1251 We’re No Longer as We Have Been

Gu Xiaoxue summed up the report in her mind first and then reported the situation of Tang Xiu's parents and the Tang Family in the past three years. "After Grand Master's parents took the precious elixirs two years ago, their physiques were remolded and their cultivations have been rapidly progressing since. Especially after they went to the pocket world 6 months ago, after which their strength skyrocketed. Both of them have advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage, and it won't take long before they break through to the Spirit Formation Stage.

"The cultivation progress of the Tang Family isn't slow, but it's much worse compared to Grand Master's parents. Most of them are at the Golden Core Stage, although their mood is slightly worse. Master has arranged the Heart Tempering Array, so the rest of Tang Family have entered the array and are cultivating inside it."

Having said that, she hesitated for a moment and then said, "Our Tang Sect is developing quickly and most of the children army have also advanced to the Golden Core Stage. A few of them have even reached the Nascent Soul Stage. Aside from that, we've taught all 49 army formations, and they can definitely crush any enemies with similar numbers and cultivation levels. Additionally, there are two people in the Tang Sect whom I think needs further evaluation and appreciation since their cultivation levels have surpassed mine, Tang Guang's, and Tang An's."

"Huh?" Tang Xiu was surprised and asked, "Who are they?"

"Gu Yin and Little Blind," Gu Xiaoxue answered.

Tang Xiu recalled their special physiques and immediately asked, "What cultivation level have they reached?"

"Both have reached the Body Integration Stage; Gu Yin at the mid-stage and Little Blind at the early-stage. Tang Guang has once sparred with Little Master Aunt Gu Yin, and he has been defeated badly," Gu Xiaoxue added.

A smile climbed up on Tang Xiu's face as he nodded. "Their progress is really wonderfully fast, though I've long been expecting it. Anyway, brief me about the rest as well."

Gu Xiaoxue recalled for a while and then said, "Blind Grandma has broken through to the Celestial Master Stage. Compared to the cultivation art we provide here, her power is comparable to experts at the Body Integration Stage. Master Uncle Chen Zhizhong, on the other hand, has advanced to the late-stage of Body Integration."

"What about Xue Yu, where's she now?" asked Tang Xiu.

"I have no news about her," Gu Xiaoxue said.

Tang Xiu nodded slowly and then said, "I give you 3 days to bring all Tang Sect disciples from all over the world back to Nine Dragons Island. Now that the embryonic form of the Tang Sect's force has begun to take shape, it's time for me to reorganize the sect's army."

"Understood!"

Gu Xiaoxue looked bewildered, but she nodded and complied.

In the palace.

Right after Tang Xiu and Gu Xiaoxue entered the palace, a fragrant scent greeted them, and the now young-looking Su Lingyun came floating in front of them.

"Xiu'er, Yan'er!"

Su Lingyun's smiling face was especially bright. Even though they all had been staying on Nine Dragons Island, she only met Tang Xiu once when he left the exquisite pagoda twice in the past 3 years.

"Mom."

Tang Xiu's dream once upon a time was to bring and help his mother embark on the cultivation path. Now that he saw his Mother looking so brilliant, elegant, and full of vigor, he couldn't help but feel a bit moved.

Su Lingyun smiled, pulled Gu Yan'er's hand and said, "You children keep staying in that exquisite pagoda all the time. I've always been wanting to see you there, but Yunde never let me. He said that I'll disturb your cultivation. But well, you've been living with him for 3 years there, why haven't you conceived a child?"

"Ugh, come again?"

Tang Xiu was dumbstruck, but Gu Yan'er blushed and lowered her head wordlessly.

"Yan'er, Xiu'er is rather thin-skinned and his head is always full of cultivation. I know this brat has accomplished big things and his enterprise is very important. But he's grown up already, getting married and having a family is equally important! If he doesn't take the initiative, you've gotta be the one who seizes it. And don't speak about seniority to me, what age are we living in now? So long as you're perfectly suited and agreeable, I don't think it's a problem for you both to get married and have children."

Gu Yan'er suppressed her embarrassing feelings and tilted her head to glance at Tang Xiu. Blushing, she lowered her head and said, "I'll definitely seize the initiative, Auntie."

"Since you're going to seize the initiative, then you must address me as Mother from now on, got it?" Su Lingyun happily said.

Cough, cough, cough…

Tang Xiu couldn't help but cough. He didn't even have the chance to speak up and almost choked. Gu Yan'er was his disciple, yet his Mother only needed one line to mess up the seniority ranks in the family all at once.

"Uh, Mom. Please don't make up such a messed-up notion about us getting married, I…" Tang Xiu said, but he immediately swallowed the rest of his words after glancing at Gu Yan'er, whose expression abruptly changed drastically.

Su Lingyun fiercely glared at him and pretended to be angry. "What's wrong? You don't want to listen to your Mother anymore since your cultivation is great or something? Do you not think that Yan'er is a good child? She's been with you for so many years, and she's definitely a great and hard to find daughter-in-law to have. You don't need to worry about Wanying. I've asked her about this before and she told me that she doesn't mind. She said she's still happy as long as she has a place in your heart."

A headache struck Tang Xiu, and he directly drilled his way out of the topic and said while heading inside, "Please don't worry about our affairs, Mom. Anyway, Dad should be upstairs, right? I'm gonna see him first."

"Hey, you brat!"

Su Lingyun was vexed and glared at Tang Xiu's back with annoyance. Then, she pulled Gu Yan'er and walked inside while muttering something.

When Tang Xiu came to the second floor, he saw Tang Yunde leaning on the wall with a cigarette in his hand with a smile hanging on his face. He obviously had witnessed the amusing scene.

"Hey, Dad!" Tang Xiu called out with a bitter smile.

Tang Yunde chuckled and grinningly said, "You really didn't inherit my good quality at being faithful, Brat. Speaking of which, your Mom would have run to the exquisite pagoda and forced you to marry and have children if it wasn't for me stopping her."

Tang Xiu bitterly smiled. "In actuality, I wasn't like doing it before…"

Tang Yunde raised his hand and smilingly said, "Nah, no need to explain anything to me, Boy. Besides, I'm not that anxious to have grandchildren either. On the contrary, your Mom will definitely make you get headaches in the future about that. Further, all of your women are outstanding, and the emotional bonds between you and them will very likely cause you headaches."

Tang Xiu forced out a bitter and wry smile yet again after hearing the schadenfreude sense from his own father. "Let's say that I'll take one step at a time for those emotional issues! Besides, I don't have much time to deal with it right now. With the big endeavor I need to carry out, I must seize the time to develop my forces and improve my own strength."

Tang Yunde shrugged and smilingly said, "Well, I can help with other things, but I can't help you on this one. Do your best, Sonny."

Unwilling to lengthen the topic, Tang Xiu said, "Be that as it may, there's something I need to discuss with you, Dad. Let's talk about it in the study."

"Alright!"

Tang Yunde nodded. They could talk here if it was just an ordinary issue, but since his son asked him to discuss in the study, he understood that the issues might be very important.

The 200-plus-square-meter study room had a luxurious interior and decorations. After the father and son took a seat, Tang Xiu took a cigarette box from his interspatial ring, gave Tang Yunde one and lit it, then took one for himself before opening the discussion. "Dad, we're leaving Earth for the Immortal in at most 2 years. We're going to develop ourselves there later, but there are tons of things we must accomplish here in these 2 years. The most urgent thing is to get revenge to pay off the old scores. It's time for us to repay the blood debt."

Tang Yunde's complexion shifted and he immediately asked, "You mean… you're ready to strike House Dolan?"

"Yeah, but not only House Dolan." Tang Xiu nodded. "Those top three organizations in the world as well as the world's first intelligence agency, the Darkwind. They are like evil tumors. If we don't exterminate these organizations and clans, it's very likely that they will cause a big mess in the future."

Incredulity on his face, Tang Yunde murmured, "How is it possible to achieve this, Xiu'er? Those organizations and clans have deep heritage and only one word can describe them—terrifying. Can our Tang Sect deal with these many organizations and clans at the same time?"

"Dad, let alone these organizations and clans, Tang Sect can easily conquer the whole world if they are also our enemies. Besides, there's also another purpose that I'd like to accomplish, to begin with," Tang Xiu replied confidently.

"What's that purpose, exactly?" Tang Yunde asked curiously.

"It's about the 200,000 children in the army," Tang Xiu said slowly. "They now possess formidable strength, so I need to find enemies for them to train them as soldiers. Afterward, I want to form the Tang Sect Army."

"You mean, you're going to dispatch those children to deal with the four major organizations and House Dolan?" Tang Yunde was shocked. "No! Absolutely not! They are too young, the oldest among them is just a 17-year-old teenager. You're just pushing them to their deaths if you dispatch them."

"This is something you don't understand, Dad," Tang Xiu went on. "The flowers in the greenhouse can never withstand the wind and rain. The Immortal World is anything but great. It's a brutal place with many intrigues, wars, and killings nearly everywhere. Children must undergo brutal training and fighting the moment they're able to think. That world is an inhuman place where Immortals devour each other, and only those who hone and sharpen themselves to be sharp blades can survive and live longer."

"But…"

Tang Yunde wanted to keep arguing. However, Tang Xiu raised his hand to interrupt him and said, "You also know that uncut jades are worthless, and steel won't be made without throughout tempering. The enemies we're going to face in the future are extremely powerful, and if they can't grow up quickly now, they will only meet their deaths in the future in the hands of these enemies."

"Who exactly are our enemies, Xiu'er?" asked Tang Yunde hurriedly.

Tang Xiu thought for a moment, but then slowly shook his head and said, "It's not yet the time to tell you about that, Dad. What you need to do now is to go all out to cultivate and strive to break through to a higher realm earlier. The Immortal World is the place where the strong is revered. If we don't want to get trampled and die under the enemies' butcher knife, we must seize the time to make ourselves stronger. Further, I'll also need your help on this one in the future."