The Blazing Sun Warm Jade was entirely blood-red in color, carved with dragon patterns, and felt extremely warm and smooth to the touch. The scorching aura contained within it could directly penetrate the body and refine soul power.
The moment the guard who received the Blazing Sun Warm Jade took it, he immediately noticed its special nature. Together with his companion, they carefully examined it. Upon recognizing the origin of this Blazing Sun Warm Jade pendant, both of their expressions changed dramatically. They raised their heads to look at Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi.
Xu Zihuang said indifferently, "Please inform Sect Master Nan. Once she sees this jade pendant, she will understand."
"Please wait a moment." The two guards exchanged a glance and did not dare to delay. One of them, holding the Blazing Sun Warm Jade pendant that symbolized the identity of the Earth Dragon Gate Sect Master, hurriedly ran toward the depths of the courtyard.
Earth Dragon Gate, rear courtyard.
After lunch, Nan Qiuqiu was lying lazily on a recliner, basking in the sun.
Dragon City rarely had such nice weather; she definitely had to relax properly.
Among the younger generation of soul masters in Dragon City, Nan Qiuqiu's cultivation talent was already outstanding enough. At the same age, her soul power cultivation had even surpassed her mother's back then. But it was precisely because of her excellence that she developed a proud personality and occasionally liked to slack off.
If she could devote herself wholeheartedly to cultivation, let alone break through to Soul Emperor before the age of twenty, at the very least, she wouldn't be stuck at just barely level 55 like she was now.
Nan Qiuqiu squinted her eyes and turned over. Suddenly, a palm with some force slapped her perky bottom.
Pa—
"Ow!" Nan Qiuqiu cried out in surprise and immediately became angry. But when she sat up and saw Nan Shuishui standing in front of her with a straight face, she didn't dare to get mad and instead looked extremely aggrieved.
"Mom—"
Nan Shuishui glared at Nan Qiuqiu irritably.
"I seem to remember someone saying yesterday that they were going to cultivate hard?"
"Didn't I say that cultivation requires a balance between work and rest? Doing this is also for the sake of improving myself." Nan Qiuqiu pouted.
"All excuses."
Nan Shuishui raised her elegant eyebrows and was just about to scold Nan Qiuqiu a few more times when the guard rushed over, holding the jade pendant. He knelt on one knee in front of Nan Shuishui.
"Sect Master. Two people have arrived outside the sect requesting to see you. One of them presented this token."
"It's him?" Nan Shuishui took the jade pendant, her pupils contracting slightly.
Nan Qiuqiu, who noticed this from the side, instantly became interested. Her beautiful, big eyes sparkled with water. She sat up, quickly put on her shoes, and came to Nan Shuishui's side.
"Mom, could it be that guy?"
Back then, Xu Zihuang had left a very deep impression on her. However, as someone who was very much a face-con, compared to his powerful personal strength, she cared more about Xu Zihuang's outstanding appearance and temperament.
Nan Shuishui ignored Nan Qiuqiu. Her gaze burned. In a flash, her figure disappeared from the spot. She firmly believed that forming a good relationship with the young man she had met back then was the opportunity for the Earth Dragon Gate to prosper.
Nan Qiuqiu hurriedly followed, calling out sweetly, "Wait for me, Mom—"
Not long after, a beautiful woman with long pink hair coiled up appeared in front of Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi.
Looking at Xu Zihuang, whose aura was deep and restrained, with inner light concealed, Nan Shuishui became even more convinced of her thoughts. Compared to five years ago, although Xu Zihuang's appearance had changed somewhat, she could still recognize him.
Moreover, even with her cultivation, she could hardly see through Xu Zihuang now.
And not just Xu Zihuang, there was also the stunningly beautiful Ye Guyi standing beside him.
Nan Shuishui was secretly shocked in her heart.
Even someone as outstanding as her daughter Nan Qiuqiu seemed to only serve as a foil in front of Ye Guyi, who appeared to be favored by the heavens. Using the secret method passed down in the Earth Dragon Gate, she could tell that this little girl, whose appearance even astonished her, was also someone who carried a great destiny.
At this moment, Nan Qiuqiu also arrived. Her reaction was even bigger than Nan Shuishui's.
Five years had passed, and the now-adult Xu Zihuang had an appearance that fit her aesthetic even better. It was just that his relationship with the girl beside him, who was even more beautiful than her, was clearly very close.
Facing Nan Shuishui, Xu Zihuang showed a gentle smile.
"Sorry for visiting without prior notice. Please forgive me, Senior Nan."
"No problem. Guests from afar are welcome. Please come inside." Nan Shuishui smiled warmly and very politely made a "please" gesture, personally leading Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi toward the rear courtyard. At the same time, she didn't forget to glare at Nan Qiuqiu, signaling her to go brew tea and receive the guests.
Only then did Nan Qiuqiu come back to her senses. She withdrew her gaze from Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi and stuck out her little tongue.
"Always ordering me around."
Even though she complained, she was still very obedient to Nan Shuishui.
Xu Zihuang looked straight ahead without glancing sideways. Although Nan Qiuqiu's appearance could also be considered rare beauty, from childhood to now, the people around him had never lacked beautiful girls. To him, Nan Qiuqiu was no different from an ordinary passerby.
The corners of Ye Guyi's mouth curved into a charming arc. She was calm, poised, and exuded an air of dominance. She gave Nan Qiuqiu a playful smile. She had the "main wife" aura completely under control.
Nan Qiuqiu left first.
Only Nan Shuishui remained, leading Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi to the rear courtyard of the Earth Dragon Gate. Warmth filled every corner of the courtyard. Gorgeous flowers of various colors delighted the eye and released a faint, charming fragrance.
The three of them sat down on either side of a stone table under a vine canopy.
Nan Qiuqiu came and went again, bringing three cups of steaming hot tea and a plate of Dragon City's specialty ice flower cake, placing them in front of the three. Then she very obediently stood behind Nan Shuishui. However, her big eyes kept darting around; she clearly wasn't someone who could stay quiet.
Xu Zihuang took the initiative to speak: "Senior Nan, let me introduce myself first. My name is Yu Tianhuang, from Shrek Academy."
"Ye Guyi." Ye Guyi spoke calmly, her introduction even shorter than Xu Zihuang's; she only gave her name.
Upon hearing Xu Zihuang's words, both Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu's eyes widened.
Nan Qiuqiu couldn't help exclaiming, "You're Yu Tianhuang?!"
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition was a grand event across the entire continent, and many sects paid close attention to it. It was well known that among the young soul masters who shone in each edition of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition, there was no shortage of future legendary powerhouses in the soul master world.
For example, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En and the Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao back in the day.
And in terms of talent, Yu Tianhuang was said to even surpass those two. He was hailed as the most outstanding genius soul master in thousands of years in the soul master world.
At just twelve years old, he broke through to the Soul Elder realm. His soul ring configuration was astonishingly three purple and one black.
And the only ones who knew that Yu Tianhuang possessed twin martial souls were the leading teachers and students of the top advanced soul master academies who had been invited to the Starlight Auction House. The news had only circulated widely among the upper echelons of the soul master world.
The Earth Dragon Gate barely qualified to be among them and thus learned of Yu Tianhuang's affairs.
Finally, they discovered that Yu Tianhuang actually came from the Heavenly Dragon Gate. Because his identity was somewhat disgraceful, he had been sent to Shrek Academy.
At that time, Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu had both sighed, thinking that the Sect Master of the Heavenly Dragon Gate must have been out of his mind to give away such a genius.
Little did they know that today, the real person had appeared right in front of them at such close range.
"No wonder he looks so much like Qing'er. Speaking of which, he should also be Qing'er's nephew." Nan Shuishui observed Xu Zihuang's face, and the doubts from back then were instantly resolved.
The old friend she had back then was precisely Xu Zihuang's mother.
The Heavenly Dragon Gate and Earth Dragon Gate had always minded their own business, occupying the south and north of the city respectively, with no direct conflict between them.
Although neither was convinced by the other, it was actually a healthy, love-hate rivalry, and their relationship was relatively harmonious.
Xu Zihuang's mother, Yu Qing'er, was about the same age as Nan Shuishui and belonged to the same generation, so they naturally became very close.
Nan Shuishui said kindly to Xu Zihuang, "Speaking of which, there is some connection between us. I wonder if I may address you as Tianhuang."
"Of course, Senior Nan." Xu Zihuang smiled slightly. After all, they had come this time to take something from others; lowering his posture a little was not a bad thing.
Nan Shuishui nodded with a smile.
"Then Tianhuang, you came to our Earth Dragon Gate this time because there is something you need, right? Feel free to speak frankly. Since I made that promise back then, as long as it is something within our power, we will definitely fulfill it. Although our Earth Dragon Gate is not some great sect, our reputation is still trustworthy."
Meeting Nan Shuishui's gaze, Xu Zihuang said frankly, "Senior Nan, then I won't beat around the bush. I am a spiritual-attribute soul master; you should know that. While traveling and training, I happened to pass through Dragon City. Through my spiritual sense, I detected that there seems to be an ice-attribute rare metal vein beneath your Earth Dragon Gate. This ice-attribute rare metal vein might be useful to me. Later, I remembered the words Senior Nan said back then, so I took the liberty of coming."
He could not expose that he had awakened memories from his previous life; these reasons were all casually made up. However, with his spiritual power realm and disguise ability, there was simply no flaw to be found. His tone and even his micro-expressions were flawless.
Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu's pupils suddenly contracted.
These were all secrets of their Earth Dragon Gate. The matter of that water well was known only to their mother and daughter.
"You really are not polite at all." Nan Qiuqiu felt extremely speechless and secretly complained. If it weren't for the fact that Yu Tianhuang was good-looking and she couldn't beat him anyway, with her little chili-pepper personality, she would have started cursing long ago.
The redder the hair, the fiercer the scolding; this rule was perfectly embodied in her.
However, what she didn't expect was that after pondering for a moment, Nan Shuishui actually agreed readily.
Nan Shuishui looked at Xu Zihuang with a slightly deeper gaze and nodded gently.
"Tianhuang, I won't hide it from you. Your perception is correct. Actually, I originally intended to keep those things as part of Qiuqiu's dowry. But since I made that promise back then, I will not go back on my word."
Dowry?
Hearing this, a flicker of emotion finally appeared in Ye Guyi's ancient-well-like golden eyes for the first time.
Nan Qiuqiu, on the other hand, looked completely incredulous. Then, trying to figure out the meaning behind her mother's words, she thought of something, and her face turned bright red.
While speaking, Nan Shuishui had already stood up and walked toward the depths of the rear courtyard.
"Come with me, Tianhuang."
"Thank you for your generosity, Senior Nan." Xu Zihuang did not make any false pleasantries. However, he was somewhat surprised that Nan Shuishui had agreed so readily.
Nan Shuishui did not mention Ye Guyi, so naturally, Ye Guyi would not follow. Matters involving sect secrets were naturally better known to fewer people. She understood this principle very well.
Under the vine canopy in the center of the garden, only Ye Guyi and Nan Qiuqiu remained.
In this short period of time, Nan Qiuqiu's expression seemed to have returned to normal. Deep in her eyes burned the raging fire of gossip. She sat down in the seat Nan Shuishui had just occupied and sweetly smiled at Ye Guyi.
"Sister Ye, hello, my name is Nan Qiuqiu. Sister, you are so beautiful." As she spoke, she even blinked her eyes, acting very familiar.
Ye Guyi first examined Nan Qiuqiu carefully, seemingly seeing right through the little thoughts in her heart, and returned a smile.
"Qiuqiu, little sister, you are very cute too."
"Really?" Nan Qiuqiu looked extremely happy and continued to try to get closer to Ye Guyi. She pushed the plate of ice flower cake toward Ye Guyi.
"Sister Ye, this is our Dragon City specialty ice flower cake. It tastes really good. Try it, otherwise it will melt soon and won't taste good anymore."
The ice flower cake came in thin slices. The main ingredient was frozen cream due to the low temperature, with various nuts evenly distributed inside. Both its appearance and taste were quite excellent.
Ye Guyi's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of playfulness clearly appeared in her eyes. She shook her head and said,
"Thank you for your kindness, little sister Qiuqiu, but it's not convenient for me to eat cold things right now. It's not good for the child in my belly."
"What do you mean, not good for the child in your belly?" Nan Qiuqiu asked in confusion. Then, belatedly realizing something, she stood up as if sitting on pins and needles and screamed,
"Ah— You're pregnant?!"
It was no wonder she reacted so strongly. Although Nan Qiuqiu was the big-sister-head with the strongest strength among the younger generation in the Earth Dragon Gate, she was still very innocent in certain aspects.
"What?!"
"Big-sis-head, you're pregnant?!"
"Whose is it?!"
At that moment, several more exclamations rang out from all around the rear courtyard. They were Xu Shenshu, Xiao Ye, and others who had been startled by Nan Qiuqiu's scream. Even more people were gathering toward this side; some were young disciples of the sect, others were older elders within the sect.
Nan Qiuqiu's face was full of black lines. She shouted, "You're the one who's pregnant! Your whole family is pregnant!"
The commotion on Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi's side also alarmed Nan Shuishui and Xu Zihuang, who were talking in the depths of the rear courtyard.
Nan Shuishui gave Xu Zihuang an apologetic smile, then her chest heaved dramatically as she used soul power transmission to stop the farce.
"Qiuqiu, if you make any more noise, go face the wall at Dragon Suppression Cliff."
"No one is to come to the rear courtyard. I am receiving an important guest."
In an instant, the rear courtyard became quiet again. Nan Qiuqiu sat on the stone chair like a frightened bird. From the tone, she could tell that her mother was really angry this time.
Ye Guyi calmly sipped the hot tea in her cup, while Nan Qiuqiu unconsciously stared blankly at Ye Guyi's lower abdomen, only feeling her cheeks burning.
Pregnant? Then that means…
As she thought about it, Nan Qiuqiu secretly glanced sideways at Xu Zihuang, who was in the depths of the rear courtyard.
"The child is his?"
"Mm." Ye Guyi smiled lightly and responded, continuing the act. Originally, she had just wanted to tease Nan Qiuqiu a little, but she never expected that Nan Qiuqiu would be far more innocent than she had imagined. In her heart, she couldn't help but feel a trace of fondness for this silly girl in front of her.
Of course, this goodwill was premised on the fact that Nan Qiuqiu could never pose any threat to her.
She didn't think Xu Zihuang would like this kind of silly girl.
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