Chapter 263
Su Ci stared at the man in red. He sat quietly, composed, with a faint smile on his lips. However, deep within his radiant eyes, there was an unruffled calm.
“Why?” Su Ci asked.
Su Lü met his gaze calmly. “This land needs a true deity to maintain order.”
“A true deity?”
“Yes, one who is absolutely rational and unburdened by emotions,” Su Lü said, looking directly at him. “Do you remember the name you were given at the very beginning?”
Su Ci remained silent.
Su Lü, however, spoke without hesitation: “Su Ci, you are too merciful.”
In the early days when the spirit of the land first took form, there was a period of naive innocence. A great human cultivator who had taken him in gave him this name.
But later, he grew to dislike the name and changed it himself. No one else knew this, except him.
Su Ci gazed at Su Lü indifferently, at this other version of himself, listening as he said, “And I can be that kind of existence.”
To suppress resentment, Su Ci had once separated the absolutely rational part of his soul. This part had no personal desires, was clean and pure, and even when tainted by resentment, it could maintain its integrity.
But this didn’t mean it was a mindless puppet. In fact, it was incredibly intelligent and had now formed its own ideals.
Su Ci looked at him calmly, and Su Lü met his gaze without flinching.
A-Yan glanced between the two, his face transitioning from shock to quiet contemplation.
After a while, Su Ci finally spoke, “I’ll think about it.”
Su Lü was a fragment of Su Ci’s soul, while Su Ci remained the dominant one. If Su Ci didn’t agree, no matter how much Su Lü resisted, he couldn’t escape the fate of being reintegrated and erased.
Thus, from the very beginning, Su Lü had no intention of resisting.
In fact, before Su Ci began to unseal him, he had already expressed his will, handing the choice over to Su Ci.
Because, as he said earlier, Su Ci… was too merciful.
Without another glance at Su Lü, Su Ci turned and left after speaking. A-Yan, however, lingered a step behind.
He looked at the man in red sitting there. The man lifted his gaze to meet A-Yan’s, his expression calm, his lips maintaining a gentle smile.
A-Yan’s eyes flickered slightly, then he, too, turned and left.
That evening, before dinner started, Rong Heng, Ika, and Lu Li returned to the nursery just in time.
By now, they had fully mastered control over their bloodline powers. At the same time, as they grew older, they discovered what they enjoyed doing.
The six-member teams from the two smaller groups all loved combat—though Zheng Xing preferred to analyze data and control machinery during fights.
Unlike these two adventurous groups, Little Li Hua preferred staying at the base to work on her painting skills. Xue Wei and Lu Jiao, on the other hand, were the earliest to start teaching at their sect.
Of course, Xue Wei mainly taught the Buddhist cultivation method, which was particularly effective in stabilizing the emotions of beast-blood cubs. Almost all the later cubs sought her out to learn it.
Thus, she became a caretaker early on, a profession she thoroughly enjoyed. Moreover, she was probably the most unique caretaker among them.
Why? Because she specialized in caring for beast-blood cubs.
Despite her petite frame, delicate appearance, and the occasional fuzzy bunny ears popping out of her head…
No matter how severe a cub’s berserk state was, they would almost always become obedient under her care. None dared to defy this gentle and sweet-looking senior sister who always smiled so warmly.
Meanwhile, Lai Ze and Wen Yan continued working as caretakers at the nursery, while Lai Qian Qian devoted herself entirely to crafting.
In just ten years, she had made significant progress in the art of crafting. How far she could ultimately go depended on her determination and talent.
Lu Jiao, who had been a dedicated learner since childhood, pursued the path of scholarship with single-minded focus. Gifted and intelligent, he also achieved modest success in water cultivation. A year ago, he earned Su Ci’s recognition and became the first person on Earth Star to establish a sect, accepting disciples and passing on the teachings of water cultivation.
As for Mu Bao, he was wholly devoted to plants.
The blood mist on Earth Star had only recently been mostly cleared, and many areas remained barren. He worked alongside his kin, striving to restore Earth Star to life.
In these ten years of effort, not only had many plants gained sentience, but several had transformed into members of the wood clan. Some not only regained their intelligence but even managed to return to human form.
These individuals naturally joined the efforts to revive Earth Star as well.
Thanks to the efforts of the wood clan and other ancient clans, preserving Earth Star—the birthplace of humanity—had become a widely accepted goal in interstellar society.
Yes, a few years ago, sensing the time was right, the wood clan finally decided to restore Earth Star’s rightful status as humanity’s mother planet. They revealed the truth to all interstellar humans.
The forgotten and distorted history was corrected and shared.
Humanity and the demon clans had once inflicted near-irreparable damage on Earth Star, abandoned it to flee to the stars, and, over time, lost its location entirely, unable to ever return.
Such a tragedy must never happen again.
To spread this message, Li Sinian and others frequently left Earth Star to advocate across the stars. Xiao Zhi quietly supported them, ensuring their efforts went smoothly.
Everyone was busy pursuing their goals. By contrast, the little sparrow Xue You had no grand ambitions.
After guiding all the departed souls, she could now maintain her Xuan Bird form for extended periods. Still, she preferred to stay as a little chubby sparrow.
She lived joyfully, grooming her feathers as one of her greatest pleasures.
Sometimes, she accompanied Xue Wei to teach the cubs. Other times, she joined Ran Lie and the others in battles. When she felt like it, she listened to Lu Jiao’s lectures, and when she didn’t, she disappeared into the forest to play with wood spirits.
Her absolute favorite activity, though, was chatting with her master—though it was mostly her doing the talking.
But… her master was such a great listener! Who could resist saying a little more in front of him?
It seemed that the children in the nursery were all growing up, except for her—she still had the carefree heart of a child.
But what was wrong with being a happy little bird? After all, she was a bird! The little sparrow felt entirely at peace with herself. Whatever troubles the world might bring, it wasn’t her job to shoulder them.
That evening, it was a rare occasion when everyone gathered together.
Aside from the children, word had spread that A-Yan was cooking today, so even the fairies shamelessly showed up to grab a bite. Even the spirits and beings that didn’t need to eat came to join the fun.
Ever since these spirits and magical creatures had started visiting, the happiest one was likely the book spirit.
It had now fully transformed into a proper spirit, though it still needed to work harder to be able to speak. A-Yan didn’t always keep it by his side, so it had plenty of free time to hang out with its seniors.
The nursery hadn’t been this lively in a long time.
Everyone sat happily together on the grass. The once spacious and lively grounds had grown cramped and crowded as the children grew older.
Yet no one ever complained. Even after seeing the vastness of the world, this place would always be their home—the place that held all their childhood memories.
Aside from the little sparrow, the only other one in the nursery who retained their childish nature was Lu Li’s little monkey, Liu Liu.
However, Liu Liu’s personality had changed significantly. It was no longer as mischievous as before. After all, who could withstand daily praise?
For instance, at that moment, Liu Liu squatted by Lu Li’s side, nibbling on a grape. Sitting next to them, Xue Wei smiled sweetly and said, “Liu Liu is amazing, even knows how to peel grapes!”
“Yes, so impressive!” Lu Jiao chimed in enthusiastically.
The little monkey shot a disdainful glance at the two of them. Peeling grapes? Is that even a big deal? It could peel another one with ease!
Then it grabbed another grape, swiftly peeled off the skin, and placed it in Xue Wei’s bowl. Grabbing yet another, it peeled it and shoved it straight into Lu Jiao’s mouth.
After that, it proudly went back to munching on its grape, basking in Xue Wei’s endless stream of creative compliments, completely unbothered by anything.
Whenever Lu Li saw such a scene, he couldn’t help but feel both exasperated and amused. But he could tell that Liu Liu was genuinely happy and getting better with each passing day.
So really, letting it stay silly like this wasn’t such a bad thing, right?
On the other side, sitting next to Rong Heng was Ika, now 23 years old—the oldest and most beautiful of all the children.
With a bright smile, he gazed at Rong Heng, patiently waiting for the younger boy to peel seafood for him.
Rong Heng, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it. Despite looking younger than Yika, he took on the role of a caring older brother as he meticulously tended to him.
Of course, while taking care of Ika, Rong Heng didn’t forget about his beloved little sister either.
He was probably the busiest person at the table during the meal.
Everyone ate to their heart’s content, and Lang Ze even overate. Though his stomach felt a bit uncomfortable, he thought to himself that if he could eat A-Yan’s cooking every day, he wouldn’t mind overeating all the time!
But deep down, he also knew… that wasn’t possible.
After the meal, Lang Ze went to Su Ci’s dormitory. When the metallic door opened, he didn’t rush in excitedly as he usually did. Instead, his steps were unusually heavy.
“Su Su.”
Su Ci, who was sitting on the sofa deep in thought, looked up at his voice and gestured for him to come over.
Lang Ze sat down on the sofa across from him.
Now eighteen years old, the young wolf had grown into a strong and healthy young man. Sitting across from Su Ci, he even looked taller and more imposing than him.
“Go on, what’s on your mind?” Su Ci asked.
Normally, cubs were expected to leave the nursery once they reached adulthood. However, since the base had been expanded and the new beast-blood cubs had been moved to the new nursery, Lang Ze and the others were allowed to stay in their original rooms. Ran Lie, for instance, never moved out after coming of age.
But judging by Lang Ze’s expression, this wasn’t what he had come to discuss.
Indeed, Lang Ze’s visit wasn’t about that.
“Su Su, I want to go to the interstellar battlefield.”
After mustering the courage to say this, the rest of his words flowed easily. “Dad Li Sinian told me that the pressure on the interstellar battlefield has been heavy recently. The Star Alliance has been sending out invitations to many retired beast-blood warriors, asking them to return and help.”
Although the cub squad was part of the Star Alliance’s forces, because they belonged to Earth Star, no one had the authority to deploy them.
So this matter technically had nothing to do with Lang Ze. But…
“I want to help too.”
Lang Ze looked at Su Ci with his clear, bright green eyes, his gaze filled with unshakable determination. “The Star Alliance saved me back then. Now it’s time for me to give back.”
He still remembered the female warrior who had rescued him from space pirates. Years had passed, and he didn’t know if she had retired or not…
If he had the chance to meet her this time, he wanted to thank her in person.
Su Ci studied Lang Ze. This child, who always appeared carefree, was actually the most thoughtful and sensitive of them all.
“If you’ve made up your mind, then go ahead.”
As always, Su Ci reached out and placed his hand on the young wolf’s head, gently ruffling his hair. To him, no matter how old they got, these children would always be the little cubs he had known.
Lang Ze looked at Su Ci’s gentle face, and suddenly, tears began to fall uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry…”
He had promised to stay on Earth Star, but now he was breaking that promise.
“It’s not like you’re not coming back.” Su Ci handed him a handkerchief to wipe away his tears. This moment was something he had anticipated long ago.
He took out a small box, pulled the young man’s hand toward him, and gently placed it in his palm.
“The beads inside this box—keep one for yourself, and distribute the rest to your companions,” Su Ci said. “As long as you hold the bead in your hand and inject your power into it, it can instantly bring you back to Earth Star, no matter where you are in the interstellar space.”
Lang Ze stared blankly at the box in his hands. After a long moment, he sniffled and choked out, “When I come back, will I still be able to see you and Brother A-Yan?”
Su Ci paused for a moment before replying, “As long as this land remains, I will be here.”
Lang Ze took a deep breath and carefully placed the box of teleportation beads into his spirit storage pouch. Then, without warning, he spread his arms and hugged Su Ci tightly.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can!”
Releasing Su Ci, he ran over and hugged A-Yan. “Brother A-Yan, I’ll miss you!”
A-Yan couldn’t help but laugh. Miss me? Or miss my cooking?
He reached out and patted the young wolf’s head, feeling a pang of emotion. Their children—his and Su Su’s—had grown up.
After Lang Ze let go, A-Yan turned his hand over, and a jade flute appeared in his palm. The flute’s tail was adorned with a small safety charm, its translucent sheen exuding a soft, beautiful glow.
“A gift for your coming of age,” A-Yan said.
“Wow!” Lang Ze’s eyes lit up as he accepted the jade flute. “Thank you, Brother A-Yan!”
Suddenly, he turned to Su Ci and asked, “Su Su, can I teach the things you’ve taught me to the people I meet out there?”
He still remembered his childhood dream—and the promise he had made to Su Su—that he would establish the Sound Sect and carry its teachings forward.
First, though, he needed to repay the kindness he had received. Only then could he return to pursue that dream. But…
“You can,” Su Ci said indifferently. “As long as it’s someone you deem worthy.”
Lang Ze beamed. “Don’t worry, Su Su! I’ll make sure the name of the Sound Sect is upheld with pride!”
With light, determined steps, the young man left the caretakers’ dormitory.
Watching Lang Ze’s retreating figure, Su Ci’s thoughts drifted far away. In the end, they condensed into a faint, wistful sigh.
The fledgling had grown strong wings—it was time for him to leave the nest.
A-Yan came up beside him, gently taking his hand.
Su Ci looked at him, and the two remained silent for a while. Finally, Su Ci reached out, wrapping his arms around A-Yan and resting his head against his chest. After a long moment, he asked softly, “You’ll always be here, won’t you?”
“Yes,” A-Yan replied tenderly, planting a kiss on Su Ci’s temple. “I’ll always be here.”
After leaving the caretakers’ dormitory, Lang Ze headed straight to Zheng Xing’s room.
As the door opened automatically, he hurried inside. Not seeing anyone on the bed, he instinctively went to the corner, where he skillfully picked up a cat curled up in the shadows.
“Xing Xing, I just talked to Su Su and Brother A-Yan,” Lang Ze said, placing the cat on the bed before leaning against the edge to look at it.
“This is the bead Su Su gave me. Whenever I want, I can use it to return to Earth Star,” Lang Ze said, pulling out the box and showing it to Zheng Xing. “You have one too.”
Zheng Xing squatted silently on the bed, listening without a word.
After a long while, Lang Ze finally stopped talking.
He looked at the companion who had grown up with him, at the younger brother he had vowed to protect and care for all his life. He pressed his lips together, hesitating, unable to voice the concern buried deep in his heart.
Zheng Xing was two years younger than him, only sixteen this year. The interstellar battlefield was so dangerous—it would be safer for him to stay on Earth Star…
But at that moment, the little black cat stood up. It walked to Lang Ze’s side and gently rubbed its furry head against Lang Ze’s cheek.
“Wherever you go, I’ll go too.”
Lang Ze felt his eyes grow hot. He bit his lip and hesitated. “But…”
The small cat stepped back, jumped off the bed, and slowly walked toward the window that had been added later. With each step, it changed. By the time it reached the windowsill, it had taken the form of a slender boy of about fifteen or sixteen.
He rested his pale, slender hand on the windowsill, lifting his head slightly. The cold moonlight bathed his face, illuminating his unfocused, translucent light-blue eyes, which gleamed like crystals.
“Do you remember… what my name means?” Zheng Xing asked softly.
Lang Ze blinked, and before he could answer, Zheng Xing continued, “To go to the distant stars.”
Yes, Lang Ze remembered the meaning of his name.
The boy turned around in the moonlight and asked softly, “I want to go with you. Can I?”
Lang Ze stared at him, stunned. After a moment, he suddenly dashed over, throwing his arms around Zheng Xing and hugging him tightly. “Of course you can! Wherever you want to go, your big brother will go with you!”
The boy, held tightly in his embrace, curved his lips into a faint smile.
Now, he could smile naturally—and beautifully.
*
Beneath the Earth, in the Sealed Enclave
Su Lü sat motionless in the dark void. From the moment he was created, he had remained here, guarding the seal. To him, time was meaningless.
He sat in silence, when suddenly, his eyes opened in surprise.
The chains that bound him shattered one by one as if by an unseen force. The sealed boundary around him also began to collapse rapidly.
The seal had been broken.
The residual resentment lingering underground began to disperse, but it could no longer cause any significant harm. Countless purifying plants were waiting on the surface, ready to absorb it.
Su Lü slowly stood, glancing around, but his original self was nowhere to be found.
So… he agreed?
Su Lü’s expression remained calm. Even though he had gained true freedom, his emotions barely fluctuated.
This was something he had expected.
Just then, a figure slowly appeared.
“Zhou Yan,” Su Lü said, gazing at the manifestation of the Heavenly Dao Spirit before him, pondering why he was here.
“I am a part of Su Ci, but I am not the one you love,” Su Lü said with a faint smile.
A-Yan nodded, his platinum eyes curving in amusement, as though he had thought of something interesting. “I’m only here to give you a gift.”
A trace of doubt flickered in Su Lü’s otherwise composed eyes, but the Heavenly Dao Spirit offered no explanation. In the next moment, he vanished before Su Lü could say anything.
Though perplexed, Su Lü didn’t dwell on it.
However, just as he was about to leave the space, a small hand tugged at his sleeve. Su Lü lowered his gaze, and for the first time, his usually serene expression turned rigid.
It was a little boy with platinum hair and eyes, about three or four years old. His features unmistakably resembled a miniature version of the Heavenly Dao Spirit.
The boy tilted his head slightly, smiling sweetly and innocently at him.
“Hello, my name is Zhou Zhou,” he said in a soft, childish voice. “A-Yan said I should stay with you from now on. Please take care of me!”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Su Lü replied, “I don’t need you. You can go back to your original body.”
“No way!” The boy clung tightly to Su Lü’s leg. “I like you. I want to stay with you.”
Su Lü let him cling to his leg as he teleported out of the sealed boundary and rushed to the nursery. But when he arrived…
Su Ci and A-Yan were nowhere to be found. He searched every corner of Earth Star but couldn’t locate their original forms.
“Where did they go?” Su Lü asked Zhou Zhou.
“I don’t know,” the boy replied cheerfully.
Perhaps… they had gone to explore other galaxies….
[The End.]
nooo, I feel so complicated right now huhu I’m happy for the story but sad that it’s ending too
???????