The five people that had been spared on this battlefield were transferred to Liang Chen's charge, moved into his interspatial ring so that he could bring them away when he left. The Ren family was naturally somewhat curious exactly what he intended to do with the people he had forced them to spare, but they were sensible enough to know that this wasn't exactly the best time to ask questions. Liang Chen, too, was aware of the same fact, so he did not beat around the bush.
"The wedding. Once a date and location has been set, you will be sent an invite."
Things had gone awry from the moment they set foot on this planet, but Liang Chen had not forgotten what they had come here for. A simple visit, a short meeting to allow his biological parents to meet Yan Ling, his future wife. He… Could not see them as his parents, the only two people who would ever be able to claim that right had already been reincarnated and forgotten all about him, they were finally at peace.
But… The more he thought things over, the more sensible Yan Ling's words from back then seemed. Friends can become family, and what should be called family could become friends, and for some that would be enough. He would never be able to view these people as his parents, but if it was just slowly growing to become acquaintances or friends, then he believed he would be able to do that.
Naturally, it helped that they were good people who genuinely only wanted what was best for him. They had never tried to push any relationship on him after he made his stance clear, they respected his choice and would abide by it. Of course, them being good people also extended beyond that, Liang Chen had scoured their souls so he knew that to be true.
"And the spearhead. It is a good item, I will use it properly."
But it couldn't happen in an instant. It would need time.
"That's good to hear. It's still unfortunate that we could not find a shaft that can handle it, but we'll keep looking for one. Once we find one, we'll either send word or see if we can't deliver it personally."
Ren Shuren and Ren Yazhu smiled softly as they responded. They knew the truth as well. It wouldn't just need time, it would need a constant effort from both sides, all relationships did. Reasons to meet had to be found, an excuse to spend time together so that they could grow closer. That was the relationship they had right now, one where they needed an excuse just to meet up. But now there was at least hope that over time they could nurture their relationship into one where they could meet just for the sake of it.
"It's a shame for our meeting to come to an end like this, but I don't imagine you'll stay much longer?"
Ren Yazhu posed it as a question, but it was clear that it was rhetorical a gentle smile on her face as she looked at her son. His eyes were deep, with slight bags marring them. He looked like a man bound by an unfathomable weight, a man weary from treading his path. But he still stood tall. He had a rough life that forced him to grow fast, but he had grown magnificently, enough to stand in front of them like this and look them straight in the eye without an ounce of fear. He had grown into a man their entire race could not dismiss.
He had a wonderful wife-to-be at his side and lovely people he could claim as his children. Life had been hard, but he had not broken, nor had he ended up alone. They would never be a proper family, that simply wasn't their fate since that day they were forced to send him through time to ensure his life. But he had grown up well, and what sort of parent would she be if that wasn't enough for her?
"Correct. I only came to give you the chance to see Yan Ling."
Liang Chen spoke with a small nod. He had never intended for his stay here to be long, no matter what happened during his stay. His gaze turned to the side, to where Wei Xin and her men had first appeared. They hadn't been able to wreak full havoc on the city, but there were still clear signs of damage scattered about. The worst was still the line carved by the initial attack, it had drawn a clear path through buildings and environment alike.
"You'll need to do some rebuilding, and I need to take the survivors away. If the rest of the army has a way of tracking down the survivors then it would be best for me to be far away from this city, at least that way there won't be any innocents to be dragged into the battle."
Liang Chen had scoured the memories of Wei Xin and the others and had seen no sign that they should be able to track the insignificant members of her squad, but the ruler of the army was still the Lord of Existence so who knew what he was really capable of. Of course, that wasn't the only reason Liang Chen was looking to leave, but not everything needed to be said aloud.
"…If it ever gets too hard, there will always be a place here for you to rest. If you don't want to accept it because of familiarity then you can just view it as us wishing to pay back the benefactor that helped protect our people."
Ren Yazhu hesitated for a moment as she started to speak, properly choosing her words. She wanted her son to know that no matter what he thought of them, no matter how he viewed them, they would always save a place for him here. So when the weight became too much, when the weariness threatened to swallow him whole, he could come here and disconnect from it all. Here he could separate from it all and be just Liang Chen, bound by nothing, worn down by nothing.
But she knew the answer when Liang Chen responded with silence. A small smile on his face, as if trying and failing to comfort someone. Yeah, that was just how he had grown up. If he was the kind of person to separate himself from everything and just rest, he wouldn't have reached the place he stood now. The weight would grow heavier, the burden would only grow without end, and the weariness would get worse with each kill. And all of it would become sparks that fueled the fire, the strength that forced his feet forward. That was how he became Liang Chen, the Scourge King.
"Just keep it in mind. There will always be a place here for you."
Ren Yazhu returned the smile. Her son was smiling, so how could she not return that smile? Even if she wished that it wasn't he who had to bear the burdens, it had been his own choice to bind those chains to his limbs so she had no choice but to respect it.
"I'll keep it in mind, thank you."
A non-committal answer. It was the best he could give the Ren family, especially with their current relationship. Yan Ling also didn't urge him or try to convince him. She had already convinced him to come here and meet his biological parents. She had done her urging, she had done the pushing and the prodding. Any more and it would be nothing but disrespectful to Liang Chen.
She had done everything she could to help that hurt man expand his family, but she knew that she couldn't push forever. She had a different view on family from him, she knew that, and she knew that this different view was one of the main reasons she was pushing him closer to the Ren family. But if he didn't want to become family with them, then she could force nothing.
Even if she didn't fully understand it, even if it didn't fit with her view of family, none of that mattered. It was Liang Chen's life, it was his choice. She could give some nudges and guide him, but she could not force him past his choice, that was not how you did things in a relationship. Even if he decided to never meet them again after today, then that would just be it. If Yan Ling didn't understand his choice then there was only one thing she could do, talk with Liang Chen, listen to him and think it over until she understood.
Thus, Yan Ling did not interfere in the conversation, nor did she try to influence Liang Chen through looks or subtle touches. It was his life, his choice.
Liang Chen turned his body slightly after he finished his conversation with Ren Yazhu, his gaze once again landing on Ren Xiao Ping and Ren Shuya. Siblings, it was a foreign word to him, who had been raised as an only child. He had seen how Yan Ling treated her brother, the close and warm relationship they had. He did not think that he would ever be able to share such a relationship with these people.
But friends… At some point in the future, friends might be entirely possible. Of course, that was also dependent on them being able to maintain their hearts going forward. It would be unfortunate if Liang Chen ended up opposed to them, it would make a lot of people sad. But at least right now, they were still good people with good hearts.
"I will never be able to hold the Sebettu as dear as you. Nor will I ever be able to see them as my own people."
Liang Chen's gaze moved as he spoke, shifting between Xiao Ping and Ren Shuya, one heavily wounded and the other only slightly wounded. One wanted Liang Chen to leave because he could not treasure the race from which his blood came from, and the other wanted him to come here to foster a sense of belonging with said race. But… Liang Chen was not a person who could ever do either. He could not belong to just one race, he could not treasure just one race. Wrath aimed at the world had already become far too entrenched in him for that to ever be possible. But still, there would always be something.
Liang Chen swiped a finger across his interspatial ring, three jade slips landing in his grasp. One was placed in front of Xiao Ping, and the other two were thrown to Ren Shuya.
"I will never hold them dearer than I do others, but I will not stand by and watch while innocents die. Should the day come, you can use those to contact me. I will fight with you, just as I did today."
His spear. His wrath. He could not offer the race his love, but as long as they maintained their good hearts and innocence, then he could at the very least offer them these things.
Ren Shuya naturally accepted the jade slip without much fanfare, chatting a bit with Liang Chen and Yan Ling. Xiao Ping however, looked at the item in silence for a bit, the space between her eyebrows wrinkling. It was clear that the very thought hurt her pride, as both a Sebettu and as a future ruler. She fought for the independence of the Sebettu, she craved nothing more than for them to be free from all the dependencies that chained them down.
This jade slip would form another such dependence, a sign that they could not stand on their own and had to lower their heads to someone else to survive. The stronger you got, the more it would hurt your pride. Liang Chen knew this but had still given one to her. The reason was simple. Xiao Ping had something that stood above her pride as a Sebettu, above her pride as their future ruler.
"Thank you. I will make sure to remember it."
And indeed, she pocketed the jade slip after her brief lapse of silence. She was strong, she was proud. But above everything she was, she was the one to lead the Sebettu in the future. She was the one to ensure their survival. That duty stood above all pride, above all other emotions. She had to ensure that the Sebettu had a future, that the children she was responsible for were able to see the rising sun and play in the streams on a hot day.
Liang Chen had seen it, and thus he knew. If the day came where the Sebettu, the children she was responsible for, were in danger, she would use that to contact him. And then Liang Chen would come and protect the innocents, because he too had children he was responsible for, innocents who deserved to see a new day.
Once the jade slips were handed over, there wasn't much left for Liang Chen to do here. He had done what he came for, more than he came for even, so the time to move on was naturally upon them. The world was vast, there were already far too many places he needed to be, especially with the war kicking off now. So, after chatting a bit more with the Ren family on the way, Liang Chen and the others returned to the spatial array that had brought them to this planet.
And thus, as quickly as they had arrived here, they left. No excessive farewells, no tear-soaked embraces. Just a simple silence and a few understanding nods and that was it. And with something as simple as that, Liang Chen and Yan Ling left the Rahu universe, returning to the headquarters of the Nine Star Demon God, that simple and quiet city.
The couple did not stay in the city for long, making their way through a couple other spatial arrays to occasionally hop to a different planet, or in some cases to entirely different universes. They didn't have a specific goal in mind, they just sought some distance.
Along the way, Liang Chen found a secluded planet without people and fulfilled a promise that had been put off for quite some time. He released the Nethersky Wyrm Emperor that he had picked up in the hidden realm of the Sealing God Empyrean after entering it for the second time within Purgatory's Cradle. Back then, practically on a whim, Liang Chen had asked the sealed creature if it desired freedom.
It was a mere prisoner, so how could it not desire freedom? Thus, the promise between the two was formed. Liang Chen put it into his interspatial ring and then continued on, assuring the beast that he would free it once a suitable location was found. But then the events of Purgatory's Cradle kept unfolding, and even the days after he finally left that place were hectic beyond measure, so a suitable time never showed itself. But now it was time to stay true to his word.
So he did just as he had promised. He released the beast from his interspatial ring and gestured at the vast wilderness stretching out beneath them. He asked for nothing in return, not that this beast had anything worthwhile it could give him. He placed no chains, imposed no rules, he simply set it free.
And then he left, as easily as that. Those who deserved to die would die, and those who deserved to live would get to live.
He released the six captives in his interspatial ring in the same way. They belonged to the army of the Lord of Existence and were thus technically enemies of this Sphere of Existence, but they had done nothing that doomed them to death, at least not in Liang Chen's eyes. So they would be given their freedom upon a suitable planet.
It was a small planet, not too large, not too important, one of the countless masses that could be found everywhere. Upon this planet he released them, ignoring their suspicious gazes. He did not need them to understand why he did what he did, he simply had to do what he felt was right.
But he left them with a warning, or perhaps a sword over their head would be more apt to say. Purgatory, the flame that burned sin. He shot lightning filled with that very power directly into their skulls, burrowing it into their brains. He merged the lightning with a bit of his Law of Time, ensuring that it would last almost into perpetuity. The moment they broke Liang Chen's standards, the moment they moved away from the innocence he decreed, that lightning would activate from within their brains and fry them where they stood.
In the end, Liang Chen was still the Scourge King, a horrible tyrant by all accounts. They were free to go, free to move and act as they pleased. But his blade would always be at their throats, just waiting for the day they suffered the consequences of their actions. So now it was all in their hands, whether they lived or died, it would all depend on their own choices from here on out. And with them having that knowledge, Liang Chen left them.
Once the couple returned to their flying ship after releasing the various captives, they continued on their way, the ship meandering through the vast emptiness between planets. They were now a great distance away from the territory ruled by the Nine Star Demon God, Yan Ling taking the initiative to mention it as she sat next to him on the couch in the ship.
"I'm sorry, Little Freak. I have no idea why he would do something like that."
For those who didn't know, it would surely sound like a nonsensical statement. But Liang Chen knew.
Liang Chen and Yan Ling went to the home planet of the Sebettu to meet the biological parents of Liang Chen, who happened to have ties to the Nine Star Demon God. After all, if it weren't for Liang Chen's biological parents then it wasn't certain that the Nine Star Demon God would shelter the Sebettu, even safeguarding their universe. The Rahu universe was so safe that not even those who cried out for the extinction of the Sebettu after the ancient war could find them.
And yet, the army of the Lord of Existence had not just found the Rahu universe, but even its main planet where the leaders of the Sebettu were gathered. And they had done so while Liang Chen happened to be there, and it happened to be with a squad that was just right for their level of strength. It was extremely coincidental if you looked at it like that.
But of course, it was only coincidental if you ignored the main piece of information. They got into a universe protected by the Nine Star Demon God. A squad that weak? Really? Once you understood that, it was impossible to look at it as just a coincidence. It was planned.
Neither Liang Chen nor Yan Ling were stupid, they would obviously be able to think of something like this, the Ren couple was probably the same. But it wasn't something that could just be said out loud right there, the Nine Star Demon God would obviously have a reason for doing so.
And in truth, there was another reason Liang Chen hadn't said anything about it at the time. It looked dangerous, with the weapon of the army firing upon the planet. But that was only to an outsiders perspective. Liang Chen had scoured the memories of Wei Xin and her men, and Yan Ling had tinkered with the space around the planet so the two knew better.
Not only had Wei Xin and her squad been forcibly teleported to that planet, practically guaranteed by the Nine Star Demon God, but they had even been trapped there. When they tried to get too close to the planet, they were teleported back through space to prevent their approach. Their attacks were also teleported away so that they couldn't touch the planet, even the attack designed to break open the planet had been re-directed so that it would notice the Law of the Void in Liang Chen and home in on him instead.
From the start, Wei Xin and her squad had been nothing but marionettes on a stage, dancing to someone else's tune. That was probably the main reason there were no casualties among the Sebettu, the one who pulled the strings had made sure of that.
And thus, Liang Chen had chosen not to say anything at the time. True, it was a rather despicable act, forcing a battle upon them like that. But the puppet master had not crossed the line, they had not forced the innocents into their fight, they had ensured the lives of those that couldn't protect themselves.
And partly because of that, Liang Chen could somewhat hazard a guess as to what the goal was.
"It could be one of three reasons, that I can think of right now at least. First, it was to create a situation where I am likely to bond with the Ren family through a shared tough battle, it would be in line with him caring about the Ren couple and their desire to be reunited with their child. Second, it could just be a reason to test me and my strength, to see how useful I and the Law of the Void can be. Third, it could be something done to let me get a first-hand view of the increasing intensity of the war. With my Law of the Void I can render their avatars useless so it's not impossible that they want me to properly join the war and whittle down the enemy's forces."
Liang Chen listed his various theories, but if you asked him then he couldn't call himself confident in any of them. He wasn't the Nine Star Demon God, he couldn't know what he was thinking or planning. He was just Liang Chen, he could only handle things as he saw them, handle them as he thought was best. And in this battle with Wei Xin and her squad, there was only one thing he had seen, only one course of action he could see as right.
"In the end, no matter the answer, the choice has been made, hasn't it?"
Yan Ling smiled sweetly as she looked at Liang Chen. How could she not know what that look in his eyes meant? She prided herself on knowing him better than anyone, on being closer to him than anyone. From the smallest twitch of his fingers to the deepest scowl, she could decipher his thoughts through them all.
So she knew when she looked at him. She had known ever since he returned to her after dealing with Wei Xin.
She twisted around on the couch, plopping her head down on Liang Chen's lap while dangling her legs over the side of the couch. One of her hands reached up, her finger brushing against his chin. She traced his face with a finger, Liang Chen leaning forward slightly. It was partly to look into her eyes and partly to allow her finger free-reign of his face, otherwise she would have to sit up slightly to reach past his eyes.
Her finger slowly made its way up his face, from chin to lips, from lips to nose, from nose to the bags under his golden eyes, from there up to his eyebrows, and from eyebrows to hair. She spun the silvery-grey hair around her finger, twirling it as she locked eyes with Liang Chen.
There wasn't really a need for words between them, they could understand everything that needed to be said just through those small glances. But still, to help ease Liang Chen's heart, Yan Ling smiled brightly.
"It's just a wedding, Little Freak. We've waited this long, we can wait a bit longer. Let's do it, Little Freak. Let's go to war."