151: Chapter 151 Twenty Years Later, People from the Central Region Arrive

【Time flies like an arrow, twenty years later.】

【Chu Zhan had grown from the little one who used to ride on Zhou Wantang's shoulders into a burly young man one zhang tall.】

【With a Spirit Spring Realm cultivation, he wielded his Chu Zhan-axe with supernatural skill. That axe was a gift from Chu Sheng, an Earth Rank Medium Grade weapon.】

【Every time Chu Zhan trained, Chu Sheng would stand in the distance and watch. Watching the axe shadows loom like mountains, watching the Devilish Qi soar into the sky, he always felt a sense of trance.】

【It felt like yesterday that he last held him; how did he become taller than him in the blink of an eye?】

【Old Grandfather laughed from inside the ring: "You are old."】

【Chu Sheng said, "Get lost."】

【Chu Sheng and Yu Rumeng later had another son, whom they named Chu Dou.】

【This name was chosen by Yu Rumeng, who said the eldest could fight, the second could Chu Zhan, and together the brothers would be invincible under heaven.】

【Chu Sheng asked, "Why didn't you name him Chu Neng?" Yu Rumeng glared at him, and Chu Sheng shut his mouth.】

【When Chu Dou was born, there were strange omens in the sky. He had Earth Rank Medium Grade talent, slightly inferior to his brother, but he won out in his steady personality.】

【He had worshipped his brother since childhood; if his brother said east, he would never go west; if his brother said to hit a dog, he would never chase a chicken.】

【Chu Zhan also doted on this younger brother very much. At three, he taught him to stand in a horse stance; at five, he took him to ride Demonic Beasts; at seven, he led him off to fight others.】

【Chu Dou would always follow behind, his short legs moving fast, shouting, "Brother, wait for me!"】

Chu Sheng's lips curled up: "The name Chu Dou, it was chosen so casually."

Yu Rumeng, as a mother, had the same naming skills as Chu Sheng.

He stared at the two boys in the image and suddenly sighed, "However, Chu Zhan really dotes on his younger brother, and Chu Dou really worships his older brother."

【Over in the Tianfeng Kingdom, the children had also grown up one after another.】

【Chu Yun was honest and simple, like Xiao Huan. He had helped with chores at home since he was small, and his strength was astonishing.】

【Chu Duo was mischievous and clever, though it was unknown who she took after—definitely not Chu Sheng. She had one crafty idea after another, which often angered Xiao Huan quite a bit.】

【Chu Yun was steady and reserved, like Lin Wanqing. He did not like to talk since he was young and preferred to read alone.】

【Chu Han was lively and cheerful, like Li Zhiyi when she was young. Everywhere she went, she would chatter away, and she had a ton of friends.】

【Every few years, Chu Sheng would secretly return to the Tianfeng Kingdom to take a look.】

【Standing on the ridge outside Luofeng Town, he would look at those few houses from afar, watching the children grow from swaddling clothes into teenagers, and from teenagers into young adults.】

【He watched Chu Yun carry stone locks to train in the yard, watched Chu Duo climb trees to raid bird nests only to fall and cry, watched Chu Yun write character by character under the lamp, and watched Chu Han chase butterflies all over town.】

【He never showed himself even once.】

【Old Grandfather asked him: "Is it not painful?"】

【Chu Sheng said: "It is painful. But it is better than letting them know I am still alive."】

【Old Grandfather did not speak again.】

【Chu Sheng would sit outside the town for a night and leave at daybreak.】

【It was always like this every time.】

Chu Sheng set down his teacup and remained silent for a long time.

Looking at the figure sitting on the ridge in the image, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

"This bastard, his heart is truly ruthless."

He paused, his voice dropping, "But it is also truly painful. Clearly alive, yet unable to acknowledge them. Clearly missing them to death, yet only able to watch from afar."

He took a deep breath, suppressing that sourness, "Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. This goddamn Immortal Realm."

【Chu Sheng's current cultivation was at the Spirit Lake Peak, only one step away from a Breakthrough to Sea Opening.】

【The Taixu True Scripture had broken through to the third layer, "Return to Void," and his Heavenly Demon Body had also improved quite a bit.】

【But he knew that this bit of cultivation was not enough in the Demon Territory, let alone against those Dao Palace bigwigs in the Central Region.】

【Yu Rumeng was still at the Palace Building Middle Stage; she had not made much progress over these twenty-plus years.】

【It was normal; the Dao Palace Realm usually required decades or even centuries of accumulation to achieve a Breakthrough.】

【She was not in a hurry, eating and drinking as she pleased every day, and at night, she would pull Chu Sheng for Dual Cultivation, claiming it was to help him break through.】

【Chu Sheng said, "You found a really good excuse." Yu Rumeng said, "Shut up, focus."】

【Zhou Wantang's status in the Zhou Family had risen with the tide.】

【Because of Chu Sheng, even the White Bone City Lord was polite when he saw her. Zhou Lie, even more so, treated this daughter whom he had originally disliked as an honored guest, inviting her back to sit and chat during every festival.】

【Every time Zhou Wantang returned, she brought a pile of gifts, saying they were given by the family.】

【Chu Sheng looked at those things and sighed: "Too snobbish."】

【Zhou Wantang smiled and said nothing.】

【Chu Sheng knew that she was actually quite happy in her heart; after all, that was her biological father.】

【Though she disliked him with her words, she still acknowledged him in her heart.】

【Chu Zhan had made a name for himself among the younger generation in the Demon Territory, and the nickname "Little Devil King" had spread throughout the Nine Nether Palace.】

【He never hesitated when fighting; he had friends all over the world and quite a few enemies as well.】

【Once, Chu Zhan got into a conflict with a Demon General on the territory of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.】

【That Demon General was a subordinate of the Earth Fiend Devil King, at the Spirit Lake Early Stage. Relying on his master's backing, he publicly humiliated Chu Zhan, calling him a bastard and saying Yu Rumeng was a whore.】

【Chu Zhan didn't say a word; he swung his axe over.】

【The Demon General didn't even have time to scream before he was killed on the spot.】

【The Earth Fiend Devil King was furious and sent people to demand the culprit.】

【The envoy stood outside the camp, arrogant and haughty, saying to hand over the murderer or else they would raze this place to the ground.】

【Yu Rumeng blocked the envoy outside the door and said coldly: "You want him? Let him come himself."】

【The envoy's Face turned livid, and he turned and left.】

【The Earth Fiend Devil King did not come, and the matter was left unsettled.】

【Chu Sheng called Chu Zhan over and told him not to be so reckless next time, just kill them secretly.】

【Chu Zhan chuckled and said, "Dad, didn't you teach me that if you can fight, don't argue?"】

【Chu Sheng was speechless, saying, "I taught you to fight those weaker than you, to be sneaky, not to fight those with backing openly."】

【Chu Zhan scratched his head and said, "Then next time, I'll inquire clearly first?"】

【Chu Sheng sighed and said, "Get out of here."】

【Chu Zhan got out of there.】

Chu Sheng laughed until he was rocking back and forth: "This temper of Chu Zhan's, who is it like? It's like Yu Rumeng!"

That woman is just as unruly.

He wiped away the tears from laughing, "But Yu Rumeng really dotes on her son; she doesn't even give Face to the Earth Fiend Devil King."

This mother of his, she's alright.

【Chu Dou was different from his brother.】

【He liked Alchemy and spent all day soaking in the pill room, learning fire control from Zhou Wantang.】

【Zhou Wantang praised him for his talent, saying this child's control of heat was stronger than many old Alchemists.】

【Chu Dou scratched his head embarrassedly, saying it was all because his aunt taught him well.】

【Every time Chu Zhan passed by the pill room, he would shout: "Little brother, come out and fight!"】

【Chu Dou would ignore him and continue staring at the Pill Furnace.】

【Chu Zhan would shout again: "Little brother, brother has been bullied!"】

【Chu Dou wouldn't even turn his head: "Who bullied whom?"】

【Chu Zhan chuckled and said, "I beat them up."】

【Chu Dou said, "Then that's settled."】

【Chu Zhan said, "But they called for people, and I can't beat them alone."】

【Chu Dou sighed, stood up, dusted off his body, and said, "Let's go."】

【The two brothers walked away with their arms around each other's shoulders.】

【Chu Sheng stood in the distance watching, thinking that these two boys were truly close.】

【Yu Rumeng looked at her two sons and sighed, saying that if they were daughters, it would be better—more thoughtful.】

【Chu Sheng said, "Let's have another one."】

【Yu Rumeng glared at him, saying, "Have what? Do you think having children isn't tiring?"】

【Chu Sheng shut his mouth.】

【Old Grandfather laughed from inside the ring: "You brat, you deserve it."】

【Palace Master Su Yousi would occasionally come to visit.】

【Every time she brought a pile of gifts—for Chu Zhan, for Chu Dou, for Yu Rumeng—just not for Chu Sheng.】

【Chu Sheng asked her, "What about mine?" Palace Master Su Yousi glanced at him and said, "It's good enough that you are still alive."】

【Chu Sheng said, "I am a guest." Palace Master Su Yousi said, "You are Yu Rumeng's man; you don't count as a guest."】

【Chu Sheng said, "Then what do I count as?" Palace Master Su Yousi said, "Family."】

【Chu Sheng shut his mouth.】

【Yu Rumeng laughed from the side, laughing very happily.】

【Old Man Styx had also visited once.】

【Leaning on a bone staff, he walked slowly into the camp, glanced at Chu Sheng, his turbid eyes turning, and said: "Heavenly Demon Body, not bad."】

【Then he turned and left.】

【Chu Sheng was confused.】

【Old Grandfather said from inside the ring: "This old thing is testing you. Checking your foundation, checking your depth."】

【Chu Sheng asked, "Then did you see it?" Old Grandfather was silent for a moment, then said: "He saw it. But he didn't say."】

【Chu Sheng asked why, and Old Grandfather said: "Because saying it wouldn't benefit him."】

【Small-scale conflicts between the Righteous and Demonic paths had never ceased.】

【On the border, there was a small fight every three days and a big fight every five days; not many people died, but it never stopped.】

【Chu Sheng knew that this was just the calm before the storm.】

【The next great war would not be too far off.】

【That night, Chu Sheng was holding Yu Rumeng while sleeping when he suddenly heard someone shout from outside the tent: "Report—! People have come from the Central Region!"】

【Chu Sheng opened his eyes abruptly.】

【Yu Rumeng also woke up, her brows slightly furrowed.】

【Chu Sheng sat up, his heart beating very fast.】

【Old Grandfather said in a deep voice from inside the ring: "What should come, has come."】

Chu Sheng sat up straight abruptly, the teacup in his hand almost falling to the ground.

"People have come from the Central Region?!"

He stared at the image, his breathing quickening, "Ye Gucheng? Or someone else? What are they here for? Negotiations? Or to start a fight directly?"

He stared fixedly at the screen, his palms full of sweat.