773 Changes

3 days later, Alex and Du Yuhan got on a boat and left for Rubyroad.

Alex was done teaching about plants and Daos, as well as teaching about medicinal pastes for the Tiger sect.

Once he was done overall, he decided to go visit his sister. As she was the only one he had yet to meet, he was a bit too excited about it.

The ship they used flew at such incredible speed that Du Yuhan felt scared about it half the time.

"Should we really be going this fast?" he asked. "Not even the sect's grand ship flies this fast."

"It's fine," Alex said. "Those ships are meant to carry very many people, so they have to be slow in general for stability."

"This one carries 3 people at most so it can go as fast as I can make it go," Alex said.

"Still…" Du Yuhan looked around as the trees blitzed past him.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Alex said. "Also, just think about how fast we will reach there. In just a few hours we will be in Rubyroad city," Alex said.

"Yeah… I don't doubt you on that," Du Yuhan said. He was still a little scared about the speed but said nothing as Alex continued to steer it.

Alex felt a little happy that Du Yuhan did come with him as there would be no one else to keep him company while he was here.

Since he was forced to leave his mother alone, Alex let Pearl stay with her as well so that the jaguar would look after her just in case.

"So, this competition you mentioned," Du Yuhan asked, "it's going to have strong fighters right?"

"Yes," Alex said. "It is the biggest competition in the arena in the last 2 decades."

"How strong are these people going to be?" he asked.

"Well, it's for anyone that is below the age of 50, so anyone that counts I suppose," Alex said.

"And what's the general cultivation base of these people that are below 50 years old?" he asked.

"Well… at this time, it should be True Emperor realm," Alex said.

"What about the saint realm? Are there any?" Du Yuhan asked.

Alex shook his head. "No," he said. "There's a certain difficulty in reaching the Saint realm that one cannot do just by breaking through."

"Even if one is at the peak of True Emperor realm, they would need quite a while longer before they are able to enter the Saint realm," Alex said.

"Oh, is there an obstacle?" Du Yuhan asked.

Alex nodded. "To enter the Saint realm, you need to open up your naval area so you can freely access the energy that is stored there."

"Once it is accessed, it becomes the main essence of your cultivation, and that is very hard to achieve from what I've heard."

"So, I think it is unlikely that anyone will enter the Saint realm before this competition," Alex said.

"Oh, so you have a chance then," he said.

"Well, maybe, maybe not. It all depends on how far I can go in the next 9 months. I plan on cultivating with a lot of dedication so I can at least touch the True Emperor realm," Alex said.

"If I can do that, I will finally have a chance."

The two of them talked for a while longer as the sun reached the zenith. Finally, they saw a city far in the distance.

"We're here," Alex said.

Once they got close, the two of them dropped from the ship and walked on foot.

They lined up to enter and soon entered the city itself.

Alex remembered this city. In the city, he had to make pills overnight because there were people dying from the beast attack.

However, nothing of what he remembered remained much around here.

"I don't know if I can even navigate to my sister's house," Alex said. "We might have to ask for directions."

"Don't worry, I know the way. I've been here before remember," Du Yuhan said and took the lead.

Alex's memories returned as he went through the streets. He recognized a clothing shop that used to be a restaurant before. He recognized a blacksmithing place that had now turned into a small general store.

One of the flower shops had turned into a bakery, while the medical shop at the end of the road remained the same.

It felt really weird knowing that 10 years was barely any time for him. All he had done was train a bit, learn a few knowledge, and returned back.

And yet, in that time, so much had changed for the mortals. There was nothing more telling for him about the life he had already left behind.

And he didn't even know it himself.

After a few minutes, Alex stood in front of a familiar white manor. 'If you want something unchanged and untouched over the years, leave it to the cultivators,' he thought.

Alex saw a carriage stop by and a woman got down from it. The moment she did, Alex immediately recognized her.

"Sister Meng!" he called out.

The woman turned around and looked toward Alex before giving him a confused look. "Hello, do I know you?" she asked.

"Eh? Do you not recognize me?" Alex asked with a surprised voice. He couldn't understand how Luo Mei's sister-like maid could have possibly forgotten about him.

"It's me, Yu Ming. Remember?" he said.

However, the woman's face didn't show signs of remembering at all.

Alex felt a little shocked by that. 'Are 10 years really that long?' he wondered. 'Or have I changed that much? No way.'

He remembered giving Meng Yun a Spirit Cleansing Lily before leaving, so as far as he knew, she should have a concrete memory of him. 'Is she sick?' he wondered.

"Do you really not remember me? I'm your young lady's junior disciple brother," Alex said.

That only confused the woman even more so. "My young lady doesn't have a junior disciple brother. She only has an elder disciple brother," she said.

Alex was stunned now. 'What's going on? Was her mind wiped? Did my existence erase from her memories? Did she suffer from a Qi deviation?'

Alex's mind went everywhere when Du Yuhan placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think I get what is going on," he said. "Luo Mei had made an off-hand comment about this once."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

Du Yuhan ignored him and looked at the woman in front of him. "You're not Meng Yun, are you?" he asked.

The woman shook her head. "I'm her sister, Meng Fei," the woman said.

Du Yuhan pat Alex as he said, "you were speaking with her twin."

"I… see," Alex was still stunned, only now the reason had changed. "So when I said your young lady, you meant…"

"Lady Luo Xing," she said.

Alex finally realized where the problem lied and laughed a bit. "I'm sorry for the confusion. I'm sister Luo Mei's junior disciple brother. Can you let her know I am here?" he asked.

"Of course," Meng Fei said and quickly walked into the house.

Alex and Du Yuhan waited a bit before a woman in a pretty blue dress walked out of the house.

In the last 10 years, she had grown and matured, but she didn't seem to have aged a bit.

Her black hair that shined with a hint of blue was longer than he ever remembered it, and her blue eyes popped that much more due to it.

Her fair skin remained ever untarnished as she walked out into the sunlight.

When she looked to the front of the house and saw Alex standing there, her eyes visibly moistened.

"Junior brother?" she called out, just to make sure what she was looking at was real.

"Sister!" Alex called back as he was really happy to see her as well.

Luo Mei realized that he really was her junior brother so she immediately ran out and hugged him tightly.

"You're back!" she cried out as tears began flowing down her face.

"Yes, I'm back," Alex said as he hugged her back as well.

Du Yuhan remained behind as he watched the two. "I wish you would someday be that happy to see me too," he said.

Luo Mei's tears vanished when she heard him and immediately let go of Alex. Only then did she realize Du Yuhan was there as well.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked with a trembling voice.

Du Yuhan could only give her a sad smile in response. "Hello, Meimei."