From Now On, You Shall Be Called Ling Tian

On Tianmu Star's Five Elements Domain, atop Qingyun Mountain, a streak of green Mysterious Light tore across the sky. A valiant man clutching a swaddled bundle drifted down to land on a towering peak. Inside the bundle lay a newborn infant, two trails of clear tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes—yet strangely, the baby was laughing. He stared unblinkingly at the vast firmament, his eyes brimming with deep longing. This was our protagonist.

This man was Lingyun. On the day the infant descended into the mortal world, he had single-handedly overwhelmed the various Sect Masters of the Five Elements Sect with a single performance of the Samsara Soul Song, thereby winning the right to claim the baby.

After a long while, the infant forced himself to stop gazing at the sky and began to sense everything he was about to face. He giggled, but the laughter carried a strange undertone. Then he closed his eyes, ready to meet the fate ahead:

Qingyun Mountain lay in the eastern part of the Five Elements Domain on Tianmu Cultivation Star, spanning over a thousand li in circumference. Its peaks rose and fell in an unbroken chain. The tallest among them were nine main peaks, each soaring into the clouds. On ordinary days, white mist coiled around their midsections, hiding their true summits from view.

Qingyun Mountain was thickly forested, with cascading waterfalls, strange cliffs, rare beasts, and exotic birds—everything one could imagine. Its scenery was perilous, secluded, and breathtaking, earning it considerable fame within the Five Elements Domain.

Even more renowned, however, was the cultivation sect that dwelled upon this mountain—the Qingyun Sect.

The Qingyun Sect had stood here for several thousand years, slaying demons, healing the sick, and giving away medicine, building an excellent reputation.

The Qingyun Sect was divided into Nine Meridians, each stationed on one of the nine main peaks. Apart from the Qingyun Main Peak, which housed the central lineage, the other eight were Qingyou Peak, Qingsong Peak, Qingming Peak, Qinghuang Peak, Qingdie Peak, Qingshi Peak, Qingjian Peak, and Qingquan Peak.

These eight peaks were arranged in eight directions, connected in turn by black-iron suspension bridges, forming an enormous ring that encircled Qingyun Peak like stars around the moon. The Qingyun Main Peak was also linked to the other eight by iron bridges, creating a seamless, majestic whole.

Qingyou Peak, located in the eastern part of Qingyun Mountain, was one of the Nine Meridians of the Qingyun Sect, yet it saw few visitors.

Because this meridian now had only one person—the only meridian with a Peak Master but no disciples. Moreover, the Lingyun Peak Master was little known.

In years past, this meridian had been bustling with people. No one knew what upheaval had occurred. Later, it became completely deserted, until the arrival of the current Peak Master, Lingyun, brought a hint of life.

Qingyou Peak had remained in this state of solitude for many years.

But today, Qingyou Peak was finally no longer alone. Lingyun Peak Master had brought back an infant—a supposedly miraculous baby. Though he seemed barely born, and ordinary babies would fuss and cry from time to time, he never wept; instead, he was always laughing and giggling. Because of this, Qingyou Peak gained a bit more Life Qi.

On Qingyou Peak stood a great hall, but it had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect. Scattered around the hall were a few pavilions and towers, sharing the same fate—they had become perfect "homes" for weeds and thickets.

As for the mountain paths on Qingyou Peak, there was no need to mention them; perhaps no paths could even be found. Even the suspension bridge connecting to the other main peaks was rusted and covered in moss. Clearly, its current master, Lingyun, couldn't be bothered to maintain it. In truth, one person alone could never manage such a vast peak.

Besides, cultivators usually flew around on swords, so mountain paths were more or less unnecessary.

Lingyun only occupied a small courtyard—a very tiny space. Naturally, there were no weeds or bushes here. On the contrary, it was quite clean and tidy. Flowers and plants were arranged in an orderly fashion, Spirit Birds chirped in competition, and everything was well-organized.

Since the Male Infant arrived, there was now one more person here.

That day, Lingyun was in the courtyard amusing the little one:

"Little one, look—Small Sword is flying up!" Lingyun waved his right hand, and a palm-sized small sword darted through the air, incredibly agile.

"Squeak, squeak..."

Humei had somehow leaped onto Lingyun's shoulder, brushing her tail gently against the baby, making him giggle.

Lingyun paused briefly, then said in a low voice, "True, calling him 'little one' all the time won't do. I need to give him a name." At this, his eyes brightened slightly, growing very serious. "But it has to suit him. What name should I choose?"

Lingyun put away the small sword and began pacing in the courtyard, round after round. Evidently, "naming" was quite taxing.

"Sigh, I've never named anyone before. I never thought it was hard, but now I feel at a loss. So being a father isn't so easy either, heh." Lingyun smiled bitterly.

"Hee-hee..."

The little one paid no attention to Lingyun's troubles and kept laughing, even reaching out his jade-like little hand to tug at Lingyun's loose, flowing hair, utterly mischievous.

Seeing the child's innocent smile, a flash of inspiration struck Lingyun, and he blurted out, "Smile, Ling Xiao. Hmm, that name's not bad—it fits your cheerful nature. It means 'proudly laughing at the world.' How about it, little one? Do you like this name?"

"Dudu..."

Unexpectedly, the child seemed to understand Lingyun's words. He pouted his tiny mouth high, looking sulky and disgusted.

Clearly, he didn't like that name.

Even Humei beside him kept covering her head with both paws, pretending to faint, probably mocking Lingyun's "brilliant" choice.

Lingyun scratched his head and gave an awkward laugh. "Well, it's not really that bad, is it?"

Humei rolled her eyes dramatically, snorting in disdain.

"How about you pick a name? After all, you're his mother." Lingyun kicked the "ball" of naming over to Humei.

Humei paced around for a long time, anxiously wagging her Eight Tails, but came up with nothing. She finally understood Lingyun's difficulty.

"Haha, now you see how hard it is, don't you?" Lingyun was immensely pleased, having found an excuse for his own embarrassment.

Humei was a bit annoyed but had no retort.

"What name should I pick? Ah, this is really tough. I'd rather fight a big battle." Lingyun was stumped.

Humei's clever eyes blinked, clearly deep in thought.

"Squeak, squeak..."

Suddenly, Humei hopped about joyfully and chirped twice.

"What? Let the child name himself?" Lingyun was taken aback. "How is that possible? He's just born—can he?"

Humei chirped a few more times, clearly disagreeing with Lingyun.

"True, this little one is extraordinary. So small and yet he can understand us." Lingyun murmured, then looked at the baby and asked, "Little one, can you do it?"

"Hmph." As if annoyed that Lingyun doubted his ability, the baby pouted even higher. He stretched out his tender, fair little hand, pointed at the sky, put on a serious expression, and nodded.

"Heaven, Ling Tian?" Lingyun ventured.

"Hee-hee." The child nodded, beaming with joy, as if he really liked that name.

"Ling Tian, Tian'er, Ling Tian. Mm, not bad, not bad—much better than Ling Xiao, heh." Lingyun kept softly calling the name, looking very satisfied.

"Zhi zhi." Humei also let out a cheerful cry, as if agreeing with the name.

"Hmm, Ling Tian—soaring above the heavens. Cultivation is inherently about defying fate and changing destiny. Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all beings as straw dogs. Since heaven and earth show no kindness, we need not show them respect." Lingyun shuddered, lifting his head to gaze at the sky, exuding an aura of looking down upon the world.

"Zhi zhi." Humei seemed to endorse Lingyun's "audacious" argument of showing no reverence toward heaven and earth.

"From now on, you shall be called Ling Tian," Lingyun declared finally.

Perhaps there is a hidden will in the unseen—well, that heaven is not this heaven. Yuan Hao and his wife, along with Lingyun and his wife, gave the child the same name—Tian.

In any case, from now on, we shall call this child Ling Tian.