The man who appeared had striking white hair and blue eyes. Unexpectedly, Xue Feng was residing in the Celestial Star Palace.
Since the Xue Clan was no more, both he and Xue Yue, who had received Ruyue's mercy, were allowed to stay in the sect until they found somewhere better. Though, it didn't look like the duo had any plans of leaving.
"Xue Feng, tell that old man I'll come later. Let me discipline this brat first." Damien said.
"Brother Xue, don't mind his crass speech. I'll finish him off quickly and send him to Senior Tian with haste." Long Chen said almost immediately after.
Xue Feng rubbed his temples in frustration. "Why are the two of you like this every time you get together? Brother Long, I don't wish to be the one to tell you, but you're not a match for him right now. As for you, Brother Damien, Senior Tian said that if you do not show up within 5 minutes, he'd personally come to teach you a lesson."
The competitive atmosphere immediately deflated. Long Chen lamented inwardly at the truth of Xue Feng's words. As for Damien, he flashed away the instant he heard the last sentence.
"Haa…I can't stand this bastard's arrogance, but I guess I can let him go this time." Long Chen sighed.
Xue Feng smiled lightly. "Thank you for your consideration, Brother Long. However, if you are still in the mood to compete, how about giving me a chance?"
Long Chen looked up and grinned. "Good. Let's see how much you've improved since our last spar."
Xue Feng took out his sword and did the same. "That's what I was going to say to you!"
Bang!
The sound of their collision was so loud that even Damien heard it from many kilometers away. When he did, he gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Damn old man, can't even let me have my fun. I wonder what he wants this time?"
He took out his disciple token and poured mana into it. A small holographic display appeared, showing him the location where Tian Yang had summoned him.
"Tch, and he's not even home right now. Where the hell is he making me go?"
As Damien moved closer and closer to the very peak of Celestial Mountain, he thought back to the events of the past week.
Even though he was outwardly relaxing, he had been extremely busy.
For one, there was a need to eradicate the remaining forces of the Wang Clan and the Xue Clan. Although his help wasn't needed in the battles, his ability to distinguish Devil Worshippers from normal people was necessary at times, so he was forced to move back and forth through the Central Continent many times to provide his help.
Fortunately, his teleportation was no longer restrained. As such, the hassle was minimized to a manageable level.
As for his personal affairs, the last week had been spent stabilizing the situation in the Sanctuary.
In reality, although he had taken in those millions of people from the 3000 Beast Mountain Range, he only really interacted with their leaders.
Subordinating entire races through just this much was impossible. While the elves had undying loyalty towards him due to the Ancestral Seal, it wasn't the same for the Dragons and Phoenixes.
So, within the Sanctuary, there were two main things he was focused on. Firstly, helping with the creation of infrastructure and providing food, and secondly, battle.
That's right. He had been earnestly battling with the Dragon Troop from the White Dragon Grotto for the past week to gain their submission. Considering how the White Dragon King raised them, this method was the natural course of action.
As for the phoenixes, they were far more difficult to deal with. In fact, he had no idea how he was going to tame them.
But for now, it wasn't necessary. He could worry about it after dealing with the White Dragon Grotto.
Other than those kinds of troublesome tasks, the rest of his time had been solely dedicated to little Xue'er and the Lily/Mei duo. Since those kids had been bugging him for a while about how negligent he was, he was forced to entertain them for hours on end.
In short, he was busy to the point where he couldn't even have his talks with Rose and Elena, who had also returned to the Celestial Star Palace with him.
'Haa…thankfully they're understanding people.' Damien sighed inwardly. After wrapping up the ordeals of the Empyrean Dragon Realm, the first thing he did was make sure to make his intentions clear to the two of them.
The fact that he wanted to have serious conversations with them had been privately conveyed to both for a while now, but he never got the time to actually carry out on his promise.
But neither Rose nor Elena complained. Instead, they told him they were willing to wait until he had the time. For this, he was endlessly grateful.
'Today is a good day. Since I've caught up with Long Chen already, after I talk to the old man, I'll pay my visits to them.'
Damien finally arrived at the location specified on his disciple token. Unexpectedly, he found himself in front of a massive black palace.
'Isn't this…?'
Damien's eyes widened. 'Why the hell would the old man bring me to the Sect Master's residence?'
But before he could think about it for too long, Tian Yang's voice rang out in his ear.
"Brat, you've finally arrived. Come around to the back. We're all waiting for you."
Damien raised his brow and spread his awareness, finding the courtyard behind the palace. Without waiting any longer, he teleported over.
When his figure reappeared, he was immediately assaulted with a wave of suffocating aura. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the line-up in front of him.
Tian Yang sat nearest to where he was, at the foot of a long table. Other than him, there were only two figures present.
One was Shangguan Yu, the Sect Master of the Jade Heavenly Palace, and the other…
A beautiful woman with a razor-sharp presence. The cold and detached look in her eyes made it clear that she wasn't someone who could be trifled with. As for her identity, she was Bai Xieren, the Sect Master of the Celestial Star Palace.
Even though the three of them weren't consciously releasing their auras, just their passive presences alone combined into a fierce force that would cause most people to bow their heads in submission.
But Damien refused to do so. Ignoring the other two, he looked at Tian Yang defiantly and spoke as he usually did.
"Old man, you should know how busy I am. Quickly stop with the posturing and tell me what's up."
Tian Yang grinned, Shangguan Yu smiled imperceptibly, and Bai Xieren's eyes narrowed.
Tian Yang spoke first. "Brat, even in the presence of your own Sect Master, you still dare to act like this?"
Damien glanced over at Bai Xieren before turning his attention back to Tian Yang and rolling his eyes.
"Knowing you, these two have already been informed about my personality before I got here. Although I would pay my respects to the Sect Master during a public occasion, this is a private meeting of big shots so I doubt something like that matters. Plus, there are probably more important matters at hand, am I wrong?"
Tian Yang's grin widened. "Looks like you finally learned how to use that brain of yours in the past year. Indeed, formalities don't mean anything at the moment. Considering what you've achieved, during this meeting, you will be considered as our equal."
Damien raised his brow in interest. Although it was true that he was being arrogant because of his nature, he was also testing the waters a bit. He wanted to know how much leeway his status as Star Master would grant him in front of these experts.
But to be regarded as their equal? That kind of thing far surpassed his expectations.
Tian Yang didn't give him much time to be shocked, though. After the useless talk was out of the way, he cut straight to the point.
"Alright. It's time for you to tell us about your conversation with the World Core."
