Wang Xiaoyun's companions were all shocked when they heard the tone of voice that she used. Although she was clearly stating that she had no interest in traveling together with this Xue Wei, her voice was so soft that it was hard to believe her, and her cheeks were flushed red, her eyes lowered and her hands tightly clenched.
She was clearly nervous. The Elders of the Murdering Heavens Sect were unaware that their sect master could actually look so feminine, look so innocent, and behave like a girl her age.
While two of the Elders found it endearing, another three were unhappy. The three that were unhappy were all young men, and they too had been chasing the Sect Master, but she had never paid any attention to any man before, so who was this person who was able to cause her to become like this?
"You heard our sect leader," one of them rushed up to say, "we are not willing to travel together with you."
Xue Wei glanced at the speaking person; his eyes narrowing slightly. Who was this fly that was around his Wang Xiaoyun? It was clear he had some ulterior motives, was it time for him to do a spring cleaning amongst Wang Xiaoyun's companions?
After calming down for a moment, Xue Wei thought against it. Although it might be what he truly wanted to do, he was not willing to anger Wang Xiaoyun when they had just met again.
Wang Xiaoyun was also displeased with this Elder. Although she had said that she was not willing, she knew that both from a tactical point of view and from a personal point of view, she really wanted them to travel together.
"Be quiet," Xue Wei said as he looked at the two Elders. Although he would not kill them, that did not mean that he would be friendly towards them. They were, after all, rivals in love.
Xue Wei did not have too much confidence in himself. Wang Xiaoyun had left him once before, and he understood her hatred towards the beasts.
He could not blame her, as Chu Huiyin had killed her entire Wayfarer tribe, but he was unable to change his heritage too. Although he was a bit unsure about what exactly he was, he knew that part of him was a beast, and that was what she hated most.
But when he heard her soft-spoken voice and saw her reactions to him, he felt as if spring had arrived. It was as if a breeze was sweeping across his frozen heart and letting him taste the sweetness of warmth once more.
He still had a chance!
"Looking at your group, you are likely not to have been able to go against the other groups that are currently occupying summer," Xue Wei began analyzing. "Your group is small, and the strength is not considered top tier here within the Ascended's Realm."
"That is correct," Wang Xiaoyun did not hide the truth as she nodded her head.
"So far, we have managed to get rid of both the Ouyang family, but also the Dongfang family," Xue Wei continued. He was not intending to brag but use their achievements to get the Chang'an group to realize that working with them would be beneficial.
Everyone from the group that originated from Chang'an was unaware of who the Ouyang and the Dongfang families were.
As inhabitants of Chang'an, they were completely unaware of the outside world. They knew nothing of the power structure, and all they knew had been taught by Lan, which meant that they knew barely anything.
"Where have you been?" Finally, Wang Xiaoyun could not hesitate to ask the question that had bugged her for a long time.
She had been looking around for traces from Xue Wei, but it was as if he ha vanished into thin air.
After her last meeting with him, where she ran away after realizing his real heritage, she had not heard any news of him. However, his pictures had been spread all over the entire continent; he was known as one of the most wanted beasts around.
She had also heard what the other Elder had said. One of Xue Wei's companions was a wanted person by the Diviners. To be wanted by the Diviners was in no way less troublesome. However, the two of them were unharmed an even much stronger than before.
Wang Xiaoyun had thought that she had raised her strength at a tremendous pace because of her wayfarer bloodline, but when she compared herself to Xue Wei, it was still worse.
One has to remember that when they first met, Wang Xiaoyun was stronger than Xue Wei, but now that they had met again after such a long separation, Xue Wei had far overtaken her.
Hei Gou was also much stronger now than before, and Lin Xiao should not be belittled either. Luoluo and Bai Tianyi were a bit more mysterious, and because of them being spirits, it was impossible for her to see their actual strength.
If it were merely Xue Wei, who had advanced by leaps and bounds, she would not be so shocked, but seeing that they had all grown so much more than herself. Just what had they experienced during the time they had been apart?
"I've been to a continent called Yan Dalu, and now I am here to represent the Demon Phoenix Continent."
Xue Wei did not hide anything and smiled as he spoke. "I am not sure where the rest of the team has gone, but it should still be possible to meet up with them later."
Wang Xiaoyun nodded her head and decided that it would be a good idea to work with Xue Wei. Their group was simply too weak on their own, and if they wanted to fight for some better resources, then they had to team up with someone, but being from Chang'an was making this hard.
No one else would be willing to work together with them. They were not overly strong compared to the other groups who had entered the realm, and neither did they have the advantage of numbers.
Xue Wei was acutely aware of this. If it were not because of him knowing them personally, he would have never teamed up with them either.
But how could he possibly be at ease knowing that Wang Xiaoyun was braving all sorts of dangers alone?
Now that he finally saw her again, he was so happy that he would never let her just leave him without a good reason.
He respected her opinion about beasts, but he was still stubborn. She was a special entity to him, he could never forget her, and he did not want to forget her either.
"We will travel together," Wang Xiaoyun finally announced, and although two of the Elders had ugly expressions on their faces, the rest were relieved. Although Xue Wei and his team were small, it consisted of Saints. Having more Saints on their team would increase their survivability.
"Everyone, this is Xue Wei," Wang Xiaoyun decided to introduce him to the others. Although he was wanted all over the entire continent, that was with a facemask and an alias, so no one knew who Xue Wei was.
"Xue Wei and I have known each other for a long time and traveled together for some time. I ought to warn you, though; he is a beast."
Although Wang Xiaoyun did not wish actually to say this, she had no choice. When a battle ensued, he would likely display his beastly transformation, and if she did not warn them, then they would, without a doubt, feel tricked.
"This is Hei Gou; he too is a beast. This is Bai Tianyi. I am not too sure what he is."
Wang Xiaoyun introduced the three people she knew, and looked at Lin Xiao and Luoluo, unsure of how to introduce them.
"This is Lin Xiao, he is a Diviner," Xue Wei took over and introduced the rest of his companions. "This is Luoluo; she is my little sister."
"you said he is a beast?" a hostility was evident in the voice as the other Elders looked at Xue Wei warily. They hated beasts, and they knew that Wang Xiaoyun hated beasts even more than them. How could she possibly have traveled alongside two beasts?
"I am a beast, but I hold no hostility towards humans; in fact, I am quite annoyed with the other beasts too. Unfortunately, humans do not seem to welcome us, so our group decided to leave the Chang'an continent until we hold enough strength."
Xue Wei had initially not intended to explain, but when he looked at Wang Xiaoyun, he wanted her to know the truth. He was not friendly with beasts, nor were he friendly with humans. On Chang'an, there was only Wang Xiaoyun and Xiao Lei, who mattered to him.
"You are still a beast, how can we fight alongside a beast?" one of the men who had been against Xue Wei from the beginning felt that he had found something to latch onto so that they could get rid of him, but Xue Wei just snorted.
"I believe that since you are here, Lan must have a hand in it," he began as he looked at them. "Lan would not have sent you here without the basic information such as humans and beasts do not fight everywhere. Only Chang'an is a warzone between the two races."
"While I understand your feelings, you have to keep in mind that this is not Chang'an. This is the Ascended's Realm, and it belongs to the Vermilion Birds of the Demon Phoenix Continent.
"You are currently benefitting from a secret realm belonging to a beast race. If you loathe beasts so much, why even enter this realm? Or is it that as long as it benefits you, it does not matter, however as soon as you can use the beasts in your own agenda you will do so?"
Although Xue Wei was unsure of what exactly he was, he knew that part of him was a beast, and seeing the way these two Elders were talking about beasts; he was slightly annoyed. Why could Chang'an not just be like the Demon Phoenix Continent where beasts and humans co-existed?
Although Xue Wei was depressed when he thought about how Chang'an was currently at war between the races, he knew that he had to thank the war for the opportunity to move onto an even bigger stage.
If the war had not happened, and if the beasts and humans alike weren't chasing him, then Xue Wei would never have left Chang'an and entered Yan Dalu and Demon Phoenix Continent.
This travel had made him find new companions and friends, at the same time, made him understand more about himself and the secrets around his birth and also helped him increase his strength.
The people who had been silenced by Xue Wei's questions had no way to answer. They looked at him with hostility and grievances, hoping that Wang Xiaoyun would speak out for them.
Unfortunately, she did not seem to have any attention of doing so, she looked at Xue Wei with a bit of hesitation, but she ended up saying nothing.
Another Elder could not stay silent, and he spoke out, "Young Master Xue, I understand that you are native to Chang'an; how could you possibly leave the continent?"
It was clear that they too wished to leave the continent. Maybe they had gotten tired of the constant war, or it could be that they thought the grass was greener in somebody else's yard. Either way, they had decided to leave if they got the chance.
"Lan helped us," Xue Wei answered honestly after considering for some time. "He made a dimensional tunnel for us, but even then, we ended up somewhere else than planned due to a space storm."