We Want To Become Stronger By Our Own Efforts!

"I see..." 

Ling Tian nodded after taking a sip of tea and gently setting the teacup down on the small table beside him. His eyes were closed as he thought about what he had heard, leaning back slightly against the back of the chair he was sitting in. 

At the moment, they were in what appeared to be a courtyard surrounded by trees and plants. Near them was a hut that was large enough and appeared to have more than 2 rooms. 

In front of him was Mu Shen, who had changed his clothes and cleaned the blood on his body after all that had happened. In his hand was also a glass but it contained wine, accompanying Ling Tian even though they did not drink the same. 

'How come brother Tian likes drinking tea more than wine? Is he really an old hermit who has lived for hundreds of years?' 

Mu Shen peeked at the cup of tea Ling Tian had set aside when he saw that he had closed his eyes. Ling Tian seemed to be an old old man who had lived a lifetime, behaving like most old men when they just want to rest and enjoy life quietly. 

Although he knew that Ling Tian was very powerful, Mu Shen always thought that Ling Tian was a true genius and had reached a very high level of cultivation in a short time. 

Even if Ling Tian was a hundred years old it would not be strange for Mu Shen, but hundreds of years old? 

'Will my sister know brother Tian's real age?' Mu Shen asked inwardly again, avoiding making any noise to disturb Ling Tian. 

If Ling Tian told him that he had lived for several hundred years, Mu Shen would be surprised but would accept it, and would not change the way he behaved with Ling Tian. After all, they had become sworn brothers before and later brothers-in-law, so even though there was a gap in age, they would still be brothers. 

The realm of cultivation also extended life expectancy and destroyed common and mortal standards, so age began to lose importance in life the more one continued to cultivate. 

Ling Tian had never commented on his age, so his youthful appearance was like his and Tang Jingtian's, so they thought Ling Tian was about the same age as them. Or if he was a little older, maybe Ling Tian would be older than them by a couple of decades or a little more, so it wouldn't be so shocking. 

"Your eyes give away your thoughts, brother." 

Ling Tian's voice suddenly rang out, startling Mu Shen before he smiled sheepishly. 

"You want to know how old I am?" Ling Tian asked directly without opening his eyes yet. 

After everything that happened, how could he not notice Mu Shen and the girls' expression when they heard that he might be an old monster who was able to regain his youth? 

Ling Tian no longer cared about this, but he could clearly feel Mu Shen's curious gaze on him, and quietly thinking about what happened, it was obvious how curious he was. 

"Forgive me, brother, I didn't mean to be rude." Mu Shen scratched his head still embarrassed, but nodded and asked somewhat hesitantly, "You have lived more than 100 years?" 

Mu Shen asked. Although he was aware of the reality that there was a world superior to his own, Mu Shen still could not fully believe that humans could live hundreds and even thousands of years through cultivation. He was only about 23 years old, so it could be said that he was just taking his first steps in cultivation. 

Ling Tian finally opened his eyes and looked at Mu Shen. An unperturbed calmness could be seen in his eyes, but with a dangerous feeling. 

Mu Shen couldn't help but avert his gaze slightly, feeling that he shouldn't be asking this kind of thing. As long as he trusted Ling Tian, everything would be fine. 

Moreover, Mu Shen could feel Ling Tian's eyes seeing through him, all his secrets and thoughts being uncovered. It was as if a divine being from the heavens was watching him. 

"I've lived for more than ten thousand years..." Ling Tian commented casually before taking another sip of his tea. 

Mu Shen's breathing stopped as his pupils shrank. 

Ling Tian had lived thousands of years! 

Not hundreds of years, but thousands of years! 

Besides, the experts at the top of this world did not reach an average life expectancy of 10 thousand years? 

How come Ling Tian has lived more than 10 thousand years? 

Is Ling Tian really a true immortal as claimed?

Mu Shen was shocked before taking a deep breath and regaining his composure. 

Having seen and witnessed everything lately, Mu Shen quickly adjusted to the news. The higher one cultivated, the more power one would have and could be seen as a god or an immortal as well... 

Moreover, remembering a little while ago, Ling Tian had already partially told all of them that he was a powerful immortal before coming to this world, but Mu Shen still felt unreal everything, slowly comprehending all of this once they came to this world. 

Mu Shen knew that Ling Tian was powerful, nothing more. 

Ling Tian raised his eyebrow slightly upon seeing Mu Shen's expression before nodding inwardly. Mu Shen was clearly adapting quickly to this world and its changes. 

"Does my sister know?" Mu Shen asked, but quickly regretted it. In this way, he would be saying that he was worried about Ling Tian's age and that he was worried about his sister being with a man who is frighteningly older than her. 

Ling Tian's mouth formed into a slight smirk, leaving Mu Shen a little more regretful. 

"Your sister knows, as well as brother Jingtian's sister too..." Ling Tian replied after a few seconds, "Being my wives, I told them everything about me and my past, everything I've done, and despite all that, they accepted me." 

Although it was with Yun Mengxin with whom he first shared his heart and soul by letting her see his secrets and his whole life, Ling Tian also largely told his other wives what he had done. They could not see his memories and recollections of the past, but Ling Tian would answer them whatever they asked him, keeping that trust between all of them. 

Ling Tian was afraid to tell his beloved wives that he had lived thousands of years, but at the end of it all, when they are the right people, one's worries and fears will disappear. 

Mu Shen sighed in relief, though somewhat stunned. He was sure that his sister, Mu Shuiruo, should know many things about Ling Tian unlike him. 

It seems that Ling Tian's trust with his wives was much bigger and stronger than Mu Shen thought. 

"Putting this matter aside, explain to me how you ended up attacking the Guiyan family's residence..." 

Ling Tian poured some more tea into the cup, lifted it and breathed in that soft but characteristic smell that the tea gave off, before taking another sip and placing the cup on the small table beside him. 

"It has to do with Qin Xuzi?" 

Mu Shen smiled slightly embarrassed as he saw Ling Tian's slightly amused expression, as if he knew everything about Qin Xuzi and them. 

"After we decided to stay before your disciples traveled to the capital to use the teleportation formation, Wenxin, Xue, Ling and I decided to stay to start seeing the world you had told us about. With our cultivation bases in this place, brother Hao Zhentian said that we wouldn't have much trouble as long as we didn't attract too much attention, as there will always be people more powerful than us." 

Mu Shen explained at once, while Ling Tian merely listened to him without interrupting. 

After chatting with Mu Shen earlier, Ling Tian learned that indeed Hao Zhentian and the others had arrived in this south state a long time ago, and that they used the formation in the capital to travel to the east state, thus avoiding entering the Heartless Sea and traveling faster to the north state.

Hao Zhentian and the others had left the south state just over 2 months ago apparently. They had also received news from Shin Wei, who waited for them in one of the cities in the east state where they would be teleported via formation. 

Meanwhile, observing everything that had happened since they had appeared in this world, and thanks to the intervention of Hao Zhentian, Ying Chen and Sun Xiang, they had no problem traveling. Being experts of the great ascension realm, those individuals who wanted to harm or kill them were subdued by his disciples. 

Realizing that the world also had this dark side, Mu Shen and Tang Jingtian decided to separate from the group and venture into this south state, where with their nascent soul realm cultivation levels they would not have much trouble facing as long as they did not become overconfident. 

"B-brother, you are so strong and powerful, but we are not, and both brother Jingtian and I did not want to always be behind you or your disciples..." Mu Shen sighed and added, "We want to become stronger and thus protect our women, give them that sense of security and peace of mind by being with us, and also to struggle and strive to become stronger by our own efforts and not always depend on you." 

As men, especially men with wives, these two brothers felt that they would not be worthy of their beloved wives! 

They wanted to be like Ling Tian, to become strong and powerful and thus protect their family! 

Neither of them wanted to stand behind Ling Tian and wait for someone else to solve their problems when they could not! 

Of course, Mu Shen and Tang Jingtian discussed their intentions and thoughts with their respective wives, getting consent from them and surprisingly also wanting to accompany them and not leave them alone, even though they could stay completely protected by Hao Zhentian and the others while Mu Shen and Tang Jingtian became strong. 

Hao Zhentian, Ying Chen and Sun Xiang had even given them valuable tools and items that they could use as their last cards in the face of any situation in case of life or death, so they officially set out on their journeys. 

"I see..." Ling Tian nodded again and smiled knowing Mu Shen and Tang Jingtian's mentality and thoughts. 

"Did the others have any problems when ascending? Injuries or delays?" Ling Tian then asked. 

"No, fortunately your disciples protected all of us and only they were injured, but they assured us that it was only some minor unimportant injuries." Mu Shen shook his head, he was grateful to Hao Zhentian, Ying Chen and Sun Xiang for protecting them. 

"That brat Chu Feng didn't want to do the same as you guys?" 

"Brother Feng said he only wanted to take care of his mother until she is finally fully recovered." 

Mu Shen replied, remembering that Chu Feng was always by his mother Jiu Ming's side, taking care of her even though Jiu Ming was recovering at an incredible speed and even her cultivation was growing rapidly. 

Ling Tian nodded slightly, if he remembered correctly, Chu Feng had entered the nascent soul realm while Jiu Ming had formed his golden core again. 

"After traveling for many days, visiting the various cities and towns along the way, we arrived at this small town where we are right now. While we were hunting some wild beasts to protect this village since its inhabitants are not very strong, we found sister Xuzi about to be killed by the same wild beasts and we rescued her..." 

Mu Shen began to describe how they rescued Qin Xuzi from a wave of wild beasts, as well as Qin Xuzi's backstory and that they had sacrificed her as bait to lure the wild beasts and let the young master Guiyan escape with his subordinates due to no strong cultivators accompanying them, leaving Qin Xuzi and several other people behind. 

When they had arrived, Qin Xuzi was the last person left alive, as the wild beasts had killed the other subordinates and slaves. 

Mu Shen, Hu Wenxin, Deng Xie and Fu Ling, quickly took care of Qin Xuzi and became attached to her. Surprisingly, Qin Xuzi thanked them and opened her heart to them, beginning to smile again as they all began to form bonds of friendship. 

Mu Shen had even given her the pill to restore the appearance of her face to cheer her up as he had not consumed it although Ling Tian gave it to him to remove the scar on his face, as Qin Xuzi had made several wounds on her face herself leaving horrible and hideous scars, such that the young master Guiyan avoided her all this time seeing that she was ugly and never abused her as he felt disgusted. 

Until several days later, when Qin Xuzi and all of them thought that everything would be fine and quiet, Qin Xuzi was caught by some members of the Guiyan family when they recognized her and brought her back to the Guiyan residence, taking her to the young master Guiyan. 

Hence Mu She, Hu Wenxin, Deng Xie and Fu Ling had gone straight to the Guiyan family residence and made a fuss.