Chapter 262: Radiance

Chapter 262: Radiance

A brilliant giant serpent tumbled and rolled in the clouds. As it twisted and turned, flurries of ice crystals, carrying the laughter of the Little Fairy and glowing with a myriad of colors, descended from the sky.

Looking up, Xirui’s little face broke into a happy smile. With the growth of her power again, she felt she had truly grown up. She hoped her Fourth Brother could see her progress, so she turned her gaze towards Northland City.

Many familiar figures appeared there, and she then realized—her parents had actually come. On their faces, Xirui saw anxiety, anticipation, and a trace of relief.

Fourth Brother must have noticed her change and told them all about it. This made her unable to stop focusing her attention on Fourth Brother, hoping to see a satisfied expression on his face. But, she found that Fourth Brother in the ice mirrors showed no change, like a stiff puppet.

How was this possible?

With her surprise, doubt, and dissatisfaction, all the mirrors aimed at Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother in the mirrors began to change; a wispy, indistinct Mist coiled around him, making him appear blurred.

You can’t stop me! The newly gained power gave Xirui an impulse. She wanted to see Fourth Brother’s true self, to understand his most genuine thoughts.

The cloud layer in the sky was still rotating and expanding. Countless ice crystals within it were like countless eyes, responding to Xirui’s will, focusing on Bran within Northland City.

In the mirrors, Bran became even more indistinct. But even more indistinct than him was a phantom-like, ink-black long river. It surged out from the Void, passed through Fourth Brother’s body, and then vanished back into the Void once more.

Was that the Tributary Fourth Brother mentioned?

Instantly rising curiosity made her forget her original intent. She could actually see a Tributary from the Sea of Magic here! All the ice mirrors turned towards the Tributary in the Void, wanting to get a closer look.

The probing Mana, upon contact with the Tributary, was contaminated and assimilated. Deep, ink-like Darkness spread along with the Mana, and the images in countless mirrors were slowly devoured.

You dare? Xirui was angered. The tainted mirror surfaces shattered one after another, each shard transforming into a new mirror. Countless newly-formed mirrors were also countless hungry worlds; they devoured, froze, and finally buried the spreading ink-black color beneath the wind and snow.

Xirui let out a light breath, showing a triumphant expression after her victory. But soon, triumph turned to bashful annoyance because Fourth Brother’s face, with a hint of teasing smile, actually appeared on the mirror surface.

Was he playing with her?

…

Mr. and Mrs. Winchehil had been watching Bran’s expression. When they saw that hint of a smile on Bran’s face, they asked anxiously, “How is she?”

“Very good, even better than I imagined.”

“Is it over?”

“Yes, it’s over.”

“Then why hasn’t this wind stopped?”

Facing his parents’ anxiety, Bran seemed rather heartless. “Don’t know.”

“Go help her, right now!”

Bran grinned. “This, I really can’t help with…”

Before his words finished, a slap landed on his forehead, accompanied by a scolding. “You’re a Great Wizard, how could you not help?”

“I am a Wizard, not an omnipotent Deity.”

This excuse had no effect; instead, it earned him a heavier blow as the back of his head got smacked hard again.

“Go! Help your sister right now.”

Bran didn’t know he had unintentionally touched a hidden sore spot for his parents; he merely felt puzzled—why had their expressions suddenly changed?

He really couldn’t help. Because his innate abilities had nothing to do with this. If he were to disregard the consequences and try to destroy the phenomenon before them, he might have some methods to try, but that wouldn’t be helping…

But under his parents’ urging, he could only helplessly transform into a cloud of gray smoke, swaying in the wind and gradually disappearing from everyone’s sight. Only two Ancient Trees watched Bran curiously, not understanding why he was avoiding everyone’s gaze and hiding in a corner.

Bran made a “shush” gesture to the Ancient Trees and continued to watch the distance, wondering how his sister would handle things.

Xirui paid no mind to the wind around her or the clouds above her head; this wind and cloud were nothing to her. Although she was borrowing the might of nature, everything had never been out of her control.

Fourth Brother always emphasized control, and his control was indeed precise and Microscopic Perception, but so what? Everything about him was built upon control over himself. Although this made his precision unmatched by anyone, it ultimately lacked perception of the greater momentum outside himself.

He always talked about riding the momentum, but he never truly rode anything. Just like Sister had said, he had never truly integrated into this World; he only made his own World grand through observation. He always mistook his own World for the outside World, for the greater momentum.

The wind blowing from the Far North was sometimes strong, sometimes weak, occasionally producing some turbulence due to the terrain, but so what? Minor disturbances were insignificant under the greater momentum. If it were Fourth Brother, he would probably get caught up in those turbulences, meticulously sorting them out.

Stingy! Facing Fourth Brother in the mirror who was hiding in a corner for some reason, Xirui curled her lip. Then, she added, “Idiot!”

Xirui still didn’t dare to criticize Fourth Brother to his face, because the recent contact made her know—she was still no match for him. Before defeating Fourth Brother, she had no right to lecture him.

Moreover, Xirui understood that everything that happened today was inseparable from Fourth Brother. But the teasing look on Fourth Brother’s face just now made her very unhappy. When Xirui was unhappy, she needed to throw a fit, one still belonging to a child.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the bottom of the tornado gradually lifted off the ground and curled back towards the sky. Just as it was about to disappear into the thick, swirling cloud layer, it slightly twisted and turned.

One moment, Bran was admiring his sister’s exquisite control; the next, he could no longer care about hiding and jumped right out from the corner.

This troublesome child actually pushed that deeply frigid cloud towards Northland City!

A huge shadow emerged once more behind Bran. Gray smoke rapidly intertwined and expanded within it, making it quickly become clear and solid. In an instant, a towering Demon God stood there, heaven-reaching and earth-touching. Just as it puffed up its chest as if to blow, it suddenly paused, then its form collapsed and turned back into rolling gray smoke, returning to Bran’s body.

That cloud came extremely fast; in the blink of an eye, it enveloped the sky above Northland City, spinning ceaselessly. The Little Fairy hid within the cloud, still riding the strange serpent and refusing to stop its playful antics.

However, Bran’s odd behavior left many people confused. One moment he looked like his backside was on fire, the next he acted like nothing was wrong.

“Bran! Come here this instant.”

Hearing his mother’s call, Bran scurried and jumped back into the High Tower.

“What’s going on!”

Facing his mother’s stern, glaring eyes, Bran bared his teeth and tattled, “This isn’t my fault; Xirui deliberately threw the cloud over. When she comes back, we must properly teach this mischievous child a lesson. If you can’t bear to, I’ll spank her myself.”

As he spoke, Bran raised his palm, swishing it left and right as if Xirui were right in front of him. Watching his performance, the people around them stopped feeling anxious.

“Tell the truth, what’s really going on?”

Facing his mother’s slightly disdainful gaze, Bran blinked. “My helper has arrived.”

As Bran spoke, a beam of golden light pierced through the cloud layer, falling upon him. This made everyone look up. By now, the dark clouds in the sky had become a bright, glaring expanse.