Chapter 475: 475. Meeting Again
Lily did not immediately head toward the fifth floor. Instead, she wandered through the broad avenues of the Dragon Boat, her sharp eyes drinking in everything.
The vessel was so vast it felt less like a ship and more like a floating city. Arched bridges connected glowing pagodas; stalls lined the streets selling food, trinkets, and charms; fountains of spirit water sparkled under the light of conjured moons. The scent of roasted spirit beast meat mixed with the sweetness of candied lotus. Crowds pressed together in a constant tide— beast-folk with twitching ears, robed human cultivators, merfolk with jeweled scales.
It reminded her of something.
"That Level 3 Fishery tried to rob something like this," she muttered.
Her thoughts were cut short by shouts. A crowd had gathered near the plaza’s center, forming a wide ring.
Two men stood at the heart of it, their auras clashing like invisible storms.
One was broad-shouldered, smug, and wearing the crest of the Li Clan. His lips curled as he mocked, "Ling Tian, we could have been relatives. My father took a fancy to your mother, while my brother took a fancy to your younger sister. This is a blessing for your entire family, yet you fools don’t know what’s good for you!"
Gasps rippled through the audience. Such words were venomous even by northern standards.
The other man —slightly younger, with eyes sharp as blades —laughed, his voice ringing with ridicule.
"Li Woo, since we’re talking about fancying others, let me put it plainly. I’ve taken a fancy to your mother, and I’ve taken a fancy to every female in your Li Clan. Why don’t you line them up and marry them all to me? That way, we can all become relatives, too."
The crowd erupted. Some laughed, others hissed, but all eyes gleamed with hunger for drama.
Li Woo’s eyelids twitched violently. Rage painted his face crimson.
Lily’s gaze fell on the second man, and recognition stirred. She had met him before—only once, briefly, before the Kun Peng Ruins in the south. He looked the same, though perhaps more reckless, more wild.
Ling Tian.
She hadn’t expected to see him here of all places.
Before the insults could turn into violence, a stern voice sliced through the tension.
"Fighting is prohibited!" An eagle-folk guard swooped down from the sky, his wings spanning wide. "Any caught fighting will be fined one hundred thousand Lydia or else banned from the Dragon Boat permanently!"
The threat of punishment cooled both men immediately. Their killing intent vanished like mist before the sun. Neither dared risk being banned from the most lucrative floating hub in the North. They stepped back reluctantly, glaring daggers but restraining themselves.
The crowd sighed with disappointment, ready to disperse—
—and then Lily chuckled.
It was a quiet, amused sound, but in the charged silence, it carried.
Li Woo, passing by her, froze. His eyes snapped to her, filled with humiliation from Ling Tian’s words. The laughter struck him like a spark in a powder keg.
"Bitch, what are you laughing at?" he roared.
Lily didn’t answer. She simply raised her leg and—
Bang!
Her kick landed square on his face. Li Woo flew backward, crashing across the ground, a tooth spinning into the air.
The crowd gasped. Silence fell.
"Fighting is—" the eagle-folk started, feathers bristling.
But Lily casually held up her Dragon Boat card, brushing a strand of hair from her face. A crisp chime rang as she transferred the fine.
The eagle-folk blinked. "The fine is only one hundred thousand. You paid two hundred thousand."
Lily didn’t reply. She simply turned—and with another kick, Boom!— she sent Li Woo flying a second time, this time doubling him over with a strike to the stomach.
He crashed into the crowd like a sack of grain, groaning and retching.
Only then did Lily nod in satisfaction and walk away, her expression calm as if she had merely dusted her hands.
The eagle-folk could only stare. A hundred thousand Lydia extra for the privilege of a second kick. Rich Girl!.
Ling Tian stood dazed, his mouth slightly open. He had seen arrogance, cruelty, valor—but rarely such icy decisiveness paired with effortless beauty.
Snapping out of his trance, he hurried after her.
"W-wait! Miss!"
Lily stopped, her back straight, posture graceful yet commanding. "What do you want?"
Ling Tian faltered, struck dumb again by the cold clarity of her eyes. "I... I just—have we met before?"
Her lips curved faintly. "Are you trying to hit on me?"
He flushed red, waving his hands. "N-no, no! I know it sounds like that, but I really feel like we’ve met. It’s not a pick-up line, I swear."
Lily tilted her head, considering him. She already knew where they had crossed paths—the Kun Peng Ruins— but chose not to reveal it. "I don’t know. Maybe we met in the south. Have you been there?"
"Yes!" His eyes lit. "I lived there before."
---
Minutes later, they were sitting together in a dessert shop on the second floor. The shop was decorated with lanterns shaped like glowing fish, casting warm light on crystal dishes of iced lotus pudding.
Ling Tian laughed, relaxing into the seat opposite her. "I knew it. We really did meet at the Kun Peng Ruins. Haha! Miss Gomes, it’s fate that we’re reunited here."
Lily sipped her tea, her expression unreadable.
"You said you were ascended, right? Then... did you ascend with your parents?" she asked.
"No, just with my friends," he replied.
"Then why did he mention your family?" she pressed.
"Oh... back on Vector Island, he was bullying a family. To protect them, I pretended to be their long-lost son. Since then, all his anger has been directed at me," Ling Tian explained.
Ling Tian launched into his stories, unable to restrain himself. He spoke of the southern seas, of wandering with his companions, of near-death battles and narrow escapes. His voice was animated, full of vigor, yet tinged with a melancholy when he spoke of friends lost to the tides.
"If you’re trying to find your companions," Lily interrupted softly, "the fifth floor is your best bet. They don’t just sell information there—they can track people across the seas. If your friends are alive and making waves in the Northern Waters, the Dragon Boat probably already has word."
Ling Tian’s eyes widened. "Truly? That’s incredible. But..." He coughed into his hand, embarrassed. "Such services must be expensive. I’ll need to gather more funds before I can even dream of it."
Lily’s expression softened slightly. "That isn’t shameful. Money is never easy to come by. I know that too well. I serve as vice-captain of my ship. My so-called captain does little, while I’m the one burdened with the duties of leadership." She sighed faintly, stirring her tea.
"You... you’re a vice-captain?" Ling Tian stared in awe.
The conversation wound on. Ling Tian boasted about the Kun Peng Ruins, his trials within, and at last, with a touch of pride, revealed, "I was the one who gained the Peng Inheritance."
Lily’s fingers stilled on her cup. Her eyes sharpened. "Are you truly alright saying that to me? We just met today."
Ling Tian shrugged with a smile. "It’s not exactly a secret anymore. And besides... I trust you, Miss Gomes. You’re far too kind a lady to betray that trust."
Her lips parted, then closed. For a moment, she looked at him with a gaze that was almost pity.
"You’re far too naive," she murmured softly, her lips curling as if amused.
Inwardly, Lily Gomes was laughing.
Great... I already had my suspicions, but now it’s confirmed. You really are the one who carries the Peng Inheritance, she thought.
Earlier, when Ling Tian directed his killing intent toward Li Woo, she had noticed something that others completely overlooked. The moment his rage flared, the surrounding wind element began to stir violently, becoming erratic and turbulent. Ordinary eyes would see it as just an intense aura—but Lily knew better. She had witnessed something similar before.
Whenever Tyler wielded his water element, it carried a distinct, imposing pressure—an echo of the legendary Kun Peng. And here, before her, Ling Tian’s killing intent resonated with the same signature.
So that’s it. The Peng’s part of Inheritance... unmistakable. He’s too green, too naive to even realize he’s leaking such secrets. If I play this right, I can draw closer to him. Maybe even figure out how to extract the Peng Inheritance and pass it to Tyler. With that, Tyler could become a true Kun Peng, Lily plotted inwardly.
Yes, Lily was Right. Ling Tian was naive. Dangerously so.
---
Meanwhile, on the fifth floor of the Dragon Boat, chaos was unfolding.
Phantom Blackwood stood tall and unmoving, his expression neutral, almost bored, as one of the guards dangled in his grasp. With a single hand, he was choking the man as though he were no more than a disobedient child. The guard kicked and struggled, his face turning pale, but none of his comrades dared step forward for some reason.
Behind him, the Dragon Princess observed the scene with her usual amused expression, as if this violence were nothing more than a casual performance put on for her entertainment. Her lava eyes sparkled, lips curling into a smile that showed neither fear nor concern.
In stark contrast, Myrtle was nearly trembling. She paced in place, hands wringing together as her voice slipped out in a hushed panic.
"How did this turn into this...?" she muttered with a long, weary sigh.