My Son Wang Mu Has the Qualities of a Great Emperor!

"Good! I knew it—my child was no creature trapped in a shallow pond! He has the qualities of a Great Emperor!" Luo Xuanshuang wept with joy, nodding repeatedly.

Wang Mu's eyelid twitched. "Don't, Mother. Don't say that. Whatever you do, don't say that!"

Luo Xuanshuang was puzzled. "What's Wrong?"

Uh...

Wang Mu's eyes darted about. "What I mean is, I've only just begun cultivating. I should keep a low profile!"

Hearing this, Luo Xuanshuang immediately reined in her emotions and regained her composure. "Mu'er, you're right. Your constitution is special, and your talent is extraordinary. If others learn of it, it will surely bring countless disasters! From now on, do your utmost not to display your divine abilities before others!"

Wang Mu nodded. "Don't worry, Mother. Your child understands!"

"Oh, right. I'm taking some of your blood!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Silly child, now that you can cultivate, the magic artifacts and treasures the family prepared for you in the past need to be slightly reforged. With spiritual power to match them, they'll be far more powerful!"

"Oh, oh!"

The methods of an Earth Immortal were extraordinary.

Before Wang Mu could even react—

Luo Xuanshuang lightly brushed her finger across his palm, drawing several drops of blood.

Yet there was not even the slightest wound on his hand.

Luo Xuanshuang nodded, then patted Wang Mu on the shoulder. "Good, good child! I'll go back and tell your Dad about this. He'll definitely be delighted!"

With that, she turned and left, tearing through the void before vanishing from sight.

Great Liang Royal Palace.

Inside another palace hall.

Li Yuanhua was frantic enough to have his hair on fire, pacing back and forth.

"One of the core principles of the Heavenly Path is not to pry into matters one should not know. That is a great taboo!"

"The fact that Young Master can cultivate is absolutely Wang Family's deepest secret! Yet an outsider like me has learned of it. If this matter is mishandled, my Li Family will surely suffer a catastrophe that wipes us out!"

"What should I do? What should I do?"

Just then.

An unspeakably profound and terrifying Aura completely enveloped the palace hall.

Li Yuanhua's expression changed drastically.

He looked up.

Vaguely, he saw an unfathomably majestic figure standing in the void.

Like a Youyue hanging high above the ninth heavens.

It radiated bone-piercing cold.

Even a Spirit Transformation Cultivator like Li Yuanhua was like an ant before that figure, utterly unable to muster even a bit of desire to resist.

Like a small boat upon the sea.

It could be shattered to pieces at any moment.

That was...

An Earth Immortal of the Tribulation Stage!

Li Yuanhua recognized the person almost instantly.

With a thud, he knelt without hesitation.

"This Old Servant greets the Northern Darkness Saintly Master, the Xuanshuang Sword Immortal!"

Luo Xuanshuang was expressionless. "You know This Seat?"

Li Yuanhua called out loudly, "This Old Servant serves under Young Master. Naturally, I have committed Holy Lord's revered visage to memory, bowing in worship day and night, never daring show the slightest disrespect!"

Luo Xuanshuang looked down at him. "Since you serve Mu'er as your master, why do you bow to This Seat?"

Li Yuanhua reacted quickly. With a wave of his hand, he activated the mechanism on the wall, revealing several portraits—likenesses of Wang Mu, Luo Xuanshuang, and the others.

"They're all here, all here! My Li Family's loyalty to Wang Family can be witnessed by the sun and moon. Whether it is Young Master, the Sword Immortal, or Prince of Wei, This Old Servant bows three times a day without interruption, year after year!"

Luo Xuanshuang nodded slightly. "You are a clever man!"

"...Thank you for Holy Lord's praise. This Old Servant does not deserve it!"

"This Seat does not wish for the matter of Mu'er being able to cultivate to Spread out from your mouth!"

Li Yuanhua understood what she meant and did not hesitate.

He immediately formed hand seals with both hands. Light blazed from his brow, and a Primordial Spirit three feet tall floated out from above his head, kneeling in worship.

"This Old Servant is willing to form a Master-Servant Contract with Young Master, to demonstrate my loyalty!"

A Master-Servant Contract.

This was originally a contract formed only between Cultivators and their beast pets.

The status of the two parties signing such a contract was absolutely unequal.

With but a single thought, the contracted party could suffer worse than death and perish, body and soul destroyed.

Luo Xuanshuang flicked her finger, and a drop of blood Containing immortal radiance drifted down, merging into Li Yuanhua's Primordial Spirit.

As the light flared brilliantly.

The contract was complete!

"Since you serve Mu'er, it is enough to worship him alone in the Future. What kind of sense is there in hanging so many portraits?" Luo Xuanshuang's voice fell calmly.

Li Yuanhua pressed his forehead to the ground. "This Old Servant understands!"

A long time passed, yet there was no response.

Then came the sound of footsteps, followed by Li Changhe's startled voice. "Ancestor, why are you kneeling on the ground? Hurry, get up!"

Li Yuanhua raised his head and looked around. There was no sign of Luo Xuanshuang anywhere.

The heart he had been holding in his throat finally settled.

"So... that is the Northern Darkness Saintly Master?"

Li Yuanhua sighed inwardly.

He knew the gap between himself and the Earth Immortal realm was no small one, but he had never imagined it could be this vast.

Before her, he could not even summon the courage to make a move.

He was just like a mortal facing a supreme god!

On the path of cultivation.

A difference of one realm was like a heavenly chasm!

And the farther one progressed, the truer that became.

"Take down all those portraits. Leave only Young Master's!" Li Yuanhua said, Looking at the wall.

"Huh? Why?" Li Changhe could not make heads or tails of it.

Li Yuanhua's gaze was deep and distant. "In the Future, our Li Family only needs to worship one person!"

"Hm? This is..."

Wang Mu's expression suddenly shifted as he sensed something extra in his sea of consciousness.

It was a contract mark.

Wang Mu was no stranger to it. He had two similar marks already, belonging respectively to the Golden-Winged Peng and the Golden Lion!

But the other end of this mark was clearly connected to a Human Race Cultivator.

Li Yuanhua!

Wang Mu froze briefly, then laughed.

So that was why Mother had taken his blood—she had gone to do this!

The older the ginger, the spicier it was!

Mother had considered everything more thoroughly!

The sun had risen high in the sky.

A new day had begun.

The Ascension Convention continued.

But the number of people coming to be tested today had fallen sharply.

Wang Mu sat on the High Platform, watching the scene with a slight frown. "What's going on? Why are there so few people today?"

Li Yuanhua bowed. "Reporting to Young Master, over the past seven days, nearly everyone around the royal city who met the requirements has already come for testing! The remaining mortals live too far away, and they still need time to reach the royal city!"

Wang Mu understood.

Heavenly Severing Island was still very large.

For ordinary mortals traveling by foot, riding ox carts or horse carriages and the like, getting from remote regions to Daliang Royal City—

Would take at least two or three months.

For those farther away, even a journey of half a year or a year was possible.

But Wang Mu did not have that much time to wait.

"Starting tomorrow, establish testing points in every major city across Heavenly Severing Island! Everyone who needs their Spiritual Root tested must be tested in the shortest time possible!" Wang Mu made the final decision.

Li Yuanhua immediately accepted the order and left to make arrangements.

Once the news Spread out.

The entire Heavenly Severing Island erupted in excitement.

In a remote mountain city.

Inside a teahouse.

"What? Wang Family's Young Master is going to test aptitudes in our city?"

"That's great, holy shit! We won't have to travel so far!"

"Wang Family's Young Master truly is a good man! My child has trouble walking and could never make it to the royal city... Now it's perfect. He can be tested right outside our doorstep!"

"Hey, Old Li, why are you running off so fast?"

The teahouse owner stopped an old farmer who was hurrying out and asked.

"Nonsense! My son set off for the royal city this morning. I'm borrowing a horse carriage now—maybe I can still catch him!"

"..."