The two turned at the same time—only to see Li Qingxuan standing there, expressionless, eyes cold as still water.
Jiang Yue's face paled. She instinctively glanced toward Jiang Wang, her heart twisting with anxiety.
She knew too well how deeply Jiang Wang used to adore Li Qingxuan. If they—mere members of the Jiang clan's side branch—so much as offended her, their cultivation resources would be docked without hesitation.
And those deducted resources?
All of them had gone straight to Li Qingxuan's immortal palace.
Because of it, Jiang Yue's training had fallen far behind her peers. Her monthly allotment of elixirs and spirit stones had been reduced so drastically that her cultivation progress had slowed to a crawl.
If she lost even more this month… she might as well stop cultivating altogether.
Thinking of that, Jiang Yue gritted her teeth, gathered her courage, and bowed deeply.
"Son of God, I—I don't want this immortal bone anymore. Just… please don't deduct my cultivation resources again."
Jiang Wang blinked, momentarily stunned.
Only then did he remember.
In his blind devotion to Li Qingxuan, he had punished his own clanmates—his own blood—just to vent his frustrations for her sake. Jiang Yue had suffered the most.
With the innate talent of the Jiang bloodline, anyone with sufficient resources could reach the Spirit Fusion Realm within ten years. Yet Jiang Yue, who began cultivating at six, had only managed to reach the Blood-Burning Realm after a decade of relentless effort.
That failure wasn't her fault—it was his.
He had taken her resources. Li Qingxuan had humiliated her. And despite all of it—despite being beaten down again and again—when their clan was annihilated in his past life, Jiang Yue had self-destructed her Flame Spirit Body to buy him time to escape.
The memory made Jiang Wang's jaw tighten, his eyes darkening with old rage.
Toward Li Qingxuan, the resentment buried deep in his soul burned even fiercer.
He raised a hand gently, signaling Jiang Yue to stop talking.
She lowered her head, sighing inwardly. There would be no resources this month. She'd already accepted it.
Then Li Qingxuan stepped closer.
"What are you doing here?" Jiang Wang's voice was sharp, almost mocking.
Li Qingxuan lifted her chin slightly. "Jiang Wang, I know everything you've done. Return Brother Ye Fan's immortal bone immediately, and take out a rare elixir to heal his wounds. If you do that, I'll forgive you."
Her eyes narrowed. "Otherwise—you'll regret it."
"Regret?" Jiang Wang gave a low, humorless laugh. "I, Jiang Wang, have never regretted anything I've done."
He tilted his head slightly, his tone almost casual. "Tell me, what exactly did Ye Fan whisper to make you come running here to confront me?"
Li Qingxuan's lip curled. "I wanted to save your face, but you insist on being stubborn! Fine! I'll tell you. Even if you won today, it was only because you cheated! You took elixirs before the duel!"
"Elixirs?"
For a moment, Jiang Wang was too stunned to speak. Then his gaze turned cold, filled with contempt.
How utterly foolish.
Inside the Solar Flame Wheel, even one's body would be burned and reforged. Any pill taken inside would melt instantly.
How could anyone "cheat" by taking elixirs?
He didn't even bother explaining. His patience had run out. "Get out," he said, voice like ice.
Jiang Yue froze in place.
She looked at Jiang Wang as if she hadn't heard right. Did he just… tell Li Qingxuan to get out?
She pinched her arm—hard. It hurt. This wasn't a dream.
Li Qingxuan was equally stunned. "Jiang Wang, if you're trying to get my attention, you've gone too far! Aren't you afraid I'll ignore you completely after this?"
"I couldn't ask for more," Jiang Wang replied flatly. With a flick of his sleeve, he summoned a gust of spiritual wind and expelled her from the courtyard.
At last, silence.
He turned to see Jiang Yue still staring at him, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Son of God… you actually yelled at Li Qingxuan?"
Once, Jiang Wang had been utterly devoted to Li Qingxuan. Gentle words, soft tones—never even a hint of defiance. To see him like this felt unreal.
Jiang Wang only gave a small, knowing smile. People's impressions were hard to erase. It would take time—small steps—to change how they saw him.
He picked up the Supreme Immortal Bone and handed it to her once more.
"You and I are both of the Jiang bloodline," he said. "Don't call me 'Son of God' anymore. If you're willing, call me Brother Wang."
He met her astonished gaze and continued, his tone gentler.
"Take this immortal bone as my apology for what I did before. From now on, not a single cultivation resource will be withheld from you."
Jiang Yue stared blankly, unable to believe what she was hearing.
The Son of God—the one who used to be so cold and untouchable—felt like an entirely different person. The change was shocking… and thrilling.
It wasn't about the resources.
It was the way Jiang Wang carried himself now—like someone born to dominate, unstoppable and proud. This was how the Jiang clan's heir should be.
"Thank you, Brother Wang," she said softly, bowing deeply.
He nodded and patted her shoulder. "Train hard. If your resources ever fall short, come to me directly."
Then he turned and left, leaving Jiang Yue standing in the courtyard with eyes full of excitement and awe.
Outside, Li Qingxuan was still waiting.
As soon as she saw him, she stepped forward, forcing her anger down. "Enough, Jiang Wang. As long as you return Brother Ye Fan's immortal bone and offer him a precious medicine to restore his Dao foundation, I'll let this go. He'll leave the Jiang family and never appear before you again."
Her words made him laugh—coldly, bitterly.
He remembered saying almost the exact same thing in his previous life. Back then, Li Qingxuan had stopped him.
And when he'd accused her of being too close to Ye Fan, she'd replied:
"Brother Ye Fan and I are just ordinary friends. If you insist on thinking otherwise, I can't help it. But if he leaves the Jiang family… I'll go too!"
That line had cut deep once.
Now, it only made him sneer inwardly.
So now she was the one suggesting they both start over? Ridiculous.
If it were the old Jiang Wang, he might have agreed. But this time, he had other plans.
Ye Fan's luck was tied to his system—and he fully intended to seize every bit of it.
"I won't return the Immortal Bone," Jiang Wang said coldly. "And I won't waste medicine on him. Whether Ye Fan stays or leaves the Jiang family doesn't concern me."
Without waiting for her reply, he walked past, his figure vanishing into the evening mist.
Li Qingxuan stood frozen for a long time, stunned by his indifference. Then, biting her lip, she turned and hurried toward the Jiang family's treasure hall.
The guards recognized her and opened the gates—but without Jiang Wang's personal token, she was only permitted access to the first floor.
That level held only ordinary recovery pills.
No divine-grade elixirs.
No treasures that could repair the foundation of the Great Dao.
After a fruitless search, Li Qingxuan could only gather a few low-grade healing pills and rush back to Ye Fan's side.
---
Meanwhile, Jiang Wang sat quietly in his immortal palace. The room was dimly lit, the air thick with divine energy. With a single thought, he summoned his system panel.
Host: Jiang Wang
Identity: Eldest son of the Jiang family, child of a goddess from the Forbidden Land of the Gods.
Root Bone: Immortal Bone of Creation
Constitution: Chaos Demonic Body (Unawakened)
Cultivation Method: None
Divine Art: War Fist
Luck Value: 110,000
Bound Son of Fortune: Ye Fan
Jiang Wang studied the panel, nodding slightly.
He had yet to break through the sixth spiritual realm, so no martial arts techniques were available to him yet. The War Fist, a profound-grade divine art, was already beyond the reach of most cultivators. In the hierarchy of divine powers—Creation, Saint, Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow—it ranked among the higher tiers.
Members of the Jiang clan typically practiced it only upon reaching the Sixth Realm.
But even daily practice could temper one's body and strengthen one's spirit.
Kill two birds with one strike.
When mastered, its power was immense—something he'd already proven in his battle against Ye Fan.
Jiang Wang's eyes lingered on his luck value, a faint smile curving his lips.
"System," he said quietly, voice low and firm.
"Use one hundred thousand luck points to draw a prize."