Stronger from Earth

Chapter 202 201: Ordinary

A Gate of the World appeared in Australia, a fact that had been concealed for a long time until the end of the final battle, when the Celestial Demon Realm returned to the Federation.

Xuan learned of this only the next day, as the Federation news was all over the place, everyone knew the Federation was expanding its territory once again.

The title of the Flood Dragon Demon King named Ao Luchen spread everywhere, known to all, everyone knew of the Dragon King Luchen in the world.

"I truly envy such an opportunity to make a name for oneself." Xuan lay in bed, his arm draped over Lin Cheng.

He understood that the seas were within the Demon Race's sphere of influence, and Australia had no human residents, becoming a paradise for Demon Beasts. The Eastern Dragon Race had an Immortal powerhouse, occupying a Gate of the World with no objections.

"It's also good to be steady and stable." Lin Cheng pressed against Xuan's chest, both wearing only silk underwear, almost fully transparent to each other, this contact brought their spirits closer.

Last night, Xuan's mother had only prepared one bed, letting the two of them sleep together; Xuan had no objections, Lin Cheng's face was thin but this was the daughter-in-law's treatment, and she did not refuse.

Although they slept together, they had to restrain themselves.

Last night, they didn't do nothing; Xuan helped Lin Cheng refine many top-grade pills, after she absorbed them, her cultivation level increased a lot, and she reached the late stage of Bone Marrow Refining.

Presumably in another ten days, she would reach the Peak of Blood Exchange, although her cultivation level was built up from piles of pills, Xuan prepared several super-grade pills, so her foundation wouldn't be too weak.

"Xuan, Xuan, where did the giant salamander and softshell turtles in the warehouse come from?" the father asked.

He and his wife were awakened early in the morning by the cries of a baby, only to find the giant salamander and a dozen softshell turtles in the warehouse.

"I caught them," Xuan said, his parents were also a bit surprised, after all, having lived so long, these animals had become spirits, making them difficult to catch.

Not long after, the two of them went visiting relatives with gifts, Xuan's grandfather had two brothers, now only he and an older brother remained.

"Grandpa, how is your health?" Xuan asked when he saw his grandfather, whose body was still robust, though he had some chronic illnesses.

In his youth, he was a man of great strength, though not as strong as Xuan, he was very well-known; it was thanks to such genetics that he had a son Wang Hai and a grandson Xuan.

Unfortunately, due to insufficient cultivation resources and accumulated internal injuries, he spent his life stuck in the Body Refining Realm. Cultivation in such matters is aptly described by the phrase 'poor civil, rich martial.'

The old man wrapped in warm winter clothing, nodded, having lived to such an age, he developed an easy-going temperament. Of course, in his youth, he was equally hot-tempered; Xuan's father feared him, often getting beaten.

Then, Xuan was also often beaten when he was a child, it seemed to be a cycle.

The old man wasn't wearing so much because of the cold, but to minimize his physiological activities, keeping his metabolism at an extremely low level.

Doing so allowed him to live longer; otherwise, maintaining a high level of metabolism meant his combat strength could still be half of what it was in his youth, but he wouldn't live long.

"Is this my granddaughter-in-law? She's very pretty, I'm quite satisfied," the old man said, moving a chair to sit and glancing at the 80 or 90-pound softshell turtle in Xuan's hands.

He remarked, "It's been around much longer than I have; I remember it was in the pond at Dragon Mountain, how did it end up in your hands? Is this a gift for me?"

He also had his young days; Xuan sought his advice many times when venturing into Dragon Mountain.

"To help with your health," Xuan said with a smile, giving him some pills that replenish energy and prolong life, with these, living to 120 wouldn't be an issue for the old man.

The old man wasn't very clear on their specific value but knew they were good things, after all, even his eyes couldn't see through them.

"You've put in the effort; as long as you all are doing well, that's what matters. I don't need anything, after all, I'm retired; living one more year is just one more year. If you come back with my great-grandson to see me, I'll be even happier, that's a bit more practical," the old man said.

Grandma was chattering with Lin Cheng; the old man didn't actually talk much, or perhaps didn't like talking because of his wife; he'd been scared of her nagging for decades, and didn't want to argue, preferring silence, leaving all household matters to her.

Grandma seemingly had a reason for everything, liked to argue about everything; in her younger days, her scolding was unrivaled in the village, at the very least, Xuan's father would get a headache from just hearing her voice, and if he couldn't stand something he'd be scolded, so they split the family early on.

A good man his grandfather was, but he didn't live an easy life, getting tangled up in things; as Xuan's father said, even the best man is ruined if he marries the wrong wife, losing half his life.

The family had another such instance, that elder lived with bitterness, never finding joy, his appearance changed dramatically over several decades.

Such matters, Xuan took as counterexamples, his father advised him to take heed, otherwise, there's no meaning to life.

Of course, Xuan didn't meddle in the affairs of his elders.

"Xuan, your wife isn't fiery, is she? You mustn't take a wife who is unreasonable," the old man asked him in a hushed tone, afraid his grandson might go astray too.

Xuan chuckled, nodding, "She's a refined lady, a reasonable woman."

"Then that's alright," the old man laughed happily, seemingly more so than reminiscing about his own wedding in his youth.

Visiting the relatives' home, Xuan and Lin Cheng had fewer matters to deal with, and whatever they wanted to do was difficult due to the snow in Jiangyou Province.

In just one day, the entire Dragon Mountain was painted white with snow, unblemished by other colors, except for the winding river in the distance, still shimmering; the world was all white.

Mother Wang was worried about her daughter because she promised to return five days before New Year's Eve, but with such heavy snow, it wouldn't be easy to come back.

"No worries, doesn't our son have a flying ship? It's so fast, in an hour or so he can bring her back," Father Wang said.

Xuan nodded, "Why don't you go and pick her up? Just use auto-pilot, the ship's intelligence knows better than you how to fly it."

Time flew by in a few days, Xuan met many old friends he'd rarely seen before; though they were called old friends, in fact, the memories were very distant.

Having been wandering outside for so many years, though he returned every year, they never visited, this time there were especially many, but Xuan couldn't muster much interest.

"Xuan, do you still remember Liu Mi? She also brought her boyfriend back home, he looks decent enough, I heard he works at a big company, earning over a million a year.

"Compared to you, it's still far off. I wonder if that woman knew about your achievements now, would she regret it?" Father Wang said.

Lin Cheng was curious, "Was Liu Mi Xuan's ex-girlfriend?"

Mother Wang glared at her husband; why bring this up for no reason.

"She seems to be living well enough, no need to compare with me. She and I are just old friends, never dated. Dad, don't keep bringing her up." Wang Xuan said, even though Liu Mi was a classmate he knew since his youth.

When they were alone, Lin Cheng couldn't help but curiously ask Wang Xuan about it. After all, she didn't really understand Wang Xuan's past. The sudden emergence of an old classmate gave her a sense of crisis.

"It was just a youthful crush, I haven't reached out to her in almost ten years." Wang Xuan said.

Lin Cheng looked at Wang Xuan with her beautiful eyes, and said, "Could it be she rejected your confession?"

"Yeah, but then I found out she had good relationships with a lot of male classmates. I was just one of many, perhaps I was just a backup.

After realizing that, the boundary between us was clear. We avoided contact, and in this lifetime we'll only be ordinary friends.

Eventually, I realized many things. I found out there was so much about her I didn't understand; what I saw was just the tip of the iceberg. Our values clashed; she wasn't suitable for me at all.

This kind of youthful experience, pretty tragic right?"

Wang Xuan recounted this past calmly. This incident was probably one of his most embarrassing, really hurt his self-esteem.

Lin Cheng waved her little fist, and snorted, "Bad woman."

She knew that such a knot in his heart would make Wang Xuan hold a grudge, and that woman would never have another chance. She understood Wang Xuan.

"Fortunately she let Xuan go, otherwise how could I have met you." Lin Cheng giggled.

Backup? She didn't even have a backup; she only had Wang Xuan.

"So, rest assured, you're my first girlfriend, and the first wife." Wang Xuan said.

Lin Cheng raised her head and huffed, "Do you want a second girlfriend or a second wife? You should use the word 'only.'"

"Alright, alright, whatever you say."

Before the New Year, Wang Xuan finally saw his sister Wang Ruo. After working out of town for a while, she seemed much more mature, though she'd been weathered by the experience.

"Wang Ruo, where's your boyfriend?" Father Wang asked loudly.

"What boyfriend? There's no such thing, I want to live alone for a lifetime. Isn't it my brother's duty to continue the family line?" Wang Ruo was full of vigor and very lively at home, seemingly oppressed by work.

"Not getting married?! That's impossible, are you trying to rebel?!"

"I just won't get married, hmph."

Father Wang and Wang Ruo had a burst of argument, leaving Wang Xuan helpless.

...

After the snow sealed off the mountain, the number of visitors to Dragon Mountain became scarce. The so-called fairy light like the aurora and the traces of the Dominator of Dragon Species didn't appear. Coupled with the New Year, a time for family reunion, no one would stay outside.

Gazing at the empty Dragon Mountain, Wang Xuan gradually felt relieved.

The New Year had come.

This year, Wang Xuan's family was livelier than previous years because he returned gloriously and was very generous, giving each junior a big red envelope with substantial gifts.

But unfortunately, the red envelopes were too generous—those little ones didn't get a dime. As soon as it landed in their pockets, it ended up in their parents' hands, under the guise of safekeeping.

During these days, Wang Xuan acted completely ordinary, without any demeanor of a master, no different from past years.

He also deliberately avoided thinking about the matters of Dragon Mountain.

He believed it was truly safe.

In the black night, with a large amount of snow melting, reflecting patches of white gleam, Wang Xuan activated the Celestial Escape Invisibility Jade, stepping into the Space Gate, and instantly disappeared from the bathroom.

The next instant, he appeared above a pond, with moonlight spilling onto the mirror-like water surface at that special angle, just the right moment.

Kicking three stones, Wang Xuan immediately approached a big tree, and just by stretching his hand, he merged into it, as if the tree wasn't solid, extremely magical.

In front of him was a long, dark road. He knew the exact sequence needed to traverse this endless tunnel.

Walking clumsily wouldn't get you out even in a hundred years.

But he didn't move; instead, he stood still and waited. Soon, he frowned because someone was outside trying to figure out how to get in.

"Someone's been watching me all this time?" Wang Xuan felt a nameless anger within.

Clearly, no matter how cautious and discreet he was, someone had been monitoring him, trying to uncover his secrets.

Seeing him disappear, heading to this secret place, they couldn't hold back anymore, wanting to follow him inside.