420 A Lack of Techniques

"Apologies, chief. We have lost track of their movements. However, they should still be hiding somewhere within the tribe." The scout leader knelt in shame.

Chief Valencia's crumpled slightly, but she did not blame the scout leader for his incompetence. He was a Peak-rank Great Warrior. 

"Those last two rats were Extremity-rank Great Warriors, weren't they? Request more help from the senior warriors if need be. I want this mattered concluded quickly. Once you catch them, cripple their limbs, and keep them in a state of unconsciousness. I want them alive for the summit seven days from now, is that understood?"

"Yes, chief!"

"Then go!"

"Yes!"

…

Back in the Great Hall.

Shortly after Darlene watch Chief Valencia leave, she turned to Leon and asked, "How did you do that?"

Leon naturally knew what she was referring to. He began lifting a seat with his Divine Will in a demonstration for Darlene to see while confidently explaining, "All the Venerable Shamans can begin to do this to some extent. Nevertheless, whether they are as proficient as me as a different matter."

He was simply in a whole different league to the Venerable Shamans with his powerful soul at 220 points of soul strength. 

Considering he could gain an additional 50-thousand jin worth of strength when he enhances his body with Divine Will, each point of soul strength could be said to grant him nearly 230 jin of physical force.

Furthermore, considering each Soul Enhancing Pill increases his soul strength by 20 points after ingestion, this was equivalent to an increase of more than 4500 jin of physical strength enhancement! 

While this might seem like a lot, it was not much considering the frequency of ingesting soul pills to improve.

Seeing the culprit blatantly admit himself, Darlene pouted, "So, it WAS you!" 

She immediately reached out and pinched Leon's waist. She used moderate strength, not enough to hurt Leon with his insane high defense. Nevertheless, he pretended to be in pain, "Aiyo~!"

"Che! That is so fake!"

This time, Darlene smacked him on the shoulders before stamping her feet to express her discontentment. It was rather cute, in Leon's opinion. He could not help but tease her more.

He pinched her soft cheeks and said, "Yo~ My little wife has become more and more daring these days. Do you wish to be punished?"

"So what if I do? How will you punish me?" Darlene pursed her lips and said coquettishly.

'F*ck!'

Leon cursed in his mind. 

She was a damn demoness, daring to seduce him anywhere! 

"What kind of things are you talking about exactly?" Darlene asks.

Leon's face crumpled with a shaking fist before he reached out and smacked her rear with a 'whack!'

"Ahh~!"

"Still want to misbehave?" Leon asked with a half-joking, half-stern look.

Darlene rubbed her sore butt that did not hurt much due to Leon being lenient on his hit. She smiled flirtatiously and said, "Why don't you tell me? Should I misbehave or not?"

Smack!

"Ahhh!"

She was immediately met with another whack on her rear, albeit heavier, causing her to cry out in pain. Seeing Leon raise his hand again, she shivered.

"I'm sorry, hubby! I won't do it again!" 

"That's better. Let us go pick up your sisters."

Darlene quickly nodded and wrapped her arms around one of his before Leon led them outside the Great Hall to find the 6 female servants with Void Bodies.

While walking around the palace, Darlene rubbed her rear slightly and complained, "Did you have to hit so hard?"

"You asked for it," Leon said.

Darlene immediately sulked.

Suddenly, Leon paused his steps. Darlene was confused and looked up before seeing a little girl in the distance gazing back at her—or rather, staring at Leon.

"Well, look who we have here?" Leon lowered himself and said, "Why don't you come over and say hi to your big brother?"

"Big Brother!"

Mia immediately broke into smiles and ran over excitedly before jumping into Leon's welcoming arms. 

Leon picked her up and sat her on one of his shoulders.

"How have you been doing, living in this place? Has anyone been bullying my little sister?"

"There used to be, but not anymore after Aunty Valencia taught them all lesson. Now, they are afraid of being bullied by Mia." Mia clenched his fists and showed off her small biceps, trying to appear tough. 

Leon smiled at the little girl's cute gesture and pinched her cheeks with his other hand before softly lecturing, "Don't bully the other kids too much if they don't deserve it, okay? There's nothing good about being a bully."

At the side, Darlene was surprised by their close interactions. She did not know when these two have become so close or did they already know each other?

Noticing Darlene's suspicion, Leon calmly said, "I'll explain another time."

Darlene acquiesced with a silent nod.

Suddenly, Mia began to cough. Leon glanced at her with worry and asked, "What's wrong, Mia? Are you not feeling well today?" 

"It's just a regular cough, Big Brother. The doctors said it's nothing serious." Mia explained.

However, she started to cough even more heavily. 

Leon immediately frowned and lowered her body before checking her pulse. There was no such thing as a regular cough without problems!

Leon recalled that Mia was a victim of organ trafficking. Although he managed to heal her, he was unable to recover a new kidney for her.

For a small child, who was still in the age of developing her body, this was quite detrimental to her health. Problems would naturally arise. 

Considering they had been apart from each other for quite some time, Leon wondered how much Mia had been suffering such conditions.

After Leon inspected Mia's condition, he confirmed that the problem with Mia's health indeed stemmed from the missing kidney, but not entirely due to it.

Mia's body was weak compare to other kids her age. Her body was unable to cope with the Dark Continent's harsh environment, causing impurities to gather in her body without properly expunging as wastes from the body.

Unless Mia begins cultivation early to strengthen her body, staying in the Dark Continent will develop more severe health conditions in the long term. 

His hand glowed with a gentle green light and provide Mia with a warm and soothing feeling, easing away the discomfort in her chest.

Sometime later, he asks, "How are you feeling now?"

"Mia feels very comfortable!" Mia answered. The slight crease on her forehead was relaxed.

"Just tell Big Brother if you feel unwell next time. Don't hide it, okay? Otherwise, Big Brother won't be able to help Mia feel better." Leon said.

"Mm! Sorry, Big Brother!"

Mia lowered her head sadly. Leon smiled and ruffled her hair while saying, "Don't worry. I am not blaming you."

Shortly after, he began to frown again.

He was thinking about Mia's condition. She needed to start her body cultivation; the sooner, the better. 

However, the Darkmoon Tribe's [Darkmoon Body Forging Method] cannot only be practiced at the age of 13 and above. Younger children would not be able to bear the burden of the body forging method.

On the other hand, his [Hegemon of Primal Chaos] technique was too advanced for Mia. A slight mistake could rupture all her meridians and cripple her from cultivating.

In other words, he lacked a suitable method for Mia to practice. 

Nevertheless, the seven Venerable Shamans and Chief Valencia were going to pool their ancient book collection together soon.

Perhaps he would not only be able to find more suitable methods for himself, but also for Mia to practice then.

"It seems we will have to delay our plans a bit. I wish to spend more time with Mia. Is that alright with you, little wifey?" Leon said to Darlene. Considering the chief was busy, it was an opportunity for him to meet the others.

She immediately shook her head and said, "I'm happy that you are putting my feelings into considerations, but you do not need to care too much about my opinions. When you want to do something, just do it."

"I see. Thank you." Leon nodded and said to Mia, "What do you want to play with Big Brother today?"

"Can I?" Mia's eyes lit up excitedly. After Leon gave the nod, she eagerly said, "Yeah!"

"Alright!" 

Leon smiled.

"But before that, let us go and see mother, shall we? Do you think she will be free and also want to see Big Brother?" 

"Of course!" Mia answered. Shortly after, she hesitantly drew close and whispers in Leon's ears, "But… won't cause trouble for you, Big Brother? Aren't you trying to hide your identity?"

Mia took a few quick glimpses of Darlene warily. 

Leon smiled and shook his head, "It won't. Big Brother is a very important person to the tribe right now. It won't affect Big Brother much and might work in Big Brother's favor instead."

"How so?" 

Mia asked curiously, oblivious to the reasoning behind it. However, Leon shook his head without answering and ruffled her hair again.

"Let's talk about that later."

Meanwhile, Darlene was even more doubtful of Leon's identity. She knew she would learn the truth from Leon eventually. However, she was dying of curiosity. 

It was like a strong itch that needed to be scratched.