“Did you manage to get those women’s names?” Esme inquired, casting a glance to her side. An orange glow appeared, and a young man clad in black emerged as he caught her words. He turned his gaze toward her, noticing her hands folded and her eyes averted, suggesting her dissatisfaction with his abrupt arrival after leaving.
“Are you feeling jealous?” Ryuk inquired with a small smile, amused by her reaction. As he looked at Esme, their eyes connected for a brief moment, causing the illusion on her face to vanish and revealing her smooth, creamy complexion, immaculate skin, and striking, deep golden eyes beneath elegantly arched brows.
“Absolutely, and it’s intense,” Esme declared without hesitation, her gaze locked onto the deep amber eyes that seemed to narrow, as if peering into her very soul. The reflection she saw was solely her own, drawing her closer until she stood just four inches away despite the height difference.
At that particular moment, the two individuals found themselves amidst a gentle breeze, causing their attire to sway elegantly. Esme’s white dress danced softly, momentarily revealing her exquisite skin beneath, adorned with a tiara that imparted a regal presence. Her mesmerizing golden eyes, enhanced by the sunlight filtering through Gaia’s embrace, locked onto the deep amber eyes of a man who stood with a confident posture. His robust figure was draped in a black robe embellished with orange stripes, and a smile broke free from the gap in his black masquerade mask, framed by a straw hat that completed his look.
“Shouldn’t we get out of here?” Ryuk proposed, extending his hand. She took it and nodded, while her other hand gripped the reins of the horses, tethered to the tails by four other men. They were deliberately looking away, knowing that if they dared to peek at the couple, it could erupt into a violent confrontation and inevitably turn them into blood pulp.
Once again, they vanished, leaving behind a trail of shimmering golden dust particles.
—-
“Is this the border of Middletown?” The sight was unlike anything seen before at previous borders. As they arrived at the outskirts of Middletown, the first person was struck by a unique and striking view, clearly distinct from that of Lower Town.
In front of them stood a massive metallic gate resembling a citadel, with long walls stretching as far as the eye could see. Various individuals occupied the area, serving as guards adorned in armor made of an unusual material—not metal, but rather a green-textured substance that emitted a faint whitish glow.
Due to it being a path from Middletown to the upper town, most of the individuals present here belonged to the lower-level upper families among eighteen, who did not possess the strength to directly enter the upper town or Middletown through their own power.
“Young master, why go through the same hassle when you can just teleport inside the upper town?” Bonebreaker stepped forward and inquired, glancing in the direction of the soldiers who were observing them as they approached. For him, it was confusing since they could simply use their ability to infiltrate the upper town without being noticed by the soldiers. Previously, his master had tried to enter Middletown through the borders, which left him perplexed.
Ryuk remained calm and impassive as he kept his gaze fixed in the direction of the soldiers. Three of them slowly approached, arriving nearer, with one of the soldiers appearing slightly bored, as if recognizing him as a person of higher status due to his clothing. This indicated that they were much more self-aware than the soldiers on the Middletown borders.
“Young Master, may we know which family you belong to?” inquired one of the soldiers. His eyes observed the individuals accompanying this black-robed man, who, in truth, appeared completely normal. However, his clothes were further proof of his higher status. The soldier noticed a woman dressed in white whose face was shrouded in mist, invisible to him, prompting him to believe that this woman possessed strength far beyond his ability to perceive.
Due to the different properties of Ki, which in truth acted differently than Mana and other energies—being sourced from one’s body—it was called internal energy. A person with lower strength was unable to perceive someone possessing higher strength than them because there was no medium present in the atmosphere, as internal energy was born from within.
The most they could communicate with was spiritual energy, which was classified into internal energy and external energy. Both possessed different properties; internal energy provided the strength necessary for the soul and physical body, while external energy created a medium to the universe, allowing one to derive energy from different realms after attaining enlightenment.
“Here,” without delay, Ryuk took out an emblem, the token inscribed with the Wei family name. Upon seeing this, the soldiers were slightly taken aback before realizing that this young man was a young master from the Wei family.
“Apologies, Young Master—” Even before the soldiers could go on to apologize for any offense they may have caused, they were interrupted by another feminine voice.
“Here, it’s mine,” Esme offered a jade pendant that was small in comparison to Ryuk’s, yet the visible chill coursed through all the individuals, especially the soldiers who were far enough to realize that this woman, whose face was shrouded in mist, was none other than a prominent elder of the Wei family.
[ Butt Plug is insanely strong ]
‘Huh? Is that a butt plug?’ Bonebreaker noticed the different shape of that talisman, prompting him to think of the first thing that came to his mind upon seeing the jade pendant.
‘A butt plu—what if the Young Master heard our thoughts?’ Before they could think further, they felt a chill as they remembered they were standing just near that demon with the amber eyes, prompting them to gulp their own thoughts down.
“Forgive us, Elder,” unlike previous times, their reaction was much more intense as all three soldiers directly cut out, knelt, and placed their hands on their chests with a bow, showing their complete submission towards the identity of the person holding that particular jade.
To be exact, a young master belonging to any major family definitely holds more value than simply an elder. However, the respect here depended on the strength one possessed. An elder needed to hold much strength to earn that position, unlike a young master who could be born without possessing any strength and still receive his title by heredity.
“Please, this way,” without wasting any time, the soldiers stood and made their way towards the huge gate, opening it as it slid with a loud sound, revealing a dense amount of Qi emitting from within, indicating that the concentration of Ki was far denser on the other side than this one.
‘Is this heaven?’ Not being able to hold his thoughts, Bonebreaker and the other three servants thought as they accompanied the horses through the gate, entering a sight that was completely marvelous, with clouds directly reaching their feet, revealing that they were at a substantial height on a mountain peak.
“Young master, forgive us this way. The ship of the Wei family is waiting for your arrival,” the soldiers announced as they led all the individuals toward a certain part where different kinds of ships appeared like normal wooden boats but were infused with internal energy, their mechanism unlike technological advancements based on the spiritual stones which were used to power them up.
As they moved forward, it was evident that all the eighteen families from the upper town had designated their ships according to the status of those coming from the middle town, allowing them to easily enter the upper town using these ships of that particular family.
All these ships were of enormous size; some were smaller, some larger, and some even more gigantic, making them appear like small rats. As they arrived in front of such a ship, the soldier informed, “Please, board, young master; this is the ship belonging to the Wei family which will lead to their estate.”
