Evening.
In the Immortal Spirit Valley, at Lu Xiaoluo's residence.
Sunset glow filtered through the lattice windows, casting warm yet slightly lonely patches of light in the quiet chamber.
Lu Xiaoluo sat alone on a prayer mat, her chin resting in her hands. Her usually bright and cunning eyes now held a lingering trace of worry.
Today's battle between Senior Brother Han Yu and Senior Sister Ji Lingxiu had dealt her too great a shock.
Senior Brother Han, usually so calm and powerful, had actually lost his composure at one point, facing danger at every turn. He only managed to turn defeat into victory through a breakthrough in the heat of battle.
Senior Sister Ji had been forced to sever her own hair with great determination to break free from those eerie threads of emotion. Her opponent's methods were so treacherous, their strength so overwhelming—far beyond anything she had imagined.
"Are all the heavenly prodigies from the Upper Realm this terrifying?" she muttered softly, unconsciously twisting the hem of her robe. "Tomorrow... when I face that Xu Yujun, can I really do it?"
She had confidence in her own strength. Her master's teachings had never slackened, and her senior brothers and sisters had given her much guidance. She considered herself among the top of her generation.
But facing these opponents from a higher world, with their unfathomably deep foundations, she truly had no confidence.
A sense of nervousness and unease quietly spread through her.
However, this mood did not last long.
She shook her head as if trying to shake away her troubles, and her face once again revealed its usual brightness. "Ai, why think so much! Even if... even if I really lose, the next round still has Eldest Senior Brother Xiao Chen and Senior Brother Jiang Che to hold the line! If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up!"
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and her mood instantly lightened considerably. "Anyway, I'll just do my best! If I lose, no one will blame me. At most... at most I'll feel a bit embarrassed and secretly be sad for a little while!"
She patted her cheeks, psyching herself up. "Mm! In any case, tomorrow I'll give it my all! No regrets!"
Just as her mood improved and she was about to get up to find food—
In the shadows of the room's corner, space rippled like water, and a figure emerged without warning!
It was a middle-aged man wearing a black Daoist robe, with a gaunt face and profound eyes. He stood there silently, as if he had merged with the shadows themselves.
"Who?!" Lu Xiaoluo was startled and instantly sprang up from the prayer mat. Spiritual energy surged through her body as she warily watched this uninvited guest, her voice cold. "Who are you? How did you get in?"
She could sense that the residence's protective array had shown no reaction to this person! The intruder's cultivation was unfathomable!
The middle-aged man did not immediately answer. Instead, he looked her up and down with an extremely complex gaze, carrying a hint of reminiscence and scrutiny, as if looking at someone else through her.
After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice low and carrying a strange penetrating power. "Your father is the Kunlun Mountain Guardian, Lu Ming, correct?"
Lu Xiaoluo's pupils contracted slightly, and her wariness deepened. Her father's identity was known only to her master and a few core senior brothers and sisters even within the Immortal Spirit Holy Land.
"So what if he is?" she asked coldly, not relaxing her guard.
A smile that seemed both real and not appeared on the middle-aged man's face. "If we must speak of it, I was once a fellow disciple with your father. By seniority, you should call me Martial Uncle."
"Martial Uncle?" Lu Xiaoluo's brows furrowed slightly. She didn't believe a word of it. He hadn't come earlier or later, but suddenly appeared on the night before the Heavenly Alliance Grand Competition when she was about to face a powerful enemy? This was too coincidental.
Her tone remained distant. "I've never heard my father mention you. What is your business here?"
The middle-aged man seemed not to mind her coldness. He spoke on his own, his tone carrying a deliberate nostalgia and elaboration. "Your father, Lu Ming, was a truly kind and upright Immortal. When Kunlun faced its great tribulation, when heaven and earth overturned, all the Immortals wanted to flee. Only he, to guard the ten-thousand-year spiritual vein suppressed beneath Kunlun Mountain, unwilling to see living beings suffer, willingly gave up his opportunity to ascend to the Upper Realm. He fought to stay behind and ultimately... alas, fell and perished. Truly admirable and lamentable."
He painted a tragic picture, trying to evoke an emotional response from Lu Xiaoluo.
Lu Xiaoluo listened quietly, her face showing no fluctuation. She had long known a more truthful version of her father's past from that family letter, its hardships and choices far beyond what this person's few words could summarize.
She waited until he finished speaking, then spoke again, her tone even more distant than before. "I understand. Thank you for telling me. May I ask you to leave now?"
Her reaction was clearly unexpected. A trace of imperceptible surprise flashed through the middle-aged man's eyes, then transformed into something deeper. He hadn't expected this girl's mind to be so calm, completely unmoved.
It seemed he would have to play his trump card.
He smiled lightly, his voice carrying a strange, bewitching power. "Don't you want to know what relationship exists between Xu Yujun, the sword dao prodigy you'll be fighting tomorrow, and yourself?"
Lu Xiaoluo's heart suddenly tightened. Here it was!
She forcefully suppressed her churning emotions and expressionlessly shook her head. "I don't."
The middle-aged man paid no attention to her refusal, as if he had expected it. He continued speaking on his own, his voice not loud but exploding in Lu Xiaoluo's ears like thunder:
"What if I told you..."
"He is the son your father, who willingly stayed behind at Kunlun and ultimately perished, left behind in the Upper Realm..."
"Your older half-brother?"
"!!!"
Lu Xiaoluo was struck as if by lightning. She froze in place, her pupils suddenly contracting, all color draining from her face, filled with disbelief and shock!
Her father... in... the Upper Realm... had another son?
My... older brother?
Tomorrow I'll be fighting... my... brother?
This sudden, inconceivable news was like a giant hammer, brutally smashing through her mental defenses, leaving her mind blank!
The middle-aged man smiled with satisfaction at her shocked, dazed appearance. He gave a soft laugh and his figure slowly merged into the shadows like a ghost, finally disappearing completely.
He left behind only those earth-shattering words, echoing continuously in the silent room, assaulting Lu Xiaoluo's mind.
In the empty residence, only Lu Xiaoluo remained, standing frozen in place, her pretty face pale as death, unable to recover for a long time.
[
Dear Readers,
I am currently posting two chapters every day along with bonus releases and early access to new novels. The workload is steady, and I am putting in the effort to keep the schedule consistent for everyone.
Right now, the financial situation is not great. Patreon support is what keeps this translation work sustainable. If you have been following the stories and want to help, joining a tier makes a direct difference.
Here is what membership offers:
$3 per month
10 chapters in advance of other platforms for all works, plus 8 chapters per week for each fiction
$7 per month
15 chapters in advance ahead of other platforms, plus 8 chapters per week for each fiction
$10 per month
Now get 30 advanced chapters instantly for the same price as the old 20-chapter tier. That is 56 chapters per month for each fic, and I work on 3 fics simultaneously. You can do the math on how much you are getting to read. This tier also includes access to character images.
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee because of Apple and Patreon policy. Subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late, around 2 to 3 months, which makes it much harder to receive money quickly after you subscribe.
If you can support, it would genuinely help continue the daily releases and early access content. If you cannot, reading and sharing the work is also appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
]