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We entertained the boy with tales of the "outside world" for as much as we could, although it seemed to only make him more curious about every single thing, and it was rather exhausting to explain everything to the boy. He was very cute though, and we didn't want to make him sad, so we indulged him in every single thing he asked, answering as much as we could.
Eventually, he grew hungry, and dinner was almost ready, so once he got bored, he flew off to the kitchen to ask her mama to hurry with lunch. Perhaps the only person in the entire world with the authority to demand something out of the heavenly empress…
Finally, with a couple of minutes on our own, we couldn't help but talk about all of these revelations. Although I had some speculations about this, which led me to accept it rather quickly, it wasn't the same for the rest.
"I-I can't believe this… How did the… how did our empress accept such a man and even… had a child with him?!" Fang Shuan seemed devastated. "Did he brainwash her? D-Did he…?!"
"Stop it! Nobody can do such things to master, Fang Shuan!" I sighed. "I know most of you just can't believe it, but… Truth be told, I've seen many clues of this through my time with two masters. I always thought there was something weird between the two, something more… But I guess it was even more explicit than I imagined."
"R-Really?" Wai Tian muttered. "B-But this is such a big thing, such a massive revelation that… I suppose they're right in hiding the child; if it were to be known he was the son of both Venerables, tremendous chaos would come to the world, and the factions would lose all trust in their Venerables, waging war against each other once more, or perhaps even turning against them for having betrayed everything they knew… I am baffled they even did such an irresponsible thing."
"I-I can't really… think of a way to believe this," muttered Yin Sheng. "Perhaps this is a fictional thing? It didn't happen in real life, right?"
"It did," I said. "All such events happened in real life, Yin Sheng. I think the thing those two are always grieving, perhaps more than the world itself… Is their son? Something… happened to Song Weisheng, and I think it's our duty to find out too."
"You mean that in the present, the real world…?" muttered Zero One, covering her mouth. "N-No… D-Did my… my family take him away from them? Did they…?!"
Zero One was falling apart in disbelief and sorrow, realizing one of the possibilities was breaking her mind.
"Calm down, Zero One," I said. "T-There's nothing confirmed yet, alright? So calm down. We'll have to see for ourselves what truly happened, okay? Don't worry."
I patted her shoulders, calming her down even if a little bit.
"This is a trial not only meant to train us but also to show us the past…" I said. "The Heavenly Empress is revealing us what happened in the world before the present and how everything became what it is now. So I think we should… accept it and move on."
"I guess… you're not wrong," Yin Sheng nodded. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… overreacted."
"I apologize too; I was too rude for no reason," Fang Shuan said. "I'll strive to be better…"
"Song is so cute," sighed Wai Tian. "His very existence is like a miracle. The fruit of the union between the leaders of two opposing factions that would never get truly along; it must be a great burden by itself to just be born like that. I wish… he could have a better life."
"Well, he has everything he could ever ask for in here, but I suppose being isolated from outside is still a big thing for him…" I nodded. "Unfortunately, we can't really try to bring him outside… It would generate more chaos than anything, and I honestly don't want that for the trial. The focus is different this time."
"True," nodded Wai Tian. "Okay, let's just work along and do our best? Yeah?"
"Yeah!" I nodded.
"Anna, everyone, the meals are ready," said the heavenly empress. "Han, go wash your hands before eating, okay?"
"Why? They're not nasty…" The heavenly demon groaned.
"Papa, don't be like that; I also wash my hands!" Song said as he was washing his hands with an artifact that produced water, resembling a kitchen sink.
"See? It looks like your son is much better than you, his father," laughed the heavenly empress. "Got some words to say?"
"Tch… Fine, you're all so overdramatic…" groaned the crow, washing his hands as he was told.
Wow, is he really the heavenly demon?!
He's really trying his best to act better; it is almost hilarious.
I can't believe how much she was able to tame that man.
I guess the one I met was already kind of softened by her love and his son, and the one we fought before in the first trial was his true, former self.
He changed a lot then… Even though he's still kind of a terrible person.
We sat down to eat the delicious meals that the heavenly empress prepared, which were mostly all similar to Chinese cuisine.
Fried rice, Mongolian meat and chicken, pekin duck, lots of fried vegetables, meat-filled wonton, dumplings, spring rolls, and more.
"Nom, nom…! Hmm, mama's fried rice is always the best!" said Song, eating with his cute beak. "Meat is good today too! Soup too, fish soup?"
"Yes, dear, I'm glad you like it," smiled the heavenly empress, kissing her son's forehead with a cute peck. "Do you want some spring rolls? I made the ones you like with tofu inside!"
"Ooohh! Really?!" Little Song quickly used his chopsticks to grab a few, dip them in sweet soy sauce, and eat them with a single bite. "Crunch, crunch, crunch! Hmm, I like it too!"
He was a real foodie, wasn't he? Loving to eat food the most. I guess it is one of the few things that is fun while being here isolated…
"Hmm, I suppose it is a fine meal…" the heavenly demon nodded as he already finished over ten plates of food. "Can I have some more fried rice and wantons?"
"Just fine?!" the heavenly empress glared at her husband, throwing a wanton at his face. "Be more grateful with the food I cooked for you, you demon! Or I won't be making any more for you!"
"E-Eeeh?! Why are you dramatic, woman?" screamed the heavenly demon, eating the wanton with tiny bites. "Ugh… O-Okay, yeah, I have to admit it, they're… good meals. The fish soup in particular reminds me of the soup… my mother used to make for me every morning."
"Is that so?" wondered his wife. "You have barely talked to me about your family, now that I think about it… I'm sure our son would like to learn from his grandpa and grandma, or his auntie too!"
"Yeah!" Song nodded. "Papa, papa! Tell me more? Pretty pleaseeeee?"
"Hahh… They're gone! What is there to talk about them?" sighed the crow. "They…"
However, he hesitated as he saw his son's big, baby eyes, about to cry over his rude remarks.
"Ahem! Well, I can spare some words about them, I suppose, can't be helped!" he groaned. "Anyways, my sister, yeah, my sister, let's start with that grumpy woman! She was always annoying me every day, you know? She would come to my room bringing a bunch of fish she caught and then ask me to take the guts out! And the stench was otherworldly! My entire room would smell for days!"
"Eewww!" Song said, giggling.
"Hahahah! Yeah, she was a real handful! And you haven't even heard about my dad; he was really a very lazy bastard sometimes, you see…!"
As he continued talking, I realized how different he truly was now; he had become almost like a normal father. Although traits of his personality always remained, he was able to set aside his differences so he could make his kid happy.
"He's… so different from what I remember of him." Yin Sheng muttered. "He was such a cruel and cold person… So devoid of empathy, of anything… This is… kind of ironic; it makes me almost angry."
"A-Are you okay?" I muttered. "D-Don't sweat the details, okay? He can't be how he is to his son to everyone… And whatever happened to the son himself might have been what made him regress to being cold."
"R-Right… Sorry, that was said carelessly," he apologized. "Haahh… This is just difficult to see."
"It is…" Fang Shuan. "I also experienced firsthand his cruelty. But I have to admit that… beneath that cruelty, there was a small… A tiny spark of goodwill, perhaps. He's cruel and ruthless in his ways, but at the same time, he did everything to help us become stronger. I can't really hold a grudge against him."
"Hmm…" Yin Sheng nodded. "That cave of shadows where he threw me at… I really thought I would die, and that he didn't even care about me. My only light was Anna herself… And she was the one that led me to win and step out of it, but… I guess it did help at the end."
"Well, well, it's nice you're understanding things better!" I nodded. "He's not the worst thing imaginable! He's still an asshole though."
"I don't know him personally, so I can't say much," said Wai Tian. "I mostly know about him from what I've heard from other people after all… So I'll just keep neutral."
"M-Me too…" Zero One said.
"That's fine," I nodded. "Anyways, it should be about time…"
An hour and a few minutes had passed since we arrived, and after having lunch with this very peculiar family of bird people, we decided to depart.
"Mama, I want to go too!" said Song. "I can feel the stars as well, so maybe I can help? And the clouds… they like me!"
What is he even talking about?
"Y-You can't go for now, Song," said the empress. "It is very dangerous, and you have not reached a high level of cultivation yet. Before even attempting to go where we are, you should first reach Tier 10 and become an Immortal after all, it is no easy feat!"
"B-But I'm strong…" sighed Song. "Y-You said I was born strong! That I inherited your Special Ki powers or something… L-Like this?"
Suddenly, the boy desperately showed his mother something spectacular; blue, gold, and black sparks of light surged from his little, scaled hands, flaring together like a cosmic flame.
For a moment, I felt a hint of cosmic energy!
How is this possible? Just what is Song's ability? H-how did he even develop that type of Ki?!
He said he was born with it…
But that shouldn't make any sense either; this is a world of cultivation after all; there's no such thing as inheriting to your child the powers of the parents.
There wouldn't be any balance in the world if the sons of immortals were born immortal after all; the world would have been filled with just immortals by then.
And certainly, Song doesn't have the body of one yet… But his powers go beyond anything any mortal and even immortal could reach.
Perhaps they used some sort of technique to create a strong child by inheriting their own Ki Energies towards him?
Well, I can only speculate…
But within his powers, there was the combination of both his mother and his father's elemental Kis and even fragments of the Cursed Seals and the Heart of Hope too.
It was insane…
"S-Song! Don't use that power in front of other people; it is dangerous, okay?" His mother reprimanded him. "Come on, dear, one day you'll be able to get outside. You're only nine years old after all; be patient, okay?"
"Umm… Dad?" Song asked his father.
"You heard your mother, son," he said. "Don't worry, we'll come back after we check above the skies. Let's have dinner together. Then… um, I'll tell you more about my family… Is that okay for you, brat?"
"Yeah!" Song quickly became happier after that; spending time with his father was something he treasured, mostly because he wasn't able to come here regularly, I assume. "T-Then come back quickly! I'll be waiting here!"
"Here, Shiro will give you company," I said. "Come on, Shiro, stay with the boy for a while; behave with him, ok?"
"Kyuhh…" Shiro seemed to not like the idea but still flew to the side of the boy.
"Wooow! Fluffy!"
He was definitely happy.
After that, the heavenly empress made sure to seal the entire pagoda so nobody could enter or spy inside, and we flew outside into the skies.
FLASH!
She and the heavenly demon created a powerful combined aura of light and darkness, something I had no idea they could do together.
It seems that all that time living together also helped them create combined techniques! That's so awesome!
We passed through every heaven of every color, seeing countless beautiful landscapes within the interior of these big clouds.
Until finally, we reached the summit of everything.
The heavens above heaven.
"This is the place, one that only a few immortals had ever reached, aside from us," said the Heavenly Empress. "We call this… The Astral Road."
It was a beautiful outer sky of eternal night, darkness, and countless stars that shone from the beyond.
"It's over there," the Heavenly Demon pointed in the distance. "Follow me… I can feel it again; something is coming."
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