The night was ugly.
Rain hammered down like the heavens wanted to drown the whole city.
Thunder cracked again and again, shaking the windows of the Chen clan compound.
Lightning flashed so often it felt like daytime but twisted and wrong.
Inside the elders' hall, Xuan Chen sat.
He couldn't read.
The scrolls, the ledgers, all the papers in front of him… useless.
His eyes stared but his mind wasn't there.
His leg tapped on the floor.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Faster.
He looked at the window, where the water streamed down the glass like snakes.
"Father… where are you?" he muttered.
He rubbed his forehead, sighing hard.
"You left before nightfall. You didn't say a thing. You didn't bring anything. Now it's the middle of the night. Still no sign. Why? Why can't you just stay in the clan for once?"
The old immortal's voice came from the ring, slow and calm.
"Kid, stop shaking like you're abandoned. Your father is not some weak mortal. He won't die in the rain. Hmph."
Xuan Chen looked at the ring, grinding his teeth.
"You don't understand. I saw it! He bought an entire caravan of people at the auction today. Hundreds! Men, women, children! Even remnants of some destroyed clan! But I checked the clan treasury—"
He slammed his palm on the table.
"Not a single coin missing! How?! Where did the money come from?!"
The immortal's chuckle came, deep, almost mocking.
"Didn't I already tell you? Your father is not someone you can measure. You think too much. He's a mystery. If you try to solve him, you'll only go mad."
"But…" Xuan Chen dragged his hands down his face.
"It's storming so hard even the patrol guards don't step outside the gates. What if something happened to him?"
The immortal snorted.
"If Bai Chen could be taken down by a little rain or a random ambush, he wouldn't be your father. Don't worry. He's strong. Stronger than you can imagine."
Xuan Chen laughed bitterly.
"Even you can't pierce through his aura. You're supposed to be some ancient immortal, but you say you can't see through him. Then how am I supposed to… how am I supposed to be his son?"
Thunder roared again, shaking the hall.
Xuan Chen stared at the lantern light flickering.
His chest was heavy, his throat tight.
He hated this waiting.
And then—
Creeeak.
The sound of the great gate opening.
His head snapped up. His heart jumped.
He ran to the window, pressing his face against the glass.
Lightning flashed.
And there—through the pouring rain—he saw a figure.
Staggering. Soaked in red. Carrying something on his shoulder.
His father.
"Father!"
Xuan Chen didn't think. He ran.
The courtyard was flooded, mud splashing under his feet.
The rain blinded him but he kept running.
There.
Bai Chen.
White hair glued to his face. Robes torn. His whole body dripping blood.
And on his shoulder—a girl. White hair too, trembling like a dying bird.
"Father!" Xuan Chen shouted, his voice cracking.
The guards nearby stepped forward, but then they froze.
Even in that condition, even half-dead, Bai Chen's aura rolled out. Heavy. Crushing.
They bowed on instinct.
Xuan Chen reached him, gasping.
"Father! What happened?! You—"
Before he could finish, Bai Chen let the girl slide off his shoulder.
A servant caught her with shaking arms, almost dropping her.
And then—Bai Chen's knees buckled.
He fell forward.
"Father!!"
Xuan Chen caught him, nearly falling himself.
The weight was insane, like holding up a mountain.
"Damn it—! You're heavy, Father! You're supposed to be the strong one, not me carrying you like this!"
He laughed and cried at the same time, struggling to drag him upright.
Then he saw it.
The wound.
A sword mark across his back.
So deep it was like someone tried to cut him in half.
Blood poured endlessly.
Xuan Chen froze, his face white. His lips trembled.
"This… this isn't a normal wound… this is from a golden core expert…!"
The old immortal's voice shook for the first time.
"Kid… your father… he was ambushed. That kind of strike… it should've killed him. And yet he's still alive…"
Xuan Chen grit his teeth, eyes burning.
"Why… why do you always fight alone, Father? You bleed everywhere. You never tell me anything…!"
The rain hit harder, washing blood into the mud.
Servants whispered, terrified. None dared step closer. Bai Chen's aura still pressed on them, even unconscious.
Xuan Chen dragged him inch by inch. His small body straining.
"I don't care if you're a mystery. I don't care if I don't understand you. You're my father. I'll keep you alive even if it kills me!"
The immortal was silent for a long time.
Then softly: "Good. Now you sound like his son."
Step by step.
Mud soaking him. Rain drowning him.
Xuan Chen carried Bai Chen inside.
The girl was led in too, her blue eyes glancing back at Bai Chen's face again and again.
Fear. Hope. Confusion. All in one.
Finally, they reached his room.
Xuan Chen dropped him on the bed, panting, chest burning.
He looked at the wound again. His stomach turned.
Blood everywhere. Sheets soaked.
"Father…" he whispered.
He grabbed a cloth, wiping his forehead, wiping the blood, trembling all the while.
The old immortal muttered.
"That strike… it came from his own clan. Bai clan. It smells of betrayal."
Xuan Chen's hands shook harder.
"Then I'll remember it. Every detail. Every enemy. If they wanted my father dead, then they'll pay."
The storm outside raged on.
Thunder tore the heavens.
Lightning lit the skies white.
But inside the Chen clan compound, a different storm was born.
The son had seen his father bleed.
And now, nothing would ever be the same
As this goes all things have come to this old immortal said kid I know you are heaven destroyer reincarnation but still you also now shining now is bringing more enemies for future..let be patient with this matter till then take care of your father .
After saying that the old immortal went in the ring.