In Xiang Shaoyun’s residence, Tuoba Wan’er, Gong Qinyin, and a four-year-old boy were gathered together. Tuoba Wan’er was playing with the boy, while Gong Qinyin was playing a tune with her zither. The presence of the two absolute beauties caused the picturesque scenery in the residence to lose color.
Within the courtyard, a boy could be seen running around in a lively manner. The occasional laughter mixed with the zither music to form a warm scene in the courtyard. Xiang Shaoyun couldn’t bring himself to enter the courtyard and ruin the scene. He waited until the music ended before he entered.
“Husband (overlord)!” Tuoba Wan’er and Gong Qinyin cried out happily when they saw him.
Xiang Shaoyun smiled and said, “Wan’er, Qinyin, I’m back.”
“I know you would be fine,” said Gong Qinyin with a smile, her previous anxiousness nowhere to be seen.
Prior to this, she had entered the Devil Domain with Xiang Shaoyun. She had eventually mastered the dao of devilish tune, gaining the ability to control the devils’ state of mind, making it easier for her companions to slaughter the devils they encountered.
After separating from Xiang Shaoyun, she remained in the Devil Domain to train. That lasted until she heard of Xiang Shaoyun’s disappearance. She then separated from the Overlord Legion and left the Devil Domain alone.
Xiang Shaoyun’s disappearance had adversely affected her state of mind. If she had forced herself to stay in the Devil Domain, she would have probably ended up dead. She had firmly believed that Xiang Shaoyun would survive. She was sure that Xiang Shaoyun was someone capable of miracles.
Of course, her main reason for leaving was because she didn’t want to distract him from whatever he was facing. After all, she was still too weak compared with everyone else in the Devil Domain. She did not wish to be anyone’s burden. Thus, she returned to the Ziling Sect. In any case, she had already gained much from her trip to the Devil Domain.
Xiang Shaoyun had already made her promise to leave the Devil Domain the moment something went wrong. Since he wouldn’t have any trouble leaving on his own, she only needed to do as told.
Xiang Shaoyun gave the two women a big hug and smiled as he said, “Haha, it feels good to see the two of you!”
The two women blushed.
“You’re a bad man! Let go of my mother and Aunt Qinyin!” a sharp voice suddenly rang out.
When Xiang Shaoyun lowered his head, he saw a little boy glaring at him furiously. The boy was none other than his son, Tuoba Lingtian. Xiang Shaoyun was happy to see his son. He let go of the two women, crouched down, and hugged Tuoba Lingtian.
However, Tuoba Lingtian hurriedly jumped aside and shouted, “Bad man, you’re trying to kidnap me? I’ll tell my great-grandpa about this! He’ll beat you up!”
Tuoba Wan’er hurried over and told Tuoba Lingtian, “Tian’er, don’t be afraid. This is your father.”
Tuoba Lingtian nestled in Tuoba Wan’er’s arms and inquisitively looked at Xiang Shaoyun. He asked, “I-is he really my father?”
Xiang Shaoyun smiled and said, “Haha, of course. Come on, give your father a hug.”
“I-I don’t want to!” Tuoba Lingtian tightened his arms around his mother and said, “Great-grandpa said that Father is a bad man that never visits! I don’t want to hug you!”
Xiang Shaoyun’s face twitched as he cursed the hall master inwardly.
“Son, don’t listen to your great-grandpa. Your father was busy with work. See, I came back the moment I was free. Come, give your father a hug,” said Xiang Shaoyun.
Tuoba Wan’er also pleaded, but as far as Tuoba Lingtian could remember, he had never seen his father before. Xiang Shaoyun was practically a stranger to him. Thus, he had a hard time accepting this father.
When Xiang Shaoyun tried to forcefully give him a hug, he started crying, causing Xiang Shaoyun to have a gloomy expression. Tuoba Wan’er could only helplessly bring their son back into the room.
Looking at Xiang Shaoyun’s disappointed expression, Gong Qinyin said, “Overlord, you can’t be too hasty with children. He has your blood in his veins. You only need to spend some time with him, and he’ll quickly grow closer to you.”
Xiang Shaoyun nodded before asking, “How long has it been since you returned from the Devil Domain? If I hadn’t heard about your departure from the others, I would have assumed that you were still in the Devil Domain.”
Gong Qinyin replied with a question, “Are you thinking that I’m a woman who would run before a battle?”
Xiang Shaoyun smiled. “Of course not, silly.”
“In the Devil Domain, I can’t be of any help. My existence is a burden for everyone. After learning of your disappearance, I felt lost and decided to leave. I wanted to wait for you at the fort, but the devilish energy was too thick, so I returned to the sect. I hope you won’t blame me for leaving early,” said Gong Qinyin.
Xiang Shaoyun lightly stroked her hair and said, “You did the right thing. The Devil Domain is not suitable for your cultivation. I’m happy that you can return safely. Too many had died in the Devil Domain.”
Gong Qinyin was relieved to hear that Xiang Shaoyun did not blame her. Xiang Shaoyun did not stay long in the courtyard. He returned to the grand hall and summoned the sect’s higher-ups. He needed to know about the sect affairs during the past three years.
After three years of growth, the sect had discovered two ore veins at the Buried Monarch Mountain Range. The two discoveries served to increase the sect’s income. The yellowvein layered stone mine discovered by Little White had also helped enrich the sect’s coffers.
Qian Furen had displayed his commerce capabilities and earned a decent amount of wealth for the sect. He had even prepared enough materials for a new teleportation formation. One could say that Qian Furen’s status within the sect was constantly growing. His status was now second only to the likes of Devouring Ghost, Pang Tongyuan, and Old Yao.
The sect’s key positions had also been filled. Each person with a managerial position would be responsible for something different. Devouring Ghost personally maintained these people’s loyalty, ensuring that the key positions wouldn’t fall into the hands of enemy spies. Of all the things Xiang Shaoyun had learned, the news regarding a certain tier-7 organization had grabbed his attention.
In the Celestial King Province, the Ziling Sect wasn’t the sole tier-7 organization. Brightflower Chamber, a tier-7 organization, was also based within the Celestial King Province. Unlike the Dragon Society, they wished to form an alliance with the Ziling Sect.
Their alliance proposal had been delivered to the sect. On the proposal were also the birth dates and information of 18 young women. So long as the Ziling Sect agreed to the proposal, Xiang Shaoyun would be allowed to freely pick one of the women to be his wife or concubine. This was their show of sincerity.
Xiang Shaoyun couldn’t understand what the Brightflower Chamber was aiming for. Thus, he asked for more clarification from Pang Tongyuan. He did not believe that the Brightflower Chamber would propose an alliance out of nowhere.
