Several days later, in the Sun Moon Empire.
A hundred li outside Mingdu, the blue sky looked washed clean, and the sun shone brilliantly as more than a dozen figures streaked through the heavens.
"Oh, goodness! Grandma, slow down a little! We're in no hurry to get back to Mingdu!"
The white-haired boy with mismatched eyes circled the old woman, fussing over her with such painstaking care that he seemed closer to her than her own grandson.
Metal wings reflected dazzling colors beneath the blazing sun. Lin Qing's specially made Level 4 Flying Soul Tool was easy for a Level 39 Soul Elder to control. Grandma Lin had traveled far and wide in her youth, and the old woman who had never yielded to any man had lost none of her old vigor. Flames still burst fiercely from her thrusters.
Watching Xiao Hongchen flutter about like a moth, Grandma Lin said with a smile, "I rarely go out now that I'm old. I'd almost forgotten what flying felt like. Times really have changed. Compared with the Star Luo Empire's flying soul tools, the Sun Moon Empire's technology is far more advanced."
"The Sun Moon Empire isn't like Shrek. Our sacred land of soul engineering wasn't built on boasting, but on genuine progress, one step at a time," Xiao Hongchen declared proudly. "Grandma, Qing handles countless affairs every day. He's so busy his feet barely touch the ground. Let me take you around Mingdu! Nobody knows its fun spots better than someone born and raised there!"
"All right."
The sight of the old woman and the boy chatting so happily drew admiring sighs from the Sun Moon party at Xiao Hongchen's skill in winning over elders. Nana leaned close to Ye Guyi, the Ghost whispering into the ear of the pure,