Yaya had grown up.
Right there in Ren Kurogane's arms, poof! She suddenly grew several years older.
She went from a little girl of seven or eight to a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, growing noticeably taller in an instant.
The little sprout who had once been so small had suddenly become a graceful young woman. Ren found himself struggling to get used to the change.
Even his arms, which had been holding her moments earlier, suddenly felt awkward.
"What is it?" Yaya turned her head. Her eyes were still slightly red, but she'd clearly recovered much of her composure.
Ren gave an embarrassed smile. "Yaya, you've grown up."
"Huh?"
Yaya stood up and looked down at herself. Sure enough, her clothes had become too small. The robe that had once covered her calves now reached only her thighs, barely covering them at all.
Ren pressed a hand to his forehead, took off his outer robe, and tossed it to her.
"Put this on. Now that you've grown up, you need to pay a little more attention to your appearance."
Yaya slipped the robe over herself and grinned.
"Who knew a stinking tiger like you could actually be such a gentleman?"
"I've always been a gentleman, all right?" Ren corrected her. "Come on. Let's go back and get some sleep. When we wake up, we'll go fishing together!"
"Got it."
Yaya nodded, and the two left the mountaintop together. They returned to their rooms and took a few days to rest properly.
"Come on, come on! Let's go fishing!"
Carrying a bucket, Yaya dragged Ren and Honghong toward the little river.
Honghong followed behind them with a helpless expression, but Ren was delighted.
He'd run into a small problem with his cultivation recently. It hadn't actually affected his progress, but it had still made him wary.
He suspected that something had gone wrong when he'd killed Fengqi, causing him to enter a mysterious space whenever he cultivated.
Ren guessed that the problem wouldn't be completely resolved until he'd dealt with all of Fengqi's clones.
As a result, he'd been terribly bored over the past couple of days. If Yaya hadn't gotten out of bed soon, he might have had to drag her out himself.
When they reached the river, Yaya collected some earthworms, baited her hook, and began fishing with a cheerful smile.
Sitting beside her, Honghong asked, "I didn't know Yaya liked fishing."
"She doesn't have the patience for it," Ren replied with a smile. "She's just excited because it's something new."
Yaya shot him a fierce glare.
"Just you wait! Today, I'll show you whether your big sister Yaya has the patience for fishing or not!"
She stared intently at the water, looking as though she'd genuinely made up her mind.
Ren merely smiled.
Fishing was supposed to be a relaxing pastime. If Yaya took it this seriously, she wouldn't last long.
Sure enough, she hadn't even spent ten minutes staring at her fishing float before she began grinding her teeth.
Her patience was already running out.
Ren had finished setting up a canopy and called out to her.
"All right, that's enough. Fishing was just an excuse. The real plan is to go camping! I've ordered takeout from Yao Xin Zhai, so let's just relax and enjoy ourselves today."
"Hmph!"
Yaya stuck her fishing rod into the ground and walked over with her chin held high.
"Fine. I'll reluctantly let you treat me to a meal this time!"
Ren blinked.
He hadn't expected Yaya, who used to be so straightforward, to become a little tsundere after growing up.
Was that a good thing?
Hmm… no, it isn't! Ren thought.
Sure, a tsundere could be cute, but that just didn't suit Yaya. Yaya was supposed to be bold and domineering, with the presence of a proper queen!
Before long, the food from Yao Xin Zhai arrived.
The three sat beneath the canopy, listening to the nearby stream as they leisurely enjoyed their meal.
Usually, Ren and Yaya would gorge themselves whenever they ate at Yao Xin Zhai together. But with Honghong there today, Yaya ate much more slowly. Instead of her usual ravenous eating, she behaved with surprising restraint.
The contrast with Ren, who was still wolfing down his food beside her, was striking.
Honghong ate at her own pace, savoring this rare moment of peace.
"Ren, are you really sure you don't need the power of Heaven and Earth?" Honghong asked. "I can tell you for certain that its power far exceeds anything you can imagine."
Ren shook his head.
"No, thanks. The power of Heaven and Earth is ultimately an external force. I'm confident I can reach the Great Demon Emperor realm through my own efforts, perhaps even surpass the entire Demon Emperor realm."
At its core, cultivation in this world revolved around the mind and the body.
The body allowed one to observe the changes in the world and comprehend one's own divine abilities.
As for the mind…
The mind…
It was difficult to explain what that really meant. After all these years of cultivation, Ren's understanding of the mind could be summed up in one phrase: the power of "I reckon I can do it, so I can!"
In other words, if he believed he could do something, then he could.
He felt that if the world's limits weren't so low, very few other worlds could surpass theirs under these rules.
Honghong could only shake her head at his confidence. She genuinely wanted to help him.
But this fellow had been cultivating for over a decade, and aside from getting some guidance when he first started absorbing spiritual energy, he'd practically never encountered a bottleneck.
As long as he absorbed spiritual energy, he could keep growing stronger!
Once he comprehended his divine ability, he advanced to the Demon Emperor realm without any trouble. Now, he was already on the verge of becoming a Great Demon Emperor.
The other Demon Emperors had reached their positions through different means.
The dirt dog, Fan Yunfei, had inherited the power of the Dragon Clan.
Huan Du Qingtian had lived for ten thousand years, and his true form was poisonous energy born from Heaven and Earth. He was practically a divine being of nature.
Shi Kuan, the Northern Mountain Demon Emperor, had also relied on the power of Heaven and Earth to become a Demon Emperor.
As for Honghong, she had reached the Demon Emperor realm through her emotional connection to the Tree of Acknowledgement and her hatred of herself.
Yaya, on the other hand, simply had heaven-defying talent. When the Tree of Acknowledgement bestowed talent upon the three sisters, almost all of it seemed to have ended up in Yaya.
After thinking about all sorts of things, Honghong spoke again.
"If you ever need it, just ask. Tushan has enough power from Heaven and Earth to support four Demon Emperors."
"Four?" Ren froze. Looking at Honghong's calm expression, he asked in disbelief, "Rongrong too?"
"Mm. Rongrong is connected to the Tree of Acknowledgement, so she can receive insights from countless fated bonds. She's made a breakthrough over the years as well," Honghong explained calmly.
Ren nodded.
"Then does that mean Tushan has completely outclassed all the other powers now?"
"Mm!" Yaya nodded. "With my elder sister leading us, Tushan's rise to greatness is inevitable!"
She looked like a proud little cat, making Ren want to rub her head.
So that's exactly what he did.
His big hand ruffled Yaya's hair.
Her anger shot through the roof.
"You… you stinking tiger!"
Yaya jumped up and started fighting Ren.
Cool and aloof? Tsundere?
She threw all of that out the window!
Right now, she just wanted to bite Ren hard enough to remind him who the elder sister was!
The two began messing around again. Honghong watched them with a helpless smile, though she couldn't help feeling a little envious.
Deep down, Honghong was also a sweet, somewhat clueless child. It was only the pressure from the outside world and the hatred she'd once directed at herself that had forced her to hide that side of her personality.
Now that she'd finally let go of her inner turmoil, the smile had hardly left her face whenever she was away from the public eye.
"All right, all right. Stop fooling around, you two!" Honghong laughed as she tried to break them up.
One day, while Ren was cultivating, he received a secret letter from Dongfang Yuechu.
Wangquan Fugui's relationship with the spider demon had been exposed. Wangquan Baye was now hunting him down, and his life was in danger.
Dongfang Yuechu had decided to rescue his cousin, but he was worried he wouldn't be strong enough on his own. He wanted Ren to come and help.
Of course, he was willing to offer a reward: he wanted to bring Wangquan Fugui back to Tushan to work for them.
Ren frowned as he read the letter.
Dongfang Yuechu wanted to bring the Wangquan family's living weapon to Tushan?
That was absolutely impossible!
The Wangquan family wouldn't object to Wangquan Fugui wandering around outside.
But if he came to Tushan, then forget everything else. He'd never get his hands on the Wangquan Sword again!
Besides, Ren was counting on Dongfang Yuechu to become the leader of the One Qi Alliance and work with Honghong to achieve peaceful coexistence between humans and demons.
He couldn't let Dongfang Yuechu return to Tushan now!
And without the strange inventions Dongfang Yuechu would create, the world might not develop nearly as quickly in the future.
What a pity I don't know how to build a steam engine from scratch. Otherwise, after ten years, I'd probably be riding around in a little car myself.
Ren put away the letter, sent a message to Honghong and Yaya, then transformed into a gust of wind and headed straight for the Wangquan family's territory.
The Wangquan family was in an uproar.
Their eldest young master had actually fallen in love with a demon!
Inside the main hall, Wangquan Baye stared gloomily at Wangquan Fugui, who was kneeling before him.
"So this is why you've stopped slaying demons! After all this time, it turns out you've been doing it for this spider demon!"
Beside Wangquan Fugui lay a blonde girl who had lost consciousness. Her body was covered in wounds. If she didn't receive treatment soon, she might not survive much longer.
Wangquan Fugui said nothing. He simply lowered his head and stared at the floor.
Before him lay a series of woven landscape paintings.
As he looked at those scenes, the thoughts that had once been deeply ingrained in Wangquan Fugui began to change dramatically.
The beliefs implanted in him since childhood were crumbling. A defiant will he'd never felt before surged up, smashing through those old convictions and charging straight toward the greatest obstacle in his heart.
Wangquan Baye!
Seeing his son's fists slowly clench, Wangquan Baye felt a pang of pain. He watched him with a mixture of suspicion and uncertainty.
Finally, he recalled the last words his deceased wife had left behind. He slowly closed his eyes and spoke.
"Fugui, kill her!"
Kill her.
Kill her…
The words echoed endlessly in Wangquan Fugui's mind. It felt as though an enormous hand had seized his heart, squeezing so tightly that he could barely breathe.
"She is already seriously injured. Can't you let her go?"
"Kill her!" Wangquan Baye repeated.
Wangquan Fugui remained silent for several seconds. Then he slowly rose to his feet, drew the Wangquan Sword from its sheath, and pointed it at the unconscious Qing Tong.
Beside Wangquan Baye, Wangquan Fugui's junior sister, Feng Tingyun, looked overjoyed.
She'd known it! How could the senior brother she admired possibly allow a trivial little demon to cloud his judgment?
Shing!
A flash of sword light cut through the air.
The Wangquan Sword, the sharpest magical weapon in the world, sliced through the ropes binding Qing Tong.
Under Feng Tingyun's astonished gaze, Wangquan Fugui planted the Wangquan Sword into the ground, crouched down, and lifted Qing Tong into his arms.
Then, without even looking back at Wangquan Baye or the Wangquan Sword, he turned and walked toward the exit without hesitation.
"I'm sorry."
"Father."
After those final words, Wangquan Fugui stepped outside and found himself facing countless members of the Wangquan family, each armed with a flying sword or magical weapon.
Seeing the demon in his arms, they immediately understood his choice. Their furious shouts rang out.
"Quick! He's betrayed the family! Seize him!"
"He doesn't even have a sword in his hand! He can't possibly be a match for us!"
"Kill him!"
Wangquan Fugui didn't even spare them a glance.
He tightened his hold on the girl in his arms and thought, If we make it out alive, I'll take you across mountains and rivers and show you the whole world!
The girl's fingers twitched slightly, as if she'd heard his thoughts. She gently curled them into the fabric of his clothes.
In that moment, their hearts seemed to connect completely, bound together so tightly that nothing could separate them.
As Wangquan Fugui continued forward, the surrounding members of the Wangquan family formed a circle, completely surrounding him.
Then, they roared like madmen.
"Kill!!!"
Countless flying swords shot into the sky, swarming toward Wangquan Fugui like a dense rain of blades.
Wangquan Fugui, now unarmed, had no intention of resisting. In his current state of mind, dying here seemed like the only way to free himself.
After all, he couldn't truly bring himself to rebel against the Wangquan family. The beliefs that had been stamped into his mind over so many years weren't so easy to break free from.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
One flying sword after another pierced Wangquan Fugui's body, tearing through his flesh and sending blood spraying everywhere.
The most devastating sword went straight through his eyeball and pierced through his skull.
Inside the hall, Wangquan Baye sat in the main seat, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Fool! You're clever, but you're no good at brute force. Without the Wangquan Sword, how could you possibly fight your way out?"
At the entrance, Feng Tingyun was already in tears. Seeing Wangquan Fugui covered in wounds, the girl screamed at him.
"You idiot!"
After that cry, Wangquan Fugui could no longer remain standing. He dropped to one knee, his one remaining eye fixed on Qing Tong in his arms.
"Snowy mountains… green mountains… beautiful rivers… I can't…"
BOOM!
Just as Wangquan Fugui was about to die, a blazing pillar of fire descended from the sky!
A figure clad in a yellow Taoist robe appeared before the members of the Wangquan family.
"Picking on one guy with this many people? So much for the strongest sword under Heaven."
Dongfang Yuechu's infuriatingly smug voice rang out from within the flames.
At the same time, Wangquan Baye picked up the Wangquan Sword from the ground and slowly walked outside.
Meanwhile, Ren had already dealt with the numerous Wangquan family members guarding the outer perimeter. He was sitting idly on a rock, chatting with Honghong.
"If the Demon Alliance finds out that its leader came to rescue the Daoist sect's living weapon, their faces will be priceless!" Ren teased.
"No. I informed them before coming here, and no one objected," Honghong replied with a smile. "By the way, who exactly is this Wangquan Fugui? Why are we going to such lengths to rescue him?"
"Wangquan Fugui…" Ren thought for a moment before answering. "He's the last person who will wield the Wangquan Sword for the next five hundred years!"
The Wangquan Sword would eventually be hidden away, and even the Wangquan family itself wouldn't know where it was. So there was absolutely nothing wrong with Ren's statement.
"The last?" Honghong exclaimed in shock.
Ever since Wangquan Shouzhuo had successfully developed the proper method for wielding the Wangquan Sword, Wangquan Fugui was only the third generation to use it. How could the tradition possibly end with him?
Honghong was about to ask for more details when she spotted figures approaching in the distance.
Wangquan Fugui was carrying Qing Tong in his arms, with Dongfang Yuechu riding on his back.
"Finally!" Ren called out teasingly. "I was about to go into the Wangquan family and check whether you'd all been chopped into mincemeat!"