Dale's Good Fortune and the Blooming Flower of Life

Dale looked at Jie Ning with disbelief. "You're Jie Ning?"

"But how can you be this powerful?"

Dale knew that his grandson had already reached the Saint Domain.

About a year ago, Dale had successfully comprehended the power of heaven and earth while experiencing an avalanche.

After a period of secluded cultivation, Dale successfully advanced to become a Saint Domain expert.

Returning home in glory without showing it off was like wearing fine clothes in the dark.

Though he didn't know that particular saying, Dale still decided to return to Tieling Town in grand style—and he absolutely had to give his worthless son a good dose of stimulation.

Most importantly, someone had been waiting for this news for a very long time.

'I wonder how little Jie Ning is doing, the one who was just a tiny thing before I left. I hope that brat Chris hasn't led him astray.'

'With Melinda keeping watch, it probably shouldn't happen.'

With all kinds of thoughts swirling in his mind, Dale set out on the road home.

"What? Jie Ning is already married?"

"And he's already become a Saint Domain expert?"

Missing his own grandson's wedding, Dale couldn't help feeling a bit regretful.

But that little kid Jie Ning becoming a Saint Domain? What kind of joke was this!

In a daze, he could already see his unfilial son showing off to this old father who had been away from home for years.

'I'm only a Level 8 Warrior now because you didn't know how to teach me. Otherwise, I'd be a Saint Domain too.'

'Look at how well I taught him—a nineteen-year-old Saint Domain! I've created new history for the Bana Continent.'

Watching Chris's smug face, Dale's forehead was covered in black lines. With that lazy disposition of his...

'If it weren't for the strict discipline I gave him when he was young, those years I trained him hard, and Melinda keeping him in line after marriage...'

This guy—what part of him deserved the strength of a Level 8 Warrior?

Just as Dale's hands were itching to teach a lesson, Melinda appeared just in time, and she gave Chris a passionate session of loving education.

Finally, looking at Chris, who was now a full circle bigger, Dale chuckled and expressed his satisfaction.

Dale enjoyed some time at home.

For the first time, Dale met his little grandson—Haba, who had been born after Dale left home.

Seeing Haba's strength as a Level 7 Warrior, Dale felt immense joy in his heart.

Among other things, Dale happened to see Haba practicing Internal Family Boxing. As a Saint Domain Warrior, Dale naturally recognized the extraordinary nature of this boxing style. Learning that Jie Ning had created it very early on, he couldn't help but marvel again at his grandson's talent.

Yes, Jie Ning had taught Internal Family Boxing to the family long ago, though he had claimed it as his own creation.

Fortunately, the people of this world had a high tolerance for geniuses, so everyone accepted it naturally. The whole family practiced Internal Family Boxing.

Unsurprisingly, even though Chris was stronger than Haba, when it came to progress in Internal Family Boxing, Chris was the one bringing up the rear.

Dale celebrated at home for a few days, hosting banquets for some of his old friends, letting them truly witness what a 'Saint Domain expert' looked like.

After staying home for a while, Dale seemed to grow restless again and felt the urge to travel once more.

So, after collecting the family crest, Dale set out on the road of wandering once again.

Having easily accepted the premise that his grandson had already become a powerhouse among Saint Domains not long after reaching that level, Dale followed Jie Ning to his residence.

After exchanging greetings with Arannis and making brief introductions, Dale quickly fell into casual conversation with Jie Ning.

The above is a summary of that small talk.

"So, why did that Saint Domain want to hunt you down, Grandfather?" Once the pleasantries were over, Jie Ning looked at Dale with curiosity.

"It's because something huge has happened!" At this, Dale's expression immediately turned serious.

"What huge thing?" Jie Ning and Arannis had been isolated from the world for too long, and they were instantly curious about what Dale meant.

"A Divine Spark." Dale said mysteriously. "A Divine Spark has appeared out there."

Arannis exclaimed in surprise, "How could a Divine Spark appear?"

Dale shrugged casually. "Probably left behind by those divine beasts that the Overgod slaughtered back then."

After that, they didn't dwell on the matter, instead letting Dale continue his story.

"At first, a few low-level warriors stumbled upon a Divine Spark. Since they found it indestructible, they thought they'd discovered a peerless ore and tried to forge it into a weapon. But not a single blacksmith could melt it." As he spoke, Dale couldn't help but laugh.

Jie Ning also found it a bit absurd.

"With no other choice, since they couldn't use it, those warriors sold the Divine Spark to a noble at a high price, passing it off as a rare ore."

"But that noble couldn't melt the Divine Spark either."

"So, when that noble attended a Saint Domain exchange meeting as an observer, he took out the Divine Spark, trying to curry favor with a Saint Domain."

"And as luck would have it, one of the strong attending this meeting happened to be a descendant of the God of War. He had seen a Divine Spark in the God of War's hands before."

"Originally, this Saint Domain expert planned to keep quiet and make a fortune, quietly contacting the noble to buy the Divine Spark. But before he could, some Saint Domain hotshot snatched the Divine Spark and immediately began probing it with his mental energy."

"That descendant of the God of War panicked at once and struck without hesitation."

"With that, the secret of the Divine Spark was naturally blown. Everyone present knew that ore was a Divine Spark."

"So, after a bout of chaos, the Divine Spark was snatched by a lone Saint Domain expert, and that Saint Domain has been missing ever since."

Jie Ning and the other listened to all this from Dale's mouth, unable to help but click their tongues in amazement.

"What a pity for those warriors who found the Divine Spark," Jie Ning remarked.

"But what does this have to do with you being hunted down, Grandfather?" Arannis looked at Dale in confusion.

Dale puffed up with pride. "That's the right question."

"I happened to be at that exchange meeting too."

"When they started fighting, I had no interest in joining the scramble."

Jie Ning wanted to say, 'You knew you couldn't beat them, right?'

But he held back.

"When that noble was showing off the Divine Spark earlier, he explained where it came from. The moment they started fighting, I used that info to track down the warriors who first found the Divine Spark," Dale said, smug.

"I spent a few gold coins and got the location where they discovered the Divine Spark straight from those kids. I flew over immediately."

"I didn't dare waste time. I unleashed my ultimate moves and started attacking everywhere."

"I knew a Divine Spark couldn't be damaged by attacks at my level," Dale said with a clever expression.

"Sure enough, after my relentless bombardment, a Divine Spark appeared right in front of me."

"Unfortunately, when I was collecting the Divine Spark, this guy named Harley saw me, and that's how I ended up being chased all the way here." At the end, Dale sighed, feeling a bit unlucky—he'd rushed as fast as he could, only to be spotted the moment he found the Divine Spark.

"This Harley had the same brains as me, but in the end, I came out on top."

Jie Ning reminded him, "Grandfather, you might not be a match for that Harley."

Back when he sensed those two auras, Jie Ning had roughly compared their strength. That Harley was at least a bit stronger than his grandfather, who had just become a Saint Domain warrior.

"Haha, isn't that why I have you, Jie Ning?" Dale said, unconcerned and smug. "So what if Harley's stronger than me? I've got a good grandson."

Jie Ning was speechless.

"Next..." Suddenly, a black object was tossed to Jie Ning by Dale. Jie Ning caught it instinctively.

"This is... a Divine Spark?!" Jie Ning stared at the Divine Spark glowing red in his hand, looking at Dale in disbelief.

Jie Ning himself knew the drawbacks of refining a Divine Spark, and he had confidence he could become a god on his own.

But how could his grandfather, a newly promoted Saint Domain, possibly know that? And why would he suddenly throw away this shortcut to godhood?

Dale said casually, "Think of this as a wedding gift from me, your grandfather."

Jie Ning noticed the twitching at the corner of Dale's eye—clearly, his grandfather was deeply reluctant.

"Put it away quickly," Dale urged. He really didn't want to see that Divine Spark anymore; his heart ached too much.

Jie Ning suddenly realized that his grandfather had probably planned to give him this Divine Spark from the very start.

He himself looked down on the Divine Spark, but others didn't. In an ordinary Material Plane, this was a priceless treasure.

From the moment his grandfather told him he had a Divine Spark, if he didn't hand it over to Jie Ning—who was far stronger—then his grandfather would be gambling on Jie Ning's humanity.

This wasn't a gamble he had to take. If he didn't want to give Jie Ning the Divine Spark, he could have just lied about why Harley was chasing him.

It could only be said that the moment Jie Ning asked, his grandfather had already decided to give him the Divine Spark.

"Grandfather, keep it safe." But Jie Ning didn't need the Divine Spark.

Dale looked flustered as the Divine Spark was tossed back into his hands.

"I don't need any Divine Spark. I can become a god on my own," Jie Ning said, word by word, full of confidence.

Arannis, standing by the side the whole time, watched the grandfather and grandson with a gentle smile. She didn't fully understand Dale's actions either, but she knew Jie Ning and trusted him.

Dale looked at Jie Ning's extremely confident demeanor, then at Arannis, who was watching Jie Ning with full trust, and felt a momentary daze.

He seemed to see his former self.

'Katyusha, just watch. I will become a Saint Domain warrior one day.' A spirited young man swore before a shy girl.

'I'm leaving. Take care of Chris.' A familiar figure lay weakly on the bed.

'Katyusha, I will make Chris a strong warrior.' His own resolute face made a solemn promise to her.

'Dale, you have to live happily too.'

'...I promise you.' Yes, he had promised.

'Take a good look at this world. I really wish I could...'

"Katyusha... I miss you..." Jie Ning seemed to catch a flicker of sorrow flash through his grandfather's eyes.

"Haha... worthy of my grandson." As if that sorrow had been nothing but Jie Ning's imagination, Dale let out a hearty laugh.

Putting the Divine Spark back into his Space Ring, Dale looked at Jie Ning seriously and said, "Then I'll keep it for you for now. If you ever need it, you can come to me anytime to take it."

"Grandfather, you yourself—" Suddenly, Jie Ning noticed the unusually earnest look in his grandfather's eyes and had no choice but to stop mid-sentence.

'I'll wait until I become a god on my own, then persuade Grandfather to refine it himself.'

"But recently, with the Divine Spark appearing, there's bound to be some upheaval on the continent. I really can't rest easy leaving only that unreliable Chris in charge of the territory, so I'll head back first."

By the end, Dale gave Jie Ning and Arannis a deep look. "...You two come home soon too. We'll be waiting for you."

With those final words, Dale flew off toward Tieling Town.

Arannis watched Dale's retreating figure and murmured, "Grandfather seems very lonely..."

"Mm. That's why he went home first."

"Then what about us?"

"We'll head home too." Jie Ning looked in the direction of Tieling Town.

Arannis didn't ask why the two of them weren't leaving with their grandfather. She knew that the former Baron of Tieling seemed to be in a great hurry to get back to Tieling—truly in a hurry...

Arannis simply stood silently beside Jie Ning.

Suddenly, Jie Ning reached out and pulled Arannis into his embrace. Arannis rested her head against his chest.

At that moment, a surging emotion brewed within Jie Ning's chest. In that instant, he seemed to find a meaning to his existence.

'A life gains meaning only with emotion. Joy, anger, sorrow, fear—each is a facet of life. With these feelings, a life can truly be called a life.'

If on the day of his wedding, Jie Ning had realized he was a part of this world, then today, he had found his roots in this world.

One could say that at the very beginning, Jie Ning's insight planted a seed of life in his heart. Over these past few years, that seed had slowly taken root, sprouted, and grown. Now it had matured, bearing a beautiful bud, ready at any moment to bloom into a magnificent Flower of Life.

Perhaps that moment would come as soon as tomorrow.

I know some might find this awkward to read, but I've decided not to change it.

This is the final threshold before becoming a god. Keep it up, Jie Ning—ascend soon!

This is the third chapter today. I'm asking for all kinds of votes!