"Hi, my name is Xiao Yue, but you can just call me big sister!" Xiao Yue said, introducing herself to Xue'er.
Xue'er immediately turned back to Damien.
"Big brother, how could you betray me like this?!" She exclaimed, huffing and pouting as she glared at him hatefully.
"E-eh?!" Damien stammered.
"Who is this girl?!" Xue'er interrogated.
"Uh, she's my friend's little sister. I thought the two of you would be good friends…"
"Eh?"
Xue'er's brow quirked curiously.
"So you aren't selling me off?"
"Why the f— why would I ever do that?!" Damien declaimed, appalled by her wild assumption.
"But Uncle Bai said that if I don't practice hard, you'll sell me off…"
"He said WHAT?!"
Damien rubbed his temple and sighed defeatedly.
'That damn old man. Just what is he thinking saying something like that to a kid?'
Xue'er grew up in the Sanctuary, so she was quite naive to the reality of the outside world, which she'd only heard about in stories.
Because of her tragic past, Damien tried his best not to expose her to things like death and violence, but maybe sheltering her so much was a—
"Hehe~ just kidding!"
"Huh?"
Xue'er stuck her tongue out playfully.
"Actually, Uncle Bai told me to tell you that. He said you'd make a great expression if I did, and he was right! Hehehe~"
'Fuuuuuuuck, I'm going to kill that old man!'
Damien gave Xue'er a firm knock on the head before wryly turning to Su Ren and Xiao Yue.
"Brother."
Su Ren patted his new friend on the shoulder in solidarity. He now understood. This was truly a brother in arms.
Finally, someone who understood his pain!
As Damien experienced deja vu from his current situation, Xue'er ran away to escape punishment and started chatting with Xiao Yue.
The conversation went something like:
"If you call me big sister, this princess will never mistreat you!"
"Hmph, why should you be the big sister? I'm taller than you, and prettier than you, so I should be the big sister!"
"But I'm stronger than you!"
"Grrr, but my brother is stronger than yours!"
"You're lying! Senior Brother is the strongest genius in the universe!"
"That's only because my big brother didn't want that spot. Your senior brother should be thanking him!"
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
It was enough to make a grown man lose his mind, which is why Damien and Su Ren left the girls to their own devices and switched their focus elsewhere.
"You said Xiao Yue is part of a sect, right? Which one?" Damien asked.
"The Divine Feather Sect," Su Ren replied, "My Master is close to their Sect Master, so I was able to leave her there comfortably."
"Hmm, Divine Feather Sect…if I'm remembering right, they're just under the Holy Land level. I'm sure they won't be too happy about this outcome," Damien muttered, glancing over at the girls who couldn't decide whether to argue or get along.
Su Ren shook his head in disagreement. "Xiao Yue's master is trustworthy. He likely only wished for her to witness a clash of greater forces. After all, looking at her level, would any sane person think she had a chance?"
Damien hummed in agreement. Just as Xue'er was 15 and at the peak of 3rd class, Xiao Yue was 16 and just recently passed her Universe Baptism. Her talent was immense, but her real strength wasn't enough to hurt a fly in the Holy Light Realm.
'That only goes to show how much they trust Su Ren…alright, it should be fine. I'll have to meet the Divine Feather Sect's group later.'
"What's your plan now?" He asked, changing the topic.
"I only came to this realm to find worthy opponents, however, there are none other than you. Now, I will help Xiao Yue look for treasures." Su Ren said after a moment of thought.
"I see…"
Damien quickly summoned his mana and drew a map of the secret realm in the air, blocking off a certain area in the far corner near the golden pyramid.
"I recommend this area. There should be 50 or 60 Chaos-rank treasures and at least one God-rank artifact there. As for the rest of the realm, don't hope for much."
Su Ren's brow raised in intrigue. "Don't tell me you plan to…"
"Shhh…it's already been a few minutes since our battle ended. The forest is crowded with eyes."
"Hmph, why should I mind them? What can they do?"
"Haha, I mean, that's true. They only saw the aftermath of the battle rather than our actual combat, yet they're still too scared to approach. However, it's not just them watching, is it?"
"Fair enough."
Su Ren panned an indifferent gaze through the surrounding forest, causing several bushes to shake as those hiding within their leaves jerked.
"Then, I shall take my leave now. Let us meet again at a later date," he finally said, once more giving Damien a bow.
Damien returned it in kind with a smile. "Of course. Ah, but would you mind doing me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Hmm, never mind."
Damien shook his head, dismissing what he was about to say.
Originally, he was going to ask Su Ren to take Xue'er along with him so she could get some real-world experience, but he immediately realized it was a stupid idea.
When was the last time Xue'er actually came to Grand Heavens Boundary?
She was born in a secret realm, and she was raised in an isolated world.
Damien brought her out with the singular thought to distract Xiao Yue and introduce Xue'er to a genius her age, but his actions were far deeper than that.
First off, he openly teleported a stranger into the Holy Light Realm through unknown means. The Sanctuary's existence was too improbable to be guessed, but those outside would definitely be curious about his methods.
He needed to think up a valid excuse, and while he did so…
He would give Xue'er the best possible first experience as a genius of the universe she could possibly have.
Damien and Su Ren wrapped up their conversation and pulled their respective children away from each other, bidding farewell and moving in opposite directions.
"Hmph, that Xiao Xiao is so annoying! Big brother, I don't need a friend like her," Xue'er complained as they left the area.
"Haha, you're saying that, but calling her by a nickname? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?"
"Nope! Actually, Auntie taught me that xiao means small in big brother's homeland, so I call her Xiao Xiao, because she's double small!"
"Pfft…! I don't think that's how that works, but let's roll with it anyway! Which auntie taught you that?"
"Auntie Elvira, of course!"
"Eh? Who would've thought!"
Damien was genuinely surprised. When did Elvira start studying up on Earth?
And it wasn't just to the level of knowing Damien's homeland of America, but the entirety of Earth.
After all, Damien wasn't Chinese, nor did he speak Chinese. It could be said that Elvira managed to become even more knowledgeable on his home planet than he was!
It was heartwarming to know that she'd been making these efforts without a single word to him, just as she did with everything else.
If it wasn't for Elvira, Theavel wouldn't have become what it currently was. She was his most trustworthy aid, and someone whose back he knew would always support him,
Wasn't that why she was the 1st of the 5 Emperors?
Damien happily conversed with Xue'er, learning more about Theavel from the perspective of its residents and learning more about what Xue'er had been up to in the time they hadn't been together.
Her progress was almost reality-breaking. She managed to reach the peak of 3rd class in only 2 years, not slowing down at all from when she was in the earlier stages of power.
'It's time…'
He couldn't delay it anymore.
'Xue'er needs to make her debut in Grand Heavens Boundary. Now that she's working towards her Baptism, I can't selfishly hold her back anymore.'
'It's time for her to enter the true battleground of geniuses.'
