The next few weeks were a blur, but to keep up appearances, Dyon couldn't allow them to escape so easily, nor could he allow them to leave without casualties. Plus, Dyon had no intention of letting them keep treasures he saw as his own. Since they had revealed the existence of the formation cores, they could forget about leaving with them.
In the end, Dyon forced them into a corner where they had no choice but to decide between the formation cores and their lives. And, like the smart individual he knew Prince Nova was, he made the right decision in discarding them.
As a thank you, Dyon gave them injuries that would leave them bedridden for months.
Although for the youngsters it was a nightmare, Dyon himself was living out a great fantasy. He felt like he was a hidden master with cruel tactics but a kind heart. It was as though he had teleported into one of those old kung fu movies.
'I think Master's sadistic side is rubbing off on me.' Dyon thought with a grin. 'Maybe I should find me a worthy disciple to vent out this fantasy properly.'
Hearing his thoughts, somewhere an unborn child still in his/her dad's testicles shuddered in fear.
**
"Master, there's no need for you to come with me. I'll be back after I deal with a few things." Dyon smiled, trying his best to soothe his nagging master.
Even in spirit form, she had no need of Dyon to sustain her life force because the Mystical World almost had too much of this energy to spare. So, as long as she was here, Dyon never had to worry about her spirit dissipating. In fact, he encouraged the other spirits to stay here as well while promising the Princess of Beauty that he would bring Madeleine to her soon.
Truth be told, the nine spirits breathed a sigh of relief. Everyday they spent in Dyon's Mind's Eye was like another day in prison. The scariest thing in the world to them was that baby turned meditating toddler.
Dyon couldn't blame them, of course. His soul had "tried" to kill them so many times that he had lost count by now.
Granny Celest watched with a smile as she lazily reclined by a calm river. It had been a long time since she felt so relaxed. Knowing that her daughter had a chance to live again felt amazing.
"Don't forget to bring my other grandson too, Little Dyon. This old lady can only live for such simple things." She chided softly.
Hearing her mother's words, Esmeralda's eyes also glistened over. She too very much wanted to see her son.
Dyon nodded. "I'm certain that Little Zaire is a big shot by now."
He had a lot of confidence in that little brother of his. Zaire's overall talent was impressive by any standards.
Although Dyon said that Zaire was a 7-year-old essence gatherer, how old was Zaire really during the World Tournament? He was two years old.
Zaire might have looked like a seven or eight-year-old, but that was because he stayed in his beast form in order to become Little Lyla's 'elder brother'. After reaching that age, he limited the amount of time he spent in his beast form in order to grow up alongside his little sister. But, in strict terms, Lyla was Zaire's elder sister, not the vice versa.
Truth be told, the cultivation of beasts and humans were different. A newly born beast often times could contend with fully grown adult humans. However, the reason Zaire's cultivation speed was so impressive was because he followed both the beast and human path, meaning he was restricted by the same rules humans were.
Still, despite following the most difficult path he could, he became an essence gatherer two years from his birth. Who knew how much he had improved by now?
"Are you planning to go the Drago-Qilin lands?" Esmeralda's expression became stern.
"Of course, if my little brother can, I wouldn't be much of a big brother if I didn't, no?"
Esmeralda shook her head. "You have the Dragon King's aura on you, it's very different. Dragons are too prideful to bully the young, so I'm certain all obstacles Little Zaire meets will be within his abilities to deal with. However, if they believe that you're the Dragon King in a youth's body, it will be a completely different ordeal.
"That Giralda girl hasn't noticed yet, but that's only because of two reasons. Firstly, she suppressed her dragon bloodline to hide her heritage thus dulling her senses, which was why her hair and eyes became relatively normal. Secondly, she's dealing with quite a bit of emotional distress if what you've told me about her daughter is true.
"Now that she's come to know you semi-personally, it's less likely that she'll immediately attack you and might actually be inclined to listen to your story, but you can't say the same for other dragons or qilins. Remember, beasts have weak senses and often rely on their instincts. That's why Head Tudo could make such a terrible analysis of you. They won't be able to see the subtle difference between someone who is possessed and someone who isn't. They'll be blinded by the dangerous aura the Dragon King gives off."
"It'll be alright." Dyon reassured his Master. "I can just use The Seal to lock away the Dragon King's aura. It'll be a bit taxing on my soul energy, but I have plenty to spare. Plus, I don't plan on going there just yet, I have to go to the Sapientia Quadrant first, then I should probably help the Belmonts drive their enemies away. My in-laws are still in that universe, after all.
"That said, the Drago-Qilin lands is a destination I must go to. My little sister and brother are there, it's about time I brought them home. The Calming Spring is just a secondary matter…"
...
After spending a few hours with his Master and Granny Celest, Dyon turned to leave. But, before he could, he was stopped by some unexpected visitors.
Beforehand, Dyon had been within the territory of the Celestial Deer. Their homes in the Mystical World were simple, but elegant. Due to the late arrival of the Celestial Turtle and Ape clans, some rearrangement of the 18th tier was necessary, but each clan still had thousands of acres to themselves and never encroached on each other's lands.
So, as expected, Dyon was never bothered when he set foot into the Celestial Deer Clan and often teleported directly in and out of it without bothering to explore other areas. However, today he had planned on plucking some spiritual fruits for the road and maybe taking some celestial meat along with him, only for him to walk out to find nine kneeling figures.
Dyon blinked before looking to Granny Celest and his master who were seeing him out. "How long have they been here?..."
Esmeralda turned her nose up, clearly discontent with how these nine had treated her disciple. "Almost five months now. Even before you entered the gate."
'Five months?' Dyon was inwardly surprised. It wasn't that he ignored them, he legitimately had no idea that they were here.
Although that length of time was nothing to martial warriors of their caliber, it still showed a level of sincerity that impressed Dyon at least to some extent. After all, they had no idea when Dyon would allow them to stand.
However, Dyon had already that even if they did exactly what they were doing now, they'd never have a place in his kingdom.
There was a reason he waited until the last moment to reveal the twins. With his intelligence, how could he not know how the Celestial Beasts would react to the reappearance of the supposedly extinct celestial hamsters? It would have ended this conflict before it even began.
That said, would that have truly changed their temperaments? Even if they bowed their heads to Dyon, what about when Dyon was gone? Would they rebel against the next human head just because of their own innate biases?
He didn't want people like this following him. Dyon wasn't naïve enough to believe that everyone he accepted would be good natured, but he sure as hell wouldn't knowingly accept anyone with a black heart.
The worst thing you could do in life was abandon an ally. There were plenty of terrible things in the world, but little could match betrayal of loyalty. Yet, this was exactly what these beasts were responsible for.
People had died. Wives lost their husbands. Daughters lost their fathers. Dreams and aspirations were torn apart. And yet these three family heads had only been worried about their own petty survival.
Could this even count as survival anyway? Hiding away in this beautiful Mystical World may seem great, but it was nothing but a prison.
Dyon looked up from the kneeling celestial beasts to find many watching this scene from afar.
