her shoulder and hit the ground with a thud. The thin layers of fabric over his skin were unable to protect him from the sharp small stones pushing themselves into his back, which caused him to groan loudly in pain.


    Before he had the time to react, his arm was twisted in an agonizing angle and was pinned to the ground by her sitting on his crotch. His legs were locked by her hips and a powerful grip over his trachea caused him to momentarily freeze his head movements. Her eyes were deadly and watched him as if he was her greatest nemesis.


    What a crazy woman!


    Yang wanted to plead for mercy, but with the increasing pressure over his air ways, he already struggled to breath. With every ounce of energy he had left, he wriggled and tried to free himself from her death grip. He hit her, pushed her and even attempted to kick her, but she was firm as a mountain.


    His sight of field slowly diminished as his body was drained of its power. Soon everything blacked out and he lost consciousness.

 20 Crazy Woman II

    "Why do people kill each other?" A smaller version of the Fire God Yang asked his father one day.


    "That''s a very tough question, my son. Some do it because of hate, others because of obligation. There are also those who kill for fame, money and power." Magma answered before picking up his son. He then carried him while walking around in their courtyard.


    When the little kid heard his father''s explanation, he bent his head sidewards and scratched his head.


    "There are so many reasons?"


    "Yes and many more."


    The young God thought of his visit to the Mortal Realm with his class and the events he saw there. The most striking incident was when he saw a family tragedy where all but one member was wiped out.


    "Which one explains why a mass of people would kill almost an entire family?"


    "Why do you ask, son?" Magma asked as they approached the small pond in their quarter.


    "During one of my lessons in the Mortal Realm, I witnessed this. The killers shouted words like ''witches'' and ''burn in hell'' while they threw stones and poked at them with different weapons."


    "I think they might have attacked the family in fear, son." The High God put Yang down on the grass and bent down to his level.


    "Mortals, animals and even us immortals can be like that. When we are stricken with immense fear, we might not think rationally. To protect us from our fear, we might even go as far as ending someone''s life." Magma continued and looked seriously at his son.


    The entire scene started to blur and blacken.


    "Remember this, son. No matter weak or strong, old or young, we all have things we are afraid of. Therefore, always act with precaution. Otherwise-"


    --<>--


    Yang woke up and rubbed his eyes, before getting up from the ground. He registered their backpacks where Flash had originally thrown them and the tall tree beside him. Based on the level of the sun, he realized that the trial had once again reset. The crazy woman who must have murdered him, slept peacefully on the side.


    He walked up to her and crouched down. The Fire God wanted to revenge himself by waking her up with a fist, but stopped himself in the last moment as bits of his dream replayed in his mind.


    "When stricken with fear, one might go far as ending someone''s life." He mumbled to himself as he pulled back his fisted hand.


    "Has something happened to you, crazy woman?" Yang whispered as he seated himself on the sand.

 21 Crazy Woman III

    After a while, Ying opened her eyes and felt a bit disoriented at first. When she saw the Fire God sitting obediently at her side, she remembered her actions. Because of his touch, he had triggered a bad memory of hers. While lost in the past, she crushed his windpipe and ended his life.


    Now she felt a bit guilty. It had since long been her motto to be emotionless and coolheaded, but somehow her control had slipped.


    However, she would not consider apologizing. They could after all die infinity amounts of times during this trial and had many deaths awaiting them. An extra death wouldn''t make any difference. Thus she only rose up and moved towards their equipments in order to sort them up again.


    This total nonchalant attitude towards the occurrence, caused the anger within Yang to flare up.


    "Hey you crazy woman! Aren''t you going to apologize to me?" He walked up behind her but made sure to keep a certain distance between them. If she would act like a maniac again, he would then have a better opportunity to counter.


    The response was a complete silence and no apparent reaction from the Ice God.


    He promised himself as he mused during her sleep to keep calm, to be rational and to find out the truth. However he really found it hard to contain himself from exploding when she wasn''t the least bothered by the fact that she just killed him.


    "Talk to me, woman!" His nails dug into his palms as he tried to prevent himself from attacking.


    "What do you want me to say?" Ying asked calmly when she was done organizing their items.


    "That I am sorry?" She shook her head as she continued.


    "Why would I? We will die soon again. And again. And again. If we ever complete this trial, it would be after acquiring vast knowledge of the desert through dying."


    The Ice God picked up a backpack and dusted off the sand from her trousers. She then turned around to face the pissed off Fire God. With a cold voice, she kept preaching.


    "Did your really believe that a mortal trial of the first rank is a child''s play? Throughout the years, quite a few famous and powerful immortals have attempted to accomplish it, but none have succeed. Of course these individuals also had the choice to relinquish, since they weren''t officially order by the Celestial Emperor to complete this task."

 22 The Trial Continues I

    "There are those who willingly chooses to suffer in this desert?" Yang felt incredulous.


    Once again, Ying was amazed by how little knowledge Yang actually possessed. What did he do during his lessons? Did he sleep like a pig through them? Or did he ditch them totally?


    "The original concept of the Trials are to provide immortals with others means than the traditional ways to increase their cultivation and improve their wisdom. The harder the trial is, the better the reward will be."


    Ying threw Yang''s backpack at him before she continued.


    "If we really manage to complete this trial, the benefits would be many. If we however never succeed, we will forever be trapped in this place. Considering the fact that no one has yet to accomplished this, our future doesn''t really seem so bright."


    "Oh." Yang was enlightened. Truthfully, he hadn''t known this piece of information before.After reaching a certain age, he lost all interest in studying and instead chose to cultivate or laze around. As the heir of the Fire Clan, the teachers found it harder to discipline him, which resulted in today''s situation.


    Suddenly he realized something and exclaimed.


    "That''s why Flash parted with that advice!"


    "Yes."


    The Ice God couldn''t help but shake her head internally for this stupidity. It took him two days to understand something simple as that.


    "Are we done?" Ying baited him to see if he truly had fallen for her trap.


    "Yeah." He answered absentmindedly as he pondered.


    If Ying had been more expressive with her feelings and emotions, she would have smirked at the moment. He was totally distracted from the main topic and hadn''t even realized it.


    "Then let''s go. The temperature is increasing and we have a long journey ahead of us. We will try the same tactic as last time, but walk west this time." She started to walk away.


    As his partner left his visual field, he was awakened from his contemplation and quickly ran after her.


    Inwardly he also cursed his curiosity. Now he lost the opportunity to make her apologize to him, since they would focus on traveling and limiting the water losses.


    Yang promised himself to confront her as soon as the sun descended from the sky.

 23 The Trial Continues II

    This time they moved in a different direction. On the way they found more cactuses and a little more rocky formations, which made Ying a bit more optimistic. Maybe it was a wiser choise to head west than east.


    Increased vegetation could indicate a water source, which they were in great need to find. If they needed to find shade, they could also rely on the big rocks.


    When the sun was at its peak in the sky, the young Gods chose to hide under two large rocks, which formed a cone with hollowing. Under the shadow, the temperature was somewhat lower but still quite unbearable.


    Yang used his hand as a fan to cool down, but stopped when receiving a glare from his partner. He forgot each and every time to not move unnecessarily.


    At the same time he was a bit envious over her self discipline, which clearly was enormous. She was in the same situation and thus experienced the same torture, but still never failed to optimize her actions after usefulness.


    Even if he was still mad over his death, he still couldn''t help but admire the person seated in front of him.


    With nothing else to do, Ying decided to take a nap. She sat down and rested her back against the wall. Before she closed her eyes, she saw her companion copying her.


    Just like that, both of them fell asleep.


    A few hours later, some weird noises reached the Fire God''s ears. He woke up as a result and became alert. It was afternoon, but the entire place was still as bright as before.


    He quickly casted his gaze around him, but saw nothing unusal. The Ice God was still at the same position as he remembered.


    Had he been imagining things? Otherwise based on the crazy woman''s skills, she should also have noticed.


    Suddenly he heard something again. This time it sounded as whimpers. Who could be whimpering? No one else was here except for...


    Yang rised up and approached Ying. As he did, the whimpers became louder. He could see that she was clearly still asleep, but was probably having a nightmare. In this proximity, he saw her body shuddering lightly. His hand reached out to shake her awake, but stopped in midair as he hesitated.

 24 The First Meeting

    Last time Yang touched Ying it seemed like he triggered something in her. Also during the first day of the trial, she had become violent when he did the same. Although then, she had only pushed him and given him a glare.


    However she willingly grabbed him later on to steady him after he had fainted, so it seemed that she still tolerated body contact to a certain degree.


    While still analyzing the situation, Yang unintentionally thought of their first meeting in the Beast Realm.


    During that time, he had been fascinated by a young beauty clad in light-blue dress with long sleeves. She was visible from the market stalls where he was and could be seen sitting on a large cliff, gazing at the sea beneath.


    Because of the loud noices from the nearby crowd in the Grand Festival, he was afraid that she wouldn''t hear him if he just called out. Therefore he walked up to her and patted her lightly on her shoulder in hope that she would turn around and face him.


    Who would have expected that she would immediately grab his arm and throw him on the ground, which nearly caused him to fall off the cliff. An Ice sword was then pointed against his throat, which caused him to take a deep gulp.


    Before he had the time to counter attack, the sword melted and disappeared. The woman then turned her heels and teleported herself away from the scene.


    Yang was left stupefied and didn''t react until his best friends, Hot and Pot, ran up to him. They showed worry at first and checked that he was unharmed before teasing him for breaking the record of the fastest loss in a battle ever.


    The teasing caused him to promise them that he would win the next time he saw her. He would then revenge himself for that day''s embarrassment.


    Ever since, he had attempted his best at finding the girl who he lost against and beat the crap out of her. However, no matter how diligently he trained, he still somehow always went down defeated by her. This unwillingness to forever remain the loser and the determination to win, were the main causes for their current situation.


    Because of his frenzy, he hadn''t contemplated until now on why she acted like she did that day. Of course, she might have thought that he was a pervert who wanted to take advantage of an unsuspecting young woman.


    However when he now mused over it, he realized that it was similar to her current reactions. If so, then it would suggest that whatever caused her to react as strongly as she did was already present several hundred years ago.

 25 Delirium I

    "Don''t!"


    A sharp distressed voice disrupted Yang''s line of thoughts and caused him to focus on the reality instead.


    He could see that Ying was still trapped in her nightmare with the big frown on her forehead and the shudders. This had to change. He didn''t like to see her in this weak state.


    The Ice God Ying had always been a strong individual to him and his motivation to cultivation. Her current state didn''t fit the image.


    She started to whimper again and mumbling something incomprehensible.


    "Ying, wake up." Yang decided to attempt waking her without touching her at first. If it would fail, he would have no other choice than to stir her awaken through other sensory system.


    "Ying!" His voice cracked a bit as he increased the volume. Still, she had no apparent reaction.


    He kept screaming for a while, before giving up on the idea. His mouth was already dry to begin with and now even more so after his screaming sessions.


    To relieve himself, he took out a water bag and drank a few chunks of water. As he drank, he felt a deep urge to continue, but with determination and willpower he prevented himself from doing so.


    With no other brilliant ideas, Yang now decided to shake her. She wouldn''t hopefully wake up as a vengenceful spirit and end his life.


    As his hand came in contact with her shoulder, he felt it unusually hot. He then directly took off her scarf and felt her cheek. It was way too warm and sweaty, even if they were in this hot climate. Maybe she had a fever?


    He gently patted her face at first before he started to increase his strength, but even with this physical contact she remained unconscious. She did though continue doing some distressed sounds.


    Yang sighed deeply as he was left without good options for action. She seemed sick, but he was no doctor. He possessed no medical knowledge and knew nothing of how to treat a patient.


    If she had a fever, he had no idea how it started and how to efficiently treat it. Of course he could always provide some water to help her stay hydrated, but nothing else.


    He sighed again as he opened her mouth and poured water into it. His movement was a bit sloppy, causing some water to miss the oral entrance. As he cursed himself, he perfected the angle of the water flow to limit the losses.


    After a while, the water bag was emptied. Yang cursed himself once again for having wasted so much water on the woman in front of him, who was still unresponsive. He slumped as he contemplated.


    Why did he actually care?


    As she stated before, they could die unlimited amount of times. A quick slice of the throat would solve the problem and they would rewind the entire journey.


    But the thought of killing her, ignited such an unpleasant feeling in the Fire God that he couldn''t make himself do so.

 26 Delirium II

    As Yin continued to be trapped in delirium and occasionally screaming in distress, Yang''s worry accelerated. He was helpless against her demons and could only shake her. Even then, she was fast asleep.


    When Yang compared Yin''s body temperature with his, it was still way to hot. This worried him. He was deadly afraid of her dying by overheating. Thus he wanted to cool down her skin, which would require him to take off her cloths.


    Considering that the sun was ascending from the sky and the temperature was starting to drop, he made the judgement that it was worth the potential increased dehydration rate. They hadn''t walked that far that day, so they still had a few full water bags left.


    To perserve the Ice God''s dignity, the Fire God left the tank top and her pants on. With his best ability, he attempted to not stare too much, especially at the vulnerable woman''s chest.


    He picked up her scarf and used it as a fan to create some breeze for her. While doing so, he thought of how she used to scold him for wasting his energy. Yang smiled at that thought.


    If the situation was reversed, would she have done the same? Or would she have just killed him or left him to fend for himself?


    Probably she wouldn''t hold him in same high regard as he did to her.


    His smile disappeared as he concluded that.


    Nevermind. It wasn''t like he had ever given her any reason to think otherwise. During their previous encounters, he had more or less acted like a douche.


    The truth was that he still was the same. Maybe he needed to improve his temper and behavior. Though, the crazy woman had also her imperfections who could be corrected.


    As Yang kept fanning and got lost in his own world, the night was soon upon the young God. When he finally noticed that it had darkened, he decided to dress Yin again.


    His hand unintentionally came in contact with her arm, which made him alarmed since he felt it unusually cold. Without care for the usual ceremonies, he slid his hands over her other uncovered body parts and confirmed that they felt the same.


    This was really bad. How could he have forgotten to regularly check her temperature?


    He quickly put on her clothes and scarf and pulled out the bear pelt from Yin''s backpack. Yang spread it over the ground before he flexed his arms under her legs and back.


    With some effort in his exhausted state, he managed to lift her from the ground and place her in the center of the pelt. It was then enclosed around her body and he made sure that her toes weren''t exposed to the cold air.


    As he covered himself with his pelt, he prayed that she would soon improve. Although he had his doubts.

 27 Delirium III

    As the temperature kept dropping, Yang realized that the bear pelt was still somewhat lacking. Sure it provided warmth, but not nearly as much as he wished for. This was proved by the increased tremor of his muscles.


    If he was freezing while being perfectly healthy, then Yin must be almost an ice cube by now. Although that would be quite an ironical fate for an Ice God, the Fire God didn''t want to see her dying in front of him.


    Yang sat up and freed his extremities in order to be able to move closer to the sick person. He decided to ignore Yin''s preference of no physical contact, since it was an emergency.


    Thus, he entered under her pelt and wrapped his pelt around it. The night had truly arrived by then, which caused his movements to be somewhat sloppy. Once or twice, he might even have touched something soft... but he decided to avoid concluding what it was.


    He then checked that they where completely covered, which required even more touching... When Yang was certain that no body part was exposed to the cold, he lied down beside the shivering woman.


    Yang lied in close proximity to Yin but dared not to wrap his arms around her. He also avoided to touch her more than what he was forced to. They hardly knew each other and he was already stepping over her boundaries.


    She would most likely already choke him to death when she wakes up. Just thinking of it, resulted in involuntary shivers for the Fire God. He didn''t want to add crimes to his record and increase his punishments.


    The consequence was therefore that he lied on his side, facing her with a posture as stiff as a iron stick, while she comfortably lied on her back.


    After a while, he could register that the Ice God became calmer. She no longer made noises and her frown was gone. When he reached out and felt her forehead, it was a bit warmer.


    Satisfied with the progress, Yang drew back his hand and closed his eyes. He fell asleep immediately, even though he was highly uncomfortable and tense.


    Maybe it was because of the relief and belief that Yin would recover. Anyway, he started to dream about his favorite hobby: eating food.

 28 Delirium IV

    Somewhere in a badly lightened up place, Yin was lying on a soft bed. It was one of the most comfortable beds she ever lain on. Shespread out her hands over the satin sheets and felt the contours not of the colourful flowers, before rolling around giggling.


    Even though she had no memory of how she got there, she wasn''t concerned. Similar accidents had happened to her in there past and thus she thought it must have been another prank of Brother Dark.


    Now she only waited for him to pop up and scream congratulations in her face. It was after all her birthday. She therefore had a fewexpectations.


    The excitement eventually faded when nothing interesting happened. The Ice God got tired of waiting and moved towards the edge of the bed.


    "Brother Dark! Come out now. It''s getting boring." She called out as she set her feet on the red carpet.


    When she swept her gaze over the room, she noticed that everything was clad in red. The curtains, the bed, the carpet, the candles and so on were all in red. It was almost a scene taken from a wedding.


    "Brother Dark! Why is everything red?"


    As a though passed her mind, she widened her eyes and then exclaimed in horror.


    "I am not getting married, am I?!"


    She quickly looked down and saw that she was also clad in a long red gown with long sleeves. It wasn''t until then that she realized that her outfit had changed, since she always wore gowns of similar designs and fabrics.


    "When did I change my clothes? And they are even red!"


    When her hands went for her, she felt no accessories, which made her somewhat relieved. At least she wasn''t fully dressed as a new bride.


    Yin walked to the closed wooden door, since she wanted to escape. She was still so young and had no intention of binding herself to someone else.


    The door turned out to be locked, which only made her worry increase. She tried to open it by force, but it didn''t give in. Therefore she resorted to magic.


    Since she had yet to master anything but the most basic Ice spells, she morphed a small Ice Stone and smashed it against the door. However the door was quite rigid and wasn''t even scratched by the collusion.


    "Brother Dark! It''s really not funny anymore. I mean it. Stop fooling around and help me get out of the room!" Yin complained as she kept throwing her magic without any results.


    Suddenly, the door flew open and an older man in black stepped over the threshold.


    "Baby, I am not your Brother Dark." He gave a small, deep laugh.


    "Who are you?" Yin asked as she retreated. The stranger gave her bad vibes.


    "Someone who will take good care of you, baby girl."

 29 Just a bad dream I

    The best way to wake up had always been naturally, by the course of the normal biological clock, or in some other pleasant ways. Certainly being hit in the face and stomach by punches weren''t examples of such.


    Hence, when Yang felt himself being beaten to pulp and was dragged out of the dream land, he was in a pretty bad mood. However his temper soon dispersed when he saw the cause of it.


    "Don''t! Please stop!" Yin was once again shouted in distress. Unlike before though, she had a bit more mobility.


    "Yin! Wake up!" The Fire God quickly urged her, while throwing away the pelts. He then firming grabbed her wrists to prevent her from hurting him and herself.


    "Stop! Let me go!"


    "Yin! It''s just a bad dream."


    As she kept screaming and fought like it was a live-or-die situation, Yang found it harder and harder to limit her movements. When he saw something glistering running down her cheeks, he decided to change tactic.


    He thought of how his mother used to calm him down during the occasions when he was sick or in pain. She would then sing lullabies, which always worked on him.


    He choice one of his favorites and smiled slightly as he sang gently.


    "Sleep little willow


    It''s still winter


    Still asleep are birch and heather


    Rose and hyacinths


    It''s still a long time until spring


    Before rowan is flowering


    Sleep little willow


    It''s still winter"


    When he was done with the first verse, he noticed that she was relaxing. He thus released her and placed her slowly on the ground, before continuing.


    "Sunshine''s eye is watching you


    Sunshine''s arms rock you


    The forest''s path will soon be green


    And every flower will bloom


    Yet a little sunshine prayer


    Little willow becomes so green


    Sunshine''s eye sees you


    Sunshine''s arms rock you."


    As he witnessed the miraculous effect of his action, he kept choosing different soothing songs to vocalize. He kept singing even when his throat felt drier than this desert.


    Eventually, he had to stop and moisturize his vocal bands. He sat down with one of his knees flexed and rested his elbow on it.Then he grabbed a water bag and drank slowly, while observing the sleeping woman.


    She was very peaceful at the moment. He suspected that she had a fever again but not as severe as the day before.


    The sun was ascending and it was getting hotter. Therefore Yang didn''t bother to cover them anymore.


    After a while, Yin finally woke up.

 30 Just a bad dream II

    What faced Yin when she woke up was a man sitting an arm''s length away from her with his eyes closed. For a moment she panicked, as her nightmares still haunted her. However she quickly realized that it was only the harmless Fire God and no one else.


    Her head was pounding and she felt hot. She placed her hands on her temples and kneaded them in order to briefly relieve herself from the headache.


    As she attempted to sit up, she fell back again because of her lack of strength. The thud produced by the fall caused Yang to awaken from his nap.


    "Finally." He said in relief as he moved closer to her.


    "May I help you up?"


    Yin nodded in response since her throat was too dry to speak. She was quite surprised that the Fire God actually acted courteously for once and asked her for permission. Her heart skipped a beat, but it was probably only caused by her sickness.


    While Yang helped the Ice God to sit up and lean against the rocky wall, he was quite tense. He was almost anticipating a fist or two from her, but luckily they never arrived.


    "Here, drink some water." He handed her a leather bag after releasing her.


    Yin received the bag and opened the lid, before drinking greedily. Usually, she would have had more restraints, but she felt sick and extremely thirsty. What''s more, she had yet to collect herself from haunting dreams.


    "Woah, calm down, Yin." Yang wanted to stop her physically, but aborted his mission when he remembered the possible consequences.


    When hearing his reminder, she slowed down. However she still ended up a step behind. The water managed to flow into the trachea and her cough reflex was activated.


    Immediately, she ceased to drink and moved it away from her mouth. Even though she tried her best to not seperate her lips from each others, water still managed to leak out as she coughed heavily.


    To observe this when the water was a rarity, was truly painful. Yang didn''t though want to be that petty and acted as if it didn''t happen.


    "How are you feeling?" He asked as soon as Yin could breath properly.


    "Fine." She answered monotonously while wiping her lips and chin with the back of her left arm.


    A stinging pain made her cease her action. Curiously, she rolled up her sleeve and saw a large, red and swollen area on her skin. In the center, there was a tiny wound opening in the size of a nailhead.

 31 Just a bad dream III

    "That sure looks bad." Yang commented as he saw Yin''s nude arm.


    He was surprised that he hadn''t noticed it on her before, but it must have been because of him avoiding to look at her while she was less clothed.


    "It is a sting from a scorpion." Yin concluded tiredly as she rested her head against the wall.


    She wanted to close her eyes, but was afraid of falling into a nightmare again. Although towards the end, she was freed from Him and instead landed on a beautiful meadow with asinging Vocal Bird. The weird thing was that it had a manly yet smooth voice, which didn''t match its appearance.


    "Are you sure? I thought that scorpions are deadly. Shouldn''t you be dead by now if it was true?" Yang was sceptic and questioned mindlessly. He then realized what he said and quickly added quietly.


    "Not that I wish you dead."


    This sentence wasn''t registered by the Ice God, since she was feeling unwell. Her senses were a bit dull at the moment.


    "Different species have different poisons in their tail with varied levels of deadliness." She explained.


    "Oh, that sounds reasonable." Yang admitted and scratched his head in embarrassment.


    Why couldn''t he even have thought of something simple as that? He truly needed to pick up his studies.


    "How much water do we have left?" She asked after a moment of silence.


    "Less than two bags." The Fire God answered after having invented their belongings.


    Yin sighed and locked her eyes with his. Now that she thought of it, his copper-red eyes were actually quite beautiful.


    How come she hadn''t realized it in the past? Was it because of her strong dislike of the colour red? Still, his eyes weren''t anything like the deep red she despised.


    "Finding water is the top priority. Instead of wasting your time over me, you should utilize it on something fruitful. Unfortunately, I doubt that I have the energy to assist you."


    Yang wanted to say that she wasn''t a waste of time, but he didn''t dare to. He also had no idea why he thought so.


    Was it because of his growing dependence on her and her brilliance in everything? He nodded to himself as he concluded that it must have been the reason.


    "If our water has run out or if I am delirious because of this fever, don''t hesitate to kill me."

 32 Why did he feel this way? I

    "If our water has run out or if I am delirious because of this fever, don''t hesitate to kill me."


    "Kill you? I haven''t even killed a bunny in my life and you want me to kill you in cold-blood?" Yang was taken by surprise but then exclaimed in protest.


    "It''s the quickest way to restart the trial and lessen the sufferings." She closed her eyes as she explained this.


    "But-"


    "No buts. It''s my life and my choice, understand?" The Ice God opened her eyes and stared at the Fire God with a cold authority that left no room for deviant opinions.


    "I understand." He forced out and clenched his hands beside him.


    Of course her reasoning was flawless, but she didn''t really take account his feelings. He had never ever killed someone and she asked him to commit the act just like that?


    In order to not explode in the vicinity of Yin, hepicked up a water bag as he stood up and left their temporary home. The sun was now a pain in the ass, but still a better pain in the ass than the crazy woman at the moment.


    He walked around searching for any sign of water, but all he could see was rocks of different shapes and some cactuses.


    In frustration, he kicked a cactus, but quickly regretted it as he felt the thorns in his sole.


    In anger of his reckless behaviour, he kicked a large stone instead, but it was so firm that his foot hurt.


    In rage of everything, he cursed the desert and the crazy woman, but realized that his heart somehow ached.


    He took a gulp of the water he carried.


    Why did he feel this way?


    Why did he care?


    As if his subconsciousness wanted to help him, he saw an image of the culprit to his state. She was truly a beauty with her long black hair and ocean-blue eyes. Yet she wasn''t smiling.


    Now that he thought of it, had he ever seen her smile? He frowned deeply as he attempted to recall. As he went through every memory with her, Yang realized that he had never truly seen her smile. She always had her cold and detached countenance on.


    Had she no joy in life? Or was it taken from her?


    He then thought of his recent discoveries concerning Yin.


    Was it connected to her strong reactions to physical contact?

 33 Why did he feel this way? II

    When Yang had cooled down a bit or as much as it was possible in 40 Celsius degrees, he returned to his partner. He landed on his butt and took off the lid on his leather bag. As he tilted the bag, no water came out.


    Disappointed, he threw it on the ground and then looked towards Yin. Her eyes were closed again, so she must have fallen asleep. He moved sluggishly to her side and saw once again a pained expression on her face.


    Was she having bad dreams again?


    His hand reached out slowly under her scarf and felt her forehead, which was burning. He then checked the last water bag and concluded it as empty as well.


    One of them was sick and the other one was thirsty as hell. Both of them had consumed every single drop of water they had left. Their situation was as crappy as it could get.


    Yang fell back on the ground and squeezed his eyes shut.


    Was this the end?


    The words of the Ice God rang in his mind loudly. He admitted that it would truly be a better option to just die by a well placed cut then to suffer for hours.


    His eyes flew open with determination. From his backpack he picked out the knife and then sat down in front of Yin. The scarf was taken off in order to ensure the accuracy. He swirled the small knife in his hand as he hesitated.


    A quick slice to her throat would end it all. She was unconscious anyway and wouldn''t feel the pain. It was also her wish for this to happen. She told him to do so.


    However when the blade approached her tender neck, a restrictive feeling wrapped itself around his heart. It made him severely uncomfortable and caused him to cease his action.


    Why did he feel this way?


    He had never experienced this in the past whether it was about the crazy woman or others. During some occurrences he had even been pissed enough to truly want to hurt her, but still his heart hadn''t responded like this.


    What had changed?


    Nevermind. He shook his head of these unnecessary thoughts. It was better to focus on the present. If he was unable to perform the act on her, he had only another option.


    Yang took off his own scarf and gulped hard.


    The quicker, the better. He repeated this mentally as he with a swift, circular move slashed above his trachea and opened his carotic arteries. The pain was immediate and strengthened in intensity as the blood flew out. Blood also clogged his airways, which caused him to cough heavily.


    As his life flew out of his body, his vision diminished. The last thing he saw was the sleeping beauty who made his heart give a few extra beats before it finally gave up.

 34 Dead again

    The trial was once again reset and the young Gods began to travel towards west. Yin believed that Yang must have done what was necessary and didn''t ask any questions. Yang himself wasn''t too eager to share his suicide and kept quiet. Thus the Ice God remained unknowing of the Fire God''s self-sacrificing act.


    Before long, they died again. And then again. And again.


    Just like that, weeks, months and even years passed by. More times than Yang could count, he had died of thirst, heatstroke, different poisonous insects and scorpions, sandstorms and freezing nights. The same applied for Yin.


    However, whenever Yin would fall sick, Yang would resort to suicides when he was to pained to see her suffering. The reversed situation wasn''t the same as Yin appeared to feel no restrictions against slitting his throat.


    During several times, Yang was so tired of the constant landscape and the respawning process that he just lied down beside the large, dried up tree and awaited death. Of course not before having drunk every water bag and eaten everything single nut they were provided with.


    More than once had Yin''s weird behaviour made its appearance, even though Yang attempted his best to prevent it. He had confronted Yin a few times, but was always brushed aside by her. Eventually, he realized that she wouldn''t ever tell him and stopped doing so.


    As they learned from their mistakes and acquired empirical knowledge, they became better and better at protecting themselves from the different dangers. They also discovered treatments for certain conditions.


    The Gods basically learned the entire landscape, which they passed through, by heart and learned where water could be found or maybe dug out. To fill their stomachs, they ate whatever was available and soon learned to differ edible from inedible food.


    They went from traveling during the days to traveling during the nights. Eventually they realized that the best solution was to move while the sun was ascending or descending.


    The result was that they managed to survive longer and longer and travel farther and farther away from their start point. Towards the end, they had established an own sign and body language to communicate more efficient during the hotter periods.


    Finally, they managed to reach the border of the Forgotten Desert on their 201th year.

 35 The end of the trial I

    When Yang saw the green grass and trees, he became so emotional that he cried in happiness as he collapsed because of exhaustion.


    "We made it!" He screamed out loudly in joy and then twisted his neck towards Yin beside him. What he saw stunned him completely.


    The woman he had been together with for years and who never had showed a hint of a smile, smiled at that moment. It was a breathtaking smile who lightened up the entire setting.


    Yang''s previous brain currents were short-circuited and was replaced with only the scene in front of him. From that moment and onward, the picture of Yin''s beautiful smile was deeply etched into his memories. He wanted her to forever smile like that and made it one of his life goals.


    The woman of admiration stared at the vegetation in front of her with appreciation and happiness. All of her worries wereforgotten at the moment. Repeatedly times of death and rewinds had caused her to regret her decision more than once, but now everything seemed worth it.


    Her loosening her guards, caused her to unconsciously smile and reveal her real feelings. She didn''t notice it until she glanced at Yang and saw him looking at her with warm feelings.


    Not only could awe and joy be registered, but also love. It was like someone staring at the person''s favorite food or companion.


    Had he fallen in love with her?


    Yin''s heart warmed of the thought, even though she had no intention to follow it up. Love was for fools. It was a powerful tool to harm another but also oneself. In the name of love, people had done some of the most horrible and disgusting acts available. She didn''t want to get trapped in something like that.


    True, her parents were deeply in love with each others and was a perfect example of ''Love overcomes everything''. However, most cases weren''t that ideal.


    She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.


    No matter what, her plan had top priority. Nothing else mattered. Everything else was best ignored or forgotten.


    "What''s the matter, Yin?"


    The concerned voice of Yang caused her to look at him. Tears could still be seen on his cheeks, but somehow they didn''t destroy the handsome face of his.


    Handsome? She almost wanted to puke because of her own thoughts


    When did she get this sentimental?


    "Nothing. Let''s just enjoy this moment."

 36 The end of the trial II

    Soon, Flash appeared in front of the young Gods.


    "Congratulations, Fire God Yang and Ice God Yin. You are the first ones to have accomplished the Forgotten Desert trial."


    With that said, he flicked his sleeve and they were teleported from the Mortal Realm.


    As they moved towards the Celestial Palace, Yang could feel his body change. He started to feel his pool of magic within and concluded that it was considerably enlarged compared to before.


    If it was in the size of a pea in the past, it was now the size of a pond. The difference was as clear as day. He couldn''t hide his excitement and grinned widely.


    Even when they landed in front of the Portal of Trials, he was still showing the same excited face. When Yin saw this, she didn''t think much of it, since she had already grown accustomed to his childish behaviours.


    "Do you feel it, Yin? Our powers have increased tremendously." He lifted his arm and ignited a Fire Ball above his palm.


    At the same time, Yin thanked Flash for his service before he left. To show courtesy was common sense after all. Of course, maybe not for the Fire God.


    "Look, Yin! It''s green! It''s green!" Yang jumped and screamed in joy as he showed the green ball of fire to his partner.


    The colour of the fire was an indicator of the level of magical power. Every fire user was born with Red Fire. It could thereafter progress to Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple and Black. In the legends, White Fire had also been mentioned but no living being was confirmed of having cultivated to that state.


    The farther one had reached, the tougher improvement would become. For such a young Fire God to have reached the level of Green Fire, was never heard of in the past. Thus it was truly something to celebrate and express happiness over.


    Before the trial, he could only manage Orange Fire. That was already an accomplishment and something to be proud of, since the normal age of reaching that stage was at 5000 years. The average age of reaching Green Fire however was around 100 000 years. Now, Yang had even more reasons to be cocky.


    "I can see that." The Ice God calmly replied without a hint of emotion. With a simple hand swipe, she changed into a long dress with blue ice flowers on and removed any traces of dirt from her body. Her neck was bare, since the necklace she originally wore had been reduced to dust as they ascended.


    Seeing her reaction damped his euphoric state and he let his fire fade. He realized that he still was clad in the dirty rags from the trial and copied Yin''s movement. Soon he was dressed in a long fiery red outfit. When he was presentable, he started to grin again.


    "Hot and Pot will be so envious!"


    Just imagining their silly expressions caused Yang to chuckle. He then thought of his companion and asked her eagerly.


    "Yin! How much have your magical powers improved?"

 37 Eager to cause trouble I

    Yin gave Yang a meaningful stare, but he ignored it as he continued.


    "Come on, tell me."


    "It''s time for us to part." She started to walk away.


    When Yang saw this, he ran after her.


    "No, it''s not." He reached her side and adjusted his speed to match hers.


    "I still haven''t ever defeated you yet and I want to know how large the distance is between us."


    The young man kept pestering Yin, but still she didn''t answer. Soon they had reached the outer part of the Royal Garden and passed by a few servants and guards of the Celestial Palace.


    Ever since the celebration of the Celestial Emperor''s birthday, these two young heirs of the Fire and Ice Clans had became quite famous among the workers. Murmurs could be heard in the background as they pointed at them and talked about them among each others.


    This bothered Yang, who narrowed his eyes and turned around to glare at them. The response wasn''t what he had predicted as the background noises only increased in volume.


    Even though they were workers in the palace, they were still immortals way past their age. The young Gods'' cultivations were thus still quite lacking compared to theirs.


    If not for Yin''s and Yang''s status as heirs, the servants would most likely openly complain about these undisciplined individuals in front of them.


    The disrespect towards him, caused Yang to clench his fists in silence. He began at 1000 and counted backwards in order to lessen his anger. This was a trick he had learnt through accompanying the frustrating Ice God for two hundred years.


    In comparison to before, he now had somewhat gotten a grip of his temper and was less impulsive. Otherwise, he would probably have yelled out at them.


    Witnessing this progress, caused Yin to nod to herself in satisfaction. She felt that she hadn''t totally wasted her time on him. He was more than a blockhead and was capable of improvements. It would become useful in the future.


    When Yang managed to control himself from acting out, he voiced his calculations.


    "Yin, if you and I recieved the same degree of benefit from the completion of the trial, then you should definitely have already reached the state of Cold Ice now. Maybe you are even half step into Dry Ice. Am I right?"

 38 Eager to cause trouble II

    "Correct." Yin confirmed, which made Yang satisfied of his own deductive ability.


    "It seems like you do have a brain larger than a gold fish." She continued.


    "What did you say?" Yang exclaimed in protest and blocked her path in order to prevent her from leaving.


    "I just gave you a compliment. Show some appreciation, will you?" The Ice God responded nonchalantly while taking a step to the side.


    "Compliment?! I think it''s more like an insult." He said as he halted her movements with his right arm.


    The offended look on his face caused Yin to smirk within. The arrogant man was really too fun to provoke that she couldn''t help herself. Of course, she showed none of her true thoughts on the outside.


    "I think you have mistaken. If that was the meaning behind my words, it would have been an insult to the poor goldfish." She tilted her head and continued in an innocent tone.


    Yin put her hands on his arm and pushed lightly, but it was so rigid that it didn''t move from its place in the air. His right hand had now formed a fist who shook as if he tried to contain himself from exploding.


    "You-!" He pointed at her with his left index finger and tried his best to not act out. His body vibrated in anger.


    "Move will you? I have been away for over 200 years. It''s time to go home and see my parents." She said as she stared ahead and awaited his withdrawal.


    "What am I witnessing? After having escaped the death penalty but endured the living punishment, the Fire God Yang is still eager to cause trouble?" A sturdy, masculine voice sounded out.


    Yin froze while Yang''s eyes widened in shock. Immediately, they turned around, coupled their hands and kept their gaze at their own feet as they bowed.


    "Greetings, your Majesty." Both of them responded while they registered footsteps approaching.


    "How does it feel to be an immortal again, Fire God?"


    The Celestial Emperor didn''t bother to pardon them from their greetings, which caused the young Gods to keep bending their backs and observing the ends of the Emperor''s dragon robe. The way was truly uncomfortable, but they couldn''t really complain about it.


    Because of the oppressive aura that the Emperor released, Yang stuttered as he replied.


    "G-good, your Majesty."


    "Then how come you seem so eager to descend again?" A hint of evil could be interpreted from the Celestial Emperor''s suggestive question.


    "N-no, not at all, your Majesty. You must have mistaken. I-I was just joking with the Ice God Yin. Nothing else." The Fire God forced out in panic.

 39 Eager to cause trouble III

    "Is that so?" The Emperor felt satisfied when he saw the trembling Fire God finding it hard to keep his posture. If he would change it without his permission, then he had another punishment incoming.


    "Yes, your Majesty. The Fire God and I only had a friendly spar of words and nothing else." Yin spoke instead with a steady voice, as if she wasn''t bothered by the fact that she was standing in front of the Emperor of the Celestial Realm.


    Silence prevailed for a while, before the Emperor decided to break it.


    "Alright then. Your parents must be eager to see you now. You are dismissed." With that said, he started to walk away from the scene with his servants following behind him.


    "Thank you, your Majesty." The young Gods replied but didn''t dare to move before the Emperor was out of their vicinity.


    When he was finally gone, they straightened their backs and shared a look. They then began to move towards the entrance of the Outer Garden.


    "That scared me so much that I think my soul must have left my body for a moment." Yang breathed out in relief as he patted his chest.


    Then he thought of the difference between their reactions to the Ruler of the Celestial Realm and continued.


    "I am really envious of your ability to keep calm no matter what, Yin. Even the mighty Celestial Emperor can''t make you slip your mask of indifference."


    "Don''t be. It wasn''t worth it." She answered absentmindedly, before she realized what she had said.


    "No?" Yang frowned and asked in confusion. Wasn''t it a skill to be proud of?


    She blinked a few times and pressed her lips together. Why did she let that slip? She was definitely not that sloppy in the past. However, nothing had changed now compared to then except for...


    Yin glanced at the young man beside her.


    When did she start to lower her guards against him? She couldn''t remember it clearly, but it must have been some time in the desert.


    Even if she wasn''t aware of Yang''s actions in the beginning of the trial, she gradually realized that he was the reason why she dreamt less nightmares.


    Whenever He appeared and prepared to have his wicked ways with her, she would always hear a soft melody guiding her away from the scene. She would then end up in a peaceful place with singing animals and green forests. His voice really did wonders and as the time passed, she even started to anticipate him singing for her.


    She took a deep breath and released it slowly. With it, she imagined herself forgetting these stupid things. Otherwise she might personally foil her plans.


    "No. As you should be aware of by now, behind every success hides countless mistakes." She paused as she got lost in the past.


    "Which ones did you commit to reach your current state?" Yang asked seriously.

 40 Sharing her burdens I

    @@


    When Yin didn''t immediately answer, Yang thought that she would dismiss his inquiring once again. Thus he was taken by surprise when she really did respond.


    "I was too naive... Much like you right now." Yang was somewhat offended by that statement, but every bad feeling dispersed as he looked at Yin. She was trying hard to seem mighty and invincible, but still some vulnerability could be registered.


    "I was too trusting towards the people around me." She blinked away some dirt in her eyes.


    "I was too weak to accomplish anything."


    The borders of the garden could now be seen and so they stopped in the middle of the road to prevent the guards at the gate from eavesdropping.


    "The result was me being taken advantage of, used and then tossed aside as if I was some trash."


    The last words were unconsciously emphasized by Yin as she felt self pity. Yang wanted to hug her so badly to comfort her, but didn''t dare to do so. He wanted to share all of her burdens and if he disrupted her now, he was afraid that he might never have the chance again.


    She took a deep breath as she continued.


    "But now I know better. I know of how cruel the life can be, how two-faced others can be and how to become stronger in order to be what I want to be."


    "Is that so?" Yang asked softly.


    Her eyes glinted as she put on a determined look on her face.


    "Yes. In the end, power is everything. With it, you can achieve anything and get whatever you want. With it, you can escape the doomedfate you where destinated to have and create a new one."


    "Then you have already come pretty far. Among our piers, no one would be able to defeat you." He attempted to make her feel better.


    When he saw that she was unresponsive, he threw out his biggest speculation before he would chicken out.


    "When you said that you were used, did you mean..." He gulped before he continued.


    "That you was raped?"@@

 41 Sharing her burdens II

    Yin''s eyes widened as she quickly turned her head towards Yang.


    "What did you say?" A ruthless glint could be seen in her gaze as she questioned him. Her magic started to hum as her self control partly waved.


    "I-I" The glare from her scared him and he immediately felt some regret over his curiosity. Still, he knew that he had to confront her sooner or later about it. Thus he hardened his heart and repeated what he said quietly.


    Her hand flew out and grabbed his arm with a firm grip. Then she dragged him out of the Celestial Palace before teleporting them to the Sea of Pondering. They were now standing on the edge of the cliffs with no one else present.


    All along the way, Yang hadn''t resisted Yin, because of the cold fury he could detect from her. Never before had he seen her in this state of calm rage. The closest must have been the second day in the desert, right before she killed him. Thus he wasn''t that eager to trigger it. Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.


    The Ice God threw away the arm she had gripped and then pointed an Ice Sword towards the front of his throat. Her swordcarried a chilly aura capable of freezing the target, even without directly touching it.


    Thus the Fire God concentrated his fire essence in the neck region to protect himselfat the same time as he gulped hardly. He then put up his hands in the air in an act of surrender.


    "Yin, please calm down!"


    "I am calm." She almost whispered, which only freaked him out even more.


    "Now speak! Who told you that I was raped?"


    The sharp edge was pointed even closer to the young male''s throat. If this continued, he might be killed. Even if he didn''t mind during the mortal trial, he definitely minded now.


    As an immortal he could live for infinity, but he still only possessed one life. Hence, his magic started to brew in his body in preparation for eruption if needed.


    "I figured it out by my self."


    Cautiously, he let some fire sip out of his palms and slowly pushed away the tip of the sword from him.


    "You hate physical contact, especially if it comes suddenly without time for preparation."


    He carefully studied her reactions as he continued.


    "You scream to not touch you and to let you go in your nightmares when you get delirious of disease."


    The blade had now been removed from the vicinity of his neck, but she didn''t seem to notice.


    Yang took a deep breath before dealing the final blow.


    "You are not a virgin."

 42 Sharing her burdens III

    "You are not a virgin."


    Her eyes flashed as a warning of the incoming slash, which gave Yang the chance to evade inthe nick of time. He twirled towards the land and halted several meters from the furious woman on the cliff.


    "If" She paused for a moment before continuing.


    "If I am not a virgin, I must have been raped?" She twisted her neck and faced him. Her sapphire eyes were several shades darker than normal. Her grip around the Ice Sword''s handle tightened.


    "No, you don''t have to. But it''s very uncommon for Gods as young as us to lose it at this age. Furthermore, your other reactions support this suspicion of mine. True, you could also be an abuse victim, but my gut feeling tells me that you are primarily a r@pe victim." Yang calmly answered her, even though his heart beat faster than ever before.


    He actually prayed that he was wrong, because he didn''t want her to have suffered through something like that.


    When Yin didn''t respond, he dared himself to further voice his opinions.


    "The strong reactions of yours when I brought up the r@pe topic further support this theory of mine."


    A cracking sound was heard, which caused Yang to look at her sword. Because of her strong grip of the handle, it had now been crushed by the pressure. He gulped hardly as he hoped that he wouldn''t share the same fate.


    Silence prevailed for what felt like eons, before the Ice God finally broke it with a cool voice.


    "Seems like I was mistaken."


    "Hm?" Yang tilted his head sideways.


    "You are way smarter than I have given you credit for."


    "Really?" Hearing her statement, he happily asked for confirmation.


    A smile was painted on his face, which somewhat warmed Yin''s heart. She nodded in response and the smile grew even wider.


    Then the Fire God remembered where they were in the conversation and grew serious again.


    "Who did it?" He couldn''t help the anger from sipping into his voice.


    Yin looked away and let the Ice Sword disperse. She stared at the high waves coming from the Sea of Pondering and felt her control falling back to place.


    "Who was the fucking bastard? I will kill him!" Yang walked up to her side and asked again.


    The Ice God listened to harmonious sounds of the sea and closed her eyes.


    "You wouldn''t be able to kill him."

 43 Sharing her burdens IV

    Yang wasn''t surprised to hear Yin''s answer, since they were at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. Even if they far surpassed their piers, they had really still long to go to reach the top.


    Still, he wanted to know who the bastard was. If he couldn''t personally kill him, he could always beg his parents for help. With Magma''s and Ember''s superior cultivation, he believed that few could escape their grasp.


    "No? Then I will tell my parents to kill him."


    The young Fire God was so agitated that he forgot to consider more aspects of the situation. If he could think of ordering his clan to avenge her, wouldn''t she be able to do the same? The Ice Clan was in no way weaker than the Fire Clan.


    The young Ice God shook her head lightly before continuing enjoying the breeze.


    "Why are you shaking your head?" Yang asked when he witnessed her quiet response.


    "Between the Fire Clan and the Ice Clan, which one possess the greatest power?" She opened her eyes after a while and tested him. If he couldn''t even get it with this hint, he would truly be a waste of time.


    "It''s hard to say. Both clans have their weakness and strengths, but they should be considered matched in terms of influence and power..."


    Yang stopped talking as he finally realized something. A wry smile appeared on his countenance.


    "I see."


    It was once again silent between the two Gods. One was trying to figure out the culprit based on the given information, while the other one tried to guess if the first one would truly figure it out.


    "Then how about a collaboration between our clans? With our combined strength, it shouldn''t be a problem to defeat that bastard, right?" Yang presented another solution.


    Yin turned her gaze at him and stared at him intently.


    "Why would you involve you and your clan in this? We are neither related by flesh nor by marriage, so why bother?" Her voice was calm and nonchalant.


    "Because..."


    ''I like you'' was the rest of the words, but he didn''t dare to express them. What if she didn''t feel the same? Heck, who was he fooling? Of course she wouldn''t feel the same.


    A bitter feeling rose in his heart, but he suppressed it with all his might.


    "Because we of the Fire Clan owe you after you intervened and saved us during the Celestial Emperor''s birthday."

 44 I like you

    "Is that so?" Yin turned around to better observe Yang. She felt satisfaction but didn''t express it outwardly.


    The intense stare from her, caused Yang to become nervous. Did he have something on his face? Or did he say something stupid again?


    "Yes." He nodded.


    "There are no other reasons?" She questioned him with a sceptical tone.


    He gulped at the question, but still held on to his claim. The way she looked at him as if he was an ant under the microscope, caused him unease.


    "No need, but thanks." The Ice God said as she twirled around and started to walk away.


    The sight of her walking away from him, caused the Fire God to feel alarmed. He rushed after her and stopped her by throwing a green Fire Ball in front of her.


    "Wait, that''s not the only reason." He threw out before he could stop himself.


    When he managed to catch up, he cursed himself for his impulsivness. Even if he wanted her attention, he shouldn''t have done something so stupid. Now, he couldn''t retreat and keep his feelings hidden anymore.


    Yin said nothing and just waited for him to speak up for himself. Yang understood her silent body language and took a deep breath.


    "I like you." He mumbled so quietly that his crush almost didn''t hear him. In nervosity, he played with his fingers, before he realized it and ceased the movements. Instead he grabbed onto his sleeves and held on tightly.


    His eyes had been focused on the ground ever since he decided to open his mouth, as he didn''t dare to see her reaction. Because of this, he missed out a chance to see something warm flash through Yin''s eyes. Just as fast as it appeared, it also disappeared.


    Despite the fact that she registered Yang''s declaration, she acted as if she truly didn''t catch his words. She would after all never let go of a moment to tease this bold yet shy little guy.


    "What did you say?" She asked with a clear voice.


    Yang started now to breath harshly, as he tried to calm his racing heart. He counted mentally to three, before rising his head and staring at Yin with strong determination.


    "I said, I like you!"

 45 Do you like me?

    "I said, I like you!"


    Even if Yin already knew what Yang had to say and even heard it before, her heart still couldn''t help but beat a little faster as he said it again.


    "You like me?" Her voice was still as cool and calm as always.


    Yang was now feeling extremely shy as his eyes darted from side to side, not daring to look at her directly anymore. All his previous courage disappeared faster than they appeared. Redness covered his cheeks, which made them resemble tomatoes.


    He nodded in confirmation and then waited anxiously for her reply. Yet he was left disappointed as she didn''t speak anything more for what felt like ages.


    At last, he couldn''t take it anymore. If she was going to reject him, she should at least do so verbally and not leave any room for false hope.


    "Do you like me?" He dared himself to look at her again.


    What he saw was a completely collected posture with a face that revealed nothing. Just like many times before, he cursed over the woman''s crazy ability to keep her pokerface.


    "Do you?" He asked again.


    At that moment, the young man had few expectations since he still possessed some self instinct. She had never shown even the tiniest interest in him before and would most likely never do so in the future.


    Hence his surprise could be imagined when Yin closed the last gap between them and grabbed his chin with a steady grip. She then pulled his head downwards to her level and stared at him with unreadable intent.


    Because of this unexpected act, his heart almost jumped out of his chest considering how fast and hard it was pumping. If possible, his face was even redder now than before.


    Yin kept her grip on him, but moved her own head so that her lips were above his shoulder. She slowly neared his ear and the hot air of her breath triggered some involuntary shivers in Yang.


    He almost didn''t even dare to breath in fear that all was just a dream. Had the Universe finally answered his prayers and fulfilled his wishes?


    "You like me, eh?"


    Each word of hers sent pleasurable electrical waves through his body as the Fire God in bliss tried his hardest to register her question.


    "Ye-yeah." He answered breathlessly and got lost in the pleasant sensations from her proximity.

 46 I donst like you

    "Well, I don''t like you." Yin pulled back and released Yang.


    The confession turned Yang''s heart heavy and disappointment coursed through him. Even if he knew beforehand, it still hurt to hear the truth.


    "I... I guessed so much." He looked away dejectedly and formed his hands into fists. His entire body shook as he tried to contain his emotions.


    When Yin saw his reaction, she felt a tiny bit of regret. The way he acted right now reminded her of a child whose favorite bunny just died. It caused her heart to ache, but she firmly steeled her heart against it. Greater things could only be accomplished through sacrifices after all.


    Just as she was about to leave, the Fire God regained his senses and took a determined step forward.


    "Why don''t you like me?"


    This question took her by suprise, but she concealed it immediately. Her wheels started to spin as she thought of something.


    "Do I have to like you?" She asked with an indifferent voice as she looked at him coldly.


    "No." Yang was a bit frightened by the coolness that was emitted from her.


    "Am I obligated to like you?" She continued while her voice dropped even more in temperature.


    "No." His voice came out even more quietly.


    "What is there to like about you?"


    Yang felt like his heart was stabbed by each of her questions. He bit his lips harshly as he closed his eyes and kept clenching his fists.


    "You are weak yet you always act as if you are invincible. You possess a brain, yet you always act impulsively. Tell me, what is there to like about you, Yang of the Fire Clan?"


    With that said, she left him without being hindered.


    The truth was that he didn''t even notice her movements. Instead, he was caught up by her final words. They dealt the final blow towards him and his pride. It was also the heaviest of them. Every word repeated itself endlessly in his mind like a broken record and each repeat caused his heart to break a bit more.


    Just like that, Yang spent his first day as an immortal in 200 years on the cliff by the Sea of Pondering. He wasn''t even aware of the time as he stood there and was trapped in his dark thoughts.


    Yin on the other hand didn''t immediately return home to the Ice Realm, but stopped after she had entered the forest near the Sea of Pondering. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but became alert as she sensed someone approaching her. A sword was formed in her hand as she turned around.

 47 You really donst like him?

    "Ice Flower!"


    A handsome dark-haired man in ebony coloured robe stepped forward with a smirk on his face. His arms was lifted and wide apart as he tried to hug Yin, but was stopped by her Ice Sword who pointed at his chest.


    "Woah, watch it, will you? It would be such a shame if you accidentally cut open this young man''s chest." He put his hand over his sternum and shook his head in disappointment.


    "Even if I know you are eager for this young man''s heart, you still don''t need to show this degree of eagerness. As long as you ask, it''s yours."


    The Ice God let her weapon dissolve when she recognised who the annoying man was.


    Seeing this, he threw himself over her but was hindered midway. His entire body crashed into an Ice Barrier, which had been created from the dissolving essence of the Ice Sword. Its coldness caused his skin to momentarily freeze, before it was back to normal. He set his feet on the ground again before dusting off the frost formations on his clothes.


    "You have progressed considerably, Ice Flower! The temperature of your ice should almost be enough for you to be classified as a Dry Ice user. " He was extremly delighted over the discovery.


    "Who would have thought that a 1256 years old God would have almost reached a state which per norm requires about 150 000 years of cultivation? It''s truly impressive."


    Yin ignored the talkative man and let her barrier down before walking away.


    When he saw this, he immediately followed behind and pestered her along the way. A strange deja vu feeling struck the Ice God as she remembered a similar scene the same day in the Celestial Royal Garden. Then it had also been a cheerful dark-haired man who acted like her tail and chatted unceasingly. He looked at her with that warmth in his eyes that seemed to warm her since long frozen heart.


    What was she thinking? Didn''t she promise herself to cut off all these unneccesary feelings?


    She dug her nails into her palms in wish for the pain to sober her up.


    The dark-haried man was constantly observing Yin and sensed that she was bothered by something, even though she seemed quite unbothered. He guessed that it was most likely about the Fire God Yang, who was the last person he had seen her together with. He had witnessed the entire confession made by the Fire God and the rejection. As a fellow male, he felt sympathy for him and thus couldn''t help but inquire about the situation.


    "So... I saw the cruel way you left the pitful Fire God Yang by the sea."


    At the mention of Yang, Yin''s nails penetrated her skin and drew blood. Still, her footsteps didn''t falter as she continued forward.


    "You really don''t like him?"

 48 I donst believe you

    "You really don''t like him?"


    The dark-haired man immediately sensed that the aura emitted from the Ice God turned colder.


    "No." She frostily replied as they neared an open green meadow among the trees.


    "I don''t believe you. Who else but Yang have made you speak more than a few sentence in a day, young girl?"


    He put his hand over his chin and moved the hand up and down, as if he was pulling a non-existent beard. If he was older and had white hair then he might have managed to pass as an old sage.


    "Why else would you actually take the Trial with him? It wasn''t really neccessary for you to get involved, since the Celestial Emperor was only interested in punishing the Fire Clan. If it was destroyed, it would only benefit your plans."


    When Yin ignored him, he ceased his imitation.


    "Ice Flower, aren''t you going to at least show me some apprecation that I actually came to greet you right after your completion of the Trial? You know, I waited years for your arrival."


    The response was yet silence once again, which caused him to sigh despondently.


    It was really no fun to talk with this young God. Sometimes, he thought of how she used to act in the past. Whenever he dropped by, she would run to him with that innocent smile on her face. Whenever he did something stupid, she would follow and then they would laugh together at each others foolishness.


    Now, it would be a miracle if she even showed the tiniest bit of interest in anything but cultivation and revenge. Thus, he was certain that Yang must have an important postition in heart. Even while facing her parents, she didn''t act as carefree as with him. Of course, the difference in treatment was almost nonexistent, since she still was like a block of Ice with the Fire God.


    Abruptly, Yin stopped in the middle of the meadow, which took the dark-haired man by suprise.


    "How''s the situation?" She glanced at him and asked.


    "Now you talk. Why should I answer your questions if you never do the same?" He said nonchalantly.


    A glare from Yin caused him to turn serious.


    "Both the Celestial Emperor and the Fire Clan have sent people to investigate the incident during the Celestial Emperor''s birthday. So far, they haven''t found anything useful. It seems like the God of Spring knows how to clean up his tracks."


    "And the one behind him?"


    "It should be the Water Demon Leviathan, just like you predicted."

 49 Change of plan

    "Mm." Yin closed her eyes and contemplated over something.


    The dark-haired man waited patiently for further inquiries, but none came. Finally, he decided to break the silence.


    "Are you going to tell your favorite Yang about this?" He teased.


    This caused her to give him an annoyed look.


    "Fine, let me rephrase it. Are you going to share this intel to the Fire Clan?"


    Now she looked at him as if he had a hole in his brain.


    "Don''t look at me like that. I was just asking out of curiosity. You seem to be so keen to help him and by telling him about the schemes of Leviathan, he and his clan would be washed clean of the crime. Of course, you would find it hard to explain how you recieved the information, especially since you had been trapped in the Mortal Realm all these years..." He defended himself.


    "Nevermind. Shall we continue with our original plan?" He continued with a cheery attitude.


    "No. Changes of time requires changes of plan."


    An Ice Chair appeared from the thin air and landed beside them. Gracefully, Yin sat down on it in preparation for a long discussion.


    Seeing that he was left without a chair, the dark-haired man''s mouth pulled itself together in displeasure before he complained.


    "Hey, Ice Flower! Why don''t I have a chair to sit on?"


    She responded by moving her arm in a swiping movement.


    "So mean." He grumped before landing on the soft grass and lying comfortably on his back with his right leg over the left.


    "At least I won''t freeze my butt off like this." He picked up a grass straw and played with it with his mouth for a while before continuing.


    "Tell me, what''s your brilliant idea?"


    The Ice God then began to share her intrigue, while the dark-haired man added some of his own suggestions to it. It was quite an interesting plan, but many dangers were present. Both of them were aware of the possible consequences of failure.


    After a hour or two, they were finally done with everything and it was time for them to part.


    "Good luck now, Ice Flower. Let''s meet up again according to the usual schedule, alright?" The dark-haired man grinned.


    She nodded and hestiated for a while, before adding.


    "Thanks."


    With that said, she teleported away and left behind a stunned man who never thought that he would ever hear that word from her.

 50 Welcome home I

    In the center of the Ice Realm lied the Ice Palace on an icy hill. It was a magnificent construction in blue, made out of the coldest ice. The structure was fortified by Ancient Protection Spells, which protected them from the attrition of Time.


    A high, sturdy wall of ice surrounded the Palace, who was told in the legends to have even withstood the strike from the mighty Demon Emperor.


    The four main gates, which allowed passage through the wall, were respectively localized in the east, south, west and north directions and named after them. They were heavily guarded by the Clan Guards, who didn''t dare to neglect their duty.


    On the watchtowers stood tower guards, who could see far and alert the defences in time of need. When the dark was arriving, a young guard on the West Gate''s watchtower noticed a young woman nearing the Ice Palace. He recognised her as the heir and immediately reported it to his superiors.


    Thus when Yin finally reached the gate, both her parents and other clansmen were already there to welcome her.


    The reason why she didn''t directly teleport to her quarters was because of the Warding Magic over the Ice Palace. Other palaces, such as the Celestial Palace, also had similar magics to prevent unauthorized people from freely enter these places.


    "Yin!" Snow flew up to her daughter and hugged her tightly. In her delight over her daughter''s return, she didn''t notice how Yin''s entire body stiffened within her embrace. This did however not elude Frost''s eyes, which darkened as a result.


    "You are finally back! Oh, we have missed you so much!" Snow kept going, while her husband walked up to them.


    "Welcome back, daughter." He said in a cool and steady voice with a hint of joy.


    "Thanks." Yin replied stiffly, since her mother was still trapping her in her arms.


    "Yin, how have you been? It must have been tough." Snow finally released her, which made Yin relax somewhat.


    "Love, our daughter must be very tired and hungry from her trial. Ask everything during the dinner instead, alright?" Frost reminded his wife gently.


    "Oh honey, look at me. How did I forget that? Come, Yin." She put her arm around Yin''s back and guided them towards the Palace.


    As they passed by their clansmen, Yin was greeted and congratulated for having successfully passed a Mortal Trial at her tender age. She was their pride and joy, but who would have guessed that behind the mask of the perfect genius was a scared and lonely woman, who carried the burden of their fates on her shoulders?

 51 Welcome home II

    When Yang finally decided to return home, a new day had already begun. He teleported himself from the Sea of Pondering and arrived at the opening of an enormous volcano.


    From it, hot steam erupted which were fortified by magic. Thus the rising vapors would be enough to completely burn one to ashes, unless one possessed considerably achievement in the arts of Fire or tremendous resistance to the heat.


    Only one main road was available for those who didn''t wish to attempt their luck with the steam. It was a descending stairway cut out of the walls of the volcano and was protected from the heat with magic.


    The entire opening of the volcano was under the surveillance of Clan Guards, who patrolled around it all the time, but the stairway was the most guarded part.


    Since the young Fire God had yet to reach at least the stage of Purple Fire, which would per norm require about 8 million years of cultivation to accomplish, he couldn''t directly fly through the vapors. Hence he now made his way towards the stairs.


    When the guards recognized that their young master had returned, they were extremely excited.


    "Young master!"


    "Young master, you have finally returned!"


    The young master in question didn''t however even hear them, as he was still quite crestfallen. He just walked past them like a zombie, which caused the subordinates to feel awkward.


    Why did the heir look so depressed?


    Shouldn''t he be happy now that he passed the trial?


    Or was the trials really that frightening that they sucked out the life force from the participants?


    Question after question appeared in the minds of the guards, which they didn''t dare to voice out. They did however send a signal to the workers in the Fire Palace to notify the Clan Head''s wife that her son had arrived.


    The Fire Palace was floating on an unmeltable piece of black rock among the magma. The temperature in the volcano was even higher than the steam.


    In order to prevent the younger clansmen from the Fire Clan to die of the heat, protective magic were cast all over the place. The magic would lessen the heat, but it still wasn''t enough for a non Fire user to feel unbothered.


    After Yang reached the bottom of the volcano, he finally reached the main gate of the Fire Palace. Like before, guard after guard greeted him cheerily while he passed by like a ghost.


    At last, he reached the Mansion of Everlasting Fire and decided to walk to his room, but was stopped by a piercing scream.

 52 Welcome home III

    "Yang Yang!"


    A woman in red threw herself over Yang, which caused him to stumble a few steps before he managed to steady himself.


    "Yang Yang, my baby! Let me take a look at you." Ember grabbed her son''s head with her hands and pulled it in all kinds of direction to not miss a single corner of his face.


    He felt like his head was going to fall off because of the abuse, but didn''t care enough to complain.


    "Good, you haven''t thinned." She let go of him and her worries, before she saw the dejected look on his face.


    "What''s wrong, baby?" Her tone was filled of concern.


    "Nothing, mum." He mumbled and attempted a smile, but failed badly.


    "Yang Yang, I can clearly see that there''s something pulling down your mood." She softly said as she guided them inside.


    With a hand sign, she dismissed all the servants. They then sat down around a table filled with delicious food, but contrary to what was normal, Yang didn''t even spare them a glance.


    "Look, you don''t even drool now when my handmade dishes are in front of you. That''s a grave sign of something wrong."


    "Mm." Her son responded absentmindedly as he stared down at the tablecloth.


    "Baby, you know that you can tell your mother anything. I will always be here for you." Ember reminded him earnestly.


    "I know."


    Seeing how unresponsive and down Yang was, caused her eyes to be soggy.


    "Is it the trial that is on your mind? Or is it something else? Please talk to me, baby."


    He shook his head slowly.


    "Yang Yang, I hate to see you like this. Please talk to me." Her voice broke towards the end, as she was getting more and more emotional.


    The sound of hurt in his mother''s voice, caused Yang to finally look up. When he saw her teary eyes, his dam broke.


    "Mum." He enveloped her with his arms as tears started to glide down his cheeks.


    "Mum, it hurts." He cried in pain as Ember caressed him gently.


    "Where does it hurt, baby?" She whispered to him sweetly before kissing him on his forehead.


    "My heart hurts. It hurts so much. It feels... it feels like as if thousand nails have been drilled through it. It feels so heavy... so heavy that I find it hard to breathe."


    "I want it to stop... but I don''t know how. Please make it stop." His entire body shook, so he hugged her even more tightly.


    "Please." He whimpered.

 53 Welcome home IV

    As Yang cried his pain away, Ember kept gently stroking his back and head as she gave him small kisses on his forehead. In between the kisses, she also told him how everything would get better, that he was a good boy and that he was so strong for sharing his pain.


    Eventually, he had no tears left to shed and only hiccupped occasionally. He felt much better, but stilldidn''t want to let go of his mother. Thus they sat there in silence as they enjoyed each others embrace.


    Finally, Ember decided to break the silence.


    "So... who broke your heart, baby?" She softly inquired.


    "Was it the Ice God Yin?"


    "How did you know?" Yang hoarsely asked as turned his head to look at his mother.


    "A mother knows her children the best, Yang Yang." A gentle smile appeared on Ember''s face as she cradled him.


    "I have since long known of your infatuation in that girl. Maybe you didn''t even realized it yourself, but every time you spoke of Yin and how you wanted to beat the crap out of her, your eyes would always shine up brighter than the sun."


    "Really?" He grinned.


    "Yeah, and during the times when I happened to be present during your duels, I could always see that the looks she received from you were different from the looks you would give any other girl."


    "Aren''t I observant, Yang Yang?" Ember took a grip around his cheek and pulled it lightly.


    "Of course, nothing can ever escape the gaze of the Mother Demon" He teased.


    "Who are you calling a demon?" She increased the force of her pull, which caused his face to distort in discomfort.


    "Ouch, ouch! Mercy! Please have mercy!" He shouted as he tried to escape her grip.


    "I treat you so well and you consider me a demon?" She asked sternly.


    "No! Ouch! I was wrong. Please spare me, mum!" His hands tried to pry off his mother''s fingers, but her grip didn''t falter.


    "Then what am I?"She could barely keep up her stern expression when she saw the sorry state of her son.


    "A saint! Mum is the Holy Saint and the saviour of the Fire Realm!"


    "That sounds better." She said in delight before finally released him, which caused him to immediately rise his hand to caress his abused cheek.


    "Does it still hurt?" Ember asked with guilty feeling when she saw how red the skin had become.


    "Mm." Yang nodded with a grieved look and removed his hand to better display the redness.


    "I am so sorry, baby. Here, let me caress it for you." The soft gestures that Ember performed had a soothing effect on his cheek, which allowed him to relax.


    "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked after a while.

 54 Welcome home V

    When Yang apprehended the meaning behind Ember''s question, his heart started to ache again. He pulled back from his mother and focused on his hands on his lap.


    "I confessed to Yin and... I was rejected." He whispered in disappointment.


    Ember wanted to immediately give her baby son another supportive hug, but didn''t want to disturb him as she sensed that more confessions were incoming.


    "I wanted to know why and she said..." He took a deep breath before continuing.


    "She said that there was nothing to like about me and that I was too weak and stupid."


    "Oh my poor baby." Ember wrapped her arms around him to give him comfort.


    "She has eyes yet she is blind. You are strong, not only in cultivation compared to your piers, but also mentally. How many times haven''t you challenged Yin in the past and how many times haven''t you lost? You can go down defeated all the time, but you never fail to rise up again. This stubbornness of yours must be among the top in the Realms." She consoled.


    "You might not be the brightest with your brain, but that is only because of your young age and your little experience. You are only 1133 years old, which is nothing compared to everyone else in the Realms. Believe me, Yang Yang. With age comes wisdom. Even the biggest idiot can turn into a genius with enough experiences."


    Yang felt much better after hearing this and elevated his head to look at his mother.


    "Really?" His voice carried hope as his eyes lit up for the first time since he left the Sea of Pondering.


    Ember smiled warmly and nodded.


    "Of course, baby. When has your mother ever lied to you?"


    "Never." A wide grin spread across his face as he leant back and glided out of his mother''s embrace.


    "So what are you going to do now? Are you going to let the Ice God''s words keep pulling you down or are you going to rise up from the ashes and shine even brigher than before?"


    "I am not going to let her drag me down." Yang stood up and said with strong conviction.


    "I am going to prove her wrong and make her eat up her own words!"


    Ember gave a hearty laugh and kept spurring her son.


    "How are you going to accomplish that? By beating the crap out of her?"


    "Yes, I will defeat her with my own strength." He clenched his fists tightly.


    "And I will study to become more knowledgeable. I will show her that she has underestimated me!"


    When Ember heard that he promised to finally study, her eyes almost popped out of her eyes sockets. If her son really did that, she would really want to personally thank that girl.


    "Then, I will make her like me!"

 55 Welcome home VI

    "That''s the spirit, Yang Yang!" Ember clapped her hands to show her excitement.


    "Beat her into submission and make her fall in love with you!"


    Submission? Why did that sound so forceful?


    Yang cringed as he suddenly thought of Yin''s past. With such a heavy past, she would most likely not take things lightly if she was forced.


    He had to make her fall in love with her on her own accord, but he had to first of all prove that he deserved her. Thus getting stronger and wiser was a step on the way.


    Suddenly, Yang''s stomach started to growl.


    "Are you hungry?" A wry smile appeared on Ember''s countenance.


    "Yeah." He nodded while he sat down.


    "Then let''s eat." Ember warmed up the dishes and grabbed a pair of chopsticks to place food in her son''s bowl.


    "Here, you need to eat more in order to grow stronger."


    Soon the bowl was completely full of cold blended cucumber, sesame oil drenched pak choi, sweet fried chicken wings, hot tofu skin and so on.


    Seeing this, Yang didn''t stand on ceremony and dug in fiercely. To finally eat something better than grilled scorpions and dried nuts, was truly heavenly.


    Ember was happy to see that her son was back to normal and started to eat as well.


    After a while, Yang ceased eating as he thought of something.


    "Mum, where is dad?"


    "Your dad should still be in the Beast Realm." Ember answered her son as she put down her empty bowl on the table.


    "Beast Realm? Why?" He picked up a chicken wing and cleansed it from meat.


    "Recently there has been several attacks of feral beasts within the borders of the Fire Realm, which have reaped hundreds of lives already." Ember sighed as she thought of the poor lives that had passed away.


    "Your dad left with your uncle Blaze to meet the Beast Emperor to ask for an explanation."


    Yang nodded in understanding as he threw away the bones and picked up a new chicken wing.


    "When did they depart?"


    "7 years ago."


    The answer caused Yang to stop chewing.


    "7 years ago?! Why have they still not returned?"


    "I don''t know." Ember tried to not show her worry, but it didn''t escape Yang''s notice.


    "Then have they at least sent back a message about their situation?" Yang asked impatiently.


    His mother stared solemly at him as she shook her head lightly.

 56 Missing

    "At least tell me that you have sent someone to the Beast Realm to inquire about them." Yang was about to get crazy of anxiety.


    "Of course I have, but according to the Beast Emperor himself, your father and uncle never arrived at the Beast Palace." Ember said as calmly as she could manage.


    "Then maybe they never reached the Beast Realm?" He voiced his hypothesis.


    Hearing this, Ember shook her head.


    "They should have, since I personally escorted them to the Mortal Realm, before they flew towards the Beast Realm."


    "Oh, I see."


    The three major realms, which were the Beast Realm, the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm, were only connected to each other through the Mortal Realm.


    The Fire Realm was a part of the Celestial Realm and thus Magma and the company had to travel through the Mortal Realm to reach their destination.


    "I have already sent out search teams for them and so have the Beast Emperor. Hopefully we will get answers soon." Ember lightly patted her son''s shoulder to give some comfort to him.


    It was at moments like these that Yang wished that he possessed greater strength. Then he would be able to personally search for his father and uncle and not be afraid of the unforseen.


    After all, his level of accomplishment in the arts of fire wasn''t even enough to hurt the weakest guard of any clan. If he volunteered to participate in the search, he would only drag down his own teammates.


    "Are you going to eat some more, Yang Yang?"


    A flash of determination passed his eyes, as he stood up.


    "No, I am going to have some closed door training. But if you receive any news, don''t hesitate to disturb me, mum." After leaving these parting words, he left and shut himself in his bedroom.


    Witnessing this, Ember was secretly happy for her son''s new found motivation but at the same time worried that he would push himself too hard.


    She sighed deeply as she gathered the dishes and cleaned the table. Even though there were paid servants in the Palace, she still preferred to do certain basic tasks personally.


    Her thoughts started to run as her body was on autopilot.


    She was deeply concerned over her husband''s and her brother-in-law''s status. They must have encountered something unexpected.


    Did they walk into a trap? Were they hurt?


    She couldn''t help but pray that they were somehow safe.

 57 Trapped I

    The men, whom had caused their family to worry, were currently on an open desolated field and surrounded by a huge and thick water sphere.


    The walls of the sphere was constantly fortified by drawing water from the large lake nearby and was working their way towards the two men within.


    At the same time, both Fire High Gods utilized their dark Purple Fire magic to vaporize the water.


    They couldn''t escape the sphere through other means, such as teleportation, since that would require their physical body to travel the distance between the starting point and the destination, which wasn''t possible.


    The water trap was the manifestation of a forbidden ancient water spell called Water Dome of Doom. Any living being that came in direct contact with the water of the spell would have its water fluids sucked up dry and die as a result.


    It was especially deadly for the fire users. After all, water was the weakness of fire. Therefore, they found it hard to break out of the sphere and could only attempt to maintain the distance between them and the water.


    "F*ck this shit! F*ck the bastard who is behind this! If I ever get out of here, I am so going to f*ck him or her over so hard that even his or hers mother won''t f*cking recognize her child!"


    A man with a face enough to stun the mortals to death was cursing repeatedly as he kept pouring his magic into the protective Flame Barrier around them. Sweat was pouring down his skin, since he had been using his energy nonstop for years now.


    "If you have so much energy to waste your words like this, why don''t you focus them on breaking us out of here instead, Blaze?" Magma tiredly asked by his side.


    "F*ck you! If I had the power to break out of this cage, I would have already done it! Why would I then f*cking stay in this torture?" The younger brother, Blaze angrily screamed.


    "No thank you. I don''t practice incest. Try someone else instead." The older brother countered in a serious voice.


    "Who wants to f*ck you? Maybe sister-in-law but definitely not me! Just the thought makes me want to puke! I will stay forever faithful to my love..."


    Pain erupted momentarily in Blaze''s chest as he thought of the woman of his life. Even though she was long gone, she was never forgotten.

 58 Trapped II

    The sudden change in Blaze''s heart was sensed by Magma, who sighed heavily.


    "Breeze was such a sweet and understanding woman. Even though it''s admirable that you still hold on to your love, she would have wished for you to move on."


    Blaze gritted his teeth as his brother once again attempted to convince him to find someone new. He hated it to the core and each time he just wanted to beat him to pulp. In the beginning, he did actually act out on his impulses, but has now grown more resistant to this.


    "No, I won''t. I promised her that in this lifetime there would only be room for her in my heart. And I will stick to my promise."


    Magma felt true sympathy for his little brother. For an immortal to fall in love that hard, but to be robbed from the very source of love, was truly cruel.


    Sometimes living forever was not a blessing as many foolish mortals might think. To die might sometimes be what one needed, no matter mortal or immortal.


    Yet as the vice Clan Head of the Fire Clan, Blaze had many responsibilities that he couldn''t just throw away. The Clan needed him, his brother needed him and his friends needed him. It would be selfish of him to leave this all behind and hence he never did.


    However, Magma was truly afraid that if there would be one day when he could escape the burdens, his younger brother would take the easy way out. Therefore, he had tried different methods to make Blaze forget his sorrows.


    Magma knew that by doing so was selfish and maybe respectless towards his deceased sister-in-law, but he really didn''t want to lose his little brother.


    Of course, they had to escape their confinement first. Otherwise, Blaze and even him would be doomed anyway.


    He knew that his wife must have been noticed by now of their absence and would without doubt send reinforcement. Hopefully, their other clansmen that first came with them had managed to report back and could facilitate their search.


    --<>--


    At the same time in a dark and humid cave, a huge Water Mirror was showing the sorry state of the two Fire High Gods. The observing Leviathan wore an evil smile as he felt alive for once.


    "Magma, Blaze, who would have guessed that you would one day fall into my hands?" He started to laugh in delight, which scared the small Water Demon beside him.


    His lord''s mentality was always unstable and had killed many subordinates in a whim. Even if his lord seemed happy in one moment, he could kill in the next.


    The demon thus unconsciously took a step back in fear. Before he even had the chance to react, water had morphed itself around his neck and distorted it in a weird angle.


    Just like that, he was added to the collection of poor subordinates who died without even knowing why.


    "So noisy." Leviathan snorted before he started to laugh crazily.

 59 Three years

    As the two Fire High Gods were further and further pushed against the brink of exhaustion, they were highly sought after but without result.


    The few guards they had brought with them had all perished in the small town Eden in the borders of the Beast Realm, where they were first separated by the schemes of Leviathan.


    Any tracks of their previous presence in the Beast Realm had been wiped clean by the Water Demon, but not before a certain individual managed to grasp the situation.


    That someone was now leisurely resting on a soft, dark sofa. The man was clad in black and wore a charcoal coloured mask over the upper half of his face. Even though his countenance was partly covered, one could see that he was definitely a beauty.


    His eyes were shut as if he was asleep, but the creepy aura that was leaking out of him indicated the opposite.


    The aura was so strong that the kneeling subordinate shivered. He awaited orders without a sound, but couldn''t help but to inquire after a hour of silence.


    "Your Highness, what is your command?"


    The man on the sofa reached out for a purple grape in the fruit bowl on the side table beside him and plopped it into his mouth. After having savoured its taste, he opened his amethyst eyes.


    "Spread my words. The water users under my command shall receive another three years. If they still fail to find a method to break the Water Dome of Doom, they do not need to return."


    "Yes, your Highness."


    The subordinate felt sorry for his fellow comrades, since a forbidden spell wasn''t meant to be broken unless it reached its purpose. After all, great sacrifices were made to cast it and if the promised effects weren''t impressive, there would be no reason to use it.


    If they truly weren''t allowed to "return", they would be no longer needed for their service. In other words, the Gu poison in their bodies would be activated.


    Every subordinate under the Highness was implanted with this highly toxic poison, that lied dormant in their bodies like a chrysalis. It''s character was truly weird and couldn''t be expelled with any kind of magic or medical treatment.


    Only the Highness possessed the power to control the Gu. If he chose to awaken the poison, it would feed on the host''s flesh and blood to strengthen itself. The victim would then be digested from inside and out.


    No healing magic could reverse the damages and the pain during that process was said to be worse than death. Hence it wasn''t unusual that the victim chose to commit suicide instead of enduring it.


    With this kind of threat, the water users would probably literally work themselves to death in order to find the solution.


    When the subordinate had left, the eyes of the masked man glinted as his lips curled themselves upwards. He picked up another grape and dropped it into his mouth, before disappearing from the sofa.

 60 Endure I

    In the Ice Realm, Yin sat in a meditative position on her ice bed inside of her room. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on circulating around her magic in her body.


    An orb of ice was floating within her palms in front of her, as she constantly attempted to drop its temperature.


    Because of her deep concentration on cultivation, she failed to notice when a gust passed by her. Only when a large hand had coupled itself around her left shoulder, did she finally realize that she was no longer alone in her bedroom.


    Yin froze momentarily and was just about to lash out, when the intruder chuckled. A chill spread inside of her and paralysed her. Her heart did however beat fast and hard. She tried to calm down by discreetly taking some deep breaths, since she didn''t want to display her fears.


    "Baby girl, you have been naughty." The voice of her nightmares sounded out, as she felt the hand move its way down.


    "You have been gone for 200 years and additionally it was with a male." His other hand also started to feel its way over her chest.


    She wanted to move and resist, but knew that it would only excite him further. He loved to see her cry and suffer, and she didn''t want to give him the extra satisfaction.


    Furthermore, she knew from previous experiences that she was no match for him. His cultivation vastly surpassed hers and even if she poured all of her magic into a single attack, it would hardly graze him.


    "A man and a woman alone in the desert for 200 years... who knows what kind of dirty acts you have done." His hands were getting rough to show his displeasure, but Yin still remained passive.


    "For that, you need to be punished a little, don''t you agree?"


    She almost didn''t register his question, as she was busy distracting herself with something else. Whenever He arrived and touched all over her body with his disgusting hands, she tried to mentally escape by picturing herself in a different place, far away from the pain.


    It was her couping mechanism and it was one of the reasons to why she still had maintained her sanity.


    To be ignored by Yin was something he severely disliked. Thus he ripped off her clothes and bit her harshly on her shoulder. When it still didn''t trigger a response from her,he laughed fiendishly.


    "I will take your silence as an agreement." He stated before forcing himself on her.

 61 Endure II

    When the monster was done, he repaired her destroyed robe with magic and wrapped it around her. He then stole another kiss from her, before disappearing from the bedroom.


    Yin lied there motionless for a long time, before her fingers started to twitch. She curled them and formed fists, before she flew up from the bed and landed shakily on her feet.


    Her eyes were cold and numb, as she stared at nothing. Even if she was mentally absent, she still had some lingering memories of what had happened. What''s more, with the pain in her entire body she could hardly dismiss the reality.


    With a swipe of her hand, she changed out the entire bed into a new one. She then flew towards her bathroom, which was connected to her bedroom.


    Ever since the day of her abduction several hundred years ago, she had chosen to acquire a giant bathtub in the center of the bathroom. It was made of ice, but was modified to not freeze the water inside of it.


    She opened the water crane, as she tore off her dirty clothes and stepped into the water. Her hand grabbed a sponge as she sat down and started to scrub.


    Every single part of her that had been touched, was dirty and disgusting. She was so repulsed by the filth on her that she put all her strength in her motions.


    She scrubbed her neck, her arms, her chest, her legs... She scrubbed everything until her otherwise white like porcelain skin were all turning red. Her skin stung because of her harsh treatment to herself, but it was barely noticed, as the pain in her mind was thousand times worse.


    Still, she thought it wasn''t enough. She still felt dirty and wanted to keep going.


    So she did.


    Eventually the sponge was turning red. Blood was spreading out in the water, which started to fall over the bathtub''s edges. The floor became painted in scarlet, which created a sharp contrast to the otherwise blueish room.


    The blood loss was getting more and more severe, but she still kept going. Her mind wasn''t truly present and she wasn''t really aware of what she was doing. Instead she was more or less trapped in her worst terrors.


    Just before she fainted, she heard someone calling out for her with a distressed voice.

 62 Endure III

    "Yin!"


    Yin''s partner in crime ran inside the bathroom, when he saw red coloured water leak out from it as he stood inside of her bedroom. The terrible scene in front of him almost caused his heart to leap out of his chest.


    He immediately pulled upp her legs and bent them, before sliding one of his arm under them and wrapping the other one around her back.


    The dark-haired man elevated her above the bathtub and morphed a giant bathrobe around her body. He also used a simple spell to clean away the excessive fluids and shut the water crane.


    He carried her with ease to her bedroom and put her down gently on a sofa. From his sleeve, he took out a small container and let a pill roll out from it into his palm. He then forced it into Yin''s mouth and waited for results.


    The pill was called Lifesaver, which as the name suggested had superior healing properties. As long as the user was still alive and in one piece, it was capable of restoring the body to its original state.


    The pill was an extremely rare medicine in the Realms, since the necessary ingredients and skills to produce one was hard to come by. Common people would never even have the chance to see one, not to mention use one.


    Yet the man didn''t even hesitate to let Yin consume one. It clearly indicated of the importance he placed in her.


    If they had been of the same elements, he could have just used his magic to heal her. However, different elements would more or less clash with each others, which could cause more harm than good.


    "Ice Flower..." He crouched down to her level and used his fingers to pull away her sticky hair from her bleeding face.


    "Ice Flower, I am so sorry." His body shook as he was hit by remorse.


    He was apologizing for being unable to help her escape the situation and being late to the scene.


    They had created a bond between their souls so that severe disturbances to one of them, could be sensed by the other one. It was meant for him to know when that bastard came by, so that he could clean up the aftermath and nurse her back to "normal".


    This time he was delayed and the result was this bloody scene. It had been long time since he last saw her in this state.


    "Ice Flower... why do you endure this? I promise, I really can take you away and prevent that bastard from ever finding you again." He whispered quietly.


    "Just give me a sign and we will leave this place. We will leave and never return to the Celestial Realm."

 63 Endure IV

    After a few hours, no sign was left of the previous wounds on Yin''s skin. Her blood had also been replenished by the miraculous effects of the Lifesaver pill.


    The dark-haired man was by her side the entire time and waited patiently for her to wake up.


    Finally, her eyelids fluttered and a frown appeared between her eyebrows.


    "Ice Flower, you are finally awake."


    She opened her eyes and felt a bit disoriented. When she saw a man in front of her, she instinctively flinched back and pressed herself against the sofa.


    "Ice Flower, it''s me." The dark-haired man took a few steps back and said gently.


    "Brother Dark?" Yin called out when she finally recognized him.


    "It''s been a long time since I last heard you call me that, Ice Flower." Brother Dark smiled, as he was reminded of the young Ice God in her childhood.


    Yin sat up on the sofa and shuddered as she recalled what had happened. She saw that her outfit wasn''t the same as the one the monster wrapped around her, which calmed her down somewhat.


    With a simple hand movement, she removed the blood from her body and changed to a clean dress. She took several deep breaths to gather her emotions and then attempted to put on her mask of apathy and callousness.


    "Ice Flower, let''s abandon everything, alright? Let''s forget about the revenge and just leave. It pains me to see you suffering like this." He tried to convince her.


    She shook her head as kept concentrating on inhaling and exhaling.


    "Why? If you want revenge, we can plan it from somewhere else, where he can''t find you. You don''t have to be in the vicinity of his lair."


    "I can''t abandon my family and my clan." Yin stated as she let her legs dangle from the seat.


    "What family? What clan? Why show them such loyalty and consideration, when they hardly care about you? Do they even know what you are enduring? No, they don''t." Brother Dark was getting pissed off.


    "Even that outsider Yang of the Fire Clan figured out what you had suffered. Even he could see that something is clearly wrong with you. But have your parents done that? Have your clansmen done that? No, they haven''t. So wh-"


    "Enough." Yin let her feet touch the ground and stood up.


    She was aware of everything that he just brought up and it hurt her to think that her family might not care enough about her. Still, she couldn''t just let them die because she wanted to escape her pains.


    "I have endured it until now and I shall keep enduring it." She lifted her head and locked her eyes with his.


    "If you want to help me, increase your influences. My revenge is primarily dependent on your strength."


    "Fine, but if your life is ever threatened in the future, I won''t give a damn about them. You are my top priority." Brother Dark declared in frustration before leaving.

 64 Endure V

    Yin''s eyes followed the back of her Brother Dark, before he disappeared from her bedroom. She stood there for a long time, as she was lost in her thoughts.


    The memories of the day before flashed through her minds and repeated themselves like a broken record.


    Fortunately, she wasn''t as unstable as she had been right after she had been touched. Otherwise, she would probably repeat the bathroom incidence once again.


    She was actually surprised that she had reacted this strongly. Usually, she would just wash her skin until it tinted red, but not further.


    Had she maybe grown soft during her time in the Mortal Trial? Had the luxury of a break from this nightmare turned her weak again?


    No matter what, she had to get a grip of herself.


    She told herself like always to endure, to stay strong and to keep fighting, even if she might feel like everything is hopeless.


    One day, she would pull down his mask in front of the entire Celestial Realm and crush his everything into pieces.


    One day, she would be able to come clean to her family and confess all her lies.


    One day, she would maybe dare to love. Maybe.


    Yin shook her head to get rid of all these useless rumination and stepped outside her bedroom. As soon as she left her quarters, she saw and was greeted by clansmen.


    The sight of them unharmed and alive eased her worrying heart. She could still recall one time when a member in her clan had heard her distressed cries when he visited.


    He had killed the interrupting clansman without a second thought and told her that he would end anyone that would disrupt their moment together.


    Ever since then, Yin had banned all the workers and clansmen from entering her quarters without permission. Those who did, were punished severally.


    Even her parents weren''t spared from the restrictions, although they only received silent treatment from her in penalty.


    Albeit her actions might be perceived as cruel, she didn''t care as long as long as innocents were spared.


    --<>--


    "Your Highness, we have finally found a solution." A woman in blue reported on her knees.


    She stole a few glances at the majestic man in front of her and couldn''t help but feel smitten by him. How great wouldn''t it be if she could become his woman?


    However, the Highness had never been the one to indulge in sexual relationships. The last woman who tested her luck ended up in a state worse than death. She didn''t want to follow her footsteps.


    The man in question kept eating grapes on his sofa and waited for her to continue.


    "The spell caster utilize the lake beside the Water Dome of Doom to sustain it. As long as we cut off the connections between these two, the spell will soon cease to exist."


    Something purple flew towards the woman. Since she didn''t dare to react, it smashed against her right arm and smeared her sleeve in grape juice.


    "Your Highness!" She exclaimed in surprise and perfected her stance, as she felt a searing pain erupt in her arm.


    "If you choose to open your mouth, you should only use it to report something that I am not already aware of."

 65 Breaking the forbidden spell I

    "Understood, your Highness." The woman gritted to not cry out in pain.


    "We speculate that either burying the lake or removing the water within it should do the trick. Thus earth magic on the level of Rock Avalanche or something that could produce similar effects are recommended."


    "You speculate?"


    "N-no, we believe that''s the case." A thick, suffocating aura spread, which alerted her of her master''s growing irritation.


    "Have you discussed it with the earth magic users?" The masked man picked up a grape and stared intently at it.


    "Yes and they agree with us."


    Silence filled the dark room. Sweat was rolling down the female subordinate''s forehead as the pain was constantly amplifying. However she didn''t dare to make unnecessary noices.


    She suspected that her arm was rotting away, since a foul smell was starting to reach her nose. Though, she didn''t dare to complain in case of angering her master further.


    Just as she was feeling faint because of the pain, the masked man twisted his elbow and let the grape hit her poisoned arm. Momentarily she panicked, before calming down as she felt the pain recede.


    "Thank you for your mercy, your Highness." She immediately expressed her gratitude.


    "Bring Eight to me." He completely ignored her and shut his eyes.


    "Right away, your Highness." The woman rised up and hesitated for a moment, before disappearing in a blur.


    When she was far away from her master, she finally rolled up her right sleeve. She almost wanted to cry when she saw the state of her arm.


    The skin over her entire dorsal forearm had putrefied. Her flesh was showing, but was almost black in colour and displayed several caverns where the decay had been most severe.


    Considering how nasty it was, she was grateful that she could still use her arm. However, it would undoubtedly leave a nasty scar.


    Her beauty would be destroyed just like that. This was a powerful blow towards her pride and self-esteem. Her master would never like her now.


    She let her sleeve fall back to place and flew towards Eight''s residence. No matter how much she would like to treat her arm at the moment, her master''s order could not be disobeyed.

 66 Breaking the forbidden spell II

    "Your Highness." A robust bald man in a brown robe dropped down on his knees.


    The masked man was in the middle of a nap, when he was disrupted by his subordinate. He was somewhat annoyed, but chose not to show it. Instead he munched on a cluster of grapes.


    "Eleven should have updated you of the situation."


    "Yes, your Highness. I am ready to leave as soon as you command it." Determination coursed through Eight as he thought of this opportunity to prove his worth to his Highness.


    "Bring this with you." A small tablet in ebony was thrown at him, which he immediately caught.


    Eight observed it and noticed the lack of engravings. Typically, a tablet was used as a proof of identity or position and thus would have a name engraved in it.


    He was somewhat curious about the item he held in his palm, but knew better than to ask unnecessary questions. A good subordinate should just follow the master''s orders.


    "Give this to the Fire High God Magma and tell him to keep it well. His greatest wish might be fulfilled if he does."


    "Will do, your Highness. Any other orders?"


    "No, you are dismissed."


    "Yes, your Highness." Eight gave another bow before leaving.


    As soon as he was gone, the masked man sat up and filled his mouth with another grape.


    "Zero."


    A shadow stepped out of the dark walls and saluted on his feet. Zero was like his master clad entirely in dark clothes.


    "Your Highness."


    "It''s finally time for some action." The masked man cracked his knuckles with a hint of a smile.


    "Maybe everything will go smoothly and no force will be needed." Zero said deadpan, which popped the bubble of excitement for his master.


    "Zero! Can''t you for once show a bit consideration. Don''t always spoil my fun."


    "I apologise." Zero didn''t sound sorry at all.


    "Then do so with some sincerity. Even an idiot can tell that you don''t regret it."


    "I am so sorry, your Highness. I will not repeat my mistake." Zero attempted again, but was still using the same monotonous voice.


    A deep sigh could be heard, as the masked man for the nth time failed to change his friend''s character. He wondered why he even kept trying.


    "Nevermind. Let''s go." He stood up and stretched his limbs.


    "But before we go, do you want some grapes?" The masked man held out the bowl with his favorite fruit.


    "No thanks." Zero''s upper lip twitched in disgust.

 67 Breaking the forbidden spell III

    In the Beast Realm, the Water Dome of Doom had almost completely eliminated the free space within. The Fire High Gods were now standing back to back as they kept providing energy to their Flame Barrier.


    They had been fighting the water for 9 years straight without rest and were feeling truly exhausted. Only their willpower kept them going.


    "F*ck! Are we truly going to become f*ckingdried meat?" Blaze swore and complained once again.


    Magma had since long ceased to respond to his brother''s outbursts. He already found it difficult to not pass out and wouldn''t waste any more power on talking back at him.


    "If we die here, I am going to f*cking find the bastard in the next lifetime and ****."


    Magma bitterly smiled to himself, when Blaze mentioned the afterlife. Maybe their fate was truly meeting its end right here.


    How sad wouldn''t Ember and their son be? How would the clan or the Celestial Emperor react?


    He just hoped that the news of their death, wouldn''t shatter the peace that had maintained for the last few hundred thousand years.


    They were after all within the borders of the Beast Realm. Their death would be held responsible by the Beast Emperor if the true culprit wasn''t found. Whether the Celestial Emperor would pursue the case or not, was something Magma found it hard to foresee.


    No matter what happend, Magma wished that his family and clan will be left in one piece.


    If he could choose, he would select to be reborn in his clan. In that case, he would be constantly near his previous family, even if he wouldn''t retain the memories of them.


    "Hey brother, do you sense it?"


    Blaze''s question alerted Magma, which made him focus on the changes outside the water sphere.


    "Hm, thick earth essence... someone is casting spells."


    "Do you think it''s reinforcement from the Beast Realm?" Blaze speculated. Their clan didn''t possess spell casters of Earth magic after all.


    "Could be."


    Five days later, the Fire High Gods could feel the decline of the walls of their cage. Unlike the last few years, the water that was vaporized by them wasn''t replaced. Hence the free space within was growing larger and larger.


    The joy they experienced when the Water Dome of Doom finally collapsed was undescribable. Both had a big smile painted on their faces, before they froze as they sensed people approaching them.


    They were both at the brink of exhaustion and wouldn''t manage a battle if enemies were approaching.

 68 Breaking the forbidden spell IV

    Five people flied towards the Fire High Gods and landed on the ground in front of them. They all wore hoods and masks, which covered their faces and protected their identities. It was though still possible to determine two of them as women, since their body anatomy differed from the men''s.


    The leader of the group, who was clad in brown, took a step forward.


    "Greetings, Fire High God Magma and Blaze. My master ordered us to assist you in escaping the Water Dome of Doom."


    Magma and Blaze were both wary of the arrival of the strangers and didn''t let their guards down even if they claimed to have good intentions. Especially considering the fact that they reeked of demons.


    "Is that so? Then help us to thank your master for his consideration." Magma replied.


    "No need. My master only wants you to keep this tablet with you." The leader took out a black tablet from his sleeve.


    "For what purpose?" Magma registered the uniqueness in the tablet, but didn''t understand it.


    "Master said that your greatest wish might be fulfilled if you keep it well." He replied before walking forward to personally hand over the item.


    Magma was curious over the statement, but was still sceptical to the tablet and hesitated to accept it. What kind of schemes lied behind it? Was it cursed?


    The leader sensed Magma''s suspicion and chose to clarify.


    "If my master had design to harm you, he wouldn''t have bothered to rescue you. Furthermore, anyone of us would be strong enough to handle both of you in your current state."


    "How about you tell us who your master is? Maybe then we would be more eager to receive the gift." Blaze chimed in.


    "Time will tell. Please don''t make it difficult for us subordinates." The leader eluded the question.


    Realizing that further inquiries would be fruitless, Blaze unceremoniously grabbed the tablet from the leader''s hand. He turned it around but saw nothing that could indicate the person behind it.


    When he saw that his mission had been accomplished, the leader and his group prepared to leave.


    "Wait." Magma called out, which halted their movements.


    "Do you know who was behind this?"


    The response was five quick consecutiveteleportations away from the scene.

 69 Pledge your loyalty to me I

    Meanwhile, Leviathan was shaking in fury in his cave as he witnessed the rescue of the Fire High Gods with his Water Mirror. He had been dealing with some other businesses and didn''t realize that someone had messed with his plans before it was too late.


    He clenched his fists tightly before swirling around and facing his quivering subordinates looking like the manifestation of the Apocalypse.


    "Why didn''t any of you notify me?!" He screamed out as a huge mass of water started to form behind him.


    The small Water Demons were all biting their lips and shivering in fear. They didn''t dare to reply to their Lord, since the first one who stood out among the crowd would most likely also be the first one to die.


    Yet that didn''t prevent Leviathan from unleashing his rage on his poor subordinates. The entire cavity of the cave was soon drowned by the sea of the water that was summoned by him.


    The whirling water captured every single one of the unlucky souls and smashed them repeatedly against the walls of the cave, before they were ground to diffuse fleshy masses. When no one was left alive, the water dissolved into thin air.


    The Great Water Demon Leviathan remained unharmed by his magic and looked at his masterwork with a sense of calm. The walls of the cave were all painted in red, which was truly a sight to behold. He realized that he wanted to keep having this kind of decoration.


    "Anyone who defies me shall receive this fate." He declared to no one with an evil smile.


    "Does that include me as well then?"


    An eerie voice reached Leviathan''s ears, which caused him to flick his gaze towards the entrance of the cave. Two masked men in black walked towards him without the slightest hesitation.


    He grew alarmed when he couldn''t sense the aura of one of them. Few could manage that feat and they were all powerful individuals. Who was he?


    The special one was turning his head around in order to take in the bloody mess and nodded in appreciation.


    "Such a fancy way to decorate your living place. I like it."


    Leviathan didn''t know if he should perceive this statement as a threat or an admiration.


    "It''s an experiment of mine that I decided to try today. Glad you liked it. What may I call you?"


    "Master would do." The masked man answered with a lazy smirk.

 70 Pledge your loyalty to me II

    "Master?" Leviathan asked enraged.


    "Good boy."


    The self-proclaimed master walked forward and aimed to pat Leviathan''s head, but was blocked by Leviathan''s right arm. He then proceeded by twisting his wrist and grabbing Leviathan''s forearm with his hand. The master then used it to pull Leviathan towards him. With his free hand, he stroke Leviathan''s scalp and retreated, before Leviathan managed to counter.


    "You are looking for death!"


    A murderous aura leaked out of the Great Water Demon after having been treated as a child. He raised his hands and summoned a giant bubbly waterfall over the two masked men.


    The retainer by the master''s side immediately threw out a black protective barrier over them, which prevented the water from hitting them. Then the black substance that the barrier was constituted of started to expand around the water mass before encasing it completely.


    The encapsulated water then started to shrink and was soon completely eradicated. What remained was only a black clump, which flew towards the retainer and disappeared.


    "Dark magic?" Leviathan was taken by suprise and forgot to continue his assault.


    Dark magic was a hallmark of the Royal Demon Clan. If the men in front of him were royals, he would be in deep trouble.


    "Who are you really?"


    "Who do you think we are?" The master asked as he finally released his aura. Leviathan''s eyes widened in fear as he immediately knelt down.


    He recognized the origin of this mighty aura. It definitely belonged to the Royal Demon Clan and the fact that the owner could hide it indicated that he was of the direct line. The one he was facing must thus be either a prince or the Emperor himself!


    "This subject apologize for his offence towards the prince. May the prince please forgive me."


    Leviathan had met the Demon Emperor several times in the past and possessed some insight of his character. Based on his judgement, he didn''t believe that the Emperor would personally come and visit him. Thus the only candidates left were the Demon Princes.


    "Seems like you still possess a bit of a brain after all. Then my trip here won''t be wasted."


    "Why have you come, your Highness?" The Water Demon was curious over the reason for the Demon Prince''s visit. He doubted that the prince had passed by on a whim.


    The prince took a step forward and looked down on the kneeling demon.


    "Pledge your loyalty to me."

 71 Pledge your loyalty to me III

    "Your Highness wants my loyalty?" Leviathan couldn''t help but elevate his gaze to try to detect any hint of the Demon Prince''s thoughts.


    "Forgive this subject for being rude, but I will choose to refuse."


    Even if Leviathan expressed submission in front of the Royal Demon Clan, he wouldn''t necessarily devote himself to the members.


    As the sole heir to the previous Water Demon Clan, he should of course support the Royal Demon Clan. However, the royals never showed any care for his clan when it was facing extinction, so how could he possibly do the same?


    It was already hard for him to not seek retaliation and now they wanted him to slave for them? They could dream on!


    "What if I help you get your revenge?" The prince did a hand movement, which was registered by the retainer.


    The follower turned his left palm upwards and stretched the left arm towards his master. At the same time, a transparent glass bowl with purple grapes appeared on his hand.


    "Revenge? Your Highness will help me eradicate the Fire Clan and risk initiating a war between the Demon and the Celestial Realm?" Leviathan was very sceptical towards the offer.


    "Nope." The prince reached out for his favorite fruit and picked up one with his fingers.


    Leviathan''s eyes squinted, but didn''t otherwise react. Just as he expected, they were taking him for a fool.


    "Your true enemy doesn''t belong to the Fire Clan."


    "Your Highness must be joking." The Great Water Demon was getting pissed off.


    "If murdering my lover, my family and my clan doesn''t make the Fire Clan my greatest nemesis, then I really don''t know who could possibly uphold that honor."


    The prince sighed in disappointment before propping the grape inside of his mouth.


    "Maybe my eye sight has been impaired after all."


    "Your Highness'' vision is fine." The retainer stated flatly.


    Once again, the prince wanted to open up Zero''s skull and see what truly was contained within. He was speaking metaphorically and he couldn''t even understand that?


    Nevermind, it was better to focus on the potential subordinate in front of him instead.


    "Have you never considered the details about the fall of your clan? Why would a member of the Fire Clan hurt one of their own? Why would the so-called clansman of the Fire Clan travel all the way to the grounds of the Water Demon Clan to display his immoral act and risk the rage of both clans?"


    The prince decided to give some hints. If Leviathan was still unable to show some degree of intelligence, he might consider just killing him off. Too stupid people would only drag others down.


    Though, he wasn''t too willingly to do so since he felt sympathy towards the demon. If however no other options were available, he wouldn''t hesitate.

 72 Pledge your loyalty to me IV

    Leviathan was actually not dumb and possessed some brain capacity. He would however often let it be clouded by his emotions. Therefore, he was unable to detect what the Demon Prince truly implied.


    "Why? Why?! Because that f****r was a despicable creature that deserves every single retribution that he received! He was always lusting after Flare and tried to put his disgusting paws on her!" The Water Demon screamed out and was so lost in his anger that he forgot completely about maintaining a proper conduct.


    "He was pissed over the fact that she loved me and when he finally managed to... to... of course he would want to show off!" He could still remember that day as if it was yesterday.


    The talk with his parents in their courtyard about his plans to marry the most beautiful woman in the Four Realms...


    The sudden intrusion of the Fire God carrying a body...


    The sight of his beloved with only a few torn strands of fabric left over her manhandled body...


    The initial shock that soon turned to rage...


    The rapist''s evil laugh and licking his lips as he bragged about his misdeed...


    The delight of hearing the rapist''s screams as Leviathan drained different organs of water, but not the heart, so that they looked worse than raisins, before filling them again with their fluids and repeating the process over and over again...


    The tremblings of his hands as he pulled her body into his embrace...


    The tears that couldn''t stop falling as he cried out her name again and again, and wished that everything was just a horrible nightmare...


    The despair he felt when her body dissolved into thin air and he tried to grasp even if only a fragment of his love...


    The disbelief he was trapped in when his parents softly told him that her soul had already fallen apart...


    The attempt to calm him down and find out more about the situation before acting out, which failed badly...


    The satisfaction of his slaughter towards the Fire Palace...


    The regret and wrath he felt because of the loss of his parents and his clan in the clan war that followed...


    He could still recall everything with ease and could still remember every emotion he experienced.


    The prince ate another grape before attempting to wake up the Great Water Demon for the last time.


    "The Fire High God Flare was the sister of the Fire Clan Head, possessed a cultivation on the level of Purple Fire and was very intelligent. How could possibly a mere Fire God of Blue Fire subdue her? How could he even possibly by himself reach as far as the inner part of the Water Demon Clan''s Palace?"

 73 Pledge your loyalty to me V

    The Demon Prince''s words was eye-opening for Leviathan, who had never truly considered this. He had been to lost in his obsession for revenge that he missed out these details.


    "This..." He was speechless and didn''t know how to reply.


    "Your Highness is right. There must have been some external assistance or the Fire God wouldn''t have made that far. And the Fire Clan wouldn''t possibly have helped him..."


    Had he been played like a fiddle and used by some shameless bastard?


    "Or maybe he had some other pervert friends within the clan? Then it could have be managed." Leviathan continued to speculate, while the prince observed silently and munched on his grapes.


    "However, Flare once said that the rapist was a loner and barely associated with others in the Fire Clan."


    The Demon Prince finally started to feel that the trip wasn''t wasted.


    "Your Highness, please tell me who the culprit behind the schemes is. This subject would be forever grateful." Leviathan bowed to show his sincerity.


    The prince ceased to eat and rolled a purple grape in his palm.


    "Pledge your loyalty to me and I shall help you complete your revenge." The grape in his hand started to darken and shrink, before ending as a dark brown slimy ball. He then threw it at the Great Water Demon, who stopped it in the midair with magic.


    "To show your sincerity, eat the Gu poison that I have prepared for you." The prince''s amethyst eyes glinted.


    "Gu!?" Leviathan had heard rumours of this kind of poison and knew of its scary effects if activated. Thus he wasn''t very eager to accept it.


    "Only high level of Poison magic could accomplish this. Who are you really, your Highness?"


    Based on Leviathan''s knowledge about the Royal Demon Clan, no one possessed the poison attribute. The members were all performers of Dark magic, so how come this prince use Poison magic?


    Furthermore, Poison magic was a rare type of magic that was said to have died out millions of years ago. The immortals of the different realms deemed it to be too grotesque and dangerous to leave to existence. They thus cooperated to completely eradicated the users of the magic.


    If the prince was a descendent of the poison users from that time, wouldn''t he be hunted by everyone if he ever was found out?


    Leviathan realized the gravity of this information and knew that silence would prove to be golden. If he chose to work under the Demon Prince, he had to keep his mouth shut.


    "Does it matter?" The prince asked with slight annoyance.

 74 Pledge your loyalty to me VI

    "No, of course not." Leviathan wouldn''t dare to say otherwise.


    He decided to ignore the prince''s mysterious origin. Who cared if he would end up against the world? As long as his ultimate goal was accomplished, he was willing to sacrifice everything.


    "How can I be sure that your Highness will stick to your promise?" The Water Demon continued.


    "You don''t trust this prince''s words?" The Demon Prince picked up another grape.


    "Of course not, your Highness. It''s just that this subject would be even more motivated to complete tasks for your Highness, if your Highness swear in the name of the Universe to keep the promise."


    A humorless smile bloomed on the prince''s face as he took in Leviathan''s indirect threat. He truly disliked to be threatened, but made an exception this time.


    "Sure. In the name of the Universe, the creator of the Four Realms, I, Beelzebub of the Royal Demon Clan, swear to uphold my promise to help the Great Water Demon Leviathan in his search for revenge as long as he has a loyal heart and never chooses to betray me."


    As an answer to this pledge, the cave was momentarily filled with overwhelming energy before dispersing. If the prince would break his promise, he would receive retribution from the Universe itself.


    When Beelzebub was done, Leviathan deemed it alright to consume the Gu poison. He thus let the pill with the poison fall into his palm before forcing it into his mouth. Immediately, he could sense something foreign spread inside his body and then stop somewhere in his abdomen.


    "Great. From this day and forward you can forget your birth name. Instead you will be called Sixty-three." The prince''s mood was finally improved.


    "Yes, your Highness."


    "Remember, never betray me. Don''t even think of betraying me or you will get a taste of a pain worse than death."


    "Of course, your Highness." Sixty-three bowed once again before daring to inquire.


    "What about the identity of the culprit, your Highness?"


    "The time has yet to come for you to know. But as long as you work hard, the day will arrive." Beelzebub turned around, which was copied by Zero.


    "But your Highness-"


    "Follow up." The prince interrupted and started to leave. Sixty-three immediately chased after and left the cave.

 75 They have returned! I

    In the Fire Realm, Yang sat cross-legged inside his room as he cultivated. Fire essence was circulating around within and outside his body, which lightened up the bedroom in green.


    He had been training for 2 years straight now, but hardly noticed the time passing by. It was quite normal for immortals to lose sense of time, especially when they were in closed-door training.


    Luckily, immortals didn''t truly need food to sustain themselves unlike the mortals. Otherwise, they would have since long perished by famine.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and shouted.


    "Young master! Clan Head and Vice Head have returned!"


    Yang opened his eyes and jumped out of his bed. Excitement coursed through him as he ran out of his room and grabbed the servant.


    "Really?"


    The servant nodded in confirmation.


    In a flash, Yang disappeared from the scene as he flew with maximum velocity towards the main hall in the Fire Palace. There he saw his mother in the middle of hugging his father and his uncle watching silently.


    "Dad! Uncle!" Yang spread his arms around his parents.


    "Son!" Magma called out as he moved his arm to also envelope Yang.


    "Hey rascal! Aren''t you going to give this uncle a hug too?" Blaze exclaimed with an accusing voice.


    Yang looked over at Blaze and shook his head in defiance.


    "You rascal!" Blaze pointed at him and walked forward to hit him.


    "Mom! Dad! Save me!" The young Fire God laughed as he evaded the strokes from his uncle while still hugging his parents.


    "Come here and obediently receive your beatings!"


    "Mom! Dad!"


    "Brother-in-law, let him go, will you?" Ember released herself from Magma and pulled her son behind her back.


    Blaze snorted before commenting.


    "Sister-in-law, that rascal still owes me a hug. When that debt is paid off, I might consider it." He gave a deep vengeance filled glare to his nephew, which caused Yang to shy away.


    Ember sighed and patted her son''s head.


    "Yang Yang, don''t be stubborn now. Your uncle only wants a hug. He has almost died outside, so don''t you think he deserves one?"


    "Died?!" Yang left his mother''s protection and embraced his uncle instead.


    "Uncle, you almost died?"


    "Yes, you rascal." Blaze hit Yang lightly on his scalp.


    "Not only I, but also your father almost perished."


    "Really?" Yang saw the confirming nod from Magma and realized that his family had truly been in a risky situation.


    "What happened?"


    "Let us talk while eating. I am so looking forward to sister-in-law''s self-made dishes."

 76 They have returned! II

    "So what happened?" Yang asked as they sat around a dining table with different dishes.


    "Have you been told about the killings of our people by feral beasts, rascal?" Blaze picked up a round dumpling filled with hot tofu and munched on it happily.


    "Yes, mum said that you traveled to the Beast Realm for an explanation from the Beast Emperor."


    "Well, that was the plan but we never made it that far. We ended up in the town Eden just by the borders, before splitting up with the rest of our people."


    "Why?" Yang thought it was weird to do so on foreign grounds. Wouldn''t it had been better to stick together?


    "Because high leveled feral beasts were attacking the inhabitants there and we decided to intervene." Magma decided to comment, since Blaze''s mouth was filled with food.


    "After a while, the leader of the beasts abducted a small girl and escaped with her. The two of us chased after while the rest of our party was tasked to stabilize the situation in Eden."


    "Distraction tactic." Yang exclaimed and used his chopsticks to pick up some duck meat to eat.


    Magma nodded and continued.


    "But at that moment we couldn''t just abandon the child even if we suspected that it might be the case."


    "Such a f*cking mistake." Blaze chimed in.


    "Don''t swear in front of Yang Yang, brother-in-law." Ember said sternly as she gave him a glare.


    "He''s not a child anymore, sister-in-law." Blaze defended himself and rolled his eyes as he took another dumpling.


    "You didn''t managed to save her, uncle?" Yang interposed in order to prevent his mother and uncle from arguing further.


    "We did manage to save her, but she didn''t want to be saved. Or rather we should say that she was an accomplice all along."


    "Accomplice?" Yang also took a dumpling and surely, it tasted heavenly.


    "Yes, because when we subdued the leader and decided to bring him back with us for further investigation, the girl f*cking released him when we weren''t observant and fled." Blaze realized that he swore again and casted a glance at Ember, who glared back at him.


    "When we chased after them, we stumbled upon a trap created by a forbidden spell. It''s called the Water Dome of Doom."


    "Water Dome of Doom?" Ember was frightened but also relieved that they managed to escape.


    "What''s that?" Yang asked out of curiosity.


    "It''s like the name suggest a giant water sphere that traps the victims within it. Direct contact with its walls are deadly, since they will drain any water they find."Magma explained.


    "So dangerous!" Yang now understood why his mother had been aghast.

 77 They have returned! III

    Blaze and Magma then proceeded by explaining their imprisonment for 9 years and their rescue. By the time they were finished, all the plates had been emptied.


    "Let me see the tablet." Yang said as his eyes sparkled.


    Blaze lifted his sleeve and took out the black tablet. He lifted it up and twisted it around, which showed its lack of engravings.


    "Can I touch it?" Yang reached out his arm over the table, but couldn''t grasp it before his uncle put it back to its original place in his sleeve.


    "It''s better if you don''t. We don''t know if its cursed or otherwise manipulated. Since I have already touched it, it won''t matter if I keep doing so."


    "You picked it up even though you was unsure?" Yang''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Well, I am about fifty percent sure that it is unharmful." Blaze shrugged nonchalantly.


    "Fifty? That''s not enough is it, uncle?"


    "Whatever. It''s not like I am afraid of the consequences."


    Blaze''s thoughtless comment, caused the other three to share serious looks among each others. The Vice Head of the Fire Clan seemed to still possess suicidal tendencies. Hence he didn''t care enough to value his own life.


    Yang was actually the one that was the most taken aback, since it was the first time for him to personally witness his uncle acting this recklessly.


    He had heard from his parents before about the death of his uncle''s wife and how hard it had struck him. She had died during the clan war between the Fire Clan and the Water Demon Clan.


    When that happened, his uncle had gone crazy and slaughtered anyone that was unfortunate to come in his way, even if that person wasn''t a foe. He had even managed to use the lives of the unfortunate souls to cast the forbidden spell Eternal Hell.


    Eternal Hell was a large covering spell that summoned every kind of fire to plague the victims. The hottest fire, the coldest fire, the chilliest fire, the sharpest fire and so on, were all in one place and did somehow interact with each others smoothly.


    Except for needing sacrifices like all forbidden spells do, Eternal Hell also costed the Fire High God Blaze 10 million years worth of cultivation based on average cultivational speed.


    The result was an overwhelming victory, since the water demons died like flies. The water magic that was casted by the demons didn''t have the same remarkable effect on the forbidden spell that it had against normal fire spells.


    Prior to the incident, the Water Demon Clan was actually dominating the war because of their element being the natural weakness to fire. Therefore, the death of the Wind High God Breeze was the turning point of the clan war, but of course also of the Fire High God Blaze''s life.

 78 They have returned! IV

    "So the reason behind the killings was to prepare for the forbidden spell and to lure you to the Beast Realm?" Yang voiced his hypothesis after a while.


    Magma nodded in agreement.


    "Then who is the one behind the scheme?" The young Fire God scratched his head.


    "To cast the Water Dome of Doom, one has to be very proficient in the arts of water. Thus the culprit has to be from the Water Clan, Water Demon Clan or Water Beast Tribe." Magma explained to his son.


    "We don''t have enmity with the Water Clan or the Water Beast Tribe, but the same can''t be said about the Water Demon Clan. However, the Water Demon Clan should have been eradicated in the clan war."


    Everyone casted a glance at the silent and dazed Blaze. Usually, they tended to avoid mentioning the clan war, since it was a very sensitive topic for him. Albeit, he seemed to lost in his own thoughts to have noticed.


    "But the heir of the Water Demon Clan must have survived the war, since we never found his corpse." Ember decided to remark.


    "That''s true..." Magma stroke his chin as he contemplated over the past.


    "Shadow One never managed to find him, right?" Ember knew that her husband had sent their leader of their intelligence force to search for him.


    "No, that demon truly knows how to hide." Magma sighed.


    "Who is Shadow One?" Yang had never heard his parents or uncle mention Shadow One to him before.


    "Shadow One is the head of our intelligence service, baby." Ember caressed her son lightly on his head.


    "Oh, I see." Yang smiled at his mother.


    "When Shadow One is back, I shall send him to find clues about the ambush. Leviathan is most likely behind it, but we will have to wait and see for further leads." Magma said as he rose from his seat.


    The sudden movement startled Blaze, who jumped a little as he was roused from his daydreams. At this reaction, Ember and Yang sniggered among themselves but stopped when they received a deathly glare from their source of enjoyment.


    "And the ones that assisted your escape?" Yang tilted his head.


    "Earth Demons. Shadow One will also be tasked to investigate them."


    "Great. Let me take a nap and restore my strength. Then I can follow him on his investigation." Blaze yawned before rising up and leaving the dining hall.


    "Uncle truly dislikes to stay at home, huh?" Yang smiled sadly.


    "Ever since your aunt died, yes." Ember said to her son as she walked up to Magma.


    She wrapped her arms around her husband''s waist to console her own fears. Since she spoke of death, she couldn''t help but be reminded of how close her husband had been from death. Too close.

 79 Go I

    In the years that followed, Yang would divide his time between eating, studying and cultivating. He was determined to train up his skills to match up against Yin. When he defeated her in both knowledge and combat, she would like him.


    Just thinking of the future made him smug and sometimes he could be smiling foolishly during a meal as he thought of his crush. His family and friends would all shake their heads and say that he was way too lost to be saved.


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    His best friends Hot and Pot were amazed about the complete change in their friend. Yang used to be the laziest one among them and only had the patience to occasionally improve his cultivation. Now, it was almost impossible to drag him out to do something else.


    When they for once managed to make him leave the Fire Palace, he still brought a few scrolls with him from the library. Their friend that used to be nicknamed the "Troublemaker" was now known as the "Nerd".


    They were traveling through almost bare landscapes. The ground consisted of basalt, andesite and rhyolite, since erupting volcanos were frequently seen in the area. Occasionally plants, which were specialized to live in this harsh environment, grew from the cracks in the firm bedrock.


    "Come on now, Yang. Put away the damn scroll for once. Can''t you even wholeheartedly walk without feeling the urge to study?" Hot tried to convince Yang as the party of three was strolling towards the Land of Ashes. He was the eldest twin and almost identical to his brother Pot. The only difference was that he was a little bit taller.


    "This is more time efficient." Yang stated plainly as he kept reading about the arts of Go while keep moving forward.


    "Damn nerd." Pot ripped the bambu scroll from Yang''s grip.


    "Hey, give it back, Pot!" Yang reached out for the scroll, but Hot immediately blocked him in order for Pot to create a greater distance between them.


    "''To know your enemy, know yourself. Find your weaknesses to be your strengths. Like in any other battle, Go require these fundamentals...'' What is this shit? It sounds like a training mantra or something." Pot closed the scroll and threw it back at Yang, who immediately caught it with his hands.


    "It''s not shit. It''s actually instructions and tips in Go written by the Four Realms'' most skilled Go player." Yang defended the work and put it inside his mental storing space in fear of losing it.


    "Yeah yeah, whatever." The twins said in chorus and rolled their eyes.


    "So Yin likes to play Go?" Hot asked after a while.

 81 Ash-born horses I

    As they kept traveling, Yang was almost tortured to death by the twins'' teasing comments. He regretted deeply his decision to accompany them in their hunt for animals in the Land of Ashes. If not for them constantly nagging on him, he wouldn''t have left with them.


    What''s more, Hot and Pot were yearning for adventure and the thrill of perhaps meeting something unexpected. Therefore they weren''t flying or teleporting to their destination. Instead they were walking by foot, which further aggravated Yang.


    Suddenly, Yang stopped in his tracks, which alerted the twins. He indicated with a hand sign for them to be quiet, which immediately turned the situation serious.


    The Fire Gods sharpened their ears and surely, the light sounds of something hitting the hard ground could be perceived. Based on the increase in the sound''s intensity, the creatures were moving towards them.


    Without needing words to convey their thoughts, everyone left the ground and soured several hundred meters above the surface. From the sky, they had a clear view of everything below.


    They could see that a horde of large black horses with red manes were running in a straight line towards the south. One horse was leading the others and was also the finest and sturdiest of them all.


    "Ash-born horses!" Hot exclaimed in excitement.


    Ash-born horses were of a rare breed of horses and were the trademark of the Land of Ashes. They were said to be among the fastest horses in the Four Realms. Furthermore, they were also highly resistant to the heat and could even run around in the magma without being burned.


    "They truly are of a fine specimen." Pot praised. His eyes lit up by an eager to conquer one.


    "Yeah." Yang nodded in agreement. It was his first time seeing Ash-born horses, but he had to admit that the descriptions of them in the books weren''t exaggerating their beauty.


    "Let''s compete. Whoever first subdues the leader is the boss of the century. He will be allowed to command the others freely during the period." Pot challenged as he rubbed his hands in exhilaration.


    "I''m on." Hot grinned.


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    "Let''s do it." Yang cracked his knuckles.


    "How should the order be decided?" Pot asked the other contestants.


    "Everyone can at the same time stretch out his hand with the palm upwards or downwards. The one who deviates will begin." Yang suggested.


    "Then how should the second one be chosen?" Hot questioned as he lifted one of his eyebrows.


    "Through ''Rock, paper and scissors''." Yang had learned of it as a common play in the Mortal Realm and thought that it would be practical at the moment.


    "What''s that?" The twins had never heard of the game before.


    "It''s something that the mortals use to amuse themselves. We can play three rounds. At each round, rock, paper or scissors is chosen." Yang formed his hand to each of the alternatives as he mentioned their name.


    "The rock wins over the scissors, the scissors triumph over the paper and the paper can defeat the rock. Understand?"


    "Sounds simple enough." Hot said.


    "Of course." Pot nodded.


    "Then may the best win."

 82 Ash-born horses II

    "Hiyahh!" Pot screamed from the back of the leading horse.


    The Ash-born horse didn''t like the sudden extra weight on its back and attempted to shake it off while increasing its speed. Thus Pot held on to the horse mane as if his life depended on it and moved his body based on the horse''s movements.


    At the same time, the other horses saw the unwanted man sitting on their leader and spit out fire to burn him off. Even though Pot was a Fire God, he preferred to avoid the fires since they still hurt. Though with everything to consider and watch out for, Pot was hit several times.


    The audience of two could only shake their heads as they followed up close behind in the sky. Based on the situation, Pot wouldn''t be able to subdue the stallion before he was totally exhausted.


    "I guess I am up next, huh?" Hot rubbed his hands in excitement.


    "You think you have a chance when your twin don''t?" Yang teased.


    "Of course, why wouldn''t I?" Hot wore a "are-you-kidding-me" face as he continued.


    "Just because we share a soul, it doesn''t mean that we are entirely alike. Pot is the weaker one among us."


    As he said this, the leading horse did an abrupt turn, which caught Pot unaware. Without having the time to adjust, he was flung off the horse back and collided into the horses behind him. Luckily, he had finally got a grip on himself by then and managed to fly out of the way before being stamped on.


    Pot ascended up to the others in a miserable state and was greeted by laughter.


    "Oh Pot, the way you flew off was truly flawlesss!" Yang praised and swung his arm around his shoulder.


    "Shut up! You probably will end up worse." Pot said sourly as he shook off Yang''s weigh in annoyance. He then changed his damaged robe into a new one.


    "We''ll see." Yang smiled.


    "Not if I get him first." Hot cracked his knuckles before descending towards the horde.


    He morphed a sturdy rope made of snake skin and threw it over the targeted stallion. The rope coiled itself around the neck of the horse before being knotted.


    The horse disliked the sudden feeling of being strangled and began to twist his neck violently in order to shake it off.


    At this moment, Hot landed onto the horse''s back and pulled the rope harshly. The stallion raised itself onto its two back legs and was knocked from behind by other horses. This caused the leader to abruptly fall forwards on his front legs, which caused Hot to fly off the seat.


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 83 Ash-born horses III

    "Better than me, huh?" Pot snorted as he witnessed his twin falling off the horse back faster than him.


    "Don''t laugh just yet. He hasn''t completely been eliminated from the competition." Yang pointed out.


    Hot did still hold on to the rope after all, which caused him to dangle down over the ground beside the stallion. The horse then started to run and continued shaking its neck to loose the rope. This forced Hot to levitate up to the horse back.


    For the second time, Hot attempted to control the leading horse but this time he didn''t pull the leash that hard. Instead he aimed to increase the distance between his horse and the others by giving some smacks to its behind.


    The poor horse increased its speed and did his best to shake of Hot, but was unsuccessful in doing so. For a long while the man and the horse stubbornly held on to their opposite aims. One wanted the other to subdue to himself, while the other wanted the annoying man off it as soon as possible.


    When Hot estimated that distance between the horses was enough, he once again pulled the leash with calculated force. The stallion once again ended up on his hind legs, but this time it wasn''t pushed forward by other horses. Thus Hot managed to move his body according to the horse''s movement as it fell down on his four legs and finally managed to stop it.


    "Oh." Yang exclaimed as he watched the scene below him.


    "Damn it. I guess Hot will win this." Pot was very annoyed, but still somewhat content by the situation. At least it was better if his twin ordered him around than Yang.


    "Not necessarily. When an Ash-born horse gets truly pissed off... you never know what will happen." Yang''s lips curled upwards in schadenfreude.


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    The stallion seemed to finally be obedient as it no longer attempted to shake off Hot. However, just as Hot was going to declare his victory, a sudden ring of yellowish flame emerged around the horse. The fire climbed up from its hoofs to its back and burned everything that it came in contact with, including the unfortunate Fire God that rode on it.


    "Hot, hot, hot!" Hot screamed out as he tried to protect himself by neutralize the assaulting fire with his own.


    Even though he was also using Yellow Fire, the horse''s cultivation was clearly higher and therefore suppressed his own. Thus the result was another tragic twin flying up to sky in ragged clothes while facing laughter from his pals.

 85 Ash-born horses V

    Yang waited patiently for the the stallion to make his decision while his arm was outstretched with some fire essence. Unfortunately, he forgot that horses generally weren''t capable of understanding the god''s language.


    When the horse saw the free food, it immediately moved forward and gulped it down, before retreating just as quick. Whatever noice the man in front of him did couldn''t interpreted by the horse and since he didn''t sound aggressive or provocative, it ignored it.


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    Yang took a step forward and reached for the stallion''s head with his right hand. He wanted to pat it to begin with, before moving on to mounting it.


    To the Fire God''s action, the horse was left in confusion but maintained an alertness. When the hand was within reach for his nose, he showed his white teeth. If the man was thinking of anything funny, it was prepared to bite him.


    Just as Yang was about to touch it, the stallion twisted its neck and opened its jaw. If he didn''t immediately retract his hand, it would have become the meal of the glutton.


    He made a quick decision and created some fire essence in his left palm while his right hand was left hanging in the air above the horse''s head. The horse tried to gulp down the fire essence, but Yang moved his right arm behind his back.


    "Be obedient and become my mount. Otherwise, you won''t receive anymore food." Yang reminded as the horse started to neigh in unhappiness.


    He once again tried to pat its head with his left hand. When the horse was about to attack again, he showed him the fire essence before hiding it yet again. Then he repeated the process again and again.


    Eventually, the stallion understood that only by letting the Fire God touch him would he be rewarded with food. Thus it stopped its aggression against him when he came to close and received a pat on its head.


    Yang was exalted and gave the fire essence to the horse. Then he moved closer and let his hand grip its mane, while supplying some more food for it. It was so lost in enjoying the meal, that it didn''t notice him pulling himself upwards before he was mounted on it.

 86 Zili Academy I

    When the horse felt the extra weight on its back, it prepared to toss it off. However, it soon saw a streak of fire essence that descended from somewhere above his head to its jaw. It then forgot about its previous instinct.


    Henceforth, Yang continued to utilize food as a method to control the horse in different ways. For instance, he managed to make it walk, trot and gallop. The other horses in the horde didn''t trouble him, since their leader had chosen to let him be.


    The Fire God twins above watched with awe of their friend''s ability, while they asked themselves why they didn''t think of this method.


    Meanwhile in the Ice Realm, Yin was standing in a desolated ice landscape far away from the palace. Her gaze was unfocused, as she was lost in her thoughts.


    Soon the once in a millennium education for the immortal races Gods, Demons and Beasts would be held in the Zili mountains in the Beast Realm. The century long school period was offered to any of the immortal races as long as the student was under ten thousand years old.


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    Of the three immortal races, only the Beasts were neutral to the other parties. Thus it was only possible for them to organize something like this, where the previous archenemies were arranged to live and study together.


    The last time she entered the Zili Academy, she was still the naive little girl who thought the best of the world. Now, she knew how dark and cruel it truly was. She fisted her hands at the mere thought.


    Footsteps approached her and stopped adjacent to her.


    "Soon the Zili Academy will welcome students once again." A long sigh was then released.


    "It sure brings back some memories."


    When Yin didn''t respond, the man turned to face her and observed her cold face. It differed vastly compared to the one before, when she was still so innocent.


    "Are you going to participate?" He inquired even though he knew the answer.


    Yin hummed in confirmation.


    "Of course you will. You must be eager to meet your favorite Yang after 55 years apart. Oh, I can almost imagine the tearful reunion, where the innocent Fire God runs in slowmotion towards you while you open your arms widely. Then you will hug each other firmly and k-"


    Yin turned around to glare at the man. He could almost feel his temperature drop by the chilliness that was emitted from her.


    "Fine, fine. I was only joking, alright? You don''t have to freeze me to death because of it." He painted a wronged look on his face.


    "Are there any suitable candidates participating this century?" Yin ignored his antics.

 87 Zili Academy II

    The man immediately turned serious.


    "Yes, here is the list of their background and abilities. Certain individuals have deep grudges against him, which will ease the recruitment." He took out a bamboo scroll and handed it over to Yin.


    She read it through thoroughly, before raising her head and asking.


    "What''s the story behind the Crown Princess of the Royal Beast Clan?"


    The dark haired man smirked in satisfaction, since he had anticipated this question.


    "As you are aware of, the Crown Princess Longma of the Royal Beast Clan is the youngest child of the Beast Emperor. The older Crown Prince Qilin has been missing for ages since he left in fury after a small dispute with the Beast Emperor. The Beast Emperor has ever since spent a lot of time and effort to find his son without result."


    Yin gave a small nod.


    "However, what you might not know is that the Crown Prince''s disappearance wasn''t voluntary. Rather it was planned by a certain someone. Guess who." The man looked at her with high expectations displayed in his eyes.


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    "Him?" Her voice was filled with chilliness.


    "Correct." He nodded and then continued.


    "According to my sources, the Crown Prince was ambushed shortly after his fight with his father and has since then vanished without trace. Even though I haven''t confirmed the reason behind the attack and whether he still is alive or not, I believe that I will eventually dig out the truth." A cruel glint passed by momentarily in his eyes, before he adapted his carefree countenance.


    This did however not elude Yin''s notice. Though she never asked what methods he used for investigation, she knew that they weren''t clean ones. The current her did however not care, as long as she received the information.


    "The relationship between the siblings has always been great and the Crown Princess is more eager than anyone to find the whereabouts of her brother. So by utilizing the fact that we share a common enemy, we could create an alliance with the Beast Empire."


    "Do you have sufficient evidence?" Yin asked coolly.


    "Not enough to guarantee one hundred percent success, but enough to start the wheels spinning for the possibility."


    "That''s not enough."


    "I know you don''t want to take any risks, so I will definitely find more clues." The man sighed to this as he fumbled around in his sleeves.


    "This is today''s dose." He took out a small white bottle.


    "Ice Flower, are you sure you want to keep torturing yourself like this?" A painful smile grew on his face.


    The answer was the Ice God grabbing the bottle with determination, opening the lid and pouring the fluid into her mouth.

 88 Conspiracy I

    In a giant study room decorated in white and gold, a majestic man was reading through reports and motions behind a desk. He was clad in an awe-inspiring white robe with golden decorations.


    "Your Majesty." A male attendant walked forward and bowed in front of the desk.


    The Emperor hummed in response as he kept his head among the jade books.


    "This servant has some news about the incident during your Majesty''s birthday banquet."


    This caused the diligent Emperor to finally raise his head and stare seriously at the man in front of him.


    "Is that so, Flash?"


    "Yes, your Majesty." Flash nodded.


    "After further investigation, we have found two new servants missing since your Majesty''s birthday banquet. What''s more is that both of them had some proficiency in the arts of Fire."


    Flash dared a quick sneak peek at his master and saw the Celestial Emperor slightly narrowing his eyes.


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    "The manager of newly appointed servants claimed that he granted them hundred years leave, since one of them had a newborn child at home and the other had suffered a heavy wound during work."


    Flash took a short break, but when he noticed the lack of response, he continued.


    "However they have failed to report for work after their permitted break. The manager sent someone to inquire about them, but found their houses abandoned. The neighbors also couldn''t report anything useful about their disappearance, since they vanished so suddenly without them noticing."


    "Someone has been cleaning up the tracks." The Emperor dropped the report in his hand.


    "What''s their background?"


    "The information that was stored about them was that they came from a minor declining clan in the Celestial Realm. The only remaining members consists of them two, so we haven''t been able to gather much more information about the clan."


    Silence filled the room for a while as the Emperor contemplated.


    "Continue the investigation. Furthermore, give the staff involved in the recruitment of the servants half the salary for the next 100 000 years." A tiny bit of fury could be detected in his voice, but disappeared as soon as he had a small cough.


    Seeing this, Flash immediately appeared by the Emperor''s side and patted his back.


    "Please calm down, your Majesty. Don''t hurt your body."


    "I am fine." The Emperor raised his hand to sign for Flash to retreat.


    "Your Majesty have had these coughs for a while now. How about calling for an Imperial Physician to take a look?" Flash tried to convince as he backed down, but stayed by his master''s side.

 89 Conspiracy II

    "Do so." The Emperor permitted.


    These coughs came seldom and were all light ones, which he thus had disregarded. With his personal attendant''s remark, he however started to consider the possibility that these were of something significant.


    After all, as an emperor, one wouldn''t lack of enemies. Especially, those from the Demon Realm considering his identity as the Celestial Emperor of the Celestial Realm.


    "Will do."


    With this said, Flash disappeared from the study with a flash. Soon, he reappeared with an old man with long white beard. Together, they bowed before being pardoned from it.


    "Your Majesty, is there anything this subject could assist you with?"


    "I have been having coughs for a while now, albeit not frequently. Though, I haven''t had any other symptoms of disease. What is the Imperial Physician''s view of this?"


    The Imperial Physician stepped forward and placed his medical kit on the carpet beside the desk. He then placed his right index and long finger on the left side of the Emperor''s left wrist.


    "May this subject ask your Majesty about any recent unusual occurrence?" The Imperial Physician asked as he continued to feel the pulse.


    "Not anything worth mentioning." The Celestial Emperor could only think of the incidence with his late Royal Father''s dragon wine cup as anything major in the recent years. Though, he didn''t believe that it could in any way affect his health.


    "Nothing at all, your Majesty? Even the smallest anomaly might have a great impact on the greater picture."


    "Only the incidence during my birthday banquet has been deviant. I assume the Imperial Physician is well-informed of what happened then." The Emperor sighed.


    "Certainly, your Majesty. Few must have missed out such a big event." The Imperial Physician couldn''t discover anything strange from his quick scan of the pulse.


    "May this subject probe your Majesty''s body more thoroughly?"


    "Permission granted."


    As soon as the Emperor gave his permission, the Imperial Physician accumulated a fine amount of energy in his finger tips. He then let it enter the blood vessel and let it disperse to every corner of the body.


    "Has your Majesty had any changes of habit recently? Maybe a new or a change of consumption of something?" The Imperial Physician inquired as he grew more solemn.


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    Since the beginning of the examination, the Celestial Emperor had been observing the long beared man. Now that he saw the changes in his face expression, he couldn''t help but be alarmed.


    "Not that I can think of. What is the Imperial Physician''s diagnosis?"


    "There is something weird about your Majesty''s blood stream. Though, I can''t actually pinpoint exactly what, which is something to be wary of. In my over hundred million years of existence, there are few things that I haven''t previously encountered." His eyebrows wrinkled in concentration.


    "Then what does the Imperial Physician suspect?" The Emperor''s heart grew colder.


    "Poison or disease. These are the possibilities and my intuition points at poison."

 90 Conspiracy III

    "Your Highness."


    A man slowly entered the dark room illuminated by green small firelights from the walls. In the center of the room was a pool of green, almost fluorescing, liquid, which released some bubbles once in a while.


    He stopped behind the crouching masked man beside the pool, who was taking a sample of the liquid with a tiny vial.


    "Zero, what a great timing. Take a look at this, isn''t it beautiful?" Beelzebub held up the vial in front of Zero and shook it lightly.


    Zero''s uninterested face was seen through the green liquid, since it was almost transparant.


    "Not really."


    "Don''t you think this color is matching my attire?" Beelzebub stood up and held the vial close to his black robe.


    "Not really."


    "Can you say anything else then ''Not really''?"


    "Not really."


    "Boring." The prince pouted and turned around, before pouring the liquid in the pool and giving a sigh.


    "Even though it''s pleasant to the eyes, its function is useless. There''s still a long way to go before reaching the final product."


    Beelzebub then destroyed the container and turned to face his most trusted man. He knew that he had something to report, so he shouldn''t waste to much time in case it was urgent.


    "One of the spies in the Celestial Royal Palace has reported yesterday about witnessing the Imperial Physician being called to the Imperial Study, while the Celestial Emperor was there. In fear of being discovered, the spy didn''t eavesdrop on the conversation. He did however report that the Imperial Physician stayed for a couple of hours before leaving."


    "A couple of hours..." Beelzebub narrowed his eyes as the air grew heavy.


    "Did the spy notice any changes in the Imperial Physician''s face or body language after exiting the Imperial Study?"


    "Nothing." Zero said as he shook his head.


    "Have we received any reports on possible health issues concerning the Celestial Emperor?"


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    "We haven''t."


    Silence filled the room. Eventually, Beelzebub twisted around to stare at the green pool.


    "Transfer my message to the subordinates in the Celestial Royal Palace. They should keep their eyes open for anything unusual about the palace and especially concerning the Celestial Emperor. If they notice anything, they shall immediately report back."


    "Yes, your Highness."

 91 Bidding farewell I

    During a sunny day in the Beast Realm, numerous demons, beasts and gods arrived below the Zili mountains in front of the Zili Academy''s main entrance. Walls as far as the eyes could distinguish spread out from the sturdy gates to surround the Zili Academy''s territory.


    Teachers clad in green robes were greeting and performing identity checks on the students that entered the academy, while guards clad in black maintained the security.


    "Yang Yang, remember to take care of yourself." The Fire High God Ember reminded her son as she hugged him tightly.


    "I know, mum." Yang tried to stay calm and avoid his urge to flee from his embarrassing mother.


    "If you feel tired, rest." She babbled on as she gave him a kiss on his cheek.


    "I know, mum." He almost couldn''t help grimacing.


    "If you are craving food, eat some of the snacks I prepared for you." She gave her son another kiss.


    "I know, mum." He captured the gaze of his father and begged him with his eyes to save him. The target only kept watching with obvious amusement.


    Yang cursed silently and truly wished that his uncle had accompanied them, but he had unfortunately run away together with Shadow One to investigate the incidence in Eden.


    "If the teachers are too strict, send a message to mum and I will have a word with them. Grades aren''t as important as your well-being, understood?" Ember stated seriously.


    The young Fire God turned speechless in the face of such advice. If he wasn''t here for studying, then why did he come? To admire the beauty of female classmates? Though, he was only interested in one of them...


    The Fire High God Magma also realized how inappropriate the words of his wife was and thus coughed.


    "My wife, what are you teaching our son?" He gently removed her from his son and wrapped an arm around her waist.


    "If our son didn''t know better, he would merely become a hedonist and be unable to accomplish something great in the future. Is that what you wish for our son?"


    "So what? I wouldn''t love him any less because of that." Ember pouted.


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    "Neither would I, but people would complain." Magma sighed.


    "Whatever. As long as you don''t." She quickly pecked her husband''s lips before giving a smile.


    "My wife, we are in public." Magma complained but happiness could still be hinted from his voice. What''s more, he didn''t avoid it when his wife continued to rain light kisses on his lips.


    "I have to go now, bye!" Yang almost wanted to puke at his parents display of affections and thus ran away with haste.


    "Baby? Baby! Don''t run away! I have yet to say goodbye to you!" Ember shouted as she tried to follow her son, but was hindered by her husband''s firm grip on her waist.


    She was just going to scold him, when he lowered his mouth near her ears and whispered something. Her ears reddened as she went silent.

 92 Bidding farewell II

    Yang ran past all the young immortals that were bidding farewell to their families and searched after a certain someone among the crowd. Before he found her, he was jumped at by two mischievous boys.


    "Yang!" Two identical voices called out.


    "Hot, Pot, get down from me!" Yang groaned as he tried to push down the twins that were clinging to his body.


    "Why?" Both asked in chorus.


    "Because you are embarrassing us! Look around, everyone is watching us."


    "Oh, that''s quite true." Hot quickly landed on his feet after a quick glance at the crowd.


    "There''s nothing to look at! Shoo!" Pot shouted as he got down on the ground and waved around his arms.


    The nearby immortals muttered about how undisciplined they were before redirecting their attention elsewhere.


    "So, have you found Yin yet?" The teasing tone in Hot''s voice couldn''t be missed.


    "Nope." Yang coughed to hide his embarrassment. Was it truly that obvious that he had been searching for Yin?


    "Aw, poor boy." Pot teased as he dunked Yang''s shoulder.


    "Maybe she has already registered and entered the Zili Academy?" Hot suggested.


    "Maybe." Yang found it quite possible and thus nodded.


    "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go!" Hot threw an arm each over his two companions and directed them towards the main gate.


    After successfully completing their registration, they received their badge as a proof of their identity as a Zili student. On it, their name, race, grade and class was engraved.


    Once in a millenium, the Zili Academy would open its gates and accept students for a century. One century corresponded one grade and thus the three young Fire Gods who had only studied a hundred years at the academy was now starting their second grade.


    Because of the large amounts of students at the academy, each grade had to be divided into different classes. To ensure diversity and encourage acceptance between the races, each class was composed of students with vastly different origins and background. Coincidentally, they all ended up in the same class called Purple.


    "We are lucky to become fellow classmates once again!" Pot exclaimed as they sat in a flying carriage towards their classroom.


    "We are going to have so much fun together." Hot grinned and stared mischievously at Yang.


    "Hopefully, Yin will be in our class this time. Otherwise, a certain someone would grieve severely."


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    "Who are you talking about?" Yang asked flustered, even though he tried to act nonchalantly.


    The twins casted meaningful glances at each others, which of course didn''t go unnoticed by the third party but he chose to act ignorant.

 93 Welcome, class I

    The young Fire Gods finally reached the second peak of the nine main peak of the Zili mountains and immediately met a mass of students waiting for their teachers.


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    There were also other areas and mountains among the Zili mountains, but the nine main peaks were the crucial ones as the main classes of each grade were given at respectively peak.


    The peaks were arranged as a circular staircase where the first one was smallest and shortest, while the following ones were increasing in size and altitude. The ninth peak was in the middle, surrounded by the other peaks.


    "Let''s find our class." Hot pulled his two companions with him.


    "Isn''t that our form tutor?" Yang pointed at a white-haired woman dressed in green standing beside a flagpole with a purple flag.


    "Should be." Hot nodded.


    The trio moved towards the group of students around the flagpole and greeted several old classmates and other familiar students. Of course, they also met some unpleasant people such as Ala, the daughter of the Clan leader of the Wind Demon Clan.


    "So disgusting! Where does this horrible malodour comes from?" Ala wrinkled her face and waved her hand in front of her face to clear the air.


    "I have no idea, but it appeared as soon as the three Fire Gods arrived." A male attending demon followed suit.


    "That''s so weird. How come there''s such a coincidence? Or maybe..." Another demon hinted loud and clear of the source of the smell.


    "Shut up, will you!?" Pot glared at the demons.


    "You are the one who smells! Your whole family smells!" Hot shouted.


    "It''s old fact that demons reeks of something rotten but it''s the first I have heard of gods doing the same." Yang commented calmly as he inwardly told himself to not rage as always because of these infuriating demons.


    "When did we ever say that gods stink?" Ala asked nonchalantly.


    "Even an idiot could tell the implied meaning behind your words." Yang continued.


    "Oh, so you are an idiot!" Ala smirked while crossing her arms.


    "So suprising." Ala''s followers chimed in.


    "You b-!" Hot started as he turned up his sleeves in preparation for battle, but was interupted by an authoritarian voice.


    "Students! Please restrict yourself." The female teacher stepped forward and swiped a stern glare over all the involved ones.


    "No private fights are allowed outside the training grounds. If you aren''t willing to follow the rules, then you better leave the mountains immediately."

 94 Welcome, class II

    Everyone immediately calmed down, since they didn''t plan to leave when they had just arrived. However, that didn''t mean that both parties would make peace. They just chose not to verbally express their opinions.


    The demons spun their index finger in a circle beside their heads while delivering meaningful smirks towards the Fire Gods. Yang diverted his gaze from them in annoyance while Hot and Pot glared back with eagerness for revenge.


    Suddenly, all negative feelings that Yang had accumulated disappeared as he caught the sight of a light blue dress in the crowd. He ignored anything else and walked rapidly towards the target.


    "Yin! You are here." Yang grinned as he stopped in front of the Ice God.


    Yin nodded slightly in confirmation.


    "Does it mean that you are also in class Purple?" His eyes almost sparkled as he stared at his crush.


    Yin observed Yang and couldn''t help but feel a tingle of satisfaction. Just like she expected, he wasn''t crushed by the rejection and instead seemed to be even more spirited. This indicated that he was capable of facing emotional hardships, which would prove to be useful in the future.


    The Ice God nodded once again, which caused the Fire God to smile even brighter.


    "That''s awesome!"


    Yang was planning to continue talking, but was interrupted by a shout.


    "Alright, class! Everyone should have arrived now, so we shall move towards our home classroom." The female teacher picked up the flagpole and started to lead her class away from the courtyard.


    After entering their classroom, the teacher walked to the front desk while the students searched for their nameplates on one of the desks. The entire room contained around two hundred desks for the students, so it took a while for them to settle down.


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    To Yang''s disappointment he was seated in the front, which was quite far away from Yin in the middle row. When the twin seated behind him saw his dejected expression, he couldn''t help but feel amusement as he leaned forward and whispered "Such a love struck fool." to Yang.


    The young heir of the Fire Clan was just about to turn around and throw a punch, when the female teacher loudly cleared her throat.


    "Welcome, class! You are now entering the second century of your studies. I am Chesma iyesi of the Beast Realm and will be responsible for you during this period. If any of you receive unfair treatment, are bullied or just need assistance, I will be here for you. Any questions?" The teacher swiped her eyes over her pupils.

 95 Welcome, class III

    "If not, let us begin. Your schedule lies on the table in front of you."


    As Chesma iyesi made this statement, a bamboo scroll appeared on each student''s desk with the courses written in it.


    The studies of the past and present, the study of species, the study of botany, the study of the Four Realms and the study of magic were the mandatory courses. Except for these, each student had listed for other courses of their choice before school start.


    "Art of Go, art of guqin and study of war strategies. Not bad." Hot read out aloud the optional courses on Yang''s list. The twin had managed to sneak up to him from behind while he went through his schedule without his notice.


    "Even included some Go to appeal your crush''s father and guqin to impress her personally, huh?"


    "Shut up." Yang said grudgingly as he folded the scroll and stored it in his mental space. He then turned to face his pal.


    "What did you choose?"


    "Study of war strategies, art of seduction and art of poetry." Hot proudly showed his schedule and pointed at the subjects.


    "Art of seduction? So gross." Yang made a gagging sound and he acted as if he was going to puke.


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    "Hey, it will come in handy." Hot slapped Yang''s shoulder and let his arm dangle over it.


    "How else am I supposed to find myself females? They won''t just fall into my arms without any struggle." He said helplessly, but Yang knew that he was anything but helpless in this department. Back in the Fire Palace, he was a well-known favorite among the young female Fire Gods.


    "Maybe you should also apply for that course. Rumor says that none of the participants that have completed that class are single. If that''s true, it might help you to catch a certain someone." He jiggled his eyebrows in playful suggestions.


    "Eh, no thank you." Yang made a disgusted face.


    "Now that everyone know their schedule, we shall begin with our first class." Chesma iyesi spoke loudly, which caused Hot and other students to run back to their seats.


    "As you may have seen, I will be responsible for teaching you about the Four Realms." She walked slowly back and forth in the front.


    "Anyone that wants to tell me how they are connected?"

 96 The Four Realms I

    A couple of hands from several students were stretched up in the air. Chesma iyesi pointed at one of them.


    "The Four Realms consist of the Celestial Realm, the Demon Realm, the Beast Realm and the Mortal Realm. The Mortal Realm lies in the center of the others and connects to each of them." An young female beast answered, to which Chesma iyesi nodded in agreement.


    "Correct. The Four Realms are tighly interlocked and dependent on each other. If one of them would hypothetically crumble, so would the rest of them." The teacher continued.


    "Then would the minor realms also follow?" A male god asked.


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    "Good question. Anyone that knows the answer?" Chesma iyesi swiped her gaze over the students.


    "I know!" Someone shouted and waved frantically.


    "Each one of the main realms, except for the Mortal Realm, has several minor realms that belongs to it. There are no independent minor realms that aren''t connected to one of them and thus if the Four Realms crumble, so will the minor realms."


    "Brilliant. How many minor realms exist in the Universe?"


    "108!"


    Yang listened obediently during the class. As Chesma iyesi turned her back to him to face another classmate, he felt a small burn in his right palm. He pulled out his hand from his sleeve and discreetly looked down.


    A tiny bead of fire rested over the center of his palm. He immediately crushed it and tiny words started to form.


    ''So boring.''


    Yang was a bit amused over his friend''s non-existing patience in studying. He used to feel the same in the past, but ever since the wake-up call from Yin, he started to force himself to learn new knowledge and acquired admirable skills. How else was going to be able to impress her? Eventually, he started to feel somewhat interested in the topics he initially forced himself to learn.


    Yang casted a small spell and a similar message bead flew out towards the man behind him. He then tidied his clothes and let his focus return to the class.


    ''Be patient. It''s quite interesting.''


    However, Yang was soon disrupted once again by another message.


    ''Interesting my ass. We already know this.''


    Just as Yang decided to respond Hot, he froze in his action as a stern voice called him out.


    "This student, care to share with the rest of the class what you think is more important at the moment than listening to my class?" Chesma iyesi stopped right in front of Yang, which caused him to gulp as he was caught red-handed.


    "Or maybe you consider yourself more knowledgeable than me and thus find this class boring? How about we welcome this classmate up to the front for an exclusive presentation of the topic?"

 97 The Four Realms II

    "No, I-" Yang tried to explain.


    "Let us welcome this expert to the front to continue the class." Chesma iyesi clapped her hands, which was followed by the rest of the audience.


    Yang slowly rose since he realized that he wouldn''t be able to escape this. He saw Hot mouth an apology to him as he placed himself in front of the entire class. His heart rate speed up and especially when he saw Yin staring at him.


    "What do you want me to say?" Yang nervously inquired as he willed himself to not fall for the urge to fidget his sleeves in front of the class.


    "Not everyone knows of you, so how about you begin with a presentation of yourself." The teacher answered and took the seat he sat on before.


    "I am Yang... the sole son of the Clan leader and the heir of the Fire Clan." He saw Ala and her companions laugh silently in schadenfreude, which caused him to clench his fists.


    "Well, Yang of the Fire Clan. You may continue where we stopped just now."


    "Ehm... I am sorry. Where were we?" Yang coughed as he quietly asked, which caused the face of Chesma iyesi to become stiffer than before.


    "Is there anyone that would like to lend a hand to Yang of the Fire Clan?"


    Silence spread through the classroom. Many diligent students despised the behavior of slackers like Yang and thus chose to stay quiet, while some wanted to see him embarrass himself even further.


    Hot and Pot would have helped if they weren''t just as lost as Yang. Pot might not have been involved in the conversation between Hot and Yang, but he placed his focus elsewhere and were thus unable to assist.


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    Finally, a clear cool voice pierced the silence.


    "We were discussing the geography of the Beast Realm and more specifically about the Zili mountains."


    Yang''s eyes brightened as he located the source of the sound. The young female in blue was just as cold as in her standard mode, but still her action was somwhow warming. She didn''t look at him with disdain, as some of the other student, which boosted his confidence.


    "Zili mountains... are rumored to have existed since the creation of the Beast Realm. They were created together with the famous Dahu lake to the north of the mountains and the Green ocean in the peripheries of the Beast Realm." He began to speak and felt that the more he spoke, the more his confidence grew, especially when he saw Yin nod slightly.


    Maybe he could take this opportunity to impress her?

 98 Did I impress you? I

    "That''s it class. We will stop here today and continue talking about the Dahu lake next time." Chesma iyesi declared, which caused every student to rise from their desks and walk out.


    Yang quickly removed himself from the classroom. As students strolled out, he waited outside and scanned the emerging faces. Some classmates praised him as they walked by, while others passed him snickering.


    "Yang!" The twins ran up to him with identical smiles on their faces, which caused Yang to narrow his eyes in irritation.


    "Hot, you are so dead!" Yang hooked his arm around the Fire God and dragged him downwards while pulling his ear with his other hand.


    "Because of you I have made a fool of myself and probably landed myself on the teacher''s blacklist!"


    "Ouch, release my ear! It hurts!" Hot attempted to pull away, which resulted in Yang to only increase the pressure.


    "I am sorry, alright? Stop twisting my ear conch!"


    "Sorry, huh? I will show you sorry!"


    "Hey, bro. Chill down. You don''t want to look bad in front of your crush, do you?" Pot chimed in as he directed a pointed look far ahead of them.


    Yang turned towards the direction and saw Yin leaving with ease and grace. He unconsciously released Hot and started to sprint after her.


    "And there he goes." Pot shook his head in disappointment.


    "That''s fine for me." Hot muttered as he gently caressed his abused ear.


    "I guess we will have to get used to this lovestruck fool version of the heir of our clan. Such a shame of a man with great potential. Such embarrassment we of the Fire Clan would have to face because of our future leader..." Pot sighed in dejection.


    "What do you mean? Chasing women is bad? I feel offended, my twin. Women are wonderful creatures, especially in bed. They can bring joy and make you feel lucky. Afterwards, you feel energized and ready to accomplish anything." The other twin lectured.


    "Thus, this might not necessarily be bad for Yang, you know. Especially considering a marriage between the Fire Clan and Ice Clan would only strengthen us."


    "We are currently far from the possibility of having a marriage." Pot pointed out.


    "You never know. Maybe we will receive a surprise soon?"


    "I doubt it."


    Hot sighed heavily and let his arm fall over Pot''s shoulder.


    "You really need to get laid, Pot. Maybe that will change your view."


    "I doubt it."

 99 Did I impress you? II

    The young girl recognized the owner of the voice and thus kept on walking.


    "Yin!" Yang finally reached her side and gave a bright smile.


    "What do you think?"


    "Come on, tell me."


    "Have I become more knowledgeable?"


    "Because I am quite I sure I have."


    "Of course maybe not comparable to you, but still better than before, right?"


    "Come on, don''t ignore me."


    "Yin!"


    "Tell me."


    "Did I impress you?"


    Yin stopped abruptly, which almost caused Yang to knock into her. He stabilized himself and crooked his head sideways.


    "What impress me is your ability to chat unceasingly without break." She gave him a hard stare, which caused his smile to wither.


    "Oh." He was somewhat dejected.


    "Sorry about that, hehe." Yang scratched his scalp and attempted to smile again to ease the situation, but anyone witnessing could tell that it was forced.


    Yin closely observed the young man in front of him and felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing his unhappy state. Maybe her words came out a bit too crude?


    "But I admit that you have improved since last time. Good work."


    Immediately, she noticed Yang was brought back to life again, as if her words were the long awaited rain after months of drought in the desert.


    "Really?!" Yang felt as he was dreaming. Did his crush really compliment him?


    Yin was momentarily stunned by the strong reaction of his. Was there a need to get this overexcited because of her comment?


    Maybe she underestimated his feelings for her. This could be useful if utilized in the right way. However, why did this realization cause her heart to beat a tiny bit faster?


    Yin nodded, which caused his genuine smile to widen.


    "Thanks!"


    "By the way, what electives did you choose? I choose art of Go, art of guqin and study of war strategies." Yang inquired after a while.


    "Study of war strategies, study of medicines and study of magic formations." Yin replied, as she glanced shortly at him.


    She could apprehend why he would choose to study war strategies, since he was the future Clan master of the Fire Clan. The Fire Clan was one of the Major Clans, thus a part of the Celestial Realm''s main forces against potential foreign invasion. However, why did he choose Go and guqin?


    "Oh, we have one elective in common. That''s nice. We can stay together in an additional course." Yang said happily.


    "Together?" Yin couldn''t help but ask. It almost sounded as if he meant that they were a couple or something. Didn''t she already reject him?


    "Yeah, together. Even if we won''t necessarily be seated near each other, we can be together in the same class." Yang grinned and then quickly added as he got an idea.


    Yin saw his sincere and hopeful gaze at her, which caused her pulse to increase. Thus even though she knew better, she agreed.

 100 Change of target I

    Soon, he reached an open space with a small pond. He took out his fan and started to fan himself as he waited under a giant tree beside the water source.


    Eventually, he sensed the approaching foot steps and turned around. He did a bow, while noticing that the demon had become somewhat different compared to before.


    "Greetings, my Lord." The man said and received a small hum as a response.


    "God of Spring, how are your plans against the Fire Clan?" Leviathan inquired as he watched a fish taking a leap in the pond.


    "They have yet to reach the level of foolproof. Please give me some more time, my Lord."


    "That''s good."


    "Pardon, my Lord?" God of Spring raised his head in surprise.


    "The target has changed." The Greater Water Demon stretched out his hand to catch the unsuspecting fish. It fought eagerly against the grip, but it''s strength was no match to the demon''s.


    "Changed? How? To whom?" The god mind swirled with turbulent thoughts. Was Leviathan playing a joke with him or had the demon finally gone crazy?


    "To an even more powerful entity." Leviathan abruptly increased the force within his hand and crushed the poor fish. Its remains were then thrown into the pond, painting the water surface with red.


    "More powerful than one of the Major Clans in the Celestial Realm? Then..." The God of Spring thought of possible candidates and paused as he realized something.


    "Is it one of the Royal Clans or the Royal Tribe? You want to fight an Emperor?" He couldn''t help but feel alarmed. Their forces might be able to contend against the Fire Clan with some effort, but to go against the royals was totally suicidal.


    "No worries. We have found a powerful ally in this battle." Leviathan cleaned his bloodstained hand with some magic and shook it slightly.


    "Ally?"


    "Yes." The demon gave him a profounded look.


    "And he wants to meet you. Follow me."


    With this said, he started to gather magic power and encased them within a teleportation spell.