Chapter 1168: Reuniting With Zheng Kai

Bai Yunfei snapped his head up; this was someone he knew!

"Zheng Kai!!"

A figure in white was flying through the air toward them. Originally, this person was being led toward the Crafting School by a crafter, but the moment he saw Bai Yunfei and the others, he flew like lightning to meet the group. In no time at all, he was already right in front of them.

It was none other than another close friend of Bai Yunfei—Zheng Kai!!

Just as excited as Zheng Kai was, Bai Yunfei ran toward to meet his friend with a hug and a smile.

"Haha!! I knew you were alive! Where in the world did you run off to for three years! I was so excited to hear you destroyed the Beast Taming School that I couldn't fall asleep, I'll tell you what! Had I known you were already back in the Crafting School I'd have rushed here sooner! It's good to see you again, brother!"

Zheng Kai gave Bai Yunfei a hearty slap on the back, laughing as he did. Just a little bit, Bai Yunfei could detect a faint choking sound in Zheng Kai's voice. He was most likely trying to stop himself from tearing up...

"It's...a long story, but I'm happy to see you again too, brother!" Bai Yunfei laughed in return. He took a step back to take a good look at Zheng Kai. "Haha, you've done well for yourself! Three years and you've already become a Mid-stage Soul King!"

"Heh, I'd feel better about myself if it was someone else but you saying it. It just sounds wrong to hear this type of praise from you!" Zheng Kai retorted, "You're the real monster here, pal. How'd you become a Soul Emperor?! Does the term 'common sense' mean anything to you?"

The Extreme King Pill had done a lot for Zheng Kai. Three years ago he was just an Early-stage Soul King, but now he was a Mid-stage Soul King. This was a rate of improvement that'd put him on track with his brother. Compared to Bai Yunfei, however...

"And aha! Xinyun! Long time no see! I see little Rui, Xiaoxuan, Fei Nian, and Sanxian...how's it going?"

The people behind Bai Yunfei were quickly greeted one by one by Zheng Kai. His last trip to the Crafting School saw to him coming to know most of the people here.

"Bro Shameless! You're here again!" Little Rui laughed, happy to see Zheng Kai once more.

The smile on Zheng Kai's face faltered a bit. Squatting down to see Huangfu Rui eye-to-eye, "I've told you so many times to call me brother Zheng, my dear sister. I even brought you a gift—some specialty snacks from the Capital!"

"Wow!! Snacks?!" Huangfu Rui took the items from Zheng Kai at once with stars in her eyes, "Thank you so much Bro Shameless!"

"...."

Zheng Kai stood back up, there was no point convincing this one anymore.

"Bro Shameless?" Bai Yunfei gave Zheng Kai a curious glance.

Hiding his snigger, Mo Xiaoxuan whispered, "Everyone knows about brother Zheng Kai's crush on sister Tingting. When he was first here, he spent the entire time offering sister Tingting his time and affection, even when it didn't seem like she cared. We all thought he had some amazing willpower, and of course, that's where we came up with his nickname 'Super Shameless'. Huangfu Rui was there at the time and got annoyed with him, so she started calling him 'Bro Shameless'..."

"Ah..." Not even Bai Yunfei could hide his smirk. "So what happened? Anything happen between them two yet?"

"Well...I don't know. He was called back home after that, but I heard he went to the Water School a year ago to see her. He also escorted her back here, but I don't ever remember hearing them say anything about one another..."

Bai Yunfei couldn't help but sympathize with Zheng Kai. For his entire life, Zheng Kai was a person capable of getting in the good graces of any girl he like. But after three whole years of vying for Kou Tingting's affections...

"Hey...what's with that look, Yunfei?" Zheng Kai seemed a bit peeved at Bai Yunfei's stare, "Where were you guys going anyways?"

"We're going to play in Redfire City! You want to come with us, Bro Shameless?" Huangfu Rui spoke up in between mouthfuls of snacks.

"Oh? A play date? Seems like I got here at the right time then, it'd be a shame if I missed it." Zheng Kai laughed.

"Eh?" He craned his neck to look around the group, "Tingting's not with you?"

"...And here I'm thinking you lied about coming to see me. You're here for Tingting, aren't you? Sorry to disappoint then, but Tingting is still at the Water School."

......

With Huangfu Rui urging the group to hurry and Zheng Kai joining their group, Bai Yunfei continued their way down to the city. On the way, Bai Yunfei told a few more stories about what he experienced over the years.

It was about half an hour later when Huangfu Rui began to feel tired of walking. From here on out, the group took to the skies. They continued on that way for a while before Huangfu Rui got tired of even that. The only other method of transportation after that was teleportation.

It didn't take long for the group to enter Redfire City via that method. Huangfu Rui was reinvigorated now that they were in the city. Pulling Tang Xinyun by the arm, the younger girl began to laugh and cheer at the sights.

Leisurely, they walked through the streets of the city. Bai Yunfei felt happy. He could remember the last time he was here. He had been an insignificant Soul Sprite back then, but he remembered giving Tang Xinyun that glass lantern...

"I heard someone say there's a play up in the northern district, want to go take a look?" Fei Nian offered.

"A play? Okay! I want to see! Let's go sing and dance!"

No one had any objections to that. Huangfu Rui was happy, and that was enough for them all. Together, the group began to head for the north.

"Hey Yunfei, if you've nothing better to do after this, why not come back with me to the Capital for a trip? My father ordered me to invite you back to our place as a guest. I'll be in for a beating if I don't."

Zheng Kai gave a half-serious smile.

"I'm afraid I can't for now...I have a friend coming by soon to see me. I have to wait for him. Then after that I have some things to take care of in the Soulbeast Forest..."

"Ah..." Zheng Kai sighed, "That's fine. No need to rush. I'll ask again when you're done. Let me go with you to the Soulbeast Forest though! I've been meaning to find a soulbeast to contract with—you're a familiar figure in the soulbeast world anyhow, why not help me find a nice soulbeast while we're at it?"

"You're an optimist," Bai Yunfei laughed, "but I'll give it a try. I know a few spatial-type class seven soulbeasts, you can see for yourself later."

"Really?!" Zheng Kai's eyes lit up with joy, "Haha! That's my brother! You've said it then!"

The conversation shifted onto other topics, "How're my students? You happen to know anything about them?"

"Your students? Well...they're doing pretty well for themselves. They might not be at the level of a Crafting School's student, but they're still doing well enough to be getting offers from other people! Mo Wanxia became a Soul King half a year ago and managed to make a heaven-tier soul armament. There's also that senior of yours, Jiang Nan. I hear he's preparing to teach a new bunch of students for the academy."

"Oh? Mo Wanxia's a Soul King already? And a second class?"

That was unexpected. As it turned out, Jiang Nan was introduced to the academy to substitute Bai Yunfei since he was gone for three years. But if a second class was being made, didn't that mean the first bunch was skilled enough to be considered as 'graduated'?

Curious, Bai Yunfei began to ask Zheng Kai a little more about what happened within the academy over the years...

The group continued to chatter with one another until they reached a small crossroad. Just as they were prepared to walk in one direction, a tiny voice called out to them...

"I say, you there miss. I can see your palm lines are getting dark, an omen of bad things to come. Would you care for this humble person to divine your future?"