"Rhys, it's really been a long time!"
Cedric looked delighted when he saw that the person who had called out to him was Rhys.
This guy had vanished for half a term, leaving all his old acquaintances rather worried.
Fortunately, judging from his complexion, he seemed to be fine.
"It has been a while. I was seriously injured in the alchemical world before, so I had no choice but to find somewhere to recuperate for a while."
"I see. You look like you've recovered pretty well."
Cedric smiled and nodded, genuinely happy that Rhys had recovered.
"Do you have any plans for the holidays? I heard Yang Qingyue invited you to visit his sect?"
"That did happen." Cedric nodded. "But didn't Professor Dumbledore say..."
"It won't be a problem."
Rhys waved a hand, indicating that as long as they were strong enough, they could simply ignore Dumbledore's warning.
Rhys's confidence was not blind.
He genuinely possessed that level of strength.
After all, he was one of the people standing behind Dumbledore, one of the very sources of Dumbledore's confidence.
Cedric: "?"
"That doesn't seem like a very good idea..."
He was somewhat tempted.
Yang Qingyue's invitation was extremely appealing to him.
Cedric genuinely wanted to travel to the world and explore its mysterious magic.
"What's wrong with it? Professor White should already have explained it to you, right?"
Rhys leaned mysteriously closer to Cedric and lowered his voice.
"The real reason Dumbledore warned everyone."
Cedric gave a soft "Mm."
His teacher had indeed told him that the seal on the Underworld had been broken and that many dangerous things might happen during the summer holidays.
He had been told to be careful, not wander around recklessly, and not travel too far from the British Isles.
Cedric was not entirely sure where the "Penglai" Yang Qingyue had mentioned was located, but it was obviously very, very far from Britain.
"The danger actually comes from evil spirits escaping from the Underworld. But if we're stronger than those spirits, then we're actually the source of danger. They're the ones who should worry about running into us, aren't they?"
Cedric suddenly felt enlightened.
The outside world at this moment was like a vast forest, where the roles of predator and prey were constantly changing.
"Then..."
"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and accept the invitation!"
Rhys whispered temptingly into Cedric's ear.
Cedric felt that Rhys had a point.
However, before setting off, he suddenly realised there was one small problem.
"Rhys, where are you planning to go this summer?"
A brilliant smile appeared on Rhys's face.
"I'm planning to go with you and visit Yang Qingyue's home."
"I knew it!"
Cedric finally understood why Rhys had been trying so hard to persuade him to accept Yang Qingyue's invitation.
So he wanted to see Eastern magic too!
Cedric had no objections.
Travelling together would probably be safer anyway.
He still vividly remembered being ambushed by the Society the last time he travelled alone.
In such troubled times, sticking together was obviously the wiser choice.
Cedric did not look down on Rhys simply because he had not even participated in the tournament finals.
As someone who had fought Hermione in the semifinals, he understood Rhys's true strength all too well.
Hermione had won the championship by relying on the projection of Rhys inside her domain!
If even the projection was that terrifying, how strong was the real person?
Cedric had always believed that Rhys was the strongest fighter among their generation.
He simply kept a low profile.
That excuse about withdrawing because of serious injuries was actually rather suspicious.
Once the two reached an agreement, Cedric took Rhys to find Yang.
As Rhys had expected, Yang had no objection to Cedric bringing along a companion.
The three agreed that they would depart as soon as the school year ended.
"So how are we getting there? Do we fly somewhere first and then..."
"With this."
Yang pulled several small flags from his robes.
They were covered in patterns neither Rhys nor Cedric could understand.
"As long as I plant them in the ground to form an array, they'll resonate with another array I left elsewhere and teleport us there," Yang explained.
Rhys and Cedric both widened their eyes.
Neither of them had personally experienced this kind of teleportation before.
Today, they were definitely going to broaden their horizons.
Soon, the day for leaving school arrived.
While the young wizards travelled together toward the station in Hogsmeade, Rhys, Cedric, and Yang instead found a secluded place outside the village.
As Yang planted the small flags into the ground, Rhys narrowed his eyes.
Fascinating!
Originally, those flags had only carried very faint magical fluctuations.
But once they were planted in the ground, they began vaguely resonating with one another, greatly amplifying those weak fluctuations.
By the time the final flag was placed, the magical fluctuations had already become extremely intense.
Even Cedric could sense them easily.
Through those fluctuations, Rhys realised that the array was somewhat similar to his own teleportation magic circle.
It could be considered a more complicated version of Apparition.
The three stepped into the array.
The next instant, all three figures vanished.
The flags on the ground shattered at the same time, turning into a pile of debris.
Rhys experienced something similar to travelling by Floo Network.
After spinning rapidly through the air for a while, the three of them landed in a stretch of wilderness.
"This is...?"
Cedric raised his head and tried to determine where they were.
"A transfer point."
A slightly awkward expression appeared on Yang's face.
His cultivation was still lacking.
He could not cross the entire Eurasian continent in a single jump.
A short while later, he arranged another array and prepared for a second teleportation.
Looking at the flags on the ground, Rhys almost felt too embarrassed to ask how much each trip cost.
Then again, perhaps the only thing being consumed was the caster's energy.
After the second teleportation, Rhys felt a sea breeze brush across his face.
"We're here," Yang said simply.
They had arrived at Penglai, an island off the coast of the East China Sea.
Under Yang's guidance, Rhys and Cedric headed toward the mountains on the island.
Yang walked at the front, holding a lit stick of incense in his hand.
Rhys and Cedric followed closely behind him, carefully stepping exactly where he instructed.
As they walked, Rhys raised an eyebrow.
He could sense that the three of them seemed to have entered an enormous magical formation.
It felt similar to when outsiders entered the domain surrounding Hogwarts.
Although Yang showed no ill intent, Rhys still quietly raised his guard.
He secretly estimated the strength of the defensive formation and considered whether he could break out while taking Cedric with him if necessary.
Once he determined that it probably could not trap him, Rhys relaxed again.
Before long, Yang led the two of them to an ordinary-looking wooden building.
After pushing open the door and entering, they saw an elderly man with completely white hair lying on a reclining chair and basking in the sunlight.
"Oh? We have guests?"
The old man raised his head and glanced at Rhys and Cedric.
His gaze paused on Rhys for a moment before turning toward Yang.
"Take the happy-go-lucky young man to the back courtyard for tea. I have something to discuss with the cunning gentleman."
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI