It wasn't just the silver-eyed and black-haired Yue Hongye that looked at Li Yang with slightly narrowed and dumbfounded eyes as he stepped forward. Only he was allowed to play with the pride of the Deepsea King sect, only he could humiliate it? Exactly who did he think he was, that the pride of such a massive entity was supposedly his to play with?

Li Yang did as he always did, he ignored the stares of the onlookers and stepped forward, cracking his neck and shoulders before stopping a few steps away from Yue Hongye. He stretched out his right arm and beckoned Yue Hongye over with a challenging gesture, the faint curve of his lips not masking the faint chill surrounding him.

"Come then, I'll be stepping on your head for insulting something that you aren't anywhere near worthy enough to insult."

Yue Hongye's eyes narrow sharply as Li Yang uttered his remark, which only served to fan the flames that he lit by playing them all for fools with his prank. First, he played them all like fools and then he looked down on all of them, it was a staggering display of arrogance and disregard, one that Yue Hongye hadn't even seen in her sect's elders before. And faced with such disdainful arrogance, the flames burning in her chest turned into a full-blown inferno.

"I will show you who will be stepping on who's head."

Yue Hongye kicked off of the earth while still speaking, a violent burst of flames erupting from her soles and launching her forward like a cannonball. Li Yang's gaze remained calm as the girl barreled towards him, his crimson pupils temporarily drifting over to the flames still stuck to her feet. Did she cultivate the law of flames since it suited her personality or had she lost control over herself while cultivating and gotten affected by her laws?

The question popped up in his mind but he squashed it the moment it showed up, this was a fight where he wouldn't play around for fun like he usually did. His gaze locked onto the approaching target, his blood starting to seethe and roil as a layer of fur that looked like it was made from earth appeared on his hands and feet.

These last few days he had been fully engrossed in chasing after the fox and enjoying the chaos that the other cultivators unleashed so he had yet to actually use his new bloodline in a proper fight. And now that he was going to partake in a serious fight for once, how could he possibly leave it out? He didn't leave out the first tail either, energy surging up from the depths of his soul as the tail appeared behind.

But the appearance of the tail had changed compared to earlier, it was no longer a bushy white tail but rather a sturdy brown tail that looked like it had been ripped straight from an Earth-Furred Tiger. Coupled with the fur on his hands and feet it looked as if the tail was just another effect of him activating his bloodline, no one knowing that it increased his power by about 10%. And as he entered his strongest state, he clenched his right fist and smashed it forward, meeting Yue Hongye head-on.

Yue Hongye sent her own fist forward and collided with Li Yang, a dull and rumbling thud echoing through the area due to their collision. Fiery and violent energy barged into Li Yang's body through Yue Hongye's fist, threatening to send him soaring backwards. But he gathered his law of gravity in his fist and turned it into the new centre of gravity for the surrounding area, pulling himself toward it so that he didn't fly away while also pulling Yue Hongye closer while she wasn't expecting it.

And just as she was yanked forward unexpectedly, Li Yang made his move. He stomped the ground with his right foot, creating a small crater as the force of the collision travelled up his body. The rising force was quickly amplified by his own law of force, eventually surrounding the violent force that was barraging through his body after Yue Hongye's attack.

All the forces were merged into a single vicious one that was brought over to Li Yang's left fist, which was currently rising towards Yue Hongye's exposed chin. But she wasn't someone who would just let herself get hit, she opened her mouth and exhaled a gust of blazing flames directly at Li Yang.

But just as the flames reached Li Yang and turned his shirt to ash, the centre of gravity he had created in his fist changed location, moving behind Yue Hongye. She was yanked back unexpectedly, Li Yang ignoring the searing pain as he stepped through her flames and slightly altered the angle of his punch. Her chin was pulled back so he smashed his fist into her abdomen instead, unleashing the vicious force he had created and causing her body to bend around his fist, almost resembling a shrimp.

The impact made her spit out a mouthful of blood that splattered Li Yang's face, the pain making her unable to control her own body for a second. And in a serious fight where he wasn't planning on playing around, a single second of unguardedness was all Li Yang would need.

His feet lightly kicked off the ground as he unleashed his law of speed, reversing his own gravity to further increase his speed. He practically vanished from sight as he dashed to Yue Hongye's side, whose feet hadn't even started approaching the ground again after his punch forced her body up into the air.

A sudden influx of increased gravity brought her descending down, Li Yang's knee rising up and smashing into her abdomen, once again forcing her up into the air. He placed his left hand on her back for a second while raising his clenched right fist, his left hand gathering up the force his attack had just created.

The force was amplified by his law of force and gathered into his right fist, which was then unceremoniously smashed into the back of her head. Yue Hongye was smashed into the ground, sputtering out blood while her now broken nose was pouring out enough blood to stain the earth beneath her. Li Yang raised his foot and placed it on Yue Hongye's head, looking down at her with cold eyes.

Swift, brutal, and merciless, that was the only way the onlookers could describe the fight that had taken place. Li Yang had willingly allowed Yue Hongye's flames to burn his chest, all to create an opening he could use to utterly shatter her. And not once did he flinch, not even when she spewed blood onto his face. Right now, he looked nothing like the clown of the Deepsea King sect, he looked more like a tyrant who truly had the right to spew as much arrogance as he wanted.

Li Yang heard some heavy grunts and the sound of clothes rustling, his blood-stained eyes rising and sweeping over the onlookers. A few of them had stepped forward angrily to get revenge for Yue Hongye, beautiful girls would have plenty of followers wherever they went after all. Mei Kongxu's own eyes narrowed ever so faintly when she saw the scene, but a thunderous voice stopped everyone in their tracks before another fight could break out.

"That's enough!"

The thunderous voice was followed by an oppressive energy that prevented everyone in the area from moving, Mei Cuixue and Li Tian descending from the sky. The two elders didn't show too much emotion, but Li Yang and Mei Kongxu could tell that there were a few faint grooves between their eyebrows so the entire situation had clearly caused them at least a little headache. The aura radiating from the two of them doused all the flames of rage that had sparked up, Mei Cuixue swept her black eyes over the World-rending Behemoth sect disciples that had stepped forward, her eyebrows sinking slightly.

"How disgraceful. Not only have you wasted all the time you got in here but now you're also trying to gang up on a disciple from our allied sect? Is that all the pride of our sect means to you? Have you no dignity?"

Mei Cuixue's stern scolding made the youths lower their heads in shame, none of them daring to speak up in front of the elder. Mei Cuixue then swept her eyes over all the other disciples, her gaze eventually lingering on Li Yang and Mei Kongxu for a second. The only ones that had acquired any sort of decent harvest here were these two, one acquiring a bloodline and a beast corpse while the other had snatched up a few slightly rare herbs while they followed the fox.

They had played everyone else for a fool and made them waste their time here, resulting in precious few actually acquiring anything. Granted, Li Yang was the main culprit, but Mei Kongxu hadn't done anything to stop him so in the eyes of everyone else she could not escape the label of an accomplice.

But as neither Li Yang nor Mei Kongxu had ever actually pushed people to chase after the box, no one could say anything about the events that unfolded, they could only blame themselves for being so easily goaded. Mei Cuixue knew this well, sweeping out her arm and beckoning for everyone to leave the forest.

"Go, the allotted time is basically up and you've all made enough fools of yourself, it's time to bring this to an end so that we can prepare for the funeral."

The disciples could only nod their heads reluctantly, simmering with anger that their chance had been wasted just like that. But as they were starting to make their way out of the forest, some of the quicker ones caught onto what Mei Cuixue had said. Prepare for the funeral? Not a wedding? Mei Cuixue could see the question popping up on their faces, snorting coldly.

"Disciple Ho Fei overestimated his own capabilities after he finished healing his wounds. He engaged a Demonic beast in single combat and was almost instantly slain, had I not acted quickly then we would not even have a body to bury."

Mei Cuixue's expression was somewhat sunken as she explained, clearly rather furious at the fact that a disciple from her sect had died like that. She hadn't even noticed the battle straight away due to everyone chasing the fox, so she was unable to save him as he died, all she could do was kill the beast that slew him and then pick up his body.

The name of the youth that died wasn't entirely unfamiliar to Li Yang, Ho Fei was the one that had challenged him shortly after they entered the forest. He was the youth who got violently beaten while Li Yang was busy seeing the vision. But seeing as Mei Cuixue said that he died after healing his wounds, it seemed like his death was a result of his overconfidence rather than Li Yang's violent beating leaving him wounded.

Mei Cuixue glanced sideways at Li Tian as they and the disciples left the forest, Li Yang's father nodding his head calmly. The two seemed to have come to an agreement over the last five days, Mei Cuixue turning her gaze onto Li Yang and Mei Kongxu.

"Mei Kongxu will stay here in the sect for another week to take care of her remaining affairs, but we'll send her over to your Deepsea King sect after that. Don't leave us waiting for too long with the marriage."

Mei Cuixue spoke about it without too much emotion, Mei Kongxu was her 33rd daughter so she was in the same boat as Li Yang, they had plenty of siblings and thus weren't all that important to their parents. This was a fact that both of them knew very well so they simply nodded their heads without displaying too much emotion. Neither of them spoke about the bet they had made when they entered the forest, but Li Yang hadn't forgotten about it, this just wasn't the time to bring it up.

With everyone leaving the forest, the 'sparring' match could be said to have come to an end, the horde of disciples splitting into groups consisting of people from their respective sects. The disciples from the World-rending Behemoth sect returned to their own duties while the disciples of the Deepsea King sect headed for the spatial array that would take them back to their sect. Li Tian glanced sideways at his son as they approached the array, giving him a word of advice.

"Constant seriousness is indeed detrimental, but so too is your mocking and careless nature, balance is needed for perfection."

His advice made it clear that he had been keeping an eye on Li Yang while he was in the forest, he had probably observed every step he took. Li Yang didn't change his expression in the face of his father's words, nodding his head politely.

"This one will keep your advice in mind, Third Elder."

He was respectful and polite, but his words were still enough to make Li Tian's brows furrow slightly. But he didn't end up saying anything about it, nodding his head calmly before turning his gaze forward again. The disciples of the Deepsea King sect reached the array and returned to their own sect, a momentary peace descending over both sects as the disciples spread out to handle their own affairs.

--

Li Tian didn't return to his own office after dismissing the returning disciples, some work had probably piled up but he could save that for later. He vanished in a puff of mist and shortly after re-appeared in front of a two-story wooden cabin standing next to a lake lined with weeping willows.

Li Tian pushed open the door to the building and entered it, quickly making his way to the bedroom with the window so large that it nearly covered the wall. Looking at the blue-haired and green-eyed woman lying in the bed located in the room, his usually stern and calm expression gave way for a gentle smile as he sat down on the chair by the bed and grabbed hold of her hand.

"How are you feeling, Fang'er?"

Li Fang's hand looked incredibly small in Li Tian's own, it looked like the lightest squeeze could disintegrate her hand. Li Fang smiled warmly at Li Tian, stretching out her other hand and cupping his cheek gently.

"The same as always, you log head. You must have just returned from the World-ending Behemoth sect, right? How did things go with you and Yang'er?"

Li Tian's expression distorted slightly as Li Fang questioned him, his mouth curling somewhat bitterly as he chewed his words for a few seconds.

"He... respects me."

That was the best way Li Tian could describe it, Li Yang respected him and his deeds, but didn't feel anywhere close to the love that one would normally feel for their father. Li Fang didn't appear too shocked by it, shaking her head somewhat helplessly.

"So still no improvements. I can't say I'm terribly surprised, he has somehow managed to acquire your stubbornness."

She knew her husband all too well, he was rigid to the point of being overly stiff, he also had a hard time adapting to changes so he was almost a perfect fit for the saying that you couldn't teach an old dog new tricks. Li Tian couldn't say much to Li Fang's answer, once again chewing his words for a few seconds before forming his sentence.

"It is... hard to close the gap that has formed. If he was unjustly blaming me then I could maybe do something, but he is justified in his resentment, had I been a bit more relaxed then things would not have ended as they did back then."

Those past events would forever be Li Tian's greatest regret, one that would stain him forever with no way of washing it away. And he knew that it was those past events that had warped the personality of Li Yang, pushing him to his carefree state that disdained the serious world. He felt nothing but guilt about it, but Li Fang could smile a bit more casually in the face of it.

"Those things are all in the past, it's pointless to feel guilty about it now, you did the best you could. And who knows, he became so cheerful and carefree thanks to it so maybe it was worth it in the end."

She pinched his cheek as she spoke, forcing his sinking smile to rise up somewhat. Li Tian looked at her quietly for a few moments before speaking out in a somewhat hushed tone.

"...His hair and eyes returned to normal for a bit while we were out."

He had indeed been observing Li Yang's every step inside the forest, so he saw the moment his hair and eyes turned completely golden while he saw the vision. Not even Li Yang had noticed that his hair turned golden, but Li Tian had noticed it the moment the first strand of golden hair appeared. His words had a great effect on Li Fang, whose eyes sprang open in panic.

"Did anyone see?!"

Li Fang hurriedly raised her torso, looking as if she wanted to jump out of the bed. But Li Tian placed a gentle hand on her shoulder so that she didn't overexert herself, shaking his head assuredly.

"Only one person, but he's already been dealt with so there won't be anything to worry about."

No one could be allowed to know about the change in Li Yang's hair and eyes, at least not yet, the truth had to stay buried for as long as possible. Li Fang let out a slightly rushed breath after Li Tian shook his head, muttering repeatedly.

"That's good, that's good..."

Silence once again descended over the two as Li Fang leaned back, neither of them quite certain which topic to talk about next. But in the end, it became Li Fang that spoke up, her hand leaving Li Tian's check and softly tracing the lower parts of her abdomen.

"They ached again yesterday, heavily this time. If my guess is correct, it shouldn't be too long before he manages to track me down, probably only two years or so."

Li Tian's gaze hardened in response to Li Fang's words. Their encounter with the elder from the Star-Scorched Valley sect was an eternal nightmare, even now he didn't feel a single shred of confidence that he could protect Li Fang from that man should he find her again. Li Fang could see Li Tian's thoughts, a soft smile appearing on her face.

"Don't look so saddened, even if he finds me at that time, there will be nothing left for him to claim."

She spoke about it casually and peacefully, but Li Tian knew the truth, he knew why there would be nothing left for that elder to claim should he find her again in two years. And it was because he knew the truth that he couldn't help but ask her once more.

"Do you really not want to tell him?"

If it was up to Li Tian, this was a piece of information that should not be hidden from Li Yang, it was information he had a right to know. But Li Fang's gaze hardened in response to the question, firmly rejecting the notion.

"No, Yang'er cannot know! I want him to smile for as long as possible, and I should still have about a year before the arrays stop helping. If everything goes well, he'll be participating in Stars Ascension competition by the time they give out, he won't learn about it until after the competition has ended. It is... unfair, but I want him to keep smiling, that's all I want for him."

As his mother, she only wanted for Li Yang to be happy, even if that meant lying to him about how long the arrays maintaining her vital functions would continue to help her. It was unfair to keep it from him, and it would hit him hard to be greeted by an empty bed when he returned from the competition, but his wings would have already started hardening after that competition so she was confident that he would overcome. But even though she was confident in him, there were still things that Li Fang had to entrust to Li Tian.

"Even without me, you must make sure to protect him, you cannot let that man get his hands on him, he has no right to."

This was the one thing she would never allow, she would never let that man lay a single hand on her son, she would never let him take away her greatest treasure. Li Tian solemnly nodded his head, putting a bit more force into his hand as he repeated his vow.

"Don't worry. For as long as I draw breath, he will be MY son, no one else's, no matter what."