In the real world, within a vast expanse of ocean.
Lingering arcs of lightning flickered across the surface of the sea. The ocean was turbulent, as if it were recovering from a heavy blow not long ago, with whirlpools forming. Hot steam rose straight into the sky. Within the gradually gathering clouds, it seemed as though nine thunder dragons were roaring, unwillingly fading away.
In mid-air, Li Wei, holding the North Star Spirit-Breaking Spear and standing upon a Yin-Yang fish diagram, looked up at the sky, feeling the power he controlled within his body.
As early as the day before the great family battle, he had already returned to the real world and begun his breakthrough!
The nine-nine thunder tribulation was truly nothing to him. More than thirty years of preparation and a vast amount of resources were enough for him to ascend to the middle stage of Nascent Soul during the thunder tribulation.
But at this moment.
Li Wei's face was overcast; there wasn't a trace of joy on his face.
"Splash..."
A light rain began to fall on the sea. Li Wei slowly extended his hand, feeling the raindrops on his palm. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh, "Perhaps from the very beginning, I shouldn't have let you shoulder these heavy responsibilities. No one should have to bear them."
He shook his head and flew back towards home in the rain.
His eyes were red-rimmed, and he didn't use his spiritual power to ward off the wind and rain, as if he were trying to conceal something.
He tightly clutched his phone in his hand. The phone's screen displayed the room in the game, and in the event log at the bottom right of the screen, everything that had happened to the family was recorded.
"Ring ring."
[Your entire family has begun a full-scale rebellion against the Wu Clan!]
[Your descendant Li Kuangtu is charging alone towards the Spirit Jade Division, directly confronting Guan Tian! The inner demons that have plagued him for years have vanished without a trace upon facing Guan Tian again. He has acquired the trait: Fearless Warrior!]
[Acquired Trait: Compassionate Patriarch] [Acquired Trait: Eternal Infamy] [Acquired Trait: Madman]
[Your descendant Li Kuangtu, after thirty years at the False Core stage, shattered his Golden Core in one fell swoop, directly ascending to the Heavenly Core and reaching the middle stage of the Golden Core!]
[Your descendant Li Kuangtu...]
[Deceased.]
...
"Kill!"
Inside the game world, the descendants of the Li family charged into battle. Thirty years ago, these damnable Wu Clan members had set foot in the Azure Cloud region, and the Spirit Jade Division had occupied their ancestral land!
And today.
They were like beasts unleashed, tearing into these Wu Clan members who had treated them as tools to be used, as lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
For a full thirty years, everyone in the Li family had been cultivating. They seemed to be living as usual, but no one knew that they, like the people of Green Valley Town and everyone in Azure Cloud region, were waiting for this day, waiting to possess sufficient strength to drive these Wu Clan members out of their homeland!
It's just that in this carnage.
Without exception, every member of the Li family froze, their brows furrowing simultaneously. A feeling of emptiness and loss welled up within them.
Not long after.
The descendants of the Li family, who were battling in all directions across the Azure Cloud region, suddenly had the Ancestor's spirit tablets appear before them, shimmering like stars. The ancestral tablets were now even more dazzling than before.
For thirty years, the Ancestor had been silent, just like them. They had rarely seen the Ancestor's spirit tablets light up. Originally, this should have been a moment of excitement, a sign that the Ancestor was watching over them, but their expressions were all stunned.
Then, with stiff bodies, they headed towards the Spirit Jade Division.
...
In Green Valley Town, the morning mist was rising. The old, the weak, the women, and the children who remained in the town were cleaning up the battlefield.
Qingyu's eyes were vacant as she unconsciously walked past the place where she and Li Kuangtu had once lived. Without realizing it, she arrived at the empty lot where her family's residence had once stood. A fresh breeze blew this morning.
"Creak... creak..."
The swing that little Kuangtu used to sit on, the one she had pushed him on while he shouted with joy, its ropes now dry and frayed, the three planks nailed together faded and worn, seemingly ready to rot away at any moment. Yet, it still creaked in the morning breeze.
"Qingyu..."
Huang Xiujin approached. His aura was now even more profound and powerful, but his hair was white, and his eyes were red-rimmed. He walked up behind Qingyu with a complicated expression, but then he stopped, letting out only a long sigh.
There were two people most important in his life: one was Qingyu, whom he had raised since she was a child, and the other was Li Kuangtu.
But it seemed to him that the two most important people in his life had already left him.
Although he had inherited Yu Xian's "Hexa-Ren Divine Calculation" and the methods of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, and was able to predict many things, he could only calculate that Li Kuangtu had already died, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to prevent it.
"Grandpa Huang."
Qingyu continued to stare at the swaying swing. She smiled, "Do you remember when you asked me if I wanted to be Kuangtu's child bride? Do you know what I was thinking back then? I was against it, but for the sake of Cloudsea Pavilion, and for the sake of your kindness to me, I started taking care of my little husband from a young age. I treated him like a child."
"Little Kuangtu was very immature, but when he came back from outside, he hugged me here, and that's when everything changed. I realized he had grown up, truly become someone worthy of entrusting myself to."
"It was here, too."
"Thirty years ago, on the city wall, Kuangtu pointed to this place. This little swing holds all the memories between Kuangtu and me. That night, he extended his hand to me and asked if I was willing to walk all the roads with him. At that time, he was rejected by everyone, but only I understood that he, like me, had to accept everything he was unwilling to accept."
"And then all of this will become a heavy burden, a responsibility."
The morning wind today was exceptionally cold. Huang Xiujin's jaw was clenched tight, his shoulders trembling. It seemed like only yesterday that Qingyu and Kuangtu were just children.
Qingyu turned her head.
There wasn't a trace of sadness on her face because of her husband's death; she was smiling happily.
"I did it. These past years, I've accompanied Kuangtu every step of the way to this point. He is not a coward, at least not in my eyes."
"I'm very grateful that Grandpa Huang had me marry Kuangtu. I'm proud, proud to be Kuangtu's woman."
"I'm about to leave Green Valley Town. Please tell everyone in the family, Grandpa Huang, that I'm sorry. When Kuangtu left Green Valley Town to go to the Wu Clan and face Guan Tian, I didn't stop him, nor did I inform anyone. If they have any complaints, please, Grandpa Huang, do not offer any defense on my behalf."
Having said this, Qingyu bowed deeply to Huang Xiujin, then walked around the Li family estate. She wanted to walk, one last time, over all the places Kuangtu had tread.
When she reached the outskirts of Green Valley Town, she looked up at the city walls. Thirty years ago, the walls weren't so high, and Kuangtu was still an unparalleled, handsome young master. Later, Kuangtu became pot-bellied, but he was still the most heroic man.
That day, she saw it clearly. Kuangtu extended his hand and also handed her the present destined for sorrow.
But she had still taken Kuangtu's hand.
"I don't regret it."
Qingyu gently stroked her belly, a tender expression on her face, "Kuangtu, that day I shed tears for you, but now I will smile for your pride. I will let our child live an ordinary life; his life will not be like ours, forced to choose things we never wanted to bear."
The rising sun emerged in the east. Qingyu smiled faintly and walked towards the sun.