Going Home

Big Xiong fell silent.

Back when he had been at Xiong Ba's side, he had always wanted to go out on his own and make his way in the world. But when he was actually bullied outside, the first person he thought of was his father, and he had come back to find him without a second thought.

He actually knew that the reason he could throw his weight around in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, to the point that even high-level Magical Beasts would give way when they saw him, was not because he was powerful. It was only because he was Xiong Ba's son. Yet he was still willing to fool himself, and had been happy enough doing so.

But people changed. Over these past three-plus years, it was not only Zhao Li who had grown. He had matured a great deal as well.

During those days when Xiong Ba and Lin Lan had taken him to secretly observe Zhao Li, at first he had still hoped to see Zhao Li make a fool of himself so he could vent his anger. But Zhao Li's unexpectedly clever moves, time and again, had made Big Xiong think a lot too. He was also a bear with a competitive streak.

When he could still only go complain to his elders, Zhao Li already dared to launch a Beast Tide to plunder the Mountain Forest. When he grew smug after his breakthrough and went to get his dignity back, Zhao Li was improving just as quickly, yet hardly showed off. He only kept reviewing himself, improving...

Now, this human who was almost the same age as him could already hold his own.

It was just that Big Xiong was lazy by nature, and in the end, he still did not want to leave this mountain range.

After a long while, Big Xiong did not answer, instead asking Zhao Li a question.

"Are you leaving now? Not waiting for Uncle Lin and the others to come back?"

An answer that did not match the question was still an answer. Zhao Li understood Big Xiong's choice.

He could understand Big Xiong too. Truthfully, he also wanted to be a local tyrant in the Great Qian Empire, indulging in pleasure and amusement. He was already qualified for that.

It was just that he knew the continent still had many interesting sights, many unknown mysteries, and also, he had seen that in that orderly world, ordinary people could live very well too...

All those things drew Zhao Li in. He wanted to go see those sights for himself.

Zhao Li condensed his Dou Qi Wings, crystalline like snowflakes. With a gentle tremor, he turned into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.

"No. If they come back, then I'll have to trouble Brother Xiong to pass a message to my master for me. I'm off. Take care!"

Big Xiong looked in the direction Zhao Li had left and saw something seeming to fly over. He reached out and caught it: three jade bottles, two Dou Spirit Pills, two Emperor's Extreme Pills, and that Form Transformation Pill he had refused so many times.

Big Xiong put the pills away with the utmost care and silently said, "Take care."

The Imperial Capital of Great Qian, Danyuan City!

Looking at the city before him after so long apart, seemingly forever bustling and as prosperous as ever, Zhao Li felt as though everything was the same, yet the people had changed.

When he had been cultivating in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, he had not felt anything different. But the moment he arrived in Danyuan City, Zhao Li felt like a primitive man, completely out of place amid the surrounding bustle and clamor.

Zhao Li blended into the crowd and wandered east and west with the flow of people. After strolling around for an entire day, Zhao Li finally readapted to the life of this prosperous city.

"Home, home!"

Zhao Li glanced at the sky. It had already darkened, so he immediately ran toward home.

A Zhao Family Guard saw Zhao Li at the gate and asked him, "Who are you, and what business do you have here? If you have none, leave quickly."

Hearing this, Zhao Li rubbed his nose. While praising the guard's professionalism, he also grumbled inwardly.

"Not bad at all. Pretty dedicated. Just not very sharp-eyed."

Zhao Li had wronged him there. Leaving aside how much he himself had changed over the past few years, right now he still had not taken off the mask Lin Lan had given him back then. It could only be said that he had nothing to do with how he looked in the past.

He really had worn the mask for so long that even he had forgotten.

Zhao Li did not make things difficult for them either. He took out his Identity Token and walked in.

"Wasn't Young Master Zhao Li cultivating with Lord Lin Lan? I didn't expect that after a few years, Young Master Li would have changed this much!"

The guard at the gate sighed, and did not think too much of it. The other guard, however, was muttering that Young Master Li did not have that face shape. After a few years apart, had he remembered wrong?

Zhao Li had no idea what the guards were muttering. After recalling things for a little while, he followed the route in his memory and returned home with practiced ease.

"Father, Mother, I'm back!" The moment he entered the door, before he had even seen anyone, Zhao Li shouted loudly.

When Han Xiangyu heard this slightly familiar voice, she wondered if she had misheard, and said to Zhao Lingxiao, "Lingxiao, I think I heard Li'er's voice. Did you hear it?"

Zhao Lingxiao, who had also been wondering if he had imagined it, froze. "You heard it too?"

The two of them hurriedly rushed out, only to see an unfamiliar man standing in the courtyard.

Zhao Lingxiao immediately became wary and pulled Han Xiangyu behind him.

"Who are you? What brings you to my Zhao Family?"

Zhao Li was stunned. What was this supposed to be? He assumed that they had simply been apart too long and they had not recognized him at first, so he immediately revealed his identity.

"Father, Mother, it's me, Zhao Li."

Hearing that familiar voice, Han Xiangyu believed him somewhat, and carefully sized Zhao Li up. "Over these past few years, you grew up ugly?"

Only then did Zhao Li remember. He took off the mask on his face, revealing that handsome face, and explained to his parents.

"Teacher said I'm too much of a Genius and would easily make people jealous, so he gave me this mask to disguise myself a bit. This also counts as giving myself some protection."

Hearing Zhao Li's shameless bragging, the two of them exchanged a glance. The meaning was obvious: this was their own thick-skinned brat, no mistake.

"You little brat, look at you showing off. Hurry inside and eat." Zhao Lingxiao seemed forever like this, unwilling to directly show his concern. It was just that between the lines, it always slipped out unconsciously.

"Heh, I really am a little hungry. It's been so long since I've eaten Mother's cooking."

The family entered the house, and Han Xiangyu soon made a table of simple home-cooked dishes. Though the two of them were not hungry, they still sat around the table together, occasionally picking up food for Zhao Li while listening as he lightly recounted his cultivation experiences over the past few years. The mood was warm and harmonious.

The full moon in the sky shone down on the reunited family below, casting a beautiful scene by the window.

The next day, by the time Zhao Li woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

"It's been so long since I slept this deeply. Home really is the most comfortable place."

Zhao Li stretched lazily. With this relaxation, even the Dou Qi inside him seemed to become more active.

Joy rose in Zhao Li's heart. He had not expected there to be an unexpected bonus.

Zhao Li had comprehended "Momentum" early on, so in theory, he would have no real bottlenecks all the way up to Dou Emperor. His cultivation over the past few years had mostly been about accumulating energy and studying Alchemy Technique. As for his Cultivation Level becoming unstable, that was not much of a problem. Setting aside that what Zhao Li pursued was control according to his own will, just being alone in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range meant the one thing he lacked least was battle.

Over these past few years, the speed of Zhao Li's Cultivation Level increase could actually only be considered steady and ordinary, but his battle awareness had indeed improved tremendously.

Zhao Li had originally wanted to cultivate straight to Dou Emperor before returning, but there were fewer and fewer Magical Beasts in the mountain range that could fight him. Since accumulating energy was the same anywhere, he decided to leave.

He had not expected that just after returning, once the heartstrings that had been taut all this time relaxed, he would gain such an unexpected harvest.

For several days in a row, Zhao Li had nothing much to do. From time to time, he went to the Training Hall to guide the clansmen, and from time to time, he exchanged pointers on Alchemy Technique with the Medicine Hall Guest Elder in the clan. His days passed in an exceedingly leisurely manner.

Naturally, Zhao Li would not be foolish enough to expose everything about himself in the open.

In the clan, he was merely a sixteen-year-old Genius Dou Grandmaster and Third-Rank Alchemist. Even so, Zhao Li had become one of the foremost geniuses of the Zhao Clan. During this period, his name, which had been quiet for more than three years, spread through the clan once again.

White clouds turned to gray hounds; time passed in the blink of an eye.

After living a leisurely life for more than a month, Zhao Li no longer continued lazing around.

"There are quite a few things I should start doing. Let's begin with the clan."