Six years passed like a single breath in the vast Starry Sky.
Crimson Nebula World had transformed into an impregnable stellar empire. The floating islands now hosted sprawling cities connected by spatial teleportation arrays. Spirit veins thrummed with power, producing resources that fed not only Tianhen's forces but entire allied star systems. The people continued to view him as a living god — temples bore his sword-and-rock emblem, and parents told their children tales of the Sovereign who brought endless prosperity while hiding his greatest secrets from the jealous universe.
Tianhen had kept his vow: the God Rock remained strictly hidden from the outside world. In public he appeared only as a peerless genius craftsman and sword sovereign. Only in the deepest private training sanctum — a sealed underground chamber protected by layers of void and time arrays — did he ever bring the black stone out for his family and closest disciples.
And in those six years, the God Rock had changed everything.
Lin Hao and Lin Mei, the two street children he had adopted, were no longer children.
At nineteen, Lin Hao had grown tall and lean, his features sharp and handsome with the same obsidian eyes as Tianhen. His spatial talent had exploded. With regular private sessions holding the God Rock, he had mastered advanced Space Dao, learning to fold entire battlefields, create short-range spatial prisons, and even open temporary rifts for surprise attacks. He had fused it with Sword Dao and Lightning Dao, creating his signature style: "Void Phantom Blade," a technique that let him strike from multiple locations at once while slowing enemy reactions.
Lin Mei, now fifteen, had become a quiet beauty with long silver-streaked black hair and a gentle yet fierce demeanor. Her Time Dao mastery was terrifying for her age. The God Rock had allowed her to comprehend time-slowing to the point where she could freeze a Nascent Soul expert's movements for nearly thirty seconds. She had also begun grasping faint Life Dao strands, healing allies mid-battle and accelerating her own cultivation.
Tianhen had officially named them his disciples two years ago in a private family ceremony. They now wore black-and-gold robes with the family crest and called him "Master" in public, "Father" in private.
"Father," Lin Hao said one evening in the sanctum, holding the God Rock for the first time in a week-long closed-door session. "I can feel it… the next layer of Space Dao is opening. Thank you for trusting us with this."
Lin Mei bowed deeply beside him. "We will never betray that trust."
Tianhen watched them with quiet pride. Their growth had been explosive precisely because he allowed them to train directly with the God Rock in secret. What should have taken decades happened in years.
His own power had grown extensively as well.
He had broken through to early Nascent Soul three years ago. His Nascent Soul was born already fused with six Grand Daos — Sword, Space, Time, Lightning, Star, and Void. It glowed with dark-gold light inside his dantian, radiating an aura that made even late-stage Nascent Soul experts tremble. In public he still appeared as a calm, handsome young man of eighteen, but his sword could now split entire star islands and his spatial techniques could move an army across star systems in moments.
His biological children were showing the same limitless potential.
Ye Xingchen, now ten, had inherited his father's sword talent and spatial affinity. He could already execute basic fused sword strikes and was training daily with Lin Hao as his senior brother.
Ye Qinglan, eight, displayed early signs of Time and Star Dao genius. She loved practicing with Lin Mei and could slow small objects for several seconds while manipulating starlight.
Ye Mingyue, six, radiated pure Life and Space Dao even as a toddler. She would toddle around the palace gardens leaving trails of glowing flowers in her wake.
And the newest addition — Ye Lingshuang (Spirit Frost), born four years ago — was already showing faint Lightning and Void strands at age four. Li Qing often joked that their children were "little sovereigns in training."
The force Tianhen had built was now the strongest in the outer Starry Sky Realm.
The Tianhen Divine Legion — composed of elite disciples trained in his fused techniques — numbered over ten thousand, with a core of five hundred at Nascent Soul or higher. They patrolled the borders wearing Tianhen Void Anchors that made them nearly untouchable. Shadowveil Kingdom had long since become a vassal in all but name, paying annual tribute in fear and silence.
One quiet evening in the family sanctum, Tianhen gathered everyone.
Lin Hao and Lin Mei knelt first, followed by the younger children.
"Six years ago you were street orphans," Tianhen said, voice warm. "Today you are my disciples and my children. The God Rock has guided your explosive growth, but your hard work and loyalty made it possible. From now on, you will train with it openly in this sanctum whenever we are alone. The outside world must never know its true nature."
Lin Hao's eyes burned with gratitude. "We will protect this secret with our lives, Father."
Lin Mei nodded, tears of devotion in her eyes. "We are yours forever."
Li Qing stood beside Tianhen, her hand resting on the slight swell of yet another pregnancy. She smiled at the scene.
"Our family is unstoppable," she whispered to him later that night as they lay together, bodies still warm from passionate lovemaking. "You've given us everything."
Tianhen held her close, kissing her forehead.
The God Rock remained hidden from the world.
But inside these walls, it continued to fuel an empire that would one day shake the entire Starry Sky.
And the children — both adopted and biological — were growing into legends of their own.