Chapter 599 - First Meeting

Chapter 599: Chapter 599 - First Meeting

Protector Gandolf flew across the sky at an astonishing speed, carrying all three of his disciples with him.

His figure streaked through the heavens like a shooting star, crossing mountain ranges, forests, and rivers in the blink of an eye. Even the fastest airships on Cloud Continent would be hopelessly left behind.

Of course, that comparison excluded the Universe Airship.

The disciples, who were being carried along by Gandolf’s Qi, could only stare blankly at the scenery flashing past beneath them.

"I... I didn’t know Master could fly this fast." One of the young men finally spoke, unable to hide his amazement. "He’s even carrying the three of us without slowing down at all. Just who exactly is Master?"

The speaker was a young man in his early twenties with Foundation Building Realm cultivation.

"I’ve been wondering the same thing." Another young man of similar age and cultivation nodded. "What cultivation realm is this? Nascent Soul Realm? Soul Formation Realm?"

Since becoming Gandolf’s disciples, they had spent almost their entire lives cultivating in the wilderness. Their master constantly led them from one unoccupied cultivation ground to another, and they traveled everywhere on foot.

They rarely interacted with other cultivators, making it difficult to judge where Gandolf truly stood.

The only thing they knew for certain was that he had long surpassed the Core Formation Realm.

"I think Master is a Soul Formation Realm expert," the only girl among them said thoughtfully.

Like the other two, she was also in her early twenties and at the Foundation Building Realm. All three wore simple clothes suitable for living in the wilderness rather than the luxurious robes worn by cultivators from large sects and families.

"Oh?" One of the young men looked at her curiously. "What makes you think that, Senior Sister Nemi?"

Nemi smiled faintly.

"I once overheard some cultivators saying that even Nascent Soul Realm experts aren’t completely safe when traveling outside."

She looked at her junior brother. "Think about it, Junior Brother Popo. We’ve been following Master through the wilderness for years."

She paused before asking, "During all that time... have the three of us ever truly been in danger?"

Popo’s eyes widened a little as realization dawned on him. "You’re right, Senior Sister. Master must be a Soul Formation Realm expert!"

"We must have quite the talent if an expert like Master took us in as disciples. Maybe I’ll save the continent one day. Hahaha!" the other male disciple laughed heartily.

"Keep dreaming, Junior Brother Domino. You always get your ass beaten by us in our spars. How are you supposed to save the continent like that?" Popo tried to rein in Domino’s wild imagination.

"Who says someone has to be good in a fight to save something? Being smart is enough," Domino said confidently.

"Pfft!" The other two almost burst out laughing.

"Junior Brother Domino, are you smart?" Nemi asked, still holding back her laughter.

"Of course I’m smart. Everyone in the village said so back then," Domino admitted without a hint of doubt.

"Junior Brother Domino, if you’re smart then everyone else is a genius," Popo replied dryly.

The three of them continued their usual banter after that.

Up ahead, Gandolf, who normally enjoyed listening to their playful exchanges, could not bring himself to do so this time. His mind was occupied with the question of what kind of danger Bara City must be facing to require a full lockdown.

Could a General Level Crazed Demonic Beast have come attacking the city?

He had received reports that several cultivator cities in other Main Regions had been under siege by powerful crazed demonic beasts over the past year. It was possible that Bara City was facing the same situation.

The city’s grand barrier would not fall easily even if a General Level Demonic Beast attacked it. However, depending on the intensity of the assault, the spirit stones allocated to sustain the barrier could be consumed much faster than usual.

It was already well known that attacks from crazed demonic beasts were many times more intense than those from ordinary ones.

Thankfully, he was not too far from Bara City. At his current speed he could reach it in less than six hours, a distance that would take an average airship four to five days to cover.

...

Meanwhile at home, Leyvi sat with Anda and the others in the leisure garden behind the first mansion, observing the grand barrier that now fully covered the city.

He had decided to make use of the waiting time to relax with his family rather than stress too much about the trouble that might be coming. Continuing to cultivate while weighed down by such a heavy feeling would have been difficult anyway.

"What if nobody comes for some reason? Are we supposed to stay trapped in this lockdown forever?" Leyvi asked curiously as he took a sip from his cup of coffee.

"Well, if we were under attack, the barrier would eventually run out of energy. But since we’re not being attacked, we could theoretically be stuck here for years," Layla explained.

"It would be pretty funny if that happened. Everyone would get angry at me for locking them all in here," Leyvi chuckled.

"At me, not you," Layla corrected him.

"Haha, true. My poor wife taking the blame for my decision." He chuckled again.

"If nobody comes, just destroy the barrier. Crash! Did you already forget?" Anda reminded him, playfully imitating the sound his ability made.

Leyvi stared at her in mild disbelief for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! That’s right! I completely forgot I can dismantle any formation. We can get out whenever we want."

It had been quite a while since he last used his Formation Dismantler benefit, so the ability had simply slipped his mind.

That was the trouble with having so many abilities. It was easy to forget some of them existed.

"Oh right, what about the people currently using the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Grounds? Will they be affected by this?" Leyvi suddenly asked.

With the large number of void crystals they had obtained from the Mystic Realm previously, Anda and Layla had set up multiple Nascent Soul Breakthrough Grounds in Bara City.

One was reserved exclusively for private use by the Leyan Family, while the other four were available for rent.

During Leyvi’s long seclusion, these breakthrough grounds had become very popular throughout the South Region.

Many peak Core Formation Realm cultivators had come to rent them. They did not mind paying the high rental fees because the grounds provided by the Leyan Family had already been proven top-tier by various experts.

At first, several peak Core Formation Realm citizens of Bara City who had been unable to break through due to a lack of available grounds were given priority and a generous discount by Anda.

As a result, every one of them successfully formed their Nascent Souls, becoming Bara City’s first batch of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in a long time.

With a few successful examples leading the way, more people arrived, word spread, and the breakthrough grounds grew popular on their own without any need for advertising.

Because of this, the Leyan Family’s reputation in the region had become even more distinguished, and the grounds had turned into another steady source of income for the family.

"Don’t worry. They are completely oblivious to what is happening outside. Nothing can disturb them," Anda replied. "Back then, I made sure to squeeze everything out of Bellion to create the perfect Nascent Soul Breakthrough Ground Formations for us." She made a playful squeezing gesture while smiling like a little villainess.

Leyvi was left speechless for a moment. This panda was still treating Bellion’s array formation expertise as if it belonged entirely to the Leyan Family.

No wonder Bellion had left so quickly after finishing the job. With Leyvi busy cultivating at the time, Bellion probably would not have been able to handle Anda on his own.

Poor Bellion.

...

Later that day, Protector Gandolf and his three disciples finally arrived outside Bara City.

He hovered in the sky, looking down at the city in confusion.

"What’s going on? Where’s the attack? Is it already over? No... there doesn’t seem to be any sign that a major battle took place. So why is the barrier fully raised?"

Gandolf even made a few circles around the city to convince himself that nothing had actually happened.

"They couldn’t have accidentally activated the barrier, right? That would be far too embarrassing. Sigh... If that’s what happened, they’ll have to cover all the costs out of their own pockets, unfortunately."

He felt relieved that nothing serious had occurred, yet at the same time a little annoyed by the false alarm. How could someone be so careless?

Suddenly, however, Gandolf heard a man’s voice speaking directly into his ears.

"Excuse me, senior. Are you one of the Cloud Continent’s Protectors?"

Gandolf’s heart skipped a beat. It was not because of the suddenness of the voice, but because the technique itself reminded him of Demoness Cocolia from the past.

This was different from an ordinary sound transmission technique, which always allowed one to determine the direction the sound came from.

The voice he heard now came from no particular direction. It simply appeared at a fixed point inside his mind.

One person immediately came to mind.

Leyvi.

The young man who had once been considered his successor.

The young man whom Newton claimed possessed Spiritual Cultivation talent rivaling even Demoness Cocolia’s.

Gandolf immediately spread out his spiritual sense.

A moment later, he discovered a lone figure floating calmly in the sky on the opposite side of the grand barrier.

It was indeed Leyvi.

This would be their first real meeting.