In the God Realm, in the estates of the Xiao Family, Xiao Yan frantically dashed along a cobblestone path. Soon, he arrived at a thatched hut surrounded by a dense thicket of bamboo.
“Father.”
“What is it this time?”
Xiao Ting sat at a stone table outside the hut. His hands clenched fragrant tea leaves as he frowned in obvious displeasure. Interrupting his tea time had clearly put him in a bad mood.
When he saw Xiao Ting’s expression, Xiao Yan licked his lips timidly, but when he considered how important the report he’d just received was, he grit his teeth and bowed anyway.
“Father, I’ve received a report from below. Someone from the Three Realms under our jurisdiction reached Divine Bestowal again.”
“Mmhm.” Xiao Ting grunted coldly and took a sip of tea. The instant it entered his mouth, his face flushed in obvious pleasure.
He closed his eyes, enraptured and smiled in satisfaction.
After a long pause, he set the tea down, then muttered to himself, “as expected, this is excellent.”
Without saying anything else, he poured himself another cup of tea.
Xiao Yan stood to the side, waiting for Xiao Ting’s response. Considering Xiao Ting’s temperament, he didn’t dare disturb him.
He just stood there quietly as a whole two hours passed.
Xiao Ting finished all the tea in the pot. He gazed at the cups and pot longingly, then let out a long sigh and stretched lazily.
Finally, he noticed Xiao Yan of the corner of his eye. Despite himself, he looked at him curiously and said,“I almost forgot about you. What did you come here to talk about?”
“Reporting to father, in the Three Realms, which is under our jurisdiction, someone reached Divine Bestowal again,” replied Xiao Yan.
In response, Xiao Ting nodded indifferently. “Those savage lands have been producing an awful lot of talents lately. Even so, a divine bestowal is just a divine bestowal. Did you really have to come all the way here to report such a thing? Could it be the same Son of Fortune as before?”
“It isn’t,” Xiao Yan shook his head. “It’s a subordinate of the Heavenly Court, the Erlang Shen, Yang Jian.”
“Mmhm, so it isn’t him. In that case, who cares? If he can get through nine bolts of lightning, let him ascend. If not, that just means he wasn’t destined to become a god. You’re the head of the Xiao family now. Can’t you deal with something like this by yourself?”
Xiao Ting’s gaze sharpened. He’d once chased after authority but now he was nearing the end of his life. Given that he now lived on the mountain in a thatched hut, it was clear that he was no longer interested in the pursuit of power. He wanted to pass everything onto his heir.
Xiao Yan was his only remaining heir, but he was too indecisive. Xiao Ting was often displeased with him. Whenever that happened, he recalled his daughter.
Although she was of the weaker sex, she had no trouble keeping up with men.
In the past, he regarded males as superior and exiled his eldest daughter. She disappeared and Xiao Yan took over as head of the family. However, as he aged, he felt a twinge of regret.
But it was already too late.
Xiao Yan sighed softly, visibly exhausted.
Suddenly, a black-robed person appeared in the sky.
“It looks like I came at the wrong time.” They had deliberately concealed their true voice, but from her figure, it was obvious she was female.
Seeing this new arrival, Xiao Ting’s expression instantly warmed. “No, no, not at all. I was just discussing some trifles with this worthless son of mine. You arrived at just the right time, Your Highness. I’ve already used up all the tea leaves you gave me. I was somewhat distressed about it since I didn’t know how to contact you.”
“I’m here because I suspected that you might’ve just about finished them off. I came back to give you some more.”
Shortly after, a brick wrapped in aluminum foil appeared in her hands. Xiao Ting’s gaze lit up.
Then he turned to Xiao Yan and frowned. “Enough. Hurry back, and going forward, don’t bother me with this sort of trifle. I’ve already prepared to live in seclusion and don’t want to worry about this sort of trivial nonsense any longer.”
“Father, I haven’t finished speaking yet.”
“Don’t you understand what I’m saying?” Xiao Ting’s had grown increasingly irritable. Seeing this, Xiao Yan shrunk back instinctively. He didn’t dare voice any objections. He simply nodded, lips pursed, bowed, then departed from the thatched hut.
After sending him away, Xiao Ting’s face immediately softened into a smile. Rubbing his hands anxiously, he turned to the black-robed woman and said, “I don’t know how I could….”
“No need, this is a gift,” she said, tossing it onto the table with a laugh. Xiao Ting licked his lips, eyes ablaze with desire.
“How could I accept this? I can’t keep taking your treasures without giving anything in return.”
“It’s nothing,” smiled the black-robed figure. “I have some business to take care of, so I won’t disturb your seclusion any longer.”
“How should I find you when I want to buy more of this in the future?”
“Once you’ve just about finished drinking it, I’ll appear of my own volition.”
With that, she suddenly disappeared from the thatched hut. The instant she left, Xiao Ting dashed the table and opened the packet.
He carefully knocked off a small quantity of compressed leaves and placed them into the teapot….
He took a small sip.
As the tea entered his lips, his body trembled as if he’d caught a fever. Then he opened his eyes, revealing utter contentment
…….
“You, come with me.”
Xiao Yan restrained himself before his father, but that didn’t mean he was timid before his clansmen. After returning to his residence, he pointed at a few visiting retainers, then arrived at the main hall.
“Lord.” Seeing the fury written on his face, they bowed in panicked terror.
Time passed, but Xiao Yan said nothing.
He kept thinking about that report from below.
Bolt after bolt of tribulation lightning, yet not one of them hit their target: the one undergoing tribulation. Someone had blocked them on his behalf. Whoever it was, they left behind no useful clues to their identity.
Then, just as Xiao Yan was preparing to increase the number of bolts, they directly wiped out the tribulation.
In truth, there were quite a few people within the God Realm capable of wiping out their lightning tribulations.
However, the Xiao Family was respected throughout the God Realm. Erasing their tribulation was tantamount to slapping their faces.
Who would do such a thing?
Suddenly, his thoughts turned to the previous incident when his father had faced off against Lady Providence.
“I ordered you with keep tabs on Lady Providence. Is there any news?”
“Reporting to the Lord: lately, Providence has remained within the Profound Pavillion. She has not left its walls,” said the visitor.
Xiao Yan frowned. “Keep monitoring her. If she does anything out of the ordinary… No, if she does anything at all, report to me immediately.”
“Understood,” said one of the visitors. He left the room.
Xiao Yan turned to the two below and said, “you’ve been by my father’s side this whole time. Who exactly is that black-robed figure he’s gotten so close to? Furthermore, what exactly was in that present she gave him?”
