“These,” said Ji Yunyu, “are the respected elders of the Ji Family.”
Upon seeing these elders coming to greet them, some of whom he was not familiar with from his generation that shared the ‘Yun’ character, Ji Yunyu did not give them a cold shoulder. Instead, he introduced each person with a smile, treating them all equally.
After all, family disgraces should not be publicized. However, in front of Ji Qingqing’s husband, on their first meeting, it was essential to show the harmonious side of the Ji Family.
Li Tian Gang’s expression subtly changed when he saw these old men. Although many of them were concealing their aura, he could still sense that quite a few were of the same level as his second uncle, and several among them possessed shockingly formidable power, likely from the Grand Tao of Peace Realm!
In the Dayu Divine Dynasty, these individuals could rival the Buddha Lord Level experts, yet here, several appeared one after another.
“Greetings to all the esteemed elders,” Li Tian Gang said, bowing with his hands clasped before him.
The many elders did not put on airs and quickly reciprocated the polite greetings with pleasantries.
Li Tian Gang was somewhat surprised. Facing everyone’s courteous welcome and friendly chatter, he felt honored and taken aback.
Previously, his wife had told him how strict the Ji Family’s clan rules were and that his arrival would surely be met with thunderous attacks and wrath. However, the reality he encountered was so surreal.
The things he had heard along the way, and the casual mentions of Ji Le Ping in conversations with these elders, made Li Tian Gang realize that all this seemed to be because of that child.
It was his arrival that smoothed everything over and resolved all troubles.
Even Li Tian Gang dared not easily set foot in the Ji Family, but that child did. Moreover, he atoned for Qingqing and even brought Li Tian Gang’s status to be recognized by the Ji Family!
Amidst the pleasantries, Li Tian Gang’s emotions grew increasingly complex and indescribable.
The words previously uttered by his father, Li Tianzong, began unconsciously drifting through his mind.
The child is exceptionally outstanding.
If we do not bring him home, I will die with eyes unshut!
Now, the many powerful figures of the Ji Family were also speaking so politely, full of praise for that child.
Beyond feeling guilty and apologetic, Li Tian Gang was at a loss.
Had he truly made a grave mistake?
“Are you Ji Le Ping’s father?” came a voice from within the crowd, young and vibrant.
Li Tian Gang looked up and saw a group of youthful figures standing apart, with one person at the helm—a young man with an extraordinary bearing and a jade-like presence, as if he transcended the mundane world with a detached aura.
What shook Li Tian Gang was that the young man seemed to be only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, yet the concealed aura he possessed was in no way inferior to Ji Yunyu, who had earlier brought him up the mountain.
Could this be from the Grand Tao of Peace Realm?
“Who are you?” Li Tian Gang asked cautiously.
“He is Ji Mysterious God, formerly the strongest genius of the Ji Family!” an elder by Ji Mysterious God’s side said with a smile, “He’s only twenty-six this year, already at the Grand Tao of Peace Realm and is expected to become the War God of our Ji Family. These people behind him are also the prodigies of the Ji Family.”
As the elder spoke, he then turned to Li Tian Gang with a smile and said,
“But your son has defeated them all.”
Upon hearing the young man’s age and cultivation level, Li Tian Gang was already profoundly shocked. But when the elder imparted that last piece of information, Li Tian Gang’s pupils constricted, and he couldn’t control his expression, staring at the elder in astonishment.
All these are the Ji Family’s prodigies?
Li Hao defeated them all?!
He had originally thought that while Li Hao was strong, the Ji Family prodigies he defeated were probably just from the Defying Fate Realm, or at most from the Ultimate Study Realm. But now, the young man before him was actually from the Grand Tao of Peace Realm!
Had such a genius been bested by that child?
“Could it be that your son has had a recent breakthrough in cultivation? It seems you are not very aware of your own son’s strength,” an elder joked, seeing Li Tian Gang’s astonished look.
The words were said casually, but they struck Li Tian Gang’s heart like a heavy hammer, giving him a sensation of buzzing in his ears.
He didn’t understand very well…
Yes, if it hadn’t been for the child revealing himself, in Qingzhou, in Liangzhou, it seemed he really didn’t comprehend to what extent his cultivation had reached.
Li Tian Gang’s gaze was complex, he didn’t speak, only feeling his blood boiling within him, his emotions complex and uncomfortable, yearning to see Li Hao right away.
Ji observed the middle-aged man, his gaze calm, and said,
“I’ve come here only wanting to know, how did you cultivate him, what resources and cultivation techniques did you give him?”
Li Tian Gang saw the inquiry from the young man, his expression changing slightly. If not for the other’s calm demeanor, as though devoid of any emotion, he would even suspect the question was meant to mock.
Bewildered, he found himself at a loss for words.
Ji saw the other man not answering, frowned slightly, and said, “It’s normal if these matters are inconvenient to discuss, but I want to know, was one of your ancestors a Saint, or of some other lineage, otherwise, how did he manage to defeat me in the Three Immortal Realms?”
“Three Immortal Realms…”
Li Tian Gang doubted his ears again, he thought that the child, during his time in the Great Wilderness Heaven, had been concentrating on refining his Tao Heart, breaking through to the Four Stands Realm. But now you’re telling me he defeated this scion of the Grand Tao of Peace Realm from the Ji Family in the Three Immortal Realms?!
“Hmm?”
Ji fixed his gaze on him, but a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. This man seemed shocked by all he said, as if they were discussing someone else, someone the man was totally unfamiliar with.
But hadn’t Elder Yunyu said, that this man was the youth’s father?
With doubts in his heart as a Ji Family scion unaccustomed to constraints, he directly asked, “Are you truly his father?”
Li Tian Gang snapped back to reality, heard the question, saw the suspicion in the other’s eyes, and felt his face burn with embarrassment; it was a very uncomfortable look. He lowered his head and said,
“The child grew up too fast, and there are things I don’t quite understand, but I am indeed his father.”
Ji looked at him again and thought to himself that even reaching the Four Stands Realm was not easy. It would be improbable for someone to show up at the Ji Family and claim to be someone they were not, simply to court death. He nodded slightly, didn’t say anything more, but his eyes revealed a trace of regret.
It appeared that even the father was unaware of the young man’s cultivation. Could it really be just exceptional talent?
He was reluctant to concede, as it would be too crushing a blow for them—who were considered geniuses.
Merely on the basis of talent, to surpass those nurtured with the Ji Family resources—didn’t that mean in terms of talent, it was an absolute crushing superiority?
“Eminent Elders, may I know where my son is now?”
Li Tian Gang, seeing that the young man had left and was no longer asking questions, inexplicably felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, breathing a sigh of relief.
Immediately, he hurriedly asked the many elders beside him, feeling an extremely intense urge to see Li Hao right away.
“Ji Le Ping insisted on going to pick up his mother himself and has gone to Qiu Tian Dao.”
From the crowd, Ji Yunqing hurried over, speaking gently to Li Tian Gang.
Li Tian Gang’s expression changed, thinking of Li Hao and Qingqing’s decade-long separation, and the way he had chosen to change his surname to follow his mother, unwilling to bear the Li name. After all, he had returned to the Li Family and lived with him for some time.
However, thinking of the time they spent together and the angry slap he had delivered, his expression grew ugly, and he quickly said,
“I will go too, Elder, could you inform me where Qiu Tian Dao is located?”
“It’s dangerous there, you’d better wait here,” Ji Yunqing said with a comforting smile.
Li Tian Gang shook his head, suddenly bowing deeply with a sincere look and a plea in his eyes,
“Please grant my request, Elder, allow me to see the mother and son. I’ve let them down, it should have been me coming to the Ji Family to atone for my sins, not for a child to bear the burden. Please, let me do something for them!”
The crowd was taken aback, exchanging glances.
Seeing him speak to such an extent, Ji Yunqing thought for a moment, then said, “Very well, the sea of wilderness has calmed, and when you reunite as a family, it’d be good to return together, a scene of harmonious joy.”
Li Tian Gang, hearing him say “a scene of harmonious joy”, couldn’t help but picture a warm and harmonious image: a family of three laughing together under one roof.
He suddenly felt a surge of warmth in his heart and was desperate to see Li Hao, to ask for his forgiveness.
A decade of warfare in Northern Yan, wasn’t such a scene precisely what he had longed for?
Now, having returned from battle, with the clamor of the border far away, he craved that peace – his wife sitting gracefully in the courtyard, with his son dutifully in his presence.