Chapter 657: Kurumi Awakens

"Master Mohan, when will that Dragon Race Elder be able to come over?" Lingyun asked.

"This... I am not entirely certain, but at the longest, it will not exceed one month!" Mohan pondered for a moment before speaking.

"One month?" Lingyun muttered, then nodded.

Following that, Lingyun flipped his hand, and a Jade Pendant appeared in his palm. He handed the Jade Pendant to Mohan.

"This is a communication device. If that Dragon Race Elder arrives, please crush this Jade Pendant, Master Mohan. We will certainly rush back in the shortest possible time," Lingyun said to Mohan.

"A Jade Pendant?" Mohan looked at the Jade Pendant in his hand, his tone filled with some emotion. "You truly have an unusual relationship with the Lingyun Mercenary Group. As far as I know, only people from the Lingyun Mercenary Group can craft such things. Very well, if that old fellow comes, I will notify you!"

"Then many thanks, Master Mohan," Lingyun said with a smile.

"Mr. Lingyun, are you... not planning to stay here?" Hearing this from Lingyun, a trace of astonishment could not help but appear on Qiming's face.

"That is correct. We still have some matters to resolve on our side. After all, besides the Holy Sword of Earth, there is still the trail of the Water Holy Sword to find!" Lingyun said.

"But?" Recalling the order the Goddess of Light had conveyed to him before he left the Holy Church, a trace of difficulty could not help but appear on Qiming's face.

"Looking at your expression, she must have made some request of you, and this request is aimed at me, right?" Lingyun said.

Hearing Lingyun say this, a wry smile could not help but appear on Qiming's face, and he then nodded.

Indeed, before he left the Holy Church, the Goddess of Light had descended once more. She required Qiming to find a way to keep Lingyun in the Light Holy City. If it were an ordinary person, Qiming could naturally use some small private methods to keep them in the Light Holy City.

But Lingyun was not an ordinary person. As far as he knew, Lingyun was an honored guest of the Dwarf race and simultaneously had an unusual relationship with the mysterious Lingyun Mercenary Group. More importantly, there were definitely some unclear and indefinable things between him and the Goddess of Light. Under these circumstances, many methods could not be used. He did not even have any way to stop Lingyun if he wanted to leave the Holy City.

"Go back and tell her that this time, I will remain on the Continent and wait for her arrival!" Lingyun said indifferently.

"This..." Hearing Lingyun say this, a trace of surprise could not help but appear on Qiming's face, and he could not help but have a few more speculations in his heart regarding Lingyun's identity.

From this tone of Lingyun's, one could tell that he definitely knew the Goddess of Light and certainly had a significant relationship with her. But no matter how hard Qiming racked his brains, he could not think of anyone among the recorded figures who matched the existence of Lingyun.

Unknowingly, this person, Lingyun, had already been covered by a mysterious veil in his heart. At the very least, in Qiming's heart, Lingyun had already been labeled as someone not to be provoked.

"You don't need to worry. Once she hears this sentence of mine, she will naturally understand what it means," Lingyun said with a smile, then took Chen Jing and the other away from the courtyard.

"Lingyun, who was that sentence you just said directed at?" Chen Jing's tone was somewhat curious.

"I think I already know who it is. Just think, for someone like Qiming, who is the teacher of the Pope of the Light Church, to show such an expression, that person's status must far exceed his own. Within the Light Church, if there is someone whose status far exceeds the teacher of the Pope, then the range is very small," Su Wanyue said. "Lingyun, that 'she' you mentioned just now, could it be the Goddess of Light?"

"Ahem, that's right, it is indeed her," Lingyun gave a light cough and nodded.

"First the Goddess of Nature, then the Goddess of Light. Lingyun, how many of the gods in this world do you know in total?" Chen Jing asked.

"If you mean 'know,' I should know all the gods currently alive. After all, we once fought side by side during the Millennium Holy War," Lingyun said with a smile.

"So that's how it is?" Su Wanyue nodded and said with deep meaning.

"Hmm, what is this feeling?"

Suddenly, Lingyun's brows furrowed slightly. He felt a formless fluctuation spreading continuously throughout the Cloud Realm. And this fluctuation gave him a very familiar feeling.

"What's wrong, Lingyun?" Seeing the change in Lingyun's expression, Chen Jing and the other asked hurriedly.

"It's hard to explain in a moment. Let's go to the Cloud Realm first!" Lingyun said to the two.

"Alright!"

Space twisted for a moment, and the three of them instantly vanished into the Void.

Qiming, who appeared here shortly after, looked at the place where the three had vanished, his eyes full of astonishment. He completely could not understand how the three had disappeared just now. If they had used space Magic, it would inevitably have left spatial fluctuations. But the surrounding space was completely calm, as if nothing had happened here at all. If he hadn't seen Lingyun and the others vanish with his own eyes, he would not have believed this matter.

As soon as he entered the Cloud Realm, Lingyun discovered something amiss.

Under normal circumstances, the moment he appeared in the Cloud Realm, Ruoxi would inevitably be the first to appear before him, followed by Yui, who controlled Aincrad, and finally, the Cursed Children living in the Cloud Realm would also appear before him one by one. But the current Cloud Realm was far too quiet, as if there were no people here at all.

Lingyun's divine sense spread out in all directions like a deluge. In the Cloud Realm, his divine sense could easily cover the entire Cloud Realm. Under the scan of his divine sense, he quickly found the traces of the Cursed Children. Now, all the Cursed Children were in Aincrad, while Yui was in the Cloud Palace on the highest level of Aincrad.

This Cloud Palace was originally named the Ruby Palace, and it was also the place where Lingyun and the others had fought the final battle against the Underworld King Moqi. It was only later, after Yui took over Aincrad, that she changed its name to the Cloud Palace.

Yui, who was in the Cloud Palace, had a serious expression, and powerful energy rippled around her. Under her full activation of the Main God Fragment within her body, powerful energy poured out continuously, forming a thin barrier around Aincrad.

The formless fluctuation spreading from the center of the Cloud Realm, upon touching the barrier, bypassed it, unable to cause any impact on Aincrad.

Soon, this formless fluctuation spread to the location of Lingyun and the two others. Lingyun remained motionless, but Chen Jing and Su Wanyue, who were standing behind him, could not help but activate their Eternal Marks. Lingyun's Source Power formed a formless barrier around their bodies, offsetting the impact of this fluctuation on them.

"Ruoxi, what kind of mischief are you up to again!"

Lingyun's figure flickered, instantly appearing at the center of the Cloud Realm. He reached out and grabbed Ruoxi by the collar. After lifting her up and pulling her into his arms, he began to ravage her cheeks.

"Waya waya, Brother, spare me! There is a reason for this change in the Cloud Realm!" Ruoxi, in Lingyun's arms, struggled desperately, trying to free her cheeks from Lingyun's devilish claws.

"Speak!"

"Brother, you'll know if you look behind you!" Ruoxi said while struggling.

"Lingyun, long time no see!" A voice filled with a smile rang out from behind Lingyun.

Hearing this voice, Lingyun's body paused slightly. Then, he turned around with a smile on his face and looked at the young girl standing behind him.

"Welcome back, Kurumi!"