Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
Xuanyuan Jiong had shed her youthful girlishness, her brown hair now falling to her shoulders, her emerald eyes clear and bright.
She was practically a different person from the reckless girl who could tire herself out just from digging a grave.
“Nian’er.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Looking at the black-haired youth before her, who was now as tall as she was, Xuanyuan Jiong’s heart softened.
Everyone had changed a lot over these ten years.
Xuanyuan Nian had changed, and she had changed as well.
She had grown to love Xuanyuan Nian even more.
Her indulgence towards him had even reached a point that could make Xuanyuan Lan stomp so hard in anger he’d shatter the floorboards.
“How were the girls you met today? Any that caught your eye?”
Chen Juenian shook his head slightly.
The girls he met today?
Forget it.
Either they were arrogant and looked down on his late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, or they took subtle jabs at him multiple times, practically putting the words “you’re not worthy of me” right out in the open.
Logically speaking, the status of being the son of the Xuanyuan Clan’s eldest young lady shouldn’t attract such treatment, but Xuanyuan Nian was truly an exception.
His status seemed lofty but was actually incredibly flimsy.
Everyone knew he lacked the innate conditions to inherit the great enterprise.
Moreover, his own future prospects were pitch dark.
It would be a miracle if any of the young ladies from prominent families Xuanyuan Jiong found could take a liking to him.
“None… that’s good… Nian’er, come here.”
“I still need to cultivate…”
“You won’t even listen to your own mother now?”
Xuanyuan Jiong pretended to be angry, then pulled Xuanyuan Nian into her embrace.
Compared to the girl she once was, the current Xuanyuan Jiong was now fully matured.
Chen Juenian, who had been hugged for sixteen years, felt this deeply.
“Those girls are actually the ones unworthy of you, Nian’er. You mustn’t feel down because of this, understand?”
“I understand. So, Mother, do I really have no talent for cultivation?”
“…”
Xuanyuan Jiong patted Chen Juenian’s back, then leaned close to his ear and whispered softly:
“Nian’er’s talent is something those people cannot see. I believe that one day, Nian’er will achieve the rank of Great Emperor and conquer the Nine Heavens Beyond the Sky.”
“…”
Chen Juenian knew Xuanyuan Jiong was comforting him, but he still didn’t understand.
Shouldn’t he be the type with extremely high talent?
Otherwise, how could he have become such a powerful figure in his previous life?
The talent he displayed now could be described as the worst possible.
At sixteen and not yet having broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, he could almost be said to have been rejected by the Immortal Path.
Whether he could even break through to Core Formation in this lifetime was an unknown.
This was just too strange.
After trying to cultivate until nightfall with no progress whatsoever, a helpless Chen Juenian simply went to bed.
It rained heavily tonight, but thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any signs of thunder in the sky.
If it thundered—
BOOM!!!
A flash of white light, followed by the roar of heavenly thunder.
Chen Juenian opened his eyes, then shifted his body a little, leaving space on the bed for another person.
“Nian’er?!”
“I’m here, Mother. Come quickly.”
“I’m coming… Nian’er… my Nian’er…”
Xuanyuan Jiong, her clothes soaked by the rain, slipped directly into Chen Juenian’s quilt.
She hugged her child tightly, as if seeking some solace from him.
Chen Juenian knew his mother was like this entirely because of an accident, an accident that gradually made Xuanyuan Jiong’s attitude towards him become morbid.
It was around the time he was three.
That day, thunder had roared rarely over Juenian Mountain.
On that stormy night, Xuanyuan Jiong had huddled alone on his former bed, trembling incessantly.
That day, he had climbed onto the bed and used the warmth of his child’s body to dispel the panic in Xuanyuan Jiong’s heart.
And then Chen Juenian learned some things.
Xuanyuan Jiong thought he couldn’t understand at the time, but he understood everything.
The night Xuanyuan Jiong’s mother passed away was stormy with thunder and rain.
She didn’t say what happened that night.
And the day she was severely injured by a demon beast during her training journey, thunder had also roared.
Each time that thunder sounded, it left a scar on Xuanyuan Jiong’s body.
Only when dawn broke did she finally climb Juenian Mountain, which demon beasts dared not approach, finding a sliver of peace.
“Nian’er, you’re the best.”
Xuanyuan Jiong stroked Chen Juenian’s cheek.
The damage to her divine soul was all because of that capricious thunder.
But on that night thirteen years ago, the cracks in her heart were gently smoothed over by a child.
“This is what Nian’er should do.”
“We’re both soaked through… Nian’er, once this storm passes, let’s go take a bath together, alright?”
“…”
Chen Juenian looked into Xuanyuan Jiong’s hopeful eyes and found himself completely unable to refuse.
Normally, he would refuse.
But only during these special times, he had no choice.
“Alright.”
“Nian’er…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Gazing at the bright moon hanging directly overhead, Chen Juenian slowly closed his eyes.
Both he and Xuanyuan Jiong had changed into dry clothes.
Just now, they really had only taken a bath.
Saying they bathed together, but there was actually a sequence to it, so in the end, it wasn’t really a big deal.
At least it was better than when they were on Juenian Mountain, sharing a single pool and he could only be held by Xuanyuan Jiong.
“Mother, I want to leave here for a while.”
“To do what?”
“A training journey.”
A flicker of uncertainty appeared in Xuanyuan Jiong’s eyes.
Her emerald pupils reflected the youth’s upright figure, and a trace of worry sprouted in her heart.
The Xuanyuan Clan had some extremely archaic rules.
For example, when going out on a training journey, one couldn’t have a Guardian accompanying them, and so on.
To this day, no one understood which nerve the Xuanyuan Clan’s ancestors had twitched.
Once Xuanyuan Nian went out on a training journey, she could only wait within the clan for news of his return.
There was a tiny possibility she might never receive that news.
“No. Nian’er, you cannot go on a training journey.”
“But…”
Xuanyuan Jiong extended a finger to press against Chen Juenian’s lips, then spoke gently to persuade him:
“No means no, Nian’er. Within this Xuanyuan Clan, whatever you want, your mother can get it for you. What necessity is there to go out on a training journey?”
Beyond the Mortal Realm lay the Nine Heavens Beyond the Sky, and the Xuanyuan Clan was a top-tier great family of the Sixth Heaven.
Xuanyuan Lan, the current clan head and Xuanyuan Jiong’s father, possessed early-stage Tribulation Transcendence strength.
This level of power would be considered first-rate even in the Ninth Heaven.
So, the Xuanyuan Clan actually shouldn’t be staying in the Sixth Heaven, but the clan’s ancestral rules were extremely rigid… so in the end, it had to be this way.
In short, as long as Xuanyuan Jiong was here, Xuanyuan Nian would have absolutely no worries about food or clothing.
“For the latter half of tonight, I’ll sleep with you, Nian’er. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you can forget about this training journey matter, alright?”
“Understood.”
Chen Juenian savored this motherly love that felt somewhat suffocating.
Although it truly was suffocating, he didn’t harbor much complaint.
He had been an orphan, raised in an orphanage in his previous life.
Here, he was seemingly born of heaven and earth.
Faced with such doting love from Xuanyuan Jiong, he truly had no desire to escape.
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