Inside Tianyi Tower, Qin Xuance and Lin Huang were locked in a staring contest.
"Spit it out!" Qin Xuance said helplessly after a long silence.
Lin Huang smiled faintly. "My grandfather and the Minister of the Ministry of War both have military backgrounds. Logically, the battlefield is their ultimate destination. However, as their descendant, I naturally hope they can enjoy their twilight years in peace. Unless absolutely necessary, it’s best not to have them don their armor and march into battle."
"Is that it?" Qin Xuance asked.
"What else did you think it was?"
"Out of the question!" Qin Xuance waved his white sleeve. "The most I can promise you is that I won’t send the Elder Mansion Master and Bai Pojun into battle unless we encounter someone ranked in the top ten of the East Spirit General List."
"The top ten is too broad. My grandfather is already sixty years old; he can’t handle the strain!" Lin Huang said decisively.
"Then I won’t have them deployed until we face Xuanyuan Tibing," Qin Xuance said.
"Xuanyuan Tibing... He is too strong. Even if my grandfather took the field, it would be useless." Lin Huang gasped, glaring fiercely at Qin Xuance.
Xuanyuan Tibing was a human world myth in the East Spirit Realm.
He ranked first on both the East Spirit General List and the Martial Marquis List!
In the one hundred and eighty-three battles of his life, great and small, he had never tasted defeat!
He had once commanded a million soldiers and annihilated the Dongxuan Sect overnight, reducing the original Five Great Sects of East Spirit to the Four Great Sects of today.
Rumor had it that he might have already stepped into the Martial King Realm!
"You reject this and refuse that. I have no choice but to follow the Elder Mansion Master’s own wishes," Qin Xuance said calmly. "I naturally understand and sympathize with your intentions, but you might not understand the Elder Mansion Master and Bai Pojun’s thoughts as well as I do!"
"Are you truly this impervious to reason? There are countless military generals in the world; they aren’t lacking my grandfather and Bai Pojun!" Lin Huang was starting to get angry.
"I’ve been in poor health since childhood, so my diet has indeed always been rather bland," Qin Xuance replied with complete seriousness. Seeing Lin Huang at a loss for words brought a fair bit of satisfaction to his heart.
Lin Huang had the urge to hit him.
"Rest assured. Even if the Elder Mansion Master and Bai Pojun do march into battle, I will ensure their survival," Qin Xuance said with a wave of his hand.
"At least you have some conscience!" Lin Huang chuckled. He gratefully patted Qin Xuance’s shoulder twice before turning around and leaving Tianyi Tower.
Watching Lin Huang’s receding figure, Qin Xuance also smiled. Ever since he first met Lin Huang, he had felt a sense of familiarity. Having not stepped out of his room for the past ten years, he naturally had no friends.
But Lin Huang counted as one!
However, when Qin Xuance noticed the dirty handprints left on his shoulder, his face turned green. He immediately pushed aside all the official documents on his desk and bolted off in a frantic rush to bathe and change his clothes.
Outside Tianyi Tower, Lin Huang looked down at his ink-stained palms, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Punk!"
Over the next few days, the Imperial City was in a constant state of unrest. There was no shortage of people verbally and in writing attacking Lin Huang, but Qin Xuance suppressed all of this one by one.
As for Lin Huang, he began preparing for his journey to Piaoxue Palace.
Soon after the Four Sects Tournament ended, the elders of the Four Great Sects had successively left with their disciples. Lin Huang had to plead extensively to convince Shen Diexin to stay for a few more days.
After all, once he left, he didn’t know when he would be able to return to the Great Xia Dynasty.
During these few days, Lin Huang also set aside his cultivation, spending most of his time accompanying Lin Beichen. After all, once he departed, this old man would not have a single relative left by his side.
He had lost his wife in middle age, and his son had been missing for years.
His granddaughter was far away in Piaoxue Palace, and now his grandson was also going on a long journey. For a sixty-year-old man, this was by no means a happy occasion.
This former Great Xia War God was finally growing old. With white hair at his temples and wrinkles on his face, he had begun to reminisce about his past time.
Whenever he thought of this, Lin Huang’s heart ached. But he had to leave. Because Lin Cangxue was still at Piaoxue Palace, he could hardly imagine what kind of strange looks a woman who had fallen from grace must be enduring.
As Lin Cangxue’s biological younger brother, he had to step into Piaoxue Palace! Just as Shen Diexin had suggested, he would beat up everyone who had ever mocked Lin Cangxue, one by one!
Therefore, the only thing Lin Huang could do now was to use his remaining time to keep Lin Beichen company.
Over these past few days, Lin Beichen appeared quite cheerful. The smile on his face never seemed to fade, yet few understood the genuine reluctance hidden beneath it.
"Xiaohuang, being away from home is not like being in the Great Xia Dynasty. You must consider the consequences of your every action. Although the Divine General’s Mansion can barely cover the sky with one hand in the Great Xia Dynasty, our reputation won’t carry much weight outside of it!"
Amidst the bustling streets, the two walked side by side, just like any ordinary grandfather and grandson. Before a departure, there were always endless instructions to be given.
"Grandfather, you’ve repeated that line seventeen times already. I’ve long since memorized it!" Lin Huang looked rather helpless.
"Even if I say it a hundred times, you still need to take it to heart." Lin Beichen glared at him. "This is the voice of your grandfather’s experience. You need to listen carefully!
"When you’re out there, an extra friend means an extra path. Try to avoid making enemies. Whatever you do, don’t be like your father, who managed to get everyone in the East Spirit Realm chasing him down to kill him!
"Once you see Cangxue, write me a letter. That little girl only ever reports the good news and hides the bad; I can’t help but worry about her.
"Elder Shen Diexin possesses a profound cultivation realm and is an Array Master. You must ask for her guidance with a humble heart. Don’t put on airs as a Young Master; that won’t work in Piaoxue Palace!"
Along the way, Lin Beichen’s endless instructions filled Lin Huang’s ears. Fearful that his grandson wasn’t listening, the old man tirelessly repeated himself over and over again.
Lin Huang would occasionally voice a few complaints, but deep down, he felt an unprecedented warmth.
In his previous life, he had struggled alone for ten years, surviving Liu Cangsheng’s relentless pursuit every single day. He had been like a lone wolf; even when injured, he could only lick his wounds in the solitary darkness of the night.
Having endured such time, Lin Huang truly understood the meaning of absolute loneliness. While he lived, there was no one to share his joys, sorrows, glories, or hardships; if he died, no one would know, no one would mourn, and his corpse would likely be abandoned in the wilderness.
Every time he gazed up at the full moon, glowing like a silver disk in the sky, he yearned for someone to be by his side, even if just for a fleeting moment...
But now, to be able to feel such warmth again—even though he didn’t show it outwardly, his heart was blooming with joy.
After wandering outside with Lin Beichen for most of the day, they returned to the Divine General’s Mansion. Before Lin Huang could even take half a sip of tea, Lin Beichen came to his room again.
With a flip of Lin Beichen’s palm, a pitch-black figure shot out from his Storage Ring.
"Grandfather, this is..." Lin Huang asked, puzzled.
"This is the Array Puppet your father left behind. It has the strength of the Celestial Element Seventh Heaven. You’ve seen it before." Lin Beichen smiled kindly. "However, this hunk of iron is of no use to your grandfather anymore!"
Before Lin Huang could speak, Lin Beichen continued, "Powering the Array Puppet requires Array Spirit Stones, and a single Array Spirit Stone can only power it five or six times. Over the years, this Array Puppet has been deployed a few times, so the power of its Array Spirit Stone has long since been depleted. Take this with you; it might come in handy someday!"
Lin Huang straightforwardly accepted it. An Array Puppet without an Array Spirit Stone was indeed useless. But by taking it, he might actually put it to good use. Even if he couldn’t find an Array Spirit Stone, he could still study its internal structure.
It should be known that anyone capable of creating an Array Puppet possessed the skills of at least a Fifth-Level Array Master. Those were figures who had truly pushed open the gates of the Array Path, entirely incomparable to the so-called Array Masters here in the East Spirit Realm.
Stroking the Array Puppet standing beside him—cold as ink and towering like an iron pagoda—Lin Huang’s thoughts grew heavy. He couldn’t help but think of the mother he had never met.
Lin Beichen had said that this Array Puppet and the Thousand Spirits Sword Formation were left behind by his mother. Ridiculously enough, Lin Huang didn’t even know his own mother’s name.
He wondered, "Who is my mother? Where is she? Is she doing well now? Is she a formidable Array Master?"
Lin Huang shook his head helplessly, feeling inevitably downcast. It was still too early to think about these things. If he wanted to find Lin Changtian and his mother, he would only have the strength to do so after he ventured out of the East Spirit Realm.
Moreover, the world was vast. Countless Martial Artists in the Azure Sky Continent exhausted their entire lives unable to traverse across it. Finding a single person would be unimaginably difficult.
"One day... I will find you!" Lin Huang murmured softly, waving his hand to store the Array Puppet into his Storage Ring.