Time passed slowly, and before long, several months had gone by. Humanity had barely emerged from the Swallowing Beast crisis before falling back into its old ways and beginning another round of power struggles. Even the families of the heroes who had saved humanity weren't spared. The HR Alliance had fallen into someone else's hands, and the Thunder Martial Arts Hall had been infiltrated. The Ice Emperor, once the third-strongest after Thunder God, had even lost a family member. The death was supposedly caused by a car accident. What a joke.
It was September 15, 2060. At 8:15 that morning, Xu Xin was wheeled into the delivery room. The doctors attending her kept reminding her of things to watch out for. The fetus was severely overweight, estimated to weigh more than ten pounds—a giant baby—so the doctors recommended a C-section. Xu Xin refused, insisting on trying to give birth naturally, despite the considerable risks.
Xu Xin was extremely nervous on the delivery bed, sweat pouring from her forehead. She kept adjusting her position as the doctors instructed. When they told her to push, she grabbed a towel and bit down on it, letting out a muffled groan from deep in her throat.
It felt as if a long time had passed. Xu Xin was hit by a sharp, intense pain. She felt as if she were being torn apart and could barely breathe. Only when she heard a loud newborn's cry and the doctors' enthusiastic congratulations did she weakly regain consciousness.
She kept saying, "My baby, let me see my baby!" The doctor held up a newborn in both hands and brought the baby close so Xu Xin could see. "Mrs. Luo, congratulations on your baby boy! He's very healthy. Take a look!"
"Ha... ha... What a handsome little guy. I've finally... been able to meet you."
A doctor helped Xu Xin lie back, then placed the baby on the scale. The moment they saw the number, they cried out in shock. "Good heavens, he weighs fourteen pounds!"
The other doctors crowded around, exclaiming one after another, "My goodness! Now that's a 'giant baby'!"
"But he doesn't look much bigger than other babies. At most, he looks a little over a week old. How can he weigh so much more?"
"It must be because Mrs. Luo took such good care of herself!"
"That's right, it must be!"
Hearing them, Xu Xin thought it was probably because she had taken the Spirit of Vegetation back then. But it didn't matter. As long as the baby was healthy, that was all that mattered!
At that moment, in the deep blue sea, a figure more than two hundred meters long flashed rapidly through the water. It was the Swallowing Beast that Luo Feng had possessed after their battle—or, more accurately, the Golden Horned Behemoth.
Luo Feng was now painstakingly practicing the Golden Horned Behemoth's Inheritance Secret Technique, Absolute Space. This technique led directly to the Space Origin Law, so Luo Feng valued it highly. At its highest level, it allowed Teleportation. If he mastered Teleportation, it would be very difficult for anyone to kill him.
Luo Feng's teacher, a great Immortal being, hadn't known Teleportation either. If he had, perhaps he wouldn't have died, and Luo Feng—the chosen son of this plane—wouldn't have benefited from it. Anyway, the technique was extremely valuable, so Luo Feng practiced it relentlessly. He was also waiting for the Golden Horned Behemoth to finish nurturing his clone. Once the clone was ready, he could return to the human world instead of hiding in this frigid, lonely sea.
"Luo Feng, Luo Feng!" Babata, Luo Feng's acting master and an Intelligent Life, called out urgently.
"What is it?"
"Good news, wonderful news! Xu Xin just gave birth to your son. Both mother and child are safe, and the little guy weighs fourteen pounds!"
"I have a child! I have a child!" The coldness and ferocity that had lingered as a side effect of Luo Feng possessing the Golden Horned Behemoth were swept away in an instant. His blood surged with excitement.
"Wait, that's not right! Babata, didn't you tell me back then that we were having twins? Why did you only mention one baby's weight? What about the other one?"
"Oh, that. A few months ago, Xu Xin nearly miscarried. The Spirit of Vegetation saved her, but its energy must have caused some kind of problem. One of the twins didn't survive, so only one was born. I saw how absorbed you were in your training, so I didn't tell you. I thought I'd bring it up later, but then I forgot."
"You forgot? How could an Intelligent Life like you forget?" Luo Feng shouted angrily.
"What's the big deal? Mother and child are safe, aren't they? It's not that serious. Hey, don't get hung up on the details. Just get back to your training!" Babata finished speaking and fell silent.
Luo Feng was speechless. Still, thank goodness nothing worse had happened. One son was one son. As long as mother and child were safe, that was all that mattered. Wait for me. I'll be back to see you in eight months!
After Xu Xin safely gave birth, the Luo Family was overjoyed. They began discussing the important matter of naming the baby. They had originally chosen names for twins—Luo Ping and Luo Hai—but now there was only one precious child, so they would have to decide on a new name.
Luo Feng's father sat a little way from the hospital bed. He looked at the baby, then at Luo Feng's mother and Xu Xin, and said, "How about Pinghai? The name combines the two names we'd picked, and it has a nice meaning. What do you think?"
Luo Feng's mother immediately objected. "How can you be so lazy? Besides, it doesn't sound very auspicious. We've already lost one of our precious little ones. Choosing a name so carelessly is unacceptable!"
Luo Feng's father hurriedly tried again. "Then how about..." Before long, he and Luo Feng's mother had come up with more than ten names, but every one was rejected.
Xu Xin's thoughts drifted. That was right: Pingping hadn't been safe, and Xiaohai only brought her more sorrow. What should she name him? She suddenly thought of Luo Feng's sense of duty and determination. Since he was willing to fight so hard to protect his responsibilities, then his son should have lofty ambitions like his father and shoulder his own responsibilities!
"Dad, Mom," Xu Xin said to Luo Feng's parents. "Let's call him Zhiyuan!"
Luo Feng's parents exchanged a glance, then nodded. "Good. 'Without a calm and detached heart, one cannot have clear aspirations; without peace and quiet, one cannot reach far.' That's a wonderful name. Let's call him Luo Zhiyuan!"
And so, by a twist of fate, the child came to be named Luo Zhiyuan.
Two months later, on the morning of November 22, 2060, Xu Xin affectionately kissed Little Zhiyuan on the cheek and smiled as she handed him to his grandparents. They were taking him for a walk around the neighborhood. Little Zhiyuan stared with wide, round eyes, giggled, and waved his little hands around, as if trying to grab something.
After watching her in-laws carry Little Zhiyuan away, Xu Xin gently closed the door and walked to the bedroom balcony. A desk stood beside it, with a laptop on top. She sat down in a chair. The warm winter sunlight fell on her, making her feel comfortable.
With a smile on her face, Xu Xin moved her chair to the desk, took out pen and paper from a drawer, and wrote a farewell letter. She told her family that she no longer had any desire to live, and had decided to let go of everything and follow Luo Feng.
When she finished, she put down her pen and looked up. Through the window, she saw her in-laws in the neighborhood, holding Little Zhiyuan. The baby was laughing happily.
"Little Zhiyuan," Xu Xin said softly. "You're only two months old. You don't understand anything yet, and I'm sure you won't remember any of this when you grow up."
Xu Xin opened the laptop beside her and played a song.
It was an old song from a long time ago.
"The second and minute hands tick-tock in my heart. My gaze flickers, flickers, so empty. My heart pounds and pounds with wave after wave of excitement. I ask myself, how deeply do I want you to love me..."
"Tomorrow, I'm going to marry you..."
"Tomorrow, I'm going to marry you..."
The music echoed through the room as Xu Xin softly hummed along. She went to the wardrobe and took out a pure white wedding dress, then dressed herself up.
She put on the wedding dress, pinned up her hair, and applied a light touch of makeup.
Xu Xin hummed softly, wearing a sweet smile.
The sweet melody flowed through the room and into her heart. Xu Xin took a small porcelain bottle from nearby, tipped two pills into her palm, and swallowed them with a sip of water, smiling gently.
Dressed like a perfect bride in her wedding gown, Xu Xin smiled and quietly lay down on the bed.
She closed her eyes.
Xu Xin lay peacefully on the bed, remembering the moments she and Luo Feng had shared. Her fingers stroked the ring on her ring finger—a wire ring.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to marry you."
"Tomorrow, I'll finally marry you."
"..."
Deep beneath the sea, Babata shouted urgently at Luo Feng. "Luo Feng, Luo Feng! Something's happened to Xu Xin!"
"Xu Xin? What happened to her?" Luo Feng shouted anxiously.
"Don't panic. First, let me tell you that Xu Xin is okay now. But she just tried to kill herself. Remember the protective talisman I gave you? It saved her and transformed her into an Eternal Body. She can live for ten million years, and she has an Undying Body that can only be destroyed if her soul is destroyed. So hurry and find a way to tell Xu Xin not to do anything reckless again."
Luo Feng calmed himself and thought for a moment. Then he had Babata remotely control the laptop at home so that he could communicate with Xu Xin through messages. Xu Xin was sitting blankly at her desk, unable to understand why she hadn't died. Suddenly, an email that had appeared on the laptop and opened by itself caught her attention.
"Xu Xin, it's Luo Feng."
"I know you won't believe me, but you just tried to take your own life. The safety talisman I gave you saved you. Look—the talisman has disappeared."
Xu Xin instinctively reached for her neck. Sure enough, the safety talisman was gone, leaving only its clasp. A surge of excitement filled her. Could it really be Luo Feng? Nobody else knew where her safety talisman had come from.
"Xu Xin, please give me a little more time. Something happened to me, and I'm temporarily trapped. Six months—seven at most—and I'll be back with you! Please don't do anything reckless again."
"The Luo Feng who used to watch you quietly from behind at school, and who has no choice but to care for you from afar again now, loves you forever."
After reading the email, Xu Xin felt as if the spring of life had poured into her dried-up heart. Her once colorless world suddenly burst into vivid color, and her future brimmed with hope!
"Maybe it's true. Maybe it really is." The fact that she had returned from the dead, along with the little secret between the two of them, made Xu Xin willing to believe it was true. "Six months, seven at the latest?"
"I have to tell my parents-in-law, and Luo Hua and the others. This is wonderful news!" Xu Xin was overwhelmed with excitement.
That day, after seeing the email, Luo Feng's family was shocked that Xu Xin had tried to kill herself and blamed her for it. But the message itself filled them all with hope.
Time flew by, and humanity's ugly side showed itself once again. Even the Luo Family had their exceptionally precious Muya Crystals and Spirits of Vegetation forcibly taken from them. This stirred up a terrifying aura from Luo Feng's Golden Horned Behemoth clone, killing many of the sea monsters around him.
On June 2, 2061, Luo Feng's Earthling Clone was finally ready. He returned in a show of force, killing three human criminals—all top Earthling Planetary Level powerhouses—and shocking the entire world. Xu Xin and the Luo Family watched Luo Feng's return on a live television broadcast and were overcome with excitement.
When Luo Feng returned home, everyone's eyes filled with tears. Seeing Xu Xin holding their child, Luo Feng also wept with joy.
That evening, the Luo and Xu families sat together. Luo Feng briefly explained that he had been severely injured in his battle with the Swallowing Beast and had been unable to move. He had been recovering on the seafloor and could only return now. The Golden Horned Behemoth was too strange and dangerous, so he didn't want his family to worry about him.
After everyone had left, Luo Feng took Xu Xin and Little Zhiyuan back to their bedroom. Only then did he have time to share sweet words and pour out his feelings to Xu Xin.
Luo Feng watched Little Zhiyuan stare at him with wide eyes and occasionally study him. He couldn't resist trying to play with the baby, but the little guy didn't seem interested in him at all. Luo Feng looked at Xu Xin in dismay.
Xu Xin watched with a quiet laugh 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 things. He often plays by himself, and sometimes I think he's acting out both sides of a conversation. It's really amusing."
"Oh? Is that so? Just as you'd expect of my son! Haha! By the way, Babata, see how talented my son is."
"Heh heh, sure. As your son, he's bound to have excellent innate talent!"
"Hmm... What?! My god! Luo Feng, your son's Brain Domain Width is forty! That already exceeds the standard for the core direct disciples of Yunmo Planet. This is incredible! When you entered the Elite Passage, yours was only twenty-one!"
"Oh? Haha, doesn't that mean my son is way more talented than me? He'll definitely become an amazing powerhouse when he grows up!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Luo Feng, I regret it so much! Why wasn't your son born a few years earlier? If I'd discovered him sooner, I wouldn't have taken you as my student. Your talent is nothing compared to his. You've wasted so many resources!"
Luo Feng's eye twitched when he heard that. Sorry about that!
"By the way, Babata, my son is so talented. How should we raise him?"
Babata took a moment to reply. "Uh... Your teacher left limited resources behind, enough to raise you to World Lord Level, basically. As for your son, we can afford to support him in the early stages, but you'll have to earn money for his later needs.
"I'll put together a suitable training plan. First, we'll dilute some Spirits of Vegetation for him to take. Once his physical fitness improves, he can train with Muya Crystals.
"Luo Feng, I'm telling you, your son will grow very quickly. You'll have to work even harder. Otherwise, he might not lack money for formula, but as for the cultivation resources he needs later, you'll have to figure that out yourself. Heh heh."
And so, while cultivating himself, Luo Feng also followed Babata's plan to improve Little Zhiyuan's physical fitness. Little Zhiyuan then made it safely to his first birthday.
Late at night on September 15, 2061, Little Zhiyuan, who had just turned one, was fast asleep. But within the little boy's Consciousness Ocean, Luo Zhiyuan's soul, which had long lain dormant, awakened.
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