Heaven, Earth, Me

Chapter 1042: Yasenia's Calculated Speech.

When Lord Hurricane landed in front of them, they were somewhat surprised. They all thought that the old man would be impatient and rushing about the Ruined City to find treasures. Instead, he was standing here, looking at them with a relaxed expression. Or, more precisely, he was looking at Yasenia.

Yasenia answered his compliment. "Many thanks, Venerable Hurricane. My achievements are in large part due to the people who have taught me all these years. I dare not claim the whole credit myself."

Lord Hurricane nodded twice and caressed his long white beard. "I would love to have a chat with your mentors. However, we have more pressing matters." He paused before commenting. "The reason I've come to this group is to ask to explore together. If you don't mind having this old mind tagging along, I wouldn't mind sharing the treasures we find."

Yasenia briefly frowned. It was just an instant. However, Lord Hurricane noticed the insignificant gesture. The Transcendent Realm elders were about to answer with welcoming smiles when Lord Hurricane smiled faintly and looked at Yasenia. "It seems that you are not wholly agreeable, Junior. May I ask why?"

The Transcendent Level elders and even their juniors were utterly baffled and looked over toward the dragoness. They were asking themselves who Yasenia was that someone as influential as Lord Hurricane could pay so much attention to her. Over that, they were even more perplexed as to why Yasenia was against that kind of person joining them!

Yasenia looked at him and smiled faintly. "How can I not agree with having one of the most influential people by our side? We should not be discussing if we accept, but instead, we should be celebrating that Lord Hurricane decided our humble group to explore this city."

The Elders nodded twice in agreement. However, Gu Chen interrupted. "Yasenia, speak your mind as is. We are all intelligent people, and using such pleasantries is beneath us."

Yasenia paused and looked at him. Gu Chen smiled. "I might not be as strong, but I can still defend all of you."

Lord Hurricane looked at Gu Chen with praise in his gaze. 'A worthy senior indeed.'

Yasenia said what she said to not cause trouble that could easily be solved later. However, since Gu Chen gave her the opportunity, she wouldn't deny it. She first bowed toward Lord Hurricane gently and said. "My words might be offensive, and I hope Lord Hurricane understands."

"Hahaha!" He laughed and nodded. "Go ahead and speak your mind. I promise not to take it wrongly."

Yasenia straightened and spoke, looking directly into his eyes. "I want to ask a single pass to one treasure we find, no questions asked."

Many frowned, not understanding her words. Lord Hurricane asked. "Hm… Explain. What do you mean with that?"

Yasenia commented. "I want one instance where I can get possession over a Treasure with no questions asked. If I say I want that one treasure, no one can claim it. Of course, I only ask for one such opportunity, and I promise that once I get that treasure, I'll personally not take anything else from this place."

Understanding what she was implying, one of the Sixth Realm elders, Elder Payun, shouted. "That's excessive, Junior!" 

Yasenia looked over and asked. "Why?" She smiled somewhat cynically. "If I don't have such an opportunity with someone like Lord Hurricane joining, all the relatively good treasures will be taken from us. Lord Hurricane's presence gives us safety, but what's the price? I don't believe he came here due to pure generosity. At the end of the day, we are all here for profit."

Lord Hurricane didn't speak, but he was impressed by Yasenia's ability to talk back to immortals. The grand majority of mortal cultivators, with reason, didn't dare oppose a single word a Transcendent Realm cultivator said. 

Elder Payun, not accustomed to receiving such rebuttals from mortal cultivators, glared at Yasenia and waved his hand, releasing a pressure wave. "Insolent!"

Everyone stepped away from Yasenia, with the girls being basically dragged away by the seniors because they wanted to intervene and help their lover. 

Yasenia squinted, observing the aura blast that deformed space as it approached her. Without fear, she stepped forward, materializing all her auras at once against the pressure wave descending on her. 

The phantasm of her dragon form appeared behind her and roared to the sky.

ROAR!

BOOOOM!

The air violently exploded, both auras clashing in an explosive outcome. After the shockwave, Yasenia was standing in the same place, a trail of blood dripping from the corner of her lips. However, her back was straight, and her clothes were tidy. 

The dragoness's face was cold as she looked at Elder Payun. 

"This is how you treat juniors?" Gu Chen and Ayanduin stepped forward, their lips bent downward. 

Cecile asked, her voice dripping with killing intent. "Why did you stop us from intervening, Tatyana?"

Tatyana commented. "That attack was far from lethal. Yasenia can take it." Then, she spoke coldly. "This also gives me a reason to retaliate."

Cecile snorted. "You surely don't need to let her be hurt for you to step forward, right?" 

Tatyana looked at Cecile and answered, her eyes squinting. "Cecile, don't be impulsive. These things need to be taken care of accordingly."

The Phoenix Woman looked at Tatyana for a few seconds and finally accepted her words with a faint nod. Tatyana looked at the other girls and spoke, her tone low. "These beings are far too dangerous. You can't act rashly around them, understood? Yasenia is moving with calculated steps. Just look."

All of them, who had some complaints in their hearts, didn't speak and looked on as the situation developed. 

After Gu Chen and Ayanduin stepped forward, Violet glared at Elder Payun and asked, her voice dripping with coldness. "What's the meaning of this? The junior was just voicing her opinion like Lord Hurricane asked. She even took a step back at first out of respect and only talked after she was directly called! Is your ego so big that you can't take a single word of criticism from a junior!?"

Elder Payun snorted. "At the end of the day, she is a mortal. She should've kept everything to herself or lied about what she really thought about the situation!"

Violet sighed and shook her head, disappointed. Then, she said. "Leave."

Elder Payun blinked twice and asked. "What do you mean?"

Violet spoke again, her voice cold. "I said to leave. You are not welcome in this group."

The meaning of the words was clear, which filled Elder Payun with disbelief. "You are going to throw me out for a simple mortal cultivator!? Are you out of your mind, Violet!?"

"This 'simple' Mortal Cultivator you just attacked is the only one who straightforwardly confronted Lord Hurricane! Even you, with your oh-so-mighty Transcendent Realm strength, didn't dare squeak incorrectly in his presence!" Violet waved her long sleeve, angered. "Begone! A coward in the skin of the strong. I regret calling you over, but thanks to that, I've seen your true nature."

Yasenia looked on with a neutral face. She didn't expect Violet to kick this person out completely, but that was not a bad outcome. It would be like changing Elder Payun and his disciples for Lord Hurricane. Her plan was to create a bottom line to share thoughts, giving her the right to intervene when Transcendent Realm people were speaking. For that, she needed to present herself as someone honest but not overbearing, someone who would know her place but also wanted their fair share.

Resisting the cultivator's aura was essential for that plan. While it was very straining, having ruptured some of her internal organs, the fact that she was still standing showed everyone that she had enough strength to at least be listened to. 

If she had fallen face-first against the ground, she would be considered another ant with a loud mouth. Now that she managed to resist it face first, she was a small, inoffensive animal that could at least stand on her own two feet. 

Lord Hurricane observed Elder Payun leaving with his disciples, and then he smiled and looked at Yasenia. "Understood. You can take one treasure with no conditions attached. Only one, though. If you dare reach beyond this privilege, I won't accept it."

Yasenia looked at him and cupped her fist, bowing despite the pain she was suffering. "Thank you, Lord Hurricane. I swear that I won't intervene as long as you allow me that one request." 

Having secured Kali's treasure, which would be hers in any situation, Yasenia sighed in relief and turned around, walking toward the girls. The rest of the conversation would happen between the Transcendent Realm people, and she needed to keep silent for a long while to show her position.

Kali and Angel threw themselves into Yasenia's arms, and Kali instantly started to treat her with her medicine. "Here, take this." Kali frowned while feeding Yasenia a healing pill and sighed. "I understand why you do these things, but you really love causing us heartache, don't you? Look at your veins in the abdomen area! They have burst! Not to mention, your leg muscles are all torn!"

Yasenia smiled. "My regeneration is very strong. Don't worry that much. Not to mention, my usual Body Refinement baths hurt more than this."

Andrea patted Yasenia's head gently, making the dragoness's tail wag. "Silly dragoness. Be a bit more careful, yes?"

Tatyana looked at Cecile and said. "See?"

Cecile humphed. "I still don't like it. You are far too passive."

Tatyana shook her head. "Wrong. I was getting involved too much lately. Why should I intervene so much when we are not in any dire situation or heading into one?"

Cecile faced Tatyana and argued. "Why shouldn't you? You are both her mother and wife! You should take care of her!"

Tatyana looked at Cecile and shook her head. "Cecile, you are getting too… emotional," Tatyana asked, confused. "What is wrong with you?"

The Moon Phoenix noticed her agitation and paused. Then, she sighed. "It's because, unlike other times, Yasenia was completely gambling this time around. There was no real thought other than 'Things will go as I've planned them' in her head. That was reckless and completely unnecessary." 

Cecile felt a pair of arms surrounding her waist as Yasenia leaned her chin on her shoulder. "Sweetheart. I am sorry."

Cecile turned to look at Yasenia, and seeing the honestly apologetic eyes, she couldn't help but feel her heart soften. Lately, she was a bit tense due to all the powerful creatures around them. This situation made her emotions tilt over her usual calmness and aloofness.

Cecile said, her tone much softer than before. "Be careful, okay? These people are so strong… They are unpredictable. You can't evaluate them as you do with other Mortal Level cultivators." 

The dragoness nodded. "I agree. I was a bit rash." 

"Good." Cecile smiled faintly and kissed Yasenia's lips. "I am glad it went as you planned, though."

Lord Hurricane's voice reached them all. "Okay, we are going to depart! Get prepared."

Ayanduin and Gu Chen arrived by the girl's side, and Ayanduin said. "We are going to go deep instead of exploring the surroundings. Kali, tell us if we are going in the right direction, and we'll suggest it for you."

Kali nodded. "Understood."