As a father, I just want to quietly watch you live a long life

“In the end… I’m still not strong enough…”

Li Che opened his eyes, his entire body trembling faintly, muscles and bones twitching slightly.

If the King Hunter Killer were to target Xi Xi…

What could he do?

The only option would be to use the Thunder Chess Piece to teleport Xi Xi away—he wouldn’t even have the slightest power to resist.

The disparity was too vast.

Even so…

Li Che felt his scalp tingling. Against someone like the King Hunter, who stood at the Absolute Peak of the Martial Path, comparable to Martial Saints of Four Openings and at the realm of Opening the Heavenly Gate… would the Thunder Chess Piece even work?!

Reality had already proven that the teleportation of the Thunder Chess Piece… could be disrupted.

Back then, when the Dragon Queen Consort hunted down Cat Face, she used Su Daoling’s Wind Stabilizing God Talisman to lock the space, and the teleportation of the Thunder Chess Piece… was slowed down.

For truly top-tier assassins, that brief delay was enough to strike hundreds or even thousands of times!

However, Lv Taibai was surely aware of this. During this period, he would undoubtedly dedicate his full strength to protecting Xi Xi’s safety.

Xi Xi was the appointed Young Sect Master, and her safety was directly tied to the reputation, Dao Yun, and even the fate of the Qian Yuan Divine Sect.

Lv Taibai would certainly be vigilant.

But still…

“The threat… is too great!”

“To be ranked third on the bounty list at the age of just five… As her father, I can’t eat or sleep in peace!”

Li Qingshan gazed at the figure before him: a towering presence like a mountain, black hair billowing, Qi-Blood seemingly frozen in place under the spring rain—none other than the Bull Demon.

He sighed deeply in his heart.

If it were him, if his child were being hunted by such a terrifying force, with assassins lurking everywhere…

He’d likely be so tense and paranoid he’d near insanity.

The feeling of being stared at by the malevolent darkness…

A terror and agony that seemed to freeze the soul!

Li Qingshan understood that the Bull Demon was just Li Che. This made it all the clearer why Li Che was so troubled. A father facing such circumstances—how could he not be terrified?

Time passed, though no one could tell how much.

Li Che turned toward Li Qingshan.

“Senior Qingshan, on the bounty list… am I ranked?”

Li Che asked.

Raindrops splashed against the Cat Face mask, pooling at the chin before dripping down.

“Netherworld Ox Demon, ranked tenth on the bounty list.”

“Fifth Elder of Divine Carving Ridge, Li Che—ranked forty-third.”

Li Qingshan, having paid note of this earlier, answered promptly.

“Tenth for the Ox Demon…”

“And only forty-third for Li Che?”

Li Che chuckled softly.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“No need for formality.” Li Qingshan waved dismissively.

“A Che, what do you plan to do?”

Li Che raised his hand. The fan-like palm collected raindrops, which bounced, collided, and burst apart continuously.

“Fishing.”

Fishing—Li Che was most skilled at it.

With Xi Xi ranked third on the bounty list, using her as bait was naturally the best way to lure the assassins from the Hunting God Pavilion into a frenzy of attacks.

But…

Li Che couldn’t, and wouldn’t dare.

If something went wrong, Li Che would carry that pain for his entire lifetime.

Even if he used the Dao Fruit of the [Fairy in the Painting] to create a Fairy-in-the-Painting avatar of Xi Xi as bait to attract the assassins from the Hunting God Pavilion…

Li Che still wouldn’t do it.

At the end of the day, using his daughter as bait was something Li Che utterly refused to do.

That was a father’s unshakable resolve!

“If I’m only ranked forty-third, then… wouldn’t raising my ranking be better?”

This was Li Che’s response to Li Qingshan.

“Senior Qingshan, if you have time, go back and spend more time with Nurse Momo…”

Li Che said earnestly to Li Qingshan.

The otherwise fiery and robust Li Qingshan froze in place, then fell silent.

After a long pause, he nodded briefly, then leaped away with a series of light, nimble steps.

Li Che stared at his departing figure, then glanced again at the incessant drizzle of spring rain in the sky.

His five fingers clenched tightly.

It felt as though five enraged dragons were stirring within the courtyard.

In an instant, all the rainwater within the yard evaporated and burst apart.

…

…

Trumpets and suonas.

Simple tunes, grand rhythms!

A festive red flowed like a stream along the main avenue of Qianyuan Taoist City.

The bearers of the bridal sedan, dressed in joyous red attire, carried it with ease. Ahead, the Flood Dragon Horse had a large red flower tied to its forehead, ridden by a Su Family middle-aged man in his groom’s ceremonial robe. Radiant and spirited, he saluted passersby along the way.

“The Su Family… getting married again, huh.”

“Didn’t the Su Family just lose a whole bunch of people? And now they’re marrying again—they really…”

“It’s precisely because a whole bunch of them died that the Su Family is rushing to marry, to bear new offspring and continue the family lineage, keeping their house thriving!”

“And, isn’t this bride supposed to be a talented maiden from that small clan, the Lei Family?”

…

The surrounding townsfolk and Jianghu guests, while enjoying the festive atmosphere, couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves.

They pointed and commented about the radiant middle-aged groom.

If their understanding was correct, this was already the thirteenth wife this middle-aged man from the Su Family had taken.

Inside the bridal sedan, a young girl in a red dress, covered with a red veil, sat quietly and solemnly. She had no idea what awaited her.

Forced by her family to marry into the Su Family with this middle-aged man, she felt utterly lost. Despite her remarkable talents, she couldn’t understand why her family treated her as a mere bargaining chip…

Her fists clenched beneath the veil, her bright eyes now lifeless.

Yet she dared not move, dared not make even the slightest disturbance.

Even though she already had feelings in her heart for a young lad she cherished, still…

There was no choice.

Because across from her bridal sedan sat an elder in a red robe, calmly poised, eyes shut. Merely the pressure exuding from his every breath was enough to render her powerless to even lift a finger.

A Great True Man of the Fetal Breath Transformation Realm!

This was the Su Family’s Divine Origin Great True Man!

Outside the onlooking crowd, a boy in coarse clothes was biting his lip, sprinting frantically, his Qi-Blood surging uncontrollably despite only being in the Blood Exchange Realm.

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