"That voice just now... Was that Leyvi?" Dastan said, halting in his tracks and dispelling his Nascent Soul Body.
He looked at the huge, palm-shaped devastation in front of him. The ground was still crumbling, dust swirling in the disturbed air.
As he focused, he detected a familiar soul fluctuation within the destruction he had just caused.
"Damn! It really is Leyvi! Oi, country bumpkin, are you alright?" Dastan jumped into the palm-shaped crater, frantically tossing aside rubble to search for him.
A few moments later, Dastan's figure was seen flying out of the crater uncontrollably, caught by the ankle by the just-arrived Bodo. He dangled upside down in the giant's grip.
"Is the assassin strong? Do you need help?" Bodo raised the upside-down Dastan higher, asking him face-to-face.
Dastan, still in a state of dumbfounded confusion, finally snapped back to reality.
"Damn Leyvi! What was that for? You sneak attacked this prince for no reason! Despicable country bumpkin! Let go of this prince, Bodo!" He flailed about, trying to escape Bodo's hold while continuing to scold Leyvi.
"Leyvi?" Bodo's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Dohohoho! Has Brother Leyvi returned?" He let go of Dastan and leaped toward the edge of the crater. "Welcome back, Brother Leyvi!"
Dastan landed headfirst, his body flopping unceremoniously onto the ground.
"I swear I am going to bully these two in our next spars," Dastan muttered into the dirt.
Leyvi climbed out of the palm-shaped crater. His volcanic armor had been destroyed instantly by Dastan's attack, but he was not seriously injured, only bruised all over.
"Hahaha! I got my revenge! I am back, Brother Bodo, Dastan." Leyvi greeted them both with a wide grin.
"Dohoho, now I will not be bored anymore," Bodo said, his excitement bubbling over.
"What happened here? Why are you two outside?" Leyvi asked. "I heard and felt a strong explosion from far away, so I dashed here as fast as I could, thinking you were under attack. And then I got ambushed by a wild, crazy clown prince. Sigh... What a bad day to be me. I almost died just now."
He noticed Dastan was not in his disguise anymore, which meant something serious had definitely happened. His spiritual sense quickly focused on the cave mansion, and he saw the large hole blasted through the hillside. After confirming that everyone inside was safe and unharmed, his immediate worry washed away.
After encountering so many other cultivators on his journey this time, he had realized that his own group, as a team, was far stronger and more capable than he had previously given them credit for. So whatever trouble they had faced, they had likely handled it on their own.
"Bullshit!" Dastan snapped as he stood up and strode toward them. "You were the one who looked like another assassin trying to attack us again! How was this prince supposed to know it was you? You were wearing that stupid armor and moving absurdly fast. This prince is not to be blamed for this!"
"Assassins?" Leyvi was surprised. "Some random assassins, or the ones targeting the princes?"
"Hmph, it is the ones this prince has been worried about all along," Dastan replied, his tone thick with annoyance.
"What? How did they find out? Did you go out and expose yourself or something? Don't tell me you fell for Tantan's squirrel talk and went outside to cause chaos? Tsk tsk. Can you not just hide properly in the cave mansion?" Leyvi shook his head in mock disappointment.
"Shut up, Leyvi! Stop slandering Tantan and this prince! We stayed inside the entire time. Even this prince is baffled about how my identity was exposed. They even knew our exact location." Dastan's voice grew more serious.
Leyvi raised an eyebrow, deep in thought.
What kind of ability could figure out his true identity and pinpoint his exact location at the same time? Don't tell me someone is capable of using a see-through spiritual sense like mine, but with a range large enough to cover the entire colossal tree, or even farther. That's the only ability I can think of right now. If that's true, then how terrifying must that person be?
"Hmph, this prince suspects that maybe you were the one who exposed me. Speak. Why did you betray this prince, Leyvi?" Dastan jokingly accused Leyvi, but since he was not the type to crack jokes naturally, his tone came out sounding completely serious.
"Huh?" Leyvi stopped pondering, his eyes blinking rapidly.
"Damn you, clown prince! Why would I betray you? Do you think I would need someone else if I wanted to kill you?" He retorted.
"Heh, this prince is stronger than you now, so you would need someone else to deal with me," Dastan countered.
"Ptui, I could just bring a demonic caracal to handle you."
The two of them continued bickering back and forth for a while.
Bodo stood between them, his massive head turning left and right as he listened intently, enjoying the exchange like it was a live performance.
Then Dastan's attention shifted.
He sensed several figures approaching. Four women.
One he recognized as Ava, but the other three he did not. He was certain that none of them had been on the list to find.
"Oi, Leyvi, did you hook up with other girls again?" Dastan asked in a lower voice, his expression shifting to one of mild disbelief.
He was well aware of Leyvi's large harem, and even back on the island, Leyvi had managed to win over Barbara. So now, seeing new women accompanying him, Dastan could not help but jump to that conclusion.
Although the three unfamiliar women looked quite average, Dastan knew Leyvi did not only go for great beauties.
Leyvi's mouth twitched. He wanted to say something in response, but found it difficult to explain his complicated relationship with them. How do I even explain this?
"Haha, what are you talking about? They are just some friends I made along the way. Don't worry, we can trust them. They helped me a lot." He decided to go with the simplest explanation.
"Darling, you really are friends with the Howling Kingdom's Crown Prince. Wait, his aura..." Rose spoke up as soon as they arrived, then stared directly at Dastan with a hint of curiosity.
Dastan crossed his arms, his eyes locked on Leyvi. His expression seemed to say, What now, you liar country bumpkin?
Leyvi was left speechless and embarrassed. He had completely forgotten that Rose addressed him so intimately. There was no way anyone would believe they were just friends after hearing that.
"Uh, Darling, did I cause you trouble?" she asked innocently.
Hmm... at a time like this, just act shameless like usual. No big deal. Leyvi thought to himself.
"Hahaha! No trouble at all. I was just trying to trick this clown prince, but fortunately for his kingdom, he is not that stupid anymore. He passed the test." Leyvi replied with a casual grin.
"Damn, Leyvi! Are you picking a fight again? Let us spar right now!" Dastan was instantly triggered, his Nascent Soul aura flaring visibly around him.
Rose was genuinely surprised. As she had sensed just now, the Crown Prince really had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm. How remarkably fast. Given his age, he was probably among the very fastest ever to reach that stage in cultivation.
"No thanks. I am tired after a long journey. I want to rest and meet Anda first. You can spar with Brother Bodo all you want. Let us go, ladies." Leyvi moved past Dastan and headed toward the cave mansion.
"Dohoho! Clown prince, let us spar! I can substitute for Brother Leyvi. I will do my best." Bodo said, his excitement bubbling over.
"Hmph, this prince is tired too. You can spar alone... damn you! Don't call me clown prince as well!" Dastan snapped, his face darkening.
Bodo was momentarily stunned. He had not even realized he had accidentally called Dastan a clown prince. Leyvi had said it so many times that the nickname had stuck in his head without him noticing.
Bodo scratched his head awkwardly as Leyvi and the others disappeared toward the cave mansion.
Bodo did not follow the others and stayed outside to keep watch as ordered, though a faint trace of disappointment lingered at missing a chance to spar.
The ladies followed Leyvi closely.
Rose, Lily, and Liyan could not help but feel a sense of strangeness. The Crown Prince Dastan, whom they had just met was completely different from what was usually described in hearsay, except for his loud, arrogant voice.
He was supposed to be someone who would never let disrespect go unpunished, but this did not seem to be the case at all.
Very quickly, they reached the cave mansion and met with the others inside.
And of course, the first thing Anda did was to inspect the three new women carefully.
"I am glad that my beloved husband is finally embracing my ideals, bringing ladies to me of his own volition. But first and foremost, before you introduce yourselves, can you ladies please remove your disguises? I need to see your real appearances first." She said with a calm, knowing smile, standing confidently before them.
Rose was surprised. She had not expected the panda lady before her to see through their disguises so easily. After all, her magical makeup technique was not something that could be discerned by ordinary observation.
So this is Darling's Primary Wife? It seems she is not an ordinary woman at all, Rose thought.