Dale looked at Jie Ning in disbelief. "You're Jie Ning?"
"But how did you become so powerful?"
Dale knew that his grandson had already entered the Saint Realm.
About a year ago, Dale had successfully comprehended the power of Heaven and Earth while surviving an avalanche.
After cultivating in seclusion for some time, Dale successfully advanced to become a Saint Domain Warrior.
Returning home in fine clothes was far better than walking through the night in brocade.
Though he did not know that proverb, Dale still decided to return to Tieling Town in grand fashion. He also had to properly needle that disappointing son of his.
Most importantly, someone had been waiting a long time for this news.
I wonder how little Jie Ning is doing. Before I left, he was only this tiny. Has that brat Chris led him astray?
With Melinda keeping an eye on him, probably not.
With all sorts of thoughts in mind, Dale set out on the road home.
"What? Jie Ning is already married?"
"And he has become a Saint Domain Warrior too."
Dale could not help feeling some regret over missing his grandson's wedding.
But that little brat Jie Ning had already become a Saint Domain Warrior? What kind of joke was this?
In a daze, he could already see that unfilial son of his showing off in front of his old father, who had been away from home for years.
I'm only a Level 8 Warrior because you didn't know how to teach. Otherwise, I'd be in the Saint Realm too.
Look at how much better I am at teaching. A Saint Domain Warrior at nineteen! I've created a new history for the Bana Continent.
Looking at Chris's smug face, Dale's expression darkened. With that lazy temperament of his...
If I hadn't kept him under strict control when he was young, trained him hard for several years, and then had Melinda keep him in line after his marriage...
What part of this guy deserved the strength of a Level 8 Warrior?
Just as Dale's hands began to itch for a beating, Melinda appeared in time and gave Chris a passionate lesson in love.
In the end, seeing Chris after he had put on a whole circle of weight, Dale smiled and declared that he was very satisfied.
Dale enjoyed himself at home for a while.
Dale met his youngest grandson, Haba, for the first time. Haba had been born after Dale left home.
Seeing Haba's Level 7 Warrior strength, Dale was delighted.
Among other things, Dale unexpectedly saw Haba practicing Internal Family Boxing. As a Saint Domain Warrior, Dale naturally recognized its extraordinary nature. When he learned that Jie Ning had created the martial art long ago, he could only marvel at his grandson's talent once more.
Yes, Jie Ning had taught Internal Family Boxing to his family very early on, merely claiming that he had created it himself.
Fortunately, people in this world were far more accepting of geniuses. Everyone naturally accepted it, and the whole family practiced Internal Family Boxing.
Unsurprisingly, although Chris was stronger than Haba, Chris was dead last in his progress with Internal Family Boxing.
Dale celebrated at home for several days and invited some of his old friends, letting them properly see what a "Saint Domain Warrior" was.
After staying home for some time, Dale seemed unable to sit still again and began thinking about traveling once more.
Thus, after receiving the family crest, Dale once again set out on a journey.
Having easily accepted the fact that his grandson had become one of the stronger Saint Domain Warriors not long after entering the Saint Realm, Dale followed Jie Ning to his residence.
After meeting Arannis and exchanging brief introductions, Dale quickly began chatting with Jie Ning about family matters.
That was the brief account of their conversation.
"So why was that Saint Domain Warrior chasing you, Grandfather?" After the small talk ended, Jie Ning looked at Dale curiously.
"That's because something huge happened!" Dale's expression immediately turned serious.
"What huge event?" Jie Ning and Arannis had been isolated from the world for too long, so they were both extremely curious about the major event Dale mentioned.
"A Divine Spark." Dale spoke mysteriously. "Divine Sparks have appeared outside."
Arannis said in surprise, "How could Divine Sparks appear?"
Dale replied indifferently, "They were probably left behind by those Divine Beasts the Overgod killed back then."
The group did not dwell further on the matter and instead continued listening to Dale.
"At first, several low-level warriors happened to pick up a Divine Spark. They discovered that it was indestructible and thought they had found some peerless ore, so they wanted to forge it into a weapon. In the end, they could not find a single blacksmith capable of melting it." As he spoke, Dale could not help laughing.
Jie Ning also found it rather absurd.
"Left with no other choice, since they could not use it, those warriors sold the Divine Spark to a noble at a high price as a rare mineral."
"But that noble had no way to melt the Divine Spark either."
"Then, while attending a gathering where Saint Domain Warriors exchanged insights, the noble took out the Divine Spark and tried to use it to befriend one of them."
"By coincidence, one of the experts attending that gathering was a descendant of the God of War. He had seen Divine Sparks in the God of War's possession."
"That Saint Domain expert originally wanted to make a fortune quietly and secretly contact the noble to buy the Divine Spark. But before he could, another Saint Domain Warrior swiftly snatched it up and immediately examined it with spiritual force."
"The God of War's descendant panicked at once and immediately attacked."
"Once that happened, the secret of the Divine Spark naturally could not be kept. Everyone present learned that the piece of ore was a Divine Spark."
"After a period of chaos, the Divine Spark was seized by a lone Saint Domain Warrior, and that warrior's whereabouts remain unknown."
Listening to Dale's account, Jie Ning and Arannis could not help clicking their tongues in amazement.
"Those warriors who found the Divine Spark were unlucky," Jie Ning sighed.
"But what does that have to do with you being chased, Grandfather?" Arannis looked at Dale in confusion.
Dale looked proud. "Now that is the right question."
"I happened to be at that gathering too."
"When they started fighting, I could not be bothered to compete with them for it."
Jie Ning wanted to say, You knew you couldn't beat them, didn't you?
But he held it in.
"When that noble displayed the Divine Spark earlier, he explained where it came from. The moment they started fighting, I immediately used that information to find the warriors who first obtained it." Dale looked very pleased with himself.
"I spent some gold coins and got the location where they found the Divine Spark straight from those boys. Then I flew there immediately."
"I didn't dare waste time. I used my ultimate move and attacked everywhere."
"I knew a Divine Spark could not be damaged by attacks at my level." Dale wore an extremely clever expression.
"Sure enough, after my bombardment, a Divine Spark appeared before me."
"Unfortunately, that fellow Harley saw me while I was collecting it. That's why he chased me all the way here." By the end, Dale sounded somewhat regretful over his bad luck. He had hurried there as fast as he could, only to be witnessed the instant he found the Divine Spark.
"That Harley has wisdom equal to mine, but in the end, I was still better."
Jie Ning reminded him, "Grandfather, you may not be Harley's match."
When Jie Ning had sensed the two auras earlier, he had roughly compared their strength. Harley was at least somewhat stronger than his grandfather, who had only recently entered the Saint Realm.
"Hahaha, but don't I have you, Jie Ning?" Dale said proudly and without concern. "So what if Harley is stronger than me? I have a good grandson."
Jie Ning was speechless.
"Catch..." Suddenly, Dale tossed a black object toward Jie Ning, who caught it instinctively.
"This is... a Divine Spark?!" Jie Ning looked at the Divine Spark glowing red in his hand, then stared at Dale in disbelief.
Jie Ning knew the drawbacks of refining a Divine Spark, and he was confident that he could become a god on his own.
But could his grandfather, merely a newly advanced Saint Domain Warrior, possibly know that? Why had he suddenly thrown this chance to ascend to the heavens in a single step at him?
Dale spoke as though it did not matter. "Consider this a wedding gift from your grandfather."
Seeing the twitch at the corner of Dale's eye, Jie Ning could tell that his grandfather was immensely reluctant to part with it.
"Put it away quickly," Dale urged. He truly did not want to see the Divine Spark anymore. His heart hurt far too much.
Jie Ning suddenly realized that his grandfather had probably intended to give him this Divine Spark from the very beginning.
Jie Ning himself did not care for the Divine Spark, but others certainly would not see it that way. In an ordinary Material Plane, it was an invaluable treasure.
From the moment Grandfather told him that he possessed a Divine Spark, if Grandfather did not hand it over to someone far stronger than himself, then Grandfather would be gambling on Jie Ning's character.
This was not a gamble he had to take. If he did not want to give Jie Ning the Divine Spark, he only needed to lie earlier about why Harley had chased him.
It could only mean that the moment Jie Ning asked, his grandfather had already decided to give him the Divine Spark.
"Grandfather, keep it." However, Jie Ning had no need for the Divine Spark.
Dale looked helplessly at the Divine Spark that had been tossed back into his hands.
"I don't need any Divine Spark. I can become a god on my own." Jie Ning spoke each word clearly, full of confidence.
Arannis, who had been standing to the side the entire time, watched the grandfather and grandson with a smile. She did not quite understand Dale's actions either, but she understood Jie Ning and believed in him.
Seeing Jie Ning's extreme confidence, then seeing Arannis looking at Jie Ning with complete trust, Dale fell into a brief daze.
He seemed to see his former self.
Katyusha, just wait and see. I'll definitely become a Saint Domain Warrior in the future. A spirited youth had sworn before a shy young girl.
I'm leaving. You must take good care of Chris. Someone familiar lay weakly on a bed.
Katyusha, I'll definitely make Chris into a powerful warrior. His resolute former self had solemnly promised her.
Dale, you must live happily too.
...I promise you. Yes, he had promised.
You should see more of this world. I truly wanted to go with...
Katyusha, I miss you... Jie Ning seemed to see a trace of sorrow flash through his grandfather's eyes.
"Haha... as expected of my grandson." As though the sorrow from just now had merely been Jie Ning's illusion, Dale let out a hearty laugh.
Putting the Divine Spark back into his Space Ring, Dale looked at Jie Ning solemnly. "Then I'll hold onto it for you first. If you need it, come find me anytime."
"Grandfather, you..." Suddenly, Jie Ning noticed how unusually serious his grandfather's gaze was and could only stop himself.
I'll wait until I become a god on my own, then persuade Grandfather to refine it himself.
"Still, with Divine Sparks appearing recently, the continent will probably become somewhat turbulent. I really can't rest easy leaving only that unreliable Chris in the territory, so I'll head back first."
At the end, Dale gave Jie Ning and Arannis a deep look. "...You should come home soon too. We'll be waiting for you there."
After leaving those final words behind, Dale flew in the direction of Tieling Town.
Watching Dale's departing figure, Arannis said softly, "Grandfather seems very lonely..."
"Mm, that's why he went home first."
"What about us?"
"We should prepare to go home too." Jie Ning looked in the direction of Tieling Town.
Arannis did not ask why the two of them were not leaving with Grandfather. She knew that the former Baron of Tieling seemed very eager to return to Tieling. Truly eager...
Arannis simply stood silently beside Jie Ning.
Suddenly, Jie Ning reached out and pulled Arannis into his arms. Arannis naturally rested her head against his chest.
At that moment, surging emotions brewed within Jie Ning's chest. He seemed to have found a meaning for life's existence.
Only life with emotions has meaning. Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and fear are all facets of life. Only with these emotions can a life be considered a true life.
If Jie Ning had realized on the day of his wedding that he had become part of this world,
then today, Jie Ning had found his roots in this world.
At the very beginning, Jie Ning's insight had planted a Seed of life in his heart. Over the past few years, that Seed had slowly taken root, sprouted, and grown. Now, it had matured and formed a beautiful bud, one that could bloom into a brilliant Flower of Life at any moment.
Perhaps that moment would come tomorrow.
I think some people might find this awkward, but I've decided not to change it.
This was the final threshold before becoming a god. Jie Ning, keep it up and become a god soon.
This was the third chapter today. Please send all kinds of votes!
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