Davis returned to his seat, looking like he was deep in thought before he sat and smiled at them. Evelynn, Natalya, and Fiora didn’t say anything and just smiled back.
"Jeez, Mo Mingzhi and Tina Roxley. They’re both going to make my head explode at this rate."
"Tina... Do you mean that Tina Roxley who belonged to the Roxley Family?"
Natalya and Fiora looked visibly shocked at his words.
"Oh yeah, you two didn’t know. I can use this opportunity to let you know about her and the strange relationship we share..."
Davis felt like he had more time to spare while waiting for all to arrive that he let them know about his not so romantic encounter with her. Natalya and Fiora didn’t seem to mind, but Evelynn giggled, wondering how they would believe his fantastical story.
However, she was left dumbfounded when she saw them supporting him.
After that, they just spent their time chilling underneath the shade of the pagoda-like ceiling, just talking and laughing with each other as they talked about various things. Soon, Edgar Alstreim, Lia Alstreim and Tia Alstreim returned.
Tia Alstreim ran towards him with utter excitement, but she suddenly stopped and forced a smile as she greeted him before she abruptly turned around and escaped, shouting that she was going to play with Diana and Edward.
Davis blinked before he found her adorable. His grandfather and grandmother talked to him about a few things ongoing in the Alstreim Family and the possible dangers one might encounter during the marriage.
Davis listened, but all that Edgar Alstreim warned him about was already well within his calculations after getting help from the two Grand Elders. Still, he managed to find quite a few loopholes he missed and covered that while working in coordination with his avatar in the Alstreim Family, who was overseeing the defenses along with Ancestor Tirea Snow and Alia Silverwind.
Soon, people began gathering one by one. However, Mo Mingzhi was the last to arrive, but she came with another person.
Davis looked at the woman Mo Mingzhi brought. She was none other than the person he had assigned to protect Mo Mingzhi.
"You’ve done a good job protecting her, Emine."
"Oh no..." Emine appeared overwhelmed to be praised, "Crown Prince, it’s not like that. Although it may have been the case when your highness first assigned me to Mistress Mingzhi, it wasn’t the same anymore in these two years. In fact, I was the one who was protected in the past year."
’Mistress Mingzhi...?’
Davis’s brows imperceptibly twitched, but he didn’t find fault with Emine as he harrumphed.
"Of course. I gave more resources to Mo Mingzhi, so it is a given that she should beat you in cultivation in a few years. Otherwise, she has no business being a cultivator by my side."
"You mean wife, right?"
Mo Mingzhi raised her brows, but Davis ignored her.
"In any case, have this for your excellent work in protecting Mo Mingzhi."
Davis gave her a few thousand Mid-Level Spirit Stones and a few High-Level Spirit Stones that Emine’s eyes almost bulged out of her sockets. He gathered them in one of the many spare spatial rings he had gathered from hunting and looting and gave them to her.
"You can even share it with Felt and Tami if they’re still your friends or anyone you like. I don’t mind."
Emine just stood there dumbfounded, astonished that he even remembered the name of her non-blood-related sisters. Nevertheless, she trembled as her gaze panned around.
By the side was the Emperor, Empress, and every other important individual she could find, making her gulp in nervousness.
They wouldn’t misunderstand and kill her for overstepping her bounds, would they?
Contrary to her thoughts, Davis’s family thought that his actions were entirely normal. They already knew that if he liked someone or if someone did as he told them in their task, he would reward them well.
Mo Mingzhi smiled at Davis’s generosity but smirked, ’Ah, that’s just going to make her fall for you all over again, you idiot.’
"Davis, she isn’t here for that. She’s accompanying me to the other side."
Davis’s brows furrowed as if he was annoyed, but Mo Mingzhi quickly explained.
"Even if she isn’t as powerful as me, she can still keep an eye on me, tell you if I did something wrong."
Davis looked at both of them before he recalled Ellia and Shirley’s Esvele.
’Looks like she made a friend, huh...’
He inwardly smiled before he indifferently replied.
"Self-monitoring and self-discipline? Do as you like. An extra person doesn’t make any difference to me."
Mo Mingzhi looked happier, but she was also visibly relaxed. If Davis had said no, she didn’t know what she would’ve done but ultimately felt that she would’ve given up and went with him alone because her focus was him, not her friend.
Davis then counted the number of heads that arrived and verified all who had been called had gathered. Only his little sister Clara hadn’t come because she was in seclusion.
He checked her one last time with his soul sense and found that she was still unmoved even though they knocked on her door once.
’This girl... she really is resolute, huh...’
"Alright, folks, let’s move out!"
He grinned and flicked his sleeves, heading towards the hidden spatial gate. They passed through the spatial gate and arrived at the Desolate Plains of the Tripartite Alliance Territory.
Davis stopped for a moment to check his surroundings.
He had been going to and fro from the Alstreim Family to the Grand Sea Continent all these days, and there was still no sign of Soul Emperor Hadrian Cross that he felt like it was safe to leave him alone at this point.
On the other hand, Mo Mingzhi became too excited but looking at the desert stretching as far as her eyes could see, she felt bummed out. Nevertheless, after they passed the plains and saw towns, she experienced a whole new feel of the world. However, it became even more exaggerated when she saw a stretch of dark fog barring their path, but her comprehension that had just solidified became shattered when she saw Davis punch a hole through that indomitable dark fog like it was nothing.
"Are you One-Punch Man?"
"Don’t compare me to that legend."
Davis took all of them inside the hole while being concealed. However, he clasped his hands before he made a posture as he pulled his hand back again.
"Consecutive Normal Punches..."
*Boom!~*
*Boom!~*
*Boom!~*
Many deep holes were blown in the dark fog in an instant, giving way to a wider and longer path!
’No, you’re completely referencing that old legend now...!’
Mo Mingzhi inwardly screamed, but she became terrified of his prowess.
What kind of level had he reached since she last saw him fight!? Even that slight pressure that momentarily dawned over her made her feel utterly helpless.
After they got out of the dark fog, she felt like she had been given a new life as she gulped. She looked over towards Evelynn, wondering if she could get her to answer the question that was on her mind right now.
"Big sister, what is Davis’s current cultivation level at the moment?"
Evelynn looked towards her before she smirked.
"Tell me what this one-punch man is, and I’ll tell you."
"Ah, that..." Mo Mingzhi equally smirked before she opened her mouth, "That’s a type of story that is published in different formats-"
"Mingzhi, those are highly distracting entertainment literature, so it is better if you tell them about it after they or I reach the peak in this world."
"... Umm, you heard your man."
Mo Mingzhi shrugged while Evelynn felt like she somewhat understood. So it was like the leisure books they had.
She no longer felt interested.
"His prowess has reached the Ninth Stage..."
"What!?"
A soul transmission fell on Mo Mingzhi’s mind that she almost tripped while flying! However, for the next few moments, she wasn’t able to talk as she reveled in disbelief, and before she realized it, she was already in the Purple Guest Palace.
"This is your room. Whenever you want to go out, you must inform someone, got it?"
These were the last words she heard from Davis before he closed the door on her. Only after hearing the banging sound from the door behind her did she come out of her reverie, smiling like a fool.
’He’s obviously cold to me to not catch romantic feelings for me. But, that won’t last long either now that I’m together with him.’
Mo Mingzhi’s crimson lips curved into a deep, confident smile.