Li Ang slept for almost a whole day and night.

When he woke up again, it was another morning, his mind groggy, somewhat losing his sense of time.

Coming onto the deck, the warm breeze from the Flos Sky Realm finally eased his spirits a little.

Seeing him come out, Dorothy standing by the helm shouted, "Ah, you're awake!"

She fixed the helm in place, walked towards the cabin: "I stopped by some small islands in between, bought various foods, you must be hungry?"

The young girl pulled out a tea table and chairs so luxurious they almost seemed Rococo in style, set out the food, and even began brewing tea. Although her ship was small, it was equipped with many pricey items, including an automatic Magical Hot Water Pot.

Dorothy seemed a bit clumsy, obviously not someone who brewed tea often, but she was enthused, and though she spilled a little hot water, she managed to get it done.

Sitting at the table, she prepared some pastries.

Li Ang looked up at her, the girl said somewhat embarrassedly: "I'm not sure what foods are suitable for a journey, just bought what I wanted to eat, but I didn't buy much, so there won't be any waste."

Not wanting to dampen her spirits, Li Ang nodded and said: "Fortunately, I've never tried this kind of pastry before."

Dorothy chuckled and sat beside him.

In the distance was a sea of clouds that stretched unbroken, with no islands in sight nearby. Above the azure sky, a small tea party thus unfolded.

Li Ang took a sip of tea, recalling battling various monsters in the Demon Disaster Realm not long ago, this scene before him felt slightly melancholic.

After savoring for a while, he realized it wasn't melancholy, but his mind adjusting his thoughts, starting to adapt to an entirely new life.

The small boat sailed slowly through the clear sky, its speed not fast, so it might take three to four days before reaching the Gorasis Sky Realm.

From the departure time, Li Ang didn't break his promise to Zoe. Although she sailed away on the small boat, afterwards, Eden would assist, and that giant wolf was fast, so Li Ang should have a time difference of more than two days.

Without much entertainment on the journey to pass the time, Li Ang stood in the spacious part of the deck, ready to continue enhancing his Swordsman experience from before.

After reaching Tier Two Swordsman, he hadn't accumulated a single point of the 500 experience points required.

He reached to his waist to draw the Silver Heart Sword, and its scabbard knocked against something in his waist pouch.

Fetching it out, it was a strange measuring instrument picked up from the Imperial Soldiers on Satus Island.

Originally, he intended to take the Imperial Soldiers to the Hall of Order for research, but then the blocked route and the Annihilation Knight caused him to almost forget about it.

At the time, he took a quick look with the system, as the description was vague, he didn't pay much attention.

[Spiritual Measurement Instrument]

[A measuring instrument made of special material, it reacts upon contact with certain spirituality]

[Purpose: Measures special spirituality]

Now it seems, half of the mystery inside has been unravelled.

The strange ship cannon on the Imperial Ship, the Annihilation Knight, and this measuring instrument, were all manufactured relying on the eerie purple organization, and the so-called "special spirituality" seemed to refer to certain spirituality on Zoe's part judging from the Imperial Soldiers' behavior at the time.

The only thing Li Ang couldn't confirm was the mechanism of effect of this purple substance, and which part of Zoe's power it exactly pursued, whether it was the Star Soul Greenhouse or some traits she inherited from her parents?

Thinking of this, he remembered the Divine Eye Helmet.

He found that helmet and put it on, entering the Sight Beyond Sight state.

The superficial layers of the Material World peeled away, and the flow lines of spirituality became clear to his eyes.

The spirituality of that purple substance materialized visually before him.

Li Ang frowned, the spirituality of it after drawing magic power is not intended to transform the Material World, but to use magic power to annihilate all matter and energy.

This completely violates the conventional spiritual tendency.

Delving into the knowledge in his mind, he found only one similar thing.

Could it be the "Dark Element"?

In the Nebis World, elements in the broad sense refer to the smallest unit of matter, but generally, when people mention elements, they mean the four major basic elements of earth, fire, water, and wind.

However, when strength reaches a certain level, the concept of the so-called "Upper Element" is encountered.

Conceptually, there are two elements that transcend all others, they are light and dark.

The reason they're called concepts is because they, unlike the Four Major Elements, are not the smallest units of specific matter or energy, but rather higher-dimensional powers. It's just that when used, they are similar to the Four Major Elements, hence called elements.

Of course, the Power of Light and Dark is much stronger than the Four Elements. They do not participate in the cycle of restraining the Four Elements, but rather Light and Dark counteract each other, waxing and waning.

Scholars from Thousand Tower City have summarized their characteristics.

Light Element is the afterglow at the creation of the world, Dark Element is the residue after all things are annihilated.

The former is the power to construct the world and bring new life to all things, the latter is the power to destroy the world and bring death.

Li Ang had only seen the Light and Dark Attributes on particularly tricky ancient relic creations or powerful Magical Beasts, heard of people mastering the Power of Light and Dark, but so far he hadn't seen such a person, at least not among the top ten Sky Knights or the top four Celestial Groups.

If this purple substance is a Dark Element, then it's indeed fitting enough to harm a powerful Star Soul.

Li Ang decided to pick up Zoe, familiarize the two young girls in the team with adventure, then take some time to go to Thousand Tower City, to find genuinely knowledgeable scholars to identify this thing.

He put away the measuring instrument and started practicing his sword skills.

The time afterward passed like this, with Li Ang wholeheartedly swinging his sword, while Dorothy quietly watched him sweat.

Stopping for a brief time at the City of Trade in the Flos Sky Realm, the ship headed straight towards the Gorasis Sky Realm.

Once through the passageway, the warm wind immediately transformed into cold, as the ship proceeded, snowflakes started falling in the sky, many parts of the Flying Airship began to frost over. The coat Dorothy was reminded to buy in the City of Trade came into use, though she still made a fuss.

Upon reaching Frost Heaven Island, five days had passed, and Li Ang's Tier Two Swordsman experience had accumulated to 296/500.

"That's Frost Heaven Island!"

Dorothy exclaimed as she gazed into the distance.

The entire island was shrouded in wind and snow, resembling an irregular piece of ice. It had steep terrain, higher in the middle and lower on both sides, with mountain slopes exceeding 45 degrees.

The southern face of the island was the main living area, with the city of Refusing Winter built there. Houses circled the steep slopes, and a wide long staircase traversed vertically through the city to the mountain's peak, where the magnificent church of the Frost Tower Church stood like a dark blue ice sculpture turned into a work of art.

Within the mountain, there was a Magic Array system providing warmth to the city, powered by ores mined from the densely caverned back of the mountain, where fish and shrimp with delicious meat also lived in the spring caves.

The ship docked at the port, and after completing the mooring procedures, Li Ang and Dorothy felt the place was immersed in a lively atmosphere.

End of May, wasn't there no festival at this time on Frost Heaven Island?

Li Ang was about to inquire about the situation with the port manager but found the person somewhat familiar.

He walked over, and upon confirmation, grabbed the man by the shoulder.

The startled manager instinctively prepared to fight back but froze upon seeing his face, surprised for several seconds before giving Li Ang a strong bear hug.

"Ah, you little devil! What a coincidence, I'm just about to get off work!"

The man, now middle-aged, laughed heartily, his temples graying, and the charm of his younger days somewhat diminished, but his laughter brought some of it back.

He was Viel Taube, the founding leader of The Soul Apex. When Li Ang last visited, he hadn't been working as a port manager yet.

"Came here just to see me?" The old leader chuckled.

"Came to handle some matters, though I was also planning to visit you."

"Is this your little girlfriend? You crafty devil, where did you snatch her from?" Viel glanced at Dorothy.

"She's my group member."

"Hello." Dorothy gave a standard noble's bow.

"Group member," Viel's smile gradually faded, "I've guessed a bit about The Soul Apex; indeed, you've left the group."

"Alright, let's not talk about this now," Viel pointed to the church at the mountain top: "Join the festivity with me first, then we'll chat over drinks later."

Viel led Li Ang and Dorothy toward the staircase leading directly to the city's summit.

"Come, take this, walking up would be slow," the man called out.

A cable car was installed beside the staircase, specially designed to take those who wanted to go directly to the top.

"Do you have a festival? It's so lively?"

Seated on the cable car, Li Ang observed that there were no festival decorations in the city and started chatting with Viel.

"The Frost Tower Church is hosting a Blessing Festival, distributing free food and drinks to all city residents and passing travelers, with dances and hymns bestowing blessings on those present. Don't underestimate it; those blessings really have magical effects, providing warmth and Qi Power boosts, drawing many adventurers from nearby."

Blessings are a type of magic released by professions like monks, that, through special ritual preparations, can amplify others' Magic Power in a unique way.

"Moreover," Viel smiled mysteriously, "the celebration is livelier this time because of the appearance of a mysterious High Priest. She's a real beauty."

"There's even an even more beautiful young girl helping host the blessing ceremony, never seen before, making many guess if she's the High Priest's successor."

Viel glanced at Dorothy, silently following beside with a reserved gaze, and whispered: "Watch your eyes, don't upset your lady partner."

Li Ang chuckled, saying nothing.

Viel's introduction didn't elicit much of a reaction from Li Ang, leading Dorothy to sense something unusual, secretly observing him.

Refusing Winter City wasn't large, and the glide-rail speed was moderate, so it wasn't long before they arrived at the front of the church.

"Just in time, the church members are coming out," Viel smiled.

The grand doorframe of the church was several meters high, as if designed for a giant beast's passage. The heavy dark blue doors slowly opened, and a procession of priests in dark blue robes walked out in formation.

At the very front, a small young girl with chestnut hair and red eyes, wearing a dark blue long dress, clumsily marched forward, holding a ceremonial staff.

Li Ang shook his head with a smile, while Dorothy, observing his expression, realized he was deep in thought.

The somewhat constricted outfit, the accessories on her head, and the thick-soled ritual heels, how could Zoe, this Little Wild Cat, ever get accustomed to it?

Eden swayed gracefully, walking second in line.

The crowd started buzzing with the priests' appearance, who stood distanced evenly, seemingly about to start dancing.

Zoe was in the leading dancer's position; Li Ang could tell she was extremely nervous, but with an eagerness, as if it were a fun thing for her.

Eden stood in the center of all the priests, with those behind holding various musical instruments, ready for music and dance to begin.

Zoe raised her ceremonial staff, her gaze following the snow-flake emblem at the top, pausing briefly over the crowd before continuing to lift.

She suddenly froze, and the priests behind, prepared to follow her actions, showed signs of confusion on their faces.

The young girl lowered her head, blinking hard to confirm what she had just seen.

As their gazes met, Zoe threw the ceremonial staff aside, her shoes flung off her feet, and amid the crowd's exclamations and confusion, she charged straight toward Li Ang.

Never mind others, even Li Ang was panicking.

Oh no, please don't hug me—

With a leap, the young girl flung herself right into his arms.

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