Chapter 1259 — Chapter 1259 Catching Up

"What! You actually went back to the Ancient Dragon City?!" Wang Xiuying was greatly surprised when she heard this.

Yuan nodded, "Unfortunately, it wasn't as relaxing as when we last visited, as I had to stop an invasion against the Xi Family."

And he proceeded to recall the short war between the Azure Dragon Family and the Xi Family.

"Unbelievable… to think such a thing could happen in that place…" Wang Xiuying sighed.

"In the end, Xi Meili decided to follow me to the outside world, so we're traveling together now."

"The Dragon Princess, huh? I truly didn't expect that…"

Yuan nodded, "Then we encountered the Exile after coming out of the Nameless Emperor's Tomb."

After a brief silence, he continued, "Now then, why don't you all share your adventures?"

"I spent most of my time improving my cultivation," Meixiu began, "with approximately 40 percent spent in Cultivation Online and the remaining 60 percent right here."

Chu Liuxiang nodded, "Same here, but I split my time between the two equally, spending half of my time in Cultivation Online and the other half training out here."

Wang Ming then said, "I spent most of my time in Cultivation Online until I became an Inner Court disciple in the Formless Sword Academy. After that, I spent most of my time training with the Lord."

"I also became an Inner Court disciple at the Heavenly Academy." Wang Bingbing said.

In the end, everyone who remained in the Second Heaven to join a sect managed to become an Inner Court disciple.

Wang Xiuying, who was the last to share her experience, revealed, "I've attained the status of Core Disciple within my sect, and my name has gained some recognition even beyond its boundaries. Nevertheless, due to spending the majority of my time in Cultivation Online, I've only reached the peak of Spirit Master here, making me the only one who hasn't reached Spirit Grandmaster."

"Ahem." Meifeng suddenly cleared her throat and spoke, "I am also a Spirit Master too, you know."

"But you spend most of your time doing chores. If you'd dedicated more of your time to cultivation, you would've been a Spirit Grandmaster as well." Wang Xiuying said.

"My responsibilities as the caretaker of this household take precedence, even over my cultivation," Meifeng asserted firmly.

"Spirit Grandmaster or not, I'm proud of everyone here," Yuan said with a smile. "You've all achieved great things within half a year. If you guys keep going at this pace, you'll surpass me in no time."

"Nobody here is trying to surpass you— we're just trying our best to keep up and not become a burden to you." Wang Ming sighed.

"That's nonsense. I've already told you guys many times that I don't care if you become a burden or not— because I will never see any of you that way." Yuan shook his head.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Wang Bingbing raised her hand and asked, "Yuan, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"After hearing so much about Exiles and how much they could benefit our progress, what if we also find ourselves an Exile to partner up with? I can't be the only one thinking about this, right?" Wang Bingbing looked around the table.

Indeed, some of them have thought about getting their own Exile and were waiting for the right time to bring it up.

That time was now.

Wu Zao spoke next, "I was also thinking about it."

"Me too," said Shi Lang.

Hearing their question, Yuan could only sigh. "Unfortunately, even though having an Exile comes with a lot of benefits, I don't think you'll be able to ignore the cons."

"As you all know already, Exiles are criminals that have been banished from the Nine Heavens, and they are not your average criminals, either. Even though my Exile, Xiao Hua, is a good girl and definitely doesn't deserve to bear that label, I must admit that I got extremely lucky with her as my partner. However, I can't guarantee that you guys will have the same luck."

"Of course, I am not saying that you should not partner up with one. If you happen to come across an Exile like Xiao Hua, you should definitely partner up. However, Exiles like Xiao Hua are few and far between— this I am willing to bet a fortune on."

"That makes sense. I definitely wouldn't want a criminal by my side even if they come with a lot of benefits…" Wang Bingbing nodded in agreement.

"And they are not your run-of-the-mill criminals." Wang Ming added, "For them to have faced banishment from the Nine Heavens, their transgressions must have been of a truly heinous nature."

Li Jinxi chimed in, saying, "Why would we even require assistance from an Exile when we already have someone like Yuan with us?"

Wang Bingbing was momentarily at a loss for words, but as she contemplated Li Jinxi's statement, she came to recognize her own shortcomings.

"You are absolutely right… Forget I even suggested such a thing," she sighed.

Yuan shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. If you encounter an Exile who isn't a bloodthirsty criminal, you should work together with them since they could really help you out. In fact, I encourage it. If I hadn't met Xiao Hua, I don't think I would have made it to where I am currently."

"If you say that, I have another question." Hong Xiuquan raised his hand and proceeded to ask, "How can we tell if someone is an Exile or not?"

"Exiles have a unique aura to them, but I don't think you'll be able to tell the difference until you encounter one. However, they will most likely tell you themselves, as they need a partner to participate in the Supreme Heaven's Legacy, which is another way to tell if someone is an Exile or not since they all have that Legacy."

And he added, "This is purely speculation, but I think Exiles are mostly found in seclusive areas, as they're akin to hidden quests and dungeons, so you won't find them hanging around in a busy city or anything like that."

"I see… thanks. I will keep that in mind." Hong Xiuquan said.

"Any more questions before we call it a night?" Yuan asked.

And for the next several minutes, he answered any questions the others threw at him.