Transcending Dreams
B2 - Chapter 77

William’s eyes widened in shock at the size of the spirit beast when it reached the shore, and even more at what it was.

“So our hopes rest on its goodwill,” Kae sounded resigned.

“… I think we’ll be just fine,” William’s voice sounded faint, even to himself.

[Lord Paddlington: Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?]

He glanced at the system message before staring at the massive turtle with an open mouth.

[Lord Paddlington: No greeting? How rude. And who is this? Someone you trust like that girl?]

The turtle was talking about Princess Jin. No, William didn’t trust Kae at the same level. He barely knew the kid. Speaking casually to Lord Paddlington was out of the question with Kae beside him, so he would have to be indirect.

“Kae, mind your words. Let me do the talking.” William directed that at Kae, but it was also for Lord Paddlington.

[Lord Paddlington: Oh, good! I can be my lordly self.]

“SMALL CULTIVATORS. COME WITH ME OR PERISH.”

William’s lips twitched as he tried to hide a smile. He nearly forgot the theatrics Lord Paddlington loved.

“What should we do, Wei Liang,” Kae looked like he was at a breaking point.

Right. Just because he thought this was amusing instead of terrifying didn’t mean Kae felt the same.

“At the very least, we have a choice… somewhat.” William did a terrible job reassuring him, but what could he do without telling the truth? Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“THE SMART ONE IS RIGHT. BE THANKFUL I’M GIVING YOU AN OPTION.”

“Thank you, senior,” Kae bowed deeply, sincere with his respect.

“GOOD!” Lord Paddlington’s red eyes flashed. William and Kae were lifted onto the turtle’s shell. “WE SHALL ARRIVE SHORTLY. SLEEP UNTIL THEN.”

Kae collapsed on the hard shell, unconscious the moment Lord Paddlington stopped speaking. William did not. He was left standing on a turtle the size of a large island.

“The dramatics weren’t necessary,” William shouted to be heard over the wind. The turtle must have started moving.

“No, but it was fun. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here?” The voice seemed right next to his ear.

“How long?” William left Kae behind to get closer to Lord Paddlington’s head. His fellow disciple would be fine since it was as safe as could be.

“Hours!” Lord Paddlington exclaimed dramatically, making him roll his eyes.

It took William nearly half a minute to reach the edge of Lord Paddlington’s shell near his head. The turtle really was too damn large. He knew it could change size when necessary, but what was the need to pick one the size of an actual mountain.

“You know, I’m relieved it was you who showed up,” William said to the massive, hill-sized head. I really thought some super-strong spirit beast was playing with us.”

“Heh, who says I won’t do the same?” Lord Paddlington turned its massive head slightly, enough for William to see a part of the burning-red sclera of its eye. It had never been that color before.

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“Well, at least you wouldn’t kill me,” William sat down, placing the egg between his legs. It was strangely calming to see the water blur beneath them. “So, what brings you here?”

“What? I can’t check up on the only cultivator my master likes?”

“No, really. Why did the Abyss come to your attention?” William frowned, his mind coming to worrying conclusions. Like the sect being implicated in working against Sophia.

“Is that what it is called?” Lord Paddlington wondered out loud. “A fitting name for what originally powered this cursed dimension.”

His heart sank. “What do you mean by that?”

Lord Paddlington let out a low growl. To William, it felt like the world was shaking beneath his feet.

“If I didn’t sense you in this sect, I would have immediately wiped it from existence,” the turtle said, but this didn’t help to change William’s guess. "My master’s… belonging was used to create the Abyss. Luckily, I stayed my hand and took a closer look. At some point, someone replaced the need for it by prodigious use of formations.”

“If it was replaced, why bother to wait here?” William asked with suspicion.

“This dimension no longer requires it, but that doesn’t mean it was removed,” Lord Paddlington’s flipper twitched in irritation. For a turtle his size, that ‘small’ movement created a wave that had to be hundreds of feet tall. “Whoever laid down these formations might not have realized what they were replacing.”

William didn’t have a good feeling about this. Although the turtle was generally straightforward, the roundabout way it spoke told him it was stalling for some reason.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he said pointedly. “Why didn’t you just take Empress Sophia’s—You haven’t said what it was… Why?”

William narrowed his eyes, almost certain he knew what was coming next.

“Funny thing,” Lord Paddlington chuckled. “You know the realm stone your little friend absorbed? I was searching for another, and it led me right here. Except what I discovered is even worse.”

It was still stalling.

They arrived at a flat, barren island, far smaller than level two of the Abyss. It looked like nothing special. However, since Lord Paddlington had brought him here, there was more to see than what his eyes showed him.

“Under that structure is a deprecated version of my master’s avatar. I want you to go and remove her.”

William gave a long glance at the innocuous piece of dirt in the middle of the vast ocean before staring at Lord Paddlington’s enormous head, which was larger than the island.

“Why do you need me to do it?” He clutched the egg tightly for comfort. It actually worked… for some strange reason.

“I wouldn’t say need,” Lord Paddlington stressed. William tensed when he was lifted into the air before being floated before two massive, fiery orbs. It felt like he would be burnt alive if he said the wrong thing. “If you want your little sect to keep existing, you should be the one to take care of this issue. You should be allowed unrestricted entry as a member.”

William started to sweat profusely. He came to realize that Lord Paddlington didn’t know the effect his eyes were having on him.

“Of course, if you don’t care, I can rip through the formations holding this place together and retrieve my master’s avatar myself.”

[Trait Added | Burns (-10 HP per second)]

“No!” William couldn’t stand the heat anymore. “No, don’t do that. And put me down! You’re going to kill me!”

“Hm?” Lord Paddlington’s eyes narrowed before widening in surprise.

Thankfully, he was placed on the barren island soon after. His robes were soaked as he sat heavily on the sand, somehow having the mind to gently set the egg next to him.

He looked at the system alert and sighed with a bit of relief.

[-30 HP]

[Trait Removed | Burns (-10 HP per second)]

It wasn’t terrible. All the burns resulted in was an opportunity for him to practice his Healing Qi.

“I forgot my eyes do that right now,” Lord Paddlington laughed, the loudness almost knocking him over. “Blame your sect for having such an excellent ancestor. I’ve been suppressing all the formations in the Abyss to prevent others from coming here to investigate. They’re trying to burn me from the inside out.”

William let out a weak exhale and closed his eyes. That explained why the turtle’s eyes were red all of a sudden.

He seized his Qi and sensed where his burns were located. It was a thin layer of skin on the front of his body. Anything that was bare while it was before Lord Paddlington’s eyes.

Converting to Healing Qi was easy. The rage was there, bubbling under the surface at what he knew was coming. His Qi gained that sharp quality that bordered on dangerous.

Not for the first time, William wondered if this could be used in a battle. There must be a reason it had this type of sensation.

He pushed that thought aside and concentrated his Healing Qi where he was burned. It was light work that took no more than a few seconds.

William released his control, let the Qi revert to normal, and opened his eyes.

[+30 HP]

[-60 Spiritual Energy]

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