Tan Xiaoyu was looking very dejected while in the car on her way back.
It only took Tan Dong a moment before he managed to figure out why she was feeling so down. He let out a dejected sigh. “Oh Xiaoyu. Are you convinced now?”
Tan Xiaoyu kept silent. She lowered her head. After a couple of minutes, she finally spoke up. “He… How could he be so powerful?”
Tan Dong shook his head and stared out of the window of the car. “There are some truly incredible people that exist in this world,” he said profoundly. “Just the fact that he’s only in his twenties, but is already in the Realm of the Unfettered, is amazing enough. But I have my suspicions that he might not even be an Unfettered at all. Maybe he’s a… a Celestial Being!”
“A Celestial Being…” Tan Xiaoyu mumbled to herself.
“Weren’t you the one that said that there’s no such thing as a Celestial Being?” she asked.
Tan Dong laughed bitterly. “I used to think that the Realm of the Unfettered is the end of the path and that it’s the final stage of cultivation. But now I understand that the Realm of Celestial Beings exist. Not only that, but there seems to be many more realms beyond that! It’s just that we’re not qualified enough to even know of their existence.”
Tan Xiaoyu fell silent.
Tan Dong was right.
Things like that were beyond their understanding.
“It’s too late for me to ascend any higher; I’ve been like this all my life. But you are still young. Although you are a girl, I hope that you can go even further than I did!”
“Yes, me too.” Tan Xiaoyu nodded.
“The quadrennial Martial Arts Convention will take place in a month. When the time comes, I’ll bring you along so you can take part in it. It will be an eye-opener where you can see all the heroes of the world in one place.” Tan Dong said.
Meanwhile, Xue An did not bother returning to the martial arts school. Instead, he went straight home.
After personally sending him back to his place, Qin Yu immediately went home to the Qin family. There, she met up with Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan was feeling enthusiastic and full of energy. He was the one that had been dealing with the group’s affairs on a daily basis.
But when his granddaughter came back, he immediately dropped everything he was working on.
“How was it?”
Qin Yu took a deep breath and said, “Mr. Xue won!”
Qin Yuan seemed to have expected things to turn out as such. He nodded understandingly. “How long did the fight last?”
Qin Yu could only smile bitterly. “One punch to take him down, and one punch for the kill,” she said, simply.
Qin Yuan was taken aback. “What are you trying to say?”
“It only took two punches,” Qin Yu replied as she nodded her head. “Two punches and Yu Qing, the guy who was at the top of the martial arts scene in Beijiang, is now dead.”
Qin Yuan had known all along that Xue An would win.
But he did not expect Xue An to win so easily!
It seemed that although he held Xue An’s strength in high regard, he was still underestimating the full extent of that man’s power.
Qin Yu continued speaking. “I’ve asked Master Tan to evaluate Xue An. And he only had two words to describe him.”
“Which two words?”
“Celestial Being.”
The moment these words were said, Qin Yuan sprang to his feet and began pacing back and forth in the room. After a while, he slammed his hand on the table.
“Yu’er, we have to get Mr. Xue on our side, no matter what. We need to treat him with more respect than ever.”
“I agree.”
“I’ve heard that Mr. Xue is still living in an old and shabby housing estate. Now that we’ve completed developing the villa district next to Cloud Dream Lake, we can offer him some better accommodations. Let’s give Sky Room No. 1 to Mr. Xue.”
If there were other people present, they would certainly be surprised at Qin Yuan’s generosity.
Cloud Dream Lake was one of the most beautiful lakes in Beijiang and it was not too far away from the city. The property that Longtai Group had developed there was long known to be the most high-end villa district in the whole of Beijiang.
The location of the villa, Sky Room No. 1, was so unique that a wealthy businessman had once offered to pay a hundred million for it. Even then, Qin Yuan did not sell the villa.
Now, he was giving it to Xue An as a gift.
Qin Yu nodded again without hesitation. “Yes.”
“Xue An has two daughters. Remember to stock up on snacks and toys that little children like. Be sure to satisfy Mr. Xue’s every whim!” Qin Yuan added.
Qin Yu took note of his orders and left.
Qin Yuan stood in his office, muttering to himself.
“A Celestial Being… In this world… It turns out that there really are Celestial Beings.”
Today was Tang Xuan’er’s day off from work. She missed the two little girls, so she went to buy some vegetables and hurriedly went home.
When she opened the door, she found Xue An busy in the kitchen.
Tang Xuan’er was surprised. But the moment the two little girls saw Tang Xuan’er, they gathered around her.
When it came down to it, Xue Xiang and Xue Nian had the deepest emotional connections with Tang Xuan’er.
“Auntie Xuan’er, look at our new clothes. Aren’t they beautiful?” Xue Xiang asked shamelessly.
Tang Xuan’er smiled and rubbed the two little girls’ heads.
“Very beautiful indeed! Just like two little fairies!”
“I am not a little fairy. I am Niannian!” Xue Nian did not understand what it meant to be a fairy.
Older twin Xue Xiang had a natural love for beauty. The younger one, Xue Nian, still had not grasped the concept of beauty and ugliness. She only had an insatiable love for food!
Xue An came out of the kitchen, wearing an apron. He smiled happily. “Xuan’er, I bought some large crabs on my way home today. I will try my cooking skills later!”
Tang Xuan’er perked up. She could not help but smile. “I remember back when we were in school, you once told me that the thing you hated most was cooking!”
Xue An laughed heartily and said, “That’s because there wasn’t anyone worth cooking for!”
It was easy to misunderstand these words. Tang Xuan’er blushed, thinking that Xue An was talking about her.
However, Xue An did not even notice this. He was actually referring to his two little girls.
During his three thousand years of cultivation, Xue An had met a master who had stepped onto the path of cultivation based on his culinary skills. Xue An had learned a lot about the art of cooking from this master.
Although Xue An would not dare to claim to be an expert in cooking when compared to many others in Fairyland, he was confident that he would achieve a seckill when it came to ordinary people.
When the crabs were prepared and ready to be served, the fragrant aroma made Tang Xuan’er throw away all inhibitions as she went straight for the food.
Xue Nian, meanwhile, was already drooling profusely at the sight and smell of the food.
“Quick let’s eat. Let’s see how it tastes!”
Tang Xuan’er prepared the crabs for the two children first. When they were served, she took her first taste of the dish.
She was not expecting the outcome.
This taste…
Simply indescribable!
It was as if a million flavors were exploding on her taste buds. It actually made Tang Xuan’er feel somewhat dizzy.
Tang Xuan’er would have never imagined that such an earthly delicacy could be so soul-stirring.
“Does it taste good?” Xue An asked.
Tang Xuan’er nodded furiously. “It’s so good that you should consider becoming a professional cook. You’ll make so much money you’ll have no problem feeding and sheltering your family.”
Xue An looked closely at this girl who was his classmate from high school. He smiled.
He would be forever grateful to Tang Xuan’er.
After An Yan was forced to leave Beijiang, the twin girls were basically raised by Tang Xuan’er.
Xue An had always kept this gratitude at the forefront of his mind.
This was also the reason why he was willing to personally cook for Tang Xuan’er.
Otherwise…
He recalled that in his previous life, a very important Immortal King of the Nine Heavens had used all kinds of means just to convince Xue An to cook him a meal.
Xue An could not be bothered with his requests.
Soon, the crabs on the table were quickly gobbled up.
Tang Xuan’er licked her fingers thoroughly. It was a sign that she could not get enough of the meal.
It was so delicious that, for the moment, it seemed like she had forgotten her manners and ladylike behavior.
Now that the meal was over, Xue An took out a pill and passed it to Tang Xuan’er.
“What’s this?” Tang Xuan’er was a little doubtful.
“This is something Papa made, and it tastes really good. Auntie Xuan’er, you should just take it,” Xue Xiang said.
Tang Xuan’er took the pill and without even a second thought, she popped it into her mouth.
She immediately felt as if she had swallowed a bomb. The pill instantly dispersed and dissolved once it entered her stomach. It began its medicinal process and removed all the toxins in her body, down to the smallest atoms.
Tang Xuan’er let out a cry of surprise and immediately ran for the bathroom.
Xue An smiled.
This pill was supplemented by the root of the Xuanyin Lotus. The roots of these rare medicinal herbs were what made the medicine so potent and efficient.
Ordinary people were not able to use the roots. Instead, they have turned to using the Xuanyin Lotus Seeds, which were milder in terms of medical efficacy.
It could be said that Xue An was the founding father of the skill of concocting pills. As such, it was no problem at all for him to refine the Xuanying Lotus.
His skill also increased the medicinal efficacy of the Core Reinforcement Pill by more than tenfold.
In truth, if it was consumed directly, it would probably be unbearable for someone like Tang Xuan’er.
However, this crab dish was no ordinary meal either. When Xue An was cooking it, he had added a lot of refined essence that he had extracted from medicinal herbs.
A single mouthful would cure any kind of illness in an average person.
What else was he to do? Xue An’s indulging love for his children meant that he would spare no effort nor cost to ensure their well-being.
He would even pluck the moon down from the sky, just to make the two little girls happy.
And so, it was only after he had prepared Tang Xuan’er’s body did Xue An dare to allow her to eat this advanced version of the Core Reinforcement Pill.