Young Master, Am I Dreaming?

Chen Changqing looked down at the girl trembling with sobs in his arms. His heart ached for her.

A million years ago.

He had just claimed the title of Divine Son. Full of youthful pride, he had looked down upon all his rivals.

Back then, Lin Wan'er had been no more than a little girl with a ponytail. Kneeling before him with a sword in her arms, she had said, "I wish to follow the Divine Son."

He had thought it was an ordinary pledge of loyalty. But she had truly followed him—from thirteen to eighteen, from the Chen Family to the Secret Realm, from the southern skies to the northern reaches.

On the day he was sealed in Divine Source.

She had stood among the crowd without crying, stubbornly biting her lip, her eyes red as a rabbit's.

Chen Changqing had thought that might be their final farewell.

He had never imagined that during the million years he slept, the little girl who once followed him around calling him "Young Master" would reach the Peak Quasi-Emperor Realm on her own... And in the end, even with only a wisp of her soul remaining, she had protected the Lin Family's descendants from a pack of Saint Kings bent on killing them.

Chen Changqing could well imagine how many dangers and hardships Lin Wan'er had endured to attain such strength.

Most of all.

Even after a million years, even after becoming a Quasi-Emperor Realm cultivator, she still acted like the same little girl before him...

And so.

Chen Changqing raised a hand and gently patted Lin Wan'er's trembling back, as tenderly as though he were soothing a crying child.

"It's all right. It's all right."

His voice was soft, yet it held a power that put her heart at ease. "I'm back."

Lin Wan'er cried even harder.

She buried her face in his chest, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, as if she meant to shed every tear she had stored up over the past million years.

"Young Master... Young Master... I... I thought I'd never see you again... I... I waited so, so long..."

"So long I could barely remember what you looked like..."

"But I didn't dare forget... I was afraid that if I did, I'd never be able to remember again..."

Chen Changqing said nothing. He only patted her back, again and again.

He knew this girl did not need comfort. She needed to let it all out.

She had held those feelings inside for far too long. She needed a release.

Off to the side, Lin Yue Ru stared at the scene, her eyes full of shock and disbelief.

To her, her ancestor Lin Wan'er had always been a mysterious, aloof figure.

Even when her ancestor had dwelled inside the token as a remnant soul, her voice had always been calm and steady, like an immovable mountain—the only pillar Lin Yue Ru had to lean on during her flight.

But now—

The ancestor who had stood so high in Lin Yue Ru's eyes was crying like a little girl in a young man's arms, her shoulders shaking with all the hurt she had kept inside.

So Ancestor has a side like this, too...

No.

Perhaps she only shows this side of herself in front of Senior Changqing.

Lin Yue Ru lowered her head quietly. Her reverence for Chen Changqing deepened.

Who knew how much time passed.

Lin Wan'er's sobs gradually faded, but she still clung to Chen Changqing, unwilling to leave his arms, as though she could reclaim a million years of lost warmth in one embrace.

Until—

"Ahem."

A rather pointed cough came from nearby.

Old Ancestor Chen Haotian stood a short distance away with his hands behind his back, an amused smile on his face. "All right, all right, little Wan'er. You two will have plenty of time to hold each other later!"

"This old ancestor is still standing here. At least leave me a little dignity."

Only then did Lin Wan'er come to her senses. She sprang out of Chen Changqing's arms like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, two patches of red flaring across her pretty face and burning all the way to her ears.

Head lowered, she hurriedly wiped the tears from her face. Then she turned to Chen Haotian and cupped her hands in a respectful salute, a trace of her sobs still lingering in her voice. "Wan'er... greets the Old Ancestor."

Chen Haotian nodded and looked her over. The more he saw, the more startled he became.

The Peak Quasi-Emperor Realm.

A Perfected Azure Lotus Sword Physique.

And sword intent honed to its utmost limit. Though she made no effort to release it, the surrounding void was already trembling faintly.

"Good, good, good."

Chen Haotian said it three times, his weathered face full of wonder and relief. "Not bad at all. I haven't seen you in a million years, little girl, and you've grown this strong."

"The peak of the ninth level of the Quasi-Emperor Realm, a Perfected Azure Lotus Sword Physique... Heh, even I might not be your match now."

He meant it. Though both had reached the ninth level of the Quasi-Emperor Realm, the edge of Lin Wan'er's sword intent was far too sharp. With her Perfected Azure Lotus Sword Physique on top of that, he would likely lose if they fought.

Well... assuming he did not use his divine abilities.

With those included, Lin Wan'er could not possibly defeat him.

Then again, if this little girl had comprehended divine abilities too, he might not have much chance of winning.

At that thought.

A wave of emotion washed over Chen Haotian.

Time rushed by, and the world changed beyond all expectation!

Who could have foreseen it?

That little girl with the ponytail, who had always followed behind Chen Changqing, had reached such heights alone after he was sealed away.

With the strength she had shown, in the age a million years ago... perhaps only the Great Emperor of that era and the ancient supreme beings slumbering in the Forbidden Zones could have stood against her.

How much had this girl suffered to come so far in a million years?

At his words, Lin Wan'er gently shook her head. Her gaze drifted back to Chen Changqing beside her, the light in her eyes tender and steadfast.

"You praise me too highly, Old Ancestor. Everything Wan'er has achieved today is thanks to the guidance Young Master gave me back then."

That was not mere modesty.

Her own talent and diligence had certainly helped her break through, time after time.

More important, though, had been the guidance Chen Changqing had given her on her future path of cultivation.

He had offered only a few words, but each had been a pearl. They had spared her countless wrong turns in the years that followed.

More important still—

If she had not longed for Chen Changqing, if the thought I still want to see Young Master again had not given her the will to endure every desperate moment, she would likely have fallen in one of the countless deadly traps she faced.

Young Master was the longing she could not let go.

He was her path, too.

Young Master still lay within Divine Source, waiting for the Golden Age to arrive.

She was his follower. How could she stop moving forward?

Chen Changqing's heart stirred as he listened. He raised a hand and gently rubbed her head, then asked softly, his voice tinged with heartache, "You must have suffered a great deal to cultivate this far."

The Peak Quasi-Emperor Realm.

A Perfected Azure Lotus Sword Physique.

Even in a Golden Age, such achievements would make countless prodigies look up to her.

Yet—

Chen Changqing did not see those shining accolades. He saw the hidden dangers, the blood and tears behind them.

He knew this girl too well.

She was no once-in-eternity prodigy. She had no Azure Heaven Tyrant Body, no Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, no Innate Sword Bone...

Her Azure Lotus Sword Physique was, in truth, only an excellent gift—far below those supreme ancient sacred physiques. She could strengthen it only by tempering her body again and again with sword intent, enduring the agony of Sword Qi gnawing at her heart.

To reach this point, she must have worked harder than most.

As he rubbed her head, Lin Wan'er's eyes reddened once more.

But she held back her tears.

She only shook her head hard and gave him a radiant smile. "Now that Wan'er has met Young Master again, none of it feels bitter."

Then.

She paused, as if something had suddenly occurred to her. Looking down at her hands, she examined the cultivation and physique within her, both perfectly restored. Confusion deepened in her eyes.

"Oh, right, Young Master..."

She looked up at Chen Changqing, her gaze full of bewilderment and disbelief.

"Wan'er... Was it you who brought Wan'er back?"

In her heart, she already knew the answer.

After all, apart from Young Master, who in the entire Great Desolate Realm would do this for her? Who else could?

But faced with something so incredible, she still found it hard to believe.

After all, Young Master's cultivation now...

She quietly sensed Chen Changqing's aura. He was only at the Great Sage Realm.

Between the Great Sage Realm and the Quasi-Emperor Realm stood the Saint King, Saint Emperor, and Quasi-Emperor—three great realms in all.

How could Young Master, with only Great Sage Realm cultivation, wield such a heaven-defying power and bring her back whole from a remnant soul on the verge of fading?

Even her Quasi-Emperor Realm cultivation had been restored without the slightest loss!

Something like that... should have been impossible!

"Young Master... how did this happen?"

Lin Wan'er blinked, her eyes brimming with confusion and curiosity.

"Or... is Wan'er dreaming right now?"