Yun Che left Emperor Yun City behind and flew toward the north alone.
“Where are you going, Master?” He Ling couldn’t help her curiosity.
Since her life became one with Yun Che’s, their experiences became shared as well. There shouldn’t be anything about Yun Che that she didn’t know, and yet she couldn’t recall him asking a special favor from Chi Wuyao at all.
“Patience. It’s not too far away from here.”
His reply only made her more curious and mystified.
It wasn’t long before a small star realm entered their vision.
He Ling thought that they would fly over the star realm, but he flew straight toward it.
“This is your destination, Mast… ah!?”
He Ling’s puzzled tone abruptly turned into a cry of shock.
“This aura… no, these auras are…”
Her voice grew increasingly soft and agitated.
Yun Che sped up, and the distant star realm grew bigger at a much faster pace. Eventually, his senses became fully attuned to the vast world before his eyes.
It was a planet covered in emerald green. Even from a distance, he could feel an impossibly pure aura washing over his person, expelling the darkness in his heart and cleansing the impurities of his soul.
He came to a stop above the star realm and looked. Emerald wood, new bamboo and blue grass connected heaven and earth. Between them were countless other plants and flowers.
The sky of this planet was unusually high, and it merged seamlessly with the blue sea below. The clouds were pure white, and the breeze seemed to ignore physical boundaries and seep into one’s very soul.
This planet would seem like a forgotten paradise to those who were used to a world polluted by sin, strife and desire.
He Ling manifested beside Yun Che. For a long time, she simply stared at the world below her with increasingly blurry eyes…
“Sis! Don’t fly so fast, sis! I, I can’t keep up with you!… Ah!”
The childish voice that ended in a cry of surprise belonged to a boy. He wobbled unsteadily as he crash-landed into the bamboo forest below him.
The girl he was chasing after stopped in her tracks before flying to where the young boy had fallen. Placing her hands on her hips, she said, “You’re so useless, Little E! I could’ve flown all the way to Penannular Emerald Peak when I was your age.”
“If this was in the past, hmph, you would be the first to be captured by a bad person.”
Both the boy and the girl had dark green hair, greenish-blue pupils, and sharp ears. Their aura was so pure that it was like an unreserved gift from Mother Nature herself.
Anyone who saw them would know that they were juvenile Wood Spirits.
The boy climbed to his feet and said smilingly, “We’re not in the past though! Now that Emperor Yun is protecting us, no bad person will ever dare to bully us again.”
The two children were currently in a vast wilderness. If this was in the past, they would never be allowed to come here without adult supervision.
Even with adult supervision, they would be spending every waking hour hiding themselves from view.
When they awoke from their slumber, they would occasionally find one or more of their kin had vanished for eternity.
Those days had been the nightmares of nightmares.
“That’s why we should be more alert than ever!!”
The girl blinked round, emerald eyes at her younger brother and said in a serious voice that she had obviously copied from an adult, “One of our clan’s ironclad principles is to always return the favors we owe! We must never forget the one who gave us the land beneath our feet and the peace we currently enjoy! If we don’t become stronger now, how can we possibly repay Emperor Yun’s favor in the future?”
The girl had led a fugitive’s life since the moment she was born. She was only a dozen or so years old, but she had already “moved” countless times, survived countless tragedies, and even witnessed them right before her very eyes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she had lived in terror her whole life… until Yun Che had overturned the previous order.
Today, not only had Emperor Yun, sovereign of the four Divine Regions, enacted the harshest Wood Spirit protection law ever in the history of the God Realm, he even purified and modified an entire star realm for the wood spirit race.
Moreover, they were protected 24/7 by the enforcers stationed all around the star realm. Without the Enforcer Bureau’s permission, no one could even get close to it.
They no longer had to live in fear and drift from place to place.
They wouldn’t ever have to return to that dreadful past.
To the Wood Spirits, this outcome was something they didn’t even dare to dream of. That it actually became a reality was… they didn’t know how to begin to return Emperor Yun’s favor.
The girl’s speech caused the boy to fall silent for a moment. Then, he clenched his teeth and struggled to his feet. He declared with boyish determination, “Sister is right. We won’t be able to repay Emperor Yun’s favor if we don’t become stronger.”
“Mm!” The girl nodded once before saying in a soft tone, “There was a Wood Spirit in the projection when Emperor Yun was attacking the Eternal Heaven Realm, and grandpa said that she might very well be a princess of the royal family. She may even be watching over us from somewhere right now. This is also why we must grow stronger! We must return Emperor Yun’s favor, and we must not disappoint the princess!”
The girl wasn’t just encouraging her younger brother. She was also encouraging herself.
“…” He Ling’s tears had turned into a cascade at this point.
Yun Che said softly, “The God Realm is huge, but it will never be big enough to satisfy a person’s desire. I could’ve made the ban ten times stricter, and it still wouldn’t be enough to protect the Wood Spirits completely.”
“After I killed Long Bai and determined Emperor Yun City’s location, I asked Wuyao to mobilize the major star realms, rally the Wood Spirits scattered across all the divine regions, and purify this small star realm for them. Obviously, I named it the ‘Wood Spirit Realm’.”
“…” He Ling’s lips moved, but no sound came out.
“This star realm was an auxiliary star realm of the Southern Sea God Realm. It’s pretty small, but it is overflowing with pure spirit energy because they used to nurture their spirit herbs and plants here.”
“It is less than two hours away from the Southern Sea God Realm, so you can visit them anytime you want. In case of emergencies, our forces will also be able to come to their aid immediately.”
Below them, the sister and brother had already departed the bamboo forest together. In the distance, they could also sense countless Wood Spirits going about their business and releasing their pure aura freely. They no longer had to strain their nerves, conceal their heartbeats and do everything in their power to stay hidden. They no longer had to fear ever again.
“The three divine regions have been made aware of the Wood Spirit Realm. The major star realms have also spread the word that Wood Spirits looking to move to Wood Spirit Realm can simply seek out the nearest enforcer bureau and be escorted there by the enforcers.”
He looked at He Ling and touched her dancing hair. “Not much time has passed, so this is all I can do for the moment. You won’t have to wait long though. One day, the Wood Spirits will no longer need to shelter within the Wood Spirit Realm. They’ll be able to come and go whenever they like, and travel to wherever it is they wish to go. They will only be loved, cared for, and respected. They won’t need to worry about being harmed ever again.” [1]
The world owed the wood spirit race too much.
He owed the wood spirit race too much.
He Ling finally removed her gaze from the dreamlike world beneath her feet and stared at Yun Che. Tears refracting the emerald light in her pupils, she said, “Master, I…”
Suddenly, Yun Che put a finger to her soft lips and said, “Come now. There is no need for thanks between you and I. Also…”
He continued after a pause, “It is nothing compared to your and He Lin’s sacrifices. Truly.”
He Lin and He Ling were the ones who gave everything the wood spirit race had today. Not him.
“…” He Ling stopped talking and watched him in silence.
“Do you want to meet them?” Yun Che wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks. “I’m sure they will be glad to meet their royal princess; to know that the royal bloodline is still alive [2]
However, He Ling slowly shook her head.
“I’m… not the princess of the wood spirit race anymore.” She murmured while staring into Yun Che’s eyes, “My family is avenged, and the wood spirit race is protected and at peace. I no longer have any regrets left in this life. From now on, I am only your He Ling.”
“No.” Yun Che smiled. “You belong to yourself. No one, not even I have the right to claim your freedom against your will.”
“Does that mean there will be a day you don’t want me?” He Ling’s teary eyes trembled piteously.
“What are you saying?” Yun Che pinched her cheek lightly. “You don’t actually believe me, do you? I’m a selfish and domineering man. I will literally tie you to my person if you dare to even think about leaving my side.”
He Ling bloomed into a beautiful smile and leaned on his chest. She held him as tightly as she could and whispered with firm determination, “I will never leave you, Master… never.”
————
(↑FLAG WARNING!)
————
Another half a year passed by.
It had only been a year since Yun Che was crowned Great Emperor of the God Realm, but his reign had solidified to an astonishing level. One word from Emperor Yun could mobilize every king realm in the universe to action. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was their new heaven.
The rebellions still happened from time to time, but the numbers dropped drastically each month. Progress was being made regarding the communication between the Northern Divine Region and the three divine regions as well.
On his daughter’s twenty-first birthday, Yun Che officially took Yun Wuxin on a tour across the entire God Realm. It was what he promised to be her birthday gift.
Yun Che had started his journey to godhood from the Eastern Divine Region, but Yun Wuxi had started hers from the Southern Divine Region because it was the closest. They would then travel to the Western Divine Region next and the Eastern Divine Region later. They would be stopping by the God Realm of Absolute Beginning as well.
Finally, he would take her to the lower realms of the Eastern Divine Region. They would also explore the star realms surrounding Blue Pole Star’s former location.
The vast universe, the mysterious star realms, the strange races, the magical views, ancient or modern ruins, strange but naturally occurring phenomena, pocket worlds…
Yun Wuxin’s world was quickly flipped upside down not long after her journey began.
She just recognized that everything she knew was but a drop in the ocean that was the Primal Chaos.
Lower star realms, middle star realms, upper star realms; they visited each plane to learn about their unique lifestyles and perspectives.
What was an unreachable goal for a denizen for one plane was just the starting point for another plane. Yun Wuxin was shown the differences between worlds again, and again, and again.
Yun Che hadn’t bothered to hide his tracks or his aura. Every time he was recognized, profound practitioners of all levels would grovel at their feet and display the utmost fear and respect.
It also made Yun Wuxin realize just how high her father stood in this incredible world called the God Realm.
1. (T/N: wonderful in theory, horrific, yes, horrific in practice.)
2. (T/N: Unless you can’t make her a baby even after she dies of old age. Which is a very real possibility because it’s you).
