Father

Elena sent a sly gaze toward seemingly empty space before winking as though to say: 'I have your back.'

Not every woman would be straight forward as Elena, backing Ryu into a corner and not allowing him to refuse her advances. In fact, Elena dared to say that if it wasn't for this personality of hers, she would have never become Ryu's fiancée. He was so young, but his heart was as stubborn as an old fogie.

Of course, Nuri's Presence couldn't be hidden from Ryu. Although he couldn't cultivate his body, his mind had reached a state few could match. In fact, his Grandpa Kunan had once said a tribulation cloud could vent all of its anger within his Mental Realm yet still come out on the losing end. If others said it, it wouldn't mean much. But, considering his maternal Grandfather was the Priest Saint of the Lightning Shrine, no one dared take his words lightly.

However, the role of a Death Guard didn't allow cordial interactions between them.

With a sigh, Ryu stood. He had tried to release Nuri of her duties many times, but she was more stubborn than he was.

Elena defiantly dove into his arms, insisting that he carry her despite the weakness of his body. It was lucky that she was as light as a feather, otherwise Ryu would have collapsed.

'You think I don't know that you're purposely lowering your weight? How did I end up with such a fiancée?'

With those last thoughts, Ryu began a slow trek down the highest peak, his fiancée in his arms and a blushing shadow to his back.

**

Within a delicate spring garden, nature's energy flowed with unmatched fluidity and swiftness.

Precious heavenly medicines graced the lush green grass as nothing more than pretty fixtures. The small stream gushed with Resplendent Spring Water, capable of extending a life by months with a simple sip. Even the meditation platforms, small chairs and tables were made of Essence Jade, the most valuable material in all of existence.

Blending into the grace of this garden, a heavenly couple leisurely reclined.

A man of bold Presence sat on a high meditation platform, his every inhale and exhale seeming to match the breath of existence itself.

His robes were a blazing red, matching his hair and eyes that danced with heavenly flames. His features were handsome beyond compare, looking like nothing more than a 30-year-old man despite having lived for billions of years.

The woman seemed to be the polar opposite. Her Presence was akin to a calm lake, sparkling with a refreshing coolness yet flickering with arcs of blue lightning every so often.

Her hair matched her pure white gown as her blue pupils flickered with a pensive expression toward the small booklet held in her delicate hands.

If one said that she was the number one beauty in the world, no one would dare to deny. Even the beautiful Elena and shy Nuri fell several levels short. They simply hadn't had the time to refine themselves to this extent.

"Mother! Father!" Unsurprisingly, it wasn't Ryu greeting his parents so warmly, it was Elena. She didn't seem to care that she was interrupting their cultivation in the least.

Elena leaped from Ryu's arms gracefully, rushing to her mother-in-law's side. It wasn't even until several minutes later that his own mother realized he was here too.

Ryu sighed when he looked at his father's figure. Calm, immovable like a towering mountain. His heartbeat was akin to the rumbling of the earth and his blood was the raging waters of the fiercest river.

"You're thinking about it again." Ryu's father suddenly spoke in a voice so deep it resonated with the ground beneath their feet. His didn't open his eyes to look at his son, but he knew he was there. "Don't ever ask me to take back the things I've given."

"Maybe if it was just about your choice, it wouldn't matter so much. But, your decision has shaken the foundation of the Shrines." Ryu's voice was cold. If it wasn't for the slight affectionate glint in his eye, no one would ever guess that he was speaking to his father.

Ryu's father snorted. "No one can tell me what I can and cannot do. If I could not gift my own flesh and blood treasures as a pleased, what was the point of my years of cultivation? It would mean nothing more than dog shit."

In the end, Ryu decided not to respond. Those who wondered where his stubbornness came from only needed to take one step down his bloodline to find his father.

Titus Tatsuya was a man who really dared to do anything. His birth was a product of an alliance between the Emperor Fire Dragon Clan and the Fire Phoenix Clan. He embodied fire itself without remorse and left carnage in his path. Even if it was an Elder of the Fire Shrine who dared to raise a word of complaint, Titus Tatsuya would kill him without blinking an eye.

However, this time, Ryu knew his father had gone too far. Maybe he wouldn't place such seriousness on the matter before… But the alignment of the stars truly worried him.

Ryu silently laughed at himself. Hadn't he resigned himself to fate long ago? Wasn't that exact why he, a man with everything, was still so scared of this enigmatic something?

Since fate told him he would die, he would die. And now that fate told those around him might suffer, wouldn't he just have to accept that as well?