Bian was shocked, he knew for a fact that his family wasn't on the planet when he had just returned from the sanctuaries.
'They must have snuck on the planet, but how did I not notice?'
Bian turned to face Han Yan and he saw the surprise on her face.
It went just as he had planned with her family, she was utterly unprepared for their arrival.
'Oh, I see what's going on here.'
Everything suddenly clicked in his head. He was expecting to see her family here, but was surprised to meet his own.
The case must have been the same for Han Yan, meaning their families had colluded to surprise both of them.
"Well, I definitely wasn't expecting this." Bian let out a chuckle and greeted his family.
After greeting, he turned to face Han Yan and asked her, "How did you sneak my family onto the planet?"
Han Yan paused for a moment.
"Have you ever heard of Ambedo?"
Bian reasoned about the word for a bit, even using Mental Point Targeting to sort through his memories, but he had never heard the word before.
He shook his head.
A young teenager spoke up from the side.
"I've heard of Ambedo before. It's a trance in which you become completely absorbed in sensory details."
"That's right, Sen." Han Yan nodded and turned to face Bian, "I knew such a bright and lively display would distract you from sensing their arrival. I'm guessing that whole incident with the coffee in the showers was used to bring my own family in."
Bian just nodded while contemplating his life. To think there was an aspect of himself he never observed, until his wife pointed it out.
...
The two demigods quickly recovered from their initial state of stupor and ushered their family in for a roundtable meeting.
Bian got to know his mother-in-law, and Han Yan also conversed with his parents.
After settling the matters for the marriage and setting a date for the occasion, they made dinner and began eating.
During the dinner, the young teenager from before, Han Sen, easily beat Manwei Ran at all sorts of table games.
"Oh my, Han Sen isn't only handsome but also quite the talent. At this rate, he might end up teaching little Ran." Bian's mum said as a joke.
"Ah! But I'm one class ahead of Han Sen!" Ran pouted.
"With the way your grades are, you might have to repeat the class." Bian's dad chipped in.
They had gotten rich practically overnight. Perhaps the change was so unrealistic that they didn't have time to adapt.
Their family still functioned the same as before, except both parents now had more time to help themselves and their community.
Regardless of the amount of money they now had though, they didn't let that spoil their daughter's character.
They weren't going to cheat to allow her to pass if she was meant to fail and learn a lesson from there.
Noticing the rising tension around the table, Bian finally spoke up.
"Ran, what's going on? I thought your grades were improving in recent years."
Whilst Bian might have preoccupied himself with matters of the sanctuaries most times, he still took some time out to check up on his family.
"It's not my fault, my reading partner has suddenly vanished and I can't..."
Before Ran could finish talking, their mother interjected.
"Stop saying he vanished, maybe he didn't want to study with you anymore."
There was an awkward silence around the table for a moment, before Han Yan's mother spoke up.
"Let the little girl say her mind. She might be right."
Bian's mother was clearly displeased, but she allowed Ran to finish talking.
"Me and Mark are supposed to study every day, we made a promise. He wouldn't break his promise like that."
Ran totally refused to accept that this so-called Mark had discarded her. She thought his parents might have seized his commlink or something bad may have happened to him.
"Who is this Mark anyway and where did you meet him?"
Han Yan voiced out the thought in Bian's mind.
"His full name is Mark Devon, we met..."
Bian suddenly stood up straight, startling everyone, especially Ran who was still talking.
Han Yan frowned and was about to ask what was wrong, but Bian was already talking.
"Did you just say his name is Mark Devon?" he asked to reconfirm.
Ran nodded her head and Bian was about to walk away from the table.
"Bian, what's wrong?" Han Yan held his hand and voiced out loud.
"I've taught that kid before. Mark Devon, along with his younger siblings, Tinker and Vincent. They certainly aren't the type to ignore someone for no rhyme or reason."
Bian brought out his commlink and made a call to Sebastian, the butler of the Devon trio.
His device rang in silence, but there was no response on the other end.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
Bian's intuition, which had been empowered by the intent mantra and fuelled the spirit pillar, was nothing to scoff at.
The Devon trio were probably in danger, and although he had no blood ties to them, he had been their teacher once.
They were also his students, and Bian cherished their mannerisms very much.
'Plus, how can I let my little sister down.'
Bian sat down and they continued eating their dinner in silence.
A couple of minutes later, Bian's father coughed and stirred up the conversation.
"You know, there's a reason we called you separately to surprise both of you together."
"Really? What was the reason?"
Bian asked, and Han Yan was also quite intrigued about the cause.
Despite his question, Bian's dad just smiled and didn't say anymore.
'Damn! If you aren't going to say, then don't bring it up!'
Han Yan and Bian thought at the same time. With the ice broken, their meal was finished with idle chatter.
"What is this ring made from though? I don't think I've seen such a beautiful red diamond before?"
Han Yan's mother asked while checking out the ring on her daughter's finger.
"It's a piece of my heart that I gave to her." Bian said with a smile.
Han Yan's mother just rolled her eyes and walked away.
'But I'm telling the truth though.'
Bian felt wronged, but he couldn't defend himself.
After the whole Shura war incident, both parents realised the importance of safety and agreed to live together.
Another purpose for their visit was also to take Zero and Bao'er with them, giving the couple more time to spend with themselves.
Since Bian had agreed, they would make their house right here on this private planet.
After saying goodbye, their families left to scout the planet for the ideal location to live.
Bian meanwhile needed a way to find out about what happened to the Devon family.
He had the best information broker a call away, but that channel was now closed.
After all, it would be quite foolish to still require assistance from Ouyang Ming, knowing he is Executioner Black.
In fact, Bian knew for a fact that the only reason Executioner Black had not called the others to assault him all at once in the alliance was because he wanted the other Executioners gone.
That way, once Bian was dead and the others were dead, he would be unstoppable.
Shaking his head, Bian threw that matter to the back of his head and called Professor Min from the Saints Hall.
After a couple of rings, the old professor picked up his call.
"If it isn't my favourite pupil, although I can't call you that anymore. The young shall truly grow." Professor Min seemed exceptionally happy that Bian hadn't forgotten about him.
In the background, Bian heard a chime, and Professor Min went off screen for a moment to take up his freshly brewed cup of coffee.
"So, I know you don't call just to check up on people alone. What's the purpose?"
Professor Min asked and sipped some of his coffee.
"Ah, you've figured me out, Professor Min. I've actually been quite busy before, but now that I'm a demigod, I should be free more..."
PFFFTTT!
Professor Min spat out his coffee in surprise, his eyes as wide as saucers.
It should be known that Professor Min is still an evolver, and only began planning on ascending in recent years when he heard the third sanctuaries had become more tamed.
How old was Bian?
Still in his mid-twenties and already a demigod.
Professor Min didn't dare to believe his ears. Bian might have been one of the youngest surpassers in history, that would still be acceptable.
But to be a demigod now, it was simply impossible.
Plus, knowing Bian, who made sure he never failed a single question in any tests, the completionist spirit within him would never allow him to evolve without first maxing out his gene points and geno locks.
And honestly, if Bian didn't know about the valley, where three days on the outside became three years within, then he and his cohorts may very well still be struggling to open their gene locks in the third sanctuaries.
"Do my ears deceive me, am I getting that old?" Professor Min had a blank expression on his face as he spoke.
"No, you heard rightly, Professor. Your student has now become a demigod."
Bian reaffirmed with a smirk.