“Well, well — Brother Haoyue, not a word to anyone, and yet you’ve gone and had a child already, just like that, bringing him right back with you. Aren’t you making the rest of us anxious? Compared to you, we’re falling so far behind.” Li Heishui said.
Compared to before, Ji Haoyue had grown more composed and settled. His features remained boldly handsome, and the oppressive aura unique to a Divine King had grown even heavier — the bearing between his brows was intensely commanding. He truly looked as though a heavenly god had descended into the mortal world.
He remained his usual serious self, holding his young child by the hand, and only when his gaze fell on the child did a faint warmth and tenderness surface — so different from his customary bearing, and all the more precious for it.
“How is it that the child’s mother didn’t come back with you?” Li Heishui asked.
Ji Haoyue gave a small shake of his head and said nothing more. He simply had the child address everyone as uncle or elder uncle, and had the boy bow formally to each person in turn.
The child was a sensible and well-mannered boy — bright clear eyes, black hair falling to his shoulders, handsome and fine-featured. Though young, he showed an early spark of spirit and mettle, much like Ji Haoyue. He bowed carefully to each person in turn, calling out uncles and elder uncles in a clear childlike voice, observing every courtesy with earnest seriousness, which made everyone take an instant liking to him.
“Elder Uncle will give you a great gift.” Dongfang Ye stepped forward and presented an ancient scripture — a closely guarded secret of the Barbarian Tribe, a peerless manual for tempering the sinews and bones, intended specifically for children. If not the absolute pinnacle in all the world, it came very close.
The physical body of the Barbarian Tribe — so dominant beneath the heavens — had its foundations here in this very kind of secret text. Many had yearned to obtain it but never could. Such cultivation methods had always been used by the most senior elders to help build the foundations of the tribe’s youngest children.
After seeing Ji Haoyue nod his approval, the child accepted it with both hands and said: “Thank you, Elder Uncle!”
“This is your very own aunt!” When the introduction came to Ji Ziyue, Ji Haoyue took the child’s hand in his and spoke with quiet seriousness.
“Auntie!” The boy’s small face filled with delight as he called out happily.
Ji Ziyue had never expected her elder brother to return with a child in tow. Family bonds are priceless, and blood runs thicker than water. After so many years apart, seeing her brother again moved her nearly to tears. She crouched down now and took the little one’s hands in hers, finding him utterly endearing no matter how she looked at him.
She produced many precious gifts and pressed them all into the little one’s arms at once, then affectionately tousled his hair and asked softly: “Tell Auntie, what’s your name?”
“Ji Chengdao,” the little one said in a bright, clear voice.
Everyone went still upon hearing it, and then a look of surprise crossed their faces. That name — it was truly something. Ambitious in its scope, yet quite remarkable, leaving them all exchanging glances.
“I hope that one day he will accomplish something worthy of it,” Ji Haoyue said, a touch of melancholy crossing his face.
Everyone understood — this name carried the weight of Ji Haoyue’s hopes. It seemed he had placed all his wishes upon this child. Something must have happened to him over all these years.
A look of quiet worry crossed Ji Ziyue’s face as she glanced at her brother. He had not brought his wife home, and he had given the child a name like this — there had to be some story behind it.
“I was defeated out there among the stars,” Ji Haoyue said calmly. “A fair and open contest. A crushing loss, with no suspense whatsoever. The gap in power was immense.” He spoke with composure, yet deep within his eyes, one could still glimpse a faint desolation.
No need for further details — that battle’s outcome must have been devastatingly one-sided. Otherwise he would not be like this. In all likelihood, he had met a supremely powerful being beyond all imagination.
“I will fight the Emperor Road on Father’s behalf!” Ji Chengdao said, clenching his small fists.
“Who was it?” the Holy Emperor’s Son said — not mentioning revenge on Ji Haoyue’s behalf, which might wound his dignity, yet clearly intending to take some form of action.
Ji Haoyue shook his head. He had no wish to speak the name.
At that moment, Ji Zi walked over. Ji Haoyue was visibly moved. He stepped forward and bowed deeply: “This junior greets the Little Ancestor.”
As time had passed, Ji Haoyue himself had grown increasingly imposing, and had begun carrying himself with gravity in all things — quite unlike Ji Ziyue, who called him “Little Ancestor” by name while in truth treating him more like an elder brother.
Ji Zi gave a nod. As always, he spoke little. He took a jade talisman from himself and hung it around the neck of Ji Chengdao, who had likewise bowed. The talisman was ancient and unadorned, radiating an aura that none could quite see through.
Everyone’s hearts jolted at the sight. They all understood that this talisman was far from ordinary. If their guess was correct, it must have been left by the Void Emperor and given to Ji Zi — and now Ji Zi was bestowing it upon the young son of Haoyue.
“Whatever it is, speak it plainly. I will go and demand a reckoning on your behalf. The Ji Family has never cowered before anyone.” Ji Zi spoke — few words, but each one carrying weight.
He was clearly standing up for Ji Haoyue.
Beside them, little Ji Chengdao’s eyes reddened. “Little Ancestor,” he said, “I miss my mother.”
Ji Haoyue said nothing. And when the little one saw his father like that, he too stopped pressing the matter, his small lips pressed together.
Clearly, something had unfolded between them out there in the starry void — a story perhaps too painful to revisit, perhaps one that tore at the heart. The Divine King, Ji Haoyue, could not bring himself to speak of it.
“Little brother, you’re so adorable. Come, big sister has a gift for you too.” Little Que’er stepped forward with a bright smile, breaking the heaviness that had settled over them.
“Little brother, come with your big brother. I’ll make you Vice Cult Master — and eventually the Supreme Buddha.” Hua Hua approached with his shaved head gleaming among the crowd, standing out from everyone else in a rather conspicuous way.
Everyone treated him more or less as they treated the Black Emperor and Duan De — keeping the child well away from him.
“Truly heartbreaking,” Hua Hua shook his head.
“Ahem!” The Great Black Dog gave a light cough and stepped forward, assuming an air of great seriousness and propriety — hands clasped behind its back, standing upright on two legs in the manner of some lofty reclusive sage. “Hand him over to me as a nominal disciple,” it proposed.
“Out!” Everyone objected in unison — guarding against it as one might guard against a thief, a wolf, or a scoundrel, refusing to let it get anywhere near the child, genuinely afraid it might spirit the good little boy away.
“What do you all mean by this? If this Emperor were to guide him, the very least he would become is the patriarch of his own sect. Look at Hua Hua — I raised him. Not bad, is he? Decent abilities.” It stood with its hands behind its back, head held high in lofty pride.
“Hua Hua used to be such a good child. It’s only because of you and Duan De that he got ruined.” Everyone piled on with their criticisms.
Hua Hua, shaved head gleaming, adopted an expression of complete innocence — that look, that air, making perfectly clear that none of this had anything to do with him whatsoever.
“I watched that little bald-headed rascal grow up from the beginning, and he was a bad egg from the day he was born — no teaching required. You’re being grossly unfair to this Emperor.” The Black Emperor bristled indignantly.
“Doggy, don’t go teaching the little children bad things, okay?” Little Xiao Nannan came toddling over, her large eyes bright and lively. She grabbed the dog’s tail and looked up to remind it sternly.
Everyone burst out laughing. The Black Emperor was thoroughly put to shame.
When the introduction came to Ye Fan, Ji Haoyue’s expression was not particularly warm. Just as in the old days, he had never taken to Ye Fan on instinct, always feeling that Ye Fan had let his sister down.
But with the child present, he made no overt display of this — gave the standard introduction and left it at that.
“Greetings, Uncle Ye Fan. I’ve heard of your name out there among the stars. It spreads through many clans and is sung across countless Ancient Roads — many powerful beings fear you greatly.”
The little one was completely sincere, his every thought written plainly on his face. He seemed to admire Ye Fan enormously. His small face shone with excitement, and he held his little fists clenched tight.
Ye Fan smiled and tousled the boy’s hair, then presented a set of Great Saint battle armor — something that left everyone taken aback. Artifacts were easier to forge, but divine materials were exceedingly rare to find. Many Great Saints spent their entire lives unable to find a single spirit weapon perfectly suited to them. And yet Ye Fan, in his very first gesture, offered a gift this precious — especially to a small child. It drew many sidelong glances. The armor had been taken from the Teng Serpent Clan, forged from Stellar River Divine Sand through countless cycles of hammering and tempering, radiating a flowing dreamlike shimmer.
In the current world, this already ranked as an exceptional treasure — far too extravagant to give a child. Even a family of Ji Family’s standing — having produced a Great Emperor — would keep a weapon of this caliber stored in their vaults under normal circumstances, not to be casually shown or used.
Ye Fan personally refined it with great spiritual power so that the Teng Serpent divine garment could expand and contract at will, shifting freely through many forms, radiating five-colored divine light. The divinity that had once dwelled within had been purified and eliminated through his refinement, so it would not rebound against its wearer — making it all the more precious.
Inside the Village of Heaven, everyone raised their cups and feasted lavishly, with all manner of rare delicacies laid out. The centerpiece of the feast was the old Teng Serpent itself, nearly a Quasi-Emperor in its time, now served as the main dish.
Such flesh and blood was extraordinarily rare in the world — crystalline and translucent, suffused with endless rosy radiance, brimming with immense life energy.
The Black Emperor loosened its tongue and grumbled with indignation: “That wretched old serpent — good riddance. It was practically the foundational source of a Great Emperor, and it had to stick its nose in and ruin my plans — and in the end, the one who chased after it gained nothing. Not even a single hair.”
The one regret was that Long Ma and the others had not yet returned — no one knew where they had gone off to train. In the current age, with ten thousand beings from across the cosmos appearing, they were out making alliances and forging connections in all directions.
In the end, cups and platters were scattered in disarray. The Holy Emperor’s Son, Ji Zi, Dongfang Ye, Li Heishui, and the others drank deeply and contentedly. The Black Emperor was equally at ease, with two disciples pouring wine at its side.
As for Xiao Nannan, she had long since taken Ji Chengdao and vanished with a whole group of village children — the lot of them off playing joyfully without a care in the world.
Only Ji Haoyue sat there like a brooding god of dark judgment, staring at Ye Fan without blinking, the imposing aura of a Divine King rolling off him like ocean swells.
Even Qi Luo and Old Dao Bazi, seated beside him, grew uncomfortable — let alone Ye Fan himself, the one directly in the hot seat. He could only drink steadily, barely touching the food.
Hua Hua was quietly snickering. Once he had eaten his fill, he wiped his mouth and slipped away without a word of concern for his own master. The straightforward-natured Kai De helpfully reminded Ye Fan that one ought to eat while drinking, otherwise the wine had no flavor.
But this only made drinking even less enjoyable for Ye Fan, who felt his head throbbing with each passing moment.
Little Que’er, ever attentive, picked out some dishes and placed them in front of Ye Fan, then quietly withdrew as well — with these elder-generation figures present, she lacked the standing to say what she might have wished to say.
When the crowd had thinned considerably — leaving only Ji Zi, the Black Emperor, the Holy Emperor’s Son, Li Heishui, and a handful of others — Ji Haoyue set down his wine cup with a heavy thud, fixed his stare on Ye Fan, and said: “And so you’ve let my sister wait all these years?!”
He rose to his feet and strode toward Ye Fan in several large steps. The Holy Emperor’s Son and Li Heishui both shot up at once and moved to intercept, urgently trying to mediate — they genuinely feared the two might come to blows.
“I want an explanation!” Ji Haoyue declared with force, standing up for his younger sister, fully prepared to fight if it came to that.
“What more explanation is needed? As luck would have it, you’ve returned just now — so let them enter the bridal chamber tonight. You and I can witness a grand wedding together. What could be better than that?” The Black Emperor drained its last mouthful of wine, tossed its cup aside, and spoke those words.
“Engagement,” Ji Zi said — as brief and direct as always.
“Indeed — I’ve been waiting to see a little nephew or niece arrive.” The Holy Emperor’s Son cheered his agreement, letting out a hearty laugh.
“A fine idea, absolutely.” Qi Luo gave the matter her stamp of approval, finding it an excellent proposal.
In an instant, the news had spread. Li Heishui, having inherited Tu Fei’s fondness for a loud mouth, shouted his way around the entire village — and within moments, virtually everyone knew that Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue were to become engaged that very day.