21 Strange

Brahma Monarch God Realm, Eastern Divine Region....

The elemental energy in this realm far exceeded that of the Profound Sky Continent by several times. However, since almost a week the entire Divine Realm has been experiencing a strange occurrence. The entire Realm of Gods had become seeped in layers of dark clouds filled with chaotic profound energy. It was a worldwide phenomena observed by even mortals across the world. Yet, as soon as it came, it abruptly started receding away as if attempting to hide the cause of it's own occurrence. In just a duration of two weeks, the dark clouds had almost completely disappeared. The Brahma Monarch God Realm had also experienced it.

An enormous palace stood in the heart of the Brahma God Realm, towering like a humungous mountain imposing it's might upon all the rest of the residents of this realm. And, right now, in the very center of this divine palace, a lush garden could be found where a perpetual aroma of myriads of flowers bloomed.

Sitting elegantly at an ornate chair in the garden was the divine figure of a woman. She had glistening golden hair; Her golden clothes were slightly tight accentuating her holy figure. She quietly sat, staring at the dark clouds that were finally seemed to be receding, giving way to a clear sky.

At this moment, a light wind blew, as a woman with delicate features; dressed in silver clothes gracefully knelt in front of the her with a submissive posture not even daring to look at the figure… of the goddess in front of her before she spoke.

"Servant Yue Ying, greets Lady Goddess."

"What is it?" Qianye Ying'er still kept her focus upon the strange phenomenon in the key as she said with an enchanting voice accompanied with the incomparably heavy might of a Divine Master.

Yue Ying immediately reported: "The same phenomenon has been observed all over God's domain, although the Northern region's situation remains unclear. Still, our contacts near the borders have been able to detect the clouds extending even beyond the borders . So, it is safe to assume that it was a worldwide phenomenon. All the major regions have tried to investigate the matter. However, so far, no particular cause has been found. Also, since the clouds started receding as soon as they appeared, they weren't able to spread towards the outer regions of the realm of gods, as such, the lower and mortal realms haven't experienced anything strange at all."

Qianye Ying'er stayed silent for a while, before she said: "I see. Keep looking until we can find the reason for the occurrence…..? "

"Yes… Yes… This servant will keep looking." Yue Ying said said.

Qianye Yinger's voice then turned cold as she continued: "Has there been any progress in the deciphering of the World-Defying Heaven Manual "

Deciphering the World-Defying Heaven Manual was the biggest matter to her, it could even be called the most important matter ever since she was born. After all, that was the only way that could allow her to break through the limits of this world.

Yue Ying hurriedly said in a respectful tone. "My lady, we have been able to decipher that it corresponds to some kind of physique. However, which specific one is not clear just yet."

The golden brows hidden under Qianye Yinger's eye mask slightly frowned: "It would mean that a kind of physique is required to cultivate the World-Defying Heaven Manual.....Hmph, within a span of almost one year, this much has been deciphered. And, even that is unclear…"

Yue Ying's body shivered as she said with a trembling voice. "Lady Goddess, please calm your anger… Wanting to forcefully decipher these texts is really… …"

Qianye Ying'er coldly replied: "Hmph, there is no need for excuses. Once you have some concrete information about the reason of these clouds all over Realm of Gods, you can continue to decipher the texts. "

"Yes," Yue Ying anxiously replied. "This servant shall do as you order."

Qianye Ying'er said: "Leave then."

"Yes…" Yue Ying said before she quickly left.

"World-Defying Heaven Manual and the occurrence that appeared that day…" , Qianye Ying'er took out the fragment World-Defying Heaven Manual as she lightly whispered. Her servants only had a copy with them to decipher. The day those clouds had suddenly appeared, the manual in her hand had suddenly been activated. She had immediately tried to read the texts that shone upon it which seemed somewhat understandable. However, before she could do anything, it had abruptly returned to it's previous state. She concluded that whatever had happened that day had been the cause of it's activation. As long as she could find the reason, she would have a way to reactivate the World-Defying Heaven Manual and finally fulfill her lifelong goal of becoming a True God. She kept the fragment aside, quietly whispering to herself: "What really happened that day....."

Primordial Profound Ark…..

At this time, Itachi was completely oblivious regarding the situation in the Realm of Gods, especially since it hadn't been visible from the lower realms. If he knew the exact time of the phenomenon, he would have immediately figured out that as the day Yun Che's soul seemed to have completely dissipated.

Right now, Itachi walked at a slow pace, silently observing the space around the barren wasteland that he had been transported inside the Primordial Profound Ark.

The space within the Primordial Profound Ark would only fluctuate violently if the Primordial Profound Ark was going to be actually moving. Observing that the space within the Ark was completely still, it obviously meant that it had been forcibly stopped by Ni Xuan's soul remnant before transporting him here, which was much more convenient for Itachi or he really might have needed Jasmine's help this time since he hadn't been able to advance his physique as much as Yun Che had with the same level of cultivation, and withstanding the violent spatial turbulence with this weak physique wouldn't have been easy for him at this point in time. This was also one of the major reasons why Itachi had wished to come here first, it was the perfect place to advance his physique. Apart from the obvious which would allow him to travel between continents unhindered saving him a lot of time

Itachi conversed with Jasmine in his mind, steadily progressing forward, gradually increasing his speed. He barely encountered any profound beasts along the way, the ones that he did were ruthlessly smashed by hands alone. In such a manner, Itachi kept advancing forward for almost two hours.

"Look in front!" Jasmine suddenly said suddenly.

Just then, the perpetual barren empty land that he had been travelling through so far disappeared revealing a dark blue wall stood tall there stood directly in front of Itachi, the bluish black wall had an opened stone door. It was exactly place that he had been looking for.

"This is probably is an ancient massive fortress. It might be something that existed along with the Primordial Profound Ark ... If my guess is correct, this fortress is likely able to move on its own due to having spatial powers…" Jasmine trailed off in contemplation.

Itachi already knew the reason why the fortress appeared so suddenly at this place. It was probably either due to the Evil God's aura on him or the Sky Poison Pearl's presence since finding a perpetually moving fortress on it's own would require extreme luck, meaning the guardian stranded inside had already sensed something about him. Also, since the Primordial Profound Ark had been abruptly stopped from it's normal trajectory, maybe, the old guardian had been given directions.

Itachi did not wait for long before stepping inside the massive doors. It was like he had stepped from one world into another. In front of him, was a massive and empty hall.

Already somewhat familiar with the Ark since Yun Che had used it quite extensively. Itachi walked for some time before he arrived the end of the hall where a huge, circular stone stage could be seen. Without hesitation, he walked towards the end of the stage until he seemed to feel a red glow flash past his eyes, firmly fixing his eyes upon on the crack between two bluish black rocks that were on the stone stage.

As soon as Itachi was in the vicinity, he heard the voice of an ancient being.

"Who… are… you…"

Itachi immediately responded with a calm voice: "You should already know…"

The response was immediate : "Sky… Poison… Pearl…"

"Who are you talking to?" Jasmine asked in surprise.

Itachi said : "A residual soul, perhaps?….She is using soul transmission…."

"If it's not just your imagination, then it can only be a residual soul." Jasmine said agreeing .

"Please… find… her…Only… you… can… save… her…"

Abruptly, Itachi activated the Mangekyo Sharingan focusing his gaze along with profound energy on the crack.

"Amaterasu!"

As soon as the black flames had fallen it, the floor swiftly corroded before crumbling as a large crack appeared before Itachi extinguished the flames before jumping straight into the crack.

The area underneath was not too spacious while in the middle of the room, a ball of red light stood.

" You… are.... here…."

The voice this time could very clearly be heard, even by Jasmine as a dim white shadow slowly emerged from the side of the ball of red light… it was the silhouette of a woman dressed in white. Her body was small and slightly bent and half her hair was white as well. All of this indicated that this was an elder who had long ago stepped into her twilight years.

"I am a guardian… guarding my mistress…" The old lady said in a light but extremely ancient sounding voice. "I have been looking for the Sky Poison Pearl for so long…. And, today, when the Ark was suddenly stopped from it's predetermined path by whatever force I despaired...but it turned out to be a blessing instead…."

"I am aware of that….The one who sent me here was the previous owner of this ark….." Itachi said

"I see….I was not aware of who had it before…." A slight surprise could be seen in the old guardian's gaze.

"It doesn't matter anymore. You can pass on now…..know that I will take care of your mistress…."

"Her spirit is indeed on the brink of dissipation." Jasmine said in dull voice laced with pity

Although the old lady could not detect any evil intent from Itachi. She still slowly said: " My little mistress… her body has been inflicted with a terrible devilish poison... only the Sky Poison Pearl can cure her… in order to stem the invasion of this devilish poison… our little mistress was sealed into the Coffin of Eternity...…..…."

The old guardian explained the whole situation that Itachi already knew as her voice grew dimmer and dimmer

Itachi was going to look after her anyway but he still said firmly to the old guardian's spirit. "I will definitely protect her…"

"Thank you… Your words seem sincere…. now I can finally rest assured ..…"

The old guardian's figure disappeared into thin air as though it was dispersed by the wind.

"The remains of her soul have also disappeared ....It's a pity really. " Jasmine said lightly.

With her disappearance, the red ball of light dispelled, as a crystal coffin appeared in front of Itachi.

Inside the crystal coffin a person could be seen. She had long scarlet hair with the immaturity of a child.

Itachi did not hesitate before walking forward, and standing in front of the crystal coffin before he placed one of his hands on top of the crystal coffin and pushed causing the lid on the coffin to open.

"It is indeed the aura of a devilish poison… Quickly, help her detoxify the poison!" Jasmine suddenly said anxiously. The poison of any kind had become an extremely sore spot for her. Hence, she couldn't help herself from rushing him.

However before Jasmine had even completed her words, Itachi had already raised his left hand, placing it right above the girl's chest as A green glow appeared as the devilish poison was cleansed..

The Sky Poison Pearl's purifying light had disappeared as Yun Che removed his hand while waiting for the girl to wake up.

After a few moments, the girl's red eyelashes suddenly moved as her sparking eyes opened. She blinked at him as she sat up within the crystal coffin before she said with an unbearably cute smile: "Hi big brother!"

Itachi's face that mostly maintained a layer of indifference seemed to unnaturally twitch a few times before he gave an awkward response: "Hn, Hi…"

Itachi had really not thought about what he was going to do with this child after waking her up. Yun Che was much more outgoing with people…or atleast with women. Although, Itachi could also easily hold logical conversations with 'mature' people but it really had been a long time since he had talked with children….

Still, Itachi had to continue: "I am Itachi...what's your name?"

"Name? Ughhh…" The girl went deep in thought for quite a while before replying with a cheeky grin: "Don't know! Does big brother know?"

Jasmine appeared beside him, observing the girl as she said lightly: "Looking at her, her soul had probably been affected by the devilish poison, she has probably lost her memories of her past."

At Jasmine's appearance, the girl's eyes looked towards her:"Hmmm! Big sis, your clothes are so pretty! I love them!"

Itachi said gently : "Well, how about…..Hong'er. Do you like that name?"

The girl's eyes immediately sparkled as she said: "Oh! Wow! Big brother…..I am Hong'er! I like it!…!"

Jasmine's brows twitched intensely in shock as she said to Itachi: "She can see me…"

While the girl kept chattering non-stop, Itachi looked at Jasmine with an awkward expression before her voice stopped him.

"Big brother, I'm suddenly very hungry. Do you have anything nice to eat?"

Itachi placed his hands below the girl's shoulder before pulling her out letting her sit on the ground, as his left hand flashed briefly as the coffin disappeared into the Sky Poison Pearl.

Already knowing what she needed, Itachi then took out Dragon Fault giving it to the girl, completely dumbfounding Jasmine beside him: "Here."

Then, Itachi had to provide a really long explanation to curb Jasmine's curiosity about what race Hong'er was from before he decided to still make a contract with Hong'er, even if a bit unwillingly but necessary. She was after all a child, without the contract she couldn't stay inside his space of the Sky Poison Pearl, and he would have to look after her all the time.

Once Hong'er had ate her 'food', and she made a soul contract with Itachi. Afterwards, she simply slept peacefully inside the Sky Poison Pearl. Since, she was now soul contracted with him, she could access the space of the Sky Poison Pearl. Now, if he was just by himself, he could do whatever he wanted without any distraction. It had been easy to get control of the Ark from her after the contract establishment. Hence, he could leave this place anytime now since the profound ark still some energy left. Yet..

At this time, Itachi's entire being felt a sense of exhaustion as if he had been battling with a devil or more specifically a little devil. Negotiating with the little devil hadn't been easy. Now that he was calmly sitting in one of the empty chairs at the Second floor, he felt relieved.

Jasmine was still present outside in her spirit form, as she said in a confused tone of voice: "I never imagined that she would turn out to be a celestial spirit ...One that can turn into a sword no less…..Although I am not sure what 'Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer' ?

Itachi could only say in reply, which was really not something he would have said if not for his exhausted mind: "Well…it probably means that she can slay devils..."

Jasmine frowned at Itachi, as visible disappointment could be seen on her expression. However, she was interrupted before she could say anything else.

"I have already gained control over the Primordial Profound Ark and there is still enough energy left in it for us to go back to Profound Sky Continent. The kind of energy it requires to move… Is the same as that of a normal profound ark. However, I still want to utilize the months before the tournament to increase my level in the Great Way of the Buddha which has stagnated compared to my profound cultivation. " Itachi said slowly.

Itachi had established a clear spiritual link between him and the Primordial Profound Ark.

Jasmine stared at Itachi with a serious expression. "This is indeed worthy to be called a primordial artifact! And only a True God with the strongest ability to control dimensional power would be able to create such a profound ark. I am guessing you want to use the spatial turbulence in the ark to train your physique…I guess you want to make sure nothing worse happens…Very well, if nothing else it would be fun….to watch you struggle a bit…hehe"

With her agreement, Itachi's hand flashed with a white light, since he had established a spirit connection with the profound ark, he merely needed to set the coordinates to the Profound Sky Continent from Yun Che's memories. However, since he had around an year before the tournament, he simply decided to set the speed as low for now.

Once he was done, Itachi opened his eyes: "It is done…."

Jasmine nodded : "The spatial turbulence here should be enough for you to reach considerably higher in the Great Way of the Buddha…"

Itachi nodded before warning her: "Then, I will start the ark…."

As soon as Itachi activated the Profound Ark, in the outside world the huge figure that had randomly appeared over the skies of some ocean suddenly disappeared, while on the inside, an incomparably violent spatial turbulence assaulted, causing his body to instantly feel as though it was being stabbed and sliced by countless metal blades. Space started getting torn apart twisting him along with it as his body was being broken as well. The terrifying tearing force that was enveloping his entire body caused all the bones in his body to feel as though they were being wrangled.

Jasmine's incomparably serious voice resounded in Itachi's ears. "Keep circulating the Great Way of the Buddha with all your strength, absorb as much force of nature within the turbulence as much as you can, in order to restore your body and recover your profound energy. If your restoration speed can match up to your rate of being damaged, you will stay just fine….."

Jasmine didn't need to mention that to Itachi, who was already deeply entranced within himself as all of his concentration was directed towards circulating the Great Way of the Buddha.

A small figure of a silver-colored pagoda had appeared above his head as it slowly spiraled above Itachi's head, absorbing the surrounding force of heaven and earth at an intense speed…. The injuries that he received were being restored at an incredible speed.

Gradually, one day passed, two days passed… an ultimately a week passed before...

The slowly rotating silver colored pagoda enlarged, until it filled his entire consciousness...

The different aura was sensed by immediately sensed by Jasmine. She tilted her head and stared blankly at Itachi… Currently, his entire body was covered in a thick layer of silver light, and this layer of silver light still continued to faintly expand as every crack that could be distinguished by the naked eye, slowly healed. Those minute cracks from before had now completely disappeared without a trace....The second stage of the Great way of the Buddha had been achieved.

"The second stage of the Great Way of the Buddha.....so soon….not too bad, you're a genius after all…..." Jasmine who had been observing muttered in disbelief.

At this time Itachi's face was extremely calm, on the top of his head, the dim silver colored pagoda had turned glaring silver that slowly rotated continuously, absorbing the energy of the heavens and earth without rest…

"I suppose it's time to increase the difficulty, "Itachi said slowly as with a mere thought the speed of the Profound Ark increased abruptly increasing the spatial turbulence inside the profound ark...…

Right now, an exquisite figure dressed in red stood in front of Itachi, for the past week, Jasmine had not returned to the Sky Poison Pearl, but instead had been observing Itachi quietly. When she sensed the increase in spatial turbulence she had been shocked since she had thought of doing the same , using her own strength instead. However, it seemed Itachi had decided to use the power source of the ark was such a purpose but then again they still had plenty of Purple Veined Heaven Crystals left. Thus, she went inside the Sky Poison Pearl to monitor the changes from the inside while detoxifying her poison.

In this manner time continued to flow in the gradually increasing purgatory-like spatial storm, only that rate of increase was perfectly managed according to Itachi's will. He had long since decided to use the Purple Veined Heaven Crystals in his possession in such a manner. Although, the Profound Ark still had plenty of energy left since he had arrived almost three years earlier. However, even if it did run out of energy, the plenty of Purple Veined Heaven Crystals with him would be more than enough for multiple journeys since Yun Che hadn't even been able to collect this much so easily even after looting the Divine Phoenix Empire.

Just like this weeks kept passing that soon turned into months; his skin and flesh continuously disintegrated, then regenerated; his profound strength was continuously consumed and recovered… The density of blood within the Dragon God's bloodline continued to become more concentrated with the Dragon God's marrow.

In the meantime he had even achieved a few breakthroughs in the profound way reaching Emperor Profound Level four…..as well as Great way of the buddha reaching the third stage. The silver pagoda had already turned golden now. However, he still did not stop, continuing to increase the spatial disturbance in the profound ark using his connections whenever it became too comfortable for him.

"It has already been eleven months." Jasmine at this time mused as she observed Itachi's current state.

At this time Itachi who simply sat cross-legged on the floor finally opened his eyes, his body radiated an intimidating Dragon aura while pale white skin shined with a lustre .

Jasmine observed the golden pagoda that had turned into a shiny gold color.

"Could it be…" Jasmine's starry eyes flashed with deep surprise.

Within just a time span of less than two years, he had already successfully stepped into the fourth level of the Great Way of the Buddha. Not only that, he had been able to show considerable growth in the profound way, reaching the Fourth level of the Emperor Profound realm.

Following his breakthrough of the Great Way of the Buddha, the recovery speed of his wounds instantly accelerated as well. The spatial storm could barely harm him at this point unless he increased it too drastically.

"The fourth level of the Great Way of the Buddha…. He had actually used less than five years, at a speed even faster than Big Brother…".Jasmine lightly muttered, her tone contained extreme disbelief.

However, Itachi did not find anything shocking about it, he already possessed most of the comprehension from the memories. Moreover, he had gone through an even more rigorous training regime than Yun Che since he already had the control of the ark. He was sure he could even easily open the sixth gate of the eight inner gates now, further increasing his physical prowess.

"Very good." Even the extremely haughty self-proclaimed princess Jasmine couldn't help herself from nodding with praise. " The current strength and recovery speed of your body, is not the slightest bit inferior to the bestowal of the Dragon God's bloodline either. With the integration of the Dragon God's bloodline, although you still lack a lot in terms of profound strength against Sovereigns, the strength of your body as well as soul is not at all inferior to a Early stage Sovereigns. Based on your recovery speed, you have long surpassed Overlords. Currently, you should be easily able to activate the 'Purgatory' gate' for some time."

Itachi stood up as his body began to float upwards slightly. After his profound strength had broken through past the Emperor Profound Realm, he too possessed the ability to fly. He raised his hands before punching the space in front with all of this might, the incomparable might of that single punch was enough to create spatial cracks, if an overlord were to be hit by it, he would probably be torn to pieces on the spot.

"I suppose it will still take another month at this pace…" Itachi said to Jasmine as he sensed that they were about to reach the location that he had previously set up.

Jasmine asked Itachi: "Are you going to continue with the physical training then?"

Itachi shook his head: "No, it would require too much energy to inrease the spatial turbulence enough to actually have a considerable impact. The energy left is barely enough to reach the Profound Sky Continent. And, the Purple Veined Heaven Crystals that we have are not enough to drastically increase the spatial turbulence as such it would be better to use it for travelling other continents."

Jasmine said at this time, her expression thoughtful : "I have recovered enough if you want I can create even more terrifying conditions for you to advance…"

Itachi surprisingly glanced at Jasmine. From Yun Che's memories, he knew that most of the time that Jasmine said she had to recover and couldn't help Yun Che was probably just a lie to let him train for himself without her constant aid. However, in the later years, she had told Yun Che herself that she had repeatedly interfered the situation in the profound ark, increasing the spatial turbulence in the profound ark at the time to help Yun Che advance, without him knowing. Of course, that unexpectedly also led her to being eventually found out by that Universe Devouring Beast, who in turn spread the news to that Star God, leading her to this realm.

Itachi remained silent, considering her offer for a while, before he said: "No, your recovery is much more important than this. You should simply try to reserve your strength for unexpected situations. Anyways, according to the agreement of thirty years we still have plenty of time left. No need to rush."

Jasmine stared at Itachi with a dazed expression without responding. He was always able to surprise her with his unexpected responses. She had stayed with him for almost two years by now. Most her time had been spent in recovery and observing his actions. She was sure Itachi probably believed that he had been inconspicuous enough to hide many of his absurd and strange techniques from her, due to her being in 'recovering mode' most of the time. However, even more than these techniques, his attitude as well personality was much more surprising to her than any thing else. When that strange soul remnant had sealed her abruptly inside the Sky Poison Pearl during the second confrontation, contrary to what she had told Itachi at the time, she had been able to clearly listen to the entire conversation from the inside. At first, when she understood what the man wanted Itachi to do, she had been extremely agitated that Itachi would probably do the 'deed', and no matter the reason she would absolutely felt a little disgusted with the outcome. Yet, his resolute refusal once again surprised her. Even the greatest of men that she had seen could not do the same with such a level of conviction, sadly for her, that included her own brother that she had loved dearly above all. Even he had fallen to the charms of that accursed witch. Itachi's eyes exuded so much confidence and a state of calm that constantly shook her beliefs of what being a cultivator truly meant. However, gradually, with time, apart from that utter state of perpetual calmness, deep within his eyes, she had been able to sense a feeling of confusion as well as loss as if he wasn't sure what he wanted from his life. Listening to his confrontation with that entity had only further cemented these doubts in her mind which had been solidified even more with the vague mention of the Mirror of Samsara's possible ability that she had heard from that 'man'.

Inwardly, Jasmine's mind was scrambling with a lot of thoughts. However, she outwardly maintained her calm expression as she responded: "I guess you are right…No need to rush, after all, we have a lot of time…."

Itachi couldn't know the thoughts going through her mind at the moment. Hence, he simply said: "I will just practise a few techniques that I have been wanting to try out. You should rest and focus on recovering."

At his words, Jasmine suddenly smiled beautifully confusing Itachi before she said: "Yes. I will go into 'recovery mode' while you should train your 'techniques'….Good luck.."

Itachi glanced at Jasmine's disappearing silhouette wondering why she was suddenly all smiles before deciding to focus on the task in front. Now that he had acquired the water seed, it was time for him to practise the Frozen End Divine Arts or rather-- the Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon. He already had all the formulas as well as Comprehension experience from Yun Che's memories. An entire month should be more than enough to reach a sufficiently high level.

As Itachi went deep into meditation, his profound veins shown with a azure colored light, fog of ice suddenly condensed surrounding him, then dispersed out like ripples, carrying up a wave of unhurried chilly wind.....

An entire month passed in such a manner, in this time, Itachi merely tried to comprehend all the various profound arts that he could use right now which was easy enough with all the extensive. His strength had now reached an unimaginable state compared to an year ago. And the profound ark seemed to have finally stopped as well as the spatial disturbance had gone completely silent now.

With a mere thought from Itachi, the scenery around him changed as bright light enveloped the area, and the view before his eyes appeared. A gentle dry and warm breeze swept. There was a vast land and mountains in the surroundings.

Itachi inhaled slowly, relaxing in the gentle breeze before he was interrupted by Jasmine's voice.

"Oh! We are finally back! "

Itachi simply nodded :"We are somewhere close to the Blue Wind City…"

Jasmine snorted: "Are you really going to participate in that tournament?"

Itachi said: "I will."

Jasmine said no more as she simply decided to sleep, letting Itachi play in his little tournament. She really didn't understand the reason behind his participation.

Itachi too didn't wait for long, rapidly floating through the skies towards his destination--Blue Wind City.

…....….

The wind was blowing gently in the night with the moonlight illuminating in a large courtyard in the Blue Wind Palace. One of the most secure place in the entire kingdom.

Under the curtain of moonlight, a graceful figure in fluttering white-colored robes could be seen sitting in a meditative posture. She was none other than Cang Yue--princess of the Blue Wind Kingdom. The state of her mind was quiet contrary to her outwardly calm appearance, she had not heard from Itachi for almost an year now. He had promised that he would come to meet her in under an year and participate in the Ranking Tournament. Even the invitations had long since been delivered. It was almost time to leave. She had used her influence to make sure that the reserved participant knew that if Itachi arrived then he would be the one to take that spot yet she didn't have much hope any longer.

"Hello…..Your Highness.."

"Ah!"A sudden voice that came from in front of her made Cang Yue lose her mind. She had been so startled that she almost let out a shriek before abruptly controlling herself as she immediately tried to see what danger she had been exposed to. However, as she saw the 'danger' in front of her, recognition flashed in her eyes as her rapidly beating heart calmed down a bit. It was not a complete stranger. In fact, it was just the person that she had been hoping to meet. Her face revealed a charmingly beautiful smile filled with relief as it turned into somewhat of a pout: "Oh! You almost gave me a heart attack, brother Itachi. And how did you get inside?"

Itachi ignored Cang Yue's startled expression before replying with a straight face: "It's nothing I have a profound technique that is good for sneaking into places… Since time is of the essence I decided to come here as quickly as possible….."

Cang Yue narrowed her eyes at him before her expression turned excited as she sensed Itachi's cultivation that revealed him to be at the Earth profound realm level one. She said excitedly, extreme joy visible in her words: "Wow! You are really at the Earth Profound realm now. It is possible that you would at least be in the top four now."

Itachi merely agreed: "I definitely will."

Cang yue's charming eyes did not waver this time, and her voice was soft and calm, she lifted her snow-white hand, and lightly stroked her ring as she took a jade token before saying: "Don't worry brother Itachi, with this level of cultivation there is no need for an assessment. You are the highest level disciple in the entire palace. There shouldn't be any objections. Just take this jade token for identifying yourself as a Blue Wind Profound Palace's Core disciple. I have kept it prepared beforehand. We will leave for the tournament in three days, I will arrange everything, including a courtyard for you as a guest for three days."

Itachi had spent a lot of time outside. It would be nice to rest for a while before he left for the tournament. Hence, he took the jade before merely agreeing: "Very well, Your Highness."

With his agreement, Cang Yue immediately left him in her courtyard to arrange a neighbouring courtyard for Itachi. Although, the servants were confused about who was the guest present at this time of the night. However, Cang Yue was a royal princess, the servants did not question her orders, merely following her directions with dedication.

Once Cang Yue and Itachi arrived at the arranged courtyard, he bade her farewell: "It's getting late, your highness. You should rest."

"You too." Cang Yue gently nodded before leaving.

Soon enough, Itachi was fast asleep on a large luxurious bed, with a peaceful state of mind...…