Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

Ying Ziyao wasn’t someone good at conversation, he dryly praised Xu Xingguang: "You’ve grown tall, the last time I saw you, you were just a little girl."

Xu Xingguang couldn’t remember when she had seen Ying Ziyao.

"Everyone says I take after my mom." Xu Xingguang asked Ying Ziyao, "Uncle Ying, do you think I look like her?"

Ying Ziyao gazed at Xu Xingguang’s face, momentarily lost in thought.

After a pause, he said, "Your appearance is similar, but not your character, way of speaking, or temperament." He added sharply, "You’re smarter than your mom."

Her mom was quite foolish.

Ying Ziyao put down the documents and walked to the window.

From his position, he could also see the garden of orchids below.

Ying Ziyao pushed open the window and, looking down at the orchid garden, fell into memories. He said, "When she wrote stories from a god’s perspective, she was smart, but when it came to her own love life, she was like a fool, unable to understand anything."

Ying Ziyao turned around and looked at Xu Xingguang, saying directly, "Your mom should have married me, but she married your dad out of spite."

"Spite? What did you do to make her angry?"

Ying Ziyao said, "During the summer after she graduated college, she returned to Cangshan Town and pretended to be drunk to confess to me. She was brave and straightforward, said she wanted to marry me." With a frown, regret flashed in Ying Ziyao’s eyes, and he sighed, "I said no, and she turned around, covered her face, and ran away."

That’s it?

Xu Xingguang said, "If it were me, I’d run too. A girl confessing her love and saying she wants to marry you must have used all her courage. If you say no, should she stay and wait to be rejected and humiliated?"

"You think so too?" Ying Ziyao was a bit saddened, and he said, "But I hadn’t finished speaking."

"Huh?" Xu Xingguang asked puzzled, "What were your exact words then?"

"Your mom and I were both Master’s kids, we were on the same household register. Legally, she and I were siblings, so we couldn’t marry. What I wanted to say was: No, you have to give me a few days. I’ll transfer my household registration out of Master’s home, and then we can get married."

Xu Xingguang: "..."

What kind of situation is this?

"Didn’t you know to go after her? Didn’t you call?"

"I did, but she ran. I called, but she didn’t answer. I even went to her friend’s house to find her, but her friend wouldn’t tell me where she was and even pointed at my nose and scolded me."

"That’s when I found out she had secretly liked me since she was 16, but due to ethical reasons, she kept it hidden. That night, she was mentally prepared and convinced herself to confess to me. But I started with a no..."

Any girl would turn and run away out of pride.

Ying Ziyao thought he was quite ridiculous and said, "About half a month later, she came back with that young Xu fellow."

"I was going to apologize to her, but she smiled and called me brother, saying that night she was drunk and talking nonsense, mistaking me for Xu Zeqing. I’m a bit dull when it comes to emotions, so I really believed her explanation."

"It wasn’t until later, seeing her move back to Cangshan Town with you alone, without Xu Zeqing accompanying her, that I realized her marriage wasn’t happy."

Ying Ziyao finished speaking, chuckling self-mockingly, and asked Xu Xingguang, "Do you also think I’m quite ridiculous?"

"Not ridiculous." Xu Xingguang said, "You’re foolish."

Ying Ziyao was taken aback.

Xu Xingguang said, "If I were you, I would have directly and honestly told her my thoughts, rather than muddling through on my own."

"When it comes to matters of the heart, the biggest taboo is not speaking up." Shaking his head, Xu Xingguang said with disdain, "A person has a mouth for three reasons: to eat and fill the stomach, to speak and express love, and to kiss and convey passion."

"And you, you’ve wasted your mouth."

Ying Ziyao: "..."

He stared at Xu Xingguang for a long time before saying, "You’re not like your mom, you’re like Master." With the same sharp tongue.

Xu Xingguang shrugged.

"Can I sit?" Xu Xingguang asked while already sitting on the only available chair.

"Ah..." Seeing Xu Xingguang already settled, Ying Ziyao shook his head, "You...If Master were still alive, he would definitely like you."

Xu Xingguang got straight to the point, "I saw Grandpa."

Ying Ziyao’s expression slightly changed, and he asked urgently, "Where?"

"Kunze Mountain’s former residence."

Ying Ziyao frowned deeply and said, "After Master disappeared, I also went to Kunze Mountain to look for him, but I couldn’t find him." He asked Xu Xingguang, "Where did you find him?"

"All these years, he has been living on Kunze Mountain." Xu Xingguang’s beautiful eyes lifted slightly, gazing at Ying Ziyao, and she said painfully, "He has turned into a black beast."

Ying Ziyao’s face turned pale.

Suddenly, he leaned back against the chair, closed his eyes, but two murky tears still rolled down from the corners of his eyes.

Ying Ziyao casually wiped the tears away and said hoarsely, "I also guessed this situation before, but I wouldn’t believe it without seeing it with my own eyes." Ying Ziyao sighed, "For someone like Master to be unable to resist the effects of the drugs, this is truly..."

Ying Ziyao already knew what Zhang Zhiyi had done, and without waiting for Xu Xingguang to explain her intentions, Ying Ziyao divulged all the information he had learned.

He narrated carefully, "I have indeed been to the Divine Martial Realm, so I have some understanding of it, but not much. Although the Ying Family holds an extraordinary status in our world, in the Divine Martial Realm, their main family is merely a minor character at the end of the Divine Martial Family."

"After we reached the Divine Martial Realm, we only studied within the Ying Family’s main clan for three years, and we rarely had the chance to go out. I’m not very social, rather dull by nature, so I didn’t make many friends, except for hitting it off with the old man guarding the Ying Family’s medicine fields."

"Once, that old man took me out, sneaked me out of the Ying Family to see the world outside during a moon holiday. Leaving the Ying Family, going outside, I saw scenes I had only seen in science fiction movies."

"I saw flying vehicles in the sky, without wings, without tracks, able to travel in the predetermined path just by relying on the sensor lights at the front of the vehicle. I saw someone floating on the sea surface without any tools, solely relying on her spiritual power to manipulate the water flow into various forms. Later, I learned that they were beings with extraordinary powers, born with unusual control abilities..."

At this point, Ying Ziyao paused, his pupils flickering, his gaze unable to conceal his astonishment.

Xu Xingguang did not rush him and listened quietly.

She understood that for someone who grew up in the Mortal World, suddenly arriving in the Divine Martial Realm, the sights and experiences would create a significant feeling of disparity.

Not even Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden could compare to the shock he felt at that time.

How could one describe such emotions?

It’s like Mr. Li in the late eighteenth century, visiting New York Port, bewildered at why iron-shelled cars were running everywhere, why iron-shelled elevators move automatically, and why doctors could see through flesh with electricity to find bullets lodged in bones.

Xu Xingguang also had such experiences.

With each reincarnation, she would see different worlds, especially in the tenth reincarnation on the Holy Spirit Continent, witnessing people there summoning nonexistent beasts to fight just with their mind alone, making her feel more and more fantasy-like.

"The technology in the Divine Martial Realm far surpasses our world. How long have planes been around in our world? Yet their world has already eliminated planes; for everyday long-distance travel, just take a capsule car, within a mere hour, you can go from Xia Country to Great Sheep Country. You can pay to board their spaceship, and their intelligent products are even more dazzling."

"Moreover, many people there possess Divine Power. It’s said that there are people who, by sheer will, can mobilize a whole sea’s water, which can be condensed into skyscrapers or super-strong weapons..."

Ying Ziyao’s tone grew more grave. "If they truly wish to wage war against us, we would stand no chance."

Xu Xingguang remained calm and pointed out, "But they haven’t initiated war against us yet, which suggests there is something in the Mortal World they fear."

Nodding, Ying Ziyao said, "You’re right, but what they fear isn’t something from our Mortal World; it’s the Divine Hidden Clan."

"The Divine Hidden Clan?" Xu Xingguang was a bit stunned. "There’s a Divine Hidden Clan in the Divine Martial Realm?"

Nodding again, Ying Ziyao told Xu Xingguang, "According to that old man from the Ying Family, the Divine Martial Realm now has three super-strong alliance forces: the Eastern Alliance, Central Yu Alliance, and Divine Hidden Alliance."

"The Ying Family in Chuancheng, relying on the Ying Family from the Divine Martial Realm, is an affiliate family of the Central Yu Alliance. In the Divine Martial Realm, the Central Yu Alliance has always maintained a neutral stance, while the Eastern Alliance advocates martial power and covets the Mortal World."

"The Divine Hidden Alliance is the most unique; it’s said they are descendants from the Ancient Xia Country. Their alliance includes all kinds of families, but they share one common trait."

When mentioning this alliance, Ying Ziyao’s demeanor was rather complicated.

Xu Xingguang’s curiosity was piqued. "What is the issue with this alliance?"

Ying Ziyao replied with a peculiar expression, "They are fanatically worshiping the Divine Hidden Emperor, called the ’Cult Alliance’ by the Divine Martial Realm."

"Simply put, they are the Divine Hidden Emperor’s obsessed fanatics. Because they adore the Divine Hidden Emperor, they also treat the Mortal World, where the Divine Hidden Emperor fell, as their sacred land in their hearts. The Divine Hidden Alliance and the Eastern Alliance are two opposing organizations, constantly clashing."

"The reason the Eastern Alliance hasn’t had the chance to act against the Mortal World is the fear that their massacre behavior might anger the neutral Central Yu Alliance and worry that the Central Yu Alliance might ally with the Divine Hidden Alliance to attack them."

"Your assessment is correct," Ying Ziyao told Xu Xingguang, "The Mortal World clearance plan is indeed just an evil scheme by the Eastern Alliance, not a plan of the entire Divine Martial Realm."

"Because the Divine Hidden Alliance flat out disagrees."

No kidding.

The Eastern Alliance wants to act against the Mortal World, which means they want to dig up the Divine Hidden Alliance’s Old Ancestor’s grave.

If someone wants to dig up your family’s Old Ancestor’s grave, wouldn’t you be angry?

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