Chapter 1005: Returning to Chongque City

What Li Xiaofei had not expected was that Li Anyi was also unwilling to leave.

"I want to stay here with Mom." The little girl’s voice was firm and resolute. "Maybe the world outside has beautiful sights, fun things to do, and delicious food, but right now, I just want to be by my mother’s side."

In that moment, Li Xiaofei suddenly felt like his daughter actually understood everything. She knew far more than her age would suggest. The care and guidance Si Kongxue had given her over the years had clearly been a great success.

"Alright," nodded Li Xiaofei.

Si Kongxue’s expression grew anxious. She seemed as though she still wanted to persuade them otherwise.

But Li Xiaofei said, "Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon."

The Ancestor of Wisdom’s disciples from the Ancestor Court had chosen to place the mother and daughter here because it was related to evolution. Li Xiaofei had been thinking a lot ever since confirming their safety. Since Si Kongxue couldn’t leave this place, perhaps it was best for Li Anyi to stay with her.

Li Xiaofei had a strong intuition. He couldn’t shake the feeling that leaving the mother and daughter here might actually be better than taking them away. What if they could one day follow in the footsteps of the ancient evolved races and achieve a higher form of life? Besides, Si Kongxue truly couldn’t leave the valley.

"Dad, I have a younger sister, don’t I?" Li Anyi suddenly asked.

"An elder sister," Li Xiaofei replied.

"Hmph, she’s my little sister," said Li Anyi, remaining stubborn on that point.

Li Xiaofei didn’t argue with her. Instead, he turned to look at Si Kongxue. There was a questioning look in her eyes.

"Don’t worry, she’s doing well. She’s safe," Li Xiaofei said gently.

Si Kongxue finally let out a breath of relief. In truth, she had been holding back from asking about Li Anxin all this time. Back then, the three of them had been captured together. Later, Li Anxin was forcibly taken away and vanished without a trace. What she feared most was hearing devastating news.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"When I find a way to remove the energy inside your body, I’ll take you away from here. Our family will be reunited," said Li Xiaofei, promising.

He added, "Your parents are doing well too. Anxin is with them, so there’s nothing for you to worry about."

Si Kongxue smiled and nodded. Her life before the age of twenty had been muddled and beyond her control. After twenty, she had been tossed about by fate, yet those years had also been fierce, vivid, and unimaginable to ordinary people.

If she could be reunited with her family in the end, what more could she ask for? After leaving behind a large supply of food and making thorough safety arrangements, Li Xiaofei departed from the valley as Li Anyi tearfully bade him farewell.

"Goodbye, Dad!" The little girl waved vigorously while riding on the back of the giant lion.

Her eyes were wet with tears. Her heart was already full of admiration and respect toward this father whom she had only just met not long ago.

Aside from the teachings of her mother, Si Kongxue, she had also come to feel the strength of her father during their short time together. She had felt his quiet greatness, and that natural closeness born from shared blood.

In that brief time, Li Xiaofei had taught her so much. He had even passed down secret cultivation techniques. He had left behind a wealth of cultivation resources at their secret base.

She could clearly feel her father’s unreserved love and she fully understood the reason for his departure. Her father was a great hero. He had to return to his battlefield and continue the fight.

***

The Ancestor Court star system was ablaze with war. The influence of the human resistance army had grown stronger and broader with each passing day.

The silhouettes of human warriors resisting could be seen across thousands of life-bearing planets, and the burden of holding up the resistance no longer rested on Liu Shaji alone.

Figures such as Li Lan and Zhong Dajun had joined the battlefield. The campaign for the Battle of the Southern Heavenly Gate was no longer a secret. Those who had been resurrected from the Heavenly Court had appeared one after another.

This dealt a tremendous blow to the Reapers. The sudden rise in top-tier experts of the human race had gradually pushed the situation in the Ancestor Court star system beyond the Reapers’ absolute control.

The momentum of the resistance army surged like a wildfire, and the various Reaper clans struggled to adapt.

The humanization movement promoted by the Ancestor of Wisdom had pushed the Reapers toward a path where they could practice cultivation techniques, but it also corroded the purity of the original Reaper system.

Many Reaper nobles began to adopt human habits, becoming indulgent and decadent, and internal strife among them had intensified. The once-invincible race that had swept across the universe had been unknowingly infiltrated and corrupted, and their combat strength steadily declined.

The flame of human rebellion, once ignited, spread throughout the entire star system. The Reaper army had already suffered several major defeats. They had lost nearly a hundred life-bearing planets.

The sheer number of humans, once awakened to rebellion, unleashed a power that was nothing short of astounding. What puzzled many Reaper nobles was why the Ancestor Court had shown so little response after all this time.

The Ancestor of Wisdom, who wielded control over order, had yet to appear and suppress the rising power of the human race. For a time, the Ancestor Court star system was shrouded in unpredictable turmoil. The situation had entered its most complex state in millions of years. Li Xiaofei felt much more at ease seeing the resistance army gaining ground.

After indirectly participating in dozens of battles and finding no clues about Wei Xiaotian, Li Xiaofei decided to leave. He departed from the Ancestor Court star system and returned to the Star Battlefield.

This had once been the harshest region for humanity, but now, the tides of war were gradually turning. Now that the Heavenly Court was reappearing in the mortal world, and dozens of top-tier human experts successively revived and joined the fray, the once-precarious situation for humanity had suddenly stabilized.

The Reaper expeditionary forces suffered one defeat after another on the battlefield. Rumors even claimed that dozens of level fourteen Reaper powerhouses had fallen.

The improving conditions on the Star Battlefield brought great news to Chongque City, the logistical stronghold responsible for manpower and reinforcements. The pressure to train new forces had also eased significantly.

When Li Xiaofei returned to Chongque City, he immediately sensed a shift in the atmosphere within the city. Smiles could be seen on people’s faces. There was a noticeable air of ease and relief radiating from their bodies.

He did not go to see Li Junjie and the others right away. Instead, he quietly sought out his father-in-law and mother-in-law. Once the center of countless storms within Chongque City, the former figures of power had now chosen a life of seclusion within the inner city, living like any ordinary couple.

As cosmic-level beings, they possessed incredibly long lifespans and had not aged visibly in the span of a few decades. Yet their expressions no longer carried the sharpness they once had.

Even Kong Xue, who had once been domineering and unyielding, now wore a face full of warm smiles, like a kind and gentle elder lady. A lively, beautiful young girl was hastily eating her lunch nearby.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I’ve made plans with some friends this afternoon to visit the City Lord’s Office. I won’t be back for dinner tonight," said the young girl.

The girl looked to be in her early teens, with long black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her features were bright and delicate, her complexion fair, and her makeup light and tasteful. Her entire being radiated youthful energy and purity.

"Which friend is it?" Si Xingyun asked.

The girl replied, "It’s Sister Hu."

"Oh, it’s Yu’er. Alright, just remember to come back early. Don’t go wandering outside the city," Si Xingyun reminded her warmly.

"Got it!

"Grandpa, Grandma, goodbye!"

The girl slung her bag over her shoulder and skipped away eagerly. Once she stepped out of the courtyard and crossed the street, she quickly made a phone call.

Moments later, a stunning woman in a white dress appeared. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Sister Hu!" The girl rushed over excitedly and said, "I heard there’s a special seminar about war heroes from the Star Battlefield at the City Lord’s Office today. Let’s hurry so we can grab a good seat up front. Maybe we’ll get a chance to interact with the heroes!"

The woman in the white dress had a face of exquisite beauty. Even her loose dress couldn’t hide the graceful curves of her figure. What stood out even more was the captivating allure between her brows. There was a unique blend of youthful innocence and mature charm. It was a rare fusion of purity and sensuality, making her irresistibly attractive. She was stunning beyond words.

"Don’t worry. I’ve already talked to a friend and reserved seats for us in advance. Come, let’s grab some milk tea first," said the woman in white as she linked her arms with the girl.

They looked just like a perfect pair of sisters as the two happily set off together. After walking a few steps, the girl suddenly stopped.

"What’s wrong, Anxin?" The woman in the white dress asked.

The young girl, Li Anxin, looked back with a puzzled expression, then slowly withdrew her gaze. She said, "It just felt like someone was watching me... It was a strange feeling."

The woman in white replied, "Don’t worry. No one would dare to follow us."

She was confident in her own cultivation. There were few within Chongque City whose cultivation surpassed hers. She hadn’t sensed anything unusual just now, so what Li Anxin felt had to be nothing more than an illusion. Still...

A faint trace of doubt lingered in her heart. In recent days, she had occasionally felt moments of intuition, strong enough to make her pause and attempt divination. Yet every time, she failed to discern the exact cause.

With her level of cultivation, she wasn’t just powerful within Chongque City. She would have ranked among the elite even on the Star Battlefield. Yet for certain reasons, she had chosen to remain in Chongque City.

These past days had brought wave after wave of good news from the front lines. The Reaper armies were retreating in defeat. The atmosphere in Chongque City had grown noticeably more relaxed. So what was this vague unease stirring in her heart?

In the distance, a faint smile surfaced on Li Xiaofei’s face as he watched the two figures disappear from view. Principal Hu had become friends with Anxin. It seemed that she had quietly stayed in Chongque City, protecting the girl in the guise of a friend.

Principal Hu... Her years of quiet devotion had not been easy.

With her talent, had she gone to the Star River Battlefield earlier and undergone its tempering, she might have already broken through to greater heights. Yet she had chosen instead to stay and watch over this place.

"I owe you a great favor," Li Xiaofei murmured with heartfelt emotion.

Moments later, he arrived at the courtyard gate and knocked.

"Who is it?" asked Kong Xue as she opened the door. She froze.

From inside the courtyard, Si Xingyun’s voice called out, "Dear, who is it?"

Si Xingyun walked over, took one glance, and also stood frozen in place like a statue. Li Xiaofei had returned.

That man...

The two of them snapped out of their daze almost at the same time and looked behind Li Xiaofei. There was no one there. The space behind him was empty.

A chill surged through Kong Xue’s heart, and a wave of dizziness struck her. An ominous feeling gripped her chest.

Si Xingyun quickly supported his wife and looked at Li Xiaofei, his voice trembling, "You... still haven’t found them?"

It had been more than a decade since Li Xiaofei had left Chongque City to search for their daughter and granddaughter. He had been gone ever since.

Now that he had finally returned, he hadn’t brought back Si Kongxue or Li Anyi. If it simply meant he hadn’t found them, that was still bearable. But if the news Li Xiaofei brought was that their daughter and granddaughter had already perished, then the two of them truly wouldn’t be able to endure it.