"Come on, Jin!" A short-haired oriental beauty cheered for her lover, who was sweating profusely as he arm-wrestled against their blonde friend, whose blue eyes were sparkling with mischief.
It had been nearly three years since Keith brought them inside this strange world, and they had lived by the side of this beautiful lake, which was filled with all sorts of different fish now, and whose water was crystal clear.
At the bank, there were two beautiful wooden cottages, and in front of them was a beautiful sandy beach.
The entire lake was surrounded by lush green mountains and forests, and from the beach, they could even see the distant snow-capped peaks. Also, there was this gorgeous blue sky that seemed a little too dreamy.
There was a clear reflection on the lake of all its surroundings and the sky, and it was truly a place they had never imagined could exist.
Yes, this place was straight from a beautiful dream, and the presence of wildlife and the prehistoric creatures that they had discovered a while ago, made it even more surreal.
"Give up." The Blonde boy smirked, but Jin shook his head, putting more strength behind his arm.
Both their bodies were surrounded by their Auras right now, and even though Jin was finding it hard to defeat his opponent, there was a crazy grin plastered on his face.
It was clear that he was enjoying himself.
"I am not losing today, Julian." He determinedly said. "Lord Keith told me that I and Baobao will be leaving tonight. I don't know when I will get to see you again. It might be decades or even a century."
As soon as his words fell, Julian's hand hit the board, and Jin was stunned as he stared at the result.
"That does not count!" He glared at his friend, who was, technically, now his cousin. "I wanted to win fair and square!"
"Well, then you will have to wait for the day we see each other again." Julian smiled and stood up, stretching his arms lazily.
He glanced at his sister, who happily brought over the roasted legs of the elk that they had hunted yesterday.
It was the reason why they were arm-wrestling, and Julian had now gifted it away to their dear friends.
"All yours." Naomi gently smiled, and both Jin and Baobao could only helplessly sigh as they looked at the meal.
"Thanks." Baobao was not the one to dwell on these things and immediately sat down to start eating their meal.
Had Keith not forbidden them from hunting the elk and deer every day, they would have prepared more meat, but now, they could only hunt them once a week and spend the rest of the days on fish, fruits, and vegetables.
It also did not help that they were no longer human, and their appetite was scary.
For the last couple of years, they have been practically starving, yearning for more delicacies, but Keith was cruel to them and only offered some delicious food as a reward for their achievements in the training.
Suddenly, all four of them stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the left side of the beach.
From the woods, a family of white-haired people emerged. There was a pair of twins, around four years old, and they were following their parents, who looked to be in their early twenties and were stunningly beautiful.
"Ruru, Riku!" Naomi excitedly called out to the white-haired lady and the man, who were both holding a baby each in their arms. "They are beautiful!" She gushed over the cuties, who had soulful silver eyes, and she giggled when one of the babies smiled at her. "May I?"
"Of course." Riku happily nodded her head and handed her the baby he was carrying in his arms.
"Another pair of twins?" Baobao was quite surprised and could not help but tease Ruru. "It seems that you can only birth twins."
"Master said that our race rarely gives birth to a single baby." She gently smiled and then offered her friend to hold her newborn daughter.
The pair of twins behind her had already started playing with their favourite Uncle Jin, and the man was not shy of behaving like a kid with them at all.
"Have you named them yet?"
"Lady Rebecca did." Ruru happily nodded her head. "This is Kara, and she is Alka."
"Those are beautiful names! And your two sons have their brides now." Baobao teased her some more, and Ruru happily nodded her head as she lovingly glanced at her sons, who were playing around with Jin, trying to catch him.
"We heard you were leaving tonight, so we came to meet you," Riku told her, and the short-haired girl nodded her head.
"Thank you for coming. We were planning on visiting you in the afternoon. And congratulations on becoming a father again." She smiled and then lovingly planted a kiss on the baby's head, who was still fast asleep.
A while later, the group sat down at the wooden table, and they all happily watched the two young Monsters playing around on the beach.
Julian was quite amazed to find out that both the boys were already at the Peak of Foundation Profound Realm.
They were only four years old!
It made him sigh in his heart when he recalled the age at which he had reached that Realm and how much effort it had taken him.
Then again, Monsters were special, and since their Aura Soul reflected their Race, they did not take much time to pass the Aura-Soul Formation Stage.
Baobao happily laughed when she saw Ruru unceremoniously finish up the roasted Elk meat, and then she got up to help Naomi prepare the fish that the latter had just caught from the lake.
Considering how much these Monsters ate, they had to prepare a feast for dozens of people.
Chatting about and reminiscing the past three years, the three families then silently sat down on the soft sand, staring at the beautiful scenery before them.
"I wish we had some drinks here." Julian sighed and froze when a soft voice came from behind him.
"Here."
Ruru and Riku shot up on their feet and immediately bowed when they found Rebecca standing behind Julian, passing him a large gourd which was filled with wine.
"Thanks!" The blonde boy smiled at his older sister and then uncapped the gourd, which allowed the smell of the delicious wine to fill up their lungs.
"Becca!" Naomi happily came over to hug her sister and then apologised to her that they had just finished their lunch and had nothing left.
"It's fine. I ate before I came here." The Blonde Demiliore assured her and then patted the heads of the two boys who had happily rushed over to her. "I will give you a treat if you can catch them." She gently said and created two bucks made out of Lightning, who immediately sprang into life and started running around.
Seeing their targets, Cain and Abel's eyes lit up and they sprang into action, ready to hunt them.
They all laughed when both the boys fell headfirst into the ground, failing to catch the two bucks, and even though they had been playing since the morning, they did not seem tired at all.
"Here." Rebecca handed over two Space Rings that Keith had prepared for Jin and Baobao, both of which were filled with necessities that they would need in the Lower Heaven. "You can bind them and check the contents inside. Also, those books are only for you and your children. No one else is allowed to practice those methods." She seriously said, and her words tensed up both of them.
By now, they both knew how strict Keith and Rebecca were, and they could tell that these rules must never be broken.
"We understand," Baobao promisingly nodded her head, and Jin did the same as he checked the contents of his rings.
He was quite amazed to see the storage space of 310 Cubic Metres, and even though he did not know the true value of the storage ring, he was certain that it was very precious.
"Thank you." They both gratefully bowed to her, and she smiled at her.
"You will also give these to Feifei, Rouxi, and Roulan when you meet them." She brought out hundreds of letters, which were placed inside a crystal basket, and then handed it over to Baobao. "Also, they will teach you some more things when you meet, and you must listen to Feifei's orders. You two are going to be her future Apostles."
"Okay," The short-haired girl happily nodded her head and then curiously looked at the Mortal Goddess. "What Realm are you in now, Rebecca?"
"I am a Rank Seven Martial General." She did not hide it from them and then instructed them once again on how they should proceed in the Lower Heaven.
After passing down all the instructions, she even sparred with them, testing their strengths.
"You will be fine against anyone at the Peak of the First Realm or in the Initial Stages of the Second Realm, but anyone beyond that could pose a serious threat to you. Never forget that the battles are not only about strength. There are Magical Weapons, techniques, treasures, and strategies involved, and if you are not careful, you won't even know how you died."
Her words tensed them all up, and Jin and Baobao became a little nervous about what awaited them.
Though nervous, they were not scared. And it was because they felt confident in their abilities and had trained tirelessly under Keith's tutelage.
After she said everything she came here to say, Rebecca smiled at the two boys who were still trying to catch their prey.
A minute later, they let out a cheerful howl, which made Jin and Julian laugh heartily, and then Cain and Abel marched over to her like victorious little generals, ready to receive their reward.
"For you." She handed them over two jars of juice, and the mere scent of the fruity juice made them all salivate.
Cain and Abel downed it in no time at all, and then they innocently looked up at her for more and winced when she tapped their heads.
"That's it for today."
Though aggrieved, both of them obediently nodded their heads and then sat down on either side of their mother, leaning on her and falling asleep in a matter of seconds.
"Wow." Jin was speechless when he saw the scene. How easy was it for them to just switch off their brains and fall asleep? He could not help but chuckle at their behaviour.
Since they were leaving tonight, Jin and Baobao had quite a few questions about the Lower Heaven, and Rebecca sat down with them to answer their queries.
By the time the sky darkened, the two were more excited than they were nervous, and even Julian and Naomi were looking at them in envy.
They wondered when it would be their turn to go to the Lower Heaven.
"Are you ready?" Suddenly, a voice sounded out, and they all got up on their feet.
Keith gently caressed Ruru's head, stopping her from standing up so that the two boys whose heads were resting in her lap wouldn't wake up.
"We are ready." Jin smilingly said, and Baobao too nodded her head, not masking her excitement from her face.
"Alright then." He glanced at the two of them and took out a strange black crystal, handing it over to the young man. "Hold her hand tightly and crush it."
Jin and Baobao smiled at everyone around them and then bowed to Keith and Rebecca.
"Thank you for everything, Lord Keith." The short-haired girl sincerely said.
A shattering sound was heard when Jin suddenly crushed the Crystal, and then a strange force enveloped the two of them right before they disappeared from the spot.
Julian and Naomi kept looking at where their cousins had just been standing for several seconds until they came out of the trance, and they both let out an audible sigh.
Life was going to become very boring for them.
"I will send you back to Gaia now." Keith suddenly said, and they both surprisedly looked at him before breaking out into smiles.
"Also, remember to convince father and mother," Rebecca instructed them, and the two obediently nodded their heads to her.
"Thank you!"
"No problem." He chuckled and sent the two of them out, aware of the thoughts that were running through their minds. "Tell me about your territory."
For the next several minutes, Keith and Rebecca listened to Ruru and Riku inform them about the number of animals that had been slowly rising in the territory that they were responsible for, and after chatting about a few miscellany things, the two Demiliore returned to their Palace.