She noticed how Damien's eyes were glued on to her and felt so happy that all his attention was on her, thinking that he liked her transformation.
She was also happy that she finally grew up and had a chance to get closer to Damien.
"You...You look devastatingly beautiful." Damien said with a smile.
He saw how pure and impeccably radiant her skin was, which could make one go crazy just to have a glimpse of her.
He never expected that she would undergo such a drastic transformation, especially when she looked like she was in his age group.
Valentina again hugged him as she looked at his eyes, feeling elated, hearing his compliment.
She saw how close his eyes were to hers and felt that it was proof of how she was getting more closer to him. She was happy that she could finally meet his eyes and not be a little girl anymore.
Damien was still in a state of disbelief after witnessing her radical transformation. He kept embracing her as he collected his thoughts.
"No need to be so surprised. She is definitely not a mortal ethereal beast. Hmm...no wonder." Luna mumbled as if she understood something.
Damien was surprised hearing her words. But then, looking at the transcendental beauty in his arms, he felt that it probably made sense.
"But does that mean she is—?"
Luna interjected, "I can't say for sure she is a Divine ethereal beast as she is mostly mortal now. However, I noticed how her soul and ethereal core become more profound each time she breakthroughs—each time getting a little bit closer to having Divine qualities though it's not much for now. Besides, you already know how she already has all her ethereal core points active. "
"Big Brother."
"Huh?" Damien broke away from his thoughts, hearing Valentina calling him.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked as she intensely gazed at his eyes.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"I...I was thinking about how tall and beautiful you have become. Even more than before." Damien said with a warm smile.
Valentina giggled, "Tehehe, I am happy that I grew up at last."
Damien chuckled, "Yes. I am happy as well though I never expected you to grow up so fast."
Valentina gleefully smiled and asked in an excited tone, "Big Brother, can I go hunt some ethereal beasts and try using my ethereal arts? I will be back soon."
"Yes, go ahead. But be careful. I will be here."
Valentina nodded and sped off in excitement.
"Haa...things just seem to get more puzzling." Damien muttered, thinking that Valentina's background may not be as simple as he thought.
"But, do they really grow like that? I mean, she became a sixteen year old within a day. It just feels too surreal." Damien asked Luna with a perplexed expression.
"Who said that she is actually younger than you? She is actually as old as you, both mentally and physically. In fact, she seems to have been born on the same day you did." Luna remarked.
"Wait...that can't be. Is it just a coincidence or…Doesn't that mean she spent 15 years in a forest all alone? Damn..." Damien never expected Valentina to be as old as him. He had always thought of her as a little girl.
"No wonder sometimes her thoughts seem more mature than how she looks and the way she catches onto things quickly." Damien muttered to himself as if things made sense now.
"Forget about those things for now, and why don't you try flying?" Luna asked.
"Alright. Let's do this." Damien cleared his thoughts and was excited to fly.
Damien learned that by executing the third stage of his ethereal arts - Star Illuminating Vortex within his body, he can make his body lighter and propel himself to fly. Although it was best used for combat, just as Luna said, he learned that he could also use it to fly.
But suppose he was in alter ego identity. In that case, he can't release his ethereal energy outwards as his cultivation would be revealed.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})However, as Luna hinted, he could use Mirage of Myriad Phantasms to conceal and restrict his ethereal aura from leaking outwards while executing Star Illuminating Vortex.
It made sense since his aura won't be leaked as he knew that he would be executing Star Illuminating Vortex within his own body and not outside.
But he speculated that for now, it would be quite taxing to fly for a longer time as he would be executing two skills of his ethereal arts at the same time and continue to maintain them.
Damien executed Star Illuminating Vortex and Mirage of Myriad Phantasms at the same time.
His brows raised when he felt his feet lifting off the ground and hovering in the air. He focused as he flew up even higher. His body swayed left and right as his hands danced in the air, trying to balance himself.
'Wow, this is so damn awesome!'
But seeing the ground and the forest from below, he felt quite thrilled and found it exciting to fly.
"Time to test my flying speed." Damien's gaze narrowed as he pushed himself to the maximum.
*Whoosh*
Damien swiftly zoomed through the air as he flew up and down, still trying to find his balance and trying his best not to crash.
But he could feel his ethereal energy burning at quite a fast pace and realized that he wouldn't be able to fly for long.
However, he was satisfied with how fast his flight speed was, though it obviously didn't come close to Misty's speed.
He decided to come down as he was getting exhausted, but he found that it was even harder to land.
He tried to straighten his body and slow down. Still, he accidentally came even closer to the ground at a tremendous speed.
'Oh shit…' Damien tried to maneuver himself, but he found himself plummeting towards a big tree.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})*CRASH*
*Rustle*
He crashed on a tree and fell down as the branches of the tree broke his fall.
*THUD*
'Oww...that didn't go well.' He finally fell to the ground on his back.
However, thinking about how he can fly now, a pleased smile hung on his lips. He knew it would just take some more practice to learn to find his balance and stabilize his flight.
Damien took an Ethereal Recovery Pill and continued practicing his flight till he finally found his balance.
Just then, he saw Valentina returning with a triumphant and satisfied smile on her face. He quickly rushed beside her and asked as he wound his arm around her slender hips, "Do you want to experience something fun?"
Valentina raised her brows when Damien suddenly asked her. However, she nodded with an excited smile and hugged his waist. She was curious about what was so fun that made Damien this excited.
"Alright, hold on tight to me." Damien instructed, and Valentina tightened her arms around his waist.
*Whoosh*
Damien lifted off along with Valentina as he took to the skies.
"Ah!" Valentina was astounded when she suddenly found herself in the air along with Damien.
She looked at Damien with an awed and excited expression as the cool wind brushed her face.
"Big Brother, this is so fun!" Valentina said with a thrilled expression as she felt the experience was different from flying on Misty. She looked down at her and Damien's feet hovering in mid-air. She saw how small everything looked from below, including the various ethereal beasts and the trees.
Her long and exquisite rosy pink hair shimmered in the sunlight as the wind made them dance elegantly in the air.
If someone saw her dreamy figure in the air, they would feel as if they had not lived in vain to see such a heavenly sight.
