Darla had known that Yasenia was strong. Yasenia’s ability to one-shot-kill Darla’s peers already spoke volumes. Unless destructive energies that could overwhelm defenses were mixed in her attacks, killing someone in one hit was just impossible.

But.

Darla’s eyes moved toward the void and receding ocean and then shifted them to look up at the dragon, who acted like a heavenly curtain, shrouding the world in her shadow. Her presence and attitude felt as if the dragon wanted to blot out Heaven itself, standing atop every single living being.

The giant dragon moved her neck slowly, the massive dragon head turning their way. “Now, is it clear?”

No one answered, but the silence spoke a thousand times more convincingly than any speech ever could. Yasenia, seeing that these powerhouses had been convinced, nodded and transformed back into her human form.

This time, she wore her usual revealing blue dress, her eyes calm as she flew over toward Angel and hugged her into her arms. “Let’s go. Two other sects are left.”

Darla’s heart thumped, but she didn’t say anything this time around. She just nodded numbly.

For the rest of the day, Yasenia traveled to two other locations and created two more chasms. Whoever survived her breath attack was left to their own devices, as Yasenia would not lower herself to hunt those people.

Her objective was to leave a scar in these people’s hearts so that they never coveted Evelyn’s crown ever again. ‘Looking at their faces, it seems I’ve succeeded.’

Yasenia, having completed her aim, looked at Evelyn with a gentle look and asked. “Is there anything else you want to do in this world, love? If there is nothing else, we can prepare to leave.”

Evelyn pondered, and after a while, she shook her head. “There is nothing left. I also have no regrets. If you want to leave, we can do so whenever you want.”

Chen Tian, having followed, frowned for a moment before sighing to himself. ‘Whatever. At least my father was not stupid and managed to keep his head.’

Looking up, he noticed that Yasenia didn’t even look his way, clearly not taking him seriously. “Boy, you have a bright future ahead. Don’t let this stump you.”

Chen Tian looked to the side and saw Sierra smiling at him. He smiled back. “Thank you, Sierra.”

With a flash of light, Yasenia summoned her repaired flying ship, and everyone boarded. Yasenia was the last one, looking at Darla’s shocked face one last time. “Sect Master Darla. You’ve gotten too stale. Your aptitude and talent are not something this Heavenly Layer can trap.”

She didn’t hate this woman. So, she spoke a single sentence. Whether she heard or not, Yasenia didn’t care. So, she didn’t even confirm if she had heard before boarding with Angel in her arms.

A second later, the ship accelerated and became a distant light dot, soaring into the cosmos. Seeing the ship fly off, Darla looked up, her usually serious eyes looking a touch lost.

The sky she always looked at now felt… cramped. As if she were a frog looking up from the bottom of a well. ‘Perhaps… I have truly become stagnant.’

She recalled that back when she was much younger, she always had a drive to improve. It was this drive that pushed her among the billions of cultivators to reach the very top. At some point, though, she became complacent.

‘When did it start?’ Darla wondered. ‘Ah. After becoming the Sect Master… that was when it happened.’

In her mind, becoming the Sect Master of one of the strongest sects in the world was reaching her “peak.” So, that drive pushing her forward became dormant.

‘It seems… I’ll need to choose my successor soon.’

***

Traveling in space, Evelyn looked at Yasenia with a curious look. Yasenia, always sharp when it came to her dears, smiled at her. “Are you wondering why I told her that?”

Evelyn blinked and then smiled wryly. “You truly understand me.”

Yasenia laughed, setting Angel down and picking up her little girl. Falling into Yasenia’s endlessly soft embrace, Evelyn sighed in relaxation. The feeling of pressing against the dragoness’s curves was truly blissful.

“The reason is that you seem to have some respect for her.”

Evelyn looked up, surprised. Yasenia poked her nose with a smile. “Silly girl. Did you think I could not tell how reluctant you looked after she spoke to you that way? Clearly, Darla is someone you respect as your Master, regardless of what happened. So, me giving her a little push is entirely appropriate.”

Those simple yet incredibly honest words made Evelyn’s heart thump loudly. It felt as if this silly dragoness of hers only knew how to make her happy and nothing else. Evelyn circled her arms around Yasenia’s neck, burying her face in her neck as she pressed their bodies together. “I love you.”

Yasenia smiled happily, her arms hugging her dear tightly. “I love you, too.”

Tatyana picked up a glass, drank a red liquid, and licked her lips. “So, are we still going to find Kali next?”

Evelyn looked up, curious. “Kali?” Looking around, she realized. “Speaking of which, how come you have not picked up Cecile for the last?”

Yasenia closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. “Her mood is quite placid. So, I decided to pick her up last. I am more worried about you and Kali, whom I can’t sense closely.”

Evelyn rubbed her chin. “If I don’t recall incorrectly, Kali and Angel should have your mark, right?”

Angel pouted a bit. “Mine is almost gone… I barely managed to keep it active by absorbing some dragon essence from a few tombs and secret realms.”

Yasenia paused as Angel continued. “Feeding Yasenia’s remaining blood essence with them was a bit difficult. The first time, I almost made a mistake and absorbed them myself instead of Yasenia’s essence.”

Evelyn felt Yasenia’s slightly tense body relax, making her sweat. ‘If Angel had mixed with another dragon’s blood essence, Yasenia might’ve gone and exterminated their entire bloodline.’

Mirrory looked at Yasenia with a snort. “Girl, mixing with dragon essence is a good thing. It strengthens the blood and body. Honestly, using those resources to keep your mark active is extravagant at worst.”

Yasenia frowned and turned to look at Tatyana. “How long until we arrive at Kali’s world?”

Tatyana looked at the map and spoke. “Kali and Cecile’s worlds are a bit further away. So… around four months? Of course, if we ride you and you use your fastest speed, we can shorten that time to a little over two weeks effortlessly.”

Yasenia, while she was in a haste to meet her dears, didn’t want to disregard the dears she had already picked up. Moreover, according to Tatyana, Kali and Cecile were doing well at a personal level.

Although hearing “personal level” as a description mark made Yasenia’s tail twitch in annoyance, she knew that nothing would happen in a short time. Hence, she was not rushing like when she was speeding toward Andrea.

“Since that’s the case…” Yasenia stood up, placing Evelyn where she was sitting, and walked toward the ship’s kitchen. “I will cook something nice.”

Tatyana extended her hand, grabbing Yasenia’s tail as she passed her. “Aahn~.”

A soft and celestial moan that made everyone present feel blood rush to their heads left Yasenia’s mouth. The dragoness looked back with a pouty but charming expression. “Why grab my tail? We can play later, Mom.”

Tatyana sighed and gave her a half-annoyed glare. “Do you think I don’t know you intend to mix your blood essence in the food to compensate Angel and the other two after hearing Mirrory’s comment? Don’t do silly things like that.”

Yasenia’s wagging tail stiffened, her eyes flashing with a touch of guilt. “W-Why not? I can recover it easily… Moreover, there is basically no threat in these worlds. Being a bit weakened doesn’t affect me much…”

Tatyana didn’t need to speak as Angel approached and, to Yasenia’s surprise, slapped her butt quite hard.

Slap~.

“Hng~. B-Baby?”

Yasenia’s body rippled like a ripe fruit, momentarily stalling what Angel wanted to say as her blue eyes took in those sensual undulations. Snapping out of the charming ripples, Angel looked up with a stern look. “Don’t do that. Do you think we would be happy if you hurt yourself? I thought Kali made this quite clear back in the day.”

Yasenia’s tail fell, defeated, her eyes looking sad and misty.

This single look almost pierced through all their defenses like an armor-piercing punch. Yasenia spoke with a hint of guilt. “B-But… I can’t fulfill my promise to you otherwise.”

Angel and the others paused. Angel frowned for a second. “What promise?”

Yasenia was not offended that Angel didn’t remember. Instead, she lowered her body to hug and pick her up. “Didn’t I promise you I’d find a way to keep my mark on you forever?”

Angel’s blue eyes suddenly widened a touch, recalling that conversation. Back then, she was a touch jealous of Cecile’s soulmate connection, but Angel herself still carried Yasenia’s blood essence in her blood. However, when she learned that Yasenia’s mark was temporary and would eventually dissipate, she was heartbroken.

So, Yasenia promised her she would find a way to keep that mark on her forever.

It was so long ago that Angel had almost forgotten. Looking at the soft and loving golden slit eyes, Angel felt a lump at the back of her throat for a moment. ‘...To make her promise me something so silly. I am really…’

“You are not.”

“Huh?”

Yasenia looked at her with a smile. “You are not selfish. I also intended to mark all of you one way or another. It’s just that I never really found a way that worked without using my blood essence. So, I never brought it up.” Kissing Angel’s beautiful eyes, Yasenia smiled softly. “So, don’t show me that guilty look. This promise, I am willing to keep, like all promises I’ve made until now.”

The rest became silent, looking at Yasenia’s smiling expression. This time, even Tatyana didn’t know what to say. Her darling had quite a few bottom lines. Still, one bottom line Yasenia has never broken is her promises. If she said she promised to do something, that meant she would do it.

Tatyana recalled the few promises Yasenia made to her about loving her, and her heart couldn’t help but soften in a puddle of love. ‘This silly girl…’

She sighed and spoke. “Once.”

Yasenia’s eyes lit up, and Tatyana looked at her. “Only once. After this time, even if it runs out, it doesn’t mean you have not fulfilled the promise. It means that you have not yet attained the correct method. Am I clear?”

Our dragoness placed Angel down and grinned. “Understood!”

Then, they all saw her leave with a happily wagging tail. It wasn’t until two days later that Yasenia returned, her face a touch pale.

Seeing that face, Tatyana immediately regretted it.

However, that regret also became a puff of smoke when Yasenia placed a delicious-looking Olivier Salad with Yasenia’s own twist. There were even some salmon-like slices, olives, and delicious tuna among the original ingredients like potato, mayonnaise, and other ingredients.

Seeing Yasenia store two portions in her ring while expectantly waiting for them to eat. They all decided to start.

Evelyn and the rest took a fork and placed the food in their mouths. Instantly, a delicious mix of flavors exploded in their mouths. “Heavens… so delicious.”

Andrea muttered, but she didn’t stop eating. She knew the significance of this plate, so she cleaned it until it was spotless.

Tatyana didn’t eat it, though, leaving it for her main body.

A second later, Evelyn, Andrea, and Angel suddenly felt a scorching force burst out from their stomachs, and they immediately sat down cross-legged. Mirrory, feeling the abundance of that energy, couldn’t help but sigh in awe. “You are a dragon-shaped treasure, Yasenia. This mixed drop is enough to crush any other boon.”

Yasenia laughed, even if there was a touch of tiredness between her brows. “That’s for the best. I hope they can become stronger.”

Tatyana sighed again, standing up and sitting on Yasenia’s lap. ‘If I don’t pamper this girl until she is a purring mess, I will write my name backward!’

So, Yasenia became a purring mess under Tatyana’s ministrations.