After picking up Little Cat and Ning Rongrong and bringing them back to the Douluo Space, Xiao Se went to Ancient Dragon Island to fulfill the promise he had made with Zhu Kun—to marry Zi Yan.
At this moment, with the help of Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun, Zi Yan had completely refined the dragon phoenix origin fruit, evolving her original form into the SupremeDragon Phoenix. Her cultivation advanced to Four-Star Dou Sheng. She had fully grown into a stunningly beautiful mature girl. She wore a purple-gold robe embroidered with dragons and phoenixes. Her purple eyes and hair had turned purple-gold, her long hair reaching her hips, and her slender figure was elegant. Behind her, a pair of purple-gold wings about ten feet long gently flapped, and as they moved, the sound of wind and thunder could be heard, shocking the Soul.
'Before I invited your father into the Ancient Emperor Cave to seize the Emperor Origin, I promised him that after becoming a Dou Emperor, I would marry you. Are you willing? If not, we can still be good friends as before. If you are willing, I will protect you until the end of time.'
That was what Xiao Se asked when he saw Zi Yan.
To that, Zi Yan only replied, 'If I don't marry you, will you still make Medicinal Pills for me?'
Xiao Se didn't answer. He immediately refined all the medicinal materials he had into pills. The pills piled up over most of Ancient Dragon Island, enough that even if Zi Yan ate them for thousands of years, she wouldn't finish them.
Zi Yan took one of the pills and put it in her mouth, then kissed Xiao Se on the lips, laughing, 'No matter how many pills there are, one day they'll run out. Friends aren't reliable. What if one day I make you angry and the pills are gone? So I want to stay by your side and make you refine them for me every day.'
Xiao Se smiled calmly and nodded. That night, the two of them first 'boarded the car' on Ancient Dragon Island.
After getting off the 'car,' Zi Yan was taken back to the Jia Ma Empire by Xiao Se.
Inside the Douluo Space.
At this moment, a new corner had been added to the original territory of the Douluo Continent, named Tu Shan, Shenhuo Mountain Manor, and Cang Mountain. Xiao Se had moved them over when he brought back Dongfang Huaizhu, Dongfang Qinlan, and the three fox spirit sisters, Li Hanyi, so as not to disrupt their normal lives.
Inside the Shenhuo Mountain Manor, Dongfang Huaizhu, Dongfang Qinlan, and the three fox spirit sisters were sitting together, sipping tea and enjoying pastries.
'Awu. That bastard brother-in-law is too bad. Having my sister isn't enough; he actually provoked so many girls. How hateful! My sister waited for him for so many years. And even worse, he brought us to this damn place and hasn't visited us for years. Too much!'
Dongfang Qinlan puffed her cheeks in anger and took a fierce bite of the pastry, as if the pastry were Xiao Se, and biting it hard relieved her anger.
'Long Kui and Xue'er came by a while ago. They said that Xiao Se has successfully advanced to Dou Emperor. Maybe he still has some unfinished business,' Dongfang Huaizhu said gently, pouring a cup of tea for everyone.
'Sister, aren't you angry? That bad guy has provoked one, two, three, four, five, six...' Dongfang Qinlan extended her fingers to count but found they weren't enough. She held up both hands in a gesture,'So... so many girls, and each one is so beautiful. The least attractive among them is no worse than me. Especially Xue'er—good grief! That guy actually had a biological daughter almost ten years older than him before she was even born! How hateful!'
Dongfang Huaizhu shook her head with a gentle smile, 'Of course I'm angry. But compared to being angry, I've actually grown to like this life now. At least I don't have to worry about the intrigues of the immortal sects, no vendettas, no scheming. And I just need to know that he is safe.'
As she spoke, Dongfang Huaizhu lifted her teacup, took a sip, and fell into her memories with Xiao Se.
'It's over. My sister is completely done for. Her husband has been stolen, and she's not even anxious!' Seeing this, Dongfang Qinlan's eyes went blank, the pastry in her hand dropped to the ground, and she pretended to look heartbroken. She turned to the three fox spirit sisters and asked, 'Hey, I remember that big guy provoked you all too. Aren't you angry?'
Miss Tu Shan Honghong gently sipped her tea and said blandly, 'The Young Master has done us a kindness and brought our Tu Shan to this peaceful place. We are very grateful to him.'
Tu Shan Rongrong chimed in,'Sister Honghong is right.'
'Hmph, you think everyone is like you, talking out of both sides of your mouth, craving your own brother-in-law while badmouthing him,' said Tu Shan Yaya, who had a very voluptuous figure, crossing her arms and spitting.
'Crave... you... nonsense!' Dongfang Qinlan's face flushed bright red, steam rising from her head. She turned around, looking shy and incredulous, her heartbeat quickening, and muttered in a clearly unconvincing tone, 'How could I possibly like that womanizer? And besides, he's my brother-in-law.'
As soon as she finished speaking, the space in front of her suddenly rippled, and Xiao Se appeared out of thin air in the courtyard.
More than two years had passed. Seeing Xiao Se suddenly appear, with a clearly mischievous smile on his face, Dongfang Qinlan knew that he must have heard her words. At that moment, she suffered social death.
Xiao Se stayed with Dongfang Huaizhu at Shenhuo Mountain Manor for three days, then took her to Spirit City. After that, he went to Cang Mountain, which was near Tu Shan and Shenhuo Mountain Manor. There, Li Hanyi was practicing her sword in the rain of flowers, as she had done for ten years without change.
Seeing Xiao Se suddenly appear, Li Hanyi said nothing. She casually threw a sword to him and then attacked with a thrust.
Xiao Se smiled calmly, caught the sword, and engaged her. Neither of them used Dou Qi, Sword Intent, or Soul Power. They were merely competing in sword techniques. In the end, Li Hanyi's long sword was knocked away by Xiao Se. Although she caught it again before it hit the ground, Xiao Se's sword was already less than five centimeters from her neck.
'I give up. I lose every time. I'll never be able to beat you in a lifetime,' Li Hanyi said, casually throwing away her sword.
Xiao Se smiled calmly, also discarding his sword. He stepped forward and took Li Hanyi's hand, saying with a smile, 'From now on, I'll never leave again.'
'Really?' Li Hanyi was clearly skeptical.
'Mm. Even if I have to go, I'll take you with me,' Xiao Se nodded slowly.
Li Hanyi sniffed, 'Hmph! I'm afraid it's not just me. A while ago, Long Kui and Xue'er came. And those two sisters from Shenhuo Mountain Manor next door, and those little fox spirits from Tu Shan... just how many girls have you provoked?'
Xiao Se felt awkward. Then Li Hanyi said, 'Take me somewhere, and I'll forgive you.'
'Where?'
'The place where we first met.'
In the World of The Young Blood, Qingcheng Mountain. Ten years had passed since Xiao Se last visited this World. The time flow of The Young Blood was five times that of the Fighting Qi Continent, meaning fifty years had passed here.
Under a peach blossom tree, the once-spirited Dao Sword Immortal, Zhao Yuzhen, had grown old, his hair fully white. However, due to his cultivation of Daoist techniques, his skin remained ruddy, giving him a youthful appearance despite his white hair.
Beside him, Li Fansong, now also with graying temples and nearly sixty years old, had been the head of Qingcheng Mountain for over twenty years. He said to Zhao Yuzhen, 'Master, you've been looking at this peach tree for fifty years. Haven't you seen enough? The Snow Moon Sword Immortal ascended with SeniorXiao Se more than ten years ago. It's time for you to let go.'
'You don't understand,' Zhao Yuzhen said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. His mind recalled the scene of first meeting Li Hanyi fifty years ago. He couldn't help but sigh. On that day, Li Hanyi had come to challenge him to a sword duel but had mistaken Xiao Se for him.
Perhaps if he hadn't left this courtyard back then, would things have turned out differently?
Unfortunately, there was no cure for regret in this World.
Just then, Zhao Yuzhen suddenly sensed something. He turned around and saw a man and a woman standing on the rooftop. The woman was extremely beautiful, dressed in white; the man was handsome and had an extraordinary demeanor. At first glance, they looked like an immortal couple.
Li Fansong also noticed his Master's gaze and followed it. His eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed, 'The S-Snow Moon Sword Immortal, and S-SeniorXiao Se!'
'Oh, you must be Disciple Li Fansong. It's been many years. How have you been?' Xiao Se held Li Hanyi's jade hand and floated down from the roof.
'Fine, just fine.' Li Fansong swallowed hard, shocked. Logically, these two should be about the same age as his Master, but they looked no different from ordinary young people in their twenties. It was truly baffling. Could it be that there really was Immortal Ascension in this World?
'Well, SeniorXiao Se, you two chat. I won't disturb you. Master, I...' As he spoke, Li Fansong turned to look at Zhao Yuzhen, only to find that the courtyard was already empty of him.
'Your Master left the moment we appeared,' Xiao Se said with a light laugh.
Upon hearing this, Li Fansong looked embarrassed and nodded with a wry smile, leaving the courtyard.
'What's wrong with this Master and disciple?' Li Hanyi asked Xiao Se in confusion.
'Who knows,' Xiao Se shrugged slightly, thinking to himself that Zhao Yuzhen probably didn't want Li Hanyi to see him aged.
Li Hanyi said nothing more. She took out two long swords from her storage ring and said with a smile, 'Come on, let's compete again.'
Xiao Se nodded slightly and agreed readily.
Then they had several more matches, and without surprise, Li Hanyi lost again.
After the sword fights, the two didn't leave that World directly. Instead, they went to visit old acquaintances. Baili Dongjun had gone to the island where Mo Yi lived, as in the original story. Sikong Changfeng had become an old man like Zhao Yuzhen. Xiao Chuhe, because Xiao Se had restored his cultivation and killed the mastermind, Xiao Yu, became the Emperor of Beili, with Sikong Qianluo as Empress. Lei Wujie became a Sword Immortal famous throughout Beili. Since they hadn't taken the Longevity Pill like Li Hanyi, they had all become old men or middle-aged women, like Li Fansong.
Originally, Xiao Se wanted to bring Lei Wujie to the Douluo Space because he was Li Hanyi's younger brother, but Lei Wujie refused. His reason was that he had attachments here—friends, family.
Xiao Se didn't insist. He stayed with Li Hanyi in Snow Moon City for a few days, then returned to the Douluo Space.
Over the next month, Xiao Se successively brought back Bibi Dong, Xiao Xue, Long Kui, Xun'er, and Gu Yuena to the Douluo Space.
He held the most grand wedding in the entire continent at Spirit City, with countless guests attending.
However, on the wedding day, there were twenty-three brides—eight more than expected, corresponding exactly to Xiao Se's twenty-three types of strange fire.
Xiao Yu, Ya Fei, Xiao Yi Xian, Qing Lin, Medusa, Die, Yun Yun, Zhu Zhuqing, Zi Yan, Dongfang Huaizhu, Li Hanyi, Bibi Dong, Xun'er, Gu Yuena, and Long Kui—these fifteen brides were obviously Xiao Se's official wives.
Out of the extra eight, seven were Ning Rongrong, Dongfang Qinlan, Miss Tu Shan Honghong, Tu Shan Yaya, Nalan Yanran, Hu Liena, and Liu Erlong. These were all girls that Xiao Se had provoked intentionally or unintentionally. Under the arrangement of Long Kui and Xiao Xue—Xiao Se's closest confidantes—they had been asked for their consent and were also married to Xiao Se.
But the last bride was over the top. Even Xiao Se panicked when he learned her identity. No one except Xiao Se and his first twenty-two wives knew who she was. Everyone only knew that she, like Xiao Se, was also a Dou Emperor.
So, who is this existence that made the Xiao Heavenly Emperor so terrified?
—The End of the Book—