I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the persimmon grove on the low slope behind the village.

The grass under the persimmon tree had been trampled and bent over, and the fruit on the branches had long been picked clean by the village children, leaving only a few yellowed leaves swaying gently in the wind.

Elena stood under the tree, looking up at it for a long time, and sighed softly, "Last time I came, it was still green. I wanted to wait until it was ripe before picking it, but someone beat me to it."

Ji Tian explained in a serious tone, "The fruits that were that big last time only take one or two months to ripen on a tree, and artificial ripening makes them even faster..."

"Hmph~ But I still have some, can you help me ripen them?"

After saying that, she took out the green persimmon that Ji Tian had picked when he helped her back last time, which she had never been able to throw away, from her storage ring. She held it in her palm, the unripe peel gleaming slightly.

Ji Tian glanced at it, reached out and took it, lightly tapped it with his fingertips, and pale golden spiritual energy enveloped the green fruit like a thin mist.

The ripples of time gently rippled, the peel turned from green to yellow, then to orange-red, and a fine bloom appeared on the surface. The whole persimmon was plump and round, exuding a sweet fruity aroma.

He handed it back to her, saying, "Okay, you can eat now."

Elena held it in both hands, carefully pried it open, and sucked on it, the juice melting between her lips and teeth.

"Hmm~ They really are sweet. Did you often come to this persimmon grove when you were little?"

"I used to come here often. Back then, I was lighter, so I would climb up and sit on the highest branch, where I could see the road at the entrance of the village."

"one person?"

"certainly."

Don't you get bored usually? Do you think your peers are too childish?

Ji Tian thought for a moment, "I wasn't bored, and I never felt out of place with the village kids. On the contrary, I got along well with them in the village and we often played games together."

Elena became interested upon hearing this, not expecting that even Ji Tian was fascinated by a game, and asked:

"What game?"

"Whether it's a hero fighting dragons or a demon king, I'll be the villain. When I'm the dragon, it's about fighting multiple opponents with my bare hands; when I'm the demon king, it's about unrestricted combat."

She chuckled. "Were you this belligerent even as a child?"

Ji Tian retorted, "How can you call it belligerence? Objectively speaking, I became the villain for everyone's sake! It's those kids who insisted on being the hero and his companions; nobody wanted to be the villain. If I didn't step in, they couldn't have fun."

Elena had rarely seen this childish side of him, and asked mischievously, "Oh~, what about subjectively?"

"Of course, it's to hone my fighting spirit from a young age! To become stronger, I haven't slacked off for a single day!"

That's still belligerence!

The two sat down on a large rock at the top of the slope, the setting sun casting their shadows down the slope, a gentle breeze blowing.

She finished the last bite of the persimmon, wiped her fingertips with a handkerchief, and straightened her expression.

"Let's get down to business. A hero's team usually consists of four to five people, Ophelia is one. Who else are you planning to bring?"

Ji Tian originally wanted to send the whole clan, but then he thought it wouldn't be a good idea: the fifth one was still in its egg, and taking it along might disrupt its hatching process; Shirley was probably going to cause trouble wherever she went; Alice was too much of a troublemaker, and Jenny didn't like going out...

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I haven't decided yet."

Elena tilted her head and looked at him, then suddenly asked, "What do you think of your sixth apprentice, Lilith with her long silver hair? I have a good impression of her; she even called me 'sister' last time."

Ji Tian was somewhat surprised that she brought up Lilith. He remembered that Lilith had brought her blanket with her when she cultivated, and combined with the various incidents of her falling asleep during meditation and falling into the stream, it was indeed necessary for someone to keep an eye on her cultivation, which would be a good opportunity to help her get revenge.

"Okay, then take her with you."

The sound of a mother calling for dinner came from afar...

Revelation Day passes quickly.

In the early morning, they helped Ji Tian's mother make what Ji Tian called "square dumplings." In the morning, they walked the yellow dog belonging to Old John next door with Ji Tian. In the afternoon, they sat at the entrance of the village for a while and watched Ji Tian show the children the unsheathed holy sword. In the evening, they had a reunion dinner. The next morning, the two said goodbye to their parents.

Ji Tian's mother held Elena's hand, her eyes slightly red, and told the two to be careful; his father stood under the old locust tree, waved his hand, and said nothing.

At the end of the dirt road, out of sight of their parents, Ji Tian and Elena stepped into the void. When they reappeared, they were already on the bluestone square of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect.

Only after the aura of the sacred mountain dissipated did the red dragon dare to peek out of its den, slowly crawling back to the ancient pine tree, pretending that it had never run away.

"I'm going to find Lilith, you go about your business." Elena released Ji Tian's hand and walked straight towards the Spirit Spring Cave.

Ji Tian felt that this method was indeed efficient, so he turned around and went to find Ophelia to explain the travel arrangements.

Outside the Spirit Spring Cave, Lilith sat cross-legged on a futon, clutching the jade talisman Ji Tian had given her, and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Although the oppressive force of the sacred mountain had been removed with the Heaven-Turning Seal, she was still apprehensive and felt at ease only when she kept the jade talisman by her side during her daily meditation.

Hearing footsteps, she opened one eye and saw it was Elena. She quickly stood up, her long silver hair swaying behind her.

"Sister Elena? What brings you here?"

Elena walked up to her and, without beating around the bush, asked directly, "Lilith, your master is going on a journey as a hero, and his first stop is the Elven Royal Court. Would you like to go with him?"

Lilith froze, her purple eyes wide, her not-so-bright mind racing:

The Elven Royal Court? That's elven territory! A former demon princess like myself, going to the Elven Royal Court with a hero?

Is this reasonable?

But soon, her attention was completely taken up by something else: her sister Elena came to ask her personally, without having her master relay the message.

What does this mean? It means the Empress treats her like one of her own!

Isn't this implying something?

Lilith's eyes gradually brightened, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "I'll go! Of course I'll go! Sister Elena, you're so kind!"

She grabbed Elena's arm and rubbed against her, saying, "I promise I'll be good and won't cause you or Master any trouble!"

Elena patted her head helplessly, "Then go pack your things."

"Mmm-hmm!" Lilith nodded repeatedly, then ran back to her room and started stuffing clothes, snacks, and the small blanket she had taken from the sect's storeroom into her storage ring.

……

Inside the main hall, Ji Tian summoned Ophelia to his side and briefly explained their plan to make the Elf Royal Court their first stop.

Ophelia had already discussed this with Elena a few days ago, so it was no surprise that she would "not fail the sect leader's expectations."

Ji Tian nodded and took out another jade slip, inscribing several paragraphs on it with his divine sense: daily maintenance of the sect's grand formation, supervision of disciples' cultivation, distribution of Red Dragon's rations, watering of the spirit herb garden, stopping Alice with the help of the senior sister when she caused trouble... all sorts of matters were listed one by one.

He had another thought and sent the contents of the jade slip out as a task through the "system" on Jenny's body.

Jenny was practicing her swordplay at the training ground on the back mountain when a clear "ding" sounded in her mind.

She paused slightly, summoned the light screen, and saw a new task:

[Daily Sect Task (Long-Term Task): Manage sect affairs while the Sect Leader and Second Senior Sister are away (can be expanded).]

[Reward: Several points.]

[Note: With great responsibility comes great ability]

Jenny was taken aback, not expecting that she could actually help her master besides tending the herb garden. A rare smile appeared on her face as she sheathed her sword and turned to walk towards the sect's grand formation.