Time flowed in silence. In the woods, only the rustling of wind blowing through leaves could be heard.
After an unknown amount of time, a tiny glimmer of light suddenly flickered within the eternal dark void of Chen Chuan’s internal Vision.
That light was extremely faint, as if it would extinguish at any moment, yet it carried a tenacious vitality.
"The spark first appears."
Chen Chuan focused his mind, and all his perception and Origin Qi converged toward that single point of light.
Gradually, the light stabilized, no longer flickering, and began to absorb the surrounding power, slowly condensing into a form.
At first, it was a drifting, uncertain ball of light; then its base extended, and its top narrowed.
Finally, a Heart Lamp with an ancient silhouette and hazy light and shadow quietly suspended itself in the center of the void.
The moment the lamp’s shape completely stabilized, a sense of power instantly spread through his entire body.
"First Level of the Burning Lamp Realm. It’s done."
Chen Chuan opened his eyes, and a warm radiance seemed to flash through them for a fleeting second.
He rose to his full height, feeling the power within him that was several times more majestic than when he was at the Ninth Level of Martial Dao. A surge of heroic pride welled up within him.
Black Rock City was indeed no longer large enough to hold a hidden dragon like him, who was about to take flight.
Everything here no longer had anything to do with him.
He set off, heading toward his target destination.
The Primordial Holy Land—the stage where the continent’s top prodigies gathered—was where Chen Chuan truly belonged.
Only the vast resources of the Primordial Holy Land could support his cultivation.
Qingya City, Chen Residence.
The Family Head, Chen Xiaotian, sat in the main seat with a solemn expression, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest of his red sandalwood chair.
He had just received news that shook the entire Sacred Martial Continent.
His daughter-in-law, Ji Siyu, who had almost nothing to do with the Chen Family, had actually awakened a Divine Grade Spiritual Root, a rarity in ten thousand years, during the final test.
She had triggered a celestial phenomenon—an Ice Phoenix descending upon the world—which even startled the Holy Master of Primordial Holy Land, Xuan Jingru.
"Divine Grade Spiritual Root, Primordial Holy Land..."
Chen Xiaotian murmured to himself. His face showed no joy at all; instead, it was covered in gloom.
Beside him, Chen Chuan’s mother, Li Xiulian, was overcome with a mix of surprise and joy. Her eyes reddened, and she pressed her hands together in prayer:
"That’s wonderful! Heaven has truly opened its eyes! For Si Yu to have such a destiny..."
"Chuan’er finally has someone to rely on. With Si Yu in the Primordial Holy Land, who would dare to look down on my Chuan’er?"
She seemed to already see a future where her son would use his wife’s influence to shed his reputation as a waste and hold his head high.
"Rely on her? Hmph, a woman’s narrow view." Chen Xiaotian gave a cold snort, interrupting Li Xiulian’s daydream. "You are far too naive."
Li Xiulian was stunned.
"Husband, what do you mean by that?"
"Si Yu is Chuan’er’s wife. Now that she has met with such good fortune, isn’t it only right and proper for her to help Chuan’er?"
"Right and proper?" A trace of mockery appeared on Chen Xiaotian’s face.
"Xiulian, wake up."
"The old Ji Siyu was unable to awaken a Spiritual Root. Although she was somewhat beautiful, she was a suitable match for my, Chen Xiaotian’s, son."
"But what about now?"
"She has a Divine Grade Spiritual Root and is a Disciple of the Primordial Holy Land. She is a Phoenix destined to soar through the Nine Heavens."
Chen Xiaotian stood up, his tone heavy.
"And what is our son, Chen Chuan? He is a cripple who was kicked out of the Family, unable to Cultivate, with his future completely ruined."
"Between the two of them, one is in the heavens and the other is on the ground; they are like clouds and mud."
"Do you think the current Ji Siyu will still be willing to stay with such a husband?"
"Won’t she try every possible means, using the power of the Primordial Holy Land, to rid herself of this marriage that she now views as a disgrace?"
After listening to Chen Xiaotian’s analysis, Li Xiulian’s face instantly turned pale.
She opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but found that every word her husband said pierced her heart, leaving her with no way to rebut him.
A massive sense of loss and worry surged in her heart, and she couldn’t help but complain with a sobbing tone:
"It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t been so heartless as to kick Chuan’er out of the house back then, how could he have fallen to this point?"
"Even if—even if Si Yu really wants to abandon Chuan’er, then at least Chuan’er would still have the Chen Family to rely on."
Chen Xiaotian was furious and pointed at Li Xiulian.
"Blame me? A doting mother spoils the child."
"If you hadn’t spoiled him excessively since he was young and neglected his discipline, how could he have developed such a rebellious character?"
"And how could he have been so audacious as to do such lawless things?"
"You are at least half responsible for him being kicked out of the Chen Family."
Harshly rebuked by her husband, Li Xiulian thought of her son’s past behavior and her own constant shielding of him, knowing she was in the wrong.
Her tears flowed, yet she still felt heartache for her son.
"But I—I just feel sorry for Chuan’er."
"He has already suffered enough. If he is abandoned by Si Yu as well, how will he live?"
Seeing his wife’s heartbroken appearance, Chen Xiaotian also felt a wave of irritation and helplessness.
He took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice:
"This isn’t even the worst part. Do you know the news about that girl from the Feng Family, Feng Zhixian?"
Li Xiulian raised her tearful eyes, having an ominous premonition. "That child Zhixian, what happened to her?"
Chen Xiaotian’s tone was grave.
"In the Primordial Holy Land, she awakened an Ultimate Grade Spiritual Root, and the Phoenix Bloodline inherited within her body has awakened to the seventh rank."
"In just two years since entering the Primordial Holy Land, her cultivation has already broken through to the First Level of the Furnace Realm."
"Furnace Realm?" Li Xiulian was so terrified she almost collapsed to the ground.
Burning Lamp Realm, Ming Quan Realm, Furnace Realm—the gap between each major Realm was like a natural chasm.
An eighteen-year-old in the Furnace Realm—what kind of monstrous talent was this?
Even in the entire Sacred Martial Continent, she would definitely be among the top tier!
"An eighteen-year-old in the Furnace Realm... how could she Cultivate so quickly?"
Li Xiulian’s voice trembled, her face devoid of color.
Chen Xiaotian sighed.
"The Phoenix Bloodline is inherently miraculous, and with the resources of the Primordial Holy Land poured into her, such an achievement, while astonishing, is within the Realm of reason."
"What I am most worried about now is whether she still remembers the grudge from back then."
"With her current strength and status, if she wanted to act against Chuan’er..."
He didn’t say the rest, but Li Xiulian already understood.
If Feng Zhixian truly wanted to kill Chen Chuan, the Chen Family would have no power to stop her, nor would they even dare to demand justice.
Back then, Chen Chuan had lost his virtue while drunk and defiled the purity of the Feng Family’s young miss, Feng Zhixian.
However, Li Xiulian had asked her precious son at the time, telling him to confess whether he had actually defiled Feng Zhixian’s body.
At that time, Chen Chuan adamantly insisted that he had not defiled Feng Zhixian.
But Feng Zhixian insisted that Chen Chuan had defiled her and demanded that Chen Chuan pay the price.
No matter how Chen Chuan explained, few in the Chen Family believed him.
After all, everyone in Qingya City knew what kind of person Chen Chuan was.
The members of the Feng Family, in their state of rage, were even less likely to believe Chen Chuan’s lies.
If it hadn’t been for the old patriarch of the Chen Family still being around, using his formidable strength and paying a huge price to force the Feng Family to compromise, Chen Chuan would have long ago been struck dead by a single palm strike from the enraged old patriarch of the Feng Family.
To be able to keep his life and only be kicked out of the Family was already a stroke of luck.
Now, Feng Zhixian’s wings had fully grown. If she sought revenge, would Chen Chuan have any way to survive?
Thinking of the desperate situation her son might face, Li Xiulian felt the world spinning, her heart twisting with pain.
Just as the atmosphere in the hall became stiflingly oppressive, a Chen Family Disciple ran in hurriedly and reported respectfully outside the door:
"Family Head, Madam, the Young Madam Ji Siyu has come to visit; she has already arrived outside the residence gates."
What?
Chen Xiaotian and Li Xiulian were both startled at the same time, exchanging a look; both saw surprise and gravity in the other’s eyes.
Why would she come?
And she arrived so quickly.
Chen Xiaotian’s face was dark, and he was almost certain of his guess:
"It seems she can’t wait to come and draw a clear line between herself and my Chen Family."
"Fine. This had to happen sooner or later."
He straightened his robes and said to Li Xiulian in a heavy voice:
"Dry your tears and follow me out to welcome this high Disciple of the Primordial Holy Land."
His tone was filled with helplessness and a trace of undetectable mockery.
The current Ji Siyu’s status was already different; even he, the Chen Family Head, did not dare to be the slightest bit negligent.
But at the thought of his son who had been kicked out of the house, Chen Xiaotian’s heart couldn’t help but well up with a complex bitterness.