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Without needing instruction, Xiao Guang—the Dragon of Time—standing beside Chu Chengzhou instantly radiated white-golden light. A translucent, rippling beam of chrono-energy shot forth, enveloping Xiao Qing in Chu Chengzhou's hand.
In an instant, Time Law energy rippled outward, and Xiao Qing's aura restored to its peak.
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou gave a slight nod—then turned his gaze toward the figure lying inside the coffin: his mother-in-law, Feng Heng, now with eyes open, filled with confusion.
"Who… are you?"
Feng Heng asked, bewildered, as she looked at the young man before her.
Her last memory was of a hooded Title Douluo plunging a bloody dagger into her chest.
If she hadn't died—and had somehow healed and awakened—then the person before her should've been her husband, Ning Fengzhi, or at the very least, she should've been in her familiar bedroom, not this cramped, foul-smelling, strange space.
And if she had died, she should've seen the mythical underworld, not blue skies, white clouds… and a youth holding a three-foot sapling with a white-gold dragon circling overhead.
"Greetings, Mother-in-law," Chu Chengzhou offered a "well-behaved" smile. "My name is Chu Chengzhou—I'm Rongrong's boyfriend."
"What?!"
Feng Heng's eyes widened. She sat up abruptly, utterly shocked.
Rongrong's boyfriend?
Her daughter, Ning Rongrong, was only a few months old—still nursing! How could she possibly have a boyfriend?!
Just then, hurried footsteps approached—Ning Fengzhi arrived.
"You called me here for—Ah… Ah Heng?!"
Staring at the figure sitting inside the crimson coffin beside Chu Chengzhou—right in the middle of his wife's grave—Ning Fengzhi froze, dumbfounded.
---
One hour later.
"Here, Chengzhou—eat more!"
At the dining table, Feng Heng—freshly bathed and dressed in new clothes—kept piling food onto Chu Chengzhou's bowl with a beaming smile.
"Yes, yes—Mother-in-law is the best!"
Though his bowl was nearly overflowing, Chu Chengzhou didn't refuse her affection.
Normally, before marriage, a prospective son-in-law was viewed by his mother-in-law as a class enemy—everything about him was wrong, worthy of nitpicking.
But Feng Heng was different. In her eyes, this future son-in-law was perfect in every way.
Handsome? Check.
Powerful? Check.
Same age as her precious daughter? Check.
Capable of resurrecting her after 14 years of death? Unmatched!
A son-in-law this extraordinary—there wasn't a second one in the world.
"Oh, by the way, Fengzhi—where's Rongrong?"
Feng Heng suddenly turned to her husband.
"Ask this kid," Ning Fengzhi grumbled, pointing at Chu Chengzhou. "Over two years ago, our little cotton-padded jacket abandoned her father!"
"That's not true at all!" Chu Chengzhou quickly objected. "Rongrong is still your sweetest little darling! She's just… currently training at Sea God Island. I just came back from there."
"Training? How's Rongrong's talent? What's her soul power level now?"
Feng Heng blinked, curious. Having just been resurrected, she knew almost nothing about the past fourteen years.
"Rongrong's talent is exceptional," Chu Chengzhou replied proudly. "She recently advanced to eight-ring Soul Douluo."
"Eight rings?!" Feng Heng's eyes widened.
"Did Rongrong awaken my Fire Phoenix spirit instead of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda? But that doesn't make sense—she's only seventeen! How could she cultivate so fast?"
Even with innate full soul power, reaching eight rings usually took thirty or forty years!
Ning Fengzhi shook his head.
"Rongrong awakened the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. A few years ago, this kid broke its limits—evolving it into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
As for soul power levels… honestly, I can't even understand today's youth anymore. Ah Heng, just ask him what his level is—you'll see."
With that, Ning Fengzhi poured himself a large cup of wine and downed it in one gulp.
If only I'd known my future son-in-law was this amazing!
Back at their first meeting, he should've kidnapped Chu Chengzhou on the spot and forced him to marry Rongrong that very day.
No—better yet!
He should've snatched him as a newborn, dragged him straight to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, arranged a child marriage, and assigned tutors to drill him on "husbandly virtue."
That way, as long as Chu Chengzhou stayed devoted to his daughter—and was already a married man—no other girl would dare throw herself at him, right?
Now?
Too late.
This exceptional son-in-law was no longer exclusively his.
Hearing this, Feng Heng turned to Chu Chengzhou with wide eyes.
"Mother-in-law," Chu Chengzhou said modestly—though he straightened his back proudly—"this humble son-in-law recently reached the Limit Realm."
"Peak Realm? You mean… Level 99 Limit Douluo?"
Feng Heng, herself only a seven-ring Soul Saint, couldn't sense his level—but she knew what the title meant.
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
Feng Heng: "…."
My son-in-law is this absurdly talented?!
Instantly, the classic saying rang true:
"A mother-in-law sees her son-in-law—and the more she looks, the more she loves."
---
After lunch, Chu Chengzhou left the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest.
Deep in the core region, at the Life Lake, the mischievous Er Ming was absent—likely out bullying other soul beasts.
But Da Ming, the homebody serpent, was peacefully napping in the lake.
Chu Chengzhou didn't disturb him. Instead, he walked to a small, dilapidated wooden cabin by the lakeshore—long abandoned, thick with dust.
This cabin had been built by Xiao Wu's mother herself after she took human form.
Even as a temporary shelter, she needed protection from wind and rain.
Before entering the human world, Xiao Wu—alongside Da Ming and Er Ming—had buried her mother's body beside this cabin, as Xiao Wu had once told him.
Chu Chengzhou had never visited before—but he remembered.
Extending his spiritual sense, he quickly located, beneath a purple sandalwood tree behind the cabin, a rotted skeleton clad in tattered, decayed clothes.
With a ripple of spatial energy, he gently extracted the remains from the earth.
Just as he prepared to summon Xiao Qing and Xiao Guang to perform the resurrection, he paused—then re-stored the remains into his storage soul tool.
Since the body had been buried directly in soil, the clothes were completely ruined. Resurrecting her like this would be… awkward.
Besides, Xiao Wu was still at Sea God Island. After revival, her mother would have no family or friends nearby—only two adopted sons in the forest.
Better to bring her back to the Sea God Island first—then resurrect her properly.
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