Another half-month passed.
The Ten-Direction Ancient Ridges.
Boom!
Mountain fires raged, the collisions of cultivators' spiritual power were visible in the air, and the cries of battle were incessant.
Those were the people of the four great powers of the Eternal Sun Prefecture, locked in combat with the cultivators of the Eternal Sun Righteous Path Alliance.
It was a war that had been fought for an unknown number of years.
Although the Alliance was holed up within the Ten-Direction Ancient Ridges, they had far more experts than the four great powers. If not for the constant support from the cultivators of the Azure Cloud Region, the allied forces would likely never have been able to even enter the region's borders.
At this moment, the younger generation, dressed in the disciple robes of the Skyveil Sect, was engaged in a fierce battle!
"Senior Brother is so formidable."
Li Xinnian had long since broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm. His foundation was solid, and the Saint Spirit Bloodline gave him seemingly infinite strength.
He could kill an opponent of the same realm with a single punch, and he hadn't even had to use the spirit artifacts gifted to him by his clan's elders.
But as Li Xinnian watched Senior Brother Su Chen in the sky above, using a technique that manifested a hundred illusory shadows to fight his enemies, he was still deeply shocked.
"This junior brother has always been mysterious. He's definitely still hiding some trump cards." Nangong Qingya appeared beside Li Xinnian at some unknown time.
She must have just finished a difficult battle, as there was blood at the corner of her mouth.
"While we were cultivating, he was secretly venturing out for experience. A while ago, he was hunted by a Golden Core cultivator and fled into a great mountain. He eventually emerged covered in wounds, but his injuries healed in just a few days, and his cultivation had advanced even further."
"A monstrous talent."
Li Xinnian sighed in admiration.
But her words just made Nangong Qingya roll her eyes.
"You're the real monstrous talent! Don't think I don't know. The last time I saw your mother, she told me that you secretly cultivate every time you come home. You haven't even used one-tenth of your true strength!"
"Why did you go see my mother?" Li Xinnian frowned.
He faintly sensed that Nangong Qingya's young heart was stirring with affection.
His father, Li Xingchen, had taught him about this sort of thing.
Sometimes, Li Xinnian felt his father wasn't a very proper person; he was always bragging to him behind his mother's back with some story about his exploits "from the south of the city to the north," and he had started urging him to find a good girl when he was only twelve.
His dad had told him that as long as a girl was overly concerned with his affairs, he just needed to charm her a little to start a fleeting romance and sow some seeds for the family.
When he really couldn't take the advice anymore, Li Xinnian told his grandfather, which earned his dad a sound beating with a rattan cane.
"I..." The young girl's face flushed red.
Li Xinnian's brow furrowed even deeper. Even if he had to produce offspring, he would find a quiet and gentle woman. Otherwise, given how rough and pushy Nangong Qingya was now, if they were to get married, wouldn't he just end up getting beaten violently by her?
"Senior Sister, you know how it is. A Body of Pure Yang, a living widowhood."
"You... you're lying!" Nangong Qingya's face flushed red. "That's not what your mother said!"
"..."
.....
High above in the sky.
Li Yaowen, Li Yaozu, and even Li Kuangren and Li Chang'an were all hidden within the clouds, watching the two sides in the great battle below.
Li Kuangren spoke. "The Old Ancestor had the Hall of Heavenly Principle investigate the young man and woman by Xinnian's side. Changyao sent a message; they've found a few things. They're... a bit abnormal. That Su Chen, at seventeen, is already at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Four years ago, he was only at the third layer of Qi Refining. The cultivation method he practices is extraordinary. He seems to come from the Su family, which was eradicated by Tianyi and his brothers."
"And then there's Nangong Qingya... This girl seems to have foreseen many things. Unless she possesses the gift of foresight, it wouldn't be possible. Such a gift is something our family's Divine Tree also possesses."
"Esteemed great-grandparents, Xinnian has the omen of a calamitous star. Should we..."
Li Kuangren was in charge of Eternal Sun Prefecture on behalf of the family. Although the family had no formal head, he was, in reality, already half a family head.
Over the years of dealing with the four great powers of Eternal Sun Prefecture, he had become increasingly dignified and decisive. A flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes. If his two great-grandparents hadn't been present, he likely would have already acted personally to kill Su Chen and Nangong Qingya.
"Fourth Sister."
Li Yaozu looked toward Li Yaowen. All he needed was the command to act.
Hidden within the sleeves of her white robe, Li Yaowen's delicate hands performed a divination.
She stared at the young man and woman on the battlefield below, who were relying on each other as they fought, and her gaze was profound.
"Have any of you ever considered why Xinnian is the calamitous star?"
Li Yaozu and Li Kuangren frowned.
"Our Li family has fought its way here step by step, and the karma from our killings is too heavy. Add to that the current chaos in the world, our high position, and how our fate is intertwined with the entire Azure Cloud Region and Eternal Sun Prefecture...
Xinnian has had a good disposition since he was a child. He never quarrels with others, nor does he make enemies. He always thinks things through before acting. How could a person like him be a calamitous star?"
"Perhaps... it is because our Li family holds such a high position, and because of the great chaos in Azure Cloud, Eternal Sun Prefecture, and even the entire Azure Dynasty, that a child of our Li family was destined to become this calamitous star. Even if he weren't here, and even if he didn't have these friends, we would still face other, unknown calamities."
As Li Yaowen's words fell, Li Yaozu's expression changed. "This..."
The family truly was surrounded by enemies, and they had been extremely cautious over the years.
The greater their power grew, the more they understood the strength of the other great powers in the world. Whether it was Prince Yu, the Wu Clan, or the Demon Clan, any one of them could potentially bring disaster to the family.
Li Yaowen took a deep look at the young man and woman on the ground below. "Let them be. Perhaps they might even be Xinnian's saviors. Besides..."
Her voice trailed off.
As Li Yaowen finished her thought, Li Yaozu, Li Kuangren, and Li Chang'an were all wreathed in smiles.
"Our saviors have always been ourselves."
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