Zi Yan Meets Zhu Kun

Zi Yan froze when she heard that unfamiliar form of address.

After a while, her little face was filled with stubbornness as she forcibly held back the tears welling in her eyes.

"Let's go. I want to ask him why he abandoned me!"

Zi Yan had been bullied by magical beasts ever since she was young. If she had not accidentally eaten Transformation Grass and then been brought back to Jia Nan Academy by Su Qian, she might still have been bullied by powerful magical beasts even now.

Thus, Zi Yan had always harbored resentment toward the parents who had abandoned her. She hated them for leaving her behind and for not caring about her.

It had even become a knot in Zi Yan's heart.

That was why, when Jiang Xing said he knew where her clansmen were, Zi Yan had followed him.

Seeing the usually mischievous Zi Yan reveal such an expression, Jiang Xing felt somewhat heartbroken and hurriedly comforted her.

After soothing Zi Yan's emotions, Jiang Xing summoned Lin Shan.

Lin Shan said, "Young Master."

"Come with us to Jia Nan Academy again!"

Although Jiang Xing was already a two-star Dou Zun and should have no trouble concealing himself from the Qianbai Elders of Jia Nan Academy before entering the bottom of the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, this matter was far too important. There could be no mistakes, so he felt it would be better to bring Lin Shan along.

Lin Shan said, "Yes."

At this moment, Zi Yan asked in confusion, "Didn't you say you were taking me to see my... him? What are we going to Jia Nan Academy for?"

In the end, Zi Yan still found it a little difficult to say the word "father."

Jiang Xing said, "He's beneath Jia Nan Academy."

"Beneath Jia Nan Academy?"

Zi Yan looked utterly bewildered.

"You'll understand once you come with me."

Jiang Xing did not explain further. He would explain it to her once they arrived.

When Zi Yan saw the father who had abandoned her, she certainly would not be pleased with him.

Then Jiang Xing could act as a mediator and help explain things to Zhu Kun. Wouldn't Zhu Kun obediently help him after that?

Moreover, Jiang Xing had another purpose in bringing Zi Yan down there. As the chief of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan and a Nine-Star Dou Saint, Zhu Kun surely possessed quite a few valuable things.

Jiang Xing wanted Zhu Kun to pass everything he had on to Zi Yan so that she could grow stronger more quickly.

Jiang Xing nodded at Lin Shan, who understood and tore open space. The three of them then stepped inside.

Before long, they arrived at Jia Nan Academy. They easily evaded the elders guarding the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower and reached the bottom of the tower.

Upon arriving at the tower's bottom, Jiang Xing immediately spotted the Fallen Heart Flame he had left there.

This Fallen Heart Flame had been nourished quite well by Jia Nan Academy. Compared to the previous one, it was clearly much stronger.

Furthermore, under Jia Nan Academy's careful cultivation, the current Fallen Heart Flame was not as violent as the previous one and was extremely easy to control.

Looking at it this way, Jiang Xing really had helped Jia Nan Academy by taking away the larger Fallen Heart Flame and leaving behind the smaller one.

"Lin Shan, wait for us here first."

Although he had brought Lin Shan here, Jiang Xing did not intend to let him know that the Ancient God's Cave Mansion was here, nor that he planned to leave the Tuoshe Ancient Jade fragment here.

Lin Shan said, "Young Master, don't you need me to accompany you down?"

Jiang Xing said, "No need. Just wait here until I come back up."

"Yes, Young Master."

Zi Yan had only just broken through to the Dou Emperor realm and could not yet completely resist the lava.

Only after Jiang Xing cast a shield around Zi Yan did he bring her into the lava.

Jiang Xing led Zi Yan downward, holding the Tuoshe Ancient Jade fragment in his hand.

Jiang Xing remembered that, in Xiao Yan's time, the Tuoshe Ancient Jade fragments had reacted.

Thus, it should not be difficult to find the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion using this ancient jade fragment.

Sure enough, after diving for a while, Jiang Xing sensed the Tuoshe Ancient Jade fragment beginning to emit a red glow.

The deeper Jiang Xing dove, the brighter the red glow became. He continuously adjusted his direction according to the light from the ancient jade fragment.

Before long, Jiang Xing and Zi Yan saw an enormous, ancient stone gate in the distance.

Upon seeing the stone gate, Jiang Xing did not dare advance any farther.

If he went any closer, he feared he would end up like Zhu Kun—trapped within the Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion and reduced to being its gatekeeper.

Seeing that the ancient stone gate showed no reaction, Jiang Xing was just about to call out for Zhu Kun.

Then the ancient stone gate flickered faintly. In the next instant, an overwhelmingly powerful aura surged out from it, and a giant dragon covered in golden scales appeared.

The giant dragon circled outside the cave mansion once before finally transforming into a middle-aged man with purple-gold hair.

He shouted, "Does the visitor possess the ancient..."

But when the middle-aged man turned his gaze toward Zi Yan beside Jiang Xing, the words he was about to say caught in his throat.

The middle-aged man's once-majestic golden eyes suddenly brimmed with tears.

"Child, is that you?"

The moment Zhu Kun saw Zi Yan, he sensed a familiar bloodline power within her.

They shared the same bloodline, the same ancestry. How could he possibly fail to recognize his own child?

Only then did Jiang Xing speak. "Zi Yan, he is your father."

In truth, when Zhu Kun appeared, Zi Yan had already sensed a familiar aura from the middle-aged man. Combined with Jiang Xing saying he had brought her here to meet her father, Zi Yan had already guessed that this middle-aged man was likely the father who had abandoned her.

Now, with Jiang Xing's confirmation, Zi Yan finally knew her guess was correct.

Seeing that Zi Yan ignored him and that her gaze toward him had gradually turned cold, Zhu Kun stepped forward and continued, "Child, I am your father."

Clearly, Zhu Kun, who had been trapped here for many years, missed his child deeply. At the sight of Zi Yan, he was so agitated that his body trembled slightly.

Zi Yan looked at the middle-aged man before her. Rather than showing the excitement of a daughter meeting her father, she said coldly, "I have been an orphan since I was little. I have no parents."

Although Zi Yan's words were cold, Jiang Xing could faintly sense the grievance beneath them.

Even after entering Jia Nan Academy, Zi Yan had always acted as though no one should dare provoke her. That was because she had been abandoned among magical beasts as a child and bullied by powerful magical beasts. It was her way of protecting herself.

How much she had wished that she, too, could have been a little girl raised under her parents' love.

Hearing Zi Yan's icy words, even Zhu Kun, once a peerless expert who had shaken the continent, panicked.

There was likely no situation other than this that could make Zhu Kun act this way.

"Child, I was wrong. I should not have coveted the Ancient God Mansion. If I hadn't, I would not have been trapped here..."

Seeing Zi Yan treat him so coldly, Zhu Kun could only apologize again and again, explaining that he had been trapped here and had not intentionally abandoned Zi Yan.

The reason Zi Yan had come here was to ask Zhu Kun why he had abandoned her.

But when she heard Zhu Kun say that he had been trapped here and had not deliberately left her behind, Zi Yan's heart became incredibly conflicted.

Although Zhu Kun said he had not intentionally abandoned her, it was indeed because of him that she had suffered bullying since childhood...

Many thanks to Sunset Dragon for the monthly ticket.

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Thanks to reader 20210301106582630634 for the 1 recommendation vote.