Sect Leader was deep in thought.
Great-Grandfather?
That would be Harin's father, but he had passed away long ago. It's absolutely impossible. Who could have done this? To be able to take someone from the Wendaozong, it's definitely not something an ordinary person could accomplish.
A great battle was bound to happen.
The overall strength of Wendaozong was very strong. To single-handedly go to their territory and demand someone back, one wouldn't just be facing the Wendaozong Sect Leader, but other powerful figures as well.
He recalled Harin, upon breaking through to the Great Emperor realm and departing, bowing towards a certain direction.
Suddenly, it was as if a thunderbolt struck through his mind.
Could it be… that the person Harin bowed to was him?
It wasn't that he looked down on Harin, but Harin's roots were very ordinary, as ordinary as could be. Furthermore, the fist technique he specialized in wasn't a Qianyuanzong secret art. There was only one possibility: his fist technique came from someone else's teachings.
While the Sect Leader was pondering this matter, the first thought that popped into Ha Shiqi's mind was, "I really do have backing! My dad left, but I still have my grandpa! My grandpa is still alive, and he's very strong. If it weren't for his great-grandson being in trouble this time, he probably wouldn't have shown himself."
"Son, do you remember what Great-Grandpa looks like?" Ha Shiqi asked.
"I don't know."
"Ah, that's a pity."
"Great-Grandpa gave me my name."
"What name?"
Right now, he just wanted to find his grandpa. Who was this person? They were clearly connected by such strong kinship, so why the separation? Wouldn't it be better to come out? Let Shiqi properly show you filial piety!
"Great-Grandpa told me that from now on, my name would be Ha Sage, meaning to act spoiled and be self-sufficient."
"What a good name! Great-Grandpa truly has a talent for naming. Hmm, Dad remembers now. Dad's name must have also been given by your Great-Grandpa. Ha Shiqi, meaning unparalleled in the world, a master of strategy."
The surrounding elders were very curious about Elder Shiqi's family background. Just how many important figures were hidden within? If it weren't for this incident, they might have never known.
Afterwards, Ha Shiqi hurried home and flipped through the family genealogy, directly finding his grandfather's generation. There was only one name:
Haha.
But that couldn't be right. His grandfather had passed away long ago. There must be something wrong somewhere, or perhaps it wasn't recorded in the genealogy.
Ever since his father became an Emperor and left, Shiqi felt like he had been abandoned.
No support, no family affection.
But now, a mysterious grandfather had appeared.
His beacon of hope bloomed once more.
He walked with a straightened back.
As if afraid others wouldn't know that Ha Shiqi's second spring had arrived. Who would dare provoke their father and son? They better consider who was behind them. Did they know the Wendaozong? His grandpa single-handedly suppressed everyone in the Wendaozong, making them obediently release his child. Just try and defy him!
At Wendaozong, Mo He hadn't yet recovered from his previous fear. As the Sect Leader, his strength was among the best in the cultivation world, squeezing into the peak level. Besides the incredibly difficult Great Emperor realm, how many people could truly threaten him?
"Father…" a woman said with an uneasy expression, wanting to speak but hesitating. In the end, she didn't say anything. She had long noticed something was wrong with her father.
Mo He slowly said, "Go to Qianyuanzong and have a good chat with Shiqi. No matter what, you are his wife. From now on, stay there. Bring this letter with you. I am still his father-in-law."
"Father," the woman couldn't understand why her father wanted her to return.
Mo He raised his hand. "A Great Emperor, definitely a Great Emperor. What kind of existence is the Ha family? Why have two Great Emperors appeared consecutively? Do you know what Shiqi says outside? That's his grandfather, the child's great-grandfather, who has always lived in seclusion. If it weren't for our actions this time, it would have been difficult to draw him out."
"If we can gain the support of a Great Emperor, Qianyuanzong, no… and Wendaozong will stand firm."
Ultimately, no one knew how the father and daughter conversed.
But the disciples of Qianyuanzong all knew that the woman who had abandoned Elder Shiqi had returned. And on that day, the Qianyuanzong disciples all heard Elder Shiqi's terrifying roar.
"You damn woman! Today, I'm going to teach you what the three obediences and four virtues are, what respecting your husband and teaching your children means, what masculine power is!"
In the past, Shiqi would never have acted so domineeringly. But now, he had a powerful backer.
The next day, Ha Shiqi stood at the peak of the sect's mountain, shouting at the top of his lungs. His voice transformed into sound waves, resounding throughout the entire sect.
"Grandpa, it's Shiqi! Come out and see me! We share an inseparable blood bond. Let Shiqi properly show you filial piety by your side!"
"Great-Grandpa, it's Sage! I'm your great-grandson! I miss you!"
Father and son stood on the mountain peak, shouting.
They shouted for an entire day, driving the entire sect to the brink of collapse. Some cultivators were almost driven to Qi Deviation, their blood flow reversing. But knowing who the shouters were, they forcibly endured it.
There was no other way.
They were all big shots.
They couldn't afford to offend them.
Only on the second day, someone noticed that Elder Shiqi and his son's voices had become hoarse. Perhaps this was the price of shouting for a whole day.
Lin Fan heard the calls.
He looked up, then shook his head.
Disturbing his reading.
So annoying.
Days passed like this, one after another.
After this incident, Shiqi didn't strive to improve himself. Instead, he spent his days searching for his grandfather within the sect, as if he wouldn't rest until he found this powerful backer.
Everyone in the sect knew.
Elder Shiqi's grandfather seemed to be another Great Emperor, shocking everyone to the point of speechlessness. They were astonished by the existence of the Ha family. What kind of bloodline could produce two Great Emperors? And what kind of bloodline could cultivate a personality like Elder Shiqi's?
Lin Fan didn't pay attention to these matters.
He believed these were the worst possible scenarios for interrupting his reading. He had a connection with Harin, inheriting the 'Haha' connection, and couldn't ignore him. What followed was his promise to Harin.
As long as no danger arose, he wouldn't interfere.
He had finished reading all the books on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, and what remained was the second floor. Over the years, Qianyuanzong had reformed many aspects, such as the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion no longer having any requirements; any disciple could access it.
This was Qianyuanzong's progress.
They believed that to produce truly strong individuals, they couldn't set up too many obstacles. No matter where, there would be interpersonal relationships. Some geniuses were not adept at social interactions, easily offending others, and thus unable to learn advanced secret arts.
Therefore, the removal of restrictions was the right decision.
For some unknown reason, this world was strange. Those who cultivated diligently lived tiring lives, facing many dangers, and could easily die somewhere if they weren't careful. Those who slacked off lived more comfortably and longer than anyone else.
They wandered around the sect every day, looking here and there, living a relaxed and carefree life.
The Sect Leader stepped down, and a new Sect Leader took over.
This Sect Leader was carefully selected by the previous Sect Leader. Both in terms of strength and ability, he was quite outstanding.
Ha Shiqi became a Grand Elder. As time passed, his status rose. When he reached the appropriate age and had enough seniority, he ascended. Ha Sage was ultimately spoiled by Ha Shiqi.
This sufficiently demonstrated the impact parents have on their children. Although not a heinous person, he was exactly like Ha Shiqi in his youth – a slacker. He slacked off happily. Without a sense of pressure, he naturally couldn't understand the situation of others who had to put in effort to get ahead.
In the blink of an eye, two hundred years passed.
Lin Fan felt the time to return drawing closer.
Inside the house, he put down the book in his hand, looked at Little Yellow lying beside him, and sighed softly. He had originally planned to stay with Little Yellow until the end of its life and then leave without any worries. But who could have imagined that Little Yellow was so resilient?
It showed no signs of aging at all.
On the contrary, it became more and more energetic.
Little Yellow raised its head, staring with its dog eyes, very puzzled. It always felt that its master's gaze was a bit strange, and this had happened several times already.
Sometimes…
Little Yellow even wondered, was it doing something wrong?
Lin Fan smiled at Little Yellow. With Little Yellow's companionship, his reading days weren't lonely. During this time, he had changed residences several times, mainly because he encountered a useless disciple who lived next door to him for ten years. For ten years, this disciple hadn't advanced from an ordinary disciple to an outer disciple. This was a terrifying thing.
Therefore, he chose to move.
Continuing to depend on each other with Little Yellow.
Several months later, the Qianyuanzong disciples were all busy. In order to motivate the disciples' cultivation momentum, the current Sect Leader unprecedentedly decided to hold a grand competition. The top one hundred disciples would receive generous rewards.
It was divided into levels: ordinary disciples, outer disciples, inner disciples, and true disciples.
The rewards were plentiful. As long as they were in the top one hundred, they would receive a reward.
Although there were many prizes, compared to the number of disciples, the competition was still fierce.
Lin Fan didn't participate in this kind of activity. There was no need to participate, and he didn't even want to watch. He just wanted to read quietly.
Today, the weather was beautiful.
The Qianyuanzong grand event was being held. Countless disciples looked forward to it, eager and excited, hoping to achieve a high ranking in the competition.
Soon, the competition began.
The current Sect Leader personally watched. Grand Elder Ha Shiqi couldn't miss it either, and his son, Ha Sage, was already an elder of the sect. A family producing a Great Emperor realm cultivator would ensure the entire family's prosperity for a long time.
Not to mention there was another unknown powerful figure.
However, after so many years, no one had seen him, and he had never appeared. No one knew his situation, and some even wondered if he, like Great Emperor Harin, had already left this realm for an unknown place.
At this moment, Ha Shiqi rested his chin on his hand, cracking melon seeds, watching with great interest. Seeing a disciple make a comeback from a desperate situation, he even clapped his hands.
"Good! Beautifully fought!"
Those who became Grand Elders at the same time would lower their hands and remind him softly, "Elder Shiqi, pay attention to your image."
Ha Shiqi glanced at them and curled his lip. "It was a beautiful fight, and you won't even let me say it?"
Everyone was helpless.
They couldn't argue with him.
They let him be.