"You said with a calm expression: 'Lady Deng, there's nothing in this world that I urgently need right now that you could provide. Let's consider it a debt for now.'"

"Deng Wanshu's gentle face was filled with gratitude. She originally wanted to say something more, but realized you made a valid point."

"She could only purse her red lips and say: 'Palace Leader Shangguan, great kindness needs no words of thanks. Wanshu will never forget your grace for all eternity!'"

"You smiled calmly, unconcerned: 'Lady Deng, I'll notify you of any progress. There's no need to worry too much.'"

"'Understood, Palace Leader Shangguan!'"

"Afterward, you escorted Deng Wanshu out of the main hall and watched as she left the Palace of Ten Thousand Dreams."

"You then headed toward where Wei Xia and Lin Kaifeng were staying."

"You quickly arrived outside the couple's courtyard."

"In the courtyard, Wei Xia was pacing back and forth with her large belly protruding, one hand supporting her lower back while the other gently stroked her stomach."

"Lin Kaifeng had moved a table and chairs into the courtyard, studying texts while keeping Wei Xia company."

"'How are you two finding your stay at the Palace of Ten Thousand Dreams?' you asked with a smile as you entered the courtyard."

"Wei Xia and her husband quickly came forward to greet you, saying happily: 'Palace Leader, we're quite comfortable! Hero Sang has arranged everything perfectly for us!'"

"Wei Xia and Lin Kaifeng had been staying at the Palace of Ten Thousand Dreams for quite some time now and knew you, Shangguan Gousheng, was the palace leader."

"You nodded: 'That's good.'"

"Wei Xia then asked: 'By the way, Palace Leader, why haven't we seen Master He and his mute junior martial sister these past few days?'"

"You grinned: 'He Yu accompanied his mute junior martial sister for treatment. The next time you see her, she'll be able to speak.'"

"A smile spread across Wei Xia's face: 'That's truly wonderful! Master He's junior martial sister is like a celestial being - she really shouldn't have had such a flaw!'"

"'Here are ten thousand silver notes for your pocket money.'"

"'Palace Leader! We can't accept this! You already gave us a hundred thousand last time!!'"

"'Take it!' you insisted, forcing it into Wei Xia's hand. 'That mouth of yours is worth this much!'"

"Wei Xia and Lin Kaifeng looked at each other, confused by your meaning."

"'Wei Xia, if you need anything, just ask Sang Yi.'"

"'We've already caused Hero Sang enough trouble!'"

"'I'm leaving.'"

"You left the couple's place humming a little tune."

"In good spirits, you began your cultivation practice."

"Due to your greatly enhanced talent, merely one year after reaching late Dragon Transformation stage, you already showed signs of breaking through to peak Dragon Transformation."

"You immediately began closed-door cultivation."

"The sun rose and the moon set, day and night alternating."

"Thirteen days later, you successfully completed your advancement!"

"You had progressed from extreme late Dragon Transformation to extreme peak Dragon Transformation realm."

"You had achieved what Lin Mo once did - advancing one minor realm per year."

"The only difference was that Lin Mo achieved this during his Grandmaster period, while you did it during your Dragon Transformation period."

"But now, whether it was Dragon Transformation or Grandmaster made no difference in your eyes, so you believed there was no difference between your talent and Lin Mo's either."

"You nodded, even wanting to applaud your own flawless logic."

"You also casually completed your seventh Source Power condensation, which significantly advanced your Mind Evolution Art from the second layer toward the third layer."

"You gained new insights into the three-layer Mind Evolution Art, vaguely feeling that three layers weren't the limit - that you might create fourth, fifth, or even more layers."

"Additionally, your self-created technique had made major progress after two years of accumulation, and you had finally created a complete name for it: Divine Soaring Blade Art."

"The Divine Soaring Blade Art currently had an unknown grade, secret power, and blank characteristics - making it quite mysterious."

"Your comprehension of the Mountain-Cleaving Sword Earth Source was progressing very smoothly."

"You estimated that in another month or two, you could completely finish comprehending it and advance to third-stage extreme path."

"This speed was entirely thanks to having fused with two Dry Metal affinity Earth Sources already. Having been thoroughly 'marinated' in their energy, the Mountain-Cleaving Sword Earth Source recognized you quite readily."

"The next day, which was just a few days before Lin Mo's birth,"

"You originally planned to check on Wei Xia, but Sang Yi informed you that Kong Ling from the Beast Taming Sect had come to visit."

"You knew this meant the one-year deadline had arrived, and Kong Ling had come to claim the second Emberhawk."

"So you went to the main hall."

"But to your surprise, as soon as you entered the main hall, Kong Ling sprang up and enthusiastically came forward to greet you."

"'Ah! Palace Leader, long time no see!'"

"You looked at Kong Ling's smiling, wrinkled face, then at the Emberhawk he had brought with him, and immediately laughed."

"You strolled to the high seat at the front and sat on the throne, then suddenly roared: 'How dare you, Kong Ling! You dare to maliciously speculate about my character!'"

"Kong Ling trembled in fear: 'Palace Leader, what do you mean?!'"

"You coldly snorted: 'I said I would return one Emberhawk per year and naturally wouldn't go back on my word. Today marks the deadline, so I'll return one to you. Yet you actually brought an Emberhawk to hint at and mock me!!'"

"'Palace Leader, misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding!' Kong Ling said anxiously, sweating profusely."

"You asked with an ambiguous smile: 'What kind of misunderstanding?'"

"Kong Ling pulled the reluctant Emberhawk forward: 'Palace Leader, I'm not here to ask for an Emberhawk - I'm here to return one!'"

"The Beast Taming Sect had recently heard about your feats of single-handedly storming the imperial palace and shaking all heroes in the East Sea, and they especially learned about your title as number one under heaven."

"How could Kong Ling still dare to ask for Emberhawks? He had even brought back the one he previously taken."

"You asked knowingly: 'Oh? Brother Kong wants to return this Emberhawk to me?'"

"'Exactly! Exactly! It was originally the palace leader's property, so naturally it should be returned. Our Beast Taming Sect merely looked after it for the palace leader for a year!'"

"Kong Ling continued: 'I've also brought the palace leader's five sea swallows, and I need to return the two eighth-grade pills the palace leader lent me!'"

"You couldn't help but laugh: 'Brother Kong, I remember giving you one seventh-grade pill at the time. How did not only the pill grade increase, but the quantity double, and it eventually become a loan?'"

"Kong Ling showed an extremely obsequious smile: 'Palace Leader, important people have poor memories. I remember clearly - it was definitely two eighth-grade pills!'"

"You slapped your forehead: 'I've had many matters recently - perhaps I misremembered.'"

"'Hehe, indeed!'"

"You directly accepted Kong Ling's Emberhawk and two eighth-grade pills, which made Kong Ling immediately beam with joy."

"The sea swallows were ordinary birds you had Kong Ling raise to test the potent beast blood. Ordinary sea swallows had too poor a foundation to even warrant fusing with vital blood."

"So you directly released the five light-as-a-feather sea swallows."

"Seeing you complete all this, Kong Ling understood your attitude and hastily took his leave."

"Kong Ling only wanted to immediately return to the Beast Taming Sect and announce to the entire sect the good news that the Beast Taming Sect had survived."

"Kong Ling left cheerfully, and immediately afterward, Sang Yi walked in holding a letter."

"'Palace Leader, a secret letter just arrived!' Sang Yi approached and handed you the letter with both hands."

"You took the letter and directly opened it."

"'Hm?' You were slightly surprised - this was actually a letter from Li Jiang."

"Li Jiang hadn't forgotten your instructions and had actually sent you the Earth Source information gathered by the Li imperial clan."

"The location where this Earth Source would appear was familiar to you - that's right, it was that damned Sea Snake Island again."

"Given your familiarity with Sea Snake Island, you were practically qualified to be named its island governor."

"Simultaneously, you felt your previous speculation was probably correct - the top four Dry Metal affinity Earth Sources would likely all appear near Sea Snake Island."

"This might be related to them sharing the same origin, or perhaps other reasons."

"Now it seemed you could almost confirm that the Earth Source within Sea Snake Island's light barrier was one of the top three Dry Metal affinity Earth Sources."

"This upcoming Earth Source would manifest in three months."

"You planned to wait another month before going, hoping to use that month to complete your comprehension and fusion of the Mountain-Cleaving Sword Earth Source."

"Time was relatively tight, so you stood up planning to go to the mountain top villa for closed-door cultivation."

"But Sang Yi below spoke up: 'Palace Leader, there's a small situation.'"

"'What small situation?'"

"'Madam Wei Xia started bleeding an hour ago and is currently giving birth.'"

"Your eyebrows twitched: 'This is a small situation? This is a fucking enormous situation!!'"

"With a thunderous boom, you shot out like a cannonball through the main hall doors, then blasted into the sky, flying straight toward Wei Xia's courtyard."

"'My human-shaped cheat is finally about to be born!!'"