Another World Trip: Journey with My Cat and an Otaku Loli Goddess Chapter 331 - Ice Phoenix Hall’s Divine Daughter's Arrival

“For the winner, the loser would be in their service for two years, minimum. After that, however, if they deem whatever cause the winner is engaged in to be worthy enough to be followed through to the end, then those three years are there for the loser to embrace.”

A smile, as bright and gleaming as her armour flashed on her face. “You’re on.”

****

The day of the tournament had finally arrived, and we were all making our way towards Golden Lion Gate.

In fact, it wasn’t just us. A steady stream of people were heading there, not that my group gave a damn.

Mina was reading a manga I drew for her, Xiannu Liang was revelling in the fact that she could now walk freely with her face on full display, and Shen Ling grabbed my arm and was saddened by the fact that she couldn’t rest her head on my shoulder since I physically haven’t gone through puberty yet.

Which is something I’m sure will rectify itself in due time.

Once again, I’m pretty sure that Pebbles is responsible for this. She’s also been doing small things that make her so much more endearing all of a sudden. I can’t say that I don’t see the effort on her part. So that’s a thing.

Let it be known that I am no longer using my age to make her feel uncomfortable. That’s a win in my book.

We’ve got the Sun siblings who’ve taken a liking to us since they now know what it’s like to stay in a hotel, take a shower, and wear clean clothes. Oh yeah, we bought clothes for them. Well, not me, Shen Ling and Xiannu Liang did.

Pebbles and Lord Whiskers were engaging in parkour atop the rooftops like some furry cross-fit angels of calamity. As far as I’m concerned, they’re living their best lives right now.

As for Firecracker, his expression was pretty peculiar, all things considered. This was the case ever since I made the bet with Heavenly Sun Noble and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why this would trouble him.

If I had to guess, I would say he thinks my rizz is an adversary to his. Now I don’t think I have much rizz, to begin with, but I don’t think he’ll believe me on account of the beauty on my arm.

Am I a Chad?

Well, that isn’t something I can confirm at the moment. But, this may all be stemming from his thoughts that I may seduce Heavenly Sun Noble, thus creating a harem through the promise. Does he think his standing as a Noble travelling with me will lessen if I do this?

“So what’s eating you there, buddy?” I asked him, finally. Might as well get to the bottom of this.

He looked up at the sky for a moment, as if contemplating the best way to word his thoughts.

“Brother Long Di, do you truly think it’s best to bring Heavenly Sun Noble into the fold?”

Not gonna lie, I just love the fact that he doesn’t even entertain the thought of me losing the bet.

‘Well, what do you think is the worst that could happen?”

“From what I know…” he put a hand to his chin as his brow scrunched up. “Heavenly Sun Noble may be a woman, but she is quite strong-willed and stubborn. Her personality may clash with yours. It’ll be even more troublesome when we consider she is to follow you at the end of all this.”

So that’s what’s got him in such a mood. Then again, I don’t want him to think I am unbeatable.

“If I lose–”

“Big ‘IF’ there,” Violet Flame Noble sprinkled in.

“I’ll be using the lesser of my two strengths,” I admitted. “So, to be honest, there is hope for her to win.”

“That’s worse, as you’ll then have to follow her. But allow me to say that I still don’t think she’ll be able to beat you.”

Violet Flame Noble is still unaware of the true nature of my strength. According to Yaomu Shou, I shouldn’t go around telling people I can cultivate somatic essence and spiritual energy, which is an advice I’ll try to follow.

Even though I was cultivating inside the forge, the fluctuations of my somatic essence can’t be felt outside… I think. Not only that, I have a habit of shielding my cultivation base just to be safe. So me shooting lightning is about as much as he knows about me.

“Hey, I’m not the one who told her to exist at the same time I did, which, weirdly enough, sounds like something a racist would say. Regardless, that sounds like a skill issue, my guy.”

Then again, I didn’t want him to think me undefeatable by any stretch. I think that’s what happened with Yaomu Shou to an extent.

“You think me invincible, don’t you?”

“Nigh,” he answered, after a while. He looked at me with a lot of confidence when he said it, too. Which is odd considering we haven’t known each other all that long and I know for a fact that he can’t sense my cultivation base.

“You’d be wrong,” I corrected him, causing him to look at me.

I then went on to explain. “My talent is… unusual.” I chewed on that last word for a while. “Still, I have been in very hard fights throughout my journey.”

“You’ve fought cultivators on your own level? Cultivators your own age?” He asked with no small amount of surprise.

Does he really think that there is no one out there my age at my level?

Shit… he may have a point there.

“… Okay, just lemme explain.”

“I knew it!” Violet Flame Noble threw up his arms in exasperation. ‘’You’ve never had a hard time with a coeval!”

“Will you be quiet!?” Pebbles yelled as he appeared on my shoulder only to be frightened by Firecracker.

“Sorry, Lord Pebbles The Wondercat.” Violet Flame Noble hurriedly cupped his fist in apology to Pebbles. I could see the literal beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Looks like his natural instincts placed Pebbles on a list of existences he would never dare to offend.

Pebbles waved his paw. “It’s fine. Just…” he stopped and looked to a point in the sky.

Feeling a particular aura, I did the same, followed by everyone else.

Whoosh!

A chilly wind blew by that caused everyone’s breath to frost in front of them.

Boom!

The void above the city exploded as an ice carriage emerged from within. It appeared to be completely made up of ice, yet whatever was inside was blurred beyond recognition.

Runes were engraved into the sides, while elegant designs lined the entirety of it. As it travelled, snow and hail trailed in its wake.

It rumbled into the city, changing the weather within.

“That carriage is a spiritual artefact!” Violet Flame Noble remarked.

“Who could that possibly be?” Another nearby expert asked.

“Are we really doing this?” I asked, deadpan. They couldn’t be serious, could they?

“What do you mea–”

“It’s the Divine Daughter of the Ice Phoenix Hall.” Seriously, how is that a mystery?

“It’s an ice carriage made out of ice, with hail and snow trailing behind it. If you really question who that is, I’m kicking you out of the group.”

Violet Flame Noble shut his mouth immediately after that.

“It’s heading to Golden Lion Gate.” Shen Ling advised.

“It’s the Divine Daughter!”

No one knew who shouted that, but as soon as it was revealed, the steady stream of cultivators turned into a roaring river.

“I’m sorry, do the hormones of cultivators get stronger as well?”

“Pfft, they’re your race,” Pebbles said, shaking his head.

“It’s really about what it means. Her status is not something that even we, as the Five Nobles, can compare to.”

“I see…”

“So what now?” Violet Flame Noble asked.

I cocked my head to the side when he asked this. This changed nothing. “What do you mean? Obviously, we should still–”

Without warning, a cold and unfeeling voice echoed in my mind. ‘Come to Golden Lion Gate.’

“Qin Ling? Excuse me?”