Being Coy Wasn't in Her Nature

Li Zhengjun gave an awkward smile and put away all the pills and Cultivation Methods filling his Storage Bag. With a thought, he stepped into the Great Scarlet Realm, his grandfather's words still echoing in his ears.

"Those of the Bright Yang Dao Lineage have difficulty producing offspring. While your cultivation realms are still low, you must have more children to carry on the family line."

He knew, of course, that his grandfather would never deceive him, but whenever he thought of his grandfather's strict order that "all Li Household descendants must immediately set about marrying and having children," he could not help rubbing his forehead.

It was one thing for the younger generation, but even his cousin-uncle Li Chenxuan, already a hundred and thirty years old, had not been spared.

Li Zhengjun laughed despite himself. Fourteen days had passed in the Great Scarlet Realm, and the moment he appeared, he heard two respectful voices behind him.

"Greetings, my lord."

Li Zhengjun nodded and looked around. The imperial palace, inside and out, had been given a new look. The broken walls and ruins had all been cleared away, and the lightning scars in the palace had been painted over.

His gaze fell on the siblings Fang Yuan and Fang Qing, and he paused slightly.

Their Qi was restrained; they had evidently formed their Mystic Radiance Wheels and entered the Fetal Breath realm.

A little surprised, Li Zhengjun raised an eyebrow and said:

"You two have cultivated quite quickly. In just two months, you've already stepped through the gates of cultivation."

At the praise, the corners of Fang Qing's mouth tilted up despite herself. She raised her chin slightly, looking rather pleased with herself.

Fang Yuan, meanwhile, bowed respectfully, his gratitude plain on his face:

"It was all thanks to your guidance, my lord. My sister and I made a small contribution while eliminating the devil and received some Contribution Points, which we exchanged for pills to aid our cultivation. Only then did we just barely manage to form our Mystic Radiance Wheels today. As luck would have it, you returned just as we succeeded."

Li Zhengjun knew that cultivation was not something one could rush through with pills alone.

"What you practice is my Li Household's courtyard guard method. This method has one particular trait: the more cultivators of the Bright Yang Dao Lineage there are around you, the faster your cultivation advances."

Hearing this, the two finally understood why they had been unable to make any progress at first, only for their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds once their lord brought the Li Household descendants here.

Especially after Li Zhengjun slew Daoist Lu, inspiration had struck them both at once, and they had shown signs of a breakthrough. It turned out they had unknowingly been riding the coattails of their lord's fate and fortune!

The siblings hurriedly bowed deeply, their voices full of heartfelt gratitude.

"My lord, you slew the devil chieftain and swept aside the clouds to reveal the sun. My sister and I merely followed at your side, yet we were fortunate enough to share a wisp of your fortune. For such kindness, we siblings of the Fang family would not dare forget it even if we died ten thousand deaths!"

Li Zhengjun waved a hand and said calmly:

"There's no need for such ceremony. Go and summon all the Li Household descendants. I have important matters to tell them."

The two solemnly accepted the order and left. Before long, all ten Li Household descendants had assembled before the hall, every face solemn as they waited for Li Zhengjun to speak.

Li Zhengjun first told them, one by one, of the rewards the Lineage had granted them. When they heard that their names had been entered into the Radiant Brightness Pavilion alongside the Li Household's meritorious servants of generations past, every one of them was thrilled.

This was especially true of the descendants from Subduing Tiger Pass. To earn merit and make a name for themselves, and gain entry into Radiant Brightness, was the lifelong pursuit of every descendant of Subduing Tiger Pass!

Then they heard that by conquering the Ning Kingdom, they had helped the Lineage resolve a crisis involving spiritual materials. They could no longer contain themselves, and an indescribable excitement and pride rose on their faces.

More than rewards, the Li Household descendants cared about having made tangible contributions to the Lineage.

"All right, everyone. I'll give you the news of the Lineage's other major recent affairs, along with your letters from home, later. For now, I have some matters to arrange."

At his words, everyone immediately put away their excitement. Their expressions turned solemn as they awaited his orders.

"First, the Lineage has appointed Li Yuankai governor of the Li Household in the Ning Kingdom, with overall responsibility for establishing a branch of the Lineage in this realm."

He handed Li Yuankai the general plan for establishing the Lineage, which the elders had drawn up overnight, then asked:

"How did the Spirit Root testing go?"

Li Yuankai stepped forward and bowed as he accepted the Jade Slip, then reported respectfully:

"My lord, we have finished testing everyone of the appropriate age in every prefecture and county of the Ning Kingdom. Among those between six and forty years old, seventy-four possess Spirit Roots."

Li Zhengjun nodded. The chance of having a Spirit Root was one in ten thousand. With a population of a million in the Ning Kingdom, this many people in that age range was within expectations.

"Pass this down: as the Lineage requires, the first group of Spirit Root children will primarily cultivate the Frozen Water Dao Path. All the others who lack a Water Spirit Root will cultivate the courtyard guard method."

This arrangement was the decision the Lineage elders had reached after repeated deliberation. Everything in the Ning Kingdom needed rebuilding, and two matters were most urgent.

The first was to gather Frozen Water spiritual materials as quickly as possible and replenish the Lineage's spiritual storehouse.

The second was to secure the foundations of the Li Household's rule in this realm.

Frozen Water cultivators would handle the former, and courtyard guard cultivators the latter. Only by tackling both at once could they establish a firm foothold in the shortest possible time.

Li Yuankai accepted the order. Li Zhengjun continued, his tone growing a little more serious:

"The second matter has likewise been deemed a top priority by the Lineage."

Seeing their lord's expression, everyone held their breath and focused, assuming it was a confidential matter of life and death.

They had killed a Devil Cultivator and braved another realm. Even mountains of blades and seas of fire were no worse than that, so what task could make their lord so solemn?

Li Zhengjun cleared his throat again and glanced slightly aside. He seemed to consider his wording for a moment before speaking:

"The Lineage requires all Li Household descendants to seek suitable spouses and have children immediately, expanding the Li Household bloodline as quickly as possible."

Huh?

As soon as the words fell, the entire hall fell silent as a flock of birds at rest.

The ten Li Household descendants looked at one another, as though they had not understood the order.

The grim air that had filled the hall a moment ago vanished without a trace, replaced by an indescribably subtle atmosphere.

The Fang siblings, who were attending to him at the side, reacted at once. Both were Li Zhengjun's disciples, and with the courtyard guard method keeping them under strict control, they had already become the Li Household's first helpers in this realm.

Li Zhengjun had not avoided speaking in front of them this time. Though the secrets of the two realms could not be disclosed, they ought to be present to hear about the Lineage's expansion, so they could better implement its decrees and assist with governance in the future.

Ever since Fang Yuan had begun cultivating, he had grown increasingly aware of the wonders of immortal cultivation. Now he was all the more eager to truly become part of the Li Household.

At these words, he found himself regretting that he had not been born a woman.

If he had been a woman, he could have married into the Li Household fair and square, crossing that seemingly insurmountable threshold in a single step.

But the thought flashed through his mind and passed, and Fang Yuan had already begun making another calculation:

The Li Household wants to carry on its family line here, so it will surely have many children in the future. If I rush to marry and have children now, it'll be difficult to form a marriage alliance with the Li Household later. I'd be better off putting marriage aside for now, devoting myself to cultivation and accumulating merit. In a dozen years or so, when the young ladies of the Li Household have grown up, I, Fang Yuan, will be in my prime. It's not as though I'll have no chance; I can still join the Li Household then! And for now...

He looked at his younger sister, Fang Qing, and continued thinking:

That girl Qing'er has been unable to forget my lord since she first met him. She's cheerful and outgoing, and her looks are excellent too. I wonder if she'll be fortunate enough to catch his eye. If heaven takes pity on us, we siblings can fulfill our long-cherished wish to enter the Li Household sooner rather than later...

But Fang Yuan did not dare think any further. What sort of person was their lord?

He shook his head inwardly and pushed that extravagant hope back into the depths of his heart.

Fang Qing's cheeks had reddened without her noticing, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Perhaps she had already been won over that day, when she first saw her lord take action.

Afterward, he had wiped out the Devil Cultivator and saved the common people of the Ning Kingdom, driving away eighteen years of long night with the light of dawn. Every one of those deeds had left her, a daughter of the jianghu, prostrate with admiration.

That admiration had long since ceased to be simple gratitude. Before she knew it, it had quietly transformed into another, unspoken feeling.

But her lord was far too dazzling.

Fang Qing had understood the gulf between them before, and a powerful sense of inferiority had made her hide those feelings.

Being able to follow silently behind her lord and help him save the people of the Ning Kingdom was already the happiest thing she could ask for. She had never dared hope for romance.

But today was different. Her lord had said that the Li Household would seek suitable spouses far and wide here and have children to carry on its line!

Fang Qing's eyes sparkled. Being coy was not in her nature. Since there was a chance, she had to seize it!