The wind and snow howled.
Falling snow blurred everyone’s vision.
The entire world had become nothing but the roar of the gale.
Two family heads walked toward them through the blizzard.
Cecilia lowered her head and stopped looking ahead.
But she knew those two auras—she was all too familiar with them.
Lu Mo fell silent as well, her expression turning complicated.
‘So… it’s finally come to this?’
How would the two of them face them next?
With cold stares?
With blades?
With… justice over family?
But even as she thought this, Lu Mo still stood rooted to the spot, making no move to attack.
Even though this was just a simulated reincarnation.
The other party… was still her own father after all.
And at that moment, the head of the Kalis Family finally walked through the wind and snow and stood before her.
Then…
He embraced her.
“Lu Mo… my daughter…”
The head of the Kalis Family spoke, his voice carrying a hint of age and a weariness that was palpable.
“No matter what happens, you are still my daughter…”
Lu Mo could feel his body trembling slightly.
He was trying his best to restrain himself, but Lu Mo could still sense it.
The head of the Helovit Family also embraced Cecilia at that moment.
It was a feeling different from Lu Mo’s—warm, solid, towering, yet also filling her with a rare sense of peace.
Cecilia finally lifted her head and leaned into the head of the Helovit Family’s shoulder.
“Father…”
And Lu Mo saw that the dying spark in the girl’s eyes had, at this moment, grown a little brighter.
The heads of the Kalis and Helovit Families hadn’t come to confront them.
That gradually put Lu Mo at ease.
They exchanged words in the wind and snow.
Neither of them brought up the reason Lu Mo had acquired the Demon King’s power. They only talked about recent events in their respective families.
Lu Mo had been identified as the newborn Demon King, and the Kalis Family had suffered some repercussions, but nothing too severe.
The head of the Kalis Family was now in a state of atoning for his crimes by performing meritorious service.
As for the Helovit Family, since Cecilia was regarded as the victim, they remained unaffected.
The two heads had followed the earlier group of Heaven’s Boundary experts into this area.
Hearing about her family’s situation, Lu Mo spoke with a hint of guilt:
“Father, I’m sorry.”
Accepting the Primordial Sin Imperial Arm and devouring the Demon King’s power had all been her own decisions.
Now that her strength had been exposed, the Kalis Family had naturally suffered the consequences.
“It’s fine.”
The head of the Kalis Family said carelessly:
“At worst, it just hurts our reputation a bit.”
“And I stopped caring about that long ago.”
“More importantly, the injuries on you, my daughter…”
As he spoke, he looked at the bloodstains and the still-uncleaned traces of blood on Lu Mo’s body, and his heart ached.
They also talked about what Lu Mo and Cecilia had been through recently.
From being deceived by the Priscian Family.
To being betrayed by friends.
Scolded by the villagers they had saved.
Having their kindness exploited.
“The Priscian family… a bunch of bastards!”
“They are the real culprits behind all this!”
“And those scumbags actually faked a demon attack on humans to trick you two out…”
The head of the Kalis Family clenched his fists in anger.
The head of the Helovit Family was also furious, and he roared:
“To think that people who have stepped into the ranks of top-tier experts could still stoop to such dirty tricks!”
Lu Mo smiled bitterly at the scene before her.
Cecilia stood quietly aside again.
‘Miss Lu Mo and Father are both here…’
‘It’s been so long since I last saw this scene.’
It gave her a long-lost sense of warmth.
And it made the corners of her mouth unconsciously curl up into a tiny smile.
They seemed to want to stay a little longer, to say a few more words.
But at that moment, they once again felt a strong realm fluctuation coming from afar.
It seemed that something else was about to descend nearby.
The warm moments were always brief.
Lu Mo looked in the direction of the fluctuation.
“It looks like another Heaven’s Boundary expert is coming…”
She knew it was time to go.
Cecilia also rose at that moment, ready to follow Lu Mo.
But then she turned back and glanced at the head of the Helovit Family.
Almost… reluctant.
“Cecilia.”
Lu Mo sensed Cecilia’s feelings.
“Actually, Cecilia, you can stay here now.”
She spoke.
She could pretend to be severely wounded, driven back by the two family heads, forced to abandon Cecilia and escape alone.
With the heads of the Kalis and Helovit Families here, she didn’t worry that Cecilia would be mistreated.
The road ahead would be more dangerous.
She wanted Cecilia to stay.
Once she had completed the Eightfold Fusion Sublimation Power, she would find a way to come back and resolve Cecilia’s final problem.
“Cecilia?”
Hearing Lu Mo say that, the head of the Helovit Family’s eyes lit up, and he looked at his daughter with both nervousness and hope.
Cecilia looked at Lu Mo, then at her father, and finally smiled at the head of the Helovit Family.
“I’m sorry, Father. More than going home, I still want to be with Miss Lu Mo.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
The head of the Helovit Family said that, but Lu Mo could hear the disappointment in his voice.
Soon after, the two family heads handed them nine spatial rings each.
“Since you’re leaving, take these with you.”
Various cultivation resources, self-defense items, recovery potions, skill crystals, and even some snacks and local specialties were packed into the spatial rings.
The spatial rings were practically filled to the brim.
“These should last you a while.”
“Mhm… thank you.”
“What’s there to thank between father and daughter?”
“Then… we’re off?”
“Take care.”
After a simple farewell, Lu Mo led Cecilia and turned to leave.
“Wait!”
At the very last moment, the head of the Kalis Family called out to Lu Mo again.
“Daughter, aren’t you forgetting something?”
As he spoke, he made a gesture, drawing a hand across his neck.
‘He wants me to… silence them?’
Lu Mo looked at the head of the Kalis Family with a somewhat strange expression.
“Sorry, wrong gesture.”
The Kalis Family head realized his mistake and quickly waved his hand.
This time, he got it right.
He made a downward slicing motion.
He wanted Lu Mo to slash a sword aura at himself and the Helovit Family head.
“Are you sure you want me to do that?”
“Of course. Otherwise, the Holy Sanctuary will get suspicious, right?”
The Kalis Family head said, then flashed a dashing smile.
“Also, I want to see just how powerful my daughter’s sword has become.”
“I understand.”
Soon, the Final Annihilation Sword appeared in her hand.
Not long after, Lu Mo nodded.
The power of Fusion Sublimation spread, and her realm aura surged.
The falling snow seemed to be dyed pitch-black before her.
This aura…
‘Well, I suppose this is what you’d expect from a newborn Demon King-class?’
Seeing that terrifying pitch-black power, both family heads’ expressions shifted slightly, and a trace of fear flickered in their eyes.
“Are you really going to strike?”
Noticing their change in expression, Lu Mo asked again.
The Kalis Family head immediately laughed:
“It’s fine.”
He stood where he was and waved his hand at Lu Mo.
“Lu Mo, just strike with all your might!”
Lu Mo nodded and raised her sword, beginning to gather the sword aura.
The head of the Kalis Family watched Lu Mo, watching that demonic Imperial Arm.
He realized that after this sword strike, he would be separated from his daughter again.
When they would meet next was anyone’s guess.
And there were some words that, if not spoken now, might never be said in a lifetime.
“Lu Mo—”
So, in the wind and snow, he suddenly spoke again.
“All these years, your father has been guilty toward you.”
“I left you at home when you were so little.”
“I wasn’t there when you needed companionship the most.”
“I missed your childhood, missed your entire youth.”
“I don’t know why you obtained the Demon King’s power.”
“Because you’re nothing like those evil demons.”
“But I don’t care at all.”
“Because… you are my daughter.”
“You have your own secrets, your own things you want to do—I know that.”
“Whether it was those years of hard training in the family during your childhood…”
“Or that long journey when you were thirteen…”
“All those years of cultivation were to accomplish something, weren’t they?”
“Now, you have gained Demon King-class power.”
“And is this also something you had to do to accomplish that goal?”
Lu Mo was about to say something.
But at that moment, the Kalis Family head spoke again:
“You don’t need to answer me.”
“Just keep your answer deep in your heart.”
“Daughter… go do what you want to do!”
“Just move forward, don’t look back!”
“This time, the Kalis Family has your back!”
“The Kalis Family, no…”
“Your father will always support you.”
“Your father… loves you.”