Chapter 1402: Shortcut
"Go and check the rooms. There is going to be one maid available in each room for anything the family might need."
Zhu Chang gave a brief description. "My mother's courtyard is also nearby. If they need more help, they can just contact her as well."
"After showing them the courtyard, meet me right here. I'll take you to see something really nice," he further continued.
Long Chen nodded and left Zhu Chang. He wanted to stay alone honestly instead of going with Zhu Chang, but it was a good opportunity to understand this world and ask him about the Plum Blossom Mountain and about the phoenixes.
He went to the courtyards where all the ladies were already waiting for him.
"Cast a barrier first, and then we need to talk!" Xun said.
Long Chen understood what barrier she was talking about. He instantly cast a barrier that could stop others from hearing their words.
"Done."
"What were you thinking by deciding to come here! You know how dangerous it can be? Did you forget what you have and who is looking for it?" Xun asked.
"Don't worry. I'm not stupid enough to not know. But I think I'm safe here. As long as no one finds out, nothing is going to happen!" Long Chen replied. "Moreover, I needed to come here if I wanted to grow. So don't worry about such things."
"I don't worry about things, you idiot. I worry about you instead. If someone finds out about it, you have no idea what might happen."
"I know everything. I am not a kid, Xun. So don't worry. I know what precautions to take. Nothing is going to go wrong," Long Chen smiled, patting Xun's head.
He turned to look at the other ladies. "And why are you all looking worried? Don't listen to Xun. There is no danger to me. I know what I'm doing."
No one questioned his decisions, but after hearing Xun talk about the dangers, they still couldn't bring their hearts to calm.
"Just stay here and train yourself. I think you can grow quite a lot here with the help of Li Yi. She has a great influence on the clan. Try to get close to her, and she might help you grow stronger. So instead of worrying, you should use this opportunity."
"Also, this place doesn't look that bad. I mean, living here is no less than living in the Royal Palace of Heavenly Realm. Just think what a massive opportunity it is. We are literally at the peak of the world where the peak powers reside. Just don't lose the sight of the goal."
He tried to remove the fear from the mind of the ladies by reminding them what an incredible opportunity this was.
Even though it didn't work entirely, his words didn't fall on deaf ears either. They made the ladies realise what an opportunity they had to grow in this place.
They nodded.
"You are right. We can't lose this chance." Mingyu agreed.
"Don't worry. We'll get so close to her that she'll start considering us her daughter," Zhiqing also chimed in.
"I am trusting you on this. Don't lose the opportunity. In the meantime, I'll be with Zhu Chang outside to see more of this world. If you need anything, you can contact his mother. And if something really goes wrong, you can tear this talisman. It'll alert me. Alright?"
Long Chen also gave a small talisman to Zhiqing as she was the one who was strongest here.
"Is there anything else you want to ask, or shall I go?"
"When will you be back?" Xun asked.
"I'm not sure. I should be back soon," Long Chen answered before departing.
He left the courtyard and met up with Zhu Chang.
"So, where are we going?"
"You'll understand soon. I'm taking you to get you prepared for our departure to the Plum Blossom Mountain. Without being prepared, you'll die right away. So come with me." Zhu Chang patted the head of Long Chen before walking.
Long Chen took a deep breath before sighing. He couldn't believe he had to walk for so long in this clan. This no flying rule was really a mess.
"How far is it?" he asked.
"Since it's inside the clan, if we were to walk, it'll only take us two days to get there," Zhu Chang replied, smiling.
"Only two days..." Long Chen muttered, blankly.
What nonsense was it? Just to get from one part of the clan to another, they needed two days? Why the heck would someone make a no flying rule then?
"Don't worry though. We won't take two days. We won't be walking there."
"Then?" Long Chen asked.
"We would just be taking a sweet second since we'll be using this," Zhu Chang said, pointing towards a portal in the distance. "There are such portals all around the clan to help you get to places faster."
"Just enter after me." He said as he entered the portal.
Long Chen followed him inside, only to find himself in an arena where thousands of such portals could be seen.
"Hmm, that should be the one," Zhu Chang said, standing before a different portal.
"What the heck is this place?" Long Chen asked.
"You know, there can't be a single portal for thousands of destinations since they need to be pre planned. That's why this place was made. It's a Portal Hallway."
"There are thousands of those portals that we entered all around the clan. When a person enters them, they will end up in the portal hallway. And from here, he can select the Portal of the place he wants to go to."
"Good, right?"
"Ah, how do you differentiate between each portal? So you have to memorize them all?"
"Of course not. That would be crazy. Look down," Zhu Chang replied.
Long Chen looked down, noticing that there was a number under each portal and some incomprehensible words.
"The location is marked under each portal—no need to memorize. Oh right, the language is something which you might not understand. But everyone else here can read it," Zhu Chang explained before stepping inside.
Behind him, Long Chen also stepped inside. The system in this clan wasn't all that bad if they could come up with it. This was certainly faster than flying, at least when they needed to travel far, but on short distance, it still sucked, according to him.
As he stepped out of the portal, he noticed that he was standing in front of a tall tower. A statue of black Tortoise was standing on each side of the entrance.
The statues were made of some black material that had a really peculiar aura.