"You were given the blood aura you have as a gift?" the blue Eagle asked. "Do you expect us to believe that?"
"I would hope you would," Alex said. "That is the truth after all."
"What service did you ever provide?" the Eagle asked. "To whom?"
"There were beasts in my journey that required some pills. So, in exchange for allowing giving me some of their blood, I agreed to help them."
"Pills you say," the Elephant spoke up in a feminine voice. "Are you saying that the beasts were interested in your pills?" she asked.
"Of course," Alex said. "It might sound arrogant of me, but I promise you that in all 5 continents, there are no more than a dozen beings that will reject my pills."
"That's quite the boast," the male lion spoke up, his voice surprisingly young compared to everyone that Alex had heard as of yet.
"It's not a lie, seniors," the Crown Prince spoke. "His Majesty King Alex and my royal father has a small alchemy competition two years ago, and my father lost the match. Senior here is truly the greatest living alchemist in the whole world."
The beasts finally calmed down a bit.
"So, did you not kill beasts?" the Eagle asked. "Did you not come here to kill some more too?"
Alex sighed. "I assure you, senior. My intention in coming here is merely to know more about this place and to gain what knowledge I can from your seniors," he said. "I will be happy to gain any strength I can from here, but I won't ever kill for it. At worst, I will trade for pills for some blood."
"Hmm," the Deer spoke in another feminine voice. "Does that answer your question, sister Ying?"
"I… guess so," the Eagle said, jumping back onto the platform where it had come down from.
"Haha, now that we've calmed down, let me introduce the rest of us properly," the Lizard said. "As I mentioned before, I am Hua Xiyi, leader of the Lizard colony."
"This is Xiang Taikong, the Leader of the Elephant colony," the lizard said, pointing to the white Elephant next to him. The Elephant bowed a little and the two men followed suit.
"This is Tian Jiguang, leader of the Swan colony," the Lizard introduced the swan.
"It's a pleasure to have you here with us, guests," the Swan bowed a little, its feminine voice soothing the two men. The gleaming light from its feather had gotten stronger than before now that it was inside the bright room.
"This is Lu Youmei, leader of the Deer Colony." The 6-Eyed Deer gave a slight bow.
"Over here, we have Ying Aoxiang. Sister Ying already made a show of her character, so you know what she is like," the Lizard said.
"My apologies. I saw your intense blood aura and was worried that you were here for a different reason than normal," she said.
"Sister Ying cares for not only the beasts from her Eagle colony but also beasts outside of it, so you should be able to understand why she is so concerned with this."
"Of course," Alex said, bowing a little in her direction.
"That right there is Niu Jianding, leader of the Ox Colony. He is the fiercest leader amongst us, so try not to get on his bad side," the Lizard chuckled.
"Please do not listen to him," the Ox spoke. "I do not hold malice against anyone for minor reasons."
Alex smiled at the ox.
"And finally, this is Zhu Xiongwei," the Lizard explained. "Oh, young prince haven't met him either, have you?"
"No, this is my first time meeting, senior Shi," the Crown Prince said. "You must have become a leader recently senior. I congratulate you on becoming a leader."
"Haha, it's nothing," the Lion said in its young voice. "You don't have to congratulate me."
"I must," the Crown Prince said. "Last time I came here… what was it? 300 years ago? The leader was still senior Guyong. It must have changed in between."
"Yes, it did," the Lion said.
"When did you become a Leader?" the Crown Prince asked.
"It was about half a century ago," the lion said.
"Wasn't it around the time we shut down the borders?" the Ox asked.
"Yeah, it was," the Deer affirmed.
"Oh," the Crown Prince said. "Where is senior Guyong then? He wasn't old enough to leave the group from what I remember. Was he?"
"He was not," the Lizard said, hesitating a little.
"My uncle passed away," the Lion finally said. "Due to some cultivation complications, he ended up passing away, and I was made the Leader."
"Ah, my condolences," the prince quickly said.
"My condolences as well," Alex said.
"It's alright. It's been a while, and… I've gotten used to it," the Lion said with a smile that wasn't genuine at all.
Alex looked at the lion, slightly concerned about something.
If what they were talking about was true, then there was a possibility that he had considered something wrong. All this time, he had a single assumption.
The Azure Dragon had died 50 years ago and it had died due to a Heavenly Judgment lightning.
It was a conclusion he had come to 2 years ago after visiting the Hall of Fame in the Painting school. There, he had seen a painting that depicted a lightning strike, and based on the people who had witnessed the strike from the capital, everyone had said that it came from the Northeast.
But… if the previous Leader of the Lion colony really had died 50 years ago, and if he were to assume he had died while trying to break through to the Immortal realms then… did that not fit the scenario of the painting?
In the first place, was Alex sure it was Heavenly Judgment? What if it was a Tribulation lightning?
He was basing his knowledge on people who knew neither, so it could be that they didn't give him a perfect impression of what had truly happened.
But… if that was the case, then… when had the Azure Dragon died?
Bai Jingshen's inability to come to this continent made it apparent that Dragon had in fact died over 50 years ago, and his not finding him up in the Immortal realm confirmed it.
If that was to be considered then… how had the Dragon died?
It was still very much likely that Alex's first assumption was the correct one. But just because the second one was less likely, it didn't mean that he could let go of the possibility.
As he was thinking about the death of the Lion, Alex paused for a moment and looked up at the Lion in front of him.
"If you don't mind, may I ask what the full name of the previous leader was?" Alex asked.
"Uncle's full name?" the Lion asked, a little confused. "It was Shi Guyong. Why do you ask?"
"Just asking," Alex said with a smile, but he wasn't happy at all.
'Shit!' Alex thought. He was completely blindsided by this information as his mind had been focused on the other thing.
'Dammit,' he thought. 'What the hell am I supposed to do now?'
One of the few things he hoped would be of help when coming to this continent had just disappeared after he found that Shi Guyong was dead.
After all, he was the Golden Lion that Bai Meirong, Pearl's grandmother and Bai Jingshen's daughter, had been married to.
He was Pearl's maternal grandfather, and he was dead.
