If it was just for me I wouldn't put in the effort to track down all these demonic cultivators.

  I would have asked them nicely to stop and then skip along on my merry way.

  But I haven't asked nicely and they were paying me enough money for me to retire.

  Retirement works a little bit differently here where very long lives. Suffice to say, I would probably still work if I didn't have to here. I was a man that wanted to keep himself busy. It helped keep the thoughts away.

  I would be satisfied just by bringing in dream Aura and turning that into energy.

  But before too long, I had my happy ass up on airship with the remainder of the crew. Lorenzo would handle my affairs while I was out what little they were.

  The ship itself was massive. It felt to me like a corporate luxury liner. Like yes it was big and expensive but that was mostly because they had to supply it with all the food and pay their forty workers. The crew had a big old meeting space in which we all sat down right after the disembarkation. I knew that we were probably being watched so we might as well get it out and make a show.

  The setup itself felt very board room, save for the absence of a table or chairs.

  "All right guys. Xiran is telling us that it's unlikely that any red fang are still in the capital city. So the emperor has directed us to head to wherever they are. We're going to spend a day or two in the Capitol. I'm going to send you guys out to work with some blue robes and see if we have any leads and otherwise it's around. Where do you think we're going to be heading after that?"

  The teenage girl that just last week had tried to initiate something with me blushed as she stood up. Every time that my parents mentioned something, they always talked about a hearth of some kind. I always thought it was just a speculative note, but it sounds like there actually is a city named hearth fire and when I saw that, that really brought something up in me.

  "How far is the city well known for its exports of precious metals and other mining exports," Lee said. "They're on the far side of the Empire away from the capital?"

  "Because I had to go off of what was publicly available as I grew up in the Capitol. At least I think I did; hearth fire is something that we're going to have to investigate. I have a good reason to believe that my parents went there based on how many times they mentioned it incompetence to me. I didn't think to mention it before and I apologize, but with cultivator pidge going through my dreams, this one just flagged to me."

  Egiya looked up from her drawing. "My father's been there recently, right? Dad?"

  The clan patriarch had assumed a roll of the other dad in the crew. He had spent the entirety of his time back here teaching his daughter how to advance to be a formations master so that she could take of the family business and when you know it, his wife had also joined the crew. Leaving us the only two male members that were on this trip.

  "Guys, let's not forget what we're thinking about here." I looked at the two Kangs. "Can the two of you give me a summary of either a map of that area or some sort of things we should know about it?"

  "What are you looking to know?" she asked, hesitant, her eyes still on her father.

  "Cultural staff, what's the economy on there about like what? What interests the Red Fang sect in that place in particular? And is it just because it's really far remote or something."

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  "What else?" I said to the group at large.

  Xueyie raise a hand. "We still know how powerful the most powerful remaining red Fang members are. The Mandarin fought a sixth realm cultivator, is that right?"

  I nodded.

  "You're our only fifth realm cultivator. I hesitate to add that if you're not at full power. Moon Lee cannot do what you're doing. Just you alone with your spirit. Beast is a big percentage of our power."

  Min took that moment to pop into sight and waddle her dumb ass over to get head pats by Xueyie. Of course, the woman obliged.

  Maybe it's not the best idea to call my spare piece a dumb ass but you know I wasn't telling her that to her face and I'm pretty sure in the back of mind she knew exactly how I felt about her. If she was going to cause me to have to retract things when I met with important people, then I was going to let her have it.

  “All right. What else is going on?” I said. “You have been pretty quiet.”

  “I'm just here so I don't get fired,” she said. “And to support my boo of course.”

  I glared at my spirit beast for what had to be the tenth time that day alone. I swear that if she could have got away with it, she would have invited. Maxine to come with us.

  I wasn't still convinced that Maxine wasn't somewhere packed up on the airship anyway, despite what men had told me several times was not happening. Because why would my spirit beast ever lie to me about that kind of thing. It must be true.

  “Are we going to have the unconditional support of the blue robes this time around,” Moon Lee said. Not that they were helpful last time, but it would be nice to not have them in our way from the beginning this time.”

  If all we're doing is talking to the blue robes and then getting our next assignment then this should be a simple affair, Lee said. Let's just do it and then we can go on vacation.

  Could we even say that we go on vacation without Murphy coming back to slap us in the face? That was the question. I did not want to say aloud. It only took us a couple days to get back to the Capitol.

  Whereupon we were immediately greeted by a government official who is all too happy to stamp my official requisition forms in triplicate.

  Mood: Efficient.

  It had been a good couple days of training. The girls as they had finally gotten close to breaking through to the third realm during our battle. She now had that time where she set up her cultivation to be able to work on formations. Even better, with the help of her father, she had advanced.

  "So, do you want to have a party for advance to the third round? I didn't have one, but I'm sure that I could serrate one for you?"

  "If I have to have a party because I got to the third round after all you guys, then it better be a good one. And we're not having it until we get back to where we came from. I want to order the special

  You want the special?

  I need the special. And if you can't handle, you're getting me exactly what I want. Then if you had better make sure your girlfriend knows. I'm not the one with infinite pockets based off of payouts from the glorious heavenly emperor. I just have a dad who works a white rope job doing an important essential thing for people everywhere.

  The King patriarch stood behind her nodding. This is true, and she will be able to take over the family business if she ever wants to. She just needs to apply herself, but I could see us doing a little part Just because you want to have a party doesn't mean that it has to be about me. And especially does not mean that I want to be the honored one. Let's have a party for our esteemed leader.

  Min, the fluffy Spirit beast raised a paw. I am ready for you to give me, your esteemed leader a party anytime you're ready. Just make sure that we have sufficient treats available. I heard that you could get a lot of treats on a road trip so maybe we should do that.

  To your credit, Egiya took one look at the cat before bursting out laughing. It was faster than last time but at least we knew that she liked the cat.

  They're having great things about men, the Moon spirit but she had many faults.

  Chief among those faults was the proclivity to dig into my mind and try to find something to get a rise out of me and then use that later in conversation. But for all her bluster and strangeness she was on my side. She was an asset.

  "So as the blue robes brought us to their headquarters," she jumped ahead.

  "We both had a suspicion that we were about to get ambushed on the way. I don't know if it was just the general gist of the way things were going or it there was any merit to the thing at all."

  She would let us know. Or she would let us get ambushed if they were well below our expectations.