I found myself with two feet planted firmly on the ground almost as suddenly as I'd been sent flying by the Spring and Autumn Sage. It took a moment to orient myself. So much had happened in such a short time and I was still reeling from the sage's revelations.

Learning some of the truths of this world had been eye opening, but it also gave me answers to many questions that had been plaguing me for a while. As I looked around, I realised the sage had actually sent me all the way out of the Blossoming Heavens.

A brief jolt shook me as images flowed into my mind. Scanning them, I realised the sage had stayed true to his word. They were sort of like short form videos, each one showing me a brief rendition of my allies' current status inside the secret realm.

All of my group had made it past the wall of mist surrounding the palace, though the extent of their progress varied wildly from there. To my surprise Meng Huo was the furthest behind, but I quickly realised this was due to him escorting the cute little ape through the dangers of the palace.

A few of the beasts were still stuck outside the puzzle of the tree carvings, with only four of them having made it through. One of those seemed to be standing just beyond the walls, not making a move. I assumed they were waiting for the others, but I couldn't guess at their reasons.

Wang Ren was actually with Shuanghu, Longma, and the badgerhog. The four of them were deep inside the palace, almost at the inner sanctum where the final trial would be held. They were getting along well and I could see they'd made great gains.

The images faded after that, but they had done their job. I was satisfied with how my allies were getting on and wouldn't have to worry about them. Instead, my own safety was now my only priority.

The Spring and Autumn Sage had told me someone was coming for him, right before throwing me out of the secret realm. He mentioned it would be too dangerous for me to take part in the final trial.

The upper realms… Ascension. I had a lot to think about. For now though, I needed to ensure I wasn't in the line of fire.

There were hundreds of cultivators still in the area where the Blossoming Heavens had opened. All of them were far beyond my level, being the elders or ancestors of those who were inside.

Thankfully, the sage hadn't sent me out in a dramatic manner. I had appeared between a few unsuspecting beast cultivators who had yet to notice me.

I was preparing to make a quick retreat when a shadow cast itself over me. Looking up, I found myself meeting the gaze of an enormous, muscular man with ferocious features.

My initial reaction was to panic, thinking the danger the sage warned me about had come to pass, but then I recognised the man's face. Still, that only lowered my level of caution and fear from maximum to a healthy dose…

"You left early."

The White Demon Tiger King's statement had no malice behind it, only curiosity and a tinge of what I thought to be disappointment. I understood it to an extent. From his point of view the only reason I would have left the Blossoming Heavens before the final trial is because I was escaping something I couldn't face or had betrayed our group.

"I did. It wasn't my choice," I replied, carefully choosing my words. I wanted to trust him, given that I'd grown friendly with Shuanghu during our journey. After everything I'd learned from the Spring and Autumn Sage, however, I needed to tread with utmost caution.

He saw my nervous gaze, the way I kept glancing around. "You were running from a powerful opponent? There is no shame in retreating to fight another day, but I do wonder why you couldn't rely on my descendant and the others. Did something happen to them?" he said, feline eyes narrowing.

Locked in the gaze of a predator who could snuff my life out as easily as turning a hand, I felt a shiver run down my spine. Was there a way to figure out which of three factions of sages he belonged to? If I could do that, perhaps we could have an honest discussion.

"White Demon Tiger King, nothing happened to the others. I can promise you that. If I may, I would ask you a question before giving a more detailed explanation," I said, ensuring my tone was polite but unyielding.

The man's face twitched, eyes narrowing. After a moment he broke out into a big smile and clapped a hand on my shoulders. "Go for it, boy. I feel you aren't lying. Facing a sage with such confidence… Truly you have balls of steel."

I almost choked on my next words. Where was the so-called dignity of a sage!? In the end I stifled my reaction and spoke calmly.

"I heard that among the Nascent Soul Sages, there are three… groups. I was wondering which group your honoured self belonged to?"

All of a sudden the world spun. When I regained my wits, I realised we were no longer among the group of beasts, but floating a thousand metres in the sky.

Suppressing my fear, knowing that if I fell from here I would certainly die, I faced the White Demon Tiger King who floated in front of me. His mischievous smirk was gone, replaced by a stony expression.

"Where did you hear such a thing?" he demanded, arms crossed.

"I stumbled upon some ruins inside the Blossoming Heavens. Inside those ruins there was an ancient scroll, detailing the history of this continent. Much of it was erased, but what I was able to read mentioned three groups of sages and some sort of disagreement. I was just curious if such a situation has continued to this day," I said, very carefully avoiding any mention of the Spring and Autumn Sage.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

If the White Demon Tiger King belonged to the faction who served those invaders, he might simply kill me on the spot if he discovered the truth. I couldn't take that risk.

"I see. What a fascinating ruin. To think that ancient history might be dug up, now of all times," he muttered, gazing off into the distance. Then without warning his body blurred and he appeared less than an inch from my face.

I wasn't sure what I had expected. Death, perhaps? Certainly not for the illustrious sage to start sniffing the air around me and then lean right against me, sniffing my chest.

My face flushed red and I coughed, embarrassed. "Honoured sage, while I appreciate the attention, I don't swing-"

"Shut up, foolish brat!" he exclaimed, straightening up and glaring at me. "You met that rogue bastard. Ha! You're lucky it was me who found you, rather than the emperor or the false phoenix. They might have locked you up and squeezed the secrets from your soul."

He said the last part in such a casual manner I almost overlooked it. As if having one's soul drained dry was an everyday occurrence. A cold sweat broke out down my back as I realised how close I'd come to disaster.

Surely the Spring and Autumn Sage had taken precautions against such a thing? For now it seemed I was safe, at least. The tiger sage might have been lying, but I felt that wasn't his style.

"By rogue bastard…?"

"Shen Yaoguai. The Black Demon Dragon. A personal idol of mine, if I'm being honest. He caused utter chaos and left terror and destruction in his wake, a true paragon of masculinity and beasthood. Alas, he vanished in the chaos of that ancient war between the sages, rumoured to be dead. Yet, I can smell him on you. I can't be certain, since I only met him once when I was still a kitten, but judging from the way your spiritual sea is trembling I must be right," the White Demon Tiger King said, flashing his fangs as a smile split his face from ear to ear.

Actually, that was the first time I learned the black dragon's name. He'd never seen fit to tell me and neither had the Spring and Autumn Sage.

To think that composed and graceful dragon was actually such a terror? How fitting. Now I truly felt I could trust the tiger sage. At the very least I was sure he wasn't part of the faction that served the invaders from the upper realm.

"Yes, I met that black dragon. Shen Yaoguai. He didn't seem much like the mischievous figure you've described, but certainly the timelines match up."

"I knew it! Tell me all about him," the sage exclaimed excitedly.

"Wait a moment. That isn't all. I also met the Spring and Autumn Sage. In fact, he was the one who sent me out of the Blossoming Heavens and told me about the conflict of the sages," I explained.

A confused expression crossed the sage's face. "What about those ruins you mentioned?"

"Well, I wasn't sure if I could trust you…"

"Ha! Wise. You're a clever brat," he chuckled. Then he let out a long, low whistle. "The Spring and Autumn Sage, you say? Now he was a terrifying fellow. He only died because those uppe- Hmm, I shouldn't say too much… Well, as long as Shuanghu and the others are fine then there's no problem. You aren't a coward, either. Shame you couldn't obtain the key, but perhaps your friend will have more luck."

"Sorry to interrupt you, honoured sage, but you said if the emperor found me I would be in danger…?" I asked, glancing around the valley.

"Don't worry, he left right after the last of you brats went inside. Too busy licking boots to stay around and chat with us mere sages," he snorted. "The false phoenix on the other hand… Well, I found you, so no harm done. Look, I don't know what you learnt within, and to be honest I don't want to know. These things are best not spoken of in the open. You can't stay here though. It's far too dangerous."

"What about Wang Ren? Will he be safe?" It was one thing for the sage to say he'd be fine, but now I worried that one of the antagonistic sages might snatch him up after discovering our connection.

"Well, I doubt any of those bastards even take notice of a bunch of Qi Gathering whelps… Oh, you broke through. Well done, brat. Even so, you don't need to worry. I'll send you a safe distance away from here and when your friend comes out, I'll bring him by your place on our way back to the beast continent," the tiger sage said with a flick of his sleeve.

"Oh. In that case I should thank you, honoured sage. I appreciate you going this far for us. The Grasping Life Sect will remember your friendship," I replied with a bow.

"Pah! Enough of that stuffy nonsense. I'll see what that little girl says about you when she gets out. If I hear you tried anything funny I'll come and flatten your little sect. Otherwise, forget about it. If you met those two… Well, no harm helping out a promising kid."

I gulped nervously at his words. I had no doubt he would follow through on the threat, making me very glad I'd gotten along with Shuanghu inside the Blossoming Heavens. Hopefully Wang Ren didn't do anything stupid.

"Anyway, you're still a kid. Until you grow a little, there isn't much you can do about such big problems. For now just keep doing what you've been doing. Take this," the White Demon Tiger King said, tossing me a spatial ring made from a pure white metal. "Now, which direction do you need to go?"

I had barely inspected the ring, discovering it only contained a polished tiger claw inscribed with what seemed to be array markings, along with a bunch of different herbs and even a few beast cores.

"This… it's too much," I began to say, pushing the ring back to him. "I didn't even bring the key out."

"Nonsense, just a few trinkets. Think of it as an investment if it makes you feel better. Now, direction?"

It took me a moment to orient myself. Looking towards the capital, Celestial Jade City, I figured out that I needed to head roughly south. "South, maybe a little towards the east," I said.

"Alright! Good luck, brat. When you get to the Core Forging Realm, come and visit the beast continent. It's a fun place! Now, look in the direction you need to go," the tiger said with a booming laugh.

Look in the direction? Was this some sort of teleportation technique that would send me in the direction I was facing? How profound.

"Wait, didn't you have white fur before? Where did-"

"Turn around, damn brat! If I want to go bare-chested, what's the problem!?" he roared.

Startled into silence, I did as he said. Once I was facing in the general direction of Million Flowers Celestial Peak, I stopped. "Alright, this is it," I said.

"Remember, if you ever meet a sage and you need to confirm their allegiance, ask them this: 'How many peach blossom trees grow on the Silent Peak?' If they say 'One for every whisper,' then you can trust them. Otherwise… pray to the heavens," he said.

"Alright, I will–" I never got to finish my sentence. An overwhelming force struck me in the small of my back and I was sent flying through the sky.

The speed I flew was greater than I'd ever travelled. I felt it might even be dangerous, but realised a thin bubble of the sage's qi was surrounding me.

What was it with Nascent Soul Sages and sending me flying with a kick? Did none of them know any more elegant techniques?

After ten seconds of flight, I began to fall from the sky. My speed rapidly increased as I flew towards the ground. I felt safe however, thanks to the bubble of qi that surrounded me.

The bubble vanished.

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