As a father, I just want to quietly watch you live a long life

An inexplicable pressure made Lu Chi's hair stand on end.

Could it be...

During the day they said it felt good to twist a big head, were they not joking?

In the dead of night, were they really going to practice it?

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Lu Chi's face subtly trembled, yet his well-cultivated Divinity was already ready to burst forth, with sparks leaping from his pupils.

If the Bull Demon indeed intended to kill him, he, Lu Chi, would have to summon the "Third Crown Prince"!

Li Che glanced at the tightly tensed Lu Chi.

Of course, he did not come to kill Lu Chi, for he, the Bull Demon...though not a good person, was not one to kill without reason.

"What relation do you have with that senior?"

Li Che said gravely.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chi immediately understood whom Li Che was referring to. His tense heart slightly relaxed, realizing his master must have forewarned Li Che.

"He is my master," said Lu Chi.

"Are you people from the Divine Sect?"

Li Che glanced at Lu Chi again.

In the house, the currents of air whirled wildly, and the storm outside intensified. The pushed-open window clattered incessantly.

Lu Chi stiffened all over, but slowly relaxed, yet he did not answer Li Che because someone would provide the answer.

Under Li Che's mask, his eyes narrowed, his five fingers clenched, and a "Wood Raven" slid from his sleeve into his fingers, while his other five fingers flicked, and the extremely fine and sharp Thousand Spider Threads were already tense and ready.

This was because an unexpected figure had suddenly appeared in the room.

The half-white-haired old man, whose face was full of deep lines, bore a gentle smile, had appeared at some unknown time.

Li Che didn't even realize how the old man entered the room!

"Young friend, do not worry, if the elderly wanted to deal with you, your resistance would be futile,"

"But I am quite surprised, how did you manage to kill Si Mubai?"

The old man said cheerfully.

Under Li Che's black elastic shirt, nine major muscles tensed up, and every muscle in his body roared angrily, vitality intertwined.

"Although Si Mubai lost his Divinity due to Lu Chi's beating, he still possessed the peak capability of 'Nature-nourishing Like a Stream'..."

"Logically speaking, with your cultivation uncompleted, you shouldn't have any possibility of killing Si Mubai."

The old man looked at Li Che in amazement.

Li Che's fingers pressed into the Thousand Spider Threads, remained highly vigilant, and narrowed his eyes under the mask, "It was just a sneak attack, nothing to be proud of."

"A sneak attack on a Divine Cultivator? Divine Cultivators have extremely keen sensing, the moment you make a move, even ten yards away they can sense your movements, how could you sneak up?"

The old man shook his head, but he was somewhat concerned.

Being able to kill Si Mubai meant that Li Che's martial skills were commendable throughout Fei Lei City,

and if he was looking for the headquarters of the Spirit Infant Sect, there might be an opportunity to cooperate.

"Young friend Li, indeed, Lu Chi and I come from the Divine Sect, we are cultivators sent down the mountain by our sect to select Spirit Children, we just came down the mountain and entered the city earlier, without alerting the noble families and the City Lord."

They were indeed people from the Divine Sect!

Li Che's heart tightened slightly, but he did not relax.

The old man smiled, brushed off the rain on his body, glanced at the still vigilant Li Che, and said with a smile, "You do not need to be so tense, we Divine Cultivators, are not interested in your martial secret techniques, your Breath-concealing Bone-hiding Technique, though decent, is not very tempting in the eyes of Divine Cultivators."

"Divine Secret Techniques, Nature-nourishing Divine Objects, Divine Weapons, etc., these are what Divine Cultivators pursue."

"Everything related to Divinity far surpasses martial path, vitality, and Inner Strength."

"Let me introduce myself."

"I am Li Qingshan, a cultivator from the Yunzhou Sub-sect of the Qianyuan Sect, this disciple is my direct disciple Lu Chi, in the Nature-nourishing Like River Realm, belonging to the Inner Sect of our sub-sect."

The old man looked at Li Che earnestly, giving a formal introduction.

The Qianyuan Sect!

A truly colossal entity, this Li Qingshan, although only from a branch of the Qianyuan Sect, was still considered a gigantic figure for the entire Fei Lei City!

"The Dajing Dynasty encompasses eleven circuits, thirty-six provinces, and one hundred twenty-six prefectures, one Divine Sect per circuit, one sub-sect per province, and along with the Temple Control Bureau of Dajing Town, they jointly supervise the Mysterious Temple."

"Fei Lei City is part of the Golden Light Prefecture, which is located in Yun Province, under the jurisdiction of the Lingnan Circuit, thus governed by the Qianyuan Sect Sub-sect."

The old man Li Qingshan gave Li Che a brief overview of the regional divisions.

Li Che felt a vast expansiveness coming at him.

"Xi Xi's talent is excellent, highly suitable for cultivating our sect's Fury Divinity lineage. Therefore, I came to you to inquire whether Xi Xi might join our Qian Yuan Divine Sect branch..."

"With Xi Xi's talent, if she can build a Divine Foundation before eighteen, there is still hope for her to enter the main Qian Yuan Divine Sect."

Li Qingshan stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"Build a Divine Foundation by eighteen?" Li Che was startled.

"Building a Divine Foundation by eighteen is the most basic requirement to enter the main sect from the prefecture branches... Xi Xi has a chance. I have assessed her Divinity; she is a Supreme Spiritual Child!"

"Supreme Spiritual Child? Didn't the Xu Family say she was only Superior Grade?"

"Those naturally imbued with Divinity from birth, along with the initial Divinity, are not results of later cultivation; hence they can be called Spirit Children..."

Li Qingshan burst into laughter, "My Qian Yuan Sect's 'Observation Skill' can glimpse the essence that is not comparable to the experiential foresight of local Divine Cultivators."

"Young friend, would you be willing to send Xi Xi to our Divine Sect?"

Li Qingshan asked again. Lu Chi, sitting on the bed, also blinked his big eyes, curiously looking on.

After a moment of thought, Li Che asked, "Letting Xi Xi join the Divine Sect... is not out of the question, but I have one question to ask."

"Ask."

"Does the Divine Sect perhaps allow accompanying mentors? I wish to accompany Xi Xi to cultivate together in the Divine Sect, is that possible?"

Li Che naturally did not want to let Xi Xi go to the Divine Sect to cultivate alone. If he could not accompany her... he would rather not let Xi Xi go.

Xi Xi being too far from him gave him no sense of security.

Li Qingshan heard this and was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head, "Of course, it's possible, not only possible... Although I came to Fei Lei City a bit late this time, which allowed the Spirit Infant Sect to wreak havoc for a while, it still kept several good Spirit Children safe."

"Xi Xi is one of them; several noble families and clans also picked a few, and there's one more..."

As Li Qingshan finished speaking, the smile in his eyes grew more intense and blazing, his gaze falling on Li Che, who was wearing a Cute Bull Mask and embodying the Dragon Elephant Vajra, looking as imposing as a mountain.

"It's you."

"A twenty-one-year-old Spiritual Child."

...

...

Time slipped through the fingers, fleeting swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, it passed.

Since the last time Li Qingshan confronted Li Che, Li Che's head had been buzzing.

He had not expected... not only had Li Qingshan taken a fancy to his daughter, but he was also not letting him go.

A twenty-one-year-old Spiritual Child?

There was something odd about that phrase, akin to a twenty-one-year-old virgin, not very damaging but extremely insulting.

Li Qingshan told him that he possessed pure Divinity, which Li Che understood was due to the "Pure Heart" Dao Fruit, naturally attracting Divinity, catching Li Qingshan's "Observation Skill" interest.

In a strict sense, the Divinity amassed after the birth of the "Pure Heart" was indeed fresh enough to be called a "Spirit Child."

That meant Li Qingshan wanted both him and his daughter to join the sect for cultivation.

Li Che thought about practicing alongside a group of tiny tots not even as tall as his knees in a courtyard...

The mental image inexplicably felt comically ironic.

Half a year passed, unnoticed.

Since the last battle for the Divine Foundation, the Si Family fell from power, becoming a target for division among the large noble families and clans. Of course, the Si Family had not yet perished, still gasping for survival, but they had completely lost their status as a noble clan.

All the valuable items in the family were plundered, the loss of Divine Method causing the Si Family to completely lose their foundation.

Following the fall of the Si Family, Fei Lei City entered a phase of undisturbed peace.

However, the calmer it was, the more it indicated that a greater storm was brewing.

Lu Chi permanently resided at Li Che's home, also arranged by Li Qingshan as a protector for Xi Xi, while Li Qingshan investigated the Mysterious Temple and Spirit Infant Sect matters in the Outer City.

He told Li Che that the Spirit Infant Sect was allowing the city's outer Mysterious Temple to expand and transform.

Therefore, he was trying to covertly locate the Spirit Infant Sect's headquarters and see if it was possible to suppress the Temple God in the temple that was about to awaken.

As for Li Che and Xi Xi heading to the Divine Sect for cultivation, Li Qingshan said they had to wait until the official recruitment day of the Divine Sect to join, as they couldn't bypass the rules and join in advance.

Li Che didn't mind this.

The days passed steadily.

Time does not stop, seasons flow like a river.

Cold winds blew, bringing a piercing chill.

Unknowingly, it was another harsh winter with heavy snowfalls.

Xi Xi turned three years old.