A'Su, We Want to Improve Too

Inside the cave in the mountain, several figures peeked out from the cracks, looking up at the young man in the sky who held Blood Color longsword and whose clothes fluttered in the wind.

Truly full of vigor and high spirits.

Her black hair was whipped by the wind, and the Blood Threads on the knife reflected the sunset.

The people inside the cave were stunned.

"Holy crap..."

Xia Zhiqiu stared wide-eyed, and after a long while, she finally managed to utter a sentence.

"A'Su isn't going out to buy goods, she's going out to go on a shopping spree!"

"One person wiped out an entire swarm of Sonic Bats, then chased and killed them all without leaving a single one alive. If it were me, I'd be chased all over the mountain by those things, and I'd be crying the whole time. Comparisons are just odious."

"Alright."

Zhang Xuan patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Don't compare yourself to A'Su. If A'Su do, we'll all end up in a 'self-humiliating' Hospital Room."

Shen Mo didn't speak, but a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes, which were usually as cold as ice.

It was something very pure.

I yearn for it.

Xiao Qiyue stood by the cave wall, her silver hair falling down, her golden eyes fixed on the figure in the sky.

His eyes brimmed with unconcealed pride.

This is Xiao Qiyue's fiancé, excellent!

Just then...

"... Why."

Xia Zhiqiu, who was usually carefree, suddenly sighed, her voice much lower than usual.

He clenched his fists so tightly that the veins stood out.

"With A'Su's abilities... he could actually complete the mission much faster."

"The task of Middle God is simply to make a trip to the central circle by himself; it's an easy task."

"As a result, he stayed on the outskirts for our sake."

Xia Zhiqiu gritted her teeth.

"Because we are Lower Gods, our mission is on the outskirts, so he's stuck with us there. To kill a Sonic Python, we have to wait until we're all gathered before we can leave together."

After he finished speaking, he fell silent.

The cave fell silent.

"We can't keep holding A'Su back."

Xia Zhiqiu raised her head, her eyes filled with determination.

"Everyone, I have a bold idea."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his head and met several pairs of eyes.

Everyone sees the same thing.

I understand what you're trying to say.

Zhang Xuan spoke first.

"I'm thinking about that too."

"We really can't keep dragging Su Ye."

Shen Mo nodded in agreement.

Zhang Xuan continued.

"Su Ye is good to us, but we can't take that kindness for granted."

"We want to be his brothers, not his underlings."

"Right."

Xia Zhiqiu nodded emphatically.

"Brothers are meant to walk side-by-side, not to hide in the back and wait for someone to come to their rescue."

We also need to work hard to make ourselves stronger.

Mu Wanrou.

"At least we can't let Su Ye fall far behind and be unable to help him in any way, right?"

"That..."

Xia Zhiqiu looked around and tentatively asked.

"Is that settled?"

"It's settled then."

Zhang Xuan, Shen Mo, Mu Wanrou almost in unison.

Xiao Qiyue remained silent.

She simply turned around, looked at those gazes, and then nodded very lightly but firmly.

It's settled then.

When Su Ye returned, he sensed something was wrong even before he entered the cave.

The atmosphere inside the cave was completely different from before he left.

He landed at the cave entrance, sheathed his sword, and glanced around.

"... what happens?"

"I just went out for a bit, why do you all act like you're in some important meeting?"

The crowd looked at each other.

In the end, it was Zhang Xuan who stepped forward.

"A'Su."

He took a deep breath and said very seriously.

"We've decided. From now on, our mission as Lower Gods will Star-Ranked Blood Bounty..."

We want to do it ourselves.

Su Ye was taken aback.

He glanced at the crowd instinctively.

"Hey-hey..."

Xia Zhiqiu scratched his head, smiling a little embarrassedly, yet also a little cheeky.

"However... A'Su, let's get this straight up."

"If we really encounter a life-threatening danger that we can't handle..."

"You still have to back us up."

"You can't just stand by and do nothing when the time comes, saying that we said we'd do it ourselves and then you really abandoned us."

Xia Zhiqiu said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Yes."

Mu Wanrou couldn't help but laugh.

"We just don't want to eat and drink for free, but we didn't say we didn't want your strongest combatant."

Zhang Xuan smiled too.

"That's the gist of it. We'll do our best, and if all else fails, we'll ask for your help."

"... You guys are really shrewd with your calculations."

Su Ye shook his head and smiled.

He actually understands everything.

These people were afraid of becoming a burden to him.

She wanted to stand by his side on her own merits, instead of always staying behind him.

Su Ye naturally wouldn't deny his friend.

He patted Zhang Xuan on the shoulder, his gaze falling on Xiao Qiyue.

Xiao Qiyue met his gaze and nodded slightly.

Su Ye withdrew his hand, leaned against the cave wall, and smiled lazily with his arms crossed.

"Alright. Then I'll be waiting to see how you all perform."

"Let me make this clear from the start... Don't push yourself to the brink. If you really can't hold on any longer, don't force yourself."

"When things get to that point, if you need to call me, you have to."

"Got it?"

"I've got it!"

Xia Zhiqiu was the first to respond, and her response was resounding.

When the group emerged from the hole, it was already completely dark outside.

The night in the Hurricane Secret Realm is unlike anywhere else.

There was no moon in the sky, and only a few stars; only the howling Astral Wind howled and darted back and forth through the crevices of the mountains.

Occasionally, a long howl from a monstrous beast could be heard in the distance, sounding eerie.

The group took to the air again and flew into the twilight, following the route confirmed by Zhang Xuan.

But this flight took half a month.

The Hurricane Secret Realm is ridiculously large.

The place where they landed looked very close to the mission objective.

But once we actually took off, we realized that the distance was only on the Map, not under our feet.

Those mountains stand side by side, densely packed together; flying around them is like navigating through a maze.

A road that should have been straight was instead made to meander with seven or eight bends.

Half a month.

In the past two weeks, people have been laughing and joking much less.

Xia Zhiqiu used to have a mouth that never stopped from morning till night. She could talk about anything from the scenery in the sky to the popular shops on Blue Star, and then gossip about Su Ye and Xiao Qiyue, and she could talk for half a day.

But in the past two weeks, he has become noticeably quieter.

It's not that I don't want to talk about it, it's that I don't have the time.

While flying, one must also cultivate.

The wind in the Secret Realm never stops. Those Astral Winds blow in from the cracks in the mountain and wrap around people, feeling like countless tiny knives scraping back and forth on their skin.

Others might think it's suffering.

But these people treated this little breeze as a whetstone.

During the intervals between flights, they would use their Divine Power to withstand the cutting force of the Astral Wind, repeatedly striking their meridians and tempering their Divine Bodies.

I'll treat that pain and bitterness as nourishment.

Su Ye saw it all.

He didn't say anything, but silently took out a lot of good things from his meager savings.

He looted them all as he fought his way from the Demon Race realm.

The Demon Race's Body Tempering Pill, the Incense for Refining Divine Sense, and a Small Piece of Ancient Vine for Polishing Laws.

These things are rare even in the Tribal Grounds; any one of them would make the Lower Gods green with envy.

Su Ye distributed them one by one to everyone.

"Take it."

No one refused and accepted them.

What are you declining?

Between them and Su Ye, there was no need for formalities anymore.

From going out to kill Field Mice together in Blue Star, to forming a team to kill the Zhizhi Beasts in college, and then going through one life-or- Life and Death after another together.

Over the years, the favors owed to Su Ye have piled up to a mountain, so this one more or less makes no difference.

"With these, we can get there faster."

Zhang Xuan carefully put away the piece of ancient vine, speaking frankly.

"A'Su's good intentions should be used wisely."

Xia Zhiqiu, unusually, didn't joke around. He stuffed the Body Tempering Pill into his mouth and muttered something.

"This tastes like those pills we used to sneak around eating when we were kids."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Mu Wanrou her eyes at him.

"Eat it and refine it quickly, don't waste it."

And so it went, flying and training at the same time.

I flew for half a month and practiced for half a month.

The aura of each person was slowly rising. The change was subtle and imperceptible, but Su Night God sense.

Two weeks later, they finally flew to the area where the Sonic Python was often active.