"Give me back my child! He's my last hope in life, Yuhao. I beg you, give Yunhan back to me, please give him back!"
Ju Zi pleaded coolly, even abandoning her dignity as the Empress Dowager of the Sun and Moon Empire, and knelt on the ground.
Unfortunately, her pleas were met with Huo Yuhao's still indifferent expression. With the same insane threat he had made before, threatening to take everyone down with him using the Doomsday Bomb, Huo Yuhao knew very well that this woman, and even the entire Sun and Moon Empire, had gone mad.
The only way to control a madwoman is to grasp her most vital weakness, so he absolutely will not hand the child back to this crazy woman now.
At the same time, with the loss of Emperor Xu Yunhan, even with the Orange Town, the empire has lost its legitimate claim and is therefore illegitimate. The Sun and Moon Empire will inevitably fall into internal strife and may even disintegrate.
It's possible that the Sun and Moon Empire will voluntarily withdraw from the list in less than a century. And once the Sun and Moon Empire splits up and ceases to exist, the previous century-long agreement will no longer need to be observed.
After all, the agreement he made was with the Sun and Moon Empire. As long as the Sun and Moon Empire existed, the Star Luo Empire would never invade within a hundred years. But if the Sun and Moon Empire ceased to exist, then there would be no need to abide by the agreement, right?
The exceptionally intelligent Huo Yuhao had already planned everything from the moment Ju Zi threatened him with the Doomsday Bomb, so no matter what happened, the ultimate fate of the Sun and Moon Empire would not change.
At the same time, he can also use the existence of the Sun and Moon Empire to restrain the ambitions of the aristocratic families, clans, and wealthy families within the Star Luo Empire to a certain extent.
He was well aware of the immense ambitions of those forces. Once there were no external enemies, these forces would inevitably quickly become independent, thus splitting the Star Luo Empire into numerous kingdoms.
After all, the current Star Luo Empire is actually a federal system, with aristocratic families, sects, nobles, and financial giants jointly ruling the world with the Star Luo Imperial Family. Even the Star Luo Imperial Family's orders cannot enter the territories of the major powers, making it a country within a country.
Previously, they could barely maintain their alliance with the two powerful enemies, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Sun and Moon Empire, but once the external threat is gone, who knows what will happen?
He needed to ensure stability within the Star Luo Empire before completely eradicating the Sun and Moon Empire.
Therefore, this century-old agreement is quite effective, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.
Too lazy to pay attention to that crazy woman anymore, Huo Yuhao turned around and prepared to leave again. This action completely broke Ju Zi, who was kneeling on the ground begging, and she could no longer care about anything else, revealing the secret hidden deep in her heart.
"No, you can't take Yunhan away, he's your son!"
This secret involved too many things, and it was Ju Zi's last shred of dignity, but for the sake of her child, she still gave up this last bit of dignity.
However, these words seemed to have angered some being. As soon as the words fell, the space on the entire imperial battlefield froze, and the voice was restricted to a range of a hundred feet, heard by only a few people.
"I warned you never to reveal this secret, or I would take your son's life. Since you have forgotten my warning, then..."
A towering figure appeared in the sky, coldly gazing at the group below, a chilling killing intent emanating from him.
With her face deathly pale, Ju Zi seized the moment when Huo Yuhao was distracted, rushed forward, snatched Xu Yunhan from her arms, and then quickly retreated and knelt down, pleading, "Please don't hurt my child, I beg you, don't hurt him. I'm just afraid they'll hurt my child. I'm willing to atone with my life, please don't hurt my child."
Ju Zi, who was willing to give up everything for her child, kowtowed and begged repeatedly. Her fair forehead hit the hard ground, and the gravel cut her fair skin, drawing blood. But Ju Zi seemed to feel no pain and continued to kowtow and beg.
Although she didn't know the specific identity of that being, she could roughly guess that it was a god in the Divine Realm, and its strength was definitely far greater than that of Huo Yuhao, who had become a god.
She couldn't even resist Huo Yuhao before, let alone this being.
So all she can do now is plead desperately, hoping to exchange her own life for a chance at survival for her child.
"You're afraid others will hurt your child, but have you ever thought about hurting other people's children? Out of consideration for Heaven's benevolence, I've tolerated that child's existence, but you still don't heed my warning. Your out-of-control emotions are leading you to your own destruction."
"Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are inescapable!"
The figure that appeared in the sky stepped down, finally allowing everyone to see its appearance clearly.
It turned out that he was a handsome young man who looked to be no more than twenty years old, with a striking and devilish face, but no one would have thought that he was only in his twenties.
The power displayed by the opponent was simply too overwhelming, far surpassing even that of Huo Yuhao, who had already become a god. It must be an extremely ancient being.
"Dad!"
Tang Wutong suddenly cried out in surprise and leaped into the young man's arms.
The young man pulled her into his arms, a gentle tenderness appearing on his devilish face. He softly stroked the girl's hair and said, "My dear daughter, don't worry, Daddy will never let you suffer. Anyone who dares to hurt you will pay a heavy price!"
That's right, this young man is Tang San, who ascended to the Divine Realm ten thousand years ago and became the God Realm Enforcer and God King of the God Realm, and Tang Wutong is his daughter.
Tang San's words made Tang Wutong tremble. She left her father's embrace and turned to look at her lover, Huo Yuhao.
She was not weak-willed. Although she didn't understand how the child came to be, she knew that Ju Zi would never lie at this time, and her father's previous words also indirectly confirmed the truth of the matter.
Therefore, that child, Xu Yunhan, must be Huo Yuhao's son. Could it be that Huo Yuhao was having an affair with that crazy woman behind my back?
This is not impossible, after all, that crazy woman had pursued Huo Yuhao back then, and Huo Yuhao had feelings for her as well.
As the saying goes, when a man pursues a woman, he must be separated by a car, a house, and her...
Oops, I got the words mixed up. It's said that it's easier for a man to pursue a woman than for a woman to pursue a man. Besides, although that crazy woman is crazy, she is undeniably a great beauty who is no less beautiful than herself, and she has a noble status. Who knows Huo Yuhao might not be able to resist her at some point.
Thinking about this, Tang Wutong felt extremely wronged, as if she had been betrayed.
The perceptive Huo Yuhao immediately guessed what Tang Wutong was thinking upon seeing the change in her expression, and hurriedly explained, " Wutong, let me explain. I don't know what happened either. I admit that I liked Ju Zi back then, but we have always been completely innocent and there was never that kind of relationship between us. That child is definitely not mine."
If you don't believe me, you can check the vital energy within my body; there hasn't been a single trace leaking out. My body has been preserved for you the whole time."
"Who wants to see your...?"
Tang Wutong blushed deeply after Huo Yuhao's last explicit words, muttered a curse under her breath, and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
However, after Huo Yuhao's explanation, she understood. Indeed, in the existing Body Refinement, the original primordial yang and primordial yin of male and female cultivators are crucial and can play a role in assisting cultivation.
Once the original primordial yang and yin are leaked out, this effect will be lost. However, Huo Yuhao's original primordial yang has always existed without any leakage, so he is obviously still a virgin. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for him to have a relationship with that crazy woman.
But how did that child come to be?
At this moment, Tang San sneered and said, "Not yours? Think about that child's name, isn't it quite related to yours? The Yuhao, the two correspond to each other, do you think this is just a coincidence?"
Tang San glanced coldly at Huo Yuhao, whose face was turning pale, then turned his gaze to Ju Zi and said in a cold voice, "Tell him the whole truth!"
Faced with Tang San's order, Ju Zi dared not refuse. She turned her gaze to Huo Yuhao, hesitated for a moment, and said, " Xu Tianran is impotent. I had long anticipated that he would ask me to use a sperm donor to continue the imperial lineage. Therefore, I had to prepare in advance and find a man I found pleasing to the eye to use as a sperm donor. That is why I ultimately chose you."
Do you remember twenty years ago? When you fell into a coma and ended up in my hands, I stole your seed with Soul Tool. Later, when Xu Tianran forced me, I used Imperial technology to switch the seed Xu Tianran gave me, completed in-vitro fertilization, and implanted the developed embryo into my body through Soul Guidance Technology. That's how Yunhan came to be.
So although Yunhan has half your bloodline, I have never had any relationship with you. You only gave me a seed.
I can only apologize for the harm I caused you, but Yunhan is my child, and he doesn't have your surname. His surname is Xu, and he is the emperor of the Sun and Moon Empire.
If you hurt him, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!
In the end, Ju Zi had to resort to her clever tricks, hoping that Huo Yuhao, the man she once adored, could take responsibility and protect Yunhan's child.
In fact, Ju Zi's last words did work, and they put Huo Yuhao in a very difficult position.
Although severing ties with that crazy woman, Ju Zi, and ignoring the child's life or death would be the best way to prove his innocence, he absolutely could not do that.
Regardless, Xu Yunhan was, in a way, his child. If he were truly heartless and disregarded Xu Yunhan's life, allowing his father-in-law to kill him, how would Tang Wutong view him?
And how would his unfathomable father-in-law view him?
No father would marry his daughter to a cold-hearted man who doesn't care about the life or death of his own child.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao was extremely distressed at this moment. He couldn't speak, nor could he remain silent. He was caught in the middle, and his head was about to explode with worry.
No matter how cunning he is, he still has to kneel before such a dead end, because this kind of thing cannot be solved simply by having a high IQ.
Ju Zi ignored Huo Yuhao's changing expression and instead looked pleadingly at Tang San, because this person was the one who would decide her child's life or death.
Just as Tang San was about to speak, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked behind Ju Zi.
Suddenly, two more figures appeared behind Ju Zi —no, to be precise, three.
Because one of the women was holding a tiny person in her arms, a person who looked exactly like Xu Yunhan.
However, unlike the sleeping Xu Yunhan that Ju Zi was holding in her arms, the Xu Yunhan in the woman's arms was awake. He even broke free from the woman's embrace, came to Ju Zi's side, and hugged her arm, trying to help her up.
"Mom, get up. We don't need to bow down to anyone. Grandma and Dad will protect us!"
Seeing her son reappear, Ju Zi was completely bewildered. Then, looking at the child she was holding in her arms, she felt utterly lost.
What exactly happened?
Could it be that my mother actually gave birth to twins back then, and Xu Tianran hid one of them?
Just then, Xu Yunhan's palm touched the child in Ju Zi's arms. A flash of light appeared, and the child's original physical body gradually became transparent, transforming into a stream of Soul Power that merged into Xu Yunhan's body.
Only a small crystal skeleton remained, covered with soul-guiding patterns, clearly indicating it was a Soul Tool.
It turns out that the child was not real; it was a clone created by Xu Yunhan using Soul Guidance Technology —a flawless clone that, except for being unable to move, was no different from the real body.
Even Huo Yuhao had already become a god, failed to notice anything unusual, and even Tang San, who was God King, was fooled.
Of course, this was mainly because Tang San didn't think in that direction and didn't actively use his Divine Sense to investigate the authenticity of the previous Xu Yunhan clone, which is why he was deceived.
At this moment, Tang San completely ignored Xu Yunhan's authenticity, his gaze fixed on the man and woman who had suddenly appeared, especially the woman.
Because that was an acquaintance of his, an acquaintance from ten thousand years ago, who was also from his hometown!