You know how it is.
Shi Hao's so-called "running away from home" was, in plain terms, just him setting out to train on his own.
For the past two years, with people arranged by the Stone Emperor watching over him, along with his cousin Shi Yi and his mother Qin Yining, everyone had been relatively at ease about him. But no one expected Shi Hao to suddenly pull off something this big.
"Forget it. It's been two years anyway. It's about time I head back to Stone Village to check on things."
Though Shi Yi had left the wilderness behind, he hadn't forgotten the people of Stone Village. They still held a place in his heart, and he'd already been planning to find time to see how the village was faring.
Just as Shi Yi prepared to set out for the wilderness, Yu Zimo, someone who usually immersed herself in cultivation and rarely appeared, showed up at the perfect moment. Today, she stood before him.
She was a also once-in-a-generation prodigy of the Rain Clan, her status only slightly below Shi Yi's. She cultivated a unique precious technique called Scroll of a Lifetime, which granted her the ability to foresee the future and glimpse destinies.
Before the Rain Clan's downfall, she had sensed an impending crisis. But her clansmen, blinded by greed, dismissed her warnings as alarmist nonsense.
Back then, their minds were consumed with how to carve up an adult Pixiu—its blood, hide, sinews, and flesh already divvied up in their plans. They never anticipated the arrival of Bi'an and Yazi.
It was precisely because of Yu Zimo's powerful foresight that she managed to lead the younger generation of the Rain Clan to safety, evading Bi'an and Yazi's pursuit and escaping to the Martial King's Manor in the Stone Nation's capital.
The Martial King's Manor, situated in the heart of the Stone Nation's capital, was under the protection of the Stone Nation's Human Emperor. Even if Bi'an and Yazi had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare attack here.
At this time, the Stone Nation hadn't yet fallen out with the Upper Realm. The Stone Nation's royal family maintained good relations with the successors of the Heaven-Mending Sect and the Heaven-Severing Sect.
Whether it was Fairy Yuechan or Fairy Tianhu, their prolonged stay in the Stone Nation was largely due to Shi Yi. But their presence also underscored the amicable ties between the Stone Nation and the Upper Realm.
The Stone Nation's Human Emperor was a shrewd man. Unlike the future Human Emperor Shi Hao—who no longer existed in this timeline, stubborn and prone to defiance—the current emperor kept the Stone Nation stable and peaceful.
In that vanished, nonexistent future, Shi Hao, upon inheriting the Human Emperor's throne, boldly challenged the Upper Realm. It was bold and spirited, no doubt, but offending the Upper Realm without the strength to back it up brought suffering to the Stone Nation's billions of citizens.
Before that future Human Emperor Shi Hao clashed with the Upper Realm, aside from the savage wilderness, neither the Stone Nation nor the Fire Nation saw ferocious beasts wantonly slaughtering their people.
Of course, this wasn't to say that the vanished future Human Emperor Shi Hao was wrong. He simply did the right thing at the wrong time.
Had he delayed by a few decades or a century, waiting until his cultivation and power had matured, he could've turned the Lower Realm's Eight Domains into his personal domain, and the Upper Realm wouldn't have dared utter a word.
In short—
Shi Hao's ideas often started with good intentions, like this time, wanting to seize a mountain treasure to bring back as a gift.
But his actions always seemed to happen at the wrong moment. A slight delay could've changed everything.
"Cousin, Shi Hao is a lone star of calamity, his fate clashing with yours. Where you are, he cannot be. If you go to save him, you'll face danger yourself," Yu Zimo said, stepping in front of Shi Yi.
Two years had passed.
She had matured noticeably, her figure fuller, especially at her chest, exuding a subtle fragrance that stirred the heart with its captivating allure.
"Cousin, you foresaw danger for me?" Shi Yi asked, intrigued.
Truth be told, he was quite curious about Yu Zimo's Scroll of a Lifetime. It was her unique talent, impossible for anyone else to cultivate. Its rarity was only slightly below the Supreme Bone or Double Pupil.
"Cousin, do you trust me? Or are you going to be like the Rain Clan's ancestors, ignoring my warnings?" Yu Zimo's gaze was tense, fearing Shi Yi might be another stubborn fool who refused to listen.
"I trust your foresight, cousin. But we're family. Even knowing the risks, I have to go. I can't just stand by and watch my little brother face mortal danger while I do nothing," Shi Yi said softly.
As he'd said—
Shi Hao had always been a troublemaker since childhood. The nickname "bear child" wasn't for nothing. But as family, as his cousin, Shi Yi couldn't turn a blind eye to Shi Hao's peril.
"Cousin, don't just hear half of what I'm saying! I said his fate clashes with yours—where you are, he cannot be. To put it bluntly, without that calamity-star cousin of yours, your future would shine even brighter."
Yu Zimo, frustrated, grabbed Shi Yi's arms and pressed herself against him. Being a few years older, her youthful aura hit him like a wave, causing his steady breathing to hitch for a moment.
After a pause—
"But if I abandoned family so easily, would that be the kind of person you'd want me to be? Today, I could abandon Shi Hao. Who's to say it wouldn't be you tomorrow? Family doesn't turn their backs on each other, and we don't abandon one another heartlessly."
Shi Yi gently wrapped his arms around Yu Zimo's slender waist, patting her back before prying her hands off. But before leaving, he offered her a reassuring word.
"Don't worry. I know it's dangerous. I won't go to the wilderness alone."
After Shi Yi left—
True to his word, he didn't recklessly charge into the wilderness to rescue Shi Hao. Instead, he first sought out the Stone Kingdom's Human Emperor. Through the emperor's introduction, he successfully met the Fire Nation's Human Emperor.
The Fire Nation's Human Emperor was about the same age as his Stone Nation counterpart and greeted Shi Yi warmly. Upon learning his purpose, he was happy to do Shi Yi a favor.
___
Lower Realm, Eight Domains, Barren Domain, Fire Kingdom
"With me and Brother Shi stepping in, your little brother will be fine. Oh, and since you're here today, Ling'er, come over! This is your future husband."
At the Fire Nation's Human Emperor's call, a stunning girl, roughly Shi Yi's age, peeked out from behind and slipped forward. With a graceful leap, she landed in front of Shi Yi.
She crouched before him, hands resting on her knees in a somewhat unladylike pose, curiously sizing up Shi Yi—her nominal fiancé—wondering if he was as impressive as rumored.
Ten Heavenly Passages.
Double Pupil Bearer.
Invincible in the Heavenly Passage Realm.
Over the past two years, tales of Shi Yi had spread far and wide. The Fire Nation's princess had grown tired of hearing them. But now, face-to-face, he didn't seem to have three heads or six arms. If anything, he carried a hint of scholarly elegance.
"Shi Yi," he said, extending his hand.
"Huo Ling'er," the Fire Nation's princess replied with a touch of pride.
She didn't immediately take his hand, studying him for several seconds. Deciding he wasn't too bad-looking—barely worthy of her—she finally extended her small hand.
Truthfully, over the past two years, she'd been less than thrilled about this future husband she'd only heard of but never met. But their first meeting left a decent impression.
"You went to all this trouble, asking my father and the Stone Kingdom's Human Emperor to help save your brother Shi Hao?" Huo Ling'er asked, plopping down beside Shi Yi, her curiosity piqued.
"That's right," Shi Yi nodded.
"You're invincible in the Heavenly Passage Realm, and your brother, at his age, is probably around the same realm. The beasts surrounding him are at most Heavenly Passage Realm—otherwise, he'd already be dead. So why go to the trouble of involving my father and the Stone Nation's Human Emperor for mere Heavenly Passage Realm beasts?" Huo Ling'er asked, puzzled.
Shi Yi, making such a grand gesture, enlisting two Venerable Realm Human Emperors to deal with Heavenly Passage Realm beasts?
That's it?
Invincible in the Heavenly Passage Realm? Is this guy's reputation just hot air?
_
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