With the conclusion of the convention of myriad races, the Lunargrasp Fairy left while Li Qiye's group returned to the inn.
He told the group after they were inside: “Take your leave.”
The rest left, only the True Martial Goddess stayed behind. In fact, Su Yonghuang and the others were very curious about the relationship between Li Qiye and the goddess.
They weren't the only ones. Even All-Martial, who had been accompanying the goddess, was very interested. He wanted to know Li Qiye's identity. Who the heck could Li Qiye be to be so adored by the daughter of his sea god?
With the two alone, Li Qiye felt warm while looking at her. He hadn't felt this for a long time, it was as if he was meeting family again.
“Welcome back, Ruonan.” He smiled and opened his arms.
The goddess smiled back, filled with happiness. She jumped into his embrace and hugged him tightly.
She rested her head on his shoulder and happily said: “You have finally come into being, the clouds and wind in this generation will move at your command.”
“It's not easy for us to meet, let's not talk about mundane matters.” Li Qiye laughed.
He pulled her over as the two sat by a window. She was still leaning on his shoulder and watched the sunset with him.
Li Qiye cheerfully asked: “Why did you come out in this generation?”
“Something's changing in Heaven Spirit, so I came out to take a look. The Maelstrom, the Divine Tree Ridge, and even the Bonesea are moving, so I was jolted during my slumber. I didn't expect to see you, Young Master, come out.”
“Right, the world is changing. The disaster will befall Heaven Spirit ahead of time.” He gently stroked her soft hair.
She didn't answer and continued to relax.
Li Qiye whispered softly: “Maybe you should take the True Martial Island and leave. Even if the disciples there can't leave, you still can since you have severed your bloodline and free to go wherever you wish.”
She still didn't answer and took full advantage of Li Qiye's rare moment of gentleness.
The True Martial Goddess' name was Tantai Ruonan. Very few in this world knew of her name. Moreover, the only ones who could call her by her given name were Li Qiye and her deceased father.
As the daughter of a sea god, she had his divine bloodline flowing through her as well as the bloodline of the sea demon race.
However, as one of the strongest sea gods, True Martial was visionary. He didn't wish for his daughter to walk on the same path as him in the future and wanted nothing more than for her to be free of the sea demon bloodline, to be able to travel across the nine heavens without restraint.
Alas, her divine bloodline was extremely powerful. It wasn't easy to sever this connection at all.
Because of this, even the sea god had no method to sever his daughter's bloodline. This was the era when Immortal Emperor Min Ren was in charge of the nine worlds.
At that time, the sea god went to meet the imperial teacher, the Dark Crow, in order to search for a method of severing.
They made ample preparations and worked together with Immortal Emperor Min Ren to blind the heaven's eyes and removed all related karmic fate. Finally, with the help of the sea god and emperor, they managed to sever her bloodline and disconnected her from the sea demon race.
Because of this, Ruonan seemingly disappeared from the world overnight as if she had evaporated.
She gently spoke after a long silence: “This is still my birthplace, the land I grew up. Even though I have severed my karmic connection with the sea demon race, I still hope to stay until the disaster so that I can contribute.”
“Right, many people love this Heaven Spirit World. It is an amazing land that gives birth to many talents. However, it will eventually face a terrible disaster. Nevertheless, this hasn't deterred people and wise sages from working hard to stop it.” Li Qiye spoke with a tinge of emotion.
Ruonan quietly spoke: “I'm glad that you aren't forcing me, Young Master.”
“In fact, I don't want to leave you at all even if you aren't an Immortal Emperor. Your presence in the White Crane Legion will make it shine even brighter.”
“No, Young Master, my mission is complete. I trust that even without me, the White Crane Legion will still be brilliant in the future. It will certainly accomplish many wondrous deeds in your name. Since you have spent so much effort on it, it will surely be amazing in the future.”
Among the four legions of the Dark Crow, the Tiger Legion was the fiercest, the Azure Dragon was the most destructive, and the Silver Fox the wiliest! Those who knew about the tales of the Dark Crow, the hand behind the curtains, have more or less heard about these legions. Some eternal existences were certain of their presence as well.
However, the fourth legion had more speculations about it than the others. Even the most knowledgeable ones weren't sure of this particular legion.
This was the most mysterious among the four legions. Some ancient existences believed it could have been the Vermillion Legion, Black Dragon Legion, or an imperial legion.
In fact, the other three legions themselves didn't know much about the fourth. Only the truly loyal confidants of the Dark Crow were privy to this information.
The missing line was — the White Crane, most secretive!
This elusive legion had always been hidden and nameless like hermits even on the first day of its inception. It wasn't the Vermillion Legion with many illustrious battle record and not the Black Dragon Legion that has deterred three generations. It wasn't started by an Immortal Emperor either. Nevertheless, people still somehow knew about the four legions of the Dark Crow due to the popular saying.
It was secretly founded by Li Qiye during Immortal Emperor Min Ren's generation. Tantai Ruonan was its first commander while Immortal Emperor Min Ren served as the chief instructor!
At the very beginning, it had a secret mission that was completely different from the other three legions!
In fact, Li Qiye had had this grand ambition even before the Emperors Era. However, his resources and strength were lacking, so he couldn't carry out such a grandiose idea. It wasn't until he was in charge and Immortal Emperor Min Ren started the Emperors Era did he have the means to carry out this magnificent plan.
This gave birth to the White Crane Legion. It shouldered a mission unknown to the world.
Li Qiye smiled and said: “As its first commander, I still hope to see you leading it in the future.”
After severing her blood, she decided to stay with Li Qiye. He also intended to train her, so he spent painstaking efforts in doing so.
It was no exaggeration to say that the effort he poured into her was no less than one for an Immortal Emperor. Nevertheless, she didn't become one.
Keep in mind that before the bloodline severing, she was already a blessed woman with exceedingly high talents. After staying by his side and enjoying his full tutelage, one could easily imagine how incredible her achievements were.
“I also want to follow you one day above the nine worlds to see your great style while hunting emperors and gods.” She spoke: “However, I still want to contribute my strength to this world, just like my father who still worries so much about it even before he left. The same goes for you, Young Master. You have been protecting the nine worlds all along. There are always places that you can't forget, that you keep yearning for. That's why even though you have entered the upper world, you still returned to the nine worlds in the end and continued to train more Immortal Emperors.”
“I'm not as great as you say.” Li Qiye smiled and shook his head: “I didn't return to protect the nine worlds. I am simply strengthening my means in this generation. When my wings are strong enough, I will go back!”
Ruonan didn't back down: “It doesn't matter what your goal is, it cannot be denied that you have poured an endless stream of new power into the nine worlds. Which emperor could compare to your contributions?”
He looked out the window with forlorn and didn't respond. She also chose not to break the serenity and continued to borrow his shoulder.