Only I Am A Reader

'Things almost went south.'

Such a conflict didn't originally take place since most of the onlookers either retreated under the persistent threat or couldn't find fault in the faction that Cheon Chang belonged to. However, everyone aside from their little group was under the threat of annihilation for a second there.

Despite knowing that the results of something like that could throw all the effort he spent on changing the course of actions to the sea, Leo could only watch from the side without interfering. It didn't matter whether he was interesting or not. Let alone the lives of others, he couldn't even guarantee his own if he tried to order the Heavenly Demon around…

Even after they left the crowd, the Society Leader didn't use his wings, accompanying Leo and the others in running back while exchanging a few words with Cheon Jeong every now and then. Considering they were already in the flat plains' domain, it took less than a day for them to go back to Mount Heaven.

'It's as intimidating as they say…'

Having followed them on the march back, Bing Baek looked at Mount Heaven in awe. Although it didn't seem right to guide strangers back to their base, things were different for the Heavenly Strength Society!

Just like Mount Hua, Mount Heaven's name was well known and so was its location. It was only that no one dared to approach it casually even in the days when people believed the former Heavenly Demon Cult had withered. As such, getting to visit it was a unique experience that Bing Baek could barely compare to a few others.

"Well then, let's take the guests in."

'Isn't this an…'

This time, the Heavenly Demon was the one to activate the Internal Energy Sequence from a spot different from all of the ones that Leo had awareness of, bringing the group to a somewhat spacious room.

'... interrogation room?

Although it didn't look threatening, the room only held a long stone table with stone seatings on both of its sides. For a place that could be directly entered from the outside, Leo found it hard to imagine it not being a place that they dragged captives into.

"Alright, let's have our delayed conversation then. Why did you bring back the relatives of the Ice King… Baekho, right?"

After Bing Baek and her brother awkwardly took a seat, the Heavenly Demon turned to Leo with a gaze full of interest. For some reason, it looked like he was looking forward to his explanation.

"Well… As I already shared with both masters, I had visited one of Shadow Star's branches before coming back here to collect information on major events occurring around the Murim."

Leo showed some respect with his speaking tone, but he tried to speak as casually as possible since the Heavenly Demon wasn't exactly a fan of formality unless he was in deep anger.

"Oh, so that's how you came to know about the Azure Tree's information leak?"

Naturally, the Heavenly Demon was even more aware of Shadow Star than most of the people around. In fact, he suspected that they had a hand in what happened.

"Yes. However, other than discovering that little problem, they had also given me another piece of information. It's also about a dangerous opportunity, only that it's quite far away from Zhongyang…"

Rather than weaving a whole other net, Leo's plan was to add on to the net that everyone was already caught in. By using the information source that had automatically obtained validity through the first intel's confirmation, his words were bound to sound much more trustworthy now!

"There is an opportunity close to the Northern Ice Palace? It's weird that I haven't heard of that till now."

Of course, the Heavenly Demon was a tough nut to crack. As someone who constantly received reports about all kinds of situations, he wasn't as easy to trick as Cheon Jeong and Cheon Chang.

"As far as I know, they had been putting that task off due to its low returns. They only seem to have released news of it to the surrounding forces around the time we were traveling back."

'That's almost too detailed!'

Hearing Leo's words strengthened the doubts in Bing Baek's heart. It was one thing for her to know about it as someone who was fed information from home periodically, but even the youth's vague words seemed to hide even more details.

"Hmmm… Is that true then?"

The Heavenly Demon's face turned to Bing Baek who was still in contemplation, almost flustering her to the point of stuttering.

"Yes, it is true. An immature Phoenix has been recently sighted around the island and the Northern Ice Palace is looking for someone to get rid of it before the problem grows too big."

Even though she was skeptical, Bing Baek honestly spoke out according to the deal that she agreed to with Leo. In any case, the Northern Ice Palace was planning to go public about this ordeal soon enough!

For an island of extreme cold like the one where the Northern Ice Palace was situated, the existence of an extreme flame bird like the Phoenix was a disaster rather than an auspicious sign. The Palace naturally had someone who possessed the ability to deal with it. However, it was concluded that a battle of such absolute polar opposites would take too long and have drastic effects, resulting in irrevocable damage to the island.

As such, they started slowly dispersing that information. Announcing that whoever got rid of the Phoenix was free to keep its Internal Core. Although such an item was incomparably precious to some, it was useless to the Northern Ice Palace's Martial Artists. It could still be exchanged for resources, but it was more efficient to get rid of it instead of having to pay the beast's vanquisher resources of equal value…

"Ah, a Phoenix's Internal Core is indeed quite the treasure. Depending on the situation, its effect doesn't lose in value to the Azure Fruit. You want to head there and get it with their help?"

The Heavenly Demon turned back to Leo as he casually questioned. Up to this point, he had been acting as a nonchalant listener as if the whole topic had no single relation to him.

"I do desire to do so. Since our squad had lost their opportunity to ascend, I wish to try our luck on the Northern Island while trying to forge some friendly relations with the Ice Palace…"

Since this was an event that the protagonist would originally participate in after some time, the situation couldn't be as simple as it looked. However, there was no need to explain what would happen in the future now.

"We aren't much, but we will gladly act as your guides if you so wish."

Both Bing Baek and her brother needed an excuse to go back to the island, and Leo just happened to want to go there as well. Although this wasn't a fateful encounter but rather a situation orchestrated by Leo, both sides stood to gain from the situation.

'They can't say anything if I'm taking someone this high-up back with me.'

The situation was more like inviting a tiger to chase the wolf outside, but there was no such thing as land encroachment in times like this. The neutrality shared by both factions was something that would instead allow them to work together more smoothly!

Undeniably, if it wasn't for Leo's background, Bing Baek wouldn't have entertained his idea, especially when he raised so many red flags. Only a group of people important enough to be escorted by the Heavenly Strength Society's powerhouses could be considered a worthy excuse, otherwise, she would have randomly chosen someone who was relatively powerful and lured him back with the charm of the Phoenix's Internal Core…

"Mmmmm… Sounds fine to me. If you get either Jeong and Spearhead or both to join you, you can go ahead with this little seaside adventure."

The Heavenly Demon shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't even the decision-maker, to begin with. He looked at the other adults in the room before slowly strolling out with the use of another Internal Energy mechanism.

"Do we get to see a real Phoenix?"

"Can we fight it?"

"Are they really necessary to guide us?"

The other three's words covered each other's, speaking as soon as the Heavenly Demon's pressure had vanished. After staying hand-tied for the entirety of the Sky Fruit Picking event, it was only natural that they were slightly excited about the coming adventure.

"We haven't even decided if we are going or not…"

Cheon Jeong spoke in denial as she felt out of pace with the continuous sequence of events. However, as soon as the four chicks' eyes turned to her…

"I mean, of course, we are going! Who would miss the sighting of a mythical beast like that? Ain't that right, Spearhead?"

The strict Blade Spirit had already shown herself back when Leo had denied participating in the adventure, but she couldn't do the same now that it was the other way around! Seeing the little saplings excited for a true journey like that was more than enough!

'That settles it.'

Although Cheon Chang gave no answer, he had faintly titled his head into a nod. Since the Society wasn't in a situation where they urgently needed them, he would naturally choose to go with his junior brother, which was exceptionally easier since the Society Leader had personally agreed to it!

'I will also push forward and directly skip ahead to my next event!'