Chapter 57: Descent from the Heavens

At this moment, a translucent night-shining pearl, clear as glass, suddenly appeared in mid-air. This was the vibrant Bead-Tranquil Heaven, thoroughly protected by Qi Jingchun.

As the Bead-Tranquil Heaven made contact with the outside world, it blossomed with dazzling radiances, sending forth marvelous ripples while being encircled by gilded silk ribbons.

Following the rippling Bead-Tranquil Heaven, a spiral-like golden radiance appeared, slowly descending.

A short while later, the Bead-Tranquil Heaven silently and overwhelmingly plummeted into the green mountains, scattering fragments of starlight as it settled deep within a dense forest.

Witnessing this scene, Su Ling fell silent for a moment, casting his gaze around the ancient town below.

The town had not suffered much impact, save for some dilapidated old houses that had been battered to pieces by the violent wind and rain.

Piles of broken furniture littered the streets, but the houses along the roads remained largely intact, and the residents inside were naturally safe and sound.

Su Ling’s gaze swept casually across the town and finally locked onto the general location of Riding Dragon Alley.

As the crimson true qi beneath his feet dissipated, Su Ling rapidly descended in a free fall.

……

In the blacksmith's shop at Riding Dragon Alley, Ruan Xiu pushed open the door and strode out of the room where she had stayed for so long. Her pretty face wore a look of worry, and her bright eyes gazed up into the blue sky.

"Dad~, why didn't you stop Senior Brother Su from playing with fire and courting his own destruction!"

Seeing that no figure had appeared in the sky for a long time, Ruan Xiu’s eyes grew increasingly concerned as she turned to Ruan Qiong inside the room and complained.

At this moment, Ruan Qiong, who had been sitting with his head lowered in silence inside the house, twitched his wheat-colored cheeks slightly at these words. With a complex expression in his eyes, he thought that raising this daughter of his had been a complete waste of all these years.

Her infatuation with Chen Ping'an of Mud Bottle Alley was not enough; she even valued the disciple Su Ling more than her own biological father...

As Ruan Xiu's father, Ruan Qiong could see right through his own daughter's little thoughts without any difficulty...

Ruan Qiong suffered in his heart, but he refused to say a word. He could only keep his head down in silence, tasting the bitterness all by himself.

"Dad~!"

Ruan Xiu's somewhat angry and spoiled voice rang out. Hearing this, the stalwart man that was Ruan Qiong finally couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Didn't you see it? Fortunately, Su Ling was sheltered by the Confucian sage, otherwise..."

"Then why hasn't Senior Brother Su appeared yet?"

"Could it be that he caught too much attention and was secretly framed by someone with ulterior motives?"

"..."

"With your Senior Brother Su's abilities, there's no telling who is actually being framed..."

Ruan Qiong looked at his daughter's expression of indignation and felt a bit weary. He finally couldn't help himself and offered a subtle remark to his own biological daughter.

"Then Dad, as Senior Brother Su's master, shouldn't you fulfill your duty and quickly go out to bring Senior Brother Su back?"

"..."

Hearing this, Ruan Qiong lowered his head in silence, sinking into an even deeper state of melancholy. His own flesh and blood could neither be beaten nor scolded, and had to be cherished like a treasure...

On the other side, seeing that her father still wore the expression of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, refusing to go out and search no matter how she provoked him, Ruan Xiu furrowed her delicate brows and let out an aggrieved, childish shout.

She turned around and strode out of the house. Her waist-length braided hair whipped against the doorframe with a sharp, muffled thud.

Inside the room, Ruan Qiong's expression changed slightly. He raised his arm to stop his daughter from attempting to find Su Ling, but seeming to recall something, he lowered his arm once again.

Ruan Qiong shook his head, sighed, and let out a soft, cold hum.

Regarding Su Ling, the closed-door disciple upon whom he had pinned high hopes, it would be a lie to say Ruan Qiong wasn't worried. The reason he hadn't gone out to look for him was because he knew very well in his heart—

Given Su Ling's practically indestructible physical body, his irresistible and terrifying strength, coupled with his tempered, unyielding soul—

Su Ling would have no problem ensuring his own survival. After all, using his supreme divine abilities, Ruan Qiong had witnessed Su Ling relentlessly blasting the supreme Confucian sage away with a single punch in the void.

Ruan Qiong's eyelids hadn't stopped twitching ever since, and his heart was exceptionally shocked. This newborn calf named Su Ling was truly fierce.

However, this also proved from another angle that he hadn't placed his bets on the wrong person. Su Ling's overbearing, slightly petty temperament, combined with his formidable physical fitness—

As long as Su Ling was not cut down prematurely during his growth, he was destined to shine among the stars in the future.

He would become the first martial god in the world, unprecedented and unsurpassed!

Ruan Qiong didn't find this surprising in the least, and even felt that this achievement, which practically surpassed the supreme beings of the four worlds, might not even be Su Ling's limit...

However, there was one thing Ruan Qiong had miscalculated, a point that even any supreme being who cast their gaze toward Su Ling remained unaware of.

That was the fact that Su Ling did not belong to this world. Sooner or later, he would return to his original place and could not possibly stay long in this vast universe.

——

"Really, Dad is being far too cautious and doesn't even worry about his own disciple..."

Outside the blacksmith's shop, not far from an ancient tree that required ten people to encircle, stood a granite pavilion where Ruan Xiu specially went to enjoy pastries.

Ruan Xiu slumped over the round table, pressing her pretty face lazily against the cool tabletop, her gaze somewhat complex.

At this moment, a gentle breeze blew by, bringing a fragrant, sweet aroma of pastries to the tip of her nose. Ruan Xiu lifted her delicate brows and glanced casually at the plate of appetizing pastries placed on the table.

This plate of pastries used to be her favorite snack, but at this moment, as if she had lost all desire, Ruan Xiu simply couldn't muster any interest.

……

"Sigh~"

Ruan Xiu propped her delicate chin with one hand, listlessly counting the remaining pastries on the plate.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something unusual in the sky.

Silently, dazzling golden stardust fell from the sky, and a large expanse of white clouds parted, revealing a tiny black speck the size of a sesame seed.

A black speck appeared in the azure sky and was rapidly expanding.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The sound of air friction echoed. The black speck beneath the blue sky became increasingly distinct, and a series of sonic booms were even breaking out around it.

Ruan Xiu abruptly stood up and looked up into the high heavens. Something was plummeting at high speed, making it impossible to discern what it was, and its aura was unclear.

The sound of piercing through the air grew harsh, and the black speck drew closer and closer to this place.

Thud!

A heavy object crashed onto the ground, sending dust billowing in all directions. Ruan Xiu pinched an incantation with her fingertips, and the sound of blazing flames rang out.

The next moment, a fire dragon as thick as a water barrel appeared in the upper air behind Ruan Xiu.

The fire dragon seemed to be formed from solar flames. Its entire body was fiery red, the sound of roaring flames echoed continuously, baking the surrounding space.

The dragon's fiery head looked ferocious and domineering, coiling above Ruan Xiu's head to guard its master.

A hurricane-like shockwave slammed into Ruan Xiu, and the sound of vaporizing gases suddenly arose.

Those clouds of dust charging toward Ruan Xiu were instantly blocked by the massive body of the fire dragon.

Hiss, hiss~

The dust was vaporized by the intense heat, and magma-like raindrops fell from mid-air, forming solidified black water stains upon the ground.