Chapter Seventy-Two Tears fell uncontrollably...

A pillar of light shot toward the sky, but fortunately, the Sun and Moon Sect's protective array absorbed it entirely. The array, shining like a golden bell, suddenly gleamed brightly, as if showing off its brilliance like a polished bald head.

As the pillar of light faded, a silhouette floated gracefully down. In the woman’s arms was a little dragon girl, who lay across her embrace, sleeping sweetly—perhaps because this big sister carried the scent of her father.

“Leader.”

The four bowed to Jiang Yunni, although they had watched her grow up... No, to be precise, they had watched several generations of sect leaders grow up by now. Especially Diao Da, who seemed to have played “Eagle Catching Chickens” with the first leader, only to have his feathers plucked by the founder...

Nevertheless, etiquette could never be neglected.

“Hey! The four of you! Hurry and clean up the lingering aftermath from that pillar of light,” Jiang Yunni said, having known their identities since she was ten.

“Yunni... you see... our cultivation is so low now, isn’t it a bit much for us to handle?” Wu Ke scratched his shining bald head.

“That’s right, Yunni. I still have to deliver lunch to Tou Ying later—otherwise, how can I be a proper boot-licking bird?”

“I... I need to go find my wife,” Ji Ji Bo quickly chimed in.

“My cousin is calling me home for dinner!”

“You really won’t go?” Jiang Yunni narrowed her eyes. “If you don’t go, then never mind—I was thinking of counting this toward your performance next month. In that case...”

“I’ll go!”

“I’ll go too!”

“For the Sun and Moon Sect, I’ll give my all!”

“The Sun and Moon Sect is my home! Its protection depends on all of us!”

Before Jiang Yunni could finish, the four soared into the air, each heading to a corner of the sect’s boundary. Within a quarter hour, they returned, having thoroughly eliminated any remnants touched by the light. Aside from a few extraordinary beings, none sensed when two people, one bird, and one pig ascended together.

Jiang Yunni shook her head, gazing at the four before her.

When she had inherited the leadership, her predecessor handed her a list of “ordinary members” within the sect.

Some had always existed in the Sun and Moon Sect, simply changing identities every millennium. Others, after all their old friends passed, would dissolve their bodies and reincarnate, then join the sect anew, born with knowledge.

Their cultivation ranged from the lowest Willow Tendon Stage to, at best, the Nascent Soul Stage. They rarely left the sect, living like ultimate hermits—unless their performance rating dipped too low and forced them to take a mission. Otherwise, they could spend a lifetime sipping sugary drinks on a rocking chair...

They cared nothing for cultivation realms nor for life or death. Whether their own or their friends’ deaths, they would never forcibly reverse fate. Sometimes, even if killed during missions, they never thought of breaking through but simply reincarnated and started over, enjoying the cycle...

Jiang Yunni knew well that the two people, one pig, and one bird before her weren’t ordinary at all. She knew breaking through was just a thought away for them, yet she felt no fear.

It wasn’t that she had leverage over them—at their level, what leverage could there be? Rather, it was trust: this was the Sun and Moon Sect, so unlike other sects—a place resembling the mundane world, yet free from scheming and intrigue.

Besides, the “ordinary members” weren’t limited to just these four...

Besides, Jiang Yunni believed that given a hundred years, she would surely reach the Ascension Stage herself, no less than their peaks.

“Come, come, Leader, have some tea.”

“Yes, this tea was secretly picked by Wu Ke during his last mission—it’s excellent!”

“Forget it, I won’t drink. I still have to care for the child.”

Jiang Yunni gazed at the little Nian Nian in her arms, gently stroking her tiny head.

“Oh, by the way, let me ask you something.”

“Will it count toward performance?”

“It will.”

“We shall speak without reserve! Nothing will be withheld!”

“...”

For a moment, Jiang Yunni didn’t know what to say. Why did these people seem more sycophantic than ever? No, she must keep Lin Lin away from them in the future, lest Lin Lin be led astray.

“I want to ask you,” Jiang Yunni said softly, looking at the little dragon girl cradled in her arms, “is there a way to make Nian Nian call me ‘Mama’?”

“...”

...

Chen Mansion Training Grounds.

Outside, Madam Chen tightly held back her daughter, who wanted to rush onto the field. On the other side, the maid Xiao Hua calmly watched Jiang Lin kneeling on one knee.

Nearby, Mr. Chen, bandaged head to toe like a mummy and seated in a wheelchair, grew increasingly pleased.

Hmph! Serves you right, boy, for daring to steal away my cherished little girl, for coveting our precious daughter! Now you’ve received your comeuppance.

Watching Jiang Lin, drenched in sweat and trembling, Mr. Chen couldn’t help but chuckle—only to be punched in the chest by his daughter... And then his wife followed up with a kick.

“Mother, Xiao Lin...”

“This is the final shaping of the Mud Embryo Stage.”

“But...” Chen Jia squeezed her mother’s hand, her eyes brimming as if ready to cry. “Xiao Lin can’t endure it.”

Seeing her daughter’s anxious, pouty face and tearful eyes, Madam Chen gently pulled her into her arms, tenderly smoothing her long hair:

“Jia, you really shouldn’t have taught him the Shattering God Fist. I’ve told you before, the Shattering God Fist is no ordinary technique—most martial artists can’t learn it. Without a heart that says ‘With my fist alone, I stand supreme under heaven,’ practicing it to the end will only see their divine will crushed by its overwhelming force.

Luckily, you told me you were helping Jiang Lin form his mud embryo. Otherwise, if you went ahead and shaped it without a heart that can face the gods directly, it would be truly irreparable—Jiang Lin’s martial path would be ruined by your hands.

What I’m doing now is already a timely remedy. Better that Jiang Lin face divine power now, than have his will shattered by his own fist force in the future. If he can withstand the awe of the gods, his mud embryo will naturally form. If not, it will break, and he’ll likely never become a martial artist again.

How could you not weigh the consequences, girl?”

As she spoke, Madam Chen flicked her daughter’s forehead in mild annoyance.

“I just forgot, Mom... Besides...” Chen Jia lowered her head in grievance.

“Besides what?”

“Besides, Mom, you told me to teach Xiao Lin martial arts, but I only know the Shattering God Fist...”

“...”

Madam Chen was momentarily speechless, realizing her daughter had a point. She’d taught only the Shattering God Fist since childhood. If she sent Jia to instruct Jiang Lin, what else could she teach?

Oh dear, how could she have overlooked that?

The more Madam Chen thought about it, the angrier she became, glaring fiercely at her husband.

Hmph! It’s all his fault! If it weren’t for that issue with his undershirt distracting me, would I have missed this detail?

“If anything happens to Young Master Jiang, you sleep alone for the next two months! No coming back to the bedroom!”

“Huh?”

Mr. Chen, bandaged and in a wheelchair, was utterly stunned... Tears fell involuntarily...