In truth, a mere two weeks was a bit too short for both sects to make all the preparations for the wedding. After all, they had to make and send out invitations to some of the other sects and clans that they were close to, not inviting them could be seen as a rather heavy insult. But Li Yang wasn't really bothered by that fact as he nodded his head, the sects would just have to work a bit harder.

"Alright, it'll be a bit cramped, but that'll be their problem and not ours. I'll show you to our house before I head out to inform father, you can just send a message to your mother while we move."

Li Yang placed the three books and one jade slip on a table next to the crystal pillar before he turned and gestured for Mei Kongxu to follow him. There was no need to spend any time putting the records back, a puppet would rise from the floor in a few seconds and bring away the records for them.

They ascended the staircase and left the hidden archive, using the spatial array on the island above it to return to the main area of the Deep Sea King sect. From there, they took a few more spatial arrays until they reached the one closest to his house, Li Yang guiding her through the mess of buildings until they reached his house. Looking at the secluded one-story house with a small terrace, Mei Kongxu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.

"I'm surprised that you actually live in a place like this. I would have expected you to choose a house located within one of the four cities."

His house stood all alone, surrounded by two or so kilometres of empty plains covered in yellow flowers, the best way she could describe it was serene and peaceful. And those two words were not something she would use to describe Li Yang based on what she had seen from him. Li Yang merely shrugged his shoulders as he walked forward, opening the door with his foot before gesturing towards the room that opened up in front of them.

"Hey, even I like to have my peace when I want it. As for the layout, it's nothing big. Here's the living room, the door to the left leads to the bedroom and the kitchen, the door to the right leads to the bathroom, and that door straight ahead leads to the training area. I'll head over to inform father and mother, you can fuck around here or outside. Don't worry about causing trouble, it just sounds like fun if you ask me."

Li Yang didn't step into the house after giving a quick introduction of the layout, waving his hand nonchalantly as he turned around and walked away. Mei Kongxu followed his departing back for a few seconds before she closed the door behind her and took out an apple-sized jade orb from her interspatial ring to contact her mother.

Li Yang casually sauntered through the sect as he hopped from spatial array to spatial array. But rather than head for a place from which he could reach his father's office, he actually headed for a more secluded part of the sect. Between his father and his mother, he was much closer to his mother so it was obvious that he would tell her first.

The wooden cabin was a bit secluded and a fair distance away from his own house, but the spatial arrays made it easy for him to quickly reach it. He plucked one of the icy-blue plum flowers that bloomed on the weeping willows that grew around the lake next to the house, spinning the flower between his fingers as he softly pushed open the door.

"Mother, are you awake?"

The echo of his voice had yet to fade by the time he got a soft response from his mother's room, the cheeky grin on his face giving way for a rare gentle smile. Li Yang closed the door behind him and headed for the room on the right, pushing open the door and stepping into the room with a wall-covering window as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Mother, I'm not here to bother you about your bad memory, I've come to give you a piece of n... Good Afternoon, Father, I did not expect you to also be here."

Li Yang's tone changed halfway through his sentence, turning respectful yet distant when he actually stepped into the room and saw that his father was also present. Li Tian was sitting on the chair next to the bed, his crimson eyes showing a touch of gentleness and guilt as he stroked the icy-blue hair of Li Fang. Li Yang placed the icy-blue flower in his own hair and cupped his hands, following the proper etiquette of a junior as he bowed.

"This one has come to deliver news about his future wedding. Mei Kongxu and I have discussed it in private and come to the decision that we will hold our wedding in two weeks. I'll have to trouble Father to not only finish the preparations but also prepare a ring that I can gift away. Since this is a matter for the sake of the sect, I'm sure that you won't reject being the one to prepare a ring for me, correct?"

Li Yang's cold respect caused the eyebrows of both his parents to twitch, a sliver of pain flashing through Li Tian's eyes. The same pain flashed through Li Fang's eyes too, but not because of how Li Yang talked to his father. No, the reason behind the pain was the fact that Li Yang had asked for them to prepare a ring for him.

Li Fang had already given Li Yang the simple silver ring she usually wore when they last met, it was a ring that had been in the family for several thousand years. It was also the ring she gave him so that he could give it to the person he truly wanted to marry and love, the one he would hold dear with all his heart. For him to request a new ring, it was clear that Mei Kongxu did not meet that requirement, and that was what pained Li Fang.

She hoped that they would get a bit closer after spending some time together in the World-Rending Behemoth sect, but it seemed like it would still be impossible for her to ensure that her only son would be able to marry his dearest love as his principal wife. And as a mother, how could she possibly feel good knowing that she couldn't even guarantee something as small as that for her son?

But no matter what both of them felt, Li Tian was still the third elder of a grand sect and had experienced a fair share of things in his life. As such, he was able to quickly gather himself and think things through, frowning slightly.

"Finding a proper ring is no problem, but holding the wedding in just two weeks is...troublesome. We've got quite a few people we need to invite and they'll need time to get here as well as time to prepare gifts. Is it possible to give us more time?"

There were at least four sects and two clans that he had to invite, and the World-Rending Behemoth likely also had to invite just as many people. Most of them were somewhat scattered on the Heretic Song continent, and even though they could use spatial arrays to get there very quickly, two weeks was still quite rushed.

After all, they needed time to prepare a gift, prepare the participants, and they had to make sure that everything in their own sect remained in order after they left. But what did it matter to Li Yang if two weeks was a bit rushed for the other sects? He was already making a concession for his sect, his father and the others could take care of the rest.

"Forgive me, Father, but this is something Mei Kongxu and I have decided on after extensive discussion and have come to the conclusion that two weeks is the best time for us."

He wasn't being quite honest with his words, it was certainly not something they had discussed extensively. But he couldn't really say that, his father would just keep pressing the issue if Li Yang didn't show sufficient determination. But what he didn't expect was that Li Fang seemed to understand something from Li Yang's words.

"...You're planning on leaving?"

Li Tian glanced sideways at Li Fang while Li Yang himself stiffened for a short second. Li Tian had plenty of children so it was obvious that he couldn't spend an equal amount of time with all of them, but Li Yang was Li Fang's only son, she knew him better than anyone else and could see right through him. He originally hadn't planned on telling them just yet, but since it was already exposed, he might as well tell them.

"...Correct. Both I and Mei Kongxu experience visions we cannot explain, and we desire to come to the bottom of them. We have found some traces that might produce some results so we have decided to leave for them right after the wedding. If my guess is correct then we'll probably be out all the way until the upcoming Stars Ascension competition, so we'll most likely not return until the competition has ended. I know this is a bit sudden to drop on you, but forgive me for saying that our decision cannot be overturned, we have made up our minds."

The visions, or voices in his case, that he and Mei Kongxu experienced were known to everyone in their sects. Of course, whether or not everyone believed them about these visions was questionable, most probably only thought they were doing it for attention or that there was something wrong with their brains.

But whether or not others believed in them was of no concern to Li Yang, the truth didn't care about the thoughts of narrow-minded people. Li Fang and Li Tian shared a deep look, but neither of them spoke up to dissuade Li Yang. He was usually carefree and even mischievous, but they knew that he hid a tremendous amount of pride and arrogance in his depths, he probably wouldn't listen even if they tried to reject him. As such, Li Tian could only give him a stern reminder.

"... So be it, we will respect your wishes. But you must come and see us before you leave, understood?"

Li Yang cupped his hands and bowed once more before retreating, even his steps as he left showing the proper etiquette that a junior disciple should have for a sect elder. And it was exactly this perfect etiquette that made Li Tian's fingers tremble ever so slightly, because it was performed by someone who should be his own son.

Li Yang left the house with quiet steps, moving a bit away from the lone cabin before a sigh escaped his lips. He plucked the blue flower from his hair and rubbed the back of his head, spinning the flower between his fingers as he walked. He stopped spinning the flower after a few minutes, placing it back in his swept-back blue hair before letting out another sigh.

"At least he knows to feel guilty about it."

Li Yang didn't have many grudges in this life, he really could be said to only have a single one. But it was exactly because he had so few grudges that he viewed them with the utmost seriousness, even if that grudge was one he had formed with his own father.

He sauntered back at a somewhat slower pace than normal, every meeting with his father left a somewhat sour taste in his mouth so he wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible. As such, while it merely took him an hour to reach his mother's cabin, he spent three hours on the return trip.

When he pushed open the door to his house, he immediately noticed that Mei Kongxu hadn't even bothered to check out the rest of the house. He had lived here most of his life, he would be able to notice even the smallest differences, even if it was just a small dent left in the carpet after someone walked over it.

He also saw Mei Kongxu straight away, she was lying on one of the couches with her eyes closed while breathing softly. She was sleeping, but even that wasn't enough to remove the coldness that seemed to have already become a part of her expression. But looking at her beautiful countenance resting peacefully despite it barely being evening, Li Yang frowned slightly.

He slid his leg back slightly and drew in a sharp breath, gathering his Qi within his legs. He allowed his Qi to explode forth at once, shooting forward at his fastest speed and grabbing onto Mei Kongxu's body. She woke up the moment he picked her up from the couch, but he had already carried her over to the door of the bedroom by the time she gathered her thoughts.

He kicked open the door to the bedroom and tossed Mei Kongxu onto the bed, letting go of her just before she got to unleash her Qi to repel him. She landed squarely on the soft bed large enough for two, a dumbfounded expression in her eyes. But Li Yang had already turned around by the time she raised her head, waving his hand casually as he stepped away.

"If you expect me to sleep on the bed while you sleep on the couch then I'll only say this in response, over my dead body. I've notified father, they'll take care of everything else, we just need to wait."

Li Yang didn't bother to wait for any response from Mei Kongxu and moved over to the door leading to the training room. He entered the empty stone room and traced some of the array lines that covered the room, causing it to light up with a dim light. The Qi that naturally swam around in the air was quickly gathered, fist-sized stones forming in the air and hovering there for a short second before they shot at Li Yang.

These were normally used to train your reflexes but Li Yang simply allowed them all to strike his body, closing his eyes and focusing on his own body. They would leave the sect after the wedding in two weeks, and while most people would spend this time relaxing and preparing, he most certainly wouldn't forget to cultivate his body. As such, the dull thud of stone striking flesh and bone resounded throughout the stone room, the sound leaking through the door and reaching Mei Kongxu as she tried to sleep.