s.h.i.+n was still in the midst of recovering from s.h.i.+zen's news and had dug into the mountain of reports handed down to him. However, there were limits to how much paperwork could distract the youth. Thus, the officer's interruption came at a great time. "Any luck?" s.h.i.+n asked, his fingers intertwined and supporting his heavy chin.

"Ha! We tried our best, but..." The uniformed man looked right at s.h.i.+n, but he didn't dare to meet those beautiful azure eyes. The Prince of the Lantis Republic had been out here the entire day after all.

"I see," the young man threw his back against his throne. Failing to find the Paradise Heart was a norm. Of all the days s.h.i.+n spent in a military encampment outside of a Payirci, he'd only received the good news twice. So, s.h.i.+n was no stranger to the disappointing results. It was just that… It was a bad day to throw cold water onto his face.

"Let me do a search," said the commander as he leapt to his feet.

"My Prince!" The officer felt his heart leap out from his chest as he'd heard the words. "We can't possibly let you into that danger zone when there are so many unknown variables! G.o.d knows what would happen!" Both hands flailing in the air, the officer stopped the youth from making a brash decision. And he had a point. s.h.i.+n was once enveloped by a Payirci's illusions, where he was forced to defend himself against the combined might of Junius, the Umbras and the other Black Masks that followed him.

s.h.i.+n may have escaped, but it was with great difficulty and luck. Heck, s.h.i.+n was even crippled from being forced to ignite the Shard before his body was ready. So, the officer's worry wasn't really unfounded.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid." s.h.i.+n chuckled. "I'd already called for Senior Zishen to escort me. I'm even bringing her along." Bingbing happily chirped while enjoying herself on s.h.i.+n's shoulders. "A Tier 9 Azure Dragon and a peak Tier 8 Kamaitachi. I can bring a few guards from the military if you like. So... Do you think that I'll be in any sort of trouble?"

"No, but..." The officer s.h.i.+fted his eyes nervously. Yes, s.h.i.+n was heavily defended. However, in the 0.00001% chance that he's injured…

"Don't worry," As if reading the officer's mind, s.h.i.+n took out a scroll from his desk and speedily wrote up an executive order. Dropping his feather pen, s.h.i.+n threw the yellow parchment paper into the military man's outreached hands. "If anyone questions you, give them this. No trouble will fall on your shoulders..."

"Ah, yes!!!" Taking multiple bows, the officer admired the floor as the young man gradually made his way out of the tent, and into the unknown…

❖❖❖

s.h.i.+n walked cautiously down the wide hallways of the Payircis. It was warm and moist within this dungeon, a stark contrast to the snowy weather outside. Compared to the other Payircis that s.h.i.+n had been in, this one was rife with his favourite element… Water. Fountains with lion heads spewing waterfalls were plastered all over the walls. There were a few rooms where the cultivators could only pa.s.s by breathing underwater. Poison chambers, icy h.e.l.ls… Even a room of pure mist. This Payirci was, without a doubt, one of the best places for the cultivators of the Lantis Republic to train in.

And for the most part, that's what they did. The Lantis Paladins consisted of Spirit Lords, Kings and Emperors. They served as the elite contingent of the Lantis Republic, taking on menaces brought on by the Black Masks. Basically, they were the Lantis Republic's equivalent to the White Knights of the Alliance. In fact, they were formed precisely to make up the deficit that the White Knights had left. Occasionally, the Lantis Paladins would serve the Alliance just as they did their nation. However, those jobs were few and far between. Mostly, they would tackle the threats that posed a direct threat to their sovereignty.

Notable figures that were enlisted into the Lantis Paladins included big names such as Qilong Hu, Meijing Bingying, Jingyu Taiyi, Longyu Linji and Xunyu Feifei. That wasn't all. Even prominent Spirit Emperors that were slated to become High Elders in the future were inducted into the order. s.h.i.+n wasn't part of the new contingent, but the funny thing was… He had trained with all of them.

s.h.i.+n's Celestial Dragon Aura was just too good to pa.s.s up. Each time he unleashed his Celestial Dragon, the cultivation rates of those that surrounded him would skyrocket. Among the Luminaries, Meijing Bingying and Jingyu Taiyi were about to reach Rank 60, almost three times faster than the regular rate. Qilong Hu was dethroned as the most powerful one among them as Meijing Bingying reached Rank 59 far faster than anyone could have antic.i.p.ated. Her familiarity with s.h.i.+n enabled her to reap all sorts of benefits, mainly the luxury to visit him whenever she pleased. That, in turn, boosted her cultivation rate tremendously over the three years. Not to mention, as it turns out, the Payircis was an excellent place to train as well!

It was created by the evilest organisation to grace the planet. For what purpose? No one knew. However, the Alliance quickly realised that the Payircis was perhaps the best place to train Spirit Spectres, Lords and Kings. Most of the foes within the dungeon were shadowy Umbras that didn't exceed Tier 8. Each time they were killed, they would resp.a.w.n within a day or two, giving the young forces multiple chances to hone their skills.

Spirit Immortal Dream's original blueprints were to make the Payirci a place where young people could train, without the fear of war or death. So, no matter how much the Black Masks attempted to make the place a death trap, the essence of the structure remained the same. A mandense area with an endless horde of enemies to kill… It was basically a paradise for up-and-coming Spirit Users to train.

At times, s.h.i.+n wanted to join in the fun as well. Unfortunately, the Lantis Republic would only allow him to enter when the place had been cleared or with the protection of at least on Spirit Venerate or Tier 9 Spirit Beast. Which wholly defeats the purpose of training. Thus, s.h.i.+n could only be present to give the orders or witness the fall of the Paradise Heart.

However, at this moment, s.h.i.+n just wanted to blow off some steam. Zishen, the Azure Dragon was to his side, yawning and largely uninterested in the world around him. Bingbing was the same. Even in this perilous journey into the unknown, the snowy white gerbil felt comfortable resting in s.h.i.+n's warm robes. She was a little too comfortable, perhaps. They were in one of the most dangerous places in the Lantis Republic, and the Kamitaichi had the audacity to sleep.

"Mmmm… That little la.s.s is quite carefree..." Zishen remarked. "Then again, there really is nothing here to look at..." The Azure Dragon in his human form was quite bored as well. s.h.i.+n had dragged them into the Payirci in search of the Paradise Heart. However, if something like that were so easily found, the Lantis Navy wouldn't have spent over two years scouring this structure.

Over time, the Umbras had been cleared out, and their sp.a.w.ning rates had been managed by the Lantis Paladins. Traps were disabled, and every single nook and cranny has been mapped out. Effectively, the dungeon had been conquered. It was just that no one could find the core to destroy it.

"Do you sense anything, Senior Zishen?" s.h.i.+n questioned as he held firmly onto the Spear of Aiglos. Spirit Beasts tend to have sharper senses than humans, so it made sense for the Tier 9 Spirit Beast to find more clues than himself.

"Nothing at all," the Azure Dragon replied a negative. "The Paradise Heart should be a lump of mana, and yet I don't feel a single thing. I can sense the brats a hundred metres up and below, but I feel any colossal mana point anywhere." Zishen continued to dampen the hopes of the young man.

"Maybe they'd hidden the Paradise Heart inside of a sensory-blocking fog..." s.h.i.+n theorised. It didn't make any sense for the big blob of spiritual energy to just magically disappear.

"It's almost as if it's not within the Payirci itself," Zishen folded his arms and thoughtlessly blurted out.

"Not within the Payirci itself?" The Azure Dragon's words resonated within s.h.i.+n's mind. 'Not within the Payirci… A training facility… A safe place… Water-elements...' As per usual, the young Prince's mind raced at a million kilometres an hour. All of the building blocks began to fall into place and in the end…

"I got it!!!" s.h.i.+n cheered with a jubilant cry. Ignoring the random bodyguards that were following a few metres behind, s.h.i.+n ran straight down the stairwell, his feet moving so fast that it seemed like he was walking on air.

"Mmmm... Here we go again..." Zishen made a face as if he were used to the sight and promptly followed the rushed youth. With ease, the Azure Dragon traversed dozens of metres with one step as he followed his Prince out.

In just a few minutes, s.h.i.+n had already exited the Payirci and leapt straight down onto the oceans below. A layer of glacial ice, created by none other than the Prince himself, cus.h.i.+oned s.h.i.+n's rapid fall. He could have just levitated comfortably in the skies, but s.h.i.+n wanted to test something out. The Celestial Dragon flew out from his Spectre Soul, and the Domain of Dreams was automatically cast. The water elements all rushed up into the domain as the oceans slowly lost their ravaging waves.

When it comes to water, few could manipulate the water elements as well as s.h.i.+n. He placed his fingers into the deep ocean and allowed his senses to spread. It started off small, but slowly… s.h.i.+n began to have 'vision' of every single water molecule within a ten-kilometre radius. Every fish, every coral, every stone, every seaweed… Nothing could escape s.h.i.+n's 'eyes.'

The entire soul of the ocean was stripped bare for s.h.i.+n's viewing pleasure. He was searching for just one trace… Just one hint was enough… And well…

"Hehe, found it..." An impish smile crept up s.h.i.+n's face. "Why am I so smart?!" The young Prince cheered himself on in pure joy. The Paradise Heart that had eluded the Lantis Republic for so long… s.h.i.+n had actually found it.

Zishen flew down graciously and landed right next to his sovereign master. "Have you found it?" asked the Azure Dragon lazily.

"Seven kilometres down at a fifty-degree angle to the south," s.h.i.+n replied with confidence. "There's a sealed cave with a peculiar lack of presence… What do you think?"

The old man closed his eyes and followed s.h.i.+n's directions. Just as s.h.i.+n had described, there was a locked cave, sealed with a thick stone boulder. No spiritual irregularities could be found, so much so that it was borderline eerie. "Mmmm, peculiar indeed…" Zishen agreed with s.h.i.+n's conjecture. "My Prince, your senses have improved yet again!"

"Thanks to your tutelage, of course!" s.h.i.+n beamed.

Dozens of officers ran out from the encampments on the nearby island and flew straight towards the young Prince. To accommodate them all, s.h.i.+n increased the s.p.a.ce of the ice platform he was on. Among those flying over, there was a familiar brown-haired young man. s.h.i.+n curled lips twisted into a frown as he recalled the earlier encounter he had. It was still a little awkward to meet s.h.i.+zen straight on, so...

"Senior Zishen, let's destroy the Paradise Heart," s.h.i.+n commanded. Celestial scales that reflected the stars and radiated with pure spiritual energy broke out from s.h.i.+n's milky white skin and covered all corners of the youth's body. Just like his other abilities, s.h.i.+n's Spiritual Body Enhancement had undergone a drastic change as well. The Sovereign Koi scales had been replaced with the Celestial Dragon's and his ability to breathe underwater was basically unparalleled in the world now. Like a fish back in the water, s.h.i.+n kicked the currents and propelled himself dozens of metres with one kick. Bingbing created her own breathing bubble with an ice sphere and casually returned back to sleep.

The Azure Dragon bitterly smiled. In the end, no matter how much more mature he'd become. s.h.i.+n was still the same s.h.i.+n on the inside.

"As you command, My Prince."

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