"Yeah, we finally cultivated to the Highgod level. Of course we should relax properly."
"Then let's go back to the Rayast Continent. There are still several decades before the next Plane Guardian arrives, so I can take care of all the family matters when I return."
"Sure. Before I leave, I can make another trip to the Rayast Continent too. Haha, it feels like I haven't been there in ages."
"Haha, you really do live a carefree life as a Plane Guardian. Then let's set off now."
After saying that, the two made some simple preparations and flew toward the Rayast Continent.
"Simon, how about we compete in speed? Let's see whether your Wind Element Speed Profound Truth is faster, or my Fire Element Profound Mystery of Explosion."
Fanny said cheerfully.
"Sure. I'm curious too, so let's compare."
As they spoke, the two raised their speed to the limit. Of course, Simon only used Wind Divine Power and did not use Fusion Divine Power.
Pale cyan divine power swirled around Simon's body as he shot into the distance like a phantom, far surpassing the maximum speed he had possessed as a Lowgod.
"As expected, only a fully realized Speed Profound Truth deserves to be called the embodiment of speed."
Meanwhile, Fanny radiated dazzling fiery-red light. Her entire body instantly transformed into fire element, vanishing in a flash. The moment she appeared again, she transformed into fire element once more and continued flashing forward.
At first, the two were evenly matched, and Simon even held a slight lead. But Fanny was, after all, a Highgod who had fused the Profound Mystery of Fire Element with the Profound Mystery of Explosion. She excelled at explosive speed, and after flashing several times in succession, she gradually left Simon behind.
"As expected of the Law of Fire. It excels at both explosive attack power and explosive speed. Unlike the Wind Element Speed Profound Truth, which reaches its absolute limit the moment it is used. It starts at its fastest and can only maintain that speed afterward, unlike the Fire Element, which can keep bursting forth and accelerating."
Simon sighed as he watched the fiery-red sphere flashing at Extreme Speed ahead of him.
But as the bursts of Extreme Speed continued, Fanny gradually slowed down again.
She returned to roughly the same speed as Simon, but a short while later, Fanny erupted once more. With several consecutive flashes, she left Simon behind again.
"It seems the Fire Element may have strong bursts, but it still needs brief pauses. Sure enough, every law has its own characteristics."
As they chased one another like this, it did not take long before the coastline of the Rayast Continent appeared before them.
Simon had originally intended to visit Loya, but then he thought that they would be passing through again in a few decades anyway. He decided to visit next time and say farewell while he was at it.
"Haha, Simon, looks like I was faster~"
Fanny, who was the first to rush onto the continent, said smugly.
"I concede defeat. The Fire Element truly is strong in terms of speed. But once my Wind Element reaches the Highgod level, Fanny, you won't be able to catch me."
Simon landed afterward. The Wind Element truly deserved its reputation as a law exceptionally suited for speed. Even though he was only a Midgod and was using nothing more than Midgod Wind Divine Power, his full-speed burst was only slightly slower than Fanny, a Highgod who had fused two Profound Mysteries of the Fire Element.
"Of course. I, Fanny, am a genius of the family~. With just a slight display of my power, wouldn't suppressing a tiny Midgod like you be effortless?"
Fanny was so delighted by the praise that she practically seemed ready to fly. Unable to help herself, she began boasting again...
However, Fanny's talent for cultivation truly was not bad. In the Coiling Dragon World, where one could live forever upon reaching the Saint Realm, time was the least valuable thing.
Reaching the Highgod level in a million years while fusing two Profound Mysteries, especially with one of them being the Profound Mystery of Explosion, and doing so without going through intense life-and-death battles—such talent was actually quite good.
Although Simon had lost this speed contest, he was still very satisfied.
After all, he still had not used Fusion Divine Power. Once he did, his speed could increase by at least three times, far surpassing Fanny's current maximum speed.
After secretly comparing them, Simon gained a clearer understanding of his own speed.
Once they reached land, the two no longer traveled at full speed and instead headed toward the Gale Empire at an ordinary pace.
Even at ordinary speed, Simon brought Fanny down at the family ancestral estate several hours later.
Since it was still summer and not the annual Wind God Festival, the ancestral estate seemed somewhat deserted. Only the family patrols were making their rounds everywhere.
"Simon, your family is quite large. The design is rather beautiful too."
Fanny seemed quite pleased with the layout and design of Simon's family ancestral estate.
"Haha, really? I think the Patriarch hired the best designer in the empire to design it. I don't know much about this sort of thing."
Simon laughed awkwardly. He truly did not understand such matters, nor was he particularly interested in them. In his view, only personal strength was truly important.
As long as the external conditions were acceptable, that was enough.
Back to the Family
As Simon spread out his Divine Sense, he found Patriarch Solo and Second Elder Garrod in the family council hall.
Thus, Simon led Fanny toward the council hall.
"Patriarch, Elder, I'm back."
Simon called out loudly.
More than a hundred years had passed, yet Patriarch Solo and Elder Garrod had barely changed.
The two, who had been discussing something, immediately stopped when they heard Simon's voice. They exchanged a glance, and both revealed delighted expressions. Patriarch Solo excitedly stepped forward and pulled Simon into an embrace.
"Haha, Simon, you've finally returned. We all missed you so much."
"I missed you all as well, Patriarch. Has the family encountered any major events over the past century?"
"Nothing major. With His Majesty Edward watching over us, as well as the divine sword you gave us before, the family has remained very safe. By the way, Simon, who is this lady beside you?"
Only then did Solo notice Fanny standing next to Simon.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce her. This is a friend I met while traveling, Fanny Grayson."
"Oh, so you're Fanny. On behalf of the Herbert Family, I warmly welcome you as our guest." Solo said happily as he looked at the lovely Fanny.
Since Simon had befriended her, and he himself could not sense even a trace of her aura, this seemingly young girl had most likely surpassed the Saint Realm.
She's very likely a god!
Realizing this, Solo was startled inwardly. But then he remembered that Simon was also a god. Wasn't it perfectly normal for gods to befriend other gods? Thus, he quickly calmed down.
Poor Solo. Even with all his imagination, he could never have guessed that this harmless-looking, beautiful girl before him was their Plane Guardian. Of course, that was also because Fanny had not appeared on the Rayast Continent for more than a hundred thousand years.
"This kid Simon has been obsessed with cultivation since he was young and never had many friends. Fanny, just treat this as your own home. If you need anything, just say so. Don't be reserved."
After inviting the two to sit, Solo spoke generously.
"Alright, Patriarch Solo. I won't stand on ceremony," Fanny replied.
"Patriarch, are my parents well? Have they reached the Saint Realm?" Simon finally asked the question that concerned him most.
"Darren and Iseline? They are both well. It's just a pity that they are still only Ninth Rank and have not broken through to the Saint Realm."
Sure enough, for ordinary people, breaking through to the Saint Realm was not so easy.
Fortunately, he had met Fanny and had luckily received from her a treasure that could assist cultivation.
"I see. Then I'll have to trouble you, Patriarch, to send someone to inform my parents and have them return to the family. I have a surprise for everyone."
Seeing how serious Simon was, Solo did not ask what the surprise was. Having led the family for so many years, he possessed that much composure. He immediately sent someone to bring the family's messenger magical eagle, personally wrote a letter, and handed it to the Ninth Rank Wind-Splitting Eagle to deliver.
"This Ninth Rank Wind-Splitting Eagle can deliver the letter within half a day. I'll have Darren and Iseline rush here at their fastest speed as soon as they see it. They should be able to return to the family in three days."
"Thank you, Patriarch."
"What is there to thank me for? It's only a small matter."
Afterward, Solo used the family's highest standards to arrange accommodations for Fanny and also prepared a banquet.
"Simon, over the past century, the family's territory has expanded by another two provinces. Now, all the habitable territory in the northern part of the Gale Empire falls under the jurisdiction of our Herbert Family. It's perfect that you returned this time. After His Majesty Edward emerged from seclusion last time and learned that you had become a god, he had wanted to meet you for a long time. Unfortunately, not long after he emerged, he went into seclusion again. Who knows when you'll be able to meet him now."
"The family territory has expanded again? That's a good thing. His Majesty Edward has gone into seclusion again? That really is unfortunate."
Simon responded casually. With strength now comparable to that of a Five-Star Fiend, he no longer cared much about such trivial matters of the Material Plane.
After chatting for a while longer, Simon brought Fanny to the place where she would be staying next: an elegant and quiet little courtyard. Its layout and decorations were all of the family's highest standard. Simon's former courtyard was right beside it, the two adjacent to one another.
"Leading a family truly isn't easy."
Fanny sighed. "My grandfather was also a Patriarch. I used to think he was simply too strict with me, but now that I think about it, the fact that he could lead our family to stand firm in Hell for countless hundreds of millions of years was truly incredible."
Especially after witnessing the rise and fall of countless empires and families over the past million years, Fanny felt this even more deeply. Now, seeing Simon's Patriarch worrying over every large and small matter of the family, she could not help but feel emotional.
"The Patriarch truly has it hard. Maintaining the operations of such a large family while keeping it prosperous all this time—I truly admire him."
Simon spoke sincerely. This was also why, despite his strength having far surpassed that of the Patriarch, he still remained so respectful toward him.
Without Solo continuously supporting the family, Simon would not have grown so smoothly either.
That was why Simon felt such deep affection for the family.
This deeply ingrained concept of family was also one of the defining characteristics of the Coiling Dragon World.
In this dangerous world, only by gathering the strength of the entire family could one survive numerous crises and continue growing stronger.
Simon and Fanny chatted idly like this, and night soon arrived. Simon brought Fanny to the banquet. The family had put a great deal of effort into arranging it, making it both grand and refined.
The entire family was delighted to learn that Simon had returned, and the banquet did not end until late into the night.
If Solo was now the sky of the Herbert Family, then Simon was the spiritual pillar of the entire family.
Everyone in the family now knew that Simon had become a god. This greatly encouraged them all, filling them with confidence. They no longer felt inferior to the imperial family, and the younger generation became even more motivated to cultivate.
After seeing Fanny back to her courtyard, Simon went to Solo's study. Seeing that the other two elders were also there, he got straight to the point and took out the Thunder Godhead.
"I obtained this after fighting the Magical Beast King of the Lania Mountain Range while passing through there. It is a thunder-element Godhead. This Godhead is useless to me, so I'll leave it to the Patriarch to distribute."
Seeing Simon casually take out a Godhead, Solo could no longer remain calm.
This was a Godhead! A treasure dreamed of by countless Saint Realm experts, yet it had now appeared before him just like that, and Simon was even allowing him to distribute it.
Garrod and Sanders beside him were stunned as well. More than a hundred years had passed, but their strength had not improved much, let alone reaching godhood.
"This is too precious, Simon. Even if you have become a god, your Saint Realm main body can still use it. The family cannot accept it."
Patriarch Solo waved his hand, still thinking of Simon's interests.
"Haha, Patriarch, there's no need to decline. I have already broken through to become a Midgod, and I do not wish to use a Godhead either."
Upon hearing that Simon had broken through once again, Solo and the other two were so shocked that they could not speak.
Only after a long while did Solo finally calm himself.
"Hahaha, good! Good! Good!"
"Simon, you truly deserve to be called the most talented figure in the family's history. Even in the history of this entire plane, talent like yours is probably among the very greatest."
Patriarch Solo felt that this was the happiest moment of his life.
Before you continue