Chapter 625: Evangeline’s return

"What will you do now?" Maximilian asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

He was flying on his sword, with Gumiho moving through the air beside him without the aid of any artifact. She had obtained the ability to fly when she formed her fifth tail.

Now, with her sixth tail, her speed was close to Maximilian’s fastest speed on his sword.

"I’m planning to have a meeting with the Sacred Beasts of the Tiger, Deer, and Bear Clans," Gumiho revealed, her tone calm. "I will unite all the beasts under one faction."

"What if they don’t submit to you?" Maximilian asked the obvious question as the duo moved past the last peak of the Lingtian Mountains, entering the territory of the beasts.

"I possess the Supreme Bloodline of the beasts," Gumiho explained, tightening her fists. "Disobedience is out of the question."

Maximilian looked at her with slightly raised brows. Her pink eyes contained no hint of self-doubt or hesitation. She was determined to end this war once and for all.

’Her Soulforce possesses a natural suppressive effect,’ Maximilian murmured inwardly, remembering the sensation of obedience he had felt when Gumiho’s Soulforce touched him. ’It couldn’t affect me because I’m not from Vyoman. But the natives of this planet... they can’t disobey her.’

"Whatever you do, I will support you nonetheless," Maximilian told her in a warm tone. He had absolute trust in his disciple’s character.

"Unh," Gumiho nodded.

They were about to enter the territory of the Tiger Clan when Maximilian suddenly stopped mid-motion, his eyes widening.

"Master?" Gumiho stopped a few metres ahead, noticing the surprised expression on Maximilian’s face.

In his hand, Maximilian carried a small badge that flickered with a bright glow.

A wide smile formed on Maximilian’s face, his eyes glittering with happiness. Gumiho had never seen him make such a face.

"What made you so happy, Master?" Gumiho asked, moving towards him in curiosity.

"M-my wife..." Maximilian murmured, his smile growing even wider. "She is about to come out of closed-door cultivation."

Gumiho froze in place, the excitement in her eyes fading.

"Y-your wife?" she asked, making sure she had heard him correctly.

Maximilian nodded. "I need to go see her," he declared. "I will come back in a few months."

He was about to leave when Gumiho tugged at his robe.

"Master, don’t you think you have an explanation to give?" she muttered, her eyes narrowing at him. "When did you get a wife? Who is she? Where is she?"

"Well, we never had a chance to discuss it," Maximilian replied casually, rubbing the back of his head. "I will introduce you two to each other someday."

Gumiho’s ears drooped, her fists tightening at her sides. She took a deep breath and said, sounding calm, "Go, then. You will be surprised by the time you return."

Maximilian moved closer and gently patted her head. "I have faith in you."

Once she had her fill of headpats, she reluctantly let go of his arm, which she had been holding with both hands.

"See you later," Maximilian said, waving a hand before moving off on his sword in a different direction.

Gumiho kept looking at him until his figure vanished into the distance.

"Who is more precious to someone? A wife or a disciple?" Gumiho thought to herself. "Mother told me that husband and wife are partners who live together and complete each other."

She didn’t understand what completing each other actually meant. All she knew was that her master deeply cared for her. She pressed her chin into her hand, deep in thought.

"Of course, the disciple is more precious," she declared to herself before taking her leave.

---

"Oh heavens, how long I have waited for this moment," Maximilian’s loud voice echoed across the high, cloudy sky. "I’m finally going to see her."

He moved his claws forward and tore through the sky, opening a dark dimension in the air.

He stepped inside and emerged thousands of kilometres away. He hadn’t spent the last decade solely training his disciples. Meditating in the Lingtian Mountains and living a life of peace had improved his cultivation by leaps and bounds. He had already reached the peak of the Early-Stage Celestial Realm. His teleportation ability no longer consumed as much Soulforce as before, and the distance he could cross in a single teleportation had also greatly increased.

In less than ten minutes, he reached the borders of the Riftlands.

As he scanned the area with the help of his divine sense, the sight truly surprised him.

Grand palaces, pavilions, and large barracks had been built around the border. A massive wall stretched in both directions as far as the eye could see. It was most likely covering the entire Riftland.

Numerous arrays were engraved across the wall, with dragons in their demi-human forms standing guard atop it.

Not even a fly could pass through without permission.

"They created a whole damn country around the borders just to catch me," Maximilian muttered, exasperated by how far these dragons had gone to hunt him. "If only they put such effort into becoming better people."

He shook his head with a deep sigh before opening the portal again.

It led him directly several hundred kilometres deep into the Riftland without triggering any alarms.

From there, it took him less than five minutes to reach the star-shaped spaceship at the centre of the Riftlands.

The Death Soulforce here was still too dense for his current realm, rapidly draining his lifespan.

He quickly reached the Control Room. An entrance appeared as the spaceship detected its master.

He had only just entered when he felt deep vibrations beneath his feet.

Dhun... dha... dhun... 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Dhun... dha... dhun...

Dhun... dha... dhun...

"D-dear Heavens..." Maximilian gasped, his hand moving to his face in bewilderment. Slowly, a smile of absolute joy spread across his face. "Hahahaha, Vivi’s breakthrough reverberated the Heavenly Drums. Way to go, my wife!"

The phenomenon continued for less than a minute, leaving all the high-tier cultivators across Vyoman flabbergasted. The Heavenly Drums had reverberated twice in less than fifty years, after all.

Two cultivators with the potential to reach immortality had appeared in Vyoman.

By the time her breakthrough finished, Maximilian had already arrived outside her room, pacing back and forth.

The door of the room slowly ascended upward, releasing a thick white fog outward. Maximilian’s breath caught in his throat, his eyes fixed on the entrance as he saw something gigantic stirring within the thick fog.