Volume 1, Chapter 219 – Confession

The speed at which Shi Lan’s strength was growing far exceeded Shi Tianlu’s expectations.

In less than two years, her cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Earth Fiend Realm, a notch above even Shi Feng’s, and her true battle strength was even more terrifying.

Shi Tianlu had already heard that Shi Lan had fought and killed a Heavenly Astral Realm demon beast on the battlefield.

With talent like that, she no longer needed to rely on anyone. In the future, she would naturally have the ability to protect the Shi family.

That being the case, Shi Feng’s existence was no longer all that important.

There was no way Shi Tianlu would ignore his own daughter and still think of relying on an outsider, even if that “outsider” was someone he had watched grow up and personally raised.

All along, Shi Tianlu had been keenly aware of Shi Feng’s feelings for Shi Lan, but he had never pointed them out, because he was worried that Shi Feng’s presence might have some negative effect on Shi Lan.

That had been true before, and it was even more true now.

Who knew how many heaven-favored daughters had been bound by the ties of love, wounded by affection, and ultimately come to grief on the martial path.

When he thought of Shi Lan’s sometimes somewhat indifferent responses, a trace of worry rose in Shi Tianlu’s heart again, and he unconsciously touched his temples.

It was naturally a good thing if she was not troubled by love. But if that led her to sever emotion and desire altogether, that would be going too far.

“Family Head, I have something to ask of you.”

Shi Feng spoke, interrupting Shi Tianlu’s thoughts.

Shi Tianlu came back to himself and looked toward Shi Feng. He was slightly startled. Shi Feng’s expression was extremely serious, and his eyes were incomparably resolute.

“Go ahead.”

Shi Feng let out a light breath, lowered his gaze slightly, and said frankly, “I have admired Shi Lan for a long time. Family Head, you see things clearly, so I assume you have long known it already.”

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“Is that so?”

Shi Tianlu’s fingers tightened, accidentally pulling out a few strands of white hair as he asked in puzzlement.

Shi Feng’s sudden bluntness had caught him somewhat off guard.

“Since it has come to this, I won’t keep circling around the matter. I ask the Family Head to allow me this overstep and agree to let me…”

“Cough, cough…”

Shi Feng had only just begun when Shi Tianlu suddenly broke into a violent fit of coughing and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Family Head, you…”

Shi Feng was startled. Shi Tianlu had only suffered some shock to his internal organs. How had it reached the point of coughing up blood?

“My old injuries have flared up. I urgently need to enter seclusion to heal, so I won’t keep you any longer.”

Shi Tianlu stood up, grabbed the Dragonblood Ginseng from the desk, and strode quickly outside.

Halfway there, Shi Tianlu suddenly turned back, looked at Shi Feng, who had risen and was about to follow, and said sternly,

“You have now entered the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect and become the disciple of a great expert. It is no longer appropriate for you to call me Family Head. And with relations between the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect and the Demon-Suppressing Army being delicate as they are, it is even less appropriate for me, as a Thousand-Man Commander in the Demon-Suppressing Army, to have overly close private dealings with you. So from now on, it would be best if you came by less often.”

Before his words had even fully fallen, Shi Tianlu had already left the study.

Watching Shi Tianlu’s vigorous stride, Shi Feng had just been about to call after him when Shi Tianlu’s figure disappeared into the corridor.

Shi Feng raised his head to the sky and looked straight at the sun hanging high overhead, drawing in a soft breath. The changes in his status, position, and strength had given him ample confidence to do certain things without needing to be as hesitant and cautious as before.

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But with that had also come the changes of the world.

Recalling Shi Lan’s cold attitude, a trace of resolve flashed through Shi Feng’s eyes.

The fact that Shi Lan was not interested in him now only proved that he had not yet reached the point where he could move her heart.

But as long as he could make himself stronger, ten times better, a hundred times better, then one day he would reach the standard Shi Lan held in her heart.

Of that, he was utterly convinced.

…

As her cultivation deepened, Shi Lan’s speed in refining the phoenix blood was becoming faster and faster. She could now refine it once in less than half a day.

As the frequency with which she refined the phoenix blood increased, Shi Lan felt as though some element within her body was quietly changing.

When she had first left Ancient Phoenix City, the amount of phoenix blood Shi Lan had carried with her had not been that great to begin with. After all this time spent consuming it, it was already close to running out.

If the surrounding situation were not so perilous right now, Shi Lan might even have considered returning to Ancient Phoenix City to replenish her supply of phoenix blood.

As the sun sank in the west, Shi Lan woke from cultivation to the sound of knocking at the door. Another acupoint along her spine had opened.

The one knocking was a maid who had come to inform her that dinner was ready.

Shi Lan followed the maid for a short while and soon entered a side hall.

There was only a single round table in the hall. Shi Tianlu sat at the seat of honor, the roots of his hair having already gone from white to gray, and his blood and qi had grown much more vigorous. Clearly, the Dragonblood Ginseng had already begun to take effect.

Su Lanyue and Shen Mingqiu sat with him.

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Since Shi Lan had returned, this was Shen Mingqiu’s first time seeing her. Although she had already known the truth, a trace of awkwardness still inevitably showed on her face.

The impact Shi Lan had had on her was too great. She still found it hard to believe.

“E-Elder Sister…”

Seated to the side, Shi Yiming stood up somewhat stiffly to greet her, not knowing where to put his hands.

“Elder Sister.”

Shi Qinghu followed with his own greeting, faint admiration visible in his eyes. He had been there watching the day several hundred Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers had come to the door.

Boys of that age were restless and changeable, and their impression of a person could shift dramatically with great ease.

Shi Lan greeted them one by one and sat down opposite Shi Tianlu.

The dinner was very quiet. Once one entered the Innate Realm, one could abstain from food and live on spiritual qi, but Shi Tianlu liked the feeling of the family eating together.

“Lan, come with me. The rest of you can all go back and rest.”

After the meal, Shi Tianlu gave the instruction and left the side hall. Shi Lan stood and followed him.

…

Father and daughter soon arrived at the study.

Shi Tianlu went to the desk, turned a hidden mechanism, and opened a passageway leading straight underground.

The passageway looked very new, clearly only recently completed, and led to a hidden chamber roughly three zhang long and three zhang wide.

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A luminous pearl was set into the ceiling of the chamber, making the surroundings as bright as day.

A writing desk and a bookcase stood inside. Beyond that, there was nothing else.

“I don’t know what kind of cultivation method you practice, but judging from your true qi, its grade should not be low.”

Shi Tianlu walked to the bookcase, searched for a while, and finally pulled out three ancient books, which he placed on the desk.

“These are things I obtained in my earlier years. They are the foundation upon which the Shi family stands. Their grade may not necessarily compare to what you cultivate, but stones from other hills may serve to polish jade. They should still be of some help to you.”

After glancing at the three manuals on the desk, Shi Lan lifted a brow. “Father, when did you know I was practicing martial arts?”

“From the time you passed out from overexertion while training.” Shi Tianlu shook his head with a smile.

“Once I knew you wanted to practice martial arts, I had some spirit materials sent to you through Shi Feng. I thought it was just a passing whim of yours. I never imagined it would become what it is today.”

Hearing Shi Tianlu say that, Shi Lan’s brows stirred slightly, but she said nothing.

After her thoughts fluctuated for a moment, Shi Lan asked with some curiosity, “Then when did Father know I was a woman?”

“On the day your mother confessed it to me.”

Shi Tianlu smiled. “Go back and get some rest early. I’m afraid time will be hard to come by from now on.”

Shi Lan was silent for a moment, put away the three manuals, and turned to leave.