Welcoming Oscar's Parents

At this moment, Oscar was curled up beneath a soft brocade quilt, sleeping soundly.

Hunting Soul Rings over the past few days had already been exhausting. On top of that, one thing after another had happened these last two days—joining the Balak Kingdom, being granted the title of viscount, and learning that his family would soon be reunited. Every single one of them had left his emotions in turmoil.

Last night, lying in this soft bed a hundred times more comfortable than the old wooden plank bed at home, he had tossed and turned in excitement, unable to sleep. He had only drifted off in a daze in the latter half of the night, so he was sleeping deeply now.

The servant sent to knock lightly pushed open the door. Seeing Oscar still sleeping with his head covered, he lowered his voice and called out:

"Lord Viscount, wake up. His Highness Tianxing is here."

Oscar gave a groggy response, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. When he turned and saw the bright sunlight outside the window, he suddenly realized—he had overslept!

"My lord, His Highness Tianxing has arrived. He is waiting for you in the main hall."

The servant repeated softly.

"Oh no!"

Oscar was fully awake now. He hurriedly threw off the covers and leaped out of bed, fumbling into his clothes while muttering, "How did I oversleep?" After quickly washing up, he hurried toward the main hall.

The moment he entered, he saw Xue Tianxing sitting at the table, drinking tea. Oscar quickly walked over, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry. I was too excited last night and didn't sleep well, so I overslept this morning."

Xue Tianxing set down his teacup and waved with a smile.

"Little Ao, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Tianxing. You don't need to call me Your Highness. We're friends, so don't be so distant."

Hearing that, warmth rose in Oscar's heart, and his eyes even grew a little hot.

Oscar nodded firmly, silently making up his mind.

From now on, I have to cultivate properly. I absolutely can't let Tianxing down.

Just as he was thinking that, Oscar heard Xue Tianxing continue:

"It's nothing to oversleep because you were excited. But if you don't hurry and eat some breakfast, you might not make it to the city gate in time to pick up your parents."

"That's right! My parents!"

Only then did Oscar suddenly remember the important matter—today was the day his parents were arriving in Barak City!

How could Oscar still care about breakfast? He said urgently:

"I'm not eating, I'm not eating! I'm going to pick up my parents first!"

With that, he turned and ran out the door.

Watching his hurried retreating figure, Xue Tianxing could not help but smile. He rose and followed after him.

The two soon arrived at the eastern gate of Barak City.

The city gate was bustling with people. Farmers carrying shoulder poles entered the city, merchants drove carriages through the gates, and the place was filled with noise.

Seeing that the sun was just right, Xue Tianxing simply had someone bring over two reclining chairs from a nearby teahouse and set them beneath an old locust tree beside the gate. He smiled at Oscar.

"There's no use being anxious. Sit here and wait. It's cool in the shade."

But how could Oscar sit still?

His backside had barely touched the reclining chair before he sprang back up. His eyes remained fixed on the road outside the city like an alert little beast.

Whenever a carriage appeared in the distance, he would hurry forward a couple of steps, stand on tiptoe, and stare for a long while. Only after confirming it was not his family's carriage would he dejectedly step back, muttering without pause:

"Why aren't they here yet... Did they take the wrong road?"

Xue Tianxing found it amusing. He did not urge him, merely fanned himself leisurely while drinking the chilled tea handed over by his attendant.

About half an hour later, Oscar's eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed Xue Tianxing's arm and shouted:

"They're here, they're here! Tianxing, look!"

Xue Tianxing looked in the direction he pointed. Dust rose in the distance as several carriages slowly approached. Beside the foremost carriage walked several men dressed in palace guard armor—they were the guards Xue Zhe had sent to fetch them.

Oscar could no longer hold himself back. Before the carriage came close, he ran out to meet it.

The carriage stopped at the city gate. The driver lifted the curtain, and a guard jumped down first, bowing to Oscar.

"Lord Viscount, we have brought them here."

Immediately afterward, a husband and wife stepped down from the carriage.

The woman wore coarse cloth clothes faded white from washing, her hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin. Her face held a trace of restraint and unease. The man was also dressed simply, his hands covered in calluses, though his back remained straight. His eyes constantly surveyed their surroundings, clearly showing that he had not relaxed for the entire journey.

The instant they found their footing, they saw Oscar running toward them. They froze at first, but the unease on their faces instantly vanished, replaced by overwhelming joy and heartache.

"Little Ao!"

The woman hurried forward and seized Oscar's hand, her fingertips trembling as she spoke to him.

"It's really you? You little rascal, how did you suddenly become a viscount? You scared your father and me half to death!"

It turned out that yesterday, while the two had been weeding along the ridges of their village fields, several armored men had suddenly arrived. They claimed to be from the royal palace and said that their son Oscar had become a viscount of the Balak Kingdom, and that they had come to bring them to the royal capital to enjoy a good life.

The couple had been utterly stunned at the time—they only knew that three years ago, their son had been taken away by a dean named Flender to study at an academy called Shrek. How had he suddenly become a "viscount"?

Though they had their doubts, they saw the swords at those men's waists and did not dare ask too much. They could only hurriedly pack a few changes of clothes and follow them onto the carriage.

After the bumpy journey to Barak City, the weight in their hearts had never lifted. Only upon seeing Oscar now did they finally dare believe that this was not a dream.

Holding his parents' hands, Oscar recounted everything that had happened over the past few days—from hunting a Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest, to being noticed by Xue Tianxing, to being granted the title of viscount.

When he reached the exciting parts, he could not help showing off his Martial Soul. A sausage appeared at his fingertips, drawing both surprise and laughter from his parents.

"Good lad, you've made something of yourself!"

Oscar's father patted him on the shoulder, his eyes slightly red. "Being favored by His Highness the Prince is your good fortune. You must work hard from now on and don't let him down."

Xue Tianxing walked over at that moment and looked at the couple before him.

They appeared to be only a little over thirty. Fine lines had already formed at the corners of their eyes, and their skin was darkened by years of wind and sun. But Xue Tianxing knew clearly that they were probably only twenty-four or twenty-five—in his previous life, when he watched the anime, he remembered Oscar mentioning that his parents had had him when they were fourteen.

Seeing Xue Tianxing approach, Oscar quickly pulled his parents over and introduced him.

"Father, Mother, this is His Highness Xue Tianxing! Everything I have today is thanks to His Highness taking care of me!"

Only then did the couple react. They hurriedly tried to bow to Xue Tianxing, but he quickly stepped forward and supported them.

"Uncle, Auntie, there's no need for formalities. Please, don't stand on ceremony."

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you for still thinking of our Little Ao!"

Oscar's mother said gratefully, her hand still tightly clutching the corner of Oscar's clothes. Clearly, she had yet to fully recover from the shock of her son becoming a viscount.

"Uncle, Auntie, please don't say that."

Xue Tianxing said with a smile:

"The main reason is that Little Ao himself is talented. His willingness to join the Balak Kingdom is a blessing for our kingdom."