Chapter 8: Departure

Two days later, Yun Fei, who had only been back for a few days, bid farewell to her mother and stepped onto the Dragon Boat with the younger generation of the Demon Race, preparing to head to the Xuan Realm.

Dawn Academy was located in the southern mountains of the southern Xuan Realm, bordering several major sects; word was that it had been formed through the merger of several of those sects.

The Demon Realm was situated to the north of the Xuan Realm, so the journey ahead of them was quite long.

However, with the Dragon Boat, it wouldn’t take much time to arrive.

Regarding the Dragon Boat, it was a specialty of the Demon Race, as its physical body was actually a Wind-winged Dragon carrying a large platform.

Wind-winged Dragons were a species unique to Gale Canyon within the borders of the Demon Realm; they were the only such group on the entire continent.

They were famous for their flight speed, and after some “friendly exchanges” with the Demon Race, their clan became the chosen laborers of the demons.

While those in the Xuan Realm were still using spirit boats driven by spirit stones, the Demon Race was already using the faster Dragon Boats, which had granted them a significant advantage during the Xuan-Demon War.

“Aunt Qing, I’ll be troubling you again this time.”

Yun Fei did not follow the others of her generation up the stairs.

After her complete fusion with the Nether Realm Purple Fire a few days ago, she had successfully reached the Void Shattering Realm.

She now possessed the means to fly by manipulating objects, leaving the others far behind.

However, she was not accustomed to using weapons like swords; instead, she preferred the wide, sweeping strikes of a spear.

This made it difficult for her to maintain her balance while standing on the shaft of a spear.

Consequently, after falling several times yesterday, her pride had been worn down.

She settled for a compromise, choosing a strange method where she gripped the spear’s handle with one hand and hung her entire body from it.

Hanging from her spear in this manner, Yun Fei flew onto the back of the Wind-winged Dragon crouching on the ground.

This particular Wind-winged Dragon was exclusive to the Demon royal family.

Her name was Qing Yi, and she had followed Yun Ming for over a hundred years; because of this, Yun Fei addressed her as Aunt Qing. Qing Yi had been deployed for this transport mission only because Yun Fei, the Young Lord of the Demon Realm, was part of the group.

“Eh? You are… the Young Master?”

Qing Yi’s puzzled voice rang out as she looked with astonishment at the young woman who had landed on her head.

“Yes, it’s me. Did mother not mention this to you yet?”

“Oh, no, Your Highness. I was simply surprised by your appearance. You look much more exquisite than your mother did when she was young~” Qing Yi’s lips curled up slightly as she teased.

“Give it a rest, Aunt Qing. You really should fix that habit of praising me so generously every time you see me… though this is the first time I’ve heard you praise my looks. That’s rare,” Yun Fei said huffily.

However, she could hardly suppress the upward curve of her lips, clearly showing she was someone whose words didn’t match her feelings.

Yun Fei sat cross-legged on Qing Yi’s head with practiced familiarity and put her spear away.

“Your Highness, I’m telling the truth this time. I still have Magic Light Plates of the Demon Sovereign’s childhood saved back with my clan. When you have time to visit Gale Canyon as a guest, I can show them to you.”

As she spoke, Qing Yi flapped her dragon wings, shaking the ladder down to the ground.

Everyone was now on board, standing on the large platform and gathered together, chatting about who knows what.

Hearing Qing Yi’s words, Yun Fei’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.

“Really? Then I’ll definitely look forward to that~”

“Phew—alright, everyone is up. We’re taking off! Sit tight, Your Highness~” Qing Yi smiled slightly and then flapped her wings.

A cloud of dust rose from the ground, and with the whistling wind rushing past their cheeks, they ascended to an altitude of a thousand meters in a single instant.

Yun Fei leaned over and looked down.

With her eyes enhanced by magic, the figures waving goodbye on the ground had already turned into black dots before vanishing completely.

Qing Yi continued to climb, and in a flash, they broke through the clouds and began traveling above the cloud layer.

Yun Fei sat steadily on the dragon’s head, unmoved.

However, the group of Heavenly Prides on the platform, who hadn’t seen much of the world, let out bursts of exclamations.

After their initial cries of surprise, they all ran to the edges of the platform, gripping the railings and staring in awe at the sea of clouds beneath their feet.

“Huh? Aunt Qing, I remember some of them come from Great Families, right? Don’t tell me they’ve never ridden one before? Why are they so surprised?”

Yun Fei watched the commotion, finding their reactions baffling.

“Your Highness, youngsters your age don’t run off to distant places every day like you do. Their range of activity usually doesn’t exceed the cities where their families are located. I expect many of them are leaving home this far for the very first time~” Qing Yi explained with a chuckle.

“I see… no wonder their strength is so low. There are hardly any even in the Star-Plucking Realm. Do they just not go out to seek opportunities? If we arrive at the Xuan Realm like this, won’t our Demon Race be a laughingstock?”

Yun Fei frowned, actually feeling a bit worried about the future of the Demon Realm.

“Is Your Highness worried? Don’t be~ Although these people were sent here under the title of Heavenly Pride by their families, this is a special situation. Not many are willing to take the risk of handing their family’s true geniuses over to the Xuan Realm. In my view, you are likely the only one here who truly deserves the title of Heavenly Pride.”

Qing Yi laughed softly, seemingly well-aware of the little tricks played by those Great Families.

“That’s true… looking at it that way, Mother really is bold. She’s actually willing to send her only son… cough, daughter out…”

Yun Fei grumbled resentfully, which provoked a loud laugh from Qing Yi.

“Your Highness, you are the Young Lord of the Demon Realm, the brightest star in our realm. You are far more dazzling than any other Heavenly Pride. When the Xuan Realm—specifically that Dawn Academy—sent out the enrollment invitation, they probably intended to pull you over from the start.”

“…Fair enough. It’s no big deal anyway. I’ve messed around in the Xuan Realm many times; it’s not like the place is unfamiliar to me.”

Yun Fei threw her hands up helplessly, pretending not to care, as if she definitely hadn’t been hurt by her mother’s ruthlessness.

“By the way, before we left, the Sovereign asked me to remind you that the Xuan Realm’s attitude is a bit strange this time. The Sovereign wants you to act with extreme caution and, while you’re at it, try to find out what their goal is—and whether it really is to combat The Void,” Qing Yi said, her tone suddenly turning serious, shifting Yun Fei’s attention to the mysteries ahead.

“I know. I would have started investigating even without her reminder.”

A disdainful smile played on Yun Fei’s lips.

“Well, I can’t speak for other things, but I am always at ease with how Your Highness handles matters. You’ve perfectly completed mission requirements in dangerous situations under the Sovereign’s arrangements several times now. Even the Sovereign back in her day couldn’t have achieved that.”

She wasn’t exaggerating; Yun Fei’s abilities were obvious to everyone, especially during the operation to eliminate the old nobility.

“Alright, I’ll stop with the pleasantries. Someone on the platform is looking for you. Go on; I need to pick up the pace.”

“Looking for me? Who?”

Yun Fei followed Qing Yi’s gaze and looked back, only to see an unexpected person.