Chapter Twenty: Farewell in the Skies

Wang Luo’s spiritual sense couldn’t detect what was happening inside either; in any case, as soon as the spiritual energy in his meridians flowed in, it vanished without a trace. Activating the nameless cultivation method, all the spiritual energy in his meridians surged toward his dantian, leaving his meridians feeling hollow and empty—a sensation Wang Luo found deeply unsettling.

The nameless method continued to operate, drawing wood-element spiritual energy from the surroundings into his body, refining and condensing it. While some of this energy dissipated in his meridians, nourishing them, the rest was stored within his dantian, which now gleamed with golden light.

Exiting his meditative state, Wang Luo joined Lion Dad and Lion Mom for some fruit, afterward giving Lion Mom advice on matters to be mindful of when entering the human world. Although Lion Mom had grown somewhat shrewd, she had never visited the human world before; naturally, Wang Luo felt compelled to remind her of as much as he could, even if he himself wasn’t well acquainted with this world. Still, he figured there would be similarities with Earth.

Lion Dad, however, grew impatient after listening for a while. He abruptly interrupted Wang Luo’s words, picked up Wang Luo—who was holding Little White Lion—and snatched up Wang Luo’s bone sword as well, then shot off northward through the sky. He was eager to continue his plans for the evening, having twice been interrupted by these youngsters; now his desire was irrepressible, and he decided to send them away at once.

Wang Luo glanced back with a smile at Lion Mom, his gaze drifting past her to the lion’s den where he had spent nearly nine years of his life. Today, he was leaving, uncertain of when he might return. Unconsciously, his eyes caught the western sky ablaze with red—a breathtaking sight. Only then did Wang Luo realize that dusk had fallen, the sun setting in the west. A line of poetry flashed through his mind: “The setting sun is infinitely beautiful, but…”

Wang Luo was not surprised that Lion Dad could fly; Lion Mom had already told him that all Sanctuary-level experts could traverse the skies. His only concern was whether Lion Dad might play some trick on him, but after a while, Wang Luo realized his worries were unfounded.

Lion Dad flew on in silence, not paying the slightest attention to him or Little White. Wang Luo found this odd, glancing at Lion Dad to see a lewd grin plastered on his face, lost in who-knows-what indecent reverie. Wang Luo had no intention of provoking a beating, so he simply held Little White and tried to enjoy the sensation of flight.

In truth, flying through the sky wasn’t all that special. At first, Wang Luo and Little White felt a bit curious, but soon the novelty wore off. There wasn’t a single bird in sight, no white clouds, only a blur of green retreating rapidly below them, which must have been the forest.

Lion Dad continued to fly with that same lecherous grin, moving at astonishing speed. Yet under his protection, Wang Luo and Little White felt nothing of it. Bored, the little white lion curled up in Wang Luo’s arms and fell asleep, likely to restore its strength, and Wang Luo closed his eyes as well.

Wang Luo himself had not fully recovered; when he awoke, he had barely restored his spiritual energy, which was now sealed in his dantian and unusable. His spiritual sense was only half restored, but it no longer affected his ability to speak or act, so Wang Luo remained awake.

Originally, he had planned to have a good talk with Lion Mom—to learn more about this world and to share more about the human realm with her—then spend the evening cultivating to restore his spiritual sense. But Lion Dad’s unpredictability foiled his plans, whisking Wang Luo away into the sky before he could recover.

Yet, having lost interest in flying, Wang Luo didn’t bother cultivating to restore his spiritual sense. Instead, he began studying the blood energy within his body. He had always harbored a sense of aversion toward this blood energy; except for healing injuries, whenever he used it, an inexplicable thirst for blood and a murderous impulse would arise. He disliked this feeling and avoided using blood energy unless necessary, which is why he hadn’t resorted to it when fighting the black panther.

Now, with his spiritual energy sealed and knowing that any place inhabited by humans would inevitably involve conflict, Wang Luo had no choice but to study blood energy, keeping it as a trump card in case his life was ever in danger.

As Wang Luo was immersed in studying his blood energy, he suddenly felt the wind whistling around his body, and realized he was plummeting rapidly downward. His eyes snapped open, and he looked to the side—Lion Dad was nowhere to be seen.

Turning his gaze downward, Wang Luo felt his heart jolt. He had thought Lion Dad would drop him from only ten meters up, but he was still at least fifty or sixty meters above the treetops. A fall from this height would surely injure him, and it would be exceedingly painful.

Yet Wang Luo, falling through the air, felt no fear; there was nothing he could do, so he simply let himself freefall. Little White Lion, now awake, clung tightly to Wang Luo’s hair, swinging wildly in the air and having a grand time, letting out excited little cries.

Wang Luo looked up at the sky. Night had fallen, the moon was yet to rise, but he could still clearly make out Lion Dad’s teasing expression as he looked down from above, Lion Mom beside him.

Lion Dad, dissatisfied with the lack of alarm from the two freefalling youngsters below, grumbled to Lion Mom, “Hmph, not a hint of panic from either of them—not giving me any face at all. Darling, let’s go and leave them to feed the pack of hungry wolves below!”

“Alright, let’s go,” Lion Mom replied after a brief pause, nodding in agreement and preparing to fly off.

Lion Dad paused, suddenly embarrassed, and tugged at Lion Mom’s paw. “Wait a moment. Let’s watch a bit longer. Maybe, when Little Luo gets hit by the wind wolves’ blades, he’ll turn into that Eastern Invincible character from his stories, heh heh…”

“It’s time to go. We’re at the outskirts of the Magic Beast Forest—staying here too long will attract attention, and that could drag Luo’er into trouble,” Lion Mom said.

Lion Dad hesitated, glanced down at the treetops, then, grinning lasciviously, wrapped his arms around Lion Mom and vanished into the sky.

Meanwhile, just as Wang Luo was about to crash into the trees, his body suddenly jerked to a halt before slamming with a loud thud into a tangle of branches and disappearing from sight.

Disheveled, Wang Luo climbed to his feet on a branch about as thick as his arm, rubbing his waist with a frown as he plucked leaves and the little white lion from his hair. He glared up at the leafy canopy above, where the branches were noticeably more chaotic and sparse than elsewhere.

Otherworld Azure Dragon: Chapter 20—A Farewell from the Sky.