novelraw Chapter 423: If You Truly Miss Your Mother
Chapter 423: If You Truly Miss Your Mother
On the right side of the starship, there was a section made of an unknown material. From the outside, it appeared unremarkable, but from within, one could see the external world clearly.
Through this section, Yu Zhao could gaze upon the scenery outside. The starship ascended higher, piercing through thick layers of clouds before gradually entering the starry sky.
Looking down, the Water Realm slowly transformed into a pale blue sphere. Yu Zhao, through her understanding of the Reincarnation Dao, had known that the stars she once observed were actually individual planets. The cultivation world she resided in was also a sphere. Yet, back then, she was but a nebulous soul, and despite the experience, there was always a lack of grounded authenticity.
Now, watching the shrinking Water Realm, a surge of grandeur filled her heart.
Someday, she thought, I shall traverse the starry void freely, unaided by a starship! All realms shall bow at my feet!
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Never seen this before, have you?”
Her soaring thoughts were abruptly interrupted by an irritating voice. She pulled a faint, insincere smile but did not respond.
Huo Shao Yan, however, was relentless, boasting beside her. “I flew on a starship when I was seven. It was bigger than this one that Tu Xiao bought, large enough to hold a hundred people. My mother’s first trip was on that—she even…”
His voice trailed off, growing softer until it was barely audible. Yu Zhao turned her gaze to him. Beneath trembling lashes lay a pair of broken eyes, lightly misted as though tears might spill at any moment.
“Young Master Huo…”“I’m fine,” he sniffled. “I just miss my mother.”
Looking pitiable, he said, “She loved me the most, you know. Her greatest regret was not living to see me marry and have children.”
Huo Shao Yan, fond of wearing red, always dressed extravagantly. At this moment, his moist eyes created a strange contrast, one that might stir pity in those with tender hearts.
But Yu Zhao was not such a person.
The fact that Huo Shao Yan could participate in this gamble suggested he was fully aware of what the Auspicious Palace represented. As for why his mother and Shui Qiu Bai’s mother met their fates, he knew better than anyone else.
Yet, he had still ascended to the position of Young Master of the Huo Family. This meant that he had chosen power over his mother.
Now, for the sake of this gamble, he could shamelessly evoke his mother’s memory to manipulate Yu Zhao’s sympathy.
One’s appearance could be adorned, but the true nature of one’s soul could never be disguised.
“I seem to have brought up something painful. I’m terribly sorry. If you truly miss your mother, I… I…”
Yu Zhao put on an expression of guilt mixed with compassion. Under Huo Shao Yan’s sorrowful and slightly expectant gaze, she bit her lip.
“…I could be your adoptive mother!”
“Pfft!”
“Pfft!”
“Pfft!”
Feng Jiu Si, Tu Xiao, and Shui Qiu Bai all burst out laughing simultaneously.
Huo Shao Yan was dumbfounded.
He froze for over ten breaths before finally regaining his senses. His face alternated between green and white as he pointed at Yu Zhao and roared, “You—how dare you—mmmph!”
Before he could finish, his mouth was firmly covered by Shui Qiu Bai from behind.
Yu Zhao appeared flustered. “Did I say something wrong?”
Shui Qiu Bai’s expression was peculiar as he studied her carefully, unsure whether she was intentional or oblivious.
Yu Zhao met his gaze openly, her small face tinged with pink. Her awkward expression seemed genuine.
The suspicion in Shui Qiu Bai’s eyes faded slightly. Keeping Huo Shao Yan restrained by the neck to stop his struggles, he said succinctly, “It’s not your fault. I’ll take him away to cool off.”
The gamble had just begun, and Shui Qiu Bai wasn’t about to let Huo Shao Yan ruin it prematurely. He dragged Huo Shao Yan off, while Feng Jiu Si and Tu Xiao tried to comfort Yu Zhao, stifling their laughter.
Yu Zhao took the opportunity to speak less, playing the part of a quiet listener.
Perhaps because the journey was long, or perhaps to showcase their knowledge before Yu Zhao, Feng Jiu Si and the others became chatty, discussing matters inaccessible to ordinary cultivators.
They talked about how the Southern Domain was divided into seven factions based on power, with the Fire Realm and its smaller worlds forming one faction. These factions frequently clashed, and each conflict resulted in casualties numbering in the tens of thousands.
Judging by their words, their neighboring Alien Faction had been particularly restless lately. A direct confrontation seemed inevitable in the near future.
They also mentioned a special organization called the Great Thousand Alliance. True to its name, it was a coalition of cultivators from the Major Thousand World, aimed at selecting exceptional talents from the Medium Thousand Worlds and sending them to the Major Thousand World.
Ascending from the Minor Thousand World to the Medium Thousand World required reaching the pinnacle of cultivation possible in the Minor World to trigger a transmission passage. The process for reaching the Major Thousand World was similar.
The Great Thousand Alliance expedited this process, offering geniuses the best resources for cultivation.
With hundreds of Medium Thousand Worlds, the Alliance only had thirteen members. Arrogant by nature, they refused to personally visit each world to recruit talents. Thus, the Selection Tournament was born.
Initially held every fifty years, it later shifted to once every hundred years. The next tournament was thirty-eight years away.
From Feng Jiu Si and the others’ tone, it was clear they all planned to participate in the next tournament.
A warning bell rang in Yu Zhao’s heart.
The thirty-eight years weren’t just a countdown to the tournament—it was also her death knell.
To stand out in the tournament, Feng Jiu Si and the others wouldn’t hesitate to use every means at their disposal, including furnaces. Even if Yu Zhao hadn’t yet reached Divine Transformation by then, they wouldn’t allow her to grow further.
She had to find a way to escape them before the tournament began.
…
A day later.
As usual, Yu Zhao listened quietly to the four’s conversation. Suddenly, they all stood up at once, their expressions grim.
Yu Zhao refrained from asking questions and instead turned to the transparent section.
Outside, the starry sky stretched endlessly. Brilliant nebulas dotted the dark expanse, forming a surreal, breathtaking canvas.
Yet Yu Zhao saw nothing amiss. She turned back to observe the four.
Clearly, their senses were sharper. After a brief moment of dazed realization, their faces changed drastically.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
Tu Xiao shouted frantically, issuing commands to the starship, completely losing his composure as a young family master.
The other three wore similarly anxious expressions, their eyes filled with a nameless dread.
Yu Zhao’s heart sank.
In the three months she had spent in the Southern Domain, she had learned a few basic truths.
The only entity capable of instilling such fear in them, while appearing in the starry void, could only be one thing.
The supreme overlord of the cosmos—the Celestial Behemoth!