The duel was over, yet the imperial capital still buzzed with endless talk of that clash of titans. Wandering bards had already woven the battle into a lengthy epic poem, lavishing it with every florid phrase imaginable to describe the ferocity and grandeur of the fight.
In these verses, Ye Chui and Bosli fought with desperate valour, pouring out every drop of their strength for the sake of honour. Even the mighty Beast Garden could not withstand their power and collapsed. Not even the wrath of the Beast God could burn away their resolve to defend their dignity…
Though the outcome was slightly regrettable, Ye Chui had fallen to Bosli, no one blamed him for the defeat. At the same time, everyone felt only awe toward Bosli.
A week passed.
In that week neither Ye Chui nor Bosli appeared in public. Both seemed to have suffered serious injuries during the duel. The Random Name Magic Guild remained a five-star guild, but it had now truly become the undisputed number one guild of the empire.
Nobles, royal family members, other magic guilds, and mercenary groups all sent representatives bearing gifts to Ye Chui’s guild in order to build relations. Such treatment was only fitting for the empire’s top magic guild. Ye Chui himself rarely showed his face; Vice-President Debbie received the visitors instead. Yet on several occasions people caught a glimpse of him. According to their later accounts:
“President Ye Chui does indeed appear injured. Blood keeps flowing from his nose, and his complexion looks poor… Strangely, though, every other member of the Random Name Magic Guild seems to be in the same state. When Vice-President Debbie spoke with us, blood suddenly began dripping from her nose without warning… Could it be that they were all wounded while trying to heal the president’s injuries?”
Ye Chui was indeed somewhat “injured, but only in the sense of excessive internal heat, yellow tongue coating, mouth ulcers, and the like… The nourishing effects of turtle blood were simply too potent. After the guild members tried it once, they decided not to eat any more for the time being and stored the rest, waiting until their bodies had fully digested what they had already consumed.
Over the past few days, thanks to the turtle blood, everyone’s magic power had increased noticeably. Apart from Gui Bao, who looked ready to bite anyone at the mere mention of turtle blood, the rest of the guild was in high spirits.
…
Early in the morning, after their customary one-punch morning workout and breakfast, Ye Chui, Debbie, Guni, Resa, Silas, Jacob, and Dani prepared to set out. They were heading to the imperial palace; the emperor had invited them to a banquet. A palace carriage had arrived at the guild gates before dawn.
Everyone had changed into brand-new uniforms bearing the guild logo and made ready to depart.
On an occasion like this, the three little terrors naturally had to stay home. Ye Chui specially instructed Green to remain at the castle and keep the trio in check. Green agreed readily; he had no interest in palace banquets. He would rather spend the time doing a few extra sets of dumbbells. Having declared Krian his lifelong rival, Green had transformed into a training maniac and was progressing rapidly.
Green’s grimoire specialised in space magic, while Gui Bao was a space-affinity magical beast. Though the power of magical beasts and human magic differed in some ways, certain principles overlapped. These days Green had been constantly seeking instruction from Gui Bao and benefiting enormously.
He now addressed Gui Bao directly as “Teacher Turtle”. To mark the occasion, Ye Chui had even prepared a bizarre orange garment for Green with the divine character for “turtle” printed on the chest…
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch them,” Green promised with a smile as Ye Chui and the others boarded the carriage.
“President Ye Chui is not only immensely powerful but also deeply caring toward his juniors,” the palace attendant sent to escort them said with an ingratiating chuckle.
Ye Chui gave a helpless smile; no, he was showing deep concern for the entire city…
If he told this kindly middle-aged attendant that each of his three “juniors” possessed strength greater than the attendant’s own, he wondered what expression the man would make.
The palace carriage rolled away in a cloud of dust.
Green took a deep breath and muttered to himself, “Right. First, a ten-kilometre run…” Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the Dragon-Turtle Trio peeking from behind the guild’s warped stone sculpture, heads poked out, staring toward the gate.
A sudden chill ran down Green’s spine. He could clearly read the “time to cause trouble” look on their faces…
In the entire magic guild, it seemed only Ye Chui could fully suppress the three little monsters.
For days they had been begging to go out and play. Gui Bao had been cooped up in chaotic space for five thousand years and was bored stiff. Long Bao had previously only been summonable in dragon form for brief moments. As for the elf baby, she was curious about everything in the world. Yet to avoid creating too much commotion, Ye Chui had always refused them.
Green’s expression grew grim as he walked over to the three. Trying to look stern, he asked, “Where is Miss Celty? Why isn’t she with you?” Celty was at least a god, even if only a head remained. The three might actually listen to her.
“Big Sister Celty is sleeping. Green, has Ye Chui already left?” The trio stepped out from behind the sculpture. Gui Bao folded her arms behind her back, tilted her head up, and asked in a very grown-up manner.
“They’ve gone… Teacher Turtle, what exactly are you planning?” Green asked, sweat beading on his forehead.
“Perfect!” Gui Bao’s face lit up with excitement. She turned to the elf baby. “Your Majesty the Queen, I shall now take you to buy delicious honey-sugar cakes.”
“Eee-ya! Eee-ya!” The elf baby squealed happily. Some time ago Guni had brought back honey-sugar pastries from a shopping trip, and the little elf had never forgotten the taste.
Green’s face blanched. “Teacher Turtle, don’t go out. I’ll buy them for you…” His eyes darted desperately toward Long Bao. “Long Bao, the president said you must all stay here.”
“This dragon is powerless,” Long Bao said with a defeated expression. The two girls were technically his backups, yet after being hung upside down and whipped more than a dozen times he had accepted his place at the bottom of the pecking order. He patted his chubby chest. “Rest assured, this dragon will watch over them. No one will harm a hair on their heads.”
Green was close to tears. “I’m not worried about someone hurting you. I’m terrified you’ll hurt someone else…”
“Green, we have made up our minds. Only by adventuring for the things we want is it fun. Don’t try to stop us!” Gui Bao declared loftily. Somehow she managed to make buying pastries sound like a righteous quest. She grabbed the elf baby’s hand and marched toward the gate.
Green swallowed hard. Just that morning at breakfast Ye Chui had warned the Dragon-Turtle Trio not to leave. They had obediently agreed, yet now they were reneging in record time. Green felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He immediately turned to sprint outside. President, come back quick, I can’t handle these brats…
Suddenly everything went dark. The next instant Green found himself in a strange space. He was probably still standing in the same spot, yet the scenery had completely changed. Everything was greyish-grey. Trees, the stone sculpture, and even the Dragon-Turtle Trio were covered in colourful, glowing lines.
He could still move his body and summon his grimoire, but he sensed a distortion in space. He shouted in panic, “This is…”
“Green, this is my trial for you. I hope you can break free of the spatial restraints and escape,” Gui Bao’s voice drifted into his ears, sometimes distant, sometimes close, as though spoken from the edge of the world or whispered directly beside him.
Green yelled at the top of his lungs, but no sound travelled. The Dragon-Turtle Trio clearly did not hear him at all. He watched the three little figures skip merrily out of the guild gates.
At that moment he distinctly heard them cheer, “Time to go cause trouble~~”
“…”
…
The Radiant Giant Dragon Tavern was one of the finest establishments in the capital. In a private room on the second floor, a group of men were drinking. One of them, a middle-aged man, was none other than Fare, president of Dragon War Magic Guild. Several of the others were elite members of Dragon War, and among them sat a handsome youth of about eighteen or nineteen who appeared to be of very high status. Everyone at the table was flattering him.
Fare held his cup and walked to the window. The room overlooked Silent Sisters Street, not far from the Random Name Magic Guild; from here one could just make out the guild’s castle in the distance.
Feeling somewhat irritated, Fare drained his ale, forced a smile, turned to the youth, and said, “Young Master Evans, the title of the empire’s number one guild has been snatched by the Random Name Magic Guild. Old Brother Sheral must be quite upset, yes?”
“Father has indeed been rather angry lately,” sighed the youth named Evans; he was the second son of Sheral, president of Flower Village Magic Guild. “My brother and I both want to do something about it, but Father absolutely forbids it. I truly don’t understand why he fears Ye Chui so much.”
“Heh heh, that’s exactly how I feel. I accept that Dragon War is inferior to Random Name, but Flower Village has been the empire’s top guild for ten whole years. To be suddenly overtaken by Ye Chui, I feel it’s truly unfair to Old Brother Sheral,” Fare said darkly, winking at the others.
The rest immediately chimed in, declaring how unjust it was for Flower Village and insisting that although President Ye Chui’s reputation was formidable, he could never be a match for Sheral, a half-step Saint Swordsman.
Hearing these words, and having drunk a fair amount, young Evans flushed red and muttered, “My brother and I are both furious. We were just thinking of finding a chance to challenge Ye Chui ourselves.”
What an ignorant brat… Fare sneered inwardly, yet his face showed admiration. “Evans, you and your brother are true warriors. If you challenge Ye Chui, I shall be the first to cheer for you!”
These words made Evans’s face glow even redder.
A cold smile tugged at the corner of Fare’s lips. Evans and his brother were decent, but nowhere near Ye Chui’s level. Fare simply wanted to use Evans to spark conflict between Sheral and Ye Chui, forcing Sheral to fight. Best-case scenario, both sides would suffer heavy losses, allowing Dragon War to rise in the chaos…
Thinking of this, Fare glanced once more at the distant Random Name castle. His gaze drifted downward across the street below, and he suddenly let out a startled “Eh?” His eyes widened in astonishment.
Three utterly adorable little children were skipping along the road.
This was the imperial capital, not some remote village where children looked like mud-covered monkeys. Royal and noble offspring here were always dressed beautifully from infancy, yet these three were so exquisitely cute they turned heads wherever they went. What shocked Fare most was that he recognised one of them.
It was the little girl who had accompanied Ye Chui and appeared at the duel site, supposedly his adopted daughter!
Fare quickly scanned the surroundings. No other members of the Random Name guild were present. The three little ones were alone?
A sinister smile spread across Fare’s face. The heavens were blessing Dragon War. This was the perfect opportunity. Kill the three children and frame that idiot Evans. Ye Chui’s rage would surely ignite, provoking a battle with Sheral…
“Yoru!” Fare immediately walked to a tall, bearded man and whispered instructions in his ear.
Although Dragon War was a six-star guild, its reputation had always been questionable. They were known for achieving their goals by any means necessary, a trait some condemned and others admired in equal measure.
Kidnapping children and framing someone else? Such cruel and shameless acts caused them no psychological burden whatsoever.
