"Were you punished for breaking in?" Long Chen asked.
"I was scolded a bit, and my resources were taken for two weeks, but nothing major," Zhu Chang let out, smiling wryly.
"The Academy was a really fun place overall. The Battles, the tournaments, the challenges, and so on. Life has been pretty boring since I left the academy. I've tried to find fun things to do, but nothing worked."
"And in the end, I was banned from going to the Plum Blossom Mountain or other worlds. That's why I decided to go on a world tour to see different mortal worlds and have some fun because that's the place where I can easily stay hidden from my father."
"If I hadn't come back to the Heavenly Realm, I would still be hidden in the Mortal Worlds for a little longer. At least until I could have decided to come back on my own," Zhu Chang replied.
"I heard your father mention that you had destroyed some mortal worlds. I think I can understand why he wanted to bring you back," Long Chen responded.
"Not my fault. It's partly the fault of his own men that made me go that far. Except for that one time when I just got a bit drunk and went a bit overboard on my own," Zhu Chang scratched the back of his head.
The Carriage started going down slowly. Zhu Chang was able to feel it. "I think we are there."
He looked out the window and certainly noticed that they were in mountain terrain.
The carriage went down and landed on the bottom of the mountain, which was in the center.
Zhu Chang opened the door and stepped out.
Long Chen also did the same, only to notice the hundreds of carriages in the surroundings.
None of the carriages had the symbol of the Royal Clan except a few. There seemed to be only ten or so carriages that seemed similar to Zhu Chang's carriage.
"Your family members are here as well?" Long Chen asked, stepping closer to Zhu Chang.
"They certainly are. It's nothing odd. There are a lot of people in the Direct Clan. Some of them are always going to be here," Zhu Chang replied.
"Is there a reason we landed on the bottom of the mountain and not the top?" Long Chen asked.
"The same reason the others stopped here. You can't land on top."
"So we can't fly here either?" Long Chen asked.
"I didn't mean that. What I meant was that a person must tread the path without any external help. You can't use a carriage to go to the top of the mountain. You can either walk or fly, but no using carriage or beast."
"Anyways, I forgot to mention. This is the Plum Blossom Mountain. But I'm sure you already guessed it. It's in the exact center of this mountain range, so easy to distinguish." Zhu Chang started flying up the mountain.
Long Chen held the hands of Xun and flew up with her, trailing Zhu Chang.
The two of them flew for around three hours without any break, covering almost half the mountain.
"We should be close. I wonder if we'll actually find some Phoenix Blood," Zhu Chang said, slowing down a bit.
Long Chen wondered what he meant when Zhu Chang continued, "There it is."
Long Chen looked ahead, noticing there were many tents in the distance. They were still far away from the top, but still, it looked like they had reached a settlement.
"What place is this?" Long Chen asked.
"It should be a marketplace," Xun chimed in.
"She is right. It's the marketplace. Not many people dare to go to the top of the mountain, but they still need to buy things that can only be found on top. That's why this marketplace was set up in a place like this," Zhu Chang explained.
"If we are going to find Phoenix Blood, someone here must be able to help us," he continued, landing on the ground.
Long Chen also landed with Xun.
The three of them walked to get to the marketplace since it wasn't far.
He was still in the middle of the day when they reached the marketplace.
There were tents placed everywhere. In front of the tents, many people were sitting with items to sell. They were keeping some display items before them on a sheet on the ground. The rest of the items were inside the tents, which were marked with formations to keep them safe.
The formations were made in such a manner that all the items in the tent were going to be destroyed in case someone dared to steal them. The formations discouraged the people from stealing the objects, making sure that things could be sold without worries.
Most of the beasts here were from the Tortoise Species, with only a few being seen that belonged to different species.
"Let me take you to the person who knows almost everything that's available for sale in the market," Zhu Chang let out as he walked straight to the tent on the last, not stopping before any other.
"This guy is back?"
"What is he doing here?"
"I thought he was banned from stepping foot here?"
"I just hope he doesn't destroy this place," Zhu Chang said, sighing. He stepped back, frowning
The other people did see Zhu Chang, though. Seeing the person here was slightly surprising, especially after what he had done the last time he came here.
'Ling Ki! There you are!" Zhu Chang laughed, stopping before the last tent, which was also the biggest.
The person who was sitting before the tent was someone from the Black Tortoise Species as well, from a branch Family.
The man had a bulky physique that was almost twice the size of Long Chen. Despite having such a massive physique, Ling Ki looked scared at the sight of Zhu Chang.
"W-what are you doing here? Are you disobeying your father? You want to destroy the mountain again? Heck, you know how much I lost last time because of you. I'm not taking the risk again!" Ling Ki said, standing up.
"If that's your goal, let me collect my items and leave the mountain first!" he added.
"Why are you so paranoid? You know that was an accident. I didn't plan it," Zhu Chang responded. "Don't worry; it won't happen again. Moreover, my father allowed me to come here. The mountain and your items are safe."
"I'd have to be crazy to believe you," Ling Ki said, rolling his eyes.. "Tell me why you're here."