In Solaria City, the heart of the prefecture, before the main gates of the Prefecture Lord's great mansion, Li Yaozu stood with a grim face.
Kneeling beside him was the leader of the Seven Ironclads, Li Yundou.
Li Yaozu let out a silent sigh. He had no idea how to deal with this shameless bastard. This boy was tough as iron, thick-skinned in every sense—and his face was even thicker than his hide.
In just ten short years, this scoundrel had spread rumors everywhere.
Nowadays, the members of the Li family rarely appear in public.
This was partly because they now wielded great power and needed to keep a low profile, and partly to... save themselves from having to meet people and be asked whether they had had their legs broken in that great battle, or if all their swords had been shattered, and other such nonsense.
"I've never slain an Immortal," "There was no Immortals, no Immortals!", "I have never taken a shit on the Grand Tutor's head"...
These were matters that Li Yaozu himself had to explain to others, who knew how many times.
"It seems that from now on, the family must truly do good deeds and accumulate virtue."
Gazing at the brawny man kneeling on the ground, clutching his ear, Li Yaozu let out a long, rough breath through his nose. He raised his head slightly and traced a Seal in the air.
Red leaves began to drift down from the sky, and a flash of red light fell.
Li Yaozu and Li Yundou both vanished from where they stood.
A moment later.
Li Yaozu had already appeared in Merit City!
Ten years ago, Merit City had been reawakened, and it had already become a Grotto-Heaven, a Blessed Land, a single red leaf drifting on the wind.
It was just that moving a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land like Merit City quickly to another location required a massive amount of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi.
Its citizens had also been restored to life, and that had also granted all the city's people some benefits.
They had all believed the Li family would return, and the Li family had done just that.
Li Yaozu still remembered the day the Li family stepped back into Merit City, how the entire city had knelt to thank the high heavens.
But only the clan members knew that this had been exchanged for an immense price paid by Yaowen.
However, such a matter was something for their family to bear alone; there was no need to place too great a psychological burden on the common folk.
As he walked forward, the citizens all bowed and greeted him, and Li Yaozu nodded to each in return.
Until he reached the deeper parts of the city.
There, in a residential courtyard, he saw his good brother, the Heavenly Star Sword Saint, gazing up at the sky with a face full of melancholy.
"Brother Tianxing," Li Yaozu asked, "why have you come from the Sword Pavilion? Has something happened?"
The Heavenly Star Sword Saint continued to gaze up at the sky.
"Tianyi sent me a message," he said. "He told me your old Li family had important business, and that Wenwen would be returning, so I came."
"Hmm? Tianyi again!"
Li Yaozu's mouth twitched. He feared that not even ten thousand years of trekking through the snowy wastes had made him as irritable as he had been these past ten years.
Just as he was about to say something, the cold voice of Sister Fang emerged from his sword box.
"Ah Zu," it said, "he is not worthy. Throw him out."
"..."
Li Yaozu kept his mouth shut. He'd learned the hard way—Sister Fang liked to throw in a line or two here and there, and if you gave her an opening, she'd keep going until your ears bled. Silence was the safest option.
He had originally intended to leave Sister Fang with his Second Sister for her recovery, but his Second Sister had gone to the Imperial Capital.
She truly had gone to heal the old Human Emperor. After all, the Human Emperor was now the Li family's true backer.
Fourth Sister had said that as long as the Human Emperor lived, the family would be safe and sound.
That old fellow seemed to genuinely appreciate the Li family, but he was also truly old.
This generation's Human Emperor did not have much time left; in no more than a thousand years, his soul would have to return to the netherworld.
The Li family was also gradually beginning to understand why the Human Emperor had always seemed so weak.
The Imperial Capital was a heavily guarded place; even Sister Fang did not dare to barge in, so he had no choice but to keep her here in his sword box.
It was fine. He was used to it.
But before he had a chance to throw Brother Tianxing out, he heard the Heavenly Star Sword Saint say with great melancholy,
"I saw Wenwen, too. It was our second meeting. This was the first second meeting of my life with her!"
"..."
"I greeted her," he continued, "and she asked me who I was."
Li Yaozu finally understood why Brother Tianxing was so melancholy. He probably felt like dying right now. Perhaps he should comfort him a little...
"Wenwen actually asked who I am?" the Sword Saint said, his voice full of emotion.
"It's been over two hundred years, so forgetting is normal. It's like we're meeting for the first time, yet she noticed me at first glance and wanted to know who I was!"
The sword box opened. Fang Linglong used the tiny bit of power she had managed to recover and threw the Heavenly Star Sword Saint, with his face still filled with touched emotion, out of the Grotto-Heaven.
That took care of the troublesome fellow.
Li Yaozu walked into the main hall.
His father, Li Dalong, was dressed in official robes, his prestige plain to see.
This was the Lord of Eternal Sun Prefecture, as elusive as a divine dragon.
His mother, Xu Cuihua, had gone to the Fox Clan, yet she still looked the same as she always had, dressed in simple clothes, her face full of gentleness.
Fourth Sister had also returned, still a soul, with the clan's spirit tablets behind her.
Even during these past ten years, she had traveled the world with the spirit tablets, shielding them from the secrets of heaven.
Yunlin had the air of an immortal master, looking truly like a Daoist priest.
The Seven Ironclads were whispering conspiratorially under the Old Tree.
Tianyue was in her blood-red armor.
Kuangren was frowning in deep contemplation, holding his breath.
Kuanghua, in a yellow skirt like a little girl.
Chang'an, his clothes immaculate, was wiping the back of his hand with a white cloth.
Changsheng sat in a wheelchair, looking left and right, while Changyao pushed his wheelchair, her head held high.
Xingchen stood ready to venture out at a moment's notice to be a champion of justice.
"This is truly good." Li Yaozu thought to himself with a slight nod.
The family was now based in the center of Solaria City, suppressing the entirety of Eternal Sun Prefecture, their power immense. And yet, he thought, if none of what had happened in the past had ever occurred, perhaps things would be better.
As Li Yaozu took his seat at the head of the long rows of chairs on the side, Li Dalong, seated in the main host's chair, slowly rose.
He bowed toward the Old Ancestor's spirit tablet and planted a stick of incense in the burner.
The scent of incense filled the hall, smoke curling in the air.
The Ancestor's spirit tablet began to glow.
Li Dalong brushed his official robes and sat back down in his original place.
His expression was grave, his voice deep and resonant.
"The Human Emperor had Yaoqing secretly relay a message to us," he announced. "He wants to establish a Crown Prince!"
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