Welcome Back Victorious, Your Imperial Majesty! (4K) (Continued)

Guo Ziqian's body trembled. Having received praise, he abruptly raised his head.

At that moment, he could not help recalling his overbearing and arrogant conduct back in the days before Tan Lin had attained the Dao in the Primordial Era. When Tan Lin had briefly returned years ago, Guo Ziqian had even taken the lead in opposing being sealed within Divine Source, nearly wasting all of Tan Lin's painstaking efforts.

All those past events surged into his mind, filling his heart with complicated emotions. He hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed in shame.

"Your Majesty flatters me. Reaching the Quasi-Emperor realm was already a stroke of unimaginable luck for this subordinate. How could I dare hope for the scenery at greater heights? I do not deserve such praise from Your Majesty..."

Before he could finish, however, Tan Lin waved a hand and interrupted him with a laugh.

"Hahaha, just as I thought. Your habit of 'talking back,' you thorn in the side, has not changed one bit. I remember back then, whenever I said one sentence, you could retort with ten..."

"This..."

Hearing that, Guo Ziqian's old face inexplicably flushed, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

"Y-You... why did you come so late?!"

At this moment, Tianling lifted her head from Tan Lin's embrace. Her beautiful eyes were brimming with tears as she glared at him.

As she spoke, her exquisite face carried both coy resentment and lingering fear, along with a trace of grievance from having survived a disaster.

"If you had come one step later, you would never have seen us again. We could have died, you know..."

However,

before she could finish speaking, Tan Lin's face suddenly turned pale. He abruptly turned his head, covered his mouth with a hand, and began