“It does not count!” Harley screamed as he gnashed his teeth; below his body laid a weird hexagram, with an even amount of short tree branches and rocks. He was facing nobody, as well as speaking towards nobody.

 In the next moment, Harley’s body turned into a wisp of gas, then showing up on the opposing side, yelling, “Stop! Playing chess is like fighting a war! Are you allowed to redo a war if you lose?”

 Another wisp of gas later, Harley returned to his original spot, “Don’t act so serious, bro! Who doesn’t make mistakes? Please give me a chance… please, give me a chance!”

 Harley then once again returned to the opposing side, “Bro, I am not denying your chance of winning, but if you regret your moves and I follow suit, we won’t finish the game for a hundred years.”

 After he spoke, Harley trotted back to his original spot again, sighing, “You are just too serious…”

 Before he made his way back, a rock was sent flying across the chessboard at a great speed, striking a piece on the board. Harley, infuriated, turned his head in an instant, only to find Raphael emotionlessly standing still. He then promptly gave out a smile, “My master, are you awake?”

 “Are you aware of how noisy you can be?” Raphael answered unpleasantly.

 “Hhhh…” Harley could not stop laughing.

 Raphael slowly began standing up, stretching out his body, and staring into the horizon, “The sun is about to rise.”

 “Yes, Yes.”

 “Nothing had appeared the entire night?”

 “No, it has been quiet here.”

 “Are you just being lazy?”

 “My master, how could I?” Harley was becoming even more imperative, “Even still, my power is growing; even while I’m doing nothing, I can sense any living organisms approaching.”

 Raphael turned around and casted a glance into the cave where Yalina’s group was temporarily sheltering. He then grabbed a fire element magic crystal from his space ring and placed it in his mouth. His power began increasing fast and stable. When winter started, he was able to obtain power from three level five magic crystals; he could now use four. In just another month, the number would increase to five. Raphael’s advancements made himself proud. In another world, he was stressing about the shortage of artifacts; but in his current spot, he could only complain about the slow passing of time.

 Harley, as though he just discovered a new continent, swiftly floated towards Raphael, shaking his head and observing Raphael’s mouth from various angles, attempting to catch a glimpse of the scene inside.

 “Get out of the way.” Raphael shouted.

 “God…” Harley, giving way to Raphael, continued angrily, “Master, what are you doing? Are you chewing magic crystals?”

 “Don’t ask what you aren’t supposed to ask.” Raphael muttered to Harley as he walked towards the ancient tree and sat down.

 “But… do you not feel any discomfort?” Harley followed Raphael relentlessly.

 “Seems like you want to return.”

 “Please, no… master. Staying with that dude is so boring.”

 “Then be obedient.” Raphael took out another magic crystal and put it into his mouth.

 Harley dared not to continue speaking, but the two red rays in his eyes continued to fix upon Raphael’s mouth.

 “Harley…”

 “Yes, master.”

 “Do you know the Lost Paradise?”

 “Of course!”

 “Are you able to guarantee your own safety if you run into the Lost Paradise?”

 Harley hesitated for a quick second. He was originally thinking about bragging about his power, but he feared the possibility of actually being sent to the Lost Paradise. Therefore, he had to tell the truth, “Most magical monsters are able to unleash magic; the higher the level that the magical monsters are, the more powerful their magic becomes. In the Lost Paradise…”

 “I understand.” Raphael interrupted. As the Chinese saying goes, ‘He who gives no thought to far-flung problems, soon finds suffering nearby.’ Though he had sufficient energy at the moment, there was no such guarantee for the future. Particularly, after he reaches the realm of Tai Yi, at which point his ability to extract power may increase hundredfold, thousandfold, or potentially even more, meaning the amount of magical crystals bought by Sunier may not even suffice his daily usage. Therefore, he needed to prepare for the future.

 “Master, are you going to the Lost Paradise?” Harley asked anxiously.

 “No.”

 “That’s good, I was frightened…”

 Raphael disregarded Harley’s answer and reached for two more magic crystals, tossing them both into his mouth. He then closed his eyes and adjusted his breath. Seeing Raphael beginning his cultivation, Harley guarded his body—- much more so than when he was at the vigil the previous night.

 After an unknown amount of time, Raphael opened his eyes slowly. Suddenly, a Green Light slowly floated out of his mouth and landed on his palm. There were multiple methods for crafting; his master once compared them one by one by their advantages and drawbacks. His favourite method called for using himself as the tripod, without any external assistance. Frankly said, if in the possession of godly magic tools such as the Shennong Tripod, the magical weapon wielded would become extremely powerful; his approach also has its advantage—- the ability of growth! He could continually add charms on magical weapons, like that Immortal-Binding Rope. Although he still had not successfully crafted the magical weapon, he could still do it in stages. Were he to use exterior crafting, he would need to succeed in one shot, otherwise, the materials would turn into scrap. However, he dared not attempt interior crafting just yet, so he opted for exterior crafting.

 Harley knew the Green Light well, for he had hidden inside for so long. Seeing his old friend, the red light in his eyes brightened and began carefully observing each and every one of Raphael’s movements.

 Raphael was indecisive; the other four flying swords were primarily used to unleash the ‘Thousand Waves’, therefore they did not warrant the waste of Yuan energy. His primary weapon was now the Green Light in his hand.

 Footsteps sounded behind Raphael. Yalina had bypassed the tree and stood next to Raphael, “Did you not sleep at all last night?”

 “I slept and had just woken up.” Raphael replied.

 “Gibran asked me to tell you that we need to hurry up today.”

 “Have they woken up?”

 “Yes.”

 “No problem. I am more worried for you. Can you follow us?”

 “Worried for me?” Yalina pouted, “I would have caught up with Winston’s group much earlier were it not for taking care of you guys.”

 Raphael smiled without letting out a word.

 Seeing Raphael’s suspicion, Yalina blurted out loud, “Hey, Raphael! You are not thinking that the grand magus can’t master the art of flying, right?”

 “The art of flying?” At that moment, Raphael had a brilliant idea. Having faced many powerful enemies before, he had focused on increasing his fighting ability by all means. Especially considering that he could continuously catapult burrowings, inherently limiting in speed, he had neglected the fact that the flying sword was not just a weapon for fighting.

 Raphael jumped up out of excitement and slapped Yalina’s shoulder, “Good! Great!”

 “You…” Yalina felt the subtle pain from the smack. She then moved back a step, “What are you doing! What’s ‘good’?”

 “Would you believe that I can also fly?” Raphael smiled.

 Yalina looked Raphael up and down. Flying in the air could only be done by using a pair of wings, or by controlling the element of wind. However, Raphael did not have either. Yalina then answered back with excitement, “Really?”

 “Of course. I can fly much faster than you!”

 “I don’t buy into it!” Raphael’s words lit the fuse of Yalina’s little temper. However, bragging was not the main reason; she could certainly tolerate Raphael bragging about his own abilities, but undermining her own ability was unacceptable. Although she majored in thunder and electric magic, she had extremely powerful spiritual power, and could control wind elements perfectly. With speeds in the air that were greater than that of flying birds, she just couldn’t believe that Raphael could be faster.

 “Not for now.” Raphael said. Applying the charm air manipulation would consume a large amount of Yuan energy, putting him at a disadvantage in battles. He therefore wanted to wait, “We shall see when we find Winston.”

 “No problem.” Yalina agreed to Raphael’s challenge without any fear.

 “A bare bet is not interesting. Shall we add a wager?” Raphael said as he chuckled. He was in a good mood as he made jokes with Yalina.

 “If I win, you should immediately give me what you promised—- I want this!” Yalina’s attention turned to the Green Light. She had been longing for the light for quite some time. She then asked in an anger provoking tone, “Do you accept?”

 “No problem.” Raphael nodded as he questioned Yalina, “What if I win?”

 “At your discretion.” Yalina was sufficiently confident to be very generous.

 “At my discretion?” Raphael laughed. “Betting with a man… you will suffer by making promises like that.” After he finished speaking, Raphael walked outside.

 “Hey! You, wait!” Yalina rushed up and grabbed Raphael’s wrist, yelling, “Julia, Reg, come here, quick!”

 Gibran’s group, assuming that something major had occurred, rushed out of the cave, instantly stunned seeing Raphael and Yalina standing together and holding hands.

 “Just now, Raphael has said that he could also fly in the air, and much faster than I can!” Yalina spoke loudly, “I have made a wager agreement with him. When we find Winston’s group, I will have a contest with him. Should he lose, this beautiful little sword will go to me. You guys will be our testifiers!”

 Gibran looked at Raphael stunned. He knew the importance that the sword had to Raphael; being a professional, sacrificing his weapon was not much different then sacrificing his life. Julia then asked, “What if you lose?”

 “At his own discretion. He shall get whatever he wants.”

 Raphael was stunned, staring at Yalina idly. The so-called ‘wager agreement’ was only intended to vent his excitement, and was never intended to be serious. By agreeing to the wager, Yalina was quite literally jumping into a burning pitch!

 Seeing Raphael’s abnormal expressions, Yalina smiled, saying, “I know it’s your treasure. Rest assured, I will return your Green Light after researching it for a few days.”

 “If you have the ability to win… it will be your gift.” Raphael shook his head helplessly. “Yalina, don’t weep when you lose!”