At daybreak when Jiang Chen made sure no one else would find him, he returned to the Southwind Ridge.
The family was pretty much the same as when he had left, which relieved him.
In the east courtyard, he saw his parents having tea.
Neither the Natural Law School nor the Xia Dynasty were Jiang Qingyuâs concern. He had overturned the imperial power only because it killed his clansmen.
The bright smile on Jiang Qingyuâs face reminded Jiang Chen of one thing. He didnât have the heart to tell his father about it, but his common sense told him he had to.
So he told his father what had happened to Taoist Priest Skywind.
âMaster is dead? Are you sure?â Jiang Qingyuâs face grew solemn with a frown.
âCould it be false news? The Black Dragon City spread such a rumor once.â
Jiang Chen shook his head helplessly. He said, âI got the news from the Sacred Institute. At the beginning, I thought maybe it wasnât the same guy, but the Sacred Institute was very sure Taoist Priest Skywind was the one they were talking about.â
Jiang Qingyu didnât speak. He looked towards his wife guiltily.
âYou should go. Donât worry about me. Our main problems have already been solved. Everything will be fine,â said Gao Yue.
âI got help from master. I wouldnât be who I am today without him.â
Jiang Qingyu nodded. He looked towards Jiang Chen and said, âSon, Iâm going to travel to the Alien Battlefield to investigate what happened to my master.â
âFather, Iâll go with you.â Jiang Chen wasnât surprised. He offered to go with him.
âNo!â Gao Yue vetoed him immediately.
Jiang Qingyu said, âYouâve been doing great, but the Alien Battlefield isnât a place a Reaching Heaven State should go.â
Jiang Chen wasnât persuaded. He was dying to be stronger. He wished he could start an adventure right away.
âBe the best in the Dragon Field, first. Then youâll be qualified for the Alien Battlefield,â Jiang Qingyu said seriously. He had seen through his son.
âAll right.â
Jiang Chen knew it was the safest way, although he could enhance more in dangerous situations, like his journey out of the Realm of Beasts.
But if he kept taking adventures like that, he would die sooner or later.
And he had managed to walk out of the Realm of Beasts only with the aid of Whitty.
âWhittyâŠâ
Jiang Chen felt conflicted when he recalled that white figure. He gave up the idea to go to the Alien Battlefield.
âFather, take care. By the way, I have good news!â
Seeing the shadow on his fatherâs face, he told his parents how he was a man of genuine blood to cheer them up.
Undoubtedly, both of them were overjoyed to hear it.
Especially Jiang Qingyu, who was beaming. He said excitedly, âIâm eager to see the arrogant Gaosâ faces when they hear what a big mistake they made!â
Gao Yue was happy, too. She had thought about such a possibility before.
But her smile suddenly faded. She looked towards Jiang Chen sternly and said, âSon, how did you find out you have genuine blood?â
âAnything wrong?â Jiang Qingyu was confused.
âMen of genuine blood have to die first. Then theyâll be reborn in fire. Before that, no one knows whether a man has genuine blood or not,â said Gao Yue.
âSon, does that mean you were dead once? What happened?â Jiang Qingyu tumbled to the realization and realized how serious it was.
Jiang Chen wanted to make a casual remark, but he knew it was impossible when he saw his parentsâ expressions.
So he had to tell them about the Spirits and the Spirit Dynasty.
After hearing the whole story, Gao Yue and Jiang Qingyu looked very weird, but they werenât as angry or surprised as Jiang Chen had imagined.
Gao Yue glanced at Jiang Qingyu in protest. The latter smiled embarrassedly and put his hand on Jiang Chenâs shoulder.
âGood son, I canât believe you stole the heart of the daughter of Ice Spiritâs king.â
âHuh, just keep talking!â
Gao Yue put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. She was giving him a good hard stare.
Jiang Chen realized his apprentice sister and him were like his parents many years before.
âThereâs a lot to conquer for couples who have a huge gap in social status. You should be prepared for possible hardships,â Jiang Qingyu said seriously.
But Gao Yue didnât give him a pass. She went closer to him and sneered, âYou mean itâs been hard for you to stay with me? Iâm so sorry. Iâve made things difficult for you.â
âNo, absolutely not. Itâs thanks to you that Iâve been able to conquer those problems. And Iâm willing to,â Jiang Qingyu hurried to say.
Gao Yue groaned in a muffled voice and then left him behind. She looked at her son and said, âJiang Chen, donât let the girl end up in the same situation as me.â
âI wonât.â He knew what she was referring to.
âI canât believe that Spirit Dynasty had the nerve to hurt my son. Iâll make them regret it,â Jiang Qingyu said coldly.
Jiang Chen smiled. His parentsâ reactions were very different from what he had thought. He had assumed they would try to talk him out of it, but they had supported and encouraged him instead.
The next day, Jiang Qingyu travelled to the Alien Battlefield to investigate what had caused Taoist Priest Skywindâs death.
Under Jiang Chenâs orders, this news was unknown to outsiders.
Although the Xia Dynasty wasnât tense at that moment, it would always be better if people thought Jiang Qingyu was at the Southwind Ridge, so he didnât even tell the Natural Law School about it. He also started to deploy a great formation at the Hundred Thousand Mountains, aiming to build the mountains into an iron fortress.
The strain of yuan stones under the mine at the Southwind Ridge were at their disposal.
Jiang Chen gave his clansmen many martial arts techniques and methods. He was sure the Hundred Thousand Mountains would dominate the Fire Field in a couple decades.
After all this had been done, Jiang Chen went to the capital to help with the construction of the imperial palace and the improvement of its defenses.
By then, the imperial power had been completely subdued by the power of martial arts.
In addition, Jiang Chen saw Wen Xin in the imperial palace. She was already Her Highness of the Xia Dynasty.
The Natural Law School and the Xia Dynasty wanted to fix Jiang Chen up with Wen Xin to strengthen their relationship.
Jiang Chen refused. The dynasty claimed Wen Xin didnât have to be his wife, and that she could be a concubine.
âI donât have a wife yet. How can I have a concubine?â
With this excuse, Jiang Chen refused them again.
After that, Jiang Chen hardly saw Wen Xin. Even though they met, they wouldnât speak.
Five days later, after things with the imperial palace were settled, Jiang Chen returned to the east courtyard of the Southwind Ridge again. He was going to travel to the Dragon Field.
But as soon as he came back, he found the atmosphere at home didnât feel right.
Those of the courtyard used to be joyful, but at that moment, they seemed depressed.
Fan Tu ran to him as soon as he saw Jiang Chen. He said in a hurry, âYoung lord, bad news.â
Then Jiang Chen learned what had happened.
He had thought that killers from the royal family had come again, but it turned out it had nothing to do with the Spirits.
It was the Gaos from the Dragon Field that had paid them a visit!
Is it because my phoenix blood is awake? Jiang Chen thought to himself.
The Murongs and the Sus had come from thousands of miles away as soon as Ning Haotianâs dragon blood woke up.
It had been some time since he was reborn in fire. It was already rather late for the Gaos to come, but Jiang Chen didnât feel right about it. If they really had come for that, the atmosphere in the east courtyard wouldnât have been so low.
He asked Fan Tu for more details, but he didnât know too much. He only knew that they had come regarding Gao Yueâs detoxification.