In a vast celestial hall.
Song Yan stood with rare humility.
Her head was lowered and her crimson robes flowed down her perfect figure like streams of fire. Because of the way she bent forward, her round, plump rear pushed out beneath the robes, shaped like a fresh, heart-shaped peach.
Her hands were clasped outward.
Before her stood two men whose presence alone warped the spiritual energy of the entire hall.
Their cultivation was incomprehensible!
The younger man was breathtakingly handsome.
He had long snow-white hair and sharp golden eyes.
He wore flowing white robes edged in gold, with ornate golden armor pads on his shoulders that radiated the authority of a heavenly general. Nine illusory golden halos of war intent faintly circled behind him.
This was Heavenly General Song Yuhua.
High commander of the Celestial Punishment Legion in the Lower Heaven Realms.
Beside him sat the patriarch of the Song Clan, an old man with equally white hair that reached his waist and a beard so long it pooled on his lap like fresh snow.
Song Yuhua glanced sideways at his father as his golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"Father, I truly wonder how you can remain so patient with her."
Patriarch Song lifted his chin proudly as his fingers combed through his beard with leisurely grace.
"Because she is my favorite child, of course."
Song Yuhua's handsome face twitched.
He squeezed his eyes for a moment, then turned sharply to his junior sister.
"Yan'er. You've spoken endlessly about this Li Qingmu. You claimed his talent was extraordinary all thanks to your Supreme Seeing Eyes of Earth that can observe every detail of the physical world. Yet since then… I've heard nothing particularly special."
He crossed his arms as his golden armor clinked softly.
"Do you not realize you could recruit any number of geniuses in this backwater world?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Why fixate on one man?"
Song Yan kept her head lowered, but her phoenix-like brows furrowed. A trace of frost appeared in her voice even as she maintained perfect etiquette.
"Senior Brother… please do not speak to me as though I am foolish. I know exactly what I am doing."
Patriarch Song let out a loud, hearty laughter.
"Hah! She's right, Yuhua! I sent one of my personal shadow guards to observe the boy. The report that came back was magnificent! Dual golden cores! One Heaven-Dao grade, the other… something unorthodox even my guard could not fully classify. With a single glance he knew that Li Qingmu is surely a talent to invest in."
He laughed again.
"My Yan'er's judgment is flawless, as always!"
Song Yan's expression remained calm though the tips of her ears were a little red.
Song Yuhua let out a soft scoff.
"Hmph. I have never once heard Father praise another man so highly."
Patriarch Song's laughter grew even louder.
"Naturally! Any man capable of stealing my precious daughter's interest must be extraordinary. Who knows perhaps he'll become my son-in-law one day!"
Song Yan's head snapped up at last.
Her flawless face turned bright red like chilli.
"Father! Can you not say such things?!"
The old patriarch only laughed harder and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
Song Yan's thoughts raced in mortification.
『Why must he embarrass me like this… and in front of Senior Brother, no less!』
She sighed inwardly as she wished the cloud floor would swallow her whole.
Song Yuhua completely ignored the teasing and fixed his golden eyes on her again.
"Enough games. What is the current update on this Li Qingmu? Three years have passed since he formed those dual cores."
That's three months in the Mortal Realm.
Time moved much more slowly there compared to the higher realms. Because of this, cultivators were always advised to live in the Mortal Realm once they reached the Grandmaster Realm.
At that stage, their lifespan was long enough to handle the strange flow of time and still have plenty of years to cultivate without worry.
Song Yan shot him a cold-looking stare.
"…I'm not speaking to him…"
Patriarch Song's eyes lit up with mischief.
"Oh ho? A lover's quarrel already?"
Song Yan turned her glare on her father.
He raised both hands in surrender and giggled.
══════
Inside the Li family palace on Fenghuang Peak.
Li Qingmu stroked his chin thoughtfully as he kept his eyes on the system panel before him.
A gift box icon spun to load his latest reward.
[Congrats, Host! You've achieved Golden Core realm and stabilized your cultivation.]
[The host has obtained a clan-protecting, Grandmaster level divine weapon!]
‣ Asura Annihilation Sword!
It was a sword treasure born from his chaos core and the Tyrant Sword Formation Art.
Li Qingmu smiled contentedly.
"So this sword wields power on par with a cultivator in the Grandmaster Realm!?"
He clapped like an excited little girl.
"Ouu! Ouu! I should check the other rewards!"
He swiped through the panel to his backlog of rewards from becoming clan chief.
[You've received several unparalleled rewards for your official promotion to clan chief!]
‣ Clan Development Core
A powerful treasure that establishes an unbreakable spirit vein array for the settlement.
‣ x10 Elder Recruitment Tokens
Summons loyal Core Formation experts.
‣ x5 Ancestral Hall Blueprints
Boosts offspring cultivation by 50%
‣ +50,000 Family Points
‣ +10,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones
‣ x5 Bloodline Purification Pills
Awakens hidden potentials in offspring.
Li Qingmu stared at the stack of glowing tokens.
"Hmm, maybe I'll summon five for now…"
He murmured to himself.
"If they're up to par, I'll use the rest. No point wasting them on mediocrity."
He activated five tokens.
A brilliant flash of multi-colored light erupted to swirl like a vortex of creation qi. When it faded, five figures knelt before him each at the peak of Core Formation!
"We greet the Clan Chief!"
Li Qingmu nodded approvingly as he opened his mouth to address them.
"Welcome to the Li Clan. Your talents will—"
[Ding! Su Liyue is furious!]
[Ding! Your pregnant wife is saddened!]
[Ding! Grand Elder Song Yan is not talking to you!]
Li Qingmu tilted his head and blinked owlishly.
"Song Yan is not talking to me?"
He pictured a cute child-like look on her face.
"Since when is she so immature?"
He chuckled and transmitted his voice calmly.
"Elders, open the chamber doors."
Two Core Formation elders hurried forward and pushed open the thousand-ton jade doors.
Even before the doors opened fully, Li Qingmu could already sense his pregnant wife.
Was she waiting outside all this time?
He stepped forward and froze instantly.
A pale, frail lady stood there.
"…Husband…"
This woman sounded like a dying corpse.
Her once-rosy cheeks were sunken, her bright eyes dim and listless. Her small bump was still there, but she looked like a porcelain doll that might shatter at a touch.
Li Qingmu jerked back with a startled shout.
"Ahhh! Rou'er—is that really you?!"
The drained Zhen Rou nodded sluggishly.
Li Qingmu's heart clenched.
"Why do you look so depressed? Were you bullied while I was in seclusion?"
Zhen Rou shook her head sharply.
"No!"
Then her cheeks puffed out like an angry little squirrel as her eyes glistened as though she'd cry.
"How… how can Husband go into seclusion for so long when I'm here carrying your child? You didn't even come once to check on me… to feel if the baby is kicking… what if it turns out to be a demon god and devours the entire clan while you're not here to protect us!?"
Li Qingmu blinked twice.
"…A demon what?"
Zhen Rou was suffering from pregnancy brain.
Li Qingmu couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He stepped forward to gently cup her face.
"That won't happen, silly girl."
His gaze dropped to her tiny jade hands.
They were usually flawless and soft.
But they were now covered in small blisters and faint burn marks.
His smile faded.
He gently lifted her hands, turning them palm-up.
"What happened to you?"
Zhen Rou puffed her cheeks again as she looked away stubbornly.
"I… I've been practicing cooking. So Husband and Senior Sister Su aren't the only ones making meals all the time. I'm not jealous of Sister Su, but… but I want to be the one cooking for the family too!"
She placed a small hand over her chest.
Rou'er is a determined wife after all!
Li Qingmu's expression softened completely.
He held both her injured hands tenderly, then leaned down to press a warm kiss to her forehead.
Her cheeks flushed bright red instantly.
"Stop being silly. You don't ever have to worry about your place in this marriage. Even if I take ten more wives, none will replace you."
Zhen Rou nodded once.
"But… that's Aunt Song. Senior Sister Su is just as beautiful as Aunt Song—maybe even prettier than me… so I get a little scared. I promise I'm not jealous, though!"
Li Qingmu kissed her cheek this time.
"You're worth far more than mere beauty, hm?"
Zhen Rou's eyes welled with tears, but she smiled brightly and nodded like an obedient little wife.
Li Qingmu smiled back, thinking to himself.
『Besides… I still haven't given her the remaining stages of the Peach Blossom Immortal Pill. Once she consumes them, no woman in the continent will match her charm.』
He suddenly paused.
[Ding! The host has made sixty new enemies who are all Core Formation or higher!]
Li Qingmu froze.
"…Eh…?"