Awakening and Returning

Time slowly passed, and soon a few months went by. Humanity had only just been relieved of the crisis posed by the Swallowing Beast when they reverted to their old ways, beginning a new round of power struggles. Even the surviving families of the heroes who saved humanity did not escape the poisonous clutches; the HR Alliance was seized by others, and the Thunder Martial Arts Hall was heavily infiltrated. The Ice Emperor, the third strongest individual after Thunder God, even lost a family member—allegedly to a car accident, which was utterly ridiculous.

This day was September 15, 2060. At 8:15 in the morning, Xu Xin was wheeled into the delivery room. The attending doctor kept reminding her of various precautions because the fetus in her womb was severely overweight, estimated to be over ten jin. As it was a "giant baby," the doctors all recommended a cesarean section, but Xu Xin disagreed, insisting on attempting a natural birth, despite the high risks involved.

Xu Xin was extremely nervous on the delivery bed. Her head was covered in hot sweat, and she kept making adjustments according to the doctor's instructions. When she heard the doctor tell her to push, Xu Xin grabbed a towel, bit down on it, and let out a muffled roar from the depths of her throat.

It felt as if a long time had passed. Xu Xin felt a wave of intense pain wash over her; she felt as though she were being torn apart, unable to even catch her breath, until she heard the loud, clear cry of a baby and the doctor's boisterous congratulations, at which point she weakly regained consciousness.

She kept saying, "My child, let me see my child!" The doctor held the newborn baby up with both hands and brought him before Xu Xin's eyes for her to see: "Mrs. Luo, congratulations on your son. The little one is very healthy, take a look!"

"Ha... ha... what a handsome little guy. I finally... waited for you to arrive."

The doctor beside her soothed Xu Xin and helped her lie down, then placed the baby on a scale to weigh him, only to let out a cry of shock: "My god, he's actually 14 jin!"

The other doctors crowded around, all of them exclaiming, "Good heavens! This really is a 'giant baby'!"

"But he doesn't look much bigger than other babies, at most like a baby a week or so old. How could he weigh so much more?"

"It must be because Mrs. Luo took such good care of herself!"

"Yes, yes, that must be it."

Xu Xin, hearing this, felt it was likely due to the Spirit of Vegetation she had consumed earlier, but it didn't matter. As long as the child was healthy, everything was fine!

At this moment, in the deep, dark blue ocean, a figure over two hundred meters long was flashing rapidly. It was the Swallowing Beast that had been taken over by Luo Feng after their battle; its proper name was the Golden Horned Behemoth.

Right now, Luo Feng was diligently practicing the inherited secret technique of the Golden Horned Behemoth, Absolute Space. This technique led directly to the origin laws of space, so Luo Feng valued it highly. Its highest realm allowed for teleportation; if he could master teleportation, it would be very difficult for others to kill him.

Luo Feng's teacher, the great immortal existence, had not been able to teleport back then. If he had known how, perhaps he wouldn't have died, and this "Son of the Plane" opportunity wouldn't have fallen into Luo Feng's lap. Well, regardless, this technique was extremely valuable, so Luo Feng practiced it incessantly. He was still waiting for the clone being gestated by the Golden Horned Behemoth; once the gestation was complete, he could return to the human world and no longer have to hide in this cold, dark deep sea.

"Luo Feng, Luo Feng!" Babata, Luo Feng's surrogate master and an intelligent lifeform, called out urgently.

"What is it?"

"Good news, great news! Xu Xin just gave birth to your son. Both mother and child are safe, and the little guy weighs 14 jin!"

"I have a child, I have a child!" The coldness and brutality that were side effects of Luo Feng possessing the Golden Horned Behemoth were instantly washed away, and he felt his blood boiling with excitement.

"Wait, that's not right? Babata, didn't you tell me it was twins? Why are you only mentioning the weight of one child? What about the other?"

"Oh, you mean that? Heh, a few months ago, Xu Xin almost had a miscarriage. We used the Spirit of Vegetation to save her, but I suspect the energy of the Spirit of Vegetation had some issues, causing one of the twins to not survive. Only one remained. I saw you were deep in your training at the time, so I didn't tell you, thinking I'd mention it later, but then I forgot."

"You forgot? How could an intelligent lifeform forget?" Luo Feng shouted in a fit of rage.

"What's the big deal? Aren't the mother and child safe now? It's such a small matter, oh, don't worry about these details, hurry up and continue your training!" After saying this, Babata went silent.

Luo Feng was left speechless. Fortunately, fortunately, nothing major happened. One son is one son; as long as they are safe, that is enough. Wait for me, just eight more months, and I will be able to return to see you all!

After Xu Xin successfully gave birth, the Luo Family was overjoyed and began discussing the important matter of naming the child. After all, they had originally prepared names for twins, Luo Ping and Luo Hai. Now that there was only one precious child, the names had to be re-determined.

Luo's father sat a little way from the hospital bed, looking at the child, then at Luo's mother and Xu Xin, and said, "How about we call him Pinghai? Look, this name combines the original two, and the meaning is quite good. What do you think?"

Luo's mother immediately objected: "How can you be so lazy? Besides, it's not very auspicious. After all, we lost one of our precious treasures; this is too hasty. No!"

Luo's father quickly said, "Then how about..." In a short while, Luo's father and mother thought of over a dozen names, but all were rejected.

At this moment, Xu Xin's mind drifted. Yes, Pingping didn't have peace, and Xiaohai only brought sorrow. What would be a good name? Suddenly, she remembered Luo Feng's sense of responsibility and persistence. Since he was willing to risk everything to protect his duty, then his son should also have grand aspirations like him and take on his own responsibilities!

"Dad, Mom." Xu Xin said to them, "Let's call him Zhiyuan!"

Luo's father and mother looked at each other and nodded, saying, "Good. 'Without indifference, one cannot clarify one's ambition; without tranquility, one cannot reach far.' This is a good name. Let's call him Luo Zhiyuan!"

And so, through the twists of fate, this child was named Luo Zhiyuan.

Two months later, on the morning of November 22, 2060, Xu Xin lovingly kissed Little Zhiyuan's cheek and smiled as she handed him to his grandparents. They were going to take Little Zhiyuan for a walk around the residential complex. Little Zhiyuan stared with his large, round eyes, laughing happily, his little hands reaching out as if trying to grab something.

Watching her parents-in-law leave with Little Zhiyuan, Xu Xin gently closed the door and walked to the balcony of the bedroom. Beside the balcony was a desk, and on the desk sat a laptop. Xu Xin sat in the chair, the warm winter sunlight shining on her, feeling very comfortable.

With a smile on her face, Xu Xin moved the chair to the desk, took out paper and a pen from the drawer, and wrote a final letter, telling her family that she had no more desire to live and had decided to let go of everything to follow Luo Feng.

After finishing, she put down the pen and looked up. Through the window, she saw her parents-in-law in the complex, holding Little Zhiyuan, the child laughing happily.

"Little Zhiyuan." Xu Xin said softly, "You are only two months old and don't know anything yet. I believe that when you grow up, you won't have any memory of this."

Xu Xin opened the laptop beside her and played a song.

It was an old song from a long time ago.

"The second hand and minute hand tick-tock in my heart, my gaze flickers, flickers, so hollow. My heartbeat goes thump-thump in waves of agitation, I ask myself how deep my love for you is..."

"Tomorrow I am going to marry you..."

"Tomorrow I am going to marry you..."

The music echoed in the room, and Xu Xin hummed along softly, walking to the wardrobe to take out a pure white wedding dress to dress herself.

She put on the wedding dress, pinned up her hair, and applied a light touch of makeup.

Xu Xin hummed the song softly, her smile sweet.

The sweet music flowed gently into her soul. Xu Xin took a small porcelain bottle from the side, poured out two pills, smiled, swallowed them gently, and took a sip of water to wash them down.

Dressed like a perfect bride in her wedding gown, Xu Xin smiled and lay quietly on the bed.

She closed her eyes.

Xu Xin lay peacefully on the bed, recalling every little detail of her time with Luo Feng. Her fingers still caressed the ring on her ring finger—the wire ring.

"Tomorrow I am going to marry you."

"I'm finally marrying you tomorrow."

"..."

Deep in the ocean, Babata urgently shouted at Luo Feng: "Luo Feng, Luo Feng! Something has happened to Xu Xin!"

"Xu Xin? What happened to her?" Luo Feng shouted back anxiously.

"Don't panic, let me tell you first, Xu Xin is fine for now. But just a moment ago, Xu Xin committed suicide. However, do you remember the protective amulet I gave you? That amulet saved Xu Xin and transformed her into an Eternal Body. She can live for ten million years and possesses an Undying Body that survives unless her soul is destroyed. You need to find a way to tell Xu Xin immediately so she doesn't do anything foolish again."

Luo Feng set aside his inner agitation and thought for a moment before having Babata remotely access the laptop at home to communicate with Xu Xin via text. At that moment, Xu Xin was sitting blankly in front of her desk, unable to understand why she hadn't died, when she was suddenly drawn to an email that had automatically appeared and opened on the laptop screen.

"Xu Xin, it's me, Luo Feng."

"I know you won't believe it, but you just tried to take your own life. It was the protective amulet I gave you that saved you. Look, the amulet is already gone."

Xu Xin couldn't help but touch her neck. Sure enough, the amulet was gone, leaving only the clasp. This brought a surge of surprise to Xu Xin. Could it really be Luo Feng? No one else knew the origin of that amulet.

"Xu Xin, please give me a little more time. I ran into some trouble and am temporarily trapped. In six months, seven months at most, I will be able to come back and be with you all! Please, don't do anything foolish again."

"The Luo Feng who watched you silently from behind when you were in school, the Luo Feng who now has no choice but to watch over you silently from afar, the Luo Feng who will always love you."

After reading the email, Xu Xin felt as if a Spirit Spring had been poured into her withered heart. Her once black-and-white world suddenly became vibrant, and the future was suddenly filled with hope!

"Maybe it's true, maybe it's really him." The fact that she had returned from the dead, combined with the little secret between the two of them, made Xu Xin willing to believe it was real. "Six months, seven months at the latest?"

"I have to tell Mom and Dad, and tell Luo Hua and the others this good news." Xu Xin was overcome with excitement.

That day, after Luo Feng's family saw the email, although they were all shocked by Xu Xin's suicide and were complaining about her, the content of the email filled the whole family with hope.

Time passed quickly, and the ugly faces of humanity surfaced once again. Luo Feng's home was actually raided, and their exceptionally precious Muya Crystal and Spirit of Vegetation were stolen. This caused Luo Feng's Golden Horned Behemoth clone to emit a terrifying aura, instantly shaking many deep-sea monsters around him to death.

On June 2, 2061, Luo Feng's Earthling clone finally finished gestating and made a powerful return. He directly killed three human villains—all top-tier Earth powerhouses at the planetary level—shocking the entire world. Xu Xin and the Luo Family saw the returning Luo Feng on the live television broadcast and were incredibly excited.

When Luo Feng returned home, the entire family's eyes were wet with tears, and Luo Feng, seeing Xu Xin holding their child, also wept with joy.

That evening, the Luo Family and the Xu Family sat together. Luo Feng gave a brief explanation, saying that he had been severely injured after the battle with the Swallowing Beast and could not move, so he had been healing in the deep sea until now. He didn't want his family to worry about the bizarre and dangerous nature of the Golden Horned Behemoth.

After everyone had dispersed, Luo Feng took Xu Xin and Little Zhiyuan back to their bedroom, finally finding the time to share sweet words and pour out their hearts to each other.

Luo Feng watched as Little Zhiyuan stared at him with wide eyes, occasionally sizing him up. He couldn't help but want to tease the little guy, but finding that the little one didn't seem interested in paying him any mind, he looked at Xu Xin with a sense of frustration.

Xu Xin chuckled and said to Luo Feng: "This little guy is very smart and independent. He's only eight months old, but he's already learned to say a few words. He often plays by himself, and sometimes I feel like he's playing two roles at once. It's very interesting."

"Oh? Is that so? As expected of my son, haha! By the way, Babata, check my son's talent."

"Hehe, alright! As your son, his innate talent certainly won't be bad!"

"Hmm... what?! My god! Luo Feng, your son's brain region width is actually 40! It has already exceeded the standard for a core direct disciple of Yunmo Planet. This is simply incredible! You were only 21 when you entered the elite channel!"

"Oh? Haha, doesn't that mean my son is much stronger than me? He'll definitely be an amazing powerhouse when he grows up!"

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Luo Feng! I regret it so much now! Why wasn't your son born a few years earlier? If I had discovered your son earlier, I wouldn't have taken you as a disciple. Your aptitude is far worse than your son's; you're such a waste of resources!"

Luo Feng's eye twitched upon hearing this. I'm sorry for being me!

"By the way, Babata, since my son's talent is so amazing, how should I train him?"

Babata replied after a moment: "Uh... the resources your teacher left behind are limited, basically only enough to train you to the World Lord level. As for your son, his early training is fine and affordable, but later on, you'll have to go out and earn money for him."

"I will formulate a suitable training plan. First, get him some diluted Spirit of Vegetation to consume, and once his physical fitness improves, he can use Muya Crystal for cultivation."

"Luo Feng, let me tell you, your son's growth rate will be very fast. You need to work even harder, otherwise, hehe, while he won't be short on milk money, you'll have to figure out the later cultivation resources yourself, hehe."

Thus, while Luo Feng continued his own cultivation, he also followed the plan provided by Babata to improve Little Zhiyuan's physical fitness. Soon after, Little Zhiyuan safely celebrated his first birthday.

Late at night on September 15, 2061, Little Zhiyuan, who had just turned one, was fast asleep. However, in the little guy's sea of consciousness, the soul of Luo Zhiyuan, which had been dormant for so long, finally awakened.