The two father and son conversed for a good while, deciding on their plans for the future. At the same time, Gu Lintian asked Gu Changge if he had faced any issues with his recent cultivation, and needed his help. He was a truly meticulous father.
Gu Changge couldn’t bring himself to tell his father that his cultivation now depended on hoarding and spending points. As he watched his father’s gentle expression, he decided in his heart that he had to work even harder in raising his strength. Although he was strong enough right now, there were many in the world with evil intentions.
What’s more? The feeling of absolute might, and having everything play in his hands according to his will could only be described as ‘wonderful.’
It was simply incredible!
Before he left his father’s hall, Gu Lintian said a few more words to Gu Changge, “Your mother also missed you quite a lot, so make sure you stop by the Primordial Divine Sect if you have time.”
Gu Changge nodded to him in response, “Understood, father!”
Certain memories flashed through Gu Changge’s mind at the mention of his mother. Back in the day, his mother was the goddess of the Primordial Divine Sect, while his father was the mightiest elder of the Primordial Divine Sect.
The Primordial Divine Sect had always been on friendly terms with their Ancient Immortal Gu Family. It was a great ancient sect that had stood tall through many epochs, and was also an Immortal Heritage. It’s status was no weaker than the many Supreme Heritages of the Upper Realm.
Gu Changge couldn’t help but cackle in his heart at these thoughts.
He was a rich second generation with a terrifying background even with the Upper Realm’s standards. Even if he was born a waste, no one would dare to provoke him. After all, his mother was notorious for protecting her kid and hiding his shortcomings.
It was only natural that he would grow up as someone who bullied men and women alike.
Of course, anyone familiar with cliches and tropes would know that he was a cookie-cutter villain that could be found anywhere, and didn’t have a good end.
“Soon, that girl, Mingkong, will come here with her father to discuss the engagement between the two of you. Make sure you don’t treat her with the same indifference as before — after all, she’s your future wife.”
Gu Lintian seemed to remember something suddenly, and said with a solemn expression, “You used to dislike her for her submissive personality, but her actions in the last half year will certainly surprise you. She’s shown the majesty of an Empress already! Mingkong, that girl, is very suitable for you; your Mother and I are quite satisfied with her. If you can get her help in the future, you will definitely hold the world in the palm of your hands, no matter how big it might be.”
“Father, you can rest assured.” 𝘪𝘳.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Gu Changge couldn’t help but freeze for a moment after hearing his words, but soon recovered and responded with a nod. At the same time, a dreamy visage of a divine fairy flashed through his mind.
His fiancee, the fourth princess of the Supreme Immortal Dynasty, Princess Yue Mingkong.
An expression of interest covered his face as he thought about her. At the same time, he wondered if this fiancee of his was the Favored Daughter of Heaven his System prompted him about a while back?
He recalled the information about his fiancee in his mind. The fourth princess of the Supreme Immortal Dynasty was a gorgeous beauty with a terrifying background, and she belonged to a power that stood at the top of the food chain in the Upper Realm. Be it her appearance, talent, background, or anything else, not many women could match her.
From his memories, though, he realized that his Original had no feelings of affection for her. He always treated her with indifference and kept some distance between them, and his attitude towards her didn’t resemble what a man should have towards his fiancee. He always felt that as a princess of an Immortal Dynasty, Yue Mingkong wasn’t up to par when it came to personality and cunningness.
Other than that, he never did anything untowards her. He never offended her, and there didn’t seem to be any animosity between them. And since they were coming here to discuss their engagement, he doubted that it would be to follow through with that bloody ‘engagement annulment’ trope, right?
Gu Changge couldn’t help but be puzzled when he thought about this. In his opinion, a Favored Daughter of Heaven in the Upper Realm couldn’t be simple. Be it her background or means, they would be far beyond what the Favored Children of Heaven in the Lower Realm could dish out.
This kind of treatment…weren’t perfect wives like her reserved only for the Favored Sons of Heavens?
With his knowledge from all the novels he had read in the past, that possibility wasn’t out of the options.[1]
[1: there are two engagement-breaking tropes. One is where the arrogant, genius beauty breaks her engagement with the down and out Protagonist. And the other is where the best-grill (loving, caring, perfect, submissive) develops some guts after meeting the Protagonist and goes to break off her engagement with her villain fiance.]
The System didn’t tell him who the Favored Daughter of Heaven was, so he could only rely on his own knowledge from his previous life to guess. Of course, once he met her in person, he would be able to guess everything. For now, it didn’t matter even if his guesses were incorrect.
After leaving his father’s place, Gu Changge went straight back to the God-Child Island where he resided. On the way, he felt countless terrifying auras surging around everywhere. Those were the auras that others in his family accidentally released amidst their cultivation.
Each divine island in the Inner Region had its own concealing formation that prevented others from prying inside, but how could those formations truly suppress the breaths of the mighty when they cultivated?
If one looked from a distance, they would see visions of behemoths that could swallow the stars and pluck the moons. It was commonplace here in the Ancient Immortal Gu Family.
If one went a bit deeper, they would come across palaces floating in the sky, shrouded in chaotic mist and Spiritual Qi rumbling everywhere. If they went even deeper, they would reach the Ancestral Land of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family.
The Ancient Immortal Gu Family could only survive through the epochs in the Upper Realm due to those that hid in the Ancestral Land. When a mighty enemy came knocking at their door, the descendants would rush to the Ancestral Lands and dig out those old, monstrous Ancestors who had secluded themselves since unknown eras. Those giants could easily deal with anything.
Over time, the Ancient Immortal Gu Family came to be known as one of the most mysterious existences of the Upper Realm, and even the descendants weren’t sure just how deep their background was. That made it even more impossible for the outsiders to know their roots. Of course, no one had the guts to dig out their Ancestral graves to see how far back they could identity themselves.[2]
[2: Imagine a Super-Duper-Ultra-Behemothian-Deity-Collapsing-Heavenly-Rending Giant hiding in one of the coffins down there, and some rando fool digs his grave and wakes him up.]
……
Gu Changge’s return to the Family caused quite a stir. Many of the Family’s members knew that he had gone down to the Lower Realm, but they didn’t know where he actually went, or what his spatial coordinates were, nor why he went down there in the first place.
In fact, there were many in the Family keeping an eye on his every move. Although the Ancient Immortal Gu Family appeared to be a solid whole from the outside, on the inside, they were continuously entangled in strife and everyone was looking to one-up the one standing next to them.
Although Gu Changge was the Young Master of the Family, he wasn’t yet the future Patriarch — the Elders would be the one deciding whether he would have that position or not.
As a huge Immortal Family, there were countless lineages that dwelled inside the Ancient Immortal Gu Family, and the relationship between the various lineages wasn’t all that harmonious. Other than Gu Changge’s main lineage, there were four more major lineages in the Ancient Immortal Gu Family, excluding the one that had now declined.
Every lineage wanted to have the position of the Patriarch so they could command all the other lineages, and dominate the Gu Family’s endless territory. The rest of the lineages also had their own talented geniuses who were eyeing the position of future Patriarch like greedy wolves.
Of course, although the Family allowed competition, they strictly forbade anything that could result in the death or crippling of someone from the same family. The elders also loved to watch the struggle between their juniors, and it was precisely this competition that kept the Family from turning into stagnant water.[3]
[3: competition makes their kids struggle for stronger might, and that, in turn, brings stronger blood to the ranks of the family. If there’s no competition, the younger generation will turn into a bunch of rich kids who only know how to blow their Ancestors’ hard-earned dough, and their cultivation won’t improve. At one point, they will become so weak that anyone would be able to come and either: directly obliterate, or turn them into puppets.]
The matter of Gu Lintian’s lineage suppressing that one lineage some ten years ago, which resulted in their rapid decline, had caused a lot of waves among the senior management of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family.
……
[At this moment, on the main peak of another lineage of the Gu Family.]
Ancient trees towered into the clouds, and majestic palaces and magnificent courtyards could be seen scattered around with brilliant glows giving them a gorgeous touch. A number of old peopl with mighty auras busied themselves in discussing some matters.
“That brat, Changge, looks much stronger than before after he returned from the Lower Realm— he’s already reached the Peak of the Conferred Lord Realm! No genius from the other lineages is his match anymore!”
An old woman shrouded in divine radiance, with wisps of golden light flashing past her eyes, said in a helpless tone. She was one of the elders of the Gu Family with a terrifying aura and cultivation base.
“No matter what the problems we have with him, we must accept that Gu Changge’s talent for cultivation is truly beyond anyone else in the world! His title of God-Child isn’t for nothing. I fear that it won’t be long before he breaks through to the True God Realm!”
The old man sitting next to her added. Although he wasn’t from Gu Changge’s lineage, he couldn’t help but praise his talent. It was naturally a good thing to have such a genius in their Family.
“It seems that the position of Patriarch will end up in the hands of their lineage once more. That would make them the ruling lineage for three continuous generations…”
Another old man said with a shake of his head.
“What a pity that Old Thirteen’s lineage has declined to obsolescence. I am afraid that unless the Ancestors of their lineage come out from their seclusion, there’s no one in the Family who would be able to help them return or rise again…”
Right then, another one spoke, and his words made the expressions of everyone around him change. Their expressions showed some fear and unwillingness, and they didn’t want to talk much about this matter. What happened some ten or so years ago was a taboo in the Gu Family. It involved a ruthless inner strife that was only known to the higher ups.
After all, if the matter came out, it would shake their prestige and they would end up losing all face in front of the outside world. Many cultivators and forces would laugh at them when they found out that such a shameful matter had transpired in their Immortal Family, yet the perpetrators were still sitting at the Family’s top without any repercussions.
“Even if the Ancestors of Old Thirteen’s lineage woke up and found out about that event, I doubt they would do anything. Judging from Gu Changge’s talent, he will definitely be an extraordinary figure in the future, and there’s even a chance that he might surpass the current Patriarch!”
“Speaking of which, I must say that Old Thirteen’s lineage sure is pitiful. Not only were they exiled from the Family, but even their cultivation bases were suppressed. By the way, I have recently heard some rumors that are not good for our Gu Family. What’s more? They seem to be related to Changge…”
“Oh! What happened?”
“The little girl from Old Thirteen’s lineage isn’t dead. It’s just that we lost track of her because we didn’t keep a good eye on her, thinking that she would never be able to make a comeback with her talent gone.”
“Alas! She’s such a pitiful child. If we had protected her better, something like that would have never happened. Gu Changge was so young back then, yet he already had a cruel and vicious heart! Who would have thought that he would attack his own cousin like that…what will become of our Gu Family if it fell into his hands in the future?”
Another elder of the Family sighed. He had always been brooding over what happened back then, and couldn’t forget it. Of course, it was thanks to the Family’s law that members of the family couldn’t kill each other, or that lineage might not just be exiled from the Family…
“Land of Forsaken Immortals…I seem to have heard news about that child as well…We have already let her down once, so make sure you don’t let the Patriarch find any trace of her.”
…..
Su Qingge and Lin Qiuhan quietly stood inside a grand and magnificent palace. They had already learned the rules of the Gu Family, and knew what not to do, and where not to go.
Gu Changge couldn’t help but nod after learning about this matter.
There was nothing more that needed to be said to them, and the issue of their identities had also been resolved.
Naturally, he didn’t bring them to the Upper Realm to keep them around as pretty vases.
Lin Qiuhan had a terrifying talent for Alchemy, so he would send her to an Alchemy Heritage sooner or later. As for Su Qingge? Well, there didn’t seem to be any problem even if he kept her around as his maid.
As the number one beauty of the Eastern Wilderness, she had an enchanting figure and features that were rare to find even in the boundless Upper Realm. Alas! That would be too wasteful if he took into account her sharp wit.
What’s more? Her Fortune Value was even higher than the young geniuses of the Gu Family, and that only added to the problem. She wasn’t as simple as she appeared.
A mighty Yan Ji was more than enough by his side.
“Qingge, so what is your plan for the future? Back in the Lower Realm, you were always talking about the Upper Realm, but now that we are in the Upper Realm, you won’t even open your mouth?”
Gu Changge looked at her and said with a teasing tone.
Su Qingge stared at him and said with a weak voice, “Qingge knew that she couldn’t catch Young Lord’s fancy…do you not want Qingge anymore, Young Lord?”
Although Su Qingge took great pride in her intelligence, she didn’t know what to do in her current situation. Unlike Lin Qiuhan, who still had an Ancestor in the Upper Realm, she was all alone and had no one. She couldn’t even imagine what would become of her if Gu Changge didn’t want her around anymore.
Even someone as mighty as Old Ming ended up mining stones for those great powers that dwell in the Upper Realm, after all. As for someone with a good face and figure like her? She reckoned that her fate would be far more miserable, and she wouldn’t just end up as a slave who toiled around all day in mines!
Updated from 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝘮