"I'll tell you more later. But for now, just wait in Grandpa's room with the others. I'll call the rest as well."
Long Chen left the training arena and walked to a garden inside the clan.
The garden in the clan was near the core of the clan, where all the important members lived. The roof on top of the garden was made of glass which allowed light to pass through.
The garden had beautiful exotic plants that made the garden even more lush. In the middle of the garden, there was a beautiful pond that was filled with sparkling water that wasn't something that could be drunk. It was just for looks.
Near the pond, some ladies were sitting, talking about something.
"There you are," Long Chen exclaimed as he walked closer to the women.
"Look who decided to show up." Zhiqing glared at Long Chen.
"So you finally got the time to come back after so long?" Mingyu also asked. "You know how worried everyone gets when you don't come?"
Long Chen scratched the back of his head. "I know. But I was actually caught in something which didn't allow me to come here."
At first, he was with Zhu Chang. He couldn't leave his body behind, unprotected to come here. Moreover, after he was free of Zhu Chang, he was in prison, where he had more important matters to deal with.
"Anyway, we can talk about that later. I came with good news. I'm here to take you all with me."
"We're leaving?"Zhiqing asked. "Going to the outside world?"
"In a way, but not entirely. Actually, I've become the disciple of a powerful person. He'll be training me for the next thousand years. And I convinced him to train you all as well. So, we'll be together there. And by the time we're done, you'll actually be many times stronger."
"Moreover, you won't have to train alone. He's actually a very knowledgeable person. You'll be able to gain a lot of knowledge."
He brought all the ladies with him to his grandpa's room, where he once again told everyone about the details. This time, he went into more depth, even talking about how he ended up in the prison in heaven and how he met the man who became his master.
After informing them and telling them to be respectful, he left the place.
"Are you done? Where is your family?" the old man asked.
Long Chen brought his family out. As they were already prepared, as soon as everyone came out, they all greeted the old man with respect, exactly as they were taught.
"Ah, so many..." The old man muttered, blankly looking at all the people here.
There were eleven people standing there. Six Wives of Long Chen, his father, mother, grandfather, Ji Shan, and then Long Xue Ying.
"I thought you'd have a couple of people but so many..." The old man couldn't help but shake his hand.
"You promised me. You can't go back now. Moreover, it doesn't matter if there are eleven of them. What are eleven people before a divine Master like you," Long Chen responded.
"Hahaha, kid. I know you're trying to butter me up. It won't work. However, I already promised that I'll accept them, so I won't go back on my words."
He held his hand behind his back. "But as I said, they aren't my Disciples. I'll only be teaching them a few things. As for how far they progress from my limited teaching, that'll depend on them."
He looked at the eleven people with his scrutinizing gaze and asked, "Are you prepared?"
Under his heavy gaze, everyone felt like a small being.
Ji Shan clenched his fist before stepping forward. "I accept. I want to grow stronger. I promise I will give it my all!"
"I would put all my heart into learning!" Mingyu also stepped forward.
One after another, all the youngsters accepted the challenge, promising to not disappoint the old man.
Even Grandpa Long Ren stepped forward in the end. "I know I'm too old to learn, but I'm not going to let youngsters leave me behind. Learning has no age limit. And I'll prove that!"
The old man smirked. Even though he still wasn't impressed, he did find the way everyone talked quite funny.
"We'll see how you do. I want you all to do one thing."
There were already five towers here. He clapped.his hand, making twelve more towers come out of the group.
"Except for Long Chen, I want you all to choose and enter one of these towers. But make sure you're fully prepared. After you go in, you would only be allowed to leave after a thousand years."
"Inside the tower, I'll occasionally give you pointers and train you, not only for a few minutes a day at best. So don't expect too much. Now go fast."
"Thousand years? We won't be able to come out?" Mingyu asked, looking at Long Chen.
"Yes. I can see you're close to him. But I don't want any emotional interference in these thousand years of training. If you think you're capable of giving your entire focus on training, step in a tower! If you can't, you can go back where you came from!" The old man sharply responded. "The decision is yours."
Just as he finished speaking, a person moved. Ji Shan didn't care how long he had to be isolated. He wanted to be stronger. And if it was going to make him strong, he was prepared.
He entered the first tower.
"Don't worry. A thousand years will pass like nothing. In fact, with growth in cultivation, a thousand years would be like a fraction of your life. Go ahead." Long Chen also pushed his family, which was looking back at him.
"But..." Zhiqing muttered, but as she saw the hopeful look in Long Chen's eyes, she couldn't say more.
"I'll see you after a thousand years. And I'll be even stronger than you. Just you watch," she smiled, looking at Long Chen.
She bid farewell to other family members before she entered a tower.
Xue and Mei also did the same before entering the third and fourth tower. One after another, everyone entered a tower each, leaving only Long Chen behind.
All the towers closed, going back inside the ground.
"What's happening?" Long Chen asked, frowning.
"Nothing. Don't worry. They'll be safe. You'll find them safe after a thousand years. In fact, they'll only be better."
"So, shall we continue your training which is the main thing?" he asked Long Chen.
"Yeah." Long Chen nodded.
"Good. Then eat these pills.." The old man gave two pills to Long Chen.