"What, Leyvi? Are you not impressed with this prince's new strength?" Dastan ignored Leyvi's initial remark and leaped down to join them, his landing light and deliberate. "Can you feel the majesty of my Nascent Soul aura? I am sure it is better than any you have experienced before, isn't it?"
He knew that in recent times, Leyvi only resorted to calling him 'clown prince' when he was acting excessively arrogant. But today, he found he did not care in the slightest. He felt he had earned the right to a little pride. This prince was a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator at the age of twenty-eight; why should he not be arrogant? Besides, he had long since developed a high-level resistance to the moniker.
"Hmm..." Leyvi fell into thought, his mind sifting through the memories of other Nascent Soul auras he had encountered. "In terms of pure quality, I suppose you are the best one," he conceded after a moment. "But in terms of raw fierceness, you are somewhat lacking. You could not intimidate a soul with this. Well, perhaps you could startle a toddler."
In reality, the aura exuded by cultivators always carried a mental suppressive effect, particularly for those in lower realms. It was the natural reason cultivators often feared or revered their superiors. Of course, that feeling tended to fade with familiarity, and a person with sufficient mental fortitude could learn to disregard the pressure entirely.
"Hmph, this prince has no interest in being fierce," Dastan retorted, his nose tilting up a fraction. "This prince prefers to be majestic. Is that not right, Tantan?"
On cue, Tantan immediately jumped, switching her perch from Tamina's shoulder to her master's. She nodded her small head vigorously in agreement.
"Hahaha! Majestic?" Leyvi's laughter was a sharp, cheerful sound. "I don't know about that, Dastan. What is your opinion, Anda? Did you sense any true majesty from him?"
Anda, who had been observing the exchange with her usual calm, did not even need to ponder the question. "If he could manage to shut up for a while, I am certain his majesty would emerge on its own," she said, her tone utterly nonchalant.
"Pfft." Tamina pressed her lips together, but a small, amused breath escaped anyway. "Ahem. Excuse me." She felt Anda's assessment was spot on. Her fiancé did indeed carry a more dignified and imposing air whenever he was quiet and still.
Dastan was left speechless. He searched for a rebuttal, but the words would not come. After all, the evidence was against him; even his own betrothed had nearly laughed at the joke.
Dammit! Am I really that bad when talking? Do I need to be a mute crown prince to look majestic?
"Hmph, you both are just country bumpkins. What do you know about true majesty?" Dastan retorted, folding his arms in a show of wounded pride.
A slow, knowing smile spread across Anda's lips. "So that means you don't need our help, then? A majestic Nascent Soul crown prince like you can surely take care of himself later on."
Dastan was stunned for a second, his confident posture deflating. "Uhh... Madam Anda," he began, his tone shifting to one of careful politeness. "This prince is indeed majestic, but he still requires help." He even offered a slight, ingratiating smile as he rubbed his hands together.
Who was she kidding? Even having reached the Nascent Soul Realm, he would not dare to have an assassination attempted on him. The very thought was that scary.
"Pftt... hehehe..." This time, Tamina could not hold it in. A soft laugh escaped her as she watched her fiancé. He had become quite a funny man occasionally, ever since he had become friends with Leyvi.
The corner of Dastan's mouth twitched. Dammit, even my own fiancée is laughing at me. I am losing all my face as the crown prince.
His eyes then landed on the large figure standing beside Leyvi. "Huh? Who is this big guy? Where did he come from?" the crown prince asked, his attention fully captured. He had been so focused on his grand presentation earlier that he had completely missed the hulking newcomer in their midst.
"Hello, Your Highness Dastan," the giant man said, his voice a low rumble. "I am Bodo, from the Snoring Kingdom. I came here half a year ago, initially to rob the people here." He delivered this statement with a startling matter-of-factness. "But Master told me to find treasure under the rocks instead. Now I work for Brother Leyvi." He finished his introduction with a slight, respectful bow.
Dastan was speechless. Rob? What in the world had happened while he was cultivating?
Leyvi brought a hand to his face in a gentle facepalm. "Brother Bodo," he said with a patient sigh. "I don't think you have to mention the part about coming to rob us."
Bodo merely scratched his head, a picture of pure confusion. "But it is the truth."
"Oi, Leyvi!" Dastan exclaimed, finally finding his voice. "What is going on? Did something happen while this prince was forming his Nascent Soul? Why are you letting someone who wanted to rob us just... join?"
Victor listened from the back, a bit curious. His habit of solitude had left him entirely out of the loop. He didn't even know that someone had come to rob them.
"Not a big deal," Leyvi explained briefly with a casual wave of his hand. "A group of people came to rob our treasures, but my wife Lilian took care of them. As for Bodo here," he said, gesturing toward the large man, "he was fed a Slavemaker Pill by the leader, becoming his slave. But don't worry, the effect was gone. He wasn't under control anymore."
Dastan eyed Bodo's formidable frame with deep suspicion. "Hmph, even if he wasn't under control anymore, how can you trust him blindly? Look at him. He looks like a big villain. Maybe he has ulterior motives."
The words landed like physical blows. Bodo's large frame visibly shrank, his shoulders slumping as he stared at the ground, genuinely saddened.
Leyvi just laughed, clapping a reassuring hand on Bodo's arm. "Hahaha! You don't have to worry about that. There's no problem with him. You can trust Bodo. He is great. I even invite him to work for my family after we return." He then turned to his large friend for confirmation. "Right, Bodo?"
If Anda said he's good, then he's good, Leyvi thought to himself. That's all the confirmation I need.
Hearing the unwavering praise, Bodo straightened his posture again, his face brightening with visible happiness. "That's right, that's right. Brother Leyvi said I can eat a lot of heavenly food if I join."
Dastan could only stare, utterly speechless. Heavenly food? You agree to work with him just for that? Are you stupid?
With a single glance, Dastan could tell that Bodo was a powerful body cultivator, probably on par with his Royal Guards, or perhaps even stronger. The man's essence energy was overflowing and oppressive, like a mountain pressing down. If he applied to be a Royal Guard for any kingdom, he would be accepted instantly and given abundant resources to further his cultivation. And yet, someone of this caliber didn't mind working for a newly established family in a backward continent that lacked any real Body Cultivation path. Are you throwing away your future? Dastan couldn't help but shake his head.
He was acutely aware of how extraordinary Leyvi himself was, a fact he readily acknowledged. But he held little expectation for the Cloud Continent itself. In the end, progression in cultivation was a painfully slow grind, one that most often depended on sheer, dumb luck. Without a consistent stream of lucky discoveries to hasten progress, it would probably take them tens of thousands of years just to reach the Protogaea Continent's current level in every field of cultivation.
Once Leyvi reached the Nascent Soul or Soul Formation Realm, his progress would likely slow down significantly, or even come to a complete halt, simply due to the lack of guidance on how to move forward.
These so-called "directions" were the accumulated knowledge and experiences of countless cultivators throughout history. In ancient times, every major realm was once considered the absolute peak, until someone eventually found a way to break through to a higher one, perfecting the cultivation methods of the lower realms in the process. This made advancement easier, faster, and less resource-intensive for future generations.
After countless years of such progress, the Protogaea Continent had reached its current peak realm: the Dao Manifestation Realm. But whether realms beyond that existed, no one could say for sure. Still, Dastan had a feeling that there most likely were.
From what he knew, the Cloud Continent had once experienced a total extinction for reasons lost to time. Later, a few descendants of the Protogaea Continent's royal families, those forced to flee during War Empress Celes' reign, had somehow successfully crossed the extremely dangerous and terrifying sea. They settled in the Cloud Continent, repopulating the place and restarting a new civilization from the ashes. This catastrophic reset was the main reason the Cloud Continent now lagged behind, universally considered a backward continent.
The fact that it did not boast a single Dao Manifestation Realm cultivator was all the proof anyone needed.
Dastan genuinely appreciated Leyvi's talent. As a friend, he had been trying for some time to recruit him for the Howling Kingdom, hoping to spare him a future where his cultivation progress was stunted by the continent's inherent limitations. If Leyvi agreed, Dastan could request his grandfather to make a short trip to the Cloud Continent, bring Leyvi's entire family back to the Howling Kingdom, and grant him a territory to develop. For a Dao Manifestation Realm powerhouse like his grandfather, the vast sea was no longer a life-threatening danger.
Unfortunately, Leyvi had rejected his offer multiple times, always preferring to stay on his home continent.