Dawn

At the doorway, one tall and one short figure stood locked in a standoff.

"I'm a stranger?" Jiang Chaoyang's face shifted from green to white as he said coldly, "I'm your father! Your legal guardian!"

"Some of that is correct. Some of it is wrong."

"Biologically speaking, you are my male parent. That is correct."

Jiang Ding said blandly, "As for legal guardian, according to the court's ruling, my only guardian is Lin Wanqiu—my mother."

"No matter what..."

"There is no 'no matter what'!" Jiang Ding cut him off, frowning. "I vaguely heard that you married a wealthy Qi Refining Realm woman, had new children and a new family, and that they're about my age."

"Your life is happy and complete, your family harmonious. What are you doing here for no reason?"

Jiang Chaoyang's tone caught.

Back then, he truly had not behaved honorably. Cheating during the marriage was one thing; he had even fathered a child.

"Marriage is putting it too dramatically. Men and women are equal in modern society—what marrying in or marrying out is there?" Jiang Chaoyang grinned shamelessly. "Still, that heartless look of yours is rather like mine."

"Your aptitude isn't bad either. You're already in the Inner Qi Realm, better than I was at your age."

Jiang Ding rubbed his brow. "Leave, or I'll call the police. The police won't care about your so-called ultimate reason."

"Impossible."

Jiang Chaoyang chuckled. "I'm only standing in the corridor outside the door. That doesn't break any law."

Jiang Ding's Sword returned to its sheath. He closed his eyes and said nothing.

There was no point communicating further with such an unreasonable rascal.

Jiang Chaoyang's gaze sharpened.

He had not lived these years for nothing. He had developed some discernment, and this swordsmanship far surpassed his own—perhaps even most Inner Qi Realm martial artists from immortal sects, who primarily used firearms.

What a pity, though. The aptitudes of the Jiang and Lin families...

He said nothing more, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

Who knew how long passed.

"Big Brother, Dad!"

Jiang Yuan's voice came from the elevator entrance. She held a tray of eggs in one hand and chives, eggplants, and red peppers in the other, looking in delighted surprise at the two men by the door.

"Oh! Xiao Yuan, it's been so long!"

Jiang Chaoyang immediately perked up and went to the little girl's side, calling her Xiao Yuan over and over. He took the two bags of vegetables and asked what had happened at school that day.

He coaxed the little girl until she was overjoyed.

Then, naturally, he followed her through the front door without the slightest trace of fear.

Jiang Ding touched his sword hilt and turned away.

Instead of cooking as usual or going into his room, he merely sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, circulating the inner qi in his Taiyin Lung Meridian to temper and nourish his meridians.

Jiang Yuan urged, "Big Brother! Go cook! There's still corn and tofu left from yesterday in the fridge. You can make enough for one more person."

"I'm not going."

Jiang Ding answered coldly.

To protect her, Lin Wanqiu and he had not told his younger sister what Jiang Chaoyang had done, allowing her to retain a basic image of him as a father.

On top of that, the man had extremely high emotional intelligence and easily won the little girl's affection.

He could not handle this matter. He would wait for Mom to come back.

Jiang Yuan said angrily, "You lazybones!"

But there was nothing she could do. Jiang Ding never listened to her, and she had never learned to cook. She only knew how to buy groceries.

Jiang Chaoyang smiled without speaking.

Somehow, he found a little Princess Feifei dress and played house with Jiang Yuan, keeping her laughing nonstop. She even forgot about the cartoons she usually squatted in front of the television to watch on time.

Jiang Ding glanced at the two roughhousing figures and sighed inwardly.

His sister was not as aloof and quiet as he was. She needed companionship.

But Mom had to work overtime every day and had no time. He needed to practice cultivation and had no time either.

He could make sure she ate and keep the house clean. Beyond that, he was powerless.

At eight in the evening, Lin Wanqiu came home from work, a wave of surprise rising in her heart.

She did not hear the clattering sounds of cartoons. Instead, Jiang Yuan's shrieks and laughter filled the whole apartment as she ran around barefoot with thump, thump, thump.

The moment she entered the living room, her face turned cold as ice.

"Wanqiu, you're back?"

Jiang Chaoyang, who was playing hide-and-seek, spoke gently, as though this were some ordinary afternoon from many years ago.

Clang!

A sword rang out from one side. Jiang Ding, who had been resting with his eyes closed, had risen at some unknown moment. He said calmly, "Sir, please mind your words."

"What a joke..."

Jiang Chaoyang grinned, then suddenly felt his heart lurch.

He saw Jiang Ding's eyes. Something incomparably dangerous and mad was brewing within them, utterly unlike the gaze a teenager should possess.

"Lin Wanqiu, long time no see." Jiang Chaoyang's smile vanished.

Jiang Yuan held a toy in her hands, staring helplessly at everyone else.

Lin Wanqiu ignored him and sat down beside Jiang Ding. "Tell me. What scent did you catch, and what benefit do you want from me?"

She knew the man before her far too well.

If she had not been young and only looked at faces back then, none of what followed would have happened.

Still, it was all right.

Lin Wanqiu looked at the son and daughter before her and did not regret the past all that much.

"What are you saying? What could possibly be going on..." Jiang Chaoyang gave an awkward smile.

"If there isn't, get out."

"Lin Wanqiu..."

"Get the hell out."

Lin Wanqiu remained expressionless.

Jiang Ding's gaze began to turn dangerous.

"There is a small matter." Jiang Chaoyang's expression remained unchanged. "I heard that you recently reserved an Azure-Flower Foundation-Nourishing Spirit Pill through the Cultivation Department at Spirit Veil University..."

Lin Wanqiu sneered. "Just as I thought. People like you never rise early without profit to gain, with no bottom line whatsoever. What, your wealthy Qi Refining Realm woman wouldn't buy one for you?"

"Hong Li is only a Rogue Cultivator. She has no connections at Spirit Veil University."

Jiang Chaoyang said solemnly, "And it isn't for me. It's for Jiang Jin Xian. His martial aptitude is excellent; he has already reached Inner Qi Great Accomplishment. If he can obtain this Azure-Flower Foundation-Nourishing Spirit Pill, he will certainly achieve Young Eagle Innate! He'll definitely get into the Cultivation Department!"

"Heh!"

Lin Wanqiu no longer wanted to speak. She looked at him as though he were a madman and a fool.

Jiang Yuan's little face changed as well. She turned toward Jiang Chaoyang, anger gradually appearing on her face.

Of course, she knew perfectly well how important this Azure-Flower Foundation-Nourishing Spirit Pill was to her brother, and how much the family had sacrificed for it. Now some mere playmate wanted to take it away?

The little girl's face looked awful. She gave a cold snort and walked away.

"Ten times the price."

Jiang Chaoyang said seriously, "We are willing to pay two million mortal coins and five hundred spirit coins."

"Furthermore, I can promise on Jiang Jin Xian's behalf that if he gets into the Cultivation Department, within one year he will exchange another Azure-Flower Foundation-Nourishing Spirit Pill for Ding Ding. All of this can be written into legally binding contracts, under my name, or under the names of Hong Li and Jiang Jin Xian."

That damned bastard...

Lin Wanqiu's anger grew fiercer, yet she hesitated.

It was a huge sum of money. If they could get it, it would undoubtedly speed up her son's cultivation progress.

And truthfully, one knew one's own son best. Though he worked incredibly hard, limited by his aptitude, his hopes of successfully entering a university Cultivation Department through the college entrance examinations were probably not great...

And he was stubborn, someone who would never give up.

This huge sum could make his future cultivation path much smoother.

Finally, they even promised to return the same Azure-Flower Foundation-Nourishing Spirit Pill after a year. No matter how one looked at it, they would not lose out.

"Ding Ding..."

Lin Wanqiu looked at Jiang Ding. "Don't act on impulse. Think it over carefully. Consider it solely from the perspective of your cultivation, then answer me: do you want to sell it?"

Back then, she had switched paths before even breaking through the Inner Qi Realm. In the end, she attended an ordinary key university, and she did not understand the cultivation of the Fledgling Eagle Takes Flight Art very well either.

Jiang Ding nodded.

"Lin Wanqiu, this isn't right, is it?" Jiang Chaoyang frowned. "You and I both passed through that age. What teenager isn't full of passion?"

"As parents, we should plan far ahead for our children rather than act on a moment's passion."

"Shut your dog mouth!"

Lin Wanqiu said calmly, "I believe in my son."

Jiang Chaoyang was speechless, unable to understand.

"Mom, I've decided to refuse."

After several minutes of thought, Jiang Ding said seriously, "Purely from the perspective of my cultivation path, obtaining the Azure-Flower Foundation-Nourishing Spirit Pill now would be best for me, and its benefits would far exceed merely receiving ten times the price."

"Bullshit! Where did you get that confidence!"

Jiang Chaoyang was furious. "You've only just reached initial Inner Qi, your aptitude is poor, your academic grades are poor, and your family circumstances are mediocre. You can't afford many pills—where did you get the confidence to break through to Young Eagle Innate in less than a year?"

He tried earnestly to persuade him.

"You're still young. You don't understand how precious an opportunity is. In the future, you'll never encounter one again..."

"Get out."

Lin Wanqiu was utterly blunt. She took out her phone and showed him 110. "If you don't want to spend the next few days in a cell, you'd better get out of my home now!"

Jiang Ding made a stiff, icy gesture of invitation.

"Since that is the case."

Jiang Chaoyang gave her a deep look. "Then let it be for now. If you regret it within three months, the terms will remain the same."