Time flew by, and Xue Yao turned eight.
Morning.
Outside the capital of the Farack Kingdom, yellow dust billowed through the air.
A fully armed contingent of the Heaven Dou Royal Heavy Cavalry, escorting an extremely luxurious purple-gold carriage, swept through the city gates in a grand procession.
The spectacle was even more impressive than when Xue Yao had left two years ago.
Around the carriage, commoners and merchants crowded the streets until they were packed tight. Everyone craned their necks to get a look, their eyes full of awe.
Everyone knew that this was the greatest pride of their Farack Kingdom: Viscount Sky Wind, Xue Yao, had returned.
Outside the main entrance of Farack Royal Palace.
King Xue Lang and Queen Gao Nianzhen had long been waiting on the steps with all the civil and military officials.
They hadn't seen their son for two years, and the couple had been longing for him terribly.
Gao Nianzhen had been living quite comfortably over the past two years.
With experts from the Feng Clan secretly protecting the royal family, she had far less to worry about, and her cultivation had progressed smoothly.
In fact, she had just broken through a bottleneck a little while ago and was now a Level 73 Soul Saint.
Xue Lang, on the other hand, had it rough. He was too busy with state affairs to cultivate and had only just managed to become a Soul Emperor after two years of hard work.
"Why hasn't he arrived yet?" Gao Nianzhen asked anxiously, rising onto her tiptoes.
Beside her, Xue Lang took her hand and comforted her softly.
"Soon, soon. The scouts reported in half an hour ago."
As soon as he finished speaking, the rhythmic sound of hooves came from the far end of the street.
The gleaming Royal Knights came into view.
The carriage came to a steady stop in front of the palace.
The carriage door opened.
A boy dressed in a fitted white formal suit stepped down, using the carriage step.
Eight-year-old Xue Yao had grown quite a bit taller. His once-childish features had fully matured, making him look exceptionally handsome.
He stood there with his hands in his pockets. That lazy yet noble air about him was even stronger than it had been two years ago.
"Yao'er."
Gao Nianzhen's eyes reddened. She couldn't be bothered with a queen's decorum and hurried down the steps, sweeping Xue Yao into her arms.
"Mom, I'm back."
Xue Yao wrapped his arms around his mother, too, his heart warm.
No matter how much scheming and acting he did outside, he couldn't fake the bond of family. Back home, their blood ties felt as real as ever.
Xue Lang came over as well.
He patted his son on the shoulder and looked him up and down, his eyes full of pride.
"You've grown taller and filled out, too," Xue Lang said with a smile and a nod.
"Come on. Let's go inside and talk."
Xue Lang waved for the officials to leave, and the family of three entered the palace's main hall together, chatting and laughing.
There were no outsiders in the hall.
Gao Nianzhen held Xue Yao's hand and fussed over him, asking whether he'd eaten well in Heaven Dou City and whether anyone had bullied him.
Xue Yao smiled and answered each question, then told them a few amusing stories from the academy.
As for Qian Renxue's probing, and the dangerous political clashes with the East Palace's hidden guards, he didn't mention any of it. He didn't want his parents worrying for nothing.
"By the way, Yao'er."
Xue Lang picked up his teacup and took a sip, in high spirits.
"That matter you took care of two years ago was a huge help to your father."
"That old Feng Cang brought the core members of Godwind Academy and put down roots here. Now the security of Farack City is practically impregnable."
Xue Lang said with a beaming smile, "A few days ago, that old man even came to the palace and played a game of chess with me. He couldn't stop praising you."
Xue Yao smiled. "We both got what we wanted. The Feng Clan didn't lose out."
Once they had caught up enough, Xue Lang set down his teacup, his expression turning more serious.
"Yao'er, you came all the way back from Heaven Dou City. Is there something important you need?"
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy enforced strict rules. As one of its most elite students, Xue Yao wouldn't be allowed to come home for a visit unless something important had come up.
Xue Yao nodded.
"There is. I've hit a bottleneck in my Soul Power."
"The outskirts of Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City don't have anything worthwhile, and I can't be bothered to venture deeper."
"I figured, since the edge of Star Dou Forest is right beside our Farack Kingdom, I might as well come back and find a suitable Soul Ring."
At the words "find a Soul Ring,"
Xue Lang froze.
His teacup stopped halfway to his mouth, and his brow gradually furrowed.
The joy on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by an expression of deep anguish and regret.
"Yao'er..."
Xue Lang let out a heavy sigh, his voice full of bewilderment and concern.
"Why won't you listen to advice?"
Xue Yao was completely bewildered.
"What did I do?"
Xue Lang stood up and paced back and forth across the hall twice, looking agitated.
"Two years ago, the rumors from Heaven Dou City were already flying everywhere. They said you spent every day in the library, obsessed with Self-Created Soul Skills."
"Then, although Emperor Xue Ye issued an imperial decree saying you'd gained five levels in three months, silencing the gossip..."
"But that was two years ago."
Xue Lang turned and stared fixedly at Xue Yao.
"Over these past two years, have you spent all your time on those flashy theories and completely neglected your cultivation?"
Gao Nianzhen could tell something was wrong. Her protective instincts kicked in, and she glared at her husband.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How has Yao'er neglected his cultivation?"
Xue Lang grew agitated and slapped his thigh.
"How has he not?"
"When he was six, he was already Level 15. A full two years have passed since then."
"Two years! And he's only just hit a bottleneck and come back to hunt for his Second Soul Ring."
Xue Lang grew more and more distressed as he spoke.
"In other words, he's only barely gained five levels in two years. He's just reached Level 20."
In Xue Lang's mind, a peerless genius with Innate Full Soul Power should have gained seven or eight levels in two years if he'd focused on meditating and cultivating.
Yet his son had only now come to look for his Second Soul Ring.
There was no doubt that Self-Created Soul Skills had seriously held him back.
He even suspected that his son had really gone down the same path as that Feng Xiaotian from Godwind Academy.
Hearing that, Gao Nianzhen furrowed her brow slightly as well.
She wasn't blaming her son. She just felt it was a bit of a shame.
"Yao'er." Gao Nianzhen gently stroked Xue Yao's head.
"Your father does have a point. No matter how ingenious Self-Created Soul Skills are, they mustn't hold back your cultivation."
"You're still young, and you have a long road ahead. Raising your level should come first."
Xue Yao sat in his chair.
As he listened to his parents' back-and-forth "deductions," he was completely dumbfounded.
He looked at his father, who was stricken with grief, then at his mother, whose face was full of concern.
The corners of his mouth twitched hard twice.
What did any of that have to do with anything?
They really had some imagination. They actually thought he'd only gained five levels in two years.
Xue Yao sighed, his expression turning extremely strange.
"Dad, Mom..."
He raised his head and looked at Xue Lang and Gao Nianzhen, then slowly asked,
"Who told you... I came back to hunt for my Second Soul Ring?"
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