177: Chapter 177 The Growth of the Children

That black mark, representing disaster and the unknown, though invisible now, felt like a thorn stuck in Li Xuan's heart.

No matter how many times he had won or how many benefits he had gained before, they could not cover the sense of crisis brought by this mark.

The illusion of peace had shattered.

The leisurely days of checking in and developing low-key were likely coming to an end ahead of schedule.

That greedy gaze from the other side of the Boundary Sea hung over the Heavenly Court like a blade, ready to fall at any moment.

In the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the atmosphere was a bit stifling.

The concubines had already taken the frightened children away to comfort them; only Ao Qingxue, sensing that Li Xuan's mood was off, accompanied him worriedly but dared not ask too much.

Li Xuan stood in front of the hall, hands behind his back, his gaze cast beyond the sea of clouds, his face expressionless.

He was neither afraid nor panicked.

He was the boss of this new Little Heavenly Court, the backbone of everyone; he could not afford to be in chaos.

The information brought by that Quasi-Immortal Emperor's mark of will was of too high a level.

It was so high that it made him realize that relying on his current strength alone, or even checking in a few more times, would likely not be enough to withstand the great storm to come.

He needed power.

A power that could directly flip the table and ignore the rules!

Li Xuan slowly withdrew his gaze from the distance and let it fall upon this vibrant "Little Heavenly Court".

In his mind, small figures appeared one by one.

Yes, his greatest trump card had never been the treasures in the System, nor any experience cards.

It was them.

It was those children who carried his Bloodline and held his hopes!

"Perhaps it is time to check on my 'Second-Generation God' legion."

Li Xuan thought to himself, and the heaviness brought by the unknown was slowly replaced by something called "confidence".

With a thought, he disappeared silently from the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

Outside the Southern Heaven Gate, on the newly opened martial arts field, the sounds of battle were deafening.

A "Dragon Guard Army" composed of thousands of Dragon Clan experts was forming battle Formations, engaging in fierce combat drills against tens of thousands of elite immortal soldiers from the former Yuhua Immortal Dynasty.

Dragon roars and immortal light intertwined, while the roars of Magic Treasures and the explosions of immortal arts rose one after another, deafening the ears.

And on the highest platform of the entire martial arts field, a small toddler wearing open-crotch pants, looking only four or five years old, held a wooden sword taller than himself, giving orders with a pretentiously serious little face.

This was the Great Xia Sword God, Li Changsheng, who had been punished by Li Xuan to "lead the troops".

"That old loach over there! Yes, you, I'm talking to you!"

Li Changsheng's tender child voice, amplified by magic power, clearly reached the ears of every soldier.

Within the Dragon Guard Army, a Golden Immortal Peak Dragon Clan Elder stiffened, his old face full of embarrassment and helplessness.

He was, after all, a prominent figure in the Dragon Clan who had lived for countless millennia, yet now he was being called an "old loach" in public by a toddler.

Yet he dared not complain a single word.

"Grand Manager, what are your instructions?"

The Dragon Clan Elder could only brace himself and ask respectfully.

"Instructions?"

Li Changsheng raised his small eyebrows and slammed his wooden sword into the ground.

"You call that a charge? That's called window shopping! I told you to lead the left flank in an infiltration, not to go for a stroll! You've thrown off the rhythm of the entire Formation! Do you think you're being humorous?"

The barrage of complaints made the Golden Immortal Elder blush, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"And you lot!"

Li Changsheng pointed at the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty's army Formation.

"Shield guards in the front, can you make your Spiritual Qi output more consistent? Some of you are like open faucets, others are like squeezing toothpaste; the energy shields are flickering on and off, are you playing with neon lights here? Are you waiting for the enemy's AOE to wipe you out in one wave?"

The entire martial arts field, with tens of thousands of immortal soldiers and generals, was silent under the scolding of a toddler, everyone lowering their heads, not daring to make a sound.

There was no help for it; they couldn't beat him!

A few days ago, that Dragon Clan Elder felt that he had status, and that having a child as a manager was too shameful for the Dragon Clan, so he took the initiative to say he wanted to "spar" with Li Changsheng.

As a result, Li Changsheng didn't even use his iconic wooden sword; he just extended a single finger.

With one point, the Sword Intent was as thin as a thread.

The Golden Immortal Peak Dragon Clan Elder hadn't even reacted before his dragon essence and immortal power were locked down, and he was pinned in place by an invisible Sword Qi, maintaining a ridiculous one-legged stance for three days and three nights.

From then on, no one dared to doubt the authority of this "Grand Manager".

"All of you, perk up! This is just an exercise; if you were really on the battlefield, your amateur skills wouldn't even qualify you to be cannon fodder for the enemy!"

Li Changsheng put his hands on his hips, his cheeks puffed up in anger.

Li Xuan's figure appeared in the nearby clouds, and seeing his son's little adult-like demeanor, he couldn't help but smile.

This son of his was not only strong in fighting himself but also had more talent than ordinary people in leading troops and understanding battle Formations.

He seemed to know instinctively how to gather thousands of forces into a single punch.

This was the true demeanor of a great general.

"Ahem."

Li Xuan coughed lightly and descended from the clouds.

"Father Emperor!"

As soon as Li Changsheng saw Li Xuan, the precocious seriousness on his face vanished instantly; he ran over excitedly, tilting his little face up, his eyes full of excitement.

"Not bad, you've really got the hang of leading troops."

Li Xuan patted his head.

"That's a given, look at who my father is."

Li Changsheng puffed out his little chest proudly, then asked quietly and hopefully:

"Father Emperor, can you lend me the 'lu xian sword' you got last time to... ah no, to study for two days? I promise I'll just study it for a little bit!"

"When you can use that piece of wood in your hand to unleash half the killing intent of the 'lu xian sword', then I'll consider it."

Li Xuan smiled and gave him an empty promise.

Want to play with the lu xian sword? Wait another ten thousand years, little brat.

After dismissing Li Changsheng, who had "unhappy" written all over his face, Li Xuan's figure disappeared again.

Heavenly Court, Finance Department.

This was now the liveliest and most heavily guarded place in the entire "Little Heavenly Court".

A luxurious palace built entirely of various immortal gold and divine jade had a huge, glittering golden sign hanging at the entrance —

"Heavenly Court Bank"

At this moment, the bank lobby was crowded with people, and Cultivators from all over the Immortal Realm were waiting in long lines.

There were Loose Cultivators, masters of small Sects, and even high-ranking officials under the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty.

Their purpose for coming here was singular — to deposit money or buy "wealth management products".

And in the bank manager's office at the very back, a chubby baby wearing a little red jacket embroidered with copper coin patterns was sitting on a specially made high-legged throne.

In front of him was a huge desk made of a single piece of "Star Gold", and on the table sat a purple-gold abacus taller than he was.

This was Li Xuan's third son, the God of Wealth, Li Yuanbao.

At this moment, this little manager was listening seriously to the work reports of several "department managers" in the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm.

"Reporting to the manager, the Sect Master of the Eastern Qingxuan Sect has arrived, hoping to take out a loan to upgrade their Sect Formation. They are willing to use the Sect's Spirit Medicine output for the next three hundred years as collateral..."

"Rejected."

Li Yuanbao waved his little hand, his voice milky, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

The Taiyi Golden Immortal was stunned:

"Why? The Qingxuan Sect's credit is still okay..."

"Pfft."

Li Yuanbao curled his little lips, his chubby hand "clacked" across the purple-gold abacus, and a golden light flashed, turning into a line of data floating in the air.

"I checked, the Spiritual Qi in the Qingxuan Sect's territory is decreasing year by year; their Spirit Medicine output will drop by at least 40% in the next three hundred years! This deal is a guaranteed loss. Tell them to bring some hard currency for collateral, like the ownership of a mineral vein, or else forget about it."

The Taiyi Golden Immortal was dumbfounded, becoming increasingly in awe of this little manager.

This little guy was simply a ten-thousand-year-old fox wrapped in a baby's skin!

No accounts could be hidden from him!

Li Xuan, hidden in the Void Realm, watched this situation and revealed a gratified smile.

With such a son who knew how to manage life and make money, he would never have to worry about logistics even if they went to war in the future.

This was his most solid war treasury.

Core area, the eye of the Zhou Tian Star Array.

This was the hub of the Heavenly Court's defense; in the Void Realm, billions of Formation patterns surged like a river of light, flickering uncertainly.

However, in a certain place in this galaxy, a wisp of discordant black Qi was quietly eroding a key Formation pattern, causing a slight, imperceptible stagnation in the energy circulation of the entire array.

This was an internal injury caused by the pressure of the Arhat Fatian's Immortal King Buddhist treasure last time.

Two small figures appeared here.

One of them was a boy who looked only two or three years old; he had a naturally born Formation pattern mark between his brows, and he was the seventh son, Li Daoyan.

As soon as he arrived, he immediately discovered the hidden injury.

He didn't hesitate at all, directly taking a step with his short legs into the complex Formation pattern.

His chubby little hands drew and pointed rapidly in the Void Realm, and strands of Formation Law containing the Grandmist Origin flowed from his fingertips, precisely merging into the damaged Formation pattern to begin repairs.

His movements were smooth and coherent, with his own Dao rhyme; it didn't look like he was repairing a Formation, but rather like he was creating art.

But that black Qi was particularly stubborn, and the speed of repair could never keep up with the speed of its erosion.

At this time, another figure, Li Qingyue, who had grown into a cool-looking young girl, also arrived.

She took one look and understood her younger brother's predicament.

She just extended her slender finger and pointed gently at that area.

"Freeze."

A cold, clear word was uttered.

Hum!

Centered on the damaged Formation pattern, the flow of time in the space within a hundred zhang slowed down by ten thousand times.

The erosion speed of that stubborn black Qi slowed down by over ten thousand times, almost coming to a standstill.

And Li Daoyan's repair movements, because he himself was a part of the Formation, were not affected too much.

In no time, the hidden injury was perfectly repaired.

After the last stroke was drawn, Li Daoyan grinned at his sister, revealing two small fangs.

Li Qingyue nodded coolly in response.

In the Void Realm, Li Xuan watched the perfect cooperation of this pair of "tech-geek" siblings and finally let go of the heart he had been holding.

One was the ancestor of the Formation Dao, responsible for hardware maintenance.

One was the Dominator of Time, responsible for providing powerful buffs.

With them here, the Heavenly Court's "firewall" was solid as a rock.

Finally, Li Xuan arrived at the Pantao Immortal Realm.

As soon as he entered, the scene before him made him laugh and cry.

A baby who had just learned to crawl was crawling around on the grass, huffing and puffing.

Behind her followed a large group of members of the Heavenly Court's Alchemy Department, all dressed in Alchemist robes, with cultivation levels of at least Golden Immortal.

These Alchemy Great Masters, who could establish Sects outside, were now holding small jade shovels, carrying small medicine baskets, following behind the baby with fanatical excitement.

The baby crawled across a patch of ordinary grass.

Her chubby little hand pressed casually on the ground.

Whoosh!

The ordinary grass on that patch of land began to grow wildly, bloom, and bear fruit; in the blink of an eye, it turned into a medicinal garden full of legendary Spirit Medicine like "Nine-Leaf Ganoderma" and "Dragon Blood Grass"!

The baby yawned again, and a drop of crystal-clear saliva dripped onto a nearby ordinary peach tree.

The peach tree made a "clacking" sound, and within a few breaths, it grew into a thousand-year-level immortal peach tree, covered in pink, tender immortal peaches!

"Quick, quick, quick! Master Wang, over there! A sprout of an 'Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree' has grown where Princess Her Highness just crawled!"

"My God! Here! There's the aura of 'Phoenix Undying Grass'! It's right where Princess Her Highness just relieved herself!"

"Don't fight over it!"

"Mind your manners!"

"Pick them in order!"

"This is all a gift from Princess Her Highness to us!"

The group of Alchemists, all breathing heavily with fanatical eyes, carefully picked these divine objects that had been "enlightened", tears of excitement almost falling from their eyes.

And the culprit behind all this, Li Yao, knew nothing, continuing to chew on her little feet, looking ignorant and oblivious.

Li Xuan shook his head helplessly.

He walked over and picked up this walking super-buff treasure.

"Ya ya~" Li Yao smiled happily when she saw her father, rubbing against his arms.

A pure breath of life surged into his body, making even him, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, feel a sense of comfort.

Li Xuan held his daughter, feeling the pure Light of Creation on her, and looked towards the four directions of the Heavenly Court again.

Over there was Li Changsheng, who was leading the troops.

Over there was Li Yuanbao, who was making money hand over fist.

Over there were Li Daoyan and Li Qingyue, who were maintaining the safety of the Heavenly Court.

And there was the eighth son, Li Yan, who was preaching in the academy and possessed the Saint Emperor Body that naturally "Will Manifests as Law"... Each child was growing rapidly in their own way, becoming an indispensable part of this Heavenly Court war machine.

The anxiety in Li Xuan's heart vanished completely after looking around at his "Second-Generation God" legion.

Replacing it was unprecedented confidence and high Battle Intent.

He lifted Li Yao in his arms as if showing off a rare treasure.

His gaze was sharp, as if wanting to pierce through the Void Realm and meet the mysterious peeping from the Boundary Sea once again.

Come.

No matter who you are, or where you come from.