Father’s advice

"Mom, you?"

Long Chen's mouth hung open, and he looked at his mother with a face full of pleasant surprise.

Madam Long's face flushed red; she felt flustered being stared at by her son. She glared fiercely at Long Tianxiao and chided, "It's all your father's fault, he's so improper."

Long Chen hadn't noticed at first, but now he saw that his mother's lower abdomen was slightly rounded—she was actually pregnant.

Back then, Madam Long had lost her child in the womb, a painful loss. It was just when Long Tianxiao brought Long Chen home that it filled the void in her heart.

Both of them regarded Long Chen as a gift from Heaven, pouring all their love into him. However, not long after, the Long family was dragged into trouble, and Long Tianxiao was forced to leave the Empire's capital.

In truth, both Long Tianxiao and Madam Long were still in their prime. Now that the storms had passed and they had entered a time of peace, they no longer needed to be separated. To their pleasant surprise, Madam Long was pregnant again.

"Congratulations, Dad. Congratulations, Mom," Long Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud.

For some reason, Long Tianxiao was fine and laughed along, but Madam Long's face turned bright red. After all, her son was already so grown up; she felt a bit embarrassed.

"Mom, let me check your pulse to see if you're bringing me a little brother or a little sister," Long Chen said with a smile.

Madam Long felt a little better by then and shook her head, saying, "President Qian has already checked for me; it's a daughter."

Madam Long gently stroked her abdomen, her face filled with a loving radiance. She said softly, "Heaven has not treated me poorly. In my later years, it has sent me another daughter. They say a daughter is a mother's considerate little cotton-padded jacket; I am truly blessed."

"Then it's a little sister! That's wonderful."

Long Chen nodded, feeling much more at ease. His mother was just a Mortal who could not cultivate, and at nearly forty years old, being able to conceive was truly a gift from Heaven.

With a child by her side, his mother wouldn't have to focus all her thoughts on him every day, and her future days would gradually become happier.

"Oh my, I was so busy talking that I forgot about our guests." Madam Long had been so focused on her joy that she had forgotten about the existence of Chu Yao and Tang Waner.

"It's fine, these are all our own people," Long Chen said with a carefree laugh.

Long Chen was just saying it casually. Chu Yao didn't mind, but Tang Waner's pretty face turned even redder. Clearly, this phrase "our own people" made her feel sensitive. Although her heart was pounding, her eyes held a trace of joy.

"Auntie Long, Long Chen is right. There are no guests here; we are all our own people," Chu Yao quickly stepped forward and took Madam Long's arm, saying:

"This young lady isn't an outsider either; she is Long Chen's fellow disciple, and also Long Chen's confidante. Her name is Tang Waner."

Long Chen was stunned. Confidante? When did this happen? How come I didn't know?

"Waner greets Auntie Long."

Tang Waner hurriedly stepped forward to bow. At this moment, her beautiful eyes darted around, her pretty face was shy, and she looked gentle and moving—she was like a completely different person compared to her usual self.

"Hehe, what a beautiful girl. It's rare to be so well-behaved, sensible, gentle, and virtuous. Your personality is really like Yao'er's. Long Chen, you brat, what are you snickering at?"

Seeing Long Chen struggling to hold back his laughter, Madam Long, who was holding Tang Waner's hand, couldn't help but get annoyed.

Long Chen truly couldn't imagine how one could use words like well-behaved, sensible, gentle, and virtuous to describe Tang Waner.

"Alright, you ladies keep chatting. I won't disturb you; I'm going out to have a talk with Dad." Long Chen knew that if he stood there, he would definitely receive unfair treatment, so he simply dragged his father out.

Arriving under an old tree in the backyard, Long Chen and Long Tianxiao sat on stone stools. Long Tianxiao looked at the old tree and couldn't help but sigh:

"Time flies so fast. In my memory, you are still that little kid with snot hanging from your nose, holding a wooden sword, pestering me all day to duel with you."

"Now you have grown to a level where even your father can only look up to you. It really makes one feel emotional."

Long Tianxiao looked at Long Chen, his eyes filled with pride but also a trace of melancholy. Although Long Tianxiao was broad-minded, the deep love for one's children was an emotion every father could not avoid.

Long Chen's nose soured. He remembered that when he was young, his father used to play with him under this big tree, teaching him swordplay, while his mother stood to the side, watching them with a smile on her face.

Now he was powerful, powerful enough to easily conquer an Empire, but that joy from his childhood could never return.

This had nothing to do with the extent of his strength; this was the ruthlessness of time, constantly driving people forward. Once missed, there was no turning back.

"Child, in terms of cultivation, your father can no longer help you with anything. However, there is one thing you must remember: the more powerful a person is, the easier it is to lose their original heart."

"Therefore, you must never have the mindset of being the only supreme one. Otherwise, as you walk your path, the people around you will become fewer and fewer, and you will become increasingly lonely. You will become paranoid and tyrannical, believing only in your own strength, and thus fall into the Demonic Path," Long Tianxiao said very seriously.

The reason Long Tianxiao warned Long Chen like this was because, in front of him, Long Chen always opened his heart.

He could feel that in Long Chen's bones, there was a terrifying, tyrannical aura—a desire to destroy the entire world that made people feel fear.

If Long Chen allowed this desire to consume his reason, he feared that Long Chen would fall into the Demonic Path in the future and become a terrifying Devil King.

Therefore, the more powerful a person is, the easier it is to lose their original heart, because their self-confidence stems from their own strength, and they do not trust anyone around them.

The experts of the Evil Path are all like this. Apart from themselves, they do not trust anyone. They worship strength and slaughter, believing that strength is everything.

So Long Tianxiao worried that one day, Long Chen would walk down such a path, because Long Chen was too powerful and could easily lose himself.

"Dad, don't worry, I understand. No matter how powerful a person is, if there is no one to protect behind them, it will sooner or later be a dead end. I will entrust my back to those I can trust," Long Chen nodded and said.

"Hahahaha, good! You are truly worthy of being my, Long Tianxiao's, son. You are the pride of my life," Long Tianxiao laughed like thunder and patted Long Chen's shoulder.

"Actually, Dad, you have always been the idol I worship," Long Chen looked at his father and said sincerely.

Long Chen worshipped Long Tianxiao not because of his combat power, but because of that heroic spirit that came from his very bones.

Disdaining the path of the world, discussing life and death with a smile, valuing affection and righteousness, and being sincere and loyal—in Long Chen's view, such a person was a true hero.

Compared to those so-called experts who had high cultivation but were filled with dirty tricks, in Long Chen's eyes, they were nothing but piles of dog shit.

Even if their cultivation was higher, they could not become heroes. At best, those piles just became bigger piles; the quantity changed, but the quality did not.

"Hahaha, let's go, the food should be ready. Let's have a good drink, father and son," Long Tianxiao pulled Long Chen and hurried to the dining hall.

It must be said that currently, Long Tianxiao was the pillar of the entire Empire; his orders were no different from the Emperor's orders.

Hundreds of imperial chefs from the palace had all been sent by the Emperor to the Long family, working desperately to prepare all kinds of delicacies.

By the time Long Chen and Long Tianxiao arrived, over two hundred chefs had already lined up in a long queue.

In front, there was a table. Aman was sitting there alone, and those chefs were lining up to hand plate after plate of meat to Aman.

Aman opened his big mouth, tossed a plate of meat directly into it, and reached out to receive the next plate, as fast as a shooting star chasing the moon.

Those chefs were full of shock, but after the plates in their hands were empty, they hurriedly ran over to get more meat and continued to line up. Everything was orderly.

"Uncle… Brother Long, you… have arrived."

Seeing Long Tianxiao and Long Chen enter, Aman, who was frantically eating with his mouth full, greeted them vaguely.

"Alright, just eat slowly, there's plenty of food," Long Chen said with a smile.

He knew Aman's body was special; this ordinary beef and pork could not provide him with much energy and could only temporarily alleviate his hunger.

But fortunately, as long as Aman wasn't suffering, it was fine. To fully replenish his energy, they would have to return to the branch courtyard and hunt Advanced Demonic Beasts.

At this time, Madam Long also walked in, supported by Chu Yao and Tang Waner, her face full of happiness.

Tang Waner kept acting gentle and lovely, which made Long Chen feel very unaccustomed, and he looked at Tang Waner with a strange expression.

During the meal, Tang Waner took advantage of the times when everyone wasn't paying attention to glare fiercely at Long Chen a few times. Only then did Long Chen heave a sigh of relief; it turned out Tang Waner hadn't been subjected to Possession.

In the capital, Long Chen spent three days in a very relaxed and pleasant time. Long Chen also accompanied Chu Yao to the palace. Seeing her younger brother, Chu Yao felt another wave of emotion.

The current Phoenix Empire was flourishing. With Long Tianxiao as its pillar, no surrounding countries dared to have designs on the Phoenix Empire.

Long Chen also gathered Shi Feng, Fatty Yu, Monkey, and the others together. At the Juying Restaurant, everyone kept talking about the scenes from back when they were in the capital. The more they talked, the louder their voices became, and the faster they drank, until everyone soon became dead drunk.

Although Long Chen's cultivation was powerful, for the sake of fairness, while others drank a bowl at a time, Long Chen drank a whole jar at a time.

So after a round of drinking, Long Chen was also completely wasted and didn't even know how he got back.

It wasn't until the next day when Long Chen woke up that his head still hurt a bit. He felt like he had blacked out from drinking and actually remembered nothing. However, he sniffed himself and found that he still carried a faint fragrance, and it was two different fragrances.

Having stayed at home for three days, on the fourth day, Long Chen led everyone away from the capital, under his mother's reluctant gaze.

Looking back at the ancient city walls of the capital, Long Chen sighed softly. Life is just constantly making multiple-choice questions. As he made them, he didn't even know what kind of path he had actually chosen for himself.

But Long Chen had no choice. He touched the Soul Suppressing Jade on his body; he had to know his own background, and even more, he had to know who his biological parents were.

But it was as if a large gate had appeared before him. He had the key in his hand, but he dared not open it, because once opened, the things hidden behind the gate would instantly take his life.

Therefore, Long Chen urgently wanted to improve his strength. He felt his sense of urgency growing stronger and stronger, as if some kind of danger was closing in on him.

Leaving the capital, Long Chen and his group headed straight in the direction of Tianmu Mountain.