"Brother Chen, Sister Yuyan and Jhiayi'er don't be so formal. We're all family here." the Sect Leader said and smiled.
"Little brother" Wang Gui said.
"Big brother what's the matter? Why have you returned? Did you find Tian'er already?" Wang Chen asked worriedly. Over these past few years, he was immensely worried towards the father and son duo. He always lamented for having his cultivation base sealed and not possessing the power to help his brother directly and instead just depend on his companions.
He did not realize that the nephew that he was looking for was right in front of him.
Wang Gui laughed and said, "Tian'er, come pay respects to your uncle and his wife."
A teenager came up to Wang Chen and his wife. The teenager bowed to them and said with a smile, "Hello Uncle and Auntie!"
"Tian'er???!" Wang Chen said and then he looked at Wang Tian.
"Yes Uncle it's me." Wang Tian replied while looking at Wang Chen. Wang Chen hugged his nephew and then starte.d scolding him, "You useless brat! Do you even know how much you worried us? You were missing all these years! Jhiayi'er missed you a lot!".
"Cousin Tian?" Wang Jhiayi said in a daze.
"Hello Cousin Jhiayi!" Wang Tian said with a warm smile. This guy in front of him was the same age as him. The little boy he knew back then was a young man now. He took on his mother's eyes but he had the handsome face that belonged to the Wang's.
"Cousin you were gone for so long huhuhu. I didn't have anyone to talk to. I didn't have any friends other than you." Wang Jhiayi hugged Wang Tian amd then started to cry in his shoulders.
Wang Tian felt warmth arose inside his heart then he said, "I'm sorry cousin. I left without saying goodbye. But cheer up okay? I'm here."
The two separated from each other's embrace. Then finally, Wang Tian's eyes layed upon a beautiful lady clad in green. This beautiful lady was his Aunt, Wang Chen's wife. His Aunt had a light skin tone and a very alluring body. Her beauty was not less than Lady Second's, maybe even greater. This person would come to visit him and his father along with Wang Chen and Wang Jhiayi when he was small. This person would come to take care of him and let him feel the care of a mother.
"Auntie Yuyan!" Wang Tian said. Although this was the first time he and this lady met, the other Wang Tian knew this lady. Since he possessed the memories of the other Wang Tian, the feelings of the boy was also inside him. Hence, he felt slightly emotional when he saw this lady.
"Tian'er" Wang Yuyan replied sweetly. She hugged Wang Tian and said, "Sweetie, where did you run off to? We were so worried about you. Jhiayi'er had no one to play with."
"I'm sorry Auntie but I was so focused in cultivating that I forgot and then I was chased by those people." Wang Tian said.
"It's okay child. But next time, don't forget to come and visit us. I may not be your blood mother but I consider myself as so. I love you and Jhiayi'er." Wang Yuyan hugged Wang Tian and Wang Jhiayi.
Wang Tian's eyes involuntarily teared up.
'What's this? Why are my eyes tearing up? Is this the other Wang Tian's doing?' Wang Tian thought to himself.
"Big boys don't cry" Wang Yuyan said.
Everybody laughed.
"Did we miss something Brother Wang?" A voice suddenly said.
Everybody's face turned except for Wang Gui, and the couple. Their eyes all looked at four individuals. One lady and three men.
The one who spoke earlier was HS. "Just the introductions." Wang Gui replied.
"Please, all of you, take a seat so that we could eat." Wang Gui said.
Shangguan Yi was shocked on the inside.
'When did these people get here? I didn't notice them approach. And I can't find any trace of aura on them. It's as if they're all mortals. Especially that man who has a bushy moustache and that other guy who looks to be aloof.' Shangguan Yi thought to himself.
Shangguan Yi felt immense pressure when he looked at these four individuals but he noticed that the pressure was slightly lower when he looked at the man who just spoke.
Yes that's correct. A man. Before the four of them came, Senior Dragon was smart enough to tell HS to change into a human so that he won't freak others out. HS found it to be reasonable and then agreed.
Shangguan Yi drew back his gaze and then he sat down. He kept his thoughts in check.
All of them sat down on the chairs. The table wasn't that big since only Wang Gui and Wang Tian lived in this house. Fortunately for them, Wang Gui had spare chairs in his bag of holding. The preparations didn't look much but the people present didn't mind it. They actually kinda liked the idea of simplicity since they're all people who have walked the path of riches.
Wang Tian started the conversation by introducing each and every one of them with each other.
Other cultivators might find dining with weaker cultivators as insulting but the people here inside this house were all kind and humble people. The strongest expert here, Senior Dragon, didn't seem to mind so the experts weaker than him wouldn't dare complain. Besides, Wang Tian is their Young Master. The people that they were dining with is his family.
The group started to eat and talk to each other merrily. Senior Dragon and the rest of the guardians were all wearing smiles on their faces.
Finally, Wang Jhiayi started to ask, "Cousin Tian, where did you go? The whole sect went upside down because of that incident."
Wang Tian laughed and then told them what happened seven years ago. He mixed the truth with some lies. Since what had really happened was something that was far from normal. Even though the people here were all family, he didn't want them to be burdened with his secrets. Based on the information that he gained from his Senior Tang's experiences, things like these weren't supposed to be disclosed even to one's family. Telling them something like this was akin to planning their graves in advance. His predecessor had uncountable enemies back then. The times where his family was used against him was more than ten times the number of his fingers. That's why it wasn't a good idea to tell them the whole truth. Wang Tian only told them that he met these four people when they were travelling. Seeing that he was a just a little kid, they saved him. Wang Tian thanked them and told them the situation. They advised him to not return and go travel with them for the meantime.
All of the people who didn't know what happened except for Wang Jhiayi noticed the lies that were woven into the truth but they didn't make a scene since Wang Tian clearly didn't want to tell them. So it was a bad thing to force him to cough up what really happened.
Wang Jhiayi nodded three times and said, "Cousin Tian! You're really fortunate that these people saved you!".
Wang Tian smiled at him and then they resumed to eating. During the dinner, Shangguan Yi informed Wang Tian and Wang Jhiayi that they should participate in the upcoming competition between the disciples of each mountain peaks.
"It's called the Annual Mountain Battles" Shangguan Yi said.
"It only occurs every two years. The next one will be next year on January." Shangguan Yi said.
"Your cousin Wang Jhiayi, had participated twice when you were away."
"You did?" Wang Tian looked at Wang Jhiayi and said. It was good for him to hear that his cousin was not the same kid from back then.
Wang Jhiayi nodded and said bitterly, "Of course I did. But I only won a few matches. I didn't get to enter the finals."
"This year I'm going to mop the floor with the disciples of the other peaks!" Wang Jhiayi said with determination and excitement.
Wang Tian looked at Wang Jhiayi so that he could inspect his cultivation base. Wang Tian was shocked. 'What?! Cousin Jhiayi is already at the peak of the 7th level of Houtian Realm? How could he be this fast? Although he isn't a Xiantian Lifeform, he is much faster than me in terms of cultivating speed!'.
Wang Jhiayi laughed smugly when he saw that his cousin was inspecting him. "Hah! You weren't the only one who focused in increasing his cultivation cousin!' Wang Jhiayi said proudly.
"I'm a level above you now! You're a level 6 Houtian Lifeform!" Wang Jhiayi said.
Almost everyone laughed when he heard Wang Jhiayi tease Wang Tian. Wang Chen was quite skeptical about Wang Tian being a Houtian Lifeform. Shangguan Yi almost choked when he heard what Wang Jhiayi said though.
Wang Tian looked at his father and said, "Father, can I join?"
"I don't really have a say on whether you can join or not since there are internal selection that will take place. The Peak Master will pick the 6 most excellent disciples and then they will represent their mountain peak." Wang Gui explained.
Wang Tian nodded and then he heard Senior Golem talk.
"Little Brat, you should join the competition since it can give you much more experience in fighting other cultivators."
Senior Golem addressed Wang Tian as Little Brat simply because it would be quite shocking for the people present if they were to be told of Wang Tian's identity.
Wang Tian naturally understood this so he didn't complain.
"Junior Brother is right Wang Tian, you should join so that you can test your skills." Senior Dragon added.
Wang Tian nodded to the both of them and the he turned towards the Sect Leader.
"Uncle, when will the Selection take place?" Wang Tian asked Shangguan Yi.
"Well, the selection in your peak should start five days from now. So you still have time to prepare for a bit. The selection will be held at your Fourth Peak's Battle Arena." Shangguan Yi answered.
Wang Tian nodded and then he decided that he will join. He will give it his all since chances of being able to fight other cultivators was quite rare. Especially cultivators the same age as him.
After eating, Shangguan Yi and Wang Chen's family departed. They bid their farewells and then made their way. Wang Chen stayed since he wanted to talk to his Elder Brother more. Lady Second accompanied by Senior Golem and HS decided to take a walk outside since they felt that being cooped up in Wang Tian's house was not better than being inside their Master's tomb. Of course, they planned this beforehand so Shangguan Yi has already given them all a pass so that they can move inside the Seven Star Sword Sect freely.
Only Senior Dragon and Wang Tian was left.
"Wang Tian come here. I want to tell you something that you should remember." Senior Dragon beckoned Wang Tian to come near him so that they could talk.
Wang Tian nodded and then he walked towards Senior Dragon. Senior Dragon patted Wang Tian's shoulder and then in an instant, they were tens of thousands of meters above ground. They were in the sky!
Wang Tian felt flabbergasted by the quick change in scene.
"Young Master when I leave this time, I might be gone for a very long time. Maybe it'll take hundreds to thousands of years. Most of my kin are hidden in the 8th planet. You should know that our kind is hunted by humans since they want us to be their slaves. Their mounts and their possession. The human race is very greedy and selfish. That's their disadvantage." Senior Dragon said.
"If you finally gain the power to leave this planet within a thousand years, then you can be the one to search for me." Senior Dragon said.
"All this time, I haven't formally told you my name since It's something that shouldn't be easily given. But over the past seven years, you have gained my approval. You are indeed worthy of the title of Master's predecessor and my name."
"I am Long Jiusi." Senior Dragon said.
Wang Tian nodded and then he felt that his connection with Senior Dragon improved. It was like something was lit inside his body that tempered the bond between the two of them. Made it stronger.
"Did you feel it? That's what you get when you gain the recognition of a dragon." Senior Dragon said.
"When other dragons see you, they will treat you with respect and like their kin since you have already gained recognition from one of them."