Chapter 103: The Sword Saint Who Walked Across the Sea

At the age of thirty-nine, Muria had spent six full years in the land of the Titans. His power remained at the fourth tier of the Golden rank, but signs of a breakthrough to the fifth tier were beginning to show.

The concept of time for long-lived species is entirely different from that of normal beings. For example, Cloud City, belonging to the celestial progeny from the Sylvester clan, still hovered above the Titan realm, having never departed.

The young celestial progeny and Titans continued to interact, engaging in energetic battles every so often. After each messy fight, a still-growing land turtle was left to clean up the aftermath.

Over these six years, Muria's frequent battles with Mikaela had accumulated enough goodwill to make a breakthrough in their relationship. Now, after a battle in the arena, he could ask the spirit to transport them around the Titan realm, showing Mikaela around.

All of this was thanks to a certain venerable being. When Muria was thirty-seven, after a battle, he first invited Mikaela to wander around, which might have been due to either his or Mikaela's good fortune.

Muria saw him again—the imposing figure he had encountered upon his initial arrival in the Titan realm, the Emperor of the Flame Foxes. However, the circumstances of their meeting were quite unique.

Muria and Mikaela encountered the Flame Fox Emperor on a phoenix nest perched atop a phoenix tree. Originally, Muria intended to introduce Mikaela to the legendary phoenix.

Instead, they found a tiny white nine-tailed fox, curled up and sleeping soundly, nestled against its own tail in the phoenix nest, which seemed exceedingly endearing. The nest's real owner, a legendary phoenix burning with eternal fire, stood guard nearby.

As Muria and Mikaela approached, they received a soul transmission laden with a warning.

"Titan and celestial scion, halt. This is not a place for you to approach."

The gentle female voice was pleasant to hear but carried a firm and resolute tone.

Muria looked at the sleeping little white fox, bowed slightly to show respect to the legendary phoenix, and then stopped with Mikaela thousands of meters away from the phoenix nest, not venturing closer.

"What creature is that?" Mikaela asked curiously, noticing the white fox in the nest.

"The Underworld Purple Emperor," Muria whispered.

Recognizing the white fox and the legendary phoenix in an instant, Muria was sure that this fox was the same imposing and charming Flame Fox Emperor he had once seen.

The legendary phoenix, which once made even the mighty dragons wary, seemed willing to yield its nest and stand guard. In the Titan realm, besides the Fox Emperor, Muria could think of no other white fox that would command such respect from a legendary phoenix.

For Mikaela, seeing the little white fox for the first time also revealed a side of her that Muria had never seen before. Her wings, usually burning with eternal celestial fire, nearly faltered and extinguished upon seeing the Fox Emperor, unable to conjure any will to fight.

From that encounter onward, every time Muria invited Mikaela out after a hearty battle, he would take her around the Titan realm, mainly in search of the Flame Fox Emperor. Mikaela felt her resolve wasn't strong enough; facing the Fox Emperor, she couldn't muster her will to fight, letting her eternal flames nearly die out. Thus, she sought the Fox Emperor to forge her will.

Unfortunately, they couldn't find him. When Muria and Mikaela visited the phoenix nest a second time, the little white fox was gone, without a trace. Even inquiries to the phoenix yielded no answers.

Thus, to find the Fox Emperor, Muria kept inviting Mikaela out from Cloud City...

"Roar! Roar!" A group of multicolored dragons soared over the Titan realm, with three fierce red dragons leading a hundred-strong dragon cohort at the front.

"Screech!" Amidst the clouds, above the dragons, a piercing eagle cry resounded, and soon, the owner of that voice appeared above in the sunlight—a formidable avian predator, spreading a powerful bloodline aura, casting a vast shadow over the dragon group, bringing an indescribable sense of intimidation and fear.

However, under this imposing presence, the formation of the dragon cohort was only slightly disturbed before quickly stabilizing, as the dragons already knew what creature flew above them.

A legendary bird of prey with a wicked sense of humor, the Azure Sky Peng, Inok.

"This joker is scaring us again."

"We're not afraid of it anymore, and it still comes."

"Exactly, how many times does it need to scare us before it's satisfied?"

"Ah, it's really boring. Every time Muria takes us flying, we almost always see it."

Lifting their heads to look at the nearly sixty-meter wingspan of the blue-scaled giant peng above, surrounded by a slightly oppressive aura, the dragons were not panicked but instead quietly discussed among themselves.

Hearing the discussions below, the giant peng Inok pinched its talons, reminiscing about the first time it had encountered Muria taking the dragon cohort for a stroll in the Titan realm.

Back then, its long cry frightened the young multicolored dragons under its terrifying presence and size, sending them scurrying in panic, disrupting the formation Muria had painstakingly arranged.

Of course, that behavior infuriated Muria, resulting in a harsh beating for Inok, a memory still vivid in its mind.

But Inok's attitude was clear: it was wrong, and it would dare again.

So, every time it saw Muria leading the dragons across the skies of the Titan realm, Inok couldn't help but fly over them and suddenly appear to scare them, disrupting the dragon formation, only to end up beaten by Muria.

However, after numerous occasions, Inok sadly discovered that the young dragons were no longer scared; they had grown accustomed to it.

"Screech!" Thinking of this, watching the orderly formation below, the Azure Sky Peng Inok let out a sigh-filled cry.

"What's all the noise? You're disturbing the dragons. Being loud doesn't make you impressive."

"Exactly, just wait till I can beat this big bird, then I'll shout back and see who's louder."

Hearing the voices from below, the majestic form of the peng in the sky couldn't help but sway, and azure lightning flickered across its body.

Honestly, if not for the concern about the tiny figure between the horns of the red dragon at the forefront, it would have already acted, properly educating this brood of wicked dragon youngsters on how to maintain enough awe for a great Azure Sky Peng.

With that in mind, the peng descended toward the location of the dragon cohort, feeling it necessary to greet the master of the dragons and let the wicked youngsters closely admire the grandeur of Lord Inok.

"Hey, Muria, out for a dragon stroll again?" The blue-scaled giant peng descended, swiftly approaching the largest red dragon at the forefront of the group, greeting the small figure standing between its horns.

"Yeah," Muria, transformed into a young boy, looked up briefly at the giant peng and responded flatly, "Inok, are you looking for a beating again?"

"Muria!" The giant peng exclaimed, quickly gaining altitude and distancing itself

, "I didn't scare your dragons today; you can't hit me."

If it could have seen hundreds of dragons scared witless by Lord Inok himself, being caught and beaten by Muria would have been acceptable. But today, not only was it unsatisfied, but it was also mocked by some young dragons, its spirit wounded, and then getting beaten by Muria again would be too much of a loss.

"Disappear from my sight within one minute," Muria stated coolly. He naturally had no fondness for this mischief-loving peng that sought satisfaction from terrorizing his dragons.

"Alright, alright, alright, I'm going, just don't hit me."

Muria watched the peng flap its wings, turning into a blue streak of light and disappearing from his sight within moments.

"Let's head back, Auston." The young boy, Muria, tapped his foot lightly, signaling the red dragon beneath him to lead the dragon cohort back.

More than an hour later, the red dragon Auston, now quite tame under Muria's command, led his two brothers and the dragon cohort back over Muria's residence, casting the mountains in shadow with their sheer number.

Muria stood atop Auston's head, overlooking below, where his courtyard on the mountain peak was visible.

There, under his coercion over the years, the dragons had gradually constructed a palace complex on the mountains, in a rugged style reminiscent of the Athenian Acropolis.

After all, one could hardly expect a group of indolent dragons to build anything exquisite.

"Whoosh!" Before Auston could land, Muria leaped down, free-falling towards his residence. With his robust physique, even the wildest antics would at most result in minor injuries, which a quick dip in the Life Pool could heal.

"Muria." Just as Muria landed, a white tiger approached him, its expression serious.

"What's up, big cat?" Muria curiously looked at Tohru, "Weren't you off playing on my island? How come you're back so soon?"

"There are two very special guests on your island," Tohru said with a grave look.

"Special guests?" Muria was puzzled.

"Two legends," the white tiger said solemnly, "a legendary human sword saint and a legendary sea creature who accompanied him."

"A human legend, huh." Muria paused, a bit lost in thought. This was the first he'd heard of humans since arriving in Erathia, sparking an inexplicable anticipation in his heart.

"Human, what are they doing here?" Muria snapped back to reality. This was Titan territory; why would a human, fully fed and foolish, come here?

"That human said he wants to borrow and study the Titan clan's sword techniques," Tohru said with a strange look.

"Studying Titan sword techniques..." Muria mused. The news stirred a mix of feelings in him as he contemplated this unprecedented visit from a human legend.