Raising a kid is really no joke.

Xiao Xueman stood there for a while until the carriage disappeared from sight, then turned to head home.

This time, when he passed the bulletin board, he noticed that Shen Guan’s wanted notice had been taken down. The board was once again covered in little ads, just like before. He casually asked around about it.

“They say he’s not wanted anymore. Who knows why,” the butcher next door said while sharpening his deboning knife, talking to him half-heartedly. “But if you ask me, the guy’s probably already dead. Whether he’s wanted or not doesn’t really matter. I mean, some big shot from the Upper Realm comes to our crappy place—how could he possibly survive?”

Xiao Xueman smiled without saying anything. He bought a few bones for soup and went home.

He told Shen Guan about it when he got back. Shen Guan curled his lips, not showing a hint of joy.

“Maybe they’re just trying to lower my guard and lure me out. Either way, I’m not planning on going back. It’s pretty nice here.”

Whether he was wanted or not, he still had to keep his face covered.

Xiao Xueman had recently planted new medicinal herbs in the yard. He used the juice from the herbs to smear on Shen Guan’s face—it gave his skin a sickly yellow tint. Then he dressed Shen Guan in regular clothes, put a hat on him, and with his head slightly lowered, the hair and hat shadowed most of his face. Walking around outside, no one would recognize him.

While applying the herbal paste, Shen Guan told Xiao Xueman, “I think you’ll need this sooner or later too.”

Xiao Xueman looked at him, confused, and instinctively touched his own face.

He didn’t go out much. His movements were pretty limited. He didn’t see it as an issue.

“I’m just giving you a heads-up,” Shen Guan said. “I think Qin Lou might come looking for you any time. If you cover up, you might be able to dodge him.”

But Xiao Xueman still thought he was exaggerating.

“He won’t come,” Xiao Xueman said with confidence. “Someone in his position wouldn’t come down to the Lower Realm.”

Shen Guan didn’t think so. Xiao Xueman hadn’t seen how crazy Qin Lou had gotten—but he had. He saw it clearly.

“Just be prepared,” Shen Guan said. “At the very least, don’t let him find Xiao Wan.”

Qin Lou had already gone nuts. If he ever saw Xiao Wan, he might go completely off the deep end.

Wood and fire dual-type… even Shen Guan couldn’t help but associate that with Qin Lou.

Xiao Xueman’s face turned cold, and he fell silent. That was Shen Guan’s cue to shut up too.

Now that he had a bit of strength back, he helped Xiao Xueman tend to the hemostatic herbs in the garden. As they worked, he couldn’t help but feel the absence of Xiao Wan in the yard—it felt a bit empty.

He wondered how Xiao Wan was doing.

⸻

In the flower bud carriage headed for the Sixteenth Heaven, Xiao Wan took a while to get used to the feeling of weightlessness.

He was still holding the little milk cake his daddy gave him. A little girl sitting next to him smelled the sweetness, leaned over to peek, and asked with big, hopeful eyes.

“Xiao Wan, can I have your snack?”

Xiao Wan glanced at her and, in a rare show of childishness, guarded his food.

“Nope,” he said, taking a big bite. “My daddy made this for me. I can’t give it to you.”

The little girl looked hurt and angry, turned her head, and ignored him.

The flower bud carriage got faster and faster. By the time it pierced into the Sixteenth Heaven, Xiao Wan had already finished his milk cake. He felt the carriage shake violently, and after a brief moment of darkness, everything suddenly lit up.

The flower bud carriage only had a window at the front. Xiao Wan peeked through it and saw nothing but endless white. Soon after, he heard noise—it sounded like they had entered a city.

The carriage stopped in front of the spiritual cultivation academy in Baixue City, Sixteenth Heaven. Unlike the tiny elementary school in the Seventeenth Heaven, this school had both primary and middle school sections and could teach students all the way up to the spirit warrior level.

Baixue City Academy’s massive stone gate shimmered with a heavy, low-key luster. The fountain at the gate sprayed a fine mist. Further in, the wide grassy field had students wandering in small groups. Towering school buildings stood row upon row—it looked like a whole different world.

The elementary school Xiao Wan attended was already one of the most grand-looking buildings back home, but compared to this place, it looked shabby and outdated, not even worth mentioning.

The reason their little Seventeenth Heaven school even got this opportunity was thanks to a former top student who now served as a vice principal here. Thanks to that connection, this rare visit became possible.

The kids getting off the carriage all widened their eyes in amazement, looking left and right like they just couldn’t get enough.

“Wow…”

Soft exclamations of awe floated around.

Xiao Wan looked around too, but more than the buildings, what he noticed was that the spiritual energy here in the Sixteenth Heaven was noticeably denser. Even people’s footsteps felt lighter.

If even the Sixteenth Heaven was like this, what must the legendary First Heaven be like?

Their first class wasn’t cultivation—it was something called “Spiritual Cultivation History,” probably to broaden their horizons.

It was an open class, not arranged specifically for these little visiting sprouts. They were just slotted in with the rest of the students. The classroom was full, and because Xiao Wan’s group wore different uniforms, some students looked at them curiously, though no one made a big fuss—just a bit of pointing here and there.

Because of the earlier milk cake incident, the girl who originally sat beside Xiao Wan didn’t want to sit with him anymore. Xiao Wan didn’t care. He sat by the edge. Just before class started, a student from Baixue City Academy rushed in and took the seat beside him.

“Huh,” the teenager looked at the kid next to him, puzzled at first, then got it, “Here for the tour?”

Xiao Wan glanced at him and nodded.

When the boy saw Xiao Wan’s face clearly as he turned his head, he was briefly at a loss for words.

There were tour groups every year, so he wasn’t surprised. But how in the world did some family in the Seventeenth Heaven manage to raise such a good-looking kid?

Xiao Wan didn’t like being stared at. He subtly shifted away a little.

Though the class was called spiritual cultivation history, the teacher clearly had a bias. It didn’t take long for the topic to shift toward the continent’s strongest sect—and then naturally to Wang Tian Dijun. Once that name came up, the teacher couldn’t stop.

Xiao Wan: “…”

He’d just finished the first grade. The textbooks barely mentioned anything beyond the Seventeenth Heaven. He had no idea who Wang Tian Dijun was, and even listening attentively, he only half-understood.

He couldn’t figure out why the calm-looking teacher up front would get so worked up over this guy.

The teen beside him noticed his confusion and seized the chance to explain. But honestly, he just wanted an excuse to keep looking at the kid’s soft, tofu-like cheeks—he even had the urge to poke them, though he didn’t dare.

“Wang Tian Dijun is without a doubt the number one person on the continent. Lots of people in the Sixteenth Heaven worship him. After all, the Dijun started out from here—even though he didn’t live in Baixue City, it’s still something the Sixteenth Heaven takes pride in.” As he spoke, his eyes lit up. “We’re at the bottom of the continent, and the Dijun came from here. That gives everyone hope, like anyone here could be the next one.”

Even Xiao Xueman probably didn’t expect how deep the worship for Qin Lou ran here. Back in the Seventeenth Heaven, it wasn’t this obvious, so he thought it’d be the same here.

After all, they hadn’t stayed long in the Sixteenth Heaven, and nothing good really happened back then. But people here had already rewritten that brief period into a glowing origin story, painting the Sixteenth Heaven as fertile ground for birthing dijuns, like everyone here was the next Wang Tian Dijun.

Xiao Wan sat through this not-so-subtle Wang Tian Dijun fan club disguised as a history lesson with a very serious face. The boy next to him, meanwhile, kept chatting, trying to share gossip to get his attention.

“…I heard the Dijun’s been in seclusion for ages. He’s had it pretty rough.”

Xiao Wan finally showed a bit of interest and asked a question for the first time.

“He’s already the number one on the continent. How is that rough?”

“Apparently, the Empress died and he couldn’t take it, so he went into seclusion,” the boy shrugged, sighing. “She meant everything to him. The Dijun’s really loyal—he’s mourned her for so long.”

Xiao Wan thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“…What?”

“If the Dijun is really as strong and great as everyone says, and he still couldn’t protect his wife, how can you call that love and loyalty?”

The boy was stunned for a second, then finally managed to mumble, “Don’t say that out loud… you’ll get beat up.”

Xiao Wan didn’t respond, just turned back to keep listening.

Thinking he hadn’t taken it seriously, the boy leaned in nervously and reminded him again, “Seriously, kid—you can’t fight anyone here. Sixteenth Heaven is full of Wang Tian Dijun’s biggest fans. They’re even crazier than other heavens.”

Xiao Wan gave a small nod, but for some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he just said. That passing comment left him with a lingering discomfort, and it even made him start to feel a bit negatively toward the highly praised Wang Tian Dijun.

He didn’t seem that great, actually.

If Daddy was his most important person, and he had that kind of power, there’s no way he’d ever let Daddy get hurt. That’s what Xiao Wan thought.

After that, his attention drifted. It was the first time he’d zoned out in class.

Even though there was communication between the various heavens, info flow was still limited. No spiritual message talisman could pass through realm walls, so most messages had to be carried by traders skirting the borders or passed along by some interlinked organizations. By the time word traveled from the First Heaven to here, who knew how many times it had been distorted. That’s why the class mostly talked about Wang Tian Dijun’s accomplishments from over a hundred years ago. How he climbed to power step by step. Almost no new info.

As for the Empress, few mentioned her. First, too much time had passed, and second, she’d kept a low profile. Many people didn’t even remember what she looked like or what her name was. Plus, it was kind of a taboo topic. People in the Upper Realm never brought it up, afraid to touch a nerve in that infamous tyrant. Even fewer rumors made it down to the Lower Realm.

Aside from the boy next to him casually dropping some gossip, no one else mentioned the Empress.

At the end of class, the teacher, clearly trying to prove his point, brought out a personal treasure.

It was a recording-type spiritual artifact containing an image of Wang Tian Dijun. It didn’t have any offensive capabilities. Its only use was to let people watch a recorded moment with a sense of realism.

The teacher activated it, and Xiao Wan, who’d been spacing out, was immediately drawn in by the unfamiliar presence.

A man in black appeared mid-air. He just slightly raised his hand, and scorching flames roared out. Through the fire, the faint outline of his face could be seen.

He was very handsome, but more than his looks, the overwhelming aura of a superior being was what left the deepest impression. Even though it was just a projected image, the entire classroom of hundreds of students held their breath, not daring to make a sound. It wasn’t until the image disappeared that they finally exhaled.

That was Wang Tian Dijun.

Fire might be the most common and uninspired spiritual attribute in cultivation, but Qin Lou had used it to suppress all the so-called dual-type and exotic spiritual power geniuses. To be fair, it was legendary.

Xiao Wan had been drawn to the image for a moment, but strangely enough, he didn’t feel awed. Instead, something else stirred within him.

That strange power that had surged inside him during his spiritual power test—it came back again just now. Of course, it faded soon after, but it was enough for Xiao Wan to confirm—it wasn’t just his imagination.

His chest felt a little hot. Xiao Wan reached up and touched his little bunny necklace.

The boy beside him had been dying to share his excitement, but when he turned his head and looked at Xiao Wan, the words stuck in his throat.

The kid’s eyes were clearly green… so why did he just see a flash of red?

He looked more closely—but there was nothing unusual anymore.

Staring at Xiao Wan, he finally blurted out something totally random: “You kind of look like him.”

“Like who?”

“…The Dijun.”

As soon as he said it, he realized it probably wasn’t the right thing to say.

Xiao Wan thought about it, then replied seriously, “No, I look like my daddy.”

Their features were definitely different. The boy admitted that. But the eyes—the look in those eyes—that was the same.

Just for that split second when Xiao Wan turned his head… it looked so similar.