Zi Yan's Stubborn Pride Summons a Dou Saint Grandpa

The next day.

Zi Yan slowly woke up in Tang Chen's arms.

The moment she opened her eyes, she discovered that she was completely naked, pressed intimately against Tang Chen's chest. Raising her head slightly, she met his face, which wore a mischievous grin.

"You... I... we..." Zi Yan's little face flushed crimson, and she could barely speak properly.

She wriggled free from Tang Chen's embrace. Looking at the mess all around them, memories of last night began resurfacing one by one.

The more she remembered, the more unbearably embarrassed she became. The blush spread from her face to the tips of her ears, until she looked like a thoroughly cooked shrimp.

That scene had been far too embarrassing. Even someone as open and straightforward as Zi Yan found it hard to speak of when she thought back on it.

Seeing how bashful she looked, Tang Chen found it even more amusing. He smiled and said, "Weren't you pretty fierce last night? Why are you chickening out now?"

"Who... who's chickening out? Stupid Tang Chen, don't look down on me. I'm amazing!" Zi Yan stood up with a red face, puffed out her chest, and stubbornly argued.

Yet she clearly lacked confidence when she said it. She had been the first one to beg for mercy last night, and her body still hurt even now.

At the beginning, Zi Yan had been quite pleased with herself, thinking that with a magical beast's physique, handling Tang Chen in this sort of matter would be effortless.

But the moment they clashed, she realized she had been wrong—terribly wrong. Not only had she failed to get the better of Tang Chen, she had instead been thoroughly subdued by him and remained at a disadvantage the entire time.

Zi Yan never expected that Tang Chen, a mere human, would be so hard. He was hard everywhere, and the collisions had left her aching. As a result, she had suffered a complete defeat in that bout and was still faintly sore now.

Seeing her force herself to put on a brave front, Tang Chen could not help smiling. He took out a medicinal pill from his Storage Ring and handed it to her. "I know you're amazing. Come, take this and recover."

Zi Yan accepted the pill, warmth rising in her heart, and swallowed it without hesitation.

Once the pill entered her stomach, a warm medicinal force spread through her body and began slowly repairing her injuries.

The gradually returning comfort made her let out a soft gasp. Feeling embarrassed again, she hurriedly stubbornly said, "You must be badly hurt too. You should take one as well and recover properly."

"Hahaha, alright, I'll recover too." Tang Chen was amused by her refusal to lose face. Without exposing her, he pretended to take out a pill and swallow it, then sat cross-legged to absorb its medicinal power.

At once, pride appeared on Zi Yan's face. She immediately felt capable again and completely forgot how Tang Chen had overwhelmingly suppressed her last night.

Over the next few days, Tang Chen introduced Zi Yan to Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa. The two women gladly accepted Zi Yan as their new younger sister, and the three of them got along extremely well.

After becoming familiar with one another, their trio became a group of four. The four of their cultivations steadily advanced, while their relationship grew ever closer.

After completely winning over Zi Yan, Tang Chen began considering his next plan.

Things on the Northwest Continent had mostly been settled, and he had gathered nearly all the opportunities there. It was time to take them back to the Central Plains.

But before leaving, he still needed to take Zi Yan to the Magma Depths to meet her father—Zhu Kun.

He needed Zhu Kun to leave Zi Yan with some means of protecting herself, or perhaps some token. With such support, Zi Yan would have a much easier time unifying Dragon Island in the future.

Naturally, Tang Chen could not simply take Zi Yan down there by himself. There were two Half-Saint Lizardmen beneath the ground. No matter how exceptional he was, he could not face Half-Saints head-on as a four-star Dou Zun.

So, it was time to call for backup.

He took out the Space Jade Slip his grandfather had left him and crushed it without the slightest hesitation.

The instant the jade slip shattered, a terrifying force of space erupted. Immediately afterward, the void before him tore open into a massive spatial wormhole, and a suffocating Dou Saint pressure poured out from its depths.

Then, an elderly man with flaming red hair strode out of the wormhole.

The moment Old Ancestor Fire Cloud appeared, his spiritual-sense-like perception instantly enveloped the entire area. After carefully inspecting the surroundings and finding no danger, he turned his gaze to Tang Chen and asked, "Grandson, why did you call Grandpa here?"

"Can't I call you because I missed you?" Tang Chen greeted his grandfather with a cheeky grin.

"You brat, you've only been out training for a few years, yet you're already a four-star Dou Zun!" Old Ancestor Fire Cloud had been about to scold him, but after sensing Tang Chen's cultivation, he discovered that Tang Chen had already reached four-star Dou Zun. He was immediately startled and hurried forward to inspect his eldest grandson's condition.

Feeling the old man's concern, warmth rose in Tang Chen's heart, and he let him examine him. Once Old Ancestor Fire Cloud finished, Tang Chen asked proudly, "Well? Am I impressive or not?"

The more Old Ancestor Fire Cloud examined him, the more shocked he became. He never imagined that in such a short time, his eldest grandson had grown to such a level.

"Truly worthy of being their son..." Looking at Tang Chen before him, Old Ancestor Fire Cloud's thoughts gradually drifted away.

"Old man, are you alright?" Seeing the old man lost in thought, Tang Chen waved a hand before his face.

"Uh... yes! Not bad. Your Dou Qi is abundant, your realm is stable, and there's nothing wrong with your body!" Old Ancestor Fire Cloud came back to his senses and nodded in satisfaction. Then his tone changed. "By the way, brat, why exactly did you call Grandpa here?"

He knew Tang Chen too well to believe that the boy had really called him over merely because he missed him.

"I want to go somewhere, but it may be a little dangerous, so I invited you here in advance," Tang Chen said directly.

"Don't worry. Leave it to Grandpa." Hearing that he only needed to serve as a bodyguard, Old Ancestor Fire Cloud immediately patted his chest and agreed.

Tang Chen did not dare tell him that Zhu Kun was hidden in the Magma Depths. He only said there were two Half-Saint Lizardmen there, afraid of scaring the old man half to death.

Afterward, Tang Chen introduced Medusa, Xiao Yi Xian, Zi Yan, Qing Lin, and the others to Old Ancestor Fire Cloud one by one.

Learning that the man before them was Tang Chen's grandfather, everyone became solemn and hurriedly bowed in respectful greeting.

Old Ancestor Fire Cloud was easygoing and carried none of a Dou Saint's airs, greeting everyone with a smile. Especially after hearing Tang Chen say that Xiao Yi Xian and the others were his granddaughters-in-law, the old man's smile became even more kindly. Not a trace of a Dou Saint expert's imposing presence could be seen.

After receiving Tang Chen's permission, Xiao Yi Xian and the others began calling him "Grandpa" as well, delighting the old man so much that he could not stop smiling.

As for Tang Chen finding several wives at once, Old Ancestor Fire Cloud not only said nothing against it but fully supported it. He wished Tang Chen would find even more, so the family line could flourish.

After resting at the Heavenly Snake Mansion for several more days, Tang Chen called Zi Yan over, and the three of them left the Heavenly Snake Mansion together, heading straight for the Magma Depths beneath Jia Nan Academy.