Chapter 492 - 322: Nouveau Riche Prince (Part 2)

Chapter 492: Chapter 322: Nouveau Riche Prince (Part 2)

"The Northern Continent hasn’t fallen yet, but I’m not too familiar with the details. Besides, the title of Scorching Sun Bishop can only be held by an elder at the Profound Moon Level."

Irena grew more and more shocked as she spoke, until her mouth formed a perfect "O."

She never expected to meet a distant relative from thousands of years ago in such a godforsaken place.

"Irena, whose descendant are you?" Hom asked, her expression gentle as she softly stroked Irena’s emerald-green hair.

Irena’s expression was strange, but she didn’t resist Hom’s touch. She said,

"Um... I’m the great-great-granddaughter of Her Highness, Prince Lilith... Do you know my great-grandmother, Lilith?"

"Lilith... ah, yes, I know her. She was my seventh sister’s youngest daughter. She had only just been born back when I was still in the Elemental Capital. To think she was the one who ended up inheriting the title of Prince." Hom’s eyes grew distant with nostalgia, a faint smile gracing her lips as she recalled happier times in the Elemental Capital.

"Time flies," Sage sighed. "To think our war with the Alatake Clan has been raging for nearly ten thousand years, and our descendants are still fighting the Alataku People on the front lines."

"Irena, tell me, has the Elemental Capital truly fallen?"

After the pleasantries were exchanged, Hom asked the question that weighed most heavily on her mind.

"No..." Irena shook her head. "His Highness the Prince relocated a quarter of the continent, including the Elemental Capital, to the Thunder Continent. They’re safe for now. My clan, the Wind Spirit Race, encountered spatial turbulence and was stranded in the northern part of the Celestial Sea."

"A small blessing in all this misfortune." Hom let out a long sigh of relief.

They were, after all, members of the same race separated by ages. Despite sharing some distant blood, Irena still didn’t act overly familiar.

"Elders, may I ask the purpose of your visit? And... who are these two?"

She asked, her cold gaze sweeping over Han Ning and Cang Tong.

Hom replied,

"I heard you were under attack by the Deep Sea Race. I came to gather some intelligence and see if there was any way we could help."

"He is..."

Just as Hom was about to introduce Han Ning and the others to Irena...

Heavy footsteps echoed from an upper floor of the giant white tower.

THUMP... THUMP...

A massive figure appeared around the corner of the hallway.

It was a five-meter-tall, blue-black giant turtle, its body nearly filling the entire corridor.

While not exceptionally large for a Soul Beast, to Han Ning and the others, it was enormous.

Curled up on the giant turtle’s head was a small octopus, its body snow-white and its eyes a vibrant pink.

The octopus’s snow-white tentacles were covered in a dense thicket of rings. With a single flick, the multicolored glow of Spiritual Energy nearly blinded Han Ning.

"GURGLE... Is the battle over, Miss Yelena?"

The snow-white octopus flicked its tentacles, scanned the first floor, and asked in the continent’s Universal tongue.

"The intruder has been successfully eliminated!"

Irena casually lifted the enormous head from her attendant’s arms, displaying it for the Octopus Head.

"GURGLE! It’s Chaojing! Quick, give me his head! I want to add it to my collection!"

The moment the Octopus Head saw Chaojing’s head, it waved its tentacles in delight, and the brilliant glow of Spiritual Energy illuminated every corner of the room.

"Give it to him." Irena gestured to her attendant with a glance.

"Nice." The Octopus Head extended its thicket of tentacles, bound the head—which was larger than its own body—tightly, and inspected it from all angles. Nodding in satisfaction, it casually stored the head in one of the shimmering rings.

"Hmm... and who might these fellows be?" It blinked its pink eyes and turned to Han Ning’s group. "Eh? Who are you? I smell my mother’s scent on you!"

Its gaze fell upon Han Ning, and its tentacles instantly shot out straight.

"They are my guests. Everyone, this is the son of Lord Bobo Ta—His Highness, Prince Bobo Man!"

’So he really is the prince of the Wangchao Family, Bobo Man,’ Han Ning thought. ’This Octopus Head doesn’t exactly look like the sharpest tool in the shed.’

"GURGLE... Any guest of Miss Yelena is a guest of I, Bobo Man."

Bobo Man blew a bubble and waved his tentacles.

In an instant, four rings, each shimmering with a different light, floated before Han Ning and his three companions.

"These are my welcoming gifts. You must accept them! To refuse would be to disrespect me, Bobo Man!"

’This is the first time I’ve seen a member of an Alien Race force a gift on someone,’ Han Ning thought, his eye twitching. He accepted the ring and gave it a quick look.

It was a thumb-thick ring with a lustrous white surface.

"These rings are matched to your individual Spiritual Attributes. They can each block one spiritual attack below Tier Five, and they can also amplify the Soul Techniques of Soul Beasts with a corresponding Attribute. As for the other uses, you can figure those out for yourselves."

As Bobo Man spoke, he patted the forehead of the giant turtle beneath him, motioning for it to move closer to Han Ning.

"Beast Master of an Alien Race, you still haven’t told me why you carry my mother’s scent!" Bobo Man demanded, looking down at Han Ning imperiously.

"Er... Thank you for the gift, Your Highness Prince Bobo Man. What exactly do you mean by ’my mother’s scent’?" Han Ning asked, confused.

"You don’t know?" Bobo Man leaned his head forward and sniffed at Han Ning, like a dog catching a scent.

"Here." It extended a tentacle, pointing at Han Ning’s waist pouch.

"Oh... could it be this?" Han Ning immediately recalled the bracelet he’d received back in Illusion Sea City. He quickly took it out and offered it to Bobo Man.

"Yes, that’s it! The Essence Ring. It must be an accessory belonging to the Profound Water Sea Eel that serves my mother." Bobo Man glanced at it, then tossed the bracelet back into Han Ning’s hands.

"? Your Highness Prince Bobo Man, you don’t want it?" Han Ning was utterly baffled.

"My family has thousands of sets of this trash. What would I do with it?"

Bobo Man shot Han Ning a disdainful look.

"I thought it might be one of my mother’s personal ornaments, but it’s obviously not."

"Your Highness Prince Bobo Man is truly magnanimous!" Han Ning remarked, his eyes on the glittering Soul Artifacts covering Bobo Man as he offered the subtle praise.

"Hmph. Don’t try to curry favor with me. Your methods are too crude." Bobo Man tilted his head back, looking at Han Ning with disdain.

...

Afterward, the two groups sat together. Hom briefly explained their origins to Irena and Bobo Man, giving a rough account of their experiences on the Insect Continent and their journey into the Celestial Sea after leaving it.

This gave Irena a much clearer picture of Han Ning and his companions.

"Human... I’ve never heard of that race. You’re only twenty? You’re younger than me." Irena had zeroed in on the key detail.

"Twenty? That’s too young. You’re even younger than Miss Yelena. I wonder what you’re capable of," Bobo Man remarked.

"If I may ask, Your Highness Prince Bobo Man, how old are you?"

"It’s been... about ten years since I hatched, I suppose."

"How old?"

"I’m not in the mood to repeat myself," Bobo Man said, annoyed.

...

Han Ning had heard Bobo Man’s pompous, world-weary tone and assumed he was at least fifty.

"I’m afraid I have bad news... Auntie. The Storm Continent and the Elemental Continent have all but fallen. I don’t think you’ll be able to go there," Irena said with a sigh.

Hearing Hom’s story had closed the distance between them, and Irena was gradually becoming less formal.

The generational gap between them was immense, so Irena had just picked a familiar term of address. Besides, Hom’s actual conscious age wasn’t much greater than Irena’s, since she’d spent most of her existence slumbering as a Residual Soul.

"Why don’t you... stay with us for a while? Once we’ve handled His Highness Prince Bobo Man’s affairs, we can all head to the Thunder Continent together. What do you think?" Irena suggested.

"Does His Highness Prince Bobo Man have some business here? Is he the reason you’ve been staying in this place?" Hom asked, puzzled.

"Yes, but that’s not the only reason. Firstly, we needed to rest and recuperate. Secondly, we have a matter entrusted to us by Lord Bobo Man."

Irena turned to Bobo Man and asked,

"Your Highness, would you be willing to explain your commission to them?"