Chapter 976 - Back to the alliance

Chapter 976: 976 - Back to the alliance

During the return trip to the Celestial Orthodox Martial Alliance, Qingyi ultimately decided to set the Celestial Spear aside and use the Black Diamond instead.

The Celestial Spear was a fast ship, of course, but it was massive, and it still couldn’t compare to a small vessel like the Black Diamond, which cut through the void and completed the journey in just seven days.

Tianjin had also departed in his personal ship, arriving at the Alliance ahead of everyone else and already beginning to organize things.

When he learned of Qingyi’s arrival—one day after his own—he went to greet him personally, a smile on his face.

Stepping out of his office and walking through the Alliance’s long corridors, Tianjin spotted Qingyi approaching.

Lingxi was in his arms.

Qianyao walked to his left, and Yuehan to his right.

"Goldi Granpa!" Lingxi declared with a big smile, waving her little hand at Tianjin, who couldn’t help but chuckle.

Well, Lingxi wasn’t exactly his granddaughter, but did that matter?

His heart still warmed whenever she called him Grandpa.

Well, almost Grandpa. The little one’s pronunciation still needed some work.

"Qingyi, Qianyao, Yuehan, little princess." He greeted each of them in turn, even bowing his head to Lingxi, who puffed out her chest proudly. "Come on in. Today is a big day, isn’t it? The demonic forces are in despair."

He knew, of course, that it wasn’t quite that simple.

But it had been so long since his life had been anything other than anxiety and preparations for endless wars.

Tianjin was happy to have achieved a crushing victory—at least for once.

"The little princess’s birthday isn’t far off, and neither are your three weddings... I’ll speak with the Divine Blacksmith, and we’ll start the preparations right away." Tianjin said as he led the four of them through the corridors to his luxurious office.

Light streamed softly through the tall windows, making the gold on the walls shimmer gently.

Qingyi took the chair directly across from Tianjin’s desk, settling Lingxi on his lap.

Qianyao sat to his left, Yuehan to his right.

Lingxi soon forgot about the adults. Her big eyes wandered over the walls covered with beautiful paintings, each one telling a piece of the story of Tianjin’s ancestors.

Then she stretched her little fingers toward the dragons painted across the ceiling, pointing and squealing for her father to look too, tugging at the collar of his shirt to make sure he was paying attention.

"Yes, princess, it’s beautiful, isn’t it? Do you want Daddy to make one of these for your room too? Murals of little Lingxi’s legendary story." He laughed, kissing the top of her head.

Well, he could have told his own story, but it wasn’t exactly suitable for children.

Endless sex and violence.

There were moments of heroism, dignity, and honor, but even those were always buried beneath seas of blood.

Qingyi had even committed genocide against an entire race in the Immortal Heaven.

Then again, he didn’t consider greenskins to be anything more than ants and worms, so he hardly thought that was worthy of a future mural.

With a sigh, Qingyi turned his gaze back to Tianjin.

"Soon, I’ll be heading to the Northern Region. I want to introduce Lingxi to the land where her mother grew up and, well, to the many friends I left behind there.

I’ll marry the Divine Maiden while I’m there, then return so we can celebrate Lingxi’s birthday and, after that, the wedding. What do you think?"

"That’s good." Tianjin nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Our crushing victory over the demons has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. So, for now, I’m going to relax and make sure everything goes as perfectly as possible."

Those words brought a smile to Qingyi’s lips—and to Qianyao’s as well.

She was so used to seeing her father stressed, always with a stern face and a serious expression, as if he were one step away from death.

It was nice to see him smiling and in high spirits.

The four of them chatted a while longer, with Lingxi chiming in here and there.

She had no idea what the conversation was about, but she certainly wanted to be part of it, tossing random words into the middle of the adults’ sentences and giggling whenever someone answered her.

After nearly an hour of talking, Qianyao and Yuehan left with Lingxi, taking her to see Tianjin’s carp pond.

Soon, Qingyi and Tianjin were alone.

Silence settled over the office, and the golden dragon’s face lost its luster. A weary sigh escaped his lips.

"Soon it will be Qianyao’s big day—her wedding... How can I, her father, look depressed in front of her?" He gave a bitter smile, dragging a hand down his face.

"Were you able to verify the Heavenly Demon’s situation?" Qingyi asked, getting straight to the point.

"No... I asked the Sect of a Thousand Eternal Shadows for help. They sent hundreds of experts who, in the past, might have been able to hide even from the Heavenly Demon at the height of his power."

Tianjin paused, his fingers tapping slowly against the desk.

"They all lost contact with us a few hours after getting within a light-year of the Heavenly Demon’s flagship. Their life stones shattered, so they must be dead."

He stretched, gazing up at the ceiling of his office—at the dragons Lingxi had been admiring just minutes earlier.

"The Heavenly Demon shouldn’t have been able to deal with all of them that quickly. No, no one should. He must be far more powerful than before."

His voice dropped slightly, carrying a weight he never let Qianyao see.

"Some of our spies hidden closest to the demonic elite reported seeing him use blue flames to turn a demonic Celestial Emperor into dust."

The moment those words left Tianjin’s lips, a voice echoed in Qingyi’s mind.

It was the Primordial Star of Creation.

[These blue flames are the Celestial’s primary power, formed with the knowledge and brushes of creation that he stole from his father.]